Chapter 2: Climbing To the Heir


A freak wave on their way to finish a journey sent Ash, Pikachu and Lapras to an unknown foggy area. Using the fog for cover, they pursued a paddle boat shaped as a swan. Inside, two boys peddled to move the boat with two creatures: a tiny orange dinosaur in the front and a white seal with a redhead mo-hawk lying on top. The brunette wore a blue shirt and headband with goggles over his forehead. He also wore light brown shorts. The blue-haired young man in glasses had a white vest over a sky blue t-shirt and light colored shorts as well. "Why do we have to row this boat with our feet?!" the brunette complained.

"Yeah, we're the ones doing the work while you two just lounge around," the blue-haired pointed out.

"Easy, Joe," the seal snapped. "Agumon and I can't reach the pedals and look over the swan's head at the same time."

"Besides, we're reserving our energy for anymore shenanigans from DemiDevimon," the dinosaur added. "After what he did to TK, Matt, Izzy and you, we'd rather not take any chances."

"I suppose that makes some sense," the brunette acknowledged. "Hopefully, we run into one of the girls before that lying bat-thing tells off someone else."

"Yeah, good luck with that, Tai," the seal joked. He and the dinosaur had a laugh while the boys growled in anger. Lapras, its head and spiked shell out, hummed quietly to the noise.

"It's okay, Lapras," Ash offered ease. "Just stay close by." Before long, land was on the horizon. Tai checked a tiny gray hand-held device, finding two red dots in the middle and one dot closing in from above. The device had three buttons, two on the left of the yellowish screen and one on the right.

"Looks like we found a Digidestined," he reported. To the blue-haired, it's someone they knew.

"It's gotta be Mimi," he guessed. The dinosaur viewed the land fast approaching, a mountain seen with a beach as its base. On the mountainside, two flights of stairs that zigzag going upward to the top, crossing each other repeatedly.

"Luckily, we don't need any climbing equipment," he pointed out. The boys stopped peddling to look up the mountain face and the staircase that led up the side.

"You've gotta be kidding!" the blue-haired gawked. "Tai, do you have workouts like this?" Tai's face paled.

"None to that extent," he stuttered. The boat drifted closer to the sandy shore. To Ash, he'd need to wait for those on the boat to clear out before he stepped on the sand. Suddenly, Lapras spotted something to the right of the boat: a pile of large rocks stacked. It hummed to Ash and Pikachu who glanced in the same direction. The pile of rocks looked ideal for the trainer.

"Good eye, Lapras," he complimented. "Let's swim over there for cover." Lapras obeyed, breaking away from the boat's path. The sudden shift in water alerted the seal to look back, the thick fog disguising their pursuers. The dinosaur sensed the seal's turn, looking up.

"Hey, Gomamon," it called up. "Is something wrong?" The seal, Gomamon, looked back down to his friend.

"I thought it was Joe passing gas," he lied. "Either that or we may not be alone in finding the Digidestined." The blue-haired groaned at Gomamon's comparison.

"Gomamon, I have a very distinct sound should I pass gas!" he argued. The boat ran aground on the sands where Tai wanted off, if Joe did let one out.

"Next time, warn me before you unleash stink!" he snapped.

"But I didn't!" Lapras reached the land before Ash and Pikachu stepped on the sand.

"Next time, let's make sure we're on land before you ask to come out for some practice," he advised with a smile. Thinking all was well, Lapras nodded as Ash brought its ball out. "Okay. Rest up." A red beam came out of the ball and struck Lapras, not bothering it. Lapras morphed into the red light that returned to its ball. Ash shrunk the ball down to a marble before fastening it to his belt. He and Pikachu looked around the rocks to view the boys and their creatures. Gomamon and the dinosaur fascinated him. "Are those Pokémon?" Pikachu wondered itself. The two focused upward to see the height of the stairs.

"Well, let's start climbing to see if anyone's up there," Joe gulped. The flight of stairs looked endless. The four ahead of Ash and Pikachu walked to the left staircase, a plan for the trainer emerging.

"Let's stay close but remain out of sight."

("Gotcha,") Pikachu accepted. Both approached the staircase but didn't start their climb. Instead, they watched the boys enter the next flight of upward walking.

"This will take forever to reach the top," Tai complained. "I know I workout on stairs prior to soccer practice, but it was oneflight, not… how many?"

"I don't know but it may take us at least an hour to reach the top," Joe estimated. "I just wonder… If anyone's living up there, how do they get their mail?" Tai had a guess to Joe's question.

"Fliers?"

"I suppose that's one way. Too bad Agumon or Gomamon can't fly."

"Yeah, where's Biyomon when we need her?" The dinosaur, named Agumon, shrugged its tiny shoulders, unknown to an answer. Listening in, Ash pondered the names given out.

