The next morning...

Apartment 2-G

Nick was in the kitchen of his apartment calmly eating breakfast. Gabumon was sitting across from him enjoying the food that had been made.

"I would like more to eat please." Gabumon held his bowl out to Nick's mother for extra helpings. This made her happy.

"Of course. It would be my pleasure to give you more food." She stated before walking over to the table to serve Gabumon.

"Thank you." Gabumon ate the servings that were given to him.

"You're welcome Gabumon." She sweetly smiled at the Rookie level Digimon.

"Just make sure not to give him too much food mom. Our apartment's not big enough for him to grow any further." Nick pointed out.

He grabbed the last thing on the breakfast table, a fried egg at the same time as Gabumon.

"Looks like we have a stalemate at the moment, don't we?" Nick commented. He and Gabumon were deadlocked in regards to the fried egg still on the table.

"There's only one way for us to settle this without starting a fight." Gabumon nodded with his partner.

"Who has a coin we can use?" They asked out loud at the same time.

"I do." Raven handed the pair a quarter so this disagreement could be resolved without violence.

"Heads, I get the last item. Tails, you do." The quarter was flipped into the air and spun several times before landing on Nick's hand. After uncovering it the quarter had landed on heads.

"Heads. Sorry Gabumon." Nick apologized to his partner.

"Don't worry about it. I've had enough to eat anyway." Gabumon shrugged.

The two didn't know it at the moment, but a new face would soon meet them at HQ.

"The temperature today is 63 degrees today, Master Thomas. Somewhat warmer than back in Austria, don't you think?" An elderly man informed a man taking a shower in one of the mansion's bathrooms. The man got out of the shower, put on his robe and walked down one of the corridors.

'I wonder if everyone's doing okay with my absence.' Thomas thought as he gazed through one of the mansion's windows.

Back at the apartment building Nick was on his Duel Runner. Gabumon had been placed inside his Digivice iC.

"How do you think work will go today?" Gabumon asked from inside the Digivice iC.

"Beats me." Nick shrugged his shoulders. He slipped his helmet on and drove towards DATS HQ.

"Farewell master Thomas." Three maids stated as they saw him off.

Nick was cruising through the streets when he heard a beeping coming from his pocket. He pressed a button and a woman's face popped up on the screen of his Duel Runner.

"Nick, there are signs of Digimon near you." She explained through the screen.

"Which sector?"

"Area C-7. Can you handle it?" The woman questioned.

"Consider it done." The screen was turned off and Nick quickly headed to the trouble area.

"I'm bored." A teen sitting in front of a convenience store said to two other teens.

"Nothin ever goes on around here anymore." Another teen sitting on the sidewalk said as he too acted a little sloth-like.

"I agree." A new voice said which sort of caught one of the teen's attention.

"Hey, pretty good. How did you throw your voice while drinking soda?" The second teen questioned one wearing a hat who did not know what he was talking about.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" The hat wearing slacker questioned, but before the other could explain himself they all smelled something burning. They turned to see some trash burning with no cause for it.

"Fire." The three said together and saw some small, blue-eyed fire demon emerge from it.

"Way weird." The second friend said while getting to his feet.

"There it is!" Nick called out. The loafers saw a boy and a creature drive past them and up to the smaller creature.

"You're not going anywhere." Nick declared.

"Wanna bet." The small being questioned as he looked down at his current foes. He shot fire at the human who began dancing in place.

"Blue Blaster!" Gabumon released a stream of blue ice-like flames from his mouth.

The fire was absorbed by the small creature.

'Take this.' The creature thought after dodging another attack and then spat a fireball at them.

"Stop shooting fire at us." Nick commented as he tried to stomp out the flames that licked his pants.

"Be a nice fireball and stay still." Gabumon said as he swiped at the fireball. The fireball then fled from the two.

"Get back here." Nick gave chase with Gabumon right behind him. As they were running, the three slackers watched everything and were still confused.

"What were those things?" The one with the goatee questioned his friends.

"A fire monster and a furry lizard." The squatter answered back as best as he could to the others.

"They're called Digimon and you don't have to think about them ever again." A voice said to them, but when they turned to the source of the voice they were hit by something that seemed like an alien device. "Memory erase - pursue and secure. Let's go, Gaomon." The owner of the voice said to his partner.

"Sir yes sir." Gaomon said as he got out of the car with his partner.

Back at HQ Nick sat in a computer chair that was facing backward.

"They managed to get away from you, huh?" Yoshi asked her partner.

"Yeah." Nick sighed in disappointment that DemiMeramon gave him the slip.

