Digital Phantom

by ZAFT Convoy

DP Rebooted: Twins Danny and Andy have their lives torn upside down when Danny gets into an accident with the Fenton Ghost Portal. Takuya Kanbara just wanted to have a normal high school life until he found an odd figurine. The three boys have to navigate high school, ghosts, and Plasmius's plans while trying to master their unique powers.

56. A Family Reunion

DarkFoxKit: Sorry for the late update. We kinda forgot to update, again. We really need to set an alarm for when it's time to update.

ZAFT: At least we remembered before mid-week. XD And this weekend is going to be busy for me.

DarkFoxKit: So we're finally wrapping up the Frontier arc with Tommy, at least for the time being. I hope we didn't scare off too many of our readers who were more interested in the DP aspect of the story.

ZAFT: I don't think so. They have been pretty good. :3 Anyways, on to the chapter! Don't want to keep them waiting!

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(Two symbols, one red, and one blue, spin before colliding and flaring with light as they do so, showing the title)

Digital Phantom!

(Shows several forms in shadow before they are revealed to be Danny Fenton and Patamon, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Takuya Kanbara, Andy Fenton and Lopmon, and Jazz Fenton)

Falling into destiny

(A swirling green portal is shown, followed by the sky and cities of the living world before a computer monitor is zoomed in on, revealing another world of lush greenery through that)

Reaching across new boundaries

(Andy Fenton appears with Jazz beside him. Takuya Kanbara appears behind him as well, the form of Agunimon appearing behind Takuya himself)

Let our stories come together

(Andy is shown with the form of Phantom beside him, his twin brother Danny Fenton behind the ghost boy)

Growing stronger

(Andy looks on at Phantom fighting before running to help the ghost boy by taking out his Fenton Rod)

Our pasts intertwine

(Six glowing orbs of light are shown, each of a different color (red, teal, lavender, dark purple, white, and yellow) before the red orb speeds towards Takuya)

Showing our future

(Takuya holds up his D-Tector before fractal code surrounds him, dissipating as fire erupts from it, revealing him as Agunimon, lunging out from the fire as Plasmius fires off ecto-rays at him, only for a glowing orange orb to appear around Agunimon and deflect the beams)

As we evolve

(The blasts speed past the screen as Tucker is shown with a Fenton Wrist ray being fired at a ghost, Kokuwamon shown behind him)

Let's go… EVOLUTION

(Sam is shown with her Fenton Lipstick, firing it at a different ghost, with Biyomon shown behind her)

As our worlds collide

(Jazz is shown beside Andy, the form of Lopmon behind Andy while a shadowed form is behind Jazz)

We stand as one

(Jack and Maddie Fenton are shown, with the Fenton Works logo behind them as it glows green)

Growing strong

(Ghosts are shown flying all around Amity Park as the shadowy form of Walker is shown atop a building and sneering down)

As we move along

(Danny is shown walking down the street with those closest to him appearing one by one; Andy and Lopmon, Patamon, Tucker, Sam, Takuya, and Jazz)

CHOU… SHINKA!

(Fractal code is shown before it dissipates to reveal Agunimon lunging out of the dissipating data, fire around his left fist)

Let's go… EVOLUTION!

(The group is shown facing down Plasmius, who looms above them with hands outstretched as a dark form appears behind Plasmius himself)

Nothing will stand in our way!

(Andy, Lopmon, Danny, Tucker, Sam, Jazz, and Takuya all appear with ribbons of fractal code streaming out from behind them, a swirling green orb behind the ribbons of fractal code)

Digital Phantom!

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Chapter 56: A Family Reunion

All things considered, Biyomon and Kokuwamon had taken Danny's half ghost identity rather well. They were a bit confused about it, but they didn't seem to think of him any differently than before. Then again, if Andy's theory about Digimon partners being a lot like their human partners was correct, then it made sense why Biyomon and Kokuwamon accepted him pretty easily. Now if only Patamon would come back… Danny tried not to focus too much on Patamon though, because if he did, he would just worry himself to full death.

After Turuiemon reached the entrance to the Forest Terminal, he degenerated back into Lopmon. Birdramon came in for a landing, and allowed the group to slide off of her back before she degenerated back into Biyomon.

"I hope we get the Trailmon station open soon… I'd rather not have to keep being used as a mode of transport…" Biyomon sighed tiredly.

"Don't worry, we'll get the Trailmon up and running again soon." Danny reassured Biyomon.

"Well, we're at the Forest Terminal, but I'm not seeing any sign of Takuya or Jazz, or even Tommy for that matter." Sam muttered.

"We just got here, they could be deeper into the Forest Terminal," Andy pointed out.

"I agree, we should look into the forest before assuming they may not be here," Kokuwamon remarked.

"So… we have to walk in the forest?" Tucker frowned. "Is this a good idea?"

"Sure, I doubt we'll get attacked while we're here," Lopmon said before frowning for a moment. "I think."

"You think, huh?" Sam groaned.

"Come on, the sooner we get in there, the sooner we can find the others," Andy said.

Sam sighed. "Okay, but where would we start looking? This place is huge!"

"We could start at Seraphimon's castle." Lopmon suggested.

"We don't even know where Seraphimon's castle is," Tucker pointed out. "We could get lost!"

"Unless you know where it is, like how you knew how to get to the Forest Terminal, Lopmon," Danny pointed out.

"Uhhh…" Lopmon sweatdropped. "I… um… don't really know where the castle… is?"

"You know how to get all the way to the Forest Terminal, but not where the castle is?" Andy deadpanned.

"Hey, I don't pick and choose what knowledge I get," Lopmon huffed.

"Maybe we can ask around." Danny suggested. "I mean… it's better than just wandering around and getting lost."

"Maybe those of us who can fly could scout around the forest?" Kokuwamon suggested.

"Let's not split up the group, we're not familiar with this area, and you might have trouble finding us again once we go deeper into the forest," Tucker suggested. "And who knows who could be out there? They might mistake us for hostile players. Pretty much everyone else we met did."

"He has a point," Andy agreed. "It's best if we stick together."

Danny nodded. "Yeah. Being in a group is better for us for now. But we do need to figure out how to find the castle as well."

"I'm sure there are some locals we can ask about the castle," Lopmon said. "We'll just have to ask them nicely, and I'm sure they'll know we mean them no harm, right?"

"Yeah, sure, asking them nicely would totally not make them suspicious at all," Biyomon sarcastically remarked. "That's like nicely asking someone where their family heirloom is."

Sam sweatdropped. "That's something I was going to say…"

"Alright, come on you two, let's go," Andy sighed. "It may not be our best plan, but it's the only one we've got."

The group began walking into the Forest Terminal.

I wish Patamon was with us. He would know where his own castle was. Andy sighed to himself. I wonder how Danny feels about Patamon right now? He hasn't really talked about Patamon much.

Danny did in fact feel bad about not being able to talk to Patamon, or even about him, but that was because Danny felt Patamon didn't like being around him because Danny was the ghost boy. Why does Patamon want to avoid me? Is it… because of what I am…? I… I just wish I could understand why he doesn't want to be around me…

I wonder if I should tell Danny about the prophecy? Andy thought to himself for a moment before shaking his head. No… it would just stress him out more. I think if anyone should tell him, it should be Patamon himself. I doubt Patamon would stay away from Danny forever though, so I'm sure we'll see him again before long. Not to mention Patamon knows he needs to come back to his castle eventually. Besides, I should focus less on some mysterious prophecy, and more on finding Takuya, Jazz, and Tommy.

The group found a few Digimon roaming around the Forest Terminal. The Digimon ran away from the group, intimidated by a group of players.

"Apparently this isn't going to be easy…" Danny frowned.

"Maybe because there's too many of us?" Tucker asked.

"That makes sense. The Digimon don't have a very good experience with most players…" Sam frowned.

"There's gotta be someone we could talk to," Andy sighed.

"Hey, maybe we can try that restaurant over there?" Lopmon pointed at a small looking building.

Danny smiled. "May as well. It's better than nothing."

The group headed over to the small building right away.

"Maybe they have some food we could afford~" Tucker grinned as he drooled a little.

"Do you even have any money?" Sam asked.

"I brought my allowance," Tucker huffed.

"Which is how much?" Sam questioned.

"Less than 3 dollars," Kokuwamon answered.

"Kokuwamon, you didn't have to say that!" Tucker groaned.

Sam sighed as she shook her head. "We can't afford to waste time eating. We are only going in there to ask if the Digimon inside has seen Takuya, Tommy, and Jazz."

"Come on, when was the last time we had a good meal?" Tucker whined.

"About a couple of hours ago? Otherwise Biyomon wouldn't have been able to digivolve and carry us all to the Forest Terminal," Sam pointed out.

"Although… I wouldn't mind a snack after that…" Biyomon admitted. "I use up a lot of energy digivolving and flying around carrying all of you."

"Come on, Biyomon, you're supposed to back me up here, not agree with the glutton," Sam groaned.

"Hey, I'm a hard working Digimon, what can I say?" Biyomon grinned innocently.

Tucker grinned. "It seems you're outnumbered here, Sam~"

"Shut up…" Sam grumbled.

"I'd like to get something to eat too," Lopmon spoke up. "I mean I had to digivolve and run all the way here, that uses up more calories than just flying."

"Excuse me? Did you have to carry 4 people and a metallic Digimon on your back?" Biyomon retorted.

"It still takes work having to work those legs!" Lopmon pouted.

"Must we really argue about this?" Kokuwamon questioned.

"Okay, guys! Calm down! We'll get something to eat and ask for information." Danny suggested. "Does that satisfy both parties?"

Sam rolled her eyes, but she just nodded. If the Digimon wanted to eat, she couldn't exactly stop them. Tucker just grinned as he nodded as well. The Digimon all nodded, and Andy was trying not to laugh at the situation. The usually serious Sam who always got on Tucker's case for thinking of food ended up getting outvoted by the hungry Digimon.

"I'm so glad I could amuse you, Andy," Sam huffed.

