"Tracking, Bio-emergence imminent. GARMR running at full capacity."

"Good. Is it on track to follow the pattern like the others?"

"Data indicates yes."

"Hmm, keep an eye on it and let me know when it emerges. Contact Janyu, and tell him I want to meet with him and the other Monster Makers. Before the end of the week, if possible."

"Yes sir."

"Any update on Shibumi?"

"Still missing."

"The most cutting edge data information center in the world and we can't find one man. But that would be typical of him, wouldn't it?"

"Sir?"

"Nevermind. I'm heading out."

Madoka didn't know what she should have expected from meeting her family with a digital creature. Wasn't it crazy to even think about such a meeting in the first place, she thought to herself as she watched it unfold. In some ways, it went much smoother than the worried part of her would have thought about. Guilmon and her baby brother had taken to each other almost instantly. Guilmon made no protest whenever Tatsuya would reach for his snout with food-covered hands and would catch any tossed food that came his way, usually the vegetables he didn't like. Madoka felt some jealousy if she were honest with herself, born mostly out of a childish desire that Guilmon was her partner and should play with her instead. The sentiment couldn't last however, the older sister in her wining out as she smiled happily as Guilmon raised his head back with a smile of his own.

Even covered in handprints formed from food, she thought Guilmon was meant to smile like this rather than fight monsters.

"I didn't want to say anything when I saw him, but he asked me to make sure I didn't tell anyone he was hiding. "He told me he promised Madoka no would find out where he was", he said." said her Mom to her dad, recalling how she had to come home briefly for some documents and found Guilmon wandering the house curiously. She had said it had shocked her, but the thought of her Mom being cool even when faced by a monster seemed more strange than Guilmon being real.

Her Dad chuckled, leaning over to wipe away the excess food on both Tatusya's hands and Guilmon's face.

"I don't think I've ever heard Tatsuya laugh as much as he did when he met Guilmon. I tried to get him to come with us to the park but he just told me the same thing too and I just couldn't break that promise for him." As her Dad finished explaining and her mom gave her a chuckle, Madoka's shoulders sagged wearily.

Basically, despite asking Guilmon not to go outside of her room, he did exactly that and met everyone in her family.

Madoka certainly felt frustrated at how quickly Guilmon had ignored what she had told him to do. What if he had run outside of her home and into the neighborhood? It had already been a miracle that she and Sayaka had snuck him to her home from the mall.

The neighborhood would no doubt have been in an uproar due to another Digimon of the same kind as the three original Tamers being spotted so close to their homes. And if that happened, then police would no doubt get involved. She didn't think they would hurt Guilmon. Then once they saw they were dealing with a Digimon, HYPNOS would no doubt get involved. Her teacher told her they were concerned with making sure new Tamers were well taken care of and aided but would they assume Guilmon was her partner without a D-Ark? And if they didn't believe her and took Guilmon away from her, then what?

Madoka paused her thinking, turning back to her mom who had asked her a question she didn't quite hear.

"Yes! That is, uh, no?" Madoka exchanged looks with her mom and dad, the brief pregnant silence broken by Tatsuya's giggling as Guilmon licked his cheek clean of the bits of leftover food. Madoka felt herself shrink as her parents laughed at the tender display.

"So Guilmon what brought you to Mitakihara?" Madoka perked up as the question left her mother's tongue. Guilmon broke away from her brother's giggle fits, turning his head with an inquisitive stare.

"Mi-Ta-Ki-Ha-Ra." Like a child learning a brand-new word, Guilmon spoke the word softly and slowly. He pondered it, saying the word a few more times before raising a claw at Madoka with a smile.

"Madoka brought me to her. I think?" Madoka didn't know what to say to that. She felt her heart skip a beat, lifting her mood with it. Had that been true? Had she somehow called Guilmon forth in that desperate moment where she wanted, no, needed to protect Kyuubey from the DemiDevimons? It sounded romantic, though someone like Sayaka might have called it destiny or thread of fate at work. She wanted to believe it to know some greater force had brought her and Guilmon together, the same as had happened with the three Tamers.

"Oh, and how did she manage that?" her mom said coolly as she leaned into her chair, resting her head on her hands as she winked at Madoka. The teasing tone under the coolness wasn't lost on Madoka who also heard the tone of pride in that that said 'That's my girl' to her. She wondered if she should speak up and tell her exactly what had happened. The attack by the DemiDevimons, that horrible place with those frightening nightmares, and how Guilmon had fought and beaten them all to protect her and Sayaka. Instead of that, Guilmon continued.

"I dunno." Guilmons answered lacking any confusion or worry "I remember running into something dark and spooky. It felt like it went forever and ever. Then I heard Madoka and it stopped being so dark and spooky."

