"So, you children are the Digidestined…You must be strong to have defeated Devimon."
"Who are ya?" Z demanded, Gomamon on her shoulder.
"Fear not. I am a friend to all, and yet, I am a friend to none."
"I can't believe there are humans here…" Gabe mused.
"I am human, and yet, I am not human."
"WOULD YA STOP TALKIN' LIKE THAT?" Izzy fumed.
"My name is Gennai. I couldn't send you this transmission during your battle with Devimon, but now the lines are clear! And only ten cents a minute!"
"Who are you?" Lily wondered.
"WHERE are you?" Elie added.
"I speak to you far from File Island. Across the ocean on the continent of Server."
"How long have you been here?" Angie wondered.
"Since before the beginning and till after the end."
'Gosh…He kinda sounds like Grandpa Splinter…'
"Did you bring us here?" Rose wondered.
"It was not I."
"Then who?"
"It was…I don't know…"
"Well, ain't ya a regular fountain 'a info?" Izzy grumped.
"Do you know what we need to do to get home?" Lily wondered.
"No…I don't…"
"What DO you know?" Elie asked.
"I'm sorry I can't be of help to you, but you can be of help to me. Please come to Server and defeat our enemies. As the Digidestined, I have faith in all of you."
"But we can't if we don't know exactly where you are." Gabriel pointed out.
"Good point…I forgot you're from out of town. Let me create a map for you on your computer."
"Do ya really thin' we can beat anybody tougher than Devimon?" Z questioned.
"I mean, we almost got our shells waxed!"
"Not as you are, but if your Digimon can Digivolve a step further, you might be able to do it."
"We can Digivolve even more?" Agumon wondered.
"But you'll need something special to do it."
Gennai disappeared, and two strange trinkets appeared in his place.
"If you have the tags and crests, your Digimon can Digivolve one step further."
"Where do we find them?" Lily wondered.
"The crests are scattered about. You'll find them all about the continent of Server. The tags were secretly hidden away by Devimon."
"Well, THAT sucks…" Elie murmured, taking hold of Biyomon's hand.
Gennai started fading away, scrambled pleads for them to come making it through before he was gone.
"Gennai's message ended rather abruptly." Tentomon noted.
Gabe nodded, going through his laptop.
"At least he managed to send the map through…"
"I hope he's alright." Rose admitted, gently rubbing the yellow and white striped Digiegg.
"What's our next move going to be?" Lily wondered.
"I say we eat!" Elie suggested.
"I 'gree wit' 'er." Z added.
"We'll eat, and then figure out what we're going to do." Angie decided.
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Everyone was satisfied, stomachs full, and leaned back ready to discuss what they were to do the following morning.
The small fire cast a faint light over the small lake beside them, and everyone was really thinking about what they'd learned.
Rose was still rubbing the Digiegg, wanting it to hatch.
She wanted her friend back…
"What are we going to do next?" Elie voiced.
"I say we go an' 'elp Gennai." Her sister replied.
"According to this map, Server is pretty far from File Island." Gabe informed.
"It might be dangerous…" Lily muttered.
"We might not even make it to Server…"
"Yeah…It might be safer to stay here…" Her brother agreed.
"That's ridiculous!"
Angie stood up, unable to hold in her frustration.
"If we don't go and defeat those evil Digimon, we'll never go home! We might as well have quit when we got here!"
She could see how the word 'quit' affected her cousins.
If there was one thing they'd learned from their parents, it was to never quit, no matter what was thrown your way.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'll go across that ocean by myself on a surfboard if I have to!"
"Don't worry 'bout that, Fearless…"
Izzy smirked.
"I'll go wit' ya. No big bad Digimon is gonna scare me 'way from goin' 'ome."
"But still…" Elie started.
"I'll protect you, Elie." Biyomon assured.
"I won't let those bad Digimon hurt you!"
"…Alright, then!"
The orange-masked turtle shot up to her feet.
"LET'S GO!"
"I'm wit' ya, sis. We'll blow 'way the competition. Right, little man?"
"Right!"
"Still, Devimon almost got us…" Lily reasoned.
"I say we go."
Everyone turned to Rose, who was hugging the Digiegg close.
"…That's what Pat would want…"
"…We'll be fine." Gabe decided.
"With our Digimon and the Digivices, we can't possibly lose!"
"And the crests will only make us stronger." Tentomon agreed.
"Come on, Lily! We'll be the prettiest flowers on all of Server!"
The purple-masked turtle blushed…
"Oh, alright, Pal…"
"Then it's decided." Angie stated.
"We're going to Server!"
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"Pepper Breath!"
"Blue Blaster!"
