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 - Brave New Frontier is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.
The Tamer v3.0 - Bold New Frontier
Chapter 5: A Tale Of Two Conflicts
They spent several nights in Candlemon Village, taking the time to rest up after their spending so much time wandering around lost. And they were already behind schedule anyway so what difference did a few more days mean to relax and restock on supplies as they continued on their journey home?
While they took the time to recoup, Tomoki noticed something different after his brief time as Kumamon. He kept hearing a voice in his head, and would occasionally wander off to be somewhere quiet. Zoe wanted to keep an eye on him but he pushed her away as he always did, although this time it was because he kept saying she was too loud. In fact, he kept calling everything too loud.
It wasn't until Tamer pulled him aside into one of the huts one day that he finally calmed down enough to be willing to talk to people. And even then, he still would ask her to stop talking every so often. But that didn't stop Zoe from trying again. But she decided to wait until they were out of the village so that they would have something to talk about while they walked. Wizardmon guided them back up the path to the top of the canyon before letting them go on their own. He gestured ahead along the dirt path, "This way will take you to Breezy Village. There is a train station with some tracks in use that way, but no one's come from that direction in a long time. And with things the way they are, no one has been brave enough to make the journey."
After that, they bid their good-byes to Wizardmon and walked on. They walked for some time in silence before Zoe finally walked up to Tommy, "How are you feeling today, Tommy? Is your head hurting?"
"The voice is quiet today," Tomoki said, massaging his temple. She had no idea what that meant and no idea what to say in response to it. Maybe the silence was why Tomoki kept going off on his own. After a moment, he added, "Tamer says the voice is Kumamon's spirit. He said that if I ignore it, that will only make the voice louder. The spirit wants someone to talk to and if I talk to it, it'll get what it needs and rest."
"Is that so?" Zoe tilted her head to the side, alarmed that the spirit's voice could still be talking inside his head when he wasn't digivolving into the spirit. She lowered her voice to a small whisper, "Does it talk a lot?"
"Not today," Tomoki answered quietly, "But when it does, it never stops talking. Tamer says I should get along with the voice but I don't know if I can."
Zoe looked ahead to Tamer at the lead of the group and wondered, "Where does he learn all of this stuff anyway?"
"He said that his spirit makes three voices in his head besides his own," Tomoki remarked. That made sense. As crazy as Tamer was, there was no way he wasn't hearing voices in his head. And that fact that there were so many only affirmed what they all feared. He was as crazy as he seemed.
BOOM!
They all stopped at the sound of the explosion and looked over in surprise.
"What was that?" Bokomon craned his neck, as if that would help him see over the many trees.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
"That sounds like fighting," Tamer mumbled under his breath, before dashing off the trail into the forest. Zoe couldn't believe it. Did he always have to run towards trouble? Still, he was their only way home and they all ran after him to make sure he didn't get himself killed.
"Shouldn't we run away from explosions?" JP moaned, as he took off after them. They hurried through the forest as sound of explosions grew louder, followed by the dull roar of fighting.
And it didn't take long for them to clear the forest and come back out to miles of open desert. And just some distance away were two large armies of digimon made of flowers and mushrooms fighting each other. At first glance, it looked like it was the flower digimon fighting the mushroom digimon. But as they watched the fight unfold, they noticed one of the flower digimon strangling another with the vines on its arms. The flower digimon being strangled gagged, its eyes bulging out of their sockets until eventually it went limp and exploded into data like Cerberumon had during their encounter with it. The victorious flower digimon had no time to revel as it was tackled from behind by a mushroom digimon who began furiously bashing its head into the ground.
Zoe gasped, "What are they doing?"
"Fighting. This is a battle," Tamer said between grit teeth. He raised up his digivice and declared, "All of you. Stay here. SPIRIT EVOLUTION!"
Light burst forward from the device and turned to fire, wrapping around him and transforming him into Agunimon. And as he quickly as he transformed, he launched himself into the air with his fire punch and landed in the middle of the fighting.
"What is he thinking? He's not going to join them, is he!?" Zoe gasped, covering her mouth in shock as she watched two of the mushroom digimon trying to choke each other out. It looked like one of them was going to succeed until Agunimon leapt beside them and forcefully separated the two. Then he hurried across the battlefield, pulling as many of the fighting digimon aside as possible while also throwing them on opposite sides of the fight.
"I think he's trying to break it up," JP scratched his head.
Bokomon tilted his head to the side, "I don't get it. Does he really think he's going to stop all that? Those guys look ready to rip each other to pieces."
