Chapter 14

Reveal not every secret you have to a friend, for how can you tell but that friend may hereafter become an enemy. And bring not all mischief you are able to upon an enemy, for he may one day become your friend.
Saadi

Bean towers were three trellises tied together to form a tipi, which the beans climbed as they grew. However, owing to the vast size of the vines and towers in Vinegarden, the towers had crossbars at intervals up the tower. Once vines covered these crossbars, they made excellent hideouts for viruses.

Stranglemon was not concerned about Savannah's well being. He deposited her on a mat of interwoven tendrils and leaves, said, "Stay there," and dropped out of sight.

Savannah sat up, rubbing her arms and legs. She was unharmed, except for a few scrapes where he had dragged her across the ground. She plucked a splinter from the palm of her hand, the looked around.

She was in a low, green room with vines stretching up into the ceiling, and heart-shaped leaves were everywhere. Near her was a wooden beam of the trellis, and there was a tendril wound around it like a fist. It smelled green and dusty, and a light breeze blew through the leaves. "This isn't so bad," she said aloud, inspecting the leaves she was sitting on.

"Oh yes it is," said a voice.

Savannah looked around and spotted an orange lizard lashed to a thick vine by living tendrils. A baseball bat was tied to another vine the same way. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Did he kidnap you, too?"

"Yup," said the lizard. "He's been after me ever since Base insulted him."

"I did not insult him," retorted the baseball bat. "What I said was perfectly true."

"He caught us three days ago, and he doesn't feed prisoners," said the lizard. "You think you could grab a pod and give me a few beans?"

Savannah peered through the vines under her, but there was no sign of Stranglemon. "Okay."

Purple pods of all sizes hung on the outer edges of the 'room', and Savannah succeeded in tearing one free and breaking it open. Inside was a set of light purple beans, just beginning to ripen. She climbed across the room to the lizard and placed the beans in his mouth, one by one. They were the size of her two hands together, but the lizard swallowed them whole.

"Ahh, much better," he said. "I'm Chamelemon, by the way."

"I'm Savannah," she replied, dropping the empty pod halves through a gap in the 'floor'. "So you're the one who stole Base." She wrenched the baseball bat free of his bindings.

"I only borrowed him," said Chamelemon. "I was going to give him back."

"Sure you were," said the bat. "So how's Zach?"

"Coming to rescue me, I hope," she replied. "I think I'm going to use you." She peered through the trellis, looking for her captor.

"Hey!" yelped the lizard. "Aren't you going to untie me?"

"What are you going to do?" asked Savannah, looking severe. "Take Base and split?"

"Heavens, no," said Chamelemon, looking shocked. "I'd ask to borrow him first."

"Hey," said Base, "here comes the world's ugliest flower." Savannah dived for her original spot, concealing Base under the leaves, as Stranglemon's vines grasped a crossbar. He swung up into the 'room', a white orchid with dark green leaves and vines, with a brown bulb forming his body. He looked at Savannah and Chamelemon, but did not notice that Base was gone.

"Well," he said, rubbing his leaves together, "looks like we have some time before the nasty dinosaur and his partner figure out how to climb the trellis. I want your digivice."

"Yeah, right," said Savannah, one hand closing on Base's handle.

The plant moved toward her, half-crawling. His orange eyes gleamed. "Do you know the bounty on an active digivice? Two hundred zip coins. I could live comfortably on that much money."

"And who'll pay you?" Savannah snapped, gripping Base. "The guy who stole the one from the museum? Guess what? Condormon's dead, and my partner killed him."

"Your partner's not here," said Stranglemon. "And it's well known that humans have no attacks." His tendrils whisked toward her. She swung Base, and to her own amazement she shouted, "Strike one!" An arc of green energy sliced through Stranglemon's vines, and they fell to the beans at their feet.

Stranglemon stared at his severed vines in disbelief. "But ... humans don't have attacks," he whimpered.

"Strike two!" Savannah yelled, and a flash of yellow fire tore the leaves and two petals from Stranglemon's face.

