The Digital World has seen both good days and bad days.
It has been known to bring peace, but terror can come and interrupt the notion.
Insert the role of the Digimon Emperor...or the role that he used to have.
During his reign, he was responsible for enslaving harmless Digimon through dark rings and controlling them as a form of entertainment. He never knew the trouble that he started – only when everything subsided that he realized his errors. Since then, the Digidestined were working hard to clean up the mess that the Emperor left.
"So, gang, here we are…" Davis Motomiya, the leader of the Digidestined, stated once the gang was in the Digital World.
"Yep, nothing feels better than a calm, breezy day where we can kick back and relax," Yolei Inoue added.
"Yolei, you know why we came here in the first place," Cody Hida stated to the older teen.
"Yeah, c'mon guys," TK Takaishi started out. "We have to work on fixing what the Digimon Emperor left behind for us after his destruction."
"Well, to me, that seems like a cruddy job, but it still needs to be done," Kari Kamiya said, letting the others know what was on her mind.
"Yeah, just like a cruddy being would do; bring chaos to the world and leave for the good guys to clean up; what a jerk…" Davis said spitefully.
The other Digidestined looked at each other in solemn expression, knowing that Davis had a point to his known feelings towards the Emperor for enslaving his Digimon partner, Veemon, on his second day in the Digital World.
"Davis."
TK decided to aid in the cause as he approached his friend. "I know you still feel miffed for what he did to you and Veemon, but can you please set it aside to concentrate on working for a few hours?"
Davis inhaled deeply and, letting all the hatred out of him by exhaling, turned to TK with a satisfying smile on his face.
"Sure thing, thanks again," was the leader's response, to which TK returned with a smile.
Ever since the whole Veemon fiasco, Davis and TK's friendship has only grown stronger with each obstacle they had to overcome with the Emperor. Their once-known 'rivalry' was a thing of the past. This even pleased Kari, knowing that she doesn't have the added pressure of two of her closest friends hating each other.
"With that out of the way, does anybody know what needs to be done?" Kari asked.
"Ooh yeah, almost forgot," Yolei said, pulling out her D-Terminal, "I've taken the liberty of mapping out the five sectors that need the most work done. The first location is the mountains up in the north."
"Do you know what needs to be done?" TK questioned.
"Not really sure, but from the occupant's point, they want some planting done."
"I think this could be a job for us, right TK?" Patamon, the cute bat-like creature, asked his partner.
"Yeah, I guess we can go there; see you guys," and with that, they were off.
"Okay, with that section covered, the town off in the east can use a bit of clean-up with some helpers serving lunch at this time of day."
"Did ya hear that, Cody?" Armadillomon, Cody's partner, exclaimed in his southern accent. "We could help out and get a free meal; just like killin' two stones with one bird, eh buddy?"
"I think you got that idiom messed up Arma…hey, wait for me!" Cody didn't have time to comply as the yellow-shelled armadillo raced towards the city, Cody close behind.
"Alright…up next is down south where the water farms are located."
"Sweet, guess like that's my kind of place."
As Davis ended his comment, he was about to head on down until Kari spoke.
"Wait, Davis – I kind of wanted to head there…I think it would be best for Gatomon and me."
"I agree," Veemon, Davis's partner, said, "I'm fine with you both going down there."
With that, the dragon quickly gave a wink in Gatomon's direction, making the white feline smile.
Since their heart-to-heart back in the cave after Veemon was rescued from the Emperor, Veemon and Gatomon have started to take things real slow. They easily found some solid ground on what was already a great friendship, but they've kept the relationship part secret from the rest of the group for a while now.
"Well, if Veemon says so, then you guys can take it," Davis told the duo.
"Really; thanks, Davis!" Kari flashed a smile at her friend.
"Well, enough waiting around; the faster we are done, the sooner I get to enjoy a catnap," Gatomon commented as she and Kari left.
"So…there is only one more section left, and that is the lake, which is where you two will be working."
"Wait, hold it!" Veemon abruptly said to Yolei, "What about the other section? Why don't we get a say?"
"Well," Hawkmon, Yolei's partner, flew closer to Veemon before saying, "the only section is the beach off to the west, and knowing Yolei, she would kill for that."
The crimson hawk shot a glance over at Yolei, whose facial expression read his exact words.
"Umm, yeah, beach for us. See you guys!"
