File City
Guile had never thought that he would end up with a monster – no, a Digimon as his ally in this journey. He had a hunch that his partner might only hamper his advance.
Or perhaps not. These monsters seemed to be powerful creatures. Earlier, he tried to punch Jijimon, but to no avail. That caveman-like Digimon blocked his fist – a fist from a bounty hunter who had relied on fisticuffs for years to ensure no death to the hunted crooks.
This meant that he could probably count on this horned pelt-wearing dinosaur-like Digimon.
But he had to make sure that Gabumon were truly a valuable ally. How? He would let the Digimon solve a few problems by himself first.
Together with Gabumon, Guile trod the verdant ground lightly, walking along the path between the bushes and the trees. What a lush place. Native Forest should be near.
Once he felt like crushing some dried twigs and leaves under his feet, he could confirm that they were now at…
"Native Forest," Gabumon said, stopping on his tracks. "Hey, Guile. We're here!"
Guile simply nodded.
"You're a quiet one, aren't you?"
Guile halted at that remark. What Gabumon had said was true; when talking was unnecessary, he wouldn't open his mouth. And his distrust to Gabumon just meant that conversations weren't important.
"Well, no probs. Let's go."
CHAPTER 2: Trust
Native Forest
Dried leaves dropped off, swaying in the air before landing on the ground. Leaves, trees, bushes, little fungi… Guile looked around in silent appreciation of them all. The forest in Digital World was no different from the world he came from. Vegetation was still a reliable standard to determine whether one was in the woods or not.
Hmm, vegetation… How about wild animals – or rather, wild Digimon then?
Guile looked at Gabumon. "Gabumon, do wild Digimon exist?"
"Of course! There are plenty outside File City."
Excellent! Should a wild Digimon attack, Guile would let Gabumon fight it off by himself. That should be a good test for his ally – no, his prospective ally.
Minutes passed. Nothing stood out in this forest. No unusual things, no wild Digimon… Digital World was just as boring as Guile's world when he wasn't hunting for bounties or drinking.
Guile yawned and sported a saggy face afterwards. Trees, bushes, falling leaves; there was nothing interesting with them.
"You're sleepy, Guile?"
Guile nodded.
"You wanna rest?"
Little bootlicker… Guile didn't answer Gabumon.
"Or maybe you wanna eat? I can find some food here."
Guile stopped walking. That offer sounded nice; it would also test Gabumon's capability.
"Yes," Guile replied, looking at a smiling Gabumon. "I'd love to."
Gabumon nodded. "Okay, just wait here, Guile."
Guile watched Gabumon walking away from him and towards the bushes. Perfect. All he needed now was hoping for the appearance of a wild Digimon.
The chance of encountering a wild Digimon should be high. They were monsters, and they should love eating. There had to be a lot of wild Digimon around a food source.
Guile sauntered up to Gabumon and smiled at him. He appeared to be a capable forager. Shrubbery on the path? Let the paws do the job.
Crisp rustling sounds echoed Gabumon split the shrubbery with his clawed hands, opening a path for him.
Gabumon walked past the opening he created. Upon reaching a clearing, he remained still.
What was he doing? He wouldn't accomplish anything by standing still!
Curious, Guile crept towards the leafy mess of the shrubbery. Oops. He shouldn't have judged things quickly. Gabumon was sniffing the air whilst standing. Good boy.
Gabumon turned right and looked at the bush. Great. He had probably detected something edible behind it.
Wrong!
The bush was shaking.
A wild Digimon was approaching.
All of a sudden, a lizard-like creature with jumped out of the shrubbery. His body was lime green in color, which made the big red fin on his back look flashy.
"This is my territory!" he screamed, rolling in the air. "Blade Fin!"
Looking at the Digimon turning into a wheel, Guile smiled. This should be a good test.
The wild Digimon rolled down, ready to tackle Gabumon.