"HA!"
Agunimon leapt into the air one last time and kicked the ground so hard that he kicked up a wall of fire roared to life between the two sides he created. All of the fighting came to an abrupt stop as digimon on both sides stopped to look at Agunimon. When standing against all the fire he created, and with all the horns on his armor, he looked practically demonic. Or perhaps like an old war god who'd descended on the earth. Then he made a show of throwing his fire around angrily, letting it just nearly hit the many plant digimon until they were cowering. Once he had them cowed, he roared with his voice, "THIS ENDS NOW! ALL OF YOU! GO HOME!"
The many digimon present hesitated for a moment, until one of mushroom was brave enough to shout, "GET HIM!"
And as quickly as he said it, Agunimon's fist came aflame and he punched the mushroom digimon, burning the digimon present to a crisp and leaving nothing behind when the flames cleared. If his earlier display hadn't been enough, his quick work of this one act of defiance had made the message clear. The two groups of digimon dispersed into mixed groups of mushrooms and flowers, making it hard to tell which side was which. What was clear were the jeers and insults the two sides threw at each other as they retreated in opposite directions of the desert.
However, Zoe's attention was strictly on Tamer after that frightening display he'd just shown off. He walked back towards them steadily, transforming back into his normal self as the fires subsided. No one went to meet him. Zoe was sure he noticed that since it was such a long walk back towards them.
When he finally reached them, the fierce intensity he'd demonstrated to the digimon just a moment ago was gone, instead replaced by the goofy expression he'd been showing them this entire time. But there was no forgetting that display they had seen some time ago. And Zoe had to admit it was concerning to see someone who'd been such a goof ball before turn into such a monster. Even his battle with Cerberumon earlier hadn't been so vicious. But this?
That was something else entirely. She looked back and forth between the others, and they all had the same alarm on their face that she was feeling.
Once Tamer rejoined them, he gave a simple wave, "Okay, that's all taken care of."
A moment of silence followed as he seemed to register that they were just staring at him and he raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"So...are we going to talk about that?" Bokomon asked.
"Yeah, where the hell was all that with Wizardmon?" JP asked as his face twisted into a familiar penchant of distrust and skepticism, "We could've used scary Tamer back then."
Tamer cracked a smile, "I wasn't going to go all out on the only protection a small village had. Besides, there'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 homeless bum," Bokomon added.
"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. Just where did he keep getting all these juice boxes?
Tamer pushed out his lower lip and threw down his hands, "Well don't all feel the need to tear me down at the same time."
"But you make it so easy," Tomoki muttered quietly, "Sorry, that was the voice. Not me. It's been insulting you for the last five minutes. Wait, no. It's been insulting Agunimon. Did they not like each other?"
"Agunimon's a fire spirit and Kumamon's an ice spirit, so no. They generally don't like each other. For what it's worth, I like you," Tamer responded a little more cheerfully, "We should get back on to the trail if we're going to get to Breezy Town. Hopefully, we won't run into any more angry digimon."
"Actually, I was wondering. Where did all those digimon go?" Bokomon pondered aloud, "Because I imagine the only thing in this direction is Breezy Village and I'd like to hope we didn't just attack the welcome committee."
"Or saved them. It's all in how you sell it," Tamer tapped his hat as he led the way back to the path.
It wasn't much longer from there that they came upon their destination. At first glance, Breezy Village was a small and quaint village made of up small abodes built into the trunks of large trees that reached so high they towered the surrounding forest. A set of make shift barricades and wood works were set up on the path leading up to the village, manned by the flower and mushroom digimon they had seen earlier.
"More of them? Who are those guys?" JP asked.
Tamer pointed out the digimon as he named them, "The flowers are Floramon and the mushrooms are Mushroomon. They're usually a very peaceful digimon but I've never seen them like this before. That fighting had a savageness I've never seen on them before. I don't know what's brought them to this point but it can't be good."
Bokomon nodded in agreement, "Yes, they're usually quite peaceful and welcoming to others. To see so many of them fighting each other is…well, concerning."
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" one of the Mushroomon shouted from behind their barricade, "TAKE ONE MORE STEP AND WE'LL BLOW YOU AWAY!"
"We were already stopped. You could have just said, keep doing what you're already doing!" Tamer shouted back at them.
Zoe immediately face palmed and ran to Tamer's side so she could cover his mouth, "What are you doing!? Are you trying to antagonize them!? He didn't mean that! He's just…slow!"
