"Novi, come on!" Black practically yelled at her human. He was still depressed about the "horrible" things the girls called him. "You can't let something like this put you down," the black feline growled.
"...Just leave me alone," Novice whimpered from beneath the armrest he had buried his face into again.
"...Did we really do that," Mimi asked in disbelief.
"...No?" Sora said, totally unconvinced about her words.
Black was glaring at her human's poor state of form, but she had to acknowledge that her normal snark doesn't help here. So the BlackGatomon had to try a... different approach.
Soon enough, Novice once again felt the familiar weight of Black on his lap, but he chose to ignore it. "...Novice." the pleading voice of Black was able to make the Overseer raise his head to look. There was Black, sitting on his lap with his ears folded behind and her pupils had dilated to cover her entire eyes, complete with just enough shimmer to convey feelings of sadness. "Everything will be alright," Black said in a voice that wanted to comfort someone despite being sad themself. With that, Novice picked the feline digimon into a hug, rubbing his cheek against Black's head for good measure.
"This is so demeaning," Black thought in her head, feeling like a pet that existed only for amusement, "But if this gets him out of the depression then I'll endure it."
Then the Novice gave his partner one last squeeze, that made Black feel like she would be crushed, before putting her back down with a long sigh. "Thanks, Black. Even though I know you hate being cuddled," Novice said, visibly cheered up.
"Suure," Black said in mild annoyance, now that Novice was back to normal.
With that, Novice turned to the Children, who once again, weren't sure what to make of this guy... Which they didn't doubt that they would wonder many more times.
"Sooo," Jo drawled out, "Is it my turn now? I mean... I think it would be Gomamon's turn, right?"
Novice was mildly surprised at the deduction, but he smiled as he answered, "You would be right about that." And with that, the book floated to the Chosen of Reliability. "And Black," Novice then said as he gave his digimon a warning glare," I can make that ring stop you from talking, period."
Black rolled her eyes at the threat," Yes, yes. I will tone everything down, not like I have a choice anyway." At the latter part, Black glared at the green ring on her tail.
Jo decided to ignore that and started reading.
Roar! Ikkakumon!
As usual, the title card was a silhouette of Ikkakumon.
A cold wind blew across the woods that the group was traversing through. "Okay...this is...really cold…" Pyrrha shivered, as her armor was...really less than suited for the cold weather.
"...Now that I think about it, why is her armor like that," Sora then wondered aloud, "Wouldn't it make more sense for it to... cover more."
"In this case, it wouldn't make much of a difference," Novice explained, "Even if she wore a full-body armor, it would probably just make it worse."
"Right," Koshiro sounded out, "Her body heat wouldn't be enough to keep the metal warm."
"Its getting darker too...maybe we should find a place to set up camp and then go up the mountain tomorrow. We DID take quite some time going through the pass…" Gyro mused.
"With how cold it's getting, think it'll snow?" Ruby asked.
"Considering we're this close to Infinity Mountain, that's very possible," Tentomon said.
"I don't think that'd be good…" Jaune said with a frown, one that deepened when Pyrrha sneezed a little.
"She's not going to catch a cold, is she," Biyomon asked in worry.
"Just keep reading," Novice said with a small smile at what was going to happen next.
Gabumon looked at her in worry, before sighing a bit as he looked at everyone "Nobody say a thing, alright?" he said, before actually taking off his pelt, surprising a few of them before offering it to Pyrrha.
Gabumon without his fur pelt… that was definitely a strange sight, as he looked simply like a yellow reptile with a horn on his head, his ears being small points similar to Agumon.
All eyes turned on Gabumon who was blushing a storm under his pelt.
"Huh, so that's what you look like under your pelt," Taichi said with a small smirk.
"...Just leave me alone," Gabumon said in embarrassment.
"I don't understand what you have to be embarrassed about," Agumon said with a head-tilt.
"...Maybe he's ashamed of his appearance," Black quipped with a cheshire grin, earning a glare from Yamato and several others. "OW!" And then she got hit by the stick again.
"Sorry about that," Novice said as he rested the said stick on his shoulder, "Let's move on."
Gabumon couldn't be more grateful about the diversion.
"T-thank you." Pyrrha said, her teeth clacking as she took the pelt, pulling it over her shoulders, already starting to look a bit better.
"I know you said not to say anything… but you look naked, so, here." Pierce said to Gabumon as he lent him his jacket.
"Thank you." Gabumon said as he was able to slip it on, his small height meaning the jacket covered his back completely "It's not my pelt, but at least I don't feel naked now."
"How long is this going to take," Gabumon whined, feeling very exposed, despite it not being him on the screen.
"But we'd better find somewhere to set up camp, and hopefully somewhere we can get away from the cold," Blake said, feeling a shiver come up. Like it or not, none of them were really dressed for the cold weather.
"And neither were we," Jo commented to everyone, who acknowledged it with a grudging nod.
"Good idea," Ren nodded. "But where would we find a place to hide from the cold? Other than starting a fire, we don't really have anywhere to go."
"Well, time for some good old fashioned scouting then," Gyro shrugged, before using his semblance to get up a tree. "All flyers give me a hand too. Maybe you can spot something."
With that, Gyro and the flyers of the group started scouting from their vantage points, hoping to find something. Along the way, Biyomon found something. "Does...something smell weird to you guys?" she asked.
"Now that you mention it...yeah, something does smell weird," Patamon nodded.
"Is it the springs," Palmon wondered aloud.
"Hey, is that smoke over there?" Tentomon said, pointing towards a direction not too far away.
"Hang on," Gyro said, using his goggles to see further, and true enough, he noticed some smoke wafting into the air. "Smoke… and that smell…" a grin placed itself on Gyro's face as he went back down, the flyers following him to the ground as he pointed towards the smoke "Hot Spring dead ahead!"
