Chapter Eight:
One of the Good Ones
Michael opened his eyes. All around him were palm trees that swayed in the wind. The ten of them stood on the beach and enjoyed the calming ocean breeze. He and the others moved off the beach and into the forest, the smell of tropical wildflowers thick in the air. The sky was an amazing shade of orange as evening began to set in. He heard Mimi laughing with delight as she took in the beauty of the place and smiled at the sound. Jin didn't seem impressed.
"This place seems familiar," Jin remarked. "Any idea where the port brought us, Ángel?"
"Yes. It is called the Continent of Folder."
"Wow, a whole continent?" Amanda asked. "I don't remember hearing about this place in my studies of the Digital World."
"It's not much of a continent," Jin said. "It's actually just one large island. The only reason they call it a continent is because it's too far away from the mainland to classify as part of another continent."
"Have you been here before, Jin?" Mimi asked.
"Yeah, but I think it was at the other end of this island. I don't remember the beach, but the plants look familiar. I came here a few years ago when Scarmon and I were crossing the ocean."
"Why were you trying to cross the ocean?" Ángel asked. "Why not use the digiports to—"
"Drop it," Jin snapped, suddenly. Ángel seemed surprised, but he didn't press him for details.
"Well, what do we do now that we're here?" Michael asked, changing the subject.
"We fight the bad guys!" Betamon said in a burst of energy.
"Calm down," Penguinmon said. "Knowing the way Digidestined seem to find trouble, we should run into someone or something any minute now."
No sooner had he spoken than there was a whistling sound followed by a thunderous explosion as one of the trees nearby was blown to bits, the flaming pieces of wood raining to the ground.
"Ha! Called it!" Penguinmon remarked.
"What was that?" Michael demanded, considerably more shaken up than Amanda's partner.
The trees before them were knocked away and their assailant appeared.
"Oh no…" Mimi moaned in disgust, seeing what it was.
Standing there was what looked very much like a Numemon. The creature could have easily been mistaken for one of the green, slug-like sludge-tossing digimon, were it not for some bizarre editions. First of all, it was much larger, a good ten feet tall. Second of all, metal plates lined its body in several places and one of its eyestalks was cybernetic, with an infrared sensor where its eye would normally be. Finally, one of its flipper-like arms was replaced with a large-barreled weapon, resembling a cannon or a bazooka.
"Behold!" it shouted. "I am MetalNumemon, grenadier and a member of the illustrious Eight Gods! This island belongs to us now, and you're trespassing on our property. And the rule here," he went on, raising his cannon, "is that all trespassers will be shot!"
"So, the Eight Gods are here?" Jin asked, his face grim.
"You know about us?" MetalNumemon looked surprised, then proud. "Then you must know that I am one of their most feared members and am not to be messed with!"
"Actually, I heard that you were a lame slime ball that they kept around because you make a nice, soft punching bag," Jin sneered. "And that you're one of the weakest ultimate-level digimon on the planet."
MetalNumemon fumed. "Slime ball?" he roared. "You'll be the first one to go! Sludge Grenades!"
He raised his cannon and fired what looked like a large, purple glob of the dreaded sludge right where Jin stood. He and Scarmon leaped into the air, the explosion tossing them both several yards. They managed to roll with the fall and were both on their feet in seconds.
"That's all you've got?" Scarmon laughed, undaunted. "What kind of attack is explosive sludge?"
"Riiight," Amanda said, rolling her eyes and holding her fingers up in the shape of quotation marks. "'Sludge.' That's what it is."
"Could we talk less and fight more?" Penguinmon asked, annoyed at his partner's lack of seriousness.
"Fine," she sighed, her hand at her digivice. The others followed suit and, in moments, MetalNumemon was facing four champions.
"Muchomon," Ángel called. "It's finally our time! Are you ready?"
"I'm always ready," the small bird replied. "Muchomon digivolve to… FlareLizamon!"
The others stared at the newest edition to their team. FlareLizamon was a bipedal, reptilian creature whose whole body was shrouded in flames except for some large, metallic claws and a metal mask that covered the top half of his long face. His intelligent brown eyes peered through holes in the mask as he glanced at his teammates. "Let's make this quick."
In a group charge, all five of them rushed MetalNumemon.
"You don't know who you're messing with," their opponent laughed arrogantly. "Sludge Grenades!"
Much to their surprise, MetalNumemon launched a whole volley of the grenades, firing rapidly and blasting each of them backwards.
"This is so humiliating," Jin grumbled, shaking his head.
"You don't know the half of it," Venomon said, gagging. The others looked at him questioningly until they inhaled and caught the same scent he did. The sludge grenades left a strange aroma in the air that could best be described as "flatulent."
Frigimon was the first one up on his feet and dodged another grenade as he lunged at MetalNumemon with a Subzero Ice Punch. MetalNumemon proved surprisingly capable in spite of his weak, comical appearance and parried his fist with one cannon-like arm, then knocked him away skillfully with his other.
Venomon, choosing a less direct means of attack, dashed into the trees. MetalNumemon stood still, listening for the sound of him crashing through the foliage. Venomon had honed hunting skills, of course, and was silent. He thought he had got the best of MetalNumemon when he leapt from the trees without warning in hopes of tackling him to the ground. He hadn't counted on the infrared camera on MetalNumemon's eye, which tracked his movements easily. MetalNumemon blasted him from the air like a clay pigeon and he landed in a smoking heap.
"Needle Spray!" Togemon attacked, as MetalNumemon was busied with Venomon.
MetalNumemon was surprised, but managed to crouch and then spring his viscous body high into the air, narrowly avoiding the needles that might have pierced his soft hide. "Hyper Bomb!" he shouted, body slamming Togemon with all of his weight. However, he had forgotten that, even with his metal plates, much of his body would still be vulnerable to Togemon's needles. He immediately jumped back off of her with a cry of pain as he tried to shake off the spines that penetrated his slimy exterior. Togemon slowly got to her feet, still dazed by the massive attack MetalNumemon had landed.
FlareLizamon was in position now, and raised his claws in preparation. "Blazing Inferno!" he attacked, unleashing a streak of orange fire at his target. MetalNumemon saw the attack coming and knew he couldn't avoid it. However, he knew a way he could block it.
He seized Togemon, who was still dazed, and held her in front of him as a shield, letting her take the full force of the fiery attack. Being particularly susceptible to fire attacks, she let out a scream as the flames scorched her.
"FlareLizamon, be careful!" Ángel cried.
MetalNumemon let out a laugh and simply threw Togemon into FlareLizamon, temporarily incapacitating both of them.
Seadramon, making a last ditch effort, tried to simply head butt the gigantic slug, forgetting MetalNumemon's remarkable reflexes. MetalNumemon merely spun around, using his cannon arm as a club to swat him to the ground.
"I can't believe the others were worried about you," MetalNumemon laughed. "You're pathetic! You—" He stopped in mid-sentence when something caught his eye.
"Togemon!" Mimi cried desperately to her fallen partner. "Please get up! We need—eek!"
Mimi suddenly felt something grab her around the waist and hoist her into the air. To her horror, MetalNumemon had seized her in one slimy flipper and now held her tightly. "Wow!" he exclaimed, one eyestalk snaking close to her face for a better look.
"What's your problem?" Mimi shrieked, flinching away from the eyeball.
"No one told me you Digidestined were this pretty! How'd you like to ditch these losers and go on a date with me?"
Mimi's horror increased exponentially, as did her anger as she reeled back a fist and socked the giant Numemon right in his eye. "Put me down, you creep!" she shouted, struggling to get free. "Can't I ever meet a gross digimon that doesn't want me for a girlfriend?"