Gabumon inhaled deeply. "Blue Blaster!" He opened his densely-fanged mouth and ushered forth a small stream of blue flame from the gaping maw.
The fire and the Digimon collided.
On collision, the blue flame diffused into tiny sparks in the air.
The wild Digimon continued rolling down. Fast.
In one perfect, graceful leap, Gabumon dodged the wheel, leaving the wild Digimon ripping through the empty air.
The wild Digimon's fin dug deep into the ground. Upside down, he moved his body left and right, struggling to tear his flipper out of the ground and turn over.
Guile grinned at this. Gabumon was quite a worthy ally. He wasn't just good at sensing enemy's presence; he also fought well.
"ModokiBetamon, I'm sure that you have some Digimushrooms in your territory." Gabumon smiled. "Tell me, and I'll just let you go."
What was this? Offering the enemy a chance to live?
Leniency. Guile growled at that word. For him, being lenient to the enemy would only hamper one's advance.
He was correct.
Rocks and broken twigs flew into the air as ModokiBetamon managed to break free and turn over.
Standing on the ground, ModokiBetamon reared back like a horse. "Electric…" Arches of electricity gathered in front of his face, merging into a small thunder ball.
"Negotiation doesn't work, eh?" Gabumon shrugged. He breathed in. "Blue-"
"…Shock!" ModokiBetamon bent over, sending a bolt of lightning hurtling towards Gabumon.
The thunder struck Gabumon. It didn't just interrupt him from casting his Blue Blaster; it also charred his body and sent him keeling over.
Guile placed a palm on his face and shook his head. A lenient ally like Gabumon would only act as an obstacle to him.
ModokiBetamon jumped up high into the air.
At the same time, Gabumon managed to recuperate and stand up. He then launched himself into the air, his horn sparkling in the sun.
ModokiBetamon leant back, ready to roll. "Blade-"
But he was cut short.
Gabumon had driven his horn into ModokiBetamon's stomach.
ModokiBetamon let out a shrill shriek, and soon, his body disintegrated into green and red dust.
Gabumon was victorious.
Guile stared at Gabumon. He didn't know whether he should smile or not. Sure, Gabumon had killed ModokiBetamon, but he had let his guard down with an unnecessary negotiation. That had inflicted avoidable injuries to him.
But that didn't seem to matter after all. The negotiation briefly put Gabumon at a disadvantage, but he still won. He was a worthy ally indeed.
Guile stood still to see what Gabumon was going to do. ModokiBetamon was dead, so he'd better continue his search for food.
His wish came true.
Gabumon slashed the bush with his paw. A path opened, and he walked past it. There, he hunched and dug his claws into the soil.
Hmm, digging? Food never existed underground.
But this was Digital World; Guile had to keep reminding himself that he was there. Not everything here should be the same with the real world.
He'd better give Gabumon a chance.
Splashes resounded as clumps of dirt left Gabumon's paws and hit the ground. Soon, Gabumon performed a snatching movement with an arm and turned.
"I've got food, Guile!" Gabumon smiled with a giant mushroom in his hands. "You know this? This is a Digimushroom. It's healthy and filling!"
Guile raised an eyebrow. Really, it was just an oversized shiitake mushroom that was about as big as Gabumon's head. Huge black cap. Giant yellowish stalk. How could one large common fungus settle one's growling stomach effectively?
Never mind. Guile wasn't too hungry anyway. He'd just consider the mushroom as a snack.
Guile walked towards Gabumon and picked the Digimushroom up from his hands. "Thanks." He turned away. "Let's go, Gabumon. I'll eat it as we walk."
They resumed their walking.
A sudden spurt of water gushed out from the Digimushroom's cap when Guile dug his teeth in it. Clear liquid was now trickling down his lips and chin.
Guile quickly wiped his mouth with his left sleeve. He didn't want people to mistaken him for drooling over a giant shiitake mushroom, even though there was nobody other than Gabumon around.