"Looks that way," Tentomon commented.
"Hell yeah! We can finally take a bath!" Pierce shouted as he pumped his fists.
"They're going to be very disappointed," Takeru said with a loud sigh.
The two were perplexed however, when they were met with silence from everyone else, as they slowly turned to them in deadpan "Ok… I can understand the Digimon not knowing, but does Remnant honestly not have Hot Springs?" Gyro asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Say...what?" All the Children sounded out in unison.
"Doesn't Remnant have Hot Springs," Miyako asked in disbelief.
"Keep reading," Novice said with a small grin.
"Not really? I mean, from what you're saying I'm guessing it's a hot water source?" Yang asked.
"Yeah, it's something of a natural attraction of one of the countries of our home… and their always found out in the wilds… ah, that explains why Remnant hasn't found any then, Grimm are everywhere." Pierce said, blinking when he realised why the ones from Remnant didn't know about it.
"...Right, the Grimm," Koshiro said in realization.
"...Why can't the Remnantians wipe them out again," Yamato asked, only now wondering it.
"One: The Grimm outnumber humans and faunus population. Two: Even though some of them are killed with relative ease, that's only the young ones. The oldest can outsmart huntsmen. Three:... Actually, let's leave that one for now," Novice explained, almost spoiling her to the Children.
"...Right," Yamato commented
"Well then, in that case get ready cause you're gonna be the first people from Remnant to enjoy one of the natural wonders of the world," Gyro chuckled. "Trust us, you'll love it."
"We're gonna have to make a divider to split the section so the girls have their privacy." Pierce pointed out.
Sora and Mimi let out a heavy sigh at them not getting to bathe at the time.
"Ah, that's pretty simple, Azure actually packed enough length of cloth in the pouch that we can make one, since, you know, a completely wooden one would take too long, plus we'll be able to pack this one away and keep it for ourselves." Gyro waved off the issue as the group started walking again, a bit more speed in their steps at the thought of a warm bath.
"Wait, did he pack towels in the pouches?" Weiss asked, seeing a possible problem.
"Actually, yes, he did, and we have enough rope that we could hang our clothes while in the water… stupidly he packed a miniature washing machine, yet still no tent." Piece grumbled the last part in a bit of annoyance.
"...He packs a miniature washing machine, but no tent," Ken commented in disbelief.
"...How does that even happen," Hikari wondered aloud.
"Betcha we're gonna walk into a place that has electrical outlets." Nora said with a snort of laughter.
"Honestly? I wouldn't be surprised at this point." Ruby said idly.
"Will they," Daisuke asked the first generation.
"Yes." Everyone said in unison.
"We've gotten too used to this world," Weiss sighed. "...not that that's a bad thing," she added quickly.
"Jo could've taken lessons from her," Gomamon snickered, earning an annoyed look from his partner.
"Will you ever stop," Jo said pleadingly.
"Sure, when it stops being funny," Gomamon replied cheekily, earning some laughs.
"Well, it's just like most veteran hunters say, expect the unexpected." Ren said with a shrug.
"A lot of Digimon also say that." Wormmon added.
"None of us have said it so far though." Gomamon shot back with a joking smirk.
"That's true," Salamon chuckled. "But enough about that, I wanna try out these 'hot springs'," she said cheerfully.
"Okay, full speed ahead!" Veemon and Agumon said at the same time.
"...okay...this might not be such a great idea…" Pierce sweatdropped as he peered into the pool of BOILING hot water.
"Yup," Taichi commented dryly, "Same as us."
"Dammit, I was actually looking forward to this." Yang sighed out.
"Well… at least it's warmer here." Gyro said with a shrug after a moment as Pyrrha handed Gabumon his pelt back, and Gabumon handed back Pierce his jacket as he put his pelt back on.
"I see there are more pools, so maybe we might find one that isn't boiling," Ren suggested.
"Fat chance of that happening," Taichi commented again.
"I hope we find one, it'll be good for my roots." Palmon said idly as she stretched her legs and wiggled her… roots.
This prompted Mimi to glance at her partner,"Palmon... can you wiggle your roots?"
"Of course, why couldn't I," Palmon replied easily, wiggling the said roots to prove her point.
"...Right," Mimi commented, now amazed that she never questioned it.
However, while they were looking around, they also saw something else. "Forget the hot springs. Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" Ruby asked while blinking in shock.
Everyone turned to where she was looking and well…
"...of course…" Weiss sighed in annoyance, as there, sitting in plain sight, was a refrigerator. "The sad part is...I don't feel particularly surprised anymore…"
"We were still surprised," Yamato commented with a small smile.
"That's true," Jo sighed, remembering how he reacted back then. On the hindsight, maybe he was overreacting.
"We share your pain…" all the other huntsmen said sympathetically.
"And… yep, electrical outlet right behind it." Gyro said as he went to check around the fridge, before putting his pouch down and pulling out of it a washing machine that was about half the size of a normal one, plugging it into the outlet.
"And while you're doing that," Nora chuckled, before opening the fridge without hesitation.
"One of these days Nora…" Blake sighed in annoyance at the sight of the carrot top opening the fridge without hesitation or consideration.
"Well not today," Nora chuckled, before moving aside and revealing the contents.
"Jackpot!" Gabumon grinned, while the other Digimon smiled as well.
"Eggs!"
"You guys found functioning fridges with eggs in them," Iori asked, still amazed at some things.
"Yup." Seven of the first generation said without hesitation.
"Uh, wait, hold on for a minute." Jaune said, dragging his mind back down to earth "We shouldn't just grab them suddenly, we don't even know if their edible."
"Jaune's got a point. So, we have two tests to see if their edible, scent, and cracking an egg open and taking a look. Agumon, if you would do the honors." Gyro said as he gestured at the fridge while still setting up the washing machine.
