DarkFoxKit: Fanfiction's been acting weird lately, so it got more difficult to upload anything. My apologies for the inactiveness. But here's another chapter if anyone's still reading this.
ZAFT: Yeah. and been busy with life for me, so sorry for forgetting when we have had the upload days…
DarkFoxKit: We won't promise anything, we're just trying to make sure we update at least once in a while. We're mainly taking a break from Digital Phantom right now. It's been a long story, we even redid the entire story from scratch again. Can't blame us for feeling a little burnt out from it.
ZAFT: But don't worry, we will get back into it soon! Now, onto the chapter!
Chapter 13: The Mystery of TV Forest
Takuya, Koji, Zoe, JP, Tommy, Patamon, Labramon, Biyomon, Kokuwamon, and Lopmon had been walking in the forest for a while now. The sun had started setting, and the sounds of crickets could be heard.
"Aw man, I'm wasting away here!" JP groaned as his stomach grumbled. "Isn't it time for a dinner break yet?"
"Come to think of it, we didn't really get to eat most of those snacks you guys had on the sailboat," Tommy sighed. "So we didn't get to eat after the sparring session."
"We really should've thought about getting the baskets of food away from the battlefield," Kokuwamon groaned. "Now I'm hungry too…"
"When are you not hungry?" Biyomon grumbled before sighing. "Though admittedly, I could go for some food too."
"I think we'd better stop and make camp for the night." Takuya suggested. "We all could use something to eat as well."
"It's been a long day for all of us." Zoe agreed.
"Yeah, whatever…" Koji huffed.
"Hey, no need to be like that, Koji." Labramon scolded the long-haired boy. "I know you're relieved to take a break too. I can even hear your stomach growling."
Zoe and Takuya gave a funny look at Koji when Labramon mentioned this.
"Oh? Even the great loner Koji can get tired and hungry? What a surprise~" Takuya teased.
"Stop being so childish." Koji grumbled, only for his stomach to growl out loud, making the other boy blush at how hungry he was.
"Your stomach says otherwise~" Takuya snickered.
"Shut up," Koji grumbled.
"Now, now, let's go find a spot to set up camp, then we can work on finding some food to eat," Lopmon spoke up.
"Yeah, you're right," Zoe agreed.
"Ah… I can't wait to sit down and eat…" JP said dreamily.
"But where can we make camp?" Tommy asked. "All I see around us are trees and bushes."
"I think we should focus on finding a clearing to make camp in." Patamon suggested.
The group moved through the forest to find a good spot to set up camp. Biyomon seemed to know her way through the forest as she flew ahead of the group, then came back not long after. She led them to a small clearing that gave them enough room to lay down without bumping into a tree or a brush.
"This spot looks good enough for camp." Zoe smiled. "Way to go, Biyomon."
Biyomon smiled. "I've done camping before a few times, so I usually know how to find a good spot."
"Lucky for us…" Kokuwamon grumbled. "Though I'm certainly not looking forward to spending the night in a forest."
"I'm surprised to hear you say that, since the other Kokuwamon live in a forest and seem to like it," JP remarked.
"I'm not like the others, you should know that by now," Kokuwamon huffed.
"True, you wouldn't even touch the batteries," JP noted.
Takuya grinned. "This is perfect." He then looked down in thought. "Now what to do about food…?"
"I found something we could eat," Zoe spoke up as she held up what looked like a white apple. "Although I've never seen a white apple before, I hope it's edible."
"Of course it's edible," Lopmon chuckled. "We're in luck."
"What do you mean?" Zoe asked.
"What you have there is called a meat apple," Lopmon explained.
"Meat apple?" The other human children asked in surprise and confusion.
"That's right, each meat apple contains the flavor of a different type of meat, so they're usually all different and pretty unique," Lopmon explained.
"Though meat apples are pretty rare, not a lot of places grow them," Patamon said. "We must be in TV Forest then, it's a place well known for its meat apples and… another phenomena."
"What kinds of phenomena?" Koji asked, curious.
The other kids looked at Patamon as well, also wanting answers.
"Uh, well… I haven't seen it myself, but they say when the 3 full moons are full at night, the light of them will create projections on the tree trunks, showing a different world. Hence why the forest is called 'TV Forest'," Patamon answered.
"Now this sounds like my kind of forest!" Kokuwamon perked up.
Labramon chuckled. "Of course it would, since you are into that kind of thing."
Kokuwamon huffed. "Hey, I can't help it! Technology is my passion!"
The humans all laughed at the banter between the Digimon.
Zoe then looked at the meat apple in her hand. "Well, if there is one meat apple on the ground, maybe there are others around here."
"Yeah, there most likely would be a tree somewhere," Biyomon agreed.
"Then we should split into 2 groups," Takuya spoke up. "One group looks for meat apples, while the other gathers some firewood. I doubt we'd want to eat raw meat after all."
"I'll gather the firewood," Koji said.
"I'll look for more meat apples!" Zoe smiled.
"I'll help you with that." Biyomon smiled as she went with Zoe.
"I'd like to go help find some meat apples too," Tommy spoke up, though he wanted to talk to Zoe as well. "Lopmon, will you come with us?"
"Sure, I don't see why not," Lopmon said as he walked after Tommy.
"Then the rest of us are going with Koji." Takuya said as he grinned. "Let's get started so we can make sure those meat apples aren't raw."
"I hope I don't have to carry anything heavy." JP said as he followed Takuya and Koji to find the firewood.
"Surprised you didn't volunteer to help look for the meat apples, I'm sure those aren't heavy," Kokuwamon said as he followed after JP.
"Well meat apples, or just apples in general, can be heavy when you carry back a lot of them. Not to mention they could fall off the tree and hit your head," JP sheepishly replied.
"I mean, when you think about it, so can firewood," Patamon grinned as he flew after JP, Takuya, and Koji as well.
JP grumbled at Patamon's words. "Wow, now I wish I had gone with Zoe and Tommy instead."
"Hey, it's not that bad." Labramon reassured JP. "At least firewood isn't as hard as an apple. As long as it's not the whole branch or something."
"Thanks for the image…" JP groaned.
"Stop complaining, JP, you're on firewood duty, so deal with it," Koji grumbled.
JP grumbled.
Little did the children know, someone was watching them from behind the trees.
"I sense one of their minds is heavily troubled… it seems to be coming from the youngest one… how shall I proceed?" The creature whispered, seemingly to itself. "... Then I will wait for now, and keep an eye on them."
Tommy, Lopmon, Zoe, and Biyomon were walking through the forest, looking for the tree that could have the meat apples growing.
"Um… Zoe?" Tommy spoke up. "Have you ever wondered… about why you feel like some things feel familiar?"
Zoe looked down at Tommy. "Yeah, I have, but I've tried to ignore it so as to not get too worked up over it. Why do you ask?"
"Well…" Tommy looked at Lopmon for a moment.
