Marlene shivered and trudged her way through the front door of her aunt's apartment.

"Marlene?! Is that you?! You're home!" The woman came running through the house - straight to Marlene. She just...ran right up to her and hugged her. Hugged her really, really tightly. Then she seemed to realize Marlene's whole state of being. She let go and stepped away, staring down at her with alarm. "Marlene, what happened? Why are you- soaked, and covered in mud...?"

Marlene looked away. She looked down. Guilt, shame, self-hate and disgust...all of it rising now. Her own mind berated herself for it all. For her aunt, too, for causing this frantic fear in her. This shock and worry. Marlene's hand slipped into her pocket, and closed around the Digivice. And suddenly...the words blurted from her lips. Rough and shaking, and fast.

"Jumpedoffabridge."

Her aunt's face twisted into pure horror now, apparently just...taking her at face value - that she wasn't joking around. "Oh my- god- Marlene! Are you- are you hurt, are you-"

"I'm fine - just cold," Marlene offered, blurting again. Not sure where the words came from. After so long without words.

Her aunt just hugged her again, just as tight as before. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and dried off, let's- let's just...come on..."

Marlene obeyed without protest.

After a shower, then getting into clean clothes and toweling off, her aunt forced her back to her bed and wrapped her up in several blankets. The woman left her alone only briefly, coming back to her with a plate of reheated pizza.

Marlene extracted her arms and ate every slice of it, somehow finding the warmth and taste the best thing in the world.

She didn't know how she was even going to really...get better. Go forward, like she wanted to. But maybe just...one day at a time?

Anything to get out of this foggy...funk. This all-consuming lethargy and numbness that had plagued her the past few weeks.

Marlene was curled up in bed late in the night hours, when something woke her up.

She blinked into the dark, staring around her room in confusion.

Then she heard it.

A little thump nearby, and a high-pitched noise. A voice...?

Marlene slowly sat up, trying to locate the source of the sounds. She squinted harder, trying to see...

Suddenly, some dark shape crawled its way up onto the foot of her bed.

"Oh, you're already awake!" came a high voice - from that dark shape on her bed! "Finally, we can talk. I had to find a place to hide, but-"

Marlene let out a startled yelp, scrambling back on her bed and lunging for the bedside lamp. It clicked on, illuminating the room: and her intruder! It was a little...creature, like she'd never seen before. It was about the size of her head, maybe bigger. It was some strange, brown-furred creature with pink stripes. It had three horns on its head, big black eyes, and five stubby clawed fingers on short arms. Its most striking features had to be those huge, long floppy ears. They were as long as its body was.

"Don't be afraid - it's just me!" the creature said hurriedly, in that high-pitched girly voice. "Your partner, remember? Antylamon. Well, I'm not Antylamon right now - I'm Lopmon - but...my essence is still my own."

Antylamon...? Was here? It- she- had followed Marlene? Through the...golden light, then? The - what? - portal or whatever? "...Lop...mon?" Marlene's voice whispered forth.

"So you can talk - I was worried I was going to be bonded to a Tamer I couldn't even communicate with," Antylamon - Lopmon? said with clear relief in her voice. A really...cute voice...now that Marlene was sort of getting past the shock. "That would have made all of this much more difficult - for both of us."

"How...are you here? Why are you here? Why are you - small now? Why do you look so different? Are you some kind of shapeshifter?" Marlene was surprised at herself, again - at all the words spilling out so freely now. But it wasn't like...like she didn't want to talk about- to talk to anyone about- no, this was different. This was something she wanted to do, for the first time in a long time.

"I honestly don't know what happened," Lopmon said, sitting down and putting her tiny hands in her lap. Her long chocolate and pink ears lifted up before falling down gently again, like kites caught on wind. "You went into that light and I knew I had to follow you. But when I came out the other side, I fell into a river and I was in my Rookie form again. I haven't been Lopmon in ages; it sure was a surprise!"

