There was a rule against taking dogs to school.  Of course, this rule is kept in place because a dog will cause disruption among the students.  However, normally, it is the student who would want the dog to be brought to class, not the dog itself…
    “But why can’t I go, James?  I want to learn what you’re learning!” Plotmon, a Digimon resembling a beige puppy, whined.
    His human partner, James, a lanky blonde kid in glasses, sighed, as he put on his school uniform, “Plotmon, I’ve told you already.  The school doesn’t allow animals.”
    “And I’ve told you already, I’m NOT an animal.”
    "And I've told YOU already, that, because you AREN'T a human AND look
like a dog, people will assume you're an animal.  If you go, I'll get in
trouble.  Read our books.  We have plenty of them."
    Plotmon conceded, but pouted, “I want to stay with you.”
    James ruffled Plotmon’s fur, in a gesture that both calmed and infuriated the puppy, “I do too, but I can’t bring you, so we both have to make the best of things.”
    Plotmon sighed, “You’re right.  But then again, you’re my partner, so you have to be always right, like I am.”
    “That’s the ticket.  Keep it up and sooner or later, we’ll both start believing it.  I’ll see you later.”
    “Bye,” With that, James rushed out of his room, out of the apartment, and down the stairs, hoping to run into Juana.  He did, although a little more literally than he would have preferred.  After a few painful seconds and a detangling of limbs, the two were dusting themselves off.
    “James, what is with you?  Where’s that agility I saw in the Digital World?”
    “Apparently, still in the Digital World.  I guess I do better with an ogre howling after my blood.”
    “Speaking of which, how’d your dad take to Plotmon?”
    “They love each other.  Dad thinks Plotmon’s an alien I’ve befriended, and Plotmon thinks Dad’s a humanized version of Wizarmon.  How about you?”
    “My Mom and Dad don’t know yet.  My grandmother does, though.  She thinks Armadimon is my spirit guide.  Are you ready for your first day of Brazilian schooling?”
    “A bit at odds.  I’m still not sure how the school system works here.”
    “Didn’t you get information before coming here?”
    “Yes, and they made me take tests and send in my schooling records before placing me in the right grade, but I’m not sure how it works on a day to day basis.”
    “Well, we have one less year in the primary system than you do.  You’re starting in the seventh grade, right?  I think that’s the eighth grade in America’s system.  We’ll be starting in the second semester, and, unless I’m mistaken, we’re in the same class.  You have morning classes, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “I am a bit worried that you won’t know everything you need to.”
    “Believe me, I’m prepared, I had to go to several tutors over some of the school year and all of the summer to bring me up to speed.  And teach me Portuguese.”
    “I thought you spoke Portuguese a bit too fluently for a foreigner.”
    “I had a really strict instructor, who was born in Brazil actually.  Rio, I think.  I just hope that it converts well into day to day talking.”
    “You’re fine.  Nervous?”
    “No, not really.  I’m not expecting anything much.”
 

    The first thing that James noticed was that everyone was staring at him.  A new student was always something to stare at, but James was different.  The fact that he was American obviously meant something.  While he wasn’t the only white person there (There were several of them, most of them of German or Italian descent), he felt sure that he was the only one who had lived in a foreign country for most of his life.  There were a lot of things being whispered around the room.  James couldn’t catch most of it, but the most common word used was “gringo,” the term, which may or may not have been derogatory, for an American living in South America.
    James had a feeling he’d be hearing this word a lot.
    Another factor was the social status of most of the kids.  Belem was dual city, really.  There were the rich and the poor, and not much in between.  They were all from the rich side, as shown by the higher-class private school, which meant that there was a good possibility that many of them were snobbish and that they would most likely ostracize him.
    God, it was EXACTLY like America.
    Because of the proximity of their names, Juana and James were seated next to each other, and Juana was offering the charity of telling him who was who… with appropriate commentary…
    “That’s Luisa, she’s nice, but she hangs out with the popular kids, so she won’t look at you if she’s anywhere around them.  Lucas is a real jock, he’d probably give you a hard time.  Miguel’s a real snob, if he says anything to you, I’ll be surprised.  Claudia is a real grade freak, top of the curve.  You might like her, but she’s competitive like you wouldn’t believe…”
    Soon, a rather large looking Hispanic boy came up to him, towering over his desk.  James could only stare up at him.
    “New kid, what’s your name?”
    “James McConnell.  Yours?”
    “Marco de Santos.  So, you’re an American, huh?  Your people are so deluded.  You use up all the resources, grow rich and fat while countries like ours starve, and you think you can dictate the world because you’ve got a couple of bombs.  You fat, rich pig.”
    “I suppose it would be moot to point out that I am skinnier than you and that my dad, being a barely middle class research scientist, most likely earns less than your family.
    Marco huffed, “You mess with the wrong people, and you’ll be sorry,” he looked over to Juana, “Or hang around the wrong people for that matter.  Little native bitch doesn’t belong here,” he said as though Juana weren’t there.
    James got up at that, “Say what you want about me, but don’t insult Juana.”
    Juana buried her head in her hands.  James was merely digging himself into a grave, and she didn’t need any of his “help.”  Besides, he was still a head shorter than Marco.