Lopmon looked up at Tommy. While Lopmon and the other Digimon may not be able to directly tell them, that didn't mean Tommy couldn't at least help the others realize the danger they could be in.
"It's hard to explain, but… maybe… when we have those feelings… it means that maybe… just maybe… we might've done something like this before?" Tommy suggested.
Zoe blinked before she looked down in thought. "But… if that were true… Why are we feeling this way when this is our first time in this world? It doesn't make any sense…"
"Is it really our first time in this world though?" Tommy asked.
"What do you mean? Of course it is," Zoe replied. "I'm pretty sure we would've remembered being in a world like this before."
"You'd be surprised how easy it is to tamper with memories, especially when it comes to Digimon," Tommy pointed out. "At least… think about the possibility that we may have been in the Digital World before… under different circumstances. And that… maybe someone could've tampered with our memories, making us forget about being in the Digital World before."
Biyomon and Lopmon watched with anticipation. They weren't sure what would happen if Zoe started to loosen the seal on her mind, but if it might help them complete their mission, then maybe it might actually be a good thing. They could only hope.
Zoe frowned. "That's true… We have purified Digimon before, and that can reset their memories… But… If something did mess with our memories… How could that have happened?" She looked down in thought. "It sounds too strange to believe but… it would explain why I felt familiar with the KaratsukiNumemon's mountain home, like I had been there before."
"Yeah, you see why that's been bothering me so much?" Tommy smiled. "I think… the others might've been feeling this way too."
"So… do you think we should tell the others about this?" Zoe asked.
"Yeah… it might be good, just in case… you know, we might be in this Digimon's trap if… our memories really have been tampered with," Tommy answered.
Zoe frowned. "What do you think, Biyomon? Do you think our memories have been tampered with?"
Biyomon frowned. "Your… memories are…"
Biyomon tried to say something, but only pink, sparkling feathers came out of her beak.
Zoe blinked. "B-Biyomon?! A-Are you okay?"
"Zoe, it's alright… that's… normal…" Biyomon hesitantly answered.
"Right… look what happens if I try to say it," Lopmon said. "The truth is, you guys are-"
Similar to Biyomon, little bright snowflakes came out of Lopmon's mouth, silencing him.
"So that's why you can't explain it to us out loud." Tommy noted. "When you try to, you get something else coming out of your mouth."
"But why?" Zoe asked.
"I guess you could call it a 'magical seal of silence'," Biyomon said. "We are… we aren't allowed to say certain things."
"If we try, what you just saw will happen," Lopmon added.
"But who would put that kind of seal on you?" Zoe asked. "Cherubimon?"
"No… Cherubimon isn't…" Lopmon frowned. "He has nothing to do with this. It's something else, but we can't exactly tell you."
"Let me guess, if you try to explain it to us, the same thing will happen?" Zoe asked in concern.
"Yeah, it will." Biyomon confirmed.
"Does this happen with the other Digimon travelling with us?" Tommy asked.
"That's right. We are all bound by this magical silence," Lopmon confirmed.
Zoe and Tommy frowned.
"But don't worry. Heading to the Forest Terminal, that is something that we need to do anyways, so it's good that we're going there," Lopmon reassured.
"Okay, but I hope we can find a way to remove that 'seal of silence' on you." Zoe said. "It sounds like it could hinder our mission."
"It shouldn't, you guys were able to come this far without it being an issue," Biyomon pointed out. "It's only an issue if you ask us what happened to your… memories."
"Wait… does that mean you guys know something about it?" Zoe asked.
"We definitely know something," Lopmon confirmed. "It's why we're here now, with you guys. We may not be able to tell you much, but just know that we are on your side. And we're doing everything we can to help you ."
"It's true… from what they were able to tell me, our missing memories are… much bigger than we imagined," Tommy grimly said. "I don't know much about the memories we lost, but we definitely lost… a lot."
Zoe looked down at the ground in worry. "Then… we need to definitely tell the others." She agreed.
"And we will," Tommy agreed. "But first… look over there! A big tree! Why don't we talk to them about it over dinner?"
Zoe grinned. "Wow! There're so many! Let's get some for dinner!"
Both Tommy and Zoe ran to the tree, with Biyomon and Lopmon following them eagerly.
"Let's try to carry back as much as we can!" Biyomon smiled.
"Yeah…" Lopmon grinned, looking at Biyomon. "Looks like with Tommy's help, we might actually be able to convince the others about the trap they're in after all. Heck, we may not even need to go to the Forest Terminal at this rate."
Biyomon nodded. "Yeah, this may work out after all. We could accomplish our mission, and maybe save them before they even meet Lucemon. Looks like you may have been right after all in letting Tommy know what's going on."
"It looks like it, yeah," Lopmon agreed. "Let's just hope that the master of the world doesn't catch on too fast."
In the bushes nearby, the creature watching them gave a grin at the comment. "He already knows, little rabbit~"
Soon, night had arrived. The 3 moons rose up, showing they were full tonight. Tommy, Zoe, Biyomon, and Lopmon had brought back enough meat apples to feed the group. Now they, and JP and Kokuwamon, were just using some sticks to hold the apples with. While they were doing that, Takuya was furiously rubbing a stick against a plank of wood to make a fire spark. Patamon, Koji, and Labramon were watching and waiting for the little spark to appear.
"For a Warrior of Flame, you sure have trouble making fire," Patamon jokingly commented.
Takuya huffed. "It's not easy to do something like that as a human!" He grumbled before smoke began to rise from the wood. "Am I done yet?"
"Yup, I'll take it from here," Koji said before he began to blow against the smoke, trying to feed the little ember some air to make it grow.
"I've never been on a camping trip before, I'm learning all kinds of new things," Labramon said with intrigue as she watched Koji help make the ember grow. "I used to read about it though, like sleeping under the stars, foraging for food, and roasting marshmallows at the campfire."
"Heh, yeah, though instead of roasting marshmallows, we're roasting meat apples," Patamon chuckled. "Almost like a barbecue camping trip."
"I wonder why you have to roast meat apples though. Is it because they taste like meat?" Koji mused.
"They don't just taste like meat, they are meat," Patamon pointed out.
"Hence why I said earlier we wouldn't want to eat raw meat," Takuya chuckled. "Why do you think I suggested getting firewood earlier?"
Koji huffed. "Whatever."
"I wonder what's taking the others so long to get those apples set up." Labramon wondered aloud.
"Well, they did gather a lot of them." Patamon pointed out.
Koji finally managed to get a small fire going. He had a small stick gather up the flames and put it onto the firewood pile. While he was doing that, Takuya decided to talk about what had been on his mind lately since they started sparring with each other.
"So… Each of us kids have Spirits of the Legendary Warriors…" Takuya began as he looked down in thought. "But if that's the case, why couldn't we beat that stupid Grumblemon? He even had us with a hostage situation, and that threw us off."
