Disclaimer: I don't own the Digimon, but the characters belong to the moderators and members of the Digital Connections forum – found here forum/ Digital-Connections/ 22352/ and under the "So you want to be a Digidestined?" topic
A/N: Here's to hoping the group will find more Digi Core trees – or at least the final DIgidestined teens…
Special thank you to Miss Anonymous hp for her amazing notes and background that have really assisted in piecing together this chapter, so thank you
Chapter 07
Having obtained Marie and Kate's Digimon from the temple DigiCore, they - along with Jake, set out into the Digital World to find another core tree.
Heather, Sonja and Charles were making good headway in their journey to Alphamon's castle.
Chris and Akiza were also eagerly on the hunt for another DigiCore tree, grateful to be hurtling away from the cold Docu Mountain on a helpful Trailmon.
Ryan was being led across that the Digital World by Mike and Relemon.
-o-
Passing what felt like endless rows of trees, Akiza leaned back to rest her head against the window of the Trailmon. She looked across the train at Chris who appeared to be sleeping sitting upright. Although she envied the ability to fall asleep anywhere, she felt like it wasn't quite safe to let their guard down so easily. There was no knowing who or what might step into the carriage.
"D-Connect... I know you're not Siri or something like that, but where are the DigiCores located?"
Akiza shook the device as if it might wake up the voice inside. It didn't work.
Well it was worth a shot, I guess...
Outside, it was bright and sunny. The sun or whatever the bright orb in the sky of this world was called, beat heat down onto the surface. The climate was beginning to remind Akiza of home and her family. She realised that since arriving in the Digital World with Chris and Jake, there hadn't been much time to reflect and process what had happened.
"This stop, Malware Square. Malware Square, change here for Trailmons to File Island and Analog Forest. Next stop, Fire-wall..." the train said, sounding completely bunged up and nasal.
Akiza darted over to Chris, shaking him awake. "Pick a location- the firewall, Analog Forest or... or... another one I can't remember!"
Chris woke up, fidgeting to back away from her. "Sorry. What? Where are we now?"
"Somewhere where we can change lines- a bigger train station I guess?" Akiza nervously replied, seeing the carriage doors open onto the platform.
"Let's change - perhaps the forest is where another DigiCore is?"
Chris led the way and as they climbed down from the Trailmon, they were met by a cheering crowd of Digimon.
"I don't know about you, but I'm never going to get used to this..."
Beady little black eyes stared back at the pair. They were like little green monkey cavemen wearing cheetah print cloth pieces.
"Alright D-Connect, Who are we looking at?" Akiza asked, holding up her Digivice and staying behind Chris.
"Monmon. The rookie level virus type Digimon. Monmon are notably quieter Digimon but have a mischievous temperament."
One Monmon stepped forwards. They were wearing a bright blue cloak and spoke with a deep voice. Deeper than you would have expected for such a comedic looking creature.
"Greetings visitors- it is an honour to have you here in our home town. Please come join us in our celebration."
There was no time to even deliberate what to do as Monmon we're grabbing Chris and Akiza, lifting them off the ground to carry them away.
"Where are you taking us?" Chris yelled, struggling to turn over and try catch a glimpse of the chief Monmon.
The Monmon population seemed to chant an upbeat encantation, but it sounded like another language that neither of the teens could understand.
Akiza glanced down the gap between a couple of the huts and noticed a familiar looking sight and lit up inside.
That's a DigiCore tree! She thought to herself, fumbling to catch Chris' attention.
"Chris!" she called out over the Monmon's chanting. "Chris- I've seen what we're looking for..."
His eyes brightened up for a moment before turning to disbelief. "Are you serious?"
"I saw it between some of the huts here." Akiza jerked her head behind them.
"Well we'll have to work out when we're going to sneak out and nab ourselves an egg or two."
The Monmon dropped the pair onto the dusty ground with little to no warning. They were in the middle of what looked like a town square that was home to a fountain and an elaborate centrepiece. It resembled a mismatch of shapes, creatures and patterns.
Chief Monmon swept his cape to one side. "Our esteemed guests, I welcome you to Malware Square - home to the Monmon population. We stole it back from the Armadillomon after they caused great quakes below the surface. Today, we mark the anniversary of the Reckoning Ceremony. You have arrived at the perfect moment."
