I do hope all of you are doing all right given the...current situation with the quarantine. Part of me still can't believe this is happening. You would think being stuck at home all week would mean I'd have this uploaded early, but I don't like the idea of breaking the consistency. Also (and I know this may sound like an excuse) this whole issue has just been, well...depressing. It made it hard for me to focus and write, but I'll be darned if I let that stop me from uploading on time! So as I stand strong, enjoy this chapter.
While unable to stop the destruction of the Wireless Tower, Ben and his friends did tame Raikou, thanks to Arata showing his friends the secret of Digivolution. Now able to use the power at will, Takumi and Ami found two young Digimon named Tokomon and Calumon inside the tower's network, using their unique skill, the Connect Jump. After contacting Yuugo, the team agrees to meet him at Tilt Village. However, as they leave, Ben thinks of the mysterious light he saw before Raikou left...
Everyone was waiting for the team's safe return at the bottom of the tower. "Good work, everyone!" Leanne smiled. "We could see them fleeing from here."
"Ugh. I still can't believe we let those goons get away." Date said. "There were too many of them. They stormed past us."
"It couldn't be helped." Kyoko replied. "By the way, what was with the lightshow up there?"
"Raikou showed up." Takumi said. "It was ticked off and things got really dicey, but Arata showed up and we helped Ben catch it. Then a bright light came over it. Ben said he saw some kind of figure in the sky, but we didn't see anything."
Leanne and Kyoko turned to Ben. "After the capture, you saw a figure in the sky?" the archeologist asked.
Kyoko pondered. "Interesting. And only you could see it?"
"Bzzz…zzzz…Good work Rand!" Berkhart said as he and Matayoshi approached along with two Pinchers.
"Berkhart! Matayoshi! What's the deal with those Pinchers?" Rand asked.
"These two were the slowest to make their getaway." Matayoshi grinned. "We were just about to get the details on their little plan from them."
"Ha! That's Shinjuku Matagi for ya!" Ami laughed.
"Shinjuku Matagi?" Ben asked.
"Ah, that was my nickname in the force over ten years ago." The detective smiled. "But at any rate, where were we?" he asked, looking at the Pinchers. "Ah, yes, what did you rascals need to destroy the tower for?"
"We've told you a million times already…" one of them whimpered.
"We really don't know anything…" the other added.
Date cracked her knuckles. "I think you asked them too nicely sir."
Burkhart nodded. "I think they need another little shock like before!"
The Pinchers stepped back. "N-no anything but that! I swear, honest! We were only following our leader's orders!"
Arata whispered to Leanne. "Can you take your kid back inside? Or just out of earshot?"
"What are you-
"Just trust me on this." Leanne quietly lead Nema away and back towards the shed as Arata stepped forward. "Alright you clowns, here's how it's going to work. You're going to tell us who your leader is and what they're planning…" he then put a hand on Ben's shoulder. "And maybe goggles here won't lose his marbles."
Ben gave him a confused glance. "What?"
"Don't let that dopey face fool you. Once you get on his bad side you're gonna find yourself wishing you were never born! In fact, earlier one of your punk friends got on his nerves. And you know what this guy did to the poor loser?" Arata grinned. "He-
This threat has been removed so this story can keep its K+ ratting.
-just for funsies! He's a menace!"
Ben and the both of Pinchers had the most shocked look on their faces. "Wait, I did WHAT to WHO?!" the dumbstruck Ranger asked.
"DID YOU JUST SAY HE-
Once again, removed for the sake of keeping things K+ rated.
-JUST FOR FUNSIES?!
The other Pincher was shaking like a leaf. "…You…you monster! Looks really are deceiving…"
Fei was trying her hardest not to laugh. Most of the others just gave an uneasy look. Arata nudged Ben in the arm. "It's a little trick I learned from an old friend of mine, just go with it." he whispered. "Punks like these crack like eggs if you apply enough pressure, and it helps that they're scared of you Rangers. Play the part."