Guile bit the Digimushroom's cap several times, spurting water everywhere as his teeth met the fungus. His face was now messy; clear liquid was dripping down his sharp nose and chin. If Gabumon looked at him, the Digimon would probably choke himself with laughter.
He'd better avoid that!
He munched the Digimushroom vigorously. Yes! The cap was now wrinkled and slightly smaller!
Quickly, Guile shoved the mushroom into his mouth, leaving the stalk exposed to the environment. He then bit the gummy stem hard repeatedly, hoping to get rid of it soon.
After chewing for a few minutes, Guile found his jaw's muscles rebelling against him. It now hurt to masticate the Digimushroom. Unfortunately, the stalk was still attached to the mushroom's cap.
What a troublesome snack! Just like eating rubber.
Guile grew angry with the Digimushroom. He gripped the stalk firmly. With his teeth burrowed deeply in part of the fungus' stem inside his mouth, he pulled the mushroom away.
Yes!
Guile had managed to bite the stalk off. What a relief.
He tossed away the stem. That thing did not worth eating, unless he wanted to damage his jaw and his teeth.
He wiped his wet mouth and chin with his left sleeve. Then he kept walking without chewing the Digimushroom in his mouth. His jaw needed some rest.
Moments later, he resumed chewing the mushroom in his mouth. He squeezed the remaining liquid out of the fungus with his steady jaw movements.
Yuck.
His mouth suddenly tasted like rainwater. It made sense anyway; the Digimushroom was freshly dug out of the soil.
Upon swallowing the chewed remains of the mushroom slowly, Guile frowned and looked around frantically to find fresh water. He had to cleanse that bitter taste from his mouth.
"What's up, Guile?"
Guile grunted.
"You don't look well."
Guile turned to Gabumon, who was looking at him with a puzzled face. "The Digimushroom tasted bad," he muttered.
Gabumon chuckled. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."
Guile gritted his teeth, his face contorted. He had to eat that foul-tasting mushroom as long as he was here? Aw, man!
But it appeared that he had to bear the pain if he wished to find Nicholas.
Never mind. Once he was done with the bounty quest, he'd go home and spend his money on several pints of wine to forget about how the Digimushroom tasted like.
He continued walking the forest with Gabumon.
And they soon stopped as they heard some rustles and chatters.
Gabumon began sniffing the air.
Guile overheard an interesting conversation.
A creaky voice of a grandma came from somewhere behind the trees, "Agumon, are we still far from Kunemon?"
"Yeah, Kunemon likes dark places, so he must be deep inside this forest."
A grandma… A Digimon to travel with…
A rival.
Guile believed that the grandma should be the old lady he heard from the guards earlier. So Jijimon had also let a Digimon travel with her.
Long story short, they posed a threat to his bounty quest.
He'd better hinder or eliminate them. That was a kind of lowly thing to do, but when it was about rivalry, everything worked.
Guile leapt into a stout branch of a tall tree. He could see more clearly there. A woman in a green cloak was standing on the earth below with a small yellow dinosaur Digimon.
"Agumon, behind us!"
She knew his presence? Did he make any noises earlier or what?
Agumon turned. Looking at Guile, he inhaled deeply. "Pepper Breath!"
A fireball blasted off from Agumon's gaping maw and rocketed towards Guile.
Guile jumped over the blazing sphere and swooped down. He smashed headfirst into Agumon. The impact knocked the dinosaur Digimon down.
Guile flew upwards, swerved, and positioned his legs for a landing.
He then glared at the granny in green and Agumon, who was getting up.
"You look like someone from Magic Guild, boy."
"You too, are one of the people from Magic Guild."
"Heh." The grandma chuckled. "Boy, I'm glad to have found somebody familiar here!"
Guile raised an eyebrow. What did this granny mean?
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Fortuna the Fortuneteller," the grandma said, smiling. "I'm looking for Nicholas, just like you."