"That's it!" he snarled, and little tendrils whipped around her arms and legs, lifting her up. These were not as thick as his two vines, but they were all he had left. Savannah struggled, but he was stronger than she was. He tore Base from her grasp and flung him across the 'room'. "After I get that digivice," he hissed, "I'm going to pull your limbs off, one by one."

Base landed near Chamelemon and miraculously did not slide through the floor. He looked up at his friend.

"I'm still tied up," said the lizard.

"Bite through the vines, dope," said Base. "After all, there is no spoon."

"You say the weirdest things," said Chamelemon. He bent over and sank his tiny teeth into the tendrils, and to his amazement they snapped. He landed in the bean vines, picked up Base, and crept toward Stranglemon.

"I'm still built up to my third attack," said the bat. "Use it so I don't have to reabsorb the energy."

Chamelemon swung the bat at Stranglemon's midsection. "Strike three!" he cried.

Stranglemon released Savannah and doubled up in pain. Savannah landed on the vines and crawled toward the orange lizard holding the bat. At the same time there came a muffled roar from below; Carnomon and Zach had arrived.

"Zach, up here!" Savannah shouted through the floor.

A heavy blow on her back knocked her flat, and a tendril slowly curled around her waist. "You wretched human," wheezed Stranglemon, straightening with difficulty. "I'll squeeze you in two!" His vine tightened. Savannah gasped, and grabbed Chamelemon's ankle by reflex.

At her touch, Chamelemon jumped. The sensation of disconnection from the Digital World was gone, and for a blinding, exhilarating instant he was whole. "Chamelemon Blast!" he roared, and lightning exploded from his hands and torched the bulb in Stranglemon's middle.

Stranglemon shrank. His head, leaves and vines retracted into the bulb with a pop, and the bulb dropped through the floor. Savannah could hear it rustling and bouncing until it struck the ground far below. She released Chamelemon's foot and sat up, rubbing her stomach. At once Chamelemon's sense of purpose vanished, and he could not remember what he had known seconds before.

Zach's muffled shout filtered up through the beanstalks. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Savannah called down. "I think I killed him. Base is up here."

"He is?" Zach sounded incredulous. "What's he doing up there?"

"Kidnapped," replied Savannah. She looked at Chamelemon. "Will you carry him down for me?"

"Okay," said Chamelemon, blinking and disoriented. "Think I could borrow him for a while?"

"You'll have to ask Zach." Savannah climbed down through the floor.

The masses of bean vines were like the granddaddy of all playground jungle gyms. There were plenty of handholds, and cross tendrils grew everywhere, so Savannah was not afraid of falling. By the time she reached the ground, she was sorry she could not climb it again.

"Savannah!" said Zach, who was nearby with Carnomon. He made as though to hug her, then changed his mind and shook her hand instead.

She grinned. "Worried about me?"

"Naw, I just want my bat back," said Zach, watching Chamelemon descend with Base wound in his tail.

"Hi," said Chamelemon as he reached the ground. He looked at Zach and his skin turned red. He awkwardly held out Base. "Sorry I took him without asking."

Zach took the bat. "Um, Chamelemon, why did you take Base?"

"No attacks," mumbled the chameleon, digging one toe into the soil. "And he's a weapon, so..." He lifted his head. "Hey! Could I buy him from you?"

"You got money?" said Zach, wondering if he should sell his bat.

"Well, no," said Chamelemon, "but I have some stuff I could trade you for him. I have it in the River Bank, come on!" He scurried out of the bean tower. Zach shrugged at Savannah and followed him with Carnomon. Savannah trailed them, and aimed a kick at Stranglemon's bulb as she went.

As she stepped into the sunlight, she saw Hissmon slithering up, looking anxious. When he saw her he lifted himself upright and said, "I see he already rescued you."

"Actually, me and a lizard named Chamelemon took care of Stranglemon," she replied.

Hissmon froze. "Chamelemon? Is he orange?"

"Yeah," said Savannah, walking after Zach and Carnomon.

Hissmon hissed and crawled after her. "How dare he come near you! How dare he! I'm your partner!"

Savannah glanced back at him. "Are you jealous?"

"No!"

"Then why are you worrying about him?"

