Y/N: I apologize for the wait. I wanted it to be finished so badly, but it just wouldn't work for me, and then yesterday, suddenly it hit me exactly how I was going to write it…of course it's almost three times as long as the typical chapter, so I hope that helps make up for it.
U/N: The Daikoriyaken chapter if finally up. My sister wouldn't write it…
Title: Digimon Adventure 03
By: YukiraKing
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters.
Part 3: Crest Digimon
Chapter 36: A Lesson in Humility
Iori:
"Oh grow up, Iori."
It's always, always, "Grow up, Iori!"
Can't they understand that in a lot of ways I'm more mature than all of them? I had to stop a fight between Daisuke and Michael, who are both older than me by a few years—Michael more so than Daisuke. I always have to pick up their slack, and they never notice. They don't even acknowledge me sometimes. The only see me as the child that needs to be taken care of and I'm sick of it. They never seem to miss a moment where I let my actual age shine through, just the rest of the time.
I didn't want to be alone with Ken. And now that Miyako was upset with him, I'd be subjected to a whining jag. Honestly, no one listens to my complaining, why should I have to listen to Ken's of all people.
"Now what?" he asked.
"You'll wait here," I told him crossing my arms to prove how serious I was about this. "And I'll go wait by the mountain, so I can get my digimon back sooner."
"Why do I have to wait out here?"
"Unlike you, I wanted to go and help them set our friends free. I didn't want to run away like a coward!" I yelled.
"I'm not a coward," he protested.
"No," I told him. "You're worse than that."
"What is this about? It can't just be because Miyako was treating you like a baby before, and it sure as hell isn't just about that stupid vote," he said firmly.
"You're right," I told him. "I accept that you've 'changed' into a 'better person', I really do, but it doesn't mean I have to like you."
"You didn't seem to hate me so much before," he pointed out. "You came to my Christmas party."
"I know," I said. "My first mistake."
"So you're saying we aren't friends," Ken surmised.
"To be fair," I said diplomatically. "I don't really consider any of you my friends right now."
"No one?" he asked. It seemed like my comments stung. Good.
"Well…maybe Takeru, Jou and Koushiro," I said contemplating it. "They are the only ones that haven't belittled me. Odd how I have a tie to each of them because of Armadillomon, one jogress partner and the two crest bearers of my digimentals."
"What did we ever do to you?" Ken asked the hurt evident in his wavering voice.
"You're getting on my last nerve, that's what!" I shouted grumpily. "And let me tell you, I won't be forgiving any of you any time soon. When it comes to such stubbornness, I can't be beat."
Daisuke:
"I am not a slime ball!" Shogungekomon shouted. Okay, so maybe it was more a cross between a roar and a growl…either way, I knew he was mad. He was stomping his feet, and I swear I could feel the ground shaking with each step, he was just that heavy.
And that's when the ground started to shatter as easily as glass thanks to his enormous size.
"Move," Hikari shouted frantically at us. "Move!"
I wasn't sure what to do. She seemed to not care about herself. I'd been debating on how to save her, when out of nowhere, she started to push me. I grabbed Miyako's arm, thankfully, while she was pushing me.
"I AM BEAUTIFUL!" the giant frog creature shouted out.
And then the ground cracked even further, with a final shove, suddenly Hikari wasn't there anymore. Neither were Shogungekomon or Kiboumon. Lucky for us…not for Hikari.
Both Miyako and I screamed "NO!" at the top of our lungs, as if by sheer force of will we'd be able to bring her back from the giant hole the stupid frog created.
I can't believe she fell. I was supposed to look after her. Not for Willis, though I did promise him, but because I don't want to see her hurt and Taichi would expect this from me. The old Taichi would anyway, and I just wasn't ready to give up on him just yet.
And to top it off, I was almost sure that Hikari was going insane trying to find Takeru and the digimon. I mean, she suggested we jump to the bottom of the enemy's own fortress. Who does that? I'm not even dumb enough to do it, and I suppose that is saying something. Not that I'm stupid or anything…just impulsive.
"Daisuke, what do we do?" Miyako shrieked in my ear. I mean it, she literally was shrieking. This adventure isn't as…fun—is that the right word?—as the last one. We weren't nearly in as much danger, and definitely not as often.
