The Truth about Keenan

Back at headquarters…

"Let go!" Keenan demanded as he struggled against the doctors. "Me get you for this! Let go!"

"Quit struggling. We're not going to hurt you!" one of the doctors told him.

"Let go!" Marcus retorted as he tried to pull himself out of the sick bay.

"I got to get back there!" He added, as the doctors pulled him back.

"You no understand!" Keenan shouted. "This too important. We must go back!"

"I have to go back!" Marcus agreed as he fought the doctors' grip. "That old guy, he's fighting by himself! He could get hurt!"

Just then, Sampson entered the sick bay.

"Enough!" The Commander told him sternly. "Neither of you are going anywhere. There was nothing you could do. Not a thing!"

"You are just going to give up on the old guy?" Marcus demanded.

"He'll be fine Marcus. I doubt the Commander-General would want us to act impulsively." Cyclops told him.

"What?" Marcus blinked in surprise.

"You mean that older gentleman," Thomas supplied.

"Thomas, Yoshi!" Marcus greeted the two.

"That's correct, Thomas." Sampson replied. "He was the leader of the very first expedition to the Digital World. And he's the world's forth most expert in Dig crafts. Because of this, he holds the highest rank in the Digital Data Squad. He's Commander-General Yushima."

"That old guy?" Marcus sweat dropped. "Wait, you guys sure seem awfully calm. Did you know about this?"

"No, I didn't at first." Thomas replied. "But after seeing him with the Digivice and with Kamemon, it wasn't all that hard to figure out that he was connected to DATS."

"But as for knowing that he was the Commander-General." Yoshi added.

"We have no clue." Lalamon finished her sentence.

"But if the old guy works for DATS, then there's even more reason to help him." Marcus pointed out. "What's the deal with you guys? Don't you care?"

"More than you know. But if you return to the Digital World without a plan, you will just going to fail again, Marcus." Kudamon reminded him.

"So, I'm forbidding you to travel to the Digital World until further notice." Sampson instructed. "And I'm ordering you to complete your physical exams with these doctors."

"Are you kidding?" Marcus demanded as the doctors took him away. "Let go! This is a bunch of baloney, Commander!"

"Boss!" Agumon followed his partner.

"What about us?" Falcomon asked. "What are you going to do?"

"Relax, we won't harm you." Lalamon assured him.

"But we are going to have to keep you company at all times while you're here." Yoshi added. "See, we have to keep your existence secret from the rest of the world."

"So, I'm your prisoner." Falcomon reasoned.

"I prefer to call you our guest." Sampson corrected.

"Me no kidding! You take it if you not let me go!" Keenan struggled against the doctors holding him.

"Aright gentlemen." Sampson told the rest of the team. "Let's hear your report."

"Right!" The teens nodded.

"There isn't much to tell." Thomas reported. "We found Merukimon in the Infinite Ice Ridge but he was too much for us. So Commander-General Yushima told us to leave and we don't know what happened to him after we left. That's everything."

"I see." Sampson noted. "I guess that's all then."

"Hey, what are you doing?" Megumi exclaimed.

"Get away from there!" Miki added.

The other teens turned to see Marcus and Keenan messing around with the electronic equipment.

"Work!" Marcus demanded.

"Marcus!" Miki rebuked.

"Get out of there this instant!" Megumi told Keenan.

"Come on! Come on!" Marcus urged.

"Have you lost it?" Miki demanded.

"Marcus, stop." Thomas warned. "What do you think you're doing? You heard the Commander's orders."

"Look, back off, Thomas! I'm not going to sit here and do nothing. I'm going back to the Digital World to save that old guy." Marcus retorted.

"I doubt you're going anywhere!" Yoshi scolded. "Every time you touch those computers, they all go completely haywire."

"Not this time!" Marcus told her, slamming his hands on the keyboard as Keenan stomped his foot on the Digital Transporter.

"They broke it!" Thomas gasped in horror as the equipment shut down.

"Typical Marcus." Charlie sighed before walking over to the Digital Dive and forcing the two out of the transporter.

"Nice job, Marcus." Thomas retorted, pushing the other teen aside as he set to work. "You've really done it this time. Once again, I have to try and clean up the mess you made."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Marcus replied. "I just wanted to save Yushima. So can you fix it or what?"

"Yeah, in two weeks!" Thomas remarked.

