(A/N: This chapter is mostly about the teens learning about the Digital World and about Digimon. I know we know about it, but they don't so they'll be getting a crash course.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 4: Sharing Stories

Shoutmon sighed. "I'm afraid you know just about as much as I do."

"But you're a resident of this, um, world," Takuya insisted. "Surely you must know something."

"I'm telling you, I don't. I've never even seen a real human before, let alone see one turn into a Digimon. This is completely unheard of."

"Ok, fair enough," Tai relented. "Then could you at least tell us how to get home?"

Shoutmon rolled his eyes. "Do I look like an expert on inter-dimensional travel?"

"Hey," Davis complained, "I thought you were supposed to be the king of this world. How can you not know?"

"Being king doesn't mean that I know everything. Does the king of your world know everything?"

"Actually," said TK, "we don't have a king of our world. We do have leaders of different nations, but none of them have all the answers either."

"See."

Takato looked up at the floating "Earth" in the sky. "Well, what about that?"

Shoutmon looked up. "Huh? That? That's nothing. It's more or less a giant floating landmass. Just watch out for those data streams. If you get caught up in one of those, you'll be transported to another location in the Digital World, and you'll never know where you'll end up."

"The Digital World," Takuya repeated. "Well, since we're strangers here, why don't you tell us about this place, and just what Digimon are."

Before Shoutmon could reply, there was a hideous shriek. Looking in the direction of the source, they saw a giant red insect Digimon flying around.

Shoutmon growled. "Oh, great, Kuwagamon."

"Who?" Tai asked.

At his question, their Digivices began beeping. Takato took out his and pressed the flashing red button on it. His Digivice immediately projected a hologram of the Digimon along with a written description, which he read out loud.

"Kuwagamon, Champion level, special attack Scissor Claw. Yikes, that's one nasty guy, and he's aggressive to boot."

"He must have been drawn here by the battle," Shoutmon replied. "Probably hoping to pick off the injured and weakened. Come on, let's get out of here before he finds us, I'll explain on the way."

Keeping low, they used the trees for cover as they attempted to remain hidden as they snuck away.

"So, what's with that guy?" Davis asked, referring to Kuwagamon. "Is he, like, a scavenger or something?"

Shoutmon shook his head. "No, he'll just pretty much slice apart anyone he comes across. It's in his nature. He probably just saw this as an easy way to get some data."

"What's that mean?" Tai asked, pushing some branches out of the way.

He received a strange look from the dragon Digimon. "Don't you know? You saw yourself when you fought Ogremon. Remember when he destroyed Numemon? He absorbed his data afterwards."

Tai recalled the way Numemon's body had broken down into small particles, and the way Ogremon had absorbed them. "Oh, so that's what that was. I was wondering."

Shoutmon nodded. "That's what we Digimon do. We battle in order to absorb an opponent's data to become stronger and Digivolve."

Takato seemed to take an interest in this. "Sounds kind of like Pokémon."

Shoutmon blinked. "What's that? A new type of Digimon? I never heard of him. Is he strong? What level is he?"

"What? No, it's not a Digimon, it's a video game. Also a card game, and an anime, and a manga, and a movie series, and a-"

Shoutmon held up his hand to stop him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

TK couldn't help but chuckle. "So, what's Digivolving?"

"Oh, you don't know about that? It's a the process of transforming into a stronger and more advanced version of yourself once you obtain enough data."

"So it's like when a Pokémon evolves after gaining enough experience points," Takato noted.

"Enough with Pokémon," Davis told him.

"What? It's a good game. My favorite actually."

Shoutmon scowled. "I don't know who this Pokémon is, but Digimon battle isn't game. While most Digimon are content to live a life of peace, there are those that constantly seek battle."

"That's horrible," Kari replied. "So Ogremon murdered Numemon just to get stronger?"

Shoutmon just shrugged. "It happens, but he got his in the end, didn't he? Now he's got to start over too."

This earned him bewildered looks from the teens.

"What do you mean, 'start over'?" Takuya asked. "They're dead."

The dragon Digimon shrugged again. "Well, yeah, but they won't be for long." At their confused looks, he sighed. "Digimon are reborn when they die. They just revert to their egg forms. Don't you humans do that?"

TK shook his head. "No, once we die, we stay dead. And we don't come from eggs either."

Shoutmon scratched his head. "Really? Huh, that's strange. So you don't come from eggs and you stay dead when you die. Weird."

"So Digimon never really actually die?" Kari asked.

"Of course not, our data is just reconfigured."

Davis beamed. "Cool, so it's like they're immortal. How's that work?"

Shoutmon thought best how to explain it. "Well, you see, we Digimon possess what's called a Digi-Core. This core contains our basic data. We accumulate data and Digivolve over time, but when we die, all the data we've gathered over our lifetime is lost, and we're left with just our basic data contained in our Digi-Core. This data is then reconfigured into a Digi-Egg from which we hatch from and start our lives all over again."