"I don't know," I told her in a small voice. I shook my head. I can't be worried about these things right now. Miyako was going to panic soon. That was her go-to coping mechanism. Panic. "Okay, here's what we'll do. We're going to follow the plan as best we can. We'll still find a way down there. Find the steps if we can. We need to do this right."
"Okay. We can do that," she said. "We can totally do that. Where do we start? Should I just…start opening doors?"
"Yeah…" I said. "Do that."
So she did. It was amazing how a simple suggestion can be taken. And she takes everything to the extreme while she's panicking. She was running faster than I could keep up with, whipping doors open left and right. We hadn't found a single stair, but she was dedicated to her mission.
"Okay. I think that's almost all of the doors. What do we do? We didn't find anything. I'm getting worried…and when I'm worried I panic. Daisuke, I panic!" she said in quick succession.
Great…
"There are a few more doors," I told her. "Takeru would be mad if you lost hope and panicked."
"You're right," she said sighing. I made her take a big, deep breath before she got too carried away. And then we were on the search again.
"We've checked that one," she kept saying over and over, even though I knew for a fact we hadn't got that far yet.
"Miyako?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up," I told her. "We're fine. Our digimon are going to be fine. And that means there's no need for this stupid panicking. If either of us should be panicking, it would be me! I just watched the girl I'm kind of…in LOVE with fall down a giant chasm of doom."
"You're being ridiculous," she said with a sigh. "And melodramatic. It's not a chasm of doom, it's just a big hole that leads to the basement probably. And I'm not a hundred percent sure you are even in love with her."
"Like you're in love with Ken?" I asked a tad snarky.
"Yes," she said carefully. "I do love him. I just…wish he wasn't the way he is all of the time."
"He wouldn't be my best friend if he was any different," I told her with a shrug.
"Stairs," she said in wonderment, after opening a door.
"Yeah?"
"Look!" she gasped.
So I looked, and she was right. There was a set of stairs. I don't think beautiful was a word I'd ever have used to describe stairs before, but that is exactly what these were. Absolutely perfect.
"See," I told her a little breathlessly. "Panicking is bad for you."
"Whatever, let's just get down there," she said rolling her eyes at me.
I was happy though. Not only did we find a set of—beautifully perfect—stairs, I'd managed to calm her down too. I'm a miracle worker, I swear.
It was taking longer than I'd hoped it would though…
"How much longer?" I whined.
"Daisuke, it's only been twenty minutes. I'm sure Hikari is fine. She has probably found Takeru by now, and they've had their epic reunion of hope and light and are probably a couple by now and—"
"Shut up," I interrupted. "They are so not a couple right now. Hikari was more worried for Gatomon than for Takeru."
"Whatever lets you sleep at night," she said with a laugh.
"Usually warm milk does the tri—shh!" I stopped suddenly. "Someone's coming."
"Who?" she whispered. I nearly groaned as the panic started to creep up on her again.
"I can't be sure, press yourself against the wall in the next alcove," I whispered back.
She nodded, and the two of us slipped as silently as we could off of the staircase into a conveniently placed alcove.
The footsteps were quiet for just a few seconds longer; until voices could be heard…then they seemed to sound like a bunch of wild horses.
"Can you see him?" a familiar voice asked rather loudly.
"No, but he is rather small," another voice replied.
"Guys, how much longer do we plan on running? We don't even know if this is the right way."
The third voice I'd recognize anywhere. But before I could tell Miyako that Veemon was out there—meaning the other two had to be Hawkmon and Armadillomon judging by their voices—they were trudging passed our little alcove.
"Daisuke," she gasped. "That was Hawkmon! You made me hide from our friends!"
"I didn't know," I pointed out, before she pushed me out of the hiding place, and we started running after them. "Hey guys! Wait for us!"
"Miyako!" Hawkmon shouted in happiness.
"Veemon!" I called out. "How are you Vee-man?"
"Not too bad," he said with his signature lisp. "Well…'cept for the fact that we're being chased by the Humility monster."
"And the Honour and Forgiveness monsters aren't too far behind," Hawkmon added.
"We better get outa here," Armadillomon concluded.
"Wait, wait, wait," I said hit with a sudden inspiration. "I've got one."
