Disclaimer: Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v3.0 - Bold New Frontier is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.
The Tamer v3.0 - Bold New Frontier
Chapter 4 - Tomoki Breaks The Ice
The next few days passed peacefully for them. Which was good because they had no idea where they were and bad because it meant spending more time in the Digital World than they wanted to. JP grumbled and complained a lot about getting lost, and seemed to try and stick the blame on Tomoki for what happened. Despite the fact that he was the one who attracted the crazy digimon by eating his chocolate so late in the night. Zoe and Tamer chastised him for whining but Tomoki couldn't help but feel he had a point.
He didn't agree with the assessment that he was at fault - no, that was just JP whining. But he did feel responsible for running so far and so fast in terror. If Tomoki hadn't run, if he hadn't been so afraid, they wouldn't be wandering around lost. Tamer was frustrated that the strange device, his digivice, wouldn't tell him where he was. Simultaneously, neither Bokomon nor Neemon knew where they were because they never ventured too far from their village out of fear of the war.
"To be fair, it wouldn't be much safer if we were either in the village or not. There really is fighting no matter where you go," Bokomon said.
"And which side of this war are you two on?" Tamer asked.
"Neither. We're from different worlds, Neemon and I," Bokomon explained calmly. Tomoki looked back at the two digimon, not sure how they could come from different worlds when absolutely nothing in the Digital World made rhyme or reason.
"Oh really...which one?" Tamer asked.
"Does it matter?" Neemon asked, "We're both digimon. We eat, sleep, talk, walk...who cares which world we're from?"
"Good answer," Tamer nodded in approval.
"What the hell are you guys talking about?" JP asked.
"Just Digital World politics. Trying to get caught up on what I missed while I was...asleep...apparently," Tamer responded, "And it's nice to meet people who don't like to get caught up in all this stuff."
"I just don't get why some digimon have to get so worked up over differences," Neemon mumbled, producing another box of juice from his pants. As he sipped it loudly, Zoe stuck her tongue out in disgust.
"Ew. How can you drink that?" Zoe stuck her tongue out in disgust.
"How can I not? It's so nice and warm," Neemon said with a little too much glee as he continued to sip the juice box. The sound of his slurping made Zoe's face turn green as she struggled to hold back her growing disgust for the little rabbit's taste in juice beverages. Then the digimon just turned back to the others with a great big smile and produced another juice box, "Does any one else want one?"
"I just want to know where you keep getting them. Is that a pocket of infinite juice boxes?" Tamer asked.
"Not my pocket, my pants. And I just keep finding them. I don't know where they come from," Neemon responded.
"Okay, that's disturbing," Tamer joined Zoe in gagging in response to Neemon's continued sipping of juice. That didn't stop Neemon from continuing to sip the juice boxes happily. If he was at all bothered by their gagging noises, he was doing a very good job of hiding it. In fact, he seemed more miffed that no one was taking his juice boxes as he tried offering one to JP. Bokomon did take one, albeit hesitantly and he tucked it into his pink belt instead of actually drinking anything.
They were so disgusted by what they were seeing, they ended up tripping as they passed over something, "AH!"
"WHOA!"
"ACK!"
"What gives? Did we trip on a tree root?" Tamer asked, massaging his head to look around. Tomoki looked down at their feet and noticed what appeared to be metal poking out through the leaves and dust. He kicked the dust around the metal and found a pair of metal beams running parallel with each other over sets of wooden planks.
"IT'S TRAIN TRACKS!" Tomoki cried out excitedly, hopeful for the first time since they'd gotten lost, "We could follow these to a town! Maybe to another train that we can use to get home!"
"It's about a good a shot as any since we don't know where we are," JP observed, standing up to dust himself off. He offered a hand to Zoe who refused it in favor of picking herself up. Tomoki noticed JP frown, if only for a second, but he quickly threw back on a smile. Tamer looked up down the tracks that they'd tripped over, then leaned down to examine it carefully.
"I'm not sure about these tracks. They're this old, rusty, and covered in leaves? It looks like no one's been through this way in a while. It's possible these tracks may not even in service and were disconnected," Tamer thought aloud, clapping his hands together to get the dust off it.
