Hello and welcome to chapter 8. Last time, we saw a reenactment of the Digidestined's arrival in the Digital World and their encounter with Kuwagamon went on almost exactly as it did in the anime. One major difference however was that Tai and Mimi introduced themselve first and introduced their friends together (the idea came from a home video copy of Digimon: The Movie). Now, the group are going to have their encounter with Shellmon, but this time, Shellmon will have a partner.
Chapter: 8
Far away, Victor was doing some investigating on a place called Folder Continent. Ever since his last talk with Gennai, he couldn't help but wonder about something he mentioned. As he made his way through the landscape, he came across someone, someone Gennai did not want to talk about. He was another Gennai look-alike, but he wore dark clothes rather than the usual white and brown ones the others wore.
"Hello, Victor," said the Gennai look-alike.
"Dark Gennai," Victor gasped. "What are you doing here?!"
"It's good to see you too," Dark Gennai smirked.
"Cut the pleasantries," Victor snapped. "Your king didn't even bother sending in his Royal Knights to help us when the Dark Masters first showed up."
Victor then started walking away.
"True, but did you ever wonder why they never showed up," Dark Gennai questioned.
Victor stopped in his tracks. "What are you talking about?"
"Just this," Dark Gennai answered. "As we speak, King Drasil's connection to the Digital World is being cut off by some mysterious force. The process isn't complete, but it's still enough to keep him from seeing everything going on in the Digital World. Not only that, but the Royal Knights never showed up because they are no more."
Victor was horrified when he heard this and asked, "Are you saying that the Royal Knights are dead?!"
"You're not as stupid as you look," Dark Gennai laughed.
Victor drew his sword in anger. "You're lying…! YOU'RE LYING…!"
"Am I," Dark Gennai asked. "Why don't you ask your leader, Homeostasis? I'm sure she has the answers you need."
Dark Gennai then left the scene laughing sinisterly, leaving Victor to continue his investigation, though now with a worried expression on his face.
Back on File Island, Makuramon was inside a cave, hiding from the rest of the Digital World and watching the Digidestined battle against Kuwagamon. "Seven Digidestined kids arrive in the Digital World and are attacked by Kuwagamon, one of the most common champion level insectoid Digimon. And yet they…"
Makuramon suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute, seven Digidestined kids? There's supposed to be eight…! Where's Kari Kamiya, the Digidestined of Light…!?"
Makuramon then remembered something. "Could it be that she didn't show up at the camp like she was supposed to?"
A deep voice sprung out. "I'm afraid so, Makuramon."
Makuramon then turned his attention to the voice. In front of him was an illusion of a massive tiger with four red eyes, a striped mask on his head, and twelve spheres circling around his torso.
"Lord Baihumon," Makuramon gasped. "How are you sir?"
"How would you like to be sealed away by the Dark Masters," Baihumon asked.
"What are we going to do sir," Makuramon asked. "First we lost Digi-Egg meant for Kari, now Kari doesn't show up with the other? What is the Digital World coming to?"
"Calm down, Makuramon," Baihumon told him. "For now, it's best that you and the other Devas remain in hiding. However, this revelation changes everything. You'll have to reveal yourself sooner than originally planned. Wait until Devimon is defeated before you reveal yourself to the Digidestined. Once he's gone, I want you to guide the group on Server."
"I understand sir," Makuramon bowed. "I will personally take them to Server once Devimon is defeated."
"Good," Baihumon's illusion then disappeared.
Meanwhile, the Digidestined had washed up on the opposite bank from where they fell into the river. Having avoided drowning in the rapids created by Kuwagamon splashing into the river, they now had time to recover from that encounter.
"I knew we'd be okay, I wasn't worried," said Matt.
"What was that, a floating fish market," Joe asked.
"Lucky for us, those fish were having a school reunion," Gomamon stated.
Joe was confused.
"I'm joking," Gomamon laughed. "Those fish are good friends of mine and I just asked them for a lift."
"And all these years, I thought I was allergic to seafood," Joe smiled. "Thank you…"
Joe suddenly realized something. "I guess it's not Bukamon…?"
"Gomamon now," Gomamon confirmed.
"Gomamon," Joe repeated.
TK looked at Patamon and said, "And I guess that you're not Tokomon, are you?"
"Uh-uh," Patamon confirmed. "Now I'm Patamon."
"It's all because we Digivolved," Agumon explained.
"Digivolved," said Tai. "I don't think that word's in my dictionary."
"So Digivolving is when the advanced to the next level and become more powerful than before," Izzy deduced.
"Correct," Tentomon confirmed. "All of us Digivolved. I went from Motimon to Tentomon."
"I Digivolved from Yokomon to Biyomon," Biyomon explained to Sora.
"First I was Tsunomon, then Gabumon," Gabumon explained to Matt.
"And I changed from Tanemon to Palmon," Palmon explained to Mimi.
Now it was Agumon's turn to explain to Tai. "And me, I was Koromon, I Digivolved into Agumon."
"Mmhm," said Tai. "When you Digivolved you certainly got way bigger. But does this mean you're something different now or are you still Digimon?"
