Unexpected Birthday Blast

It was a normal day in Tokyo as Thomas and Gaomon headed to their workplace. Nothing had felt strange along the way. That would change after he opened the door and two of the people he disliked the most were standing in front of him and bowing.

"Welcome back to DATS, sir." Marcus stated, with a sincere tone in his voice.

"With open arms." Agumon added soon after and it also sounded sincere.

Charlie and Guilmon were watching the whole thing closely, they knew exactly why Marcus and Agumon were acting this way with Thomas and Gaomon. It had to do with his little sister, Kristy.

'So, this is what Marcus and Agumon would be like if they acted more like Ash.' Renamon thought, as she, Yoshi and Lalamon looked at the scene before she added, 'It doesn't suit them at all.' Renamon turned to her partner who was typing away on a computer, minding his own business.

"So sir, you must be pretty tired have some tea while it's still warm." Marcus informed the blonde after his Digimon partner went to get the object in questions: with Kamemon's permission.

"Fresh brewed." Agumon added as he held up the beverage to the blonde they were trying to impress. Back at the console, Ash could only feel bad for his 'brother'

'This has got to be bruising his warrior pride.' Ash thought as he tried to stay straight faced since this was still sort of funny.

"Uh thank you." Thomas responded, still clearly trying to process the information and feeling a little unnerved by the sudden display of kindness since this was the guy that had a few wisecracks lined up for him.

"I just have one small question, what's the catch, Marcus?" Thomas questioned since he wished to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.

"You don't have to do any of the catching. We're doing all of the throwing." Agumon responded back in his usual clueless tone. Gaomon was about to call him out on this until Agumon got a stern tail smack in the back of the head by Renamon.

"That isn't what he meant." She said in a dead serious tone that put a little chill in the air. Renamon was not happy about this because she wanted Marcus to get straight to the point of this farce.

"Agumon, what I mean by catch is..." Thomas explained before leaning in close to Marcus and added, "Why are you being so nice to me Marcus because you never do anything without a ulterior motive." Marcus knew he had been found out but he still wanted to try and save face.

"Oh come on, you think too much Tommy-Buddy." Marcus responded, which got on his nerves.

"Thom-as." He corrected his co-worker on what his name was since he didn't like that version of his name at all. Gaomon looked at the situation around him and decided to voice his opinion on the matter.

"I'd be careful if I were you, sir. Something sure seems fishy around here." Gaomon commented since this seemed sketchy and he didn't know if this was a look-a-like of their comrade or still the genuine article.

"It's my cologne." Marcus responded back before thinking to himself, 'Cologne, really that's the best excuse I could come up with.' It was at that time that Agumon gave up their attempted cover.

"Amazing! He figured it out just by the smell." Agumon exclaimed, causing Marcus to cover his mouth.

"Quiet!" Marcus shouted out as loud as he could since he still believed that he could fool him, but it was clear that what little believability he thought he had was gone now.

"There's no point denying it. Even a little kid could tell your up to something no good. Just get to it." Thomas questioned with his arms crossed showing that he was tired of this game and he wanted his comrade kind to just get to what he is trying to say.

"The thing is..." Marcus started to speak before hearing someone clear their throat. After a quick scan he saw that it was Ash, still sitting at his station.

"Let Agumon breath and then tell him what's up." Ash offered while pointing to the Digimon in question. Marcus looked and saw that his hands were still effectively covering his friend's nose holes and mouth, so he did just that, and went back to what he wanted to say.

"Something interesting happened at school today." Marcus began his tale of what happened earlier on this day.

"Final Chance: make up tests tomorrow – room 107." Past Marcus read a paper on a bulletin board before adding, "Make up test, and of all the days it has to be tomorrow when I can't be here." Unknown to him was the fact that one of his teachers was looming behind him – hearing the whole thing.

"You'll be in deep trouble if you ditch class tomorrow, Damon." The teacher spoke causing the student that was having an external monologue to jump in alarm.

"Huh?! But tomorrow's not good. You see sir, I've got a..." The older Marcus began to explain himself while back-peddling, and was cut off by the teacher he was speaking with.

"Very funny, Marcus. What a comedian. Pretending to miss my exam." The teacher stated before laughing a bit, and that is when the story ended and cut to the present Marcus.

"And so, that's how it all happened." Marcus explained to the man he is wanting help from. The man in question was sipping on the tea that was offered to him, and actually liked it even though he did not say that part out loud.

"Well, I can't help." He said calmly with a smile on his face which got the beggar a little angry.

"But I haven't asked anything yet." Marcus commented back with his tone showing how annoyed and angered he was that he already shot him down despite not knowing what the request was.

"I know that I have somewhat of a scholarly reputation, Marcus, but even I can't do the impossible, and teach you how to study." Thomas commented back believing that he was being asked to be Marcus's tutor.

"How true." Yoshi commented back as she was listening in on the whole conversation quietly.

"He's good, but not that good." Lalamon replied as she floated by her partner's side. The two on the other side of the room were listening in and had a small back and forth with each other.

"Those four completely missed the point of that tale." Ash muttered to his partner while glancing over at his 'brother's' situation.

"Indeed, but I do not think that they put either of you two on a high regard since the four of us are fairly new to this whole thing." Renamon stated back to him, and Ash had to admit that his partner did have a good point. The two went back to being quiet and listened to how he dealt with that set-up.

"You misunderstand Thomas." Charlie informed him. "He isn't asking for a tutor."

"Then what is it about?" Thomas questioned since if this request isn't about exploiting his intellect than what was his plan this time.

"I have something big to ask you. A favor..." Marcus started to speak, but genuinely felt nervous about this since a part of him believed that he was going to turn him down automatically.

"Alright, let's hear it." Thomas stated back with his tone clearly showing off how annoyed he was getting for this whole thing.

"Okay. Well, tomorrow is Kristy's Birthday, and..." He started to explain himself, but was cut off.

"Kristy, your little sister, right?" Thomas questioned as he recalled seeing her while sitting in his limo not too long ago.

"Yeah! Yeah! Good memory." Agumon cheered him for his memory skills.

"Well, I just need...a babysitter for her. Just until my make-up exam is over." He finished his explanation and seemed to have a pleading look in his eyes. The smart one could tell that the warrior really meant this request.