"Two weeks?" Marcus echoed.

"You broke it so badly it's going to take at least that long to fix." Thomas told him.

"What?" Marcus demanded. "Come on, you're kidding me. Right Thomas? Can't you do anything?"

"I can do one thing." Thomas told him. "Be amazed by at how much you wrecked this thing."

"Jokes aside." Ami rebuked as she took her place beside the blond genius. "We have work to do."

"Yes ma'am." Thomas grinned.

"Oh man." Marcus whined.

Then Tony stepped into the room in a red and gold armored suit.

"What am I looking at right now?" He asked, sweat dropping. "Looks like you two could use some help fixing it."

"That would be appreciated." Thomas remarked.

"Maybe it's better this way." Kudamon added.

"Now, there's no way for you to defy me and speed back to the Digital World." Sampson remarked as he entered. "Listen, there's something we must discuss."

"Here we go. I said I was sorry." Marcus replied.

"That's not what I mean." Sampson replied. "It's about the first expedition to the Digital World. And about this boy."

"You mean Keenan?" Marcus inquired as everyone turned to the child.

"All of this began about a decade ago. Back then, we prepared an expedition group known as the Alpha team to go and explore the Digital World." Sampson narrated. "But that team had actually been formed in order to investigate all kinds of strange and unexplained occurrences that were happening in the city at that time. The public was gripped with fear. You use, people had been disappearing and everyone was afraid they be next. But what most citizens didn't know was that the people who disappeared had literally vanished into thin air. No one had any idea who might be responsible, so no one knew how to handle this situation. But the government knew they had to do something, so they formed a special division to investigate."

"Let me take a guess." Thomas said. "It was the Data Squad."

"Not quite, but it was the group who became DATS." Sampson corrected. "Its members included former police detectives such as myself and also Commander-General Yushima."

"Detectives?" Marcus echoed. "You mean the whole team were policemen?"

"Huh?" Agumon was confused.

"There were also civilian members of the team." Sampson added. "Such as Marcus' father, Doctor Spencer Damon and Spencer's assistant Kurata as well as the Criers, a couple whose expertise were in outer space research. Our investigation into the disappearances uncovered something entirely unexpected: the existence of another world."

"The Digital World." Yoshi concluded.

"That's correct." Sampson replied. "Furthermore, we also discovered that the disappearances in our world were the direct result of this Digital World. So we took a closer look at that other universe. And that is when the trouble really began. In the Digital World, right from the start, our expedition faced problem after problem. First, the Digimon attacked us. Then, we discovered that we had not brought enough supplies. As I mentioned before, Marcus' father, Doctor Spencer Damon, went missing. And then, there were the Criers. Those poor souls. The Criers; they are your parents, Keenan."

Everyone gasped at the revelation.

"Keenan's parents?" Marcus echoed. "What do you mean? How did you know that, Commander?"

"While we were examining you all after you returned from the Digital World, I had his DNA compared to the Criers' DNA on file and it proved without a doubt, he's their son." Sampson replied.

"Wait." Thomas stood up. "Are you telling us that Keenan wasn't actually born in the Digital World?"

"As I've said." Sampson replied. "The Criers were experts in outer space research. But they had another reason for joining; they were also the victims of one of the disappearances."

"Huh?" Marcus blinked.

"Their main reason for joining our team was that their new-born son was one of the people who had disappeared." Sampson explained. "He'd be transported to the Digital World."

"Keenan!" Michelle cried as her baby was pulled into the Digital Gate. "Keenan, no! No!"

"I want you to meet with the Criers." Sampson requested. "They're currently living in the north at the base of the mountains."

In the underground car park…

"No! Let go!" Keenan demanded, trying to get out of Marcus' grip. "Me no go! My mom no hu-mon!"

"Stop being so stubborn and face it! You're human!" Marcus rebuked

"You lie!" Keenan retorted. "Me Digimon!"

"That's it!" Marcus decided. "I have had it! You want to act like a baby, then you're going to get carried like a baby! You understand me? Now come on!"

"No, let him go!" Falcomon told the enraged teen.

"Yeah, can't you see that he hates that, Marcus?" Yoshi agreed.

"Look, I'm doing the best that I can here. We have to get him to the Criers somehow, don't we?" Marcus told her.

"Yeah, but don't crush him!" Yoshi protested.