"That's a good question… though even with the hostage situation, we still had the upper hand when Kumamon managed to get him away from Labramon and the others," Koji remarked. "But then… he transformed again. He Spirit Evolved into that crazy powerful Gigasmon and wiped the floor with us."
"Though to be fair, we were at a major disadvantage, being on a vertical mountain while it was raining and all," Patamon pointed out.
"Not to mention we were also weakened from his attacks earlier," Labramon added.
"True… but Grumblemon did something called 'Slide Evolution'. And if Gigasmon was much stronger than us… does he have another evolution? One that is more powerful than ours?" Takuya asked. "Any idea what that could possibly be?"
"Let's… wait until the others get over here, then maybe we'll continue this discussion," Patamon suggested.
The fire on the fireplace started roaring to life now.
"Looks like the fire's ready, let's get the meat apples over there," Biyomon said to their group.
JP, Zoe, Tommy, Lopmon, and Kokuwamon all ran and flew over, holding sticks that had meat apples on them. The kids looked eager to get the meat apples cooking so they could eat.
Everyone put their sticks with the meat apples near the campfire to let the meat apples cook. They all sat down next to each other as they waited.
"We were just talking about how Grumblemon was able to defeat us back at the mountain," Takuya told the others.
"You mean when he turned into that Gigasmon?" JP frowned. "Yeah, what was up with that?"
"I don't know, but Grumblemon was somehow able to get stronger." Koji admitted. "Plus, that Gigasmon form of his looked… kinda… beast-like in a way. And his strength was definitely above ours."
"Hey, Patamon, anything in that book of yours that says something about a 'beast spirit'?" Takuya asked.
"Beast Spirit, huh? I suppose I can take a look," Patamon replied before taking the book out from his belly warmer, and began flipping through the pages.
"That belly warmer… is that like a bag of holding?" Kokuwamon asked.
"I think it is, remember how Bokomon was able to carry things in that belly warmer of his?" Lopmon chuckled.
"And he gave that to Patamon?" Kokuwamon blinked.
"Yup," Biyomon said. "He's our resident backpack."
"At least that makes carrying things easier~" Labramon chuckled.
"Guys, please stop, I'm trying to look for something here," Patamon grumbled.
"Well, whatever this Beast Spirit thing is, it's no joke." Zoe grumbled. "We didn't stand a chance."
"Huh… strange, I don't see anything in this book about Beast Spirits," Patamon said as he looked at the pages about the Legendary Warriors.
"Are you sure?" Lopmon asked as he moved some of the pages with his claws. "Hold on… some of these pages feel thicker than normal… are these folded up?"
Patamon lifted one of the pages and saw Lopmon was right. "Hey, they were folded up!" He exclaimed. "And there is more on the Legendary Warriors under here. It looks like each Warrior left behind two Spirits, the Human Spirit, and the Beast Spirit."
The group gasped, looking surprised.
"Really?" Koji asked.
"Yes. According to this book, there's the Human Spirit, like Agunimon. They have less power, but are better at using their mind and logic. Then there's the Beast Spirit, where they have much more power, though they tend to follow their instincts more than their mind. That would explain where Gigasmon came from," Patamon explained.
"It's interesting to note that means that we may have to look for another Spirit for each of us again," Tommy remarked.
"So that's like starting over…" JP groaned.
"We shouldn't be in a rush to find these Beast Spirits anyways," Kokuwamon said. "Sure it gives you more power, but didn't you hear about how beasts follow their instincts more than their mind?"
"Kokuwamon's right, what if that means you lose yourselves to the beast?" Biyomon worriedly asked.
"But that power may come in handy against enemies like Gigasmon." Koji pointed out. "We didn't even win against him. We got our butts kicked big time."
"Yeah. I hate to admit it, but Koji has a point." Takuya agreed. "We may need that power on our side."
"But you guys don't even know where to begin looking, right? So instead of relying on these Beast Spirits, we should try coming up with a plan the next time we have to face Grumblemon," Lopmon spoke up. "There's 10 of us and only one of him. He only got the jump on us last time, and we were fighting in a less than favorable location before."
"Yeah, but… we can't just ignore these Spirits either." Zoe pointed out. "We may be at only half power for all we know."
"But we have more experience and larger numbers." Patamon pointed out.
"Larger numbers won't win every battle." Koji grumbled.
"I mean we haven't been able to digivolve, yet we've been able to fight these battles just fine," Labramon pointed out.
"That's right… you guys haven't been able to digivolve…" JP realized. "But why not? Tsunomon and Koromon were able to, what's holding you guys back?"
The Digimon all looked at each other. Tommy and Zoe were the only ones who had some kind of idea as to why they may not be able to digivolve. Their magical seal of silence may have something to do with that.
"We're… kind of a special case," Biyomon hesitantly said.
"Yeah, after all we're-" Kokuwamon tried to explain, only for small bits of electricity to leave his mouth.
"Yikes…" JP grimaced at Kokuwamon's response. "That's gotta leave a bad aftertaste…"
"It's normal for the five of us…" Kokuwamon admitted sheepishly.
"What do you mean it's normal?" Koji frowned.
Labramon looked up at Koji. "It's true… if we try to say certain things, something like that will happen. Like… I'm-"
Labramon's voice got cut off as little glowing flakes of fur came out of her mouth.
Koji grimaced. "That's… kinda gross…" He admitted. "And probably annoying too…" He then blinked. "Wait… why can't you say certain things?"
"Yeah, what's going on, Patamon?" Takuya asked.
"We're here because we-" Patamon tried to say, only for glowing orange bubbles to come out of his mouth.
"Maybe I can try to explain it a little better," Tommy spoke up. "The others told me the best way they could since I started having two different sets of memories. I started to figure things out on my own based on what they were able to tell me. But… um… have any of you experienced any sense of deja vu at all since we've been in the Digital World?"
Takuya blinked before he looked down. "Now that you mention, yeah… I have." He replied. "First was with that Woodmon and the… corrupted fractal code. I felt like I had seen it before, or removed something similar before, but that was the first time I did something like that. And then against WaruMonzaemon… I felt like I had faced him down before, but I couldn't figure out why."
"I've had a few of those as well," Koji admitted.
"Yeah, me too, but… they don't mean much, do they?" JP asked.
"Well… the reason why we're all feeling this sense of deja vu is because… we may have been in the Digital World before," Tommy stated.
The others, save for Zoe and the Digimon, looked at Tommy like he was nuts.
"Are you serious?" Koji asked, skeptical. "There's no way we've been here before."
"Are you sure about that?" Labramon asked.
"Of course! I mean… we would remember being in a place like this," Koji pointed out.
"But that's just it, isn't it?" Zoe spoke up, frowning. "You've seen what Digimon are capable of… who's to say we haven't run into a Digimon that could erase our memories of this world?"