"O-okay…" Ben put on the most threatening face he could make before storming over to them. "Alright cough it up! Or I uh…you-know-what with…you-know-what!"
One of them cowered away. "Not you-know-what!"
One of them then glance back towards the tower. "Hey, look! A flying pizza!"
Burkhart pushed past Matayoshi and looked away. "Wh-what? Does it have onions?!"
The Pincher turned to his friend. "Now! Run! Before we get you-know-whated!"
"I hope it does. I like onions." Burkhart said as the Pinchers ran past him. He then looked back to see the Pinchers run off. "H-hey, wait! Get back here! Like pizza could fly! You tricked me!"
Ben sighed as he helped Matayoshi up. "Great, now I look like a complete savage for nothing. You okay sir?"
"I'll be fine."
"I'll chase you to the end of the world!" Berkhart yelled.
"Berkhart, wait!" Rand said. "Leave them to the Rangers and the Cyber Sleuths." He then turned to Kyoko, and Date. "You guys grab Leanne and Nema and go on ahead back to the house. Ben and I will take these guys and chase after the Pinchers."
"I'll go with you." Date said. "This time I won't let them slip!"
"Same here." Matayoshi nodded. "Kyo-Kyo, grab the girls and head back, we'll meet up later."
"Understood."
Rand turned to the others. "Let's go after those two!"
"Yeah, Ben's got some you-know-whating to do!" Nokia laughed.
"Can we please drop that?" the younger Ranger asked.
The Pinchers ran down the mountain and stopped at the grassy fields. "We've probably lost them by now."
"Thank goodness. I didn't want to get…Huh?" They saw, the Ranger and the Digimon tamers running towards them. "We can't get caught! Run!"
"After them!" Ben yelled as they dashed off. The Pinchers quickly got out of sight.
"Man, they're fast!" Date groaned. "Get back here so I can arrest you!"
Fei grinned at her. "Hey, you'd be running fast too if you were told a guy would-
"Not now!" Ben glared.
They continued they pursuit down another path, separate from the one leading back to Rand's house. Eventually they came to a shed, that the Pinchers were leaning against it. "Sorry, let me just catch my breath…I haven't run in ages and I'm not feeling too good."
"You're as white as a sheet. Well we were about to get-
"What's the matter? Are you feeling alright?" Rand asked.
Neither of the Pinchers were looking. "Well, actually, there were these terrible people, and we barley escaped."
"Wow, sounds rough." Matayoshi smirked. "What where they like?"
"Well most of them were kids. But there was a muscular ranger. And then there was another ranger! He's awful! He looked like an innocent kid but this one time he-
Ben's partner tilted his head. "Pichu?"
"Yeah, yeah. That's right, they had a Pichu with them too." Their eyes widened as they turned to their smirking pursuers. "I-it's you! Oh, real funny! I'm worn out, but our only option is to run!"
Rand noticed them run to a bridge. "That's Big Booker Bridge…They're heading for Tilt Village!"
"Well that's just…Wait…Tilt Village? Isn't that where Yuugo is?!" Nokia asked. "We gotta get there before they do!"
They hurried onto the bridge but soon spotted the Pinchers hiding behind a blond man with a red vest. "Who the heck is that guy with them?" Arata asked.
Ben's eyes widened. "You again!" Everyone stopped in front of the man.
"They're the guys we were just talking about!" one of the Pinchers yelled with a shaking finger pointed at them. "They followed us the whole way here!"
"Right." the man smirked. "Now, which one's this "savage" you kept going on about?"
"That one!" he said pointing at Ben.
The man looked slightly surprised to see Ben. He then turned back to the Pinchers. "I'm not the leader of your team. But of course, I'll help you out. Just leave this to me! You two just flee!"
"Okay! That's what we'll do, then!"
Once they were gone, he turned back to Ben. "You, the young ranger. I thought you looked familiar from somewhere. You're the one ranger we saw falling, right? You're still alive? Even after falling all the way to the ocean from the clouds!"