Takuya nodded in understanding. "Ok, I think I'm getting it. Basically, when a Digimon dies, they have to start over from scratch."

"Boy, that's gotta be annoying," Davis mumbled. "It'd be like we live years of our lives trying to get better at soccer, but when we lose a single game, we have to regain those skills and experience all over again."

Shoutmon raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what soccer is, but it sounds like you've got the basic idea." He began counting off on his fingers. "We start out as Digi-Eggs, this is called the Digitama level. Once we hatch, we start at the Baby level, or Fresh level as it's sometimes called. Then we Digivolve to the In-Training level, followed by Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, and ending with Mega, that's the highest level we can reach. It is possible for some Digimon to Digivolve again after that, but they're still considered to be Megas."

He taped his chin. "Although there are some very rare occasions where when a Mega Digimon level Digivolves, the stage they reach is so high that it's no longer considered a Mega. We call that the Ultra level. Only, like, seven Digimon have ever managed to achieve it."

This got TK thinking. "Seven, huh? How many different types of Digimon are there?"

Shoutmon thought about it. "Um, that's hard to say. I believe the last official count consisted of 1,182."

"That many?" Takuya cried. "Jeez, talk about a variety of different species."

"And the number's growing," Shoutmon told them. "New stages are being discovered all the time. Different circumstances cause different Digimon to Digivolve to different stages."

"So what species of Digimon are you?" Kari asked curiously.

Shoutmon would have raised an eyebrow if he had one. "What do you mean? Obviously I'm a Shoutmon."

This time it was Tai who raised an eyebrow. "Wait, so you're a Shoutmon named Shoutmon?"

"Hey, that's also like Pokémon," Takato noted.

Davis' eye twitched, but he chose to ignore the Pokémon remark. "Doesn't that get confusing? I mean, how do you tell each other apart? Like if you were with a bunch of other Shoutmon and then someone comes along and calls for you, how do you know they're talking about you?"

Shoutmon scoffed at this. "We can detect the differences between us, obviously. Why? How does your kind tell who is who?"

"Well, we look different," Takato pointed out. "And we have different names too. Like me, I'm Takato."

"I'm Tai."

"Kari."

"TK."

"Davis."

"Takuya."

Shoutmon looked at each of them questioningly. "So you're names aren't what you are?" And it's Takato, not Takatomon?"

The boy shook his head. "No, no mon in it. We also have last names and middle names too."

The dragon Digimon seemed confused and turned away, looking weary. "Humans are strange."

"I think it'd be stranger to name yourself after what you are," Davis replied. "That'd be like referring to ourselves by our nationality, like that anime Hetalia."

Takato chuckled. "That show was classic."

Tai cleared his throat. "Lets just chalk it up to cultural differences. So, putting the subject of names on hold for now, I'm a little concerned about this rebirth thing." He glanced at the others. "Since we all have Digivices, I'm guessing that means that we all have the ability to turn into Digimon. If Digimon are reborn, what would happen to one of us if we died as a Digimon?"

Crossing his arms, Shoutmon gave this some serious thought. "That's hard to say. You're humans that turn into Digimon, but you're still humans. You lack Digi-Cores, and you're Digivices are what contain the data that allows you to become Digimon. If humans really stay dead when they die, then I would assume that if you're killed as Digimon, you would stay dead, but the data that turned you into Digimon would endure inside the Digivices, just like it would with a normal Digimon and their Digi-Core."

Takato sweat-dropped. "So what you're saying is that if we're killed, we would stay dead, even if we're Digimon at the time, but real Digimon always get to come back? That's not fair."

"Yeah," Davis agreed. "What's to stop Ogremon from taking his revenge on us tomorrow?"

But Shoutmon just waved this off. "I wouldn't worry about that. It takes time to Digivolve from one level to the next. Once a Digi-Egg rematerializes, it usually takes a few days to hatch. Then it usually takes a Baby Digimon several weeks to Digivolve to the In-Training level, and several years to reach the Rookie level."

He placed his hands behind his head as he leisurely strolled along. "We can usually reach the Rookie level on our own with time and training, but after that, in order to Digivolve further, we need to start absorbing data. Even so, it normally takes several decades to reach the Champion level, and several centuries to reach Ultimate. Most Digimon never make it to the Mega level, but it takes a long time for those that do unless there are extenuating circumstances most likely a millennium or two."

Takuya tried to process all this. "So, wait, you guys must have like a super long lifespan then."

Shoutmon gave him a strange look. "Unless we're killed, our lifespans are eternal. We're considered to be babies at the Baby and In-Training level, children at the Rookie level, and adults at the Champion and up, but it has no bearings on our ages."