"Following this is better than wandering blind through the forest for another day, though," Zoe pointed out, putting a hand on her hips, "We only packed enough food for a few days and we've spent a good chunk of it wandering around, lost!"
Tamer threw up his hands and gestured for her to lead the way as he stepped aside, "After you, Zoe."
"What's with the attitude?" Zoe asked, eyebrow raised as she leaned in on him.
"No attitude or offense meant," Tamer answered, "Please. Ladies first!"
"Hmph," she grunted as crossed her arms and started walking ahead of them.
As she walked ahead, JP elbowed Tamer and remarked, "Way to go."
"What?" he replied, ignored as JP continued to walk just ahead of him.
They continued following the tracks through the woods for some time before they finally came out of the trees and onto a large canyon that ran straight through the forest. The tracks continued straight over the canyon, along a wooden suspension bridge that looked ready to fall apart. Everyone seemed to think the same thing - they did not want to go across this bridge. Well, everyone except for Tamer who just kept walking right on to the bridge without looking back.
"TAMER!" they all said together, prompting Tamer to stop half way across and look back at them in confusion.
"What the hell are you doing?" Zoe cried out at the top of her lungs.
He blinked, his expression suggesting confusion instead of fear, "What?"
"You just walked on the bridge!" JP pointed out to him. Tamer continued to stare with a raised eyebrow in confusion as he looked down at his feet. Then he did arguably the dumbest thing and proceeded to tap it with his shoes, prompting JP to cry out, "ARE YOU CRAZY!?"
"Most people don't phrase that as a question," Tamer replied, beginning to walk back to their side of the bridge, "Are you guys coming or not? I thought you wanted to head back home."
"Not on that rickety bridge!" Tomoki explained to Tamer, who still didn't seem to register anything wrong with the bridge he was standing on.
"What're you talking about? The bridge is fine! See? Look!" he began jumping on the bridge, slowly jumping higher with each leap to demonstrate the sturdiness of the bridge. Bokomon was about to warn him against doing that only for the wood to begin cracking underneath his feet. Tamer stopped after his last leap and looked down at the bridge, just as the wooden beam he was on began to sag under his weight. It gave one more loud crack that made him stop, "Oh. Oops."
Then the wooden plank he was on broke, sending him falling towards the water, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Tamer!" Zoe cried out.
"Takuya!" Tomoki gasped.
"That idiot!" JP face palmed as he gave chase after the falling boy plummeting straight down into the raging rapids below.
Bokomon leaned over the edge, "We'd better find a way to save your friend before he either drowns or gets swept into some rocks by the current. He'll get smashed for sure!"
"STOP TALKING LIKE THAT YOU IDIOT!" Zoe slapped Bokomon across the back of the head, "You'll freak out Tommy! Now come on! We have to go save Tamer before he drowns!"
Tomoki wanted to say she was wrong, but he was actually scared that Tamer might die. But he kept that to himself to avoid looking scared in front of the others and followed after them. All the while, Tamer flailed in the waters with his arms waving around, "GAH! I JUST GOT THIS BODY AND I'M GOING TO DIE TO DROWNING!? HOW IS THAT HOW I GO!?"
"You're not going to die!" Zoe shouted back at him. Tomoki wanted to agree but he heard JP mutter from behind him about how no one could say that for sure. Tomoki wanted to help, he really did. But what could he do? He wasn't tall so he couldn't reach down to grab Tamer. And he wasn't nearly brave enough to even attempt to climb down and save him. So all they could do was continue following him down the river as the current swept him away. But the current was faster than they could run, even when they were at a full sprint. And they couldn't run forever - leaving them to watch helplessly as the current dragged Tamer further and further away from them.
He was going to drown. He was going to die. And there was nothing any of them could do to stop it. There was nothing Tomoki could do to stop it. He hated this. He hated being unable to do anything except stand here and watch, the tears welling up in his eyes already. Was this all he was good for? Standing around and crying while others died because of him. He really was just pathetic.