"Mission complete. Digimon secured." A blonde-haired boy said as he walked into the room and placed the egg beside Yoshino for her to deal with from there.

His presence got Nick's attention.

"Who's this guy?" Nick asked himself.

The answer did not come from the blonde-haired boy, but rather two of the women.

"THOMAS IS BACK!" The two squealed for joy.

"When did you get back in?" The violet-haired woman questioned with clasped hands.

"This is such a pleasant surprise." The blonde-haired woman said with her own hands clasped.

"I've never seen this Digimon. How are you?" Gabumon asked how the canine was doing. The canine walked past him and over to the blonde.

"That was rude." Gabumon noted. The lizard Digimon wasn't happy about being ignored by the canine.

"I asked you a question." Nick repeated. He was offended when the blonde-haired boy ignored him.

"Commander Sampson, sir. Thomas H. Norstein, I arrived from DATS Austria. Ready to report for duty." The blonde said while saluting the man behind the desk and lowering his arm.

"It's good to have you back here." Sampson said back before sitting down while not looking away from Thomas.

"I spent most of my flight reading your most recent reports. It seems there has been an unusually large number of appearances lately." Thomas pointed out.

"He's so on top of things." The blonde-haired woman squealed.

"He so is!" The violet-haired woman agreed with the two nuzzled pretty close.

"Hmm? So do you think these numbers could eventually overwhelm the Data Squad?" Commander Sampson asked Thomas.

"No I don't. But of course that all depends on having the right team in place." Thomas answered back.

"Go ahead and introduce to Thomas, Nick." Sampson said as he looked over to him.

"You're kidding, right? Why would I introduce myself to such a rude-" Being ignored by Thomas earlier rubbed Nick the wrong way.

"You're totally out of line Nick. Thomas is your superior." Sampson informed the newest member.

"Nick, Thomas was part of the Japanese Division until six months ago working to control Digimon and assisting in the implementation of transfer devices. We were having production problems, but Thomas discovered the flaw in the operating system within an hour." Yoshi explained what Commander Sampson was saying to the new recruits.

"Do I seriously have to take orders from him?" Nick pointed to Thomas.

"It's no surprise. Thomas graduated from the Stockholm University of Science when he was only 13. He's a genius." The blonde-haired woman explained.

"Genius?" Nick's eyes widened in shock.

"That's just the beginning. He's also part of a prominent noble family in Austria. A real life Prince Charming." The violet-haired woman informed Nick before the two let out a high-pitched squeal of delight and giggles.

"Whatever." Nick rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"As for Thomas' partner Gaomon - his abilities in battle are unmatched by all the Digimon partners at DATS." Kudamon explained.

"They are easily the best team we have." Kudamon added.

"I see." Gabumon glared at Gaomon, wanting to put Kudamon's claim to the test.

"Unlike some teams. They have got discipline." Sampson said to Nick.

"Commander, please allow me to say a few words about the newest recruit. Based on my first impression I doubt he could benefit DATS in any way." Thomas said, getting Nick's attention.

"I'm sorry. What did you just say?!" Nick snapped over what he just heard.

"You see? I recommend he be dismissed immediately." Thomas informed Commander Sampson.

"Say that one more time I dare you." He repeated with venom in his voice.

"Alright, you and your partner Gabumon do not deserve to be here." Thomas flatly said staring Nick straight in the eye.

"Leave him alone Thomas." Yoshi ordered, coming to her teammate's defense. "You have no right telling them they don't belong here."

She shot a angry glare at the blonde-haired teen. By disrespecting her teammate, Thomas was disrespecting Yoshi and she wasn't going to tolerate it.

"I won't allow anyone to talk to my teammate that way." The young woman told the blond-haired teen. She was willing to fight Thomas as well after his insult.

"Okay, Mr. Big Shot. Let's see what you're made of." Nick wanted to pay Thomas back for his insult.

"You and me in the gym." Everyone headed to the gym for a boxing match. Nick was on the other end of the boxing ring putting some gloves on. Yoshi was standing right behind him with a medical kit if it was necessary.

"Good luck." Yoshi whispered into his ear. She hoped nothing bad happened to her teammate during the boxing match with Thomas.

"What made you join DATS in the first place?" Thomas questioned prompting Nick to look at his Digimon partner.

"I didn't want to be separated from Gabumon. Is that good enough." Nick answered honestly as he side stepped Thomas's punch.

'How did he?' Thomas thought, surprised that his punch didn't connect.

"You must have a bad reason to join. DATS has a important mission to carry out. Every member has a obligation to give everything they have for the success of that mission." Thomas said.