Before any protest could be held, Yolei quickly departed towards the beach with Hawkmon following behind.
"Well buddy," Davis reassured to the little blue dragon, "guess like we have the lake."
"Let's hope it's nothing too back-breaking."
'Growing plants…on a mountainside…?'
TK abruptly pushed the thought aside for what seemed to have been the hundredth time as he continued making soil spots with the hoe, while a Gotsumon planted some seeds.
"I know what you're thinking," the rock-type Digimon said, "and we honestly hope that something will flourish out of these seeds with some precise watering in the next few weeks."
The boy nodded as his partner came by, a watering can firmly within his paws, pouring water over the buried seeds.
"So, how much more needs to be done?" TK asked.
"Well, the only other task is taking those boulders, pushing them up the mountain, and into a nearby ditch – after that, everything will be good."
TK wearily added a smile to his face as he spotted the pile nearby.
"Alright, I'll get to that then."
The Gotsumon beamed, proud of his helpers for what they have accomplished. TK couldn't gripe, but deep down, he was already spent after his basketball scrimmage against Davis. Sure, he won considering he was the better player of the two, but that didn't make the win all that easier to take.
"TK, are you sure you can do this?" Patamon asked as the duo headed towards their final task.
"No, but once we are done, we can go visit Kari and Gatomon; besides, I have this strange feeling that someone else is here."
"Someone else – like another person?"
"Well, not another person…but I think there is another threat in the Digital World…"
"There ya go; man, you sure stir like a pro."
The RedVegiemon was surely amazed by the hard work Cody was putting in with his time in the town. The half of a dozen Gazimon that were there also gave thanks as they will be handed some delicious lunch to munch on.
As the fire was close to wearing down, RedVegimon took notice and wasn't pleased.
"Hey, we need more wood! C'mon now, don't you disappoint me!"
As satisfied as he was with Cody, the red vegetable-like Digimon didn't return that feeling with Armadillomon, and as the rookie waddled over with a heave of wood strapped to his back, it became evident on why the leader felt dissatisfied.
"Oh man, is this hard or what? When will we get served?"
"Armadillomon," Cody looked down towards his partner in scorn, "We aren't here to feast, but are here to work…for the seventh time."
"Well, pardon me, but I didn't see ya acting like this when you were back in school. Ooh, reading a paragraph with a stone-cold expression sure sounded like you cared," Armadillomon retorted.
"Listen," RedVegiemon stated as he took the wood and chucked it into the pit, "I don't care what has been going on, but if you don't shape up, you won't eat, understand!"
Armadillomon sighed. "Understood," and with that, he was off to retrieve more wood.
"Ooh, the lake, it shouldn't be that back-breaking huh? Yeah, this doesn't seem back-breaking at all!"
Davis certainly had the room to openly mock his partner. Building a dam took a lot of logs…huge, thick logs at that. And with only a handful of Vegiemon and Numemon around, the duo felt as though they didn't have any support.
"Well, excuse me for not knowing that we had to build a dam for the Digimon here!" Veemon bellowed, clearly fuming with his partner's lack of respect.
"Guys, are we going to work on finishing this dam or not?" One of the Vegiemon asked impatiently.
Davis and Veemon both sighed, knowing that their little feud was far from over. Both agreeing, the ensemble got back to constructing.
"How is it possible for a beach to be this dirty?"
Yolei did a double take on her surroundings and was still left aghast. The beachside was littered with shards of wood from a few boats and a nearby pier, which will need to be rebuilt after the cleanup.
"Well, you can only blame yourself for this," Hawkmon said.
"Oh, don't even get me started right now."
"Are you still upset over that little chemistry accident you had back at school." Hawkmon shook his head and chuckled, "I have to say, the sight was pretty hilarious."
"Hey, are you two here to help?"
The duo glanced to their right to see a lone Woodmon strutting over.
"Yeah…what do you need?"
"Oh, nothing too strenuous," the little tree structured Digimon started to say, "I have some of my pals and a few Gizamon building the boats and the pier—"
"Oh, thank goodness."
As Yolei commented, the snap of wood could be heard in the distance.
"Blast it – broke another one."
Woodmon slowly nodded his head at the statement. "Yeah, we aren't the best of builders, so it's going to take some time to clean everything up."
"Ooh…" was the only reply that the preteen could utter.
"We'll get right on it!" Hawkmon gave a small salute towards the fellow rookie before turning his attention towards Yolei.