"Maybe we can find a way to climb down?" Bokomon suggested.
"And what? Get pulled into the current with the others?" Zoe asked back.
"We could use my floaties!" Neemon produced a pair of water wings from his pants. Zoe gagged again as Neemon offered them over to JP who refused it.
"No thanks. I'm not exactly a strong swimmer," JP crossed his arms and stepped away from the edge.
"Well we have to do something! He's going to drown at this rate," Zoe cried out, pointing down at Tamer as the current finally began to drag him under. It probably would've too, had it not been for the intervention of a small humanoid creature with a blue cape and a pointed hat rushing into the water. Or rather, floating over the water - standing on the air just above the water's surface like he was on solid ground. In his hand he held a scepter with a golden sun at its peak. The wizard like creature used his staff to reach into the waters, prodding its depths with it.
"Who is that?" Zoe asked.
"Wizardmon. I didn't think we'd ever find the likes of him so far out in the wilderness by himself," Bokomon answered, mouth agape at the sight of the wizard coming to the aid of one of their friend.
Neemon added, "We usually see him with a library under his feet. Maybe he's getting some trees to make paper."
"Neemon, you simple creature. Why would he know how to make paper? How would he make the paper?" Bokomon asked.
Neemon shrugged, "He's a wizard, right? He'd probably use magic."
"I hate that answer," Bokomon grumbled. After a moment of prodding, Wizardmon pulled his staff out of the water with Tamer hanging onto the other end for dear life. Tamer gasped for breath, hanging onto the wizard's staff as he began wading his way over the waters back to the shore line. He wrapped one arm around Tamer and waved his staff over his head, sending them both flying out of the ravine and landing beside them. The wizard then dropped Tamer beside them, watching as boy coughed up water and gasped for air.
"Tamer!" Zoe hurried to his side and kneeled beside him as he continued to vomit up water.
"Are you okay?" JP asked.
Tamer held up his hand in a thumbs up gesture as he coughed up more water, "Yes...just surprised...didn't think I would forget how to swim with a new body."
"Those were rapids. You weren't going to swim in those waters if you wanted to. It's a miracle you didn't get crushed against the rocks or bash your head against something," Wizardmon stated matter of factly, shaking the water off his staff and wiping it clean with his cloak.
"Thank you for saving me," Tamer said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "I'm Takuya."
Wizardmon narrowed his eyes, "Oh? And here I thought they were calling you Tamer. As in The Digimon Tamer. And between the goggles and those ridiculous clothes, I am inclined to believe that you are who you are pretending to not be."
"What's wrong with my clothes?" Tamer asked, looking down at them.
"You mean besides looking like you fell in them?" Zoe asked sarcastically, gesturing at his red shirt and brown gloves.
"Do you know this guy?" JP asked.
"I know a Wizardmon, but he's usually got a cat attached to his hip and I don't see a talking cat. So who are you?" Tamer answered quietly.
Wizardmon waved him away dismissively, "Just a stranger passing through."
"Passing through the middle of nowhere," Tamer remarked disbelievingly gesturing at the forest all around them, "Very out of character for a Wizardmon. Your kind are usually wrapped up in books and your studies of magic. So what is there for a Wizardmon to learn out in the middle of nowhere?"
"Knowledge comes in many forms," Wizardmon responded with another dismissive wave. Tamer's eyes narrowed and Tomoki wondered what was going through his head that he didn't trust what seemed to be a genuinely innocent digimon. Should he be concerned too? What did Tamer know that he wasn't saying out loud?
"Non-sense. What form could knowledge take outside of books? Unless you're taking the whole books are made of trees part seriously, and that makes me doubt your purpose for being here," Bokomon slapped the book he kept on him sternly.
Wizardmon tapped his staff on the ground, "Experience."
Then he waved it through the air, drawing embers from the sun atop his staff and directing them on the ground around them until they were completely surrounded on all sides by fire. JP leapt up, "AH! It's a trap!"
