'Holograms, a famous form of technology that is widely renowned far and wide in the city of Santa Monica. In the year 2024, all kinds of paranormal phenomenon occur all over the city. The humans who dwell within this lively city began to refer to them as... Hologram Ghosts.'

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A few days passed since Casey and her friends met the trio of Rose Cacia, Hannah Keahi, and Scorpi, the Leader of the Spikels, who requested their help to find Hannah's bird, Cherry, as well as the other 2 members of the Spikels, Footi and Hoogi (Who ended up finding them). They soon found that all of the Birds around town were going missing, and from what Casey, Amber, and Melody could gather from the input of their fellow student, Francis, Aleena was somehow behind this. However, it wasn't just her. She had help from another Digimon infected by an I-cubit shard- Yatagaramon. But, even with the combined might of Symbare Angoramon, Tesla Jellymon, Betel Gammamon, and both the 2014 Infernites max and Electroids Max, it wasn't enough to take down the Ultimate-level Bird Digimon. By the time that Rose and the Spikels joined the fight to protect the 3 Digimon and 6 Mixels, Yatagaramon had grabbed both Scorpi and Gammamon, flew up into the air, and threw the duo consisting of the triceratopsian baby Digimon and the Leader of the Spikels down, as the duo was quickly plummeting towards the ground. And they both would've become pancakes, too, but thanks to Casey helping Gammamon learn to listen to his heart (With guidance from Footi), Gammamon attained a new digivolution in the form of Kaus Gammamon, and not only saved Scorpi and himself, but took down Yatagaramon with aid from Flurr, Kiyo, Rose, and Scorpi. By the time the group went back on the bus to get back to town, Flain shared his concerns involving Gammamon's new digivolution with the other Infernites about how he saw something resembling the Devourer of Space deep within Kaus Gammamon. Could this be tied to how Gammamon doesn't know who or what he is?

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Zorch was just in Henry's room, looking at a new article on the Phantom's Den website on his tablet, which was talking about a new peculiar phenomenon, with it showing an image of a car crash near the headline, which read, 'Nightly processions causing havoc in Santa Monica'.  From what Zorch had read, the cause of the crashes that had been happening lately around town, varying in small damages, to even lives being lost to the crashes. Casey was at school with Amber, Maya, Melody, and Rose, and Henry was taking a nap, so for the time being, it was up to him to contact some of the members of the group, and investigate- But soon, the crimson Infernite would find that, to others, him leading an investigation would practically be seen as a death wish, especially with who he and the others would be going up against soon enough. Albeit he didn't know it at the time, but he was going to learn something about himself that he probably wouldn't find out otherwise back home on Planet Mixel because of his decisions that he would end up making as a so-called 'leader', with one Digimon acting as his wake-up call to change for the better...

Zorch found Casey's laptop, and the moment he did, he called Gammamon over, who just sat down next to him on her bed, as he then proceeded to call Kiyo in a google duo chat, but the Infernite was instead greeted with Flurr, Jellymon, and Teslo. "Yo, Tes, Jellymon, Flurr!" The crimson Infernite greeted the trio, as on their end of the video feed, Kiyo had walked into his room with an egg sandwich for himself, and a hamlogna sandwich (which, in actuality, was a sandwich with both ham and bologna in it) for Zaptor, who was waiting for him to come back with the pseudo Hamlogna sandwich. "Oh, and Kiyoshiro's here, too!" he smiled, as Kiyo walked over to the trio of Electroid, Frosticon, and Mollusk Digimon. "Hey, Kiyo! Just the human I wanted to see!" Kiyo then saw Zorch, as a facial expression of confusion appeared on the boy's face. "What is it, Zorch? I was just about to start watching season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen on my computer until I saw that you were talking to Flurr, Teslo, and Jellymon." Kiyo asked, as Zorch then began to explain. "Well, you guys heard about those weird incidents that have been happening on the highway, right?"  Upon hearing Zorch's question, Jellymon nodded. "Yeah, we know about it, Zippo. Me, the Zappers, and Flurry-Blurry read about it the other night, and it's been on each of our minds ever since..." She admitted, as Teslo nodded in agreement. "What'z more, the drivers who were involved all zaid that they saw herds of monzters, and Maya showed us something about a nightly procezzion, too." The leader of the Electroids confessed, as Kiyo mumbled something under his breath while hearing the accounts his Digimon partner, and his cousin's Mixel partner had shared, before he nervously spoke up. "S-sorry, Zorch, but we've got plans." Angelwood Middle school's class representative reached to his mouse to end the conversation, but Flurr stopped him by covering it with his wing. "Kiyoshiro, this is serious. People could really get hurt, or worse...!" Flurr tried to tell him, before a small ringtone started playing on Casey's laptop, with a message on the screen reading 'Amber Roark is calling'.

"Hang on, isn't Amber at school with Casey and Maya?" Gammamon asked, as Zorch patched who he and the others thought was Amber into the call. But he and the others were taken by surprise when they saw Alya, Angoramon, and the Cragsters. "Hey, guys! Oh, and Kii's here too! Perfect timing!" She beamed, as she then snapped her fingers. "Can you all accompany me to Arcadia Terrace? I think I might've found something I'd like there."  She smiled a bit. Kiyo, Jellymon, Teslo, Flurr, Gammamon, and Zorch seemed a bit confused, though- Especially Zorch. This wasn't how it played out in Zorch's head, so just what was it that Alya talking about?