    “If I were you, I’d stay away from that bitch.  She’ll bring you down.”
    “We’re neighbors, I can’t stay away from her.  She lives on the lower floor.”
    “So, rich, greedy, and a wiseass.  I should just –”
    At that, another Hispanic boy, about an inch or two taller than James with a wild haircut stepped in, “Marco, chill, give the new guy time to settle in before you start hounding him.”
    He huffed and left.
    “Don’t worry about him, he’s stupid.  My name’s Carlos DeCosta, nice to meet you.”
    “I’m James McConnell.”
    “Man, I’m sorry that he had to be your welcoming party, but, don’t worry, you’ll do fine.  And don’t worry about Juana.  This crowd’s more prejudiced then most of us.  If you need help, just ask.”
    “I will, nice to meet you.”
    Juana nodded brightly, “He’s one of the good ones.  Actually, Carlos is the only good one.”
    James, “Good to know.”
    At that, the bell rang, and the first teacher, a seasoned old woman with a stern face, entered, “All right, class, we shall begin.  We have a new student here this semester, Mr. James McConnell, who has moved here from America.  Mr. McConnell, please stand.”
    James did so, letting out a weakened, “Hi.”
    “Well, Mr. McConnell, we are studying Brazilian History in this class.  I trust that you have had some tutoring in the subject before transferring here?”
    “Yes, ma’am, I have.”
    “And,” she then began to speak in heavily accented English, “Shall we have to translate into English for you?”
    “Perhaps,” James began in English, “Embora, eu compreendesse o português mais fàcilmente do que você pensaria.”
    Dra. Cruz’s face twitched, “You understand Portuguese easier than I think, do you, well, it appears you’ve learned enough to become a wiseass in the language.”
    James began to babble and sputter, alternating between English and Portuguese, as most of the class began to laugh.
    Cruz narrowed her gaze, “You, McConnell, will be nothing but respectful, you hear me?  Your reputation already precedes you, so the least you can do is     treat me with proper respect.  Understand?”
    “Yes,” James nodded, and made the “OK” gesture with his thumb and index finger.
    The class burst into hysterics and the teacher’s eyes widened in horror.  Juana made the kill sign by slashing her hand across her throat.
    Before the teacher could say anything, Carlos got up, “Dra. Cruz, as I’m sure you, and my classmates, are aware, that gesture is different in America than here.  It is the same as the thumbs up sign.”
    The teacher nodded, still fuming a bit.
    James whispered to Juana, “What just happened?”
    “You flipped her the bird.”
    “I did?!” James was horrified.
    “Well, Mr. McConnell,” the teacher interjected, “if you were not taught this basic gesture, can I possibly trust that you did the work that was due this day?”
    “Yes, I have it.”
    “Then, present it to the class.”
    James did, with few mistakes, and the rest of the school day slipped by uneventfully.
 

    “Thanks for the save back there.  I was about a step away from creating an international incident,” James chuckled.
    Carlos chuckled back, “It was nothing.  But I wouldn’t worry.  Dra. Cruz is a bit on the sadistic side, and she doesn’t like America, but she likes it when her kids work hard, and I can tell she liked that you speak Portuguese mostly fluently.  Of course, you’ll be getting flak for this for years to come from our classmates.”
    James looked nonplussed, “It happened in America, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it’ll happen here.”
    Carlos looked puzzled, “You don’t understand.  Upon hearing that an American was coming into our class, they developed some very unfair opinions about you, and now, at least in their minds, you’ve confirmed it.  They thought you’d be a complete fish out of water, a tourist on permanent vacation, and now you come in and immediately pull a faux pas, so they think their original ideas were correct.”
    James shook his head, “You, good sir, have an incredibly good grasp of the human psyche.  But you’re wrong in one count:  They would have thought their original ideas were correct anyway.  They would have found some excuse to treat me as a ‘tourist on permanent vacation’ no matter how I acted.  They would have taken some mannerism or fault or accent that I have and use it as fuel against me.  At least now, I won’t have to worry about not knowing why they’ll treat me the way they will.”
    Juana listened to this conversation with a great deal of puzzlement, “James, if you know this much about how other people think, why don’t you use it to try and fit in?”
    James cocked his head, “What?”
    Juana continued, “You know, try and use that knowledge to improve your social standing,” another blank stare from James, “Err…try and use your theoretical knowledge for applied procedures?” she said, barely understanding her own words.
    “Oh.  I tried that once, and it got me a trip to the school’s therapist.”
    “Did it help?”
    “Immensely.  The therapist finally got over his Oedipal complex.”
    Juana and Carlos sweatdropped.
    “Besides, it’s not worth the effort.  I’ve already got one friend, who’s worth the weight of ten of them.” He gestured to Juana, who blushed at the praise.
    Carlos laughed, “Indeed.  But, my American compatriot, you are mistaken.  You have two friends.”
    James looked confused, “Really?  Who’s the second?”
    Carlos rolled his eyes, “Me, genius!” He shook his hand, “You, McConnell, are the most interesting personality ever to wander his way into this school.  I’d love to be your friend.”
    James’s eyes lit up, “Wow.  Guess I can count myself lucky for coming here!”  They released hands.
    Juana laughed, she had to agree with Carlos, and James certainly was interesting, if only due to his eccentricity.
