Digimon Frontier-Episode 7: Island of Misfit Boys and Monsters
(AN: Agender minor character featured here and Autistic traits are revealed in Jade and Alex. I apologize for the wait.)
"While trying to find food, the gang hooked up with the KaratsukiNumemon. They agreed to rescue their women from the evil Grumblemon for some chow, even Koji and Jade helped out. But when they told the snails they were Legendary Warriors, they were captured themselves to be traded for the women. Turns out the creep who stole the women was a Legendary Warrior too, but Grumblemon had the power to Beast Spirit evolve to Gigasmon. He defeated our heroes and ate the Fractal Code for the KaratsukiNumemon's Mountain. With the gang split up, it looks like the Forest Terminal will have to wait until they find each other. Can't these guys get anything right?"
Alex had no idea how long he, Koji, Takuya, Tommy and Renamon had been falling; his throat had gotten too sore for him to even scream a long time ago and it still hadn't gotten better. And there was no sign of the tunnel's end in sight.
"IS THIS EVER GONNA END?!" Takuya screamed into the darkness.
Alex clung a little bit tighter to Renamon, burying his face in her fur; the adrenaline he'd been feeling had worn off ages ago and now every little sound seemed to make his ears scream in pain and bleed in agony. Plus, while he knows he hadn't really fought in the fight with Grumblemon, his body was singing in pain and tiredness. He just wished it would all just stop for a few seconds.
Suddenly they were out of the tunnel and in the bright blue, morning sky, hanging mid air.
And then, they were falling again.
"I just had to AAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!" Alex cried out, voice found once more after the adrenaline came back to him.
He braced himself for the impact, clinging to Renamon in hopes that even if these were his last moments, at least he'd get to spend them with his partner-
"Whoa!"
-only to land in a pit of giant… bouncy balls? Oh fuck it, the Digital World didn't make any sense at all, so why wouldn't they land in a bouncy ball pit. Why. The fuck. Not?!
Alex was evidently having a worse day than he thought considering he was swearing in his head.
"This looks like more fun than it is." Tommy muttered from wherever he landed.
"You're not kidding." Takuya agreed.
Alex dug himself out of the ball pit and spotted Renamon was already up and Takuya, Tommy and Koji were doing the same.
"Whoa, is this a big playground?" Takuya exclaimed, hand on his goggles, "and if it is, what needs a playground this big?"
Alex looked around and spotted that the bouncy balls were being held in a yellow castle-like struck and off in the distance, he spied a lavender castle like one in a princess story with high towers.
"We're gonna find out, aren't we?" Tommy asked, sounding defeated.
Takuya sighed, "Of course."
Renamon then appeared at Alex's side, "I've scouted out the area a bit; there are no Digimon or anything of intelligence in our immediate vicinity."
"Then we better get going since this isn't the best place to start a fight." Alex suggested, "I can hardly keep my balance on these things."
With a couple of nods, the boys and Digimon started heading for the exit.
Now that they were a little ways away from the ball pit, Takuya called out at the front of the group, "Keep your eyes peeled for Zoe and the others."
Alex nodded and bite his tongue to stop from making a smartass remark on how he only named Zoe, like she was the first person to come to mind since he liked her.
He glanced towards Koji, who was on his right and appeared rather tense as he kept glancing around, seemingly desperate but trying to hide it. Aww, so the wolf was missing his pack! Or perhaps, his mate… Wait, that wasn't good! There was no way he was letting him so much as look at his sister in the wrong way if those were his intentions!
The blonde then glanced towards Tommy, who was looking around in awe at all of the super-sized stuffed building blocks and toys. Well, he was just a little kid in his head and it's not like this isn't all really cool. Alex himself was barely restrained from running off to play with some of the toys, since they were all so cool looking.
The Non-Warrior glanced up to see Renamon jumping from tree-top to toy-top, scouting out the area incase of any hostiles. God, she was working pretty hard to watch out for them. That's kinda a good and bad thing though. Good because everyone was a little distracted by their surroundings and the lack of their friends. Bad because she was working too hard.
"Something tells me they're not gonna be easy to find in this place." Koji stated, sounding calm and grumpy at the same time for some reason.
But Alex could hear different birds calling out in the distance. He hoped that wasn't a bad thing.
"...fffffFFFFFFSSSSSHHHHH!"
Turning their heads to the sky, the group noticed a UFO was above them.
"Hey, maybe that flying guy has seen them." Takuya suggested as the being continued to fly over their heads as if it hadn't noticed them.
Alex put his hand over his eyes to block the sun and peered up at the thing. Now that it was closer, Alex could make out the body of a human and some red/yellow armour, "Looks like a robot or something."
Tommy grinned happy, "A flying toy robot? Neat!"
Then ran off after the toy, causing the others to exclaim in shock.
"Wait!" Takuya yelled as he went after Tommy, who was calling, "Hey Robot!"
Alex groaned, "Awww, man, I hate running." And also sprinted after the duo, "You guys, wait up!"
As the three boys ran off, Koji scowled while Renamon sighed, both of them thinking, "I don't know which one of them is worst."
Giving in, the two ran after the others, all in the hopes of getting some answers… Or playing with toys.
After running after the robot for a few minutes, it landed near a group of other toys. There was a race track, a couple car, puzzles, building blocks and springy things.
"Check it out, this is awesome!" Tommy exclaimed in rejoice as he and Alex at the head of the pack neared the toys, dropping to the ground to play with one of the cars.
"Oh wow!" Alex fell to the ground, giggling as he picked up the other car and began examining it, "I haven't played with one of these in years!"
Takuya looked around, eyes and ears open as he whined, "Hey, where'd it a go?"
"Don't sit down, we don't have time for this!" Koji snapped at the younger boys.
"He's right, there could be an enemy around the corner, Alex. We need to stay alert." Renamon advised, kneeling beside her partner.
"Give me a break, Ren, I'm still just a little kid, at least in my mind. And I haven't played with toys for years!" Alex stated, grinning at Tommy, "Plus, someone's gotta play with him, am I right?"
Tommy nodded eagerly and placed his car on the track, then it immediately sped off. Alex smiled and placed his toy on the track, watching in amazement as it wizzed around behind Tommy's car, nearly neck and neck with each other. The two children at heart laughed loudly and freely as they watched the toys running 'round the track.
Koji sighed, lowered his head and grumbled, "What babies."
Tommy turned around and pouted at the meaner, older boy, "I am not! These are just cool toys!"
Alex also turned around and pouted, "Forget about him, Tommy. He's just jealous that he can't have any of these awesome toys now, since he's being so mean to us."
Takuya leaned forward slightly so the two could hear him a little better, "Yeah, they are cool, but this probably isn't the best time to be playing. I mean, we still need to find everyone else, right?"
Images flashing through his mind of the last time he saw his sister, Alex could only gasp and lowered his head in shame, eyes bidden by his bangs as he murmured, "Jade…"
Damnit, he'd been right there! But all he could do was watch her fall into the abyss, not even a scream being allowed to leave her lips.
"Oh come on, when else are we gonna play with all these neat toys?" Tommy frowned as he asked this and then turned back to the car, hoping to ignore them.
Alex didn't turn back to the track. He just sat there with his arms around his knees, gritting his teeth as he cursed his uselessness. Damn it.
Takuya seemed to pause in consideration at Tommy's words and turned his head towards the other toys. Seeing a familiar shape, he kneeled down and picked up the flying robot that had guided them there, "Is this the flying robot?"
Renamon took a look at the toy in the goggle-head's hands, "It would appear so."
"Hey, maybe the car's can fly, too!" Tommy suggested, still in love with the toys.
Takuya fiddled with the robot for a second, then it's arm shot off, "Hey that is cool! Super Robot Punch!"
Disapproved, Koji turned and spat at the boy, "Not you too!"
Sheepishly, Takuya tried to explain himself, "I… I guess not." He turned towards Tommy and Alex, "Put down the stupid toy!"
Pouting, Tommy sighed and put the car back on the ground, standing up. Rhys had long stopped playing with his car and stood up, walking off and ahead of the group as soon as the order came out. Concerned, Renamon followed her partner, Takuya, Koji and Tommy following behind her.