"...Did you guys at least check if they were edible," Miyako asked the first generation in worry.
"Of course we did," Sora replied.
Agumon simply nodded before sniffing the eggs "Well, they smell right." he muttered, before grabbing one and cracking it open on the ground, looking at the yolk "And it looks right too, so, I think we're good."
"Great, so guess we know what we're having for dinner tonight," Yang grinned, earning a small cheer from everyone.
"Not just that, look what I found!" Patamon added, flying down a bit, and pointing to a section just over a small hill, not TOO far away from where the main collection of pools were, but easily missed if one didn't look around more.
"...Don't tell me," Jo commented with an exasperated look.
The group followed his directions, and soon came upon a large and long pool, one that could easily fit 30 people, with lightly steaming water in it. "Is this the kind of hot spring you guys were talking about?" Patamon asked.
"Looks like it yeah, doesn't seem to be boiling." Pierce said, grinning, before slowly putting his hand in the water, his grin widening "Yeah, this is definitely the right kind of hot spring."
A long silence came over the first generation.
"You don't think," Taichi commented with dread in his voice.
"...We never did look around properly," Koshiro said, realizing their leader's train of thought.
"You mean to tell me we could've had a bath if we had just looked around," Mimi said with a horrified look.
"...That's how it looks like," Sora said, now feeling extremely stupid.
"Great, so let's set out dividing tasks. One team works on setting up a barrier so we can actually use the spring at the same time, and another gets stuff ready to make dinner," Gyro said...before adding, "And while I trust there are no pervs in our group...from EITHER gender...make sure the barrier actually works in dividing both sides."
"Girls can't be perverts," Miyako said almost defensively.
"...Black here would disagree," Novice said while pointing at the said feline digimon who had the gall to look proud of the fact.
"Lust isn't limited to men, Miyako-chan," Black said suggestively... Sadly that wasn't any kind of innuendo, so the Ring didn't block the feline.
Miyako had the decency to look embarrassed... Which prompted Black to smile evilly.
"And that's why I say we should have you make the divider," Pierce said with a chuckle.
"Fair point, alright, so…" Gyro trailed off, looking at everyone, before pointing at a few of them "Ruby, Nora, I'm gonna need your help to cut down some trees, and trust me Ruby, I have an idea on what you can do to cut one down even without Crescent Rose, Ren, you're going to help me actually put it together, and Agumon, you come with us just in case there's some non friendly Digimon close. Everyone else, you're on cooking duty… and someone should be making some chopsticks we can use to eat since we don't have any spoons or forks."
"Right," everyone nodded, with Ruby, Nora, Ren, and Agumon going with him, while the rest went to work preparing a means to cook and eat dinner.
"...Missing the baths aside, we at least had a good meal," Biyomon commented.
It didn't take too long for the food to be made, at least when compared to the divider, as they had to sew all of the lengths of cloth together, and then attach each side to the wooden poles they had made from a tree, Gyro having handed something sharp to Ruby while telling her to run around one of the trees as fast she could, making a trench in the bark, before Nora simply broke off what was still connected to the stump when it was thin enough.
"...That's pretty handy," Gatomon commented.
Meanwhile, the others had prepared a stove of sorts with a large rock to act as a frying pan, while also preparing weaved baskets to make boiled eggs with, which were now dipped inside of the boiling pools.
A few minutes later, everyone who was cooking jumped as they heard a shout and a splash, and several moments later, Gyro walking towards the washing machine, drenched from head to toe "Nora bumped into me and I fell in the water." he explained, before starting to pull off his clothes and dumping them in the washing machine so they were properly clean instead of just soaked, eventually leaving him in nothing but a pair of wet boxers as he walked back towards the hot spring, stopping in mid step to turn back to everyone "I didn't start the cycle yet, and Azure built it so that colors and whites can be mixed, don't know how he did it, but if anyone wants to start putting their clothes in, go ahead." he said, before starting to walk again, and Yang had to hold back a laugh at her little sister staring a bit at Gyro's swimmer's build, at least that confirmed the silver eyed girl had some interested in boys, while several jackets and shirts were put in the washing machine and the cycle finally started.
Ruby wasn't the only one who was able to appreciate Gyro's build as Sora and Mimi blushed a little.
"OW!" Was the shout that made the girls snap out of it and glance at Black who was rubbing her head. "I didn't say anything," the BlackGatomon complained.
"But you thought of it," Novice dead-panned as he put the stick away... for now.
A few minutes later had the group now soaking in the hot springs, their underwear hanging nearby while they all had towels. "Oh yeah, this feels great…" Pierce sighed contently.
"This is worth the wait, especially since we can't go back to visit Japan anymore." Gyro said as he leaned at the edge of the spring, piling flat rocks on top of one another.
The Children, especially the guys were now staring at the scene in slight jealousy at the Remnantians enjoying a hot spring early.
"I'm starting to wonder if it would be possible for a village to be built outside the walls around one of these back on Remnant." Ren muttered as he leaned back with his eyes closed.
"I'm honestly surprised we haven't been attacked by a Digimon yet." Jaune commented idly as he had designated himself as the lookout and sat up straight while keeping an eye out.
"...Now that he mentions it... how come," Jo commented, being the first to voice that question.
"Keep reading," Novice said while brandishing the stick, ready to knock some sense into Black the moment she opens her mouth.
"There aren't really any Digimon that live on Mount Infinity, and the worst that can be found in the surrounding areas are some relatively small ones." Tentomon said as he was floating on a board of wood above the water, just dipping his limbs instead of dropping completely in. Not far behind him, Wormmon was also on a board of wood, letting a bit of him soak in the water, but seemingly enjoying the feel of the steam more.
