"So, do you still think that the Ark isn't big enough, Jenrya?"

"Quiet Terriermon."

As the night fell, shortly after the timer's counter also hit zero. It began blinking and blinking, just as the Ark settled into the desert sand.

The entire area seemed to be in a fit of sorts; sand kept whipping up, and the wind repeatedly threatened to blow away the Ark.

Masaru stood back as the others began heading inside the only way back home. It was only fair that as an outsider, he'd be the last to get on. Agumon though, Guilmon, and the others were more or less inside already, waiting for take off.

But what was Takato waiting for?

"Oi. Earth to Takato." Masaru said, nudging the boy with his elbow. "Shouldn't you be getting on the Ark right about now?"

"She's not here yet…" He mumbled, glancing between the Timer and the desert.

"That girl you're waiting for?"

"Ruki." He went on, worry evident from the frown on his face. Taking a moment to glance away from the horizon, he then turned his gaze towards Masaru. "Why aren't you getting on the Ark?"

"Because-"

"Let's go, the Ark could leave any minute!" Jenrya called urgently.

"But wait," Takato protested, looking back again. "There's still no sign of Ruki!"

"Takato, get on!" Guilmon pleaded.

"Aniki, hurry up and get in too!"

"In a minute!" Both Tamer and Saver yelled.

The former, however, stopped to look at the latter with disbelief.

"But Masaru, you should get on!" Takato shouted, his expression incredulous.

"You're the one who got me the ticket." Masaru answered bluntly, and pointedly. "I ain't getting on until you do, Takato! What kind of man would I be then?!"

As he finished his sentence, something shifted, causing both of them to look at the Ark in alarm. Slowly, but surely, it began drifting away on the Digital Tracks.

"Guys, hurry up! It's moving!"

"Damn!" Masaru cursed, "C'mon, Takato!"

"But she's-"

"Takato!"

Takato nodded weakly. In response, Masaru slammed the back of his hand into the boy's back in an attempt to drive that hesitancy away and push him forward into a running start. This was it. If they didn't make it on now, the both of them would never go home.

"I'm not waiting for any longer! Come on, Cyberdramon!"

With a low growl, the Ultimate Digimon and his Tamer flew off without a second glance back into the depths of the desert. Masaru and Takato on the other hand continued to run. Jenrya, Guilmon could be seen at the opening of the Ark, extending their hands towards Takato.

"Come on Takato, you're almost there!" Masaru said encouragingly, spurring the boy to got further. In response, he began sprinting faster than before.

Just as the red-eyed boy almost managed to snatch up Jenrya's hand, he tripped, plummeting into the sand as the Ark steadily began to get higher and higher.

"NO! TAKATO!"

Without missing a beat, Masaru pulled him back to his feet, and began carrying him piggyback as he would do for Agumon in the real world.

The difference this time was the fact that Takato was a whole lot lighter.

"Don't stop now!" Masaru yelled, as Takato unsteadily sat on his shoulders. "They're not too far away. You can still reach them!"

"I... I can't!" Takato said, voice strained. Between shielding of his eyes from the sand, and the arc getting progressively higher, Masaru grit his teeth and began running faster.

"Keep reaching!" He shouted, his tone sharp, but encouraging. It's then when Takato stretches his hands towards his friends, Masaru yells at those in the Ark too. "And you guys, don't just sit there! Come on! What are those hands of yours for?" He shouted, accelerating. "PULL HIM UP!"

By some miracle, Jenrya and Guilmon manage to pull Takato up on the Ark, just as it gets ascends higher into the air.

At this rate, he'll get left behind.

"Aniki, NO!" Agumon called, making his way to the opening of the Ark. Takato too, looked visibly upset with this turn of events, but didn't say anything- if he did, Masaru couldn't hear him over the cries of his follower.

"Just you wait, Aniki! I'll come back down and get you-"

"Hell no! You better not fall out of there, stupid!" He shouted angrily at Agumon, unsure whether he's heard on not. "You better stay there! You hear me?!"

Despite his chances of going home were slipping away and out of his grasp, he grinned weakly. As he continued to run, he wondered whether his dad would be proud of him for making this choice. The Ark seemed so far away, and if it weren't for this stupid sand in his eyes, he'd keep both of them on it. Still; he couldn't stop.

"Yeah, that's exactly right. No matter what the situation, you fight to the very end," Grinning, he started to run even faster. He was the great Masaru Daimon. The greatest fighter in the Digital World! It wouldn't do for him to quit now. "Isn't that how a man should live!?"

Right, dad?

"PLEASE, STOP!" The combined voices of Takato and Guilmon rang in his ears, and without warning, the Ark stopped.

Masaru blinked, also stopping in the process.

"It stopped?" He said aloud, ready to cheer. All too soon however, that emotion gave way to frustration. The Ark was still a good distance above him, and there was no way he could reach it by jumping. "What now?"