"Alex?" Renamon called softly as she got closer to the blonde, "Can you tell me what's upset you?"
The blonde sighed heavily and put his hands in his pockets, staring up at the sky, wind rustling his hair and scarf, "It's just… I only just met up with Jade after being away from her for a while. And now that she's not here again, I'm not even worried about her. All I could think about were the toys." He scoffed and lowered his head, "Some brother I turned out to be."
The fox felt her heart ache a little and walked a little bit closer to her partner, "Hey, it's okay, Alex. You weren't worried too much about Jade before."
"That was because she'd left with Koji, someone who I just sorta felt was an okay guy to leave her with. I knew he wouldn't hurt her. But this time..." Alex grit his teeth, fists forming in his pockets, "She's all alone. I didn't see anyone else fall with her and now… Damnit, she could be hurt somewhere, or worst, and all I can think about is toys. What kind of brother does that make me?!"
Renamon gave her partner a smile and placed a paw on his shoulder. Alex looked up to her in confusion.
"A very good brother," Renamon said, smiling, "who believes in his sister's strengths and capabilities as a survivor. And does her a huge favor by keeping his stress levels down by not worrying about her. Which I'm sure is something she wouldn't want you doing."
Blinking for a moment, Alex smiled and placed his left hand over Renamon's hand on his right shoulder, "Thanks Ren."
"You're most welcome, Alex." Taking her hand off his shoulder, "I'm gonna get back to scouting."
The fox sprinted ahead, keeping her ears and eyes open in case of danger.
Alex smiled at where the yellow fox had gone off to and felt his guilt lift a little. He still felt pretty bad about himself, but he sure felt better now. He was pretty lucky as far as getting a partner and sister went.
Luckiest guy around.
But was being lucky really the only thing that made him worthy to have these two in his life?
"I wonder what happened to Zoe and JP." Takuya called out.
Koji wondered if Jade was okay. He wondered if she was with the others or on her own. He wondered if she was hurt. Or being attacked. He wondered if she was being chased by Grumblemon or some other crazy Digimon. He wondered-"I think our only choice is to head for the Forest Terminal."
Takuya turned his head towards Koji as Alex ran back over to them, "Yeah. I bet we can meet up with them there. What do you think?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." Alex said, smiling with a thumbs up. His face then filled with confusion, as did Takuya's, so Koji looked behind him.
It was Tommy. Holding a green balloon in one hand and a pig toy in his arm. For the love of-
"Guys check it out!" The boy pushed one of the pig's ears and it started making noises, causing the hat lover to laugh.
"Hey look, we decided this isn't the time to play around, right?" Takuya said with hands on his hips.
"He's right, Tommy. We've got our friends to find and we did agree to stop playing." Alex added, trying to talk to the boy without judgment or attitude.
Tommy whimpered, letting go of the balloon and cuddling the pig, "You decided."
Takuya took his hands off his hips and he looked ready to panic a little, "Calm down, don't start crying."
Making an annoyed noise, Tommy turned his head and huffed, pouting. Alex also sighed.
"Aww man, I feel bad." Takuya stated, standing up straight.
"Why, because of him?" Koji grunted, arms followed in annoyance, "Baby has to grow up sometime."
Tommy made a sound of surprise, then lowered his head in sadness.
Alex raised one of his eye brows, a wince of sympathy in his expression, "Come on, Koij, isn't that a little bit too harsh? I agree with you completely, but I think that was said a bit too bluntly."
"Yeah, don't be so mean." Takuya added, "I mean, he's only a little kid for Pete's sake."
Koji unfolded his arms and took off walking, adding in a final word for the argument, "Whatever." and in his head adding "I'd probably have found Jade by now if it wasn't for the useless kid."
"No, you can't just say whatever, now listen up!" Takuya turned and yelled at the bandanna boy, causing him to cause, "I know you're not used to having friends, but you're part of a team now, so you better show some support!"
Silently, Koji mused in annoyance "That sounds like something Jade would have said if she was here." then said out loud, "Great idea, let's support the useless kid right up until the point we all die because of his stupidity."
"It's because of that 'useless kid' that you're still alive, Minamoto, don't forget he's the one who caught you and stopped you from falling to your death!" Alex yelled as he stomped towards Koji, "Now say you're sorry, or I'm gonna clock you!"
Snorting, the pony-tailed teen turned his whole body, taking his hands from his pockets and smirking at the blonde, "Oh, you wanna go, pretty-boy?"
"No!" The blonde spat, stopping a short distance in front of Koji, "But I will if it'll get you to swallow your pride and say you're sorry for being such a rotten egg!"
Koji shook his head as he turned back around; God this kid was annoying, how could Jade put up with him? "You know something, you're starting to annoy me."
"You wanna know something else?" Alex asked, getting a couple steps closer, "I finally figured out why my sister put up with you-it's because no one likes you!"
Snapping his head around, the Warrior of Light glared daggers at the ordinary boy, "What do you know?! Humm!"
"Hummm." Alex hummed, feeling annoyed.
"Huh?" Takuya hummed, confusedly.
"Hooo." Tommy sighed, sadly, "Come on you guys, if we keep fighting, we'll never get to the Forest Terminal."
It was then that Renamon appeared, "The boy is right, you know. And there don't seem to be any means of practical transport in the area, so we'll spend a lot of the time walking."
Sighing, the boys started walking again, this time with Renamon hanging around the group for a bit.
Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga- "WHISTLE!"
Turning his head, Tommy at the pack of the line pointed out, "Hey, it's a train!"
"Yeah, some train." Koji grumbled, sitting on the tender of a large toy train.
"Some toy train." Takuya mocked, turning around from where he sat on the toy's cockpit (or whatever the train equivalent was called).
Koji nearly swore. Tommy giggled in rejoice as he sat in front of Takuya. Alex kept his eyes focused ahead, arms wrapped around Renamon's neck as she carried him to keep up with the thing. For a toy, it went pretty fast.
"Yeah, very funny, just drop it okay? It's bad enough that I have to ride on this stupid thing." The bandanna boy complained.
"Koji's playing with toys!" Takuya and Tommy sang.
"Hum!" The mentioned boy growled, loudly.
"Quit acting stupid, you guys." Alex called, looking towards them, then turning his head to the front, "We need to keep an eye out for our friends or any Digimon who'd wanna hurt us."
"I believe there is one in our immediate vicinity, to the right." Renamon spoke up, turning her head, "He doesn't give off a hostile aura, though."
Turning their heads, the boys all spied a yellow bear Digimon. He was as tall as a tree with teddy bear style coloring and design. He had two plasters criss-crossing on his white stomach and red, squinted eyes.
"Wow, that's wild, Takuya!" The hat-lover called, "It's a giant walking teddy bear!"
Hearing beeping, Alex took his D-3 out of his pocket and saw what it read; "Monzaemon, a Puppet Digimon. Level: Ultimate. Type: Vaccine. Despite his scary eyes, he's supposedly gentle. Attacks include: Hug, Silent Hug and Hearts Attack, which is when he flings heart shaped bubbles that induce a feeling of euphoria while also trapping the enemy. "
Takuya perked up, "Hey, maybe he knows how to get to the Forest Terminal?"
Rejoicing, the boys hopped off the train and ran to the Digimon, while Alex let go of Renamon and ran after them, his partner on his heals.
"Hey, buddy, teddy!" The goggle-head called, "Wait up!"
Monzaemon turned towards the group and then started running, giggling as he went. In their confusion, the boys stopped and Renamon and Alex ended up in front. Monzaemon reached out for Alex and then threw him to the ground.
Renamon gasped, "AL!"
"I am still undefeated!" Monzaemon cheered, paw in the air.
Suddenly, the bear was tackled to the ground by an enraged Renamon. They twisted and tumbled for a moment and ended out with Renamon on top, claws beard in Monzaemon's view and using her full body weight to keep him down.
"Wanna say that again?" She hissed, fist clenching in his fur, green mist engulfing her eyes, "I dare you to say that again."