"In other words, can you trust your memories?" Tommy asked.
Takuya frowned as he put a hand to his chin in thought. "I… I don't want to admit it but… I just… can't ignore the feeling of deja vu… especially with what happened during that fight with Woodmon… That glowing green fractal code just won't leave my mind… I know I've seen it before."
Koji looked down at the ground. "I don't think I can ignore the sense of deja vu either… It's just too familiar to me, some of the stuff I've encountered here."
"I think that can go for me as well." JP agreed. "It's like… I've met you guys before, but I didn't know you until recently."
"So you see… something must be going on here," Tommy said. "Something or someone might have laid a trap for us after erasing our memories of the Digital World."
"If that's true, then… what's happening to us now?" Takuya frowned. "What about you guys?"
Takuya looked at the Digimon. "You knew, right? So… why are you following us?"
"We may not be able to tell you much, but we are on your side," Patamon said, looking at Takuya with worried eyes. "We've risked a lot just to find you all and help you the best we can."
"We've been put under restrictions from a… mastermind of sorts," Labramon explained.
"Things like we can't say certain things, and we aren't able to digivolve, at least normally," Lopmon added.
"So it's like this person or Digimon is trying to keep you from helping us directly." Koji mused. "That's clever, if not deceptive."
"But why?" Zoe asked. "Why is this 'mastermind' doing this to us?"
"They want…" Biyomon began hesitantly. "They want you… to be stronger together… to truly become Legendary Warriors of the Digital World."
"And in order to do that, you must go through these trials set up for you together," Kokuwamon added. "Like a party getting stronger in an RPG."
"Until you reach the final boss and defeat him with your powers and determination," Labramon continued.
"When that's completed, that's when you'll… go back," Lopmon said. "You'll be… true heroes, Legendary Warriors of the Digital World."
"So?" JP asked. "Why is that a bad thing?"
"Yeah, the way you described it, it sounds like it is a good thing." Takuya agreed.
Koji frowned in thought. "Maybe, but if that's the case, then why would our memories need to be tampered with and erased? Something about that doesn't add up or make sense to me."
The Digimon all looked somber about what they said.
"I think there's more to it than just us becoming Legendary Warriors of the Digital World," Zoe said. "Is it something you can't tell us?"
"We've told you pretty much all we could say about what the mastermind is planning," Patamon answered. "You guys have to figure out the real meaning behind that yourselves."
Tommy frowned. "What do you guys think it means?"
Koji growled. "I think someone wants us to become the Legendary Warriors they think we should be, not allowing us to grow as a team on our own."
"That's kinda messed up…" JP groaned.
"Yeah, but it also makes the most sense, now that I think about it." Zoe agreed.
"But who is behind it?" Takuya wondered as he glanced at the ground in thought. "And how do they intend for us to become what they want?"
"Like we said, this path set for you is for you to work together to defeat these bosses until the final boss," Kokuwamon said. "That's when you'll complete… the 'process'."
"We're here to throw a wrench in that plan," Biyomon explained. "Of course, there's only so much we can do."
"What we can tell you is that we do need to get to the Forest Terminal… There's someone there we need to speak to in order to help you guys out," Lopmon explained. "That's why we've been traveling with you to head to the Forest Terminal."
"So whomever you are headed to can help us?" JP asked. "That's great!"
"Hold on… Why do you care so much to help us?" Koji asked, holding up his hands. "It's not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but it would give us some more insight on why you are so dead set on helping us."
"Yeah… is it because we're Legendary Warriors?" Zoe asked.
"You're asking about that and not if we're trying to trick you ourselves?" Lopmon asked. "Do you trust us so much that we're telling the truth about helping you?"
"If you wanted to manipulate us, your dark intentions would've been a lot easier to sense," Koji explained. "And… I don't want to believe you guys, especially Labramon, only joined up with us to use us in whatever selfish scheme you have for us."
"Lopmon… I can't help but wonder… are you worried about getting close to us?" Tommy asked. "You always seem like you're worried about us getting too close, or you'd say something like you did now, about why we trust you."
"I'm worried about getting close to you guys, because of what will happen once you get your Beast Spirits," Lopmon admitted. "Tommy… you already know that we said we'll have to leave you guys eventually, that's why we wanted to tell you earlier."
"What? Wait… what does the Beast Spirits have to do with that?" Zoe asked.
"We have one more curse put on us," Patamon said grimly. "Once all of you gain your Beast Spirits, we won't be able to stay with you anymore."
The kids looked positively shocked and distressed.
"W-wh… You… won't be with us anymore?" Takuya asked, feeling his throat getting tight.
Tommy looked the most pitiful, with his eyes tearing up.
"You guys can't just leave us! We need you to help us get through the Digital World! And whatever trap we've been put in!" JP shouted.
"Then you guys will have to make a choice," Biyomon spoke up. "You can get your Beast Spirits and continue down this path set for you, or ignore the Beast Spirits to allow us to stay with you until we can get you out."
Is this really okay? We're telling them a lot of things that we really shouldn't. Lopmon frowned. The master of this world is bound to catch on soon. What will happen to us if he finds out?
The children looked confused and torn on what to do. On one hand, their Human Spirits were one half of a set of two, and they needed the Beast Spirits to get stronger, but on the other… did they really want to lose the Digimon companions they had become attached to?
"I… I don't know if I like this arrangement…" Zoe admitted. "Getting stronger and losing our friends, or keeping our friends with us and losing the other half of our Spirits…"
"If it helps… you don't need to find the Beast Spirits to have them once this is all over," Labramon assured before giving a small smile. "This… might be the better way to go. We'll figure out how to fight against Gigasmon without the Beast Spirit and come out on top anyways. You can defy the path the mastermind set for you."
"But is that okay? Won't you guys get punished if we do that? Won't we get punished if we do that?" Tommy asked in concern as he picked up Lopmon and hugged him, not wanting to lose a friend who had been helping them since the beginning.
"We don't really know," Lopmon admitted, though he was surprised that Tommy was hugging him, he didn't pull away. "We're already taking a huge risk letting you guys know about this."
"You… never did answer my question," Koji said softly as he rubbed Labramon's head, not wanting to lose her either, even if it was for his Spirit's other half. "Why do you guys care so much? We may be Legendary Warriors, but it's clear you're risking a lot just to help some kids you barely know… right?"
"We… know you guys," Patamon said as he looked at Takuya. "We… well… some of us are closer to some of you…"
Takuya raised an eyebrow at Patamon's cryptic and vague words, but he did have to admit… he did feel closer to Patamon than the other Digimon, but that didn't include Lopmon. He also felt closer to Lopmon too for some reason, but not the same way he did Patamon.
"You… know us… from before…?" JP asked, confused. "Like, before our memories got tampered with?"
"You could say that, yeah," Kokuwamon said. "You were someone I felt like I could get close with when we weren't… well, busy with other things."