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up and fight already." I wasn't in the mood to listen to Thomas lecture me about DATS' mission. Thomas finally connected a punch that only grazed the side of Nick's head.

"Was that supposed to be a head shot?" He asked. "I saw your fist coming from a mile away and tilted my head to the side so it would only graze me." Thomas, his fan-girls and Gaomon were stunned that he avoided the head shot so easily.

'He's predicting where my punches will land and countering them.' Thomas thought. 'This guy's a lot smarter than I expected.'

'Time to end this.' Nick capitalized on a opening and knocked Thomas down with a single punch. Everyone else saw that he had been knocked out cold and were stunned by this.

Nick then climbed out of the ring and walked over to Yoshi.

"I was expecting you to have a harder time than that, but you fared surprisingly well against Thomas. Especially considering he's defeated Olympic champions in that ring before." She put a band-aid on the spot that Thomas grazed earlier.

Nick and Yoshi returned to the main room before the others. A few seconds later, Thomas walked in.

"Oh boy." Yoshi commented as the two glare at each other.

The lights then turned off, red lights turned on and a alarm blared.

"Commander! There are Digimon signs in B-82." The blonde-haired woman said after assuming her post and checking her computer.

"Beginning Digimon analysis. Transferring to monitor." The violet-haired woman instructed and Commander Sampson saw the information on the overhead monitors.

"Looks like DemiMeramon." Sampson stated after seeing the image on the screen. He wasn't that concerned since Thomas already defeated it.

"These numbers can't be accurate. DemiMeramon is multiplying at a accelerated rate."

"Yeah. 36, 48, 62, almost 100." The violet-haired woman couldn't keep count much longer.

"And now the DemiMeramon has been left on his own to multiply at will." The commander informed the others which didn't inspire confidence in them.

"Sir, allow us to handle this." Thomas volunteered.

"We'll get it done." Gaomon added.

"Pursue and secure." Kudamon instructed the two.

"Allow me to help them." Nick called out so Sampson and the blonde-haired woman could hear what he was saying.

"Are you 100% sure you can secure the DemiMeramon without a issue?" Thomas questioned the two.

"I didn't finish the DemiMeramon off when I had the chance and now it's multiplied out of control. Allow me to fix the mistake I made."

"No. I'll go." Thomas replied back and walked past him.

"It's too much for one person to handle alone." Nick pointed out.

"We're fine." Thomas said back.

"Come on Gabumon, we're assisting them any way." Nick ran to the door to join him regardless of what they said.

"Stop right there." Sampson ordered causing the two to stop at the door and glance at him.

"This time: Thomas and Gaomon are the best team."

"Still I..."

"I know you want to redeem yourself after your earlier failure, but that is a direct order." Sampson said in a calm tone while slightly sympathizing with the two.

"The two of you should observe how Thomas and Gaomon operate." Kudamon informed them causing his partner to speak.

"Right. Yoshino I want you and Lalamon to go and assist." Sampson said to the two additional field agents.

"Yes sir." Yoshi said with a salute before racing out the door.

Thomas and Gaomon eventually arrived by a body of water where the tiny fireballs were just floating in the sky.

"Gaomon, now." Thomas instructed.

"Yes sir." Gaomon answered back. Three of them heard the voices and began to attack.

"Initiate Plan A." Thomas said causing the Digimon to take a few steps forward and counter their fireball attack.

"Double Backhand!" Gaomon shouted and formed a twister which dealt with the enemy attack. Seeing this caused the three DemiMeramon to fall back with the others.

"Plan A-2." Thomas said as he went with the Champion level. "D.N.A Charge!" He shouted after covering his hand with blue energy and slammed that energy into his Digivice.

"Gaomon digivolve to..." The Rookie shouted before feeling the transformation take hold. "Gaogamon." Gaogamon shouted once the transformation was complete.

"Initiate plan." Thomas instructed.

"Spiral Blow!" Gaogamon shouted and fired a clear tornado from his mouth. The attack took them all down instantly.

"Well done. Perfect teamwork like always." Yoshi said as she put the eggs in the back of one of their small cars.

"Three minutes and ten seconds. We beat our old record by over a minute." Thomas said to his partner.

"Sir, yes sir." Gaomon answered back since he was always glad to please his partner.

"DemiMeramon in Area B-17." The blonde-haired woman said through the com-link.

"Gaomon, let's go." Thomas instructed.

"Sir, yes sir." Gaomon answered back and after boarding the car they headed over to the next spot.

"It's as if Thomas and Gaomon never left." Sampson said as he and the others were watching the whole thing back at the base. The fan-girl still idolized that they abandoned the Japanese Division for a bit.