"Erm, uh, I'm not amused. Let's just go in, shall we?" Andy quickly said as he walked towards the door.

As soon as Andy opened the door, he was surprised to see a Digimon with light blue feathers on his body, and darker blue feathers on his head. He had pinkish claws from his wings, and wore what looked like maroon shoes with cream colored toes. He wore a red bow tie on his neck, and a golden crown on his head. His eyes were red and he had a yellow beak, but the most stunning thing about this Digimon was the large leafy foliage emerging from his back.

"Wow… I didn't think an avian Digimon could have foliage like that coming from its back." Sam whistled.

"I think he's more of a plant Digimon, kind of like Floramon than an avian Digimon," Biyomon said. "Of course, some plant Digimon could become avian Digimon, look at how I went from Yokomon to Biyomon."

"That's Deramon, they're Digimon who exhibit more traits of a plant than a bird since they like to relax in water and sunlight, they can't fly but they usually tend to believe themselves as nobility Digimon. They're also an Ultimate level, so try not to insult him," Kokuwamon informed.

Danny frowned. "Why is it that we always seem to run into the stronger Digimon…?"

"That's just our luck…" Tucker sighed.

"Hello friends!" Deramon spoke up in a friendly voice. "It's been a while since I had customers! Why not take a seat and try some of my homemade food? The first meal's free!"

"We can't deny free food, can we!?" Tucker smiled happily.

"What's the catch?" Andy asked. There's no customers here, yet the restaurant owner is giving away free food. Seems a little suspicious.

"No catch! I'm just trying to be nice!" Deramon said while smiling at the group.

"I'm all for it!" Tucker grinned as he took a seat.

Andy raised an eyebrow, so did Sam, even she wasn't sure about this. Tucker, Lopmon, Kokuwamon, and Biyomon were already sitting at the table.

"Come on, you two, how about we just enjoy some food then ask about the castle?" Danny suggested.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sam asked. "Just seems a little fishy to me."

"You two need to lighten up a bit." Danny rolled his eyes.

"You sure are a lot more chipper now that Andy is here. Before you'd be making a beeline to the Ghost Zone if you thought he would be there," Sam pointed out.

Andy tried not to blush at hearing that.

Danny tried not to blush as well. "I'm his twin brother! It's my job to worry about Andy!"

"I think that's more Jazz's job, given she's the oldest of you guys." Sam retorted with a grin.

"Erm… let's just sit down and enjoy ourselves, okay?" Andy spoke up, wanting to change the subject before it could become more embarrassing.

Danny, Andy, and Sam sat down as well. Deramon grinned as he brought out bowls of what appeared to be ramen soup of some kind.

"Is this ramen?" Tucker blinked.

"Oh cool, I don't usually get to eat ramen!" Andy smiled.

Danny smiled a bit before he sniffed the ramen for a moment before he gave a grimace. "I don't… think I want to try it… It smells a bit… funny…"

Tucker didn't listen to Danny and began to eat the ramen, only to grimace himself. "Blech! This tastes nasty!"

The other 3 Digimon slurped up the ramen, only to throw them up a second later. Andy and Sam, who hadn't tried it yet, put down the noodles and chopsticks and pushed the bowls away.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Deramon frowned. "Why would you throw up the food I so generously gave you?"

"That was food?" Tucker groaned, feeling like his tastebuds were burning from the pure disgust he had. "I'd take raw vegetables over this slop!"

"What is this made of?" Lopmon grumbled. "It tastes like sweaty sock water!"

Tucker felt like he was going to throw up. "Did you have to say that, Lopmon…?"

"Was this actually cooked with dirty socks?" Biyomon groaned.

"I must respectfully decline…" Kokuwamon remarked, the only one attempting to be polite about this.

"I don't get it. How could anyone be disgusted with this? I followed the recipe exactly," Deramon frowned.

"And… What recipe did you follow?" Andy questioned, glad he didn't assault his taste buds with the apparently disgusting food.

"I boiled the ramen in the warmest water I could find before adding the oldest onions I had to it. Then I used the moldiest vegetables to add the flavor." Deramon replied.

"Was… that an actual recipe?" Danny questioned, wondering if Deramon was where the term 'bird brain' came from.

"I think someone pranked you with that recipe…" Tucker groaned.

"What do you mean? I made it up myself!" Deramon stated.

"That explains so much…" Biyomon grumbled.

"Did you… even taste the food you make?" Sam questioned.

Deramon frowned and shook his head. "No, I didn't." He replied.

"Well, maybe you should." Biyomon grumbled.

Deramon took one of the bowls of ramen and lifted up some of the noodles to eat. As soon as he took a bite, he grimaced. "Oh, that is nasty!"

"Now you see why we didn't like your food," Lopmon grumbled.

"O-okay… I may have messed up a little bit…" Deramon croaked a little. "I'm gonna… close down the restaurant… until further notice…"

"Wait, before you do, we need to ask you something," Andy spoke up.

"What is it?" Deramon asked after he drank some water, which hopefully was just water and not 'warm water'.

"Do you know where Seraphimon's castle is? We're looking for some friends of ours who might be there," Andy asked.

"Or in case you saw them, two of them are humans like us. One of them is a teenage boy who wears goggles on his head, and a red jacket. His name is Takuya," Sam explained.

"The other is a smaller boy, who wears a white shirt. His name is Tommy," Andy added.

Deramon looked down in thought before he looked back up at the group. "I did see two humans who matched those descriptions a while back. They were headed just up the way from my little shop here. If you keep going, you will find the path to Seraphimon's castle."

"Thanks for the information," Sam said before she looked at Tucker and the Digimon. "Which is what we came here for in the first place."

Tucker, Biyomon, Kokuwamon, and Lopmon bowed their heads in shame. They may have outvoted Sam, but in the end, Sam got the last laugh.

Danny snickered. "You should know better than to just think with your stomach, Tucker~"

"Okay, I get it! No need to rub it in…" Tucker grumbled.

"Weren't you the one who told us to relax and lighten up?" Andy raised an eyebrow at Danny.

Danny blushed sheepishly. "I… guess I did…" He admitted.

The group left the restaurant, and were glad that Deramon decided to close it. Hopefully he would open it back up when he learned how to make some edible food. They followed the direction Deramon gave them.

However, as they followed the path, they came up to a big tree. They began heading up the stairs.

"This is… a really big… tree… with a lot of… stairs…" Tucker huffed.

"Yeah… but… this is the path… we have to follow…" Danny panted, wondering if it would be worth trying to use his ghost powers to just fly everyone up to the castle.

"I guess… the castle… being up… all these stairs… is a… defense or deterrent… of some kind…" Sam groaned.

"Well, if it is a deterrent, it seems to be working since no player would want to climb this many stairs." Biyomon, who was flying alongside Sam, noted.

"Not unless they were really determined to get up here," Lopmon remarked.

"Takuya never mentions having to climb stairs…" Danny frowned.

"Maybe there's… a shortcut to the castle… that we don't know about?" Andy wondered, feeling a bit tired himself.

They finally made it to the top of the tree, only for the paths to split.

"Oh great, now what? I don't want to climb more stairs only to hit a dead end or something…" Tucker groaned.

"I think… we need to choose the direction…" Danny muttered. "But which way do we pick?"

"I don't know…" Sam grumbled. "It's not like we can choose left or right and know which direction we can go in."

"Lopmon, do you have any input on this?" Andy asked.

"Uhhhh…" Lopmon pointed at the two sides. "Eeny, meeny, miney, mo…"

"Wah? That's not a real solution! That's just guessing!" Biyomon groaned.

"Well why ask me then? I know about as much as the rest of you do!" Lopmon grumbled.

Tucker looked at the direction Lopmon had been pointing in. "Well, Lopmon did have the right idea. Instead of just debating it, we should just go with whatever direction we land on."

"Then we head down the path to the right?" Danny asked.

"It seems like the best option we have right now." Sam admitted.

Danny grumbled before taking out his D-Arc. "Really would be nice if we had Patamon… he might know how to get th- wah?"

The D-Arc in Danny's hand suddenly glowed before a holographic compass appeared, pointing in one of the directions.

"Whoa, how'd you do that!?" Tucker asked, looking in awe.

"Hey… that's a compass," Andy noted. "But… I thought the compass only comes out if your Digimon is looking for something."

"Yeah… but it appears this is not a normal instance of that." Danny mused. "Maybe… the D-Arc is guiding us to the castle?"

"It could be… because the D-Arc is still a connection to Patamon…" Lopmon guessed.

"So even when Patamon isn't here, he still wants to help Danny?" Kokuwamon asked.

"I guess so." Lopmon mused.

"Well, let's follow the compass then." Danny suggested. "It may be our only lead to the castle."

The group followed the compass up the tree, and they came up to what appeared to be a blockage of leaves.

"Are you sure this was the right way?" Biyomon asked.

"It's just some leaves, maybe there's a path beyond it," Andy suggested.

"But we'd have to get past all the branches too, which would not be very comfortable. And dangerous given how narrow the path is," Sam pointed out.

"I could try to phase us through it," Danny suggested.

Sam frowned. "Are you sure, Danny?"

"Well, we don't have much of a choice." Danny admitted.

"Oooh, I can't wait to see what it's like to be turned intangible~" Biyomon grinned.

"I do not think it would feel natural…" Kokuwamon grumbled.

"Everyone grab someone's hand," Andy instructed. "We all need to be touching when Danny does his thing."

Lopmon got onto Andy's head. "I think I'll stay in my favorite spot."

"Hey, I wanna try that," Biyomon said before she flew up and perched herself on Sam's head.

Sam yelped. "Ow! Biyomon, your talons are sharp!"

"Oops, sorry…" Biyomon apologized before she flew up a little and landed on Sam's shoulder. "Is this a better spot?"

Sam sighed. "Yeah, much better." She agreed.

"Anyway, why don't everyone grab onto someone's hand and I will do my thing?" Danny said.