'Hopefully he goes for it.' Ash thought with hope as he eyed the man's facial expression.

"That's simple enough. Do you know any good babysitters?" Thomas stated and questioned to his fellow DATS member to his right.

"I would be happy to do it." She stated politely to the boys before her.

"But she comes at a pretty price." Lalamon added to her partner's comment which she did hear.

"Hey, don't say something like that." Yoshi instructed her teammate of not putting her in a greedy kind of light.

"So, you're going to do it for free?" Lalamon questioned and wanted to really know if her partner was going to do this out of the kindness of her heart.

"Uh...I didn't say that." The red haired young woman responded back, and before the conversation could go any deeper Marcus' voice cut in.

"It can't be Yoshi." He stated calmly which caught the both of them off guard. He then continued with, "I need someone who could act like a big brother." This point seemed as though he really did need Thomas for it until Gaomon spoke up.

"Then, why not use Ash or your older brother?" Gaomon asked while pointing to the two in question.

"He and Renamon are going to be doing some studying for the next test, so they can't do it. And I heard Charlie mention he was going to do some target practice earlier." Marcus explained why he didn't go for Ash or Charlie instead of Thomas.

"I need you Thomas. Could you pretend to be a member of my family tomorrow?" Marcus questioned with his pleading eyes even more in the focus.

'Family.' Thomas thought to himself before adding, "We'll see." With the rest of the day being surprisingly slow the teams went home with Thomas giving Marcus, Ash, Renamon, and Agumon a lift home.

"Hey, you coming or what?" Ash shouted out once the four of them were out of his vehicle, and waving him to come over. Confused by this request he decided to see what this was all about.

"Stand by." He said to the driver before getting out of the car, and headed straight for them. "Why do I have to come to your house today? The birthday's not until tomorrow." The smart one questioned and pointed out to the others.

"Kristy can be tough, so we wanted her to approve you first." Agumon explained why they wanted him to come to the house.

"Tough? It's a good thing I haven't said yes to this assignment." Thomas commented to the others in an almost joking tone.

"She isn't that bad. Come on inside." Ash stated as he opened the door for his team.

"I'm home." Marcus shouted out as Ash brought up the rear, and closed the door behind him.

"Hi again." Kristy said to the return of Marcus' friend.

"I am Thomas H. Norstein. Sorry for my rudeness the other day when we met by my car." Thomas said to the mother since he really did feel bad being that cold to a very caring family.

"Oh, no worries. So, tell me, are you, Marcus, and Ash good friends?" Sarah stated and then questioned since she was worried that there would be no friendship between the two that live with her and the people that they work with.

"Uh...yeah." He responded back to her while not bringing up the fact that he risked the safety of the four of them due to his pride not to long ago.

"Thomas said he'd be hanging out with you on your birthday tomorrow. He'll take my place until I get back. Isn't that great?" The elder of the two informed her and questioned this plan to her.

"Yeah! Alright! I'm so happy!" The younger of the two shouted out after a gasp of happiness since she could barely contain her excitement.

"No...I still..." The tactical one stuttered out, but his stuttering suddenly stopped when he looked at the one offering him tea.

"Son, it isn't a problem for you, is it?" Sarah questioned calmly while looking right at his eyes. It was at that moment that Thomas felt a familiar maternal vibe that he hasn't felt in quite some time.

"I swear." He said while rising out of his chair and standing straight up. "I, Thomas H Norstein, will put everything I have into making Kristy's Birthday the best one ever." He proclaimed for all to hear.

'Laying it on a little thick.' Ash and Marcus thought at the same time, and saw Thomas' face change from cool and collected to realized shock.

'Why did I just say that?' Thomas thought to himself after realizing what he had just said, but his focus was brought back to reality when he felt something hug him.

"Thank you so much!" The little sister shouted out with a very happy tone. "Hey, Thomas, do you have a funny friend,like Agumon, that hangs around with you or a cute one like Renamon?" Kristy questioned since she wanted to know if all of Marcus and Ash's new friends had strange friends as well.

"Funny or cute friend?" He questioned back to her while wondering what she was getting at, and then it hit him. "Oh, you mean my partner." He stated back to her just to be sure that they were on the same page.

"His Digimon is named Gaomon." Agumon informed her since he understood what the two were talking about.

"Show me! Show me! Show me!" She shouted out while still hugging her stand-in brother.

'I wonder if you will be this excited to see him as well, little sister.' Thomas thought as he smiled at Kristy's energy. "Okay." He said aloud while reaching for his digivice and lifted it up. "Gaomon, realize!" He commanded, and as expected his partner materialized in the kitchen.

"Sir, yes sir." The blue canine called out as he was expecting a fight, but instead saw a little girl standing before him.

"He's so cute." Kristy shouted out after letting out a happy squeal.

"Nice to meet you." Gaomon stated back to her, and blushed for being called cute along with meeting someone this young in terms of humans.

"It's a talking dog." The little sister shouted out with excitement even though she already knows of a talking dog.

"She called you a dog!" Agumon shouted out with a laugh.

"Would a dog wear boxing gloves?" Gaomon questioned as a veiled threat to his co-worker to zip the lip unless he wants to know what his fists taste like.

"Well, I better start making some Dinner if we plan to eat some time this century." Sarah pointed out as she got up off of her kitchen chair.

"Then we'll take our leave of you now." Thomas said back to her with a smile, and they were about to do so until the smallest of the room spoke.

"No! Stay and eat Dinner with us, Thomas." Kristy pleaded to him. Wishing for him to stay a bit longer.

"Thanks, but I still have some work to do back at the..." Thomas said back to her, but was cut off by the mother.

"Nonsense. Don't be shy. Please, stay and eat with us." Sarah said to them while once again giving off those maternal vibes.

"Well, sure." He responded and with that they got ready for Dinner, but since the Damon's didn't have that many chairs and no table leafs Ash and Renamon volunteered to sit a simple square shaped card table.

"Here, Gaomon, open wide. Ah!" Kristy shouted out as she was trying to feed the new dog in the house. Unknown to her was the glare Renamon was giving off until she saw, through the corner of her eye, Ash offering her a piece of food.