"Ooh, feisty!" MetalNumemon cooed, hugging her close to his slick body like a doll. As he let out a harsh laugh, Mimi stared fearfully at his gaping mouth and smelled his foul breath, the sour stench of it almost unbearable as he exhaled upon her in hot gusts.
"Eww!" she shrieked, struggling even harder. "Can someone please get this slime ball off me before I throw up?!"
Michael, who had just succeeded in urging Seadramon to get up, heard Mimi's shrill call for help. He saw the monster holding her, saw her struggling to get free as she was treated like someone's toy. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he burned with sudden rage. "Seadramon!" he called. "Stop him!"
Seadramon again lunged towards MetalNumemon, this time having the advantage while he was distracted. "Ice Blast!"
"Huh?" MetalNumemon turned slightly and received all of the chilling attack, his slimy coating frozen in seconds. Unaccustomed to such an attack, he dropped Mimi and hugged himself, shivering.
"Mimi, run for it!" Michael yelled.
Mimi didn't need to be told twice. Just happy to be free, she held her nose and ran for cover.
MetalNumemon saw his quarry getting away and became enraged. He turned his wrath on Seadramon this time, leaping at him and bashing him over the head with his cannon arm again and then blasting him point blank with another sludge grenade. Seadramon let out a groan and devolved to Betamon.
"Come on back, sweetie!" he pleaded to Mimi, who was still trying to get Togemon to stand. "Once you go green, you never go back!"
"I wouldn't touch you unless I were pushing you into a salt mine, you overgrown slug!" she shouted back.
MetalNumemon growled angrily. "That's it! Now, I'm really mad!" He raised his organic flipper high over his head, then brought it down on the ground with all his might. "Slime Wave!" he bellowed. Just as the attack's name implied, a gigantic wave, a virtual tsunami of green slime shot up before them, then splashed down on them all.
"Mimi!" Michael cried, not noticing that he was covered with goo as well.
Mimi stood perfectly still, her eyes wide in shock. She looked herself over. She didn't feel any pain, but her whole body was completely drenched, slick with the oozed that MetalNumemon had produced. It appeared that the attack wasn't damaging so much as it was degrading.
"Wow," MetalNumemon sighed. "She looks even cuter dripping with ooze."
"That's the last straw!" Mimi screamed. "Togemon!"
Togemon got to her feet, finding her strength in the need to help her partner. "Mimi… let's… get him!" she said with new determination. Mimi's digivice began to beep loudly and Togemon began to glow and the light eradicated the slime that covered her.
"Togemon digivolve to… Lilymon!"
The fairy digimon flew overhead and MetalNumemon, faced with this new enemy, shot several more grenades into the air, trying to bring her down. Her speed was too much for him, however, and he couldn't manage to hit her even once. Lilymon quickly became confident that he couldn't follow her movements and dive-bombed him, landing a solid kick to his head that sent him reeling as she returned to the air.
"You're fast," he grunted. "But you're not fast enough to get away from this! Hyper Bomb!"
He again launched himself in the air and managed to come down onto her, taking her with him. MetalNumemon grinned as they began to fall to the ground far below.
"Ick!" Lilymon said. "You smell like a garbage dump!"
"Enjoy it. It'll be the last thing you ever smell." His grin widened. "This is really going to hurt."
"Not as much as this will," Lilymon beamed, jabbing her Flower Cannon into his soft underbelly. "Flower Cannon!"
MetalNumemon probably felt very little, actually. In an instant, he was blasted into tiny globules of slime and bits of metal that filled the air before they disintegrated into data.
"All right!" Mimi cheered as Lilymon landed, returning to Palmon once again. The others gathered around to congratulate her, all the digimon having returned to their Rookie forms.
"That was very impressive," Ángel complimented them. "Muchomon and I have a lot to learn."
"Sí," Muchomon agreed, turning to Palmon. "I'm sorry for hurting you by mistake," he apologized.
"De nada," Palmon laughed.
Amanda was shaking the slime off, grumbling irritably to herself. "We need to try harder, Penguinmon."
"Hey, who thought we'd be facing a giant cybernetic Ultimate?" Penguinmon asked defensively. "We kicked butt with those Vilemon. Why couldn't we have some decent minor evil minions before we get straight to the big guys?"
"Well, toughen up, the rest of them will probably be a lot tougher, if what I've heard is true," Jin told them.
"Don't worry," Amanda assured him. "We'll all be ready when—uh, Jin?"
It was then that the rest of them noticed that Jin didn't have any slime on him.
"What?" he asked.
"How did you avoid getting slimed?" Michael demanded.
Jin grinned confidently. "I dodged the attack. I'm that good," he told them. "Plus, I've got perfect—"
He was struck wetly in the face by a glob of slime Mimi had gathered in her hand.
"—reflexes."
Ángel let out a sigh as he looked up at the moon. He sat atop a hill and stared out over the lush tropical forest as it was bathed in the moonlight. This place was indeed very beautiful but there was something in the air that made him feel very anxious. He heard the flapping of wings and looked over his shoulder to see Muchomon fluttering up the hill after him.
"Ángel, cómo estás?" Muchomon asked concernedly.
"No puedo dormir. Estoy preocupado."
"Worried? About what?"
"Some of the things Jin was talking about tonight."
Muchomon nodded. Jin apparently knew a lot about the Digital World, but didn't want to talk about it. Among the things he knew about were these Eight Gods of which MetalNumemon had been a member. He distinctly remembered what he said after they made camp and got cleaned up in a nearby pond:
"The Eight Gods are a gang of eight Ultimate level digimon," he'd said. "They're a bunch of thieves and assassins."
"What are they doing here?" Amanda asked.
"Beats me," Jin replied with a shrug.
"They were sent by the Ancient Enemy," Ángel said. "We were supposed to come here and fight them. I just know it."
"Maybe," Jin said. "That would explain why they weren't working together. From what I heard, those guys worked as a team to rob towns and take down targets. This time, we only had to deal with one: MetalNumemon. They sent their weakest member first."
"I just hope the rest of them aren't as disgusting," Mimi grumbled as she brushed her hair, which was still wet after washing the grime out of it.
"But that doesn't make sense," Amanda said. "If the Ancient Enemy is as strong as he's supposed to be, and we've all had nightmares about him wiping out whole cities, why would he need the Eight Gods to help him?"
That was the problem they were left with. Ángel didn't really understand why their foe would enlist the aid of Ultimates when he was more powerful than the eight of them combined. Or, for that matter, why he would send one instead of all eight. Either way would have doomed them. But even if it didn't make sense, Ángel knew that the Dark One had sent them. There was something about MetalNumemon, something he couldn't put his finger on. There was a disturbing energy behind him. He could sense the Ancient Enemy's presence even now, despite the fact that he was probably nowhere nearby. While he couldn't be sure, he did have an idea about what had happened.
"What are you thinking, Ángel?" Muchomon asked. "Are you getting one of those feelings again?"
"Yes. I've been thinking about how Jin said MetalNumemon was supposed to be very weak, but we needed Lilymon to defeat him. Without her, he might have won. And then there's that energy I sensed coming from him."
"What energy?"
Ángel looked over to Muchomon solemnly. Muchomon understood: it was his energy; that of the Ancient Enemy.
"The Ancient Enemy gave him some power to make him stronger. We would have defeated him easily otherwise. That might mean that the others will be much more difficult to beat than we thought."
"Why would he send others to fight for him if he has that kind of power?" Muchomon insisted.
"I don't know," Ángel said gravely. "Perhaps because—"
"Ángel!" Jin shouted, coming up the hill. "What are you doing? Everyone needs some sleep. We're getting up early tomorrow, so quit staring at the moon at get some rest!"
Ángel smiled. "Okay," he agreed. "I'm sorry."