Madoka had expected that her Mom would have poked and prodded further. Guilmons answer was very sparse after all and to someone whose profession was driven by her forwardness, she was certain that her Mom was preparing to squeeze as much as she could from him.

Yet the barrage of questions and prodding never came over. Rather than that Madoka watched her mom reach over and gently rub one of Guilmons wing-like ears. It reminded Madoka about how one might treat a well-behaved pet. Guilmon kept his attention to her little brother, neither bothered nor pleased by the attention her mom gave him.

"Madoka pulled you out of the dark eh? That's pretty romantic Guilmon." Guilmon looked away from Tatsuya and tilted his head queerly at her mom.

"Romantic?" parroting the word with all the innocent confusion of a child. Madoka smiled, laughing softly as she opened her mouth to answer before her mother cut her off.

"Yes, romantic. " her mother began raising a single finger and drawing Guilmons full attention "It means something heroic or mysterious."

"Heroic? Oh, a hero! Madoka, didn't Sayaka call me that?" Guilmon must have remembered what happened shortly after he had beaten the wild Digimon. Sayaka had gushed about the fact that a Guilmon, the same as the one that was a partner to Takato Matsuki, had come to their rescue and had called him a hero. Even if it had happened so recently Madoka couldn't quite remember if she had agreed with Sayaka or not though she knew she had no reason to think otherwise.

"Sayaka's a really big fan of the Tamers' mom. When she saw Guilmon she couldn't help herself from thinking he was the same Guilmon as the one on TV." It wasn't a lie, Madoka had told herself. Everything she said was true but she didn't want to scare her mom or her dad so soon after having them meet Guilmon. In the back of her mind, she recalled what Sayaka had said about how the Tamers had to deal with more wild ones as they appeared. Even if Guilmon was strong she didn't like the idea that he had to fight more Digimon. With that came what Kyuubey had told her; suddenly she felt like wrapping her arms around Guilmons neck.

"I remember that day." her dad spoke up, rising from his chair as he walked over to Tatsuya with a clean wipe "You sat and watched the whole thing. You were so anxious that you ended up crying when you saw that the Digimon fighting against those monsters were kids no older than you were."

Madoka felt an embarrassed warmth spread over her face. Had she cried? She certainly remembered watching the battle, the same as all kids her age and beyond, no doubt. But to cry in worry for people she had never even met? She truly could not remember.

"I don't want to imagine how their parents must have felt. It must have been awful." Her dad added, and Madoka nodded agreeing silently.

"In the end there was no choice, right? Those kids and their Digimon were the only ones who could stand against that thing. I don't like the idea of children having to fight in place of adults but they traveled to places no adult had been to. They took charge of the situation and fought and won for everyone. I'm sure no matter how worried their parents must have been they must have also been proud for raising such strong kids."

Madoka couldn't turn away, her heart swelling as her mom turned to her. She winked and smiled, pumping her fist with vigor. Madoka had prepared herself for her mother's energy.

"You hear that Madoka? You have Momma's blessing to go out on your digital adventure. Go show them just how strong a tamer you are!" Her dad shook his head, lifting Tatsuya from his seek as her little desperately reached out to Guilmon who only offered a wave goodbye.

Madoka wasnt sure how serious her mom was. The words had reminded her of the way Sayaka had spoken about being a Tamer. Yet coming from her mother, someone who had never shown interest in Digimon prior, they sounded much more set in stone.

Suddenly she felt terrible for withholding the truth and yet she also felt relieved about her mother accepting the reality that came with being a Tamer. Thoughts ran through her head about what adventures awaited both her and Guilmon. What sort of wild Digimon would they encounter and battle, if need be? Would they also travel to the Digital World despite its near impossibility? What about the other Tamers, would they welcome her to their group? Could she be as gallant as Takato and his own Guilmon had been?

She could not say farewell to all the uneasiness and uncertainty she had felt since meeting Guilmon. Not all at once, anyways. But knowing that her mother supported her, that she would be her top fan and confidant besides her friends filled her with courage she was afraid she lacked. The lack of a D-Ark, the very proof of her partnership with Guilmon, became less of a concern and more of an obstacle she knew they could and would overcome

She turned to Guilmon, fire in her eyes, and was met with his soft stare, blinking curiously as Madoka stood up from her chair. Their adventure began now!

"Oh but before that make sure you finish your food and put away your dishes." Her mom added as Madoka sat down to her food. Guilmon helped by eating the remaining scrapes on her brother's chair.

They were already working together!

Madoka and Guilmon's adventure would begin as soon as she finished her food and dishes!

The rest of the quiet evening turned into a peaceful night's sleep which then bled into an uneventful day at school. Guilmon had of course stayed home, knowing now that Guilmon would have free rein of the house to and a playmate with her little brother Tatsuya.