Ben clenched his fist with a sturdy glare at the man. "You punk!"
"Ben…is this the guy you told us about?" Takumi asked.
"Yeah! Summer and I were chasing after two Pinchers when he appeared! Where's Summer you creep?!"
The man shrugged. "Sorry. Can't tell you. Especially since you're a Pokemon Ranger. I know how good you Rangers really are. I don't know who the rest of you are, but the old guy dresses like a detective. That's why I know to be careful not to leak any information to you." He then smirked. "That being said…I'll take pity on you and tell you one thing: Summer…She's safe."
Ben's eyes widened in shock. Nobody knew what to say. "You…kidnapped her?!" Ami asked.
Rand was in disbelief. "I can't believe you managed to catch a Ranger…"
The man smirked. "You know what? I know said I wouldn't leak much but I like that look on your faces. One more little bit of info wouldn't hurt. See, Summer isn't our only captive."
"Hmph. How generous of you." Matayoshi said. "Who else did you abduct?"
"Some girl with black hair who was snooping around during a raid on Docle Island."
Takumi's eyes widened. "A girl with black hair…?"
"Yup. She didn't look like she was from around here though. The guards heard the jail birds chatting and got her name. What was it again?" the man asked glancing to the side with a hand on his chin. "It was a weird one…started with a y, I think?"
"Hold on a second, you creep." Fei said. "It almost sounded like you kidnapped Yuuko…"
The man's eyes lite up as he snapped his fingers. "That's it, Yuuko! That was her name. You know her?"
Arata was in shock. "What?!"
Nokia gasped. "You have Yuuko?!"
"What did you do to her you snake?!" Fei yelled.
"Tell me where Summer is!" Ben demanded. "I swear, if you even hurt one hair on that girl's head…!"
"Those stubborn girls have even given me trouble. No need to worry." The man grinned. "A rope wound a smidgeon on the tight side, and…"
Both Ben and Fei looked ready to snap.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
"YOU SUNNUVA-
"Sheesh, calm down. I was just kidding." The man laughed holding his hands up. "We haven't done anything savage like that. The young ones are treating our guests with appropriate respect."
"Your hospitality doesn't sound so reassuring to me." Takumi glared. "I don't care who you are! Hurt any of my friends and I'll-
"Well, now…There's important work to be done so I'll be going." The man said turning around.
"GIVE SUMMER BACK!" Ben yelled running down the bridge.
"Ben! Wait!" Rand warned.
"Ah, yes, I'd like to give you a good-bye present." The man said, pointing his Control Gauntlet at him. "Enjoy!" With the press of a button, four Voltorbs flew out in front of Ben.
"BEN!" Rand shot his Styler and drew loops around the younger Ranger. "Everyone, get down!"
All the Voltorbs exploded simultaneously. A huge hole was blown in the bridge. Ben was flung back but unharmed. Rand's Styler landed next to him in pieces. The man withdrew his fainted Voltorbs and boarded his red Z.Z. Flyer. "See you later!" He then flew of.
Ben got up and watched him leave. "WAIT!"
"You coward…" Fei glared. "Get back here!" Suddenly Fei's Digivice glowed a bright blue. She took it out and a screen was displayed in front of her.
DIGIVOLUTION
"FanBeemon, Digivolve too…Waspmon!"
Fei jumped onto her Champion level Digimon. "Quick! After him!"
"Right!"
"Fei, wait!" Ignoring Takumi, they flew of after the man.
Rand sighed and turned to Ben who was on his knees in front of the hole. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to make them tell us their plans, but at least we know Summer and Yuuko are safe."
"You have a strange sense of what's safe, you know that?" Date asked.
"Let's just pry that punk's telling the truth about that." Matayoshi said grimly.
At the sound of a roar, Terriermon turned around. "Hey, look out!"