Jin led the way back down the hill, then froze momentarily. "Er, no, it's all right. Sorry," he mumbled.
"What?"
"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier when you asked me that question. And... I'm sorry for ordering you around just now. I don't mean to be a jerk, but there's… there's just something about this place that's bringing out the worst in me."
"The Digital World?" Ángel asked. Jin nodded.
"What about it?" Muchomon pressed.
Jin was silent, then continued down the hill. "Long story. I'll tell you later," he said. "Let's get back to camp before the others wander off to look for us."
"Michael." He stirred as he heard someone calling his name. "Michael." He resisted the urge to respond as he snuggled comfortably inside his sleeping bag. Still half asleep, he hoped someone would gently shake him from his slumber.
"Mike," the voice growled. "Okiro!"
The sudden, plain form Japanese didn't have a hint of sentiment. It obviously wasn't Mimi. He rolled over and stared up at Jin, who was already fully dressed and glowering down at him.
"I said, 'get up,'" he repeated, poking him with the toe of his boot.
"Jin… what time is it?" he asked groggily.
"Dawn."
"So, six o'clock, six thirty?"
Jin frowned impatiently. "In case you haven't noticed, we're in the wilderness. Who needs a watch? All I know is that the sun is coming up."
Michael looked and saw that the sky was taking on a glowing orange hue. However, he didn't actually see the sun and it was still fairly dark.
"Jin, the sun isn't even up. We're all tired from our battle yesterday—"
"I've been in fights that lasted a lot longer than that and gotten by on less sleep than you've already had. Besides, everyone else is either up or trying to get up."
Michael looked and saw that Angel was stretching his arms and legs, yawning occasionally, while Mimi was looking through her bags to find something new to wear, blinking her eyes, seemingly unable to focus well on the task. Amanda repeatedly sat up in her sleeping bag only to fall back in it while Penguinmon urged her to get up and stay that way.
"I wouldn't call them 'up,' to be honest." He rubbed his eyes. "Jin, why are you making us get up this early?"
"We need to get moving, get to higher ground so we can get the lay of the land. If we move now, we can take advantage of the morning coolness. If we wait, we'll have to walk when it's hot."
"Fine," Michael grumbled, getting up.
Penguinmon noticed how he was dressed and had an idea. "Hey Amanda! Michael's up and he's wearing nothing but boxer shorts!"
Amanda sat straight up in bed, her eyes popping. "Quick! Help me find my glasses!" she cried as she searched for them frantically.
Michael quickly put on a pair of jeans and his t-shirt from yesterday before the girl could get her glasses. "Well, let's make breakfast," he said, moving towards the supplies.
"The heck are you doing?" Jin demanded, putting himself between Michael and the food.
"Uh, getting breakfast. What's the problem?"
"All that food is non-perishable. It's for an emergency or if we can't find any food for us or our digimon."
"You've got to be kidding. There's enough food there to last weeks!"
The stern look on his face to him he was not kidding.
"Well, what are we supposed to do instead?" Amanda demanded. "I'm starving."
"Get some berries or gather some fruit," Jin said, speaking to her like she was a small child.
"Why?"
"Because if we eat all our food and then we're forced to find more all the time, we might go hungry with no back up plan! You want to get yourselves killed?" Jin shouted. All the others stared at his sudden outburst. "This is the Digital World. Mimi, you've had to survive here for a while before, right? You want to go hungry?"
Mimi shook her head. "No, of course not, but..."
"Good," he said, calming down. "Now, everyone find some fruit. Palmon, check to make sure everything's edible."
"No problem!" Palmon agreed.
Jin turned and began to walk toward the woods. He gave a sharp whistle and Scarmon leapt to his feet and followed behind.
"What's eating him?" Amanda asked.
Michael crossed his arms and watched the older boy go. "It's just who he is. But he better watch how he treats us. No one voted him to be in charge."
Ángel took all this in silently. He wondered what Michael meant when he said it was "just who he is." Something told him that there was a lot about Jin Takamura that he did not yet understand.
I didn't think this was going to be so difficult, he thought to himself. It looks like I have a lot to learn about these people. They aren't anything like what I thought they'd be...
The hilltop gave them all a much better view. Above the treetops, they now could see that the forest was very expansive. A huge mountain loomed at the center of the island and, to the northeast, a range of hills formed a ridge that obscured the view of the rest of the continent.
"Not a lot to see," Penguinmon remarked. "And it's way too hot here."
"Yes, but at least it's a beautiful place," Ángel said, trying to cheer Penguinmon up. "I wish I had come here before."
"Yeah, knowing we're here to fight a bunch of psychotic digimon trying to take it over takes all the fun out of it," Penguinmon grumbled.
"You worry too much!" Muchomon laughed. "I could fly around this place all day and not get bored. This is a lot more interesting than home!"
"That's because you live in a desert, flyboy," Penguinmon growled as his avian brother reminded him of his being flightless.
"Knock it off, you two," Jin said. "Scarmon and I went checking for tracks while you guys were getting breakfast this morning. We're going to see if we can hunt down something good for lunch."
"Like what?" Michael asked.
Jin shrugged. "You like chicken?"
"Sure."
"Then I can probably find something you'll like."
Everyone seemed happy at the prospect of some real food. The fruit and berries had left them a little unsatisfied, as a lot of it was tart or simply sour. Jin was the only one who had eaten it without complaint.
"Amanda, get our bearings and write them down," Jin ordered. "The rest of you set up camp in the clearing down there. We need a fire and some drinking water."
"You better bring back something to eat with all the work we're doing," Michael told him.
"Have you ever hunted?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No."
"Then you don't know how hard it is to actually track something down. Scarmon and I have a lot of experience, but if you think you can do better—"
"Fine, fine!" Michael exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "I don't know why you're in such a bad mood today."
"I'm not—" Jin glared at him, looking like he was about to take that as a challenge or an insult, but instead took a deep breath and walked off with Scarmon.
Michael couldn't figure out why Jin was acting like this. He was being moody, even for him. He put it out of mind and decided it would be better to just get his work done. "Okay," he began, "who knows how to build a fire?"
Jin spied the rabbit in the dim light of the darkened woods as he crept slowly towards it. Careful to make as little noise as possible, he walked fluidly, one step at a time, freezing whenever the rabbit paused from its chewing to listen. He got very close, concealing himself behind trees as he approached it. When he was sure he was close enough, he removed his switchblade and unsheathed as silently as he could. Slowly taking a deep breath, he readied himself for the strike.
He leapt at the rabbit, knife aimed directly at it. The little creature sprang away as fast as it could, the knife embedding itself into the ground where it has been less than a second earlier. The rabbit dashed off into the forest.
With a frustrated grunt, Jin got back to his feet and chased after it, his eyes focused on the rabbit and also keeping an eye out for trees he might run into or vines he could trip on. Occasionally, the rabbit would dash through thicker underbrush, but Jin wasn't afraid of getting a few scratches and crashed right after it. Even as he tracked the rabbit, he listened for the sound of another creature moving unseen through the woods as well. Checking his maneuvers, he made sure that the rabbit continued in the right direction. Still, he couldn't help but think that this kind of thing used to be a lot easier. His legs were still a bit weak, of course, and now he was running out of breath. He began to lose ground, but kept up the chase so that the rabbit would go just a little farther.
"Now!" he shouted, seeing the perfect opportunity. Scarmon was ready and he burst from a bush nearby, tackling the rabbit with open jaws, silencing its cry of protest with a quick snap of them.
"Is it… did you… get it?" Jin asked.
Scarmon gave him a wide grin. Jin noticed the blood on his fangs and relaxed.
"Just like old times, right, buddy?"
"Yeah, this is great!" Scarmon said. "Those animals in New York were way too easy. I'll take a wild rabbit over a Central Park poodle anytime!"
