The New Team of Marcus, Thomas and Ash

The group, joined by Charlie was pursuing a new target. A small green slug had taken refuge inside a building's basement.

"Ugh just take a look at this place. Slime everywhere, and that smell. So gross. My guess is that the Digimon we want is inside." Marcus informed the others.

"Gee, what tipped you off little brother?" Charlie said sarcastically.

"Enough. We have a job to do so let's head inside." Yoshi ordered in a strong tone as they then entered the building.

"Now, based off the trail that was left behind Numemon is in the basement." Charlie guessed. He then looked at his Digimon partner.

"Lead the way Guilmon." He and Guilmon made their way down to the basement after Numemon.

"You're not getting away this time Numemon!" Marcus shouted.

"Don't worry boss, I'll get him." Agumon said as he really wanted to fight this living snot trail.

"Wait." Agumon was interrupted. They turned to the source of the voice. It was Thomas.

"We need a plan first. Gaomon, guard this entrance." He instructed.

"Sir, yes sir." Gaomon nodded.

"Marcus and Agumon, you'll go to the other entrance as Ash and Renamon push him out - he won't be able to escape." Thomas filled them in. Ash and Renamon nodded in agreement, but Marcus was another story.

"Don't order me around." Marcus shot back.

"The commander made us a team. We have to work together." Thomas informed the other two.

"That doesn't mean you're the only one to come up with strategies!" Marcus shouted back. "Let's go Agumon." The two then ran down to the basement.

"Right!" Agumon shouted back and went down the stairs as well.

"I doubt they'll live long enough to learn to cooperate with us. Let's guard the other entrance." Thomas said as he and Gaomon stood at the doorway Marcus and Agumon ran through.

"Sir, yes sir." Gaomon replied, and with that the two ran off leaving only Renamon and Ash.

"Now that the squabbling came to a end where should we go?" Renamon asked Ash. He thought about it for a moment and then knew exactly what needed to be done.

"Thomas can handle himself. Let's get in there. Hopefully we can reason with Numemon and avoid a confrontation." Ash informed Renamon. With the decision made Ash and Renamon made their way through the door and down the stairs. Soon Yoshi and Lalamon were the only ones left.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Lalamon asked as she floated there, curious if they could get their act together.

"I have no idea. Why would the commander make those three a team in the first place." Yoshi replied, rubbing her temples as the negative thoughts produced by Marcus and Thomas squabbling were giving her a headache.

"Yoshi." Lalamon said, concerned about her partner's well being.

"I'm okay, Lalamon." She told the rookie in a reassuring tone. "It was just a bit overwhelming picking those thoughts up." Yoshi then stood up straight.

"We have a Digimon to find." She declared in a determined tone. Down in the basement the four tried to find their target, but found nothing...well the humans didn't anyway.

"Where could he possibly be?" Marcus questioned out loud.

"He's close. He could be anywhere." Renamon stated to the others as she sniffed the air even though she didn't want to have this gunk anywhere near her nostrils.

"Hey guys." Agumon called out causing the others to head towards his direction. The group then saw their target.

"Now, if we approach him calmly we might be able to reason with him." Ash explained as he still desired to avoid a pointless confrontation.

"Forget that Ash. We just have to pound him hard and fast." Marcus countered before racing off towards Numemon. Agumon willingly followed as Ash and Renamon sighed and then ran after them - knowing this would end badly. Deeper in the room was Thomas and Gaomon.

"I'm picking up movement. It's heading this way. Gaomon, take a forward position and await orders." Thomas instructed.

"Sir, yes sir." Gaomon answered back and did as he was told. While everyone was doing their own thing, Numemon was looking around since his eyes could see in all directions because they were designed like a snail's eyes.

'Looks like I lost the humans.' Numemon thought as he scanned around, but didn't see his pursuers.

"All right. In: 3...2...1. Get him." Thomas ordered Gaomon as they timed their attack perfectly.

"Double Backhand!" Gaomon shouted out and spun like a top at the enemy. Numemon became frightened when he saw the blue top heading straight for him, but he was able to secrete a lot of slime and slide out of the way, not knowing he dodged a attack from Agumon who was right behind him.

'So that is the definition of a uncoordinated attack. Good to know.' Renamon thought as she watched the two slam into each other. This caused Thomas and Marcus to start arguing and pointing fingers.

"Guys, calm down. Our opponent is gone." Ash informed them after placing a hand on both of their shoulders. The two reluctantly complied, but as soon as they did Numemon started throwing 'bunches' of slime at them.

"Power Paw!" Renamon shouted and began punching the other attack to keep the rest of them safe and clean. In desperation Numemon continued the attack. Just then Lalamon and Yoshi arrived as she used her telekinesis to shield the others from the slime and Lalamon went on the offensive.

"Seed Blast!" Lalamon called out and fired her attack which instantly reverted it to a digiegg.

"Good job Lalamon." Yoshi congratulated her partner.