"Rookie form?"

"That's right. We Digimon go through several forms as we age and take in more data."

"Take in data...?"

Lopmon nodded, her long ears swaying. "We eat, or train, or battle other Digimon to grow and absorb data. But it's a very slow process; it takes years for any of us to digivolve to the next stage. But I was persistent, and it paid off in the end. I became Antylamon. As Lopmon, there are just too many other Digimon that can be a real threat to me. I'm not that strong, even when compared to most other Rookies."

"Right..." Marlene said slowly. "Alright. But why are you here? Why did you follow me?"

Lopmon tilted her head, raising her stubby arms to join her claws at her chest. "Why? Because you're my Tamer, of course."

"But why? What is a Tamer?"

"A Tamer is a human whose spirit bonds with that of a Digimon," Lopmon said serenely. "They become partners, friends, and more, helping each other and fighting together. Although, it's been a very long time since the last time humans were seen in the Digital World - and probably even longer since a Digimon crossed over into this human world of yours."

"So there are others...? People with- Digimon...partners?"

"There were," Lopmon stressed. "But no one I know of likes to talk about them."

"Why?"

"Well...they weren't around for too long, but during the time that they were..." Lopmon trailed off, her face twisting into a deep frown. "Things weren't good for anyone. A lot of Digimon don't like them, even to this day. They're thought of as the cause of the old war. At best, most Digimon see them as misguided meddlers who tried to do good, but ended up...not doing very good things."

"What happened to them?"

"No one knows. One day, after a great battle, they all just vanished," Lopmon said. "The humans and their Partner Digimon."

"Antylamon...about that..." Marlene began. "How do you know I'm your Tamer? When you first saw me, you didn't really seem like you knew what a human was, exactly. But you just decided I had to be your Tamer? Why?"

"The Digivice," Lopmon stated. "I told you, remember? Only a Tamer is ever granted a Digivice."

"Okay, but how did you know I was meant for you? What if some other Digimon is supposed to be my partner?" Marlene pressed. "What if you stole their partner, and it's just a big mix-up?"

Lopmon's expression changed again. There was hesitation. Something...held back. Then- "It was destiny."

"Destiny?"

"Yes. We were both in that forest at the same time. The same area. How long was it that you were in my world before I came across you?"

"Barely a minute..." Marlene admitted slowly.

"See? It was meant to be! It's as simple as that."

"I...I don't think so. It was just a coincidence."

"Well that is where you're wrong, human. I know it."

"What if my true partner is still out there somewhere? What then?"

"Then at least you'll have me as a friend?"

Marlene stared at the little fluffy creature. This Digimon. This...Lopmon formerly known as Antylamon. "I guess...it can't hurt," she agreed at last. "But if you're going to be here, we need to be really careful about people seeing you. Humans don't react well to- creatures- they think look like monsters. Dangerous animals."

"I already guessed that," Lopmon said. "Digimon have to be as uncommon a sight here as humans are in my world."

"Right. So...for now...how about you just...sleep under here." Marlene pulled up her blankets. "Just in case my- aunt- sees you."

"Aunt?"

"My-" Marlene froze. "Family..." she finished, choked.

Lopmon studied her face intently for a moment. Then she nodded. "If that's how you want to handle it, Tamer. Who knows how she might react to me if she sees me."

"My name is Marlene. Just...just call me Marlene."

"Okay, Marlene," Lopmon replied, as she scurried forward and crawled under the blankets. "I'm glad I get to be the first partner to a human in so long now. I never believed in all of that talk about humans being terrible beings of destruction and chaos and such. I've always chosen to believe that the Tamers were good, and kind, and brave. Even if they made their share of mistakes along the way...I'm sure they were only trying to help..."

Marlene didn't respond to that. She just laid back down, letting the blankets fall over the Digimon known as Lopmon. She turned off her lamp, and closed her eyes again.