"Well, a few more of these and we should have enough. Think you're up to one or two more ambushes?"
"All right!" Scarmon leapt up and down excitedly. "Let's go while I'm still in the mood to kill!"
"Do you know how weird it is to have a bloodthirsty lizard the size of a terrier for a best friend?" Jin chuckled, shaking his head.
"Hey, it's no weirder than having a hairless ape for one either."
Michael had to admit that lunch was delicious. Even without salt, the meat was tender and flavorful. Jin had taken the time to hunt down five of these things, clean them, prepare them, and now spit-roasted them for the whole group. This was good because no one had had much luck finding any fruit to eat.
"This is really good, Jin," Michael told him.
"Thanks," he said, disinterestedly.
"Hey, let's not forget who did most of the dirty work when your slow, human feet couldn't keep up with 'em!" Scarmon laughed.
"Well, this is very good," Ángel agreed, "but this tastes a little strange."
"It tastes fine to me," Jin said quickly.
"You know, he's right," Amanda said. "This doesn't taste quite like chicken. I mean, I know it's from the Digital World, but I've done research and most non-digimon creatures are almost exactly like the animals on Earth."
"Jin?" Mimi asked. "These are chickens, aren't they?"
Jin didn't look at them. "Not exactly."
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter," Michael said. "I mean, this could be a duck or something else."
Ángel chewed thoughtfully. "I don't think this is duck. I think I may have had this once."
"Will you all be quiet and eat it?" Jin snapped. "I've eaten it before, it's fine."
Everyone was quiet then, assuming that Jin didn't know specifically what it was, but all assumed it was poultry until Ángel, in a burst of recognition, suddenly cried. "Oh, I know what this is! It is conejo!"
"Huh?" Amanda asked, Jin gesturing in vain that he should be quiet.
"It's… rabbit!" he confirmed with a grin, remembering the English word.
Mimi, Michael, and Amanda simultaneously dropped their plates.
"B-bunnies?" Mimi cried, looking like she was about to cry.
"I had a rabbit for a pet when I was a kid," Michael whispered.
"I feel sick," Amanda said. She turned to Penguinmon, who was still eating his. "Penguinmon, how can you eat that?!"
"Hey, I'm a bird!" he cried defensively. "This is a lot less creepy to me than eating chicken. I'm not complaining!"
"Thanks a lot, Ángel," Jin growled. Their newest member shrank from him.
"Hey, don't pick on him!" Michael yelled. "It's your fault!"
"If you guys weren't so squeamish, there wouldn't be a problem!" Jin yelled, giving Michael a rough shove.
Momentarily shocked, Michael's face quickly darkened. "We'll always have a problem as long as we're taking orders from a half-crazed savage like you!" Michael shot back, returning the shove.
Jin gave up on fighting with words and belted Michael across the face. The younger boy fell to the ground.
"Jin!" Mimi cried. "What's wrong with you?!"
"That does it," Michael hissed, getting up. "I've had it with you, Jin. I'm not going to let you push us around anymore."
"And what are you going to do about it?" Jin taunted, ignoring Mimi's protests.
Michael sprang forward and tried to land a right hook. Jin raised an arm, blocking it. The cocky smile on his face vanished when Michael's other fist socked him right in the stomach. He let out a surprised gasp and staggered back.
"Michael! Please, both of you stop fighting!" Mimi pleaded.
"Sorry, Mimi, but we have to settle this," Michael said, holding his fists up.
"You can settle in for the beating of a lifetime, preppie," Jin said, cracking his knuckles. "You really ought to be back off now."
"Leave him alone!" Betamon cried, running at them.
"Back off, frog legs!" Scarmon snarled, pouncing on him, pinning him to the ground. "This is their fight! No digimon allowed!"
The two of them sized each other up as they stood in the small clearing. Jin stood still as a statue, while Michael held up his fists like a boxer.
"You weren't much help in that bar fight a few days ago," Jin told him. "Are you sure you don't want to quit and save yourself the embarrassment?"
"Shut up." Michael readied himself, slowly approaching Jin, looking for a vulnerable spot. The only problem was that Jin stood so still that his entire body looked vulnerable. This was a trick, of course. Jin was counting on his skill to counter any move he made. Still, Michael had some tricks up his sleeve as well.
He brought one arm back, as if to take a mighty swing at him. Then, while Jin watched his fist, he kicked forward, aiming for Jin's groin.
Jin almost fell for it, but realized what was happening just in time. He stepped backwards and seized Michael's foot.
"Hey!" Michael cried, more out of surprise than protest.
Jin pulled Michael forwards, yanking him off his other foot, bringing him to the ground. Then he kicked him in the stomach while he was down, lifted him off the ground by his shirt collar, and delivered another punch to the face before tossing him aside like a rag doll.
"Michael, are you okay?" Betamon cried.
Michael stood uneasily, blood trickling from his nose. He wiped it away and held up his fists once again. "I'm fine," he grunted, though he was obviously out of breath and in a lot of pain.
"Just give up," Jin laughed. "You're out of your league."
Michael ignored the insult. He realized that Jin couldn't be overpowered. He was a much better fighter and was much stronger than him. If he was going to beat him, he would need to outsmart him. Therefore, instead of attacking first, he'd go on the defense and let Jin make the first move.
"I'm not giving up, Jin," Michael said. "Maybe if I was gutter trash like you, I'd quit..."
Jin narrowed his eyes and ran at him. This time, Michael was able to dance backwards before Jin could take a swing. The older boy had a lot of power behind his punches, but he moved somewhat slowly. He missed and was still recovering from the swing when Michael landed three quick jabs to Jin's face.
If Michael hadn't gotten overzealous and tried for a fourth hit, he might have been okay. As it were, he got greedy and Jin seized him by one arm, then by the other, and landed a vicious head butt, followed by massive blow to the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him for a second time. Finally, he backhanded him across the face, sending him rolling to the side.
"Stay. Down," Jin admonished.
I can't do it, Michael thought. He's just too powerful. He doesn't even feel it when I hit him, but I feel like I'm about to pass out already! If only I could find a way to use my speed. He's a lot slower than when we fought last year…
A grin appeared on his face as he got up for the second time.
"Finish him, Jin!" Scarmon cheered.
"Do they fight like this a lot?" Ángel asked Amanda, shocked at the brutality of the fight.
"No, but this has been a long time coming," she replied. "They haven't been getting along at all for as long as I've known them."
"Then why don't we stop them?"
Amanda looked at both of them, her gaze somewhat fearful when she saw Jin's cruel grin. "I... don't really want to get in the middle of this."
"Michael, give up before you get really hurt!" Betamon entreated him, still struggling to get free of Scarmon's grip.
"Don't worry," he panted. "I've got him right where I want him!"
"That last blow to the head must have given you brain damage," Jin remarked. "I might as well finish you off."
Jin charged headlong at him, trying to catch him with an uppercut, but Michael again dodged the punch. This time, he didn't counterattack. Jin took another wild swing that Michael managed to avoid, then grew angry and began throwing them wildly. When Michael saw how much trouble Jin had keeping up, he made his move. Rather than try to land some more punches, he moved aside and gave him a light shove, sending him sprawling forward. It was then that he saw the break he'd been looking for. He pulled his foot back and brought it forward, with all his strength, kicking into the back of Jin's leg.
Jin let out a howl of pain and collapsed.
I knew it! Michael exclaimed to himself. His upper body is still strong, but he's slow and vulnerable in his legs. He still hasn't recovered from all that time in the wheelchair.
Jin stood up, his face a grimace of pain, only to meet with a flurry of punches from Michael, followed by a quick roundhouse kick upside his temple. He went down hard and was still for a few moments.