"Daisuke, not now," Miyako insisted.
"Usually I don't do these unless their human partner is here too…but Hikari fell down that hole and this is just too perfect," I continued.
"Either say it or shut up already!" she hissed.
"Knock knock."
"Who's there?" Veemon said happily.
"Gato," I said with a grin. Veemon was just the best. He always got a kick out of playing along with my jokes.
"Gato who?"
"We Gato go!" I said before the sound of something else entering the staircase ruined the reaction. And we started running.
Ken:
Iori wasn't happy with the situation. He didn't have to go on that rather hurtful rant of his for me to tell…he just did that anyway. He didn't want us to separate in the first place, but he wasn't so vehemently against the idea as he was with our second split. Watching Michael and Willis run off into the woods seemed to be the last straw to him.
"Are you just going to pace back and forth without speaking?" I asked him. He just sent me a glare and continued to work a trench in the forest floor.
"Fine," I said. "Ignore me, I don't mind. I'll just talk to the trees."
He snorted, it was my only sign that he was actually listening to me.
"Miyako is mad at me," I started. "I can understand why, I'm not stupid. My intelligence wasn't entirely from the dark spore after all. But she doesn't know why I was against risking our lives to save our digimon. I mean, I've lost Wormmon once before, I'm pretty sure I know more than any of them the desperate feeling of wanting him back. Except for Takeru of course. He's lost Patamon."
"And Willis," Iori said grudgingly. He didn't want to talk, but he was going to participate so long as I got the facts straight. I hid a small smile. At least he was talking. "He lost Lopmon."
"Right, and Willis," I said. "But I honestly don't think risking our lives is going to save them. There's no way that all of the crest creatures are out of there. Koushiro said there were fifteen of them, and we know for sure that two were taken down earlier, Strength and Kindness."
"Two crests that go to the most unlikely of people," he mumbled. I held back a glare.
"And we're pretty sure that Willis and Michael are going to take out Miracles or Destiny…whichever one was left," I added, watching him pace.
"That's a total of four," he said. "Those aren't favourable numbers."
"We know that Yamato and Koushiro were headed to that dragon and dog, so Friendship and Courage should be taken care of," I pointed out.
"If they can manage to take out two megas," Iori grumbled.
"You're not a positive person," I pointed out.
"Just realistic."
"Right," I said slowly. He stopped pacing, which I took as a good sign. Maybe we were starting to get along? Or maybe we already got along…and he just wasn't able to overlook my past actions… In any case, he was looking at the ground, by the bases of the trees. I wasn't sure what he was looking for, but I was sure hoping he really was starting to get along with me, because I didn't want to be at the end of whatever weapon he found.
"Get to your point," he said, losing patience.
"There are only four of them accounted for," I surmised. "And that leaves eleven unaccounted for. Those aren't good statistics to start with, but if the sovereigns were also coming here…things aren't looking good for us. And it is true what Hikari said, that this is our best chance, but we can't help them if we die. We aren't digimon, we won't resort back to an egg if we are killed. I have a lot to make up, and I can't do that if we're dead. And from what the other digimon said, they weren't in any danger or pain while they were captured…"
"You figure it's safer for them if they stay where they are," he said bluntly.
"I think it is a definite possibility."
"And I think we will be safer with them at our side. They would want to be there. Their goal seems to be 'protect the kids or die trying'. I don't want Armadillomon to die because of me, but I can't leave him here knowing he'd be wallowing in guilt if I died because he wasn't there," Iori said, his eyes clouded with emotion. He crouched to the ground, picking up what looked to be a sturdy stick about the size of a staff. He tested it, by swinging it at a tree trunk, but it snapped easily. "Rotted."
"It seems so," I said confused by his actions.
"I shouldn't have thrown that pipe," he grumbled.
"Probably not," I said in the same confused voice.
"Do have anything else to say, or can I go back to my search?"
He asked that as if he'd stopped to listen to me. I could hardly tell if he was ignoring me or not. The only give away was that he was actually talking back.
"Don't let me stop you," I said holding my hands out in surrender.
"Believe me, I won't," he promised, picking up the next big stick, and I took a step back…just in case.