"Hmm… considering my height and weight… I believe I could get on my human partner right… here," Kokuwamon said before he flew up for a moment and landed on Tucker's backpack. "I can cling here, and Tucker would have a nice, straight back."

"W-whoa!" Tucker stumbled back a bit before he managed to regain his balance. "Geez, Kokuwamon… Your… metal body really throws my balance off…"

"I believe you would get used to it, you need the exercise anyways," Kokuwamon replied.

Tucker pouted.

"Great, see what you started, Lopmon?" Andy remarked.

"Hey, I think this is an improvement~" Lopmon grinned. "And we're all on you, so we don't need to worry about needing to grab your hands while Danny does his ghostly thing."

Tucker and Sam had to admit, that was a valid point.

Danny was grinning in amusement. "Okay, everyone! Sam, Andy, Tucker, grab onto each other's hands. I have Andy's other hand."

The three grabbed each other's hands.

"Okay, time to get us through that bunch of leaves!" Danny said as he then turned himself, and everyone else, intangible. Once the group was intangible, Danny led them through the brush ahead of them.

"Whoa, that tingles, and it's cold," Biyomon commented as they were going through the bushes.

"It is an interesting experience," Kokuwamon agreed.

"It definitely is," Lopmon agreed.

"You never really get used to it," Andy remarked. Kinda reminds you that it's not quite natural.

"But it's cool, you have to admit!" Tucker smiled. "I used to be able to do that."

"Too bad it was by a wish from a ghost genie." Sam rolled her eyes, having heard about that.

Tucker pouted. "Way to ruin the mood, Sam…"

Danny laughed. "Sam tends to do that."

"I'm just being realistic here," Sam remarked.

They finally got out of the bushes, coming up to more sets of stairs.

"Hey, looks like we got through it just fine." Danny smiled. "And no glitches. Maybe it's not so bad using some ghost powers in the Digital World."

"I mean to be fair, Technus was using them like crazy, and that's when the glitches appeared," Lopmon pointed out. "If the Digital World was that delicate with ghost powers, the world would've ended long ago."

Danny frowned. "Huh… I guess I should only use my ghost powers when it's absolutely necessary then."

"That may be best." Sam agreed.

"I mean don't you already do that?" Andy asked.

"Um… kind of? I haven't used them to battle the Digimon here, just to fly and transportation," Danny sheepishly answered.

"We can discuss this later, we should keep going," Biyomon pointed out.

The others agreed and kept moving. Eventually, they made it to the top of the stairs. They saw a huge, prism looking castle. There was a gate in front of them.

"Now what?" Tucker asked. "Do we have to go on some epic adventure to find a key?"

"Can your D-Arc unlock this gate or something, bro?" Andy asked.

"I'm not sure why you'd think it'd be able to do that," Danny deadpanned.

Andy frowned, debating on if he should tell Danny about Patamon being Seraphimon. However, he was spared from having to do that when someone walked up to them.

The person looked like a teenager who was about their age. He had short black hair and blue eyes, and he wore a dark gray hoodie with a maroon shirt under it. He wore black pants that had golden lines down the sides, and black and gold sneakers.

Danny blinked as he saw the boy. "Um… can we help you?"

"I believe it's I who can help you," The boy replied.

"Uh… who are you?" Sam asked. "And why are you here?"

The boy looked at Sam sheepishly. "Ah… right… I'm… Koichi, Koichi Minamoto… I… am staying here at the castle for the time being."

"Koichi?" Tucker blinked. "That doesn't sound like a name we'd hear a lot."

"I think it's a Japanese name," Andy said. "It's nice to meet you, Kojiji. I'm Andy, this is Lopmon."

"Hello!" Lopmon waved.

"Ah… Nice to meet you too…" Koichi said before he corrected Andy. "And my name is Koichi, no Kojiji…"

"Sorry about Andy, Koichi." Danny apologized. "He's not very good with foreign names, except for Takuya's."

Andy frowned a little.

"But as for the rest of us, I'm Sam Manson, and this is my partner Biyomon," Sam greeted.

"You can call me Tucker Foley, and… my partner is behind me," Tucker said before he turned around for Koichi to see. "He's Kokuwamon."

"Greetings," Kokuwamon waved.

"And I'm Danny Fenton, I'm Andy's twin brother," Danny informed. "I… used to have a Digimon partner, but he's off doing other things."

Koichi blinked. "That's… a bit unusual…" He noted before he blinked again. "Wait… You two are twins?" He asked, pointing at Andy and Danny.

Andy crossed his arms. "No, we're just clones of each other. Or better yet, Danny just shapeshifted himself to look like me because he's a lonely boy."

"Hey! Where'd you even get that idea!?" Danny grumbled.

Koichi looked sheepishly at Andy. "Sorry… I just… didn't expect to meet another set of twins. I'm a twin myself."

"You are? Where's your twin then?" Tucker asked curiously.

"He's busy right now," Koichi replied. "But… I think I remember Takuya mentioning his cousins were twins. Would that be you two?"

"Oh, yeah, Takuya's our older cousin," Danny confirmed.

"In fact, we came here to look for him," Andy said. "Have you seen him recently?"

"Yes, in fact I did a while back." Koichi confirmed. "He left with my brother and some friends to head to the TV Forest. There were rumors of a girl with orange hair and a Floramon as her Digimon partner in the forest."

"Was that girl Jazz?" Andy asked.

"We don't know, that's why they went to take a look," Koichi replied.

"I hope she's okay, we've been worried about her." Danny frowned.

"When do you think they'll be back?" Sam questioned.

"Hopefully soon. TV Forest isn't that far from here, but…" Koichi frowned a bit. "There are rumors of a strange phenomena that makes players or Digimon turn on each other and attack their friends."

Danny grew a bit pale in the face. "R-really? Why did they go to such a dangerous place?!"

"And why is that place named TV Forest? Do TVs grow on trees there or something?" Tucker asked curiously.

"Tucker, priorities!" Sam scolded.

Koichi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Well… I might need to explain some things to you… How about we go into the castle? It's probably better than standing out here."

"How? We can't open this-" Andy began to say when Koichi just walked up to the gate and took out a black D-Tector.

The D-Tector glowed for a second, and the gate opened up.

"... Is that a D-Tector?" Andy blinked.

"Yeah… It is…" Koichi explained sheepishly. "I… happen to be a Legendary Warrior like Takuya…"

"Another Legendary Warrior?! Wow! We must be getting lucky, because we've met a few Legendary Warriors so far!" Lopmon grinned.

"Are you sure you should be telling us this though?" Sam asked. "I mean Takuya never told us, we just sort of found out."

"Not that we would do anything bad with the information," Tucker cleared up.

"Come on, is it that shocking after Danny's revelation of being half-" Biyomon began to say when Sam quickly covered her beak.

"We need to teach you guys when not to say something…" Andy groaned.

Koichi blinked. "Danny is half? Half of what?"

"Half exhausted from climbing so many stairs." Tucker clarified. "I swear, this place needs an elevator to get to the castle."

"Y-yeah, in fact, I think we're all half exhausted from that!" Danny quickly added.

"Is that so?" Koichi replied as he looked at them.

Andy was rubbing his face, feeling like they could've handled that better.

"Um… how about you just lead us in? We'd like to hear your story and all that," Lopmon spoke up, hoping to make things less awkward.

Koichi nodded before smiling a bit. "Okay, just follow me, everyone."

Everyone followed the older teen as he led them to the castle's door. There was a KnightChessmon guarding the door, though after Koichi showed himself, the KnightChessmon did a quick scan of the group to make sure they didn't have anything dangerous on them. The KnightChessmon looked at Lopmon for a moment, seeming a bit confused.

"Is something wrong?" Lopmon asked.

"Aren't you… Master Cherubimon?" KnightChessmon asked.

"Uh… no? I'm just Lopmon," Lopmon answered.

"... My apologies then," KnightChessmon replied, still seeming confused, but allowed the group to pass.

Koichi led them into the castle. "Here we are… Seraphimon's castle. This is my home away from home when I come to the Digital World."

"This is quite the nice place you got here," Tucker whistled as he looked around.

"Careful, this is a sacred place, I would advise you be respectful," Kokuwamon warned.

"Is this Seraphimon Digimon here at all?" Danny asked.

"Danny, be a little more respectful to Lord Seraphimon," Biyomon hissed.

"Sorry," Danny sheepishly replied.

Andy and Lopmon, being the only duo in the group to know about Patamon's true identity, were trying to hold back their laughter at the irony of the situation.

"No, as far as I know, Seraphimon is in hiding, as is Ophanimon." Koichi replied. "I haven't really seen him around at all to be honest. The only Digimon I've met that was close to Seraphimon is Sorcermon."

"We've been hearing about how these two Celestial Digimon went into hiding after one of them got killed by some really strong players," Sam remarked. "But how exactly did they go into hiding? Did they go into another world? Are they hiding at some far away land the players wouldn't think to go to? The Digital World kind of needs at least one of them in order to open up the Trailmon station."

Koichi paused for a moment. "I suppose I could tell you, since you already know about some humans being Legendary Warriors, and you've been trusted by them."

The group curiously looked at Koichi.

"You see… in order for the Celestial Digimon to hide themselves… they had to die," Koichi grimly stated.

"Wait… what?! How the heck does that work?!" Danny exclaimed.

Whatever answer Andy had been expecting, it wasn't that one.

"They really had to die?" Andy asked.

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Lopmon frowned.

"Yeah, I mean… wouldn't they just get reborn as babies without their memories?" Tucker asked. "Wouldn't that just make things worse?"

"Celestial Digimon have a powerful spell casted on them so they would never forget their past lives when they reincarnate," Koichi explained. "But they would usually have to work their way back up to their previous forms and power. And in order to keep these players from finding them and identifying them, they needed to lose their power and majestic aura, and hide among the rest of the Digimon. The best way to do that was to have them die and reborn as Digi-Eggs. Sorcermon took care of Seraphimon's egg until he hatched, while Kyuubimon, Ophanimon's assistant, took care of her egg. It was the only way to ensure the players didn't find them so easily."