"You aren't so tough," Michael shouted, wiping more blood from his nose. "If you think you can still win on those legs, then come and get me!"
"Shut up," Jin growled as he stood. He was breathing heavy and his stance changed. He looked less like a boy now and more like a beast. "Okay, I was holding back, but now you went and pissed me off. I'll make you pay for that. Not even your daddy has enough money to fix what I'm going to do to you."
Though not usually much for repartee, Michael wasn't about to let him bring family into the equation. He shot back a reply as soon as it came to mind, but nobody was prepared for it:
"Don't kid yourself. I'm going to punish you like your mother should have."
He clapped a hand over his mouth the instant he said it. Mimi gasped in horror. Amanda and Ángel had no idea of the severity of the situation, but it became apparent when they saw Jin's face.
After Michael's remark, Jin's eyes went wide. At the edge of them, tears began to form. Then the sorrow melted and, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, his expression became that of a lunatic. He was actually trembling in anger. Michael backed away when he saw the fierceness in Jin's eyes. There could be no doubt about it: Jin had just lost control over whatever was keeping him from getting really brutal.
"Jin, don't!" Mimi screamed.
Her words fell on deaf ears, however. Jin ignored the pain in his leg and ran at Michael at full speed, tackling him to the ground before unleashing all his fury. Before Jin landed the first punch, Michael noticed a dull red glow emanating from under Jin's shirt.
When Michael awoke, he was flat on his back and he saw Mimi looking down at him, her face soft and concerned. "Am I in Heaven?" he whispered.
"No, you're in Purgatory," Amanda said. "As retribution for past sins, you get Mimi and I for nurses."
"I think I'm in good hands," Michael chuckled, groaning when the action reminded him of his pain.
"I'll get you some water," Mimi told him, leaving his side for a moment.
"Thank you, Mi—ungh!" He was cut short as Amanda shoved a wad of tissue under his nose.
"How do you feel, Michael?" Betamon asked.
"Like I got hit by a freight train," he replied honestly. "What happened?"
"Well, you mentioned Jin's mother, which Mimi tells me is a touchy subject for him, and he beat the living snot out of you."
"I... I didn't mean it like that, I just said the first thing that came to mind."
"Mimi didn't tell me why his mother is such a sore spot for him."
Michael hesitated before answering. "His mother's dead."
Amanda froze. "Oh... oh my god." Then she made a face at him. "I know it just slipped out, but mon Dieu, that's still pretty low."
"I know, I know," Michael said, sighing as he sat up. "Where is he now?" he asked.
"He and Scarmon left. Despite what you said, I... I think he feels guilty about hurting you so badly."
"Well he should!" Michael cried, sending another wave of pain through his body.
"He might not have knocked you out if you hadn't mentioned his mother," Betamon reminded him.
Michael sighed. "I guess you're right. That really was a low blow." Then, looking around as best he could, he noticed that some other members of their party were missing.
"Where are Ángel and Muchomon?"
Amanda looked around. "Huh? Oh, uh... that's a good question."
"Jin!" a voice called. "Jin, hold on!"
Jin looked over his shoulder to see Ángel running after him. "Crap," he grumbled, and tried to get away. He was limping, though, and he gave up when he saw he had no chance of outrunning him.
"Leave me alone, Ángel," Jin commanded him.
"Yeah, get lost!" Scarmon agreed.
"You two act more like twins than Digidestined partners," Muchomon laughed.
Scarmon and Jin both looked at each other, surprised by Muchomon's last remark.
"Listen, I just got in a fight and I'm not in the mood for jokes, so back off, you flying feather duster!"
"Hey!"
"Take it easy, Muchomon," Ángel said, taking hold of him and stroking his feathers soothingly. "We came to help, not get in another fight."
"If you want to avoid a fight, then leave me alone," Jin told him.
Ángel shook his head. He wasn't doing so in disagreement, however. There was a look on his face that Jin recognized as pity.
"Jin, what is wrong?" Ángel asked.
"It's just a little sore. I'll be able to walk normally in a little while," he told him, patting his leg.
"You know that isn't what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?" Jin looked him over, untrusting.
"I mean, why are you acting this way?" he asked. "You brought your friends all the way to México to find me. You seemed very nice, like a big brother. But now, you've become a completely different person! Everyone wants to do the right thing, but you act like our every move is a mistake. You apologized last night for yelling at me, so I thought you were just in a bad mood yesterday. But now I don't think so; something else is bothering you." He took a deep breath. "I... I can sense it."
Jin was silent, and though he had a stone cold, emotionless face, there was something in his eyes that Ángel picked up on.
"You mentioned something about the Digital World."
Jin bit his lip.
"Hey, that's right," Scarmon said. "You never told him—"
"Scarmon!" Jin barked.
Ángel took a step closer, looking into his gray eyes. "You are afraid."
"What are you talking about?" Jin growled, snatching Scarmon up, moving away. "I'm sick of listening to you. Don't follow me."
"You are afraid!" Ángel insisted, watching him go. "You have fears you are afraid to face, and you are afraid to tell anyone else about them. This place scares you more than you thought it would and as long as you refuse to face it, it will only get worse! If you don't face them, they will take you over!"
Jin whirled around and stomped back towards him. The fierce look in his eyes made Ángel back up nervously. "You don't even know the meaning of fear," Jin growled. "I spent thousands of nights here, with no one but Scarmon to keep me company. I faced monsters that I never would have imagined in my worst nightmares and the two of us stared them down. I ran from soldiers of the Dark Masters and the Digimon Emperor. What made it worse was trying to get enough to eat, or when one of us got sick. Have you ever had to run from a Gigadramon while carrying a digimon too sick to digivolve? Have you ever had to escape from an angry Monochromon when you were caught drinking from 'his' pond? Do you have one of these?" He screamed that last word, lifting up his shirt and revealing an enormous scar arching from his lower back and up his side. "I almost died from this! I almost bled to death because I made one mistake and got a massive gash from a Monochromon horn! Have you ever had any of that happen to you?"
Ángel stood his ground before Jin, not flinching from his hateful gaze. "No, I haven't," he replied, "and until now, I didn't know you had either."
"Understand now?"
"You were trapped here for a long time?"
"Five years, Ángel," Jin affirmed. "Five years with only me, Scarmon, and the dream of getting home, when I didn't know that I didn't even have a home to get back to."
"What do you mean?"
His voice grew soft. "While I was trapped in the Digital World, long before we just had digiports to get back easily, my mother caught something. Some sort of pneumonia. She... she was gone before I ever got back..."
Ángel ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to say. I had no idea."
Jin took a deep breath. "So, now are you happy?"
Ángel hesitated, then shook his head. "No, there's still something you haven't told me."
"What?"
"Why did you fight with Michael?"
Jin blinked in confusion. "Because… well, because he…" He struggled for an explanation. He and Michael had never gotten along. He was so used to it, he had almost forgotten the reason.
"Because he always treats me like I'm a rotten punk," he answered. "He acts like I'm some kind of savage. And the thing is…" he had grown quiet now, his voice pained, "…he's probably right about me."
Michael sat up suddenly. All the others looked to the north when they heard the sound. It was a sound that never ceased to send shivers up his spine: it was the sound of Mimi screaming.
"Come on, she needs us!" Michael shouted, getting up, wincing in pain.
"Michael, be careful," Betamon warned him.
"I'll be all right. Just go ahead of me and I'll catch up!"
"Forget that! We need to get there fast!" Betamon protested as he began to glow. "Betamon digivolve to… Seadramon!"
"Well, here's one thing we have to thank Jin for," Amanda said.
"What's that?" Michael grunted as he helped her onto Seadramon's back, the latter charging through the jungle towards the sound of Mimi's voice.