"It's not like you can go back to the Digital World right now, anyway." Marcus pointed out as the two geniuses worked to fix the damaged equipment. "You're struck with us for a while, so just stop complaining and make the best of it. I mean it's not like you have somewhere else you can go."

"That's what I thought." He smirked when Keenan remained silent.

In Merukimon's fortress…

"Those despicable humans!" Merukimon cursed.

"So, what's your next plan, Merukimon sir?" Gotsumon asked.

"Keenan and Falcomon concern me the most." Merukimon replied. "They must be our first priority."

"Sir, I beg you. Let me take care of this. I know exactly how to handle them." Gotsumon offered.

Merukimon snorted, giving his consent as Gotsumon chuckled.

In Human World…

"What is this big place?" Keenan asked in awe as Yoshi drove.

"Chill out, kid." Marcus told the gaping child. "Not even the biggest country pumpkin ever acts like this the first time he sees the city."

"No, it's just weird. There're no rocks in sky." Keenan replied.

"Yeah, yeah." Marcus waved it aside. "Whatever. But face it, the Digital World has nothing compared to this one."

"No, that no true!" Keenan protested. "Digital World have everything you have!"

"Oh really? Then does it have anything like that?" Marcus pointed to a television on display.

"Of course, that's just painting full of data." Keenan replied.

"Wrong, that's not a painting at all, kid." Marcus corrected. "That's what we call a television."

"Maybe different words, but we have same thing." Keenan remarked.

"Oh yeah? But we have like three of them at my home." Marcus challenged.

"You no so special." Keenan scoffed. "Merukimon has hundreds of them at home."

"Cool!" Agumon remarked.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Marcus retorted.

"Should we do something?" Lalamon asked.

"No." Yoshi replied. "You get involved and they're only to turn on you. I learnt how to handle things like this back when I was a babysitter."

"All right if you say so." Lalamon remarked, looking at the two arguing boys. "But it sure looks like it will get worse before it gets better."

"This is such a strange world." Falcomon mused. "There are so many humans packed in so closed together and all of them go in so many different directions. Yet it seems to work somehow."

As the group traveled, Keenan suddenly got carsick.

"He's going to hurl!" Marcus exclaimed, noticing the familiar signs.

"Not in the car!" Yoshi panicked as she drove into a nearby roadside café where Keenan could relieve himself.

"Are you still feeling sick, Keenan?" Falcomon asked.

"Uh ah." Keenan replied. "No."

"Huh?" Agumon blinked as Marcus knocked on the window. "Boss?"

"Here, I got this for ya." He offered the hotdog sandwich to the boy. "I know I get carsick when I'm hungry."

Falcomon took the snack and started gobbling it.

"This is really tasty Keenan." He told his partner.

"Well if you're not going yours Keenan, then I sure will." Agumon remarked as he took a bite from the paper bag.

Keenan retaliated by grabbing two rolls of hotdogs and stuffing them into his mouth.

Yoshi chuckled as the three gobbled their snacks.

"Finally some peace and quiet." Marcus noted as the three passengers in the back seat dozed off. "Well, kind of. And what a workout. It sure was difficult taking care of a little kid."

"Well, I already know all about that, Marcus." Yoshi told him.

"And just what that's supposed to mean?" Marcus asked.

"Nothing." Yoshi replied. "So why the change of heart? Why are you being so nice to Keenan?"

"I'm not." Marcus retorted.

"Sure looks like it." Yoshi pointed out.

"I just want the kid to get to meet his parents." Marcus insisted.

"I hate to tell you, but that's being nice." Yoshi reminded. "Busted."

"Whatever." Marcus scoffed.

Back in headquarters…

"What the…" Ami blinked when she discovered a series of discontinuities in the programming.

"Found anything?" Thomas asked.

"Miki." Ami turned to the dark-haired operator. "Which smart aleck altered this sequence?"

"This?" Gaomon blinked and turned to his partner. "I think that would be you, sir."

Tony then smacked his forehead. "Hate to break it to you Norstein, but the original programmer dislikes having his work altered."

Yusei stopped leaning against the wall and headed for the door past Sampson's desk.

"I'm going out for a drive to clear my head." Yusei left the room.

"Good idea." Ami told him.

Ami glared at Thomas, before turning to Sampson. "Commander, I strongly suggest we have the one person who knows this better than anyone of us present to help us with this problem."