"WE SAID STOP!" the Mushroomon shouted again, now coming out from behind the barricade escorted by another Mushroomon and two of the Floramon. More of the same digimon poked out from behind the barricade, many of them looked ready to attack at first glance. The lead Mushroom marched right up to them and growled, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"We were hoping to get on the next train back home," Zoe said quickly, trying her hardest to stop Tamer from prying her hands off.
JP nodded in agreement, "Yeah! We're just trying to get back to our world."
The Mushroomon's head tilted to the side as he examined them carefully, "You lot are humans, aren't you? What are you doing here in the Digital World?"
"We…don't know," Zoe answered sheepishly, trying to ignore the incredulous look the Mushroomon was giving her. She added, "To be honest, we're not even sure how we got here."
The Mushroomon grunted, signaling the others with his hand that made them lower their make shift arms. The lead Mushroomon pointed back down the path, "Train's not running through here right now. If you know what's good for you, you'll turn right around and march back the way you came. Besides. There are no outsiders allowed in the village. Natives only!"
"Natives? So that means we can come in, right? After all, we are digimon!" Bokomon pointed out, gesturing to himself and Neemon.
Neemon looked down at himself, "I don't think I'm dressed like a Native."
The Mushroomon growled in annoyance, "Alright, smart ass! Let me put it this way. Do we know you? No! So get lost!"
At that moment, Zoe felt a wet and warm sensation on her hand and gagged as she realized that Tamer was licking her hand. She pulled away, wiping her hand on the dirt as she complained, "What the hell?"
Tamer stuck out a tongue at her and proceeded towards the Mushroomon, "We're already lost. Besides, we heard your village was quite the hospitable vacation spot. Why not let us in and sample some?"
Zoe cursed as the Mushroomon snapped at Tamer angrily, "In case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly hospitable right now. We've got enough problems with those damn outsiders trying to make a home here! And we're not going to be forced out so a bunch of fakes can take our homes!"
"That's right!" the other digimon shouted in agreement.
"Besides! You could be spies trying to sneak your way in!" the Mushroomon growled, "And do you know what we do to spies and traitors around here?"
"Give them a very relaxing back massage?" Tamer asked more than said.
"Play hide and seek!" Neemon said from the back of their group.
"He's going to torture us, you idiot!" JP said from the back. Tamer really didn't seem interested in listening to common sense in that moment. It was hard to believe not that long ago, that he so fiercely ripped apart two large armies of digimon without hesitation. Now here he was, trying to play peacemaker. Granted it was a very bad peacemaker.
"Okay…Tamer, seriously, what's wrong with you?" Zoe asked.
"Wait…Tamer? As in The Digimon Tamer?" the lead Mushroomon asked very angrily.
Tamer nodded happily, "Yes, that's me!"
"TAKE HIM ALIVE!" the lead Mushroomon shouted, gesturing for the various digimon to charge in and capture him alive. Zoe expected Tamer to whip out his spirit evolution and unleash the same kind of wrath he had when they encountered the battle earlier. She did not expect Tamer to throw up his hands and smile as the digimon tied him up with rope and started carrying him off to the village.
"Tamer!" JP cried out.
"Takuya!" Tomoki tried to reach out to him only to get pushed back.
"Stop that! All of you! This isn't necessary!" Bokomon tried reasoning with the mob only to fall on deaf ears. They tried to chase after the mob but they were blocked by several Floramon and Mushroomon who looked ready to attack if they dared come any closer.
As for Tamer, he smiled from ear to ear as he was carried away and even found the time to joke, "Take me to your leader!"
"Tamer! This isn't the time for this!" Zoe called after him only to realize her voice was completely drowned out among the many Floramon carrying him off.
Tamer just tilted his head back at her and said, "Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! Go find the outsiders these guys are talking about. Figure out what's going on and see what you can do about fixing things!"
"Fixing things!? Tamer! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" Zoe called after him as he disappeared behind the barricades. He was too far away to hear but they could make out that his lips were at least still moving. And they couldn't get any closer with all those angry Floramon and Mushroomon blocking the way. They all groaned collectively again as they found themselves dragged into another problem that Tamer had created.
"He really is an idiot," Tomoki said in a show of uncharacteristic rudeness, "Sorry, that was Kumamon's voice again. And I'm not defending him, I'm just saying that's a little mean."
"Geez, the way you talk to that voice makes it seem like Tamer's crazy is rubbing off on you," Zoe admitted quietly, patting the little boy as he massaged the side of his head. She could only imagine the kind of painful mental torture he had to be enduring in that specific moment, listening to a voice screaming lord knows what in his head.