"Perfect moment- for what?" Chris and Akiza asked.
A small group of Monmon started running around the pair in such a flurry that neither one of them noticed the ropes that were being tied around them.
They stammered and cried out as the ropes were knotted off, pinning their arms to their sides.
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this..." Chris trailed off, wriggling about to loosen the ropes. "Yesterday we were trapped in KoDokugumon's webs and now this! Come on..."
"Let us prepare for the ceremony!" Chief Monmon shouted, grabbing a loose stick and drawing a circle in the dirt around Akiza and Chris. "No Monmon shall cross this line. No offering should leave this circle- that means you two." The chief of the Monmons started to lead a march out of the square.
Once the conga line of Monmon were out of sight, Chris started to roll onto his feet.
"Wait!" Akiza whispered hastily. "Maybe we shouldn't leave the circle- just in case."
Chris' expression dropped to shock. "Are you serious? We have no idea what those Monmon Digimon have planned for us. Getting out of here and going to the DigiCore tree is our best bet."
"But what if we're safer inside the circle?"
"And what if we're not? Listen, we could be an offering to some dark Digimon- I don't know about you but I'm not about to volunteer to become Digi-Chow..."
Akiza realised that Chris had a valid point and started to drag her hands around to the front of her body. She ignored the itchy, burning sensation as the rope rubbed against her arms.
"Here's the plan, if we can get to our feet- we make a run for the DigiCore. Okay?" Chris asked, bringing himself up onto his knees.
-o-
Looking out over the vast expanse of the Digital World, Jake inhaled deeply. The horizon stretched so far and there was no way of knowing where the remaining three DigiCore trees were. On their way, they hadn't even come across another Digimon - which split the opinions of Kate and Marie over whether it was a good or bad thing.
"Are you coming, Jake?" Marie called out, holding Pichimon in her arms.
Jake nodded his head slowly. "Sure." He started to stride down the hill, letting the gradient pick up his pace and letting him pass the girls who were shorter than him. "Now who's lagging behind?" he taunted playfully.
The two girls rolled their eyes before continuing their walk down the hill and into the tall grass.
Kate glanced over at Marie who seemed deep in thought. "What's on your mind, Marie?"
"Oh nothing..." the other girl said hesitantly. "Well it's just that- ever since I got here, I feel like we lack some direction here. What's the endgame here?"
Jake glanced over his shoulder having overheard their conversation. "Wait. So neither of you have met Wisemon and found out more about why we're here?" The answer was apparent by the blank looks he was receiving. "Oh... right... well me and the original bunch of guys and girls met Wisemon - a Digimon who showed us these visions. I learnt that there are going to be twelve children sent here from Earth and some of the others were told that we needed to venture to either Alphamon's castle in the northern hemisphere of the Digital World or Omegamon's castle in the south... or maybe the other way around... I can't remember. God, it feels like so long ago!"
Marie tilted her head to one side. "That's all well and good but... it still doesn't answer my questions. Why are we here? What evil is there? Because apart from Datamon, we haven't encountered any dark Digimon..."
Kate piped up too. "Why didn't Wisemon tell you about the DigiCore trees? Surely that's an important factor in all this, right?"
Jake shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea whatsoever. Although those questions certainly are valid ones."
Kate's satchel opened and Bellemon poked her head out to have a look at the surroundings.
"Woah..." the little Digimon murmured in awe. "The Digital World is really cool, don't you think Pichimon?"
Pichimon leapt down onto the ground, bounding along as if it was a dolphin jumping above the water. "The Digital World certainly is intriguing." The white baby Digimon bounded away from the pair, set on exploring.
"Don't wander too far, Pichimon!" Marie called out. Pichimon reminds me of my mum's cat, George...
It seemed almost peaceful as the trio continued on their way. The sun was shining and a gentle, cooling breeze was blowing.
"Do you remember anything else about your vision, Jake?" Kate asked, walking alongside him.
"Well, me and two other people, Chris and Akiza- we were shown twelve different symbols that apparently were meant to resemble something strong within each of the... Digidestined? I think that's the word I heard that Digimon use." Jake flexed his hands before stuffing them into his jean pockets. "I wish I remember more about it, there was just already a lot going on."