"You guys would be lost without me." She stated after picking up the digiegg and handing it to Marcus' brother after he and Guilmon reunited with them.

"Well, I'll take this back so it can be returned to the Digital World." Charlie placed Guilmon inside his Digivice, then went outside and started up his motorcycle.

"This guy got in my way!" Marcus shouted as he pointed a accusing finger at Thomas.

"What a joke. My plan was flawless. It only failed because you didn't listen to me." Thomas argued back with Ash wishing they knew how to flow like a team should.

"Well, I would listen to you Thomas. If you ever had anything worthwhile to say!" Marcus shouted back which got under Thomas' skin.

"You jerk. No, make that you cocky jerk. You're just a snot nosed amateur. You don't even know what you're doing." Thomas stated. Before the argument could escalate any further, Marcus and Thomas were lifted into the air by Yoshi and then slammed into each other knocking them both out for a while. After coming too, they returned the egg to the Digital World and then went home.

"Listen...I...uh...thanks for the ride home okay." Marcus said to Thomas, who went out of his way to drop Ash, Renamon, Agumon and Marcus off. Ash had already thanked him and went inside with Renamon, but Marcus remained behind to converse.

"Well, don't thank me. I only did so because the commander ordered it." Thomas informed him while looking straight ahead.

"Huh?" Marcus questioned back in confusion.

"He's probably hoping we'll become friends if we spend time together. Yeah, like that will ever happen." Thomas replied back. He really believed that statement because there was no way he would learn a thing from Marcus. Ash and his older brother though, they were a different story.

"Well, fine I take it back then." Marcus said back. He wanted to leave since their discussion was going nowhere, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Marcus. Wow, check this out. What a cool car." Kristy said as she walked over to the vehicle with a large smile on her face.

"Go inside, Kristy." Marcus instructed.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, Marcus?" Kristy questioned before looking in the open window.

"I would if he was my friend, but he's not." Marcus informed her with his hands on her shoulders wanting to push her in the direction of the front door as quickly as possible.

"Just ignore him that's what I always do. I'm Kristy." She informed the new guy since she saw that he seemed a little down, so she gave him a genuine smile. Back inside their mother saw Renamon and Ash get a couple cans of V8, and then looked around for the others.

"Sorry to ask you, guys, but where are Agumon and Marcus?" She asked them and since the two were too busy quenching their thirst they just pointed outside. She understood and headed out on her own.

"Go." Marcus said to Kristy since the subtle way was not working on her.

"Wanna come in? Mom's making tea." She offered since she wanted to be friendly.

"What's all the racket about?" Their mother questioned after coming outside and approaching the vehicle towards the end of the conversation.

"Nothing mom." Marcus informed her since he wanted Thomas gone as soon as possible.

"Marcus' friend drove him home." Kristy informed her, not knowing the others were already inside since she was getting a few things from the convenience store.

"Oh well, thank you very much Mr. Marcus' friend." Their mother stated to Thomas and saw a look in the young man's eyes. A memory was rolling in his head, but it was not her place to pry.

"Would you like some tea?" Their mother asked in a gentle tone after seeing him nod.

"No mom, he doesn't want tea." Marcus informed her in a rather forced tone.

"Marcus, don't be so rude." The older woman said to him in a ordering tone. Thomas believed that this was a good enough time to leave.

"We can go now." Thomas informed the driver who shifted the vehicle into drive and drove down the road.

"See he can't even stay." Marcus pointed out to her as the black car went by.

"It's polite to offer though." She informed her son.

"Bye. See you soon." Kristy shouted out while waving her left hand to the vanishing vehicle.

"Thank you!" Their mother shouted out to the vehicle as well.

"He seems nice." She informed the two around her which angered her youngest son. Up on the roof a re-hydrated Ash and Renamon were watching what had happened down below.

'Why does it feel to me that Kristy should be a bit more cynical about the world around her?' Renamon thought to herself as she watched everything while Ash was curious how he could make Marcus and Thomas true friends since mother and daughter seem ready to accept him. In the car the boy in question was thinking of something as well.

"Huh. Family." Thomas said to himself as his driver drove him home. Near the morning hour of the next day were a pair making a withdraw of sorts.

"Hey, we're in." A tall man said to a smaller human after using a scanning device on a electronic lock.

"Did you really by pass the security that quickly?" The other thief questioned and sounded suspicious that it could be done in that short of time.

"Yeah. With this beauty – it's easy." The older one said back and walked over to the defenseless door.

"Wow. Could it get me a date too." The younger one questioned since he wasn't having that fair of luck in that field.

"It doesn't do the impossible. Just open the door." The tech savvy one instructed which caused the other to groan in defeat before doing as he was told. After some walking the two made it to their target inside of the bank.

"Man, this is easy. We broke in and didn't even break a sweat. Get it?" The younger one stated as he waited for his friend to unlock the safe with his scanning device.

"You'll get it if you don't pipe down." The tech centered thief said back since he had a gut feeling that there was still security guards and the last thing that he needed was for this amateur practically announcing where they were.

