Takato and Rika in Termina

By Ganondorf8

"They" Are Coming

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, Digimon Tamers, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, or anything else that is associated through a disclaimer. Any original characters you see (and there will be some) are copyrighted to me because that is something that I can do.

Author's Note: You'll understand what the "they" in the title means once you have read through the entire chapter. Also there is another new original character who shows up towards the end and you will be surprised as to which tribe he belongs to. Finally there are a few references to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask including one that relates to Link directly.

Guilmon's POV

I have never ridden on a cart before as the Digital World has never featured such vehicles, but then I found this to be a very pleasant trip despite what had just been said prior to leaving. This Cremia person said that she gets attacked by bandits every time she makes a delivery to Clock Town, but what I don't understand is why doesn't she have some kind of escort helping her?

Takato told me that because Romani Ranch is located in the far south-west corner of Termina, no one from Clock Town is capable of making the journey in order to help out as it is too far away and that they do have their own duties to take care of. Just thinking about bandits made my eyes glow in their usual manner which made Cremia ask as to why my eyes do that, and Takato had to make up some kind of weird excuse in order to keep our true cover a secret.

We had finally left Clock Town and got a first-hand look at what Termina Field looked like, and all of us were in awe aside from Cremia as she had seen these surroundings plenty of times in the past. There was a large mountain range covered in snow to the north of us, a strange valley with some kind of stone structure sticking out to the east, a beautiful beach next to a clear-crisp ocean to the west, and finally a large forest complete with a purple coloured mountain to the south which is where we were being taken.

I never knew that Termina featured so many different kinds of environments; it made me think about the Digital World as my world features similar environments although more spaced out than this. Rika and Renamon were busy in the back of the cart preparing for the time where she and Takato would have to take care of the bandits, yet my tamer was busy talking to Cremia about things that I didn't even understand as though he were speaking in some kind of language that made no sense.

I would have thought that he would be preparing for those evil people as well rather than just talk away about this world. I guess Takato just has different ways of making himself stronger as opposed to what Rika does in the same fashion.

" Judging from your reactions to the field it looks as though none of you have ever seen it before," commented Cremia.

" We have seen Termina Field before but this is the first time that we've seen it in person," said Takato.

" So you have never been outside of Clock Town before? That makes a lot of sense as the field houses many evil creatures that make certain kind of travel dangerous. You probably think that I must be lucky to have avoided the creatures that roam about these lands, but to be honest I have been delayed by their antics which is why I decided a long time ago that I had to make my deliveries even earlier than what I used to do.

A long time ago you would have never seen the likes of these creatures as Termina was going through a much different existence than what you see today, yet over time the creatures started to show up in all regions and we of the tribes have done our part to get used to the idea that our world is also their world for we all live together on the same chunk of land mass," said Cremia.

" What kinds of creatures live out on the field?" asked Takato.

" The field is littered with Chu Chus of various colours for they made this area their home, yet they are not really a problem as they are easy enough to deal with although they have a strong tendency to regenerate if they happen to have been sliced to pieces. Once you start to make your way into one of the four regions then the creatures begin to get worse which is when you need to be careful otherwise you could fall foul to any one of them.

Rarely do people travel this world at night for that is when the true creatures come out, but as you know I have to make my deliveries at night so I have to handle the ones that can only be spotted when the sun has gone down. Once you get used to the creatures it isn't that bad but it does become quite an inconvenience from time to time.

The region that we are heading to right now is known as Woodfall when you combine all of the areas together that exist in the region. It is where the Deku Scrubs call home for they live deep with the swamp and forest combined land, and those who live among the other tribes have never been able to make their way through in order to see the Deku Palace.

The Dekus are very serious about their territory and don't appreciate other beings walking around what they claim to be theirs," replied Cremia. Hearing her mention that made Takato and Rika feel uneasy for they had the ability to change into Deku Scrubs thanks to the masks that they received when they changed back to their human selves. To think that the Dekus were like that made them both wonder if they were going to be along similar lines all because they have an indirect relationship with the tribe.

" Do we need to go through their land in order to reach the ranch?" asked Takato.

" The Milk Road is located to the south-west of Termina so we will be heading to the west as soon as we are within range of Woodfall," replied Cremia.

" It makes me wonder if the Dekus actually decide to make the trip to see the ranch," said Takato.