Marlene opened her eyes in the morning, feeling warm and relaxed for the first time in ages.

She yawned and stretched - rolled over-

"Eep!"

Marlene froze. She lifted her blankets and stared.

The chocolate bundle of fur curled up at her side, snuggled against her form...

Oh, right. That's still not a dream.

Lopmon sat up, shaking her head and causing her ears to fly everywhere. "Marlene?"

Marlene smiled. "Hi - Lopmon," she said quietly. "I still don't know what we're going to do with you."

Lopmon raised her tiny arms and yawned too. She put a hand over her mouth, then pointed a claw at the nightstand. Marlene's Digivice was sitting there next to the lamp. "Maybe that can help?"

Marlene nodded, retrieving the device. She tapped her way through the menus again - but it was unchanged from last time. Just scan, absorb, and the "digital gate" function. Nothing that could help her with hiding a whole Digimon. "I don't think it can do anything about-"

"What about this button?" Lopmon hobbled forward and smacked a little hand to the bottom one of the two black buttons on the side of the device.

The Digivice suddenly glowed, and a green light flew out from it and enveloped Lopmon! It was gone in a second, like a camera flash. But when it was gone...so was Lopmon!

What?! "Lopmon?" Marlene cried. "Where-"

"Oh...I'm here..." Lopmon's voice suddenly cut across hers. It came from the Digivice?

Marlene stared at the screen, and saw Lopmon's face peering at her. Behind her there was a line of trees and a blue sky with strange lines of energy floating across it. "Lopmon? Where- did you go?"

Lopmon tilted her head, then moved forward - closer to some kind of camera? Her face filled the screen in puffiness. "It looks like a standalone digital dimension," she mused. "I think I'm inside your Digivice!"

That sounded like a real leap to Marlene - but who was she to argue? Lopmon already claimed to come from some Digital World, and Digimon did have "digi" in it. In fact, everything she talked about seemed like it had something to do with computers and data. So...maybe Lopmon could just tell on sight? A quirk of Digital beings or whatever? She was definitely more knowledgeable than Marlene by default.

So Marlene just nodded, giving a smile of relief. "That solves the problem of hiding you while I'm going about my day, at least," she said.

"Just don't press the top button by accident," Lopmon said. "That will probably transport me back out into your world again."

"Right..." Marlene stared at the screen for a minute more, then set it down on her nightstand. "You stay there, then - I need to get dressed and stuff."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Lopmon assured.

Marlene's throat squeezed, her breath catching. She smiled with shaking lower lip. "Thanks, Lopmon..." she whispered.

She hurried around her room, brushing her hair and pulling out one of her favorite little dresses - pure black, ruffled hem, choker, and black tights to match. She retrieved her backpack from under her desk, hefting it up and sorting through the inside. All her old books and school things. Once she was satisfied, she grabbed her Digivice and pocketed it, then strode out into the hall. She walked out into the living room, finding her aunt already there. Curled up on the sofa, eating breakfast.

"Marlene?" her aunt said, staring at her with surprise. "You look..."

Like normal? Like nothing ever happened? Like my parents aren't-

"I'm going to school today," Marlene said, after taking a breath.

Her aunt gazed at her with concern. "Marlene, we should talk about last night. I need to know-"

"I want to be better," Marlene interrupted again. "I can't just stay like this forever. I know that. It's not like I want to be... to do...anything like...last night, again!"

"Then talk to me - please. Let me help you. If not me, then someone else. Talk to someone about what...happened. Last night, and...your parents. My sister."

Marlene stood there a long time, wobbling on her feet as her world blurred and darkened. There was nothing to talk about. What would saying words do about it? She didn't need words: she needed action. That was why she'd...last night. Finally taken an action... But she had sworn to herself she'd do better, that she'd get over this! That meant...she had to talk to someone. She couldn't just avoid it forever. She couldn't just stay like this. But she was terrified of what she would have to do in the name of that. That night she would have to revisit - the memory - the image-

"Okay, you don't have to talk!" her aunt said quickly. "I'm sorry! But - you should eat breakfast before going to school again. I left you some..."