"I wasn't a big fan of pink, so I wasn't sure what to think with Zoe," Biyomon admitted. "But I can respect a girl who tries to be herself more than follow the crowd. You showed me that with the Floramon, and again when we were at the Digi-School."
"I didn't really know Koji," Labramon admitted. "But I am friends with the others, and I understand that it's important to help you guys. But… as I got to know Koji, my desire to help you guys grew a lot more too. I also want to get stronger, to be able to do more to help you guys… and not just be a coward when things get tough."
"I think… We all kinda need each other." Takuya admitted. "I mean, yeah, we could use our Beast Spirits, but… it's not worth going after them if we lose you guys." He looked at Patamon as he finished his sentence.
"Are you sure? You'd rather give up your Beast Spirits than lose us?" Patamon asked.
"Yeah," Tommy answered. "It might be better if we could, like you said, work together to defeat this mastermind than just continue to follow this path this mastermind laid out for us."
"I like that mindset you have," Lopmon said. "Though we have to be careful, the mastermind won't be happy to see you guys not following the path he set out for you. So it's only a matter of time before he tries something."
"Then let's see this mastermind try it." Koji huffed. "We're not some puppets in a game he can manipulate into doing whatever he wants."
"I hate individuals like that." JP grumbled. "They don't get that other people have lives of their own."
"I'm not one to say I hate someone, but in this case, I may make an exception." Zoe huffed.
Labramon began sniffing the air. "Um… we should probably get our meat apples before they burn."
The kids scrambled to grab the meat apples before they burned to a crisp.
"Careful, don't burn yourselves!" Patamon warned as the children handled the hot food.
Everyone began to dig into their meat apples, enjoying the different meat flavors.
"Mine tastes like a meat bun!" JP smiled.
"Wow, this one tastes like a chicken drumstick," Tommy complimented, impressed.
Even Koji had to admit, this was good. "Mmm… ginger pork."
"Surprised that these meat apples come with seasoning too," Lopmon chuckled as he saw the kids enjoying their meat apples.
"Yeah, looks like even with a heavy topic on their minds, food is still good for when you're hungry," Biyomon chuckled. "I may be a vegetarian, but meat apples are one of the few meats I make an exception for. After all, they may be meat, but they didn't come from an animal."
"I'm just glad to be eating this without you nagging me about it," Kokuwamon said as he was already enjoying his own meat apples.
"I think I have prime rib!" Takuya exclaimed as he ate his meat apple with a big grin on his face.
"Mine's osobuko!" Zoe cheered as she took a bite of her own meat apple.
Just then, a dark shadow loomed over the area, big, thick clouds covering the three moons overhead. The kids and Digimon were caught off guard as the area was thrown into darkness.
"Is it going to rain?" Tommy asked with a frown.
"That's no good, we don't have any shelter out here." Biyomon frowned.
"Hold on… look at that," Lopmon pointed out.
The light from the 3 full moons began to shine through the clouds, surprising the kids. As the light shined down on them, they saw the tree trunks starting to show some kind of light.
"Something's happening to the trees," Tommy pointed out nervously.
Looking at the trees, it looked like they were showing images from the real world., complete with the static-y TV effect showing on each moving scene.
"Wow… It's like… a TV…" Zoe murmured in amazement.
"Yeah, and a bunch of them." Takuya agreed.
"That's pretty sweet." Koji said in amazement.
"Wow! Tree TV! I hope it isn't all travel channels. I wonder if we can get music videos?" JP wondered aloud.
"I doubt they're like actual TV from our world, JP," Takuya sighed.
"They're not really channels like you see on TV," Kokuwamon explained. "Like we mentioned before, this phenomenon is why the forest got its name, the TV Forest. But instead of an actual TV, it's showing you glimpses of a different world."
"How?" Zoe asked.
"We don't really know. That's why it's considered a phenomenon," Patamon pointed out.
"Wow…That's pretty insane." Koji mused as he looked at the trees again. "It looks just like our world."
"Hey, it's my school!" Zoe exclaimed as she looked at another tree. "The cherry trees are in bloom as well!"
"You know, I never imagined we'd be seeing another from the Digital World, it's kinda strange to see things from the perspective from somewhere else." JP noted as he walked up beside Zoe.
"Wow, I can see the town where I grew up, and my aunt and uncle's house!" Takuya said as he ran to another tree. It was showing a house with a large metallic contraption on the roof and a big green and silver sign that read 'Fenton Works' on it. "Although the sign looks newer than the last one."
The Digimon looked at the screens on the trees as well, they looked at each other a little nervously.
"Hey, what's going on there?" Zoe asked, pointing at the screen that was right next to the one Takuya was looking at.
Takuya blinked when he saw two familiar looking people fiddling with what looked like a mechanical helmet. He recognized the big orange man, and the woman next to him wearing the teal hazmat suit, and the red goggles over her eyes.
"Hey! That's Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie!" Takuya exclaimed as he looked at the two people working on the helmet. "But what are they working on?"
"Those are your uncle and aunt? Wow, the uncle sure looks big, even way bigger than I am as Beetlemon," JP joked.
"They look like they're worried about something," Tommy noted.
"Yeah, but why?" Takuya wondered himself. "It's rare for Uncle Jack to show he is worried; guy's like a big teddy bear, intimidating on the outside, big softy on the inside."
"I mean… how long has it been since you saw them? You said you used to live there, right?" Koji asked.
"Yeah, I moved away when I was 8 or 9." Takuya confirmed. "It's been about 3 or 4 years since I last saw them."
The scene seemed to shift on the screen, showing a teenage girl with long orange hair, typing furiously away on a computer, looking a little stressed. Patamon and Lopmon looked at her for a moment before looking at each other worriedly.
"That's Jazz. Wow, she's working hard on something." Takuya mused. "Wonder what she's working on. Knowing her, it may be a school paper. Though she must be under a lot of pressure as I've never seen her working that hard on a school paper before."
"She looks really pretty, I've gotta see if I could talk to her one day," Zoe remarked. "But… uh… I don't think she's Japanese, is she?"
"No, she's American." Takuya replied. "I'm related via my Uncle Jack. My dad is his half-brother, or so the story goes."
"Aw man, she looks hot! But I don't know how to speak English!" JP whined.
"Dude, she's also probably way out of your league," Kokuwamon remarked. "She's… well, according to Takuya, she looks like she'd be one of those smart, straight A students."
"Actually, that's a good assessment of Jazz." Takuya chuckled. "Jazz is in fact a straight A student."
Glancing at the image again, Takuya blinked before shaking his head. "Wait a minute… Jazz looks… older… She should be about 13 or so, not… older. She looks like she's 16 or something… She should be one year older than me, not 4 years older."
"Maybe she just matured faster for her age? I hear girls can do that," JP said.
"We're not aliens, JP, we don't age that quickly from boys," Zoe grumbled. "Though I do agree with the maturity thing."