"Well, accidents do tend to happen…c'mon, let's get the cleanup over with. Who knows, maybe they will luck out and become perfectionists in a split second."
"Oh, Yolei," Hawkmon shook his head, "please follow that little ritual the humans do…something about knocking on wood."
Seeing his partner grin, Yolei sighed and replied, "Oh, you are something else."
Her words dripped with sarcasm as the avian began to laugh at the response.
Kari glanced at the work her group had completed with elation.
"Okay guys, everything seems to be done."
In only a matter of hours, a plethora of newly rich soil was planted and watered that led up to the newly constructed bridge. The group of Geckomon and Bakemon were all pleased with the work they accomplished.
Although the girl was pleased, she felt a bit bothered at Gatomon, as the feline immediately made her way under a nearby tree, laying down in an attempt to snooze
"Hey, sleepy head," Kari commented as she wondered over and started to poke at her partner, "you can have your catnap when we arrive home, okay?"
Gatomon opened one eye and let out a simple whimper, her slumber being short lived.
"C'mon, all we need to do is wait for the others and—"
Before Kari could finish, she heard TK's voice and watched as he and Patamon crossed the bridge.
"We need to talk."
"…Okay, about what?"
"I think…there might be someone else here…another threat…" TK stated slowly, his eyes darted rapidly from left to right.
"Really, is that so?"
"Well, it's only a feeling that I have, but—"
"Look, as much as this new threat talk is needed, can it wait until later?"
The duo looked down to see Gatomon, standing on her hind legs, a bitter expression upon her face.
"I'm exhausted."
"Was it that bad?"
Before the Digimon could begin their conversation about the respective work duties, Kari and TK agreed to discuss the matter of a new threat later. As all four members made it back to the original starting point, they openly pondered on one pair.
"It seems kind of strange that Davis and Veemon aren't back here…was their task more gruesome than originally thought of?"
"I don't think so," Kari responded to TK, "hopefully they are alright…besides, what immediate danger could they possibly get themselves into?"
"Davis, we've been walking for a while now…what's the matter?"
Veemon was getting a bit tired as he and Davis continued to walk through the forest after their daunting task was completed.
"The others will eventually worry about us."
"Don't worry – we'll be heading back soon."
"You don't think anyone is worried about us?"
"Not one bit; besides, I still need some time to clear my head."
"Why? Was it about that stupid game beforehand?"
Davis sighed. "No, Veemon, it's not that."
"Good, because I heard from Patamon that you got whooped…an embarrassing game from you."
"Yeah, so what – I'm better at soccer and TK's better at basketball, simple as that."
A few more seconds passed before Davis asked, "Wait, you didn't see the game?"
Veemon turned his head away as he started to blush, a small tint of pink appearing on his cheeks, not wanting Davis to see.
"Well, I kind of saw some of it, but I was distracted."
"By what, may I ask?"
"Well…it was…Gatomon."
His blush turned a shade darker towards scarlet, but he didn't care; he felt fine coming out and saying it.
"I mean, the way she was dancing along the banister…it felt better to watch than your awful scrimmage."
"That's nice and all, but I thought you only saw her as a friend…"
It took Davis a few more seconds before it hit him. "Ooh, now I get it, you love Gatomon!" Davis said in a singsong voice.
"No, I don't."
His blush reached maroon, trying not to break. "I only see her as a friend."
"Only as a friend…or more than a friend; c'mon, Vee, you are talking to the guru of getting girls in an instant, and you obviously don't see Gatomon as only a friend."
As Davis continued, the dragon became more furious. Sure, he likes Gatomon more than he before their heart-to-heart, but he was trying his best not to make the push towards a relationship, as he has said time and time again that he wants to wait.
'Why can't Davis see that I don't want to talk about this now…?'
"C'mon, I'll stop talking if you admit that I'm right – you are in love with her."
Veemon broke him off right then and there. "Davis, I do not want to talk about it. For the moment, Gatomon and I are good friends. Whether something does arise, I will let you know, but until then, I would appreciate it if you would drop the subject!"
"…Look, I only want to know if you love her or not. There is no excuse for you to yell at me."
"No, Davis, there is a reason. You won't stop pushing until you get an answer and only one that you are satisfied with. It happens all the time – you push and push until I break and end up caving in! Well, it's not working this time, so back off!" With that, the blue dragon turned his back on his partner.
