Having left behind the battlefield where they'd defeated Snimon, Yuma and Veemon trudged onwards through the marshlands, following the sole path that was before them. They both looked around as they walked, searching for any sign of friend or foe alike. At least, at some point, a small group of Otamamon had begun swimming in the streams around them, giving them some silent company.

"I hope the others are doing okay," said Yuma. He glanced up at the sun, noting that it was slowly beginning to descend across the sky. He really wanted to get through this place before it got dark, especially if there were more Digimon like Snimon around.

"You don't have to worry, Yuma, they'll be totally fine! Their Digimon won't let 'em down," said Veemon with a grin as he walked just slightly behind Yuma. His steps were a little slower and heavier than normal, Yuma noted. He figured that his partner must have still been tired from the battle they'd faced.

They both looked down when an Otamamon climbed out of the water, onto the path before them. Those eyes stared up at them. Those big, unblinking eyes. The amphibious Digimon pulled itself across the grass with its strong forelegs and slid into the water on the opposite side of the path it had emerged from.

Yuma couldn't help laughing at the sight. What a weird little Digimon. It was cute, in a way, he thought. Veemon laughed along with him and the two continued onwards.

Keeping a watchful eye on the sun's position, the pair walked for a full half hour or so until they reached a crossroads. Four pathways met in a central area.

The space in which the paths met was mostly circular in shape and spanned a few metres across both vertically and horizontally. Scattered across the area were several small trees. Each one was only just slightly taller than Yuma, but the trunks were thin, bending towards the ground from the weight of their branches and pale purple leaves.

Moving into the middle of the area, Yuma looked around. There were two paths to either side of the one he'd come from and then one ahead of him. Squinting, he could see structures in the distance. They certainly weren't trees, and the shapes were too straight to be natural rock formations. Veemon stood beside him, a hand shielding his eyes from the sun as he gazed in the same direction.

"Think that's the Dial-Up Ruins?" Yuma asked.

"Probably! We made it then!"

"Yeah… but we can't leave here without the others."

"Oh, yeah, we better go find them fast."

Yuma looked between the paths to the sides and idly scratched at his hip. That thought was all well and good, but…

"Which path do we take to find them?"

Yuma placed a hand on one of the bent trees as he voiced the question. He'd completely lost his sense of direction while they'd been carried off by Snimon and wasn't sure where they were in correlation to where they had been with Shugo and Shiori.

"I'll go whichever way you wanna go, Yuma. I trust you," Veemon said, nudging his partner with his elbow. The young man smiled down at his Digimon before looking down the path to his left.

There was no real reasoning to why he was choosing that particular path. He had nothing to go on, after all. He simply had to choose one and go with it. He reached down, letting his hand fall atop Veemon's head, rubbing the spot between his long ears briefly.

"Reckon you can keep track of the way back? I've never been the best with directions," he said to his partner. Veemon gave an eager nod and grinned up at him.

"Leave it to me! I'll step real heavy and we can follow my footprints back!"

"Thanks, bud."

With their choice made, the two began to walk towards the path they were to take. That was when Veemon paused, lifting his hand above his eyes once more and squinting into the distance.

"Yuma, someone's coming!" he declared.

Those words made the young man's blood run cold. Seriously? Couldn't they catch a break? He was sure Veemon was still tired from the battle with Snimon and he wasn't exactly strong enough to fight a Digimon himself.

"Let's run the other way then, before they see us," he told his partner. Veemon didn't move though, he continued to stare at whatever it was he could see that Yuma's eyes couldn't quite pick up. "Veemon, come on, you're in no condition to fight."

"I don't think we need to run, Yuma. Nah, I know we don't."

Yuma was about to scold his partner for being stubborn when he heard a voice. A familiar voice that undoubtedly belonged to a certain girl with bright pink hair.

"Yumaaaa! Veemon!" that voice shouted.

All the tension in Yuma's body disappeared at once as he heard Shiori call out to him. He let out a sigh of relief and waited until the young woman arrived at the crossroads, Pomumon bundled in her arms.

"Shiori, Pomumon, I'm glad to see you girls," Yuma said, Veemon eagerly nodding his agreement at his side.

"I'm so glad you're safe, we were really worried about you," said Shiori with tears welling in her blue eyes. She let Pomumon jump from her arms before wrapping Yuma in a brief, tight hug. He felt his cheeks redden and blinked quickly a few times, patting the young woman on the back with one hand before she let go and took a step back.