    Carlos looked at them, “So, do you guys want to hang out?  I know this great place by the water where you can walk, swim, mess with the tourists… You know, just doing nothing.”
    James looked at Juana a while, before saying, “I’m sorry, but we have a previous obligation.”
    Carlos snuffed, “What, the minute I say I’m your friend, you decide to blow me off?” James looked sorry, until Carlos burst out laughing, and James realized he was being factitious, “I understand.  You can go without me.”
    James was about to do just that, until he looked at Carlos, and, for a moment, realized he was lonely.  As much as he understood that his new friends had something else to do, he wanted to spend time with them.  He really wasn’t that different from James himself.  He had to wonder if, for all of Carlos’s friendliness, if he truly had friends.
    James pulled Juana aside, “Excuse us,” he dragged her into the anteroom of the classroom.
    “Ow, what was that for?”
    “Do you think we should tell him?”
    “What?”
    “Should we tell Carlos about the Digimon?”
    Juana looked at him like he was crazy.
    “I know, but I think we can really trust the guy.  He doesn’t seem like the type that would let any of his friends down, nor does he seem like the type that takes the status of ‘friend’ lightly.  I mean, I’ve only known him for a day, but it feels like we’ve been best friends for years.  I know it might be hard to understand…”
    Juana just nodded, “I feel the same way.  Besides, he’s the only person in this dump who’s been halfway decent to me.  I think we can trust him with our secret.  Besides, there’s one other thing we didn’t consider.”
    “What?”
    “Right now, we’re alone as Chosen, and there’s apparently a big threat looming.  It wouldn’t hurt to do some recruiting…”
    James looked surprised; he had never thought of that.  He agreed, though.
    They returned to a slightly bewildered Carlos, “My friend, we are about to tell you something very, very odd.”
 

    “I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but… um… I can’t finish that sentence.”
    They had explained the Digital World in brief on the trip to the store.  Carlos was a bit stunned, although it was less about what they were saying, and more about the fact that his newfound friends seemed to belong in straightjackets.  Although the elderly Native American woman driving the car didn’t seem to respond to the insane tale spouted by his peers.  And, despite the general insanity that they were spouting, something tugged at the back of his mind upon hearing the word “Digimon.”
    “I had a feeling you’d say that, so, we’re going to prove it to you.”
    Carlos could only follow, skeptical.  They trekked to the back of the store, and up the stairs, and back up to James’s room, where he encountered what looked to him like two very oddly shaped dogs.
    The smaller of the two chirped out in joy, “James, you’re home!  Now you can tell me what you learned in school today!”
    The larger, which looked more like a huge armadillo than a dog, said, “Juana, your mother said you have to move some boxes later.  Can I help?”
    Suddenly, Carlos was wondering less about the sanity of his friends and more about his own.
    “Plotmon, Armadimon, we’ve decided to introduce you to a friend of ours.  His name is Carlos.  Carlos, this is Armadimon, my partner, and Plotmon, James’s partner.”
    Carlos stared for a second, then suddenly remembered something.
    “Hey, I remember a couple years ago, I saw creatures like these battling on the Internet, and I remember them being called Digimon!  I guess I sort of forgot about it, although it would seem weird that I would.”
    James looked thoughtful, “You know, I think I saw that battle, too!”
    Juana nodded in agreement.
    Carlos looked down, “I guess I’m not crazy after all!  Hey, little guys, how’s it going!”
    Plotmon looked up, “Great!  How are you?  What books do you read?”
    Carlos looked oddly, “Books?”
    Plotmon looked oddly, “Yeah, what do you like?  I read this neat one on evolution today!  But it’s not the same kind of evolution Digimon undergo!”
    Carlos was confused, both because of what the little dog creature was talking about, and the fact that he seemed so excited about it.
    “Could you back up and explain how evolution applies to Digimon?”
    What followed was an in-depth explanation of their previous adventure, although Juana and Armadimon occasionally cut in to correct on certain aspects that were added, such as James throwing a rock in Fuugamon’s face, or that were left out, such as James’s girlish screaming while swinging from vine to vine.
    Soon, Carlos was feeling really comfortable, more so than he’d thought he’d feel around talking animals.  Suddenly, after laughing out loud to a shared joke, Carlos finally voiced his opinion.
    “I want one.”
    The foursome looked at him.
    “I want a Digimon of my own.  I want a partner.”
    James nodded, “We figured as much.  Although, we’re not sure you can have a partner, you see, you need to be able to get into the Digital World to get your partner, and you need a Digivice to do that.”
    He glumly took out a white and orange walkie-talkie, while Juana took out a white and brown device.
    Carlos looked down, “So I can’t go?”
    “I wish you could,” Juana said, “We might need help against whatever force we need to fight, and you’d be a perfect candidate.  In fact, we were sort of hoping you might get your Digivice while hanging around us and our Digimon.”
    “You need my help?”
    “We think so,” Juana nodded.
    “Then I have to go.  I’m not going to let my friends go out and fight a dangerous force if I can do something about it.  I mean, how could I call myself your friend if I left you guys high and dry like this?”