"Where did you get that thing, anyway?" The new guy questioned his stealing mentor.

"I just ordered it over the internet. Now watch this." The more experienced one replied and instructed before seeing that the locks of the safe have been picked. "And we're in." He informed once everything was unlocked.

"Awesome." The other shouted out before turning the nob and opening the door. "Come on, let's grab the loot." He shouted out after opening up the door and leaving his mentor behind.

"Hey, wait up." The more experienced one shouted out before following after him.

"Whoa, look at all of these jewels!" The new guy shouted out as he opened a drawer and saw their target.

"Don't lay a hand on anything except for the cash. You got that." The one in charge informed before tripping on the other one's bag. He did not fall, but the device he used to hack the door did causing it to sizzle it's circuits and undo it's handiwork.

"We're going to be thrown in jail. Aren't we?" The new guy questioned with fear in his voice.

"It's your fault for leaving your stupid bag on the floor." The other one shouted back which was the truth even though this was their first heist together. Near the fried device a strange hole appeared and out from it came a purple and white creature with a drill for a nose.

"Don't come any closer." The older one shouted out completely fear ridden.

"Do something." The youth shouted out at him. "You've got to save me." He added to his first statement.

"Save yourself." The first thief said back as he raced closer to the door, and was tempted to throw his apprentice to the beast if things went bad.

"Relax." The third creature in the safe stated to the panicking people.

"Huh? You can speak?" The younger one questioned in awe and confusion.

"Yes, of course I can." The beast said back to them while tilting his head; wondering what the strange fur-less one was talking about.

"No way! What in the world are you anyway?!" The second thief shouted out since he was still trying to make sense of what was going on right in front of him.

"This is crazy." The first guy stated before seeing the drill and added with a big smile, "Can that nose of yours dig us out of here?" Since it looked like a drill the man assumed that it will work like an actual drill.

"Stand back." The creature shouted out while activating his drill. Walked over to the wall, and went to work.

"This is just too weird. What in the world is he?" The younger one questioned to the other since his mind was still trying to make scene of all of this.

"If he manages to get us out of here then he's our friend." The other informed back, and looked back at the creature. Sure enough the beast was able to drill through that thick slab of stone that was keeping them inside. "Come on. Let's go." The older one stated as he followed the tunneler out.

"Wait for me." The second human shouted out before following after them. Unknown to the three was that they set off a different kind of alarm in a different building.

"Sir, we have received word of a bank break-in." Miki informed her boss of some up to the minute news.

"Energy signatures indicate that a Digimon was involved." Megumi informed him as she saw the read out on her computer monitors.

"More good news as always." Yoshi informed the others in an obvious tone as they saw the holo pictures of the event in question.

"It's just as I thought. Digimon are appearing more frequently." Sampson stated as the pictures switched to an electronic device and the bank manager. "We could be facing an epidemic." He added to his first statement.

"A device was found at the scene that has a signal that attracts Digimon." The blonde one informed the others which explained the change of the pictures before them.

"Hacking into the banks security system must have accidentally opened a gate into the Digital World, and the Digimon simply went through it." Thomas informed them as he looked over the waves the device gave off and the waves that Digimon enjoy.

"Not exactly what the thieves were expecting." Yoshi stated to the others and wondered how scared those humans were in contrast to how Marcus and Ash dealt with them.

"If those criminals somehow convinced the Digimon to work with them..." The older man stated to say and then his partner finished his thought.

"We've got trouble." The small white/gold creature informed. The thieves on the other hand were trying to get used to their new friend.

"Hey boss, can I ride in the front with you?" The new guy questioned since he did not like the way the creature was looking at him.

"Naw, you're good company for him." The leader informed as he continued to drive their small vehicle.

"He's really going to stick around?" The child questioned back to his boss.

"You bet." The beast said back since he genuinely liked these guys, and would do anything for them.

"I've got big plans for him." The leader stated as he ended with a chuckle. Back at DATS the computer specialists were hard at work as to figure out which Digimon was out and about this time.

"We've matched the energy signature to a Digimon from our data base. Drimogemon, Champion Level, beast Digimon." Megumi informed to the others, and then let her friend take it from there.

"Looks like he lives deep underground like the mole it resembles. Using its drill nose – it can dig through the ground at extremely high speeds." Miki finished where her friend had left off. The blonde one added one last bit.

"Meaning it can strike without warning." Thomas informed them, and about that time Ash, Marcus, Agumon, and Renamon had just made it into the command room.

"Another Digimon has appeared?" Marcus questioned with a happy smile on his face since he was itching for another fight.

"Well, it's about time. So, where have you four been?" Yoshi questioned the four.

"I was doodling, and I guess I just lost track of time." Ash said back while rubbing the back of his neck out of reflex. She seemed to buy that and turned her attention to Marcus.

