Hello, all. Welcome back. Guess what - we're finally going back to the human world this chapter! But first, there are some things needing to be taken care of in the Digital World. Let's get to it.

Enjoy.

Masato's heart pounded like a taiko drum out on a battlefield in the Sengoku Period as he nervously watched Naomi walk forward to the middle of the tatami room. It was a feeling he had experienced only a handful of times in his life. The last being when he and Makoto anxiously went up to the big board to see the results of their high school entrance exam. In spite of all that nervous tension, he and his twin almost instinctively knew that they had gotten in. The two of them prepared so thoroughly for the exam that they were confident of success. It was not a surprise when he saw his number on the wall.

This result, however, did not depend on how well he had studied.

Naomi reached the coffee table and slipped a piece of paper into a makeshift ballot box that the group had prepared that morning for their leadership election. Since he and Yuki were the two candidates up for the position of group leader, the two of them were not allowed to cast ballots for themselves. That was the normal and fair way to do it, but it almost did not feel necessary to him.

Just like when he was confident he had passed the entrance exam, he was confident he would secure the votes for leadership. He was older and more responsible than Yuki. The boy's display of pettiness last night gave Masato the feeling he'd win. The others had to see he was not ready or right enough to be the group's leader. Someone who needed to be selfless in every decision for the group. If that was not Masato word for word, then the Emperor was not really the Emperor.

Now that all the votes had been placed in the box, Master Gennai shook it several times before putting it back on the table. He then took the top off and surveyed each and every one of them. Masato's heart pounded louder.

"No matter the outcome here, everyone, I want you all to keep your heads," he said. Why did Masato feel that the master was talking directly to him? He should be saying that to Yuki more than anyone else. Master Gennai's gaze caused him to shift around on his cushion. "It doesn't matter who the leader is. Your success depends on all of you working together."

Master Gennai took a breath. Masato's anxiety did not lessen the tiniest bit. It only increased the largest amount.

"With that, here we go. The official tallies."

He reached into the box and pulled out one slip of neatly folded paper. He unfolded it and read what was written on the slip of paper. Masato took a breath.

"Masato," Master Gennai said, throwing it to the side.

His heart lifted. The first vote was for him. That allowed his nerves to calm down a bit as Master Gennai picked up the next one. Hopefully there were more to come.

"Yuki."

Masato chewed on the inside of his lip. Still, he kept a neutral expression for everyone else. He should have known better than to expect a clean sweep. Still, it hurt that someone thought Yuki would be better than him.

No matter. Everything was fine.

"Yuki."

Okay, maybe not. Still, it was early. There were still more votes to go. Maybe he was just getting the Yuki votes out of the way first before the rest came for him.

Another paper.

"Masato."

His heart lifted. Things were back on track.

Oh, how he spoke too soon. The next two votes were split before the one after those came for him. He was now ahead by a vote count of 4-3 with two votes to go. Excitement filled Masato's chest. All it took was one more. He could feel it coming already. He watched intently as Master Gennai read the next vote.

"Yuki."

Darn it! Now it all came down to the last vote. He and Yuki were locked at four votes each. He did not expect it to be this close. It should not have been this close. Wait, deep breaths. Be cool. It was going to be fine. Keiko could see visions and she saw him come out victorious. The last vote had to be for him.

It just had to be.

Master Gennai looked over the paper and licked his lips. He took a breath.

"By a 5-4 vote, the winner is…"

He paused. It took all of Masato's will for him not to scream out in frustration.

Just say it already!

"Yuki."

Masato's heart fell into the pit of his stomach. His whole body felt like it had completely shut down once he heard that word, like it was the code word for his body to cease its functions. It felt like someone had just punched him in the face, stomped on his stomach, and then reached in and ripped his guts out to add insult. The sounds of Yuki celebrating barely registered to him as he couldn't really hear anything now.

Did that just happen? Did that really just happen? His mind raced at a million miles an hour trying to make sense of all this, but nothing rational came to the surface. Now it was refusing to function normally. There was just no way this was possible. There was no way everyone else just voted for Yuki over him. It didn't matter that it was a close vote; the result was still the same.