Sampson nodded his approval.

"Not a word, Norstein. Not a word." She snarled at the blond teen before making her call.

"What did I do?" Thomas blinked.

"You'll understand once the original programmer arrives." Sampson told him.

"And he happens to be one of Ami's surrogate elder brothers. You're in big trouble." Miki told the blond genius.

"So is he?" Megumi asked the blue-haired girl once she returned.

Ami nodded, "He'll be coming down within half an hour's time and he's bringing Aoi along as well."

"Aoi?" Megumi raised an eyebrow. "That kid's still with them?"

Ami nodded, "Duke-nii said something about Aoi not being able to sleep without me around. I never thought I'll adopt a little sister."

Turning to her blond lover, she added, "Duke-nii might be a clown most of the time, but he doesn't take it lightly when someone tinkers with his programming without his permission. You'd better explain yourself to him when he arrives."

Thomas gulped and nodded.

Ami sighed and went back to work, deleting everything Thomas inputted before and reconfiguring the altered sequence with Duke's original sequencing.

Back in the Digital World…

"This is so frustrating. I can't take it. Now that the Digi Gate in the Infinite Ice Ridge is closed, I have to find some other way of entering the Human World." Gotsumon complained. "But all of this searching around is wasting my time and driving me crazy! There must be some way to get there."

"Huh?" he blinked when he noticed a glowing Digi-Gate in the thick forest. "Maybe this is it."

Back in the Human World…

"Just great." Yoshi complained. "Thanks so much, Marcus!"

"He always does this, making you think he'll help and flaking out." She muttered as the teen beside her snored. "Sure I have to drive cos he's too young but the very least he could do is stay awake and keep me company. I mean even if almost everything he says makes me mad, at least it would make the drive less boring."

"I guess that everything just caught up with him and he got tired." Lalamon reasoned as Yoshi popped a chewing gum into her mouth.

"What? And I'm not tired?" Yoshi demanded. "But you don't hear me complaining."

"Well actually Yoshi, that's kind of all I can hear." Lalamon remarked.

"Lalamon, let me just say that this is not the time to push me." Yoshi threatened as the communicator sounded on the GPS.

"What is it?" Lalamon asked.

"Emergency alert." Yoshi replied.

"Getting Digimon signals to the north of you." Megumi told her.

Back in headquarters…

"It's a Code Three contact." Miki added. "Area NDOS. Currently we're only reading one Digimon signal."

"Wait, look." Megumi interjected.

"What's going on?" Sampson asked.

"We just picked up a new Digimon signal." Megumi reported.

At Megumi's report, Yoshi stepped on the accelerator.

"What's the big idea, Yoshi?" Marcus demanded, upset at being awoken up rudely. "Are you a few lessons shy of getting your driver's license?"

"Not now." Yoshi retorted. "We just got word that there's a Digimon in the area."

"Unless you drive her mad." Lalamon added.

"Hey! Give me break!" Marcus rebuked.

"We just know it's close." Yoshi supplied. "And we're out in the country, so there won't be much damage."

"I plan on doing plenty." Marcus swore.

In the forest…

The three Okuwamon Gotsumon summoned started to terrorize the jungle.

"That's right. Keep looking, find Keenan for me." Gotsumon instructed.

Spreading their wings, Okuwamon took off.

"Pepper Breath!' Agumon wasted no time in unleashing his attack once Yoshi screeched the car to a stop.

"I knew I'd find you!" Gotsumon snorted.

"Gotsumon." Falcomon blinked.

"For turning against the Digital World, all of you traitors are going to have to pay. And now, I've come here to collect the bill. Get them!"

"Let's go!" Marcus told his partner.

"Lalamon!" Yoshi readied her Digivice.

"Ready!" Lalamon chirped.

"D.N.A Full Charge!" Yoshi called forth Lalamon's Ultimate form.

"Lalamon warp digivolve to Angewomon!" Lalamon announced as she evolved.

"You ready Marcus?" Angewomon asked the teen.

"Yeah!" Marcus replied.

Dodging the Okuwamons' dive, Angewomon carried Marcus up into the air.

"We can go home Keenan. Gotsumon has come to our rescue." Falcomon told his partner.

In mid-air, Angewomon released Marcus who landed on one of the Okuwamons and the teen landed a punch on the Digimon.