Miyako:
How could Ken even think that? How could he want to leave his own digimon in some trap? I couldn't live with myself if I left Hawkmon for the dead. And he was insisting on it. And then he had the nerve to tell me he'd protect me? I don't think so buddy. If you aren't going to protect your best friend—a friend who would die for you—I don't think anyone would be too keen on having you as a shield.
Besides, I could be just plain violent if the need arises. I do have three siblings I'd have to fight to get what I wanted. I knew basic survival skills because of that.
So two older sisters and an older brother weren't really the equivalent to a small army of digimon created by the very crests we were born to bear, but the main argument is still valid.
I can take care of myself.
And if not, I have Hawkmon to help me.
I was so glad to have him back. I could feel my heart swell just by catching sight of him. I was so excited…but then they had to ruin the reuinion that I'd dreamed of by saying that they had three—that's right, not just one, no they had to have three—crest digimon after them.
And they weren't even crests I'd ever heard of. They were those strange ones that Koushiro had been so thrilled to discover. That meant—because Michael already claimed the crest of strength—that one of these monsters had my crest. And of course Daisuke and Iori's as well. But seriously, I would have a crest if I could manage to defeat this thing.
But the thing was…I didn't want to face it. I wanted to escape with my life, thank you very much.
"We know where the exit is," I found myself saying.
"You do?" Armadillomon asked a little breathlessly. "That's great."
"Yep," Daisuke said. "But we can't just leave. What about Hikari?"
"She'll be fine," I snapped. "She has Takeru, and Gatomon. If these three are here, that means that Takeru managed to free them just fine."
"Not just us either," Veemon said. "He freed every digimon that was trapped in here."
"That's fantastic," Daisuke said happily. "I thought for sure they were all dead or something."
"I think it might be worse," Hawkmon said smartly. "The young Otamamon that Takeru was carrying was very adamant that his friends would be led off each morning, one at a time, and they just wouldn't come back. That makes me think that they are being absorbed to make something even more powerful."
"Do you suppose it's the sovereigns?" I asked.
"Maybe," he said, though his tone made me doubt he actually believed it.
"We think the sovereign work for someone else," Armadillomon said with his southern twang.
"What do you mean?" Daisuke asked. "I thought they were the top guys in the digital world?"
"I don't know. Remember what Hikari said about those Dark Masters?" Veemon asked. "They had loads of servants, but they were serving someone else. And Ken was being influenced by someone else, even though he seemed like he was in charge of the operation. Things just work that way sometimes."
"How about we just stop talking and focus more on running!" I suggested, hearing the crest digimon gaining on us.
"Good idea," everyone chorused. I was proud of myself for a bit there. I'll admit it.
"Oh, and Daisuke," I said. "That joke? I think you're getting better. Maybe a serious threat is the key to your humour?"
"Shut up," Daisuke grumbled.
We ran as fast as we could possibly manage. The entrance of the cave was closing in on us…or we were closing in on it in any case. But when we got there, we literally crashed into someone. Five beings really. Three of them were digimon, and the other two were human.
"Watch it," Terriermon muttered. "We're walking here!"
"And we're running for our lives," Daisuke shouted. "You better start running too!"
They yelped, and we scrambled to our feet. We burst into the trees, before slowing down. I wanted to catch a glimpse of our pending attackers. There was only two that I could see. One looked nearly human…almost cute even. He was wearing what looked like jester's clothing, and had swirling markings on his face. The other was ugly. It looked like a mole. Well…it kind of looked like a mole. It was rather huge, and it had a symbol on its stomach. The jester didn't appear to have a symbol from this distance, but I knew that it was there, just like every other creature.
"There's only two of them," Daisuke commented before I could.
"No, there are three," Veemon said. "I tripped over the one, it was that small. He's pretty mad too. He's tiny, looks like a chameleon or something. He can blend into the surroundings too."
"That's pretty…lame," Daisuke said laughing at the poor creature's expense. That's kind of a strange thought… I was defending the enemy's honour. Oh well. It's not like I'll be thinking that way when we come face to face with it.
"Where are Iori and Ken?" Willis asked suddenly. "We couldn't find them in the woods, so we thought they went after you. It seems that wasn't true…"
"You probably just missed them. They'll still be there," I grumbled. "Ken's a loser, and wouldn't go against any order. Iori on the other hand… he seems to be hating everything right now."
