Level 02: Brave Heart – Digivolution Activation?
The small village of Shuppatsu-ten was known by its inhabitants for being nestled in a hilly domain where plenty of winding caverns could be accessed from half-hidden entrances. The network was well known among the younger digimon as a special place that they could explore for hours – if they could sneak away from their parents and guardians. It was especially nice that they could slip out of sight – and, often, into areas where their guardians couldn't head after them – giving the children an area where they felt the adults held a little less power over them.
There wasn't really much for them to find, however, other than pretty rocks and plenty of hiding places. You could stake out a passage as a little fort of sorts, maybe find a secret area to stash some of your own treasures, but anything really valuable or interesting was likely to have been discovered and taken away long ago.
At least, that was what was said. However, considering what a trio of three adventurous rookies had just been lucky enough to uncover during their explorations, it appeared there were still a few secrets buried in the shadowy depths.
True, perhaps their good fortune had something to do with the fact they had just uncovered the tunnel they had discovered their prize in. Guilmon had been poking around with his friends, and ended up pressing a little too hard against a rocky wall with his large hands. The soil giving way a little underneath his claws had been the bulky Rookie's only warning before his hand went all the way through, and by the time he'd yanked his arm back out, there was a sizable hole revealing a pitch-black passage beyond.
Veemon had been the one to come up with the idea of using a torch, and after running back out to retrieve some thick branches had gotten Agumon to light one. (Their first attempt, using Guilmon's Pyro Sphere, had led to much screaming and flailing on Veemon's part as the little blue dragon quickly discovered there was such a thing as overkill – and that Pyro Sphere plus small stick plus dragon hand holding said stick equaled pain.)
They had been rewarded, however, by discovering something very interesting hidden in the uncovered passageway: a small electronic device that resembled one of the 'ancient artifacts' described in old legends: a digivice.
If it really was one of the mystical items of power, then they could use it to digivolve themselves into a higher form – if they ever figured out how to turn it on, that was.
At Veemon's suggestion, they had left the tunnel and gone outside: their torch's flame was beginning to flicker out, and the blue dragon really didn't want to go through all the fuss of attempting to light another one. Besides, in the sunlight they could inspect their new find much easier, and didn't run the risk of stumbling and losing it again in the dark. It was far too important an item for them to possibly lose like that.
So now Agumon, Veemon and Guilmon were out in the open air, sitting on a patch of vibrant green grass and huddled around the digivice, which was… just sitting there, doing nothing. The screen was still as black as it had been inside the cavern.
The trio stared intently at their treasure for a long moment, as if the force of their unwavering glares alone would activate whatever wondrous magic the digivice possessed that enabled it to give its bearer strength. It soon became all too apparent to them that it was not nearly this easy.
"…Hmm… Maybe you've gotta hit these things in some sorta order to get it to work…?" Agumon guessed uncertainly after a moment, pointing at the buttons on the front.
"Okay, sounds good… But… Which one do we hit?" asked Veemon.
"…All of them?"
Acting on his own theory, Guilmon then attempted to press all three buttons at the same time. Unfortunately, the scarlet dinosaur quickly discovered that his long white claws, while perfect for rock breaking, more or less sucked when it came to more delicate work. The poor Guilmon fumbled about with the tiny device, struggling to hit even one of the even tinier buttons without dropping – or crushing – the artifact.
"Oh, for… Gimme that!"
Veemon swiped the digivice from the red Rookie's already more-or-less nonexistent grasp. Since his tiny claws were more like fingernails on his slim fingers, the blue dragon was easily able to press the buttons – first each in turn, then all at once, waiting all the while for some reaction to occur.
Nothing happened. Veemon's ruby eyes glinted with frustration as he glanced at his companions and shook his head in the negative.
"Maybe there's like a code or something ya hafta put in," he commented, giving the digivice a sharp shake. Biting the inside of his lip, he went on, "Maybe we should get Wormy to take a look…"
"No! It's our treasure!" howled Agumon. "We found it, not her!"
Guilmon blinked at his fellow dinosaur's outburst, then cocked his head to one side and regarded his friends.
"But aren't we gonna show them anyway?" he asked, clearly confused. "You said we were gonna…"
"I know what I said! I just was PLANNING on showin' everyone AFTER we got it working! Ya know… find out what it'll turn us into…"
"…Oh."
Veemon grimaced, glaring down at the innocent-looking object in his hands. Agumon was right: the whole plan had been that once they uncovered something like this, they were supposed to turn into their Champion forms – partly to find out what it was like, and mostly to show off to the others in their village. Once they'd proven they could reach a higher level, surely the elders would have to finally let them go off on a real journey like they'd always wanted to – and maybe they'd impress some girls, too!
They'd been lucky enough to discover the digivice while exploring their hideout of caves near the village, one of the few places they were able to slip off and explore without getting caught. The rest of their plan hinged completely on figuring out how the little trinket worked… but at that point, their luck seemed to reach a dead end.
His half-sister Wormmon was well known for her love of reading and studying the old legends – maybe she would know more about the digivices, and how to trigger their powers…
However, if he showed it to her, then it wouldn't be long until Palmon found out: even if he made Wormy promise not to tell anyone, the weed Rookie had a tendency to rapidly catch onto and figure out when something was up. And once the flower digimon found out, Biyomon would immediately learn about the whole thing, and through her…
"Hey, would it really be so bad, Agumon?" he wondered aloud, smirking as a thought suddenly struck him. "I mean, come on: don't you wanna rub this discovery in B's face? This PROVES we were right all along, ya know!"