"Seriously, you think I'm like that; you need a reality check," Davis implied while deciding to give Veemon a little push from behind.
Veemon turned towards Davis, his mood turning bitterer. "Oh, so you want to play like that; okay then, let's play."
Before Davis could blink, Veemon was running full charge at him. With nothing else to do the leader began to run in the opposite direction.
"I swear when I get my hands on you, you are going to be so dead!"
"Why, just because you won't admit the fact that you are all lovey-dovey with Gatomon and can't get her off of your mind?"
"Shut up about her!"
As the duo approached a long and narrow bridge, Veemon came to a screeching halt as he let Davis crossed halfway.
"How many times do I need to repeat myself, I don't want to talk about it right now!"
The next statement that came out of Veemon's mouth was one that the little fella was not too pleased with. "Geez, you're worse than the Emperor sometimes!"
Hearing that statement from his partner struck a nerve somewhere in Davis. 'Worse than the Emperor…how in the world do you come up with that?'
"Really," Davis said, "you think that I'm worse than the same Emperor who had you enslaved and controlled for a matter of hours. Yeah, I guess I'm that low of a guy to you, huh? It's a nice feeling when you know what your partner thinks of you. Have I ever lashed out at you before when you kept asking me repetitive questions? No, not once! What makes it right for you to do it to me?"
Davis gripped the ropes that held the bridge upright, his eye contact not breaking free from his partner. He wanted an answer from Veemon so badly, his body struggling with containing itself.
Veemon didn't know how to respond; his body was rushing with adrenaline. He didn't like the statement that came out, but at the same time, he felt like Davis deserved it.
"Good answer," Davis said, a rush of jubilation running through his veins. Whipping out his D-Terminal, Davis planned to send a message back to the others that he and Veemon were both fine and will return shortly, in case one of them were worried.
'What in the world is he doing?'
Veemon began to ponder before his eyes widened, as only one thought ran through his mind.
'Ooh, you better not be telling Kari!'
Rushing over to his partner, Veemon was able to successfully roundhouse kick the device from his partner's hands. Davis watched in awe as it fell into the river, and as he turned towards the dragon – his eyes striking mad – the boy didn't know how to counteract.
"For the last time Davis…stop it!"
"…Veemon, what…why would you—?"
"No, don't talk to me! I can't stand it when you torture me to no end! You think I'm going to sit back and watch you ruin something that I might have a chance with Gatomon at because you can't have one with someone else, huh?"
"Listen, it wasn't what it looked like; all I was sending was—"
"Don't play me for dumb, Davis! I knew what you were going to send, and for what reason? Was it because you thought you could ruin something that I've been wanting for months now?"
"…You're repeating yourself. If you would listen to me before—"
"I want an answer; it's as simple as that."
Davis crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders, allowing his partner to get the picture.
"…Well then, now that we have that settled," Veemon started as he walked across the bridge, "I need some alone time."
Once reaching the end, the Digimon made sure that his partner got the message loud and clear.
"Don't come crying for my help when you need it; you won't get it at all!"
"It's been at least a half hour…probably a bit longer. I'm sorry, but they should have been back by now."
"Will you please stop worrying, they'll be okay."
TK sighed and nodded, knowing that Kari was right in this case. As they continued onto another subject, their partners started their own conversation.
"So, how have you and Veemon been lately?"
Gatomon shifted her lips from side to side before answering, "Oh…things have been well, I mean being friends and all…"
Patamon nodded. "Mhm, yeah, so who will make the first move?"
As the bat-like critter used his wings to nudge the feline, a sense of victory flown through him as a small bit of laughter escaped her.
When she calmed down a bit, she gave a small, worried glance towards Kari's direction, and noticing her deep within her conversation with TK, said, "Well…it's tough – I like us being close friends, and I'm not sure when we would elevate our friendship to the next level, but I…I haven't told Kari anything. She should figure out that Veemon and I are good friends, similar to the two of us, but there's a bit more than that with him…and coming out is going to be a bit tough."
Patamon slowly nodded his head, understanding Gatomon's woes.
"Look – all of that will come in time. You and Veemon will continue to grow, and when that connection becomes solid, then the feelings will come…and when that happens, you two will be official. Now, with Kari…this may be hard to hear, but that will have to come from you. It won't be easy, and she may not accept it right away, but if you give her time to come around, she could be fine with your relationship."