Of course, JP picked the worse time to overhear and added, "Wait, Tommy's hearing voices now? Okay, does anyone else want to admit to being nuts because I've had about all that I can take."
Zoe didn't really appreciate the joke and crossed her arms, "Where do you think we'll find the outsider group he's talking about?"
"Come on, Zoe! Don't tell me you want to go along with this?" JP frowned, probably feeling like the only sane man in a while. Zoe didn't like having to agree with Tamer and she certainly didn't think he was right. But the faster they figured out what was going on in this town, the faster they would be allowed to get in and use the train.
She crossed her arms and gestured at JP, "Believe me, I know. I hate it too. But we need to do this if we want to have any chance of getting on that train. Tamer will...probably be fine on his own. Let's go see about the other guys."
"And what? Persuade them to storm the village?" JP asked.
"Either that or get these guys to sit down and talk," Zoe stated, realizing just how crazy this plan sounded as she said it out loud. Still, they had to start somewhere. The only real question was where to start? And she mused this questions aloud, "If we were a bunch of outsiders, where would we be living?"
"Probably not too far from here. Someplace safe, with easy access to water or food," Tomoki said. Every one looked at the little boy in surprise as he continued to massage his head, mostly because the observation was just so right. He pointed at his head again, "It's Kumamon's voice. I'm just repeating everything he's saying. He also says this is a dumb idea and we're all going to get killed. You first."
He gestured at Neemon when he said that last part. The little rabbit barely reacted to the comment, giving a half hearted shrug, "Eh, I like to think I had a good run."
"So optimistic about your own death. I swear, something is wrong with you," Bokomon sighed quietly.
Zoe had enough of this banter by that point, and had no idea what Tamer was even thinking at this point. All she cared about was getting home as soon as possible. Zoe clapped her hands together to get their attention, "Okay, let's get going already! The sooner we find this place, the sooner we can rescue Tamer and all go home! I think the other side retreated that way. Let's go!"
Crusadermon and Dynasmon watched the group of children from afar, eyeing them carefully as they proceeded away from the village and into the forest. Crusadermon shook her head, "I don't like where this is going. They should've been killed right away. The village has been completely on edge. They should've been killed before they even got close."
Dynasmon remained unconcerned. In fact, Crusadermon guess that her fellow knight was smiling beneath his helmet as he began to sing praise, "We need not concern ourselves with the master's plans."
"They have two of the Guardian Spirits! We need to be more proactive in avoiding our fate. We should kill them!" Crusadermon snapped. She knew of her death. She knew it was coming.
"No. We cannot interfere directly," Dynasmon held out his hand to hold her back, "So long as we play our part, the last two will fall. Cherubimon already swears allegiance to us. Ophanimon and Seraphimon are of no concern if we play our part, as are these humans. It is the Digimon Tamer we must prevent from interfering. The moment the humans stray from their path, the Digimon Tamer will know of our plan. He will interfere. And he will win."
"What was all that stuff about faith?" Crusadermon countered.
Dynasmon grunted, "I have faith that our lord will save us, as long as The Digimon Tamer doesn't interfere. We should move. The humans are getting away."
Zoe found herself in the undesirable position of leading the group now that Tamer was gone. Even though she really had no idea where she was going. But she really just wanted to go home, and she wasn't going to sit back and wait for things to work out like they did with the rampaging Pagumon and the Candlemon from the other day.
But with only a vague idea of where they needed to go, she could only guess at what kind of trouble they would find in this direction. And her worries weren't exactly made any better as they eventually made their way out in an open field marked by metal barricades around a large brick factory. But just outside the makeshift fortifications were a bunch of tents and campfires around which groups of Floramon and Mushroom were gathered. A few of them hobbled their way towards the factory, where they were met by large green goblins holding clubs, and insects that looked like electric tasers with legs. The goblins barked at them to leave and most scattered, but a few stayed and found themselves beaten to death. That sparked the rest of them into trying to flee but there was no escaping the wrath of these angry digimon
Zoe gasped, horrified at the casual cruelty playing out before them. JP stamped his feet angrily, "How can they just do that?"
"I've already told you. There's a war on," Bokomon answered matter of factly, "There are refugees from all walks of life, each looking for new homes, protect what they still have, or reclaim what they lost."