"I get that," Kate replied, looking over her shoulder to check on Marie but the younger girl was gone. "Marie? Marie!
Oh god Jake, where did she go? She was right behind us and-"
"Don't panic. She can't have gone far. She was probably looking for Pichimon."
Jake and Kate backtracked a little of the way, their heads darting backwards and forwards as they surveyed the field.
"Marie?" Kate called out, reminded of times where she would lose her parents in the shopping centre and start to nervously run about the shops. "Marie!"
"What is it guys?" Marie came strolling up to them. "What?"
Kate heaved a sigh of relief. "We thought you'd been taken or captured by a Digimon."
Jake put his hand up. "She did. I on the other hand thought you were absolutely fine. Besides, you had Pichimon with you."
Marie shrugged and then continued walking along the field. She noticed a small crowd of Digimon up ahead and started to feel the need to analyse the situation. The Digimon could be good, bad or be able to offer directions to one of the remaining three DigiCore trees.
From a distance, they looked like small pink bouncy balls with antennas. As they got closer, the description was confirmed.
Kate held up her D-Connect, waiting for the name to appear on the screen or the voice to start talking to her.
"Koromon, the in training type Digimon. Koromon is what a hairless Botamon looks like."
She wrinkled her nose, unsure whether to be disgusted or intrigued because they didn't even know what a Botamon looked like.
Jake went over to the group and crouched down near the Koromon. "Hi Koromon- we would like to ask for your help if that's okay?"
Koromon bounced about Jake, stopping with a startled expression when it saw Kate and Marie approaching too. "No, no, no. We don't want no trouble. We won't give you our help."
"What- wait! You have got to help us. We're searching for one of the four DigiCores... do you know where one is?"
Koromon glowered at the girls. "They're funny looking, I don't like them," it replied with a severe bluntness that made Jake wave his hand behind his back at Marie and Kate to ward them off.
"That's fine- just talk to me. Can you tell me where the nearest DigiCore is?" Jake frowned slightly, trying to sound friendly.
"If you know about the DigiCore trees, then you must be one of the new Digidestined that we've heard of." Koromon's large red eyes shone with hope. "The four locations- they're the Docu Mount, the one in Spiwear Temple, another is located-" Koromon froze, staring up at something behind Jake.
At first, he thought it might have been that Kate or Marie had edged closer, so he ignored it and pressed the Koromon to continue.
"We should get out of here!" another Koromon called out. "They watching us!"
Kate seemed aware of another Digimon that was watching them from further back, but her poor eyesight made her unable to distinguish any features.
The Koromon started to bound away from the trio with great speed as the Digimon started to approach.
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Kate murmured slowly. "We should run, right?"
The three were running down the field, but the Digimon was on them a hell of a lot faster.
"No!"
-o-
Heather, Sonja and Charles has covered a great distance in an effort to get to Alphamon's castle. They exchanged stories along the way about their childhood and life back on Earth leading to them finding a little bit more common ground.
As the light was beginning to fade in the region of the Digital World they were in, the small group decided that they should settle down some place safe.
"Well I can set up a fire for us," Charles said, gathering some larger branches. "I was in the Boy Scouts, I know a thing or two about camping."
Sonja's head whipped around. "Really? I did too! I enjoyed camping, but I have a big problem with bugs- can't stand them."
"If only we had a jar, water, sugar and some tin foil..." Charles mumbled slowly.
Feeling a little bit left out, Heather tried to work out how those supplies might help with bugs. "How would that help?"
Charles smiled, eager to explain the process behind it. "The leader used to do it all the time. It was to trap the wasps that was in the area... a little unethical but they're super pesky and kept stinging the other kids... so you fill a jar with a bit of water mixed with the sugar- a little bit on the foil helps too. Cover the lid of the jar with the foil and pierce some holes in it. Bugs fly in, bugs can't get out..."
Heather tried to hide her uncertainty. "That is- an interesting way of dealing with it."
Charles scratched the back of his head. "It worked. To an extent!"
Sonja collected the dried grass and tiny twigs for the campfire that Charles was beginning to construct. "What do you think the others are up to?"