"Yeah, we're okay, glad you are too," Yuma said, glancing down to see Veemon and Pomumon chatting below them. He took a second to glance around though, frowning as he noticed that the two girls had come alone. "Where's Shugo and Bulucomon?" he asked.

Shiori frowned a little as she noticed that Yuma and Veemon were alone as well.

"We decided to split up to try and find you. We came to a spot that had two paths and thought it would be best to go down one each. I guess the one they took must have gone somewhere else…," Shiori explained, the worry in her voice clear.

"Damn, I hope they're okay. We managed to beat Snimon, but if there are more big guys like him around, Shugo could be in trouble."

"Well, I can say there definitely are. We had to fight this weird kappa Digimon to get to you, called Gwappamon. We only won because Pomumon managed to Digivolve and got super strong."

Yuma blinked a few times, glancing down at the tiny bird Digimon then back up to Shiori, both of which were looking quite proud with themselves, in fact, Shiori had her chest puffed out and was grinning.

"So Pomumon Digivolved as well? That's how Veemon beat Snimon too. It was… honestly really damn cool," he said with a small grin that matched the one Veemon gave. Shiori chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Right? It was the coolest thing ever; I was so proud of Pomumon."

"I like the praise, Shiori, but we should go and look for Shugo," the little bird Digimon said.

"Yeah, lets go find him and if he's in trouble we can Digivolve again and kick some more bad Digimon butt!" Veemon said, flexing with both arms. Both Yuma and Shiori nodded and the group, now four strong, turned to face the path opposite the one Shiori had come from.

"Y'know, I'd really appreciate if you didn't write me off so fast," said the person who was standing at the start of that path. A familiar young man in a jacket and cargo pants, his damp hair hanging loose at his shoulders. Shugo adjusted his glasses as he stared at his two comrades.

Bulucomon placed his frozen claws on his hips as he gave a solemn nod at the comment. "Indeed, our own Digivolution was quite sufficient in dispatching the enemy that attacked us. We certainly did not require saving."

Yuma felt a smile cross his face as the worry left him. Everyone was okay. It looked as though nobody was too badly hurt, plus they'd all made it to their destination.

"Well, you should have gotten here faster then," Yuma said, flashing a grin at Shugo. The three DigiDestined laughed and made their way to the trees in the centre of the area with their partners in tow, the group sitting themselves down on the ground.

"Man, what a day," Shugo groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"It's certainly been eventful," said Shiori.

Yuma leaned back against one of those thin trees, his eyes closed. Being carried away by a giant bug had certainly not been on his to-do list for the day. It was clear being in this world was not going to be easy.

"I wonder how many safe places we'll find, like Login Village," Yuma said. Veemon, who had sat down beside him, looked up at him.

"Far as I know, there's plenty of towns all over the place. Dunno how many of them will welcome us like they did in Login Village though," he said.

"Especially once we enter the territories of the Dukes," Bulucomon added in.

Yuma couldn't help letting his mind wander for a few moments. He wondered what kind of people the Seven Dukes were. Surely if they'd once been the heroes of the Digital World, they couldn't be all bad, right? Dinohyumon had seemed to think otherwise though.

Yuma also wondered just how strong the Digimon partners of the Seven Dukes were. Dinohyumon had said they'd been in the Digital World for eight years now. Yuma and the others had only barely scraped by against the foes they'd fought so far. Beating Digimon that had been able to grow stronger over almost a decade didn't sound feasible to him.

Though, he knew Veemon beside him would say he'd beat them no sweat. That thought made him smile a little.

"We should leave here before the sun starts setting. We can camp for the night between here and the ruins, so we're refreshed when we get there," Pomumon suggested, looking between the members of the group.

"The uh… tent is gonna be wet, hope that's gonna be okay. I might have gone for a bit of a swim," said Shugo, glancing over his shoulder to the large pack on his back. Lugging it around with the contents being wet had certainly been quite a chore for him since his battle with MoriShellmon.

"We'll just have to make it work," said Shiori. "It should be waterproof anyway, right? So hopefully the inside will be dry."

With that, the group rose to their feet, brushed themselves off and turned to the path that would lead them to the Dial-Up Ruins.

The scenery around them began to change as they followed that path. The stretch of land they found themselves on quickly became bordered by muddy banks instead of water and from there gradually shifted to grass and solid ground.

The trees around grew larger and denser, filling in the areas on either side of the path and making the group feel like they were entering a forest once more. All the while, the ruins ahead of them came more into view with each step they took.