"If it wasn't for the rabbit he fed us, Betamon wouldn't have eaten enough and he wouldn't have the energy to digivolve."
Michael was taken aback. He had to admit that Amanda was right; Jin's resourcefulness and expertise had worked out and they hadn't even needed to dip into their rations. Now, if only Jin and Ángel were still around to help.
They came upon Mimi nearby a riverbank. She was huddled behind a rock and Lilymon was already in the air, fully digivolved. He gasped when he saw what she was fighting.
The creature had the appearance of a gigantic serpent with black scales and a red underbelly. However, midway through its body was tuft of light fur from which sprang one normal, organic head, and seven cybernetic ones.
"That's Orochimon," Amanda read from her analyzer. "He's an ultimate, virus type. Known especially for his violent temper—"
"—And sssoon to be known for eliminating you bratsss!" he hissed.
"I could use some help!" Lilymon cried, panicking. "This guy's tough!"
This was apparently the case, as Lilymon's speed in the air was of little use. Orochimon ducked every time she tried to swoop in and attack and used one of his metal heads as a shield each time she fired her Flower Cannon.
"Help her out, Seadramon!" Michael ordered, dismounting his partner's back along with Amanda. "You and Penguinmon help Lilymon," he told her, "while I make sure Mimi's okay."
"What am I supposed to do?" Amanda called angrily after him. "Throw a rock at him and hope I knock him out?"
"Just see if you can find any information about his attacks or weaknesses on the Analyzer!" Penguinmon advised her. "In the meantime: Penguinmon digivolve to… Frigimon!"
Lilymon dived at him again only to be snatched out of the air in the jaws of one of the metal heads. She cried in pain as it bit down, nearly crushing the air out of her. Seadramon tried to strike at his main head with an ice blast, but it was shielded by one of the heads. Trying to get at his organic head did little good either, since several metal heads always rushed at him to counter any attack he made. Seadramon had never fought an enemy this quick and found that his own serpentine agility was no match for Orochimon's.
"Mimi, what happened?" Michael asked Mimi from her hiding spot.
"I was just getting you some water, when that… that thing appeared! He just attacked me and Palmon for no reason!"
"Let's see," Amanda said, working with her analyzer, searching from some useful information. "Oh, here it is: 'Weaknesses: None known.' Oh that's just great!"
"Subzero Ice Punch!" Frigimon attacked. One of the heads was frozen temporarily, but another quickly struck it, shattering the spreading ice from its hull.
"You're all weaklingsss," Orochimon snickered. "Now you will know the penalty of thinking you can defeat the Eight Godsss!"
"He's one of the Eight Gods?" Mimi cried. "We can't beat him alone! Where are Jin and Ángel?"
"We don't know! We'll have to hang in there until they show up!" Michael exclaimed.
Orochimon was tired of these pests. He threw Lilymon into Frigimon and then knocked Seadramon onto them. With a wicked grin and a flick of his forked tongue, he rose up and tilted his head back, ready to unleash his attack.
"I found his attack!" Amanda cheered. "It's called—"
"Inferno Blassst!" Orochimon shouted, unleashing a cloud of flame upon the heap of his downed opponents. The three of them all struggled, their agonized screams making the children's blood run cold. When the fire cleared, all three had returned to their Rookie stages.
"They're all weak against fire attacks," Amanda groaned, mostly to herself as she scooped up an unconscious Penguinmon. "Hey, Penguinmon? Come on, Penguinmon, wake up!" she cried, growing more desperate by the moment.
"Run for it!" Michael shouted, as he and Mimi took hold of Betamon and Palmon. The three of them ran, cradling their partners as their powerful foe slithered through the woods after them, knocking down trees as he went.
"I think I understand you now," Ángel said, nodding thoughtfully.
"Hey, you just met me yesterday!" he snapped. "You don't know me at all!"
"I can read you better than you can read yourself," Ángel said, his eyes taking on an odd, dreamy quality. "I can sense your confusion, just as I could sense your fear. It is in your eyes as well as your heart."
Jin took a step back. "You're weird," he said. "You act like you're some kind of fortune teller."
"I am no fortune teller," Ángel admitted. "But just as you are skilled at surviving in this world, I have my own abilities."
"Fine, if you know me so well," Jin challenged, "then you tell me what my problem is."
Ángel nodded, closing his eyes. Despite this, Jin felt something like this younger boy was staring deep into his very being and he shifted uncomfortably. "You carry something dark inside your heart. It is as if you are afraid that it is your true nature, that you really are not a good person. Michael reminds you of things you don't like about yourself and you become angry because he won't let you forget. But that is only part of it. I can sense that you carry more than this. You not only have your fear and this darkness, but also a kind of guilt."
Jin backed away from him, his eyes suspicious and afraid. Then, growing angry, curling a fist, he stood his ground. "You're wrong."
"And now you're lying."
"Shut up!" Jin shouted, belting him in the face.
"Jin!" Scarmon shouted, surprised at this violent outburst, which was a bit much even for him. "I know this is a touchy subject, but it's not like he's trying to bug you!"
"Ángel are you all right?" Muchomon asked.
"I'm fine, don't worry," Ángel assured his partner, rubbing his jaw tenderly, paying no attention to the pain. "I know you're angry, Jin, but you will never be happy if you continue to carry your guilt with you."
"I don't need your help. I can manage on my own."
"You could have fooled me," Ángel said. "Just talk to me."
"You want me to talk? Force me!" Jin spat, raising his fists.
"Jin, don't do this!" Ángel pleaded, raising his hands defensively. "I won't fight you, but—"
In mid-sentence, Ángel froze, looking at the tree line curiously. Jin looked in the same direction, not understanding until he heard an odd noise. It was the sound of something large stomping towards them. It was very close, but in the heat of the moment, none of them had heard it coming. Scarmon stiffened and growled, while Muchomon appeared at his side. Something was coming, and it was almost there.
Then, parting the branches before it, the stranger appeared. It was a large creature, over ten feet tall, with leathery scales all over its body. It walked on two legs, each foot with three toes and it had humanoid hands, as well as a long tail. It was covered with green scales and had a long snout lined with sharp teeth. It was dressed in ragged blue jeans and wore a khaki vest, along with a necklace adorned with bones. The creature looked very much like a crocodile, except for its human-like features. It stopped when it saw them.
"Oh, hi," it said. "My name's Crocmon and I'm looking for the nearest river. Any of you seen it?"
"I think there was one a few miles that way," Scarmon told him, pointing with one claw.
Crocmon looked to Scarmon and his eyes went wide in shock. Then, a vicious, toothy smile appeared on his face. "YOU!" he bellowed. "I'VE FINALLY FOUND YOU!"
"I didn't know you were missing," Muchomon remarked to Scarmon.
"Quiet!" Scarmon growled to Muchomon before turning to Crocmon. "Hey, what are you talking about? I don't know you!"
"Oh yes you do. I memorized your scent, your voice, and your evil grin... I'd recognize you anywhere," Crocmon said, giggling ecstatically. "Maybe you remember me from the Great Desert of Spiral Mountain!"
Jin cocked his head to one side, his hand going to the wound at his side. "That was where we got into the fight with that Monochromon a few years ago. My back was slashed and I was nearly killed."
Scarmon nodded, and in his mind he remembered that horrible day. The day he'd been unable to protect his partner and the two of them had nearly died fighting Machinedramon and his forces. He had panicked when Jin was injured so badly and he didn't know much about how to take care of him. If it hadn't been for that oasis...
He froze. "Wait. You couldn't be..." he thought for a moment. "Gatormon?"
"Ha! Now you remember!" Crocmon roared.
"Who? Scarmon, what is he talking about?" Jin asked.
"When you got hurt that day, I heard about a miracle cure all, the Phoenix Fruit. It only grew in one oasis in the middle of the desert, so I ran for almost an entire day to find it."