Tomoki wanted to run away in fear but there was nowhere to go that didn't lead directly into a wall of fire. Yet, something seemed off about the flames as they danced around them. He couldn't quite place it but he didn't feel like he was in as much danger as the flames made it seem that he was in. Then Tamer just stood up and started walking into the flames, "It's an illusion. It's awfully cold for a fire. And I would know! I'm still dripping wet."
"Hey, he's right. The fire doesn't feel hot," Zoe said, reaching a hand out through the fire.
Wizardmon tapped his staff on the ground again and nodded, "Indeed it is. The flames were a simple illusion to demonstrate my point."
"Did you have to be so dramatic about it?" JP cried out in frustration. Wizardmon turned his head away from the boy and kept his attention squarely on Tamer, to JP's growing frustration. Tomoki didn't quite get it though. What exactly was going on with Takuya and Wizardmon? He got that they didn't like each other but he didn't understand why. Was there some kind of history there he didn't know.
"I can't quite criticize you for the theatrics. I like a good show myself, personally. But you still haven't answered my question. What is a Wizardmon like yourself doing so far out in the middle of nowhere?" Tamer asked again, "Unless, we're not as far in the middle of nowhere as we think we are. But then the question becomes how far are we from civilization?"
Wizardmon crossed his arms, "You are as astute as they say. Very well. Yes, there is a village near here which I protect. Candlemon Village."
At the sound of those words, they all began to think the same thing. If there was a village nearby, that meant there was also civilization nearby. And civilization also meant a place to rest their heads. A place to relax and recuperate after wandering around for so long. And maybe, they'd be able to get their bearings and figure out just where they'd ended up. Zoe jumped up excitedly, "Can we go to this village? It'd be nice to not sleep on the forest floor for a night."
"Forget about bed. I want some real food! I don't think I can go another night on stale bread and fruit that's going rotten!" JP cheered.
Wizardmon eyed them curiously, "I said I protect the village. I might allow the Digimon Tamer there. But I'm not particularly inclined to let anyone else in. Especially not some humans I've never met before and some strange digimon."
"What?" Bokomon asked.
Neemon put a finger to his chin as he thought about it, "You went through all that trouble to help us just to decide you're going to leave us? I mean, if you didn't want to help then why come out at all? Just let him drown!"
"Who's side are you on?" JP asked, perhaps voicing the sentiment that was on all of their minds.
Neemon shrugged, "What? I'm just asking a question."
"A really bad one," Wizardmon sighed, crossing his arms, "If it means so much to you, you may follow me to the village. HOWEVER! Do not expect to be permitted entry without the elder's approval. You will have to wait outside."
"Well, it's a start," JP groaned, at least relieved that they were having a place to relax.
They followed Wizardmon through the thick and brush, into parts of the forest that would've seemed impassible if he hadn't waved his staff to move the plant life aside and clear a path. Tomoki followed quietly, rubbing his arm anxiously as he tried to not draw too much attention to himself. The whole way they walked, Wizardmon and Tamer traded barbs which proved how much they didn't like each other. But that just didn't make sense to Tomoki...
If they didn't like each other, then why did Wizardmon save him? And why was Tamer going along with him back to the village? He wanted to ask...but he also didn't want to upset anyone. So he just followed quietly and tried to not draw attention to himself.
Eventually, Wizardmon took them to a narrow path that descended down along the canyon wall to a small patch of land that poke out into the river below. There, they could see the flickering of flames illuminating what looked like the outlines of tents and huts. As they drew closer, they realized the flames were actually coming from large talking candles that hopped around the village as they went about their day like something out of a children's animated musical.
And once they reached the entrance to the village, all of the talking candles stopped whatever they were doing to gawk. It was all Tomoki could do to hide his face from the unwanted attention they were receiving while Wizardmon spun around to face them. Using his staff, he drew a line in the dirt and instructed, "All of you are to wait here. Only The Digimon Tamer is allowed inside. Until we return, do not dare cross this line."
"Am I the only one who doesn't like this?" JP asked anxiously.
"Just be patient. I'll be back soon," Tamer patted JP's back as he followed Wizardmon into the village.