"This… could be related to our second set of memories," Tommy suggested. "We don't know all the details, just that something happened to our memories."
"Yeah… That could be true." Koji agreed.
"It makes sense to me." Takuya said in agreement. "But it's so… odd to see Jazz much older than I expected, at least from my current set of memories."
"Is it possible we're not just seeing another world, but the future?" Koji asked, looking at the Digimon.
"Um… I suppose it could be possible," Labramon hesitantly answered. "We know about as much as you do about this whole phenomenon."
Though the way Labramon said it, it sounded like she was hiding something.
Tommy frowned. "... Do you think… we might be older than we should be right now?"
"I… can't say for sure…" Takuya murmured as he looked down. "But… I… think we may be… because, now that I think about it… it feels odd that we remember things from a different set of memories, and I think the set of memories we are slowly remembering may be our original memories… where we are older."
"But we don't know that for sure yet, do we?" Koji frowned. "There's a lot we don't know."
Soon the dark clouds moved away from the sky, and the screens on the trees disappeared.
"Looks like it's over," Biyomon noted.
"You know… I can't help but wonder… Do you think our families are worried about us?" Zoe asked a little somberly.
"We have been here for a while now," JP noted.
"I wonder how my mom and dad are doing too…" Tommy frowned. "If they even know we're here… if they're even real…"
"Your parents are definitely real, don't worry about that," Lopmon reassured them. "Your memories involving the Digital World though, that's the iffy part."
"We can't assume everything about our memories is fake." Koji said as he folded his arms. "If we do, then we will lose sight of our mission, and we will freak out and that could hold us back in battle."
"That's true… all we can do is believe in our Digimon friends and trust they're leading us to the right path," Zoe said.
"You believing in us is all we can hope for," Biyomon said. "Especially if you're willing to give up your Beast Spirits to make sure we stick around."
"We promise we will do everything we can to get you out of the trap set for you. Then maybe we can become friends for real afterwards." Labramon smiled.
JP smiled back. "That would be great."
Koji huffed, trying to act all uninterested, but he couldn't deny it would be nice to open up to others other than Labramon. "Yeah, whatever…"
"Hey, don't be like that, Koji." Takuya snickered. "You don't have to play the lone wolf forever."
"You be quiet," Koji grumbled.
"Heh, well, I'd say the two of you are getting along already," Patamon chuckled.
Tommy looked over at Lopmon and smiled. "Thanks… for helping us I mean… I feel like… in my other sets of memories, I didn't have a lot of friends I could count on… but I think… even back then, you were there to help me… weren't you?"
Lopmon looked at Tommy and gave a small smile of his own. "Yeah… maybe not as much as I am now, but we did run into each other a few times before."
"I think this has helped all of us." Zoe said with a smile of her own. "Now we each know why we felt deja vu at certain times so far throughout our travels in the Digital World."
"Yeah… and right now, our first order of business is to reach the Forest Terminal, like we've been doing, right?" Takuya asked.
"That's right. There's someone there that could help us," Patamon confirmed.
"Do you know who could help us?" JP asked. "Because you've been making this Digimon or… whomever, out to be a big deal."
"Well, he is," Lopmon stated. "You remember how we told you about the 3 Celestial Digimon that had been governing the Digital World since Lucemon was taken down? One of them is at the Forest Terminal."
"Awesome! So all we have to do is meet up with this Celestial Digimon!" Takuya exclaimed. "This should go much easier if we could have the help of one of the Celestial Digimon on our side."
"Yeah, the problem is we need all 3 Celestial Digimon in order to get you guys out," Kokuwamon said. "Kind of like gathering the 3 biggest mcguffins in an RPG game, the game isn't over until you get them all."
"Why is that a problem? Is it that hard to get all 3 to help us? Surely if we can convince the first one, he can convince the other two, right?" Zoe asked.
"Normally that would be the ideal scenario… if one of the Celestial Digimon wasn't Cherubimon himself," Lopmon pointed out.
"Yeah, you know, the big bad Digimon who's corrupting and breaking the Digital World apart and turning Digimon evil?" Patamon reminded.
"Ugh… Great, so we have to find a way to stop Cherubimon to get out of here." JP grumbled. "And here I thought it would be easier than that…"
"Whomever is behind us being here and the two sets of memories we have isn't going to make things easy for us." Takuya pointed out. "We have to find a way to throw their plans out of whack in order to get out."
"Well… other than not getting the Beast Spirits, defeating Cherubimon was something you were going to have to do anyways," Biyomon pointed out. "So perhaps the mastermind won't notice something's amiss as long as we don't make it too obvious what we're doing."
"True." Takuya conceded. "We just have to be careful about how we go about things. We can't make it obvious we're onto the mastermind."
"It might be easier said than done. It depends on how the mastermind is keeping an eye on us," Koji warned. "Is he watching us all from somewhere? Does he have to send in spies to watch us? It might explain those strange creatures from before that created that messed up Woodmon you guys fought with."
"Aw man, it's creepy to think that someone's watching us right now," JP shivered.
"Maybe we should eat some more meat apples so we don't make it too obvious that we're planning something?" Tommy suggested.
"That might be a good idea," Lopmon agreed.
The group sat down to start eating again, when Takuya heard something moving in the trees just above them.
"Huh?" Takuya looked up. "What was that I heard just now?"
"What did you hear?" Zoe asked.
"I heard it too," Lopmon said, looking up as well. "It sounded like something was in the trees."
The others looked around for a moment, but they couldn't find anything.
"It could've just been the wind, or a Digimon just moving around, I mean it is a forest," Koji pointed out.
"Hmm… maybe," Labramon said, not getting a good feeling.
"We'd… better go eat, just in case someone is watching us…" Takuya said, not wanting to draw attention to them.
Patamon bit into his meat apple. "Huh… tastes like hot dog. Kinda wish I had a bun and some ketchup."
"We should probably get some sleep soon, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, especially if we're going to try to defeat Grumblemon," Zoe suggested.
"But we better have someone keep watch, so we'll have to sleep in shifts," Koji remarked.
"Yeah, shifts would be a good idea." Zoe agreed. "I don't feel comfortable sleeping knowing someone is out there trying to mess with our memories."
"But who will take the first watch?" Takuya asked.
"We can try drawing straws if you guys can't decide," Labramon suggested. "Some teams do that when they can't decide on who to pick to be on their team."
"So that means you guys did that a lot?" Lopmon asked Labramon.
Labramon chuckled sheepishly. "Well, you know… sometimes you're forced to take on people who aren't good at the thing you need them to be at, so they'd be a hindrance to the team. Hence the straw picking."
"We may as well draw straws." Koji said as he shrugged. "It would be better than just trying to choose who gets what shift at random."
"But what do we use for straws?" Zoe asked. "We don't have any laying around, do we?"