"Agumon..." he listed. "Gomamon… Biyomon… A pattern?" Pikachu itched its head, confused to the query. "Seems whatever is here has 'mon' as part of their name."

("That's interesting,") it squeaked in some astonishment.

"We don't have any Pokémon with that kind of name, right?" A head shake from Pikachu told Ash that it wasn't sure. The climb and sneak continued as Ash waited for the boys to reach the next flight before he moved. One point, Agumon sensed something and looked back down. He saw nothing but took a few steps, closing in on Ash before Tai noticed several steps higher than the creature.

"Hey, Agumon!" he shouted. "Forgot something on the boat?" Agumon looked back up, no choice but to turn back.

"Sorry!" he apologized before climbing back up. Ash and Pikachu glanced around the wall of the staircase, new information about the dinosaur.

"Kinda sucks that he can talk and you can't," he studied. Pikachu sighed in frustration. While the group continued to climb, Joe seemed worn out. The climb sapped what energy he had from the paddle boat.

"Come on, Joe!" encouraged Gomamon. "We're almost there!" Looking up, Joe would disagree.

"If we're 'almost there'," he questioned. "Where's the peak?" Ash and Pikachu examined Joe, noting his fatigue.

"That Joe's more brain than courage," he compared.

"Don't rush yourself, Joe!" advised Tai. "Take a break if you need to! Agumon and I'll meet you at the top!" Watching Tai's tireless climb, Joe didn't want to stop if it meant one of their own.

"I hate how he likes to show off his will," he mulled before pressing on. The differences between Tai and Joe looked obvious, especially to the trainer.

"If I heard correctly, Tai's an athlete," he recalled. "It would explain how he's higher up already."

("Hey, you're pretty athletic yourself!") squeaked the Pokémon. In truth, Ash still had more to go in the climb. As estimated, the climb took about an hour to reach the top. Joe looked ready to drop.

"Finally!" he gasped for breath. "I don't know if I could make another step… and that fog wasn't a pleasure trip to begin with." Ash and Pikachu crept from the staircase. From inside a large palace, loud noises.

"I wonder what's going in there," Gomamon said. Tai stood, still fresh from the climb.

"Let's go in and see," he urged as he made his way to the door. Standing tall once more, Joe followed with Agumon and Gomamon alongside. Ash and Pikachu reached the top of the steps as Tai opened the door. Inside were the frogs with those horns running frantically, fearful of something.

"We need to appease the princess!" he croaked as the boys invited themselves inside. Everyone glanced to the frog, Gomamon realizing who or what they were.

"Oh, I've heard of them," he identified. "Those Digimon are called Geckomon! They like music, mostly due to being born with those horns around their necks." Ash heard Gomamon's clarification of what the creatures were while near the entrance

"Digimon?" he repeated. "I guess that's why they have 'Mon' in their names." Pikachu itched its head in confusion. Then, a large purple tadpole ran along in a similar panic.

"The princess is gonna throw me in the dungeon for sure!" it cried. Agumon felt familiar with this creature as well.

"And I know those Digimon," he figured. "They're call Otamamon. They also enjoy music but their Lullaby Bubbles will put you to sleep." Tai wanted to call one of the Digimon over.

"Hey, can anyone spare a minute to help us?" he asked. One Geckomon turned to the boys with hope.

"I knew someone was bringing the triple fudge sundae with sprinkles to here," he croaked. Neither one knew or had what the Geckomon wanted.

"We're sorry, but that's not us!" they denied in unison. Another Geckomon came up with his own guess.

"Then you must be the ones delivering the Bacon Chili Cheeseburger she ordered," that one thought.

"That's not us either!" Not yet convinced, one more Geckomon had another item.

"Of course not," he agreed to the claim. "They're the ones bringing the Chicken Caesar Salad with French dressing!" None of them realized their hands were empty.

"Excuse us but we're looking for someone!" Rather than render aid, the Geckomon offered their claim to their orders. Two Otamamon, not bothered by the new boy, came to Ash with their orders.

"Excuse me, but are you the ones delivering the blue polka-dot dress?" one of the tadpoles asked. Another Otamamon had other information.

"Guess again!" he pointed. "She's asking for a pink plaid summer dress with sequins, whatever those are." Ash blinked at the items on request.

"This is for your princess, I hear?" he questioned.

"You heard right! With all this noise, she and Palmon could be coming out to see the ruckus." The news of a princess interested Ash. Meantime, a walking green plant with a flower on top of its head and wearing a white and pink dress came out from a pillar to see the commotion. Quickly, she recognized a few of the new guests.