Gatomon smiled wearily. "You are right with Veemon and I having to have a sense of feeling, but I'm still uncertain about Kari."
"If I know one thing about your partner, it is this…she cares about you, way more than you realize. And you probably recognize that as well, but you are allowing some form of pre-judgment to get in your way. Give her time, and wait until she approaches you with what is occurring between you and Veemon, and when that happens, she will be accepting."
The feline spent the next minute mulling over her friend's words. Giving a more re-assuring smile, she approached and embraced him.
"Thanks for that – you're right, it's all about the timing."
"Hey, have I been wrong before?" he asked, returning the gesture.
Before she could answer, they – along with their partners – were taken back by a loud roar and a scream off in the distance.
"Should have listened to my instinct," TK muttered.
"…Or, this is something that he walked into by complete accident," Kari responded.
As the boy turned towards his friend, she raised an eyebrow before stating, "Maybe next time, you let your thoughts do the talking."
"Alright, students – raise your bokken firmly upward and strike down."
The half dozen Gazimon glanced at each other, a stick in their grasp.
"…A what?"
"Your bokken is the sword that you are holding."
"…But it's a stick."
"Yeah," another Gazimon spoke, "and plus when are we going to get to the good stuff?"
Cody sighed and shook his head before a small smile escaped his lips. "It all comes in time; however, you must first learn the basics."
The bunch of hybrids solemnly nodded and did as their teacher instructed.
"Good, now please remember—"
Whatever the boy was trying to say was drowned by the sound of slurping.
"Ooh, boy, this hit the spot…oh, thank…"
A stern expression coming from his partner made Armadillomon halt his statement.
"Umm," the armadillo lifted a paw towards his head, his mouth covered in red, "I'll be back to eating…quietly, though."
With that, the Digimon returned to his post-work snack. Cody took a minute to compose before heading over to RedVegimon, overlooking the scene before him from atop a trunk.
"Thank you," the boy politely bowed before continuing, "for allowing me to teach, and on behalf of my partner, for allowing him to eat."
RedVegimon beamed, his smile never leaving as he glanced around.
"No problem; however, it is I that should be thanking you and your partner because I do not know how we would have managed."
As Cody nodded, the seemingly peaceful scene was cut thanks to a thunderous roar, followed by a scream, off in the distance.
"That scream…it sounded like it came from Davis," Cody mumbled, his finger grazing his chin, "I hope he's not in too much trouble."
"…Well, whatever that was, he better not come for my food."
Cody extended his right hand from grazing to a face-palm as he spotted his partner, clutching the bowl within his claws as though his life depended on it.
Thankful for a nearby wooden stairwell, Davis wasted no time in racing down towards the river. Staring out into the distance, he spotted his D-Terminal on the shore only a couple of feet away.
'Oh, thank goodness – that could have ended up way, way worst…'
Making his way towards the electronic device, Davis let out a harsh sigh as he spotted water inside the crease of the cover.
"Well, this will need to be fixed," he muttered, opening the case and seeing water trapped within the glass.
'Why would he do such a thing?'
As he walked along the shoreline, trying to see if pressing any of the buttons will aid his device in some way, his thoughts delve into his confrontation with Veemon. Before long, those thoughts were cut off when he felt something strange under his feet.
"What in the…"
Peeling away from the D-Terminal, Davis became uneasy as he stood in a pool of thick, gray goop. As he heard a low growl from nearby, he turned towards the sound and saw a Tortomon, standing on only three legs, as his left hind leg was bent upward.
"Oh…my…" Davis connected the dots and now had his hand covering his mouth.
Before anything else could come out, the tortoise roared in a fierce manner, not pleased with the disturbance. Davis followed with a yell of his own, as he broke away from the substance and bolted from the displeased Champion-level Digimon, who took off after a measly couple of seconds.
"Finally!"
Yolei threw her arms in jubilation after throwing the last piece of snapped wood into the enormous pile. With her work completed, she ran towards the body of water, stopping short of the shoreline, and allowed her feet to feel the rumbles crashing in and moving out.
"Now this is why I chose the setting," she said, a smile reaching towards her sparkling eyes.
"Umm, Yolei…"
Not noticing her partner's mumbling statement, the girl snapped into reality upon hearing a familiar scream.
"What in the…Davis!"
She saw him scrambling towards her direction, the Tortomon approaching on his heels.