"This isn't very reassuring," JP crossed his arms, watching Tamer disappear into the village and leaving the rest of them alone. Tomoki didn't like the way all the candle digimon were gawking at them. To avoid their gaze, he glanced around at their surroundings in the hopes that doing so would distract him from their prolonged gaze. Upon closer inspection, he realized the tents were actually just small huts made of dried - which made sense since they were all practically walking fire hazards.
And then he noticed the carvings along the canyon wall - a figure that resembled an angel surrounded by ten figures arranged in a circle. One looked like a wolf, another like a dragon, a bear, a fairy, a bug...but the others were difficult to make out. He nudged Bokomon, "Hey, what is that?"
"Hmm? Oh, how curious. That's one of the legends I was referring to not too long ago," Bokomon said, cracking his own book open. He flipped through the pages until he stopped at the page he wanted. He flipped it around to show them, "Long ago, the Digital World was overseen by Lucemon. Some called him the first Digimon. Others said he was the strongest. Whichever it was, he so loved the Digital World that he oversaw and protected all who dwelled there. Then one day, he turned on it all. What he once loved, he sought only to destroy. So ten brave digimon warriors came together to fight him. Their battle is said to have reshaped the Digital World. In the end, they defeated Lucemon and departed the Digital World. Before they departed, they each left their power in a spirit. A Guardian Spirit that could only be found and wielded by the worthy."
"Hang on. If they departed the Digital World, then what the hell is Takuya or Tamer or whatever using?" JP asked curiously, "And what makes him worthy?"
Bokomon could only shrug at the question as he flipped through the book, "Sadly, I don't have an answer for you. The book is very sparse when it comes to certain details."
"We're back," Tamer announced, drawing their attention away from Bokomon's story, "So! Good news! They will allow you into the village! The bad news, I have to defeat Wizardmon in a battle while you two wait in an ice prison and I will have until you all freeze to death to win!"
"Please tell me you didn't agree to that," JP groaned.
"Do you think the ice prison is the reason for all the water?" Neemon asked.
"So...yeah...I kinda already accepted," Tamer scratched the back of his head before backtracking as the group quickly scowled, "BUT! I've still got the power of Agunimon on my side! This is going to be a cinch!"
"I don't even get it! Why do you have to fight them at all?" Zoe asked, causing Tamer to freeze up. He pushed his fingers together nervously, kicking his shoes against the dirt as if he'd suddenly found it the most fascinating thing in the world.
Eventually, his silence was too much and JP snapped, "Okay, what did you do?"
"I...might have insulted the elder...repeatedly...to his face," Tamer answered quietly. Everyone collectively groaned and Tamer quickly went on with his assurances, "Look, it's under control. I just have to beat Wizardmon in a fight! All he has to do is throw the fight and we've got this in the bag!"
Tomoki breathed a sigh of relief. That did sound like a good idea. At least until Wizardmon wagged a finger, "I'm not going to throw a fight just because you asked. I'm the defender of this village and I could use the opportunity to learn combat techniques. Speaking of which, a chance to defeat the Digimon Tamer in action is not the kind of opportunity I can pass up."
"Oh come on! Can't you cut us some slack? We've been wandering in the forest for days! Could we have something to eat first?" JP groaned. The Candlemon surrounded the group and grabbed everyone, holding their hands behind their back and restraining them there. Tomoki wanted to run away but it all happened too quickly. And once again, he found himself proving just how useless he was. He didn't even realize there were in danger until it was too late.
At least he wasn't crying. It took all the self control that he had to not break down into tears though or start wailing. But that was hardly any better than just bawling and crying. And he really wanted to cry in that moment. The Candlemon holding him patted his back, "Sorry, humans. It's nothing personal. We're just being cautious. Plus, your friend really shouldn't have called the elder 'old' to his face. Repeatedly. That was just asking for trouble."
The Candlemon threw them into an icy cavern carved into the cliff wall and waved, "Don't worry. Win or lose, we'll let you out. We just need to be sure none of you try to wander into the village unsupervised. Or do anything evil."
"What makes you think we would!?" Zoe demanded.
"There's a war on. Any one could claim to be anyone," the Candlemon answered.