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A while later of walking through the town, the small group of Zorch, Gammamon, Kiyo, Jellymon, Teslo, and Flurr (Accompanied by Henry and the 2015 Infernites) arrived at Arcadia Terrace. "This isn't too far from where all the accidents have been happening..." Henry noticed. upon hearing his words, though, Kiyo froze up a bit, before trying to turn around a small bit. "Y-You know, I thought it over, I-I should really get going... " He tried to say, before Alya showed up. "We're here!" She called to the others, as she had Angoramon and the Cragsters by her side. "Alya! Krader! Seismo! Shuff!" Gammamon cheered, waving to them, as he then looked up at the sign on the building in curiosity, letting out an 'ohh~?' of curiousness. "GOGOGO Go-kart Track...?" He read the sign, confused. Alya only nodded. "Yep, Go-karts. Kinda like the karts from Mario Kart. I've played the DS version of the game, and I felt that maybe doing the real thing could be my true calling. Plus, they're having a sale right now, so all of us going together is only fifty percent off!" She explained, happily skipping towards the entrance of the building with glee, while Kiyo just seemed confused. "Then, why'd you ask the rest of us to come with you?" He asked, as Alya stopped skipping, and then turned around to face the Class representative of Angelwood Middle School. "Well, boys like you, Mr. Henry, and Zorch like this sort of stuff, don't they?" She asked. "Either way, we've done so much lately, we deserve a break so we can have some rad fun, as Flain would say!" Alya smiled, as Seismo began to cheer in agreement with the youngest Roark Sibling's statement, happily following her. "Alya right! Rad fun! Rad fun!" Zorch only watched as everyone went on ahead of him. He knew that Alya was right, they all DID need a break from all of the crazy things that had been happening lately, especially when he thought about how they almost got beaten by Yatagaramon a while back, and they would've lost had it not been for Gammamon digivolving into Kaus Gammamon, and fought with Kiyo, Flurr, Rose, and Scorpi assisting him. And although he was lost in that thought, the thought of the nightly procession was still fresh in his mind. He wanted to prove that, when Casey and Flain were away, the crimson Infernite could have a chance to take charge of this small group, just like they did when the whole team was together. But in the distance from the corner of his eye, Zorch saw what looked like a girl who seemed around Henry's age with dark blue hair and light blue eyes passing by, seeming like she was looking for something. Unable to ignore his curiosity (and the fact that this seemed beyond incredibly suspicious), he decided to follow her.

"WOO-HOO~!" Burnard cheered with joyful laughter as he and Alya zipped by on the track in a red Go-kart with orange stripes, a pair of red and black goggles on his head, and Gammamon let out a small, squeaky 'Uwaah~!' of glee as he rode in a Go-kart with Henry driving it. "Bun'rar and Alya are so zippy!" He cheered happily, as Henry nodded, understanding that for Gammamon, 'zippy' meant fast in Gamma-ish. "Dios mio, the two of them seem like they make a good team..." Henry said with a small chuckle, as he went at a normal speed for a go-kart in parallel to Burnard and Alya rocketing past them both. "I can't keep up with them..." He admitted, as from a nearby Bench, Teslo, Flurr, Kiyo, Flamzer, Jellymon, Meltus, the Cragsters, and Angoramon were sitting together. "Yeah, well, maybe if you put your foot on the gas pedal and not go at the same pace of a snail, you'd be able to beat lil' Bunny-Baby, Hen-Hen!" Jellymon snickered, while Angoramon looked over at the duo of Flamzer and Kiyo. "Aren't you both going to join them?" The rabbit Digimon asked the two of them. Kiyo only shook his head as he sent a text to Amber, Casey, and the others about where they were, since he knew it was around this time at both Angelwood Middle and Cosmic Field academy were in the middle of serving lunch to the students. "Not really. It's a bit too dangerous, if you ask me." He admitted, as Flamzer nodded in agreement. "And as much as I've slowly started to get used to other humans with the help of Henry, Casey, and everyone else in this group, there's just something about those Go-karts that I just don't like..." Flamzer eyed the go-karts as they zoomed down the track. In truthfulness, he did suspect something about them being dangerous, just like Kiyo said they were, but on the other hand, someone had to keep an eye on Meltus, and he was the Mixel for the Job. Angoramon soon glanced over by Teslo's side, noticing that a certain Mollusk was missing, and he wasn't the only one who took notice. "Guys? Where'd Jellymon go?" Meltus asked the group. Kiyo's eyes widened in realization upon just now noticing that his Digimon partner was gone, while Flurr did a facepalm with one of his wings. Although both Jellymon and Zorch were now gone, chances were the two of them were together. Were they causing mischief, and not investigating? That much was up for debate, and Kiyo, Henry, Maya, and everyone else would soon find out the duo of Jellymon and Zorch could cause more harm than good the hard way...

Soon enough, Dusk came rolling around. 'The circuit shall close shortly.' A voice said from one of the speakers around the track. 'Please return all karts to the pit.' During the time the message was sent through the property, Alya, Burnard, Henry, and Gammamon had just zipped across the finish line. "Alright! We managed to go even faster this time, Burnard!" Alya cheered while Burnard chuckled happily. Gammamon happily cheered. "Way to go, Alya and Bun'rar!" He smiled, while Henry was just silent with awe. Usually, Burnard was the most chaotic Infernite, moreso than Zorch with his tendency to prank others. Maybe Go-kart racing was the way to get him to channel the mischievous nature inside of him? Meanwhile, Kiyo was sitting on the Bench, watching something on his Phone, with Flurr on his shoulder, and Flamzer curled up on his lap. However, Teslo noticed something. "What'z with all thiz fog?" He muttered to himself, his tail swishing around in curiosity. Soon enough, the sound of a rumbling engine cut through the silence of the fog. Confused about whatever it could be, Flamzer got up from Kiyo's lap, and hopped off of the bench, and went over by a garage, where it seemed the noise of the engine was coming from, and the smell of smoke was emanating from within it. Suddenly, the Garage door burst open, smoke emanating where the door once was, and from within the dust, a girl with blue eyes and dark blue hair and a sky blue klobuk that had embellishments that resembled mouse ears, a cape, and Devil wings, as she zipped by in a lime green and orange go-kart.