"Hey, it's late. I couldn't just say: hey mom, I'm going out. I had to sneak away. Anyway, does this look like a good fight." Marcus reasoned with her. Hearing the 'm' word got under the brainy one's skin causing him to lash out.

"If you're so worried about your mommy then you should have just stayed home." Thomas stated to Marcus while looking away from him.

"What did you say?" Marcus questioned even though he heard him perfectly. Before another argument could start, someone intervened.

"Hey." Logan said. "Leave him alone."

"This is between me and Marcus so why don't you stay out of it." Thomas said with slight anger. He then felt something press against his neck and noticed three thin metal blades sticking out of Logan's wrists.

"Better choose your next words carefully, Norstein." That silenced the blonde. With no further arguing Marcus headed over to a computer console.

'He's probably going to break our equipment. Good thing I though ahead.' Thomas thought to himself with an invisible smile on his face as he reached for the jump drive in his vest. Ash saw where he was going and decided to stop him.

"Hold on, Marcus, play this Punch Out game for the Nintendo DS instead." Ash offered as he pulled said device from his vest, and tossed it to him.

"That's cool, but I was going to try and help." Marcus pointed out.

"I've seen your kind of help a few weeks ago and I don't think Commander Sampson wants to purchase any more computers." Ash reasoned with him causing the two to chuckle a bit which got under Thomas' skin since the two of them were getting along so well.

"Besides, I don't think you can beat my score of punches." The pacifistic one commented causing him to get Marcus' attention.

"Is that so?" Marcus questioned back before turning the device on and went to work. Most of the others smiled at Ash for his calm demeanor and ability to settle a fight.

"That reminds me Ash. You asked us to make you a portable version of our knowledge on Digimon, and I was able to do just that." Sampson informed the youth as he opened one of his drawers and held out a small red square with a blue bauble in the upper right corner.

"Thank you Commander. This will come in handy if Renamon and I run into an opponent and we won't have Miki and Megumi to fill us in." Ash stated to him, and the others before adding, "And just in time too." Since their alarms went off right then and there.

"We got Drimogemon." Cyclops stated looking at the monitor.

"And it's moving extremely quickly." The purple-haired woman added as she clocked the speed he was going. "We've picked it up in area A and it's already in area B no C." She informed them and could not believe the creature's speed factor.

"Go!" Cyclops ordered. All the agents saluted and raced out.

"Ash, Renamon, I want you two to take the DATS cycle." He instructed before adding, "In the gym I saw that you focused on the motorcycle the most, so I'm letting you take it." He tossed the raven haired one a set of keys to the vehicle in question.

"And near it is a holograph belt. I know that you want to remain near Ash to keep him safe, so that holographic belt will mask your true appearance to the rest of the world." Kudamon informed her which she nodded in appreciation.

"Come on. We better get going." Ash stated and the two headed off to get their wheels and head out. On the open road the ride to their target was anything but comfy...at least for three fourths of the team.

"The Digimon is now in area D." Megumi informed them through an on-board com-link.

"Roger." Yoshi answered back as she continued to drive calmly to the destination.

"Finally, we get to see some action." Marcus said to the others with a big happy smile on his face.

"Yeah. I'm itching to fight." Agumon said with a smile of his own as he tried to sit in the small vehicle. "I can't wait to face this guy." He added while looking straight ahead on the road.

"This is just ridiculous!" Thomas shouted out as he was leaning into the passenger side front window: just to try to get some room.

"What?" Marcus questioned since he wanted to know what rich boy's problem was this time. Other than being shown up by his older brother.

"Put this oversized oaf in your digivice. He's crushing me." Thomas replied back and meant that last part quit literally.

"But I can't stand being in there. It's so cramped." Agumon explained to him: explaining the problem as bluntly as possible.

"Great. I get to sit with two nitwits." Thomas said aloud as an obvious insult which was completely noticed by the target...at least the human.

"Hey, what did you just say?" Marcus shouted out and knew that those were fighting words.

"Don't make me knock you two out again." Yoshi challenged from the driver seat. "You're supposed to be partners."

"He's not my partner." The two bitter rivals replied in unison.

"Well, at least you agree on something." Yoshi muttered to herself.

"My only saving grace is that Ash is back there: getting smothered too." Thomas muttered to himself before glancing through his side mirror and saw a motorcycle speed by and both the drive and the passenger seemed familiar.

'Time to attempt at scaring.' Renamon thought before reaching for the belt and deactivated the holo-belt to reveal her true self, but quickly turned it back on.

"You've got to be kidding me." Thomas muttered a bit louder than his first statement since he wondered what made Ash special enough to drive their cycle. One of the computer workers back at their base spoke:

"The Digimon has stopped in area E Sector 2." Miki informed them once the small red dot had stopped at a certain spot on the map.

"Roger." Yoshi said back and sped up a bit to the location mentioned. The three in question were at an ATM in that sector, and the two humans desired the money locked inside.

"You want me to make a hole here?" The digger questioned while pointing to the spot in question.