Masato's eyes drifted over to meet Keiko's. He silently asked her what had happened. The look she gave him perplexed him. It was like she was trying to tell him to be patient, at least that was how he interpreted it. He glared at her briefly before looking away. Ichigo refused to look at him when he looked his cousin's way. Why? In that instant, he felt as though he had let everyone down. It was the worst feeling he had ever felt.

Like a warm blanket from out of a cold blizzard, he felt Shun's arm wrap around him. It took everything in him to not break down and cry. It was over. He was now just one of ten others with Yuki being the main face of their group.

"As the leader, I promise to lead this group of ours to victory at all cost," Yuki said as he stood up for everyone to see him. His face beamed with pride, showing a confident smile and fire in those crimson eyes of his. "Whether you voted for me or not, I will be there for each and every one of you." He flashed his famous goofy grin. "Now, for my first act as leader –"

"Hold it, my troublesome pupil," said Master Gennai.

Masato swallowed and gathered enough willpower to look up. What was going to happen here?

"I'm going to go ahead and rule that Masato be named second-in-command."

Masato's whole mood instantly picked up. It wasn't quite being the leader, but at least he was still in a position to lead whenever Yuki was out of the picture. He looked over at Keiko again, wondering if that was a possible change in what she had seen. Her expression did not change from before. Patience, her eyes told him.

"Hang on!" Yuki cried. "You can't do that! The group already made their decision! I'm the leader!'

Master Gennai shot right up with the speed of a bat. His eyes were narrowed in the same way they were whenever one of them complained about something.

"I am not changing anything, my trash pupil," he shot back, his voice shaking like thunder. "I am just merely making a strategic move." He then looked to the rest of the group. "Having the one who lost the vote be the second in command makes sense, does it not?"

The other kids either nodded their heads or made noises of agreement. Masato definitely agreed, and not just because he was the one benefitting from the decision. No one else volunteered to lead besides the two of them, so it would make sense that the one who lost got to be second-in-command.

Even so, Yuki was not backing down. It almost seemed like this was a personal insult to him.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I should make that decision on my own?" he said. "Maybe I had someone else in mind as my second-in-command."

Master Gennai chuckled. Masato saw him glance in Naomi's direction. Naomi, on the other hand, released a short sigh and waved a hand in the air to decline once again - one of many times after Yuki declared to the group his idea. The smirk on Masato's face widened. It all made sense now.

"Oh, I know you did, but I don't think it's the best decision for the group. Either you accept my decision or I make a motion for a new leader. You may have won the vote, but I am still El Capitan Supremo around here, my trash pupil."

Masato couldn't help but chuckle. He covered his mouth to hide it, but it was enough to make Yuki turn and glare at him. It was so fun seeing him get dressed down like that. For once, Yuki had nothing to say with that big mouth of his. He was frozen in stunned silence like he had just received an unfair red card. Maybe now he'd learn to have some humility, but Masato doubted that would happen.

The boy took a breath and looked towards Masato again. He saw the conflict and frustration play out in Yuki's crimson eyes. His bottom lip retreated under his front teeth. He bit down on the pink skin. Masato knew that Yuki knew he was powerless to refuse a direct order from Master Gennai, but was too proud to back down.

Yuki sighed and bowed his head. "Fine," he grumbled. "Masa will be my second-in-command."

Masato nodded to him. With all that out of the way, it was time to work together and make sure everyone was safe for what was to come.

Master Gennai smiled. "So you do have some sense in you after all. You continue to surprise me, Yuki."

"Shut up."

"As you were saying a moment ago?"

Yuki pushed some of his hair to the side and took a deep breath. He turned back toward Master Gennai.

"As my first act as leader, I make a motion that we all finally go home for a period of time," he said.

Masato's eyes widened. Going home? That was his first act? Sure, he would be happy to have some time at home – he missed his parents and twin brother dearly – but at the same time, maybe it wasn't a good idea to leave right now.