    With that, the laptop on James’s desk hummed to life.  When James opened it, a beam of light shot out and struck Carlos’s hand.  Carlos looked shocked, until the light subsided, and a device identical to James and Juana’s, only a bluish violet where James’s was orange and Juana’s was brown.
    Carlos could only stare at the device until James laughed, “Guess you’re in, buddy.  Welcome to the team.”
    Carlos held an expression of simultaneous happiness and disbelief.
    Juana nodded, “Since you’re a Chosen like us, now, we better find your partner.”
    Carlos nodded, the disbelief fading to pure happiness, “Yes, we’d better.”
    James chuckled, “Well, then, what are we waiting for?  Digital Gate, open!”
    The three humans and two Digimon were sucked into a rainbow colored light.  The laptop shut down.
 

    The Chosen were relieved to find themselves in the middle of the village.  The portal was a lot more stable than the last time they arrived.  They were also relieved that they didn’t appear in the middle of Wizarmon’s house.  It would be embarrassing to have to appear in a person’s private home every time they went to the Digital World.
    Carlos was in a heap though, nursing a painful headache.  He then looked at himself and realized that his clothes had changed; he was now wearing a blue T-shirt, brown pants, sandals, and was wearing what appeared to be a red life vest, although it looked more like an 80s style vest jacket.  He then looked at Juana’s buckskin outfit and James’s khaki outfit.
    “Guess the Digital World comes with a new wardrobe,” he said, trying to block out the massive yet subsiding headache.
    “Yeah,” James said, “I’m not sure why.”
    At that, a five foot tall yellow humanoid fox walked up to them, “Back again, eh, humans?  And you’ve brought along a new friend, I see.  What are you doing here?”
    Plotmon got angry, “For the love of Baihumon, stand aside, Renamon.  Stop harassing us.  Or do you forget that I outrank you?”
    Renamon laughed, “You’ve missed out on some big news, puppy.  I now outrank YOU.  You’re looking at the new Captain of the Village Guard.  And I’m looking at a FORMER Shaman’s apprentice.  So, this is my business, and if I don’t find out why you five ALIENS are here, I will be forced to evict you, if not –”
    “Plotmon!  Armadimon!” a gruff voice called out.
    Six heads turned to see a short brown goblin flanked by a wizard of about Renamon’s height.
    “Shamamon, Wizarmon, it’s good to see you both.”
    The goblin rushed over, “Guys, Wizarmon’s taken me in as his new apprentice, I’m going to be the next Shaman!”
    Plotmon smiled, “Great news.  I’d have pegged you for the role.”
    Wizarmon floated over to Renamon, “You were saying, Captain?”
    Renamon was at a loss for words.
    Wizarmon lowered his voice, “Keep in mind that these are the children of legends, and their Digimon were specially created by the Keepers of Balance.  As such, they outrank ME.  And, I believe that I, as the Shaman, still outrank you.”
    Renamon took a long look at James, “This isn’t over,” he muttered under his breath.
    James started after him, “What did you –” but he was already gone.
    Juana looked at him funny, “What happened?”
    James returned the look, “Didn’t you hear him?”
    Juana shook her head.
    James shrugged, “Oh well, back to business.”
    Wizarmon nodded, “Indeed.  I noticed your friend,” he motioned to a dumbfounded Carlos, “You seem lost.”
    Carlos shook his head, “Well, this is all very confusing.  I only met Plotmon and Armadimon about an hour ago, and now, I’m suddenly here, surrounded by tons of Digimon.
    Wizarmon nodded, “You have a Digivice?”
    He took out the white D-3 with a blue-violet trim.
    “With any luck, I can help you locate your partner,” Wizarmon took the blue/violet Digivice and raised it high, letting loose a flash of light.  Wizarmon looked concerned.
    “Your partner is not anywhere near the village, Carlos.  And the reading is rather odd.  Your Digimon is apparently located in an area of the jungle known as the Flooded Forest, which is nothing but water and tall trees, yet your Digimon doesn’t appear to be either aquatic or arboreal.”
    Juana looked confused, “There isn’t a village like this in that area?”
    Wizarmon shook his head, “The main settlement of the area is the fortress of Tonosama Gekomon.  He makes the water breathable, but the Digimon would have to be relatively aquatic, and it doesn’t seem to be.  In fact, I don’t think any Digimon resides in the settlement that isn’t of the Deep Savers family.”
    “Deep Savers?” James asked.
    Plotmon supplied, “That’s the family of aquatic Digimon.”
    James’s eyes suddenly bugged out “Wait a second!  We’re going to a Flooded Forest?  Flooded as in water?”
    Juana rolled her eyes, “Any other definitions of ‘flooded’ that we’ve never heard of before?”
    Carlos however, seemed a bit at odds with that statement, “What do you mean.”
    James sweated, “Err…well… I’ve always wanted to go to one!  Yeah … incidentally, how deep is it?”
    Plotmon confidently stated, “Over 500 feet!”
    James went pale, “Five… HUNDRED?!” suddenly he realized everyone was staring at him, “Umm, cool?”
    Juana almost laughed, “I keep forgetting how new you are to all this.  I mean, you sure acted like some movie hero or something.  A regular Indiana Jones.”
    James blinked, “You’ve seen Indiana Jones?” when the answer was affirmative, he responded, “Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favorite movie!”