Gammamon and Henry could only watch as the mysterious girl zipped by them, and drifted close to Burnard and Alya. "Catch me if you can!" She cackled, as she drove ahead of the human girl and Infernite, smirked, and drew her sword, cutting up a traffic cone, sending the remaining debris flying towards the group of four. Luckily, a line of flames shielded them, as Zorch zipped by them, running after the girl, almost as if they were racing each othe- Wait a minute, Zorch?! The crimson Infernite just laughed happily as he ran after the girl, leaving Alya, Burnard, Henry, and Gammamon safe thanks to his earlier actions, but the girl soon drove towards Kiyo, Angoramon, Flamzer, Meltus, Teslo, Flurr, and the Cragsters. "Look out!" Angoramon shouted, as Flurr flew into the air, the Cragsters dug into the ground, and Kiyo, Angoramon, and Meltus ran off, as the girl ran the kart into a wall at the end of a small alleyway, as the kart went onto the road, and drove off. "Th-That's speeding and reckless driving...!" Kiyo muttered, as Meltus looked over at the holes that the Cragsters dug. "You guys alright?" He asked, as the 3 rocky Mixels popped their heads out of the holes they dug. "Yeah, we okay, Meltus." Krader nodded, as Angoramon looked around, confused. "Hold on- Where's Teslo?" He asked, before he heard an electrical buzzing noise on the wall. "I-I'm up here, guyz..!" He somewhat nervously called to the group, revealing he had clung to the wall somehow, and above him on the roof of the building, was Flurr, perching on a small space not too far from the cycloptic Electroid leader. "Teslo, you can actually cling onto walls with the use of static electricity? Honestly, that's... That's kind of cool!" Kiyo said with a small smile, as Teslo had Flurr help him down to the ground, as he smiled, a bit embarrassed by Kiyo's kindhearted flattery. "Heh, thankz, Kiyozhiro. I don't really uze it that often, but in the momentz where I have to uze that power of mine, I juzt zimply go for it..." He said nervously, seeming like he was hiding something from Maya's cousin, as Zorch zipped over to them, with Jellymon floating by his side. "Well, Zippo, I can't say I expected your new racing buddy to use the go-kart like that." She said with a smirk. Teslo only turned to face the duo, a bit confused as to what Jellymon meant. "Hang on a zecond- Racing buddy?" He repeated, as Kiyo looked at the crimson Infernite and his Digimon partner confusedly. "So, I'm guessing that the two of you know that girl?" He asked, as Zorch only laughed for a brief moment. "Yeah, but she's a Digimon, so you and the others don't gotta be worried about me and Jellymon being seen by another Human. But to answer your question Kiyo, yeah, we know her." He answered, as Jellymon nodded. "Yeppers, Zippo! Because we were the ones who offered her the Go-kart!" She smiled, before she saw everyone else (Save for Zorch and Flurr, Dragon boi just looked concerned) glaring at her, while Kiyo just stayed silent. "... Darling...?" She muttered, before 3 words escaped her human partner's mouth.

"YOU BOTH WHAT?!"

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Later that evening at Cafe Luxxe, the group had gotten food and drinks (Per Jellymon's request so that Angoramon and the other Mixels who she revealed the truth about what happened earlier to would calm down), and she had just finished her chamomile-lavender tea. "Ahh~! Nothing better than a good blend..." The mollusk Digimon cheerfully smiled after taking the last sip of her tea. "Jellymon, can you please tell us about that Digimon from earlier?" Flurr calmly asked her, trying not to get mad at her, as she nodded. "I was getting to that, Flurry-Blurry, so follow Cryo-Claw's lead and take it easy. Can't rush good scuttlebutt, you know!" She said with a bit of a wink, before clearing her throat. "But that Digimon was none other than Sistermon Ciel! She's a Puppet-type, Data-attribute, Champion-level Digimon who's known to be an assistant for Gankoomon, who is one of the Royal Knights, a group of Digimon known for keeping peace in the Digital world. But she does have a hidden side to her that not even Gankoomon knows about. She's got a side of her that's completely obsessed with speed and power, thus making her the type of Digimon that'll do whatever it takes to prove that she's the only fastest and strongest Digimon to exist in the ever-growing history of the entire Digital World." Jellymon explained.

"But why'd you and Zorch help her, though?" Henry asked Jellymon, who shrugged. "Well, she said she was looking for something to use for a race she was going to take part in later tonight, and I told her that Zippo and I were willing to help." She explained, as Zorch had then quickly butted in. "She said it had to be the strongest and fastest vehicle that could beat anyone, so it felt like it was taking forever to find something for her to use!" He said with a slight groan. "Jellymon kept suggesting all sorts of vehicles, like trucks, cars, bikes- Schnix, she even suggested a tank!" Teslo then opened his mouth to try and say something, but Jellymon was quick on the draw. "Don't ask how I managed to get my hands on a tank, Electro-Einstein." She said with her arms crossed. "Then, Zippo showed her the go-kart you guys saw her ride off in, and I may or may not have lied to her, saying that it was just as fast as Zippo himself, if not faster..." Jellymon said with a nervous laugh, noticing Zorch was glaring at her, before he sighed. "Yeah, and I tried to tell her that I was the fastest, and that I could outrun a simple go-kart, but she took off before I could even get a word out. I'll admit, me chasing after her was fun, but with how she had managed to out-speed me, my pride's been left kinda broken... I'm definitely gonna get back at her, though." He admitted, as Teslo just facepalmed, unamused by what Zorch and Jellymon had caused. "Zo the two of you helped a Digimon commit Grand theft auto?!"The leader of the Electroids shouted at the two of them, as Jellymon gasped, pretending to be offended. "Teslo Coyle Voltare, do you REALLY think SO little of me?" She asked, still pretending to be mad, before she chuckled happily. "Oh, we TOTALLY committed GTA!" She giggled, as Henry sighed. "I don't think that's really something to be proud of, Jellymon..." However, during this conversation between Mixel and Digimon, Alya was seemingly deep in thought about where Sistermon Ciel was going.