His eyes filled with tears and Monzaemon clenched them shut, afraid.
"Renamon, calm down, you're scaring him!" Alex called, running over to his partner and grabbing her raised arm, "He didn't do that with malicious intent, I would have felt it. Stop it!"
The fox turned her head towards her partner, "But, Al he attacked you, what was I supposed to do, let him get you again?!"
"You could have picked me up and ran, I know you're fast enough." The blonde sighed, scratched his head, then let his hands drop, "Look, just let him up, okay? We're all on tight strings and I get that you acted without thinking of what would happen, or if he was a threat to begin with. But holding him down and making him cry isn't gonna get us anywhere."
Growling for a moment, the fox relented, breathed a sigh as she closed her eyes and got up off the bear, not turning her back on him and continuing to glare, though the mist had disappeared. Satisfied, Alex kneeled down by Monzaemon's side and looked the guy in the face.
"Sorry about that, Renamon's a little on edge right now. Please forgive her for over-reacting a little. But in her defense, you did attack me for no reason." Alex gently chided the bear, then offered him his hand, "Now, let's help you up."
Hesitantly, Monzaemon took Alex's hand and they got him up together.
Once he was standing, the bear said, "I'm, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I, I was only playing."
"No problem man, I knew that." Alex said, grinning, but then gestured to the others, "But not everyone is a mind reader, like me, and can't tell if something's a game or serious. So just for next time, make sure everybody knows you're only play fighting before throwing someone to the ground. That also gives everyone a chance to get ready so it can be a fun game."
"Good point. I like it when the game's fun." Monzaemon giggled, "I'm so sorry I scared you. My name is Monzaemon."
"Nice to meet you, Monzaemon." Alex then pointed at himself, "My name is Alex, but a lot of people call me Al." He gestured behind himself, "The fox is my partner, Renamon."
"A pleasure to meet you." She bowed slightly.
"The kid with the massive hat is Tommy." The blonde declared.
"Hi!" Tommy waved.
"Takuya's our goggle-headed leader." The 10-year-old added.
"Hello there." Takuya raised a hand.
"And Koji's our main-man, lone wolf type." Alex giggled.
"Whatever." Koji shrugged.
"It's great to meet all of you." Monzaemon giggled, "Can we play now, please?"
Alex gave a sad smile, "I'm sorry, Monzaemon, but we're on an important mission and can't play right now. Maybe later."
"Aww, okay." The bear visibly deflated, then smiled and turned running, waving as he left, "Goodbye my friends!"
"Bye-bye, Monzaemon!" Alex called back, waving as well.
With that settled, the gang went on their way again, opposite direction to Monzaemon. Takuya lead with Tommy beside him, Koji behind them, then Alex and finally Renamon. They walked in silence, eyes and ears peeled.
Spying something, Tommy called excitedly, "Hey, look, it's a pirate ship!"
Grinning, Alex started sprinting for it, "We might get a better view from there!"
Tommy ran alongside Alex, while the older boys and fox tried calling after them to halt, but it was useless. Sighing, Renamon, Takuya and Koji ran after the two boys, wondering if this was how a parent felt when they took their kids to an amusement park.
By the time they reached the ship, Alex and Tommy were already running all over it, exploring and looking for a way to get to the crow's nest at the top for the view they needed.
"Don't go running off like that, guys!" Takuya reprimanded them, "What if you got hurt, or if this was a trap?!"
It was then that the ship started moving. The boys cried out in shock as they latched onto the sides, Renamon yowling as she dug her claws into the ship's mast.
"Who's idea was it to get onto this crazy thing?!" Koji called out, annoyed, "Just get us off of here!"
"Hey, we're floating." Takuya commented, blinking as the ship halted for a few moments.
Then gravity brought it down again, Tommy noted, "Not anymore!"
"I thought we were!" The Goggle-Boy defended himself.
The other boys continued to cry out as the ship swung a couple times, while Alex blinked and slowly started grinning, "Hey, this is kinda fun!"
"Are you nuts?!" The other boys and Renamon demanded.
Alex merely laughed and cheered while everyone screamed with the movements of the ship.
"Is anyone else feeling kinda sick?!" The hat-lover called in alarm.
Koji yelled as the boat swayed, "Get us off of here before he loses it!"
Takuya glared, "Sure, I'll just snap my fingers!"
Renamon grit her teeth tight, tail bristly, "I hate this thing!"
"Uh oh…" Tommy murmured, his face turning green.
"Don't look in my direction, vid!" Koji warned.
"Don't point it at me!" Takuya added.
"Tommy, I love you kid, but please don't puke on me!" Alex added.
The ship finally slowed to a halt.
"I think he's gonna be okay." Koji whipped his forehead.
Tommy belched.
"Ahhh, get him off, get him off!" Koji yelled, standing up and jumping away from Tommy.
Takuya took Tommy's shoulder in hand and walked him off the ship, "You gonna be okay kid?"
"Uh-huh." Tommy replied.
"Well, that's good." Alex added in, waking off with Renamon behind him, "I wouldn't want you to be sick. That wouldn't be fun for anyone, especially you."
"Indeed." The fox agreed.
Takuya then leaned forwards and braced his hands on his knees, "Come on, you want a piggy back ride?"
"Gimme a break, make the kid walk!" Koji squawked, angrily.
The goggle-head frowned, "Look, it's no big deal, he's not feeling well so I'll help him out, okay?"
The bandanna boy took his hand out of his pocket, fist clearly seen, "Oh yeah and what'll happen if you're attacked while you're carrying him, you'll be too slow to run away, that's for sure!"
"In which point we, and by we I mean you and Renamon, can step in to shield them!" Alex offered, "For every problem, there is always a solution, indeed there is!" He chuckled and wagged his finger for no apparent reason.
"Shut it, Alex." Koji snapped.
Alex flinched, feeling dejected and lowered his head. Why does this always happen to him?
Then the pony-tailed boy turned to Takuya, "You're about the worst leader I've ever seen. You never think ahead."
"Well at least I think about someone besides myself Mr. Definition-of-the-Word-Selfish!" Takuya snapped back, mad.
Renamon sighed, thinking, "This is getting us nowhere."
Tommy walked by calmly, "I can walk."
The goggle-head blinked, checking in as he straightened, "Hey. Tommy, you sure?"
"Yeah, I mean, I really don't have a choice." The hat lover stated as he turned around.
The blonde smiled at the poor boy and patted his shoulder gently, "Hey, you always got a choice, Tommy, no one can force you to not have that much in your life."
"He's right." Takuya agreed, then pointed ahead of them, "I got an idea, let's see if anyone lives in that house, maybe they can help us."
Alex turned to see the house the brunette pointed out; it was a short building with an arch doorway and two arch windows. The yellow walls were painted as if they were 3 different layers with yellow/white triangle cream between. On top of the circle-shaped house was a layer of white that had strawberries and those cute "icing drops" that Alex didn't actually know what to call (they looked like a bunch of lines had been carved into them going upwards) decorating the outer ring of the roof, while a large blob but lined like the "icing drops" centered the cake. The place looked good enough to eat and was really cute.
It made Alex really hungry.
The 5 started walking towards the building, unaware they were being watched by 3 different Digimon.
The first was a baby dinosaur on two legs who's body was made of black lego blocks while his black eyes gleamed wickedly. This was ShadowToyAgumon.
The second was Monzaemon, who appeared worried.
The third was a Digimon that looked like a patchwork teddy bear gone horribly, darkly wrong. Most of it's body was purple with white parts sewn on with red stitches. It had blades for toes and fingers, but it's white/right arm was bear. All it's limbs had spikes getting out from them besides the right leg which had black straps instead. It's belly button was a red cris-cross. A pink heart was stitched into it's chest with some kind of tub linking it up to where it's mouth was suppose to be. Half it's face was white and both it's ears were made of the tub. For eyes it had two silver Xs. Two blades jutted out of it's head. This was Porcupamon.
ShadowToyAgumon laughed wickedly, "Human children on our island? This couldn't be more perfect. We shall capture all 4 of them and use them as bargaining chips when we get to the real world." He turned to the teddy bears, "Monzaemon, Porcupamon, get them now!"