The trees fell at a slow pace, and Elie plopped down on her rump.
"This'll take forever…"
"At least we're getting somewhere with this raft." Gabe replied.
'Even if it might take a week or two at this rate…'
Rose perked, and a grin spread across her face.
"It's Leomon!"
That caught the turtle's attention, and they ran to see him.
"So, I heard you were all going to Server."
"How'd you know?" Lily wondered.
"Oh, you know us monsters. We all love to gossip."
Elie had to giggle at that.
"I came to see if you needed help with anything."
"Really? Well, this'll go faster…"
Z looked back, and a sweat drop formed as Gomamon ran away from a falling tree trunk…
"…'E ain't mine…"
"I've got some friends who want to help as well."
Everyone followed his gaze, spying the group of Digimon coming towards them…
"Centarumon!" Gabe called.
"Elecmon!" Rosie exclaimed.
"And Mojyamon!"
"Frigimon!"
"Look! It's Monzaemon!"
"Meramon, too!" Elie noted.
"And the Yokomon!"
They all set off to start working…
"Fist of the Beast King!"
Trees fell with thunderous sounds…
Meramon burned off the branches, throwing them into the air.
"Solar Ray!"
Taking the logs, they tied them together, made a mast, and pulled on a sail and provisions.
Once done, the six Digimon rode the raft down a slope and into the water below.
It made quite a splash, but stayed afloat, as everyone ran down to embark.
"I still don't know why you wanted to do that, Agu…"
"It was fun!"
"…That's a good reason."
"I'm gettin' seasick 'lready…" Z muttered to herself.
"Believe me, that raft is strong enough to get you across the ocean." Leomon assured.
"Thanks, Leomon."
"We couldn't have done it without you." Lily agreed.
Rose jerked, catching the group's attention.
The Digiegg was shaking…
Almost excited, the pink-masked turtle rubbed at it.
The top cracked, and everyone waited in anticipation when…
POP!
The little white blob came out, cute little black eyes locked on the she-turtle's face.
"Poyo. Poyomon!"
Pulling the baby Digimon free of the egg, she hugged him close to her plastron.
"He hatched…"
A grin spread across her face, and she vowed to never let him go.
"Poyomon is a jellyfish-like Digimon of few words, but if his friends are in danger, he's ready for action!" Tentomon explained.
The turtles climbed onto the wooden raft, and Angie unraveled the sail.
"Thanks again, guys."
"This is goodbye."
"And good luck!"
The family of turtles shouted their goodbye's and thank you's until the island was lost past the horizon.
Then they settled about the raft to wait until the water brought them to Server.
Angie sat on a crate, looking at the wavy horizon as Agumon leaned into her side to rest.
Izzy was on her shell, watching the clouds lazily as Gabumon sat beside her, warm and constant.
Lily sat against the mast with Palmon on her lap, pointing out some of the fish that came up behind the raft.
Z was on the edge, laying on her plastron as she puked thanks to rough waves, and Gomamon rubbed her back.
Gabriel was trying to calculate how long they'd have to manage out at sea to make it to Server, though his own seasickness hindered his progress.
Rose was playing happily with Poyomon, and made sure he stayed away from the edge when rougher waves came by.
Elie stared behind them, Biyomon leaning against her shell, thinking about all the great Digimon they'd met.
They were out a half hour, maybe an hour, before some of them couldn't take it anymore.
"Are we THERE yet?" Z whined.
"No, Z! Stop whining!" Angie replied, rubbing at her eyes after staring unblinkingly at the horizon for about five minutes.
She saw something rear up…
'Aw shell…'
"TIDAL WAVE!"
Startled at the alarm, everyone gripped the rough wood tight as the wave sent it rocking.
Once it passed, Izzy breathed out…
"What the shell was that?"
"That was eighteen feet tall." Gabe informed.
"What made it?" Lily wondered.
Something started rising from the water…
"Is that an island?" Elie questioned.
"Islands don't move! It's a whale!" Lily shouted as it lifted its broad tail.
They flew into the air…
"Aw SHIT-!!!"
"Whamon is a giant Digimon that lives in the deep seas of the Digital World. It's Jet Arrows are unbelievable! Whamon can sometimes be fierce, but I've never seen one act this aggressive!" Tentomon informed.
"That thin' was HUGE!" Izzy noted.
Whamon came back up, and his cavern-like mouth opened wide.
Shadows fell over them, and they were sucked in by the currants.
Everyone cried out, tightening their holds on the raft and their Digimon as darkness surrounded them.
They were rushing down the throat and esophagus when strange white blobs tried to pounce on them…
"GABE! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Elie shouted.