"Iori doesn't hate anything," Armadillomon protested. "He always tries to find the good."
"Well…he's been changed by this experience just like everyone else has been."
"Where is he? Maybe he'll be of some help with this upcoming battle," I pointed out.
"We won't need him," Willis said shaking his head. "I've got two digimon that can reach ultimate now, and you two have champion levels."
"I do too," Michael added when he thought he'd been ignored.
"I know," Willis said. "And you don't have to listen to me if you don't want to, but I think you should take Armadillomon out to Iori and Ken. They've got nothing aside from their fists to defend themselves. Betamon and Armadillomon would be appreciated I'm sure."
"That's logical," I said in approval. "Iori needs to be looked after."
"Don't let him hear you say that," Willis said seriously. "He might attack you or something."
"Is he that bad?" Armadillomon asked.
"Yeah…pretty much," I said. "To me anyway."
"We don't have time for being down," Daisuke said. "Oh, oh!"
"Don't Daisuke," I said with a groan.
"I'll take my leave now," Michael said. "Where do you want to meet up?"
"The meadow," Willis said. "It's where the others will probably meet up. It's the only spot we're all bound to think of."
"Right," he said. "See you later then."
"You will," Willis said firmly. I wished I had that kind of confidence. "Bye."
Everyone exchanged their quick goodbyes, and the three of them slipped into distant trees.
"Knock knock," Daisuke said with such a serious face I couldn't help but answer.
"Who's there," I said with a sigh.
"Lop," he said grinning at Lopmon.
"Oh boy," she said rolling her eyes.
"Lop who?" I asked politely.
"We're going to lop their heads off!"
"Daisuke," I said.
"Yeah?"
"I take back what I said. Danger doesn't make them better. You just got lucky that time."
Iori:
I don't know why I was talking to him. I wanted to be mad, and explore this new anger and dislike, but he just wouldn't leave me in peace. He insisted on talking, and jabbering and rambling, on and on and on, all trying to explain his recent actions. It was as if he was trying to placate me, so I couldn't hold even more against him.
And I suppose that would have been the smart thing to do. I was a reasonable person; I just held grudges like nobody's business. I just happened to be looking for a good sturdy weapon while I was listening to his prattling.
I didn't miss that he slide further away from me with each stick I picked up. I had faith in the others; I just needed to be prepared. I couldn't trust Ken to protect the two of us should an enemy arise. I would have to watch my own back and let him watch his.
"Is that one any better?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked him. I'd been too focused on my weapon hunt to actually be listening to him.
"Your stick, is that one lethal?"
"Could be," I said shrugging. I'd hit it against the tree trunk as hard as I could, and it hadn't broke, so I figure it was a solid option. "How are your judo skills? Or did they stop working when you joined our side too?"
"Did you not see me attack Shinsetsumon? I can still fight," he said.
I rolled my eyes. I hadn't actually remembered that. I suppose that was because I'd been blocking out any good thing that anyone did and focussing on the parts that I didn't like, the parts I might possibly not forgive them for. I could dwell on these things for hours if I let myself. I could hardly forgive myself for forgetting about my father some days. I used to go only hours before he'd pop up in my thoughts. As the years went by, it lessened to a much more manageable daily thing. I'd wonder if he'd be proud of me for what I did that day, that kind of thing, but…as time passed still, my thoughts of him got fewer and further between. It takes big things like this threat on our lives to bring him back. I felt guilty, that my pending death is necessary to think of my dad. That is entirely unfair.
"We might come face to face with an enemy," I told him. "An enemy that we'll have to fight."
"I just hope it's a sorry excuse for a bad guy," he said. "Like Shinsetsumon. We can't handle anything stronger."
"I'll handle whatever is necessary to survive until Armadillomon finds me," I told him.
Just as he opened his mouth to respond, we heard someone or something coming from behind us, through the bushes, and from the mountain. I gripped my newest weapon firmly, and took a deep, calming breath. Ken took a stance next to me though he didn't seem as resigned to fighting as I did. He seemed scared of whatever this was.
"Do you think it is friend or foe?"
"Does it matter? Be prepared anyway," I told him. He nodded. His eyes hardened, and focused on the direction of the noise.