"I know," Agumon shot back, grimacing as he added, "But you know how Biyo is: if we show that thing to her and can't get it to work, either she'll claim it's a fake or that all this proves is the artifacts aren't as powerful as the stories say."
"…Fake?" queried Guilmon, cocking his head to one side again and blinking his wide golden eyes.
Shuffling over to Veemon, the crimson dinosaur beat forward and sniffed at the digivice, taking a deep breath while his two friends stared at him like he was insane.
After a few seconds, he straightened back up and declared, "It doesn't SMELL fake to me…"
"How would you know what a real one smells like…?" asked Veemon, giving Guilmon an odd look and sweatdropping slightly.
"Because that IS a REAL ONE!" Agumon shouted at the top of his lungs, a tiny vein standing out on the side of his head.
"A real what?"
All three of the goggle-wearing monsters jumped at once, then whirled around, wide-eyed to face the newcomer. Upon seeing who it was, they reacted in starkly different ways.
Veemon's crimson eyes appeared to morph into hearts for a moment, a rosy pink blush spreading across the bridge of his muzzle. His goggles then dropped back over his eyes, the lenses inexplicably fogged up. The blue dragon began to grin strangely, a dazed and somewhat dopey expression on his face.
Agumon slapped himself in the face with one hand, slowly dragging it back down as a completely disgusted look joined his previous frustration. Bright green eyes closed for a moment as he silently asked what else could go wrong, then reopened to fix the newcomer with a cold glare.
Guilmon looked at his two friends, saw how they reacted, and wondered for a moment what was wrong with both of them. Turning away, the red dinosaur raised one hand to wave at the digimon joining them.
"Hi Impmon!" he called, a wide, inviting smile spreading over his face. "What are you doing here?"
"I could say the same to you, buddy," Impmon replied, smirking at him in a not-so-inviting manner.
Glancing over at Veemon, the violet Virus allowed herself a quick, sly grin. Turning to face the small dragon, she favored him with a coy smile and a wink, verdant eyes twinkling.
Veemon's dopey grin instantly widened, while Agumon's glower deepened. Both effects pleased Impmon to no end.
"So, what have you boys been up to, hmm?" she inquired, placing one gloved hand on her hip.
"Nothin'," replied Agumon tersely.
"But Agumon," Guilmon pointed out innocently, "I thought we were trying to make the di…"
In a movement that was surprisingly fast for the orange reptile, Agumon darted over to Guilmon and clamped both hands over the startled red Rookie's muzzle. He then pinned the poor dinosaur with a venomous glare as Guilmon struggled to free his mouth.
"We. Weren't. Doing. Nothin'," he insisted again, turning his angry stare from his fellow goggle-mon to where Impmon stood watching.
"Ah. I see. So what were you doing, then, if not nothing?" she asked simply, chuckling a bit at Guilmon's plight.
"I told ya we weren't doing nothin'!"
"Well, if you weren't doing nothing, then you must have been doing something."
Agumon blinked.
"Come again?"
Impmon's smirk grew wider as she explained, "You told me, and I quote: 'We. Weren't. Doing. Nothin'.' Therefore, you just admitted that you were doing something 'stead of sitting round here doing nothing!"
Agumon and Guilmon just stared at her blankly, and she sighed.
"Guess words like 'therefore' are a bit too big for them to understand," she muttered, shaking her head in mock pity. "Oh well."
Pivoting on her heel, Impmon then plastered an incredibly cheesy false smile on her face and cooed, "Will you tell me what's you've been doing, Vee darling?"
Several rather interesting phrases shot through Agumon's thoughts at that moment as he recognized too late his grave error in judgement – in forcing Guilmon to remain silent, he had left Veemon alone and easily approachable by Impmon – and Veemon still had the digivice!
By the time he let go of Guilmon (who began to gulp air gratefully) and spun towards the pair, it was too late. He could clearly see the digivice in Veemon's hands – and so could Impmon, especially since the blue dragon was showing it off to her and bragging.
For her part, Impmon did actually look a bit impressed. Veemon grinned and went on, thinking that she was in awe of how he'd been able to locate such a rare and precious artifact – not realizing the purple demon wasn't hearing a single word he said.
Instead, her jade green eyes were fixed solidly upon the digivice he was holding, as snatches of the old legends played through her racing mind.
Digivolution. The ability to become stronger in an instant. To gain power, and never have to want for anything again.
The initial surprise that had struck the normally glib demon speechless slowly faded, giving way to a cold, calculating smile that bared the tip of one of her tiny fangs. Verdant eyes gleamed as the countless possibilities this development could bring flashed through her mind.
Veemon saw her smiling and grinned back: obviously she was very impressed with his find. Maybe if he played this right, he could get her to agree to go on a date with him… maybe even more…
Another deep blush spread over the blue dragon's cheeks at that, and his crimson eyes glazed over slightly as his goggles fogged up again. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he failed to notice that Agumon was storming up to him, fuming.
He did notice when the orange reptile seized him by the shoulders and yanked him in a rough about-face so that they were nose to nose.
"Oh… Hey, Agu…" he greeted his buddy, wondering just why the orange dino looked so ticked off. "…Man, what's got your tail in a knot…?"
"I was just wondering that, myself," Impmon piped up gamely from behind him.
"Excuse me, but I have to ask you something," Agumon said in an eerily calm voice. He shot a look at Impmon and added, "Something just 'tween us guys."
Impmon's typical smirk was firmly back in place, but she nodded and took a few steps backward, watching as Agumon pulled Veemon a bit closer.