"I remember that," Jin said. "But what does that have to do with this guy?"
"One whole fruit can heal any injury and restore strength. There were two in that oasis, but I was worn out from running, so I needed Gatormon's help. But I had to eat one to get back and bring the other one back to save you. I had to leave him..."
"But I was there first! And I helped you get that first fruit!" he shouted. "I found it first and I was nearly dead from starvation. I tried to get it, but only you were strong enough to reach it first. I begged you to let me have some, even a little piece, but you said no and left me," he told him hatefully. "You left me to starve to death in the middle of the desert!"
"Why would you do that?" Ángel asked Scarmon.
"Hey, I didn't have a choice!" Scarmon protested. "Jin was dying! He… he needed my help to get him some food… he couldn't walk or even sit up!"
Jin let out a sigh and looked away, embarrassed at the mention of one of his more vulnerable moments.
"I couldn't spare even one bite of that fruit or it wouldn't heal Jin! He's my partner, I had to save him!" Scarmon finished.
"Well, that's too bad," Crocmon sneered. "Because now you and your partner will pay."
"Wait!" Ángel protested. "That's not fair. Scarmon did what he thought was right. Besides, you survived, so why are you still angry?"
"I was nearly crippled with hunger pain," Crocmon told him bitterly. "I crawled for miles on my belly, a mere Rookie trying to survive. The only thing sustaining me was my anger. The only thing that gave me the strength to survive was the thought of paying that little thief back. And I gathered my strength so that I could digivolve and have the strength to fight back. Now, I'm a Champion and I can finally get my revenge. My hatred is what gave me my strength, and I'll use it to pay you back."
"Well, why argue when we can fight about it?" Scarmon said with shrug. "Scarmon digivolve to… Venomon!"
Crocmon was unfazed. "So, you can digivolve at will, eh? I'll still beat you, even with your added strength!"
"Let's see how big you talk when you're a suitcase," Venomon growled, barring his teeth.
"Muchomon digivolve to… FlareLizamon!"
Venomon looked at his teammate. "What are you doing? This is my fight, between my partner, me, and this clown."
"Maybe you and Jin haven't noticed, but you're part of a team. And since you're in a fight, it's my fight, too."
Venomon cracked a smile. "Well, as long as you don't accidentally hit me like you did Togemon yesterday, I'll let you give me a hand."
Crocmon looked from one to the other. "It's just like you to try and outnumber me, Scarmon," he said. "But I'll beat you and anyone else you bring with you, no matter how dirty you fight."
"Venom Spit!"
"Blazing Inferno!"
Crocmon leapt over both attacks on his powerful hind legs. "Tail Thrash!" he attacked, bringing his immense tail down upon FlareLizamon, knocking him to the ground. "Crush Bite!" His second attack was aimed at Venomon and he brought his massive jaws down upon his enemy's head, squeezing it like a vice.
"Venomon, sting him!" Jin shouted.
"Venom Sting!" he attacked, taking Jin's advice. To his surprise, the small stinger on his tail couldn't penetrate Crocmon's tough, leathery hide. He could hear Crocmon laugh contemptuously and struggled to get free, acutely aware of the stabbing pain in his head where Crocmon's teeth sank in.
"Blaze Buster!" FlareLizamon shot a small fireball that scorched Crocmon's vest. He released Venomon as he let out a cry of pain, but managed to extinguish the flames quickly.
"Tail Thrash!" Crocmon attacked, spinning around and using his tail to knock both of them off their feet. He began to laugh maniacally then, his face horrible and vicious as he shouted, "I've waited so long for this! I'll kill both of you with my bare hands!" He then raised his tail a second time and brought it down with a thunderous crash. Jin and Ángel, standing nearby as they cheered their partners on, were knocked into the air from the sheer force of the impact and both tumbled backwards, into the jungle and down and embankment. Ángel reached for something to grab hold of to stop his fall, but slammed his back into a tree. Momentarily dizzied by the pain, he looked around trying to spot Jin. He noticed him crawling up the side of the embankment on his hands and knees, slowly getting to his feet.
"Jin!" Ángel called. He thought for a moment that he might have been hurt. To his surprise, Jin started to chuckle. Then, with crescendo it became a full-blown laugh. There was ugliness to it that Ángel picked up on immediately. Again he could sense the darkness he'd detected earlier. The sense of it was coming from Jin, welling up from inside his heart, becoming suddenly much more intense.
"You know something, Ángel?" Jin asked, his voice icy and calm. "You're right. I do feel guilty about who I am. I've got a dark nature, just like you said. And getting trapped in the Digital World, losing my mother, and losing any chance I might have had for a normal life are what I have to do to pay for it. Did you know I'm ducking parole from a juvenile hall to be here? That means I can't even go back to New York, where all my friends are. I'm not meant to be good. Mimi had me thinking otherwise, but she was wrong about me. I guess Michael had it right."
"What are you talking about?" Ángel asked, coming up behind him.
Jin turned to face him. There was pain in his eyes, but also a look of devious excitement. More disturbing was the smile on his face. It was a tight, vicious grimace, and Ángel noted that it resembled Crocmon's.
"When I first got sent on this mission," Jin continued, "I was told that I should never use this." Here he reached under his shirt and retrieved his Crest. "This is the Crest of Rage."
"That was what was glowing under your shirt when you fought Michael?"
Jin nodded. "It gave me a lot of power, but it made me vicious and cruel. I never showed any mercy, and told Scarmon to be as harsh as possible. And you know what... I actually loved it. That's what Crocmon and I have in common: we both embraced our dark natures and became stronger. I really was one of the bad guys the whole time. I almost… I almost ordered a fully-digivolved Scarmon to destroy New York because I thought it could be a way to pay for the things I've done in the past. That's how messed up I was. If I use this, I could lose control again."
Ángel watched as Jin looked up the hill, the sounds of the raging battle coming down to them.
"Well, Michael's right about me. I may feel guilty, but it's just making me weak. It's time to admit that I'm not cut out to be one of the good ones. If we're going to beat enemies this powerful, we'll need all the firepower we can get, so it's time to stop being nice."
"What are you saying?" Ángel asked, not liking where this was going.
"I'm going to use this Crest and stomp that walking suitcase into the ground," Jin told him, walking up the hill. "Let's just get this over with so the others can go home and I can ride out this downward spiral."
"No! Don't!" Ángel protested, charging up the hill behind him.
"Why not? Crocmon's rage gives him strength; now I'll use mine. Even if I have to let my dark side show, it's only me showing my true colors. I'm going to take down these guys just like the old days."
He started to laugh again, the grin on his face becoming even more maniacal. "Now, keep out of my way, Ángel," he commanded him. "Scarmon and I are going to do what we do best. It's going to get messy."
Ángel sprinted forward desperately and put himself between Jin and the top of the hill.
"What are you doing?" Jin demanded.
"Jin, you have to stop!"
"Why?" Jin sneered. "I'm a ruthless thug whose only real power comes from darkness. I can't help who I am and I'm tired of pretending."
"That is who you were," Ángel told him. "But that isn't who you are."
"What do you know?" Jin grunted, shoving Ángel to the side. He went on but he felt something grab him by the leg and he was pulled to the ground. He and Ángel were both struggling against the steep incline to get their footing.
"I know that you are not an evil person, Jin," Ángel told him. "I can see it, even if you cannot! You blame yourself for the things that have happened to you, but you haven't even noticed all the good you have done just while I've known you."
"Save it!" Jin snapped, continuing up the hill. "I've got work to do."