The bushes parted revealing something, but I didn't take the time to register what it was…I just swung. Hard.
Daisuke:
"Here we go," I said. I was a little bit upset that Miyako was lying about my funny jokes, but it wasn't the time to whine or complain. We had two—or possibly three…I still wasn't too sure on that one—baddies to take out. I think the mole has my crest. It's the toughest of the lot. I'd say Miyako's was the cute little one…but I think she's got a crush on the other one, so it would be that one. Which of course leaves Iori with the puny little lizard. Ha. He sure would be in for a surprise. Granted…I thought he had great humility, so that's probably why it was so tiny.
Ha, ha. What a sucker.
"Veemon, should we take it up a notch?" I said with a cocky smile.
"Yeah!" he said with a similar grin.
"Digivolve!"
"Veemon digivolve to… ExVeemon!"
"Follow suit, Hawkmon," Miyako said.
"Hawkmon digivolve to… Aquilamon!"
"Guys?" Willis asked. They didn't even stop to answer him, but rather jumped right into the digivolution.
"Terriermon digivolve to… Gargomon!"
"Lopmon digivolve to… Wendigomon!"
"Are we saving the next step or should we jump right into it?" Gargomon asked.
"Whatever you want," Willis said.
"Then let's go!"
"Not so fast!"
"Who said that?" I asked looking around for an enemy or a friend…I wasn't picky.
"I did."
"That doesn't really help," I said still looking about. I looked up in the trees, just in case. "Are you invisible?"
"No," the voice said grumpily. "I'm down. Look at the ground!"
"Oh."
"Don't sound so disappointed! I'll be the hardest to fight yet!"
"I doubt it…"
"Daisuke, stop being rude," Miyako reprimanded.
"Shut up," I said glaring at her.
"Yeah, I don't need your help!"
I rolled my eyes. "Okay," I said sarcastically. "Whatever."
The creature just growled at me, and I'll admit, it had a scary growl, but that's about it. I finally looked down at the thing, and Veemon was right. It was a tiny lizard. I wouldn't even say it looked like a chameleon. It was just a sad and pitiful thing.
"You are so cute," Miyako said.
Okay. It was apparently a sad yet 'cute' thing.
"Shut up," it said. It was shorter tempered than I was. I chuckled at Miyako's expression.
The other two creatures were closing in on us, and I groaned. We hadn't even had the chance to attack the tiny thing first. It was rather unfair…but then again, these were the bad guys, so I shouldn't have been expecting too much.
"Oh my God," Miyako said the panic coming back with a vengeance.
"I know what you mean," Willis said.
"I never got my answer," I mumbled.
"I yelled at Ken the last time I saw him," Miyako said.
"I didn't even tell my mom I was leaving," Willis said in awe.
"Guys," ExVeemon interrupted. "We haven't been beat yet."
"We haven't even tried yet," Windigomon pointed out.
"They haven't even tried yet," Gargomon added.
"We won't take this lying down," the twin digimon said together. "Willis, we've got to digivolve."
"Okay," he said holding up his digivice. It was the typical grey that used to just belong to the original group, but now seemed to be mine as well. It started glowing, which was surreal to see. I'd heard about it of course, but I'd never seen it. Takeru and Hikari had the D-3s when the only option to see their ultimate digimon came along. But I think Willis' had to be something extra special. It was flashing between gold and bronze, and when it finally stopped, it was a combination of the two.
And the digimon were something pretty spectacular by themselves.
"Windigomon digivolve to… Antylamon!"
"Gargomon digivolve to… Rapidmon!"
"No," the jester guy said in disbelief.
"Meiyomon, they used the crests," the mole said, the same disbelief colouring his voice.
"I know," the lizard thing said. "But that means Unmeimon and Kisekimon…"
"Obviously," the jester guy—Meiyomon apparently—drawled.
"What we need to know is if they completed their mission or not," the mole commented.
"I doubt it," I said. "They can't do it if they're dead."
"Shut up," Willis groaned. "I'm sure they did it on their own!"
The two strong looking digimon looked at one another, and it seemed as though they had made a mutual and wordless decision.
"Kenkyomon, take care of this…nuisance," Meiyomon said in his drawling voice.