"We should get down there and help," Tomoki said, charging up ahead and raising up his digivice. Zoe tried to stop him but it was already too late, the little boy vanished in a glow of light and emerged as the little white Kumamon, "LEAVE THEM ALONE! ICICLE PUNCH!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Kumamon used his ice fist to punch one of the Goblimon. The goblin digimon raised up one of its club to block the attack, and found the club freezing over and shattering in place. A small scuffle broke out between them and Zoe gasped, "We better go help him!"
"And do what? Get ourselves killed?" JP asked.
"You could be useful and make yourself a target," Neemon suggested. Zoe scoffed and started running towards the embattled digimon, just as she heard a slap from behind her. She didn't bother to look back though but she did arrive in time to see Kumamon squaring off against the remaining goblins.
One of the goblins growled at Kumamon, "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm the guy who's gonna kick your butt if you don't leave these digimon alone!" Kumamon snapped.
"Leave them alone?" the goblin snapped, "THIS IS OUR TURF! THEY'RE THE ONES WHO SHOULD LEAVE US ALONE!"
"Please. We've been driven out of our home!" one of the Mushroomon pleaded, "We're begging you Goblimon to help us. If you won't fight along side us, at least let us inside to take care of our sick and wounded."
"And we're telling you that's not our problem! Leave us out of your fight!" the Goblimon spat back, raising his club up to hit the Mushroomon until Goblimon jumped in the way to protect them. Just like the first club, he turned it to ice and smashed to pieces.
"I said leave them alone!" Kumamon snapped. The Goblimon growled and a few them gathered to attack Kumamon when Zoe finally had enough. She wasn't going to sit back and watch anyone else get hurt so she put her fingers in her lips and let out a loud whistle the got all their attention.
"Guys! Stop it!" Zoe said, "Enough is enough!"
The Goblimon was unimpressed by her display and grunted, "Hmph. What do you want human? And what are you doing in our world?"
"Trying to get home," Zoe put her hands to her hips, "How about you all quit fighting and leave each other alone!"
"THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING!" the lead Goblimon cried out, "This is all of your last chance! Beat it before we beat you!"
"Don't worry! We're going!" Zoe said, turning towards the remaining Floramon and Mushroomon. She tried to usher them to leave but was met with more resistance than these digimon should've reasonably put up, especially with how many of them were wounded.
"We're not just going to leave!" one of the Floramon said.
"It's okay! We're here to help! But you have to go with us!" Zoe said as she tried to usher the digimon out the door. A few more digimon tried to fight her on leaving, but they quickly agreed to leave once they saw more Goblimon arriving to reinforce the outer most fortification. It was hard to miss the mood deflating among the assembled Floramon and Mushroomon, and she felt truly sorry for them with how dejected they were.
She, JP, Kumamon, Bokomon, and Neemon followed their group back to their camp, listening as they grumbled about being forced away from another home. As they reached the edge of the encampment, one of the Floramon turned around to face them, "What are you doing?"
"We wanted to see if we could help," Zoe said aloud.
"A lot of help you humans have been," the Floramon grumbled back, "We were forced out of one home against our will to another where we weren't welcome. And now we're here. If you really want to help, leave us alone!"
"Come on, Zoe. Why don't we just get out of here already?" JP asked nervously, "These guys look like they don't want to talk to us!"
"No way. We need to figure out what's going on here if we're going to figure out how to rescue Takuya...or Tamer. Whatever!" Zoe pointed out, "We can't just give up now. What we need is to get these guys willing to talk to each other! BESIDES!"
She ran in front of the group of digimon walking back into camp, "Kumamon put himself in danger to help you guys and this is how you pay him back?"
"If you wanted to help, you should've left us alone!" one of the Floramon said. Zoe wanted to snap back but JP grabbed a hold of her and pulled her away from the fight. That didn't stop Zoe from sticking her tongue out at the flower digimon. She couldn't believe the nerve of these digimon. It seemed working together was easier said than done.
Once they were away from the camp, Bokomon sighed, "Well, it seems we're back at square one. Now what?"
"We could try talking to the Goblimon again," Neemon suggested.
Bokomon face palmed at the idea and mumbled, "Does anyone other than Neemon have any ideas?"
"We could start beating up the Goblimon until they're willing to talk to us," Kumamon suggested to each of their surprise. Zoe especially didn't think she'd ever hear Tomoki of all people advocating for a violent action.
"Are...are you alright?" Zoe asked.
Tomoki slammed a fist into his palm and grumbled, "People like them are bullies and there's only one language people like them understand."
"Okay, that's worrying," JP stepped back nervously, causing Kumamon to look at him. Zoe readied herself in case Kumamon's agitation turned into a more violent confrontation than it needed to be.
