"Are you sure this is going to work?" Gatomon asked, nervously. She was seated in a uncomfortable chair with electronic sensors taped to her head. "I mean, I'm not gonna get electrocuted or something?"

"Of course not," Professor Schoultz said. "We are merely going to try to figure out exactly where you come from. I'm sure the answer is in there, in your head. If I understand it correctly, A Digital World should be fairly easy to locate. The only thing you have to do is to think of your home and concentrate."

Gatomon did her best to remember her homeworld and her friends. It wasn't exactly hard, but the four days and nights she had spent in the Pokémon world had made a great impression on her. When they woke up that morning they had taken a tour in the Professor's lab. It was one of the strangest places she had seen, filled with half-finished machines and gadgets, some so strange that it was virtually impossible to guess their purpose. Finally they had found Professor Schoultz and Kadabra working on a gigantic machine that they soon realised was the Gateway. They seemed to have been working on it all night without sleeping. Meowth had explained that Psychic Pokémon could use a technique called Recover to regain their energy, and that they could meditate to replace sleep if they needed. He could however not explain how the Professor could still be as energetic and active as ever. And now he had her hooked up with his machine, requesting her to think about her home. No, it wasn't hard at all.

She snapped back to reality and concentrated harder. It didn't seem to work. She got a feeling that she would never see her friends again. Her friends…Suddenly Kari's face appeared before her inner eye.

"Bingo!" Professor Schoultz said. "I think we've found it!"

"Really?" Gatomon said. "No kidding?"

"Nope," the Professor said, reading the text appearing on a computer screen. "Everything seems to match, let's warm up the Gateway!"

A feeling of excitement rose inside Gatomon as Professor Schoultz and Kadabra started pushing buttons and pulling switches. For a moment the inner side of the large metallic ring that served as the actual Gateway was lit up by sparks. Slowly, very slowly, an image appeared inside the ring, fleeting as a curtain of smoke. She saw a green world full of life, a forest, and deep within she knew that she was looking at her homeworld.

But then something happened. The sparks became greater, the image fluttered madly.

"What is happening?" Professor Schoultz shouted.

"Kadabra!" Kadabra responded. "Kad-kadabra!"

Smoke started coming out of the back of the machine. The image of the Digital World disappeared totally.

"Turn it off!" Schoultz screamed and jumped up and down. "Turn it off!"

Kadabra hurried to pull the off-switch. The Machine died and became silent.

"What went wrong?" Gatomon asked. She was shocked, having been able to see her home, but not even get close to it. So close yet so distant.

"I don't know," Professor Schoultz confessed. "But don't be sad, it went even better then expected, and now we know where your home is. All we have to do is find out what's wrong with the machine."

"Wait, ya mean dat yous knew da machine was gonna malfunction?" Meowth asked.

"Well, that's what usually happens when I test my machines for the first time," Schoultz said and shrugged his shoulders. "They don't work, they burn up, they explode… We're actually lucky. This time it only started to smoke a little."

"But when will it be repaired?" Gatomon asked. "When can I go home to my friends?"

The professor seemed to ponder the question for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders and answered. "Oh, it should be fixed before supper, I estimate."

The very exact prediction silenced Gatomon, and Kadabra came over to her to help her remove the sensors from her head. Professor Schoultz had immediately opened up the machine and was trying to figure out the problem.

"Thank you," Gatomon said to Kadabra and looked around. "Where did Meowth go? He was here just a moment ago."

"He needs some time for himself," Kadabra 's voice said inside her mind. "He must come to terms with his problems on his own. But don't worry, he'll come around."

"There is one thing I don't understand," Gatomon said. "Meowth told me earlier today that your kind emit some kind of waves that give people headaches, and that they can cause machines to malfunction."

"Hardly traits suitable when working with someone like the professor, are they?" Kadabra chuckled. "When I first came to him, things really got out of hand in the beginning. I was just an Abra then, and my old trainer traded me for a rare Magnemite. Shortly thereafter I evolved into my current form, and suddenly clocks started to go backwards, the experiments failed or blew up and the professor complained over his headache. I was still young, and I was afraid he would resent me for my somewhat… negative effect on my surroundings." Kadabra sighed. "First I thought that he wanted me to evolve further, into an Alakazam, the most intelligent Pokémon known to exist. Alas, I have never been able to reach the level of experience needed. So instead I started to train my mind and harness my powers. Soon, I could damp the Alpha Waves created by my brain so that they would not affect my surroundings. As my telepathic powers grew, I learned that the professor didn't actually care about my level or evolution. He just wanted someone around to help out. Someone to talk to and exchange ideas with. And for the first time in a long, long time I felt pleased with just being me."

"You care allot for him, don't you?" Gatomon asked.

"Shhh," he put a finger over his mouth and smiled. "He might hear you."