"Agumon quick!" Marcus called out. "D.N.A Charge!"

"Agumon digivolve to Greymon!" Agumon declared as he evolved.

"Keenan what's the matter?" Falcomon asked as the battle raged on.

"I can't." Keenan stammered.

"Nice job, just holding him still like that!" Marcus instructed as Greymon wrestled with the Okuwamon. That said, he leapt on the Okuwamon and landed a punch on the Digimon.

"We're going up another level." He added after Greymon dropped the Okuwamon.

"D.N.A Full Charge!" He evolved Greymon into his Ultimate form.

"Greymon digivolve to MetalGreymon!"

"It's fighting time, MetalGreymon." Marcus told his partner upon landing.

Upon his order, MetalGreymon crashed the Okuwamon into a cliff.

"Well at least I can still get Keenan." Gotsumon noted as he flew in.

"Stop it!" Falcomon flew in front of Gotsumon's Okuwamon. "What are you doing, Gotsumon? I thought we were allies!"

"Yeah right." Gotsumon mocked. "Keenan, you must be destroyed."

"But why?" Falcomon demanded.

"Because he betrayed our whole world, that's why." Gotsumon replied. "And seeing you here with these humans is all the proof I need of his guilt."

"No! No, you're wrong!" Falcomon protested.

"I won't listen to your lies!" Gotsumon retorted. 'I know all our problems from the humans started because of Keenan. Our world will be better off if he was gone. And I'm going to make sure that he is."

With that, the Okuwamon swiped Falcomon away with its pincher and dived for the boy.

"Goodbye, Keenan." Gotsumon smirked as Okuwamon closed in for the attack.

"Keenan!" Falcomon gasped in horror.

With a war cry, Marcus managed to get the child out of the way.

"You hurt?" he asked the stunned boy.

"No." Keenan replied.

"Look, don't read too much into me saving you. Just stay out of the way." Marcus told him.

"Now Angewomon!" Yoshi called out as Angewomon took the battle to the skies.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon fired a arrow which turned Okuwamon back into a digi-egg.

"Giga Destroyer!" MetalGreymon unleashed his attack point-blank on the Okuwamon which had climbed out from the rock rubble by the cliff and turning the Digimon into a digiegg.

"No way!" Gotsumon gasped, seeing two of his three minions were destroyed this easily. "They're taking down the Okuwamon with ease."

"Okuwamon." He told his ride. "Retreat. But we will return."

"No wait!" Falcomon called out. "We're not your enemies. I promise. Please, I beg you, listen. Take us back to the Digital World."

"No, never!" Gotsumon retorted. "And why would I? Having Keenan in the Digital World is only caused us grief and pain. There isn't a single Digimon who wants him in the Digital World anymore. He doesn't belong, he's a human!"

"That's right, Keenan." Gotsumon grinned. "Yes, you are a human."

"No." Falcomon gasped at his weeping partner after Gotsumon took off.

"No!" Keenan screamed out his frustration.

"We're here, Keenan." Marcus told the boy after they had arrived at their destination. "Your parents' house."

Back in headquarters…

"Oi, where's the emergency, D?" Duke asked his surrogate younger sister once the gray-eyed 24-year-old entered the control room.

"Long time no see, Sampson." The brown-haired man greeted the Commander who returned a nod.

"Blondie over here messed up your programming." Ami informed the electronics expert, causing Thomas to glare at her. "But I managed to undo his 'handiwork'."

"I see." Duke turned a stony look at the half Austrian who gulped nervously.

"Move kid." Duke snarled.

Thomas nodded and stood up as Duke took his seat.

"Not bad D." Duke nodded in approval, noticing that every single one of his program sequences had been reconfigured by his imoto.

"And quit calling me D." Ami snarled. "The first thing that comes to my mind when called that is a damn water fowl."

"D?" Megumi noted in amusement. "Don't tell me you guys haven't found a suitable name for her after two years."

"We have, Megu." Duke told his girlfriend. "But we prefer to call her D."

"Yeah and dumb and dumber started calling me by that damn, obnoxious letter just to rile me off." Ami muttered, unamused.

Miki laughed, knowing Ami's 'Dumber' referred to her boyfriend, also one of Ami's surrogate older brothers, Dare.

Thomas blinked and looked at Gaomon, the two feeling left out.