"Digimon," Agumon answered. "But I needed your help Tai."
"Me, for what," Tai asked.
"You see, Digivolving is a very difficult process," Agumon explained. "In order to be successful, I needed to share your energy."
"Really," Tai raised his eyebrow.
"I guess you guys don't run on batteries," Sora said to Biyomon.
"Sure don't," Biyomon smiled.
"But how do you access our energy," Izzy questioned.
"Even we don't know everything," Tentomon answered.
"Thanks for helping us Digivolve," Palmon spun around as she thanked Mimi.
"The whole thing makes my head spin," Mimi sighed. "And where's Mr. Uzumaki? I want to see him soon."
"So I helped you Digivolve," said TK as he circled Patamon. "That is so cool."
"Yep sure is," Patamon agreed.
"My folks warned me about strangers," Joe said while having his arms crossed.
"I'm not a stranger Joe," Gomamon reassured his partner. "I'm your friend for life."
"Okay guys what are we going to do," Matt questioned.
Then Tai remembered something Agumon said to him back on the cliff when he was still Koromon. "Wait a minute… Agumon, you said Naruto and Hinata's partners were so amazing and you wanted to show that you could be amazing too, right?"
"Well, yeah," Agumon answered.
"Then we'd better find them," Tai concluded.
"How are we going to do that," Joe questioned. "We don't even know where we are."
"No, but we know where we started," Sora replied as she turned to the mountain where they fell. "Up there on that mountain."
The others looked back at the mountain.
"I'd say we should forget about going back and explore around here," Matt told the group. "Mr. Uzumaki and Ms. Hyūga would have done the same after what encountering a monster like Kuwagamon."
"Well, I'm not exploring anywhere," Joe told the others. "I say we stay right where we are and wait for them to come for us. If they're anywhere near here, they'll eventually find us."
"Yeah, and let's wait for that giant bug to come get us while we're at it," Matt countered, seeing a flaw in Joe's logic. "We need to find Mr. Uzumaki and Ms. Hyūga before something else finds us. We also have to find a way to get out of here."
"Matt's right, but without a compass we can't even tell which way is north," Izzy reasoned.
"Well I do," said Tentomon.
"Really where," Izzy asked.
"It's the opposite of south," Tentomon answered.
"That's not what I meant," Izzy sighed and sweat dropped.
"I wonder if Mr. Uzumaki and Ms. Hyūga are doing any better than we are," Joe thought out loud.
"Well according to the Digimon, they've been here longer," Sora reasoned. "They probably know of other monsters that might be lurking around here and the reason why we're here in the first place."
"Wait, are there more monsters around like that big flying beetle," Mimi asked.
"Yep," Palmon answered. "Some of them are even worse than that."
"One thing's for sure, we won't get anywhere by standing here," Tai reasoned. "Let's just follow this river all the way to the end."
"Great idea Tai," Izzy agreed. "Rivers usually lead to the ocean."
"Come to think of it, I saw the ocean just moments before Kuwagamon attacked," Tai recalled.
"You saw the ocean," Matt asked, feeling a bit skeptical.
"Yep, there might be a boat or something we can use," Tai answered as he started following the river.
"Well then, let's water-ski home," Matt joked.
"Very funny," Sora replied.
But Joe continued to be stubborn. "At a time like this, I think we'd be far better off to just find a cave and hide. We keep our eyes open, and when Mr. Uzumaki and Ms. Hyūga come for us…"
But Joe was so busy speaking his mind that he failed to notice that the others were all following the river downstream.
"Hey, Joe," Gomamon called out. "Everyone's leaving us behind."
"Wait for me," Joe started running after the others.
As the group walked alongside the river, with Gomamon swimming in the water, they continued to interact with one another. They even commented on their surroundings.
"These trees are beautiful," Sora admitted.
"Yeah, but they're really different," Izzy pointed out. "And I thought they were subtropical."
"Whatever they are, they're aggravating my hay fever," said Joe, slightly feeling the urge to sneeze.
"Hey Joe, is there anything you don't complain about," Matt questioned.
Gabumon giggled
"Digital Monsters," Izzy wondered. "Just who exactly came up with that name anyway?"
"Just call us Digimon," said Tentomon. "We like that."
Izzy answered, "I only ask because you composition isn't at all machine-like."
"Oh really," Tentomon prepared another Super Shocker attack.
"Hey watch it," Izzy protected himself.
"So Patamon, can you really fly," TK asked.
"Of course," Patamon then jumped into the air and began to flap his wing-like ears.
Sadly though, he wasn't a very good flyer yet and started to lag behind.
Biyomon then joined in. "I'm faster than that. Watch…!"
But turned out Biyomon's words didn't really say much as she too lagged behind, prompting Sora to suggest they just walk.
"Palmon, I've been meaning to ask," said Mimi to Palmon. "Who does your hair?"
"It's natural," Palmon answered. "I wake up in the morning like this."
Mimi was impressed. "Wow, maybe you can let me work with it."