"...Yeah, I don't like water that much," Wormmon commented.
"I can vouch for that," Ken added with a smile.
"That's good, we can relax for once and not have to worry about anything." Blake commented from the other side of the divider, and the twins were positive she had kept her bow, either that or had a towel around her head. They quickly got their answer when they checked the rope where all the clothes were hung to dry, and all of Blake's ribbons were hanging on it.
"I agree. Man, these hot springs feel great. Its like all the tension we've been feeling is just melting away," Yang sighed in content.
Since all the girls were up to their shoulders in the water, no one saw anything that they shouldn't. And Novice seemed to have a tighter grip on the stick with Black covering her head in preparation for the next hit that her tyrant of a human would bring the moment she so much as eeped.
"They really do. I can see why they're so popular in the twins' world," Pyrrha nodded in agreement as she sank a little deeper into the water.
"Almost makes you wish we could just stay here for a while…" Ruby sighed as well.
"Well, this is relaxing, but I doubt it would be a good idea," Weiss sighed, even if she too was enjoying herself.
"Lots of steam though, kinda weird." Nora commented, before she started making bubbles in the water with her mouth.
Despite the picture, it didn't stop some of the guys from trying to imagine what they might look like out of the water... Even if they were trying not to.
"That's cause its nice and warm," came Gomamon's voice...from right next to her.
All eyes turned on Gomamon, who looked at everyone in confusion. "Why's everyone looking over here?" The aquatic digimon asked.
"He did it again," Biyomon said with an angry look.
"Again!?" Miyako, Hikari and Gatomon cried out in unison.
"What's the big deal?" Gomamon asked in confusion.
"The big deal is that you're an idiot," Black said uncaringly.
"That's true," Blake nodded, her hair indeed wrapped in a towel...then she realized who had been talking.
Gomamon blinked, before finding himself with several glares directed at him "What?"
One second later, and he landed with a splash on the boys' side.
"Hey! Don't splash!" Veemon called as he, Gabumon, and Agumon moved away from where Gomamon had landed, while Patamon chuckled when he resurfaced, the smaller mon floating nearby.
The seal shaped Digimon blinked as he floated on his back, before looking at Jaune in honest confusion "Was it something I said?"
"I rest my case," Black said smugly, as all the girls were once again glaring at the seal digimon in question.
"What did I do wrong?" Three years and the seal hasn't learned anything about the opposite gender.
"...Just ignore him," Palmon said with a growl.
"More like something you did." Jaune answered dryly.
Back on the girls' side, Yang was dusting her hands off after throwing him onto the other side, before sitting back down in the water, sighing in a bit of annoyance as two parts of her decided to float up a bit.
First off the picture was blurred around Yang's body when she stood up, so no one got to see her clearly, other than her arms and head.
Secondly, that didn't stop Mimi from trying to picture Yang's figure. Which prompted her to look at her still developing curves. And then the girl remembered something Black once said, but decided to leave it alone... for now.
"It's only annoying when you try to relax," Black commented with a cheshire grin.
As much as Novice wanted to whack the cat, she didn't say anything R-rated. "You would know," the Overseer said with a look that dared Black to continue.
Thankfully the cat didn't feel like getting bludgeoned right now.
Sitting across from her, Weiss narrowed her eyes at Yang's… well developed chest, before casting her gaze to all the other girls around, noticing at the same time that Biyomon was swimming on top of the water in a manner similar to a duck, Palmon was almost completely underwater, and Salamon was doggy paddling around, trying to keep pace with Biyomon.
"Could you do that, Biyomon," Sora asked out of curiosity, having never seen Biyomon really swim.
Gatomon was mildly jealous of her other. She got to have fun with everyone early on, unlike her who was probably suffering at the hands of Myotismon around this time.
Hikari noticed this and hugged her partner for comfort.
On to the more important matter though, she found that every human (to her knowledge) girl present at the moment was at least somewhat gifted in the chest department, then glancing to her right, where Ruby had decided to keep her company and was just humming a tune with her eyes closed, and she found that the girl who was 2 years younger than her was ALSO more developed, looking down at her own chest with a frown and narrowed eyes, before just lowering herself down, her hair floating about in the water as she silently fumed about her lack of curves.
At this moment, Mimi raised her hand timidly.
"...Yes," Novice asked, not sure what to make of Mimi's demeanor.
"...When Black said you could use... body-alteration magic, is it true," Mimi asked with a scarlet face.
"...Why do you ask," Novice asked in suspicion.
"...Mimi, what is it," Sora asked in worry, because now Mimi clammed up unable to bring herself to ask.
"Novice could make your breasts bigger if he wanted," Black commented quickly before running away from the stick that aimed for her head. "What? It's true," the feline said with a grin at her partner.
"That's not the point," Novice said, before clamping a hand over his mouth in shock. After all, he just confirmed Black's claims.
"...You could do that," Miyako asked in disbelief, having some... confusing feelings about it.
"...I...I," Novice stuttered.
All the while some of the guys were slapping their cheeks to rid the mental images that brought them.
"He can do that and much, much meow... MEOW!?" Black exclaimed as she started meowing again. Only this time, it looked like all her words were replaced by meowing.
Turning to the most likely culprit, Novice had a holographic screen open with a hand twisted as if turning a switch. "You asked for it," Novice growled at the cat, who started caterwauling at being completely unable of speech. Ignoring the yowling, Novice turned to the Children. "No." Novice said firmly just as Mimi opened her mouth.
"...You don't know what I was going to say," Mimi argued, though she had some pink on her cheeks.
"Yes I know, and the answer is no," Novice said dryly, before sighing, "Look, can we talk about this later. We're in the middle of a chapter."
"Please continue," Taichi said quickly in hopes of getting something to think about, other than the images that came from the possibilities of Novice's abilities.