" Even though Romani Ranch lies just a short while away from Woodfall, the Dekus have never actually been on the ranch itself for they refuse to leave the safety of their territory for even a second. They have a strange relationship with the other tribes that revolve around them changing their allegiances every now and again in order to get the most benefit out of it. That is why the other tribes for the most part see Deku Scrubs in a negative fashion all because of how they behave towards the rest of us.

In fact, the only Dekus people trust more than the rest of them are the ones who are involved with the trade business because these Business Scrubs as they are called have proven to be reliable when it comes to wanting various goods.

None of them have ever made their way to the ranch as they wouldn't be able to make much in the way of business due to how few people live around there, which is why I have gone to them from time to time in order to make the right kind of deals," said Cremia.

" I can't believe I'm hearing all this," muttered Rika.

" Is something wrong?" asked Renamon.

" Just when I thought that I had finally understood everything about the Deku Scrubs, this woman comes along and adds more information that makes me want to question them even more," replied Rika.

" That isn't usually like you," said Renamon.

" I know but ever since goggle-head and I first became Deku Scrubs thanks to that guy who we know nothing about, I've been wanting to know as much as possible about the tribe if the two are of us are going to be assuming our other forms whenever we use these masks.

Hearing all of that made me realize why Dekus are treated so badly and it's because they have inflicted these tensions upon themselves! I know I didn't get quite as far in the game as Takato, but then who needs a game when it's so obvious that the Dekus have problems," said Rika.

" I think that it has more to do with their survival than anything else," said Renamon.

" You might be right about that for if I were living among them as one of their own I'd do whatever it took to ensure that the tribe survived at all costs," said Rika.

" Maybe you should go ask the king," I began.

" What king?" asked Rika. She was right about not having played through The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask as much as Takato as she had no idea as to what I was talking about, and this actually surprised me as Rika was the sort of person who knew quite a lot and often had to explain everything so that the rest of us could understand.

" The Deku King," I replied.

" Who is that?" asked Rika.

" The Deku King is the ruler of the Deku Scrubs in Woodfall and they show him a great deal of respect. It is well known that the king shows signs of poor judgment as he has made decisions that are controversial at best, but his subjects still see him as their leader despite his many faults.

The Deku King has only the one child known as the Deku Princess and she has a much better sense of what to do in certain situations than her father does which has made the tribe wonder if she should assume leadership," replied Cremia.

" How would you know about that if the Dekus haven't left Woodfall?" asked Rika.

" Word tends to spread around about these sort of things," replied Cremia. That was when Rika decided to moan before resuming what she was doing before she got involved with the conversation. After much talking about other things that have to do with Termina, the cart arrived in the place called Milk Road and it wasn't what I was expecting that's for sure.

I thought that the road would be made of milk hence the name it was given but then I was informed by Takato that Milk Road was just the name to show that this pathway connected Romani Ranch to the rest of Termina through the field.

That made me disappointed as I was hoping to have tasted the Milk Road but Cremia said that she would give us some milk when we arrived at the ranch, but first we had to make it through the area where she is usually attacked by those bandits she told us about. " For a long time I never knew who it was that was attacking my deliveries, but now I have learned the truth as to who it has been."

" What kind of area is this?" asked Rika.

" This is the Gormon Race Track where the two brothers make their business," replied Takato.

" I take it that this is something that I didn't reach?" asked Rika.

" Think of it as receiving some spoilers although it will be different in the actual experience," replied Takato.

" Cremia, you don't look good," said Rika.

" The Gormon Brothers are the ones who have been attacking my cart whenever I have to make a delivery for they want to make sure that I don't arrive in Clock Town with a single container intact. Those two have always been causing trouble for Romani Ranch by passing around false rumours, to attacking me while on my deliveries, to even going so far as to steal our horses and cattle just so they can ruin us," said Cremia.

" If we were able to we could take care of those two for good," said Rika.

" This cart wasn't designed for anything to do with combat so all I can do is ride through this area quickly in the hopes of making it back to the ranch. The four of you are my passengers which mean that the brothers will attack you as well because they will think that you are aiding me which does happen to be the case.

That is why I had to ask if you wanted to help me get back to the ranch safely for to make it back in one piece we have to ride through their territory," said Cremia.

" And like I said to you before we are going to help you," smiled Rika.