"DENIED!" Master Gennai said instantly. "The truce expires imminently. You are not leaving me here to deal with the barbarian hordes by myself."

Masato had a good feeling he was going to say that. And he was absolutely right. The ceasefire's expiration date was drawing closer, and then King Drasil's forces would be at the gates lusting for their blood. If they left now, it wouldn't be good for anyone.

"Come on, man!" Yuki shot back. "We have lived under your roof and your dictatorship for a month already. Most of us need a break." He took a breath. "Our families must be worried sick about us. Why can't we go back and let them know we're okay?"

"Now hold on," Masato interrupted. "Master Gennai may be who he is, but a dictator isn't one of them. Can't you see why -"

"Shut up!" Yuki shouted. "Sucking up to him just because he forced me to make you second-in-command isn't going to win brownie points with anyone."

"Yuki," Masato spoke in a low, commanding voice. "Start acting like a leader instead of following your emotions. If Master Gennai says it's better to stay here, there's a damn good reason. He's trying to look out for us."

"By keeping us here as hostages more or less."

Masato would've continued to try and talk sense into Yuki, but his peripheral vision caught his master's reaction.

Master Gennai's face darkened. His eyes had white hot fire shooting out of them. It was a face that Masato had not seen from their master in the whole time they had been here. Yuki must have really stepped in it this time.

"Did you listen to anything I just told you?" he hissed. "What part of 'the truce is ending soon' did you not understand?"

Masato was about to step in and smooth things over when another voice spoke up.

"He's right." It was Kazuma. The blonde had been sitting quietly the entire time, but the look on his face showed he was done being quiet. "It would be better for us if we stayed here. This is bigger than any of us, guys. Like Master Gennai said last night, our childhoods ended when we were chosen. It's time we accept our responsibility to the Digital World."

Masato nodded. He'd seen the blonde steadily growing from that shy, quiet boy he had known since he was born to someone that was becoming more sure of himself by the day. Being here seemed to do a lot of good for him. What he said was correct, but he looked around and saw a mix of feelings.

"I did not see anyone nominate you as leader, blondie," Yuki shot. Great. The hothead was back. "It's my decision and I'm sticking with it."

"That's not what a leader is, Yuki! You need to listen to what everyone wants!"

"How do you know that's what everyone else wants? Huh? How?"

Kazu said nothing. A moment later, he turned and sighed in frustration.

Before Masato could pat him on the back, he heard a female sob. Out of instinct, he turned around to see who it was to comfort them. It was Miya. Just as he took a step towards her, Ichigo started crying. Then Ryuji.

"What's the matter?" Masato said out of concern and overwhelmed with the sudden change of atmosphere.

"Second-in-command, my ass," Yuki snapped, attempting to shame Masato as Naomi and the others went over to calm them. "You're thinking like it's the military, and I'm trying to help them out. Not everyone is older like you. We're all just kids, but especially them. We need to see our parents."

Masato's heart dropped as he went over to hug his cousin. He didn't react when he saw Master Gennai stand up and toss the voting box to the other side of the room in frustration. This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

"I want my dad! I want my dad!" Ichigo sobbed. "Masa, please. Take me home. I just want to see my dad."

Masato's heart broke hearing those words. If there was any true weakness that he had it would be either Shun or Ichigo crying. It had been years since Shun came crying to him for anything, so Ichigo was the one it happened more with. He gently shushed his cousin as he stroked Ichigo's burgundy hair. The pain and desperation in that request could not be ignored. All of what he said before didn't matter as his urge to heed his cousin's request took over.

"I'm sorry, buddy," he said. Tears welled up in his eyes as he held his cousin's head against his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We'll go home. I promise. You'll see your dad soon."

Ichigo looked up at him hopefully. "Really? You mean it?"

Masato beamed. "Of course I do. Your cousin Masa always keeps his promises."