As enjoyable as the bath was, they knew they had to get out not just because they hadn't eaten yet, but also cause if they stayed too long, they'd be prunes.
After a few minutes of each group taking time to dry off and putting their now clean clothes back on, the group finally finished cooking the food, as the only thing they had been preparing while they bathed was the boiled eggs.
"Well, we also had omelettes," Yamato said quickly, also trying to think of something else.
And then came the (to the twins) funny part of seeing most of the Remnant born people trying to use chopsticks for the first time.
The only ones from Remnant who were actually able to use them were Ren, Nora, Pyrrha, and Blake.
The Digimon were also all able to use them… well, the ones that had fingers at least.
That earned small laughs.
"And tonight's menu is...boiled eggs, sunny side up eggs, and simple omelettes," Yang listed off. "Eat up, cause me and Jaune cooked up a lot."
"Though we DID save up some of the eggs for supplies just in case...though we also figured better to use up the eggs rather than our other supplies that don't need anything special to cook them," Jaune added.
"Good call, for once we can eat as much as we want and not get worried." Pierce said with a nod as he grabbed a boiled egg and popped it in his mouth all in one bite.
"...Lucky them," Yamato sighed.
"True that," Takeru added in.
Everyone digged in at that, eating their fill of eggs for the night, with a bit of idle chatter sprinkled about.
"These could really use some salt and pepper." Jaune said after swallowing a mouthful.
"Or ketchup." Pierce added idly.
"I prefer soy sauce on mine." Gyro said before biting into an egg.
"Mayonnaise for me." Yang added.
"I put sugar on mine!" Nora said with her usual grin, as everyone else looked at her oddly.
As did all of the Children and their digimon. Except for Mimi, who smiled.
"You get used to it," Ren sighed. "Personally I enjoy red peppers in mine to add a bit of spice to the eggs."
"Guess we have similar tastes, though in my case its more herbs," Blake mused.
"I like having chilli sauce on mine!" Ruby grinned.
"My own preference is a bit odd." Pyrrha started with a somewhat embarrassed look "I prefer salsa on mine."
"Uh-huh," Taichi commented idly.
"I like to put lemon sauce on mine." Weiss said with a shrug after a moment.
"...Hmmm," Mimi hummed with a thoughtful look. There was a time she thought it was weird, but she was now a little curious.
"Hey, Novice," Takeru piped up.
"Yes?" The Overseer had a curious look.
"What do you like to put on omelette?" the Chosen of Hope was curious.
"I don't really eat omelettes... but if I had to choose, then definitely salt... or bacon if available," Novice said, after a moment of thought.
"He's a carnivore," Black commented, Novice having restored the default settings on the Ring.
"Heh, guess we all have our own way of enjoying eggs, huh?" Jaune chuckled, though it wasn't an awkward one. Even if the circumstances were questionable, he honestly had to admit he was enjoying this, just being able to talk to everyone without worrying about anything.
"You sure are having fun today, huh, Jaune?" Gomamon smiled having finished demolishing another bowl of eggs.
"Well, besides what happened with Tortomon this morning, today has been pretty good." Jaune said with a shrug.
"Well, we should enjoy the time we have while we can," Pyrrha said. However, at her words they all frowned.
"Yeah...once we go up the mountain, guess there's no turning back, huh?" Ruby frowned. Sure it felt like they were in a story, of heroes going to confront the evil overlord...but the very real air of danger was still there, giving even her pause. "It's hard to believe its only been a week...feels like we've been in this world for longer. It almost feels like we've been here for a little over twice that time."
"It was only four days for us," Koshiro commented.
"Well... more happened to them, I guess," Jo commented, before continuing.
"I know what you mean," Gyro nodded. "Guess we've all been through a lot since coming here."
"Except for Jaune and Blake, their partners haven't evolved yet." Yang said in a somewhat joking manner, even though it was the truth.
"Except Gomamon will evolve this chapter, judging by the chapter name," Daisuke commented.
"Somehow, I feel like it won't be long before that happens." Blake muttered.
Takeru frowned a little, wondering if Blake has to see Angemon dying.
"With how things are going, you're probably right," Patamon said, landing on her shoulder.
A heavy silence descended upon the group at that. Eventually… "Hey uh...how about we skip the heavy stuff and just enjoy dinner?" Nora suggested. "I mean, we got a big day tomorrow right? So let's just enjoy the time we have until then."
"She's right." Gyro sighed "Let's just eat and find a nice spot to sleep at, because we don't know what we have in store tomorrow."
"...At least they're a little more cheerful than we were around this time," Yamato commented.
"Especially Jo," Gomamon commented with a snicker.
"Oh, shut it," Jo said with an almost playful glare.
"Well... you were a little uptight around that time," Taichi supplied (un)helpfully.
"You and Yamato had a fight around that time too," Sora said with an almost fond smile at the memory. Sure the situation was serious at the time, but now... it was a fond memory.
A good few minutes later and the group had found a rather convenient cave at the base of the mountain, right next to a path that headed up along the side of it, and had all settled in to bed, falling asleep rather quickly.
All except for Jaune.
He lied on his back, still awake, just… thinking.
He was specifically thinking about how since meeting the Vermillion siblings, his life had gotten a bit better, and he had quickly come to call the twins his friends.
If it wasn't for them, he'd probably still be at his home right now, daydreaming about being a hunter.
"...Or cheated his way into Beacon and then gotten trained by Pyrrha," Novice added with a small smile.