    “You too?  I loved the opening scene, when we see that guy completely covered in venom darts.”
    “I liked the part where the Arab guy starts swinging his swords threateningly, and Jones just pulls out a gun and kills him.  That was great.”
    Carlos joined in, “I loved the scene at the end where the Nazis opened the Ark and their heads explode!”
    Meanwhile, the accompanying Digimon were incredibly confused, “My students,” Wizarmon asked, “What aspect of the human world are they discussing?”
    Armadimon seemed to shrug, “I have no idea.”
    James suddenly shifted his eyes, “Err, you know how Indiana Jones feels about snakes… how snakes just seem to paralyze him with fear and he can’t go on…?”
    Juana stared at him, “James, are you afraid of snakes?”
    James blinked, “No.  I love them.  I used to have one as a pet, until it died.”
    Juana nodded, then turned her attention to Carlos as James took a deep breath.
    “To find your partner, you’ll need to travel to the Flooded Forest.  My portal can take you there instantly,” Wizarmon led the Chosen to the portal.
    Carlos practically jumped into the portal, and Juana, Plotmon, and Armadimon weren’t far behind.  James was a bit apprehensive at first.
    “James, are you all right?  I don’t know much about humans, but this behavior seems rather abnormal,” Wizarmon questioned.
    James shook his head, “I’ll be fine,” and jumped into the portal.
    Wizarmon shook his head, “I hope so.”
 

    The term “flooded forest” is a term that manages to convey exactly what it is, but still doesn’t do it justice.  It was amazing to look out and see the vast forests covered completely in water deeper than many lakes.
James gulped, his eyes wide.
    Carlos looked amazed, “Let’s go.”  He and Juan jumped down a couple of branches before they realized James was still standing where they teleported.  Furthermore, he seemed reluctant to move at all.
    “James, what’s the holdup?” Juana asked.
    “N-n-nothing!  Everything’s fine!  It’s just… you guys don’t really need me for this mission, do you?” James stammered, in a way that Juana hadn’t seen before.
    “Of course we do!  You’re the only one of us that can evolve his Digimon past the Child stage.  You’re critical if we run into something nasty!” Juana retorted, wondering why she had to explain this.
    “Oh, right, there is that…” Yet James still refused to move.
    Juana sighed, and climbed back up, Carlos quickly following.
    Juana looked James in the eye, and said, “Enough of this foolishness, James.  Let’s go.”
    “I’m not going.”
    Juana grew angrier, “Let’s go.”
    “I’m not going.”
    Juana finally got mad and tugged on his arm, “Let’s GO!”
    “I’M NOT GOING!” James knocked her hand back and scrambled to the tree trunk.  Finally, Juana looked into his eyes and realized; James was really scared, in a way she had never seen in anyone before.  James seemed so brave, he jumped off a twenty-story tree and leaped onto a vine without hesitation, she never dreamed he could be scared.
    But Carlos realized the truth, “You’re afraid of water, aren’t you James?”
    Looking hurt, James nodded, “When I was really young, I nearly drowned in a lake.  I can’t go near a body of water without freaking out.  I can’t even take a bath without having a fit.”
    Juana and Carlos gave each other a look.
    “I shower!  I just can’t take baths.”
    Juana looked genuinely hurt, “I’m sorry James, I didn’t know,” she immediately turned serious again, “OK, we can’t force James into this situation, which leaves us without a very important piece to our team: Butterflymon.  Plotmon, could you evolve without James?”
    The puppy shook his head, “I need to be in close range with my partner to evolve, and our quest requires us to travel a long distance from here.  Besides, I couldn’t leave him in this state.  Is this some sort of illness humans suffer from?”
    “Close,” Carlos responded, “Psychological trauma, especially early in life, can cause incredible fears that could last forever.”
    Plotmon looked incredibly worried and nuzzled up to James, who began holding onto him for dear life.
    “But this leaves us with another problem.  You don’t have a Digimon, Carlos,” Armadimon said.
    Carlos shrugged, “I guess I’ll find one.  I mean, it’s not like there’s trouble lurking behind every bush.”
    Suddenly, a nearby bush began to rustle.
    “Great job there, Carlos,” Juana yelled, “All right, whatever’s behind there better come out on the count of three.  One, two, three!” Juana became worried as nothing happened, “Armadimon, get it.”
    “Rolling Stone!” Armadimon curled up and barreled through the bush, sending a blue Digimon flying.  It landed with an unceremonious thud on the nearby branch.  It quickly scrambled over to Carlos, and latched onto his leg.
    “Pleasedon’thurtmePleasedon’thurtmePleasedon’thurtme,” the little Digimon rambled as he shook with fear.
    Carlos and Juana sweatdropped.
    “I don’t think he’s a threat,” Carlos said.  Juana nodded.  “Don’t worry, little guy, we won’t hurt you.”
    The little Digimon wasn’t convinced, “Ididn’tmeantoscareyou, IjustwantedtoseeyouI’veneverseenhumansbeforeandIwasn’tsupposedtobehere, butIjustwantedtoseeyou!”
    The little Digimon started crying.
    Carlos finally managed to pry the little Digimon off his leg, and finally got a good look at it.  It looked a lot like a small bipedal dragon, and it came up to his knees.