"Of course," the lizard said. "They can't beat what they can't see, can they?"
"Just don't mess up," the mole ordered, before the two seemed to just disappear. The jester snapped his fingers, and as if by magic, what I would call sparkles, swirled around him, and he lifted into the air. He was so fast that he just was gone. The mole just dug into the ground, kind of like Digmon did. Then he too was gone. Even though our digimon weren't hesitating, the two enemies were gone before they could get to them.
"Great," I said in a whiny voice. "We're stuck with the pip squeak."
"Hey, leave me be," Meiyomon. "I'm going to kill you whether you respect me or not, but I'd much prefer to be respected."
"Just squish him, ExVeemon," I said faking a yawn.
"Ha," Meiyomon said. "Now you see me, now you don't."
And it was true. If I thought the other two had disappeared, it was nothing compared to this.
"Crap," Willis said.
"What, your bunnies can't get me?"
"I'm not a freaking rabbit," Rapidmon yelled.
"Oh yeah?" I asked. He looked like a rabbit to me.
"I'm a dog," he insisted.
"Could have fooled me," the lizard said. I could just tell he was smirking.
"He's a poodle," Willis admitted. "I would have agreed to being a rabbit on this one buddy."
"I don't care," the poodle said.
"Just attack him!" Miyako cried.
Each of our digimon shot an attack at a random point on the ground.
"You missed me."
"Again!"
And so we did.
We fired again and again, it almost seemed like there was a low and steady earthquake coming. But no matter how many times we fired, we could not seem to get a hit.
"Bomb the place," Willis shouted as a last resort, after fifteen minutes of misses.
"You can't get me," he teased.
"Do it," I cried, exhausted. It was much harder than it should be in order to stay standing while the ground was shaking.
"Bunny Blades," Antylamon started off the barrage of attacks.
"Blast Rings!" Aquilamon shouted out.
"Rapid Fire," Rapidmon fired out.
"Vee-Laser!" ExVeemon shot.
"Wave Laser," Aquilamon took another turn.
"Arm Bomber," Antylamon screamed out.
"Miracle Missles," Rapidmon fired at the ground.
"Critical Crunch!" ExVeemon attacked.
"Tri-Beam" Rapidmon.
"Wind Breath," Aquilamon.
"Homing Blast!" Rapidmon again.
"Did we get him?" Miyako asked, from her place on Aquilamon's back.
"I don't see a light," Willis said.
"I don't see much of anything," I called out.
I winced as I looked over the area. There wasn't much left. There was smoldering earth, and smoking stumps of trees. And a peculiar glowing liza…
"I see it!"
"Where?" they asked as one.
"Over there! It's glowing," I called out happily. "Does that mean its dead?"
"I guess," Willis shrugged. "I wonder who it belongs to."
And the peach light shot into the air.
Ken:
"Damn it Iori! What the hell?" Michael shouted, clutching his stomach. He was sitting on the ground, having doubled over in pain from Iori's attack. It would be funny if it wasn't our…friend I suppose is the word I'm looking for. I don't have anything against him per say, but I just met him really. I'd met him four years ago, sure, but just in passing. I hadn't spent more than five minutes with the guy before Yamato and I had to take off to Mexico and all.
"Make noise when you're sneaking up on someone," he scolded, not sounding sorry at all. I didn't expect him to either. He'd been pretty grumpy since we got here. I suppose it was because his newest friend, Noriko, had to be left in the real world and this guy (Michael) was allowed to come with us just because Mimi asked.
Now that I think of it…maybe he had some ground on which to base his outrageous anger. I'm not condoning his new personality in the slightest. He actually scared me more than when I'd first tried being on his side, but he was overlooked a lot.
"Now Iori," Armadillomon said trudging through the bushes. "I know you're not saying it was all Michael's fault. You should think before you swing too. It's dangerous. What if it had been Hikari? She's a lot smaller, and has a slighter build. You could have really injured her."
"I don't know that you should ask that girl out until you've taken some anger management," Betamon joked following after Armadillomon.
Iori, for his part, froze at the sound of Armadillomon's voice. I doubt he even heard what he said. He was just frozen in place. It was a whole minute before things seemed to register for him. He threw his stick to the ground, and proceeded to pretty much throw himself at his partner.
