The area the new allies rested in was more rocky than expected... then again, a mountain near their base was unexpected. Dreemamon and Frisk were scaling this area trying to pay the Valhalla Warriors a visit. Of course, Frisk was struggling to climb the rock face, unlike his partner.
"We're almost there!" Dreemamon called to the human.
Frisk was breathing heavily, not used to this amount of movement. "You said that an hour ago!"
"We've been doing this for fifteen minutes."
"I wouldn't know..."
He found a small outcrop to sit on for a rest, leaving the goat Digimon to join him in concern.
"Sorry. I must be holding you back."
"Don't say that! You're doing great!"
"I bet you say that to everyone."
"I don't!"
He shot her a look, showing how he thought otherwise.
"Okay, I do, but this time it's for you!"
A loud roar was heard, causing the two to look upwards. A large, dragon Digimon has appeared, circling the air above their spot. They flinched, seeing it quickly turn and dive to their location. They both screamed in shock, holding onto each other, hoping it wasn't the end.
"Woah, Fafnirmon! It's cool. They're allies."
"Allies? When did we get allies?"
"Last night when Hel came back with the Butterberries."
Allies. Hel. Berries. Frisk looked to the two, seeing a human sitting on the back of the dragon. He had windswept brown hair and piercing red eyes. His armor was that made for a dragon rider. He simply smiled at the two.
"Hey. Underground Fighters, right?"
Frisk slowly nodded, causing the male to put his hand out.
"Name's Sigurd. I guard Valhalla Warriors. Sorry to scare you like that, but Fafnirmon is a bit protective of his friends."
"Hey, don't call me out on this."
Sigurd chuckled, continuing to speak. "Come on. Hel told us to help and Underground Fighters up the mountain."
Frisk exchanged looks with a very worried Dreemamon.
"I guess it's alright. He said we ARE allies." He reached out, taking the hand of the other human, which pulled him onto the dragon Digimon. "You coming?"
Dreemamon nodded slowly, jumping onto the back of the dragon as well.
"Okay, hold on! The wind's strong up there!" He turned to his partner, whispering something to him. He nodded, giving a strong flap of the wings to fly upwards. It caused Dreemamon to bleat in shock, but Frisk just cheered to feel the wind around him like a tempest.
Fafnirmon's ascent stopped suddenly, but calmly. Frisk began to look around, seeing the extent of the land they were in.
It was like a whole continent. The forest they lived in gave way to a mountain range and a river. Down the river was a jungle, a desert, plains, all speckled with bases of sorts. There was even an ocean visible to the boy.
"Welcome to the Digital World, guys!" Sigurd yelled, trying to overpower the sound of the wind, "We're on the Java Continent, one of seven on our maps!"
"This is amazing!" Frisk yelled, his eyes scanning the area around them.
"I think I'm going to vomit..." his partner mumbled.
"Trust me, it gets way better! Enough fooling, I gotta get you to the base!"
...
Dust was kicked up as Fafnirmon landed. The three got off, and as they did, the large dragon shrank down to about Dreemamon's size. The Digimon looked less terrifying than before.
"Thanks, Fafimon."
"Hey, it's what I do."
Frisk quickly saw a small, growing garden, where a face popped out. Next to her was a furry deerlike creature.
"Idun! This is the leader of the troop who saved the crop!"
She seemed way too happy to hear that, waving manically. "Amazing! Thizimon, say hi!"
The partner of the woman began to wave as well, adorably trying to hit the same enthusiasm of his friend.
"Sigurd! Did they make it up safely?"
The next voice was familiar. The four turned to see Hel standing in the doorway of their base. Next to her was Garmmon himself.
Sigurd smiled and nodded. "Of course they did. I never let this team or their allies get hurt!"
Fafimon looked up. "Easy for you to say. I did all the lifting."
The female began to motion to Frisk. "Come on. Our leader wanted to speak to you."
"Your leader?" Frisk asked in confusion.