"And this fight will prove what, exactly?" Bokomon asked.
"Whether or not your friend is a liar. Calling himself the Digimon Tamer like that? Anyone can dress up like an idiot and wear goggles. Last we checked, he doesn't have an Agumon. Plus, the Elder wants to see his butt kicked so there's that. Look at the upside! You get front row seats to the fight!" the Candlemon retorted like that was supposed to answer the question. The candle then smacked the cave wall and brought a sheet of clear ice down like a door in front of them, leaving them alone in the freezing cave.
"Oh great. Now what?" JP asked, "And what's the big deal about Tamer or Takuya or whatever?"
"Weren't you lot the ones who weren't sure he was who he says he was?" Bokomon asked curiously, "You've placed your faith in him because he promised to take you home. But these Candlemon can't afford to take that risk."
"Does he look like a digimon? Do we? They even said we're human!" Zoe pointed out.
"So that means they should trust you?" Bokomon asked.
Tomoki noticed he didn't say 'us' even though he was locked up like they were, "Why do you say it like that? Do they have something against humans?"
"It was before your time, but there was a period when the whole of the Digital World was terrorized by a single human driven mad that called themselves the Digimon Emperor. Digimon had two options when it came to the Emperor - serve him as slaves or die," Bokomon answered quietly. Ah, that was why. No wonder the Candlemon were so weary.
And it reminded Tomoki of how powerless he was when it came to finding a way home. How was he supposed to do that trapped in here? What could he even do if he wasn't? How was he supposed to convince the Candlemon they were trustworthy? He couldn't transform like the Tamer or Koji. And if he could, wouldn't that make them more weary? All he really was good for was running and away and crying.
"Guys! Look! They're fighting!" Neemon said, pointing through the ice at Tamer and Wizardmon squaring off against each other on the opposite bank of the river. A crowd of Candlemon had gathered around them, cheering excitedly as the two traded verbal barbs with each other. Unfortunately, they were too far away to hear so all they could make out were the jeers from the Candlemon in response to whatever they were saying.
And as the cheers swelled, Tamer raised up his digivice and light burst forward from it. The light turned to fire, and faded away to reveal on Agunimon standing there. Wizardmon faltered for a second, stepping back in what must've been surprise before he shook his head and cast a spell with a wave of his staff. Agunimon responded in turn by charging the wizard with his fire, to the roar of approval from the many Candlemon present.
"What do you think? Anyone figure that Tamer can win?" JP observed, tempting the universe. And as quickly as he said it, Agunimon was blown into the cave wall by a blast from Wizardmon's staff.
"Nope," Neemon replied as he sipped water from a bottle that he could only have retrieved in his pants somewhere. Agunimon scrambled back up to his feet and dashed at Wizardmon, dropping into a slide to sweep Wizardmon's legs only to find the wizard floating into the air. Agunimon didn't relent, using his momentum to swing around his other leg to sweep the wizard in the air only to get knocked aside.
"Aargh! I can't stand this. We have to get out of here!" Zoe groaned stamping her foot.
"And help him out?" Tomoki asked nervously.
Zoe didn't answer him, instead producing her digivice and banging it against the ice like a rock, "I'll smash the ice with this thing if I have to!"
She hit it twice and barely put a dent into the hard surface, let alone a crack. At least her digivice was durable enough to survive the strike, but she stopped after a few blows and shook her wrist, "Okay...maybe that wasn't a bright idea."
"Maybe it's about time we figure out how to use these things. There's got to be something on here that will help us," JP took out his digivice and examined it closely, "And, never mind. I can't read anything on this stupid thing!"
He showed them the screen of his digivice, and the strange symbols that moved across it. And that just served as another blow to Tomoki's esteem. What was he supposed to do?
"You're such a whiner. Has any one ever told you to stop whining so much? Also, hello."
"Huh?" Tomoki spun around at the sound of the voice, sure it was coming from behind them. He saw a small light blue light flickering further inside the cave and narrowed his eyes to get a better look. The cave was so dark that he was sure he would've missed it if he hadn't realized it was there, "Who's there."
