Digimon View

by StoriesandGlories

Digimon View is not based on the events of any Digimon video game, but it borrows themes and ideas from several Digimon video games. This story examines the adventures of an 11th grade high school student-Mark-with his Digimon in an online multiplayer game known as Digimon View. I do not own Digimon. I am not affiliated with anyone who makes the Digimon games.

21. The butterfly and the spider

Chapter 21—The butterfly and the spider—

Once I finished logging out, I finished up what I needed to before the day was over and I went to sleep. The next day, I went to school again and went through the day until the lunch hour.

Once I sat down, I stopped and thought for a moment—I wanted to tell Zachary about my victory over Hank, but more than that, I wanted to see if he wanted to explore and try to win a treasure again… I decided to keep my eyes open for him. Soon enough, he passed by and I said: "Hey Zachary!" and he turned to me and said: "Hey Mark! I take it you want to chat again today?" "You bet! Is that alright with you, Zachary?" I asked. He came up as he said: "Of course! I'm game."

And then he sat across from me as he said: "So what's up?" and I smiled and said: "I won my third advancement battle!" Zachary grinned as he said: "Alright! How did it go this time, Mark?" and I recounted how it had started well, before Hank had really started to get serious and how I had managed to stay ahead of him every step of the way. By the end, Zachary looked impressed and said: "So even though he was a formidable opponent, you still always stayed one step ahead of him and won your badge…" and then he went on: "Well congratulations! You're getting good, Mark." and I smiled and said: "Thank you, Zachary. It was a really fun battle, even though he put up such a fight!" and then Zachary said: "Yeah… battles like that usually help you grow the most."

I smiled and nodded as he went on: "I got my third badge not too long ago, so it looks like we're staying together in our progression!" "Yup! It's exciting getting to advance alongside a friend!" I said. Zachary and I grinned before I went on: "Speaking of which, I also wanted to ask if you'd be up to exploring again sometime soon for treasure—I know you wanted to complete your charm after all!" and Zachary grinned and said: "Good memory, Mark! And you bet I'm up for that! As soon as a good time comes up, I'll give you a call and we'll be off!" And I smiled and said: "That sounds good to me! I'm looking forward to it!"

Zachary and I then talked about some other things before he left to go to his next class. I walked around the campus a little before I headed off to mine and made my way through the rest of the afternoon before I headed home. When I arrived, I finished my homework again before I logged into Digimon View.

When I arrived in the Digihome, I saw my Digimon talking to each other before I said: "Hey guys!" and they all turned around before they came up to me. When they arrived, RiseGreymon grinned and said: "Welcome back, Mark! It's good to see you back!" and I smiled and said: "Thanks, RiseGreymon! It's good to see all of you, too!" my Digimon grinned before Taomon said: "So what's our plan? Are we headed to the next area today?"

"I'm not so sure we should head off too soon—Zachary might be calling, so I'd like to be available, just in case." I said. "Well that's not a problem either—there's plenty that we can do here! Should we head to the volleyball court?" Hudiemon asked. I smiled and said: "Sure. Why don't we rotate players out each game to make it more exciting this time?" and Hudiemon grinned and said: "Good idea, Mark! That'll make it more dynamic!"

And then we went over to the volleyball court and Hudiemon played a game against me—and she ended up winning! I congratulated Hudiemon before I rotated out with Crescemon and she set her dual-edged scythe down to play with Hudiemon. We watched for a while—Hudiemon and Crescemon were both very serious about doing their best and were a good match for each other. It must be because of all the time they've spent practicing together—it was gratifying to see them getting better together…

But just then, I felt my digivice vibrate! I checked it and saw it was Zachary calling! I then got up quickly (and everyone looked at me) as I said: "It's Zachary! Hang on, everyone—I'll be back!" and then I ran to the house!

When I arrived, I switched my digivice to the hologram mode and a hologram of Zachary appeared in front of me! I then grinned and said: "Hey, Zachary! I was wondering when you'd call!" and Zachary laughed and said: "Heh-heh! Sorry! I always try to be prompt!" and then we laughed together before he said: "But anyway, I've found a good place for us to explore for that piece of treasure, Mark! There's a Digimon named Leopardmon giving treasure out in some woods in a wilderness called the 'Timberlands'! Are you interested?" I grinned and said: "You bet! That sounds like it'd be a good training ground for our Digimon, too!" Zachary grinned before he said: "Great! Are your Digimon ready to go now?" "Yup! They're all rested and ready to go!" I replied. "Awesome! Then I'll send you a link and password and we can get going!" Zachary said. "That sounds good to me, Zachary! I'm looking forward to it!" I said back.