"But the direction Sistermon Ciel went, though..." She muttered, until she remembered a sign that she saw on her way to the go-kart track. "... If she said she was doing a race like you say she was, you two, then chances are she could be headed for Sacramento Raceway Park." She said, as Angoramon nodded. "I think I get it. You mean to say that you believe there's a chance, however slim, that Sistermon Ciel could be connected to the rumored Nightly Processions." The rabbit Digimon explained to his partner, as Alya nodded, before turning to face Zorch and Jellymon. "You think it's possible to make contact with her, you two?" She asked them, as Jellymon only shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not all that certain. She may be a free spirit, but she sure can be stubborn when she needs to be." She admitted. "Plus, if she took off before hearing me out, who's to say she'll listen to you guys?" Zorch added to the mollusk Digimon's response, before Gammamon spoke up. "She might listen if we can prove that we can be zippier!" He smiled innocently, as Henry nodded. "You might be onto something with that, Gammamon. If we can beat Sistermon Ciel at her own game, she might hear us out." He smiled, as he and the others began to make their way back to the Go-kart track, hopefully to try and talk to Sistermon Ciel before she could zoom away in the Go-Kart.

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Soon enough, the group of 13 had made their way back to the go-kart track, albeit the door was locked up by a lock and a chain. "Okay, does anybody have any other plans?" Flurr asked the others, seeming a bit discouraged, as Zorch only smirked, seeing this as a chance for him to fully start taking charge of this rag-tag team. "Don't worry, guys, we can still get in there!  We just gotta break the lock!" He said with a smile, as Henry shook his head. "We're not causing property damage, Zorch. We're going to get in there by doing what sensible people would do." Henry said, as he pulled out a paperclip, and used it to try and pick the lock, as Kiyo, Alya, and the other Mixels and Digimon watched. 

"Lock picking; It's a bit of an analog skill, but it's still a beautiful skill nonetheless." Kiyo said with a smile, while Henry worked his magic. "I've got to admit, Henry- Sometimes, you do some incredible things like they're just normal things you'd do on any other day." Alya said with a soft smile, as Henry smiled. "It's really nothing. Before Casey was born and before Dad disappeared, I'd help him invent some stuff in the lab back home in Spain. I guess his influence must have rubbed off on me." Henry then admitted, as the lock came undone.  "Perfecto." The group soon arrived at the racetrack, but once they got near the garage, Sistermon Ciel burst through the front garage door, riding on the very same go-kart from before. "Catch me if you can, kiddos!" She cackled as she sped off. Zorch just glared at the escaping Digimon, his gaze not tearing away from Sistermon Ciel in the slightest. "I let you get away from me once before." He began, as Zorch began to do a couple of stretches, limbering himself up for whatever was lying up ahead of him. "I'm not gonna let that happen a second time, let alone simply allow you to make a mockery of my speed." The crimson Infernite said, as he then ran off, everyone else just staring in confusion, before Alya ran over to the Garage, and took off in one of the remaining Go-karts with Burnard and Flamzer, with Henry following suit (With Gammamon and Meltus), while Kiyo just stared, watching as the Cragsters dug a tunnel that'd lead to Sacramento Raceway Park. "We'll monitor everything from the sky. Let's go, Flurr!" Angoramon said, as he and the blue dragon mixel both took to the air, flying after the others, while Jellymon came out of the garage with a yellow and blue Go-kart. "Hey, Darling? Electro-Einstein? Four words;" She began, before tossing Kiyo a biker helmet, and Teslo a custom pair of goggles with one frame. "Shut up and drive."

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Soon enough, the group managed to make it to Sacramento Raceway Park, with the Cragsters being the last to arrive. "Now, where are you, lady...?" Zorch muttered to himself between breaths, still keeping up the illusion of him being the group's leader, before he heard the loud THUD of a few large feet beside him. Turning around, he saw two Digimon. One resembled a whiteish-grey Elephant with part of a drone acting as a helmet. 

The other Digimon next to the one that resembled an Elephant had a giant, nearly chicken-like appearance. Its body was covered in creamish-white feathers with its wings being colored purple at the ends, whilst its tail feathers were purple at the base, and red at the tip. The upper mandible of its mouth was covered in rhinotheca with teeth, whereas the lower mandible was covered in feathers, with three protruding teeth at the tip. It had red eyes with slit pupils, sort of like a reptile, and the crest it had seemed to consist of black feathers. Its feet each had four talons and a singular dewclaw.