"So what is it?" whispered Veemon, figuring that whatever it was had to be pretty important if the fire lizard was preparing to whisper in his ear like this.
"I was just wondering," Agumon paused, took a deep breath, and screamed at the top of his lungs, "WHAT IN THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
Veemon's scarlet eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he toppled over backwards from the force of Agumon's shriek. Guilmon stopped pulling air into his lungs and gaped over at his friends with golden eyes that were almost as wide. Impmon just chuckled, shoulders shaking a bit as she struggled to suppress a full-fledged laugh at the dragon's expense.
"If that's your idea of a private conversation…" she trailed off meaningfully, ignoring the dirty glare that the orange reptile shot at her.
"Shove it, Virus!" snapped Agumon.
"Hey…" Guilmon whined, fin ears drooping as he fixed his friend with a pitifully sad expression.
"No offense, Guil," Agumon hastily reassured, sweatdropping as he realized his mistake.
Impmon snickered to herself again, half-covering her mouth with one gloved hand to mask her smile. It wouldn't do for Veemon to see her enjoying his friend's frustration right now, after all: while she normally didn't give a damn about what others thought, there was a very good chance she could get what she wanted with the blue Rookie's help – if she played her cards right…
The dragon digimon was too preoccupied with getting up and regaining his balance to pay any attention to Impmon at that moment. His head was still ringing, and it took a few seconds for his furiously pounding heart to slow down enough for him to collect his thoughts.
"Hey, what was that all about?" he demanded angrily.
In response, Agumon just lifted one hand and showed the digivice to everyone again.
"Remember this?" he asked in a scathing tone. "Remember what we had planned to do with this?"
"…Yeah, so what…?" shot back Veemon.
Agumon just glared at the blue dragon digimon. Gradually, understanding dawned on Veemon's face, and he blushed in embarrassment for a moment, dropping his scarlet gaze to the ground.
"…Oh yeah… We were gonna keep it a secret 'til we got it to work… Um… Oops?"
Agumon slapped himself in the face again, while Impmon frowned thoughtfully.
"They haven't even gotten it to work yet?" she mused under her breath, studying the trio with eyes narrowed into jaden slits. Shaking her head, she muttered, "Then again, considering this group, that shouldn't be too surprising…"
Still, this hindered her plans a bit. While she had been hoping to learn from them – most probably Veemon – how to activate the digivice so she could use it on herself, the fact that they didn't have any clue how it worked either effectively ruined that idea.
However, it also meant that there was essentially no reason for Impmon to let them keep it any longer… Surely she could figure it out on her own…
Unaware of the purple demon's dark musings, Veemon shook off his embarrassment at his error and glared back at Agumon defiantly.
"Okay, anyone can make a mistake. Big deal! Everyone's gonna find out what we found soon enough! 'Sides, you woulda bragged to Biyomon if she was the one who came walking up to us…"
"No I wouldn't," insisted Agumon, turning bright red. "I'm not gonna let HER know 'bout this 'til we get it working first! I wanna prove that this is a real digivice, and that she was wrong all along in saying they don't exist!"
"So you boys need help making that thing work for ya?" Impmon spoke up, drawing attention back to herself.
"…May-yyy-be," Agumon drawled slowly, giving her a wary glare. "What's it to you?"
"Do you know how to make it work, Impmon?" asked Guilmon innocently.
"'Course she does!" Veemon chimed in instantly, grinning widely. "Impy's so bright and well traveled, she knows everythin' there is to know! She can get it to work in no time, right, Impy?"
"I might," Impmon said cryptically. However, her knowing smirk vanished for a moment and she leveled a cool glare at Veemon as she added with a hiss, "And don't call me 'Impy'."
"You think we're really gonna buy that?" Agumon growled, tightening his grip on the digivice as he glared daggers at the violet Virus. "Just how stupid do you think we are?"
"Believe me, you don't want me to answer that, reptile," Impmon murmured softly.
"Jeez, lighten up, Agumon!" said Veemon, ignorant of what his crush had just muttered. "It's not like we're getting any farther on making this thing digivolve us by ourselves! Why not let her take a crack at it?"
"Because I don't wanna," Agumon replied bluntly.
Veemon and Impmon both rolled their eyes at this. Guilmon just blinked.
"Why not?" the crimson dinosaur asked, cocking his head to one side.
"'Cause I don't trust her," and Agumon pointed a claw accusingly toward Impmon.
She just blinked, then clasped her gloved hands together and put on her best innocent look, verdant eyes widening with false surprise.
"Why…why not?" she inquired, sounding both startled and injured by the accusation.
Agumon just narrowed his eyes at her, obviously not buying the act. However, the same could not be said of his companions, as Guilmon's golden eyes welled up with sympathetic tears and Veemon panicked.
"Aw, man, now look what you've done," exclaimed the blue dragon, fixing his orange companion with an enraged glare. "Why ya gotta be so mean to her all the time? Look, now you've even got Guil going, and you know how hard he can be to calm down!"
Agumon just stared at Veemon with a dry look that made it crystal clear that he didn't honestly care how Impmon reacted to his comments. However, his expression softened as he noticed his other friend on the verge of tears.
"Ah-ah, Guilmon, don't start…"
Too late: the red Rookie was staring at him with pleading, watery eyes, looking absolutely pitiful. Agumon sweatdropped, recognizing the signs of an oncoming explosion of tears.