A giddy, childish giggle reached the oldest Destined Jedi's ears. What the heck was that? It didn't sound like it came from either Kenya or Ryuji. If not them, then who? Or what? He looked up from his cousin's head and saw a small white Digimon with purple on its ears and body fly into the room and land on the coffee table. It looked at them with wide, expressive green eyes that shined with innocence.

"Hi, everyone!" it greeted, raising a stubby limb. "My name's Calumon. It's nice to meet you all finally. Want to play?"

Masato stared at the creature stunned as the whole room became quiet. This was…an unusual development. He didn't know there were any Digimon down under the lake with Master Gennai.

"I would have gotten here sooner, but myself said that I shouldn't come to say hi. We thought about it, but I couldn't stay away any longer. Let's play!"

Still, no one said anything. Masato glanced over and saw the group's master sigh and raise a hand to his forehead. Did he…know this creature? And what did it mean by saying "myself said that it shouldn't have come"? That didn't sound right.

"Why can't I listen to myself?" Master Gennai grumbled before he turned his attention to the Digimon. "I told myself to not show myself to those kids — especially since now is not a good time."

"Myself?" Shiro asked as he cautiously scooted back a few inches.

"I don't usually listen to myself most of the time," Calumon giggled while waving hello to everyone. It was like the little Digimon didn't hear Shiro question it. "It's something we're working on."

"Stop being stubborn for once," Master Gennai growled, pointing an accusatory finger at Calumon. "You'll just put us in danger."

"We wouldn't put ourselves in danger, silly," Calumon said. It pointed one of its stubby limbs at the group. "Especially when we care about them."

Masato's grip on Ichigo tightened. He didn't know what to think about this, as odd as it was, but he was all for wanting to find out how those two were connected. Maybe they could finally get some answers since Master Gennai had been evasive about his origins this whole time.

"Care about us?" Ryuji whispered like he was trying to connect the dots.

Kazuma gasped and grabbed Masato's arm out of reaction. "They're one."

"What the f…heck?" Masato responded.

The rest of the group voiced their disbelief in unison.

"It's true," Kazuma insisted. "I sense it."

Calumon jumped up and hugged Master Gennai's chest, giggling with glee. "Uh-huh."

"Great," Master Gennai sighed. He didn't appear happy being outed, but he did hug Calumon with all sincerity. This was a strange, but welcomed sight to see.

"Wait. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute," Shiro said, rubbing his forehead. "Let me process this. You're him," he motioned from Calumon to his master. Then he motioned in reverse, "and you're him?"

Master Gennai grunted in response as Calumon answered in his stead. "Yep again!"

"Cheese on a cracker," Yuki breathed in disbelief.

"It's connected to the glitch, isn't it?" Masato asked.

Master Gennai glitched in and out. Profanity flew out like there was no tomorrow until the glitch stabilized again. Masato still could never get used to that. He covered Ichigo's ears until the swearing was over.

Meanwhile, Calumon sat on the coffee table the entire time with a wide smile, never once reacting to the glitch. When the glitch subsided, it extended its ears and flew over to Master Gennai, landing on his head.

Masato giggled. It looked like a bird sitting in a nest. He put his hand to his mouth to stop his giggles, but a few escaped.

Master Gennai glared at him. "Don't you laugh at me," he growled.

"Fascinating," Masato overheard Keiko whisper to Kazuma. "It's like we're watching what we all look like debating against ourselves."

Masato chuckled along with them. Keiko couldn't be more right.

"Myself decided to split us apart when this world became corrupted. It was the only way we knew how to have a backup in case King Drasil found myself. We were a few seconds short from avoiding the corruption fully as you can see. At least after you beat King Drasil, I'll try to purify him by merging us together."

"Stop telling secrets!" Master Gennai groaned.

Calumon giggled again, but ignored him. "I tried it myself's way by staying away from you to 'toughen you up' like myself would say. I think I'll stick around to translate what myself really means. You're Destined Jedi, but that doesn't mean a kind hand is uncalled for." Calumon bent down halfway to look Master Gennai in the eyes. It sounded like it was making fun of him. "Grunt if you agree."