"That's one big chicken." Burnard said with a chuckle, as Sistermon Ciel watched over all the other Digimon that had arrived- One purple spherical Digimon, a couple of bird-like Digimon that resembled a kiwi (both bird and fruit, but to make it less of a mouthful, we'll just go with Kiwi bird), a red bee-dragonfly hybrid, a couple of Little stag beetle-esque Digimon that seemed a bit like electrical tasers, and a large, white horse with black wings and a red helmet covering its face, all heading to the starting line, about to start the race. "So, this..." Angoramon muttered to himself, watching as all the other Digimon that had just arrived begun to prepare for the race that was going to begin in a matter of mere moments. "... Is the hidden truth to the Nightly processions that have been happening around California..." He mumbled, as Zorch went over to the starting line, wanting to not only get some answers as to what was going on, but to also prove to Sistermon Ciel that he WAS the only one who was truly the fastest, earning the confusion of most of the Digimon who were participating. "Hey...!" One of the Digimon whispered to the crimson speedster, as he turned to face the red dragonfly-bee hybrid. "Are your friends over by the gate humans?" The insectoid Digimon asked him, as Zorch only nodded. "Yeah, so what if they are? Like you said, they're my friends!" He answered the Digimon, as the elephant-like Digimon had then turned to face the speedy Infernite. "Why are you and your friends getting involved in the race? It's far too dangerous!" Zorch just slightly tilted his head in confusion upon hearing this other yokel of a Digital Monster. What was this Digimon even remotely talking about? It was just a genuine race- Something that he excelled in back on Planet Mixel thanks to him being so insanely fast compared to most Mixels, as he even boasted that he was faster than all of the Frosticon Cousins and Vampos and Globert mid-flight put together! Aside from some obstacle courses and the occasional risky twists and turns around the bend, how could a RACE, of all things, be dangerous?

 "On your marks... Get Set... GO!" Sistermon Ciel's voice had then shouted, as the other Digimon all began to move down the track, and Zorch (being the speedster that he was, he couldn't simply just let Sistermon Ciel keep believing that SHE was the fastest in the whole entire world, let alone could he just decline the opportunity of being part of a race, either, since he prided himself on being the fastest Mixel, if not the fastest Infernite to ever exist) had soon found himself taking part in the race as well, but all of a sudden, a jet-black fog rolled in towards the racetrack, catching the attention of the others, who were still over by the gate, while Zorch and Sistermon Ciel kept each other in a constant tie. "Hang on, what the zchnix iz that?" Teslo muttered to himself, squinting his eye to try and figure out whatever could be hidden within the darkened greyish haze, only for the Electroid tribe leader to see what seemed to be a skeletal face with a darkened-bloody-red mouth and eyes, as well as a large bloody red sphere on what seemed to be a skeletal chest, causing his tail and ears to droop in both fear and shock as a large pair of Skeletal hands tore away at the pavement, only 'leaving Claw markings and blood in their wake, before a boney figure began to form within the smog, as a pink glow came out of the gloominess, and sliced the murkiness apart, revealing a brand-new Digimon that seemingly burst out from the smog. The new, mysterious Digimon seemed to resemble a levitating robotic skeleton whose arms are composed of electricity connecting its hands and shoulders, whom also had a red, crystalline orb visible from within its rib cage, and whose lower body was nothing more than a large sphere of energy that looked like it had been forcibly attached to the base of the Digimon's own spine. It was mostly covered up with a black hooded cape with red interior, and it also had, within its closetal hands, a scythe with energy blades which was adorned with a small goat decoration, making it nearly resemble the mythological Grim Reaper to a certain degree.

A look of immense worry soon formed itself on Flamzer's face, knowing that this... Thing, was going after all of the race participants, including his own cousin. "W-what the heck even is that Digimon?!" Meltus asked, his voice trembling a bit, while Sistermon Ciel looked back to see this new Digimon, and when she saw it, a wicked, almost sinister and twisted smile formed across her lips. "Aw, sweet! Metal Phantomon is here! Now it's a REAL party!" She cheered, as she skidded the go-kart over to the equine Digimon with black wings and the red helmet while it was still running, resulting in the large Digimon tumbling towards the cloaked Metal Phantomon, who swung its scythe, making the blade hit the horse-like Digimon, who then proceeded to writhe in pain, before its body quickly disappeared, leaving behind only a few, small blue cubes of data that were absorbed into the blade scythe itself. Zorch looked back for a second, slowing down enough to not get near Metal Phantomon, but enough to see this Digimon. "That's Metal Phantomon...?" He muttered, sounding as if he were masking the fear that was coursing through him with confusion (and believe me, he was masking his fear with confusion!), his eyes widening in shock as he stared at the scythe the giant Digimon held in its hands, thinking that something had happened to the Digimon that Sistermon Ciel had forcefully made fodder for the large Digital Monster that was chasing them was something worse than death. "The first rule of the races..." The Digimon that resembled an Elephant told the Crimson Infernite as he kept running. "... Any Being who is overtaken by Metal Phantomon gets absorbed into Necrosis, the scythe it uses to collect souls." Upon hearing the Pachyderm-esque Digimon explain the first rule, Zorch's eyes widened, as the red Dragonfly-bee hybrid Digimon tried to fly away, before getting wrapped up by the beam of light-pink energy from Necrosis, absorbing it into the scythe, just like the equine Digimon. "The Second rule of the races..." One of the kiwi bird Digimon then added, seeming scared to its' wits end. "Anyone who tries to pull out of the Race or interfere with the race will get absorbed without question." 

The remaining 12 who stood by the Gate seemed shocked at these two rules that had been revealed, as Angoramon only sighed calmly, trying to keep his cool. "I only figured as much." He calmly said, as the other members of the group (excluding Zorch, who could only listen to him as he ran) only turned to face him, knowing that he knew something about this Digimon that had emerged itself from the haze moments earlier. "Metal Phantomon is an Ultimate-level, Data-attribute, Cyborg-type Digimon who is viewed as an extremely dangerous Digimon that most refer to as the grim reaper, and is also a Carrier of something known as the X-Antibody, which is said to be something that negates the effects of Program X. Apparently, the X-Antibody isn't enough to negate the effects of any remains belonging to an I-cubit ..." The rabbit Digimon scowled, looking directly at the bottom of Necrosis, and sure enough, lodged into the bottom of the Ultimate-level Digimon's trusty scythe, was a very miniscule I-cubit fragment attached to it, that Teslo had no trouble seeing. 