"Guil…" he whined, desperation tingeing his previously harsh tone. "Ah, come on, don't be like that… She's not worth… I mean…"
Meanwhile, Impmon was taking advantage of the situation: she slowly approached the stammering Agumon, keeping her 'injured and insulted innocent' look firmly in place despite the fact she was laughing inside. Standing in front of the sweating orange dinosaur, she mimicked Guilmon's hurt expression, verdant eyes shimmering with crystalline tears.
"What's wrong with you? Don't you t-trust me?" she sniffled.
"…No," was Agumon's simple reply, as he glanced at her coldly.
The harsh glance turned into a double take, however, as he realized belatedly just how close she had gotten to him. The sweatdrop on the back of his head doubled in size as he started to lean backward, attempting to avoid contact with her.
"Oh, you're so mean!" the purple demon wailed.
Covering her watering eyes with her gloved hands, she let out a loud sob, surreptitiously leaning closer so that Agumon was forced to incline himself further backward. Soon the nervous reptile found himself bending backward at a very painful angle, the muscles in his pain screaming in pain as he leaned heavily on his tail.
"…W-well, if that's the w-way you feel… I-if you r-really don't th-think you can t-trust me…"
Abruptly the crocodile tears ceased, and Impmon looked up at Agumon with a vicious grin twisting her face.
"—Then far be it for ME to prove ya wrong!"
With that, one red-gloved hand shot out and slammed into Agumon's chest, causing the already off-balance Rookie to fall flat on his back, while the other snatched the digivice from his grasp. Laughing merrily, Impmon darted away before the startled Veemon and Guilmon could make any move to grab her, and paused at the edge of the caverns. Turning around to face the trio, she pulled on her eyelid and stuck out her tongue, while waving the digivice at them.
"Thanks for the gift, goggle-heads!" she called, then turned tail and bolted from view.
"We gave Impmon a gift? I don't remember buying her anything," Guilmon commented, blinking.
"That's… 'cause… we didn't!" choked Agumon, stumbling back to his feet, face flushing crimson with rage. Finally managing to stand again, he kept one hand clamped over his aching chest as he roared, "After her!"
This snapped both Guilmon and Veemon out of their shock, and as full understanding of what had just occurred crashed down upon them the pair yelped and scrambled after the violet demon, leaving Agumon behind. The orange reptile took a few more seconds to ready himself, until it didn't ache quite so much to breathe in, before taking off after them.
Impmon chuckled as she bounded along through the underbrush, clutching the precious artifact to her chest.
Dimly she heard the shouts of the trio as they started their pursuit, but merely shook her head at their stupidity and laughed. Even if they did attempt to follow her in order to regain their treasure, instead of whining all the way back to the village, there was little chance that they could catch the violet Virus. Impmon's natural agility and speed, coupled with her head start, gave her a solid advantage over them. Also, the oversized fire lizard Guilmon was too bulky to follow the winding path she was taking through the brush easily, Veemon was too infatuated with her to deal with her seriously, and Agumon, with any luck, was still flat on his back stunned.
And even on the off chance that they did manage to pull themselves together and catch up with her, Impmon was fully confident that she could handle them in a fight. After all, Agumon would be the one most likely to actually attack her if it came to that – Veemon surely wouldn't raise a finger to hurt her, and Guilmon was far too softhearted to hurt anyone.
If she could get the digivice to work before they arrived, of course, that would tilt the odds even further in her favor.
Slowing her pace a bit, Impmon began the study the small device even further, running her fingers over the smooth screen and testing a few of its buttons. She expected to see some sort of reaction at first, even if it wasn't an instant digivolution, but the artifact did nothing. The darkened screen failed to light up, and not even the faintest sound issued from it in response to her poking and prodding.
Impmon's brow furrowed, and she continued her careful examination, her efforts becoming more forceful with each passing minute without any sign of success. Soon, the demon's dash had slowed to a walk, then a crawling pace, until finally she halted in her tracks, so completely caught up in trying to get the thing to work that she failed to notice she was no longer moving.
"C'mon… What's wrong with you, ya stupid piece of junk?" she hissed under her breath, pounding the unresponsive buttons in a futile attempt to trigger something, anything. "Is this thing even on…?"
Still nothing occurred. The digivice's screen remained black and lifeless. An enraged snarl curled Impmon's lips, and she gripped the useless device tightly, gloved fingers pressing into the smooth, unyielding surface.
"Damn thing must be busted," hissed the frustrated Rookie, and she raised one hand over her head, ready to dash the stubborn digivice into the ground. "Figures that the one digivice those goggle-heads are lucky enough to stumble across is broken!"
"We didn't stumble across it," a hurt-sounding voice piped up behind her. "It was buried, and we dug it up."
Impmon stiffened, one arm still raised high over her head in preparation to throw the ancient artifact. Ever so slowly, she turned to stare behind her, green eyes mere dots in her widened eyes.
Guilmon just blinked at her, fin ears drooping as he asked, sounding a bit saddened, "Do you really think it's broken? Ah-ah, Agumon will be so sad when he hears that… He was really looking forward to digivolving, you know."
"………"
Impmon just gaped back at the crimson dinosaur in disbelief, one of her eyes beginning to twitch slightly. Oblivious to her reaction at his presence, Guilmon went on, his mood abruptly brightening as a new thought occurred to him.
"Hey, maybe Wormmon could fix it! Veemon always said that she's really, really good at all that… um… techne… techin… tech-something stuff. Yeah. She could look at the old stories and see if they say how the digivices worked!"
He beamed at the wonderful-sounding plan, then noticed that Impmon didn't seem quite as thrilled for some reason. Confused, he blinked at her and tilted his head questioningly.