"Well, your team did kinda save our team from starvation. He was waiting for you to come so he can thank you personally."
...
The inside of this base had the same sunken floor as their base, but was made of stone rather than clay. It looked more advanced than their own base, even having beds and running water. A few chairs were seated in a semicircle around the fireplace... ten to be exact. In one of them was a man. His hair reached his shoulders and his clothing looked more regal. Next to him was his partner Digimon. He looked like a little boy, but with blue skin and lighter blue hair.
"Thank you, Hel and Garmmon."
The girl and Digimon bowed and left the base. The man stood up and turned around, revealing his face. His right eye was covered with a patch and his only visible one was blue.
"So, you must be Dreemamon and her partner."
They both were silent, exchanging worried looks.
"Frisk. My name is Frisk, sir," the boy said in a low voice.
The man put his hand out, a slight smile appearing on his face. "A great name for a great leader. I am Odin, leader of Valhalla Warriors. I would like to thank you both for saving our troop."
Dreemamon was obviously on edge, her ears hanging low and body shaking. She knew what she did was right, but she felt she did something wrong. "Well, it was the right thing to do."
"I actually have something to repay your troop for helping ours. Follow." He turned and began to walk to the left side of the base where the notice board was. Next to it was a shelf displaying USB sticks.
"What are those?"
"Slain Digimon. We gather these as trophies to prove our might. Many players do it and seeing as you are new here, you should take note of it." He reached behind the drives and pushed a part of the case into the wall. The case vanished, revealing a small hole.
"Ymirmon."
The blue Digimon looked up. "On it!" He ran over to Odin, allowing him to pick him up so he can reach in. He pulled out eight necklaces of sorts... they looked like empty dogtags. He handed them to the leader before jumping out of his arms.
"I have several questions," Frisk mumbled.
"We've been collecting these from other troops who disrespect their Digimon partners. They are what we call 'Tags'. When you created your character and chose your Digimon, a Tag was made along with a Crest to fill it."
"Not helping, sir."
"A Crest only activates when someone of a matching personality trait. Once united, they have the ability to let a Digimon Digivolve even further. I want you and your team to have these. Consider this as repayment for the berries." He took Frisk's hand and dropped them into his palm.
"I don't know if I can."
"Trust me. You'll need these if you want to get to the Finals."
"Finals?"
Odin sighed, turning away to close the hidden compartment. "I myself don't fully grasp the game we're in, but it's not good. I only wish to help in any way our troop can."
...
"And these are what he gave us."
Alphys carefully took one from Frisk, looking it over curiously. "Interesting. The Tag update was not meant to be released until May."
Dreemamon looked up at her partner, then to the tags in his hand. "We are really lucky to have a team like Odin's at our side. They could assist us you plan to lead us to the Finals."
"Th-the Finals?" Alphys said is shock, "Oh dear, it's like Yugi and Joey over again if that's the case!"
Everyone laughed at her slight panic. Mermiadmon glared at them, going to her side. "Hey, it's not funny, guys! She just really likes anime!"
Frisk began to walk to the humans of the group, handing out the tags. "If we have to defeat Valhalla Warriors, we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. For now, they're going to help us."
...
"Asimon, stay determined!"
Another shock went through the goat Digimon's body. He looked bigger, a small cape on his back covering a purple robe. His red eyes closed, trying to resist the electrical flow in his body. Chara began to sob again, seeing the one she grew to love hurt.
"Silence!"
A large guard Digimon, a Heimdallmon, smacked the child with a shield. She fell forward, her tears mixing with red blood.
"Our Mother won't be disturbed in her job!"
She looked up, scowling angrily. "Bite me."
Asimon looked up, tears falling. "Just stop, Chara. It's not gonna help... Just let them force me in..."
"You should listen to him, child. He's wise to say that."
She growled, glaring at the Heimdallmon again. "I'd rather die than you force his Digivolution."
Another scream from Asimon as he was shocked. Chara's tears began to fall again.
I'm gonna get us out, Asimon. Trust me.