"If Metal Phantomon'z that dangerouz, why are all theze Digimon racing it, even with it being infected with an I-cubit zhard? Don't they know that thoze thingz are incredibly hazardouz?!" The Electroid Leader then asked, his tail flicking side-to-side in worry with the soft sound of crackling electricity being heard as it moved around. "It's all Sistermon Ciel's fault!" The voice of one of the taser-like Digimon shouted, on the verge of tears, as Zorch spared what looked like a biomechanical rookie-level Digimon a glance, and ultimately decided to let it explain everything. "At first, we were having fun racing, getting from point A to point B, just happy to be hanging out with one another, and happy to know we could be noticed by others in this brand-new world! But not that long ago, some weird old guy with a grey body and white moustache introduced us to Metal Phantomon, telling her that it could make our races more fun! Thanks to them, these races have devolved into nothing more than a despair-inducing chase for the innocent to try and stay alive!" It sobbed, as Zorch was instantly reminded of Major Nixel, causing the Crimson Infernite to mentally scowl, while the elephant Digimon only sighed. "Either survive until daybreak or end up risking your life to get Metal Phantomon to cease its rampage caused by the I-cubit that has corrupted it. That's the only way we can escape the rules, and truly be free from this misery..." It told Zorch, as a sinking feeling started to form and eat away from within the Infernite's chest, slowly but surely causing him to slow down, getting closer and closer to Metal Phantomon, as he began to compare the sadness and discontent these Digimon stuck in this deadly race felt to the many Mixels (And Gammamon due to what he did to the little white triceratops that one time) he had pranked and emotionally hurt back home, from manipulating Seismo into getting (and eating) a coconapple that the timid Cragster so desperately tried to get, to taunting Lunk for being so slow to get into an elevator so the icy reptilian mixel could get to a birthday party on time before the Frosticon's gift (which was literally a small block of ice that was wrapped in a pink bow) had melted. This feeling... Was this guilt...?

Zorch lightly sighed to himself, as multiple thoughts went through his mind, as the void seemed to grow endlessly, until one thought came into his mind; 'Either you can get through this and start making amends for the misfortunes you brought upon others, and ultimately win this in a whole new way, or you can let the guilt weight you down enough for Major Nixel's newest Digimon subordinate to end you here.' And during the time he spent reconciling, he realized one thing- Casey, Flain, and Vulk weren't here, and neither was Amber or Maya, meaning he couldn't form the Infernites Max with his brothers, and he couldn't mix with either Seismo or Teslo, and the only people with Pendits here with him was Henry and Kiyo, meaning he had to mix with one of the Frosticons, because despite Henry being partnered with his cousins, Henry still had an Infernite Pendit that worked similarly to (at least, to his knowledge) the one his younger sister had. He wasn't too fond of the idea of Mixing with a Frosticon, as he never had to do it back home on Planet Mixel, but what other choice DID the crimson speedster even have now? Zorch knew it wasn't about winning anymore. Not in the slightest. Now, he wanted to save the Digimon that had been trapped in this race to death, and purify Metal Phantomon, even if it meant risking the life of himself and whoever he mixed with to do it. But most importantly...

He wanted to prove he wasn't the same as he was all those times before!

(Cue 'First Riders' by Yoshimasa Masakura)

https://youtu.be/9PTHL7b4Y-E

"FLURR!" Zorch called to the blue dragon Mixel, as both the pendits of Kiyo and Henry began to faintly glow red and light blue. "I know, I'm not exactly that good of a Mixel- Heck, I bet you're probably holding some sort of grudge against me for all the things I've done back in our world, and I can't blame you or anyone else from our world, the Digital World, or Earth for hating my guts because of all the things I've done to hurt them! - But I can't put an end to this whole thing on my own this time. We need to Mix if we want to save these Digimon, and ultimately put an end to this chase with the grim reaper, and also save Metal Phantomon from the I-cubit's influence!" Flurr couldn't deny it- He wanted to help Zorch, but also didn't. Then again, he knew just as well as everyone else that a Digimon under the I-cubit's effects couldn't go free, lest they risk innocent lives getting harmed because of sheer carelessness, which was more than enough to prove to the leader of the Frosticons that Zorch was being sincere. "... You're right." Flurr nodded, as he flew over to Zorch, as both the Mixels' bodies slowly began to glow with light blue and bright red light, much like the Pendits their human partners had around their necks. "Let's Mix it to fix it!" The draconic mixel smiled, as the light that surrounded the two Mixels grew brighter and brighter still, all while both Kiyo and Henry's Pendits became fully red and light blue, resulting in their pendits having become a pair of Frosticon-Infernite Cubits.

"Ok, from what me and my Hermana know, Zorch never mixed with a Frosticon even once during the run of the entire show..." Henry glanced over to Kiyo, who nervously looked at the still-glowing ball of light that their partners were within. "Ohh~?" Gammamon then confusedly muttered, as he looked up at Henry. "D-does that mean they're gonna Murp like Flain and Krader did when we fought Majiramon...?" Alya asked, a bit nervous, before a shower of fire and ice erupted from the ball of light, revealing an entirely brand-new Mix. It mostly had all the details that Zorch's body had normally, but its toes seemed to be the very same two-toed white claws that Flurr normally had, and this mix also had Zorch's jets, and Flurr's wings, but they seemed to be big enough to carry its body mid-flight. The Mix's face mostly resembled Flurr's own, with a few details from Zorch's face, as well. Finally, the mix retained Flurr's tail, but it had a couple of red spikes on it- two on the top side of the tail, and one curved red spike on the bottom side, mirroring the icicle that was located on the tip of the tail.