Marlene breathed again, the world coming back into focus. She spun around and went into the kitchen, her hands shaking.

After eating a quick breakfast (and calming herself a little), her aunt drove her to school. She insisted, really. Marlene didn't try to fight her on it (her aunt probably wanted to make sure she didn't go jumping off any more bridges). Marlene only wished she could have walked so she could have spent more time talking to Lopmon. She wasn't willing to take the risk in the car - especially not when her aunt wanted her to sit in the passenger seat.

Maybe it was the lack of being able to talk to Lopmon, or maybe it was being in a car again, but Marlene was just...anxious the whole way. Screeching tires, honking horns - the rushing wind of cars blowing by theirs. She felt like she wanted to just jump out of her seat - open the door, get away no matter what. She did her best to just sit and bear it all, though; her aunt would have gotten the wrong idea...

It still seemed like an eternity before they reached the school. Marlene flung herself out onto the pavement, righting her bag and striding off for the front of the building. She heard her aunt wish her goodbye before driving off; she didn't react.

Marlene couldn't stand it anymore, and she pulled out her Digivice as covertly as she could - covert and casual, she thought. She could pass it off as a toy easily enough. She tapped the white button, and the screen snapped to life. The image of the forest area was there again - and Lopmon. Lopmon was...doing flips and cartwheels, her long ears flying everywhere. Marlene smiled, and even almost giggled at the sight. "Lopmon? What are you doing...?"

Lopmon flipped upright again, and turned toward the "camera". Was there even a camera in there? Or was it some invisible object or portal? Questions Marlene wasn't smart enough to even begin to answer. "Training," was the little Digimon's reply, bright and earnest. "If I'm going to be back in this form while in your world, then I need to toughen it up on its own - not just work hard enough to digivolve, like I did before."

"You think you're going to need to be stronger...?" Marlene questioned. "I thought Digimon and humans didn't cross worlds very often?"

Lopmon nodded. "That's true - but you never know, do you? Maybe your passing into my world, and me passing back into yours, weakened the barriers between the worlds? Or worse, created some new gateway that neither of us has control over?"

"Are you...basing that logic on anything?" Marlene couldn't help but ask.

Lopmon hesitated. Her little face scrunched up. She brought up a tiny arm, her claws touching her chin. "The stories of the era of the old war did mention Digimon disappearing in strange flashes of light. Who knows? Maybe they were coming here. There were many strange rumors going around back then. And if the Tamers were responsible for that in some way, then a new Tamer like you could also mean...well, your world might get a lot more visitors now."

Marlene sighed, nodding back to the little creature. She really needed to just grill the Digimon on this whole war - those old "Tamers" of hers. But not right now. Right now, she had to focus on getting through her first day back at school in a month.

After her first few hours of classes, Marlene ate lunch before heading back to it.

It was English class now.

Not her favorite, but not her least favorite...

She was actually doing her best to sit up and pay attention to the lesson. She had her book open and everything. Mainly because it meant she didn't have to pay attention to all her classmates, who had been staring at her all day! And, worse, some of them had come up to her and tried to say things like how sorry they were, and how if she needed help she could always ask them. And wasn't that funny? None of these other kids had done more than said "Hi" to her in the hallways the past four years or so! But now they all wanted to pretend to care?

Marlene couldn't stand it.

She was listening to her teacher's lecturing, when suddenly everything changed.

The world suddenly went dark - and then the air seemed to shimmer and sputter, like a bad TV. And then...an eerie red hue crept in from outside the windows, casting its light on the classroom.

Marlene jumped to her feet. "What's going on?" she exclaimed.

Only to be met with silence.

She stared around her, at her classmates, and the teacher. All of them were frozen. Unmoving. Like statues. No one was blinking, not even a hair twitched.

