A/N: Yay, I finally finished the chapter!
So major notes - full introduction of the Pokemon element, which I've kinda been warning about for a while. There will be no more announcements about it from this point on, as I will assume the message has been delivered.
Second note - Mimi's dialogue when she speaks in English is intentionally a little awkward sounding. It will continue to improve.
Think that's it. Here we go!
21 – One Hot Desert Day
Mimi could feel the sweat dripping down her forehead, soaking her shirt, covering her skin, but she didn't dare move. The shaded crevasse they hid within, where the air was motionless and removed from the dust filled breeze, acted as their only cover and protection from the still harsh setting sun.
But it didn't hinder her sight. She squinted through the binoculars, watching the creature's every move and waiting for the right moment.
Too much rested on this single chance, which everyone there knew could spare them the ordeal of battle while give their enemy very little information. She was willing to take those advantages, and the partnership between herself and Lillymon was key.
"Is it moving?" came a whispered voice beside her.
She only continued watching, brow furrowed. "Only back and forth. It's headbutting the tower. Everything looks clear, go."
"On it."
Lillymon shot out of the crevasse, darting behind any large rock formation that provided cover. She crept around a particular one that placed her within range of the target, and after a moment of careful inspection, she powered her attack and sped around it.
"Flower Cannon!"
Light burst from the flower held in Lillymon's arms, shooting forward in one solid attack. Its radiant ferocity collided and burst through the hapless creature below.
The Drethmon barely had time to let out an enraged roar before its body and entire being flew apart into tiny dissipating bits of data.
Mimi let out a huge sigh of relief. She dropped her binoculars to where they hung from her neck, and finally wiped the sweat from her brow, glad for the cowboy hat that gave her shade from the harsh sun. Though, the rocky, arid desert they stood in and the battle just reminded her of the events at Fission Ruins on Friday.
Cody and Kouta's team being healed by Ailbemon… it's the best thing I've heard since the meeting with Gennai.
"I'm glad we have an Ultimate on our team," she heard Michael say from beside her.
She turned and smiled brightly back, proud of her partner. "Lillymon's great, isn't she?"
The others sitting in the crevasse with her nodded in agreement. "No kidding," Peckmon replied, idly digging at the rock with one purple-garbed talon. The ostrich-like ninja digimon sighed and shook his head. "The day I can digivolve to Ultimate…"
His partner Darren sighed and patted his neck. "One thing at a time."
Mimi glanced at the members of her team currently present, glad that Lillymon's ease in battle allowed the others with after-school commitments some time away from the Digiworld. Michael stood beside her with Betamon, gazing at the spot where the Drethmon had been with a mildly perturbed look on his face. On the other hand, Lou was yawning, much to his partner's clear amusement. Mimi could guess exactly why this was the case.
Those two and their nighttime wandering… even the time differences haven't changed that.
The other two pairs there were a little newer. Darren and his partner Falcomon, at the moment digivolved as the ostrich-ninja like Peckmon, were found on accident by Lou in the middle of a forest, much to Darren's relief. The boy had been a Chosen for exactly seven hours and was completely confused as to his situation, though along with his partner was well prepared for outdoor survival. On the other hand, Gina and Dyrimon had been working independently in the Digiworld for months and upon discovering other Chosen, had immediately approached the team in shock. Mimi remembered those events fondly.
The team began pulling themselves out into the open, everyone wincing at the bright sun overhead. Lillymon walked over to them as they did so, seeming a little exhausted.
"That was the last one, right?" she said. "No more?"
Mimi nodded. "It looks like it. No one else has sent anything about them. Shall we go back to the base then?"
"In a sec," Gina waved, jerking her head at where the Drethmon had been. "I want to check around the site."
"All right then."
"'Kay. Back in a few," she replied, and Shanimon, Dyrimon's digivolved doe-like form in the reddish tan hues of the desert flatland, galloped over. Gina vaulted onto her partner's back, and the two immediately began their way to the ruined cell tower, leaving a small cloud of dust in their wake.
Mimi watched them go as the rest of the team made it out of the rock face and onto sturdy ground. She sighed and reached to grab her water bottle from the bag hanging across her shoulder, logistics running through her head amidst her desire for air conditioning and ice cream.
This is all the Drethmon for now, Phil's team should be set, Joe said he'd drop by our base with a generator, the Westside team should be active soon and can let us rest, I think we have enough food, Darren brought in his water filter, maybe I'll have time to go and buy a good sleeping pad, I'm all sore…
She rubbed her shoulders and took a sip, sighing. The things she did for the Digiworld… but this was part of her job now, and she was trying her best to think of the new developments as an extended camping trip rather than part of a long term mission to protect against the Drethmon. To think that once her life had been so simple… and now here she was, leading a team, acting as the main contact between the American and Japanese Chosen, all the while gaining the attention and respect that she normally associated with someone like Tai. Despite being used to her role, she still found it difficult to comprehend at times when looking back and comparing herself to the girl she had always identified as.
"Hey, what's the time?" Lou called from where he sat next to Tortomon.
"Time for you to get a watch," Michael quipped back, but he grinned and grabbed his digivice. "A little past seven. Couldn't you check your own digivice?"
Lou shook his head, laughing. "I meant back home!"
"Oh! No idea. Late enough that the Westside team should show up soon."
"And it's late enough here that they get to head straight to the base," Darren let out a huge exaggerated sigh, running a dark hand through his curly black hair. "Or do they get to go back to Baihumon's region?"
"Azulongmon's isn't the only one with Drethmon problems, it's not a bad idea," Betamon answered.
Mimi smiled daringly. She agreed; it would certainly give herself and her team a chance to rest. She half considered sending Steve and her absent teammates along with them; just because they had afterschool extracurricular activities didn't mean they could be excused from their work.
"All right then, I'll ask Jake for his team to go out there," she giggled, still hoping that at the very least, no more Drethmon appeared to make their jobs more difficult.
They sat there for a few moments, watching Gina's blond head atop the camouflaged Shanimon in the distance as the pair vanished out of sight for better scouting.
"… it was a clean shot, don't know why they have to really check the site," Michael commented, crossing his arms. He looked just as hot and exhausted as Mimi felt, even to where his already normally poofy hair had frizzed in odd directions.
Lillymon stood up straight with pride, though both Darren and Lou looked at each other. "Better to leave as few traces as possible, right?" the former suggested with a half grin. "'specially if someone might be watching."
Mimi had an odd burst of anxiety. "Then maybe we should leave…" she murmured, letting her eyes dart about the landscape. "Before it sends another Drethmon at us."
She still never liked conflict, and she always tried to avoid it if possible. Even if it meant sneaking up for preemptive strikes, or otherwise remaining undetected. Either way, it saved her team the trouble of actual battle most of the time, but it also made her constantly nervous during patrols.
The others looked at her in response.
"Makes sense, if we're going for the stealth route," Peckmon remarked. "Shanimon's been really good about it though. Hey, if Davis really does get Zeramon to help maybe he can give us all stealth tips."
"We could use them," Tortomon tilted his head back and forth. "Might come in handy if we end up helping on the Vestia City missions. I mean, look at me, does the word stealth come in mind at this?" he lifted his large legs and jerked his head back at the huge spiked shell.
Lou folded his hands behind his head. "Well, isn't there a Deltamon in the Orc Hands? Those're huge, maybe you could ask him."