"They did it! They actually Mixed!" Jellymon beamed, zipping around the group with excitement. Now, they actually had a chance to win this fight, and save those innocent Digimon! "Alright, now let's do this thing!" The mix said determinedly with Zorch's voice, using its boosters and wings to fly towards Metal Phantomon, who swung Necrosis in many attempts to try and absorb the Mix into it, but it seemed too fast for it to even catch, as Sistermon Ciel looked back to see the Mix fighting the corrupted Digimon. "Hey, you're supposed to be racing away from Metal Phantomon, not fighting him!" She shouted at the mix, feeling beyond enraged that this flying hybrid which controlled both fire and ice had stopped playing her game the way it was intended. "Well, this race is over!" Henry shouted, as the mix slipped under Necrosis, near the spot where the I-cubit shard was lodged into, as both Kiyo and Henry both saw a new word flow into their minds.

[冷凍焼け.]

"Freezer Burn!" The two shouted, as the mix proceeded to shoot an interweaving beam of fire and ice out of its mouth, both burning and freezing the I-cubit shard. However, despite the constant change between warm and frigid temperatures, the I-cubit shard wouldn't slip out from the bottom of the scythe. "All that, and it'z ztill not getting out from the bottom of Necroziz..." Teslo muttered, as the Mix flew back to the group, and split back into Zorch and Flurr, who all watched as Metal Phantomon slowly trudged closer and closer to them all, taking its attention off all the racing Digimon it was chasing so their souls would end up absorbed into Necrosis, and Kiyo and Henry's pendits returned to their normal colors.

(END INSERT THEME)

"Well, despite all that Freezer Burn did, it's loosened the I-cubit shard a bit. All it needs is one last hit... The only problem is that Zorch and Flurr both split apart, and my Hermana isn't here to help Gammamon digivolve into Kaus Gammamon to join the fight, since both Symbare Angoramon and Tesla Jellymon both aren't fast enough to avoid Metal Phantomon's attacks... So, what can we do now...?" Henry then asked himself, pondering over what else their team could do, before Burnard looked Henry dead in the eyes. "Henry, leave it to me and Meltus. The two of us can Mix, and finish what Zorch and Flurr started." The Chameleon-like Mixel said, catching Flamzer by surprise. "Have you both lost your mixels?!" He shouted. "I-I can't risk you both dying...!" He was on the verge of tears, afraid to lose his brothers, before Alya patted him on the head. "It'll be okay, Flamzer. Just have faith in your tribemates, and they'll come through." The younger Roark sibling told him, as he only nodded. Hopefully, they wouldn't die...

(CUE INSERT THEME- 'INFERNO' FROM OHSAMA SENTAI KINGOHGER, PERFORMED BY NANO)

https://youtu.be/Q0Qr7w60Zwo

Henry's Pendit lit up with a bright red light, which caused Metal Phantomon to stop dead in its tracks, as a ball of flame surrounded both Meltus and Burnard, before a fanfare of sorts sounded out from within the miniature sun, and as it broke apart in a small explosion with the flames hitting some parts of Necrosis, breaking the energy blade off, releasing the two Digimon that were absorbed into it, before the new fiery Mix floated in front of the Ultimate-level Digimon. Overall, this new Mix seemed to have resembled Burnard the most, having his eyes and upper jaw. The Mix had a mostly red body with a dark gray stripe on its stomach. On its back was a gray, cylindrical tank with a dark gray top and an orange spike on its back. The top of its head was dark red with two orange spikes. It even had a long, red nose nozzle with a dark gray base. It also had long, thin red arms with dark gray hands and red boosters on the bottom of its body that acted similarly to a rocket, being what enabled it to fly.

"Wait a second- Mixels from the same tribe can mix together?!" Jellymon shouted, looking over to Teslo in shock, as the Electroid leader nodded. "Yeah. It'z more of a 'when puzh comez to zhove' zort of zituation, but it'z ztill possible." He told the Mollusk Digimon, as the group only watched as the pyrokinetic Mix rocketed around the Nixed Digimon, overwhelming Metal Phantomon enough to create an opening for them to fully destroy the I-cubit shard, and as the mix had zipped close enough to the shard, that's when Henry saw a word form in his mind.

[ラババースト.]

"LAVA BURST!" He shouted, as a powerful stream of fire rocketed out of the Mix's nose nozzle, melting the shard, and freeing Metal Phantomon, whose eyes lost their red glow, before the black fog appeared once again, but once it cleared, the Ultimate-level Digimon who carried the X-Antibody was nowhere to be seen. The Chosen ones had won yet another battle, with the Digimon caught in the race free from eternal despair, and yet another Digimon affected by an I-cubit fragment was freed.

(END INSERT THEME)

The mix split apart, with both Meltus and Burnard laughing a bit. "We did it! We saved the day!" Burnard triumphantly laughed, as Gammamon ran over to the Infernite cousins (and Zorch), and ultimately embraced them all in a hug. "Bun'rar, Mel'us, and Zorch are heroes!" He blepped happily, all while Zorch noticed that the guilt he felt earlier had disappeared. However, he was quick to notice that Sistermon Ciel was furious, and quickly approaching him and his friends. "Why, you..." She grumbled, as she grabbed Zorch, and held him up by his Neck. "You RUINED the race! Now how am I supposed to prove I'm the fastest and Strongest Digimon?!" She asked him, as Zorch glanced over at the Digimon she was racing earlier, and the rest of his friends.