"Someone who wants to help. And if it gets you to stop being such a worry wort, then it helps me too!You can call me Kumamon."
"Wants to help? Why would you want to help me? I'm nobody!" Tomoki answered quietly.
"Tommy, are you okay?" Zoe asked, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking in the same direction he was, "Who are you talking to?"
"You don't...see that?" Tomoki asked, pointing towards the flickering light further into the cave.
"No, she can't. I can only reveal myself to whomever I want," Kumamon's voice said, "I could feel how much you wanted to help. So I thought I would lend you my power...you could help your friend. Although I'm not sure how much help he needs since he's the reason you're in this mess."
"But he needs our help. And if he fails...we're all in trouble," Tomoki answered, "And...I don't want to feel useless anymore."
"That's about as good a reason as any to help anyone," Kumamon said, "So...ready?"
"Yes," Tomoki said.
"Then my power is yours," Kumamon said. The light blue grew brighter and lit up the entire ice cave. He had no idea how no one else could not see it, especially as it floated into his chest and his whole body began to tingle. It spread from his chest, to his arms and legs, to the tips of his fingers, until suddenly all he could see was white. Then the image of a bear flashed before him. A small white bear standing on his hind legs and wearing green armor. As quickly as the bear appeared, it vanished and the light faded away. They were still in the ice cave, but he couldn't help but notice the others were all staring at him.
"Whoa. Way to go Tommy," JP said.
"It's adorable," Zoe added, clasping her hands together and barely able to contain a squeal.
Bokomon was flipping through his book again, "Let's see here. White bear...green armor...ice...Ah-ha! I see you. This is Kumamon! The Guardian Spirit of Ice!"
"Ice, huh?" Tomoki looked down at his arms, suddenly realizing they were covered in white fur and also a little stubbier than he remembered. Actually, now that he noticed it, he realized he was approximately the same size as he had been before. He hadn't gotten any taller like Takuya had with Agunimon. Or that weird guy from the other day with Lobomon. No, that didn't matter. He turned around and went towards the ice wall holding them in.
"Wait! Tommy! What are you thinking?" Zoe asked. Tomoki thought it was fairly obvious. Unless they didn't believe he could do it.
He was right to think JP didn't believe in him because he raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you're up to this? You know once you're out there, you can't just run away once you're out there!"
Tomoki didn't care what any of them said. He knew it was dangerous and he didn't care. He was tired of crying. Tired of running and hiding. Tired of standing back as others took care of things for him. He wasn't going to do that any more. He stood up and cried out, "Ah! I can't take this any more! I'm coming!"
"Tommy! Wait!" Zoe called after him.
"MY NAME IS TOMOKI!" he shouted back. He was tired of hearing that name said that way. It made him sound like a cry baby who needed defending. And he wasn't going to cry any more. All the frustration and anger he felt about how he had been came out when he wound his arm back and threw it with all his might at the ice wall. On contact, the ice shattered like it was made of glass. The shards scattered outwards, sprinkling the river and the small little ring where Agunimon and Wizardmon were fighting.
The Candlemon stepped away when they saw him running forward, many with their mouths open in surprise.
"What the…who are you? JP? Tomoki?" Agunimon asked.
"It's Kumamon," he answered, sliding between Wizardmon and Agunimon. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing here, but he knew he wasn't going to run. He also knew that he felt so much stronger in this form.
Wizardmon twirled his staff, "So…you also have the power to transform into a digimon. That would be impressive, but your friend has demonstrated that he's not particularly good with his abilities. Could you fair any better?"
Tomoki's fist tightened and he took a deep breath in. Perhaps it was instinct that kicked in, or maybe even reflex that was guiding him. Either way, he exhaled out a blast of cold ice towards Wizardmon, "Crystal Breeze!"
He exhaled a blast of ice cold wind out towards Wizardmon, who answered his attack with a snap of his fingers and a fireball that melted the ice. However, the fire ball went out faster than the ice melted, freezing Wizardmon's hand over. He retreated back away from the cold wind and readied his staff with his other hand, "That was a nice trick. But cheap shots won't work on me a second time!"