"Well, I know the feeling," Gatomon continued. "I have someone special to me as well. I just hope that she haven't given up on me yet."

"Hope can get you far," Kadabra nodded. "You will se each other again, wait and see." He gave her a wry grin. "Any more personal questions?"

Gatomon laughed. "Well, for one thing, what's with the spoon?"

Meowth had indeed left the room after the failed try to open the Gateway. The disappointment in Gatomon's face had been too much to bear. He sat down and leaned his back against the wall, trying to sort out his rebellious feelings. He knew he should be glad that Gatomon was going home soon. After all, he had sacrificed everything short of his life to help her get that far. But he wasn't glad. Meeting Gatomon had revealed a side of Meowth he had never seen before and he wasn't sure he wanted to part with her until he had seen more of it.

"There you are," Gatomon said He turned his head and saw her entering the room. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he said and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry da Gateway didn't work."

"I was a bit disappointed, but you heard the professor. If everything works out I'll be home today."

"Good," Meowth said. "Well, good for yous, anyway."

"Thinking about your friends?" Gatomon asked.

"I can't help it," Meowth sighed. "I just wonda' what'll become of Meowth now."

Gatomon wanted to say something comforting, but couldn't think of anything. Instead she sat down next to him and leaned her back to the wall as well. "We're just two stray cats, eh?"

Meowth couldn't help but to smile a little. "I guess so, Gatomon."

"Aha!" the professor cried and held up a charred piece of circuits in his hand. "Just as I thought! The powergrid forced too much energy though the circuits, so they short-circuited."

"But what is then the source of the problem?" Kadabra asked in his own tongue. He didn't need to talk telepathically with the professor, he understood perfectly anyway.

"I don't know," Professor Schoultz confessed. "Yet." He started to walk around in circles with one hand to his head while making different gestures with the other. "It can't be the power matrix, we've already checked that. We have already singled out the different conduits in all powercells, and there is no trouble with the crystals or the computer." He stopped and looked at his Pokémon helper. "Could it be the strawberry jam?"

"Don't look at me, I'm not the one who came up with the idea to use the jam," Kadabra said.

"Maybe I should have used blueberry jam instead," Professor Schoultz said. He shook his head and got a determined look in his face. "We aren't getting anywhere. Time to use the Redeemer!"

"Are you sure you should do that?"" Kadabra asked and sweatdropped. "You know what your doctor said about the Redeemer."

"We have no choice!" Professor Schoultz shouted and walked over to a drawer from witch he retrieved a large wooden mallet. "It's the Redeemer or failure this time!"

"Please, professor," Kadabra tried. "Perhaps it's the…"

Without listening Professor Schoultz had whacked himself hard in the head with the mallet. Kadabra cringed involuntarily. The professor was now laying on the floor with a large bump on the head.

"Are you alright, professor?" Kadabra asked, fighting off his irritation.

Professor Schoultz immediately sat up. "Sector six through eighty, copy the six of the sum of the eight quadrant of nine plus four circles," he said in one breath. "Of course! The phase-packs are not in order! All we need to do is to modify the phase variance! I'm a genius!"

"That could be debated," Kadabra muttered.

"Oh, shut up and help me modify," Schoultz said. "Then go tell Gatomon that we can get her home." He did a silly little victory dance. "Oooh, I love to be this smart!"

Gatomon was even more excited now then before. The professor had assured her that everything would work fine, and even though he had a large bump on his forehead and acted a little more eccentric then usually, she believed that he knew what he was talking about.

"Charge up the gate," Schoultz ordered as he typed different command in on the machine's keyboard.

"Kadabra," Kadabra said and pulled the switch. The inner of the great circle started glowing once again. "Kadabra!"

"Co-ordinates targeted and locked," Schoultz continued. "Attempting to establish a transdimensional link!"

Within the Gateway blurry images started to form. Gatomon couldn't really see what was behind the thin veil of reality, but somehow she could feel it. It was her world.

"Give it more power!" Schoultz shouted. "We must break through, I'm not leaving it now!"

"Kadabra!" Kadabra replied and redirected the energy flow to substain the Gateway. Suddenly the circle filled with brilliant white light that flooded the room. Gatomon and Meowth had to shield their eyes with their paws. When they looked again, they both gasped amazement.

The Gateway no longer contained mere images, it was an opening. A hole straight through the very material of reality. And beyond…

"The Digital World," Gatomon whispered.

They could see trees, blue skies, flowers, the works. Just as real as anything. Gatomon suddenly realised that she was standing just a couple of metres from her home. She suppressed and urge to immediately jump through the portal. If she had waited so long she could wait long enough to take goodbye of her friend.

"It worked! I did it!" Professor Schoultz shouted and started jumping up and down like a maniac. "I did it! And they told me I was mad! Whahahahahaha!"