"You seemed angry that Gaomon was getting all of the attention, so here." Ash offered to her, and she felt a blush creep onto her face just as Gaomon's blush never left his. She did like the offer, but rather than accepting it she took a piece of food from her plate and offered it to him.

"Only if you have this." She offered to him, and could clearly see a blush forming on his face.

"Okay." He muttered with a small stutter in his voice. As the two exchanged food they were unaware that the smart one was taking in his surroundings.

"Hey, Agumon, you took my share again." Marcus called out once he saw that his supply of food was already gone.

"Not me, boss." Agumon said back while trying to play innocent with his mouth still full of food.

'Quite a lively dinner table, and sub-dinner table they have.' Thomas thought as he observed everyone around him, and that is when he spotted something on the far wall. A pair of pictures – one of a young Ash and his mom and dad along with a young Damon family in the other photo. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the one that was in his own little world.

"Thomas. Thomas!" Marcus shouted out since he wanted to have his friend join them back in this meal.

"Anything wrong with the food?" He offered to his friend once he saw that he was back with them.

"If you want, I could make you something else." Sarah offered to the guest in a concerned tone since she did not want him to feel obligated to have this food if he didn't like it.

"That's not it at all." He said back to her before adding, "I'm just..." He stopped to see that everyone's eyes were trained on him. "You see: I've just grown accustomed to eating alone – that's all." He explained to them, and then felt the mood change from fun and happy to glum and very sad he decided to leave. "We have to be going now. Thank you for the meal. Let's go Gaomon." The smart one stated in a very melancholy tone as he slowly walked away from the table.

"Sir, yes sir." The canine Rookie stated as he was relieved to leave this girl that was making him feel awkward.

"Huh?" The group questioned aloud as they watched him leave them.

"Agumon, Marcus go with him. Try to see what's up. Renamon and I will help with the clean up." Ash stated to his fellow DATS workers who nodded and headed out to the limo.

"Hey, Thomas." The brawler quietly called out from the outside of the vehicle, and waited for the window to roll down.

"Don't worry, Marcus. I will keep my promise to your family tomorrow. I will be at Kristy's Birthday." Thomas stated with absolute certainty before driving away. This change from cautious to dedicated confused both of them.

"What happened to him? I wonder..." Marcus thought out loud before going back inside, and helped with the straightening up.

"Anything?" Ash questioned as he and Marcus got the dishes off of the main table.

"Nothing. Just said he'd be here for the party." Marcus answered back. Unknown to them Thomas was already working on a plan for the birthday girl.

"10:00 AM – Meet with Damon family.

12:00 PM – Have lunch at the hotel's top floor restaurant.

01:00 PM - After that stop for a birthday present at the hotel gift shop.

02:00 PM - Stroll through the Japanese garden

02:30 PM - And arrange for everyone to have afternoon tea together

03:00 PM – Horseback riding at the Equestria Club

06:00 PM – Take Marcus' family out to dinner at the best French restaurant in town"

Thomas read over the game plan he had for that little sister before adding, "It's perfect. The most well planned birthday ever. I'll call it: Kristy's magnificent Birthday Plan!" With that all planned out he decided to finally get some sleep since he wanted to be well rested so he could see the smile on her face when his plan went off without a hitch.

"Good morning, Ash." Renamon stated as the two were in the kitchen at 5:00 AM enjoying some Orange Juice, scrambled eggs, and toast.

"Good morning, Renamon." Ash said back to her with a smile on his face. As the two sat together they enjoyed this moment of peace and serenity.

"So, you probably want to tail him later today?" The yellow furred creature questioned to him since she already knew the answer.

"Yeah, I just want to keep her safe. So far the people that work at DATS seem to attract Digimon where ever we go, and I don't want Kristy to be caught in the middle of one of our battles." He explained to her before adding, "Besides, this gives me the best opportunity to use a new hologram feature I put into the belt" This got her interested in his plan.

"Can't wait to try it out." She responded, and not too long after that the others of the house came down for Breakfast. A few hours after that three of them were waiting outside while the other two remained indoors.

"He's late. And he's going to make me late for school." Marcus griped even though this day is for those that want to make up tests, and those that don't have the day off. 'Kinda wish Agumon knew a thing or two about school.' Damon thought since he often saw the fox helping out her partner with his homework, and at that time he heard a vehicle approaching. "Finally, here he comes." Marcus informed the others.

"You're late, pal." He said to the car in a tone that did not mask his anger and aggravation at all.

'Trying to impress just a little too much.' Renamon, who was standing on the roof, thought as she saw Thomas standing outside of the limo in a pure white suit and a bouquet of flowers in hand.

"Happy Birthday, Kristy, and many happy returns." Thomas said while kneeling to the young one and gave her the bouquet of flowers.

"Oh, Thank you." She said as she happily accepted the flowers from him.

"I promise you that today will be the best birthday you've ever had, and you'll remember it for the rest of your life." Thomas informed her with absolute certainty in his voice.

"I can't wait, Thomas." The Birthday girl said with a smile.

"You're a very special person, Thomas. We leave ourselves in your capable hands." Sarah informed him, and she was sure that he would keep them both safe.

"I've planned the whole day." He said to the mother before her before placing his hand behind his back and cleared his throat. The chauffeur understood and grabbed the second bouquet of flowers from the limo. "By the way, Sarah. These are for you." He stated after feeling the package in hand and presented them to her. A bouquet that was even larger than her daughter's bouquet.

"What? You're so sweet, and it's not even my birthday." She said to him with the last part being in a joking tone.

"This is my thanks for dinner yesterday." Thomas informed her, and the son could almost feel where this was going.

"If you give me flowers – you're toast. Boy, when you do something. You do it." Marcus stated since he could not believe that Thomas was this thorough for a simple birthday party.

"I told you before: I am the master of the well-laid plan." Thomas said back and felt rather proud of that title.

"What a guy." Marcus said in a very sarcastic tone.

"Marcus!" A voice shouted out causing the man in question to turn to the voice. "School. You're going to be late if you don't get a move on right now." Sarah informed her son as she pointed to the watch on her left wrist.