"What, don't you think that's a good plan?"
"It sounds great, buddy," affirmed Veemon as he emerged from the brush a few feet away from the red Rookie. Crossing his arms over his chest, the dragon smirked and added, "That is, if our fearless leader doesn't mind getting her involved…"
"At this point, it sounds like a perfect plan," Agumon replied, walking into view as well. The orange reptile was smiling, but his verdant eyes shone a bit coldly as he went on, "Of course, we'll need the digivice that Impy here borrowed back, first… You don't mind, do ya, Impy?"
Impmon snapped out of her shock enough to glare back at him, though she resisted the urge to snarl 'Don't call me that!'. It wouldn't help her situation right now.
"So can we have it back? Please?" Guilmon asked, his tone belying the fact that he was the only one of the trio who saw the question as a simple request.
Impmon glowered at him, lowering her raised arm back down to her chest, still clutching the digivice possessively. Her jaden eyes seemed to glitter dangerously as they flicked from side to side, briefly resting on each of her adversaries.
Guilmon was the only one honestly surprised when she raised her other hand and a small scarlet flame erupted into life just above one pointed fingertip.
"Why don't you take this instead? Bada-BOOM!"
The tiny burst of flame rocketed toward Guilmon. Impmon didn't bother to watch the red dinosaur dodge out of the way. Pivoting on her heel, she took off again, her sharp ears informing her of Agumon and Veemon's plunging into the bushes after her. A few seconds later, the heavy plod of the larger Rookie's feet over the soil joined the sounds of pursuit.
"Anytime you'd like to start making me digivolve is just fine with me!" she hissed at the digivice, keeping it pressed tightly against her chest as she ran.
However, there was still no response from the artifact. Not that Impmon was seriously expecting it to respond to her words, but she felt that it would be extremely nice if it started cooperating with her right then…
With Impmon focusing mainly on evading the goggle-mons and the trio concentrating on following, it didn't take too long for them to get a bit disoriented. The violet demon wasn't fully aware of where she was headed until she abruptly realized she was dashing through warm sand instead of soft grass. Startled, she paused for a moment, staring around.
Shimatta… I ran right to the beach without realizing it!
Most of the digimon in Shuppatsu-ten enjoyed the fact that their village was only about six miles or so from a coastline. However, while Impmon enjoyed relaxing on the beach a bit now and then, she also knew she was now out of her element. Without the natural shadows cast by the trees and bushes, with their countless hiding places…
She whirled to leave, only to see it was far too late to flee: her pursuers had already arrived, and had fanned out to roughly surround her. Agumon – who was most likely the one responsible for their breaking up to cut off her chances of escape – signaled to his friends, and they began to slowly close in.
"C'mon, Impy, just give us back our digivice, 'kay?" pleaded Veemon. "I promise we'll all use it once we figure out how it works…"
Agumon snorted to himself, rolling his eyes at that.
"Don't call me Impy," Impmon snarled defiantly, taking a few steps backward.
Inwardly, she cursed vividly at her luck turning rotten on her. She could feel cool spray from the ocean lightly moisten her tense back, mixing with the droplets of sweat rolling down the back of her head. Despite her grim-looking situation, the purple demon tightened her grip on the digivice, not willing to give it up to these morons just yet…
That was when they heard a faint beeping noise.
"What's that?" queried Guilmon, looking around the beach for the source.
"Hey, lookit that!" Veemon cried, pointing.
Impmon joined the others in staring at the device in her hands. The digivice's screen was glowing faintly, a tiny spark of light standing out against the violet digimon's crimson gloves. Her verdant eyes bugged out for a moment, and then Impmon looked up at the stunned trio with a triumphant smirk twisting her face.
"Looks like the tables just turned, boys," she snickered. Raising the digivice high into the air with both hands, she shouted, "Now! I command you, oh ancient artifact of power, give me the strength I desire, to crush these weaklings under my heel! Make me digivolve!"
For a few moments, there was utter silence, broken only by the crashing of waves against the sandy beach. Agumon, Veemon and Guilmon stared at each other, then back at the digimon they were facing, and sweatdropped in unison.
After the space of several heartbeats, Impmon sweatdropped as well, and brought the digivice back down to glare at it.
"What's wrong with this stupid thing?" she hissed, shaking it roughly. "It's all lit up, so why isn't it making me digivolve?"
"Maybe you said the wrong transformation phrase," Guilmon offered helpfully.
"GUILMON!"
"What?"
Agumon and Veemon just shook their heads in exasperation, and the blue dragon sighed, "Never mind…"
"Okay then…" Impmon took a deep breath, then raised the digivice again and shouted, "Impmon Demon power, Shin-KA!"
"………"
"Ancient artifact, here is someone who wishes to make a contract with you. A Rookie digimon named Impmon. Digivice, grant this Virus power! DIGIVOLUTION!"
"………"
"…Digivolution Activation…?"
"………"
"WORK, DAMNIT!"
"…I don't think it's working."
"Thanks for the brilliant observation, Guilmon!" snarled Impmon. Shaking the digivice violently, she screamed, "You stupid excuse for an item of power! Why the heck aren't you working?"
With that, she tossed the digivice to the ground, and hissed again as she watched it bounce off the sand.
"Hey, be careful with that!" yelped Agumon, rushing forward to snatch it up.
"Feh. The stupid thing's obviously not working right," Impmon sniffed, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the useless-seeming device.