"Well, we are in a forest, we could use sticks instead of straws," Lopmon pointed out. "Or we could use Biyomon's loose feathers if you preferred."
"No way, that's embarrassing," Biyomon huffed.
Tommy picked up some sticks, breaking some apart to make them shorter. "Are we picking for just each other, or are we including the Digimon too?"
"We should probably do the Digimon too." Koji said. "We could go in pairs. Like I am with Labramon, Zoe is with Biyomon, Takuya is with Patamon, Tommy is with Lopmon, and JP is with Kokuwamon."
"Huh… it's funny, we just kinda naturally paired up with each other without really meaning to," Patamon noted.
"I guess it's because we seem to be more drawn to our respective… I guess, partners, due to what we share in common," Kokuwamon remarked.
"Well, I'm not complaining, I enjoyed traveling with Koji." Labramon smiled.
Koji tried not to blush at that comment.
"Tommy's hat does make for a comfortable spot to lay on," Lopmon muttered.
Tommy gave a smile at that, blushing a little.
"Hold on," Takuya spoke up. "Maybe we shouldn't have Tommy stay awake for too long. Weird memories or not, right now, he's a lot younger than us. So he needs his sleep."
"So should Tommy get the first shift then?" JP asked. "Is that what you are saying?"
"Admittedly, it makes sense." Zoe agreed. "He is the youngest of us, so if Tommy is going to stand watch, he should go first."
"As long as Tommy doesn't object, that is." Koji finished.
"Actually, I was thinking Tommy doesn't stay up late at all." Takuya clarified, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "The rest of us would take shifts, Tommy doesn't. He just sleeps."
"Come on, Takuya, I know I'm young, but I'm still a Legendary Warrior. And I want to be able to help more." Tommy frowned. "We should all share our responsibilities."
"Well, Takuya does have a point though… you are still a growing boy, and it wouldn't be healthy for you to stay up for too long," Zoe remarked.
"It doesn't matter that much," Lopmon said. "Let him stay up if he wants to. We can't afford to have this group fall into discord because of a disagreement."
"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Takuya frowned.
"You're all still young yourselves, so it doesn't matter if Tommy stays up or not, you guys will have the same problems regardless," Lopmon answered. "If you're that worried, then just let Tommy have the first watch, he won't have to stay up that much longer than the rest of you guys."
Takuya groaned, but he knew Lopmon was right. "I guess that makes sense…" He admitted. "But he's still younger than us, so he won't be staying up too late into the first shift."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he won't stay up too late," Lopmon said before chuckling, "You sound like a protective big brother."
Tommy and Takuya blinked as they looked at each other, before blushing.
"I… uh… Do I?" Takuya coughed, trying to pass it off as just being concerned instead of being protective. "I… um… I just don't want Tommy to be up so late… That's not acting protective. Um… is it?"
"It is a little bit~" Zoe chuckled.
Takuya huffed a little.
The group had to make some beds for the others to sleep on. It wasn't very comfortable to sleep on the ground for too long. So they found some leaves to use for beds, and for pillows. It wasn't the most comfortable thing ever, but it was better than nothing.
Since it was a bit chilly that night, the group decided to leave the campfire running, with the one keeping watch to keep an eye on the campfire to make sure it didn't cause the forest to burn.
"You know, I'm surprised you wanted to keep watch, Tommy. Most kids your age would rather sleep right now," Takuya remarked as he laid down near where Tommy and Lopmon were.
"Well, I am a Legendary Warrior, and I want to show you guys that I can handle myself too," Tommy pointed out.
"I know you can, but you're still younger than us, and you need more sleep." Takuya replied back. "I'm not saying it makes you less capable, but you're just younger and still growing."
"I just think I'm not really doing enough…" Tommy sighed.
Takuya frowned. "Hey Tommy? Why do you feel like you need to prove yourself? You've already shown you're able to do just as much as the rest of us could. Heck, you were the one who saved us from the Candlemon, helped us get the jump on Grumble when he was holding Labramon, Patamon, and Lopmon hostage, and you helped Koji defeat that EctoGreymon, and you were the one who helped purified WaruMonzaemon."
"Takuya's right, you've done more than enough to show you're more than capable," Lopmon agreed. "Do you still feel like there's more you have to do?"
Tommy sighed as he looked at the smaller embers of the campfire. "... I have an older brother back home. He's older than even you, Takuya. He's… always been kind of hard on me, saying how I kept relying on our parents for everything, and expected others to take care of me. I've been trying hard to prove him wrong, but… I don't have any friends at school, or any reason to leave home much. Since we got here, I know I caused more problems at times, like when you had to save me from Cerberumon… I wanted to try to make up for that."
"Tommy, you don't have to make up for anything." Takuya said as he sat up. "You're just as capable as us, and the times you 'caused problems'? You were scared when we first got here. That was a natural reaction. And you saved me from those Candlemon, so I would say that made us even."
Tommy gave a sheepish smile to Takuya. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Give yourself more credit," Takuya said. "You were also the one to figure out that there's more going on here than we knew. Otherwise we might still be going along with this mastermind's trap completely oblivious to it."
"You definitely helped make our mission a lot easier," Lopmon agreed.
"Yeah, you're right." Tommy smiled. "I'm glad to know I've been helpful."
"Heh, well, Takuya, you certainly know how to be a big brother~" Patamon grinned as he was laying near Takuya.
"You shut up." Takuya grumbled as he tried to hide his blush growing on his face. "I'm just trying to help Tommy. But I do have a little brother, he's about the same age as you, Tommy. When we left for the Digital World, it was his birthday… Aw man, that means I missed out on all the cake and ice cream."
"Heh, afraid it's too late for that," Tommy chuckled.
"Though I do wonder if you two would get along if you ever met," Takuya remarked.
"I don't know. I seem to have trouble relating with other kids my age," Tommy sighed. "It's why I don't have any friends at school."
"But you have friends now… you have us," Lopmon said. "I know how you feel though… sometimes it's really hard to make friends with your peers, especially at school, where you're judged by what you look like, what you do, and who your parents are."
Takuya grimaced. "Yeah… I know that feeling. I may be good at sports, but I find it hard to interact with others outside of my soccer activities. I mean… I get along great with my teammates, but they aren't really people I'm close to."
"I wonder if your uniqueness is why the Spirits are drawn to you guys," Patamon wondered.
"Yeah… Zoe and JP showed glimpses that they aren't very popular with their peers at school either," Lopmon remembered. "A lot of us aren't either. The only exception is Labramon, though she realizes that she doesn't have any real friends either, they just like her for the talent she had, not for who she is."
"Wow, I guess all of us are a bit messed up." Takuya chuckled. "Not that it's a bad thing. It just shows we needed to find the right people to hang out with."
"We go against what society wants from us." Patamon grinned. "Something Biyomon can appreciate, she likes to stick it to society."
Tommy smiled as well. "I'm glad we were able to meet with you guys."
