Chapter 02: Guys' Night Out
With the boon of digivice-wielders following the fall of MaloMyotismon, Starmon's former-ghost town was revitalized by tourism until a gaggle of Old West digimon decided to take up a permanent residence. Now the sheriff's saloon bustled with newfound energy and chatter, the majority of which was centralized around the card table where one of the Chosen he encountered long ago was battling it out with the locals and a posh passing city-slicker.
Sweating anxiously, Daisuke left his hand lingering over his opponent's cards. Never had a game of Old Maid been so nerve-racking.
Why did I suggest we move the party to the Digital World? Why did I agree to this bet?
"Choose carefully, Daisuke," the groom playfully reminded his protégé. "Remember, loser covers everyone's bar tab for the night."
"I know PrinceMamemon was the one boasting his wealth and gambling skills, but did we really have to push Daisuke into taking up that bet?" Ken asked.
"Hey, if he and Koushiro didn't drink everything Taichi and I bought for the party, we wouldn't have had to jump to the Digital World where saloons don't card minors," Yamato reminded the high school student. "Besides, it's not like you and Iori are drinking tonight, right?"
Ken shuddered. He remembered a little more than a year ago, his brain screeching like a howler monkey before he discovered several unflattering doodles scribbled on his skin. "No, never again."
"See, Daisuke, there's two less tabs you have to pay if you lose," Yamato beamed.
"Thanks, Ken" was all the appreciation the goggle-head could muster. A cursory glance at his hand revealed he had drawn the joker.
"Hey, Yamato, your brother's playing with the ring again," Taichi noted with a nod towards the bar where Takeru was fiddling with a small box in his hands.
"Seriously?" his best friend groaned, finally breaking his attention away from the game. "I know I told him to hold onto it for safekeeping but what is his fascination with that thing?"
Takeru flipped open the velvet box.
Nestled within the silk-lined padding sat an elegant silver band adorning three diamonds, the center stone double the size of its companions. His brother had commissioned for the Crest of Love to be engraved into the heart of the largest jewel, but for the life of him, Takeru couldn't find it whenever he peered into the shimmering rock.
Seems kind of ridiculous to pay for beauty no one will ever see.
Then again, the wedding band the young blonde was scrutinizing had been paid for by Yamato's cut of his band's tour last year. Poetic whimsies were less absurd and more romantic when you had ample scratch to satiate them.
Maybe if three publishers in a row hadn't shot my novel down. . . .
The teenage Takaishi shut the box with a resigned sigh.
"You okay, Takeru?" a voice inquired from beside him. "You seem distracted."
"Yeah, weddings just make me nervous is all," Takeru admitted sheepishly. Taking a small swig of his beer, he added, "Not drinking tonight, Iori?"
"Nah," the youngest Chosen shook his head. "With Jou off earning his medical degree and Koushiro out of commission for the night, someone has to help Ken stay sober and keep watch."
The teenager face-planting the bar surface beside them murmured a weary, "Prodigous. . . ."
"What was he celebrating with Daisuke earlier anyways?" Takeru wondered as he threw an incredulous glance at the incapacitated Izumi.
"I'm not sure, but it must have been something big if it turned Koushiro into Taichi," Iori remarked.
"Why, the first Chosen wedding of course. What else is it going to be?" Yamato sauntered over with an ear-to-ear grin. Mischievously, he added to the younger Takaishi, "By the way, you should put that ring away before we have to celebrate the second Chosen wedding."
Face flushed, Takeru tucked the box back into his left pocket. The elder Ishida placed his hand reassuringly on his little brother's shoulder. "I'm just joking. I know you're having trouble handling the wedding. Breath and process it at your own pace, Takeru."
Exhaling slowly, Takeru managed to give his older sibling a relieved smile as Yamato handed him a new beer and clinked glasses.
"I'm glad you're enjoying your 'bachelor party', Yamato, but shouldn't you be keeping an eye on the other with all these digimon around?" Iori pressed worriedly
"Eh. Ken's got 'em covered," Yamato shrugged between gulps. " Besides, unlike Koushiro here, our two fearless leaders can handle themselves."
"Actually we may want to intervene soon," the brunette observed as he leapt off the bar stool.
"What are you tal—"
"SMILEY WARHEAD!"
"TERRA FORCE!"
"Get the digimon through the portal! Hurry!"
Through the alcohol-fueled haze of jumbled thoughts, Daisuke still managed to assume his leadership role in a crisis.