The group could see a huge, stone wall in the distance, even from here they could see it was cracked and crumbling in more than a few places. Beyond it, they could see the tops of buildings and other stone monuments peeking over the wall. Judging by the distance of the wall, Yuma figured they'd easily reach it within the next twenty minutes or so if they decided to keep walking.

However, they chose to stop. The Dial-Up Ruins weren't going anywhere, and the three DigiDestined along with their partners had already had quite an exciting day, to say the least. A little rest and recuperation wouldn't go astray. Yuma led them to an opening in the trees at the side of the road and Shugo set down his pack, groaning in relief as he did so.

"Let's get this tent set up so we can sit down and relax," said Yuma, his companions all chiming in to agree with him. So, with that, the three DigiDestined and their Digimon partners made quick work of putting up the four-man tent. There was plenty of room for them all within and thankfully, only the outside of the tent was wet from Shugo's dive into the marshland waters.

"I've never actually gone camping in a tent before, this is a little exciting," Shiori said with a smile, poking her head inside for a few moments.

"I have once or twice with my family. How about you, Yuma?" Shugo asked, looking over to the blonde young man. Yuma shook his head in response.

"It's my first time too. Not really the way I expected it to happen though," he said with a wry smile and a chuckle.

The three Digimon had already ventured inside the tent, running around the open space within and making an assortment of noises that their partners hoped were positive ones and not the result of mischief. It seemed they were quite excited by the idea of camping as well.

"I'll try and get us a fire going," said Shugo. He made his way to the tent and stuck his head through the door. "You guys mind getting us some firewood and food? We don't know what's edible," he called in to the Digimon.

"Of course, Shugo. Leave it to us," Bulucomon responded before exiting the tent and beckoning Veemon and Pomumon to follow him. Three sets of short legs ran off into the trees.

Shugo built a small fire with the sticks and branches the Digimon brought back after a few attempts. He sat close by as it got going, hoping to dry out his still damp clothes.

Yuma and Shiori took charge of the various fruits, nuts and vegetables their partners had gathered for them, cutting them with a knife they'd been provided in their supply pack and turning the lot into a simple salad for the group to enjoy.

The meal was enjoyed by the group along with idle chatter. They pondered what might lie in the ruins ahead of them, and beyond that. They spoke of the battles in Shift Marsh and the Digivolutions of their partners. Of course, each DigiDestined claimed their partner's was the coolest one.

As the sun began to set, the group decided to take turns at keeping watch while the others slept. They had no idea when another Digimon might find their tent and possibly attack after all. Yuma and Veemon were the first ones to be on duty.

"I don't mind if you want to sleep, Veemon. You must be exhausted after the fight today," Yuma said as he tossed another branch onto the campfire, watching the flames crackle and dance over the wood within.

"Nah, I'm okay. I'll sleep when you do, Yuma. That yummy food gave me my energy back," the little Digimon responded. Yuma smiled, wondering just how this little guy could always be so upbeat and cheerful, despite the day they'd had.

"Gotta say, this world of yours really is weird, buddy. All the crazy creatures and even the world itself. I mean, we were in a forest this morning, walked a few hours and hit a massive swamp, now we're right back into another forest with a set of ruins just ahead."

"I think… there's a lot of different places in the Digital World. Different Digimon need different homes to live in after all. I'd like to see a bunch of new places with you, Yuma!"

The young man smiled and leaned back lightly, propping himself up with his arms out behind him. "So, you haven't seen much of this world either then? What's your home like?"

Veemon was silent for a few seconds when that question was asked, those big eyes staring into the fire. He looked… troubled? Yuma couldn't help wondering if he'd said something wrong.

"I… don't know where my home is. Maybe the forest? I know I was there for a little while before I met you, but I don't remember much before that," Veemon explained, his hands fidgeting in his lap. His sombre expression only lasted a few seconds though and he was soon grinning back over at his partner. "But that doesn't matter now. I found you, Yuma, and I don't wanna be anywhere else!"

"I feel the same. There's no partner I'd rather have," said Yuma, holding a fist out towards Veemon. The Digimon clenched his own and bumped it against Yuma's with a wide smile.

The two continued to chat as the night went on, until finally Shiori and Pomumon woke up to take over for them. After they had been up for a few hours, it was Shugo and Bulucomon's turn, and then eventually, the sun rose once more.

As a new day arrived, the group spent time dismantling their campsite. The tent was packed away once more, and the campfire was extinguished. After finishing off their leftovers from the night before as breakfast, they began the short trek towards the Dial-Up Ruins.

Soon enough, they would see what their destination had in store for them and what the Digital World would throw at them next.