"I dunno… It's doin' somethin' weird," Veemon observed, noticing that the screen was glowing a little brighter. Taking the digivice from Agumon, he turned it over in his hand and added, "Least it's on now… Wasn't glowing before…"
"Oh really?" Impmon's tone oozed with acid as she spat out, "Well, then, mind telling us why it's doing that? If it's not gonna make me digivolve, then what the heck is it reacting to--?"
The water directly behind the fuming Virus abruptly exploded upward into a huge geyser, causing Impmon to squeal with surprise as she was pitched forward by the sheer force of the blast. The other Rookies cried out in shock as well, and Veemon barely managed to grab Impmon and yank her out of harm's way as the water crashed back down upon the beach, drenching them.
"What… what…?" stammered Agumon, stumbling backwards along with his companions.
A long and twisting shadow blocked out the sun's rays, and the four Rookies looked up to see a huge, snake-like creature looming over them.
Impmon was the first to snap out of her stupor, but failed to immediately notice that she was leaning against Veemon, or that the dragon's arms were half-wrapped around her. Instead, the violet Virus let out a piercing shriek, unable to tear her gaze away from the aquatic monster.
Her scream triggered several effects, not the least of which being that the trio of goggle-mons started to scream in terror as well. The snake creature glared down at them with icy blue eyes, aquamarine and white scales slick and glistening from the water.
"Wh-wh-what is it?" stammered Agumon, taking several more shaky steps backward.
"How should I know?" shot back Impmon, attempting to cover up her fear by sniping at the reptile. "You think I know all the digimon names off the top of my head or somethin', just 'cause I'm smarter than…"
"It's Seadramon!"
Impmon blinked and stared at Veemon blankly, finally noticing she was clinging to them.
"How do you know that?" she demanded irritably, shoving him off her.
In response, the blue dragon held up the digivice. An image of a digimon that looked exactly like the one looming over them was displayed on the screen, along with a few rows of information.
"This says so," he explained, before studying the display again. "Says here it's a Champion level Data digimon who won't let go of his prey 'til it's dead!" He paled a bit at that, then went on to report, "His attacks are Water Breath and…"
"Ice Arrow!" the Seadramon hissed, spitting a blast of frozen water at the Rookies.
Thankfully, the four managed to dodge out of the way in time, but screamed as the force of the blast sent sand and bits of ice flying everywhere. Impmon landed on her tail, bit back a yelp of pain, and glared at Veemon, who had been flung in roughly the same direction as her.
"Perfect! So at least we know how we're gonna die now!" she snapped, verdant eyes flashing.
"No way… we're dying here," Agumon grunted, stumbling to his feet. Shaking the sand and grit off as best he could, the orange dinosaur glared at the intruder and shouted, "Look, buddy, I don't know what your problem is, but there's four of us and only one of you, so back off!"
"Great, apparently reptile-boy WANTS to die," Impmon muttered under her breath, shaking her head.
The Seadramon gazed down at the small band, an amused sneer twisting his mouth.
"You think you can beat me?" he inquired, chortling a bit. "I suppose I could use you and your friends for target practice, since I doubt my actual target will be going anywhere for a while…"
Agumon blinked, but didn't get a chance to wonder about those words long, for the serpentine monster suddenly lunged forward, maw gaping wide. Gasping sharply, the orange reptile sprung backwards, causing the Seadramon to get a mouthful of sand instead.
"Pepper Breath!" he shouted.
The small ball of orange fire struck Seadramon directly on a nostril, causing the Champion to screech and rear back at the unexpected pain. Shaking his head, the water dragon's lips curled back in a teeth-baring snarl, icy eyes flaring with rage.
"Little brat," he hissed, "THAT was a mistake."
Opening his mouth wide again, the Seadramon then sent a blast of concentrated water at the Rookies, sending them flying once more. Veemon skidded to a halt, flat on his back, then looked up through a haze to see a splintered icicle bearing down upon him.
"…Uh-oh…"
"Bada-BOOM!"
Several blood red flames streaked out from behind the fallen blue dragon and struck the frozen missile, melting it into a harmless stream of water that soaked Veemon's face rather than skewering it. Veemon sighed, then cast a grateful look back at his savior – the gratitude mixing with another emotion entirely.
"Thanks, Impy…"
The violet demon hopped down beside him, and one gloved hand shot out, swatting the dragon's cheek.
"Don't call me that," she hissed, verdant eyes flashing as she glared at him. "I didn't do that for you, anyway."
She reached out toward him with one hand. Veemon leaned up to take it, only to see Impmon's face darken further as she yanked him roughly onto his feet. Her other hand clamped onto his, pressing something he was holding further into his palm. Looking down, he realized he had managed to hang onto the digivice.
"Okay, blue boy, you've got a choice here," Impmon snarled, as emerald eyes locked with ruby orbs. "Either you help me figure out now how I can use this thing to digivolve, or you and your little goggle-loving friends die here thanks to that oversized water snake. What's it gonna be?"
As if there's really a choice, Veemon thought grimly. Aloud, however, he said, "As if I'd turn down a chance to help a lovely mon like you…"
Again a gloved hand shot out and impacted with his cheek, as Impmon commanded, "Drop the 'suave mon' act and just make this thing work!"
"Gotcha."