    “Slow down there, I can’t understand you.  Here,” He took out a chocolate bar, “Eat it.  It’s good.”
    The blue dragon stared at the bar apprehensively, then took it and nibbled it.  His eyes bulged, and he quickly gobbled up the rest of the bar.
    “Thank you, thank you, thank you!  That was great!”
    “Glad you liked it.  Now, can you tell us who you are, why you’re here, and who sent you?  And could you do it at normal speed?”
    He looked nervous, “My name’s V-mon, and… Umm… I’m really not supposed to be here.  I’m a servant of Lord Tonosama Gekomon.  I have been since I got lost in the forest.  He told us all not to surface when you guys came, he thought you would be scared by us, but I just wanted to see you.  I’ve never seen humans before.  You guys are like legends.  There must be something big going on here.  Why are you guys here?”
    Carlos took out his Digivice, “We’re here to find my Digimon partner.”
    V-mon’s eyes went wider than when he ate the chocolate, “Can I be your Digimon partner, can I?  I always wanted a human!  Can I be your Digimon partner, please?”
    Juana looked sadly down at the dragon, “I’m sorry, we don’t pick our Digimon partners.  They’re just ours.  So, we can’t just take you along.”
V-mon sagged down, his dreams crushed, “Oh, OK.”
    “Maybe you can help us find my Digimon?”
    V-mon nodded dejectedly, “OK, I will.  You were nice to me and gave me that yummy food after that mean Armadimon ran me over.”
    Armadimon huffed, “Hey!”
    “The problem is that we don’t know what type of Digimon my partner is.  All I know is that he’s in this area, and that he isn’t a Deep Saver Digimon.”
    V-mon started tugging at Carlos’s pant leg, “I’m not a Deep Saver!  Maybe I’m your partner!”
    Juana shrugged, “It wouldn’t hurt to try.”
    Carlos nodded, “How would I be able to tell?”
    “V-mon, Carlos, touch the Digivice together,” she said, not expecting anything to happen.
    Instead, the device burst into a luminescent blue light.
    V-mon started jumping around in joy, “Yay, yay, yay, yippee!” He jumped off the branch into the water below, “Come on in, have a swim!  I’ll show you the area.”
    Juana nodded, “Go ahead, I’ll take care of James.”
    Carlos nodded back, and dove straight into the water.  He and V-mon began doing some extensive swimming, splashing water and generally having a good time.
    Juana looked at James, who was sitting on the branch with a chokehold on Plotmon, and sighed, “I can’t believe you.”
    James looked at her, haggard, “Huh?”
    “How can someone who jumped off of a tree the size of a skyscraper be afraid of a little water?”
    “A little water can kill you, it’s really painful, you start to struggle for air, but you breathe in only water…” He shivered and held Plotmon tighter.
    “…James…choking…” Plotmon managed to gasp.
    “OH!  Sorry, Plotmon,” he let his Digimon breathe, as he began clutching at his legs.
    Juana shook her head, “I go swimming all the time, it’s fine.”
    James looked at her, “I can’t.”
    As Juana looked at him, she decided to let the subject rest.  Hell, just looking at James in this state made her afraid.  There seemed to be no way to rationalize with him, so she decided to let it slide.  It didn’t mean, however, that this didn’t irritate her.
    Plotmon looked worried, “This is bad.  I won’t be able to evolve.”
    Juana looked shocked, “What do you mean?”
    “Digimentals work on a person’s emotions and personality traits.  James mastered the Digimental of Knowledge because he thinks rationally and methodically.  In this state, with his mind worried, scared, and unclear, he won’t be able to unlock the Digimental.”
    Juana frowned, “Then we might really be in trouble, if something happens.”
    Plotmon nodded, “Then we’ll have to hope something bad doesn’t happen.”
    At that moment, something bad decided to happen.  A tentacle appeared from behind the tree and snatched James up.
    “JAMES!” Juana, Plotmon, and Armadimon yelled.
    “WAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!” came the deathly scream as the tentacle drew James back.  The tentacle came from a huge red octopus like Digimon that jumped from a tree branch onto another
    “That’s an Octomon, Adult level, with an Ink Gun attack! Puppy Howling!” Plotmon let loose a huge howl, that Octomon avoided easily by swinging to another branch.
    “Is that an octopus or a monkey?” Plotmon asked before firing off another Puppy Howling.
    “Damn, he’s too far away for me to use a Rolling Stone,” Armadimon cursed.
    “We’ve got to get James out of there, but how?”
    “V-mon Head!” V-mon leaped from the water and head butted Octomon right in its boneless head.
    James screamed bloody murder as the octopus crash-landed into the water, and sank beneath the waters.
    “JAMES!” Plotmon, Armadimon, and Juana yelled.
    Suddenly, the octopus was driven upward by the force of another head butt from V-mon.  James was not in its tentacles, but soon, Carlos, dragging a barely conscious, stammering James reached up onto the lowest tree branch.
    Upon this, Octomon turned his sights on the two, attempting to jump onto them.  V-mon tried to butt him again, but was swatted away by a tentacle.
    Carlos tried to climb the branch and take James to safety, but the Octomon slithered up faster.  It shook James from Carlos’s arms, leaving Carlos on the branch.