"That's right. It's very important." The older man informed him while gently pushing his drill in the right direction.

"There you go. X marks the spot." The younger thief informed after drawing said letter with a white marker. The mole-like creature walked over to the objective, and went to work. "Man this thing is just awesome!" The inexperienced one shouted out in amazement.

"He is, but imagine it. We can break into any bank with this guy." The more experienced one stated as he watched his new 'friend' continue to drill. "He's in." The leader shouted out once he saw dollar bills started to fly out of the still being drilled hole.

"Whoa, boss, look – it's rainin` cash." The second one shouted out as he saw the dollar bills fall to the ground.

"Alright, you can stop now." The leader of the three instructed to the tunneler.

"Okay." The Digimon said back even though he had no idea why his friends were interested in these colorful rectangles, but if it made them happy then he was happy.

"Forget the ones on the ground. Get over here." The boss ordered as he ignored the dollars on the sidewalk, and instead went straight to the hole.

"But why?" The youngster questioned back since he thought they were interested in all of the money, and that is why he was collecting them.

"It's a molehill compared to this mountain." The older thug stated causing the other to look at the hole and see the bigger bills still in the hole.

"Yeah. Mountain money." The yes kid restated what the leader already did, and walked over to the hole as well. "We're going to be super filthy rich." He said once he got over to his leader.

"It looks clean enough." The creature said to them while looking down at the rectangles and did not understand what the smaller creature was talking about. It was about that time that the cycle and the car made it to the same ATM machine.

"There he is. He's robbing an ATM." The driver of the car informed the ones at the base as she sped closer to the small building in question.

"Renamon, stay here. I'm going to try something." Ash whispered since he was parked on the other side of the ATM sign on the ground. She nodded in response, and he jogged over to the car.

"Coppers." The leader said as a pair of headlights right in their faces.

"We're busted." The younger one said as he was mentally kissing his chances of having a girlfriend good bye.

"Don't even think of running." Yoshi ordered to the three of them after getting out of the car.

"Step away from the Digimon, now." Thomas ordered once he was out of the vehicle.

"Boss, let me out." Agumon shouted as he wanted to get out of the car since he wanted to fight the Champion Level first.

"You let me out!" Marcus shouted back as he was trying to get out of the car to fight the creature, and maybe the two others as well. Right at this moment though they were pretty much stuck in the doorway.

"Hey, those guys aren't police." The leader pointed out since by their voices they were younger than the boys in blue that he met, and they seemed more focused on his latest addition more than stopping them.

"Then, who are they?" The younger one questioned since the only law enforcer he knew of growing up was the police and the military. If these four were not either of them then what were they.

"So, you're Drimogemon." Yoshi pointed out as she went for her digivice. Ash however could see that the creature was scared.

"Put those things away." Ash spoke out as he put his hands on the tops of both Thomas and Yoshi's digivices. "Let's try not to start a fight." He said to them while stretching his neck to his left shoulder which his 'brother' understood.

'He's actually going to talk to criminals.' Thomas said in a calm tone.

"I...I do miss my home. I came to this place by accident." The driller informed before looking at the two others and added, "What about my new friends?" The two were shocked that a creature they just met was worried for them.

"If they cooperate I will make sure that their sentence is reduced. That is – if they willingly release you into our care." Ash responded before looking at the two others. In truth the leader felt an obligation to do so since when he looks into the creature's eyes he could tell that he longed to be home, and have a human by his side was a bit of a rarity.

'I must keep the integrity of DATS.' Thomas thought since he could feel the two about to go through with Ash's offer. "We don't negotiate with criminals, Ash. Gaomon, realize." The genius informed then ordered.

"Sir, yes, sir." The blue and red dog stated once he was in the physical plane.

"Lalamon, realize." Yoshi shouted out as she summoned her creature out as well.

"Lalamon." The pink and green creature shouted out once she was out of her device. This rightfully freaked out the two humans.

"Aah, even more of those things." The young thug shouted one the other two were out and about.

"Come on." The leader said as he grabbed drimogemon while also giving Ash an apologetic look before running to their ride.

"Wait, come back." Gaomon shouted out as he gave chase.

"Quick, get in." The boss instructed to the driller as his partner had already opened the hatch, and leaped inside.

"There's no use running. There's no escape." Gaomon said to them as he ran with his fists ready.

"We'll see." The boss said back as he got into the driver's seat, and sped off. He saw that there were already two others standing in his path – ready to stop them.

"Agumon!" Yoshi called out since she believed that the reptile was going to end up as a speed bump.

"Agumon." Thomas called out and could not believe that Marcus would be this reckless.

"Renamon." Ash called out causing the vixen on the cycle to roll in. She activated a special battering ram accessory and joined Marcus and Agumon. "This will keep them from going any where." Ash informed the two others and it was then that the blonde one realized why Ash stretched while talking to them: he knew this was going to go bad.

"Stop you three, that's dangerous." Yoshi called out to them, but they didn't listen. With their combined effort the three were starting to push the moving vehicle backward.