"Oh, I gotta go." Marcus stated as he remembered why this was all going down in the first place. "Hey, thanks again, Thomas. I'm off to take that stupid make-up exam. I'm gonna ace it." He said to his fellow fighter and friend while offering his fist to him.

"That's the spirit." Thomas replied back and returned the fist pump.

"See ya." Marcus stated as he walked off to school, and left his family in Thomas' trusting hands.

"Okay, Kristy, time to put your Birthday plan into action. First a trip to hotel's restaurant..." Thomas informed her, but was cut off by the Birthday girl herself.

"I have other places I want to go." Kristy said to him with a smile on her face. "Please." She added and put on her cutest face that she could.

"Yeah. Sure. It's your birthday, so we can do whatever you want." Thomas said as he resigned himself to her cute face.

"Yay!" Kristy shouted out and began praising that today was her birthday while her stand-in brother had other thoughts running through him.

'My schedule is already in ruins. I didn't factor this into my calculations.' Thomas thought to himself before getting his focus back, and escorted them into his limo. Once they started to roll out Renamon disappeared from the roof, and reappeared in his room.

"They are on the move." Renamon informed him as soon as she was visible.

"Then so are we." Ash said back to her before adding, "But first put on the belt. I added another setting into it." She took the object, put in on and another form stood there. It possessed red and silver shoes, blue jeans, blue and white shirt with a heart on it, purple wristbands, and her blonde hair being held back by a black and white scrunchie.

"This might be more useful than that biker look." Renamon said to him as she looked at her more human form. With her new skin in play the two of them headed out, but not before locking the door for a bit of security.

"Let's follow by the rooftops." Ash suggested to her, and that is what they did. The human was grateful that their neck of the woods had building so close to each other as did the small section Kristy was taking them through.

"Make a right. Then hang a left at the second corner." Kristy instructed the driver as she watched over his shoulders to make sure that they were going where she was hoping to go. Behind her was her mother and Thomas. Sarah simply sat there: enjoying the drive, and knew that her friend would like it too if she were here. Thomas on the other hand was deep in thought as he looked at his hand held laptop.

'I've got to do something to make up the time we've lost.' The blonde haired genius thought to himself while staring at the screen. Sarah stopped thinking of her friend to notice that her stand-in son didn't seem to be enjoying himself.

"Something wrong, Thomas?" The brown haired mother questioned to the young man to her left. Her voice snapped him out of his deep thought, so he decided to address her concern.

"No. Nothing." He responded before his limo stopped all of a sudden. This caused those that here in the car to jostle a bit. "Hey, why'd you stop?" The young man stated in a level tone since he did not wish to offend his butler's driving skills.

"My deepest apologies, Master Thomas." The driver stated as he looked at the problem before him. A section of a fence along with two small stone obelisks stood in their path to the next road over.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Thomas questioned since, from his position, could not see the problem that was causing this delay.

"We seem to be temporarily out of road, sir." The driver informed the group behind him.

'That's weird. I know that this is how we always get to...' Kristy thought to herself, and was beginning to feel doubtful of her directional skills until she realized where they were. "It doesn't matter. We're almost there anyway. Let's get out and walk from here." Kristy said to the group with a smile on her face that she knew that they were heading in the right direction.

'No car? Now we're going to loose even more time.' Thomas thought to himself as he felt that all his hard work last night was slowly going down the drain. Another part of him realized that he was going to be making a lot of phone calls real soon.

"Thomas, hurry up." The birthday girl shouted out when she realized that her stand-in brother was still in the car. He chuckled, which the other two didn't know why, and then he got out of the car to join them. On the building close to them stood their watchers.

"Let's not have Kristy be the navigator when we go somewhere, Ash." Renamon stated since she had a feeling that the little one had no idea where she was going, and it was only through dumb luck that they were remotely close to their destination.

"Don't sell Kristy short. If it was me as the navigator I'm sure that we would have hit all of the dead ends along the way." Ash reasoned with the yellow furred one, and she did have to admit that did sound like something her partner would do.

"We better keep an eye on them." The vixen informed and with that said the two leaped off to their next roof. Renamon knew that she could easily blow away the obstructions, but for the two of them – this was a recon mission only. As for the actual big brother he was dealing with his own problem of the day.

"I'm gonna fail bad." The fighter muttered to himself as he stared blankly at his test paper since he could feel all the stuff he studied suddenly left him right then and there. Back at the party the actual party people were at their destination – a small brick building with their onlookers resting on the rooftop across the street from them.

"This is where you wanted to go?" The genius questioned as the stood before the simply building with a sliding entrance door.

"Yeah! The arcade!" Kristy shouted out with complete joy as she held her mother's hand while walking inside. "Come on, Thomas. Let's play." The young one said to her stand-in with a smile since she really wanted him to experience the joy this place gives her.

"I'll be right there." He said to them, and waited until the doors closed to do what he dreaded on doing. "Hello. This is Thomas H. Norstein, I'm terribly sorry, but I have to cancel my reservation. Please forgive me this stop wasn't on my schedule." He said on his cellphone with his hand covering his mouth since he did not want anyone hearing what he was saying. After hanging up the egg-head took a deep breath, and went into the arcade with the others.

"Looks like that is one thing the brother and sister have in common. " Ash stated as he stood on the roof and watched the whole thing.

"What is that?" His fluffy partner questioned: wanting to know what he was talking about.

"Both of them have a knack for being the strategy sinkers when it comes to a Thomas Norstein plan." He explained what he was talking about, and she had to admit that he did have a point. Inside the building were the party people standing before a crane game.

"You just pick out a stuffed animal, and I'll grab it for you, Kristy." Thomas informed her since this was still in the spirit of his plan, and it did seem a bit more fun.

"That one – the kitty-cat." The young girl said with happiness as she eyed the one that she wanted.

"You got it." He said back to her as he activated the machine, and picked up a cute pink kitty-cat. "Right?" He questioned to her, and was sort of expecting a confirmation on his catch, but instead...

"No. The other kitty." Kristy corrected him which confused the savior of mankind until he saw what she was now pointing to. A tiger themed one with a very angry face on it.

"Oh, that kitty." He said dejectedly before releasing the pink one before it went through the exit hole, and picked up the one that she wanted. The next stop was a versus fighting video game where the two players were facing one another instead of side by side.