Madoka had left with the cute memory of Tatsuya being hypnotically entranced by lifting and dropping Guilmon's tail. Guilmon for his part laid contently, resting his eyes and pretending like he was asleep but ever so often raising them when he noticed Tatsuya struggled with the act.

It was after school now as Madoka and her friends had decided to meet up at the mall again, though she had arrived earlier for her reasons. She waved at them with a free hand, her other hand occupied by a white bag full of things she had bought already. It didn't take long for Sayaka to point out how early Madoka had arrived.

"Eh~ You did come after all. With how fast you left I was sure something had happened with Guilmon." Madoka gasped looking at Hitomi with worried eyes. Madoka couldn't believe that it hadn't even been a full three days and Sayaka was already telling everyone about Guilmon!

"Sayaka really couldn't help herself. Don't worry though she's only told me about it." Sayaka held up her hands together with prayer and a sheepish smile on her face that said 'I'm sorry!' But always the most mature one Hitomi's reassurance caused her to release her held breath.

"Yeah, I'm not the kind of girl who just tells anyone." Said Sayaka as she eyed up the bag that Madoka had been holding onto like she could see its contents "Hey what did you get?" Madoka tried to move the bag away faster than her friend, but she felt like a small cat trying to outpeed a bigger cat. Sayaka reached in and vanished, appearing behind her with a happy noise that sounded like a hollering monkey discovering a new toy.

"Is this-!" Sayak paused as she whipped around revealing in her hands a box of Digimon booster packs "The new set!"

Madoka weakly raised her arm before Hitomi's words came from behind her like a knife through the heart.

"Madoka, not you too. I could stand Sayaka being so enthralled with Digimon but if you start eating all the Digimon bread, watching all the shows, and talking about the card game I'm afraid of feeling left out. Just because you got a Digimon doesn't mean you're allowed to become a fanatic like Sayaka." Hitomi turned her head away, bringing a hand under her eyes that refused to look at Madoka. Madok tried to explain that this was the case. She had her reasons to buy the cards, honest ones at that. She had only ever seen bits and pieces of the first show and only eaten the bread when Sayaka offered it!

"Whoa, and a D-Ark too? Madoka's going all out." Madoka snapped her head back, feeling the decreasing weight of the bag as Sayaka held the still-packaged D-Ark in her hands.

Behind her, she heard Hitomi sniffing dramatically.

They had gone to the same café as before, eating the same meals as and even listening to the same music as before. It would have been a replication of the same day as before without any protest or acknowledgment from them. At least that would have been the case before the events that had happened on that day.

"I see." Said Sayaka, listening to Madoka's explanation "Honestly, I'm not sure how D-Arks work altogether. The forums talk about it all the time, but no one knows for sure especially because there aren't that many Tamers to begin with. Plus, I hear HYPNOS monitors the web for stuff like that. The best you get are some old videos uploaded like forever ago."

Before going o sleep that night Madoka had decided to do a little more research on what being a Tamer meant to the Digimon besides just having them as a friend. She recalled what she had heard in school and had looked up Digi-Modify. Some grainy videos later and Madoka understood a bit more. In them Takato had used the D-Ark and the cards to add or change aspects of Guilmon, his Digimon partner, to make him stronger or to give him an advantage. She even witnessed certain cards used to Digi-volve Guilmon into more powerful and bigger forms. But it wasn't always with the cards, and it seemed to be more drawn to the D-Ark itself. The D-Ark seemed to be the key to everything when it came to the bond of Tamer and Digimon.

Of course, the D-Ark itself hadn't appeared when Guilmon himself had. Even now despite having introduced himself to her family and her resolution to be a great partner to him, there had not been anything tangible to show for it.

She had read online from some unverified source that in special circumstances a real-life device could turn itself into a D-Ark. Perhaps feeling some desperation Madoka had decided to buy the toy version of the D-Ark alongside the newest set of Digimon cards.

Thinking about it now it sounded childish, but she reassured herself that the same must have been said about Digimon being real.

"It's still incredible either way. You hear about it all the time in the news but to get to see it in real life. Say, Madoka, could I meet him? Guilmon that is?" Hitomi's request caught Madoka off guard but brought a shrew expression to Sayaka's face.

"Hohoho~ first Madoka, now you too Hitomi. Soon enough I'll spread and make everyone love Digimon just like how I do!" Sayaka laughed deeply like she had been a villain straight out of an anime. Hitomi had responded just like Madoka knew that she would.

"I just want to show Madoka support is all. Being a Tamer is important to her because she cares so much about Guilmon." Hitomi answered both cooly and elegantly as Sayaka waved it away.