Monzaemon whimpered while Porcupamon silently hid behind him, "Can't we just play?"
ShadowToyAgumon's eyes flashed purple and the two Digimon were surrounded in light, howling in pain.
And when they emerged, they were not the same.
The group of humans and Digimon walked into the doorway and Alex could not believe his eyes!
Jars full of different coloured candies. Cotton candy on racks in 3 different colors (pink, blue and yellow). An ice cream stand with over 30 flavors. A bunch of cakes all on display. Apples covered in everything, from caramel, to chocolate.
It was heaven.
"Now I know what it's like to be a kid in a candy store." Takuya remarked, eyes a light.
Tommy was grinning like mad, "And it's the best thing ever!" He ran to the cotton candy, grabbing a yellow one and stuffing his face.
"Hell yeah!" Alex cheered, then grabbed Renamon's paw and started running, "Come on, we gotta get some of that cake!"
"Alex, slow down, it's not going anywhere!" Renamon cried out as she was pulled along, but there was a smile on her face and curiosity in her eyes. She was intrigued by what this 'cake' might be and why it made Alex so joyful. Or if it really was going to stay put, like she predicted.
"I guess we could take a little time to have a snack, right?" Takuya asked the group.
"No complaints here!" Alex called, mouth already stuffed with what looked like an ordinary sponge cake, crumbs all over his face.
Renamon was eyeing her slice of chocolate cake oddly. She'd never seen food quite like this before. It appeared it had been cut from something else, probably part of a circular shaped human dish of some kind.
Tommy walked up to Takuya, pink cotton candy in hand and gave it to him, "Here, have some!"
The youngest in the group then grabbed a blue one and practically threw it into Koji's hands with a simple, "Here!"
Takuya grinned and took large bites out of his cotton candy. Alex kept complimenting the cake he was eating, taking massive bites after every swallow. Renamon gave her slice one final curious sniff, then took a small bite of it. Her eyes lit up, her tail stood on end, all bushy and bristled and she took larger and more bites of the cake. Alex watched this happen with a great amount of interest, then smiled. She may act all tough, mature and completely world ready. But she was probably as new to the Digital World as they were, despite having lived there all her life.
He was glad she was having enjoyable experiences, even after the disaster that was Katsuki Mountain. But he was also glad that she'd experienced that as well. Just as Jade had taught him when he cried over her beatings;
She'd held up her hand with the pony finger up, all sunny smiles despite her swollen eye and the cuts on her face and neck, "All our experiences, good, bad, neutral, horrid, laughable, disgusting, pleasurable, fearful, content, confusing… They are all added to our memory banks and those become part of our personality."
Jade put her hand back in her lap, both body parts in the same shape as her face, "Part of what makes us individuals. Part of what makes us human.
Her brown eyes, so much like their father's only they'd been bloodshot because of tears, turned serious, "So no matter what happens, please don't ever wish that something horrible that happened to us never happened, because it will have made you realize you had the strength to survive it."
Or as he'd then summarized, tears on his face, "So, don't regret the past because it makes us who we are?"
She'd nodded, body covered in rags, bruises and blood and then continued with, "Our past and knowledge gives us the tools to decide for ourselves who we are."
Jade pointed to Alex, "Our past is the time we spent with our family. Learning how to Duel, to speak to the cards and making friends with Duel Monsters."
She pointed to herself this time, "Our knowledge consists of what we have been taught, what is right and wrong, what evil is and isn't, what is true and what's not."
Jade gripped his hand gently, but reassuringly, "It's up to us to make individuals of ourselves by making choices based on what we have known and what we are taught. And we know that regret, while it is natural, is wasted energy."
She chuckled, "Dad's told us that a lot and we know that when we just sit around and regret, things don't get done. So please, my brother. Don't be regretful or blame yourself over my bruises. The only one to blame is Harrison. And this will only make us stronger in the end."
Alex had started crying again and rubbing the tears away with his nice, clean, well looked after shirt, "But I'm tired of you getting hurt and me being in the spotlight. Harrison refuses to let me stim or go into my own head in public when I need to! He won't even let me have headphones! I want out, not just for you, but for me too. Please, Jade, get us out!"
Jade had shushed him gently, hugging him and rocking him like a newborn baby, "I know how you feel, Al. He doesn't let me sing or spin either. But I promise, I'll take us somewhere far away someday, a place far away from Harrison. Somewhere where you can recite all your favorite TV shows and songs. Somewhere where I can sing at the top of my voice while spinning on the spot without getting lashed for it. Somewhere where neither of us feel responsible for others' sins. But until that time, please, don't be regretful. Don't regret that you can't protect me; I'm older, it's my job to protect you, silly. Don't regret that I get treated like this; you can't hold yourself accountable for other people's actions."
She held him a little tighter as his sobs got a little louder, "But most of all, don't lose hope. Because even if it feels like nothing remains, hope will always be there if we're willing to seek it out. Hope is the only reason humanity's gotten this far, brother; hope and a lot of hard work. Hope is what will take us into the future because it's the fuel for productivity. Hope is all we have left. And I swear, one day, I'll put it to good use."
Her words back then, though considered rambling by her, had kept him going on the days when he just wanted to melt down in public, cry and scream and shout until he had nothing left because it felt like the walls were closing in, risk stimming even if it'd be weird just to feel better only to get a quick glare from Harriston to stop him.
Jade has always had his back and saved his life. He half wished that one day he could return the favor (only half wished because he didn't want her to be in a situation where she'd need saving).
"We do not have time to sit around here, stuffing our faces with candy!" Koji snapped, clearly annoyed, "We have to find a way to get to the Forest Terminal. We're not out having fun at a carnival or something. You understand? Are you listening to me?!"
Nobody paid him any attention.
"Man, you're infuriating!" The bandanna boy spat.
"What are we supposed to do," The goggle-head spat back, "we're floating on an island!"
Koji's eyes hardened as he glared, "There's another example, of why you'll never be a good leader; you just give up! It's like you don't even wanna help you friends at all! I mean, take a look at what you're doing right now."
Renamon, Alex and Tommy stopped eating once that point was raised.
"I don't see you coming up with any ideas." Takuya argued.
"Plus, the sugar could give us a little energy to get our brains spinning." Alex added in, walking towards the others from the cake stand, Renamon following like a shadow.
"At least I'm not just eating, we need to think about the other Legendary Warriors!" The dark-haired boy went on.
Takuya exclaimed, "Legendary War-"
"That's right!" Alex remembered, "There are 10 Legendary Warriors and we only have 6 accounted for; Agunimon, Lobomon, Kumamon, Kazemon, Beetlemon and Grumblemon! There are 4 others somewhere out there."
"And they could be on Grumblemon and Cherubimon's side." Renamon realized with a small amount of shock.
"And what about Yumon?!" The blonde added in, "She's not a Warrior, but Jade could become her! What if there are other spirits like Yumon out there, non-Warriors who survived the war or something and became like her?"
"That's a high possibility." The fox murmured, taking a thinking pose, tail swishing, "If only Bokomon were here, then he could tell us who else might have been preserved as a spirit, or at least name those who fought against and with the Supreme King in the past."
The Spiritless boy bit his lip, "What if there are other kids like me who work for Cherubimon? Kids with Digimon partners, I mean, it's possible, isn't it?"
"At this point, anything is possible." Koji added in, "What if all that's true and every possible we've thought of turns out to mean they're on Cherubimon's side?! If they are, we need a plan! We need to think about the worst case scenario," Tommy lowered his head, "not just play games and eat sweets," He lowered the remnants of his cotton candy, "or we might not make it out of this world alive!"
The hat lover whimpered.
"Look, can we not talk about this now?" Takuya asked, noticing Tommy's discomfort.
"You mean not in front of Tommy?" Koji scowled, "I don't care if he's young, Alex is as much of a kid mentally as Tommy is physically, yet he's handling it just fine. He has to learn to face the truth!"