"Cheap this!" Tomoki wound his fist back, feeling it turn ice cold as he punched the ground as hard as he could, "FROZEN TUNDRA!"
He leapt at Wizardmon so quickly that the wizard didn't even have time to respond. Tomoki punched his face as hard as he could and sent the wizard rolling backwards. The wizard crashed into the back of the cliff face and landed face down. Tomoki barely had a chance to shake his wrist free when Wizardmon tried pushing himself back up, "Okay…that…I can't believe I got knocked out to 'cheap this'."
Tomoki was feeling pretty good about his win until another voice cried, "ENOUGH!"
The Candlemon parted to make room for another Candlemon to step forward. This particular digimon's wax was melted to resemble a full beard and he walked while holding what looked like a torch as a staff. Agunimon hobbled beside Tomoki and said, "Be careful, Tomoki. This is the village elder."
"You can shut y'er hole," the elder barked as he hopped forward towards Tomoki, circling him carefully, "We Candlemon have been guardin' that there Guardian Spirit fer millennia, waiting fer the hero what was meant to wield its power. If you hold it, then that means y'er the hero we were waitin' fer. We bow before you, holder of Kumamon's Guardian spirit."
Hero? Tomoki had never been called a hero before. He'd also never had a bunch of candle digimon bowing before him before, so he supposed there was a first time for everything. Seeing so many digimon bowing before him made him uneasy, but he fought back the urge to run away and cry. Once the Candlemon all stood back up, the elder went on to add, "I apologize for how we treated ya. But someone shows up at the village callin' themselves the Digimon Tamer, and they's got a bunch of strange humans and strange digimon with 'im? We couldn't be too careful, y'see. We've had more than our share of digimon through here lookin' fer that awesome power."
"So you locked us where the power was?" Tomoki asked, pointing out the biggest hole in their logic.
The elder Candlemon added, "We weren't too concerned, see. The power could only reveal itself to one who was worthy. Otherwise, all y'all would see was the back of the cave And it seems it has judged you worthy."
He was worthy? Tomoki's mind reeled from that announcement because he sure as hell didn't feel worthy. In fact, he felt more like he'd annoyed the guardian spirit into helping. He had just wanted to save Tamer after all he'd done to save him. He didn't know that would make him worthy of it.
"You should feel honored, Tommy. I mean Tomoki," Agunimon said, patting him on the shoulder, "Congrats on becoming a holder of a guardian spirit!"
Tomoki could feel his knees shaking nervously. He didn't really feel worthy. In fact, as he thought back on what Bokomon said about the Guardian Spirits and the story of the fallen, Tomoki felt a giant weight on his shoulders. But he swallowed his fear, or perhaps it was the lump in his throat, as he promised himself he wouldn't run away. He couldn't. He took a deep breath and nodded, understanding the responsibility he'd just taken.
"So...can we have lunch?" Agunimon asked. He was answered by a rock striking his face.
The elder snapped at him, "Y'er not allowed to have lunch until ya apologize f'er callin' me old!"
"But y'er old!" Agunimon answered, adopting the elder's accent.
Tomoki stifled a sigh as he listened to Agunimon and the elder begin to bicker. Perhaps he shouldn't have stepped in to save Tamer.
Author's Notes: Tomoki has awakened the Guardian Spirit of Ice and inherited its power. But will it help our heroes get home? Why did the Candlemon have a mural to an old legend? And will Tamer ever shut his mouth? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v3.0 - Bold New Frontier due out in 3 weeks on Friday, April 30th at 8 PM CDT. Let me know what you guys thought in the reviews sections! And hey, don't forget to favorite the story to show support and to follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates. That's all for now so let's look at previews for the next chapter!
Tamer cracked a smile, "I wasn't going to go all out on the only protection a small village had. Besides, here's a difference between trying to get across a small village and an open battlefield. What sort of person do you think I am?"
"An idiot," JP replied.
"A nut case," Zoe felt compelled to add perhaps a little more loudly than she should've.
"Their ride home," Neemon said as he sipped on yet another juice box.