Gatomon felt a friendly paw on her shoulder. She looked at Meowth, who was smiling at her.

"We did it," he said. "We got yous home."

"I don't know how to thank you," Gatomon whispered. "I… I guess this is goodbye."

They both hugged each other tightly. "I'll miss you terribly," Gatomon said.

"Me to," Meowth responded, feeling a single tear run down his cheek.

When they broke the hug Kadabra came over to them and gently put his hand on Gatomon's head.

"I wish you good luck on your continued journey," he said. "I have not known you for long, Gatomon, yet it feels like loosing a dear friend. Farewell, and god speed."

"Thank you, Kadabra," she said with tears in her eyes. "I'll never forget you. Any of you." She turned to the professor, who was still gloating to himself. "Thank you, Professor Schoultz. I wish I could repay you in any way."

"I will be famous and… What? Oh, don't mention it. Having the Gateway operating is reward enough for me. Now go on."

She nodded and started walking towards the portal. She thought about her friends. Where they looking for her? Did they think she was dead? How was she going to find them again? But such questions felt unimportant. She was going home.

Suddenly she stopped and looked back on Meowth.

"Meowth," she said. "Why don't you come with me?"

"What?" Meowth asked. "To da Digital Woid?"

"Why not?" she asked. "I mean, it's not like you have much to loose or anything tying you to this place, now with Team Rocket wanting to see you dead and everything."

Meowth thought about it for a moment. Could he really leave his own world? But she had a point, what did he have to lose?

"You better decide," Professor Schoultz said. "The dimension rift is straining the machine, and I can't keep it open forever."

"Come on," Gatomon said. "It's a chance of a life-time."

Meowth realised the she was right. There was nothing in his own world that kept him there. Except for…

"Leaving on an adventure without us?" a familiar female voice asked. He turned around.

"Jessie?" he asked.

"And James!" James said. The two Rockets had somehow entered the building and had just entered the room.

"How did yous guys find Meowth?" Meowth asked.

"It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that," James answered. "I'm just glad we came in time to witness this."

"Meowth," Jessie said with a serious face and kneeled in front of him. "I want you to know that we are behind you no matter which way you chose. Right James?"

"Right," James said and nodded. "If you want to leave, it is your decision."

They tried to sound brave, but he could tell that they were trying to hold their tears back. As emotional as ever.

"Look," he said. "You two are Meowth's best friends in da woid, but yous know I can't stay here. Sooner or later da boss will get me. I wish dere was another way, but dere isn't. Besides," he glanced at the Digimon by the Gateway. "I wanna go with Gatomon."

"We.. we understand," Jessie said, but lost her composure in the last moment. She and James started crying and Jessie picked Meowth up, hugging him tightly.

"We'll miss you so much!" she sobbed.

"We'll never see you again!" James cried.

"Oh, nonsense," Professor Schoultz said.

"What?" Jessie and James stopped crying and looked on him. "What did you say?"

"What? You thought I would just disassemble the Gateway and forget about it after I sent Gatomon home?" he asked. "I might be crazy, but I'm not stupid. This is just the beginning! As soon as I have modified this prototype I'll establish another Gateway on the other side. I'm sure Sam and the other Pokémon-obsessed scientists would like to have a look on the Digimon. I'm sure you two will get another chance to see your Meowth again."

"Oh," Jessie said. "Well, that's… wonderful."

"Yeah," James said. "Never though of it that way."

Schoultz sighed and shook his head. "People."

"Well, are you coming?" Gatomon asked.

"Now would be a good time to leave," Schoultz warned. "It won't stay up much longer."

Meowth sided with Gatomon and took her paw in his. The turned to face the others.

"Bye you guys," Gatomon said and waved. "Thanks for everything."

"Bye!" Meowth said. "I'll miss yous guys."

"Take care," Jessie said and waved back.

"Yeah, keep out of trouble," James said.

"Kadabra!" Kadabra said and waved.

The two cats turned to the Gateway again.

"So, are you ready?" Gatomon asked.

"As ready as I'll eva' be," Meowth said. "Let's do it."

And thus, they took the step through the Gateway. Meowth didn't know what was awaiting him in the new world, but he was sure of one thing; he was in for a heck of an adventure. And he was right.

***

Thank you for reading through my entire story. Reviews, good as well as constructive, are as usual more then welcome. For those who wonders what happened to Meowth and Gatomon in the Digital World, I'll be happy to announce that I have a follow-up in mind, which will take place in the Digital World and mainly be about it's affect on visiting Pokémon. And believe me, the effects are quite impressive stuff. However, this has to wait until I know more about the Dark Master's period of Season 1. Until then, please tell me what you think of this work so that I may evolve into a better writer. Also, look out for my upcoming Digimon fanfic, "Live by the Sword" and stay tuned for further chapters of "The Pokémon Hunters".