Danny frowned. While it did sound like a drastic thing to do, if what Koichi was saying had any truth to it, it was also a very ingenious way to hide themselves. "That's… very disturbing, if not clever."

"What about the Celestial Digimon who died by the hands of the players?" Sam asked. "Is he just lost forever?"

"Yeah, we haven't really heard anyone talk about the Celestial Digimon who fell to the players other than he summoned the rogue Legendary Warriors to try to get rid of all players," Tucker said. "Not a very good first impression if you ask me."

Biyomon and Kokuwamon sweatdropped at Tucker's comment.

"You mean Cherubimon?" Koichi frowned as he glanced at Lopmon on Andy's head for a moment. "Last I heard, his egg went back to Primary Village as all Digi-Eggs usually did when they had nowhere else to go."

"So no one found Cherubimon's Digi-Egg?" Sam asked.

"No, as far as I know." Koichi replied. "I'm sorry I can't give you much more information."

"So we don't have anyone we could ask to open up the Trailmon station?" Danny frowned.

"Well…" Koichi hesitated. "It would be a waste for all of your hard work to not bear any fruit, right? I think the next best thing is to ask Sorcermon. He's been temporarily put in charge until Seraphimon is able to take his place back on one of the thrones."

"So we just need to ask Sorcermon?" Tucker asked before he grinned. "Awesome! Now we won't have to walk everywhere anymore!"

"And I won't have to keep flying you guys everywhere," Biyomon sighed in relief.

"After you talk to Sorcermon, you're welcome to stay here for a while. Takuya, Tommy, and the others will come back here soon," Koichi offered.

"That's fine by me, I rather not have to walk around searching for them blindly," Andy said in relief.

"But what about that dangerous rumor at TV Forest?" Danny asked.

"I called Koji earlier, he's with Takuya and Tommy. They sounded like they were okay, and that they were coming back soon. So they likely already handled it," Koichi assured.

"And I'm guessing they're all Legendary Warriors too?" Andy asked.

"Except for Tommy, that would be correct," Koichi confirmed.

"Wow… What are the odds that we would meet all the human Legendary Warriors in one place?" Sam whistled.

"Either our luck is really good, or really bad, because we meet so many powerful enemies." Danny sweatdropped.

"I believe there is something we are forgetting," Kokuwamon spoke up. "Wasn't it about that potential Spirit at the Autumn Leaf Fair?"

"Oh, that's right!" Tucker realized. "Koichi, do you play video games?"

"No, I'm usually too busy with chores and homework at home, and then I usually come here," Koichi answered.

"Then… there might be a chance Tommy could be a Legendary Warrior, if what we think is correct," Sam said.

"What?" Andy, Danny, Lopmon, and Koichi all asked at once.

"Can you explain, please?" Koichi asked.

"When Sam, Biyomon, Kokuwamon, and I were looking for information on a friend's location at the Autumn Leaf Fair, Sam and I came across what seemed to be a figurine." Tucker explained. "The Datamon in charge of the stall there has a video game that Sam and I could not beat. He said the prize was waiting for the one who could beat the game, and this prize appears to be a Spirit."

"Though we're not entirely sure, we're just speculating on what we've seen," Sam added.

"We did sense a sort of power to it, but it felt sealed and suppressed," Kokuwamon stated.

Koichi began thinking. "Hmm… that's odd. We've already gotten an account for all 10 Legendary Warrior Spirits."

"You do?" Lopmon blinked.

"Yeah. There's the rogue Warriors, who consist of Earth, Water, Wood, and Steel. Then there's us… I'm the Warrior of Darkness. Koji's the Warrior of Light. Zoe is the Warrior of Wind. JP is the Warrior of Thunder, and Takuya is the Warrior of Flame. There's also Kumamon who's been seen running around, he's the Warrior of Ice," Koichi listed off. "So that makes all 10 elements."

"Then what did we see?" Tucker asked.

"Wait… aren't there 2 pairs of every Legendary Warrior Spirits?" Andy asked. "The Human Spirit and the Beast Spirit? I know Takuya has those, so I'm guessing all Legendary Warriors have those as well?"

Koichi nodded. "That's correct. I have my own Beast Spirit, as do the rest of us."

"Takuya found his separately though," Danny remembered. "He had Agunimon for a while, but he found BurningGreymon's Spirit recently."

"Do all the rogue Warriors have their Beast Spirits too then?" Sam asked.

"We can only assume so, since two of them had already shown they have their Beast Spirits," Koichi pointed out.

"Yeah, we saw Grumblemon becoming Gigasmon, and Arbormon turning into Petaldramon. Though Petaldramon might not have much upstairs if you know what I mean since he mistook me for the one who summoned him," Lopmon remarked.

"Ah… you saw Arbormon becoming a Beast Form?" Koichi frowned. "The others only reported Mercurymon using a Beast Form… so if we count Arbormon, that makes 3."

"None of us have seen Mercurymon yet…" Danny frowned.

"And you'd better hope you don't." Koichi said somberly. "He's considered the leader of the rogue Warriors for a reason. He's extremely manipulative and cunning, not to mention he can make you your own worst enemy if you're not careful."

"He definitely sounds dangerous." Sam frowned.

"Well… we don't have to worry about him here, right?" Lopmon asked.

"Hopefully not," Koichi said. "As for what you 4 saw… it may not have been a Spirit. I won't know until I take a look at it myself. But for now, how about we get you to Sorcermon so you can finally open up that Trailmon station?"

"Yes, please!" Tucker exclaimed, excited to get one of their goals accomplished.

"And maybe some food too." Danny added. "That Deramon's ramen stand really served the worst food…"

Tucker groaned. "Don't remind me of that… I swear I will hurl if I think of that place's 'food' again!"

Koichi sweatdropped at hearing that. "Yeah… I didn't eat those noodles myself, but Koji did, and he got sick for about 24 hours."

"I guess nobody told Deramon his cooking was awful before?" Andy asked.

"I'm sure they did. Koji certainly wouldn't have any issues with it," Koichi said. "I just think he was unconscious when he ate the food and couldn't voice his opinion on it at the time."

"Poor Koji," Biyomon shivered.

"I hope Deramon really improves his food before serving that poison again," Kokuwamon grumbled.

"In the meantime, let's go talk to Sorcermon. I can't wait to actually be able to ride in a real Trailmon!" Lopmon smiled.

---

After Koichi led the group to the throne room, where Sorcermon usually was, Koichi explained the situation to the Digimon.

"I see… Sounds like you've all been working hard to fix what the previous players messed up," Sorcermon remarked as he looked at each of the humans and their Digimon. "And I'm glad to see your Digimon partners are in good hands as well."

"We hope to do more than just fix up the Trailmon station," Andy admitted. "We want to try to be able to get the other players to see this world isn't a game, and to try to co-exist with the Digimon instead of trying to use them as mindless fighting machines."

Sorcermon nodded in approval of what Andy said. "That is a very good goal to have in mind." He agreed. "But it won't be as easy as it sounds. You are aware of that, correct?"

"Oh trust me, Andy has been stressing out about that more than anyone else," Lopmon said. "It got to the point he ended up sabotaging himself for a while."

"He means I understand it won't be easy," Andy grumbled. Way to make me look bad, Lopmon. Would you like to tell him what underwear size I am too while you're at it?

Sorcermon just laughed. "At least you have some idea of the enormity of the task ahead. That's a very good sign. Most players wouldn't even consider the scope of such a task."

"That's why he's hoping to gather as much help as he can," Danny spoke up. "At first it had only been him, Lopmon, and Takuya. But he gathered the rest of us to be able to help. And we're hoping to expand on that, the more people helping us, the better chance we have at completing our lofty goal."

"Then in that case, you might want to consider forming your own guild," Sorcermon suggested.

"I think Tommy mentioned that too," Sam noted.

"Really?" Andy asked.

"Considering you're going to need a lot of players to help you with such a task, forming a guild will allow you to provide them with food and shelter. You can put up requests from distressed Digimon on the wall for them to help. And it'll be a little more organized than trying to run such a party without any way to keep order," Sorcermon informed.

"And a guild would allow us to have our own base, which would make meeting with others online much easier." Danny admitted. "Imagine struggling to meet with everyone in random places. We're already stretched thin enough as it is, and a base of operations here in the Digital World would go a long way."

"But where would our base be?" Tucker asked.

"We can figure that out later," Andy said. "Once we get the Trailmon station up and running, we'll be able to pick out a good spot much easier instead of being limited to wherever is closest to the Digi-Portal."

"There is a catch to this, unfortunately," Sorcermon spoke up.

"What is it?" Tucker asked.

"The reason why the Trailmon stations were all closed down," Koichi spoke up. "The public story is because the players messed up the main station in the Flame Terminal, but that wasn't the entire reason. You've probably noticed by now that the 'full release of the game' for 'Ruler of the Digital World' had been delayed a few times now."

"Actually, we kinda haven't been keeping up with that since we could come in here whenever…" Danny sheepishly admitted.

"Though I have been wondering why there haven't been a lot more players yet," Andy remarked.

"Well… now you know," Koichi chuckled before getting serious again. "Anyways, the main reason why the Trailmon station has been shut down was to prevent the full release of the 'game'. Or whatever is being used to bring more players to this world."

"I don't get it, how does shutting down the Trailmon station prevent the full release of the game?" Tucker questioned.

"The virtual helmet doesn't bring you into a game world like everyone thinks it does," Koichi said. "I managed to get one of those virtual helmets to do some testing of my own with Koji's help. What it does is that it creates a data copy of your real body, and sends it into a random spot in the Digital World. But only where the walls of reality are weak, like at the Flame Terminal. Then the helmet sends your consciousness into that replica body until you choose to log out. The body will then disappear, and will only get recreated once the wearer uses the helmet again. However, there can only be so many of those helmets, and so many replicated bodies that can exist in the Digital World all at once."

"But… What does that have to do with the Trailmon?" Sam asked.