Palmon then asked. "Do you think you put too much emphasis on appearance?"
"Oh," said Mimi. "Honestly, I've never really thought about it like that. I just want to look my best for when I see my prince charming."
"And who is this "prince charming" you're talking about," Palmon asked.
"Oh well," Mimi stuttered while blushing a bit.
"She's totally in love with our athletics teacher, Naruto Uzumaki," Sora teased.
"Hey, Sora, don't blurt it out," Mimi shouted in embarrassment.
Everyone else laughed.
"Honestly I kinda like the way I look," Palmon blushed. "But maybe I can take lessons from you for when I meet my "prince charming"."
"You know, once I get back, this will make one great story," said Tai, now done laughing at Mimi's antics. "But obviously, not a single soul will ever believe me."
"Naruto and Hinata might believe you," Agumon pointed out. "After all, they came here about a month before you guys did."
Tai then realized something. "Wait a minute, they've been here for a month?"
"Yep," Agumon answered. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I actually saw them just half an hour before we had that encounter with Kuwagamon," Tai explained. "This is weird…"
"That is weird," Izzy agreed. "How could our athletics teacher and camp nurse have been here for a month when we saw them just thirty minutes before we got here?"
"I don't know," Tentomon answered.
Just then, Gabumon picked up the smell of the ocean. "Ah, nothing like the ocean."
"Everybody in the water," Gomamon said with excitement.
The Digidestined then walked the rest of the way towards the mouth of the river.
Once they reached it, they walked around the beach and suddenly heard the sound of familiar ringing. Looking around, listening to the ringing, they spotted a set of phone booths on the beach. Figuring that they could call home, they rushed towards the phones and each picked up the phone to answer the call. But to their disappointment, before any of them could reach any of the phones, the ringing stopped. Not wanting to give up, they each used some loose change or a phone card to call their families, but were again met with disappointment.
"At the tone, the time will be exactly forty five miles per hour and ninety seconds," said the phone Tai was using.
"Either something's wrong or Mom's flipped," Tai said in confusion.
"Tomorrow's forecast calls for clear skies with occasional ice cream," said the phone Mimi was using.
"Okay, what do you wear for that," Mimi asked.
"This number only exists in your imagination," said the phone Matt and TK were using together. "Please hang up and don't call back."
"What planet did I dial," Matt questioned.
"This has got to be some kind of twisted joke," Izzy deduced, though his deduction was only based on a pure guess.
"Why don't you try that one over there," Tentomon pointed to the phone Sora was using.
"I don't think it'll be any better," Biyomon pointed out.
"No telephones are working in your serves area," said the phone Sora was using. "Hang up and have a nice day."
Sora then hung up in frustration.
"Any luck," Tai asked Sora.
"No," Sora answered bluntly.
"Me neither," Tai replied.
"Maybe this one will work," said Joe as he dialed the phone he was using.
"To leave a message, press one now," said the phone, much to Joe's disappointment, "to leave a finger print, press two now, fifteen yen for the next three minutes."
But Joe didn't give up and decided to try again.
The others went to rest near a cliff on the opposite side of the shore. They all sat there and watch as Joe continued to use the phone, despite the fact that it might be hopeless.
"Very curious," said Izzy. "Does Joe always behave this way?"
"Every single day," Tai confirmed.
"But no matter what number or how many times he dials, those phones aren't going to work," Matt pointed out.
"Well, I'm going to search for Naruto and Hinata," Tai told the others as he got back on his feet. "They might be able to help."
"Hey, wait a minute," said Matt. "Even though we can't call out of here, there's always a chance someone else might call us. Besides, those two could be anywhere and we could be searching for days, weeks, months, or even years just to find them."
But Tai disagreed. "It's a waste of time doing nothing but sitting here. And what if Kuwagamon catches up to us?"
"You go look for them if you want Tai," said Matt. "But I'm going to stay a little while and see if anyone calls. Besides, everyone could use a little rest."
Tai looked at the others and saw that they were exhausted from both the walk and the encounter with Kuwagamon.
"Come to think of it, I'm getting pretty hungry," Izzy told Tai.
"You know why, because we haven't eaten anything all day," Tai pointed out. "Okay, break time everybody."
Sora sighed in relief before asking, "Does anybody else have any food? I think the only thing I have is…"
Sora checked, only to find one item on her belt. "Is that gadget that fell out of the sky at camp."
"I forgot all about those weird gizmos," Tai took the Digivice he had from his belt.
"If anyone's got a pink one, I'll trade," Mimi offered.
"What are they anyway," TK asked.
"They're probably those devices Mr. Uzumaki talked about in his note," Matt pointed out. "We wouldn't have them if they weren't important."
"If I could take mine apart," said Izzy before feeling his stomach growling. "That is after I get something to eat. I'm really famished."
"Well the only thing I've got is my emergency supplies," said Sora as she pulled out said items from her bag. "It's got a first aid kit, some bandages, and some medicine, but that's about all I've got."
Izzy pulled out his laptop. "I've got my trusted laptop computer, and a digital camera. Oh and I've got a small cellphone too. Of course not one of them has worked since we got here."