"I would if that city weren't so… ugh like. Not like we're on those anyway, it's just the Japanese team…"
Mimi recalled the last email she had translated and sent on Tai's behalf. "Well, actually Tai's trying to get the Norwegian team for some diversion help."
Betamon and Michael gave her wary looks. "Isn't their leader kinda all sorts of… insane?" the small amphibious digimon asked.
"Well, yes, but that is part of why they are so good at that. And all of their fighting skills…"
"Oh, send 'em after Le Douche!" Darren suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone stared at him.
"Who is…" Mimi began slowly, "Le Douche…?"
"That guy Brent from your school that y'all complain about. He's a douche."
Both Mimi and Michael choked.
"I won't argue that," Michael replied, trying not to laugh.
Mimi found it harder to join her team in their bitter amusement. Even if Brent and that group of boys he led messed with everyone at her school, it always felt like she and Michael were being singled out.
Michael seemed to take it relatively well. At first he had thought that Brent was also targeting Mimi because of her association with him and perhaps her strong Japanese accent whenever she spoke English (which all her teammates said had lessened a lot in the past several months), but according to that logic, then Michael's other friends would have been in the same situation.
No, there were certain things – smirks at mentions of the Digiworld, notes left in the computer lab, the failed insult of something involving 'monster rider' that went past Mimi but left Michael clearly annoyed even after his witty reply. It had been later in the Digiworld when he had explained exactly what Brent had meant and why his comeback had left the boy red in the face.
She wanted to punch him. All of the boys in that group really, but Brent most of all. The only reason she hadn't yet was because Michael, and later both Sora and Joe over chatroom, had talked her out of it.
The sound of trotting on cracked sandstone broke her from her frustrated thoughts as Gina and Shanimon returned to them.
"Good job," she nodded to Lillymon as they arrived. "Nothing left, no evidence of our work – just the Drethmon's."
The digimon beamed. "Thanks! I'm doing what I can!"
"Helps that you're an Ultimate," Peckmon supplied. He sounded a bit envious. "The power boost, everything just levels up, and it's all just… better."
Lillymon glanced back at him. "You'll reach Ultimate too some day," she smiled encouragingly. "And it'll be great and you'll be so powerful and strong!"
Peckmon sat up a bit, ruffling his wings and straightening. "And I could take down Drethmon easy," he replied, excited.
A sudden loud, distant boom emphasized his comment.
Everyone froze and blinked in shock at the reverberations shaking the ground.
"Wasn't me," Tortomon rumbled.
"We know," Lou snapped. "Now shut it, something's up."
"The sky?"
"Tortomon!"
Mimi ignored the two as she turned quickly to locate the source of the sound. She recognized that boom, one that everyone now knew signified the new appearance of a Drethmon.
I knew we should have left before whoever that evil digimon is sent another one after us!
Whether that really was the case or not though, they now had another one to fight. She nodded to Lillymon, whose demeanor had risen back to battle readiness.
They're really flashy. So we'll know where it is in the really soon…
Then they jumped as they heard a loud explosion accompanied by an all too familiar roar.
Everyone snapped to the side and stared at a large water tower far in the distance, now with a large hole in its side judging from the gushing waterfall pouring from it. The figure dashing around it was identical to the one Lillymon had just killed.
Lou's voice rose in exasperation. "… really, just… why. Why?"
"Ask later," Gina muttered, and she immediately dug a heel into Shanimon's flank. "Just do it."
Lillymon turned, and in one quick, well practiced swoop, Mimi found herself on her partner's back. She saw Michael and Betamon join Lou on Tortomon, while Darren swung himself up behind Peckmon's neck, and at her nod the team began their way to the water tower.
They stayed to the shadows wherever they could, even with Tortomon's girth. Mimi just wanted this Drethmon done with quickly; staying undetected wasn't too difficult if it already had a target, and a quick battle meant less trouble and sooner relief in the form of their base. At the very least, Lillymon's presence could allow that luxury.
It didn't take long to reach the tower. The team remained hidden amongst the many rocks surrounding it, watching in dull silence as Drethmon busied itself charging around and destroying whatever happened to lie in its way.
If not for the fact that this new version of the digimon was faster, smarter, and more powerful than its previous incarnation, Mimi might have ordered Lillymon to charge out of pure frustration. Still, it was clearly not intelligent enough to realize that several Chosen were currently sitting nearby, just close enough to safely observe.
Lillymon glanced back at the team. "Shall I?"
Everyone nodded. Mimi joined them. "Yes. The sooner the better. Once you have a clear shot."
"Sounds good to me," her partner muttered, and Mimi held on as Lillymon quietly fluttered up to the next rock for cover.
Drethmon still hadn't noticed them. That seemed perfectly fine to Mimi, who couldn't help but feel relief at the fact that they had been able to sneak up on this one as well. Now they had to wait for it to stop moving long enough for them to actually attack it.
Lillymon had a better view from her position as she assessed the situation from behind the rock. She climbed up its side, the top of her head barely peeking out from the jagged edge; Mimi was left gripping her partner's shoulders with only the sounds of water gushing from the tower and the Drethmon as it bashed and burned metal.
She trusted her partner. Lillymon had the direct battle experience, awareness of her environment, judgment of action, all things that made her so suitable for this work. Mimi often envied her and wondered why she never took charge, deferring to her human partner instead. She knew her partner's personality though and understood, but it still made her wish she was more capable, better able to lead and do her job as a Digidestined. She didn't like conflict and hated fighting, but she couldn't be selfish, not when others counted on her.
They sat there hanging off the rock face. The setting sun beat down upon their backs, but the encounter depended on timing, and they needed patience to do it properly.
A voice in their heads broke the moment's tension.
Wait!
Both of them paused. Lillymon glanced up over her shoulder quizzically, as if silently asking, "Is that who I think it is?"
Mimi had recognized the voice and nodded. Lillymon sighed and crept back down behind the rock before turned around fully.
They saw seven figures in the distance racing towards them, one human and the rest different varieties of monsters. The human was madly waving her hands in the air as though trying to signal them.
"What are you two doing?" Gina snapped from the side, looking both confused and irritated. "What's going on?"
Mimi lifted up a finger and pointed.
The rest of the team followed and blinked in surprise.
"Nicole's team!" Darren exclaimed. He waved at them, and an assortment of hands, claws, and blades waved back. "So the Westside team should be around then!"
"Great," Betamon answered tiredly. "Then this last Drethmon's ours and all the West Coasters can take over. Is she trying to tell us to wait or something?" he asked, tilting his head to one side. Mimi had to mentally remind herself that the voice had only been audible to her and Lillymon.
"I think so," Mimi replied.
She recognized them all. There were Charizard and Scyther, fire dragon and bladed mantis, the mated pair. Then Blastoise and Venusaur, both reptilian but water and grass oriented, rounding out the elemental trio. Finally Gengar and Raichu, the mischievous ghost and the lightning mouse. And at the head was Nicole, the lone human, the only non-Digidestined to possess a digivice of her own.
They were friends and valuable allies. In this continuing conflict amidst the changing realms, anyone who truly wanted to help was welcomed, no matter their origins or otherworld experiences. Having a previous history as comrades in arms only tightened those connections.