Everyone but Ben moved aside. Raikou came by and jumped over Ben. The Ranger watched in awe as it effortlessly jumped the hole. "Wasn't that, Raikou?" Palmon asked. "He's still after them?"
"As much as I hate to say it, our only hope is leaving this to Fei and Raikou for now." Matayoshi said. "We can't cross the bridge. Let's head back to Rand's house and tell Kyo-Kyo what happened."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Takumi walked over to Ben and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey…We'll save her, I promise. Right now, we just need to think about how we can do that."
Ben was silent for a bit before he stood back up. "…Okay."
Everyone started walking back. Ben glanced in the direction the man fled in one last time. "Summer…"
Yuugo sighed as he sat on a rock alone. "They're taking so long. Did something bad happen? Why is it that I'm so powerless whenever something comes up…Hmm?" He heard a laud boom from towards the bridge. Then he spotted two people dressed in green and got up. "Hey, what was that explosion? Did something happen?"
"Sorry, kid, can't talk right know, gotta run!"
Yuugo watched them run past him before looking back towards the bridge. He saw a blond man on a flying machine zoom past him. "Whoa! What the…is that one of the UFO's Nokia was talking about?"
"There he is! Don't let him get away!"
Yuugo looked back again to see a huge bee Digimon fly by. As it passed he saw a familiar face. "Fei…?" After watching for a bit, he ran after them.
Rand, and Takumi were the first to enter the house. The others followed behind with a disheartened Ben at the end. "We're home." Rand waved.
Kyoko, Nema and Leanne were inside. "Welcome baaack!" the young scientist sang.
"You must be tired." Leanne said. "Ben, what's wrong?"
Ami sadly glanced at Ben as he looked away. "Are you okay?"
"I…I'm sorry. I need to be alone for a bit."
Everyone watched as Ben left. After sighing Arata turned to Takumi and Ami. "Hey, think you two can talk to him? You guys seem to have been together for a while. He might listen to you."
"Okay." The boy nodded as he and his sister left.
"Rand, what's going on?" Leanne asked.
Rand walked over to the far side of the table. "When were chasing the Pinchers…"
Ben sighed as he looked into the sky. "Hey, Ben?" The Ranger didn't turn to his friends as they approached. "Are you feeling alright?" Ami asked. "I'm sure your partner is fine but…I can tell you're really worried."
"Summer…she was my best friend growing up. We entered Ranger school together. We wanted to see the world and all kinds of Pokemon. I was so exited when we become Top Rangers and got assigned this mission. And I let myself get careless…I couldn't even protect her…"
Takumi sighed. "If it helps…I know how you feel."
"Oh, really? Did you lose your friend right in front of your eyes and live with the fact that you did nothing to stop it from happening?"
"As a matter of fact…yes."
Ben finally glanced back at them.
"Eight years ago, during a demo we were invited to…that was when we first stumbled upon the Digital World. When we got there we had the time of our lives playing with Digimon. We never wanted to leave. But when we were finally about to…it appeared."
"It?"
"It blocked the only exit. We were so scared." Ami said. "We didn't know what to do…Yuugo was so brave to suggest what he did."
"Yuugo? That guy from before?"
"He lead it away from us so we could escape…but he was devoured. We wanted to help him but…we were too afraid and ran."
"W-what?!"
"We thought since it was all virtual it wasn't real." Takumi continued. "That Yuugo was safe and sound back home…but he didn't wake up. He spent eight years in a coma. And the worst part was, we were forced to forget it. When we remembered and learned that our actions there doomed the Digital World…the guilt came crashing down like a tidal wave. Arata took it the worst. We nearly lost him too."
"Takumi…Ami…"
"But we didn't give up!" the boy continued with fierce determination in his eyes. "We kept fighting to save him and Yuugo! And we did! We took back what we lost from the Eaters! And we're going to take back Yuuko and Summer from the Pinchers! Ben to do that, we need you. So please, for your friend and ours…" he extended his hand. "Will you help us…Pokemon Ranger?"