"Psst."
Thankfully, their attention was pulled away by the hushed call from a set of nearby bushes. Unfortunately for whoever was in there, Kumamon decided to rush the bush, "Who's there!?"
"Tommy! Wait!" Zoe gasped, trying to stop the digimon one second too late. He was already in the bush, dragging their mystery person out by the leg. Revealing one of the bug digimon that looked like a electric taser with legs and wings. Kumamon threw the digimon out in front of the group and growled, "Okay! Who are you and what do you want?"
The bear may have been little but he was terrifying as he bore down on the little bug. JP slapped the back of the little digimon's head, "Get a hold of yourself, kid! You're going to hurt somebody! Geez, we've got to work on your anger issues."
While JP berated the little digimon, Zoe helped the bug digimon up to his feet and dusted the dirt off of it, "Sorry about Kumamon."
"Actually, Kumamon was the one I wanted to talk to," the bug answered, taking a moment to steady himself. He looked back towards Tomoki who was angrily arguing with JP about his aggression. Once again, Tomoki's smaller stature did nothing to make him any less intimidating in this form. The bug digimon pointed at him, "We saw how he attacked the Goblimon and were hoping he'd use some of that boldness to help us!"
Zoe couldn't help but notice how desperately Tomoki needed to work out whatever was bothering him, "Right now, he'd probably like the chance to work out some of that anger of his. I'm Zoe by the way."
"You can just call me Kokuwamon," the little bug introduced itself, "And who might the rest of your friends be?"
"I am Bokomon! And this is my counterpart, Neemon," Bokomon introduced himself with a smile. Neemon just nodded and offered a juice box from his pants to the bug who graciously accepted it.
"And that's JP," Zoe gestured towards the boy who was now in something like a shouting match with Kumamon, "And you've already met Kumamon. But when he's human, he's actually a sweet little kid named Tomoki."
"It's actually Kumamon," Kumamon remarked, somehow hearing her over his shouting match with JP.
"So, what kind of help did you need?" Zoe asked the little insect. He gestured for them to follow, "I'll explain as we go. But not here. It's not safe. If the Goblimon see me, we will all be in trouble. Come with me!"
"Why would we be in trouble exactly?" Bokomon asked with a raised eyebrow, hesitating to follow as the digimon started walking back into the bushes. Kumamon and JP were so engrossed in whatever they were arguing about that neither noticed they were being left behind until Zoe backtracked to pull them by the ears. Both boys yelped and whined while she tried to listen in on Kokuwamon's answer.
"Truth is I'm not supposed to be out here. The Goblimon don't like us to leave the factory and would be furious if they saw," the bug answered.
"Why would they be mad about that?" Kumamon asked.
The Kokuwamon looked back to face them, "Because the factory isn't theirs. It's ours. We used to use it to make batteries and electronics. Then the Goblimon showed up out of nowhere, took over, and had us repurpose it to make weapons for them. We don't like it but the Goblimon are too strong for us. But if you help us kick them out, we'll gladly let the Mushroomon and Floramon stay with us for now."
"Great, get out of one fight and now we're wrapped up in another," JP complained.
"But it could be what we need to get these two sides to talk to each other," Zoe reasoned, "Besides, we're not going to be able to rescue Tamer on our own."
"I still don't get why he didn't just digivolve and escape when he had the chance," JP grumbled, "I swear, that guy is playing at something."
"We can kick his butt about this later. Let's go already," Zoe remarked.
"Fine! Just let go of my ear!" Kumamon pleaded.
Author's Notes: What kind of trouble have Zoe, JP, and Tomoki got themselves caught up in? What is happening to the Tamer? And what are Dynasmon and Crusadermon doing? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of the Tamer v3.0 - Bold New Frontier due out in three weeks on Friday May 21st at 8 PM CDT. Let me know what you guys thought in the reviews section, and don't forget to follow and favorite to show support! That's all I have for now, so let's look at previews for the next chapter:
Still, she felt some glimmer of hope when some of the village's guards charged in to her home with this boy, claiming that he'd called himself the Digimon Tamer. She bid her guards to go stand guard outside while she questioned him. They threw him to the ground as they stormed out, and the boy dusted himself off, "What magnificent guards! They're so violent!"
She cleared her throat and asked, "So you call yourself the Digimon Tamer."
"To be entirely honest, other people do that. It'd be weird if I did that. Though I supposed I could start talking in the third person," the boy remarked.