The team clearly understood the need for subtlety, as they were relatively quiet in their approach. Despite that, there was a definite excitement to them as they came closer. They came to a gradual stop, soon crowding amongst the rocks out of sight of the Drethmon, but close to the rest of Mimi's group.
"Hey," Nicole breathed as she hopped up to them.
Mimi smiled and waved from her spot on Lillymon's back. "It is good to see you," she replied. "And the rest of you," she added, nodding at the pokémon. She heard them call their greetings back. Then she frowned. "Why are we waiting?"
Nicole had a strange excited glow to her face. She had clearly just arrived in the desert, lacking any sign of sweat or frizzed hair from the heat that all the other humans had. "Can we try something? Just me, Scyther, Charizard, Blastoise, no one else."
Mimi and the rest of her team glanced at each other. "Sure, go for it," Lou shrugged. "Where's Stellath by the way?"
"Taking care of the kids. Thanks. Let's go guys."
Nicole immediately turned and beckoned to her team, where the three in question moved to follow her. The rest of the team busied themselves with finding strategic points to watch.
In particular the mouse-like Raichu, who had a camcorder cradled in her paws.
Betamon blinked at her. "Why…?"
Raichu looked up and waved cheerfully. "Recording this! Assuming it works."
The others gave each other skeptical glances.
"And if it doesn't?" Gina crossed her arms.
The rest of Nicole's team had moved out of earshot, but Nicole herself still apparently heard. The girl turned and gave Lillymon a ridiculous grin.
… oh.
"Well, that's a good plan B," Mimi muttered under her breath. She could at least ask.
They watched as the group split, Charizard and Scyther flying to perch just out of sight on one of the taller rocks, while Blastoise and Nicole both rounded the rocky covering and marched directly towards the water tower. Neither of the two on the ground made any effort to remain unnoticed.
Something was definitely planned.
"What do you think they're doing this time?" Michael asked in a low voice. He seemed curious at least.
"Well, I don't see any large echo like steel pipes," Mimi tilted her head. "Or pepper barrels. That's what they dropped, right?" she glanced at the others, who all nodded in remembrance. She certainly hoped they did; she couldn't recall having seen her team laugh so hard in the middle of a battle since then. "So I guess we're going to find out."
It certainly seemed that way. Blastoise had angled away from Nicole, now back amongst some of the rocks, leaving just her large shell and water cannons visible. Her trainer now stood alone in the middle of a cleared area.
Then a devious grin appeared on the girl's face. It only widened when she pulled something from a pocket on her cargo pants.
"Is that a… plastic butter knife…?" Mimi heard herself musing in a quick switch back to Japanese.
Everyone was watching Nicole.
She waved the utensil over her head and let out a roaring battle cry as she charged at the Drethmon.
"You foul creature! Return to the depths from whence you came! DIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!"
Gina's jaw dropped. "What?!"
Mimi had long ago learned to accept strangeness as a part of her work in the Digiworld, and stunts like this one were included. Still, she had to stare with a mixture of incredulousness and exasperation every time she saw it. It just never made sense to her, yet from how it had been described to her, there was internal logic that did in fact, answer the question of why.
But somehow it all worked.
Drethmon noticed the battle cry and let out its own roar of reply, turning and charging directly back at Nicole. Mimi watched the world move slowly as she saw the two figures running at each other, one surely going to trample the other, making her heart pound with anxiety at the entire scene. They were too close, dust was flying in the air, Nicole was still sprinting at it with her plastic knife screaming "DIE DIE DIE DIE"…
Blastoise suddenly lunged at an angle from the side. In one swift motion, Drethmon was abruptly flipped upside down onto its back, all four legs waving helplessly in the air. Then in a seamless relay that almost looked choreographed, Charizard swooped down and let a huge cloud of smoke erupt from his mouth, engulfing the digimon in thick, opaque smog.
And with one blade ready to strike, Scyther dove in.
It seemed far too fast. The smoke, the quick work, and now… Mimi heard the scattering of data before she saw the bytes emerge and vanish from within the cloud. Lillymon worked only a little faster with time to aim and one good shot with her Flower Cannon, which gave the feeling that the entire maneuver was well practiced. And somehow, Scyther had managed to penetrate the Drethmon's armored skin.
Mimi glanced at the rest of her teammates and saw them sitting there, dumbfounded. Whether it was at the efficacy of the assault or Nicole's battle charge with a plastic butter knife, she had no idea.
She immediately turned to look at Nicole herself. The girl had stopped running, a very satisfied smile on her face as she watched the dispersing data and smoke before her. Mimi knew from past battles together that Blastoise couldn't have possibly stopped the Drethmon's momentum by herself, which meant the girl had probably helped.
And I thought she was trying to keep anything about her psychic powers quiet. Really Nicole! Ugh. You just can't resist showing off…
The smoke was clearing now, with the Drethmon quite clearly gone. The only figure left was Scyther looking very pleased with herself and standing right where the flipped Drethmon's neck had been.
"Wow," Darren clapped, impressed. "You got way stronger, you couldn't even get through the skin last time."
Scyther smiled brightly as she approached them. "Oh no, not really. It's actually pretty routine for us to flip Drethmon over, so over past battles I studied their undersides. I guessed at certain creases as weak points and went for it. One on the neck actually worked, can you believe it?"
"But you've been training for it," Blastoise commented with a wry grin in her tenor voice, also making her way over. "All those iron rich foods and what was it, trying to both harden and sharpen your blades? Bet it did help."
Several of the digimon said "Oooooh" in unison while Scyther looked slightly bashful at the attention. Despite that, she seemed rather proud of the achievement, and her returning teammates were just as happy as she was.
Mimi glanced at Nicole, grinning and still holding the plastic knife. So really, all we need is some way to flip them over, hold them down, and hit the weak points?
"Do you think you can take a picture of a Drethmon's underside next time?" she asked.
Nicole blinked and glanced at her team. They all made somewhat positive noises at it. "We can try," she replied with a shrug. "Scyther, you think strapping the camcorder to you would be okay?"
The pokémon buzzed her wings. "I'd have to practice a bit first," she replied, tilting her head to the side with a thoughtful expression. "Hmm. We'll figure it out."
"Or someone could draw a picture," Charizard grinned as he settled back onto the ground. The rest of Nicole's team was emerging from their respective hiding spots, all looking quite happy.
Scyther held up the two blades that were her arms and inspected them. "A little bit difficult for me unless I carved something."
Blastoise just rolled her eyes at both of them. "Good god, you both fly. Just go up there and take a damn picture!"
"Can't you do it, wannabe grappler cannon turtle?" Charizard retorted. The flame at the end of his tail flickered playfully.
The other pokémon grinned and pointed a claw. "Hey, this wannabe grappler flipped the damn thing, and if you weren't such a lazy ass you'd be doing my job."
"My Smokescreen was important!"
Mimi watched the pair's lighthearted bickering and shook her head along with both Scyther and Nicole. The rest of the team was arriving from their various hiding spots, and they all seemed more amused than anything else.
Her own team, for that matter, seemed to have given up on the more eccentric part of the whole thing and was now taking it in stride, with all the humans dismounting to approach the pokémon more directly.
"So how does that work?" Peckmon interjected past them to Scyther, leaning forward inquisitively. "Weak points and all. Drethmon're always armored, but you could get through creases, you said?"
Darren slid off his partner and patted a feathered wing. "She just did, didn't she?"