And then his thoughts drifted to their current situation, being stuck in a strange world with no idea on how to get back, they had made new friends though, so at least there was a silver lining to it all. Still though…
"There's gotta be something more I can do. I owe them at least that much," he muttered. Sighing, he got up and looked at the mountain. It seemed so...peaceful. Hard to believe this was where the Black Gears were coming from. Maybe...he could at least scout it out a little. Who knows what he might find. With a slight nod to himself, he started walking towards the mountain. Little did he know, he wasn't the only one who was awake, as a small figure was soon following him.
"Is it me," Gomamon asked eagerly.
"You really sure you want to follow me?" Jaune asked with an amused smile as he hoisted Gomamon over a ledge.
"Looks that way," Jo commented with a small smile. Honestly, going out on his own wasn't one of his brightest ideas.
"Well, someone needs to make sure you don't do something too stupid." Gomamon said as he fell in pace with Jaune.
"This coming from the one who was on the wrong side of the divider." Jaune said dryly.
"Ok, seriously, what did I do wrong earlier?" Gomamon asked in honest confusion.
"Yeah, what did my other do wrong," Gomamon asked, earning multiple face-palms. Even Agumon knew what the aquatic digimon did wrong, and that's saying something.
"Human women don't like it when guys see them naked." Jaune answered simply with a shrug, not feeling like explaining everything.
"...I still don't get it…" Gomamon sighed.
"...Idiot," Mimi grumbled. A sentiment shared by all of the girls, even though they wouldn't say it aloud.
"Trust me, it's complicated for us humans too." Jaune said with a sigh.
Women really were hard to understand at times.
"Depends on the woman," Novice said with a shrug.
"...You would know," Black commented with a small snicker.
"...What is she talking about," Sora asked in suspicion.
" I grew up in a female dominated house," Novice commented, completely missing the implicatios.
"Oh... Right," Sora said, feeling a little embarrassed.
The two continued up the mountain, finding that even just the first parts proved to have more ledges and climbs than expected. "I can see why nobody makes a home here. Its pretty difficult to climb," Jaune mused as he and Gomamon were climbing up a small rock wall. Once they made it past that, they were once again on a mountain path...until they came across a small waterfall that came from a small spring up above, creating a gentle stream of water going down the mountain.
"Oh hey, that's pretty cool." Jaune blinked as he looked at the stream, the sun slowly rising from how long they had been climbing up.
"...This is almost exactly like it was with me," Jo commented on Jaune's current situation.
"Oh good, I was getting thirsty." Gomamon said with a relieved sigh as he started walking towards the stream, before halting in mid step as he lifted one of his ears.
Jaune looked around when he noticed his partner becoming alert, staying quiet so he'd be able to keep listening for what he heard.
"Sounds like… something flying towards here." Gomamon said after a moment, listening to the flapping of wings.
Jaune cupped a hand to his ear, trying to make out what Gomamon was hearing "I… I think I can hear it."
The two looked to the source, and saw a Digimon flying towards the mountain. It was equine in form with white fur, and a pair of black, almost ragged looking wings growing out of its back. On its head was a red helmet of some kind that also covered a horn growing out of its head, a small amount of yellow hair sprouting out from the back of its head and neck, the same color as the hairs of its tail.
"Huh, its Unimon," Gomamon mused.
Digimon Analyzer: Unimon
Unimon. Vaccine Type. An Adult Level Mythical Animal Digimon. Bearing both a horn and wings like the mythical horses, Unimon is known as being an easily approachable Digimon. Should anyone ever make an enemy of one, they will quickly become the target of it's horn. It's special attack is Holy Shot, shooting out a ball of energy from its mouth.
"I'm guessing they're usually friendly, right?" Jaune asked, though they both still ducked into a nearby crevice to hide.
"...I actually did do that," Jo commented in embarrassment.
"Smart move this time actually," Novice commented dismissively.
"Yeah, they normally aren't violent," Gomamon nodded as they peeked their heads out.
Unimon didn't seem to notice them at least, as he descended onto the path and walked up to the stream, starting to drink from it.
"Guess this is his drinking spot then." Jaune said in a whisper.
"Yeah." Gomamon agreed as he tried to crane his neck to look the large Digimon over "Doesn't look like he has a Black Gear either."
"Jo," Taichi piped up,"Did Unimon have a Black Gear at that moment?"
"No he didn't," Jo replied, "Which is why I came out of hiding with Gomamon."
Jaune would have agreed...if not for his Digivice suddenly lighting up. "Spoke too soon, Gomamon," he gulped, as a black dot appeared on the radar...and was fast approaching.
It wasn't long before they could hear the sound...and so could Unimon, who glanced upward, just in time to see the gear come down from the sky. What happened next was something Jaune would probably remember in his nightmares, as the gear struck Unimon in the back, and with a sickening 'squelch', and Unimon's agonized whine, the gear embedded itself partway into Unimon's back. Unimon thrashed for a moment, before he suddenly stopped, like a puppet with their strings cut...then his gaze turned straight towards them.
"And then that happened," Jo commented dryly.
"Oh crapbaskets." Jaune gulped, before he had to duck as a shot came straight from Unimon's mouth.
"Oh god dammit." was the first thing Gyro said when he woke up, as he noticed that Jaune and Gomamon were missing.
Borrowing Ruby's whistle for a moment, he blew into it as loud as he could, the sound reverbrating through the cavern and waking everyone up quickly.
"...I guess that's one way to wake up everyone," Hikari commented, feeling sorry for the Remnantians.
"The hell?!" Pierce shouted as he shot up and almost fell back forward had Veemon not grabbed the back of his pants.
"Everyone wake up! Someone decided to go on ahead while we were sleeping." Gyro said clearly, the others getting up as they understood how urgent the situation was, looking around and all noticing who was missing.
"Great, he's probably almost at the top by now, we can't catch up to him if he's in trouble." Weiss groaned out as Gyro handed Ruby her whistle back.