"You see? There is a huge difference between your team and Thomas and Gaomon's team." Kudamon informed the two that were assigned to remain behind.

Nick had nothing to say. He simply left the room and headed down to the parking garage where his Duel Runner was kept.

"You're not going to say anything to them?" Kudamon asked.

"Not yet." Sampson got the feeling that a friend of his would boost their spirits.

After leaving the building Nick had wheeled his Duel Runner outside and was tightening a wheel with a wrench to make sure the tire doesn't fall off.

"You look like you could use some cheering up." A man said. It was the same man who appeared after the last Digimon battle.

"What are you doing here?" Nick asked.

"Just what it looks like, barbecuing a fish for dinner. I'm having trouble starting this fire though. You see the flames keep dying out on me because the wind is so strong, and it keeps blowing it out." The older man explained as he fanned the flames for his fish.

"Is this only related to food? Cause I'm not in the mood for this."

"Well...if you learn to use the wind instead of fighting it then you can make the fire burn brighter than ever before. Harness power. Don't extinguish it." The elder informed Nick.

'Use the wind to my advantage huh?' Nick thought to himself.

"Thomas, Digimon signs in B-42." Sampson told the blonde.

"What? That's where they keep the gas tanks." Thomas said back and seemed a bit worried.

"We're still fifteen minutes away from the gas tanks." Yoshi said as she drove to the spot. Nick decided to take matters into his own hands.

"I'll handle this." He said through the ear piece.

"What? Nick." Yoshi said back to her teammate in a confused tone.

"Stay away." Thomas ordered.

"No can do. I can see the gas tanks from my current location." Nick countered. "I'll get there in less time than you and Yoshi."

"You're disobeying a direct order." Sampson shouted through his com link.

"The DemiMeramon wouldn't be there whatsoever if I didn't allow them to escape earlier." He argued back. "I'm going to end this...once and for all."

"Oh no." Yoshi said after he hung up.

"There's no way he'll be able to secure the DemiMeramon. There's too many." Thomas said since he still thought very little of the new recruit despite the fact he outmaneuvered Thomas during their boxing match back at HQ.

As soon as Nick and Gabumon got there, he analyzed the situation to determine the best course of action.

'Okay, if one of these gas tanks blows up it will be a big disaster.' He thought.

"Gabumon, strike them with Blue Blaster." He instructed.

"What?" Gabumon exclaimed in shock. "That kind of attack is useless on DemiMeramon."

"I know what I'm doing." Nick shot back.

"Is he trying to blow up the gas tanks." Sampson called out in shock.

"Now what?" Gabumon questioned after Blue Blaster connected.

"This. Follow us if you dare." Nick started running away from the gas tanks with Gabumon hot on his heels. DemiMeramon gave chase to the pair.

Back at base the violet-haired woman reported on the situation.

"He had Gabumon use Blue Blaster on DemiMeramon with the intent of luring it away from the gas tanks so the battle wouldn't cause a massive explosion." She commented.

Once far enough away, Nick got his Digivice ready.

"D.N.A Charge!" He shouted.

"Gabumon digivolve to..." Gabumon was surrounded by data as he grew double his previous size. "Greymon!"

"Horn Spiral!" Greymon spun the DemiMeramon into a cyclone with his horns, reverting them into Digi-Eggs.

"All Digimon signs have left the area." The violet-haired woman said as she double-checked the area.

"He got the job done." The blonde-haired woman commented in an amazed tone while Sampson gave them a 'humph' for what he saw.

Back at the battle site Nick carried the eggs to a already full car.

"I recall you saying I couldn't take on the DemiMeramon." He pointed out after opening the hatch.

"Don't get cocky. You just got lucky - nothing more." Thomas said back while looking away from Nick.

"Luck had nothing to do with it." Nick replied.

'This is going to be fun when we get back.' Yoshi thought sarcastically.

When they returned to HQ and sent the DemiMeramon eggs back to the Digital World, Thomas decided to get something off his chest.

"You disregarded a direct order that I issued." Thomas explained.

"Out of necessity." Nick responded back.

This continued eventually getting on Sampson's nerves.

"Stop fighting now!" Sampson bellowed which got everyone's attention due to the volume that he used.

"Uh oh. I haven't seen him this mad in a long time." Yoshi said as the others were recovering from the shout.

"Nick, Thomas - from now on you two and Yoshi will be partners." The Commander explained which surprised the three in question.

"He disobeyed my order!"

"Why would you partner me with such a arrogant-"

"That is a order." Sampson said to them causing the two to glare at each other for a moment and then look away.

"Oh man, this is the worst." Yoshi thought out loud.