"I know, but how does that work?"
Venusaur tilted his green head thoughtfully. "Well makes sense," he mused, ruffling the leaves and large flower on his back. "More flexibility of movement in an armored creature means more segments, so you have to find those points between segments."
Shanimon made a 'hroot' noise. "So like going for joints."
"Yeah, like that."
Gina turned back to Charizard, who was currently giving Blastoise a cold shoulder. "Then the, what is it you call it, Smokescreen? That's to blind the Drethmon, isn't it?"
The dragon-like pokémon nodded, grinning toothily. "Yup."
"And not just that, but so whoever's behind them doesn't see what happens either?"
"You got it."
The boys were all back on the ground again, and Michael strode over with Betamon in his arms.
"The camera?" he motioned towards the camcorder held by Raichu.
The pokémon tapped it and shut the viewscreen, waggling her long lightning bolt tail. "For post-battle review," she chirped. "Helps us figure out what we're doing right and wrong."
Shanimon glanced over the rest of the team. "Then that leaves Nicole as the distractor and Blastoise for the throw. Okay, it all makes sense now. No pepper barrels this time," she added, though her head turned directly towards the shadowed being standing by Venusaur.
Gengar grinned and gave a cackling laugh. "Wanted to!"
Venusaur rolled his eyes. "Where were we going to find those on such short notice?"
"You gotta admit, those worked well," Charizard added in with a chuckle. "Drethmon don't have pepper immunity!"
Mimi was a little nervous about having this discussion right on the field, especially when that digimon behind the Drethmon might be watching, but she could tell that the members of her team were very interested in breaking down all the elements of the battle maneuver. Seeing as how effective it had been and how much she could tell the digimon wanted to fight, rather than act as backup while Lillymon did the work, she could understand. She still thought that Lillymon's single hit from range was best.
But it worked for what they had. Nicole's team was skilled, but lacked the power of those able to reach Ultimate or higher. They had to be strategic.
The conversation seemed to finally made its way to display that had left everyone astounded.
Darren nodded at Nicole. "Okay then, makes sense. And why the, uh…" he trailed off, eyes flickering towards the butter knife still in her hand.
The girl raised it up and looked at it. "Oh, I grabbed it at lunch so I could use it for a cream cheese bagel later. Thought it'd be funny to run after the Drethmon with. It's really not intelligent at all," she added thoughtfully. "You'd think something like that that can counter attacks and all that would be confused at me charging at it with something as flimsy as a this." She bent it to the side experimentally, releasing it with a 'twang'.
Peckmon let out a quizzical squawk. "But what if it didn't know how harmless those things are? Any digimon who's never been with humans might think it's deadly."
"Then what kind of powerful fighting warrior is it if it can't even tell that the thing will break before it pierces anything except like jello or bagels?" she waved the utensil in the air. "Guess it might leave a decent scrape in human skin."
All the digimon present looked at each other. "She has a point," Shanimon commented. "Any digimon worth their weight could tell that knife's basically worthless."
"Especially by the time they get to Champion level," Betamon pointed out. "Which Drethmon are, last time we checked?"
"Heard it from Izzy, really," Mimi replied, frowning. "I do hope he still thinks they are. They are certainly not Rookies."
Lou shuddered. "Really strong ones Champions then," he mumbled. Then he glanced back at Nicole and the plastic knife. "And that thing is serrated. You can totally just saw stuff with it. Like… food wrappers."
She grinned back at him cheekily. "Well, maybe if we can get Drethmon to hold still I could saw its leg off."
Darren lifted an eyebrow. "With the plastic knife."
"Yep. Nice way to go, eh?"
He chuckled at her. "Ow."
Mimi felt that anxious pang in her chest again and let her eyes skirt the surroundings.
"Um, is it safe to be talking about all this here?" she asked, trying not to show her unease.
Nicole glanced at her. "I'm assuming so," she replied with a shrug. "There's been so many Drethmon around, usually at the same time, so whoever's watching can't be here in person, can they? Unless they can split themselves or something…" she mused for a moment. Then she shook her head as though clearing her mind. "But anyway, I figure if we're being monitored, then it comes from the Drethmon itself and not from some global array of hidden cameras or whatever, especially if Drethmon destroy everything they see."
Everyone leaned in at that. But regarding the assumption, Mimi wasn't convinced. She frowned and glanced at Lillymon, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
"Some evil digimon had really good monitoring systems," she began, thinking back to such enemies as Etemon and Puppetmon. "They could check everything that was happening in wherever they controlled."
Nicole looked casually nonplussed. "Then it's too late now isn't it? Time to think up a new strategy."
Mimi felt her brows furrow. "Aren't you worried?"
The other girl was silent for a moment, her lips pulled to one side.
"Mmm. Maybe. You do have a point," she conceded. "In that case, you all can go discuss this somewhere. I'll keep Charizard here with me 'til we're done, then we'll meet up with you."
Mimi wondered at that, but Michael beat her to it. "You got business here? You mean you weren't Drethmon hunting?"
Nicole blinked. "Oh, nah… this is just where I was supposed to meet Gennai and give him a pokéball."
Mimi felt herself lift in understanding. "Oh good, so you two did talk," she smiled. Anything to move us forward on this. None of us like dealing with Drethmon.
A new, but familiar voice broke through their conversation. "And on that note…"
Everyone stopped and turned towards the side where a young man in white robes stood, looking slightly amused. Mimi perked up at the sight of him.
"Gennai!" she exclaimed.
Despite it having only been a few days, to Mimi it felt like much longer. Patrols, Drethmon, setting up the American base and helping with the Japanese one, the time difference between the human world and the digital one; everything seemed to move so quickly. That morning had been one of the most enlightening about their situation, enabling them to plan ahead. Even if Gennai was there for a different purpose than his usual mission of delivering information to them, she was still relieved to see him. It meant continued aid for their mutual cause.
The Guardian bowed formally, though the smile on his face didn't fade. "Good to see all of you here. You're doing excellent work," he said as he strode forward to join their circle.
The others all waved and gave their own greetings. Peckmon sighed tiredly even as he appeared to try and remain respectful. "It's mostly Lillymon," he replied. "She's strong, gets 'em fast."
"All the better so our enemy can't learn from us," Lillymon herself answered back.
Gennai just gave a reassuring nod. "And you needn't worry about being watched. I've done a quick scan of the area – no observation equipment or other beings around. You should be safe."
There was a communal breath of relief. Mimi felt her entire self relax, and she wondered where her bout of paranoia had come from. Perhaps it had been Gennai himself doing his check that she had noticed.
Nicole made a pouty face and puffed out her cheeks. "Aww. And I wanted that evil 'mon to see my death rampage."
Gennai turned to her. "That maneuver…?" he answered, one eyebrow raised. "Ah, well it was… quite a show you put on."
She smiled brightly at him. "Why thank you!"
He shook his head. Apparently he too thought her ideas could be strange at times. At least Nicole had had the decency of putting the plastic knife back in her pocket at his appearance.
"In any case, it's good you're here," he nodded. "You brought the unmodified pokéball?"
Nicole replied by reaching into her pocket and retrieving a small red and white ball. She handed it to Gennai, a frown now gracing her face. "Here go. You can keep it, I don't use it for anything…"
The Guardian accepted it with both hands. "Thank you. This will be very helpful."