"Hey, don't pull that card, Koji, that's not cool!" Alex interrupted, walking towards Tommy and standing behind him supportively, "The only reason I'm not freaking out is because I'm used to thoughts and talk of dying and fighting to survive, I've lived it. Age has no bearing on maturity, so don't either of you play the 'he's young' card."
"I'm sorry you hate me so much." Tommy murmured.
Renamon blinked in shock at this, then her eyes softened. The poor boy…
Koji tried to explain, "I don't hate you, it's just…" but he had no words to use.
Takuya walked up to the boy and gently pet him on the head while he muttered, "I'm sorry."
"We're all just a little stressed out right now, Tommy, no one hates you." Alex kneeled in front of the boy, "It's just, people handle their stress in different ways and some people get hurt because of that even if the stressed person doesn't mean it. We just gotta stay positive for right now, okay?"
Tommy nodded, a whimper in his voice.
Meanwhile, far away, in a narrow river with high canyon walls, a log full of humans and Digimon made it's way merrily down stream. At the front was Zoe facing in the direction they traveled, Bokomon & Neemon facing the same way, JP sitting on the end and facing the way they came, and Mikemon sitting on JP's back, quaking in his boots.
"H-ho-how c-can y-yo-you b-be s-so c-ca-calm wh-whi-while we're on w-w-w-wa-water?" Mikemon asked, chattering his teeth, entire body shaking, claws digging into JP's cloths.
"Ouch, geez, Mikemon, ease up a little there, I'm not a scratching post!" JP grouched.
"S-s-s-s-so-sorry." The cat chattered, though he didn't ease up.
JP sighed. This was gonna be a long trip.
"I wonder how Takuya and the others are doing." The girl thought out-loud to herself.
"I don't know." The rabbit tilted his head, saying it all at once.
Zoe turned to him, sarcastically retorting, "Gee, thanks."
Neemon hummed.
"I'm sure the 6 of them are bumping along, getting into all kinds of trouble, or causing it I suppose," Bokomon leaned forwards a little, "and that they'll show up just fine at the Forest Terminal."
"I hope you're right, Bokomon," She sighed, "but I didn't see Jade fall with them. I'm scared she's all on her own."
"That may be the case, but I'm sure she'll survive. She can turn into Yumon if she gets into trouble, but based on what Alex has told us about their life style, I'd say it's a safe bet Jade can handle herself without turning into a Digimon." Bokomon theorized, "At least, that's what I'm hoping."
"We can only hope." The blonde murmured.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
She gasped and snapped at, "JP, what are you doing to poor Mikemon?!"
"Wouldn't it be great if we could catch a big old fish for dinner? I figure we could make the cat useful." JP explained, smiling as he held the frailing, bug-eyed Mikemon by the tail over the water, who continuously screamed so fast his plea became one word, "Put me down, put me down, PUT ME DOWN!"
"Gracious, do you ever think with your head instead of your stomach? Put the poor fellow down!" Bokomon snapped.
Zoe's eyebrows narrowed as she angrily muttered, "Boys!"
JP tried to explain, but Zoe cut him off. This gave Mikemon the chance to escape the boy's grasp and jump into her arms, slightly damp and shivering in fear.
"There, there, now, Mikemon, you're safe with me." The Warrior of Wind calmly murmured, "I won't let JP or the water touch you."
He looked up at her with watery, cute eyes, "You mean that?"
She nodded, "Absolutely."
The blonde gave a pointed glare at JP, then turned on him, causing the boy to gap, then sulk.
"Aww, man, I was hoping to be her hero." The Warrior of Thunder muttered.
"If you want to impress a woman, you gotta do it with your own two socks, JP, " Neemon advised, "or something like that."
"What he means is you've got to do it yourself." Bokomon lectured, "Using Mikemon like that was extremely cruel, I bet you didn't even ask for his help."
"Yeah, that's exactly how I wanted to spend my afternoon." JP muttered, "Being scolded by a stupid rabbit and a book-smart mutant."
"Serves you right for trying to use me as a fishing rod!" Mikemon growled, eyes angry, Anime tick mark on his head, "What if I'd fallen in, huh, what then, genius?!"
JP groaned.
Back on Toy Island, Takuya, Koji, Tommy, Renamon & Alex exited the sweets shop, all in low spirits. The air was tense with the thick tension, making speech near impossible.
Renamon's ears twitched.
"Does anyone wanna talk?" Tommy asked, awkwardly.
Alex huhhed and turned to his partner, "Something wrong, Ren?"
"Fine." Koji spoke harshly, "Let's talk about getting to Forest Terminal and what we're gonna do about the other Legendary Warriors and Spirits."
"I'm not sure." Renamon muttered.
"Ugh, you're unbelievable." Takuya scoffed, "I told you I didn't wanna talk about it in front of Tommy."
"It feels as if something is closing in." The fox analyzed.
"And I told you," Koji bit back, "that you can't treat him differently than the rest of us."
Alex blinked and looked around, "Now that you mention it, I think I'm sensing something weird."
"Yeah, but you can respect that he's just a kid." Takuya continued.
"Something almost like..." The blonde bit his hand, then looked at the fast fading imprints of his teeth on his skin.
Koji stopped walking, "So are you."
"Bloodlust…" The Spiritless boy said.
"Alright!" Takuya stopped, turning to face Koji, who turned to face Takuya, "Oh yeah?!"
"HELLFIRE!"
"SCATTER!" Alex screamed.
Everyone ran off in different directions, just in time to miss a terrifying array of bullets.
"Wh," Koji exclaimed, "what was that?!"
"I don't know!" Takuya yelled, coughing, "It came outta nowhere!"
"Renamon!"
The two gasped and looked towards Alex and Renamon, who didn't look too good. Her body was covered in scratches and dust. It seemed she got the worst of the blast while protecting her partner.
"Ren, are you alright?!" Alex asked, kneeling at Renamon's side, "Can you hear me?! REN!"
The fox coughed, then opened her eyes, smiling at Alex, "I'm okay, Al."
He whimpered, tears in his eyes and falling on her fur, "No you're not. You got hurt because of me. Again."
The two older boys gave expressions of sorrow in sympathy for Alex. The kid probably felt useless.
"My, what a shame. I was hoping to knock you all out in just one blow."
The boys jumped up, turning their attention to the smoke, where a figure was beginning to walk through, a gun over their shoulder.
"Oh well, at least I got the fox. She would have spoiled my plans if she was still in commission."
"Who are you?! Get out of the fog and face us you coward!" Takuya yelled, clearly angry.
"I'd suggest checking your numbers first, boy," The figure stepped into view, "before you issue a threat."
The being presented as a male in a blue suit with white stripes going upwards and gold buttons on the coat that gave off a jazz-music feel, a red zipped top underneath, bandages on it's left thigh. He wore a tattered silver coat with red cuffs, a red tattered scarf and a burgundy helmet that looked like an animal's head with red eyes, two horns, ears, a gold scar and silver teeth. It's white straight hair reached it's mid back where two purple wings jutted out with a horn on each. In one gloved hand, it held a knife and in the other, it held a machine gun.
The D-3 beeped and showed information along with a pictured, "Astamon, Ultimate Level, Virus Type, Demon Man Digimon. Known as a Nightmare Soldier along with being from the Dark Area, he's cruel to his enemies and kind to his friends. Nicknamed the Dark Area Prince, his gun was handmade by Vulcanusmon and called 'Gold Salmon'; it's bullets have a will of their own and will chase any enemy to the end of hell. His attacks include Maverick where he kicks with dark Qi and Hellfire where he uses all his bullets at once."
Alex gasped, "But, if his bullets can follow us, then…"
"You don't have to worry, kid. The bullets all hit the fox so they won't be coming around to hit you in the back." Astamon assured them, looking towards Renamon, "She must have known that because it looked to me like she stepped into the bullet's path when she spotted them. What a stupid thing to do just for a couple humans."
Takuya looked around nervously, "Hey, where's Tommy?!"
Everyone looked around, Alex helping Renamon to her feet and sure enough, he wasn't near.
"My associate, WaruMonzaemon, has the boy with the big hat. You can try to go after him if you'd like," Astamon stated, raising his gun and grinning, "but I assure you, you won't get very far."