The hologram of Zachary then disappeared before I switched my digivice back to management mode and left the house. When I stepped back outside, I saw my Digimon watching for me and then RiseGreymon said: "Welcome back, Mark! Are we headed to Amaterasu Server again?" "We will be soon. We'll be headed off to some woods in a wilderness when we do—" I began and then HippoGryphonmon beamed and said: "Wow! That sounds awesome! I'm excited to see what that's like!" and I smiled before I said: "I know how you feel. I'm just waiting on Zachary to send the link and password for now—" but then I felt my digivice vibrate! I checked it and saw Zachary had just sent the link and password! "…And there it is, right on cue! Alright everyone—gather up!" I said. And then they came up to me before I copied the password and clicked the link before I entered the password and confirmed it. And then we felt ourselves getting teleported away again!

And then we found ourselves in some woods with trees with leaves that had beige-colored bark. There were stumps and fallen logs and the ground had leaves and littered timber all over and the sky was cloudy from corner to corner. There was also a cool breeze blowing through the area… and Zachary was right up in front of us! "Hey, Zachary! It's good to see you!" I said. Zachary then grinned and said: "Mark! I'm glad you made it!"

We approached each other and then I went on: "You sure picked an interesting place to explore this time! It looks like we're getting up further into the cold side of Amaterasu Server." "Yup! Given how quickly I sent you the link and password here, I'm assuming that makes up for my delay in calling." Zachary replied. And then we laughed together before he went on: "Seriously though, you are correct in saying we're moving into the cold—it won't be much longer until I'm in the coldest part of Amaterasu Server." "A-ha… well I hope you'll be enjoying the sights of the region at least." I said. "I hope I will be too… hopefully it'll make up for these low temperatures…" Zachary replied. Then he went on: "Anyway, Leopardmon is further in, so let's get to it! I'm excited to see what a complete treasure looks like!" "Alright! We'll go make it happen!" I said.

We then started exploring the Timberlands. We kept our eyes out for Digimon, but there weren't any here, so we started to relax a bit. As we went on, a cool breeze soon blew through the area. Zachary (and RiseGreymon) didn't seem to like it, but Crescemon stopped and looked refreshed. I chuckled and said: "You like the cold air, don't you, Crescemon?" and she smiled and said: "Yes I do! It's way better than the jungle we were in—it's so refreshing compared to the heat!" "Ugh… I don't know how you could think that… it's piercing and cold…" RiseGreymon replied. And then Crescemon smiled and put one of her hands on her hip as she said: "You can never get enough of the heat, RiseGreymon!" and RiseGreymon grinned and said: "Of course not! I'm a fire elemental!"

And then we all laughed together. Zachary then said: "Watching your Digimon is always so interesting, Mark… not only do they each have interesting personalities, but they have a dynamic relationship with each other as well…" and I grinned before I said: "Yup, that's what makes them so interesting! I'm proud of how they turned out." and my Digimon smiled at me before Zachary said: "It's interesting though… my Digimon aren't like that at all with each other… I guess that's what I get for not raising them together all the time like you." "Well I can't imagine that it won't happen eventually… it just will take longer because of the difference of our methods. But someday your Digimon will really start to get along." I said.

But then some Digimon leapt out at us! One was a Digimon that looked like GrapLeomon had when he was a Leomon (before he digivolved), only this one had whitish-blue skin, instead of brown and was a little taller. The next was like a giant scorpion. It was colored tan with red markings and in addition to having a tail with a stinger, it had many silver spikes on it too… it looked 4'3 tall. After that was a crow-like Digimon, but it had white feathers around its neck, purple feathers on its head and a red plume that went backwards from its head, blades like a blender on its wings, bells attached to its chest and 3 purple legs with red talons. It looked 4'10 tall, although it was flying. The last was a humanoid robot that walked on 2 legs. It had pale purple skin on its face (beneath its nose), on and around its neck, on its right elbow and its left leg (excluding the knee) and foot, with black tatters around its thighs and waist. Everywhere else was covered with gray metal except its shoulders and left hand, which were covered with black metal. It had a gray plate over its shoulder blades that had black cables coming out of it that were connected to its head and lower back. It looked 6'5 tall.