Shanimon suddenly stamped on the ground with one hoof and tilted her head. It was enough to catch pair's attention.
"Say, if that's 'unmodified' what's the modified one?" she asked, sounding inquisitive.
Everyone looked at the ball in Gennai's hands. It seemed so harmless, yet it was a tool that humans in another world used to great extent. Then again, Mimi could say the same for digivices.
Nicole shrugged as she answered. "The balls I use are modified to allow freer access to the inhabitant. Pokémon can come and go as they want and check outside without leaving too, kinda like a mini house."
"Sounds kind of cool," Betamon commented. He squinted at the ball with great interest. "'Freer access' – so normal balls don't have that?"
"Nope. It's why they're used to catch wild pokémon."
She paused, brows furrowing. Then she glanced up at Gennai. "I know why you need it, and I'm not debating that Drethmon could be considered wild. But you know why I use different ones," she motioned to her team, who all nodded respectfully. "And there's stuff involved in the programming…"
"We can work on that," the Guardian replied. "Although I am curious about differences here in the Digiworld. Data versus matter, conversions between the two with an item such as this, and how it affects the inhabitant…"
His voice trailed off in an odd implicating way, eyes shifting uneasily as his gaze met with Nicole's. The girl blinked back at him, and she took that moment to casually tighten her black ponytail.
Then she froze and stared incredulously.
"Wait, you're not asking me to… try catching a Drethmon, are you?"
The entire group let out a loud yelp.
Gennai's not serious, is he?!
The man somehow maintained a professional air despite his clear discomfort. "It would allow us to study them in greater detail and learn specifics that we could not normally observe. They do that in the other world, capturing the creature to better understand it?"
"Well, yeah, but…" Nicole had a very funny expression on her face. "You do realize that based on the technology of a regular ball, it'll be under my control if this works, right?"
Mimi recalled being explained this at one point, but even now this reminder just made her shudder a little. She understood how the system was and why people accepted it, but knowing the members of Nicole's team, it made the entire thing seem like slavery to her. Then again, if every living creature could understand one another in the human world, she suspected that domestication of animals might be similar. She knew too many digimon to be comfortable with the idea of trying a pokéball on one.
Much to Nicole's credit though, she seemed simultaneously disturbed and intrigued at the idea of having a Drethmon under her command. Gennai noticed.
"You don't need to catch one," he quickly amended, and Nicole's shoulders relaxed. "But it's not a bad tactic either. In any case, the important thing is that you've provided us an example of technology that could prove very useful for our cause. Thank you."
"No prob."
The Guardian smiled in acknowledgement. Then he turned to the rest of them and bowed.
"I will take my leave then to work on this. There should be updates within the next few days, if not through Izzy then either myself or my associates. But still, please, take caution," he added solemnly. "We'll solve this soon enough."
Everyone nodded.
We will. We definitely will.
Mimi waved with everyone else as Gennai started into the desert. She wondered exactly how he got around, but then shoved it from her mind. He was a Guardian after all. He probably had his own way of traveling, just as Chosen could use ports to their advantage.
"What's it like in those things anyway?" Tortomon suddenly asked, glancing at the assembled pokémon. "Not just like, being inside a ball and looking at red and white interior design or something, right?"
The group looked at each other.
"No, it's like… what Lou's room looks like," Venusaur used a vine to point at the boy in question. The pair blinked. "But tuned to what you would want in it. Like your own portable room. But nothing's actually… real." He paused, scowling, then turned to Scyther. "Can I use the lotus eater machine example? Does that fit?"
She tilted her head. "Not entirely. Virtual reality in a ball?"
"Now it just sounds awesome," Charizard pointed out with a chuckle. His flamed tail lashed back and forth as he gazed up to the rest of the group. "Nah, it's actually really nice. Good place to rest. Just gotta yell to make sure it's safe and jump a little when heading out, cuz' if ya don't ya land on Nicole."
Nicole herself cringed and rubbed her shoulder, apparently in reminder. "Please tell your sister that. She's not a Charmeleon anymore. It actually really hurts now." Then she shook her head. "Anyway guys, we should probably get going. I still got cross country."
Mimi blinked and frowned at this. There was a mixture of annoyance that Nicole would squeeze in a Digiworld excursion between things she had to do back in the human world, along with her not being able to take over the patrol shift for her… though that was hardly her fault, Mimi thought to herself. Now I'm just being selfish. Maybe the Westside team is about to show up at the base?
She raised her eyebrows at the other girl. "So you are not even done with after school stuff now. Isn't this cutting it a bit close?"
"Not with the time difference," Charizard grinned toothily. "Just enough time to get a little snoozing in the sun, you get like twice as much, you can even battle…"
"Looking on the bright side of life, eh?" Michael twitched a finger at him. The group laughed a bit weakly at the entire situation. Gengar began humming a small tune, and was quickly joined by both Michael and Nicole. Mimi only understood the reference because her history teacher liked showing her class Monty Python movies.
Then Lou tried to join as well. He pursed his lips to whistle, but out came a pathetic slurping noise.
"What was that?" Darren teased, grinning and crossing his arms.
Lou shrugged. "I'm learning! But I just can't get it right."
Mimi smiled and managed a soft low tone. "You just practice."
"Yeah," Nicole waggled a finger, letting out her own sharp tweet. "Practice makes perfect! Or better, but ya know."
Tortomon suddenly released a perfect tenor whistle of the exact tune they had been humming. Everyone turned to him in surprise.
"Wow," Peckmon said in admiration. "That's awesome."
Michael looked straight at Lou, who was gazing enviously at the digimon. "Your partner can whistle and you can't! What is this madness?!" he raised his arms in mock exasperation. Everyone laughed again. Lou just pouted back.
Nicole chuckled at them. "Aw man, now this is interesting. But anywho, I really should get going. See ya later at base tonight? Shall I bring marshmallows?"
Mimi and the rest of her team nodded. She herself was only becoming accustomed to the change – being in Digiworld for a day or two at once, much more than before the issues with Drethmon and everything involving time between the two worlds.
Her parents still didn't know about that, she realized. She spent afternoons in the Digiworld, returned home for dinner, spent a couple hours there, then 'went to bed early'. She still worried about making it back home before they came in to wake her up the next morning.
"Yeah, bring 'em," Darren answered with a grin. "Hersheys and graham crackers too?"
Nicole waved as Charizard bent down and she hopped onto his back. "Send me a list, I'll grab stuff after practice," she replied. "Maybe burgers too, for Brandon's camping grill."
"That sounds awesome!" Gina exclaimed loudly, and Shanimon jumped and tilted her head at her partner. "Yeah burgers tonight – or tomorrow, but whatever, you know. We'll figure it out."
"Sounds like a plan! Right, later then!"
The girl grinned at all of them, nodding and gripping Charizard's shoulders. The pokémon gave his own toothy grin, then released a triumphant blast of flame into the air as he beat his wings to take flight. The rest of her team followed, Raichu hitching a ride with Scyther while the rest either flew or galloped after them, each giving their own shouts of farewell.
Mimi waved, watching their figures move away amidst the dusty cracked desert. Thinking about the quick set of events made her suddenly realize how weary she felt, from the heat of the setting sun to her own exhaustion from constant patrols. There were too many issues to deal with, and trying to balance things between the Digiworld and home with this time difference just wore upon her. Everyone, she realized, as the last of Charizard's tail flame vanished into the distance.