"I still can't believe you dragged all of that computer stuff to summer camp," said Tai.
"And what do you have," Izzy questioned.
"Oh, well, let's see," Tai checked. "There's my mini telescope."
"Sorry guys, but I don't have anything to eat either," Matt told everyone.
T.K. then smiled and said, "Hey, look what I've got."
T.K. took off his back pack and showed what he packed. Inside were several boxes and bags of food, mainly sweets and instant food.
"Oh look at all those goodies," Mimi commented. "Why don't you be a good little boy and share some of those treats with your sweet Mimi?"
"Ah, you don't have to be so nice Mimi," said T.K. with a smile. "I'm happy to share. You're the best."
T.K. then asked Matt, "Isn't she cute?"
"Forget it," Matt replied.
"I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse," said Tai.
"I'd settle for a small cow," said Izzy.
Sora then asked, "Mimi, what do you have in that big bag, some hair brushes and makeup?"
"Well, let's take a look," Mimi began taking some stuff out of her bag. "There's a compass, cooking fuel, a flashlight, one of those knives with all the things, and some other stuff."
Everyone gasped upon hearing and seeing what Mimi had in her bag, especially the compass.
"Why didn't you tell us you had a compass back when we needed one," Matt questioned.
Mimi smiled and told them, "I thought it might be kind of fun to see how far we could get without one. Besides it's broken."
"Well so much for that idea," Tai sighed.
"Although, we could use the cooking fuel to build a signal fire," Matt reasoned. "If Mr. Uzumaki and Ms. Hyūga are anywhere near here, they'll spot the smoke."
"Or maybe we can barbeque some telephones," said Sora.
Tai looked and noticed that Joe was still at it with the phones. "Oh boy, check out the genius. He's trying to call the telephone repair man because the telephones don't work. Problem is…"
Tai then saw that Joe was carrying something. "Look, Joe's got the emergency food…!"
"What, no way," Izzy gasped.
"Joe, hey Joe," Tai tried to get Joe's attention. "Look, you've got all the food…!"
"Hey don't you know it's rude to interrupt someone when they're on the telephone," Joe replied.
"Sorry, but that bag," Izzy pointed out.
"Oh this," Joe looked at the bag, then back at the others. "I just brought it here to give to Mimi. Today was her day to carry the bag."
"I think he likes you," Palmon said the Mimi.
"What, no way," Mimi denied. "I only have my eyes set on Mr. Uzumaki and that's that."
Joe then ran up to Mimi with the bag in hand and said, "Mimi you've got to stop thinking of yourself and help somebody else for once. Take a little responsibility."
"But that bag's too heavy for me," Mimi replied.
"Listen, you never hear me complaining," Joe retorted.
Tai walked up to the two and attempted to break up the squabble. "Guys, guys… Listen, the most important thing now is that we've got some food to eat, so let's sit down and have some lunch."
Sora agreed.
Underwater, a giant pink shellfish-like Digimon with a cone shell was busily feeding on seaweed. Feeding along side it was a brown lobster-like Digimon with a draconic head and big claws.
"Shellmon, we're in a rut," said the lobster-like Digimon. "We've been eating nothing but seaweed for the past few weeks. We've got to get some protein in our diet, like fast."
"When you're right you're right, Ebidramon," Shellmon agreed after swallowing some more seaweed. "Ever since lord Baihumon was sealed away by that creep, Puppetmon, all the big fish we used to eat around this island have disappeared and there's been nothing but plain old seaweed to eat. There are some fish still around, but they're not big enough for us. We need to look for some new spots to find food, but where do we even begin?"
"Well, we can start by," Ebidramon started before sensing something. "Wait, I'm picking up something on my antenna. It smells like… humans…?"
"Oh no," Shellmon shook his head. "I'm not going to tangle with those two again. Remember what happened last time?"
"It's not them," Ebidramon reassured Shellmon. "There are seven of them and they also have rookie Digimon with them. I think they're exhausted."
"Well, that changes things," Shellmon smiled. "You go right, I'll go left."
Shellmon and Ebidramon then dug into the sand and prepared an ambush for the unsuspecting Digidestined sitting on the beach.
Back on the beach, the Digidestined were inspecting all of the food they had with them, from the instant and sweet food in T.K.'s bag to the emergency food in the supply bag that Joe carried. Gomamon was floating in the water at the time.
"Okay, let's figure this out," said Joe. "We have seven people in the group and two bags full of food. Adding the food from T.K.'s bag to the food in the emergency supply bag and dividing it evenly among the seven of us, we should have just enough food to last us for about three days."
"I'm surprised you actually figured that out on your own," Izzy admitted.
"Yeah, I'm surprised too," Joe rubbed the back of his head, feeling bashful.
"But you guys, if we add in the Digimon, we really only have enough for like half an hour," Sora pointed out. "One and a half days at most really…"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Joe admitted.
"Not a problem at all," Gabumon reassured the group. "We Digimon hunt and forage for ourselves."
Everyone was surprised by this revelation.