I then felt my digivice vibrate (and it seemed Zachary did too, because he took his out) and I checked it. It said: "Left to right: Panjyamon scan data: 10%, Scorpiomon scan data: 10%, Crowmon scan data: 10%, Andromon scan data: 10%". It also said that Panjyamon and Scorpiomon were water elemental Digimon, Crowmon was an air elemental Digimon and that Andromon was a machine elemental Digimon, so this group had a fair bit of coverage…

I turned to my Digimon before I said: "Hudiemon, you're up!" and she said: "Got it! Leave it to me!" as she flew in. Zachary then said: "Go, Arukenimon!" and he called in a Digimon like a spider… yet strangely, it walked on 6 legs. Its legs were bandaged and had sharp-looking, pointed feet. Its midsection was ball-shaped and had red and purple horizontal stripes all over… its waist was connected to it and it was wearing a red, sleeveless top. It had a red-colored mask over its face that went from its forehead to a little over its nose. Its arms were very long and it had red, horizontal horns sticking out of its head with yellow tips. It had pale skin and waist length white hair. It looked 6'6 tall.

I then said: "Hudiemon, let's get this started off right! Use infinity dream!" and Hudiemon said: "Infinity dream!" and she scattered aquamarine-colored dust from her wings at Panjyamon, Scorpiomon, Crowmon and Andromon! They all looked sickened before Crowmon fell asleep! Panjyamon then frowned and said: "Fist of ice!" and his fist became coated in ice before he leapt at Hudiemon and slugged her! The ice crystals flew off as he recoiled from poison damage and then ran back. Andromon followed up and said: "Spiral sword!" and he put his fingers into a triangle shape before his wrist started to spin rapidly! Soon his hand looked like a drill as he leapt at Hudiemon and swung at her with his arm before he recoiled from poison damage and ran back. Zachary then said: "Arukenimon, get Scorpiomon! Use force of nature!" and then Arukenimon said: "Force of nature!" and she made a giant pillar of green light suddenly emerge where Scorpiomon was and it flashed as it expanded outward and exploded! Scorpiomon took it hard, too! He then recovered and said: "Whirlpool!" and he created a swirling whirlpool underneath Arukenimon! Soon it still sucked her in and pulled her inside before it spat Arukenimon back out and vanished. Arukenimon was coughing as she stood up again and Crowmon just kept dozing… before he tossed about in his sleep from poison damage.

Andromon then said: "Satellite laser!" and pointed one of his hands up and shot a small, silver object which enlarged itself into a small satellite with 3 points when it went up high enough! Energy started to form around the points and then it fired a big laser beam at Hudiemon! It fired continuously until it eventually stopped and vanished… Scorpiomon followed up and said: "Intelligence drop!" and cast a spell on Hudiemon that lowered her damage output with magical attacks. "Arukenimon, get Scorpiomon! Use spider thread!" Zachary said and Arukenimon said: "Spider thread!" and she wove threads that ensnared Scorpiomon and hurt him! Crowmon was still sound asleep before Panjyamon said: "Ice epee!" and he conjured a giant rapier of ice in one of his hands and thrusted it at Hudiemon! The rapier of ice then shattered and Hudiemon recovered. "Hudiemon, get him back! Use force of nature!" I said. Hudiemon then said: "Force of nature!" and she attacked Panjyamon with another exploding pillar of green light!

And then Crowmon woke up and yawned before he rose and said: "Gale force!" and he blew a strong wind at Hudiemon, blowing her into a tree, hard! Hudiemon flew back in as Scorpiomon said: "Tail blade!" and he went up to Arukenimon as he swung his stinger at her! She recovered as Zachary said: "Get him for that, Arukenimon—spider thread!" and Arukenimon said: "Spider thread!" and she attacked Scorpiomon with more threads—and that did it! He was down! "Hudiemon, you too! Use force of nature on Panjyamon!" I said and she did so. Panjyamon recovered before he said: "Fist of ice!" and he slugged Hudiemon with another icy punch! All the same, Panjyamon looked like he was on his last legs before Andromon said: "Satellite laser!" and conjured another satellite that blasted Arukenimon with a massive laser.

"Now, Hudiemon! Use force of nature on Panjyamon!" I said before Zachary said: "Arukenimon, lend her a hand! Use spider thread!" and they both did so… and that did it! Panjyamon was down! I saw Arukenimon hold her hand up to Hudiemon (and Hudiemon quickly high-fived it) before Crowmon said: "Savage emperor!" and he flew up and fired a massive beam of light at Hudiemon! Andromon followed through and attacked Arukenimon with a spiral sword, spinning his hand quickly and swinging his arm at her.