Meanwhile, Agumon shook off some of the wet sand coating his face and blinked, temporarily blinded. The sounds of fighting and screaming filled his ears, and for a precious few seconds, the orange reptile had no clue where his opponent was. Fully aware of the fact that Seadramon could be sweeping in to finish him off at any moment, his efforts to reorient himself became more frantic…
A deafening roar echoed from somewhere above him, and Agumon winced, instinctively covering his head with his arms. There was no chance he could avoid the Champion digimon's attack in this state…
He paused, scarcely daring to breathe. Then the roar sounded again, and Agumon realized it wasn't coming from above him, but from somewhere more on his level… Blinking the remaining grit out of his eyes, he looked around frantically.
Again the roar rang out, and Agumon froze with shock as comprehension hit. As he watched, temporarily paralyzed by fear and amazement, Guilmon lunged toward Seadramon, raking his long white claws across the serpent's ivory underbelly. The Champion screeched and dove toward the red Rookie, only to miss as Guilmon dodged away.
Guilmon snapped his head up and responded with a challenging snarl of his own – the same roar Agumon had heard before.
Then Agumon noticed that his friend's normally innocent bright golden eyes were filled with a wild energy, practically glowing with a feral battlelust. The change in Guilmon's demeanor was so startling, for a moment Agumon thought wildly that another Guilmon had somehow arrived.
That theory was more or less shattered when Seadramon knocked the red dinosaur flat on his side, and Agumon clearly saw the familiar yellow goggles still strapped to his forehead.
"G-Guil--!" he screamed, rushing forward to join his friend.
However, another blast of icy water gushed out of Seadramon's mouth, surging over the sand and blocking Guilmon from view. Agumon coughed as he was blown backwards again, his scream catching in his throat as he once more choked on sand.
"G-Guil! Guilmon!"
Veemon and Impmon also cried out as the cold liquid drenched them, yet neither relinquished their grasp on the digivice.
Opening her eyes first, Impmon glared at the stubborn artifact and shouted, "Hurry up and work, will ya? I refuse to be deleted by this damned sea serpent!"
The digivice's screen continued to glow blankly, displaying Seadramon's statistics without offering any other, more valuable assistance.
"C'mon, work, willya?" pleaded Veemon, his voice cracking. "My friends are out there, and they're gonna get deleted… You've just gotta save them!"
"Save THEM? How 'bout just savin' ME so I can kick that snake back where he came from!"
Agumon had no clue this exchange was going on several feet away from him. His horrified green eyes were locked on the place where his friend had been standing, and he called out his name miserably over and over again.
"Guilmon! Guil!"
He sucked in a gasp as the scene came into clearer focus before him. Guilmon was lying motionless on his side, only the slight rise and fall of his chest letting the terrified reptile know his friend was still alive. A cruel chuckling burned Agumon's ears, and he saw Seadramon still floating calmly in the water, head waving back and forth slightly as he laughed.
Then, the water serpent opened his mouth once again, and Agumon found himself stumbling forward, knowing with a horrible certainty that the Champion's next assault would end his friend's life.
I'm gotta do something! he screamed silently, though he knew even as he struggled forward it was a futile effort. He was just a little Rookie whose strongest attack only annoyed Seadramon because he'd gotten in a lucky shot. There was no way he could intervene to help Guilmon like this…
But I've gotta try! I can't let… I won't let him hurt Guilmon anymore!
He was only dimly aware of something deep in his chest beginning to burn as he pushed forward, his thoughts rising into a scream as he watched Seadramon prepare to launch his final assault.
Guilmon… and Veemon and Impmon… I won't let them get deleted!
Unbeknownst to the orange reptile, the digivice Veemon and Impmon were clinging to like a last desperate lifeline was beginning to pulse with a pale light. This didn't mean, however, that it escaped the notice of his friends.
"Eh?" Veemon stared down at the device, blinking in confusion.
"What in the…" began Impmon, only to be cut off as Agumon abruptly screamed.
"I WON'T let you hurt my FRIENDS!"
The digivice's glow suddenly intensified, and dragon and demon both cried out as a beam of light shot from the small object and streaked toward where Agumon was standing. Seadramon was also startled, and the water serpent recoiled slightly, icy eyes widening at the unexpected flash of bright light.
"Agumon, digivolve to…"
A feral roar ripped from the orange dinosaur's lungs as an overwhelming energy shot through him. Every muscle in his body seemed to be pushing outward at an incredible rate, stretching his darkening skin. Slashes of dark brown mottled the surface as his frame expanded into a bulkier, far more muscular body, and the skin covering his forehead adopted the same shade as it hardened, becoming thicker, sturdier. Green eyes wrenched closed, then snapped open again as they became shot through with pale red.
"This can't be…!" Seadramon hissed, rearing further backward as he watched the process in growing shock.
"GREYMON!"
Veemon and Impmon looked on in shock, their facial expressions nearly identical as they stared bug-eyed at the newly born Champion.
"…A-Ag-Aga-ga-ga…Agumon…?" murmured Veemon, unable to manage more coherent speech.
Impmon stared, then scowled, before pointing out the pair of goggles now pushed even farther back on the orange dinosaur's forehead. Like all items of clothing used by digimon, they included a special code to help keep from breaking apart during digivolution – it was much cheaper than replacing such things.
"Take a wild guess," she said dryly.
Inwardly, the violet demon was steaming: Why did Agumon get to digivolve while she remained a tiny Rookie? Why had the digivice granted him power when she was the one holding it, the one demanding its gift be given to her?
The crash of the new Champion's talons raking across Seadramon's scales snapped Impmon back to reality. Verdant eyes narrowed dangerously as she watched Greymon force his opponent farther back into the water, farther away from the beach where Guilmon lay slowly recovering from his injuries.