"No need to include us in your calculations," Tentomon confirmed.
"Are you sure Biyomon," Sora asked.
"Oh absolutely," Biyomon answered. "We can do alright for ourselves."
"Okay," said Joe with a smile on his face. "Now that that's taken care of, let's go ahead and divide all this between the seven people here."
But while Joe was talking, he failed to notice that Tai and Agumon were already stuffing their faces.
"This is great," said Tai. "I could eat a dozen of these."
Joe then noticed and said, "And just what do you think you're doing?"
Tai turned to Joe and said, "I'm glad we never hear you complaining."
"Ah, you people make me crazy," Joe grunted.
Suddenly while still floating in the water, Gomamon heard something coming in from either side of the group. Biyomon sensed it too and turned to the telephone booths.
"Now what's the matter," Sora asked.
"Trouble," Biyomon answered.
Next thing the group knew, a giant spout of water blasted out of the sand. It then made its way towards the group, destroying the phone booths as it went. Seeing that they might be in danger again, the Digidestined ran for cover as the phone booths fell to the ground and a dome appeared in the sand.
"What's that," Tai gasped upon seeing the dome.
Then from out of the dome, Shellmon emerged, ready to attack the group.
"Shellmon," Tentomon gasped.
"What's a Shellmon," Izzy asked.
"Something that gets mad for no reason," said Tentomon, assuming that Shellmon was there because it was mad.
Shellmon emerged from his shell and gave out a mighty roar.
"Attacked by two digital monsters on the same day," Joe gasped before he ran for the cliff and started to climb. "Everybody, up here…!"
"Not so fast," Shellmon had other ideas.
"HYDRO BLASTER…!"
Shellmon shot liquid at high pressure towards the cliff, forcing Joe off the cliff and back onto the ground.
"Joe," Gomamon gasped.
"Don't think I've forgotten about you," Shellmon used his Hydro Blaster attack on Gomamon next.
"Digimon, attack," Agumon told the others.
"Agumon, you show him," Tai encouraged his partner as Sora and Matt helped Joe up on his feet.
Agumon was the first to attack.
"PEPPER BREATH…!"
Agumon fired his Pepper Breath attack at Shellmon, striking him in the face.
"BLUE BLASTER…!"
Gabumon tried to use his Blue Blaster attack, but for some reason, it didn't work.
"SPIRAL TWISTER…!"
Biyomon tried using her Spiral Twister attack, but she got the same results Gabumon had.
"SUPER SHOCKER…!"
Tentomon tried his luck with his Super Shocker attack, but to no avail.
"What's happening to them," Izzy gasped.
"They look like they've lost their power," Matt replied.
Shellmon then used his Hydro Blaster attack on Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, and Tentomon, sending them flying into the sand. Agumon got up and continued to fight, but the others didn't.
"BOOM BUBBLE…!"
"POISON IVY…!"
Patamon and Palmon tried using their trademark attacks, but were met with the same results and Shellmon simply knocked them away with his either tentacle-like hair or his snout respectively. Agumon then came in with another Pepper Breath attack, striking him in the face once more.
"Go get him, Agumon," Tai cheered on.
"Why is it only Agumon," Izzy questioned.
"We're just too hungry," Tentomon told Izzy.
The other Digimon felt the same way and Sora concluded that the Agumon was the only one who got to eat while the others didn't. This however put a lot of pressure on Tai and Agumon as it meant that they were on their own in this battle.
"Agumon, looks like it's just you and me now," Tai called out.
"Then give me a diversion," Agumon
Tai then ran up towards Shellmon to get his attention, despite Sora's protests. While Shellmon had his attention focused on Tai, Agumon took his chance and struck again with his Pepper Breath attack. The attack caused Shellmon to turn his attention towards Agumon, giving Tai the chance to pick up a poll from one of the now broken telephone booths and lend Agumon his support. In his recklessness Tai struck Shellmon's shell with the poll and failed to notice one of Shellmon's tentacle hairs wrapping around him until it was too late.
"Hold on Tai," Agumon gasped upon seeing his partner being captured by Shellmon.
Shellmon then stomped his front foot on Agumon, holding him in place.
"I have you now," said Shellmon before unleashing his Hydro Blaster attack on the others.
"Guys no," Tai called out. "You've got to get out of there. Get out before he gets you too…!"
Shellmon then squeezed Tai tighter.
"No Tai," Agumon gasped.
Suddenly Tai heard a voice call out to him. "Tai, use your Digivice…!"
Tai gasped upon hearing the voice. He didn't know what the voice meant, but he quickly noticed the device he received just before coming to the Digital World. Next thing he knew, the device began to glow and Agumon began to Digivolve.
"Agumon Digivolve to… Greymon," Agumon had Didivolved into what appeared to be an upright ceratosaurus. He now had an orange body with blue strips along his back and a brown helmet-like structure that covered the top half of his head. He stood about six meters (twenty feet) tall and looked more ferocious. He was now Greymon.
The moment Agumon Digivolved into Greymon, Shellmon was forced onto his back, causing him to let go of Tai. Greymon then got into a fighting stance as Shellmon got back on his "feet".