"We're in big trouble." The leader said as he was in awe that these three were pushing his new wheels back.

'My friends need me.' The mole creature thought before tapping into a new kind of power that made him grow.

"I think he's digivolving." Marcus pointed out, but his observation was quickly cut down by the cyclist.

"More like he's growing to protect the others." Renamon informed as she still sat on the bike. Back at the base the alarms went off at this development.

"Status report." Sampson ordered as soon as he heard the alarms go off again.

"In response to the threat Drimogemon is growing." Miki informed as she looked at her monitor and then back to her commanding officer.

"Not good." Sampson commented since he knows that they have not battled against a larger Digimon.

"Our team's in trouble." Kudamon pointed out since he too was worried about his friend's well being. Back on the battlefield Drimogemon crushed the get-away car, and stood ready to fight.

"It's enormous now." Agumon commented as he marveled at the size of this beast. The human beside him only smiled for a different reason.

"That just means it's finally worth fighting." Marcus pointed out as he cracked his knuckles out of anticipation.

"Yeah. You're right boss. Let's do this." Agumon stated with a smile forming on his own face. The drill creature wasn't backing down either since these three are the ones that stopped his friend's from getting away, so he struck at them with his right claw which they evaded easily.

"Alright. It's fightin time." Marcus stated as he got his fists into position.

"Let's see what new data Dex has." Ash stated as he went for his new device. It told him nothing new, but soon something else was added.

"Larger Drimogemon can tunnel through the earth in faster speed than smaller Drimogemon." Dexter pointed out once it scanned the creature's current size.

"So, we'll need a strong strategy to counter that ability." Thomas stated out loud once he heard that new piece of information, but before either of them could think of anything Marcus spoke.

"Bring it on." Marcus called out before leaping up, grabbing and climbing on the nose. He was going to punch the beast right between the eyes, but was flung off before he could do such a thing.

"Boss, no." Agumon called out as he watched his partner fly into the river.

"That's my bro for ya. Always thinking with his fists." Ash commented with a small chuckle in his voice.

"Gaomon, Drimogemon needs earth to dig. Drive him to the water." Thomas instructed since he believed that this land based beast had no control over the sea.

"Sir, yes, sir." Gaomon said back and did just that.

"Pepper Breath." Agumon called out as he unleashed a fireball. His way to avenge what had happened to his boss. The drill simply tilted his head away from the fireball, and swatted him into the river with a simple slap.

"Agumon." Marcus called out as he watched his partner fly into the air. Thankfully he crashed into the water near him.

"Should we do something, Ash?" Renamon questioned after driving up next to him.

"First let's see what these two can do." Ash replied back to her, and watched as Gaomon used his Rolling Upper attack on Drimogemon's nose.

"Nice shot. Don't let him escape underground." Thomas ordered to his partner as he stood before the fight.

"Rolling Upper." Gaomon called out and struck the beast's left face cheek.

"Drive him to the water." Thomas called out.

"And we'll be waiting for him. Right, Agumon?" Marcus said with a smile once he heard the plan.

"Right behind ya, boss." Agumon said back since he wished for a second chance with this guy.

"Come on, let's go." Marcus said back to his partner and with that they swam all that way. Seeing them leave caused the last pair in this trio to use the cycle and go to the spot in a different way.

"Sing a Song." Lalamon called out and used said attack to knock both of the humans out. Which Yoshi positioned back to back.

"Pleasant dreams you two." Yoshi said and was happy that at least these two weren't going anywhere.

"Nighty night." Lalamon said to the crashed crooks.

"The bank thieves have both been subdued. Requesting transportation arrangements to take them back. We can erase their memories at headquarters. However drimogemon is still at large." She contacted base and filled them in while looking off at the distance and saw that her friends were busy dealing with this threat, and not working together at all.

'I must get to my friends, and see if they're okay.' The digital mole thought and planned to do just that, but his attacker had other plans.

"Stop him before he goes underground." Thomas instructed once he saw that their target was starting to dig again.

"Beat back." Gaomon called out and rapidly punched the drill causing him to stop.

"Good Gaomon. Now steer him to the river." The genius instructed which his digital partner followed through. "Everything is going according to my plan." The human pointed out and seemed to emphasize 'my'.

"We'll take it from here." Marcus said to the other two as he and Agumon made it back to the land. The two climbed up and stood on the other end of the path.

"Right. Now it's our turn." Agumon added as he stood before Marcus – ready to fight.

"Don't forget about us." Ash stated as he on his cycle stood before Thomas with Renamon, de cloaked, and ready to fight.

"And if you thought you had it rough before just wait." Marcus said to the opponent since he was really ready to throw down now.

"Oh, no. They are going to ruin the plan." Thomas muttered to himself, and then watched the fight.

"Spit-fire Blast!" Agumon called out a secondary attack which struck the beast.

"Yeah. You show him Agumon." Marcus rallied his partner to keep up the attack.