"Trailmon stations have the ability to link with the real world." Koichi explained. "If so many players flooded the Digital World, the barriers could break down. And then things would get really chaotic."

"What you're saying is that the Trailmon would bring these massive groups of players into the Digital World at once?" Andy frowned. "Why?"

"Whoever is making these helmets and sending people into the Digital World… I wouldn't be surprised if they did something to make the Trailmon go into the real world and take these humans into the Digital World," Sorcermon said. "If they're capable of making those helmets, and advertise the Digital World like it's some kind of game to all the humans in the real world… then I'm truly terrified to know what they are capable of with the Trailmon."

"The Digital World would be overwhelmed by players… and no one would be safe." Koichi said, his tone grim.

"So that's why the Trailmon station was shut down, to prevent the mastermind behind all of this from being able to flood the Digital World with players?" Danny asked to make sure he got this right.

"Correct." Sorcermon said. "It is to preserve the Digital World, and to keep both humans and Digimon safe."

The group frowned at this revelation.

"If we had known that, we wouldn't have tried to fix the Trailmon station at the Flame Terminal then…" Biyomon frowned.

"Yeah… it may have been wise to get the players to believe it was because of them why the Trailmon station was shut down…" Kokuwamon agreed.

"However," Sorcermon spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "There has been an unexpected development lately. The green fog that's been showing up in parts of the Digital World, and causing Digimon to go missing. This would severely hamper the mastermind's plan as the green fog makes it difficult for Trailmon to break through the walls between reality. And without the Trailmon running, not only is it an inconvenience for the Digimon living in this world, it hurts the Trailmon themselves. Not being able to run properly like they should, it rusts them up, and makes them feel like they have no purpose. I can't in good conscience let them continue to rot like this either."

"So we use that green fog to our advantage." Danny mused. "That could be a good idea."

"Or it could backfire on us." Tucker grumbled, remembering Walker's plans and how they had succeeded anyway.

"That is true, we don't even know who the mastermind behind all of this is, and what they're planning," Kokuwamon admitted.

"But we can't just do nothing either. Like Sorcermon said, the Trailmon are suffering the most from all the stations being shut down. And honestly, it would be really nice to have some kind of transport to get across the Digital World," Biyomon remarked.

Sam, Danny, Tucker, and Andy all looked down in thought. Biyomon, Kokuwamon, and Lopmon also began thinking about what they should do as well.

"Hesitation and indecision isn't going to get anything done," Andy spoke up after a minute or two. "We won't be able to get anywhere if we're too scared to take any risks. We've already come this far, it would be pointless to turn back now because we're afraid that something bad will happen if we go through with this."

Danny looked at Andy before he smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we can't back out now, not after all we've done to get this far."

Tucker smiled as well. "We'll deal with what comes our way, even if it seems like a bad idea."

Sam grinned in agreement. "And we will do whatever it takes to stop these players."

"And we have the Legendary Warriors on our side if something should happen, right?" Andy said, looking at Koichi.

Koichi smiled before he nodded. "We'll do what we can to make sure nothing bad happens to the Digital World."

"Alright… if this is what you truly want," Sorcermon said before he looked at Andy and Lopmon. "Then I have your permission to open up the Trailmon stations?"

"Uh… yeah," Andy answered, a little surprised Sorcermon was asking for permission. Maybe it's because we're the ones who suggested this in the first place?

"I'm with Andy, I think this is the best thing we can do for everyone. Let's get the Trailmon stations to open up again!" Lopmon smiled.

Sorcermon smiled. "Very well then. I will get the stations opened up as soon as possible."

Koichi smiled as well. "This is great news. It will be good to ride a Trailmon again. It's been… well… it's been a long time since I rode on one."

"Let's hope the stations will be able to stay open this time." Sam smiled.

"I never got to ride in a Trailmon either," Biyomon said. "I'm pretty excited to see what it's like."

"Same here. It'll be a very amazing experience," Kokuwamon agreed.

"For now, while Sorcermon does the paperwork, how about we get something to eat while we wait for the others to make their way back?" Koichi suggested. "We could use that time to exchange stories too. I'd like to hear what you've all been through before getting to this point."

"Yeah, I don't see why not." Andy smiled.

"You sure… bro?" Danny asked.

"Relax," Andy whispered to Danny. "We can leave out anything that has to do with you being a you-know-what."

Danny sighed. "Okay… be sure to let Lopmon, Biyomon, and Kokuwamon know that too, I'd rather they didn't blurt it out to him." He whispered back before grinning. "This should be kinda fun."

"I think we have a few stories that will make you laugh~" Tucker grinned.

---

Meanwhile, in the Forest Terminal…

"Are you sure it was a good idea to leave that man, Maxwell, in the TV Forest?" Koji asked.

"Don't worry, I made sure he won't use Tapirmon to make players turn violent against each other anymore," Jazz reassured. "He learned that lesson the hard way after he did that to Tommy. He promised he would work on Tapirmon's Nightmare Syndrome to just show the players a scary image he and Tapirmon can control rather than have the Nightmare Syndrome go directly into their minds."

"I hope so. I'd hate to go through that again…" Takuya shivered. "I would've gone and attacked the others as well if I didn't snap out of it."

"But how did you snap out of it?" Zoe asked. "Did you have some mental training before?"

"No, I just…" Takuya frowned. "I'm not really sure. I saw Andy in the nightmare though, so maybe he had something to do with it?"

"But Andy isn't here, how could he have done anything to help you?" Floramon questioned.

"I… I don't know…" Takuya admitted. "I just know he… helped me in some way…"

"Or maybe you just got lucky," Koji huffed.

Well… he could've been a lot more insulting by saying I had 'nothing going on upstairs', so… I appreciate that he held back at least. Takuya thought to himself.

"Either way, at least you didn't end up turning against us, that would've been bad for all of us," JP shivered.

"But at least it didn't happen, and it looks like everything worked out for the better… even if it wasn't the best way to go about it," Tommy chuckled.

Jazz frowned. "But my sense of time is skewed after being in the Digital World for so long. How long have I been gone from the real world?"

"Um… I think a few days…" Takuya admitted sheepishly. "You definitely missed the ghost invasion a couple of days ago."

Jazz's eyes went wide. "There was a ghost invasion?!"

"Yeah… I'll have to tell you about that when we get back to the real world." Takuya explained.

"How about we make good time and get back to the castle first?" Koji said. "We should be there soon."

Jazz and Floramon were a bit surprised when the group led them to a wall, they went through the wall like ghosts. Floramon blinked, but it reminded her of hiding trees. They followed the group into the wall.

"This is a short cut to the castle," Zoe explained to Jazz and Floramon. "One could usually fly straight to the castle, but this is also an easy way to get to the castle if you can't fly."

"Wow, and it's hidden to boot? I'm impressed." Jazz whistled.

"Yeah, I've been to the castle before, but I never found this passage that leads to the castle." Takuya commented as he looked around.

"The wall usually keeps out people who don't have our permission to enter," Koji explained. "This way it keeps unwanted intruders out too."

"Nice and secure, I like it," Floramon complimented.

"Ophanimon's castle has something similar." JP smiled.

The group went up some stairs and came up to what appeared to be a 'dead end'. Koji led them through the 'dead end'. Jazz and Floramon were impressed to see they were now standing in front of a magnificent castle.

"So this is Lord Seraphimon's castle… it's even better and bigger than I imagined!" Floramon said in awe.

"Well, it gets even better inside." Takuya grinned. "The place is huge inside, literally!"

"C'mon. We can't just stand around and talk." Koji stated as he began walking towards the castle's main doors.

Jazz and Floramon were looking around in awe at the big castle.

"The only time I saw a structure this big was at a rich man's castle…" Jazz remarked.

"Heh, I remember the first time I saw the inside of this castle," Tommy chuckled. "It can be a bit overwhelming at first."

"I wonder where Danny and the others are?" Takuya muttered.

Koji grunted. "They may be in the throne room, or in one of the other areas of the castle."

"Why don't we start looking around there then?" Jazz suggested.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't mind looking around this big castle," Floramon said. "I'm sure Lord Seraphimon wouldn't mind that."

"We could split up and look around," Zoe suggested. "We'll be able to cover more ground that way."

"Someone needs to stick with Jazz and Floramon though, I'd rather they didn't get lost here," JP pointed out.

"I can stick with her!" Both Takuya and Tommy spoke up.

"Hey, I'm her cousin, I should stick with her," Takuya pointed out.

"Well I traveled with her for the last few weeks, it might be best to stick together," Tommy stated.

Jazz sweatdropped at the two boys arguing over who got to stay with her. "Um… is it really necessary to argue over something so trivial?"

JP was trying hard to not bust out laughing.

"On the plus side, having 2 boys fight over you tends to be a good thing," Zoe chuckled.

"But one of them is related to me, and the other is… well, you know… younger than me," Jazz grumbled.

"I still think it's a good thing~" Floramon smiled. "It means they really missed you."

Jazz sighed. "I guess… I will admit, I did miss them both as well, but I still think it's not necessary for both of them to stick with me."

"Besides, don't you have to get home, Tommy?" Takuya pointed out. "You said you wanted to wait until Jazz was found… well, she's found, and she's here. So don't you think you've stayed here long enough?"

Tommy pouted. "I at least wanted to say goodbye to the others before I left."

"It's not like you're never going to see them again," Takuya replied.

"I know… but still, it does feel like I'm saying goodbye when I leave," Tommy sighed. "I've been here for so long, that going home feels like… this is the end in a way."

"It may be the end of one journey, but it's the beginning of another." Jazz said with a smile. "You're coming back here to new friends."

"I guess," Tommy replied.

Koji walked over. "I can take you to the nearest monitor so you can get home."

"Do I really have to go now?" Tommy asked.

"I know you wanted to see the others before leaving, but…" Koji began.

"Oh hey, I thought I heard familiar voices!" A familiar voice spoke up, interrupting the group.

The group blinked when they saw a Lopmon standing in front of them.

"Hey, Lopmon!" Takuya exclaimed with a big grin on his face. "I'm back!"