Not everyone had the same amount of free time as they did, or could commit to the Digiworld as much. Even amongst her own team, not everyone could come each day at the same time, like Steve with his Model UN. She could already imagine him scrambling to do his homework when he arrived at the base. And for those who hadn't spent months at a time in the Digiworld before?
Lou let out a wide yawn. "Man, I'm tired," he commented, stretching his arms high above his head. "Base?"
Mimi giggled and released her own tired breath. "Yes. Rest sounds great. Food does too. So does a bath…" she glanced down at herself, sweat soaked and coated in the dust from the desert.
The group did the same, laughing a little. Grime was a regular part of their work after all.
Lillymon pointed at the remnants of the water tower, no longer gushing a waterfall, but still sprinkling the ground. "There's a shower right there."
Mimi took off her hat and set it on a flat rock. She removed her bag and set it down on top such that it would keep the hat from flying. Then she turned to her team and grinned.
"Well?"
Darren took off running first. Then the entire group, digimon and humans, sprinted with glee into the pouring water.
It was slightly warm, but couldn't feel disappointed. She laughed with delight as dust and sweat were washed from her body and rejoieced in the relief the water gave her. She stood there for a few moments, just enjoying the feeling and listening to Darren and Lou splashing at each other, Betamon squealing in delight, Shanimon frolicking about, others doing the same as her. There were enough things in the world to worry about, and she could free her mind for a few spare moments.
Because being a team leader meant she had to think, plan, and be far more perceptive than she had during her first adventure in the Digiworld. It meant watching over teammates, refining strategies, making hard decisions on the fly – sometimes it made her realize just how much she had changed since moving to the US.
Joe tried to let his eyes adjust to the relative darkness of the cavern compared to the harsh sun above. He knew it might take a minute or so, but even from where he was he could tell the area was empty.
"I guess they're all out," he commented as Ikkakumon and Buraimon moved downwards.
He felt a bubbly warm feeling in his chest as the girl hugging him from behind adjusted her position.
"We can wait for them," Momoe replied. "Mimi's team is supposed to be back soon right?"
"Supposed to be."
They continued in down the ramp. Mimi had, in the end, decided to keep the American base relatively close to the Japanese one in case there was need for backup and the TV was destroyed, which meant this location was in Azulongmon's realm. Joe was glad, as it meant they could move things back and forth more easily, as well as contact each other in case they had to meet face to face. The only downside was the scheduling of patrols, but by this point everyone's temporal sense was so confused that some people were starting to just take naps when they needed rest, regardless of whatever time of day it might be. He was relatively surprised that the base was empty.
He liked the base. It was an underground oasis beneath the desert on the far western side of Server, its entrance hidden from view by the batholiths above. Enough light filtered down in spots that, when combined with the lake and various flora growing on its banks, gave it an oddly ethereal look. The TV sitting at the far edge right by a large flat open area meant that it was perfect for Chosen to go back and forth in that location.
Apparently Lou and Tortomon had found it during their early days as Chosen and still used it frequently as a resting point. They had been very proud to bring their fellow Chosen there.
Joe squinted and immediately saw the pile of batteries, along with a can of gas. "Over there."
Buraimon readjusted the generator in his arms. "All right," the bird samurai digimon grunted, marching straight for the pile, the vibrant red of his outfit dimmed in the light. He easily set down the generator amongst the batteries with much more ease than Joe knew he could manage with that same machine. "Done."
Momoe clapped her hands together. "Great! Now they'll have another power source… though it might be a good idea for them to have a vent for it."
"Another reason why we're waiting until Mimi's team gets back," Joe smiled.
Momoe swung her leg around and slid down Ikkakumon's flank. Joe followed a moment later, inwardly trying to reconcile his need to be a gentleman to her. Should I have slid down and helped her? That would've been the nice thing to do, but maybe it would insult her too since she's a Digidestined and she's used to getting on and off Buraimon and it's not like she really needs the help but she might have appreciated it and it's the chivalric thing to do oh I don't know –
She smiled brightly at him, breaking off his chain of thought. He shrugged stiffly.
"Sooo…"
"Soooooo…"
They stood there for a few moments. His heart was beating quickly and his stomach felt jittery, and he gave a helpless grin. Momoe blushed and looked down such that Joe could only see the top of her orange hair.
"I, uh, give me a sec to clean my glasses," she pulled them off her face.
Joe was suddenly very aware of the lighter, distorted spots in his vision. "Oh, I should do that too," he mumbled, taking his own off so he could wipe them with his shirt.
He knew that both of their partners were now staring at them. He just continued diligently focusing on removing the smudges from the lenses as Momoe did the same right beside him.
… this is so romantic. We're cleaning our glasses together. His stomach jolted as he thought about etiquette. Wait, how is she –
He glanced over despite the world being blurred, and met her eyes. She too had frozen, looking at him with her own pair of glasses gripped between the folds of her shirt.
They blinked and started laughing.
"So we both do that," Joe grinned as he felt some tension ease. He continued wiping the offending lens.
She had apparently just finished as she put her glasses back on. "Well it's easier than carrying that cleaning cloth with you everywhere. Sometimes I wonder why I don't just get contacts."
"And poke yourself in the eye? I think I can pass."
"People get used to it apparently."
"This is true."
He inspected the lens, squinting as his mind ran much faster than his overly calm demeanor. What am I doing we're talking about eye correction of all the things in the world EYE CORRECTION what does this even mean is this how boyfriends usually act Sora and Matt don't seem to have any problems I've never done this before GAAAAAAAH okay calm down Joe calm down you're overreacting just be natural let things be normal like before we started dating you'll just make this more awkward than it already is…
He replaced his glasses and took the moment to sigh and gaze around the cavern. Still no sign of Mimi and her team, or any of the other American Chosen… just Buraimon watching and Ikkakumon gazing quizzically with a tilted head.
His heart still beating oddly, he smiled at Momoe. He was happy to take any opportunity to just look at her without causing either of them discomfort.
"Everything's been kind of a blur lately. How're things at home?" he asked, placing both hands in his pockets in an effort to stay casual.
Momoe nodded conversationally. "Well I guess, um, it's been pretty interesting," she giggled, sounding a bit nervous. "But you know that. Mom and Dad aren't as happy with us taking food from the store so much and Mantarou's annoyed that none of the girls are ever home, I think he feels left out. Well he always has since both Chizuru and me became Digidestined…"
Joe could sympathize a bit. "I'm sure he'll end up joining us at some point," he replied. "Especially when all his sisters are Digidestined. It happened to both of my brothers… I mean, you know that since they're both on your team, but… it all just feels inevitable. I wonder how my parents feel. I'm the youngest so they're pretty used to having only me around when Shin and Shuu are off doing things, but home must be pretty quiet now."
Momoe sighed. "Home is definitely much quieter now."
There was a forlorn expression on her face. Joe had always worried about how the time change issue would affect the other Digidestined, but had refrained from asking Momoe out of… he wasn't sure. Fear of offending her or poking his nose in her business? Being insensitive? Saying something he shouldn't, especially when he worked with Yolei so often? But he knew, despite her words, where it stemmed from.
He tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get through this and fix everything," he said. "We always come through, somehow."