That should have been me out there. I should be the one flinging that water snake's slimy tail back into the ocean depths, 'stead of cowering beside – ugh – Veemon…
Her talons tightened around the digivice a bit, and she silently vowed that one day soon, she would find a way to achieve the same power that the orange reptile had mysteriously gained.
Meanwhile, Seadramon was no longer enjoying himself. The weakling Rookies he had stumbled across while closing in on his true target had turned out to be more than a simple diversion. By all rights, he should have been able to wipe out the quartet without even breaking a sweat, but this… this was unexpected to say the least.
Greymon snarled and lashed out again, and the sea serpent bit back a wounded screech as the dinosaur's claws bit deep into his flesh. Instinctively he retreated further back into the ocean, snarling at his opponent while mentally debating his next move.
His actual target remained unattained… But he would have to go through this unforeseen obstacle first in order to search out his intended prey. While part of him ached to teach this runty upstart and his friends a lesson, the painful throbbing in his chest forewarned him of the possibly grave outcome this battle could have.
As much as he despised the now very real possibility of facing his employer's wrath, the chances of his deletion in this fight seemed equally real.
Still snarling, Seadramon continued to slither farther and farther back into the waiting depths of the ocean. Finally, he dove underneath the surface, justifying his retreat by telling himself that someone had to bring news of what he had just uncovered to his master. This sort of revelation was extremely important, and the sooner his boss learned of it, the better…
Greymon watched as his opponent retreated where the orange dinosaur could not reach, then let out a victorious snarl. Behind him, Veemon came racing out, waving both arms wildly and cheering.
One of the dragon's hands was still holding the digivice, which he raised in triumph as he shouted out, "Whoo! You did it, Agumon, ya really did it! You digivolved! Boy, you sure showed that overgrown water snake a thing or two!"
"Humph. I wouldn't have taken nearly as long to dispose of that fool, or even let him live after what he did," grumbled Impmon, yet she couldn't hide a pleased smirk.
At least Seadramon got thrashed before retreating… and now at least I know the digivice isn't completely broken…
"Ooh… headache…"
"You okay, buddy?" Veemon asked, stopping by Guilmon and helping the larger Rookie climb to his feet.
"Yeah…" Guilmon nodded, then looked up as his blurring golden eyes refocused, showing him a much larger dinosaur. Blinking in shock, he blurted, "Agumon?"
Greymon nodded, then abruptly stiffened, eyes going wide. Before any of the others could ask what was wrong, a pale orange aura flashed around the dinosaur, and his figure swiftly shrank and retracted.
When the light cleared, Agumon was standing where Greymon had been, looking dazed and more than a bit confused.
"What the…" Veemon started to ask, crimson eyes wide.
"The digivice's effects must have worn off," Impmon decided, frowning thoughtfully as she considered this. "Guess it doesn't last for that long… Either that or you just couldn't handle that much power for long, Goggle-head."
Agumon scowled at her, sticking out his tongue.
"At least I got to digivolve," he teased, then suddenly he paused, eyes widening as that fact dawned on him. A mixture of shock and excitement flooding over his features, he repeated, "I digivolved… It worked… The digivice works!"
"I know!" cheered Veemon, matching Agumon's ecstatic expression and slapping his stunned friend a high five. "Now all we gotta do is make it work for all of us, and then we can go off on a REAL adventure!"
"All of us?" Impmon repeated, smirking. "Glad to hear you're including me in that plan, boys…"
"Oh, no. Who says you're gonna get involved in this?"
"Veemon does. Don't you, Vee-sama?"
Veemon flushed crimson, the blue of his face deepening to a rich cobalt as he stammered, "Well, uh… sure!"
"Oh, perfect!"
"Veemon!"
"What?"
Guilmon, meanwhile, had tuned out the others' argument. It always hurt to hear his friends raise their voices like that, so the crimson dinosaur often distracted himself in any way he could when it started up.
This time, his attention was captured by an unusual smell. Guilmon benefited from some very highly tuned senses, and he had just caught a whiff of something he didn't recognize – or, rather, didn't completely recognize.
Sniffing quietly, the red Rookie wandered away from where the other three were… 'discussing their disagreement'… and started to trace the new scent.
Whatever the source, he could tell it wasn't too far away. Sand that had been strewn about wildly thanks to the battle shifted under his huge feet as he plodded along, craning his head back and forth, always focusing on where the scent grew stronger.
Caught up in their argument, with the unfortunate Veemon caught in the middle, Agumon and Impmon failed to notice Guilmon's absence right away. It was only when they heard the crimson dinosaur call out suddenly that they realized he was no longer standing nearby.
"Guys!"
"Eh? What's wrong, Guil?" Veemon called back.
"Come here, quick!"
The other three Rookies exchanged a look: even Impmon looked mildly alarmed at the note of urgency in Guilmon's tone. After shooting the violet Virus a look that told her they'd discuss their issue later, Agumon jogged towards the sound of his friend's voice, with Impmon and Veemon directly behind him.
"Guilmon, what's…" Agumon trailed off as he rounded a bend and saw what was causing the larger Rookie to raise such a fuss. Behind him, Veemon stopped short, biting back an involuntary gasp, and Impmon grimaced.
"Well," she commented, her tone somehow light and grim at the same time, "now we understand what that sea serpent meant by his 'actual target'…"
Guilmon just looked at the others pitifully, golden eyes watering, as he remained kneeling by the motionless figure of an unconscious Gomamon. The water digimon's white fur was coated with grit where she had been thrown roughly against the sand, and at her throat glittered a medallion depicting a cross radiating four beams of light…