"Oh, for the love of…"
As she shook her head and mumbled, and as the irritation inside of her grew from the lack of work that was being done by the leader – that paled in comparison to his next action.
"Perfect!" the boy cried out as he made his way over to the woodpile, turning his attention towards the tortoise.
"Come and get me!"
Tortomon didn't waste any time, pouncing towards Davis. At the last second, the boy dove out of the way of the attack and continued on down the beach.
"You little…"
If looks could kill, Davis would have been six feet under – but the Tortomon would have the last say in that, as he shook his body out of the pile and trampled on forward, bellowing once more.
"Say, Yolei?"
"…What is it now, Hawkmon?"
The avian scratched his face, a hesitant look forming in his eyes. Nevertheless, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
"You forgot to knock on the wood, eh?"
Not even an uptalk ending with a curious smile could break through to the distraught teen.
"I said no, but he pestered on…ohh, the nerve of—"
A split second later and Veemon had a rock in his hand, eyes shooting daggers.
"No, it's not worth it."
Allowing the hardened element to fall towards the dirt, the dragon continued on his walk.
"Was it wrong? Did I act out?"
With each question stated and his arms outstretching, showing the magnitude of his words, he stopped and lightly chuckled.
"Maybe I do need whatever the rest of the humans talk about…I think it was counseling."
Enunciating the word and tapping a finger to his chin in deep thought, Veemon shrugged his shoulders. Setting his eyes on the wide plateau that started to form, the rookie allowed his feet to feel the soft grass for the first time that day.
"This is what I need right now," he whispered, laying down on the grass and looking up at the clear sky, allowing his mind to drift.
"Say, don't I know you from somewhere?"
Only a few moments of relaxation came and gone before a familiar voice perked Veemon's attention. Picking his head up from the ground, he saw approaching him the Drimogemon that his group helped freed from the Emperor only a few months ago.
"Hey!" the dragon gave a warm smile as he saw the familiar face drew near. "How have things been with you?"
"Oh, you know, spending my time trying not to be enslaved by the Emperor…again…"
"…You know, we kind of took care of the Emperor, like, last week, right?"
The expression that the Champion-level mole wore was one of pure bewilderment.
"…Wait, what? He's gone?"
Veemon nodded, although a second later he had wished he didn't as he felt the muscular arms of Drimogemon engulf him in a bear hug.
"It's been a long time coming! Thank you, little buddy!"
After a few seconds, the dragon was free, falling to the grass hard. Taking a minute to compose, he said, "Yeah…no problem."
"You seem a bit weary…something happened?"
Veemon bit his lip, not wanting to say anything at the moment.
'Well, everything was fine until the death grip you put on me…but talking my feelings out will help.'
"Davis – who is my partner – and I got into a bit of a scuffle, and I—"
"What was the scuffle about?"
Sighing inaudibly, Veemon said, "The scuffle started because Davis egged me on about my friendship with Gatomon, and it got to a point where it shouldn't have gotten to."
Drimogemon nodded. "I see – so you both aren't doing so well?"
The dragon rubbed his eyes, showing his frustration.
"Okay…well, not to be a downer but…" the mole looked towards the sun, "I don't want to be lunch."
"…Lunch to what?"
"The Tortomon that roams around these parts…he's a pain, and trust me, you don't want to cross paths with him."
Hearing the sound of rubble coming down from the nearby cliff, Drimogemon glanced and nodded, "Well, it'll be that human today."
"That human…" Veemon muttered before taking a closer look.
"Wait…that's, that's Davis!"
"…Oh, hey, that's your partner."
The worried expression that was being worn currently turned into a deadpan.
"I need you," Veemon slowly stated, "to transport me up there, please!"
"…That doesn't seem like a good idea; I mean, it's a real high cliff – one wrong move, you fall, and then die."
The dragon rubbed his temple, shaking his head from side to side.
"Am I wrong? Or—"
Deciding to take another approach, Veemon rushed towards the mole and leaped onto his back, giving him a good kick to his sides. Drimogemon immediately obeyed and, using his alicorn, started digging into the ground to create a route towards the action.
'Why do I always find myself in these situations?'
This was the only thought that looped through Davis's mind as the Tortomon inched closer, pushing the boy within a few feet from the edge of the cliff.
With one glance over his shoulder, Davis gasped and screamed out the first name that came to him.
"Veemon, help!"