I then said: "Alright Hudiemon, great job! Now get back!" and she did so before I said: "RiseGreymon, it's your turn! Get out there!" and he nodded and said: "You bet! They're toast!" as he ran in. Zachary chuckled before he said: "Great work, Arukenimon! Now it's time for you to withdraw!" and she nodded… but then strangely went over with Hudiemon… and they started talking to each other. Zachary looked confused, but I smiled when I saw it—it looks like Hudiemon's made a new friend. We then returned our attention to the battle and he said: "Go for it, Meteormon!" and he called one in! Andromon then said: "Glitch program!" and made an odd distortion wave appear around Meteormon… and then he suddenly turned into an 8-bit version of himself! Crowmon then said: "Savage emperor!" and attacked RiseGreymon with another beam of light.

Zachary had Meteormon blow blocky bubbles at Andromon (which he didn't have much trouble recovering from) and then Andromon said: "Spiral sword!" and attacked RiseGreymon while Crowmon followed through and blew him away hard with a gale force as well. "RiseGreymon, go get Crowmon! Use Trident revolver!" I said. And RiseGreymon said: "Trident revolver!" and he pointed his arm with the gun barrel at Crowmon before he fired 2 fireballs from it at him! Crowmon took it hard, too!

Zachary had Meteormon attack Andromon again with blocky bubbles before I said: "RiseGreymon, attack Crowmon again! Trident revolver!" and RiseGreymon said: "Trident revolver!" before he fired 2 more fireballs at Crowmon! He got up, but he looked like he was ready to drop… Crowmon then said: "Savage emperor!" and attacked RiseGreymon with it… before he collapsed! It looks like Hudiemon's poisoning worked to great effect! Andromon frowned before he said: "Glitch program!" and then he made an odd distortion wave appear around RiseGreymon before he was turned into an 8-bit version of himself too!

Both of our Digimon sprayed blocky bubbles at Andromon before he hit Meteormon with a spiral sword… but then Meteormon returned to normal! Zachary then grinned and said: "Well then, Meteormon—what do you say we finish him off? Use Geothermal surge!" and Meteormon said: "Geothermal surge!" and the ground beneath Andromon started to well up and steam emerged from it… before holes opened up around Andromon, revealing lava! Andromon got blasted by lava, steam and gases before the holes closed and the ground returned to normal… and he collapsed! Then they all got up and ran away!

RiseGreymon returned to normal before Zachary said: "Alright! Those guys were no match for us!" and I grinned and said: "Darn right! Your Digimon are good, Zachary!" and then he smiled and said: "Thanks! Yours did well too, Mark." and then he turned to Meteormon and went on: "Speaking of which, I'd better get you back to safety in my digivice, Meteormon!" and Meteormon nodded and said: "Alright!" and Zachary called him back. He then turned around (and I did as well) as he said: "And that just leaves—" and then we saw Hudiemon and Arukenimon still talking to each other…

I smiled when I saw it before Zachary said: "Huh…?" and then he went on: "Hey, Arukenimon!" and then she looked up before she said: "Whoops!" and ran over to us with Hudiemon following. Zachary then said: "You must have been talking the whole time, huh?" "Yes! It's been fun, too—Mark's Hudiemon is such a good Digimon!" Arukenimon replied. Zachary and I smiled before he said: "I'm glad you were enjoying yourself. So are you ready to get back into the digivice?"

Arukenimon looked disappointed before she said: "…Actually, I was hoping to talk to Hudiemon a little more. Is it alright if we follow?" Zachary grinned before he said: "Sure. Just don't trip or anything, okay?" and Arukenimon smiled and said: "We won't!" and Hudiemon chuckled and said: "Especially me—I don't even need to walk!" and Zachary, Arukenimon and I all laughed as we took off.

As we started to go forward, Hudiemon and Arukenimon immediately resumed talking. I heard Arukenimon say: "Nice work back there, Hudiemon! You did a good job when we were fighting together. You were really good." Hudiemon giggled before she said: "Thanks! You did great yourself, Arukenimon!" Arukenimon chuckled before she said: "So what level of digivolution are you at, anyway?" "I'm a champion." Hudiemon answered. Arukenimon sounded shocked as she said: "A-A champion?! I didn't see that coming! You're outstanding for a Digimon at your level! You're one in a million!" Hudiemon giggled again before she said: "You've got that right!" and they laughed before Hudiemon went on: "Thank you, though—you're really nice, Arukenimon."