"K.O." The computer voice shouted out as a white bunny went flying.

"I win!" The birthday girl shouted out with happiness as another victory went under her belt.

"I didn't know that you were this good at video games." The mother said in a shocked tone, but she was also quite proud over what she had seen. It was at that point that her opponent peeked over the corner of the machine before another round could begin.

"I keep losing. I'm terrible." The genius said to himself in disbelief that a man of his intellect couldn't even win one round.

"Maybe it's a good thing Marcus couldn't make it. He would never let you live these seventeen losses down." Gaomon informed his partner while staying inside the digivice since he still didn't know how to react while being around that young girl.

"That is true, Gaomon, and I'm not sure whether Ash would or not." Thomas stated to his partner while believing that if this was Punch-Out or something similar to that style of game then he would have won at least a couple of them. As for Marcus, he was still in school, only this time staring out the window: lost in one simple thought.

'I wonder how Thomas is doing with Kristy?' The brawler thought since that was the only thing on his mind – not the test. Something then struck his forehead causing him to get back on track.

"Damon, eyes on your paper." The teacher, that threw the chalk, instructed to the daydreamer after seeing that it connected to his target.

"Yes, sir." The student answered back, and went back to the test that he was certain he was going to fail at. The watchers were seeing that the three were coming back out.

"Looks like they're done in there." Ash informed his partner as he saw their three targets with a stuffed kitty in hand. The fox, who was simply training on the rooftop, glanced over with the corner of her eye, and saw the animal.

"At least it's not a blue doggy." She muttered under her breath, and it was then and there that the human half of this decided to call her out on this side of her.

"You've been like this ever since Kristy caught sight of Gaomon." Ash started out with, and then brought up with something from the past, "As I recall though: when she sneaked into our room and tied bows on your tail and ears out of cuteness. You found them annoying, and now there's a new canine focus – you seem threatened." She looked right at him, and had a feeling she knew what he was implying, but she wanted to make sure.

"What are you getting at, Ash?" The hidden yellow furred warrior questioned to him while not sounding offended by his comment.

"Could it be that a part of you liked the attention that the little sister gave you." He offered to her, and then added, "Is it possible that you may have a puppy side underneath all of that warrior pride?" She became flustered because a part of her did like the bows in her fur...just a bit. Her attitude went back to normal once she recalled why they were on a rooftop.

"I know you like to hear the sound of my voice, but don't forget – we are supposed to be making sure that nothing happens to the birthday girl." The pointy eared protagonist informed him before leaping away. The hat wearing hero did have to admit that he did like the sound of her voice, but she did have a point.

"Right." He said back to her, and followed her. Eventually they were forced to go to sidewalk level since the buildings in this upcoming sector seriously varied in size. Despite wearing a hat Ash knew that one of them may recognize him from a distance, so he pulled out a pair of sunglasses.

"Seriously?" She questioned to the hero as they continued to walk shoulder to shoulder.

"I've seen it in a comic, cartoon, and movie. This hero wore a simple pair of glasses, and no one was the wiser." He whispered back to her, and with that they simply followed them a few people behind. The three person party were having their own conversation.

"I'm hungry?" The smallest of the Damon clan informed the others in a somewhat whiny tone.

"Me too. It is about time for lunch." Sarah informed them of the time she saw on a store clock a ways back. Renamon heard this, and was about to question her partner, but his stomach beat her to it; much to his embarrassment.

'Yes. Time to get things back on schedule.' Thomas thought to himself in victory after hearing both ladies comments. "There's a great little French cafe I know just around..." The blonde haired youth was about to speak before being cut off by the birthday girl.

"I know a much better place to eat." Kristy said to her party much to Thomas' aggravation. Her actual big brother was suffering a similar type of aggravation: with a word problem.

'An older brother leaves home to go to school which is two kilometers away from his house. Ten minutes later his little sister chases after him using the same road. The older brother walks eighty meters per minute while the sister runs two hundred meters per minute. How many minutes will it take the sister to reach her brother.' Marcus thought to himself as he read the problem he was stumped on. 'Let's see: if I were her brother I would...' He thought to himself before muttering out loud, "Sit down and wait for my sister." His sis on the other hand had made it to her restaurant.

'Man, do I feel out of place.' Thomas thought to himself as he entered the restaurant in question and felt everyone staring at him – most likely due to his pure white suit. Except for a couple that came in behind them – they could care less. "This is your idea of Lunch?" The genius questioned out loud as he saw the chunk of something on a burner.

"I told you this place was great." The little one said to him with a smile since she really wanted him to experience this wonderful food of hers.

"How do you eat this stuff?" Thomas questioned since in all of his travels he has never encountered such a food related oddity.

"You just press it down like this, and scoop." The birthday girl instructed while doing just that, and shoved her piece in her mouth. "Delicious. That really hits the spot." She informed them as she felt the chunk that she had slid right into her stomach.

'Come on. It can't be that good.' Ash thought to himself before doing has he had heard, and shoved it into his mouth. 'I stand corrected.' The hero thought after tasting it, and swallowed it. The vixen did the same as he, and also enjoyed it.

"Kristy just loves her fried slop, but I can't stand it." The mother admitted to the group that surrounded her. Which the birthday girl took no offense to her mother's words since she was still focused on having her stand-in brother try her food.

"Don't knock it till you try it." Kristy said to Thomas as she anxiously awaited for him to try some.

"Okay." He responded back with a nervous tick in his voice. He took some, tried it, and then a big smile was plastered all over his face. "I like it!" He responded with his smile never leaving his face much to the birthday girl's delight.

"That was yummy-licious." The little one shouted out extremely happy. For that moment Thomas forgot all about his schedule as he was eating it, but once all of it was gone the blue savior decided it was time to go.

"Waiter, we'll take the check now, please." The man in white informed their food supplier. At another table two others were leaving as well only with their food supplier standing closer to them.

"Yes, sir. You can pay at the register when ever you are ready." Thomas' waiter informed the three of them while Ash's waiter said something differently.

"For you and your date – no charge." The waiter said with a kind smile much to both of their surprise of this being listed under the 'd' word. It was then Ash recognized the man serving them.