Right on cue, Drimogemon emerged from the ground with the blue dragon on his back.
"Davis!"
As the rookie leaped off of the mole, his expression changing from fear to determination, he felt a sudden rush of energy explode throughout his body.
"Woah!" Davis cried as his digivice started to glow with his partner showing the same illusion.
Veemon, Digivolve to…
As the boy and the enemy locked eyes towards the bright ball that encompassed Veemon, they both saw the dragon undergo a transfiguration like nothing else. Witnessing the body expand as the data multiplied at incredible speed, it was only a matter of time before the rookie became a full-fledged champion.
…ExVeemon.
The newly sprouted Digimon landed on the group, his eyes still showing the determined grit he previously wore. Now, about four times bigger than his rookie self, ExVeemon bore with him a fresh set of wings and an oddly-shaped 'X' imprinted on his torso.
"You…you digivolved?" Davis sounded puzzled as he laid eyes on his partner.
A nod was the only response that the boy received before the battle commenced.
"How about picking on someone your own size – Vee-Laser!"
Before the Tortomon could interject, he felt the sting of the laser impale his body, sending him back. As the tortoise landed, he shook off the attack and lunged towards ExVeemon, using his Spinning Attack.
The attack was a success, as ExVemmon flew back towards his companion.
"Umm…keep it up?" Drimogemon tried his best to sound enthusiastic but fell on deaf ears as he saw the grown dragon laid a punch on the tortoise's face.
"Now to finish you off for good!"
Leaping over to Tortomon's backside, ExVeemon grinned as he gripped the tail and started to lift and swing the tortoise in a counter-clockwise manner, using a technique he saw a couple of times. After a solid couple of seconds, the dragon released his grip, sending Tortomon off of the cliff and into the terrain below.
"…Wow, ExVeemon, that was amazing – thanks!"
As the Digimon de-digivolved back into his rookie form, the expression he wore halted Davis in his tracks.
"Yeah, sure thing – we still need some time alone, so I'll stay here for the night. Drimogemon will keep me company for the time being."
This was news to the mole, still in his self-made crater. Nodding his head, he said, "Yeah…I can do that; hope you don't mind?"
Davis sighed. "Fine – see you tomorrow."
And with that, Davis departed from the Digimon.
"Finally!"
The boy flinched as he heard his friend exclaim when she saw him approach.
"We thought you were a goner – what happened?"
Before Davis could respond to Kari's question, TK piped up with one of his own.
"Say, where's Veemon?"
Putting his hands up in defense, Davis said, "Look, we got a bit tangled in a situation—"
"With that huge Digimon! Thanks to you, I had—"
"Yolei! Now's not the time."
As Cody tried to keep the preteen calm before she erupted, Davis drew another sigh and rubbed his eyes, fatigue starting to set in.
"I would love to explain, but can this wait until later?"
With the leader close to begging, the rest nodded as they head back home. Landing in the classroom after the transportation session, Davis made his dash towards home, hoping that his parents weren't too worried about his disappearance.
"Where have you been mister; your mother and I were starting to worry?"
Davis shook his head as his father lashed out upon entering the front door.
'Well, so much for thinking that they wouldn't mind…'
"Sorry Dad, and sorry Mom, but I got carried away with a school project and I forgot to call you and the time went by so fast…"
A small glimmer of hope hung in the balance that they would buy into his little white lie; alas, that glimmer became non-existent by his mother's remark.
"You've been having a lot of these late nights, honey – are you sure it's nothing more than school work?"
Rubbing his eyes in frustration, Davis couldn't take any more of the questions.
"Jeez, what else do you want from me! It was only schoolwork; it's almost the end of the term and I don't want my grades to slip, is that so much to ask?"
He knew some rest was much needed, so with the latest remark, he went straight to his bedroom.
As he lied down on the bed, Davis pondered one simple notion.
'How long will this charade keep up…telling them it's because of school? Pretty soon, I'll be on break, and then what will be my excuse then…wonder if they should know what is happening? Then again, how will the rest take it news?'
Without a second thought, Davis booted up his computer, and in a matter of minutes, was typing out a message to the rest of the Digidestined. Saving the thought that his D-Terminal still needs to be fixed for tomorrow, Davis drifted off to sleep.
MESSAGE
From: Davis
To: Group Digidestined
Subject: …
'Look, guys, I don't know about you but I want to tell my family what's been happening…'