"Yeah, I can see that." Lopmon chuckled. "The rest of us just had some lunch while we were waiting for you."

Lopmon turned his head to the side. "THEY'RE OVER HERE!"

"Dang, that rabbit can shout!" JP groaned, covering his ears.

"Isn't that Lopmon…?" Zoe began to ask when Andy came running over.

"I said not to run ahead!" Andy grumbled before he looked at the group. "Oh, hey Takuya! I see you found Jazz and Floramon!"

"Yep! Although, it was kinda tense in the TV Forest for a while." Takuya explained. "But we did find her, and she's safe."

"As safe as I could be in a hidden village in the TV Forest." Jazz admitted.

Jazz then ran over to Andy and grabbed him in a hug. "I missed you… it's been a while since I saw you, you know…"

"I… missed you too… Danny and I had been worried about you…" Andy replied. "Can you… not hug so tight? It's kinda hard to breathe…"

"She did the same to me…" Takuya admitted sheepishly.

Jazz ignored Takuya's comment in favor of hugging Andy some more instead.

Floramon grinned. "Aww, this is adorable~"

"Looks kinda uncomfortable…" Lopmon remarked.

"Hey, Andy, Lopmon, it's good to see you again," Tommy spoke up.

Andy finally managed to get out of Jazz's bear hug to address Tommy. "Hey, it's been a while, Tommy. How've you been?"

"Well, it's complicated. But I'm hoping things will start to get better soon," Tommy answered.

"That's good, I'd say the same thing is for us," Andy said before he looked at JP, Zoe, and Koji. "Ah, so you must be Koji, Koichi's twin brother. I definitely see the resemblance. Though you two are easier to tell apart than Danny and me."

Koji grunted as he looked at Andy. "I guess so, since Koichi has his hair shorter than I do."

"Wait, you're able to say their names just fine?" Jazz asked, surprised. "Don't you usually struggle with foreign names?"

"Ah…" Andy blinked. "Yes, I do. Koichi made sure I learned to memorize their names before addressing Koji."

Lopmon started to giggle a little.

"You really struggle that much saying foreign names?" Zoe blinked.

"Yeah, I've been really bad with different languages since I was a kid," Andy answered.

Jazz raised an eyebrow. "Is Danny here?"

"Yeah, he is. So are Tucker and Sam, I was just following Lopmon because he said he heard familiar voices," Andy answered.

Tommy smiled. "So you're all here, that's good."

"Oh yeah, were you able to find Valerie and Salamon?" Takuya asked. "Considering you went into the green fog to find them."

Andy sweatdropped, knowing he was gonna be in for another earful soon.

"Wait, he did what!?" Jazz shouted.

"Ah… yes, I found them, and they're at Amity Park right now. Can we… uh… discuss this later?" Andy gulped.

"When we get home, you are in for a long lecture, mister!" Jazz warned Andy.

Koji was grinning. "Seems someone is in trouble."

"Aren't you also in trouble with Koichi for going into that same green fog a while back?" Zoe snickered, making Koji blush at that.

"Don't bring that up now!" Koji hissed.

"Well how about we go meet up with the others?" JP suggested. "This way we can meet up with the rest of our potential allies before we have to go."

"Sounds like a good idea." Zoe smiled.

Tommy couldn't help but smile himself. Seeing Jazz's reaction to Andy made him remind him of his sibling relationship with Yutaka. He hoped Yutaka wouldn't be too hard on him when he got back home.

---

Andy led the rest of the group to where Danny, Tucker, Sam, Kokuwamon, Biyomon, and Koichi were. All at once, everyone greeted each other, introducing themselves to the other.

"Aww, your partner is so cute, and I love pink!" Zoe smiled.

"I don't like pink," Sam grumbled. "But Biyomon's an exception."

"Awww, I knew you liked me~" Biyomon teased Sam, who just rolled her eyes.

"Hey, cool! You have a Kokuwamon as your partner?" JP asked Tucker. "That's awesome!"

"It's about time I got some appreciation," Kokuwamon remarked.

"Hey, I appreciate you. And yeah, I take it you know about Kokuwamon?" Tucker asked JP.

"I helped a few of them a few years ago," JP answered. "They also helped me find something important back then."

"That's cool. How much do you like technology? Or girls?" Tucker grinned.

JP blinked at the awkward questioning. "I like to think I like technology, but the… girls thing… Are you sure you should ask that to someone you just met straight away? I mean… I do like girls, but…"

"Wow, someone got the awkward questions." Zoe snickered.

"That's just Tucker being Tucker," Danny replied. "He can be quite bold when he talks."

"It's also probably why he doesn't have a girlfriend yet," Sam remarked.

Tucker grumbled. "Oh hush."

"I'm thinking about getting a leash for him," Kokuwamon remarked.

JP couldn't help but laugh. Though Tucker may not be all bad, he reminded him of himself when he was younger.

"So you're Danny," Koji noted as he looked at Danny and Andy. "You two really do look identical."

Danny grinned. "And I can see the resemblance to Koichi in you as well. It's kinda cool meeting another set of twins."

Koichi blushed slightly as Koji tried to act like he wasn't affected by the complement.

"It is pretty cool to see what it looks like from the outside. Koji and Koichi are the first set of twins we actually met," Andy admitted.

"Wait, you can say our names no problem now?" Koichi asked.

"You're surprised? I thought you made sure Andy memorized your and Koji's names," Takuya blinked.

"He was lying, obviously," Tommy chuckled.

"What? It's not like your names are that hard to say," Andy grumbled. "Don't make me feel awkward about this."

"You did call me Kojiji when we first met…" Koichi sweatdropped.

Koji, on hearing that, clamped a hand over his mouth to hide the laughter that wanted to escape him.

"That was one time," Andy huffed.

"Erm… so uh…" Koji looked at Danny. "Where's your Digimon partner?"

"He's out right now," Danny answered, looking a little solemn. "Something happened between us, and he decided he needed some space between us."

Koji frowned, but he didn't press the issue since Danny seemed to not want to talk about it. Whatever had happened had to have been pretty bad for the two of them to need space.

"So let's hope everyone remembers everyone here," Lopmon spoke up. "If we're going to be working together, we want to make sure we're all on the same page."

"So what is your goal exactly?" Zoe asked curiously. "We know you're friends with Takuya and Tommy, but why are you guys here in the Digital World?"

"We want to help stop the players and protect the Digital World." Danny replied. "We've seen how most players treat the Digimon here, and it's not pretty."

Tommy nodded, he had been a victim to that himself, although Sir Michael wasn't as bad as some other players, it still wasn't fun being treated like an unfeeling animal.

"Takuya and I were going to try to find a way to get the players to co-exist with Digimon, while overthrowing the players at the Rose Morning Star's castle," Andy explained. "We're not entirely sure how we'll go about it yet. But recruiting allies is a good way to start. And Koichi and Sorcermon suggested we make a guild so we can get more allies and have a meeting place with them since not everyone is going to be able to talk to us in the real world."

Koji grunted. "Makes sense since most of us Legendary Warriors live in Japan. A meeting place here would make our meetups a lot easier."

"Why is it always Japan that gets the cool stuff?" Tucker whispered to Danny.

Danny just shrugged.

"Yeah, but where would the base be?" Zoe asked.

"And what would our guild name be?" Sam asked.

"So, hold on, to be clear… Are all of you Legendary Warriors?" Andy spoke up.

The group before Andy nodded.

"We are." JP confirmed. "It's not exactly well known to others, since we try to keep a low profile, but you all seem like good people, so it's not a problem if you know."

"Besides, since you're gonna be our allies, it's important you know what we are," Koichi added. "It wouldn't do so well if we felt like we had to hide ourselves before spirit evolving every time we had to fight an enemy."

"Don't I know it?" Andy said before looking at Takuya and Danny.

Lopmon gave a smirk as he looked at the other two as well. Especially Danny, who kept his little secret from the rest of them for the longest time. Although it wasn't likely that Danny was gonna tell the Legendary Warriors about his secret any time soon either.

Takuya and Danny just shuffled around a little, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"That included me…" Tommy spoke up. "It was recently that we found out I'm a Legendary Warrior too, including myself."

Jazz looked at Tommy in surprise. "Really? That white bear Digimon I saw was you?"

"No, it was a gummy bear," Tommy sarcastically said. "Yeah, that was me. My Digimon's name is Kumamon, who's apparently the Warrior of Ice."

"Huh… I didn't know you could become a Digimon," Lopmon said.

"Neither did I… if I had known, I wouldn't have sent Jazz to go with you," Andy admitted. "Although, thinking about it… it's probably not a bad thing I did. You didn't have to go alone for a while. And… well I guess since you didn't have a Digimon partner, it probably should've been a sign."

"Yeah… I guess it's pretty obvious in hindsight. But I didn't think I was worthy enough to be picked by a Legendary Warrior myself," Tommy admitted. "And having Jazz and Floramon around was good. It made me realize not all players are bad."

Danny smiled. "So it seems things worked out anyway, despite the rough patches."

"Yeah… I guess it did." Takuya agreed, smiling sheepishly as well. Although he was not going to tell Jazz about what he had done to poor Tommy, no way.

"Getting back on topic," Sam spoke up.

"Right," Andy said. "Well, we would need to make the guild an easy point for us to go to. I was thinking the Flame Terminal could be a good spot, but isn't that where a lot of players will be coming in from?"

"That's true." Danny admitted. "We don't want the players to just take over if they keep coming in through there."

Everyone was silent in thought for a while before Takuya had a crazy idea that just refused to leave him alone.

"Well, since we all seem to keep coming here, why not use Seraphimon's castle?" Takuya suggested. "I mean, this is where I first arrived and met the other Legendary Warriors, right? And now you guys have been here as well, so… What do you all think?"

"Is that a good idea? This place is supposed to be a sacred place for a Celestial Digimon," Biyomon asked in concern.

"Yeah, what if Seraphimon would get mad at us turning this place into a guild?" Sam asked.