" You and your friend will need to use those bows and arrows in order to slow them down so that they are not able to damage a single container. Your other two companions are merely pilgrims and I don't wish for either of them to be hurt so they will need to find shelter among what I have back there.

I will be riding through this area as fast as my horse can move so do expect things to get really rough." Cremia said as she urged her horse to pick up speed and make its way through the race track as fast as possible. At first nothing was happening which made all of us wonder if Cremia was maybe making up the story that she gets attacked by bandits, but we soon changed our tune when we saw two masked riders armed with pitch-forks riding up behind us.

These must be the Gormon Brothers that Cremia and Takato were talking and they were serious about wanting to stop us from making it to the ranch intact. I wanted to fight against them as did Renamon for she had an itch that she wanted to scratch, but our tamers told us that we couldn't do that otherwise Cremia would know what we really are.

Takato and Rika aimed the bows at the two brothers and began to fire arrows in the hopes that they could drive them back, but the problem was that neither of them have ever used bows before which made it difficult for them to hit their targets.

As always Rika was able to get herself adjusted to what she was doing and was beginning to push one of the brothers back, but the other was getting closer and just as he was about to strike one of the containers, Takato was able to get himself going and forced the brother back with a series of arrows.

" How long are they going to keep this up?" asked Rika.

" They'll keep on going under either all of the milk containers have been shattered, or we have reached the other end of their racetrack," replied Takato.

" Well I hope that we can reach the end of the track soon as we're starting to run out of arrows already," said Rika.

" How can that be?" asked Takato.

" We used many of them trying to hit them whilst having no experience in using a bow so I think it should be obvious to you as to where they've gone. I know that we are unable to have Guilmon and Renamon digivolve due to the magic barrier that covers this world in a veil, but that doesn't mean that they aren't capable of doing what they do best as they currently are.

Look Takato, I know that we told them to stay hidden because of the fear of being discovered by Cremia, but we're running out of arrows and we need to drive the Gormon Brothers back before they can do any kind of damage. Besides, since our Digimon are wearing those robes that make them appear as ordinary travelers, we can give those brothers quite the surprise without anyone even realizing what's happening," replied Rika.

" Is there any other option?" asked Takato.

" Not unless you are willing to explain to Cremia as to how her containers were smashed," replied Rika. Takato had no choice but to allow me to fight so long as I made sure not to allow myself to be revealed for the people of Termina aren't aware of what Renamon and I are. I made my way over to the corner of the cart and stuck my head out between the folds of the cloth-like structure that kept us warm and I saw the Gormon Brothers coming towards us yet again.

For a moment it looked as though they were about to trample right over the cart when I decided to finally use one of my attacks as I had been meaning to do something like that ever since we first arrived, but when I used my fiery breath it came out a lot differently than normal which made me wonder if something had gone wrong.

" That was different," commented Takato.

" Since when could Guilmon do that?" asked Rika. I couldn't even answer that question for I had no idea as to how I was able to unleash a giant wall of fire that fell from the sky and almost roasted the Gormon Brothers on the spot, and Rika decided to see if Renamon had received any changes as well just to be on the safe side.

Renamon made her way to the roof for she needed plenty of room in order to use her Diamond Storm attack, but her attack also came out differently for instead of a large number of needle-like projectiles, her attack consisted of a tornado that appeared from out of nowhere and was filled with diamond like objects that were capable of cutting.

Either way this strange occurrence caused the Gormon Brothers to fall back for good as they had no idea as to what had just taken place on their track, and it made Renamon and me wonder as to what has happened to us for Termina has done something to our bodies which has caused us to use different attacks.

Eventually we managed to make it to the end of the Gormon Race Track and Cremia was excited to see that her containers of milk had all survived, but then she was wondering as to why she could smell brimstone which made us have to come up with yet another excuse just so that we could avoid the issue.

" We have arrived," began Cremia.

" Where?" asked Rika.

" I wish to welcome all of you to Romani Ranch where my sister, our friends, and I call home. It may not be that much but know that we all like living around here as we live quiet peaceful lives without having to worry about any problems...with the exception of that one problem that gets us every year," replied Cremia.

" What problem?" asked Rika.

" Did you see them building the Carnival of Time back in Clock Town?" asked Cremia.

" What about it?" asked Rika.