"Get out of the way!" A girl called, and without warning, a yellow nine-tailed fox leapt over him and into the Ark's interior. Before he could even manage an insult, something- or Cyberdramon to be specific- picked him off the ground.

"Looks like you could use a lift!" Ryo, he identified, smirked as the three of them hurtled inside.

Their landing was less than spectacular.

Masaru was the first of the three to enter, shortly followed by Ryo and Cyberdramon. Surprisingly, however, Cyberdramon de-digivolved into what Masaru could only imagine as its Rookie form. The nine-tailed fox was presumably became a rookie too; she and a girl he hadn't noticed before were sitting next to each other off to the side, away from the others. Was that Ruki?

"I can't believe you went back to save Impmon." Kazu frowned, clearly disapproving of who she was cradling in her arms. Nonetheless, even if the dislike was there, he did nothing to enforce such. "Well, whatever. I said it before, and I'll say it again, Miss Tardy. You're crazy."

"Definitely crazy." Guardromon echoed.

As the Tamers continued in idle chatter, Masaru and Agumon relaxed, and stayed towards the back of the Ark. While he was good with kids, this wasn't his kind of crowd.

Masaru smiled, however. After five long years, he'd finally be home again. He wondered how his family and friends were; Chika, Tohma, Yoshino, Ikuto, DATS and its entirety… he wondered if they would be happy to see him and Agumon again.

"—And he's going to bake a bread that looks like me! But I don't look anything like bread, except maybe when I'm all curled up and sleeping."

And that was Guilmon, Masaru recognized. Opening one eye and glancing to where the goggle head and the viral rookie sat, he vaguely wondered who he was talking to.

"You're really looking forward to that, aren't you, boy?" Takato's voice chimed.

"Of course I am! Guilmon Bread!" Guilmon chirped jovially, before turning towards the front again. "Wouldn't it be neat if Takato's dad could make a Ark Bread too? It would, wouldn't it? Maybe we could eat it together!"

"I guess it would. I don't know if my dad can make something like that, but maybe we can try when we get back home. Does the Ark even have a mouth?"

"Mm, maybe? I know the Ark has ears. It's reaaaally good at listening."

Masaru almost laughed.

"I guess you'd have to be a good listener considering that you're getting directions from Jenrya's Dad and Yamaki-san." Takato paused, as if uncertain how to continue. "… And from us too, apparently." After a moment, Takato shrugged before placing his hand on the red orb in front of the navigation screen. Masaru quirked a brow. Just what was he talking about?

It was right there and then, the Ark shuddered. Worried, Takato began looking about, wondering why the Ark suddenly came to a grinding halt in the middle of cyber space. Alarmed, Masaru sat up. Beyond the window, the tracks pulling the Ark into the Real world began to steadily disappear.

"Chumley, what did you DO?"

"I didn't do anything, Kazu!" Takato said clearly panicking, as he looked at the device in his hands. "I just— I don't know! What do we do now?"

"Good question, it's kinda hard to do anything when you're stuck floating around in the middle of nowhere!"

"Fwoating?" Shaochung repeated, before turning towards her older brother. "Jen-nii-chan, it feels wike we're falling…"

"It seems as if the Ark's lost all of its energy." Lopmon answered, despite the chokehold Shaochung had her in.

"I think it's because of the tracks," Jenrya replied, voice critical. "You all saw what happened, didn't you? The tracks are gone! Without the tracks, the Ark can't take us back home!"

"Just great! Why is it when things go bad, they go all the way to worse?" Kenta whined.

"Does this mean we won't be able to go home, aniki?" Agumon asked, as he turned towards Masaru with a worried look.

Masaru didn't answer.

All at once, panic began to spread. It was unnerving, to see all these kids panicking like this- all so desperate to go home... if he were younger when he had made his decision, would he be like them too?

"Ark, please."

At once, all eyes turned on the goggle-wearing boy.

"You've gotta get us home. You're the only one who can get us back, and we're all depending on you!" He called, begging. "If we don't go back now, we may never see our parents again. So please..."

At the boy's pleading, the Ark seemed to respond. Masaru stared as wires from the Ark's interface emerged, connecting with the device Takato seemed to be clutching onto for support.

[OK]

Burning by burning its own data, it continued. Faster than its first ascension, the Ark rose higher and higher, gaining speed as the back began to disintergrate. Shoving the kids and their Digimon towards the front, Masaru held onto the very last moment. At this rate, would they really make it before the Ark destroyed itself?

Just as his thoughts wandered to how unreliable it was, they breached.

A fog-like began to pour out of the hole, and water came to their ankles as the kids, one by one stepped out of the Ark.

Fresh air stung Masaru and Agumon's nostrils, as the both of them stepped out to see the kids running towards their parents- it was nice, he guessed. They were only just a bunch of little kids after all.

He wondered if his own family would react that way to seeing him...

However, such thoughts were cut short as a blonde man wearing sunglasses approached him.