"Actually… we might be able to." Biyomon said, getting attention to herself "I may have found a trick to evolve… well, not at will, but faster I guess, it's just a bit morbid, so I don't really want to share it. It involves thinking about… stuff." she said, clearly not wanting to go into details.
"...What kind of stuff," Biyomon asked in worry for her other.
Yang got to a knee and pulled her into a one armed hug "Whatever you have to think, I guarantee it won't happen."
Biyomon nodded slowly with a small smile, before she walked out of the hug and out of the cave, her eyes closed. She played the images in her mind, and with those as a focus, Yang's Digivice soon started to glow.
"Okay, what did my other have to think about," Biyomon all but demanded from Novice.
"Keep reading," Novice said with a small frown, for he knew that the avian digimon wouldn't like the answer.
"I swear, whoever made these things has it out for us!" Jaune shouted as he (with Gomamon in his arms) was running down the path he was on, trying to get away from Unimon.
"Whatever the reason they were made, their annoying!" Gomamon shouted.
Jaune would have said more, but he was forced to duck from another attack. "Hang on!" He shouted, before jumping off the edge, and sliding down to a lower section of the mountain...not that it really slowed down Unimon who simply used his wings to fly after them. "Damn! This was a bad idea!"
Apparently, Unimon was tired of having them fleeing constantly, as he fired his attack at a section of the path right behind Jaune, blowing it to pieces as he hovered in front of the blonde hunter.
"...Great, now Jaune's in that situation," Jo commented with a groan.
Jaune swallowed nervously as he realise he had nowhere to go now, trying to think of anything that could get him out of his current situation.
Thankfully, he didn't have to think for long.
Out of nowhere, something big and orange slammed into Unimon, pushing it into the wall of the mountain and kicking up a cloud of dust.
When the dust cleared away, he saw Birdramon pushing Unimon against the mountain with her feet, while Yang, Pierce and Veemon were sliding off her back.
"It was me and Taichi," Agumon commented on the slight change.
"You really got lucky right there." Pierce told him once they got close enough.
Jaune grimaced a bit "Yeah, thanks for the save guys."
"The others are trying to get up here as fast as they can, though it might take a good while, so it's just us for now." Yang explained, and she really wished she had her gauntlets right now.
"Why didn't Birdramon fly everyone up there," Armadimon asked.
"Because I could only fly with Sora and Taichi without becoming slower," Biyomon replied.
"Hey, you just saved our butts. We're not complaining," Jaune said, looking a little shaken still.
It was at that moment that Unimon managed to free itself, by turning his head enough that he could fire his attack directly at Birdramon, catching her off guard and making her fall onto a ledge below.
"Birdramon!" Yang said in worry as she slid down to the area below, making sure her partner was ok.
"Well, that's not good." Pierce said with a somewhat nervous grin as Unimon managed to pry itself free from the mountain, and they could tell it was glaring at them through its visor.
"Then let's change that," Veemon said. He had a pretty good idea HOW Biyomon could push herself to evolve...and as much as he didn't like it either, this might be a good as any time to try it. Closing his eyes, he remembered the first time he evolved...only picturing himself being too late. Too late to stop the spikes, or at least later than he original was, making them now dangerously close to his partner. The rush of emotion that brought through him triggered...something, before he stepped forward, Pierce's Digivice soon glowing.
"Oh... That's how," Biyomon commented, feeling sorry for the two. Because as far as she knew, none of them had to do that at any point.
"Veemon, Evolution! Veedramon!"
Veedramon didn't waste any time and tackled Unimon, aiming to grapple the mon into submissions. At first this seemed easier to do as Unimon WAS smaller and lighter than Tortomon was. However, this soon proved to be false, as Unimon spread his wings, and flew out of his grasp. Veedramon tried to capture the mon again, but was soon peppered by energy blasts from Unimon's mouth, and to make matters worse, he realized he couldn't use his special move...at least not without risking causing a landslide or something.
"Dammit, Veedramon's not doing so great!" Pierce growled at seeing his partner take a beating. "Yang, how's Birdramon doing?"
"She's fine, just needs to catch her breath, she got hit in the gut!" Yang called up to him.
Gomamon hopped out of Jaune's arms and peered over the edge, trying to see further down below, "I think I can see the others, but their way too far to be able to come help us anytime soon."
"Great, come on, we need a plan." Jaune started mumbling to himself, trying to find anything that could give them an advantage.
As he kept trying to think of something, Unimon, was just hovering around, apparently trying to decide who to attack next, and it was when he started flying low, just a few feet below them, that Jaune got an idea.
"Oh great, not him too," Gomamon groaned, not remembering that fondly.
"...Sorry," Jo apologized, thinking that his idea was stupid in hindsight.
He swallowed nervously "Oh man this is gonna suck." he said, before suddenly jumping off the ledge, Gomamon letting out a shout of surprise, before he landed on Unimon's back "Gotta at least try to get rid of this." he said with gritted teeth as he grabbed onto the Black Gear and started trying to pull on it. Unfortunately this proved much harder than expected, and Unimon wasn't about to let him do anything so easily.
With a strong beat of its wings, Unimon took to the sky, and soon sent Jaune through an aerial rodeo, as it bucked and kicked in mid-air trying to get the human off. Jaune grit his teeth as he hung on for dear life, but unfortunately, little by little he felt his grip slip, and eventually...he was forced to let go...when Unimon was now a very high distance from the ground, leaving him to free fall at a height and speed that would leave him a smear on the ground.
Jo couldn't help shivering at the memory of the said rodeo. He knew it was stupid, but he had to try something.
Gomamon's eyes widened in horror when he saw that happen, and immediately ran towards where his partner would land. "JAUNE!"
(Play Brave Heart)
Jaune's Digivice glowed bright at this point, and like with the others before it, sent out a signal that called forth the light that released a stream of data.
