Chapter 50: Two in Paradise

After restoring the courtyard with your Spirit Inferno you suddenly felt drained of energy. You dropped in midair and then fractal code surrounded you and you landed on your feet on the ground. Immediately your legs collapsed out from under you and you landed heavily on your backside.

"Ahaha!" you laughed. "That'll learn 'em!"

"Not bad," Mercurymon said as he and the other spirits appeared in a ring around you. "It almost looked like you knew what you were doing."

"Shut up, Mercurymon," Dramon replied.

"I think it was a great fight," Zephyrmon said. "You have a knack for handling your beast spirit, just like Izumi."

"What knack? I'm just lucky that I didn't blow everything up."

"That's the knack," Beetlemon chuckled.

You had just climbed back onto your feet when another wave of dizziness hit you and you staggered to one side. Luckily Arbormon was in that direction and he caught and steadied you.

"Hey kid," he said, "you ain't lookin' so hot. You oughtta lie down, right."

"It's weird," you said, "I feel so weak."

"Beast spirits take a lot of energy," Dramon explained. "Especially in battle. You'll need food and sleep before we can keep traveling."

"Hey," Ranamon suddenly spoke up, "do y'all hear that?"

You all quieted. You could hear the breezes rustling through the restored trees, wind chimes gaily tinkling on the verandah, and the jubilant shouts of the Toucanmon in the distance. But closer than all of that you heard a different kind of shouting.

"Is that a spirit?" you asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately no," Dramon said. "But it is someone that needs help."

"I don't think I have the energy to evolve again," you protested.

"You don't need to. Just follow us."

Your spirit companions scaled the stairs into the main resort building and you followed at a much slower pace. The exhaustion was making your limbs heavy and it was starting to invade your soul as well. You would need a good long sleep to regain your physical and mental motivation.

Once inside, the spirits led you down a side corridor that ended in a door. It was from here that the indistinct shouting emanated from. The only lock on the door was a chair pushed in front of it so you moved it, and as you reached for the knob the door flew open and two figures tumbled out.

It was the other Toucanmon! You had almost forgotten about them. They were bound with rope and cloth gags were wedged into their beaks to keep them silent. They rolled their eyes to look up at you, clearly afraid.

"Don't worry. I'm here to help," you said. You knelt and removed the gags and undid the ropes to free them.

"What about the pirates?!" one of them asked anxiously.

"Don't worry, we took care of them," you replied.

You smiled as the Toucanmon cheered together but as you stood the edges of your vision began to go black. You were quickly reaching the limit of your strength. The happy sounds echoed around you as you placed a hand on the wall to steady yourself.

"Ally?"

You opened your eyes - you hadn't realized that you had shut them - and spotted Junpei coming towards you with the other Toucanmon. Their figures were blurry; you were fading fast.

"Junpei…" It was like your mouth was filled with styrofoam. You pushed off from the wall, took one staggering step, and then the world went dark.

~Junpei POV~

As soon as I caught sight of Ally I was concerned. She was pale and it looked like she could barely stand.

She spotted me coming towards her and it looked like she was trying to say something, but as soon as she pushed away from the wall she started to tilt at an alarming angle. Luckily I was close enough to catch her before she fell and hurt herself. She stayed on her feet but it was really mostly my arm around her waist keeping her up.

"Hey, Ally? Ally!" I gave her a gentle shake, worried that I might hurt her. She felt so limp…

Her eyes fluttered and struggled to focus on me. "Junpei?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I'm here. I got you."

"That's good," she sighed. "I'm so tired."

"Not surprising. I can't believe you fixed that huge crater so fast."

"Me neither," she said with a tired smile.

"Oh, humans, humans!" The Toucanmons' shouts caught our attention as they crowded close around us. "You've saved us! How can we ever repay you?"

"You bird brain!" another scoffed. "Obviously the humans are exhausted! We should let them rest here!"

"And we should make them a big dinner as thanks too!"

My stomach rumbled at the mention of dinner but my first priority was Ally. It seemed like she was slipping out of touch with the events going on around her. More than anything she needed sleep.

"We can wait for dinner," I said. "My friend really needs to lie down."

"You got it!" one of the Toucanmon said. "Follow us!"

~Your POV~

The first thing you were aware of was the soft pillow under your head. At first you thought you were still dreaming - it wouldn't be the first time you had dreamed about being in an actual bed while on your adventure. And the feather-soft touch of the bedsheet overtop you didn't disabuse you of the idea. But the powerful smell of ocean brine was a new addition to your fantasy. Not unpleasant, it still drew you closer to wakefulness.

You took in a big lungful of the salty air and awareness rolled through you like a wave from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. Only then did you open your eyes.

Up above you arched a roof that looked like it was made of thatched palm leaves. The walls were panels of pale wood and enormous windows were on either side of the bed. You sat up. Through the door you could see the beach and the waves lapping at it serenely.

Then with a burst of light all of your spirits appeared in the room.

"Dramon!" you cried.

"Ally!" she replied happily. "I'm so glad to see you awake."

"You had us worried, sugah!"

"Sorry about that."

"It's okay, right."

"Beast Spirit take much energy. Me not surprised you pass out."

"How are you feeling now?" Zephyrmon asked.

"Better. Can we still make the train?"

"No, Trailmon left hours ago. We'll have to wait until morning."

"You shouldn't be in such a rush, girl."

"Stuff it, Mercurymon! You all were the ones rushing me!"

"That was before we saw how well you can handle Wyvernmon's powers," Dramon explained. "We still can't dawdle but rest is important."

You pouted. That stupid Hookmon and his stupid grudge. You had a world to save!

Then you thought of Junpei and looked around. "Hey, where's Junpei?"

As if in tune with your thoughts, that was the moment when Junpei returned. He stepped into the doorway, framed by the setting sun across the ocean, which ringed him with golden light.

You blinked, suddenly overcome with a strange feeling. Your skin tingled and butterflies started tap dancing up and down your esophagus.

"Junpei…"

"Hey, Ally!" He sounded every bit as happy as Dramon had. "How are you feeling?"

"I…" You caught yourself staring and gave your head a stern shake. "Yes. I, um, I feel better. Much better. Well, maybe not much better, but better. So now I need food, so which way to the cafeteria?"

You scooted to the edge of the bed and levered yourself up. Then you promptly fell over. "Wah!"

"Woah, Ally!" Junpei rushed over to you and picked you up off the wooden floorplanks. "Are you okay?!"

"I think so." You clung to him tightly, dismayed at how trembly your knees were. "I guess I'm still pretty weak, huh?"

"Don't worry, I've got you."

Looking up at Junpei's smiling face and feeling his arm around you, you started to get that butterfly sensation again. Your face grew hot and if your legs had been able to support you, you probably would've run off.

Then your stomach rumbled loudly.

Junpei laughed. "I bet that's why. Come on, I'll help you to the main building for dinner."

"Th-Thanks," you replied.