Hey, sorry for being away for so long! I've been very busy with work and school that I didn't have the time to write any new chapters. Also, it's hard that my brother kept hogging the PC for his final project.
Here is the next chapter!
It was well after lunch time when Tsubasa and Fanbeemon decided to go ahead with their journey to the base of the Royal Knights. The baby digimons protested but were convinced by promises of them seeing the duo some other time from their caretakers and the pair themselves. Depthmon volunteered to accompany them to the lake that was between the village and the base. Before they went, however, they paid a visit to the settlement's leader, Cherrymon.
Cherrymon was in the middle of a conversation with a humanoid dinosaur digimon with multiple blades equipped (Dinohumon) and a floating fish-like digimon with silver metallic scales (Coelamon). The large tree noticed the trio approaching him and softly excused himself from the discussion to face his guests. "Tsubasa, Fanbeemon, what can I do for you? Are you alright?" Cherrymon inquired in a hush tone so that Coelamon and Dinohumon could not hear.
"Cherrymon," The small bee started. "We appreciate you letting us stay in your settlement but we have to go."
Cherrymon's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the three, while Dinohumon and Coelamon looked at each other in confusion. "Must you leave so soon?" Cherrymon asked with evident sorrow.
The tamer nodded slightly. "We have to meet with the Royal Knights and get back to the Royal Base as soon as possible." Unlike his partner who showed indifference while he spoke, Tsubasa's face held sadness equal to Cherrymon's.
The old vegetation digimon stood with his head hung low, his eyes being covered by the leaves his branched carried. As the young duo waited for Cherrymon's answer, Tsubasa couldn't help to feel bad about the situation. Even if it was only for a day, the human already enjoyed the atmosphere of the settlement. The children in the daycare readily accepted them, the citizens treated him with as much respect as they would any other digimon and without hesitating on offering any of their services. "Cherrymon, we-." The boy started only to be interrupted by Cherrymon, who raised his hand.
"It's quite alright, young one. I understand." With that, the giant tree slowly lowered is hand and looked at the pair with a fatherly smile. "Please come visit us again when you have the time, alright?" Cherrymon asked gently.
Tsubasa and Fanbeemon looked at each other with surprised looked but then laughed good-naturedly. They faced the tree digimon with big grins on their faces. "We will!!"
Cherrymon nodded before speaking once more. "Well, I think I can arrange an escort for your crossing of the lake. Have you gotten all you need?"
"Well, we could use some food for our return trip." Fanbeemon stated. His antenna started to wiggle, went stiff then went back to normal. "Based on my signals, we won't be able to go through here if we want to get back to the Royal Base early."
"You're in luck then." Cherrymon chimed which earned him questioning stares from the digidestined. The large tree gestured to the humanoid digimon he was talking to earlier. "This is Dinohumon, he owns a food stall in the market nearby. I'm sure he will be of help to you, won't you, Dinohumon?" The vegetation digimon asked.
"My pleasure, sir." Dinohumon replied.
Cherrymon faced the duo once more. "I'll have your escort and transport ready for you when you get to the lake." With that, Dinohumon, Tsubasa and Fanbeemon went towards Dinohumon's establishment. The trio walked down a path that leads to a very busy section of the settlement. A lot of digimons carrying sacks or pulling carts were headed to the same section.
As Dinohumon, Tsubasa and Fanbeemon reached the marketplace, they saw that the whole area was bustling with activity. Some digimons who were running the stalls calling out to any potential customers, while other digimons were looking at the merchandises, continue walking, or talking with fellow consumers or the stall owners. They could see a Flymon selling fruits and vegetables, a Shellmon selling fresh seafood and a Garurumon selling fresh meat among the vendors. There were other digimons who had stores inside hollowed trees.
The trio stopped at a hollow tree with several products that were already lined up neatly in front and inside it. Inside, there was a table that had a cash register on it. Dinohumon entered, with Fanbeemon and Tsubasa following, and looked around which left the duo confused. "Hey Grizzlymon, where are you?" Dinohumon called out. He was answered with rustling sound from the door behind the counter.
A large blue bear appeared from the back. The blue bear had a crescent moon mark on its head and wore red shoulder guards and gloves with sharps claws. "Welcome back, my friend." The bear said.
"How are the sales going?" Dinohumon asked.
The bear snorted. "Good as always. Oh and Leomon already claimed his order while you were gone." The bear stated nonchalantly. He then noticed the two figures behind Dinohumon. "Who are those two? It's surprising to see a human around these parts."
The dinosaur hybrid turned to look at the duo sheepishly. How could he have forgotten to introduce them? "Sorry. Welcome to our store. This is my partner, Grizzlymon." Dinohumon gestured to the bear.
Grizzlymon just dipped his head slightly before grinning. "Whatever you need, we got it; just name it." Grizzlymon announced in a gruff yet jovial voice which earned his giggles from the young duo.