    Juana realized, “Carlos, it’s because he’s got the Digimental!  Whoever sent Octomon wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to be a problem!” Not like he would’ve caused a problem, anyway, Juana silently added, angrily.
    Octomon realized that the human he was holding seemed deathly afraid of the water, and thus scrambled up a nearby tree and held the fleshie threateningly over the water.
    “Surrender the Digimental, or your friend falls in.”
    Plotmon yelled out, “He has the Digimental!” pointing to James.
    Octomon laughed a burbling laugh, “Do you take me for a fool?  This human does not carry the Digimental, so he obviously doesn’t have it!  Give it to me, or your friend drowns!”
    V-mon swam to the tree, intent on catching James should he fall, but Octomon noticed him just as he approached.
    “Ink Gun!” He spat out a constant blast of dark ink at the dragon, causing him to sink.
    V-mon started to sink under the ink, until he was no longer visible.
    “V-mon!” Carlos jumped in instantly, intent on saving the blue dragon.
    I can’t believe I’m doing this, Carlos thought in the back of his mind.
    Would you wish it any other way? A voice asked of him.
    I don’t know.  I’m caught up in this, I feel like I wasn’t given a choice in the matter, like this was thrust on me, Carlos responded, not too worried that he was conversing with his own mind.
    If you were given a choice, would you change your mind?
    Carlos instantly knew the answer, No, from the moment James and Juana told me their mission I knew I needed to be there.  I mean, these creatures were in danger.  What kind of person would I be if I left anyone in danger?  How could I call myself human if I wasn’t humane?  If I can possibly help, it’s my duty to help.
    The voice in his head seemed pleased, Excellent.  You have earned the Digimental of Faithfulness, Carlos DeCosta.  Use it to fulfill your duty.
    Suddenly, both Carlos and V-mon were caught in a whirlpool.  Before they had the time to become worried, they were sucked rather painfully into a giant glowing air bubble, which contained a small egg shaped metal object that had a silver cross-like symbol on it and what appeared to be a harpoon on top of it.
    “Carlos, is that a Digimental?” V-mon, who had never seen such a thing, only hearing stories as a hatchling, asked.
    “Yes!  Now you can evolve like Plotmon can!”
    “Great, let’s go and save James!”
    “Digimental up!”
    “V-mon, armor evolve…” V-mon combined with the Digimental, releasing a spray of bubbling water, which coalesced into a humanoid form.  Carlos swore he heard a dolphin’s cry before the water dissipated.  The creature that appeared was about three meters long.  It was covered in blue armor.  Its three fingered hands were long and sharp, on finlike arms.  It had a silver helmet that obscured its face and eyes, but a shock of orange hair grew from the back.  From its waist down, it resembled a dolphin’s tail, long and thick.
    “…The devotion of the deep, Depthmon!” He grabbed Carlos in one arm and swam with supernatural speed to the surface.
    Meanwhile, Octomon grew tired of the human’s stubbornness and simply let James go over the water.  James screamed like a girl as he waited for impact, barely controlling his sphincter.
    Depthmon surged upward, caught James, and hovered over to the branch where Juana, Plotmon, and Armadimon were staring at the merman with jaws hanging.  Carlos jumped onto the branch and Depthmon carefully placed James onto the branch.
    “I’ll be right back,” Depthmon flashed the thumbs up sign and took off towards the octopus, “Bubble Bomb!” he formed a blue orb in his hands and hurled it at Octomon. It burst in a huge explosion of water, causing the octopus immense pain.
    “Brother’ll be feeling that in the morning!” Plotmon commented, wincing.
    Armadimon looked at him funnily, “What do you mean?”
    “Did you see that one tentacle get crushed?”
    “Yeah, why?”
    “Well, that’s a particular tentacle.”
    “….EWW!”
    “Bubble Bomb!” Depthmon hurled orb after orb at Octomon, until finally, it seemed to give up.
    “Sargasso Drag!” Several cables sprouted from Depthmon’s chest, latching onto Octomon.  He hurled Octomon into a large tree, resulting in a huge vibration.  The Octomon coughed a device similar to what Fuugamon had, and reverted to a small clamshell type of thing.
    “Shakomon, you were Octomon?” Depthmon asked.
    “Hssst.  Argh! I feel like I got slammed shell-open into a coral reef.  I…” he then realized who he was talking to, “Who in Poseidon’s name are you?”
    “Don’t recognize your old pal V-mon?” Depthmon chuckled.
    “…You’ve gotta be kidding me!  You evolved?  How?”
    “Look over there,” he pointed a webbed finger at the group of humans, to which Carlos waved.
    “You’ve got a partner!  Lucky.”
    “You’re telling me.  Now, let’s get you back to Tonosama Gekomon.”
    “There is no need.” A voice bubbled out of the water, before a massive red bullfrog with trumpet horns coming out of its back appeared.
    “Master…” Depthmon bowed, a hard thing for one with a fishlike body to do.
    “There is no need, young one.  I am no longer your master…” He turned to Carlos, “As much as I don’t want to lose my herald, I cannot deny his greater destiny.  And you are the first creature to loose the Digimental from the lakebed.  I am honored by your presence.”
