Chapter 4: Ice, Electricity and Dinosaurs
"So, you helped them and got an egg? That's it?" Christina shook her head, before standing up. "What's an egg going to do for us? We're just wasting time at this point."
"But it's good to help others, isn't it? If Chelsie didn't help that tribe of Notemon, we might have made enemies with them." Cacomon replied, staring down at her, "maybe it seems like a waste of time, but it'll help us in the long run."
"Can you stop acting like our mum? It's getting annoying!" Jake snapped at the Protomon, "all you've been doing is talking!"
Everyone went silent at this remark. Mentamon and Axomon awkwardly looked at each other, Cacomon stared down at the ground, Christina and Jake were visibly upset and Chelsie stood there, too shocked to say anything. This spat had been going on for a few minutes, all because she accepted a gift from someone she helped. She looked down at the egg in question, was it right to accept the gift, or was she too naïve? What if it was dud, and nothing will hatch from it. Her mind soured as Cacomon began to talk again,
"I'm sorry? I just wanted to help you." It shook its head, "if it weren't for me, you'd be lost or dead."
"Oh really? Are you saying we can't fend for ourselves?" Jake spat,
"I'm not saying that, I'm just saying that if I didn't give you your Digivices, you wouldn't make it very far."
"Yeah right, we would've just left by now."
"How? If we didn't save you from that Vulturemon, you would've been dead." Cacomon retorted, flapping its wings wildly, "maybe if you stop being ungrateful, we can actually go somewhere else."
"You're the one who won't just shut up!" Christina glared at her partner, before turning away, "come on Chelsie, let's go." The blonde girl walked away, back onto the brick road of the park. Chelsie stood there, before looking at Mentamon, who blankly stared back at her. She began to walk after Christina, Mentamon beside her,
"I tell you, I'm sick and tired of being treated like a child." She muttered, "what good is a Protomon that only talks and has no fighting ability?" She then looked down at Mentamon, "you're lucky that yours barely says anything."
"I think it'd be better to have a more talkative Protomon." Chelsie argued, "you can talk to them for comfort, or even grow a stronger bond."
"Or be yelled at for hours." Christina added bitterly.
"What should we do? They're nearly out of that broken park!" A small, yellowish green, serpent Digimon covered in pink and purple hearts yelped, staring at the small, red dragon Digimon. Its leaf green eyes were filled with shock, "if we're not careful, they'll actually make it home."
"That's why we need a distraction." The dragon calmly spoke, flicking its short tail, "if we can stop them for long enough, we can continue our plan."
"But how will we distract them?" The snake tilted its head,
"simple. All you need to do is trust me, and it'll work." The dragon looked up at the sky, blue blocks of data splitting above them. "Come on, we need to get out of here before it comes."
The two small Digimon scampered off towards the edge of the park together, barely acknowledging the scorched grass that followed them.
"What do you think that egg with hatch into anyway?" Christina glanced at the egg in Chelsie's hands. They had been walking for a few minutes now, silently admiring the blocky trees and strangely coloured vegetation. Mentamon had been silently walking with them, its head down, as if it were stuck in thought. Neither Jake, Axomon or Cacomon had come after them yet, and even if they had, they'd be too far behind the trio by now. Chelsie looked down at the egg herself, there were no visible cracks or splits in the shell, plus it still felt cold in her palms.
"Probably a fish." She looked up at Christina, "I'm just guessing from the markings on the shell."
"That's a good guess." Christina nodded, "but I was more thinking of something like a lochness monster or something cool like that."
"Somethings coming from behind." Mentamon finally spoke after what felt like years of silence from it. As the girls looked behind them, they saw Axomon bounding towards them, before skidding to a halt at her feet.
"Jake said that he heard something nearby, so he told me to check it out. I didn't know I'd find you guys!" It excitedly spoke, jumping on the spot, "now we can stop running from each other."
"We weren't running in the first place." Christina argued, "we were leaving this stupid park."
"Stupid? It's not stupid! It's a perfectly good place to live." Axomon shook its head, "why would you want to leave?"
"So we can go home." Chelsie stepped in, "we don't want to be here."
"But then you'll leave us and we'll be all alone again." Mentamon joined, lowering its head, "we don't want that."
"No one would ever want that!" Another, unfamiliar voice barged in. A rookie Protomon jumped from the trees. It was leopard-like, with big, round, yellow eyes. "I'm Pardusmon, and you lot look so sad and lost." It quickly spoke, it's words nearly incomprehensible, "I'm here to get you out of this park and get you out of this world and back into your own." It jumped over to Mentamon, "this guy ain't gonna lead you anywhere, you'll need some like me to do it instead."
Mentamon raised its head quizzically, "I wasn't leading them-"
"Come on! You want to leave, don't you?" Pardusmon jumped to in front of them all, "let's go!" It turned and sped off.
"Hey, wait up!" They turned to see Jake and Cacomon approaching, "what are you guys doing?"
"Following a Protomon that'll lead us out of here." Chelsie nodded, "we should try to catch up to it." The group then followed after Pardusmon.
"Where are those children? I thought I saw them here earlier…" A small, white rhino Protomon glanced around the park. It's icy horn glinted as a small bit of light broke the trees above. Across the stone path, leaves and twigs scattered the ground, it looked like a warzone with how half hazardously it was placed. Then, among all the bright greens and browns, the Protomon spotted something, a small tuft of pale, spotted fur.
"No…" The rhino shook its head, "those children!" It ran off, thundering down the path, leaves flinging into the air.