She smiled back and nodded. Joe felt a small tingle run through him as she placed her own hand on his. It seemed like she was accepting him. "I know," she answered.
They stood for a moment. Momoe's fingers circled and clasped his gently, and he allowed his hand to move off her shoulder, still grasping hers. It seemed natural as they held hands, and he knew now that he could look into her eyes without being rebuffed by her. She had matched his gaze, and suddenly everything around him, the lake with its ethereal glow, the light from above, it all only added to this scene where everything was perfect and he could content himself with just existing, with her. His heart still beat fast, he struggled with how much he was supposed to give, but for this one moment…
"Awwwww."
Joe glared at Ikkakumon, who looked like he was trying to make some kind of kissy face. "Hey."
Even Buraimon had an odd knowing curl to his beak. Joe felt Momoe's grip tighten slightly as she blushed.
"Well, better get used to it," she replied with a quirky smile at the two digimon. "Especially now that my team knows."
"And especially since I'm accompanying your team on patrols for while," Joe added.
Momoe glanced up at him with an almost playful look in her eyes. He had to suppress a sudden impulse to kiss her in response.
The sound of galloping feet echoed from the entrance to the cavern. It cut through the moment enough that Joe bashfully released Momoe's hand just as she too pulled away; he glanced up at where light streamed down and waited for the incoming shadow to appear.
He had expected a pair of Chosen from one of the American teams. One white and gold Reppamon barreling in later, bladed tail acting as a balance, complete with a familiar Italian girl seated on top, made him blink in surprise.
"Morgana? What're you doing at the American base?"
She flipped her blond hair at him. "What're you doing at the American base?"
He folded his arms. "I'm supposed to be checking if they need more supplies over here. We brought the generator."
She grinned cheekily back. "And I'm checking out the American base. Wow, pretty nice down here!"
Reppamon continued his way into the cavern, gazing around with just as much interest as his partner. He seemed rather impressed with it.
"Much cooler here than outside," he commented with a satisfied tone.
Joe noticed as Reppamon turned that Morgana, who was wearing shorts and what looked like canvas shoes without socks, had no wrap around her ankle or knee. He couldn't see any bandages either. Any signs of the battle against the new Drethmon were gone.
Momoe and Buraimon both let out awed breaths.
"So you managed to see Ailbemon?" the former asked.
Morgana nodded while Reppamon made his way towards them. "Found her yesterday at Miro," she answered. "It's great, makes walking so much easier. Not that I mind riding Reppamon all the time."
The digimon chuckled. "Well you're not heavy at least."
Morgana jumped off her partner with practiced ease, smiling brightly and gazing around at everything. "Wow they've got so much space here! But then again you Japanese Chosen have that temple. I wanna' go explore that…"
Joe frowned. "Well if you feel like helping out, we're trying to clear out the top floor. Or you could join the crew surveying Zenkyoshi."
Reppamon looked at Morgana expectantly, but the girl just shrugged. "Meh. Maybe on my own time. Too much to look at. Never got to finish up at Fission Ruins."
Joe, Momoe, Ikkakumon, and Buraimon all glanced at each other. They all remembered perfectly well what had happened at Fission Ruins.
"Kouta's team and Cody are all doing well," Buraimon spoke, nodding. "Ailbemon visited them early… would have been early yesterday morning. They got to go home in the evening. Sho's been healed since late Sunday night."
Morgana smiled. "Oh, cool. Hey, that's a lake!" she squealed and immediately ran off towards it. Reppamon grimaced and gave them all an apologetic look before racing after her.
Sometimes Joe simply did not understand how that girl thought. She never wanted to work with them when invited, but sometimes she would show up on her own accord because she felt like exploring whatever it was they happened to be at. It also seemed very strange that she didn't seem to care much about the others who had been injured alongside her, far worse than she.
"Well, I guess we'll let her be," he murmured to Momoe, who looked just as incredulous as he felt.
"Maybe it's a good thing she isn't on any of the teams," she muttered back, sounding a little concerned.
"It's nice to have her as a free agent I guess…"
"Oh yeah!" Morgana shouted, and the others all jumped as her voice jumped up in pitch at her excitement. "Saw Mimi's team coming over, so hurry and do something funny looking!"
Joe and Momoe looked at each other.
"Funny looking?" Momoe said slowly.
"Yeah, come on glasses couple – aw, too late, there they are."
Joe recognized the sound of footsteps and wingbeats from outside the cavern. He turned back to the entrance just in time to see Lillymon fly in, Mimi perched on her shoulders, along with the rest of her team. A brief gust of wind rustled past with their arrival, and Joe chuckled as he waved to them. It was always nice to see an old friend, and in his mind, very interesting to spend time with one of the American teams. It was the experience of being abroad without the awkwardness of language barriers thanks to the Digiworld, although there were plenty of cultural differences.
"Hey!"
Mimi's eyes brightened at the sight of them. "Joe! Ikkakumon! You're here!" She smiled at the other two present. "And Morgana, Reppamon, good to see you, all healed and well."
As the various digimon came to a stop and Lillymon landed, Joe couldn't help but notice that the entire team was wet as though they had dunked themselves into a lake. Given the heat outside, he imagined that was exactly what they had done.
Morgana giggled and gave a prompt thumbs up. "Yep! Good as new!"
"Glad to hear it," Lou nodded and waved. He was bent over in clear exhaustion, but he still managed a grin as he swung his leg over and slid off Tortomon.
The other humans began dismounting their partners, all looking relatively tired and relieved to be back. The long days filled with traveling and battle left everyone fatigued, and the time differences only exacerbated the matter. Even so, the group approached the two pairs of Japanese Chosen with great zeal.
"Welcome back to the base!"
"Hey there!"
"Yo Joe Kido! Momoe Inoue! Your names rhyme, ya know that?"
"What am I, chopped liver?" Morgana waved her arms wildly.
Darren shrugged helplessly. "'Morgana Bianchi'… yeah sorry, it don't rhyme."
Joe shook his head, unable to stop the feeling of amusement. Then Mimi strode up to him and unabashedly flung her arms around him.
"It's so good to see you!"
He was slightly taken aback and barely raised his arms. "It – it's good to see you too Mimi, it's only been a couple days though?"
She giggled and released him. "But now I get to see you more often since we're all working together so much more. Momoe, how are you?" she trilled as she jumped forward and hugged the older girl as well.
Momoe also looked surprised, but she gently returned the embrace. "Doing well, thanks. How was your patrol?"
"Oh it was great, tiring as usual, and it was so hot! But we did a lot, we stopped some Drethmon, did you know some of the water towers in the area actually do have water? Oh yes and we even ran into Nicole's team and Gennai…"
Mimi continued chattering on, with the rest of her team chiming in with commentary. Joe only half listened, picking out the more important information from the rest of her embellishments; even if Mimi seemed more mature and professional as a team leader, her way of giving summaries after a long day hadn't changed. It was part of the reason why, before time began warping, they had timed the meetings so they matched with her mornings. She was much more succinct and intelligible.
Oh Mimi… we'll get you some time to rest. So Nicole was her normal crazy self, gave Gennai a pokéball… useful for figuring out a way to capture Drethmon data. I wish there was an easier way of doing this.
He had a sudden image of an 8-bit Drethmon on a computer screen, complete with himself at the screen trying to click it with a mouse. Oh, if only.