"What is this," Shellmon questioned.
"It's over Shellmon," Greymon told him.
"I disagree, Greymon," Shellmon narrowed his eyes before charging in.
Greymon stood his ground and stopped Shellmon in his tracks.
"Now you're getting him," Tai called out. "Go Greymon…!"
Greymon began to push Shellmon back, but Shellmon had other ideas.
"HYDRO BLASTER…!"
"NOVA FLAME…!"
Shellmon fired his Hydro Blaster attack at Greymon, but Greymon was quick to respond by shooting a wall of fire to block it. But while Greymon was blocking Shellmon's attack he failed to notice a pair of pincers reaching for his legs from behind.
"Greymon, watch out," Tai called out, noticing the pincers.
But it was no use. Greymon was pulled down into the sand by a pair of pincers as Ebidramon emerged from the sand.
"Oh dear, it's Ebidramon," Tentomon gasped.
"Ebidramon," Izzy asked.
"He's a lobster-like dragon-type Digimon who uses his Twin Scissors attack to cut his opponents to pieces," Palmon explained.
"Hey that's not fair," Joe yelled.
Greymon looked up and saw both Shellmon and Ebidramon glaring at him with hungry eyes.
"Now it's over," Shellmon gloated.
"TWIN SCISSORS…!"
Ebidramon prepared to crush Greymon with his razor-sharp pincers. But before he could do so, something jumped out from the cliff top and struck down on Ebidramon.
"RASENGAN…!"
Ebidramon was struck by a blue spiraling sphere used by a figure in a black cloak. This caught everyone off guard. Moments later, the figure took off the hood of his cloak, revealing his face. It was a face the Digidestined recognized instantly.
"It's Mr. Uzumaki," Joe gasped.
"Oh, my "prince charming" has come to rescue me," Mimi said, hearts in her eyes.
Ebiramon was shocked by this. "You again…?"
"Ready for round two," Naruto turned his attention back to the cliff. "Let's go Dorumon…!"
"I'm on it," Dorumon jumped off the cliff, surprising everyone,
Naruto then took out his D-Power and swiped a green card through it.
"DIGIMODIFY…! DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE…!"
"DIGIVOLUTION…!"
Dorumon began to Digivolve.
"Dorumon Digivolve to… Dorugamon," Dorumon had Digivolved into Dorugamon and took up a stance against Ebidramon.
"Greymon, I'll handle Ebidramon," Dorugamon told Greymon. "You worry about Shellmon."
While Greymon was confused, he agreed to the term and continued to fight against Shellmon while Dorugamon dealt with Ebidramon. "Looks like you were right, Shellmon. This battle is over…!"
"We'll see," Shellmon argued.
Greymon and Shellmon continued their battle.
"I've been meaning to get back at you for my humiliation," Ebidramon said to Dorugamon.
"I would hardly call that a humiliation," Dorugamon replied. "You're the one who attacked us, remember?"
Ebidramon and Dorugamon charged at one another.
Greymon picked Shellmon up with his horns and threw him up into the air with all his might. If that wasn't bad enough, Greymon unleashed his trademark attack.
"NOVA BLAST…!"
Greymon fired a gigantic ball of fire from his mouth at Shellmon while he was still in midair and was sent flying off into the distance.
"CANNONBALL…!"
Dorugamon fired his Cannonball attack at Ebidramon, sending him flying as well, though in the opposite direction from where Greymon sent Shellmon.
Elsewhere in the Digital World, the castle where Gennai and his group once created the Digivices for the Digidestined and their guardians was now taken over by a group of mostly demonic Digimon. There were armies of Bakemon and Gizamon, several Dokugomon, Devidramon, and Phantomon, and a few other Digimon working around the castle. But he head honcho of the group was Myotismon who was in his office, reading some books about the history of the Digital World.
Suddenly, a voice came out. "Hello Myotismon."
Myotismon looked behind himself and saw a familiar jester. "Piedmon, it has been some time."
"Likewise," Piedmon agreed.
"Well, what do you want," Myotismon questioned.
"I understand you have possession of the Crest of Light," said Piedmon.
"Indeed," Myotismon confirmed. "And with it, I shall fulfill my destiny."
"And that is," Piedmon questioned.
"To rule over all beings in the Digital World, the Real World, and the Digital World: Iliad," Myotismon told him.
"Getting illusions of granger, I see," Piedmon smirked. "Once upon a time, there was a vampire-like Digimon who believed he could rule over anything all by himself. Unfortunately, he underestimated the Digidestined of Light, which ultimately led to his downfall."
"We shall see, clown," Myotismon growled.
"I suppose we will, vampire," Piedmon smirked.
"What are you really here for," Myotismon questioned calmly.
"To offer you a proposition," Piedmon answered, "More specifically, a place in our ranks as a member of the Dark Masters."
Back on File Island, everyone was taken aback from the revelation of Naruto being with a Digimon. Apart from Izzy, none of the Digidestined even recognized Dorumon, who had reverted back or Dedigivolved from Dorugamon after defeating Ebidramon. Greymon had also Dedigivolved back to Agumon after defeating Shellmon.