"No. Keep him over the water." Thomas argued to Marcus while jogging closer to the fight. The warrior heard this and had something to say to him.

"Back off. We're going to take this guy down our way." Marcus shouted out at the human and the explained why he was doing this, "Cause wherever we fight we come out on top." As he said that Agumon kept up the attack which caused the mole to leave the sea.

"If you fight over water he can't escape underground. You are going to let him get away you impulsive fool." Thomas called out and pointed out the flaw in this fist first strategy.

"Now, while they're not looking." Ash whispered to his partner since the two knew that he would be able to burrow with their bickering. The two came up with their own backup plan to deal with this runaway rodent.

"Power Paw!" Renamon shouted out before slamming her fist into the beast's right side before back-flipping away from him.

"Boss, he's digging." Agumon called out causing the human of the that duo to come out of his shock state.

"He turned and ran from a fight? What kind of Digimon is this guy?" Marcus questioned out loud in anger as he raced to the newly made hole.

"The kind that turns and runs I guess." The lizard replied since he thought that the question was a genuine question. With him gone Ash hopped on his cycle with Renamon, re-disguised, and drove off to follow one of their own leads.

"Unbelievable. Change of plan, Gaomon. Marcus just made this harder. But maybe judging by his behavior we can track Drimogemon. It's time to digivolve." Thomas said as he looked at his portable computer for a solution, and came up with one. "DNA charge!" He called out after feeding his charge into his digivice.

"Gaomon digivolve to..." The Rookie said as he felt the energy flow into him. "Aquilamon." The new born Champion called out once the transformation was complete.

"We'll cut him off." Thomas instructed as he climbed onto the back of the large blue dog.

"Sir, yes, sir." Aquilamon responded.

"Quick to area F you better double time it." The human informed while pointing in the commented direction.

"Right." Aquilamon responded before flying off. This left Agumon and Marcus all alone.

"Oh no. Now what?" Agumon questioned since he did not wish to be left out of all of the fun. Thankfully the human of the duo had a plan of his own.

"We prove that his way isn't the only way." The brawler answered his employee before looking down at the hole. The creature continued to dig not knowing that he was being followed.

"We're getting close." Renamon commented as they continued to drive with her hands on his shoulder. Back in that fight Renamon struck the mole with her Power Paw, but some of the mystic fire remained on him which meant for a short time they could track him. Eventually the two made it just in time to see the wall below them begin to crack not knowing of the two others.

"Just as I calculated." The egghead commented once the beast had revealed himself again. "And this time Marcus isn't around to mess it up." He added to his first comment before looking up at his partner. "Go get him, Aquilamon." he ordered to the larger creature.

"Sir, yes, sir." Aquilamon said and soared at the enemy.

'Now, while he's not looking.' Ash thought as he leaped off of the railing and slammed his fist on top of the mole's head. The blue canine saw this as his chance to attack.

"Grand Horn!" Aquilamon shouted out and struck the opponent. Not into fighting the creature tried to disappear back into his tunnel, but was punched back out.

"We're the ones that you should be worried about." Marcus pointed out with his fist all a-glow.

"No way. He followed Drimogemon through the tunnel." Thomas called out as he was trying to figure the logic behind that. It was then the brothers decided to do their thing.

"DNA Charge." Ash and Marcus called out as they fed their charge into their digivices.

"Agumon digivolve to..." The spunky yellow one shouted out before finishing with, "Greymon." The three horned beast stood ready for battle.

"Renamon digivolve to..." The fox called out before transforming as well. "Kyubimon." The four legged yellow furred one called out.

"Haven't you already done enough damage, Marcus?" The smart one questioned since he knew that he could deal with this Champion on his own.

"It's fightin time." Damon called out since he decided to tune out the know-it-all, and just fight. The mole tried using his spiral nose, but Greymon countered it with his horn, and then shoved the beast back down. "Nice one." Marcus praised his creature and that was when they both saw a bright white portal appear.

"Oh no, a Digi-Gate opened." Thomas called out in alarm.

"Stop him." Marcus added since he still wished for a fight. Drimogemon slowly made his way back to the portal: now more concerned about personal safety and not so much about those humans he left behind.

"Awaiting orders, sir." Gaogamon commented since he knew that his partner had a plan.

"Attack immediately." The genius called out without a second thought. "You can't let him enter the Digi-Gate." He added to his first statement to make sure his partner knew the significance of not letting the beast go.

"Right. Blast Laser." The eagle called out three rings.

"Go, Greymon." Marcus called out since he did not wish for Thomas to save the day.

"Nova Blast."

"Don't count us out." Ash called out before looking up at the giant fox.

"Fox Tail Inferno." Kyubimon called out her attack while firing several fireballs from her tails. The digger grew worried and ducked out of instinct, after several minutes the beast looked up at an amazing sight.

"The three attacks are canceling each other out." Thomas stated as he too was amazed that their attacks really were doing just that.