'It's the same elder as those other times. What's his story?' Ash thought to himself before getting down to business. "I am sorry sir, but I was raised to never accept gratuities." The hat wearing hero said to him which caused the elder to smile.

'So much like your father.' Yushima thought to himself before getting back on task himself. "If that's what you want then pay up at the register when your ready to leave." A nod of understanding was his answer. Thomas had dug his credit cards out in that time, and handed his waiter one that has never let him down.

"Just put it on my card." Thomas informed with a sly smile since he wished to look cool in front of the Damon family. The waiter's smile went away and was replaced with a dead-serious face.

"Where do you think you are?" The waiter questioned the rich boy sitting down.

"Huh?" The planner questioned out loud since he didn't understand what the man was talking about.

"This isn't the Taj Mahal. We only take cash here." The silver haired man informed, and the strategist got what their waiter was talking about.

"Sorry. I'm all out of cash. I spent it all at the arcade." Thomas informed their waiter with an embarrassed expression on his face. The planner's pride had to take a blow as he had to be bailed out of this jam. "Thank you for paying for Lunch, Sarah." Thomas stated with his head hung in defeat.

"Oh, don't worry. It's the least I could do since you planned such a magnificent birthday for Kristy." Sarah said back, letting him know that she saw what he was doing with his pocket laptop, and she knew what was on it.

'Some plan. We haven't done one magnificent thing yet.' Thomas thought with his head still hung low. 'I must recover somehow. Get us back on schedule.' He added to his first thought as his resolve to make this the best day ever was slowly returning to him. Sarah on the other hand was thinking of something as well.

'Was that really Homer Yushima talking to Ash? Is he still protecting our world at his age?' Sarah thought since as they were leaving she could have sworn that she saw her old friend along with Ash in that restaurant. The mother's thoughts were cut short when she looked over and saw that Thomas had stopped moving and was standing upright.

"Well, Kristy if there's any other place you want to go. Now's the time to request it." Thomas informed and offered to the girl beside her since this was her special day.

"Hmm. I know, I want to see fireworks. Ones that go, BOOM, with green and orange lights." Kristy informed him causing the planner to think about it for a moment, and remember something he saw while looking at all of the other places.

"Where ever you plan on taking us Thomas let's go on ahead, but maybe we should ask our tag along to come with us." Sarah offered to the others which confused Thomas and the birthday girl. Coming over to them was a blonde haired girl and a familiar hat wearing and shield bearing human.

"Looks like your disguise wasn't so full proof after all." Renamon muttered to her partner as they got close to them. "My apologies, Sarah, but Ash and I thought it best to keep an eye on you since us being part of the Digimon Data Squad – trouble seems to follow us. Thought it best to keep you all safe." Thomas informed her with a bow of forgiveness.

"Think nothing of it, Rena. Come on, let's go." The mother said and headed out with the others right behind her. Eventually they all stood before something they didn't know Thomas knew about.

"An amusement park?" Ash questioned the back of his head in confusion didn't really feel like something Thomas would do.

"Cool." Kristy said out loud as she gawked at all of the rides that rested on the other side of the wall. Thomas did have this as an option – a fall back in case something were to happen since the fireworks did sound like a good closer to any day.

"They have a spectacular firework show here every single night." The planner informed them that this was the perfect place to fulfill the birthday girl's desire.

"Really?" The youngest of them questioned as she was desperately trying to hold in her glee about this part of her day.

"Why don't we go see some attractions and go on some rides before they start?" The thinker suggested to them since this seemed like a good place to kill time before that part of the festivities began.

"Yeah!" The four others shouted out and headed on in. Once inside they rode the roller coaster, spent time at the tea cup ride, a haunted house (spooked Thomas a little), went on a merry go round (with Ash and Renamon sitting in a chariot), had some ice cream (with the birthday girl having quite a bit on such a small cone), and rode the Ferris Wheel to get a better view of the fireworks.

"It feels good to see the real me." Renamon thought once they were inside their sphere and she powered down her disguise. The girls sat on one side {Renamon, Sarah, and Kristy} while Thomas and Ash sat on the other side.

"Just to make sure you aren't spotted by any peepers above us – here." The raven haired youth said as he offered his hat to her. She accepted it, and gently placed it on her head which the other two ladies liked it on her as mach as on Ash's head.

"Thank you." She responded to him, and could not shake the 'd' word back there since this felt kind of right, and on the lines of that particular word. The vixen's worry was shelved once she heard the youngest of them speak.

"Wow. Pretty. You can see the whole town. I think I can see our house from here. Look mom, is that it?" Kristy stated in an overjoyed tone while looking out her window.

"Let's see." Sarah said to her beloved daughter and looked over her shoulder. At that moment Ash caught that same vibe as back at Supper from Thomas. Only this time could see a very painful gleam in his eye.

'Something seriously wrong must have happened.' Ash thought to himself, but decided not to pry. If he wanted them to know of it – he would tell the others.

"Thomas?" Kristy questioned which caused the man in question to get out of his thoughts, and look around and saw that the others were giving him worried looks.

"Are you okay? You look so sad. Are you not having fun?" The birthday girl questioned to her stand-in brother who genuinely smiled back at her since he appreciated that she cared about him even though they have barely interacted at all.

"On the contrary. I can't remember the last time I have had this much fun." Thomas admitted to the others. At that moment several flashes of light were seen at the ground below causing the five to look at it.

Not far away from the amusement park, Kristy's oldest brother Charlie and his partner Guilmon also witnessed the flashes.

'Something's not right.' Charlie thought to himself.

"Guilmon, return to the digivice. We're going to help them out." The red lizard nodded and was placed inside it. Charlie then drove to the amusement park.

"Fireworks?" Ash questioned before looking at his watch, and added, "They started early." Thomas and Renamon scanned the explosions and saw a rather large figure near the blasts.

"Not exactly, Ash." Renamon commented to her partner.

"It's a Digimon." Thomas stated the rest for her causing him to get on the defensive since this area is crawling with civilians. Ash pulled out his Digidex, and scanned their enemy.

"Citramon, a Champion Level Digimon – special attack: Fruit Punch Nova. It is believed to be a sub category of BomberNanimon." The machine informed them which sort of helped out of what that beast is capable of.