"Hey guys," Naruto greeted with his characteristic smile.
"Mr. Uzumaki, you're here," Sora gasped happily.
"Oh, Mr. Uzumaki," Mimi ran up to Naruto and hugged him. "It's so good to see you."
"Wow, Mimi, let go," Naruto pried himself free from Mimi before turning towards the others. "Is everyone alright?"
"Yeah, more or less," Joe answered.
"Where were you," Matt questioned.
"I've been shadowing you guys," Naruto explained. "And so has Hinata."
"Wait, how long have you been shadowing us," Izzy questioned.
"Since the moment you guys first got here in the Digital World," Naruto answered.
Now Matt and Sora were angry.
"You've been shadowing us for that long," Matt shouted. "Why didn't you help us when we were attacked by Kuwagamon…? You could have saved us…!"
"I guess it just didn't occur to me," Naruto shook it off, his eyes closed (Toph style).
"Didn't occur to you," Sora yelled with anger. "We could have been bug food back there…! Tai almost got eaten by that overgrown shellfish, and we could have drowned in that river when we fell…!"
"But you didn't drown, did you," Naruto questioned.
Matt and Sora were about to say something else, but the moment Naruto asked that simple question, they stopped. Looking around and remembering what Koromon said to Tai back on that cliff, they realized that Naruto was right. While he could have helped them, he chose not to in order to allow their Digimon a chance to prove themselves.
"Anyway, this is my partner, Dorumon," Naruto introduced the group to Dorumon.
"Hello," Dorumon introduced himself.
Everyone else was amazed, but Izzy recognized Dorumon instantly. "Prodigious…! It's that Dinosaur I saw back at the school that one time…!"
Everyone turned to Izzy.
"Izzy, you've seen that Digimon before," Joe asked as Izzy nodded as an answer.
"Why didn't you tell us," Tai asked.
"Because I asked him not to tell anyone," Naruto admitted. "Anyway, we'd better get going."
"Wait, we still haven't had anything to eat," T.K. pointed out.
Everyone held their stomachs as they growled.
"Well if it's food you want," said a voice from the cliff.
Everyone looked and saw a second cloaked figure.
"Hinata, you missed the fun," Naruto identified the figure.
"Ms. Hyūga," Everyone else gasped.
Hinata took off her hood. "Hello everyone…"
Lunamon came out too. "Hello…"
"It's that toy," Joe gasped. "And it's alive…?"
"I'm Lunamon," Lunamon introduced herself. "And I'm Hinata's partner."
Everyone was shocked.
"Anyway, let's just eat," Hinata suggested. "We can talk later."
While still having a lot of questions, the Digidestined all agreed that they needed to eat before anything else. With that being said, Hinata took off her back pack and pulled out a scroll, much to everyone's confusion.
"A scroll," Tai asked.
Hinata then opened up the scroll and preformed several hand signs before placing her hand on the scroll.
"SUMMONING JUTSU…!"
Hinata preformed a summoning jutsu on the scroll, summoning several sets of bento boxes for everyone. She then handed one bento box for Naruto, Dorumon, Lunamon, herself, and to each of the Digidestined and their Digimon partners.
"How did you do that," Sora asked.
"Who cares how she did that," Tai pointed out. "Let's just see what she made for us."
Everyone agreed and opened up their bento boxes. What they saw was an entire meal meant specifically for each of them. The very sight made their mouths water. Not wanting to be rude, they all dug in and were blown away by the taste, which made the looks feel like child's play in comparison.
Sometime later, everyone was done eating. With everyone's bellies full, they now felt recharged and ready to go anywhere. However, they started to shower Naruto and Hinata with many questions, which they gladly answered, though one at a time. Joe meanwhile tried once again to call the telephone operator on the last remaining phone, but had no luck.
"Come on, I know you're there," Joe continued to call. "Operator…? OPERATOR…!"
"So let me get this straight," Matt crossed his arms. "You two are from a world known as the Shinobi World, you can use these abilities known as jutsu, and you're each part of clans known as the Uzumaki and Hyūga?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Naruto answered.
"I'm sorry, but I find all of this hard to believe," Matt put his hand on his head, shaking it as he said this.
"And yet, you're willing to accept the fact that digital monsters are real," Naruto pointed out.
"He's got a point," Izzy agreed.
"But when were you going to tell us that you were from another world," Sora questioned.
"If we had told you sooner, would you have believed us," Hinata questioned back.
Sora had no answer.
"I guess that explains why you two were so good at so many things," said Tai in realization.
"What do you mean Tai," Mimi asked.
"When my sister Kari was sick, Naruto and Hinata were able to get her to the hospital very quickly without using a car," Tai told her. "All they was ran and jumped at superhuman levels."
"Oh, that's right," Matt remembered. "When T.K. and I were separated, they were able to get us to Yokohama Cosmo Park the same way."
"They did that to get us back home too," T.K. added.