PrinceMamemon, perennial sore loser and owner of a bar tab bordering one million digidollars, was in hot pursuit and WarGreymon, the only partner digimon capable of digivolving to mega due to his partner's excessive (liquid) courage, could only hold him back for a few more and Iori had already dragged Koushiro's passed out form through the gate, but as the thunderous clash grew louder and louder, the intrepid Motomiya was doing his best to corral the remaining partner digimon into the TV and back to the Real World.
"Come on, Wormmon!" he boomed. As Takeru scooped up the terrified rookie and unceremoniously heaved him across the threshold, Daisuke muttered, "How can someone with so many legs be so slow?"
"Taichi! I can't maintain this much longer!" WarGreymon called out as he rushed toward the Chosen children awaiting him at the gate. Almost on cue, his power quickly faded and an exhausted Agumon fell onto the dirt road with an "OOF!", his opponent closing in quickly.
"Gabumon, do you have enough energy to digivolve?" Yamato pleaded.
"I think I can muster," his partner dared, and with a concentrated effort managed, "GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TO GARURUMON!"
Pulling Taichi onto the dire wolf with him, Yamato darted off down the road, hoping to intercept the orange lizard before the mutant digimon could finish him off.
"Daisuke, jump through and check on the others," Takeru directed. "I can hold the gate from this side."
"If I don't bring you back, Hikari's going to kill me!" the goggle-head answered. He held no enthusiasm for abandoning his friends.
"If I don't bring Yamato back, there are two women and Dad who will kill me," the blonde chuckled. Atop his head, Patamon nodded in agreement.
Garurumon skidded as Taichi extended his arm out to his digimon's claw. With a great heave, he hoisted Agumon onto Garurumon's back, narrowly dodging another Smiley Warhead.
"I know you don't like the idea of leaving us behind, but Veemon already crossed over while carrying Gomamon. You're defenseless right now, Daisuke," Yamato's brother reminded him. "We'll be a few minutes tops."
His leader hesitated. With a frustrated sigh, he relented. "Alright, but no heroics, Takeru!" he ordered before entering the gate.
Garurumon was only a few feet away when his vitality gave away. With their ride dedigivolved to the rookie stage, Taichi and Yamato quickly grabbed hold of their digimon partners and sprinted for the portal. PrinceMamemon tailed them by a few feet, the distance shortening by the second.
"Takeru, shut it down!" Taichi called over his shoulder as he leapt into the TV. Yamato caught his brother's wrist as followed suit, forcefully dragging him across the closing gate.
Their escape came to an abrupt halt with a booming CRASH! and before the three humans or their digimon could react, the inter-dimensional tunnel tore open beneath them.
whenpigsfly: When Taichi updated the others to let them know we were ok, Ken assumed that PrinceMamemon bashed the TV in a fit of anger and with the connection between worlds disrupted, we just got dropped off wherever we happened to be passing through at the time
PinkPixie: And you're sure it's the Digital World? Not some third or fourth dimension like the Dark Ocean or Super Crazy Wish World?
whenpigsfly: Er. . . 90% sure. There's color and things are coherent
whenpigsfly: Patamon says he just spotted some "Kapurimon" while scouting overhead so 95% sure now
PinkPixie: Is there another gate nearby? I'll come get you!
whenpigsfly: Not one that the D-3 is picking up
whenpigsfly: Taichi and Yamato also don't want to explore until the digimon have rested up so it looks like we're settling in for the night
whenpigsfly: Taichi says to check if Koushiro has a tracking program for the digivices if Mimi doesn't kill him in the morning
PinkPixie: Ok but try not to get into any more trouble before I rescue you. . . .
whenpigsfly: Heh you're awfully adamant about being my deus ex machina
PinkPixie: "The adventure is less fulfilling if the damsel-in-distress is comfortable" ;)
Whenpigsfly: . . .
PinkPixie: Hey, if you keep insisting I'm an angel, I'm going to be a guardian angel :)
PinkPixie: Just stay safe until morning, okay? I love you :)
whenpigsfly: Mk, will do. Sweet dreams, Hikari. Love you too :)
Takeru flipped his D-Terminal closed. Instinctively, his hand reached into his right pocket and grasped the small box it found there.
Guardian angel, huh?
Something about the tactile sensation of the box lifted his spirits.
Are you going to be my guardian angel forever, Hikari?