"I'm gonna squeeze ya. Like an orange." Citramon shouted out to the civilians at his feet who were all screaming in fear. Eventually the Ferris wheel came to a stop, and Renamon turned her disguise back on with Thomas leaping out of their car.

"Thomas, be careful." Sarah warned the youngster. This was one thing she did not like – family and loved ones putting themselves in harms way.

"You two need to get out of here. Ash, Renamon I'm counting on you two to get these two out of the amusement park along with everyone else." The veteran between the two instructed to the two still in the car, and even though the other savior wanted to help he knew that this was Thomas' fight.

"No. Thomas!" Kristy said with fear and worry evident on her face.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry. This is what I do." The blonde haired one informed her and then ran off. This left the four alone, but none of them had time to waste just staying in there.

"You heard the man. You three head on out. I have an idea to hopefully get everyone out." Ash informed them, and the leaped out, and headed in the other direction – to the source of the PA system for the whole park.

"We better get to it." The pointy eared girl said to the others, completely forgetting that she was still wearing Ash's hat. Reluctantly the two civilians nod in agreement, and got out, and tried to get as many people along the way.

"There it is." Ash shouted in joy once he saw the room, and opened it, thankfully unlocked, before getting to the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen of the amusement park, our newest animatronic mascot seems to be going haywire. Please locate the closest exit, and leave carefully. We will give you a full refund for your troubles, and drive safely." Ash said in the microphone before leaving, and knew that Thomas could handle the rest.

'All my planning for nothing. I'll make that Digimon pay for ruining Kristy's birthday. Couldn't he have attacked tomorrow instead.' Thomas thought as he raced to a clearing closest to his target. The fruit themed opponent saw him instantly.

"Prepare to get juiced." The opponent of the day shouted out to the new challenger.

"This is going to be tough." Thomas said to himself since there were a lot of structures that could be lost in the fight.

"Ready when you are, sir." Gaomon informed while still in his digivice even though he could sense this enemy appear on his own. The human scanned the immediate area, but thanks to Ash's announcement there was no one around, so he went to work.

"Gaomon, realize." The blonde one shouted out as he held out his device, and in a flash of light his long time friend and fighting companion appeared.

"Sir, yes, sir." The digital dog shouted out once he was completely in the open. "He's tart. Careful." The Digital Monster informed since he knew that this creature had a habit of splash-like moves.

"We'll stay clear of the juice." Thomas assured him before pulling his com link out of his pocket, and decided to let the others know. "This is Norstein. There is a Digimon on a rampage in unit U-308. The target is Citramon. Requesting area be shut down immediately." He informed into his listening device, and waited for a response.

"Confirmed. Area U-308 will be blockaded." The long haired desk jockey informed the field agent.

"Thomas, don't do anything until the others get there." Sampson instructed to the loyal one of DATS. He knew that with more Digimon on their side the less of a chance that amusement park will look more like a war zone.

"I'm sorry, sir, but this fight has become a personal matter to me." The field agent informed as he tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. His answer did not go over very well with his commanding officer.

"Keep your personal feeling out of this." Sampson shouted to him before adding, "Stand by. Back up is on the way." He was giving his soldier another shot of not disobeying him, and hoped that he would not.

"It's not my intention to disobey orders, sir, but I'm taking this Digimon down alone." Thomas said back to him in a stern tone since he wanted to make it clear that he meant every word.

"No. I'm telling you for the last time. Do not proceed until back-up arri-." Their commander shouted to him, but was cut off before he could finish. The strategist hung up on his end, and put his com link away before returning to his target – Citramon.

"Perhaps Ash will serve better since he is in the same area." Kudamon offered to his old friend as the saw the signal from his digivice in the immediate area.

"Ash, respond." Sampson stated after tapping into Ash's com-link.

"Sir, Ash here." The hat wearing hero responded while calmly walking to the others.

"You must go back and assist Thomas in stopping that Digimon." Sampson ordered to the raven haired hero.

"Far be it for me to disobey you, but I think that Thomas wants to deal with this fight on his own." He responded and had a feeling that he only upset him, so the young hero added, "Besides he does have the pride of a warrior, and if I were to interfere that would only wound it; not help it." With nothing else to be said he hung up and rejoined the others. The fellow world savior only hoped that the genius could really handle this.

"Well, ready?" The human half of the duo questioned once he was ready for battle.

"Sir, yes, sir." Gaomon responded in a stern tone of his own. To let the human know that he was with him no matter what he chose to do.

'This is for Kristy and Sarah.' The birthday planner thought before saying out loud, "Pursue and secure." The soldier then charged up his hand and channeled it into his digivice. "DNA Charge!" He shouted out and then let his partner take over.

"Gaomon digivolve to..." The small boxing themed Rookie shouted out while feeling the energy flow through him and soon added, "Aquilamon."

"Bring him down, Aquilamon. Go." Thomas commanded and then pointed at his target. The eagle charged straight ahead – ready to end this fight fast and clean.

"I'll show you." The enemy shouted out and started the throw his attacks at the eagle which all of them missed. Once he got in range Aquilamon soared towards Citramon to impale him.

"That's the way. Now, squeeze the juice right out of him." Thomas shouted out with a happy smile since this fight was going swimmingly.

"Fine. Just be warned if you squeeze me. Everyone goes for a swim." Citramon informed as he showed off his entire ammunition before the bald eagle. This drew concern from Aquilamon because he didn't know how to get past this defense.

"Oh no." Thomas shouted out before thinking, 'There's enough juice in there to level the entire park.'

Just then a voice shouted, "Throw him into the sky Growlmon!"

Thomas turned and saw Charlie and Growlmon heading their direction after spotting the explosions in the distance.

"That's genius!" Thomas exclaimed as his eyes lit up. "Help him out Aquilamon."

"Right." Growlmon nodded before approaching Citramon and lifting him up off the ground alongside Aquilamon. Growlmon and Aquilamon then threw Citramon into the air.

"Finish him!" He shouted out at his partner while the enemy was still air-born.

"Exhaust Flame!"

"Blast Laser!" Aquilamon shouted out as he unleashed rings from his mouth and took out the variant of BomberNanimon with Growlmon's help.