"Is that really what matters the most to you?" Zorch asked as he turned to face her, glaring at her. "You've always thought that proving you were the fastest and the strongest was all that mattered most, but what about the lives of your friends?!" He asked, while Gammamon tackled her, freeing Zorch from the grasp of the humanoid champion-level Digimon, who turned to face him. "You all ruined the race... YOU ALL RUINED IT!!" She shouted, her eye twitching in madness, before a familiar black cat Digimon appeared from the shadows- Uver. And in his paws seemed to be what looked like a Japanese rice cooker, and as he placed it down, he stepped back, as a blue portal opened up as the rice cooker opened. Sistermon Ciel just stared at the blue portal, her eyes widened in panic, as Uver lifted up his hat, revealing a small nixel with a D-Vigor on her wrist. But the look on Teslo's face made others think he actually KNEW this Nixel in particular, as she saw a word enter her mind.

[バコーニャ.]

"BAG TAG!" The little Nixel commanded, taking everyone else by surprise that this Nixel could actually talk, as Uver dodged a swipe from Sistermon Ciel's sword, before swinging down its delivery bag, the impact of the hit knocking Sistermon Ciel into the portal without a trace of her remaining. "Where... Where does that portal lead...?" Jellymon asked the Nixel, as some of the others tensed up, ready to fight. There was no way that a Nixel, of all things, was tied to the prophecy, so why did this one help them? Uver only got in the way of the Mixels that were ready to fight the small Nixel, shielding her. "I'm on your side, you Mischievous Mixels! And who and what are the Bonzipod lookalikes with you? As far as I can tell, the little Mixeloptor, the huge Rabbunny, and the SkyJelly are Digimon..." The Nixel said, eying the 3 human children, Angoramon, and Jellymon,  before the triceratopsian Digimon scooped her up in his claws. "I'm Gammamon!" He happily told her. "The humans with us are Henry, Kiyo, and Alya, and the other two Digimon are Angoramon and Jellymon!"

"Gammamon, Henry, Kiyo, Alya, Angoramon, and Jellymon..." Nixie noted, as she glanced at Teslo, before Handing Gammamon a peanut butter cup, as the little Digimon's eyes went as wide as dinner plates with glee. "Well, as long as you're not getting in our way, it's fine. Just... Keep in mind, Gammamon isn't quite who you think he is." Nixie said as she climbed up onto Uver's hand, as Uver closed the rice cooker, which, in turn, closed the portal as well, before turning to face Jellymon. "And to answer your question, Sky-Jelly-mon, that thing had a portal inside of it that leads back to the Digital world." She said, before both Nixie and Uver left. "No matter how you slice it, that was wild..." Jellymon said, as the small team began to head home.

_____________________________________________________________________________

The following Saturday, Casey decided to hold a small meeting with everyone in the group at the Blue Daisy Cafe for Brunch. "Zo, did Nixie tell you guyz if Ziztermon Ciel actually ended up going back to the Digital World?" Volectro asked while Vulk and Zaptor shared a Ham panini, while Kiyo only shook his head. "We don't really know. She only said that portal led to the Digital World. Plus, I'm more worried about us taking the go-karts without permission. And on a sidenote, how do you know Nixie, anyways?" The class representative asked, as Burnard laughed a bit. "Oh, that question's EASY to answer! This one time, He, Flain, Seismo, Slumbo, Kraw, and Chomly were arguing about who'd get to use a Cubit first, and she was spying on them!" The cat-like mixel added, as Teslo nodded with a small sigh. "In the end, Volectro's Ztatic Cling got her ztuck to his hair, and he ended up bringing her home to the Mountain City. Over time, zhe ended up opening up towardz the 3 of uz after we got her free. Juzt goez to zhow that not all Nixelz are evil. But it'z up to anyone'z guezz az to why zhe has a Digimon partner..." The Electroid leader explained, as Amber just smiled while drinking her Lemonade. "Either way, thanks for watching after Alya with the Cragsters yesterday. Aside from the whole thing with Sistermon Ciel, they had a lot of fun with the Go-Karts." The older Roark sister smiled. "Yeah, and another group outing like the one we had yesterday would be super awesome!" Alya added, causing Kiyo to freeze up. "I'll admit, the Go-Karts don't exactly seem like they're my true calling. This time, I actually found a couple of new rumors about the Sewn-" The youngest of the Roark Siblings tried to say, before Kiyo cut her off. "I'm sorry, Alya, but I just remembered Maya and I have to go...!" He muttered, gently grabbing his cousin by the wrist, as the two left the Cafe.

Angoramon looked up from a book that he was reading to Scorpi and Rose (As the Spikel leader had himself curled up around Angoramon's neck) and closed the book. "Fast like the wind, quiet like the forest." He began, reciting a brand-new Haiku. "And ultimately..." He took a breath, as he glanced over at Zorch, who was still contemplating last night's events, with Gammamon sitting next to him, eating some food. "The Prankster finds a way to be not only the fastest, but also the kindest." The rabbit-esque Digimon finished with a small smile on his face, as Casey was lost in thought about a few things that kept buzzing around in her mind. "So, not every single one of the Nixels in the armada are evil little jerks..." She told herself, playing around with the straw in her drink. "But what kind of place is the Digital World?" She then proceeded to ask herself, as she then took a minute to look over at the duo that had consisted of both Zorch and Gammamon sitting at the table next to her. "But one thing's definitely for sure- Planet Earth is really starting to change the Mixels, from what Gammamon told me... Although, Time will tell if all those changes are all gonna be for better, or for worse..."