Koji growled, "You asking for a fight?"
"But Renamon's hurt and someone's gotta get Tommy!" Alex cried, "We don't have time to fight this guy!"
"But he's not giving us much of a choice." Takuya seethed, reaching for his D-Tector.
"Wait."
Everyone stopped and turned their heads to Renamon, watching as she shrugged herself free from Alex and walked forwards.
"I'll take care of this guy. You need to rescue Tommy." The fox stated, coming to the front of the group.
"But Ren, you're hurt!" Alex cried, joining her, "Plus, you felt what those bullets can do, there's no way you're fighting him by yourself in this condition!"
"Then Digivolve me, Al." Renamon requested.
He hesitated, "But-"
"We don't have time to argue!" She snapped in, sharply.
Alex flinched, scared.
Renamon blinked and sighed, softening her eyes as much as she could.
"Alex," She placed her paw on his shoulder, "I need to do this. I need to do this to keep you safe, as it is my sworn duty as your partner. I need to do this to help Takuya and Koji get to Tommy to save him from WaruMonzaemon. I need to do this, Al and I can't do it without you. Please?"
He gazed at her smile worriedly, looked at his D-3 and sighed. The blonde's eyes hardened and he thrust his Digivice into the sky, shouting:
"DIGIVOLVE!"
Kyubimon stood before Astamon, ready and willing to throw down. Alex stood steadfast behind her, clenching his fists determinedly.
"You guys go save Tommy. We'll handle this." The blonde insisted.
"You sure you can take this guy?" Koji asked.
The fox nodded, "I'm sure of it."
"Okay." Takuya muttered.
With that, the two older boys took off.
Astamon grinned, "Well, isn't that cute? A female stepping in to protect her man, how noble. You're gonna make me cry."
Alex blinked in confusion, "Wha?"
"I thought you were the fighting type. Why so talkative now?" Kyubimon questioned, tail standing up.
"I'm just making an observation, that's all. I mean, how many times do we see that in the movies? Woman fighting for men." The Prince scoffed, "That's the crappiest clique ever to get girls into the stories and make the feminists shut up. Not that it usually works, of course."
"How would you know anything of media history in our world? Have you been there or something?" Alex asked.
"No, but I knew someone who quit enjoyed screaming about the social injustice that exists in your world. It fired me up a lot before a fight." Astamon looked towards his gun sadly for a moment, then smirked at the partners, "But enough chit chat. It's blasting time!"
He raised his gun and pulled the trigger, "HELLFIRE!"
Alex ran for a tree while Kyubimon dodged the bullets that followed her wherever she ran, jumped or rolled.
Astamon laughed as he stood, using his gun to hold him up, "Is that really the best you can do, hun?!"
Alex looked at his D-3 in despair, "Hang on, Kyubimon. Just hang on."
"A female stepping into protect her man, how noble."
"That's the crappiest clique ever."
He shook his head stubbornly. But the words kept repeating and his thoughts kept racing.
Tommy cried as he was carried off after that explosion by some scary Digimon. It looked like an evil version of Monzaemon and it frightened him. He was scared the whole time as he was carried to a lavender castle filled with ShadowToyAgumon. He was scared when he got locked up in a room with WaruMonzaemon.
He finally let it out in a couple tearful screams of, "This world just keeps getting better and better! Oh what's next, I'm just gonna blow up?! Although, I don't know what's worst! Blowing up or having to tell everyone you were beaten by a teddy bear?!"
The boy kept crying until he noticed he wasn't the only human here.
"Huh?" He looked up.
Sitting on the ground with their back next to the wall was a child, not much younger than Tommy. At least, they looked that way. They wore a pair of black jeans, gray sneakers, a black/grey/white/green/white/grey/black shirt and a purple bandanna keeping their black bangs out of their blue eyes. He couldn't tell what gender the person was; too pretty to be a guy, but too something to be a girl.
The person blinked at him, "Are you done crying, kid?"
"Oh, umm, I guess so?" Tommy tried.
The person smiled, "I'm glad. I don't like seeing people cry. It usually means they're sad and I much prefer people happy."
"Yeah, me too." Tommy walked over to the person and offered them his hand, "I'm Tommy, a boy, what's your name? And I'm sorry, but, I can't tell if you're a girl or a boy."
The person smiled very brightly, "My name's Arawn and I'm not a boy or a girl; I'm a enby."
Tommy blinked, "A enby?"
"Yep." Arawn chuckled, "It's a word I found online based on the word 'Non-Binary'. It's the umbrella term for genders that aren't male or female, like my gender. I'm agender and my top is based on the agender flag. Or at least, it's the one I've always known."
"Wow, that's cool!" He grinned, "Tell me more!"
Arawn's smile got bright as they then said,
"Gladly."
Back with Astamon, Kyubimon and Alex, things had gone from bad to worst. Kyubimon managed to dodge the bullets plenty fine at first because they all came from behind her. But then, when she tried charging in at Astamon, the broke their single file and tried attack from different angles all at once. They kept doing this and Kyubimon was quickly becoming nothing but bruises and weak energy. She'd tried attacking the bullets, but they were too fast for her flames to even nick them.
She was barely able to lift her head now, panting like mad, blood and dust all over her fur.
While Astamon whistled as he impatiently kept checking out his wrist as if there was a watch there.
And Alex sat behind the tree, shaking as he prayed and tried to convince himself she was gonna be okay.
"This got boring a long time ago, you know that right, fox-face?" Astamon called, "What say we put you out of your misery?"
Alex gasped, looking up in shock from his spot.
"One bullet is all it'd take. Then you'd be free from having to play hero for some guy all the time." The Prince reloaded his gun, "I'll even aim extra carefully to make it as painless as possible."
"No." He thought, "She can't die."
Jade's image flashed through his mind.
Her smiling at him, giggling, "You're so annoying, Al." while sticking out her tongue.
Her falling, silent and lifeless.
Astamon advanced, "I can even write on your tombstone that you were a brave warrior to the end, if it'll make you feel better."
Alex had moved before he realized it.
The Prince of the Dark Area blinked at him.
"Al!" Kyubimon cried, "Move, he'll kill you!"
"Shut up!" Alex cried, standing in front of his partner with his arms and legs out wide, "I'm not gonna let you die! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!"
"Alex, you're only human, you can't survive his bullets while I can, please move!" The fox pleaded.
"And watch while you and everyone else I've ever known risk their lives over me but never giving anything back in return?!" The boy exclaimed, "Not anymore, Ren! If he's gonna shoot, he has to get through me!"
Astamon took another look at the boy who was standing in front of the fallen Digimon. His legs were shaking, his whole body was trembling in fact. The boy had tears in his eyes but a fierce look of determination and fear expressed his feelings loud and clear. He was terrified of dying right this second. But he was more scared for the fox. Judging by his stance, it wasn't just because she was his bodyguard or whatever.
"We're partners, right?! So that means we're suppose to stand on equal ground, and yet," A tear slide down his cheek, "you're the only fighter here. You get hurt looking after me, protecting me on my behalf, reassuring me emotionally so I don't fret. Just like Jade always does."
"Al…" Kyubimon murmured.
"I know I'm weak, cowardly and I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for Jade and you. You're the only two people who's ever stood by me since my parents disappeared for me and not for my adoptive father's favor." Another tear slide, "That's why…"
He took a step forwards, determination winning over the fear as he yelled,
"I REFUSE TO LET EVERYONE PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE FOR ME ANY LONGER WITHOUT EVER DOING ANYTHING USEFUL!"
Astamon gasped, memories flashing through his mind.
"Please, kid, leave me. You'll die if you don't go."
"No, I won't go! You risked your life to protect me, Phascomon, it's my turn to do the same!"
"No, don't, YOU'LL DIE! ARAWN!"
"It's a risk I'm willing to take for you, Phascomon."
Alex's D-3 started acting up, "Wha?"
Alex didn't get a chance to finish because both he and Kyubimon were enveloped in white light.
There were no floors, walls or ceilings. There was nothing in this big, empty, white void.
Nothing except the D-3, Alex and Renamon.
