It had been three years since the incident. The children were no longer children, and Alice was no longer a baby. With the help of the spirits and what they learned were pokemon, the original spirit children have built a treehouse similar to Ryoko's. It was nowhere near as big, but it was just as familiar and welcoming. Cody took charge as the oldest in the group. And their mission now is to find Ryoko's soul and bring it back home.

"Cody?" Cody turned his head to see Eri standing at the threshold of his study..

"Yeah? What is it?" Cody asked as he turned fully. Eri walked up to him and held out an apple.

"Can you cut this for me?" She asked. Cody stared at the apple. A gala apple. Just like the one that Ryoko had them pick. He smiled softly and stood.

"Alright, do you want it with or without the skin?" Cody asked as he took the apple and walked out. Eri smiled and followed after him.

"I don't mind. You can do whatever you want." Eri said happily. Cody and Eri walked out to the main room to see Brad and Mokuba playing Smash together.

"Come on come on come on!!!" Mokuba shouted as he spammed the buttons. Brad however was quite calm, his character gracefully dodged all attacks directed towards it. Brad then used his ultimate on Mokuba, sending the younger boy's character flying.

"Game!!!" The announcer called, revealing Brad's character as the winner.

"NNOOOOO!" Mokuba dramatically shouted as he flopped over on the floor. Brad laughed.

"5 to none." Brad taunted.

"Shut up." Mokuba huffed. Alice suddenly ran into the room.

"Mokie!! Mokie!! I wanna play!! I wanna play too!!!" Alice squealed excitedly. Mokuba sat up.

"Do you even know how to play?" He asked the now five year old girl. Alice stared at Mokuba blankly before looking down at her toes.

"No..." She sadly muttered. Mokuba scoffed and ruffled her hair.

"Get over here pipsqueak!" He laughed as Alice squirmed and squealed.

"I'll teach ya to play alright?"

"Yeah!!" Cody chuckled as he pushed the apple bunnies toward Eri. The albino girl smiled brightly.

"Thanks Cody!" She said as she ate her apples. Cody chuckled.

"No problem." He said as he stood there watching Eri eat the apples. His mind wandered as the scene before him felt so familiar. Yes, it was familiar. This has happened before, cutting apples for Eri, video games and the sound of Alice's laughter. Cody still missed those days, and dreamed of them coming back.

"Cody?" Cody blinked out of his thoughts and looked at Eri.

"Hm?" He hummed. Eri seems hesitant.

"Are... you ok...?" She quietly asked. Cody thought about her question. Ok. The phrase felt so near yet so far. Cody scoffed a chuckle.

"Yeah I'm fine. I was just reminiscing." Cody mumbled as he turned to watch Mokuba teach Alice how to play Smash. Eri followed his gaze.

"You feel it too huh?" Cody turned his head back to Eri. She stared at the scene of the three hanging out and having fun. "You feel the familiarity."

"Heh, yeah, I do." Cody admitted. Eri stood from her place at the table and went to wash her dish. Cody listened to the ambiance of the treehouse once more. The familiarity and unprecedence were slightly unnerving to the 13 year old boy. Suddenly, there was an explosion along with lots of shaking. The kids screamed as they all held onto something. Once the shaking stopped, Cody hopped out of his seat and ran to the window. Out in the distance, there was smoke rising from the city.

"Lets suit up." Cody said as he, Brad, and Mokuba ran to get their gear. Eri and Alice watched as the boys ran off.

"I wanna go too..." Alice said, looking at Eri. She sighed and patted the girl's head.

"You will one day. You just need to wait."

**********

The three boys carefully stalked through the forest. They soon came to the forest limits, overlooking the destroyed city. Ever since the worlds merged, everything's falling apart. The different dimensions struggled to coexist, causing war and destruction to follow. The war had been quiet for a while, but every now and again, there would be an attack from rogues or gangs.

Cody used some high tech binoculars to look deeper into the city from behind the bushes. Looking on towards the fire, he saw gang members scattering, all carrying different things. Suddenly, there was the sound of large heavy footsteps. Cody could see as Kade and Heatwave came into view. The two then began to put out the fire while other people from "The Alliance'' came and arrested gang members.

"Another gang attack?" Brad quietly asked. Cody nodded once.

"Some of the people from the Alliance are there trying to stop it all." Cody muttered as he looked through the binoculars once more. Suddenly, there was a shout from nearby. Cody turned his head and looked to see a young girl trapped near the burning building.

"Scrapnuts." Cody muttered. He quickly stood and ran towards her. Brad and Mokuba quickly stood and followed their leader. When they got to her location, the fire had spread and debris continued to fall.

"Are you alright?" Cody calmly asked as he kneeled next to the terrified girl. She looked up with tear-filled eyes.

"M-My pokemon! It ran off and now I'm stuck!" She cried as she looked at her trapped foot. Cody looked up at the flames and the crumbling building. He quickly activated the nano-tech on his forearm and turned it into a shield. Cody then held it over himself and the girl.

"Brad! Mokuba!"

"On it!" Brad pulled out his staff and typed in a formula on the little screen. Brad then took a knee and aimed the end of his staff at the building. A blue mass was then ejected from the staff and landed on the building. The mass stuck and hardened almost immediately, stabilizing the building until they could free the girl. As Brad secured the building's structure, Mokuba typed a code in on his forearm guard. It then released card holders, like a duel disk from his world.