"Armadillomon! I missed you so much," he said. If I wasn't so confused by his fluctuating emotions, I might not have been so surprised to see tears coursing down his cheeks. "I don't know what to do now. I really needed your advice."
"I missed you too Iori," Armadillomon said in a calmly passive voice. It was then that I realized how much they completed each other. It was no wonder that Iori was struggling so much here. Other than Armadillomon actually listening to what he had to say (which seemed to be his biggest concern), he calmed him down, reigned in his anger and frustrations with just a few calming words. It was similar to how Wormmon kept me from blaming myself for everything negative that has ever happened to me. Speaking of Wormmon…
"And…Wormmon?" I asked timidly, worried about his welfare. If he wasn't here, then what happened to him?
"He's with Takeru," Armadillomon explained. "He was having trouble running. Takeru didn't want him to fall behind. He didn't want him caught. He was carrying him when we split up. He had to take care of one of the crest digimon. I have a feeling that Hikari was taking care of the other one. They might have met up by now, I'm not sure. Miyako and Daisuke were caught up in a battle with one of the newer crest digimon. I think it said he was Humility."
"That makes our total to at least seven," Iori said with a small smile.
"Just eight unaccounted for," I agreed. "That sounds much better."
I couldn't help but be a little disappointed that Wormmon wasn't with them, but he was in safe hands. Takeru wouldn't let a digimon die needlessly. He would hardly let them die if it was necessary.
The ground shook, and explosions roared in the distance.
"It seems like they're using the last resort," Michael commented. "That thing was small. Smaller than yours Ken. Daisuke was so disappointed."
"He needed a lesson in humility," Iori commented.
I couldn't help but think he needed a lesson in forgiveness…
"You think it's his?" I asked.
He shrugged. "It's not mine, I'm sure. It could be Miyako's though…"
"We have to head out," Michael announced, before we could get too much further into our debate. "We agreed that we'd meet up in the meadow to wait for the others. Betamon?"
"Right," his partner nodded, stepping away from the group a little ways.
"Betamon digivolve to… Seadramon!"
We climbed on board, though I noticed Iori picked up his weapon of choice before following suit. He hugged Armadillomon close to him as we rode away from the mountain—closer to danger or away to safety was anybody's guess. I looked away jealously. I wanted Wormmon back. I had to be the only one without his digimon by now…and I felt guilty about wanting to leave him there, no matter how much safer I thought he'd be. I was almost afraid to see him. But we had a mission to complete.
Miyako:
The peach light shot into the air. I thought for sure it was going to get me. Okay, was honestly really hoping it would. But it didn't much to my surprise. It was headed the other way. Toward both Daisuke and the forest that contained Iori. But it didn't make it to the trees.
"Daisuke!" I shouted in surprise. "It's yours."
The light engulfed him, and for a second, I thought he'd fall from ExVeemon's shoulder, but ExVeemon steadied him.
"This doesn't leave the clearing," Daisuke said with such seriousness, I wouldn't dare tell anyone about it.
"Hey, just because you had to bomb the area to kill it," Willis complained, as he was placed on the ground by one of his digimon, before the two of them shrunk back to rookie state.
"That's not why," I said with a smile.
"Shut up!" Daisuke complained, as ExVeemon too set him down on the ground before reverting to Veemon.
"It's because he made fun of it so bad. He's embarrassed by his enemy!" I said laughing.
"You know," Willis said. "I suppose humility is a good crest for you after all."
"And why is that?" Daisuke asked grumpily.
"Because it's something you'll have to learn about, just like everyone else's," Willis said with a shrug. "Let's get ready to go."
"Aren't we going after the mole and the jester?" Daisuke asked.
"No," I said firmly. "We'll go after them as a group. We'll meet the rest of them at the meadow. We'll be a better match for them if we wait. We don't want to have to destroy the rest of the digital world in order to win the battle."
The boys and the digimon blushed and I let out a peal of laughter. I hadn't thought I'd be laughing any time soon. It was a nice surprise.
After allowing them to clamber onto Aquilamon, we headed off to the rest of our friends…I hoped.
Next time on Digimon Adventure 03: I think Yamato is back, and...maybe the rest of the gang! Things are heating up!