"How stupid of me." Ash called out before hanging his head in defeat. The creature saw the human bob his head which the mole-like beast took as his cue to flee into the hole.

"No!" Gaogamon called out once the portal was closed.

"Fine job, you two. You let him escape into the Digital World." Thomas said as he was quick to point fingers at the fire casters.

"Us? This all happened because you were butting into our fight." Damon countered as he was still feeling angry because he wasn't able to see what that Digimon was really made of.

'Actually this all could have been avoided if Thomas would have just let me do it my way.' Ash thought to himself as he listened to the rest of this conversation.

"I can't take anymore. I simply refuse to be on a team with either of you, Marcus or Ash." Thomas admitted in anger.

"Good. I'm sick of you holding me back anyway!" Marcus shouted back. With nothing else needed to be said Thomas left. After a while the three powered down to Rookie form, and they all headed back to base for debriefing. As the sun rose for a new day.

"The blockades to E and F have been lifted, and the bank thieves memories have been completely erased." The blonde computer expert informed them.

"What do you mean you can't work together?" Sampson questioned since he wondered why the more experienced soldier in their group was whining about the new guys.

"They are always getting in the way of the mission." The smart one reasoned with, and that was the only explanation that he could come up with.

"I told you three to work together, so make it work." The commander of them all instructed in a serious tone.

"I don't get why we have to be partnered with this guy. Ash and I can more than take care of things." Marcus stated while sitting near the computers playing his game and wondered why they even needed Thomas in their tag-team style.

"Then here's your next mission. Figure it out yourself." Sampson said while still carrying his serious tone.

"Two of you let your personal issues get in the way of the mission. That simply can not happen again. You got that?" Yoshi ordered to two of the three since she had a feeling that Ash was always in control.

"And now Drimogemon is out there somewhere." The small white 'scarf' commented to the others.

"We may yet get another crack at him, but you simply failed." One of the founders of DATS said back to them. This time Ash could hear a trace tone of disappointment in his voice.

"You have to think of the big picture. What if he gets other Digimon to join him, and they infiltrate this world in numbers too large to stop." Kudamon informed them causing Ash to speak out.

"I don't think that will be the case. Drimogemon seemed more scared then anything. At best he will simply avoid any holes in the area that he himself did not make." This still angered Thomas.

"Commander, permission to use the Digital Dive." He requested to his higher up.

"Hmm, the Digital Dive?" Sampson questioned while having minor flashbacks of his adventure into that realm.

"You wanna go to the Digital World?" The human female warrior questioned as she held her Digimon.

"Do what?!" Ash and Marcus shouted out since they were unaware that such a thing could be done.

"We still have a chance to win. Please just let me do this, and I promise that I will capture Drimogemon." Thomas offered to his leader since he had to do this.

"No way, Tom! There's no guarantee you'll come back safely." Greg exclaimed in shock.

"Forget it Thomas." Cyclops refused the request. "There are too many things that could go wrong."

"But, we can't just give up." Thomas offered to him: trying to appeal to the philosophy of never giving up.

"Enough! You failed. Accept it." The Commander said to him in a serious tone, and wondered why his top man was behaving in such a manner.

"But, commander." He tried to reason with him again.

"There's no guarantee you'd come back safely. Permission denied." Sampson declared as his final word. This angered/upset Thomas, but he kept it in. Later that night Yoshi was on monitor duty, so she looked at one of her books with a cup of tea by her side.

"Man, this has been a dull shift. Not that I'm complaining about having a little downtime, mind you." Yoshi said to her digital partner as she flipped the page of her magazine.

"Sounds like that's exactly what you're doing." The seed creature pointed out before adding, "Oh, how cute." Once Lalamon caught a glimpse of some cats in the magazine.

"Yeah, look at them sleeping. I sure wish that I could take a nap." The young woman commented. Just then the door opened up. "Hello? Is someone there?" She asked before cautiously walked out into the hall. "Ah, the door!" The monitor duty one called out and went to the closed door, but it did not automatically open like it usually does. "We just got locked out Lalamon." She informed her partner while heading to a nearby console.

Thankfully someone was walking down the hallway.

"Hey, Fujieda. What are you still doing here?"

"I was on monitor duty when someone locked us out of the room." She explained.

"Well, then." He inserted a cord into the controls and began typing.

"What are you doing?" Yoshi questioned in surprise.

"Hacking in, obviously." A few seconds later the doors opened and the two entered to see someone using the Digital Dive.

"Thomas." Yoshi said in shock then gained a serious expression.

"I need to make some calls." She pulled out her cell phone and called the three people that can handle this.

Across town

A certain rough-looking Canadian member heard the phone in his apartment ringing and was roused from his sleep.

"Who is this?" He demanded.

"You better have a damn good reason for waking me up this early Fujieda." The next words left him startled.

"Norstein did what!?" He shouted. "I swear, Sampson's gonna read him the riot act once this is over. Give me a few minutes, I'll be right over." Logan then hung up and put on a gray and black uniform.