"Of course! I must say though, meeting an insect Digimon like you was probably what made me take a shine to you so quickly." Arukenimon answered. I then heard Hudiemon say: "Hmm?" before Arukenimon went on: "It's really rare to see a female insect Digimon, particularly one as pretty as you or me, so that made me feel rapport with you rather quickly." "Aww, thanks Arukenimon!" Hudiemon said. And she went on: "How many Digimon have you been working with under Zachary's care, Arukenimon?" "He has a little over 25… I've met 13 of them, but… I don't know very many of them well…" Arukenimon answered. Then she went on: "What about you, Hudiemon?" "Mark only has 5 other Digimon besides me and we always travel together! I know them all well, because we're never apart!" Hudiemon said. Arukenimon sounded impressed as she said: "He always travels with you and the other Digimon he has? That sounds nice… you all must be very close." "Yup! You could say that!" Hudiemon answered.

Arukenimon then went on: "But you… you and Mark are from another server, aren't you? I think I've heard Zachary say that." "Yup, that's right! We're from Ikaruga Server!" Hudiemon answered. "That's great. It's nice that we can be friends, even though we aren't from the same server… well, what's Ikaruga Server like, Hudiemon?" Arukenimon asked. "It was cold at first, but now it's getting really warm! We started in an autumn forest-type climate, then we moved into a summery mountain region. And we were in a jungle before we came here!" Hudiemon replied. "That's nice. Ikaruga sounds like a nice server. I like climates like the summery region you described, myself… maybe we could go visit it someday…" Arukenimon said. "Yeah! That'd be fun!" Hudiemon said.

I smiled as I kept going, but it wasn't long before we were coming up on a Digimon in the distance! It was humanoid and walked on 2 legs. It had brown armor up to its knees, on the back of the rest of its legs and all over its arms. It had white armor over its thighs and torso. It had a red sash bound around its waist and white wings on its back, a thin brown tail with a yellow pom-pom and a brown helmet like a leopard's head with red eyes on it and big ears. It had a face that was blue on the upper half (its real eyes were there, too) and white on the lower half. It held a very long rapier in its left hand, had waist length blonde hair and looked 6'1 tall.

I then turned to Zachary and said: "Zachary, is that Leopardmon?" and Zachary nodded as he said: "Yup—that's Leopardmon. Now we'll just need to—" but then I felt something bump into me and Zachary and I fell forward! We then looked over our shoulders to see Hudiemon and Arukenimon, looking shocked… Zachary then said: "Were you not watching where you were going?" and Arukenimon said: "I guess not…" and Hudiemon said: "Er… sorry…" and I said: "Maybe you should walk beside us next time…"

And then we heard laughter in the distance before we turned around and looked straight ahead… and saw Leopardmon laughing… Hudiemon helped me up (while Arukenimon helped Zachary up) and then Leopardmon approached us. When he reached us, he said: "Ah… ha ha ha! I don't normally see something like that! Of course, I don't normally see challengers let their Digimon walk behind them, either…" and then I said: "Well of course! I always let my Digimon walk with me!" "Oh really? That's interesting…" Leopardmon said before he turned to Zachary and said: "And I suppose you're the same?" "…Not really. My Digimon wanted to this time, so I let her, that's all." Zachary said.

Leopardmon then grinned before he said: "Heh… you're either a soft touch or really good to your Digimon and either way, you seem like good tamers. But I guess this has gotten off track… after all, I haven't even introduced myself yet." and then he went on: "My name is Leopardmon. Since you've come all the way out here, I'm assuming you're here for the treasure I hand out?" "Yes, that's right." Zachary said. Leopardmon nodded before he said: "Good! I'm glad you know your goal and are willing to act on it. Since you're both here, who's going to be fighting me first?" "Um… actually, we wanted to do that together." I said. Leopardmon paused before he said: "Well sure! I never back down from a challenge! But I don't care much for unfair matchups either… so in the name of fairness, I'll fight your Digimon, but if you use any Digimon that's at my level or higher—by which I mean a mega or an ultra Digimon—then I won't give you anything for winning. I'll let you use 2 Digimon and 2 items each, but you can't switch your Digimon out. So how about it? Does that sound fair?" "Sure! Let's do it!" I said.