A smile slowly made its way to Ben's face as he took his hand into his. "You got it…Cyber Sleuth."
"That's terrible." Leanne said as Rand finished his report.
"It seems they don't want us leaving this island." Kyoko said. "Perhaps they're operating on Mitonga."
"Or maybe there is something else of high value there they don't want us getting our hands on." Matayoshi said. "Might have to do with the Monument piece they stole."
"Hey, maybe we can barrow a boat from Booker!" Terriermon suggested.
Nema shook her head from the counter she was at, fixing her father's Styler. "The ocean current there is very fast, so we can't go by ship…"
"We could get a Pokemon's help, but lately I haven't seen any Staraptor for some reason." Rand said with his arms folded, looking down.
"As annoying as it is to admit, it looks like our only choice is to wait until that bridge is fixed." Matayoshi sighed.
"I think I'll ask Booker to fix it." Rand said. "He did design it after all."
"Oh? And here I thought the name "Big Booker Bridge" was coincidental." Keramon replied with a sarcastic tone.
Ben then returned, with, Takumi and Ami. "Hey, guys."
"Feel better?" Rand asked.
Ben nodded. "Sorry, I got your Styler busted."
"Don't worry, Nema's looking at it now."
"Do you mind if I ask a question?" Leanne asked. "After you captured Raikou, you mentioned something about seeing a figure appear, right? Do you remember the shape?"
Ben nodded before turning to the others. "Nobody else saw it?" They all shook their heads. "I have it saved in the Styler." He said bringing up a screen that displayed his drawing.
Leanne got a closer look. "It looks like some kind of Emblem."
Kyoko smiled. "Interesting. This calls for a little research. Nema, can I barrow your computer?"
"Go right ahead."
Leanne went straight upstairs. "I'll see if I can find something too."
"Once Mom goes into her library, she won't be back for a while." Nema sighed. "I guess I have to make dinner."
Rand grinned at her. "Food and experiments are different, so please try to make something normal, Nema."
There was a knock on the door and Burkheart stepped in. "Rand, are you home?"
"Hey, it's the funny, buzzing guy!" Agumon said.
"What's the matter, Burkheart?" Rand asked.
"Unfortunately, I'm no longer a walking battery." The man sighed. "I looked at the Wireless Tower after everyone left. Everything from the wiring to the antenna is a mess. It's going to take a really long time to fix."
Nokia just stared at him. "Sooooooooo…?"
Rand sighed. "So even if we want to bring information to the Union, we can't. Because we can't communicate wirelessly. Right now, just gather whomever you can and start working on repairs. I'll meet up with you soon, too."
Berkheart nodded. "Leave it to me. Rand."
After he left Rand walked over to Ben. "Ben…I'm going to check out the situation, at the Wireless Tower. I'd like you to ask Booker to repair the bridge."
"Alright."
He then turned to Nema. "Nema. I'm going to the Wireless Tower. Please look after the house."
"Leave it to me! I'll have your Styler fixed soon, too! Take care, Papa!"
"We'll be here too, Rand, don't worry about a thing." Matayoshi added.
"Thanks." Rand smiled before he left.
Nema turned to the Ranger. "Take care too, Ben! After you ask Booker to fix the bridge, come here, okay? Mom should be finished with her research by then."
Ben smiled with a thumb up and left. Arata, then walked over to Nema. "Say, mind if I help? I want to get a good look at these Stylers and compare them to our Digivices."
"Oh, yes, defiantly! I want to see these Digivices, too! Oh, but I also got to make dinner."
"Eh, you just worry about your dad's gadget kid." Date said. "I can handle cooking."
Kyoko laughed. "It's like we've been one big team all along."
"Just because we're away from home doesn't mean the Kuremi Agency stops working." Ami smiled.
Takumi smiled and nodded. "It's time to get to work!"
I seriously hope those who played Hackers Memory got the reference with Arata's threat, that was one of my favorite parts of that game.