"Really? You don't think we've only gotten in your way?" Lopmon asked.
"Of course not. I see you guys always trying your best to help us, even in battle," Tommy pointed out. "You even seem to know what to say when the rest of us don't. Heck, one of you even got Koji to open up when he was as hard as a rock to the rest of us. And you're here now, risking yourselves to save us."
Lopmon sheepishly fiddled with his ears. "You know… I always admired you guys. Being chosen by the Spirits of the Legendary Warriors, able to do all these great stuff that ordinary people, and Digimon, can't do, being a tight knitted group able to work together to get through even the toughest of enemies… I sometimes wish I could be like one of you. Or be like a hero, someone with the power to be able to change the world for the better."
Patamon looked over at Lopmon. "But you do have something like that, even if it's not the most obvious, or a big, flashy power."
"I doubt it. I'm as ordinary as one could get," Lopmon sighed.
"I see… that's why we're drawn to each other, Lopmon," Tommy noted. "We both… feel like we need to prove something to ourselves."
"Then I guess Patamon and I are drawn to each other because we want to keep you two safe." Takuya noted as Patamon huffed in exasperation.
"Keep Lopmon safe? I would be happier if he actually listened to me and didn't go running off and get into trouble!" Patamon retorted grumpily.
"You're the one who gets into trouble, and I have to go in after you to fix it!" Lopmon argued back. "Besides, it's not my fault that I kept getting separated from you. You could've come after me, but you chose to stay."
Patamon blushed as he covered his face with his wings. "I swear I would rather you be stuck to me like glue sometimes…"
Tommy and Takuya both laughed at the two.
"Are you two actually brothers?" Takuya asked.
"Yeah, we are," Patamon said. "We may not be the same Digimon, but we are definitely brothers."
"Patamon considers himself the older one, but he's only older by a couple of hours," Lopmon grumbled. "So he's not that much older than me."
"It still counts…" Patamon retorted.
"No it doesn't." Lopmon retorted.
"Yes it does." Patamon shot back.
"Says who?" Lopmon grumbled.
"Says me. I'm the older one of us, even if it's by a couple of hours." Patamon retorted.
Takuya couldn't help but laugh as Tommy snickered.
"Wow, you two even argue like brothers." Takuya teased the two Rookie Digimon. "You kind of remind me of my twin cousins with how they argue sometimes."
"You have twin cousins?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah, both are younger than me by one year." Takuya replied. "The first one, Danny, is older than his brother, Andy by two hours or so." Takuya then paused. "Which is quite the coincidence if what Patamon and Lopmon said is true about Patamon being a couple of hours older."
"Ah, yeah, that is quite the coincidence, isn't it?" Patamon nervously said.
"Smooth…" Lopmon grumbled. "No wonder you're the Digimon of angels, you suck at ly- well, you're just not good at being mischievous."
"Oh hush," Patamon huffed.
Tommy looked at the two curiously. "When we're able to get out of this trap set by the mastermind… would we be able to meet you guys for real? Where you no longer have this magical seal of silence or anything on you?"
Lopmon and Patamon looked at Tommy and smiled.
"Of course we will, that's a promise." Lopmon declared.
Tommy smiled back. "Then I can't wait!"
"Yeah, it would be nice for me to meet you guys for real as well." Takuya agreed with a smile of his own.
Patamon mentally snorted. You already know us, Takuya…
"To think that we were originally going to stay away from you guys," Lopmon said. "We didn't want you getting too close to us, because it would've hurt once you found your Beast Spirits, and we had to leave. We thought it'd be easier for both of our sakes if we kept our distance from you. Though Patamon didn't like the idea of course, so we had a bit of an argument about it. Still, despite that, I ended up getting stuck with you guys when you and Zoe literally dragged me into that hole with you."
"I swear, you like to make me worry, Lopmon…" Patamon grumbled. "You always seem to do that to me."
"But because we ended up dragging you with us, that's when you decided to stick with us," Takuya remarked.
"Yeah, especially since Tommy and JP almost got eaten by some hungry Pagumon, I figured you guys could use all the help you could get," Lopmon chuckled.
"That wasn't our best moment…" Tommy grumbled.
"But now you guys are starting to be able to handle yourselves," Lopmon spoke up. "The mastermind only allowed us to stick with you until you get your Beast Spirits, where we aren't needed anymore to help keep you safe. That's why when you get your Beast Spirits, we won't be able to stay with you."
"Well, we aren't going for the Beast Spirits." Takuya replied. "We decided that since we don't want to lose you guys."
"And we'll find a way to deal with Grumblemon without the extra power," Tommy added.
"We appreciate it." Patamon said before yawning. "But for now, Takuya, we should turn in. We don't want to be too tired for what we need to do tomorrow."
"Yeah, that would be a good idea." Takuya agreed as he yawned. "Sleep would do us all some good, especially Tommy."
"Hey! I'm not sleepy!" Tommy retorted before a yawn escaping him betrayed how tired he was.
"Do you want me to wake someone else to take the watch then?" Lopmon offered.
"Yeah, that would be a good idea." Patamon agreed. "The sooner someone else takes over, the sooner we can get to sleep."
"Then I'll wake up JP and Kokuwamon. Kokuwamon usually stays up late anyways, and JP is the oldest of you guys," Lopmon decided.
"That will work." Takuya said with a smile. "I think JP will want to take the next watch anyway."
Tommy nodded as he laid down on one of the empty leaf beds. Admittedly, he was pretty tired and wanted to sleep. After talking with Takuya, Lopmon, and Patamon, he decided it wouldn't be a bad thing to turn in earlier. However, as Lopmon was heading over to JP, Tommy didn't see a certain shadow that crept up behind him.
There was a whisper of words, and Tommy felt something tickling his right ear. He blinked as he turned around, but he didn't see anything.
"What was that?" Tommy wondered aloud to himself, confused as to who could have been speaking to him.
"What is it, Tommy?" Lopmon asked.
"I thought I heard something," Tommy said as he rubbed his ear for a moment.
Lopmon titled his head. "Really? I didn't hear anything, and I have the best earring in the group."
"I… guess it must've been my imagination then…" Tommy said sheepishly, but he was sure he had heard something earlier.
"Maybe. Try to get some sleep then. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow," Lopmon said quietly. "And… thanks… you really helped us convince the others to help us help you guys. I don't know what we could've done otherwise."
Tommy smiled. "I was happy to help, and… I'm glad we could convince the others too… It will help everyone in the long run, I think."
"Yeah, it should." Lopmon smiled. "Not having to worry about a time limit with you guys definitely helps. But we'll have plenty of time to talk about it in the morning. For now, have a good night sleep, Tommy."
"You too, Lopmon." Tommy replied.
Titanic X: DarkFoxKit: Yeah, that's what we were going for.
ZAFT: Hey, if it works, it works. XD