She almost yelped as her pocket began beeping loudly. She trembled, plunging her hand into her pocket to retrieve her Digivice. The beeping was nonstop, blaring!

The screen wasn't showing her the menu.

It was something new.

Big, black letters on a red background that read: Gate Detected.

Like that was helpful!

Unless...did it mean the same kind of "gate" as the one she had used to get to and back from Lopmon's world?

If that was the case, then...

Had Lopmon been right?

Were there...other Digimon here? Right now?

At the school?

Were they dangerous? Was that what the Digivice was warning her about?

If that was the case, and if everyone around her really was frozen for some reason...

Marlene gripped the Digivice tightly and ran to the window, peering outside. Past the fence of the property, there was a...wall. A fuzzy, transparent wall of blackness, with red lines of light pulsing up and down and all across it. The wall rose up high into the sky, curving to form a...a dome.

It was an entire dome surrounding the school.

A...digital...dome?

Something from Lopmon's world?

Marlene gazed down at the device, then turned and ran out into the halls. She pounded down the hallway and threw herself into the girl's bathroom. She checked every stall hastily - finding them empty - before finally pressing her thumb down over one of the two black buttons. The one Lopmon hadn't pressed - the top one.

Green light flashed, and in reverse of that morning, a stream of green cubes flew out, materializing into Lopmon!

"Lopmon, something crazy is going on here!" Marlene said immediately. "There's some kind of weird digital barrier around the school, and everyone's frozen, and- and my Digivice said something about a "gate" being detected?"

Lopmon didn't look surprised in the least, Marlene noticed. Afraid and wary, but not surprised. "I did tell you I expected something like this to happen," she said, noticing Marlene's expression.

"You didn't say I'd become trapped in some kind of dome, and that everyone I know would just be frozen in the middle of class! You just said that Digimon might come here through a gateway!"

"I didn't know all of this would happen," Lopmon amended. "Whatever this is, it isn't because a Digimon entered your world. Not exclusively, anyways. What this is...it's something new. It's separate and apart. But if your Digivice said there was a gate nearby, then that definitely does mean there's another Digimon around here somewhere."

"A nice Digimon, like you, or one that doesn't like human Tamers?" Marlene quavered.

"Given the circumstances, I'd have to say it's the latter option," Lopmon sighed. she shook her head and put her hands to her cheeks. "We should get outside the building, at least. That way no one else will be in harm's way - and I'll have more space to work with if it comes to a fight. Believe me, Digimon battles can get...ugly."

Marlene nodded, wasting no time in snatching up Lopmon and running from the bathroom. She ran down the hall and burst out the front doors - out into a dark, cold world of isolation. The barrier pulsed red across the parking lot, around the edge of the premises. Lopmon squirmed in her arms and broke free, hopping down to the ground on her own.

"Okay, what now?" Marlene asked Lopmon.

Lopmon's face was filled with pure concentration. She tapped a claw to her cheek, turning this way and that. Her eyes narrowed. She let her hand fall, and then her huge ears lifted up and poofed! They expanded like balloons, stretching out. She turned her head to one side, then the other way. Then-

"There! I can hear them!" Lopmon announced, twisting to point a claw across the parking lot, to Marlene's left.

Marlene craned her neck, searching, but with all the cars parked out front - not to mention the spare buses - it was impossible to even spot anyone if they were-

"Oh my...was I really that noisy?" came a feminine voice - practically purring with pure allure. And amusement. The owner of the voice came into view, gliding out from between the vehicles.

Marlene stared at the being before her. At first glance, she might have mistaken them for a cosplayer. But...no, they weren't totally human in appearance. In fact, they were more...other, than human. It was some kind of...beast-woman.