"Alex," A voice called from within the D-3, "do you wish to fight alongside Renamon?"
"I do. With all my heart and soul." He stated, nodding, "I wanna be strong enough to fight alongside and protect her. To be able to protect Jade. To help Tommy. To kick butt with Zoe and blast 'em all away with JP. I wanna learn how to handle a sword from Koji and how to punch from Takuya. I wanna fight alongside my friends, even if it costs me my life!"
"Alex, don't say that!" Renamon called, "Sacrificing your life will do no good!"
"And your's will?!" Alex exclaimed, turning to her, "I get that you're a Digimon and you're stronger than me, but both our lives have equal value! I'm not gonna let you sacrifice your's because you're the Digimon and I'm the human. You're not dying on me, okay?! I forbid it!"
"But," Renamon looked downwards, "what am I supposed to do?"
Alex blinked.
"This Digital World is so new to me, I don't know where to start in it or where to go from here. All I wanna do though is protect you and the others. To keep you all safe and happy." The fox looked at him in fear, "What use will I be if you can take care of yourself?!"
Alex smiled sadly at his partner, "You're so much like Jade, it's scary."
Renamon hummed in confusion.
"She's always felt like she's the only one who can protect me and keep me safe. She's got no idea that she doesn't have to be big sibling alone, that she can lean on me. She hides her tears, keeps it all bottled up and uses it as energy to fight back at the world that keeps bringing us down. Sometimes, I think it's because she doesn't know what else there is to fight for." The blonde chuckled, "I don't think she even realizes how much it hurts to see her do that. To watch her wither away, struggling while I sit at the side lines, waiting because she thinks I'm the only thing she's got to live for. I'm tired of the people in my life keeping me away from it because they think I'll get hurt and that'll end them. It's not healthy for them and it's not healthy for me. That's why..."
Alex turned his head towards the D-3, "Whatever it takes, I'll prove to Jade and Renamon that they doesn't have to watch over me all the time, that they can chase their own dreams without watching my back and that I can learn… TO STAND ON MY OWN TWO FEET!"
The D-3 flashed bright yellow and Alex's whole body glowed along with it, a ring of data appearing around him.
"What the?!" Alex exclaimed in shock.
"While you are in the Digital World, your body is only Data and all things that are Data in the Digital World have a Fractal Code. Your code is unique from normal humans, much like the DigiDestind's code is unique. This abnormality in your code gives you the chance to take on a Digimon body without burning out." A card and a device that looked like the latest model Dual Disk appeared in front of Alex's body, "And inside this Digi-Mento is a Digimon that your code is compatible with. Place the Digi-Mento onto your Digi-Disk, call out his name and he will lend you his powers, Alex Yuki, so that you may fight alongside your friends. That is, if you still believe you can handle this."
Alex smirked and looked at Renamon. A message passed between them-
"I'll still need you once this is over, Ren. I need my friends' help to survive. But you don't have to focus your entire being on helping and protecting me. We can find other ways to fill your time and I'll help you find other goals to work for besides ones just for me. That is, if you still want me around."
"Of course, Alex. You're my partner. Together with your, no, our friends, I left my home behind for a whole new world, but I didn't feel afraid. Because you were all with me. I'll find my own goal, Al, I promise. But I'll always protect you too. I'll do my best not to smother you though and I'll try to get Jade to mellow out a bit, too."
"Thank you."
-then Alex nodded at his D-3, "Ready whenever you are."
He grabbed the Digi-Disk, strapped it to his arm and opened it up. The blonde looked to the Digi-Mento and yelled as he placed it where a monster card would normally go, "AWAKEN: HACKMON!"
The Digi-Mento glowed brightly…
When the light finally faded and Astamon could see again, he couldn't believe his eyes!
For one thing, Kyubimon was completely healed.
And for another thing, the human boy was gone and in his place was something very, very weird. It was a Digimon he'd never seen before. It was about the same height as Astamon, with white dragon-like armour all over it's body. For fingers and toes, it had dark blue claws. On it's back was a tattered red cape with a hood. It had a helmet that looked like a human face inside a dragon's mouth; the helmet had big, big ears, yellow eyes, a horn, a silver lower jaw and a white upper roof. The light skinned face inside the mouth was framed by dirty-blonde hair, with two caramel eyes.
"AlHackmon!" The new being cried.
Astamon gaped at the new player for a moment, then grinned, "Ahh, is this the great, manly hero come to save the day?"
"Nah," AlHackmon smirked, "just a unmanly loser in aluminum foil."
"In that case, loser, fox-face," The Prince adjusted his guns, "let's dance."
"HELLFIRE!" Astamon fired his bullets once more.
AlHackmon and Kyubimon jumped in two directions to avoid the bullets, half of the batch following each of them. Kyubimon danced through the air, going higher and higher. AlHackmon ran around in a circle, going faster and faster.
Astamon laughed at them, "Is this your idea of a joke? Getting dizzy?"
"No." AlHackmon replied, "It's-"
"Our strategy." Kyubimon finished.
"Wha?" Astamon blinked.
Kyubimon suddenly stopped rising and the ends of her tails became alight with blue fire, "FOX FIRE INFERNO!"
The flames with faces caught all of the bullets, that had completely stopped moving, reducing them all to ash.
"BABY FLAME!" AlHackmon spat fire out of his mouth and nose.
He kept this up until he was going so fast, he made a ring of fire and finally stopped, smirking as the bullets' ashes fluttered into thin air.
Astamon blinked at him, bug-eyed, then screamed, "WWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT?!"
AlHackmon gave a boyish grin, "Time to take you out."
"DRAGON WHEEL!" Kyubimon called, spinning as she fell, becoming enveloped in flames.
"FIFTH RUSH!" AlHackmon's claws glinted the light as he quickly moved in for the kill.
The two hit Astamon at the same time while completely missing each other. They stopped their attack with their backs to Astamon, Renamon in front of him, AlHackmon behind him.
Astamon dropped to the floor, was wrapped in data and turned back into Porcupamon.
AlHackmon and Kyubimon were also wrapped in data, transforming respectively into Alex and Renamon. The first two were passed out.
"Alex!" Renamon called, jumping to her partner.
Alex groaned and rubbed at his head, sitting up as he did, "What happened to me?"
The blonde took a look at the ground and noticed the Digi-Mento was on the ground. It had a picture of Hackmon on it; it was basically AlHackmon's armour on a real dragon's body.
"So you're Hackmon, huh?" He asked. The blonde grinned as he picked up Hackmon's Digi-Mento, "Thank you, for lending me your strength."
The Digi-Mento flashed, reflecting the light. Alex took it as a wink.
He looked to his Digi-Disk to see where a Deck was normally stored, there was a compartment that he decided was where his Digi-Mento could go. So, he put it in and the Digi-Disk closed up until it was nothing but a screen.
Suddenly the screen lit up and the woman's voice spoke up as her symbol shined, "There are many more Digi-Mentos in this World, Alex. It is now your duty to find them and take them from the hands of evil Digimon before they are used to completely destroy the Digi-World. Do you accept this mission?"
"You know it, Boss Ma'am." Alex stated, "Just tell me what to call myself, how many there are and I'll find all the Digi-Mentos. I swear it."
"Very well. I dub thee, Alex Yuki, the Digital Paladin. You must find all 40 Digi-Mentos before it is too late." The woman replied.
With that, the screen turned dark.
"Al, we need to check in with Takuya and Koji." Renamon called, "Make sure they're okay and that Tommy is as well."
The boy nodded and they started walking away.
"W-wait."
They stopped and turned back to Porcupamon, who was getting up, "I'm… I'm sorry for wh-what I did but, they… they have my f-friend and I-I… want them... b-back."
"You think you can help us find them, Porcupamon?" Renamon asked.
The Puppet Digimon nodded.
Alex grinned, "Looks like we got one more on the team now guys."
"Forward!" He turned around, "MARCH!"
With that, the troupers were marching off to save their friends and reunite with Takuya and Koji.