"Sure sure, but when I catch you leaving the game store with a bunch of new cards don't expect me to ever let it go, got it?" Sayaka's reply was met with a quick sip by Hitomi of her drink.

"Anyways." Sayaka cleared her throat turning back to Madoka with serious, gleaming eyes.

"Madoka you got at least four booster boxes. Not just that but they're first edition too. Have you looked at the set online? There's a bunch of awesome-looking alt-art cards you can get here.

Now if you're just trying to get some good cards for your D-Ark then you wouldn't need the alt art copies. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Madoka didn't it. She didn't even know that the box had been a new set, she just grabbed it because it had Gallantmon on it.

"Be careful Madoka. Sayaka's up to something." Added Hitomi as Sayaka scoffed at her in seeming disbelief.

"You wouldn't get it Hitomi, I mean, how could you? For a veteran like me it's my job to guide a rookie like Madoka in not stressing over things like alt-art card rarity. Being practical is what matters in the end."

"And being able to claim a rare version of a card because she wouldn't know any better is very practical, yes."

Madoka couldn't tell exactly what they were arguing about. She just hoped they would finish soon. She wanted to go home to Guilmon to show him what she had bought with him in mind.

Guilmon who had been lying down curled into himself. Although Guilmon didn't understand what a little brother was just yet, Tatsuya fell asleep against Guilmon. His small soft hands laid on his tail after finally tiring himself out against it. Guilmon shifted his tail raising it up and over Tatsuya's lap to cover him with it.

"Thank you so much for playing with Tatsuya, Guilmon, it made getting the chores done around the house that much easier." Madoka's dad, something else that Guilmon didn't understand, had gone around the house all day stopping only when Tatsuya smelled bad.

Madoka's dad must have had some special powers because when Tatsuya came back, he smelled great!

He had even made Guilmon some food, though it wasn't Guitmon bread. Guilmon wasn't sure if he liked the small white stuff, but Tatsuya sure did.

"Tatsuya was a lot of fun but now he's sleepy. Will he want to play more when he wakes up?" Madoka's dad laughed at Guilmon's question. Guitmon wasn't sure what was so funny.

"I'm sorry Guilmon, I just never expected I'd meet someone with more energy than a four-year-old boy. Yes, I'm sure once Tatsuya wakes up, he'll be more than happy to play with you again. Though Madoka will be coming home soon and I'm sure she'd want to spend more time with you." Guilmon fought against thumping his tail excitedly. It had felt like forever since Madoka and he had seen each other, even if Guilmon could tell that the light in the sky was still out since she left. Would she bring him Guilmon bread? He wondered, thinking also about her friend Sayaka who always had the bread with her.

"I'm going to get the laundry out of the dryer. When I get back, I'll grab Tatsuya and take him to his bedroom so you can wait for Madoka without having to deal with Tatsuya sleeping on you." Guilmon didn't mind in the end but nodded his head as he closed his own eyes, breathing softly as the footsteps of Madoka's dad faded from earshot.

Just then, a pulse ran through Guilmon, and he heard Tatsuya stir. Guilmon raised himself up onto his feet, looking around with sharpening eyes. His nostrils flared and an intense growing emanating from deep within himself.

"Gi-mom?" Tatsuya spoke from beside him, rubbing his eyes gently as he stared up at Guilmon's much more fearsome-looking face. Reaching up and touching Guilmon's thigh, he felt how rigid and tense he had become. Tatsuya rocked his hand against him, trying to get Guilmon's attention but to no avail.

"Gi-mom!" cried Tatsuya to no avail. Guitmon heard footsteps approaching them but kept his eyes pointed toward the clear skies through the frame of the house. Tatsuya rocked against him once more, as hard as his little body could muster.

"Gi-!" the word was caught in Tatsuya's throat, as all light was cut out from the house.

Something had spread itself across every corner, every single window of the house. It peered at him, at Guitmon. Eyes with a toothy, sharp grin that belonged to the monsters of bedtime stories.

It smiled.

Instantly Guitmon turned and wrapped himself around Tatsuya, shielding him as metal and glass broke and littered the room and carpet. Tatsuya heard sounds within sounds and pressed his hands against his ears as the staggering sound of glass breaking shook him.

"Tatsuya!" Cried Madokas dad as he ran into the room hearing the wails and tears of Tatsuya who stood behind Guilmon. The living area had been destroyed, bits of what was furniture scattered and littered through the area as glass and metal surrounded everything around Tatsuya. Guilmon gave a single glance back to Tatusuya, who raised his arm as if to call him back.

"Gi-mom! Gi-mom!" But Guilmon rushed forward, pursuing the force that had attacked him and Tatsuya without a second thought. He jumped upwards placing him onto the forested area behind the house as he dashed and moved across the ground floor.

Behind him, the tears and cries of a scared little boy were lost.