"Battle Ox! I summon you!" Mokuba shouted as the card ejected from the "graveyard". He placed the card on the disk, and the duel spirit came to the boy.

"Smash the rock on her leg! Quick!" Battle ox quickly used its ax to destroy the debris that was trapping the girl's leg from moving.

"I'm free!" She gasped as he moved her leg. Cody's shield disappeared as he grabbed her from under her arms and ran for it. Mokuba and Brad immediately followed behind. Battle ox then became a card once again, returning to Mokuba's hand. The three boys got out of there as the blue mass gave way and the building collapsed. The boys panted as they hid in the bushes of the forest.

"Are... are you ok?" Cody panted as he looked at the girl in his arms.

"I-I think so.. Are you ok Dedenne?" She asked, opening her bag.

"Danana!" It cheered happily. She sighed.

"You really need to stop running off like that." She huffed.

"Bonnie!! Bonnie!!! Where are you?!" Another voice called desperately.

"Clemont!" Bonnie stood and tried to run to the voice, but she toppled over from the pain in her leg. Cody caught her and held her up.

"Don't walk, you'll hurt yourself more." He said as he helped her over to the voice.

"Bonnie! Was that you?!"

"Yes sir, we have her." Cody said, exiting the thicket. The boy turned around.

"Bonnie! I told you to stop running off! Are you ok?!" Clemont demanded as he took Bonnie into his arms.

"I'm ok thanks to those three." Bonnie said, turning to the three boys. Clemont bowed to the boys.

"Thank you so much for saving my little sister!" Clemont exclaimed.

"Hey it's no problem." Mokuba chuckled, placing his hand behind his head.

"Yeah, there's no need to thank us. It's just what we do." Cody said as he put his hands up. Clemont then stood to his full height.

"I still thank you anyway. Who knows what could have happened if you guys didn't show up in time!"

"Stop being so dramatic Clemont." Bonnie pouted.

"If you hadn't run off, I wouldn't need to be." Clemont huffed as he and Bonnie then left the trio on their own. Mokuba watched as the siblings left their line of sight. It reminded him of his own brother.

"Mokuba." The youngest boy gasped and looked at Cody, who had a hand on his shoulder.

"You ok buddy?" Mokuba shook off the feeling and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go." he muttered as he walked away. Cody and Brad knowingly made eye contact before following after.

**********

When the boys got home, the house was eerily quiet.

"Eri! Alice! We're back!" Mokuba called. It was quiet for a few more seconds before the soft pitter patter of tiny feet could be heard. Alice came running to Mokuba and jumped in his arms.

"Mokie!!!" She laughed as he cuddled him.

"Hey Tiny! Did you behave for Eri?" He laughed as he spun Alice. She giggled as he did.

"Yeah! I was a good girl!!" She giggled as Eri walked into the room.

"Welcome home." She said, walking into the room. "Did anything interesting happen?"

"Yeah. There was a girl trapped under some debris near a fire. So we saved her." Brad said proudly. Eri chuckled.

"You really do love your heroic moments." She said, walking over to the kitchen.

"I thought you guys would be hungry when you returned. So I summoned Eris to make some lunch for us." Eri said, going to the fridge and pulling out some bento boxes.

"Yes!" The boys cheered. They quickly ran to change and Eri placed the boxes on the table. When the boys came back, they chowed down on the food.

"This is delicious!"

"Eris is amazing!"

"Best meal ever!"

Eri chuckled and then went to join Alice on the floor. Alice was busy drawing on the floor. She sighed as she watched the carefree child. She missed being that innocent and naive, always having the freedom to do what she really wants to do. And she wished that she could go back there. But what's past is past. There's no changing it.

**********

That night, all the kids were asleep. Meowstic, Dark Magician, and some of their friends stood guard around the treehouse, protecting the children within. All was quiet in the night, until the dreams started.

"I know that it's hard my little blossom. But everything will get better."

"You no longer have to keep everyone together."

"'ll never leave you... ever again."

"You can finally experience peace and release your hidden sorrows."

"If we are too afraid, we will never be able to accomplish what the gods have created us to do." The kids gasped and woke up. They all exited their rooms, looking at each other with serious faces.

"You guys felt that too." Cody said. They all nodded. Alice sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

"I want Iko..." She sobbed. Brad went over and picked Alice up. The little girl sniffled and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"We'll get her back soon." Brad softly said, rubbing her back.

"We need to follow that energy. It could be Ryoko's spirit." Cody said as he walked back in his room and started to suit up. When Cody exited the room, he saw that both Eri and Alice were suited up as well.

"You two should stay." Cody said as he entered the room. Eri turned to Cody with a huff.

"I'm almost eleven Cody! I can go out too now!" Eri said.

"Maybe, but Alice is only five. And she needs one of us to stay with her." Cody said. Alice then walked up to Cody.

"I wanna go too! I'm a big girl!!" Alice huffed. Cody sighed and kneeled.

"Alice-"

"No!! I wanna go!!!" Before Cody could say anything else, Mokuba pulled Alice away.

"Hey, Tiny, listen to me ok?" He said softly. Alice looked at Mokuba with a pout and teary eyes.

"You have to stay ok? I don't want you to get hurt." Mokuba said as he placed a hand on her head. Alice sniffled and turned away from the 11 year old. She ran away, breaking Mokuba's heart. They stood in silence before Eri spoke up.

"I called in Viarrah to watch her. She was a babysitter in her past life so it should be fine." Eri muttered.

"Yeah... Now let's go."