"I'd rather not face a Celestial Digimon's wrath for not asking permission first at least," Tucker agreed.

"And would the other Digimon be okay with it?" Kokuwamon asked.

"Takuya might be onto something though," Tommy and Andy said at the same time.

"Stop that!" Both of them grumbled at each other.

"Andy, you and I are supposed to be the twins here, not you and Tommy," Danny sweatdropped.

Lopmon was just laughing now. "They did this before when they met too!"

Danny sweatdropped again. "Great, I guess now I'm a triplet…"

"You go first," Tommy finally relented.

"Thanks," Andy replied before speaking up. "Takuya may not be wrong about this idea. I don't think Seraphimon would mind it that much if we used his castle for our guild. For one, some of you guys have to keep watch here anyways, right?"

"That's right," Koji agreed.

"And Ophanimon's castle's been overrun by green fog lately," JP said.

"That fog disappeared," Sam informed.

"What, really? Just like that?" JP blinked.

"Yeah, when we went to go see the fog, we saw it was clear," Biyomon confirmed.

"None of us are sure why or how though," Danny said.

"But getting back on topic," Tommy spoke up. "This also works in our favor because if we announce we've made the castle, one of the Celestial Digimon's castle, into a player's guild, then other players will believe that we took down Seraphimon. So they wouldn't have as much reason to try to invade the Forest Terminal unless they want to challenge us. Which we would easily be ready for as opposed to just infiltration since it's against the rules for players to take over a guild by not taking a proper challenge to the guildmaster."

"My… thoughts exactly," Andy said. "Are you sure you're not reading my mind somehow?"

"Are you sure you aren't?" Tommy raised an eyebrow.

Danny sweatdropped again. "Wow… those two are more alike than Andy and I are, and we're the twins…"

Takuya grinned at the explanation. "And we can easily come here because most of, if not all, of us at this point, know the location of the castle, so it makes sense as well."

Koji blinked before he grinned as well. "And it would also give us Warriors a safe place to come to if we had to retreat from a fight because a player was after us or something."

"Yeah, it doesn't seem to be a bad idea," JP agreed.

"But would Seraphimon be alright with it? And the other Digimon here?" Zoe asked.

"If you're worried about that, then allow me to say something," Sorcermon spoke up, walking up to the group.

"Hey Sorcermon," Takuya greeted.

"So you're Sorcermon," Jazz noted.

"Yes, hello," Sorcermon greeted back. "I've been put in charge while Seraphimon is in hiding. I don't mind if you decide to use this castle as a guild. Though I would suggest tweaking the empty rooms rather than the entire castle. Until Seraphimon himself comes back, it'll be best to keep the changes to a minimum."

Danny smiled. "I don't see why not then. Sure, we can abide by those rules."

Tucker was grinning now. "So we have our own base of operations here? Sweet!"

"Wow, didn't think we'd share an entire guild with players, it's almost surreal." Zoe chuckled.

"Strange things like this happen a lot with us," Jazz laughed.

"So I suppose this is a good place for us to stay while you guys are out," Biyomon remarked.

"We can also help spruce things up while we're here, too," Kokuwamon noted. "Make sure the bedrooms are to your liking and all that."

"That would be great." Sam grinned. "And at the same time, we wouldn't have to worry about you guys getting taken from us by players since we couldn't take you with us to our world."

"One of us needs to claim the castle as a guild though," Andy said. "According to the rules, one player will need to claim an unclaimed building as their guild to become the guildmaster. The rest will be the guild's members. So… the question is… who wants to be the guildmaster?"

"Maybe Danny?" Lopmon suggested. Considering who his partner is, wouldn't that be fitting?

Danny blinked. "Wait, me?! Why me?! I don't think I could handle that kind of responsibility!"

"Well none of us Legendary Warriors can make the claim, we're not registered as players here," Koji pointed out. "So one of you has to decide."

"One of us?" Sam frowned.

"Are we registered as players despite not having that virtual helmet?" Tucker asked.

"As long as you're human without a Digimon Spirit, you're counted as players," Koichi explained. "It doesn't matter how you got here."

"Yeah, so… I'm not gonna be the guildmaster. I may try to run for school president someday, but this isn't my style. I can work with tech stuff, but trying to make all the decisions for this is too much for me," Tucker sweatdropped.

"I… have to agree, it wouldn't be good to have you as guildmaster," Kokuwamon stated.

"... I hope that wasn't an insult," Tucker grumbled.

"Uh… what about you, Sam? Or maybe Jazz? You are the oldest one among us," Danny quickly suggested.

Jazz shook her head. "Between my school grades and the stuff with ghosts and the Digital World, it would be too much for me."

Sam was seriously considering the idea of becoming a guildmaster, as she was looking down in thought, pondering if she should take the option or not.

After a minute or two, Sam shook her head. "I may not be too bad for the leadership role, but I don't feel right taking over this place as the guildmaster. Besides, I think either you or Andy would fit the job better. Biyomon and I would prefer to fly freely than to be chained down by being the guildmaster."

"Jeez, you're acting like we're trying to pick who's going to be the next Celestial Digimon," Andy sighed. "It's not going to turn you into royalty or anything. You're just gonna be a guildmaster by name."

Sam shook her head. "I still don't think I should."

Danny sweatdropped. "I guess that means it's between me and Andy then…"

"Wouldn't Andy be ideal? He does seem to think a lot, and seems to be pretty smart," Takuya suggested. Kind of like Tommy… a bit too much like Tommy actually.

"And considering he has Lopmon, it would also be a good idea to have him be a guildmaster," Zoe suggested.

"Really? What does Lopmon have to do with it?" Jazz asked.

Before Zoe could answer, Andy spoke up. "Actually, Danny is better for being a leader than I would. I'd say I'm more of a tactician type, not a leader type. And you guys haven't met Danny's partner, he could be just as good for this role as Lopmon." If not better considering he is Seraphimon.

Danny sweatdropped again. "Seriously, bro? You're pushing for me to be the guildmaster as well? I thought you would be willing to be the leader here considering you were the one who started all of this…"

"I may have started this, but you've got more confidence than I do when dealing with people. Or at least, you need to build your confidence. I think there's a reason why you still have that D-Arc even though your partner left," Andy replied. "It just wouldn't be right if I became the guildmaster of this guild."

Danny looked down at his D-Arc as he took it out of his pocket. "I… suppose…" He murmured before sighing.

"If it helps, you don't need to decide this now," Sorcermon said. "You are all still free to come here to meet up whether this place becomes a guild or not. Since you are all on the same page, at least take this time to think about it rather than deciding right away. I'd imagine you have other business to attend to right now."

"Oh yeah, we have some news to tell you guys," Andy remembered.

"The Trailmon stations will open up again soon!" Lopmon blurted out happily.

The rest of the group looked surprised before Takuya broke the silence.

"Really? That's great news!" Takuya exclaimed happily.

"Is that really okay though?" JP asked worriedly.

"Yeah, weren't the stations shut down to keep the mastermind from bringing in a flood of characters?" Zoe frowned.

"That was the issue?" Tommy asked, surprised to hear about that.

"Yeah, you see, Trailmon have the ability to go between the real world and the Digital World," Koichi explained. "If the station runs again, the mastermind behind all of this will likely have the Trailmon pick up all those players and bring them here instead of just using those limited helmets."

"But, if we take into account that green fog, it might disrupt things and limit the number of players that can be brought to the Digital World." Danny pointed out.

"That's true, I wonder if the mastermind didn't know about the Ghost Zone?" Koji remarked. "Not many people did actually."

"I doubt they did, since most people didn't know the existence of ghosts, let alone a world of ghosts," Floramon remarked.

"That is true, I was one of them for the longest time…" Jazz sheepishly said.

"But it's good to also have Trailmon running again, I really didn't like having to either walk or be carried by others to get around," Takuya chuckled.

"I agree, we decided we will face the flood of players when they get here," Andy said.

"Besides, we do have the advantage, since they'll all be new, we can try to set them straight as soon as possible before they start looting, and raiding other towns," Lopmon suggested. "The only thing we have to worry about are the rogue Legendary Warriors, and the stronger players who might try to help the newbies."

Takuya and the rest of the group nodded.

Danny then grinned. "Hey, and since we're close to the Flame Terminal, we can intervene if any players may try to attack it again or something similar!"

"Let's just hope things will work out in our favor. I have a feeling the mastermind will find a way to sabotage us since we've been messing up their plans for a while," Koji stated.

"Do we even know who the mastermind could be? And why they're even doing this?" Tommy frowned.

"Unfortunately no, we have no idea who could be behind this. It's likely they're human though," Koichi said. "Most of the hacked data that created the helmets, the fake bodies for the player's avatars, and the items used to control Digimon like the slave collars, are from the real world."

"That's disturbing." Jazz frowned.

"And the 'why' part we don't even have any clues on." JP muttered as he folded his arms and looked down in thought.

"But that's why we're also investigating while trying to protect the 2 Celestial castles," Zoe said. "We're doing investigations in both the real and Digital World."

"Though because there were only 4 of us for a while, the process was pretty slow," Koichi admitted.

"We were doing just fine…" Koji muttered.

"Yeah, well, now you guys have extra help." Tucker smiled. "I'm great with technology, so I should find something if I look hard enough."

"And I have ways of gathering information as well." Sam grinned.

"You're kinda scary when you want to be," Biyomon chuckled.

"I just mean I'm pretty good at hearing gossip," Sam clarified.

"Ah, same here. Girls love to chat with each other a lot, and tend to ignore other girls who aren't a part of their group," Zoe said.

Sam grinned at Zoe. "I think the three of us will become good friends."

"Suddenly I'm scared," JP sweatdropped.

"You probably should be," Kokuwamon agreed.

"Oh, Jazz, Takuya, Danny, we should head back soon," Andy said as he remembered why he came into the Digital World earlier. "Mom and Dad have… plans for all of us, and they'll be checking in on us soon."

Jazz, Danny, and Takuya all frowned at this news.