She had spotted fur all over her body - except her torso and belly. Her whole front, and the neck up, were the visage of a dark-skinned human woman. Except she had animal-like ears, pointed teeth sticking out, and some crazy crimson hair that was tied in a long french braid that went down past her waist. She was wearing leopard skin parachute pants, and her body was adorned with golden jewelry. A golden belt, bracelets on her upper and lower arms, as well as anklets, a jeweled headpiece across her forehead...and there were rings on her long, pink claws. Claws that had to be half a foot long, at least! And lastly and most strikingly, she had twin cheetah tails behind her, adorned with twin golden rings each.

Well, there was also the strange red symbol on her abdomen, but...

Marlene wasn't going to keep looking there for too long!

"Marlene - focus!" Lopmon's high voice cut through her dazed mind.

"H-huh?" Marlene stammered, whirling to stare down at the little Digimon. Her face burned. "I-"

"She'll try to ensnare your mind with her Allure ability, but don't let her!" Lopmon continued firmly.

"Wha...? Allure ability - got it. Right! I won't!" Marlene said hastily. That was definitely some sort of magical ability affecting her - and not...anything else! "Who-" She paused, looking squarely at this leopard-anthro Digimon's face. "Who are you? Why are you here?" she called out loudly.

"You can call me Bastemon - for as long as you're still alive, that is," the feline-esque Digimon replied sweetly. She strode forward across the lot, placing a hand on a swaying hip. "Because, you see, as for why I'm here in this place...I'm here for you, dear thing!"

"Me?" Marlene breathed, fear gripping her heart. "So you're a Digimon who doesn't like Tamers, then?" she rambled on, stepping backwards now as Bastemon continued to approach (with that casualness, that slinking ease of a predator).

Bastemon gave a bit of a smile, shaking her head in surprise. "Hate Tamers? Oh no. I have nothing against humans! In fact, I think you're a rather pretty creature; it's going to be a shame to eviscerate you."

"Then why-"

"Well, because if I follow my orders to eliminate you, I'll get a nice big helping of Data: enough to become a Mega," Bastemon said jovially.

"Orders...Someone ordered you to- to come and- kill me?" Marlene squeaked. "Who - why?!"

Bastemon's smile twisted into slyness. She raised a long claw and touched it to her lips. "My secret, dear. But if you're so interested...you can take it to the grave!" She suddenly leapt forward in a streak of gold energy, her claws bright pink, casting off a sputtering power.

Marlene scrambled backwards, but the Digimon was already bearing down on her! She was so fast, so insanely fast!

Lopmon suddenly slammed into Bastemon mid-leap - using her whole head as a battering ram! Bastemon and Lopmon went flying sideways, hitting the ground together. Lopmon rolled and hit a car - but Bastemon twisted and sprang back up like nothing had even happened to her! She looked at Marlene, then over at Lopmon. She gave a small laugh and did a flip up high into the air, coming down on top of a car roof near Lopmon. She raised a clawed hand, twiddling her fingers together, causing sparks of energy to fly off.

"As long as you're not going anywhere, I can have a bit of fun with this little Rookie partner of yours first," Bastemon cooed at Marlene.

"What about...a fellow Ultimate?" Lopmon's voice came, as she rose to her feet unsteadily. She heaved a breath and wiped a clawed hand across her dirty furred face. Her black eyes narrowed at Bastemon, brimming with fierceness.

"Oh, if only you could...we'd have so much more fun together!" Bastemon mocked. "But sadly, here in this world, that's just not going to happen - now is it? Partner Digimon are so limited in terms of Data absorption here, aren't they? This world of flesh and bone, metal and earth. Where would you ever get the energy?"

"You're wrong about that," Lopmon retorted, stepping forward. Her gaze slid over to Marlene, and a smile came to her face. "A Digimon and a Tamer have a bond - one that provides a limitless source of energy! More than any Data could provide us!"