"Well, we need some rations and probably some medical supplies for when we're travelling back to the Royal Base." Fanbeemon explained. The two store owners looked at each other then started to look through their inventory. After a short while, Dinohumon and Grizzlymon laid out a first aid kit and two boxes of what seemed to be juice packs. One box were filled with juice packs that had symbols of fruits while the other one simply had digialphabets on them. Fanbeemon and Tsubasa stared at the box for a while before the former scowled at the older pair. "We wanted food, not beverages." Annoyance was evident in the bee's voice.
"No, no, no. This is juice." Dinohumon pointed to box of packs with fruit symbols. "And this one is food." The hybrid then pointed to the other box.
"This is a new treat made by the Burgermons, a group of digimons that are great at cooking." Grizzlymon started to explain. "The ones with digialphabets on them are packs with paste in them. The paste tastes like the food that is written on the cover. If you consumed a pack that had 'Pizza' on it, then the paste inside it taste like pizza."
Fanbeemon eyed the packs suspiciously and was shocked when he heard his partner hummed with understanding. "So it's like the food astronauts eat when their out in space. Cool!" It was clear that he boy was excited about the idea of the food but suddenly, his smile disappeared and he looked worried. "The only thing is that we don't have any money." Tsubasa voiced in low volumes.
It was then that Tsubasa's digivice started to beep. When taken out, the screen showed the data of the digimon they defeated. The data disappeared and was replaced by the phrase "750 Bits". "What's this supposed to mean?" The boy inquired.
Fanbeemon hovered over Tsubasa's shoulder and looked at the screen with his head cocked to the side. "Hmm… It seems that we have received money from the digimon we managed to defeat and the money is stored in your digivice. Bits is the Digiworld's currency." The rookie digimon then looked to dinosaur hybrid. "Exactly, how much for the first aid kit and for each pack?"
Dinohumon picked up a clipboard that was on a crate by the counter and proceeded to flip through the pages. "The kit is worth 200 bits and each pack costs about 25." Dinohumon read aloud.
Fanbeemon thought hard, calculating how much they would need based on the signal he could sense from the Royal Base. The signal could give him an estimate on how far they are from the hive. "We could probably go with eight of each pack." The bee declared. Fanbeemon allowed his partner to choose whatever flavor the human wanted and pushed a button on the digivice to pay for the supplies.
After the transaction, Dinohumon excused himself from the shop to accompany the digidestined to the lake shore. To get to their destination, the trio went through the main part of the settlement, and through a familiar section. As they walked down the street, Fanbeemon and Tsubasa recognized the area as to where they ate with Yashamon and Halsemon.
As the group was about to pass the restaurant, they heard a commotion from inside and they heard the three chefs yelling. "Ain't the food ready yet?!" Flarerizamon bellowed impatiently.
"Just a little while longer, darn it!!" Hyougamon replied in the same volume.
"We better hurry or we might be too late!" Woodmon's voice came out in a lower volume than the other two chefs.
The trio outside stared at the restaurant as multiple crashes and more yelling were heard inside. A moment later, Hyougamon came out of the restaurant carrying a package, only to be stopped upon seeing the digidestined. "Oh, it's you perfect timing. It's good you haven't left." The ice ogre commented. He then turned his head towards the restaurant. "Hey guys, the kids are here!" Hyougamon called out.
Flarerizamon and Woodmon came out of the restaurant and were happy to see Tsubasa and Fanbeemon standing outside their restaurant. "We're glad to see we made it just in time before you, young'uns, left the sanctuary." Flarerizamon sighed contentedly and somewhat exhausted.
"Lord Cherrymon passed-by earlier and said that you were going already." Woodmon said with a hint of sadness. "After we hear about it, we made you a little treat for the road."
Hyougamon handed the package over to Tsubasa. "It's a bento. We've put some of the basics in there since we don't really know what food you like." Hyougamon explained. "The next time you come by, you can tell us and we'll try to make it for you."
Tsubasa bowed. "Thank you." Fanbeemon bowed as well.
"You're welcome." All three chefs said simultaneously.
"Well, how about we join you and your way to the lake?" The flame dragon digimon offered.
Fanbeemon's head cocked to the side. "Are you sure it's okay for you to leave your restaurant for a while?"
Hyougamon shrugged in response. "There are no customers inside so it's okay to close up for a while."
The three chefs went inside to check if their establishment would be safe while they were gone. After awhile, the three chefs came out of the restaurant; Woodmon flipping the sign on the door to "Closed" and locking the door.
"So how did you like our settlement?" Dinohumon asked as the group walked down the path leading to the lake.
"Well…" Tsubasa started. "It was great. The people here are so kind."
The insectoid nodded. "I'm surprised they were able to accept us considering…" The five digimons fell silent, knowing what the rookie digimon was thinking.