" At this time of the year strange things occur at Romani Ranch to which we have no control over them. These strange alien-like beings descend upon the ranch in order to abduct our cows for reasons unknown, and they have managed to succeed every year with the exception of one when we had the help of "Grasshopper" whom my sister nicknamed because of what he was wearing.

I never used to believe my sister as I always believed that what she was saying to me was nothing but false information, but when I witnessed those things with my own eyes I realized that she had been telling the truth and ever since then we have made sure to secure our cows in the strongest building we have around here. Yet, that hasn't been enough to prevent them from breaking in and stealing the cows with no amount of resistance," replied Cremia.

" How often do they come?" asked Rika.

" They come once every year during the Carnival of Time celebrations and despite their one-time appearance, it is enough for the ranch to fall into a state of despair as they essentially ruin an entire year's worth of effort within the span of a few hours. The reason that I wanted to get back to the ranch was so that we could finish the preparations for tonight is the night in which "they" will appear in the ranch in order to acquire more cows.

The only time they were ever defeated was when we also learned that they were vulnerable to projectile attacks for they are simply spirits that wish to cause harm. I am sorry for not revealing this to you earlier as I had assumed that you wanted me to take you as far as the outskirts of the ranch and not into the ranch itself," replied Cremia.

" So when will "they" come?" asked Rika.

" They will be here within a few hours so we still have time to prepare for them."

" Who are you?" asked Takato.

" My name is Gor-Tsuengo although I prefer to be called Gron for short."

" Since when does a Goron live in Romani Ranch?" asked Takato.

" It does look surprising to see one who lives in the mountains call a place like this home, but this ranch has been my place of residence for the past three years so don't consider me to be a fresh face on the scene.

I did used to live in the snowy region of Snowhead during the colder times of the year including that terrible cold snap that almost wiped my tribe out, but when spring returned to the mountains it made me want to experience more of the beauties that lie beyond the mountains so I decided to move away from Snowhead in order to experience this new nature that I had seen.

My travels soon brought me to Romani Ranch where Cremia allowed me to live here so long as I provided my share of the work, and I have been doing exactly that ever since I first arrived here all those years ago. The aliens will be making their way here at exactly 2:00am in the morning which is why we must finish the last of the preparations before any of them arrive to take the cows away.

You two heroes look like you are capable of handling your own against any kind of evil creature so perhaps you could aid us in our time of need," replied Gron.

" You mean you want us to help?" asked Takato.

" You really should ask us ahead of time," moaned Rika.

" Time is against us my human warriors for "they" will soon be here and once the actions starts, it doesn't end until the morning sun begins to rise into the sky and believe me when I say this for I have faced off against those monsters each year I have been here.

This large gash across my chest was the result of one of them casting me aside for I was standing in the way of what it desired, and ever since then I have been looking forward to the day where I can get my hands on them again even though defeating one causes another to take its place within an instant," said Gron.

That wound that he showed us looked really deep and I was impressed that someone of his stature was able to live in order to tell the tale, but I saw that Takato and Rika were beginning to have doubts as to what they truly wanted to do in Termina.

At first they believed that they were going to be able to go about on their own and do what they wanted to do, but it seems as though now they are being pulled into the problems of those whom they know little about...except for Takato as he knew everything about the ranch with the exception of Gron.

" What can we do?" asked Takato.

" We wish to stop these monsters once and for all so that never again can they cause pain and suffering," replied Gron.

" You just want us to fight?" asked Rika.

" That is the basic idea although the job requires defensive tactics and knowing the lay of the land," replied Gron.

" So can you help us?" asked Cremia. Takato and Rika were confused as to what they wanted to do as aside from Takato the rest of us had no idea as to what "they" were supposed to be, and if there were going to be a large number of them swarming all across the ranch, we would need all the firepower we could get in order to hold our own against them.

All of this makes me yearn for the chance to digivolve again but there is no chance of that happening due to the barrier that prevents outside magic from taking place. The first thing that had to be resolved would be whether or not Takato and Rika were willing to help out the ranch deal with its alien problem, and this was quickly taken care of when both of them raised their swords and said yes which made Cremia and Gron happy knowing that they had additional help.

Now comes the hard part which involves just how we were supposed to fight off a seemingly endless number of monsters.

To Be Continued.

Second Author's Note: I think I might have given away what is going to happen in the next chapter based on what Guilmon said in his perspective, but then it would give this story that Digimon kick it needs.