Master Gennai crossed his arms at his chest, clearly not pleased. He eventually rolled his eyes and grunted.

"Yay!"

Masato looked down to his cousin, then back to Calumon. Perhaps they could get somewhere about going home with the creature here.

"Then why won't our master let us go home?" he asked.

"Because myself is afraid that King Draisil's assassin will track all of you to your homes after the treaty ends and kill you and your parents." Calumon sucked in its lip with a worried expression. "Myself worries every night for your safety."

Masato looked toward Yuki as the rest of the group voiced their new fears to the others. He could read it with no issues. This was their first time acting in unison and he was all for that compromise.

Yuki nodded at Masato and took over the negotiations. "How many days of the treaty is left?"

"Four days," said Master Gennai.

"Then we're requesting three days at home."

"I second that," Masato stated. He looked around the room encouraging the others to speak. "All in favor?"

Everyone raised their hands.

Calumon bent over halfway again to meet its other half's eyes. It was as if they were having a silent conversation. Not long after, Calumon pouted.

"Oh, come on. They need their parents. Besides, who better to protect them than the former Destined Jedi?"

A long, heavy pause went by for what felt like forever. Masato saw the conflict playing out over his master's face. He hoped that with everyone being united on this front now, and with Calumon present, it would force him to relent.

The man sighed in defeat.

"Fine," Master Gennai conceded. "But we'll send a messenger to retrieve them after three days."

The entire group erupted with joy. They were finally going home.

Masato and Yuki slapped each other a high five. Masato kept his hand clutched around Yuki's as the two maintained eye contact. He could almost feel they were getting on the same wavelength as the other. Maybe now that things were settled, it would be a better experience.

"We're the new group, but our parents are going to be involved," he said. "There's no way they're going to stay out of this."

"I'm ready for it," Yuki grinned. "Are you?"

Masato grinned. "Fuck yeah."

"Fuck yeah!" Kenya repeated.

Shiro and Ichigo laughed, but not everyone was amused. Even Yuki scolded his younger brother for using such language.

"Maaaybe you should tone down the cussing," Yuki suggested to Masato.

Oh, yeah. That was probably a good idea.

"Right," he sheepishly grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Let's go home, guys."

Matt blinked several times as he stared at his younger half brother. He had a hard time wrapping his head around what Raiku just told him. Had he really heard him right? The kids just…disappeared? It sounded so unbelievable. His son and the other kids vanished just like that?

"What?" he breathed, sounding a good mix of shock and disbelief.

Raiku bowed his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Matt," said the twenty-six-year-old. "We were too late. I didn't stop Kazuma in time."

Matt sighed and placed a hand on Raiku's shoulder. "It's not your fault, buddy. Don't feel bad."

He pulled Raiku into a hug and looked at his wife with a mixture of concern and fear for the kids. Meiko's face had gone ten shades of white. He could only imagine what was going through her head. They had been married for 19 years, so he had a good idea of what it was. Thoughts of his son and whether he was safe swirled through his head. Then his gaze shifted to Hiro and Mei – at least they were here safe and sound. Once he and Tai locked eyes, a wave of guilt washed over him. As much as he hated to admit it, the former leader had been right after all. Now their children could be in mortal danger.

"I bet you feel silly for not believing me," Tai said in a snooty kind of way that pissed Matt off.

"Now is not the time for that, Tai!" he snapped. "This is way bigger than some petty dispute."

Before he could say anything else, two pairs of footsteps rushed away. He looked and saw his wife and Ken rush out together. He was about to call out to Meiko for her to wait for him, but she was already gone.

"Right behind you!" Yolei cried. She placed little Kenji in Jun's arms before she ran out to join them crying, "My babies!"

Cody and Mimi then followed with just as much urgency, which opened the floodgates.

"Jun," said Tai, "you stay here and watch the children. We'll be right back."

Jun nodded, which allowed the rest of them to leave at last. Matt ran alongside his brothers as the three of them along with Tai, Sora, Davis, Kari, Joe and Izzy ran out of the apartment and down the stairs like a bunch of maniacs. It didn't matter to him if they seemed that way. His son was more important.