Leopardmon grinned before he said: "Good man! I'm glad to see some challengers with confidence and sportsmanship! Now let's go!" and Zachary and I nodded before I felt my digivice vibrate and I checked it (and it seemed Zachary did too, because he checked his as well). It said: "Leopardmon scan data: 5%". It also said Leopardmon was a darkness elemental Digimon… I then said: "Go, Taomon!" and Zachary said: "Go, Antylamon!" and Taomon ran in before Zachary called in a humanoid Digimon like a rabbit… the middle of its face was white, while the sides of its face, its ears and its arms were velvet brown. The ends of its ears were pink and it had white markings on its arms. It wore lavender-colored pants, red chest armor and had a white plate similar to a ruff around its neck and white shoulder pads, each with yellow sides, and had a yellow and red symbol on the front of the plate and a purple scarf above the plate. It had 3 horns on the top of its head and looked 6'10 tall.

Leopardmon grinned before he said: "Taomon and Antylamon? Heh heh… that's an interesting combination… but I'm ready!" and then he went on: "Black aura blast!" and then he conjured dark energy and blasted Taomon with it! Taomon had virtually no trouble recovering from it, but she looked a little rattled… I then said: "Taomon, get him with talisman of light!" and Taomon said: "Talisman of light!" and she conjured a giant paint brush which she used to draw a Japanese character and then she swung it at the character, sending it flying at Leopardmon! He took it hard before Zachary said: "Antylamon, get ready! Use reflex boost!" and Antylamon said: "Reflex boost!" and he cast a spell on himself to heighten his awareness.

I then went on: "Taomon, use intelligence boost!" and she said: "Intelligence boost!" and cast a spell on herself to improve her damage output with magic attacks! Leopardmon then said: "Black aura blast!" and he used dark energy to attack Taomon again, leaving Taomon rattled once again. Zachary then said: "Alright Antylamon, time to go on the offensive! Use lightspeed punch!" and Antylamon said: "Lightspeed punch!" and he drew his fist back before he leapt forward in a blur, he was moving so fast… it felt like a second later that he slugged Leopardmon in the head, knocking him down, before Leopardmon got up and Antylamon ran back.

Leopardmon then said: "Black aura blast!" and attacked Antylamon with it… but he only sidestepped the energy Leopardmon attacked with. "Time to strike back, Antylamon! Use lightspeed punch!" Zachary said before Antylamon said: "Lightspeed punch!" and he zoomed right up to Leopardmon and nailed him with a punch again. "Taomon, get Leopardmon! Use talisman of light again!" I said. Taomon then said: "Talisman of light!" and she drew another Japanese character, which she used to attack Leopardmon again.

"Antylamon, get him with lightspeed punch!" Zachary said. Antylamon did so and then I said: "Taomon, use talisman of light again!" and she did so before Leopardmon said: "Cry in the night!" and the entire area went pitch black before several giant bolts of white lightning zapped Antylamon! Antylamon cried out before the area returned to normal.

"Taomon, get him again! Use talisman of light!" I said. Taomon did so before Leopardmon held his rapier up in front of him as he said: "Hmph… not bad. But you'd better be ready—I always repay me debts." and then he turned to me before he said: "By the way, let me guess—you thought I was using black aura blast on Taomon because I only knew darkness attacks and was desperate to lower her magic damage resistance so I could inflict more damage?" and then I suddenly felt uneasy as he went on: "Extinction wave!" and then waves of white energy appeared at his feet before he swung his rapier horizontally and they flew at Taomon and Antylamon! Antylamon basically shrugged it off… but Taomon was down after the attack!

"T-Taomon?!" I said before she said: "Argh… how embarrassing…" and Leopardmon said: "Wahahaha! That's why I wasn't worried! Extinction wave is a holy elemental attack, so that's one way I keep my bases covered!" I turned to Taomon before I said: "You did a great job damaging him, Taomon—now leave the rest to the others!" and I called her back before I said: "Okay, Crescemon! Take him down!" and she said: "I am on it!" as she ran in. Zachary also had Antylamon pitch in a lightspeed punch too!

Leopardmon then said: "Cry in the night!" and he made the area go dark before he attacked Antylamon with giant bolts of white lightning again and light returned to the area… and Antylamon was down after the attack! Zachary smiled a little before he said: "Great job, Antylamon! Don't worry—we'll take it the rest of the way!" and then he called Antylamon back before he said: "Go, MarineDevimon!"