"I'm not worrying!" said Hissmon, swelling with indignation. "I just don't want a down and out rookie associating with my human!"

Savannah was about to point out that she was his partner, not his human, when she arrived at the edge of a canal. Chamelemon had scrambled down the bank and opened a tiny, sand-colored door in the dirt.

Zach climbed down the sloping bank to Chamelemon, and the lizard began to pull things out of his vault. A keychain, a shiny marble, a gum wrapper, a long metal thing with a knob at one end, a tooth from a DarkTyrannomon, a photo of a girl chameleon ("Whoops, that's not for sale."), an ordinary CD, and several dusty zip coins.

"None of that's worth a baseball bat," said Zach, who was enjoying this.

"Oh, wait, how about this?" said Chamelemon, and pulled out the jewel of his collection: a belt pack.

"Um," said Zach.

"No, it's not what you think," said Chamelemon. "Look, you put it on like this--" He buckled it around his middle. "--and press this button, and look! A personal firewall!"

A transparent half-bubble appeared in front of him, curving from his toes up over his head.

"Oh, a shield," said Zach, touching it. It was hard for a moment, then it softened and his fingers sank through.

"It'll deflect any attack," said Chamelemon, "but I never use it because it doesn't cover your back."

Zach considered a moment, then said, "I'll take it." He handed Base to the lizard, who turned off the firewall generator and gave it to Zach.

Zach put on the beltpack and turned it on. "Look at me! I've got a videogame shield!" He walked up to Carnomon and bumped against his leg.

Carnomon looked at him sideways. "Those don't cover your back, you know."

"So I'll always face an enemy, big deal," said Zach. He walked up to Savannah and bumped her with his shield.

"I want one of those," she said. "I might not have been grabbed and--Oh no." She stiffened and pointed. "Is that Rick?"

Zach looked. Rick was slouching toward them with his hands in his pockets, Frogmon hopping merrily behind him.

"Yup. But look what he's got for a partner!"

Savannah covered her mouth and giggled. "Oh my gosh. I'll bet he doesn't like that."

"He doesn't," said Zach and the digimon in unison.

Rick walked up to the far side of the canal and stood there, looking down. Frogmon nudged him. "The plant people want to feed you guys lunch," he said to his feet. "In tower one."

"Okay," said Zach. "Meet you there."

Rick grunted and walked off.

Chamelemon had vanished, so the Digidestined walked down the row of beans to the first tower. Zach removed his data stick, and turned Carnomon back into Spikemon before entering.

Inside was a wide, flat rock with small stones drawn up to it for seats. Half a dozen Floramon ushered them to the 'table'. There the surprised Digidestined were served vegetable pie, steamed corn, baked potato slices, and a host of other vegetable foods. After lunch there was a berry-and-squash dessert that Zach had eaten half of before he realized it was squash.

Rick lingered outside for a while before the Floramon noticed him and dragged him in. There he picked at his food, watching Zach and Savannah out of the corners of his eyes, and ate in gulps when he thought they weren't looking. He did not speak to them, and they ignored him.

The Floramon introduced them to their chef, a sullen-looking flower called Blossomon, who cheered when he saw that the Digidestined liked his food. He insisted that they stay for dinner, and the Digidestined agreed so as not to offend him.

They were taken on a tour of Vinegarden during the afternoon, and were shown the various giant-sized vegetables the digimon grew. The climate of the area was warm and received plenty of rain, and they had a year-round growing season.

At six Tithonia joined them, and Mulemon greeted her with exuberance. When Tithonia saw Rick she smiled. "There you are! I was so worried."

Rick said nothing.

Tithonia joined them for dinner, and they were entertained by a troupe of tall, slender tulip-people that performed complicated dances and skits while the Digidestined ate.

"Is this fine dining or what?" Savannah whispered to Zach as they applauded one such skit.

"Let's come here again," said Zach.

Returning home that night, Zach felt as if he had been on an exotic vacation. He placed a bag of leftovers from the digital feast in the refrigerator, bade his mother goodnight, and crawled into bed. He listened to Spikemon crawl behind the bed and make himself comfortable. "It's good to be back," Zach whispered.