"Do… we even want to know what these plans are?" Takuya asked.

"My guess is no…" Jazz groaned.

"Ugh…" Danny groaned as he remembered as well.

"I should go too," Tommy said. "I've been away from home long enough."

"Okay, then we'll probably meet back here later," Koichi said.

"Do we know when?" Koji asked.

"Um… maybe I can give you our phone numbers?" Andy suggested.

Jazz smiled. "That would be a great idea, Andy. This way we can get in contact with them much sooner."

"Wait, you mentioned a 'D-Arc' earlier? Can we see what that looks like?" Tommy asked.

"Oh, yeah," Andy blinked before he pulled out his D-Arc from his pocket and showed it to them.

The Legendary Warriors, aside from Takuya, all gathered around the D-Arc.

"Wow, so that's the D-Arc, huh?" JP mused. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"It looks like a D-Tector almost, just more… pear-shaped?" Zoe noted.

"That's an odd device." Koji said.

"It looks like it's got Lopmon's colors on it in a way." Koichi noted.

Danny took his D-Arc out too. "Valerie also has one."

"She's the one with Salamon, right?" JP asked.

"Yeah," Lopmon confirmed.

"Hmm… who did you say your Digimon partner was, Danny?" Tommy asked.

"Um… I never really said who my partner was…" Danny admitted sheepishly.

"Then who was your partner?" Koji questioned.

"Um… Patamon." Danny replied at last. "But as I said, he and I had some… stuff… happen between us and we needed our space…"

"Patamon… would he be the same one who had been with me for a time?" Sorcermon questioned.

"I think so, yeah?" Danny said.

Sorcermon frowned. "Patamon isn't an irrational Digimon… he must have a reason for this…"

"Do you think maybe the D-Arcs are…?" Zoe looked at the other Legendary Warriors.

"It can't be a coincidence. Those 3 with those Digimon in particular have the D-Arcs…" Koji replied.

"But what does it mean?" JP asked.

Takuya and Tommy were the only ones who weren't sure what they were talking about, but they seemed to be onto something.

"So, you guys think Danny, Andy, and Valerie having the D-Arcs means something?" Takuya asked, wanting more information.

"We… haven't confirmed anything yet," Koichi replied. "It might be best to wait on that before saying anything."

"So… uh… Tommy, why'd you ask us about the D-Arc?" Andy asked.

"Well, I saw Koji contacting Koichi with his D-Tector earlier," Tommy answered. "I was wondering if your D-Arcs could do the same with our D-Tectors."

Danny looked down at his D-Arc. "I never considered that. I just thought the D-Arc was a symbol of my connection to Patamon."

"Hmm… well we haven't seen what other features these things have," Andy admitted. "Perhaps we could try using it to communicate with you later. For now, let's just give out the phone numbers to be on the safe side."

"Yeah, that'll be a good idea," Koichi agreed.

The group exchanged their phone numbers with each other. Once they were done with that, Sorcermon led them to a monitor.

"Here, you can use this to get back to your world, just make sure you say where you want to go, and the Digi-Portal will take you there. Otherwise it will take you somewhere random, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to end up under the ocean, or in a volcano somewhere," Sorcermon stated.

"Don't worry, we won't make that mistake." Takuya chuckled before looking at his cousins. "Are you guys ready to head back to Amity Park?"

"Yeah, I miss home, and I really need a shower," Jazz said.

"I'll miss you, Jazz. But I'll be sure to help out around here until you get back," Floramon said.

"You're not coming?" Jazz asked.

"Unless you really need us, it's probably best we don't all go back with you," Kokuwamon said. "Your world isn't quite ready for us to be there yet."

"Lopmon is one thing, but if you all started showing up with these strange 'toys', your families might start getting suspicious," Biyomon pointed out.

"Besides, we'll be fine." Floramon smiled. "It'll take some time for us to let the other Digimon know you guys are good players and should be welcomed here."

"And you can keep in contact with us using your computers, right?" Kokuwamon pointed out.

The group nodded.

"Yeah, that's true." Jazz agreed with a smile. "And it… is kinda fun… to have a secret friend I can talk to behind my parents' backs…"

"Wow! Jazz is admitting she likes to be a bit rebellious! This is a first!" Danny said cheekily.

"Shut it, Danny…" Jazz grumbled.

Andy was snickering to himself.

"I hear you laughing, Andy!" Jazz pointed out.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to go then," Tommy said as he walked over to the monitor as well. "It was really nice meeting with all of you. I guess this is goodbye…"

"No, not goodbye… it's more of a 'see you later'," Takuya said. "So, we'll see each other again soon. And we'll both work on our Legendary Warriors' selves. Right, Tommy?"

Tommy looked at Takuya and smiled. "Yes, that's right, Takuya. We both have a lot of work to do. So… I'll see you all later."

"Heh, you almost sound like you could be his older brother." Danny grinned at Takuya.

"Well, that may be because I not only have a real younger brother, but also two younger cousins who get into trouble whenever they leave my sight." Takuya chuckled as he rubbed both Danny and Andy's heads.

"H-hey!" Danny yelped.

"D-don't do that!" Andy yelped.

Tommy grinned. "I also plan to come back to get my hat back too one day, so I will definitely be back. And I expect to see you guys as well."

Tommy pointed at Danny, Andy, and the others.

"We look forward to seeing you again, Tommy." Andy smiled.

"It'll be nice to see you again when we're not wondering if you should stay here or not," Jazz chuckled.

"See you later!" Lopmon waved.

"Yeah, be safe!" Floramon smiled.

Tommy turned around and pointed his D-Tector at the monitor.

"Take me to the Himi's residence in Japan," Tommy stated.

The monitor lit up, sucking Tommy in.

"I guess it's our turn now," Andy said. "What about Tucker and Sam, are you two coming back with us?"

"We probably should." Sam agreed. "As much fun as it is here, my parents will freak out if I don't get home."

"My parents are probably going to wonder where I am too." Tucker admitted.

"Okay… but you two better sneak out of the house, our parents would be wondering when and why you both were in our room supposedly all night," Andy said.

Lopmon hopped onto Andy's head. "Of course I'll be going too. Your parents already saw me after all, so it'll be weird if I'm suddenly not there anyways."

"You just don't want Andy to leave you in the Digital World." Sam rolled her eyes.

"Well, Lopmon has a point." Danny admitted. "Our parents think he is a stuffed animal."

"Okay, let's go. I don't want to be gone any longer." Jazz said. "Mom and Dad will freak out if we aren't home."

"Okay, then we'll see the rest of you later," Takuya said to the other Legendary Warriors.

"See ya," JP waved.

"Be careful," Zoe waved.

"Don't hurt yourself out there," Koji huffed.

"We'll be waiting." Koichi smiled.

Takuya waved goodbye as well before he looked at his twin cousins. "So, who will open the Digi-Port?"

"I think you should." Danny suggested.

"Oh no! No one is arguing about this. If you three can't decide, I will make that choice for you." Jazz said, obviously tired and wanting to get back to Amity Park.

"Okay, jeez, someone's impatient," Takuya sweatdropped. "Everyone who's going back, hang onto me."

Andy, Danny, Jazz, Tucker, and Sam hung onto Takuya before he held his D-Tector up at the monitor. "Take us to Fenton Works in Amity Park."

The monitor glowed before it sucked the 6 into the Digi Portal.

"And there they go," Koji remarked.

---

Tommy looked around. He was… in his own bedroom. While he had been gone for months in the Digital World, it looked like not much had changed here. It almost felt like he was in a dream, he had been in the Digital World for so long… but he needed to find his parents and brother.

Tommy ran out of his bedroom and began calling for them. "Mom! Dad! Yutaka! Is anyone home!?"

For a moment, it was quiet. Tommy began to wonder if his family went out… but then he heard a voice.

"Tomoki…?"

Tommy turned around, seeing an older boy coming down the hallway, looking very surprised.

The boy had hair similar to Tommy's with matching green eyes. He was older, and wore a green T-shirt with grown sleeves. He had a white long-sleeved shirt under it, and wore khaki pants with white shoes on his feet.

"Is… is that really you…?" The older boy asked softly, as if he didn't really believe his own eyes. "Tomoki…? Are you really here? Really back…?"

"Yutaka… y-yeah, it's me… I'm b-back," Tommy answered, trying to keep himself from breaking down from pure emotion at seeing his brother again.

Yutaka didn't waste any time running over to his little brother and hugged him. "Tomoki… we were all so worried about you… Where've you been?"

Tommy hugged Yutaka back, tears already falling from his eyes. "I… I…"

"Yutaka? What are you…?"

A woman and a man walked into the room. The woman looked to be the same one from the screen in the TV Forest, and the man had a similar brown hair to Yutaka, he had dark brown eyes, and wore glasses. He wore a blue shirt, and khaki pants.

"T-Tomoki?" The man asked in shock.

"M-my baby… is that really you?" The woman asked, gasping as tears were already filling her eyes.

"Mom… Dad… It's… He's back… Tomoki is back…" Yutaka said with tears in his own eyes.

The parents quickly joined in on the hug. They had been missing their son for a couple of weeks. They had been so worried that he was kidnapped, and the police couldn't find him. Tommy already broke down, unable to answer any questions as he had missed them far more than they realized. Of course Tommy didn't regret going into the Digital World, meeting with the friends he made, and while Kumamon had been the source of a complicated relationship with Tommy, he was glad he had Kumamon as well. But man, did Tommy miss just being back home with his family. He would never forget this moment, that even though Yutaka could be mean sometimes, he knew that his brother loved him as much as his parents did.

---

Titanic X: ZAFT: Um… please describe what you liked about the chapter and 'why' next time… ^^'

pokemon fan 1991: ZAFT: Oh, definitely we are dealing with Vlad the Fruitloop next. XD

DarkFoxKit: Truth be told, we haven't really thought of Vlad even getting a Digimon partner. We're already working with a lot of Digimon partners with people as is. But we'll see in the future if we feel Vlad needs a Digimon partner.