And he called in another Digimon… it was a humanoid undersea creature that walked on 2 legs. Its feet, hands and jaw were colored white, while the rest of its body was colored blue… it also had black claws on its hands… it had 4 tentacles coming out of its back that were colored white as well (and also had claws on them) and it had blue-colored cilia on the top of its head. It had red eyes and looked 6'2 tall. It was unfortunate how Leopardmon was quickly gaining momentum in a situation where we had previously had the advantage… but on the other hand, he was also starting to look worn out, too… it looks like we'll have to finish this, before the battle can swing in his favor anymore! I then went on: "Crescemon, take him down! Use photon barrage!" and Crescemon said: "Photon barrage!" and several shimmering, golden ovals appeared behind her before they fired orbs of light at Leopardmon! Zachary then went on: "MarineDevimon, you too! Use evil wind!" and MarineDevimon said: "Evil wind!" and then the sky suddenly turned darker as a strong, cold, wet wind blew past us and at Leopardmon! I suppose we were lucky… the wind wasn't supposed to harm us, but even so, the wind felt unpleasant enough for us, yet alone Leopardmon… when the wind stopped, the sky returned to normal and Leopardmon said: "Reflex boost!" and cast a spell to heighten his awareness!

"Crescemon, finish him off! Use photon barrage!" I said. Crescemon then said: "Photon barrage!" and she fired more orbs of light at Leopardmon… but he evaded them all! "MarineDevimon, keep going! Use evil wind!" Zachary said and MarineDevimon said: "Evil wind!" and blew that dreadful wind at Leopardmon again. It hit him, but he still got up… and then he said: "Extinction wave!" and sent more white waves at our side! "Crescemon, try again! Use photon barrage!" I said. And Crescemon said: "Photon barrage!" and she fired orbs of light at Leopardmon once again… and they got him! He was down!

Zachary grinned before he said: "ALRIGHT! It looks like we did it!" I smiled before I said: "We sure did. Good work, everyone!" and our Digimon smiled too before we heard Leopardmon say: "Ha… not bad. You sure retook control of the situation at the climax…" and then we turned to him and saw him stand as he went on: "That wasn't bad. Good job, you two." "Thank you! You were an awesome opponent yourself, Leopardmon!" Zachary said. Leopardmon grinned before he said: "Thanks. You're alright. But don't worry—I haven't forgotten to deliver on my end of the bargain. Come on—it's time for you to get your reward!"

And then we followed Leopardmon a little further in and saw him stop in front of a pile of timber. He then pushed it aside before he knelt down and dug something up… and then he put the earth back where it had been and buried it underneath the timber again. He then turned to us with 2 purple stone blocks and handed them to us. I took mine while Zachary took out his 2 stone blocks and then the 3 blocks connected to each other—combining into a single stone slate—then flashed and became colored in before shrinking down to the size of a badge, just as mine had.

Zachary looked impressed when he saw it and then said: "Whoa… so that's the secret of the individual pieces…" and then Leopardmon said: "Indeed it is. It looks like you've been busy collecting them already if you have enough for a charm—now that you've completed it, it will protect you and bring you good luck." Zachary then grinned and said: "Well alright then! I like the sound of that!" and then I laughed before Leopardmon went on: "Well it looks like you're done here then. Have a safe trip home, boys." and I grinned and said: "Thanks, Leopardmon! Good luck in the rest of your battles!"

And then we walked back. This time Zachary and I walked on the left while Hudiemon and Arukenimon were on the right, still talking to each other. When we reached the entrance to the Timberlands, Zachary turned to me and said: "Well here we are again… that was fun. I'm glad I finally got to complete that charm!" and then I grinned and said: "I know. And now we both have one! Congratulations, Zachary." and Zachary grinned before I turned to Hudiemon and went on: "But what I'm really happy about is that you got to make a new friend, Hudiemon. I'm happy to see you expanding your social circle." and Hudiemon smiled and said: "Thanks, Mark! I'm happy about it too!" and then she turned to Arukenimon and said: "But I guess we're going to have to say goodbye now…" and then Arukenimon looked disappointed and said: "Yeah… it's too bad, but I hope I get to see you again, Hudiemon. You were a really neat Digimon."

Zachary and I then looked at each other, troubled. I guess this was the price of Hudiemon making a friend who she can't be in contact with easily… finally, Zachary said: "Hmm… maybe not." and then Hudiemon, Arukenimon and I all turned to Zachary before I said: "What? What do you mean?" and Zachary said: "Now that they're such good friends, it seems like a shame to ruin that so soon… it doesn't seem like it should have to be that way." and then he turned to Arukenimon and said: "Well what do you say, Arukenimon? Do you want to go with Mark?" and then Hudiemon and I said: "HUH?" before Arukenimon turned to me and said: "I think that's a great idea! Hudiemon told me a lot about you, Mark. She thinks you're a really great person and after all the stories she told, I think you'd be a great tamer."