"Come to think of it, I remember seeing Ms. Hyūga jumping from building to building when I got out of the massage facility she worked at," Mimi recalled. "I thought I was just seeing things, but obviously I wasn't."
"And when I was injured, Ms. Hyūga was able to heal my knee," Sora realized. "Mr. Uzumaki helped out."
"And that explains how Ms. Hyūga is able to see things," said Joe, having given up on using the phone.
"Done using the phone," Tai teased.
"Very funny," said Joe.
"First we learn of the Digital World, now we learn of this Shinobi World," Izzy thought out loud. "What's next, a world where magic is real or a world full of horror monsters?"
"Oh please Izzy, don't scare me like that," Mimi complained.
"In any case, we need to get going," Naruto pointed out. "Shellmon and Ebidramon might be gone, but they'll soon be back, and they won't be too happy. And by the way, you can stop with the "Mr." and "Ms." thing. You can just call us by our first names."
"Whatever you say, Mr… I mean Naruto," Sora agreed.
"But where are we going to go," T.K. asked.
"I say we should go right back to the forest," Joe suggested. "If anybody's looking for us, that's the first place they'll go."
"Joe I said this before," Sora argued. "We fell off a cliff and floated down a river to get here and getting back there is a really big job."
"And we could run into Kuwagamon," Mimi added.
"Besides, Naruto and Hinata have been here longer than we have," Izzy acknowledged. "Logically speaking, they probably know every square inch of this island. So if anyone can guide us through this place, it'll be them."
"That makes sense," Joe admitted.
"It certainly does," Sora agreed.
"You know, we're standing right here," Naruto pointed out. "Hinata and I could easily climb cliffs like the one you guys fell off of, but I'm not interested in facing Kuwagamon and getting you guys up there would take time. There are hundreds of other Digimon lurking around this island. But there is a place nearby where we can rest up for the night."
"Oh really," Tai asked.
"Yeah," Naruto answered as he and Hinata got their back packs ready.
Hinata put the now empty bento boxes back into the scroll and put it back in her bag.
"Just follow us and we'll lead you there," Naruto told them.
"Well if that's what it takes," Joe sighed.
"Then let's all get going," Tai told the others.
"Anywhere you want to go, I'll go Tai," Agumon said with a smile. "You just pick the direction."
"Then let's get out of this place," Tai said with enthusiasm.
"And let the monsters beware," Matt added.
"Well my plan is to avoid all monsters," said Joe to the others. "Yep that's my plan."
"That might be difficult," Hinata admitted.
"Okay everyone here we go," Naruto told them.
Everyone, human or Digimon, then made their way across the beach away from the area.
On Folder Continent, Victor was looking at some ancient ruins known as the Codec Ruins. What Dark Gennai mentioned before had him worried, but he disregarded it. As he looked through the ruins, he stumbled across a mural that depicted two groups of Digimon facing off against one another. One was of thirteen Digimon wearing metallic armor and resembled armored knights. The other was of twelve or fourteen Digimon that resembled humanoid animals. He recognized these two groups instantly.
"Oh my fractal code," Victor gasped. "The Royal Knights and the Olympus Twelve…! But it looks like they're fighting each other…!"
Victor then recalled what Dark Gennai mentioned before.
Back at the summer camp, Meiko was still shocked about seeing Tai and the others disappear just seconds ago. But just when she was about to panic, something appeared before her. Grabbing it, she looked and saw that it was a Digivice like the ones Tai and the others got.
"What's this," she asked.
Suddenly, something moved in the bushes. Looking at it, she saw a cat-like creature. It had orange fur with black strips and a white underside, green eyes with star-like pupils, a white collar-like mane, a flat tail with strips that crossed like a double helix, a pair of proportions that were similar to her tail, and an M mark on her forehead.
Meiko looked at this cat-like creatures and said, "Hello I'm Meiko, who are you?"
The cat looked up to her and smiled. "Meicoomon…"
And that was chapter 8. As you can see, Shellmon didn't fight Greymon alone, he had help from Ebidramon, which forced Naruto and Dorumon to step in. As you can see, Hinata used the Summoning Jutsu in this chapter, which probably has most of you confused. But when I said that Naruto and Hinata wouldn't be using the Summoning Jutsu here, what I meant was that they won't be able to summon their animals, so no Gamabunta, no Gamakichi, and no Fukasaku or Shima. However, they're still able to use summoning scrolls.
Well I introduced Dark Gennai in this and yes he's the traitor Gennai and Victor spoke about two chapters ago. However, he'll only have a few appearances in this, mostlikely two including this one. Also, Meiko has met Meicoomon. I know that they never met until fall in the original, but hey, it was too much of an oppertunity to pass up.
PS: I had always intended on having the Devas get more involved with the plot from Etemon onwards. That part where Lunamon says that Makuramon won't reveal himself until the Dark Masters was a mistake on my part and was actually meant to say until Devimon is defeated. So sorry for that, but hey what's done is done so let's just move on.
Next chapter will focus on the battle against Seadramon, and like this, he won't be alone.
Chapter 9: Garurumon