"I'll be back, and even juicier than before!" Citramon shouted out before finally blowing up, and leaving fireworks in his place. With that everyone: the citizens, Aquilamon, Thomas, and others were simply enjoying the show.

"Situation contained. Thomas turned him back into a digi-egg." Megumi informed the others after seeing that the enemy's life sign was no longer transmitting.

"He disobeyed your orders. What will you do?" Kudamon stated and questioned to his human partner while resting on his neck.

"I'm going to sit here and enjoy the fireworks." Sampson responded without even looking at his partner, and kept his shaded eyes on the display screens showing them a spectacular fireworks show. Kudamon had a feeling that he wasn't going to do anything to Ash either, so the small Digimon decided to be like the others and enjoy the show.

"Unit 5 reporting: no sign of that giant orange, but the fireworks are something special tonight." An officer in the parking lot responded to dispatch while staring at the display before him. Ash was also in awe at the light show above, but he also knew that there was a digi-egg in plain sight, and that could not stand.

"Go." Ash muttered under his breath, and the young girl beside him nodded, and jogged away. Once out of view Renamon deactivated her image, disappeared from there, and reappeared in the park. After some searching she spotted her target, and headed over to it, but also saw Thomas.

"Go to the others. I'll take this back to base." She instructed to the smart one. He knew that she had a point, and had a feeling that the little one was going to be very upset that things did not go as planned. The pointy eared canine took the egg, and raced off back to base. 'I better hurry if I want to make it back in time for cake.' Renamon thought while leaping to their place of business. While she was doing that and the fireworks were dying out Marcus was still at his desk in a pitch black school.

"Finally, I'm finished." The bruiser said out loud as he sat at his desk completely stunned that he was actually done with that re-take test. Back at the amusement park Thomas made it out, with Gaomon back in the digivice, and seeming down in the dumps.

"Thomas, here!" The birthday girl shouted out as she, mom, and Ash waited right by the tape.

"Sorry. I tried, but I guess I can't make all of Kristy's birthday wishes come true." Thomas said to the three of them. This only confused the mother and Ash since it felt as though the little one was really enjoying herself.

"Oh, Thomas, what are you talking about, silly? Your birthday plans today were magnificent." Sarah commented to him with a warm smile on her face with a simple smile and nod in agreement from Ash. This seemed to have surprised the planner greatly since nothing went at all as he had planned.

"Thomas! Thomas!" The youngest of the Damon's shouted up at the planner to get him out of his daze. He heard her, and knelt to her so she would have an easier time talking to him.

"Yes, Kristy." Thomas stated to her allowing her to continue what she wanted to talk about.

"Thank you! Those fireworks were the best ever, and so are you." She explained while expressing great joy to her stand in brother while giving him her birthday kiss. This actually made the older man blush a bit as he continued to kneel there.

"I'm getting kind of hungry again." Kristy said to her mother since all of this excitement really emptied her reserves.

"Well, I could eat." The older woman said to the group admitting, by her tone, that she was really starving. This caught the planner's attention causing him to stand up right.

"Really?" He questioned while going from kneeling to standing. "There's a French restaurant I know that-." He started to speak, but the mother to the brawler of the group put her finger to his mouth. She was touched that he still wanted to follow his plan, but she knew of a better idea.

"I have a better idea. How would you like me to cook you a home cooked meal?" The mother said and questioned to her stand in son with that same warm smile.

"Sure. Sounds great." He answered back, and with that the four headed back home. Once they got inside the driver along with Marcus, Agumon, Charlie, Guilmon, Yoshino, Lalamon, and Renamon were already inside – waiting for them. With a little bit of time they all sat down for Supper with confetti shooters in hand which they did not use until after the birthday girl blew out all of her candles.

"Happy Birthday, and many happy returns." They all said to the girl in question who sat back in her chair.

"Here's a little something that Lalamon and I picked out together." Yoshi stated while handing the young one a yellow and red gift.

"I would have helped wrap it to, but I don't have hands." Lalamon explained to the birthday girl even though she had a feeling that much was obvious by all.

"Thanks a lot." Kristy said back to the two girls sitting across from her.

"Kristy." Marcus stated as his sister just took hold of her gift from Yoshi, but turned her head to her brother.

"I'm really sorry I was late. I hope I didn't ruin your Birthday after promising to spend time with you today." The fighter explained to her and genuinely felt bad for doing such a thing to her. As he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment the teen saw from the corner of his eye that Agumon was helping himself to the eggs.

"You didn't ruin it. We had lots of fun. Right? Didn't we, Thomas?" The birthday girl informed him and questioned to her stand in brother.

"Yeah." He said to her with a small blush growing back on his face. Sarah could only smile and chuckle a little at how Thomas was acting with that compliment.

"Really? That's good to hear." Marcus said to her, and was happy that everything worked out alright. It was then he decided to deal with a slight problem.

"HEY! YOU HOG! You ate my eggs!" Marcus shouted at Agumon while holding him back from the final piece.

"Oh, sorry, were those your eggs?" Agumon questioned even though he already knew the answer. Before either of them could claim the final piece a pair of chopsticks took it away. The pair of utensils belonged to Thomas as he slowly placed it into his mouth.

"Ah, so good." Thomas said to all of them, but Ash could tell that a little of that statement was to rub it into Marcus' face of how good the egg was.

"No fair, Thomas. You took advantage of my temporary confusion." The son of the mother shouted out to Thomas as he tried to point out the move against him was unfair.

"Your confusion is never temporary, Marcus." Thomas said back to Marcus.

"Okay, that does it!" He shouted out, and all were expecting him to start a fight, and then he added, "No dessert for you." This back and forth was actually upsetting the girl of the day.

"Marcus, stop, you're embarrassing me." Kristy informed them even though she was answered back with a group laugh. Ash was just happy that everyone was enjoying themselves this night. It wasn't until that moment that Ash realized something strange in the room.

"You still have my hat, Renamon." He said to her while seeing the fox creature with his hat on her head. She adjusted it a bit, and looked right at him with a soft smile on her face.

"Yes, I suppose I am." Renamon said back and then took it off of her head, and carefully put it back on the proper head.

"You did look good with it, though." He whispered to that only she could hear him, and he saw a blush before watching Renamon put her game face back on.