Hudiemon smiled and said: "That sounds so great! Then we could always have fun!" but seeing that smile… made me feel so troubled… Hudiemon clearly wanted to be with her friend, but if I took Arukenimon as my Digimon, we couldn't all travel together anymore… but then Hudiemon's smile faded and she looked disappointed before she said: "…But Mark has never digiconverted a Digimon since me, or taken a Digimon as his partner…" and I couldn't help feeling myself sweat and feel like the bad guy now…

I heard Arukenimon say: "Oh…" and Zachary said: "So is that it? You're saying no?" and I paused before I said: "I really treasure my Digimon… that's why I always liked being able to travel with all of them at once without having to leave any behind…" and then I looked at Hudiemon and said: "…But I actually don't feel right about that now… I mean, who in the world am I to tell you that you can't have a friend, Hudiemon?" "Mark…" Hudiemon said before I went on: "I never had a case like this before… not one that concerned my Digimon's feelings as part of making this decision… I really like things the way they are now…" and then I continued: "…But I couldn't look you in the eye if I did that to you, Hudiemon. That's why I'm going to break my own rule. I'll take her with us." Zachary smiled and Arukenimon said: "Yay!" and Hudiemon smiled widely before she said: "Mark…" and then she leapt at me and knocked me on my back as she hugged me and said: "Thank you! You're the best!"

I hugged her back before we got up and then Zachary said: "Okay, so I guess that's it, then…" and then he went on: "It was a lot of fun raising you, Arukenimon. Good luck and work hard for your new tamer!" and Arukenimon said: "I agree! I'll miss you Zachary, but I know I'll get to see you again—you and Mark always do, after all!" and then we all laughed before Zachary said: "Well I guess I'm off then. Mark, Arukenimon—see you next time!" and then I said: "Yeah. See you next time, Zachary!"

Then I turned to my Digimon (including Arukenimon now) and said: "Alright everyone, now it's time to go back! Arukenimon, stay close to us, will you?" and then we all huddled up before I used my digivice and we returned to the Digihome!

When we returned, everyone looked relaxed while Arukenimon looked around before she said: "So this is your Digihome? You have a nice one, Mark." and I smiled and said: "Thanks, Arukenimon. I'm glad you like it, because you'll be spending a lot of time here, too!" and then I went on: "Well I guess I'll need to make a seventh hammock now, so hang on… I'll be back. Everyone, make Arukenimon feel at home while I do!"

And then I went into the house and created a larger hammock for Arukenimon before I came back out and said: "Alright, it's been made." and then my Digimon all turned to me before Arukenimon said: "So I noticed. So you have your Digimon sleep in hammocks? That's a neat idea." I smiled before I said: "Thank you, Arukenimon. Yup, it's just the way to recuperate!" and then RiseGreymon said: "You've got that right! They're really comfortable!" and then my Digimon all laughed before GrapLeomon said: "Yeah. Mark's done that ever since we were rookies. We should probably make use of them soon, too—those battles took a toll on us." "An excellent idea, GrapLeomon! We should be at full strength for whatever follows, too!" Crescemon said. "Well said." Taomon said.

"Exactly right, everyone! So go on ahead and get a good rest—I'll be looking up information on the next area while you do." I said. "That's the best idea I've heard all day! Good night, everybody!" HippoGryphonmon said as he went to his hammock and leapt in. RiseGreymon laughed before he went to his hammock and everyone else went to theirs (except for Hudiemon for some reason), including Arukenimon. When she got in hers, she said: "Ooh! It's just like a web, only far more comfortable! I love it!" and then we all laughed and they made themselves comfortable before Hudiemon flew up to me.

I then said: "What's wrong? You're not sleepy?" "No, not exactly… I just really wanted to thank you, Mark. What you did was so kind. I'm really lucky that you care so much… I'm happy you're my tamer." Hudiemon said. And then I smiled before we hugged each other again and then Hudiemon backed out as I said: "Of course. That was only the right thing to do, after all. And I'm always happy to make you or anyone else feel happy, Hudiemon." and she smiled again before I said: "Now hurry up and get some rest. I'll be right here, looking up the next area." "Okay. Thanks, Mark." Hudiemon said. She then flew off to her hammock and got in before she dozed off while I looked up information on the next area.