Heather held her D-Connect in her hands, tracing the screen's edge with her finger. "Hopefully wherever Jake, Kate, Chris and Akiza are... they're safe and have found a DigiCore tree to get their Digi-Eggs."
Sonja nodded in agreement, glancing over at the three eggs that were nestled together in a small clump. She smiled at the thought of the little creature that was growing inside and waiting to hatch. The anticipation of the hatching was really getting to her. Once the fire got going, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the eggs.
"A watched egg never hatches..." Charles taunted lightheartedly.
"It might do," Sonja retaliated quickly.
Heather thought she saw a crack appear on the egg's surface. "I think she's right Charles."
The eggs all started to vibrate together, until pop! In complete synchronisation, the eggshells split in half and little eyes gazed out of the crack at the three teens. Smiles broke out across their faces.
"Guys- it's our Digimon partners!" Charles exclaimed, crawling forwards to sit between Heather and Sonja. "Hey little guy, I'm Charles."
The Digimon all hopped out of their eggshells to introduce themselves.
"I'm Conomon..."
"Hey there, I'm Ketomon- pleased to meet ya!"
"And. And. And my name is- is Nixmon."
Each of the three baby Digimon climbed up onto their partners' laps eager to learn more about their newest friend.
Nixmon gazed up at Heather in complete awe. The light Digimon was like a silver ball with a single sprout atop her little head that seemed to softly glow.
Ketomon was like a ball of energy, head butting Charles in the chest like he was some sort of boxing pro before bounding over to play with Conomon.
Heather leant forwards to watch the three Digimon playing- admitting that Ketomon was verging on a little rough. "So. I guess this is the start of being Digidestined..." she said positively, feeling a warmth in her chest.
-o-
Traipsing through the forest had lead Ryan and Mike to encounter a rocky valley. They were stood at the base of it, with two sheer cliffs towering overhead, casting a long shadow on them. Along the way, Relemon has digivolved into her in training form of Viximon.
Ryan was unfortunately feeling his body ache and exhaustion beginning to set in from all of the walking. He thought that Mike was pretty quiet and tended to converse with Relemon more than him.
With every step they took, they couldn't shake the feeling that they were about to be ambushed. Maybe it was the silence, or maybe it was the fact that they were like moving ducks in a valley with only one way in and one way out. The shadow of a flying creature didn't help to settle anyone's nerves.
"Mike?" Ryan said hesitantly, checking over his shoulder. "I don't know about you but I'm getting a bad feeling about this."
"It's not far to go, Ryan. Best ignore that bad feeling, we'll be fine!" Mike tried to diffuse the tension.
Viximon stopped ahead of her partner and held her ground. She was thinking that they weren't as safe in the valley as they had originally thought.
"Nightmare Shocker!" a gravelly voice echoed from above them.
As the turned around to see what was happening, they could see hazy yellow rings pulsating through the air towards them from a disgusting bat creature's mouth.
Ryan and Mike threw themselves to one side to dodge the waves which clattered into the dusty ground. A screech made them cover their ears.
Mike gasped loudly. "Viximon, do something!"
Two beams of bright light, one blue and the other grey, shot up out of Mike's D-Connect chain. The lights bounced about before engulfing Viximon in a white sphere.
"Viximon digivolve to, Renamon!"
Ryan's mouth hung open as the little ball of yellow fluff had grown a pair of powerful legs and long arms. The Digimon resembled a large fox that was able to stand on its two hind legs and stand taller than the two boys.
"Mike, take cover!" Renamon shouted confidently before leaping into the air towards her for. "Diamond Storm!"
The Digimon's partner held up his D-Connect to the bar Digimon flying about up above them.
"Vilemon. The champion level virus Digimon. A Digimon that chooses to fight weak opponents due to its cowardly nature."
"Right- go on Renamon!" Mike cheered, struggling up onto his feet as his fox friend collided with Vilemon.
Vilemon shook rapidly, struggling to get free and having to crash land in the valley in order to escape Renamon's grip.
"And stay away!" Renamon shrieked, panting heavily.
A lone 'Woah' escaped Ryan's lips as he gazed up at Renamon.
Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = I know what you're going to say – it was a little rushed… I need to work on my pacing, and I will try in the next chapter!