'Please be okay, Little Prince. Please be okay,' Matt pleaded in his mind. 'For your mother, but also for me.'

His group reached the bottom of the stairs, just before the entrance that led to the complex's courtyard. He stopped when he saw the people that went down before them were completely still. A nasty smell then reached his nose. Matt groaned in disgust as he plugged his nose while looking out to the courtyard. The whole area was covered in a pink substance. The smell seemed to be coming from that. He had changed enough diapers in his time to know instinctively what that smell was.

"Numemon," said Ken. Matt felt the sharp edge in his voice.

Yeah. That was definitely what it was. Those annoying little slugs were worse than monkeys when it came to throwing their own excrement around. That left the most important question unanswered. How did a Numemon get to the human world?

Before Matt could ask that very question, the pink substance vanished, along with the foul, pungent smell. Matt finally let go of his nose. None of the other parents said anything. It was like they were all shocked at what they just saw.

After a short, eerie silence, a strange but familiar sound came from the middle of the courtyard. Matt turned and saw a large purple vortex appear. His eyes widened. What the–?

Then the most shocking thing happened. Masato appeared as he stepped out of the vortex. Shun then followed. The Kamiya boys, Izumi and Ichijouji siblings, and Ichigo Motomiya came next. Then came his niece and lastly…his little prince. The younger blonde's clothes flickered before changing back into the ones he had worn when they arrived – a U2 shirt and blue jeans. It was brief, but just for a moment, he saw his son wearing a sand-colored tunic and brown pants. All the kids did before their clothes changed back. Where the heck had they been?

Matt's heart lifted with joy. Kazuma looked just fine.

A long silence swept over the courtyard as Matt and the rest of the parents gazed at their children curiously. The kids seemed pretty happy to see them too, maybe even more so. Based on the look in his son's eyes, Matt would have guessed that Kazuma had not seen him in such a long time. Why was that? He just saw him no more than twenty minutes ago before he and his wife went into Tai and Sora's apartment.

No one moved.

"My babies!"

Matt turned and saw Yolei run up to Miya and Ryuji. She embraced both children tightly.

"Yuki! Kenya!" Tai cried a moment after her. He and Sora dashed to their two sons.

Everyone else ran up to each child. Ichigo's wails echoed through the courtyard as he embraced his father, which Davis seemed to equal in volume. Joe ran past Matt to his two sons; his brother and Kari went to Keiko; and he and Meiko ran up to their little prince.

Matt could not hold his tears a second longer as he and Meiko hugged their son. Kazuma gripped his shirt tightly and sobbed into his shoulder. He was briefly taken aback by the reaction. They had only been inside talking for a few minutes. Matt pulled away to look the boy over. He was visibly fine. He then hugged him again. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. He was just happy to see his son was all right and perfect as the day he was born.

"Is anyone hurt?" asked Tai with a slightly panicked tone. He was frantically stroking Yuki's hair while his wife hugged Kenya.

"No, Dad," Yuki replied calmly.

Matt looked at Kazuma one last time. This time, something on his waist caught his attention. He moved over just enough to have a look.

His heart stopped. His blood froze. It could not be.

A lightsaber.

No! No! No, no, no, no! This wasn't happening! No way!

"Someone needs to start talking," Ken demanded. "Right now."

Matt looked around and saw that the rest of the kids had lightsabers too. This had to be a bad dream. There was no way his son and the other children were involved in this mess now too. He wouldn't allow it. He and the other adults had been to hell and back so many times. He would never wish that on any of their children. Matt wanted to wrap Kazuma up and run off with him to somewhere safe. Even so, he knew it was a hopeless endeavor.

"We're the new Destined Jedi, Mr. Ichijouji," said Masato. He let out a nervous chuckle. "Surprise."

Ken looked down sadly. Matt could only imagine what was going through his former protege's head. He felt bad for him.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice coated with remorse. "It's all my fault. I could not finish the mission back then and now you all have to suffer the consequences of my mistake."