"You promised my mother that you would watch out for me," Ángel said. Jin turned to face him, surprised that he knew. "I heard you. You feel responsible because you are the oldest and because you feel like you owe the Digital World to pay for your past sins. Since we got here, you've been trying to protect all of us. You've hunted for food, tried to come up with a plan for survival, and you obviously feel sorry for hurting Michael. Even if you don't get along, even if you lose your temper, you still care too much to be an evil person."
Jin looked away embarrassedly. "I'm just... I don't want the others to get hurt."
"Then think of what giving in to your rage would do," Ángel said. "Mimi believes in you, and so do I. And I think you want to prove Michael wrong. You don't want them to see you like you were, do you?"
Jin let out a sigh. "No," he said. His voice was now tranquil, the anger gone and the violent urge behind it extinguished. "No. You're right I don't." He offered Ángel a weak smile. "Okay, I'll give you a chance. I'll try to be one of the good ones."
Ángel breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear it," he said. Then, looking to the top of the embankment, said, "Now, let's go kick Crocmon's ass."
Jin had to laugh as they both made it to the top of the hill. He saw Venomon and FlareLizamon both lying flat on the ground, trying to get up as Crocmon lashed them repeatedly with his tail. He felt his anger rise up again, but it was overpowered by this desire to help, to see his partner, and Ángel's partner, kept safe from further harm. It was in that moment that his digivice began to beep.
"What the…"
"Mine's doing that too," Ángel said. "What does that mean?"
Jin looked and saw both Venomon and FlareLizamon glowing brightly, the light of it too much for Crocmon as he backed away.
"I think it means we just found the solution to our problem," Jin replied, a smile on his face.
Venomon and FlareLizamon began to shift, their forms melting and commingling into one form, their voices merging to one. Jin and Ángel felt something similar, their own thoughts no longer their own, but shared with the other.
"Venomon…"
"FlareLizamon…"
"…DNA digivolve to…"
They stood in their new form seconds later. It had a black, scaly body, like Venomon, but it was slender and lean, like FlareLizamon's. His tail was long and bore a small green flame burning at the end. His hands and feet were also engulfed in green flame. On his face was a chrome metal mask, concealing the top half of his reptilian face, with Venomon's white eyes staring out. Finally, green flames spouted from the top of his head like a mane of wild hair. He was taller than either of the two digimon and his sleek form obviously contained a lot of hidden strength and speed.
"…Quemamon!"
"What are you up to now, Scarmon?" Crocmon snarled.
"We aren't Scarmon," Quemamon answered. "We're only half of your enemy. Scarmon never wanted to see you hurt, but he did what he thought was right. If you walk away, you can end this."
"I didn't wait this long to quit," Crocmon growled hatefully.
"You can either give up," Quemamon told him, cracking his knuckles, "or you can get hurt."
Crocmon was through with discussion and leaped into the air. Quemamon rushed forward, then jumped up and grabbed onto Crocmon's tail. Before Crocmon had time to react, Quemamon had already begun to spin around, swinging Crocmon by it. Once he had gathered up enough speed, he released Crocmon, flinging him high into the air to land somewhere farther off.
"That was easy," Quemamon remarked, dusting off his hands.
"Hey, I'm getting some signals from the others," Jin said, checking his digivice. "They're in the direction you just sent Crocmon. Come on, let's move before he goes after them too!"
"You kidsss can't run forever!" Orochimon hissed.
"He's right!" Mimi cried, still running for all she was worth as Orochimon came after them. The trees he crashed through slowed him down, but only marginally. Any minute now, he would catch up to them.
"We need a miracle!" Michael exclaimed.
"Yeah, well, miracles don't just fall out of the sky, right?" Amanda snapped.
Just then, Crocmon plummeted out of the sky and landed on top of Orochimon, stopping him cold. The three children were so surprised they froze in their tracks as well.
Amanda blinked, then looked hopefully up at the sky. "Gorgeous foreign bishounen don't just fall out of the sky, right?"
No sooner had she said that, then Quemamon, carrying his two partners, leapt over the trees and amid the group. Jin and Ángel, who'd been riding on his shoulders, got off and faced the group.
"Sorry we're late!" they said in unison.
"Cool!" Amanda squealed. "Gorgeous naked foreign bishounen don't just fall out of the sky, right?"
Amanda's disappointment would have to wait, however, as Orochimon got up with a roar, tossing Crocmon aside.
"You fool!" Orochimon raised himself up menacingly before Crocmon. "How dare you come between one of the Eight Godsss and hisss prey!"
"Hey, it wasn't my fault, you lisping freak!"
"I don't have time for thisss!" Orochimon exclaimed, grabbing him by the arms with two of his heads, then throwing the protesting Crocmon as hard as he could, his yells fading as he disappeared from sight. "In the meantime, who'sss thiss?"
"We are Quemamon!" he announced.
"Where did he come from?" Mimi asked.
"He's our partner," Jin answered.
"He digivolved from Venomon and FlareLizamon," Ángel added.
"Despite your tricksss, you still don't have the power to defeat me!" Orochimon cackled.
Quemamon said nothing, but merely yawned, as if Orochimon was hardly worth of concern at all. Enraged, Orochimon attacked.
"Inferno Blast!" The cloud of fire rushed at Quemamon, who waited until the last moment before extending his arms then letting the green flame form around him, letting Orochimon's attack pass harmless over him.
"Wow," Michael remarked, impressed. "He's using that fire as a shield."
"That's not actually fire," Amanda said, busy with her pocket analyzer. "Those are plasma flames. It's actually an extremely hot gas which can burn away almost any organic material!"
Quemamon was ready when Orochimon's attack had failed. He raised one fist, then plunged it into the earth. "Scorched Earth!" he attacked, sending a tall, wide wall of the green plasma at Orochimon, laying to waste all the plant life that lay in its path. Orochimon ducked his organic head back as he put his metallic heads in front of him as a shield. The shield worked and Orochimon snickered arrogantly behind it. Until he heard another voice laughing loudly.
"Up here, skinny!" Quemamon hollered.
Orochimon looked above him and saw that Quemamon had sprung into the air and had his hands together, his fingers pointed at him like a gun. "Plasma Column!" he attacked, sending a long, steady stream of the plasma from his hands. The attack cut through the distance between them like a rocket and hit Orochimon's unprotected head perfectly. He gave one last hissing shriek before the column shot down the length of his body, burning it to ashes. His seven remaining disembodied heads tumbled from the air and landed with loud clangs before they too shattered into data.
"I guess that leaves six left out of eight," Quemamon laughed, before reverting back into Scarmon and Muchomon.
"Wow, that was great!" Mimi exclaimed. Amanda was beaming at the two, rendered uncharacteristically speechless.
Michael, however, stood by and tapped his foot impatiently. "So, where were you, Jin?" Michael asked. "We could have used your help back there."
Jin scowled at Michael for a moment, then seemed to relax. "Sorry about that," he apologized.
Mimi, Amanda, Michael and all of their respective partners gawked at him, unable to believe their ears.
"Wha… what did you say?" Michael asked.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here to help," he said. "And I'm sorry for hurting you. And not telling you guys that lunch was rabbit. And… well, for how I've acted since we got here."
Michael cocked his head to one side. A small smile appeared on his face. "So, does that mean you're going to stop being a jerk to everyone?"
Jin extended his hand to Michael, who paused a moment, then accepted it and shook it. "Yep, no more being a jerk to everyone." Then, Jin pulled him forward and tripped him with one extended foot, sending him sprawling into the dirt. He wasn't hurt anywhere, except maybe in his pride.
"Not to everyone," Jin laughed, helping him up. "Just to you."
To be continued...
(Next time: A city in the clouds, an ego the size of a blimp, and overactive hormones cause more trouble as Amanda gets an important lesson in growing up... and peeping!)
P.S. Leave a review, please, I love to hear from readers!