    Carlos felt the need to bow before such a magnificent creature, “The honor is all mine.”
    “Then go and fulfill your duty.  Forces have been encroaching on my little kingdom for quite some time, and I entrust you and your friends to stop them.”
    “I will.”
    “And keep that servant of mine in line.  He’s a bit…enthusiastic.”
    “I will, thank you.”
    “And do something about your friend there, it’s just pitiful to see someone as afraid of water as he is.”
    “…I’ll see what I can do.”
    “And, if you have some spare time, there’s a bit of a nasty infestation of Flymon you might be able to take care of–”
    “OK!  I get it.  What’s next, do your laundry and make sure your pillows are fluffed?”
    “Heh, fine.  Go now.  And know that you and your kind will always find sanctuary in my little kingdom.”
    The massive frog scooped up Shakomon and submerged into the murky water.  Depthmon hovered towards Carlos before glowing brightly as a blue light shot into Carlos’s vest, forming a D-Terminal.
Juana looked back in shock, the giant frog Digimon was an impressive sight.  James, still stammering, didn’t notice.
 

    It was amazing how well a parent knows their child.  The minute that Juana and Carlos appeared in the McConnell’s apartment, with a deeply breathing, obviously shaken James in tow, Mr. McConnell immediately said, “There was water involved, wasn’t there?” in English.
    Juana, Carlos, and the Digimon nodded.
    McConnell sighed, “It usually takes a while for him to snap out of it.  Get him to his bed and put on Raiders of the Lost Ark and he’s fine before the boulder starts rolling down.”
    Juana shook her head, “Guess that’s what you meant when you mentioned the snakes.”
    James managed a shaky chuckle, “Wonder if the Digital World has water snakes.”
    The Digimon looked nervously at each other as the humans lay James on his bed, “Nobody mention the Seadramon family,” Plotmon whispered.
    V-mon looked sort of confused, “Why doesn’t he like water?  Does it weaken him?  Does he use fire attacks?”
    Plotmon and Armadimon looked at each other nervously, “Ask Carlos.  Later.”
    V-mon nodded, “OK!”
    The quadrupeds let out a relieved sigh.
    Juana looked at McConnell, “You seem a bit uncaring that James is in this state.”
    “He does this whenever there’s any large, or small, body of water.  It’s hard to care after this has happened so many times before.”
    Juana patted James’s shoulder, “We have to fix this.”
    Carlos casually looked at the clock and said, “I should be going, or my parents will be furious.”
    Juana nodded, and said, “I think I’ll watch.”
    Carlos laughed, “Wish I could.  Instead I’ve got to go home and watch my annoying little brother.”
    Juana laughed, “Good luck.”
    Plotmon and Armadimon climbed onto the bed, anxious to see what on Earth they were talking about back at the village.
Juana moved the desk chair next to the bed so she could watch.  She could follow the movie pretty well without translation, but didn't mind it much when James woke up, on cue, and began interpreting unfamiliar words for her.
 

    This has been an interesting day.
    In many ways, I feel like I shouldn’t want another duty shoved onto me.  I’ve been burdened with the duty of taking over the business and taking care of my little brother.  But, for once, I feel like I chose this, like this duty is mine and mine alone.  It feels like destiny that I chose, rather than destiny that was thrust upon me.
    Sometimes I wish my father wasn’t rich.  Then maybe I wouldn’t be forced into the business like I am now, and maybe Mom and Dad would take care of Pedro more, instead of running the company.
    Luckily, having a big house means it was easier to smuggle V-mon into the house.  James and Juana’s families can handle Digimon, but mine can’t.  My parents know nothing but business and Pedro would immediately want one of his own.
    I’m glad to be working with James and Juana.  I’ve found that the really wealthy kids are generally those with the worst personalities, and I’ve tried my damndest not to be like them.  I always found that those lowest on the social scale are the better ones; Juana is the most genuinely kind person I know and James is the first person I’ve met who comes to school with a desire to learn.  I really like them.  I won’t bring them over to the house; most people act differently when they learn I’m rich.
    I need a swim.  I’ll bring V-mon down to the pool.  He’s going to love it.

-    From the Diary of Carlos DeCosta
 

    Now here’s the legal mumbo jumbo:
    Digimon owned by Toei, blah blah blah.
    Used without permission, yadda yadda yadda.
    Set in Lord Archive’s Diaries Universe, so on, so forth.
    Approved and edited by Lord Archive, same old, same old.
    For the Portuguese part, James says “Although, I understand Portuguese more easily than you would think.”  The translation was courtesy of Babelfish, because I don’t speak Portuguese (I am fairly fluent in Spanish, though.).
    James speaks Portuguese better than a normal American thanks to a really strict private instructor.  His dad, however, knows little if any Portuguese.  It’s easier to learn a new language if you’re younger.  Mr. McConnell will speak little, if any Portuguese, and that which he does speak will be broken.  If it is not mentioned, assume he is speaking in English.  Juana and Carlos can understand and speak English on a very limited basis.  The Digimon are bilingual, but will, unless specified, speak Portuguese.
    James’s agility in the previous volume was mostly due to the adrenaline rush.  In normal situations, don’t expect the same vine-swinger.
    The team is almost complete…