Matt could not argue with that, though he disagreed that it was all Ken's fault, of course. They all were at fault for failing. Not just him.

"No, it's not," Matt insisted firmly as he hugged his son tighter. "It's my fault just as much as it's Tai's. We should've let you finish your job."

Matt didn't look Tai's way for confirmation, but he could tell by his silence that Tai agreed.

"One of you guys open a portal. Now!" Yolei boomed her command. "We are going to Homeostasis and demanding it transfer the power it gave you back to us."

Silence greeted her statement.

"Yeah, about that, Mrs. Ichijouji," said Yuki. He scratched his cheek with a nervous grin. "We can't."

"Why not? Do it. Now."

"Because Master Gennai says we can't. Something about the configuration of the Digital World or whatever," said Shun. "Homeostasis has been corrupted by King Drasil. We should–"

The teen stopped.

"Wait a minute. Why isn't everyone upset with us? We've been gone for a long time."

Joe shook his head. "That's the least of our problems," he said, stroking his youngest son's head. "After Raiku told us you all disappeared, that was the longest minute of our lives."

Matt watched Kazu's eyebrows scrunch in confusion.

"Talk to me," Matt insisted to Kazu to break him and the other kids out of their thoughts. His patience was wearing thin as he overheard all the kids talking to each other in confused, hushed voices.

"What day is it?" Kazuma asked.

Meiko laid a hand on her oldest son's head. "It's still Saturday, October 15th," she answered while stroking his dark blonde hair. "Why?"

Matt saw Kazuma's eyes widen in shock. He then looked over at the rest of the kids, who shared his expression.

"How can that be?" said Masato. "We've been in the Digital World for a month."

Matt stopped breathing for a few seconds trying to process this. He didn't need to look at the other adults to know they had the same reaction.

"But I just saw you guys disappear a few minutes ago," Raiku finally replied after what felt like an eternity.

Something was not adding up. Matt looked to his wife, brothers, and then to Tai. Last he remembered, the Digital World ran on the same time parallel as the human world did. Had that changed?

"If what you've said is true, Masato, then I think the Digital World has gone back to a state of running ahead of the real world timewise," said Izzy. He tucked his chin between his thumb and forefinger. "I wonder why that is. Did something happen that…?"

"And Izzy's gone," Tai joked, which earned a much needed laugh from everyone.

Matt then saw movement from all sides above them. Residents were out of their apartments looking down to see what was going on. His eyes narrowed. Some things would never change. They were still zoo animals on display for public consumption.

"We should continue this inside," said Matt, staring the residents down, as if warning them all to stay away.

"Agreed," said Joe. "Upstairs, everyone. We'll make sandwiches and take some time to breathe, but someone needs to catch us up on what happened after a quick break."

Davis scooped his son up into his arms, still hugging him tight. Ichigo's cries had lowered in volume but he was still sobbing into his father's chest. "Sounds good to me," he said. "I'll make ramen too." He then walked back to the apartment without hesitation.

Matt took one last chance to hug Kazuma. Despite his son physically being in his arms, he still needed that one last touch, that one last smell of his own child to calm his nerves and assure him that his precious little prince was home and safe.

"Dad, stop," Kazuma assured, "I'm okay." There was a pause. He then let out a sneeze. This time his voice was soft as he almost begged, "I could kill for your famous grilled cheese sandwich right now."

Tears welled up in Matt's eyes with a nod. "I'll make you the best grilled cheese sandwich you'll ever have."

What awaits the new Destined Jedi next? Find out next time on Destined Jedi: Next Generations.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. It felt like we were in the Digital World way longer than Alan Parrish stayed in Jumanji in all honesty, but life happened. Luckily, for now, we are out. Plenty of exciting stuff is set to come your way soon.

For my American audience, have a great Thanksgiving holiday this coming week and I'll see you guys real soon. As always, leave a review and subscribe. I love hearing your comments.

Tootles.