"How did we even get this far off track?" Izumi wondered as she plopped down where she stood. The gang had been following along the trailmon tracks, trying to make their way to the Forest Terminal. Somehow they wandered away from the tracks and ended up in a sort of desert area. There, they found a factory and eventually found Junpei's spirit while helping the Digimon there. Now, though, they were trying to find their way back to the tracks.

The sun was setting, and still the tracks were nowhere in sight.

"I can spirit evolve and see if I can spot anything from the sky," Junpei announced enthusiastically.

"Buddy, spirit evolving the first time takes a lot out of you. How are you still full of energy like this? Man!" Takuya plopped down next to Izumi with a huff, and Tomoki soon followed suit.

"I'm just pumped is all. Wait... you guys aren't seriously thinking of camping here are you?"

"Well, do you see any other options, hmmmm?" Bokomon inquired. No, Junpei sincerely didn't see another option.

"But there's nothing around... no stream, trees... nothing!"

"Yes, we see that." Bokomon huffed as he pulled his book out from his pink waist band. "You lot see if you can make some sort of fire. I'll see if there's any information about this area. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to stumble across a map."

"A map?" Izumi questioned. "Don't you know the way to the Forest Terminal? You live here after all."

"Do you know the way to all the areas in your world?" Bokomon's tone was frustrated and offended, and Izumi rolled her eyes as her way of answering.

"Right, ok, fire." Takuya pushed himself up with a grunt, then started off in one direction with Izumi following him. Then Junpei and Tomoki picked another.

Sometime later, the four returned to the Digimon with the makings of a decent fire in their hands. Junpei brought stones as well.

"If we make a circle around the sticks, the sticks can probably stand up a little easier," he informed them as he placed the stones around in a circle.

"Yeah, that's great and all... but what are we going to cook?" Izumi pondered, though her tone sounded more like she was reminding the boys that they had nothing to eat rather than asking what to cook.

"Didn't you eat your fill at the factory?" Bokomon mused from behind his book.

"We're growing kids! We burn up energy!" Takuya mouthed off.

"So it would seem... Well, the book isn't saying much about directions, but it does say there should be some sort of plant around that's edible. And some insects if you want to dig."

The resounding 'Yech!' told Bokomon the lot really did not want to dig.

"Oh, a plant?" Neemon asked from off to the side.

"Yes, that's what I said, you nitwit!"

"I think I found one!"

Neemon held up a rather large fruit that he ripped off a stem coming out of the ground. It was green and had small spines all over the thing.

"Hmmm, yes that's what the picture looked like."

"Then we just need to find more!" Tomoki exclaimed, jumping up to his feet.

"Yeah! Let's get us some grub!" Takuya agreed. Izumi was so exhausted that she said she'd just watch the fire that was glowing pleasantly before her. Junpei said he'd also stay.

Bokomon was looking through the book again, mumbling something or other to himself now and then. Neemon sometimes commented, though his comments earned him anything from a stern look to a waist band snap.

Junpei hummed to himself as he poked at the fire.

"You seem like you're in a really good mood," Izumi commented with a small, tired smile.

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"Any reason why?"

Junpei turned to look at her, a perplexed look on his face. After a moment, he shrugged. "Well, wouldn't you be?"

"Be what? Excited?"

"Yeah."

"About... what?"

Junpei smiled at her before looking back at the fire. "I was always left out a lot at home and school, y'know? I mean I don't exactly look all that popular, right?" Junpei chuckled. If Izumi had a comment about that, Junpei didn't give her enough time to say it before he went on. "I mean it's not really that I want to fight or anything. I'm a lover, not a fighter!" That earned a groan from Izumi. "I'm just glad I'm not left out this time. I'm part of the team too."

"Well duh, of course you are. We're all in this together."

"Yeah... thanks, Z."

Izumi was about to ask what he was thanking her for when she heard distant yells from Takuya and Tomoki.

"We brought dinner, guys! Get ready to chow down!"

It turned out you had to skin the fruit before eating it since the spines along the surface of the fruit were actually meant to hurt you. Neemon found that out the hard way. After peeling the skins off of the fruits, the group had quite a good meal. The fruit stored water, and it acted as both their food source and water source all at once. They really had gotten quite lucky.

This camp out had gone a lot better than the last one, and while they were all still tired, none of them were about to pass out like the night before. They sat around talking for a while, wondering how long it would take them to find the tracks again, how long after that to find the Forest Terminal.

"If my estimates are correct," Bokomon started, "then there should be a village not too far from where we left the tracks. If we can find them tomorrow, then hopefully we'll be able to stay in a town for the night instead of out in the open."

"That'd be nice," Tomoki commented, smiling at the idea of a real bed.

"Yeah, and maybe we can stock up on supplies," Izumi mentioned. "Not having to forage for food every night would be nice."

"And water! I've never had such a hard time staying hydrated before," Junpei whined, rubbing the back of his neck. There were sounds of agreement from all the humans.

It wasn't much longer before there was yawning. Junpei offered to take the first watch, still pumped from finding his spirit. As everyone settled down to sleep, he couldn't help but wonder if they were meant to stray from the tracks. It brought him to his spirit after all. Maybe it really was destiny, as Takuya kept mentioning.

Junpei was grateful when Takuya took over his watch. Sometime during the night, his spirit evolution finally took its toll on him, and he was wiped! He couldn't remember the last time he slept so well.