Davis whistled. "Lucky. We humans only live about 80 or 90 years."

Shoutmon's mouth dropped open. "So you have limited lifespans and you stay dead. Sheesh, being human sucks."

"Hey!"

"Well," said Kari, "our souls live on after our deaths. Do you Digimon have souls?"

Shoutmon rolled his eyes. "Duh. Just what do you think our Digi-Cores are? It contains everything we are and will be. Or could be for that matter."

Tai's eyebrows rose with interest. "Could be?"

"Oh, sure. We Digimon have numerous Digivolution lines we can take. Each one has a different nature. When Ogremon's egg hatches, if he takes a different Digivolution path, he could become a really nice guy if it's in his form's nature."

"Wow," said TK, "talk about your different life choices. And I thought deciding what you want to be when you grew up was a hard decision." As an afterthought he added, "I always wanted to be a novelist."

Kari smiled. "I want to be a kindergarten teacher."

Davis puffed out his chest. "I want to open a noodle cart," he said proudly. This earned him strange looks from everyone, and he gave them a blank look. "What?"

"Well," said Tai, "in order to do that, we'll need to find a way home."

Shoutmon waved his arms. "I told you, I don't know how to get you home! I didn't even know it was possible to cross over!" His eyes widened and he snapped his fingers. "But I know someone that might. He may even be able to answer more of our questions, such as how you got here in the first place, and why you can turn into Digimon."

"Great," Takuya replied. "Who is it?"

Shoutmon grinned. "He's an old friend of mine, a wise and powerful Mega level Digimon named Cherubimon. He and I go way back. If anyone can help you out, he can."

Tai grasped the air excitedly. "Awesome. So how do we get to him?"

"Oh," Shoutmon replied. "He lives across the ocean, and over many miles of land."

That wasn't exactly what they had been hoping to hear, and his statement was met with silence until…

"Are you kidding me?" Davis shouted.

The dragon Digimon winced. "Hey, it's not my fault he's so far away. We are on an island after all."

"Perfect," Tai muttered sarcastically. "So how are we supposed to get there?"

A grin crept up Shoutmon's face and his eyes lit up. "Don't worry, I'll take you there. And along the way, I'll help you master your Digimon forms." He rubbed his hands together gleefully. 'And they can help me with a few of my problems as well.'

Kari gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Shoutmon. We definitely owe you for this."

He grinned. "Actually, I'm the one who owes you guys for saving me from Ogremon," he pointed out. "So, as King of the Digital World, I hereby dub you six… um… the, uh, the DigiDestined Data Squad!"

Takato blinked. "Um, the Digi who now?"

"Digi Digi, mon mon," Davis complained. "What's with all these unoriginal names? Digimon, Digivolve, Digi-Port, Digi-Card, Digi-Core, Digi-Egg, Digivolution, Digitama, Digivice, DigiDestined. Am I leaving any out? And why does everyone's name end in 'mon'? What's that even mean?"

"Doesn't it mean 'monster'?" TK asked. He looked back at the dragon Digimon. "You're a Shoutmon, meaning you're a 'shout monster', right?"

"No, I'm a Rookie level dragon Digital Monster. You don't see me calling you 'TK human', or 'Takuya human', do you?"

Takuya blinked. "Hey, I didn't say anything; don't bring me into this."

"You guys, stop it," Tai interrupted. "What we need to worry about is how to get to this Cherubimon guy. Shoutmon, how do we get there?"

Before he could reply, several leaves and branches came falling down on top of them. Looking up, they saw Kuwagamon resting on the treetop, looking down at them with drool dripping from its jaws as its pincers snapped.

"Um, I think we have a bigger problem," TK muttered.

(A/N: More trouble. I'm sure everyone remembers how nasty Kuwagamon can be. But at least our heroes have a new friend to help them out. And it's the supposed king of the Digital World too. But at least he's agreed to help. Going to see Cherubimon is a Season 4 theme, but it's not to defeat him in this. Also, as you've probably guessed, Takato's love for Digimon has been substituted for Pokémon. I also through in Guilmon's misunderstanding about adding the 'mon' at the end of their names. I also addressed a few of the things I always wondered about, like how Digimon tell each other apart. And yes, there are, as of now 1,182 different Digimon at this time, but that number will more than likely go up, especially with the upcoming Digimon Tri. And for when I was describing the Digivolution levels, that part about the Super Ultimate level also being known as the Ultra level is what the English dub are calling it. That'll take some getting used to. That's pretty much all I have to say. Sorry for the cliffhanger ending. I'll see you next time.)

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New Digimon that appear. Replace the DOT in the link(s) with actual periods.

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Cherubimon#Cherubimon_.28Good.29

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Kuwagamon