Hyougamon decided to break the silence. "We have faith on Lord Cherrymon's judgment of character. If he says you are okay, then we accept that."
"True some still harbor a grudge on humans." Flarerizamon spoke. "But, majority of us here have accepted humans especially after what they did for our worlds five years ago."
"We have learned that humans are not to be feared but not to be underestimated as well." Woodmon stated. "We should try to work with the humans to create a peaceful atmosphere between our worlds."
The rest of the way, the four champion digimons asked Tsubasa about details on the world of the humans. The boy answered as much as he could and the four older digimons listened to every word the young human said. A few minutes later, they reached the shoreline of the lake where Cherrymon. The horizon could not be clearly seen because of a mist hovering over the water and mangroves are all over the shore. The water on the lake looked calm.
Cherrymon turned as he heard footsteps heading his way. "Ah, I see that you have all you need." The large vegetation digimon said upon seeing Tsubasa's bag filled. "Are there any other concerns before leaving?" Tsubasa shook his head.
"If I may ask," Fanbeemon started worriedly. "How are we to cross the lake?"
"I could answer that question, dude." A teenager's voice came from behind the group. All of them looked towards the source of the voice and saw a humanoid digimon that looked like a shark wearing blue metallic armor with yellow and red spikes protruding. The digimon was carrying what looked like a metal surf board that was the shape of a hammerhead shark.
Tsubasa's digivice beeped loudly until the boy took it out. The screen flashed revealing a hologram of the new digimon and its details.
Surfimon-Mega Cyborg Digimon-Vaccine Type-An amphibious digimon who carries a mechanical surfboard as a weapon and tool. He is mostly seen around the Net Ocean, surfing the waves and going where the flow of the waters take him. This laid-back digimon has the ability to talk to wild aquatic digimons. His fighting abilities are still unknown.
Surfimon laughed heartily. "Looks like my reputation precedes me."
"So… We're going to ride on your surfboard?" Fanbeemon asked curiously while he studied the board.
"Woah, sorry bro but no one rides my board but me." The shark-like digimon gripped his surfboard hard against his head. "I'm going to ask one of my friends to give you a ride across."Surfimon explained.
Surfimon walked towards the water until it was on knee level. He raised his right hand and whistled loudly with two of his fingers by his lips. Silence lingered around the shore; only the soft sound of water and the wind howling could be heard. A minute later, a splash, coming from beyond the mist, was picked up by Fanbeemon. Alert as he was, his antennae went stiff, trying to sense what could have caused the sudden motion.
As if to answer the bee digimon, a large shadow appeared on the surface of the water. The shadow stayed still for a while before making a beeline towards the shore. Fanbeemon immediately hovered forward in front of his partner and took on a defensive stance. Tsubasa looked nervous as he watched the shadow move while the other digimons smiled.
Before reaching the shoreline, the shadow disappeared momentarily. Not long after, the water exploded, drenching the group. Luckily, Dinohumon, Flarerizamon, Hyougamon, Woodmon and the digidestined were standing underneath Cherrymon's branches so they did not get wet. Surfimon did get wet but seemed to enjoy the event. When the water calmed down, there was a serpent like digimon sitting on the water. The serpent wore a yellow skull on its head.
Surfimon moved towards the new digimon and started to stoke the skull on its head, earning a low purring sound from the latter. He then turned to the digidestined and grinned proudly. "This is my buddy, Seadramon." Just as the mega digimon said the name, Seadramon raised its head and roared. "You will ride on Seadramon's back to get to the other side of the lake."
Fanbeemon eyed the aquatic digimon suspiciously. "Are you sure it's safe?" Fanbeemon questioned. "Seadramons are not exactly known for their calm dispositions. Only a handful of them are intelligent enough to recognize friendlies."
Seadramon was not happy with that remark. As if to prove his irritation, he raised his tail high and swung it towards the surface of the water, shooting a water cluster expertly towards the rookie digimon. Fanbeemon yelped at the sensation. "I'd say something dude but looks like Seadramon beat me to it." Surfimon snickered. Everyone, Tsubasa included, giggled at the drenched bee and Seadramon stared at the group with mischief sparkling in his eyes.
After drying off, Fanbeemon and Tsubasa carefully climbed up unto the back off the serpent with the assistance of Surfimon. "Alright, big buddy, take them towards the other side of the lake, alright?" Surfimon stressed on the direction by pointing straight ahead, towards the mist.
Seadramon just dipped its head as a reply.
"Now don't worry." The surfer digimon reassured. "Seadramon will get you to the other side safe and sound."
"We hope to see you again, young ones." Cherrymon said hopefully. The digidestined nodded, seemingly eager to see the settlement once more sometime in the future. With that, Seadramon began to move towards the mist. All the while, the group were shouting their goodbyes and waving at each other until they could not see each other.
I know I've been away for so long so sorry if I don't do well with this chapter.
Please R&R.