How the hell could Fortuna know everything?
Hmm, she had just introduced herself as a fortuneteller. It made sense if she knew about him.
A fortuneteller? Danger! She might know Nicholas' position! He'd better be fast or perhaps, hinder her advance.
"Your name is Guile, right?"
Guile nodded. He now found nothing strange with Fortuna knowing about him.
"Well, Guile, I think it's the best if we work together, then we split the bounty in half after finding Nicholas."
What had she just said? Working together?
"I beg your pardon?"
"Let's work together. After finding Nicholas, we'll split the bounty in half."
Guile's eyebrows twitched in disbelief.
"Ma'am, I don't trust you."
"Why should an old lady lie? Besides, I'm a fortuneteller. If I lie, I'm killing my own business."
Guile folded his arms and closed his eyes. "I find it hard to trust someone I've just met, especially if the said person is my potential rival."
"Forget about rivalry, Guile. If we work together, we can be faster."
Guile opened his eyes to look at the standing Fortuna and Agumon. "That makes sense, but I have a hunch that you'll betray me. Betrayal resets everything to zero."
"Fortuna is a nice old lady!" Agumon suddenly shouted, waving his arms. "She won't do that!"
"Simply telling me that won't convince me," Guile insisted, bowing down with his eyes slit and his hands clenched. "People always tell me that somebody is good, kind, etc, but later it turns out that the said person is-"
All of a sudden, a picture of a bald, broad-necked man with thick black moustache and beard flashed in his mind.
At this, Guile held his head and gritted his teeth. That wretch! Not him again! NOT HIM!
His vision suddenly blackened.
He couldn't stop his urge to roar aloud and pound the ground with his fists.
"Guile, get ahold of yourself!"
That familiar calling snapped him back to his senses. It didn't sound like the voice of a grandma, but there was something…familiar with that loud, yet gentle voice.
Slowly, the view of a forest emerged in his vision, replacing the blackness in his sight with green and brown.
He soon spotted a horned pelt-wearing dinosaur-like Digimon standing in front of him, looking at him with a pair of concerned red eyes. Gabumon. He seemed to be genuinely caring, not just a bootlicker.
"You okay?"
Guile shook his head.
"Guile," Fortuna suddenly said, walking towards Guile slowly. "Something isn't right with you."
Guile muttered, "Our talk reminded me of somebody, ma'am."
"Who?" Fortuna and Gabumon asked.
"Somebody…" Guile stared vacantly ahead. "A wretch."
"Hmm…" Fortuna walked past Gabumon, stopped in front of Guile, and gazed directly into Guile's eyes.
At this, Guile raised a fist and snapped, "Why are you looking at me like that? Get lost!"
"Oh, okay, sorry about that," Fortuna said, taking several steps backwards. "I can't read you completely this way, but I now understand you." She paused. "Actually, I can read people by their palms, but I bet you won't let me do that as I'll need to touch your hands."
"You understand me very well indeed," Guile murmured, lowering his hand.
"What's the matter with holding hands?" Agumon snickered. "Really, I think there's nothing wrong with that!"
Fortuna looked at Agumon. "Agumon, don't bring that up in front of Guile."
"Why?"
"Digimon, especially young Digimon, won't understand why. Just forget about it, Agumon." Fortuna returned her focus to Guile. "You still won't trust me I guess, but if you ever need my company, just give me a heads-up." She walked past Guile. "Let's go, Agumon. We must find Kunemon."
With that, Fortuna and Agumon paced away from Guile.
Those people were nice.
However, Guile was still doubtful if he should join them. They were probably trustworthy, but were they competent allies?
He believed that he needed some time to think about working with them.
"Hey, Guile."
That calling caught his attention. He looked down to see Gabumon smiling at him.
"Let's go find Palmon now."
Guile nodded, and together with Gabumon, they resumed their walk in the forest.