"And you know, poor Raichu doesn't get to do anything anymore," Mimi was still talking. "Her shocks can't hurt the new Drethmon so she's left filming it for after battle stuff." She paused, blinking. "I think I'm tired."
"I think you are too," Michael replied. He heavily patted Mimi on the shoulder. She stood without any other reaction, gazing a little blearily at nothing.
Joe chuckled weakly. "I agree. In any case, it's a good thing that the Westside team is coming in soon, right?"
The American team all nodded together. Their exhaustion reminded him to see if he could somehow fetch a coffee maker and some energy drinks the next time he left the Digiworld for school. Maybe there were some digimon remedies they could use. And on the coffee maker note…
"Anyway, we brought the generator," he smiled, waving at said machine beside the batteries and gas can. "Courtesy of Hideo, who owns one with American plugins for some reason. I want to go over a few things before you start using it though, like finding a good place to vent it, using it, so on."
Both Lou and Tortomon sat up. "No prob!" the younger boy grinned chipperly. "I got it covered. My family's got one of those, I can give the talk."
Joe nodded back. It certainly made his job easier. "In that case, that's your new job."
Lou returned with a huge thumbs up and proud ready stance from Tortomon. Darren started chuckling behind him.
"Yes please Lou, give us the talk," he snorted.
Lou just glanced at him. "Ask your mom." Then he straightened in a precocious manner. "By the way Mimi, did I ever mention how weird it is to see you speaking Japanese with those Digidestined and we can understand you perfectly and you sound perfectly fluent without an accent unlike when you speak English?" he commented in one breath. Mimi gave him a strange look. "Guess I didn't."
"Well, thank the Digiworld for that, huh?" Gina shrugged. Her gaze quickly brushed curiously over to Joe and Momoe, then back to Mimi. Then she began mouthing something that Joe couldn't read from her lips.
Mimi laughed. She sounded tired, yet grateful. "We're lucky for it. Can you imagine what this would be like?"
"Yes," Lillymon answered resolutely. "Then it would be up to you, Michael, and Calvin to translate and interpret things, wouldn't it?"
"Or if the Digiworld did a direct translation," Mimi replied. It took Joe a moment to realize that she had purposefully switched back to English.
Her team arose at that. "See what I mean?" Lou grinned. "Your accent's way less than it used to be though. Also, you talk way more in Japanese."
Michael laughed. "Yeah. Oh man, can you imagine how direct translation'd be? 'We are starting meeting, female formal-my name Kanako is, please treat me well. Mr. Washington, are you healthy?'"
Joe and Momoe both stared, while Morgana burst out laughing. It was very strange hearing it in English. The literal translation sounded a bit ridiculous in Joe's opinion, but he supposed that was why the Digiworld did what it did. Perhaps this was why Mimi's English had improved so much, with the Digiworld translating anything in English to something that idiomatically made more sense.
"Well, Mr. Washington are-you-healthy, you healthy enough for a crash course with Lou on using the generator?" Darren grinned, jerking his head towards the machine in the corner.
Michael gave an overly enthusiastic cheer. "Yes! I love carbon monoxide poisoning!"
Gina gave him a strange look, then shook her head. "Well we really should figure out how to vent this better, otherwise that corner's turning into the Land of Asphyxiation."
"This cavern will turn into the Land of Asphyxiation," Shanimon argued, shaking her head.
The small group of Chosen began following Darren over to where Buraimon had deposited the generator, all commenting about how not to suffocate. Joe just watched, thinking to himself just how incredibly normal the whole scene with the American Chosen had felt.
There were times when he felt overwhelmed by the amount of responsibility placed on him and the other Chosen, and the many situations they were placed in brought more stress. He missed the strange schedule that had been typical only a month earlier – waking up, school, Digiworld, dinner, homework, bed. Even then, he personally didn't have as much time with friends as he would have liked.
And right now… right now he thought it would have been perfect to plop himself on the floor and not do anything for several hours. But not yet.
He sighed as Morgana hopped up and pranced over to join those by the generator, soon joined by her partner as well as Lillymon. How exciting is a generator supposed to be anyway? He thought wryly. Maybe they're just bored.
"I guess we should probably head back," he sighed, rubbing his head. "The rest of the Japanese Chosen are moving into the base soon, we're prepping the area…"
Mimi placed her hands on her hips. "Oh come on Joe, stay a while, I don't see you as often. In fact, all of you can hang out with us if you're not busy. Brandon's bringing his camping grill later and Nicole said she's bringing some food, maybe even burgers, we could all have a big barbeque!"
Joe opened his mouth to argue that these days, they were always busy, but Ikkakumon interrupted him.
"Food! Oh that sounds awesome, and even if we don't get burgers we can always get something, and we can hang out! Yeah, let's eat here!"
"But we…" he trailed off as his partner's body glowed in a clear sign of reverting. "Ikkakumon, wait - "
To his surprise, Momoe suddenly grasped his arm with both hands, smiling. "Joe, it'll be fun to spend some time here. And we can't constantly overwork ourselves, we have to take breaks sometime, right? Just an hour or two, we can always use the port to go back."
He paused, trying to let his sense of duty come up with the reason to go, but somehow Momoe's eager face made it harder to argue. Then Gomamon padded up with a large grin, and Mimi clearly wanted him to stay…
Buraimon reverting back to his chick-in-an-egg form of Hyokomon finalized it.
"… okay, just for a couple hours."
Momoe let out a cheered laugh, while Mimi bounced up and hugged him again. Joe stared in shock as she then let go, pumping a fist in the air. She's excited...
"Great, Joe," Momoe nodded. "You need it."
"Yeah really," Gomamon continued. He gently whapped his partner's leg with a flipper. "You may be the reliable one, but you have to take care of yourself too, ya know."
He chuckled in response. "Yeah. I know."
Mimi seemed much more energetic now. She giggled and beckoned them towards a central area, where he saw several logs, a fire pit, and a familiar set of dutch ovens. "Make yourselves at home then, I guess you don't need to join Lou and the others at the generator. Darren and I will get started on dinner soon. Oh! That must be…"
The screen of the TV in the corner had begun glowing. There were several cries of 'Yes!' that rung around the cavern, including one from Mimi.
"The Westside team?" he finished.
"Yes," she nodded, beckoning them forward. "Have you met all of them? Calvin and Gaomon are new, and I don't think Priya's met any of the Japanese Chosen yet…"
He, along with Momoe and their partners, followed her. It was true, he hadn't met all of other active Chosen, with Tai and Mimi being the ones who primarily communicated with the other international teams, and he supposed this was a good opportunity to do so. Even if the circumstances weren't ideal, he still had to admit that it was almost fun to have so many Chosen in the Digiworld at the same time, all working together. And on the off moments…
He glanced at Momoe, who was already starting forward to help whoever it was entering the cavern. He could already see a pair of boys with their partners tangled up on the ground, having apparently landed in a very bad position, and Mimi laughed as she ran up to aid them; he shook his head, wondering just how many more he would be meeting in the next couple of hours.
In one world compared to the other, there was more time. He could catch up on lost sleep, rest, complete his homework and studying, bond with other Digidestined, hang out with Chosen friends, spend hours talking the night away with Momoe… despite everything, it surprised him in that he could accept the changes they had been forced to adapt to. He could allow himself that bit of selfishness, couldn't he?