"That egg you got there is interesting looking." Pardusmon looked up at the egg in Chelsie's hands, "can I have a quick look?"
"Sure." Chelsie lowered her arms so that the egg was at eye level with the leopard Digimon,
"looks like an Arromon egg." It nodded, "or a Gekkomon egg. It could even be a Crocodilimon or Radixmon egg."
"What even are some of those Digimon?" Christina asked, staring down at the egg, "don't you know them? They're some of the newer Digimon created, their a lot stronger than the ones you have right now too."
"Really?" Chelsie looked down at the leopard-like Digimon in wonder,
could something really strong be in this egg?
"Of course! With enough care that egg will be one of the strongest Digimon you've ever seen!" Pardusmon replied, nodding frantically.
"Ice Breaker!" A loud, calm-sounding voice yelled. Along the path, long, icicles sprouted from the ground, before they all fell apart just a few seconds later. After the attack, an albino rhino Protomon ran towards them, it's icy-blue eyes gleaming with malice as it stared at Pardusmon.
"What do you think you're doing with those innocent children, you murderer!" The Protomon spat, scrapping its hooves across the ground,
"Alrhinomon." Pardusmon muttered, glaring back at its opponent. Mentamon looked up at Chelsie, before looking back at the other Protomon and Digimon, who had begun to slowly circle each other. "We need to help Alrhinomon." Mentamon spoke, before running forwards into the fight, "Quick Tackle!" It smashed into Pardusmon, sending the Digimon flying, it landed gently on the ground, before turning back to Mentamon, it's green eyes burning with anger, "Shock Fangs!" It lunged at Mentamon, sinking its fangs into its neck. Electrical current suddenly ran through Mentamon, it yelped in pain, and began shaking Pardusmon off of it. In one quick jump, it landed back on the ground gracefully. "Rhino Ram!" Alrhinomon ran at Pardusmon, it's head down, letting the horn on its head smash into its opponent. Pardusmon dodged the attack, then leapt into a tree. "You're never gonna win this one." It hissed, before a bright, blinding light consumed it.
How is that possible? Digimon can't Digivolve without a partner! Chelsie stared in horror as Pardusmon Digivolved. Its body grew longer and thinner, and what seemed to be a mask was now plastered on its face, hanging over its head. When the light faded, a large, black Digimon stood on the tree branch, the mask on its face looked just like Pardusmon's face, though the jaw attached to it was dark, with sharp teeth, its green eyes gleamed with power as it stared down at the Protomon and children.
"Dark Lightning!" It growled. Suddenly, a dark bolt of lightning struck the ground, barely missing Mentamon, the spot where the lightning struck began to burn with a strange, blue fire. It then jumped from the tree, "Strong Strike!" It smashed into Alrhinomon, toppling the rhino Protomon over.
"We've got to do something." Cacomon stared at them, "I doubt both Mentamon and Alrhinomon can beat Mendaxmon."
Mendaxmon? How come that sounds familiar? Chelsie stared at the champion Digimon, before shaking her head, "Mentamon, you've got to try and knock it over!" Her partner didn't even look back at her as it leaped into the air, "Quick Tackle!" It smashed into Mendaxmon, before leaping back. Mendaxmon turned to stare at the Reptile Protomon, before striking the Protomon, making it fall to the ground.
"Mentamon!" Chelsie cried, running forward, nearly tripping over her own feet, she stopped when she heard a faint beeping noise coming from her pocket, she reached in and took out her Digivice. The screen was glowing a bright white, the beeping growing stronger. Unconsciously, she held it into the air, "Mentamon, Digivolve!"
Once she spoke, white light consumed Mentamon, "Mentamon Digivolve to…" Her partner's body began to quickly change. It grew larger, its front legs became feathered and shorter, while its hind legs became thinner. Its claws grew larger, and the plumage at the base of its tail disappeared, while more feathers grew at the tip. Its bottom jaw became feather, and the back of its head grew even more, shorter feathers. "Symbomon!" The light suddenly dispersed, leaving Symbomon, its glowing, green patterns glowing brightly as it stared down Mendaxmon.
"White Beam!" It roared, before opening its mouth wide, as it did so, a blinding white laser shot out of its mouth, smashing into Mendaxmon, sending it rolling across the stony path, its fur singed. "Dashing Smash!" Symbomon charged at the Digimon quickly, before jumping at it, slashing its long claws into its opponent's skull. As it leapt away, Mendaxmon rose to its feet sluggishly, its eyes burning with rage. "This is so unfair!" It whined, shaking its head, "when the Great-Kings hear of this, they'll have your heads!" It ran past them, before pausing just behind the children, "this won't be the last time you hear of me." It muttered, before continuing to run off.
"You managed to beat that mangy Pardusmon before it could do some real damage." Alrhinomon dipped its head, "how could I ever repay you?"
"You can tell us how to get out of this stupid park."
"I can do you one better," Alrhinomon looked up at them, "I can get you out of this ''stupid'' park."
"What do you mean you failed?" The red dragon glared at Pardusmon, shaking its head. The snake Digimon laid beside it, coiling around the rock that it and the dragon were on top of.
"I'm sorry Fierimon! I tried my very best, it's just that those stupid Protomon are becoming stronger by the second."
"I doubt we can fight them at our current state." The snake hissed, shaking his head, "we need to try something else."
Fierimon nodded, "we need to get Yagimon, he'll be the best option for destroying those idiots." It looked at Pardusmon, "can you go find him? And by the Great-Kings, get back soon." The leopard-like Digimon nodded before dashing away.
Link to the wiki: wiki/Protomon_Wiki