"WHAT?!" Alex exclaimed, "So, this Arawn kid falls from the sky while you were escaping the Dark Area and you two work together to keep each other safe. Then the residents of Toy Island take you both in. Then the ToyAgumon got corrupted by Cherubimon and turned into ShadowToyAgumon, who are now out to get revenge on the planet's children. And finally, they kidnapped Arawn and the ShadowToyAgumon corrupted you AND Monzaemon to force you both to kidnap us?!"
Porcupamon nodded, "Cherubimon bad… turn al-almost all Digimon… to evil. Pandamon… still f-fights… ShadowToyAgumon to p-protect… children. We t-try to rescue Arawn b-but… it d-doesn't go we-well. They s-still stuck."
"Wow, talk about being between a rock and a hard place." Alex remarked.
"And you're certain she and Tommy are in the highest most tower in the Lavender Castle?" Renamon checked as they neared the establishment.
Porcupamon nodded again, "But… Arawn is-isn't a… sh-s-she. Arawn is… th-they."
"Forgive me, I didn't realize." Renamon stated.
Alex smirked, cracking his knuckles, "That's all I needed to hear."
They walked across the drawbridge and arrived just in time to see Agunimon and Lobomon purifying most of the ShadowToyAgumon.
"Why am I always late to the party?" Alex moaned.
Agunimon and Lobomon de-digivolved and exclaimed in shock in their human forms, "Alex! Renamon!"
"Yo." Alex greeted.
"We haven't a second to waste." Renamon stepped up, Porcupamon beside her, "He will guide us through the castle."
Everyone nodded and took off running.
With Porcupamon as their guide, they were climbing the stairs to the top tower in no time, but it wasn't fast enough for some people's liking.
"Hurry!" Koji called, "We have to get Tommy before it's too late!"
"And save Arawn!" Alex added in.
"Who knows what awful things that bear is doing to them?!" Takuya yelled.
"Don't think about that," Renamon yelled, "just keep running!"
"Ne-nearly," Porcupamon wheezed, "there."
"Hang on, Tommy!" Alex and Takuya called, their voices echoing.
Sounds of fighting while an innocent bystander cried traveled through a door and down the the stairs, haunting the misfit heroes' ears.
"They're fighting!" Renamon recognized.
They bust through the door-
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Monzaemon laughed.
"I win!" Tommy cheered, video game controller in hand, "Champion of the world!"
"Way ta go, Tommy!" Arawn cheered, high-fiving the boy.
-only to arrive upon the last thing they expected.
"Tommy, what are you doing?" Koji asked in shock.
"What's it look like I'm doing?" Tommy smiled, turning to face them.
Arawn faced them as well, then their eyes lit up with tears, "PORCUPAMON!"
They ran to the Puppet Digimon and ran into his arms, hugging him for all they were worth.
Alex, Renamon and Hackmon watched the scene with a smile.
"But we thought you were in trouble." Takuya sighed, sounding like a mother who had a false alarm.
Tommy nodded.
"I know. I feel just awful about that guys, but this little trooper saw through to the real me and played with me anyway." Monzaemon apologized, petting Tommy's head, "He's a good boy."
Alex sweat-dropped, "I don't know if I should be freaked out by that or not."
"So can we keep him?" Tommy asked, sunshine smiles.
Takuya and Koji sighed.
"But why can't we keep him?" Tommy asked, for the 100th time it seemed, as they exited the castle.
Arawn sighed. If he asked them that, one more time-
"Ahh, fantastic friends."
Arawn blinked and looked forwards to see all the ToyAgumon were back to normal and a panda-looking Digimon with a red scarf was with them. That was Pandamon.
"To make up for their monstrous mistakes," Pandamon used one of his hands to gesture towards the group, "the ToyAgumon insist they take you off the island and to take Arawn home, if that is where they want to go."
While the boys and Renamon rejoices, the enby thought hard.
On one hand, the Digital World was where they always felt valid and heard their pronouns all the time. They had friends here who made them happy everyday and now that the Shadow was out of the ToyAgumon, things could go back to the way they were.
But on the other hand, the Real World for all it's flaws was their home. And they couldn't just abandon it and all the other enbies and birls out there, needing someone like them. Those kids needed someone to talk to.
"I think, I'll go home." Arawn decided.
"Then we'll see you off." Tommy promised.
Arawn smiled at the boy, then ran off to pack their things, knowing they needed to compose themself if they wanted to give Porcupamon a decent farewell.
Arawn's things were all in the plane, the ToyAgumon, Monzaemon, Pandamon and Porcupamon were gathered around. Tommy and his crew were standing in the crowd.
Now all that's left was the goodbyes.
"Porcupamon," Arawn turned around and faced their friend, "when I first came to the Digital World, I was from a horrible place. People treated me cruelly and no one respected my identity. I wished to disappear and so, I somehow ended up here.
"Here is where I met you, back when you were Phascomon and trying to escape the Dark Area. We protected each other and made it out alive and you digivolved to Porcupamon. And even though you weren't as cute anymore, I still loved you because you were my best friend, whatever your form was.
"We explored the Digital World together, meeting so many different Digimon until finally we reached Toy Island. We were taken in and loved instantly and I'd never felt like I belonged so much before in my life.
"But then Cherubimon came and took it all away. He poisoned my friends and nearly killed me because I was human, but you got the hits instead. I felt so guilty, I let them capture me, thinking I wouldn't hurt you anymore. But I did. I kept hurting you and I'm so, so sorry for that.
"And that's why, I have to go. I'm not half as strong as any Digimon and I know you'd wanna fight against Cherubimon to save the Digital Word. But I can't get in the way of that. I can't put you at risk because I'm weak anymore.
"I'm tired of running from my own problems anyway. Hiding in here won't get me accepted sooner or make my society a better place. I have to get there and work to change things with my own two hands, or things will never change for anyone.
"Here, the only difference I could make is who am I best used as a bargaining chip for. There, I can speak up, speak out, tell my story and get my voice heard. I can work to get trans people's rights so they work better for them. I can change things.
"And I want to thank you all for showing me how strong I really am inside if I just remember that there are decent people in the world who are willing to change! To help! By the time Cherubimon has been defeated, I'll have turned my world upside down!"
Everyone cheered Arawn on. They smiled and gave Porcupamon a final hug.
"You'll always be precious to me, Porcupamon. Please, don't forget that." Arawn smiled up at him, "Okay?"
Porcupamon was crying, "I w-wish you g-good… luck. I k-know you'll ch-change the world."
They cried too, "I will, just like you will, Porcupamon. Maybe we'll see each other again some day, right?"
Porcupamon nodded.
With that, Arawn was in the plane and being flown to the nearest Trailmon station, on a one-way trip back to the Human World, a resolve in their heart and a fire in their belly.
The Real World wouldn't know what hit it.
Our heroes were now on their own plane, heading for the Forest Terminal.
"You think Arawn will be okay?" Tommy asked.
Renamon smiled, "I'm sure they'll be just fine."
"Yeah, I mean, did you hear how passionate they were before they left?" Alex asked, "I know they're gonna do great things in our world while we're away!"
"Let's hope so." Koji stated, sounding smug and sarcastic at the same time but his tone of voice being too light to have any malice in it.
"Hey, Tommy, how come you weren't scared?" Takuya asked, "When you were captured by that evil teddy bear?"
"Well to be honest, first I was so scared of him that I almost wet my pants." Tommy smiled, "But then I noticed Arawn sitting in the corner alone, we talked and they made me feel a lot better! And that helped me realize that the big guy only wanted to play a few games with me."
Takuya laughed while Koji called, "Only a kid could figure that out!"
"You're right." Takuya smirked at Koji, "And you thought kids weren't good for anything."
With that, their crazy day ended with light chatter and interesting stories being retold.
Back with Zoe's group, they'd finally found dry land.
"Umm, I hate to say this guys," The girl spoke up as most of the group nervously looked around, "but I think, we're lost."
"Aww, who cares about being lost?" The cat snorted, "So long as we're outta the water, I can figure how to get to the Forest Terminal."
"I hope you can, Mikemon." Zoe murmured worriedly.
"And who knows what horrible thing is gonna find them before Takuya and the others do? And where the hell is Jade? Find out what'll happen on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!"