"Gomamon, Evolution!" Gomamon called out, the data flowing into him and his energy reaching its peak, before he transformed. "Ikkakumon!" His general body shape was still the same, though it would be more apt to describe him like a walrus rather than a seal, as he now had two long tusks protruding from his mouth, his body covered in white fur as his flippers had changed into proper feet, and a long black horn grew right in the middle of his head.
Jaune was screaming as he fell to the ground, but soon let out a small 'oof' when he landed on something surprisingly soft and furry. Eyes immediately snapping open, he got up and realized he'd landed on what could only be his partner's evolved form.
"Phew," Gomamon sighed in relief, as did everyone else.
"Jaune, are you alright?" Ikkakumon asked.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Thanks, uh…" he said, before trailing off, realizing he had the same problem as so many of his friends.
"Its Ikkakumon now," Ikkakumon chuckled, honestly finding this little 'gag' quite funny.
Digimon Analyzer: Ikkakumon
Ikkakumon. Vaccine. An Adult Level Sea Beast Digimon. His thick fur allows him to endure even the most freezing of temperatures, even being able to swim in the coldest oceans without a single issue. His sharp horn is made of Mythril, making it a perfect weapon for combat. His special attack is Harpoon Vulcan, firing the horn on his head like a missile, being capable of rapid fire due to the horn quickly regrowing.
However, he got over his mirth very quickly as Unimon was coming in for a dive bomb, one he met head on with his horn, the two horned Digimon soon practically dueling with their horns being used in place of swords. Ikkakumon clearly had more strength, while Unimon had the advantage in mobility, creating for a more or less stalemate between the two, that ended when Ikkakumon exerted a bit more force, knocking Unimon back a little. Unimon soon began hovering in the air, before firing several more Holy Shots, forcing Ikkakumon to back away to avoid the attacks.
"No good. As long as he's got the aerial advantage, we can't hit him!" Jaune grit his teeth.
"Then let's ground him," Ikkakumon smirked. "Harpoon Vulcan!" he called out, as his horn was literally launched out of his head, a new one already growing to take its place. The missiles hit the Holy Shots, causing a small blanket of explosions, obscuring the battlefield, before Ikkakumon fired more shots, two of the shots seemingly missed, but the third hit Unimon, forcing him to land.
"Okay, he's on the ground. Now what?" Jaune asked.
"Wait for it…" Ikkakumon grinned, as his remaining missiles came down, and opened to reveal odd inner workings that seemed like biological missiles, which impacted and exploded against the downed Unimon's back, causing him to shout in pain as he ran away, the Black Gear ejecting and shattering.
(Song End)
With the danger passed, Ikkakumon glowed as his body shrunk back down to Gomamon, with Jaune ending up sitting right behind him.
"Well, that went pretty well." Gomamon said with a grin as he raised a fin.
"No kidding," Veemon commented, "I'm just annoyed my other didn't get to do much."
"Come on Veemon," Daisuke said, taking his partner into a noogie, "This was Jaune's and Gomamon's time to shine."
"HEY!" the blue dinosaur didn't appreciate noogies, even though his head barely felt it.
Jaune smiled at him "I'd say it did yeah." he said as he gave his partner a high five.
A minute later, the trio of blondes was sat down on the ledge, their partners all reverted back to Child level, relaxing after the rather annoying fight.
"Guess now we just have to wait for the others to catch up." Pierce said with a sigh.
"We have a couple of hours of wait in store." Yang said with a dry laugh.
"At least that's all we're doing." Biyomon sighed out.
"Definitely not ready to evolve again so soon… especially not with that kind of mental image." Veemon said with a grimace.
"...Yeah... what he said," Biyomon commented, more than happy that she never had to resort to something like that.
At the same time, standing atop the mountain, a shadowed figure stood, their eyes narrowed down towards the hunters, all that could be seen of the figure at the moment were the large wings on it's back, the humanoid shape of its body, and its hate filled red eyes.
"It seems… I'll have to take care of them personally."
Just as the Children frowned at a very familiar evil shape, the book shut itself.
"Well then kiddies," Novice said with a small smile, "I know you must be eager for the next chapter, but would you like a break?"
Mimi looked thoughtful, "Come to think of it... a bath would be nice." No one noticed it yet, but Black's ears perked up at the suggestion.
"...I guess now is as good time as any," Sora said, feeling like getting one after this chapter.
"...I can't say I disagree," Miyako commented.
"The baths are ready for you if you feel like it," Novice said with a small smile, "And like I said before, there's no way for a member of the opposite gender of getting in there."
Then Taichi had a thoughtful look about something, "Hey, what was that blocked out third entrance?"
"Oh, that was the couple's bath," Novice said, earning wide eyes out of everyone. And a couple blushes. "Sorry to disappoint you, but that area was built with romantic atmosphere in mind. So none of you are getting in there. More importantly, all of you are too young and immature for a unisex bath." That last one was added with a stern look.
Sadly, that only made more blushes at the realization that it would also be unisex bath.
"We're good," Sora said quickly, the other girls nodding furiously. Along with all the guys, except Iori who didn't understand the implications. That and a portion of this conversation was blocked by the earplugs.
"I shall be joining you girls," Black said eagerly, too eagerly for Novice's liking. "As Lilithmon." And now the girls were very worried about being in the same bath with the Demon Lord of Lust. "Don't worry, I'll make sure our alone time will be most enjoyable," Black added with a cheshire grin.
This of course prompted all the digimon of the girls to get in front of them protectively. As well as Taichi to get in front of Hikari.
"Niinhän kissimirri luulee(That's what the pussycat thinks)," Novice thought with a wicked smile, as he made a holographic screen appear and sent the signal.
Me: Alright, ladies! Your turn!