"You poor thing - you really believe those old stories?" Bastemon said, laughing with a clawed hand over her mouth. "They're fantasies and fairy tales, little Lopmon! Whatever the Tamers were, they were weak in the end. Why else did they all disappear, all those years ago? Vanished without a trace...right when our world needed them most?" This last part was spoken with an undercurrent of anger. Not a trace of mockery or amusement at all.

"Marlene," Lopmon said, addressing her - and ignoring Bastemon now completely! "You need to hope for me! You need to feel with all your heart, that we can do this together! That we can win this fight! That I can become Antylamon again! If you can do that for me, then we'll-"

"Enough!" Bastemon lunged for Lopmon, swinging her long claws! Lopmon flared her ears and shot high up into the air, spinning around like a top! She opened her mouth wide, a blue light growing within her throat - and then a big ball of blue energy shot out for Bastemon! Bastemon skidded and turned on the asphalt, claws digging in as she dodged the attack. Lopmon's energy ball hit the ground not two feet to Bastemon's left; a large pillar of ice suddenly formed on the ground, shooting up and spreading outward. It was a mass several feet wide and tall.

But it had still missed Bastemon completely.

Bastemon whipped her head up, her tails twitching. Then she crouched down, shaking her butt, and she leapt straight up after Lopmon!

Lopmon curled one ear inward and wriggled her body, banking far out to the right and soaring over the parking lot! She came back around and opened her mouth, yelling out: "Blizzard Blast!" A stream of dozens of icicles burst out of her mouth, heading for Bastemon! They caught her in the air, pelting her and knocking her out of the air. Bastemon fell to the side and hit the hood of a car, bounced off it, and hit the ground hard. Lopmon pressed her attack, swooping down toward Bastemon. She flared both her ears and twirled, spinning faster and faster, as a chocolate-colored tornado formed around her! A cyclone with streaks of pink energy going around it in sparking rings. The cyclone bore down on Bastemon, picking her up and hurling her off in a random direction.

Bastemon rolled across the ground and came to a stop near the bus, grunting in pain. She rose to her feet, wincing.

Lopmon came out of her twirl and landed on the ground again, holding her head in dizziness. She shook her head and looked back at Marlene over a shoulder. "Marlene! I need you! I can't do much to her like this!"

"That's right, you can't!" Bastemon hissed, bursting into a four-legged sprint toward Lopmon! "I think our fun is over now!"

Lopmon...needed Marlene to believe...? To hope? But how could she? When hope right now was something she had little to none of...? When it was something absent in her, given way to the tiredness, the numbness that had plagued her for weeks? How could she honestly feel...think...?

It was impossible. She couldn't. Even with her resolve, since last night, she just couldn't...

Wasn't it hopeless?

It wasn't like hoping would...like trying would...

Would bring them back.

"I-" Marlene began. "I'm sor-"

Bastemon leapt at Lopmon with her claws outstretched-

And then a wave of dark purple energy suddenly swept across the parking lot from the left, disintegrating cars into twisted fragments, tearing a chunk out of the bus, and taking Bastemon up high into the air. So high that the Digimon was slammed up against the barrier surrounding the area. Bastemon hung there for a moment before falling straight down, hitting the ground in a smoking heap.

Marlene whirled around, staring toward the school building. Lopmon turned, too, her eyes going wide.

A girl from her class was stalking down the pavement, boots clicking, her long blonde hair flowing behind her in curls. Her red lipstick lips were pursed, and her green eyes were narrowed into slits. And trailing along behind her...were two different, otherworldly looking beings! Fantastical looking...women. One wearing black leather and wrapped in literal chains, and the other wearing a white leotard with golden armor bra and a steel helmet. Both had wings: the black-clothed one had tattered black raven wings, and the white leotard-wearing one had six...fluffy white angel wings.

Marlene only vaguely remembered the girl's name - Rochelle? Rachel? She thought it was Rachel...

The girl stopped right at the edge of the parking lot, and she put her hands on her hips. "So, who wants to tell me what the hell is going on here?" she demanded.