"Agumon!" it… or she squealed. "And Gomamon!" That's when she saw Pikachu and suddenly drew a blank to the mouse. "What's that? A new Digimon?" Pikachu's ears perked and turned to where the plant in the dress stood. This got the plant to start weeding out a little. "Okay, it's looking at me!" Pikachu looked back to Ash before trotting to see her. Before meeting her, a Geckomon appeared at the top of the steps.

"Digimon and gentlemen!" it croaked. "Allow me to present the princess of this palace!" The boys seemed excited to know the heir of the building.

"Cool, we get to meet the princess!" cheered Tai. Ash felt the notion of meeting royalty, kneeling to the stairs. Someone in a royal white gown entered from one of the entrances on the upper level. Looking up, Tai and Joe gawked in sudden shock. The young brunette princess with her wavy hair held by a diamond tiara.

"It's Mimi!" the two boys shrieked. The princess, now known as Mimi, stood astonished.

"Tai?" she called one of the two. "Joe? This is a surprise."

"You're telling us," Tai snapped. "What are you doing in here?" Mimi scoffed to the tone.

"What does it look like to you? I'm being a princess to these Geckomon and Otamamon." This confirmed a suspicion among the Digimon.

"Now that I study this further," barked Agumon. "You must be the spoiled princess with all these ridiculous orders." One conclusion gave most of the boys who they're dealing with.

"We should have known it was Mimi!" answered Tai, Joe, Agumon and Gomamon. Ash peered his head up to the conversation, befuddled with the argument.

"Don't call me Mimi!" she yelled. "It's the Geckomon Princess." As she looked down to stand her ground, she found Ash.

"Last I checked, you're human! You're not a Digimon!"

"That's not the issue, Tai," Joe tried to keep the other in check.

"You're not helping… and anyway, must you be so selfish to these poor Digimon?!"

"They're the ones who brought me in. Simple enough, you runaway? And who's that? A new Digidestined?" Joe blinked before turning to Ash now standing up. Tai never bothered to turn, believing Mimi's attempt to alter topics. Agumon and Gomamon did see Ash, but didn't ask if he had a Digimon of his own.

"Don't change the subject, Mimi! This is about you!" Ash couldn't keep his silence any longer, having to say something about Mimi.

"So she's not really a princess?" he asked. Tai now focused his attention to him.

"I'll get back to you in a second." He briefly turned back to the phony princess, only to realize the boy wasn't anyone he knew and turned back in that same second. "Wait! Who the heck are you?!"

"A little confused. Just trying to make sense of what's going on." Joe decided to answer Ash's query.

"We're trying to reunite the team so that we can save this place from any evil that threatens the Digimon or us," he explained. Ash seemed intrigued to the mission they had.

"I see. Is she the last one you need or do you have more?" Mimi heard the boy, the dream still fresh in her memory.

'His voice,' she compared. 'It can't be! Is that really my knight from my dreams?' Ash listened to Tai and Joe, information from both aiding the trainer of their situation. Her mind drifted back to the dream. The knight's face from when he scooped her began to form. The knight and Ash had to be the same young, brave soul in her mind.

"You mean you were tailing us this whole time?" gasped Joe.

"Only for a little while after a freak wave sucked me and my Pokémon on our way to a competition," Ash cleared up. Agumon and Gomamon blinked at the name he gave out.

"You mean that yellow mouse by Palmon isn't a Digimon?" the dinosaur asked.

"Sorry, but Pikachu's not." Those around Ash started to understand the differences. To Mimi, doubt left her but she still stood in disbelief. She fumbled her fan which hit the ground. Everyone turned to the so-called princess, gasping with her arm-length white glove over her mouth and eyes ready to depart from her head.

"It's you!" she gasped. "From my dreams! You came!" Her trembling concerned the boys below, unsure what she could do. "My knight in shining armor's here!" She took a step before jumping from the top of the staircase, aimed at Ash. He stood frozen, not knowing if he should move or catch her. He didn't have a second to think. Mimi's dive was on target as she tackled Ash, slamming and pinning him to the ground, pearly white stiletto heels poking out of her gown. Pikachu ran up to Tai's shoulder to see the impact, her dive splitting the uprights, those being Tai and Joe. Ash's hat flew off on the tackle. On the ground, Mimi wasted practically no time and engaged Ash in a lip-to-lip kiss. It didn't matter that she didn't know her 'knight in shining armor' or his Pikachu.

"Talk about love at first sight," Tai gawked. "Not even one of my classmates acted that way to each other!" If Ash wasn't getting anything from Misty, he certainly got a lot from Mimi. He received immediate trust from her. What about Tai, Joe and the Digimon?


TO BE CONTINUED…

(In September, I'll be doing two one-shots, one a "What If" and another a "Learning Lesson." Stay tuned.)