"Antibodies! They probably think we're germs!"
Lily lowered her head.
"Either way, I don't want to see where this ride ends!"
Suddenly, they flew out and landed in the middle of what seemed like a room.
It was empty, and everyone relaxed a bit as they looked around.
"Gastric juice…"
Everyone backed away as the strange-colored liquid came closer, eating away at the wood.
"We need to get out of here!" Rose noted frantically, hugging Poyomon tight.
"We've got get out of here." Angie decided, glaring at the acid as if that alone would scare it away.
"'Ey, look up there!" Z shouted, catching everyone's attention.
"A Black Gear!"
The damn thing was lodged in the top of the stomach, stubborn.
"Someone can climb on these! Poison Ivy!"
Angie sighed, taking hold of the vines.
"Fearless-."
"Don't worry, Izzy. I'll be fine."
Swinging herself up higher, she was almost there when her Digivice glowed brightly.
The gear disintegrated, and Angie flipped back onto a crate.
"Now what?"
The stomach glowed brightly, and the raft seemed to fly up through a new tunnel…
They came out the blowhole, and the wood splintered and shattered as they hit the water with the debris.
Sputtering and splashing wildly, everyone managed to cling to their Digimon or the floating wood.
"Elie, are you okay?"
"Yeah…"
"Poyomon, are you okay?"
"Poyo…"
Whamon moved towards them, and they got ready to try and swim away.
"Sorry about that. I must have had a tummy ache or something."
"It's 'kay…" Izzy grumbled.
"We know it wasn't your fault." Biyomon added.
"Yeah…It was a Black Gear." Lily explained.
"Thanks, kids. I owe you one."
Z, kept afloat by her partner, seemed thoughtful.
"Could ya get us ta Server?"
"Yeah. It would take me five days. Three and a half without traffic. I'll take you there myself. It's not everyday your lunch saves your life."
The seven turtles and their Digimon partners climbed onto Whamon's back before he started off across the ocean.
It wasn't rocky like the raft, and they were relieved for that.
"Now that that's settled, we just need to find those tags Devimon hid somewhere…"
"Did you say Devimon?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Well, I don't know anything about tags, but a while ago, Devimon hid something deep at the bottom of the ocean."
"Can you tell us where?" Gabe wondered.
"It's on the way to Server. You can all ride inside me and I'll take you there. But no tickling."
Climbing into the giant whale Digimon, they felt him dive into the water.
It took some waiting, but soon they came out of his mouth into an underwater cave.
"I'm so out of shape…I've got to rest here for a while. I've got to drop a couple thousand pounds."
"My daddy might say that…"
BONK!!!
"OW…Z…"
"Be respectful."
Heading around the jutting cave structures, Angie led the way through to a clear area.
On the far side was what looked like a convenience store, its lights glowing in the dank cave.
Something busted through the tough rock floor, causing everyone to pull back.
"What is it now?" Rose voiced.
"Drimogemon! He lives deep in the earth drilling tunnels." Tentomon informed.
"He has a Black Gear." Lily noted.
"It is Lord Devimon's will that no one shall pass!"
"Angie, leave this to us Digimon. You try to find the tags."
"Right, Agu. Good luck."
As the turtles ran in, the six Digimon faced off against Drimogemon.
"You think that drills scares us? Think again!" Gomamon challenged.
"Ya go get 'im, little man!"
"Gomamon, Digivolve to…IKKAKUMON!!"
They were inside by the time the two clashed horns, and frantically searched the shelves.
Drimogemon was hurled into the convenience store front windows, knocking over shelves and rattling them in their shells.
Rose looked around in a near panic.
"Poyomon? POYOMON?!"
Starting off in a frantic search, she was crawling under a nearly-toppled shelf and found the little Fresh level Digimon clinging to something.
"Poyomon! What did you find?"
Lifting the wood box carefully, she looked it over for a label.
"Let's go show the others."
Running into the open, which had a bit of fresh dust, she called out to her older sister.
Izzy ran to her side, worried at first, before taking the box and looking it over curiously.
"Let's see what's inside…"
Opening it carefully, her eyes widened…
"Yo, guys! I foun' 'em!"
Pounding feet, and everyone was looking into the box with relief.
"We finally found 'em!" Z muttered.
Angie pulled one out, hanging it around her neck.
"Come on. Let's head out."
Once each had a tag around their neck, the turtles headed out to see that Drimogemon was free of the Black Gear.
Rejoining their Digimon, the group made their way back to Whamon.
Back on the surface now that the sun was setting, they enjoyed the ocean breeze…
'Now…Now all we have to do is find the crests…How hard could it be?'