Season 5
Tommy: Our story started when Brendon, his sister, Sarah, and their friends logged onto the V-Net for a group game of acroball. Just a regular, everyday game between friends, right? Wrong. In a huge flash of light, everything changed. Sarah was the first to wake up, and after walking around for a while met up with the rest of the gang, each with their own digimon partner. Just what in the world's going on?
Episode 2: Sick Day
The eight children stood, open-mouthed around a holo-projection of Genaii, who was still grinning. Brendon, naturally, was the first to open his mouth and speak.
"The Digital World?" he exclaimed. "Digimon? Real! Genaii, What the heck is going on? Why are we here? How'd we get here? Why are we dressed like the characters from the Digimon cartoon? And just where is that hologram coming from?" A large pink head with long thin ears bounced on top of Brendon's head and wrapped his ears around his head like bike helmet straps.
"If you'd just chill out for a minute, he could explain it for you, Brendon," the head said.
"Sorry, Koromon," Brendon said, "but getting sucked into another world through a computer game isn't exactly a common occurrence. I'm a little freaked out."
"Uh, yeah, sorry about that," Genaii apologized, scratching his head, "but it was the safest way of bringing you here.
"And why, exactly, are we here?" Jen asked, hands at her hips. She was getting irritated.
"I'm saving that answer for last," Genaii replied. "Trust me, you won't like it.
"Okay, then," Nathan jumped in. "Explain the outfits."
"That, actually, is quite simple. You wear the garb of the original digidestined whose character is most closely reflected in your own hearts. In short, you wear the clothes of the one you're most like. A little treat I threw in."
"So you're saying I'm most like Tai?" Brendon asked, looking down at his brown shorts, white gloves, blue shirt and yellow shirt underneath. "I guess that makes sense. At the very least, it explains why Koromon's my digimon."
"Of course it makes sense!" Jeremy exclaimed, making muscle poses in a green tank top, blue jeans, and brown gloves. "You're just like him. You're bossy, stubborn, arrogant, reckless, pigheaded…"
"Yes, thank you so much for all the adjectives," Brendon interrupted.
"My pleasure, gogglehead!" Jeremy pulled the goggles on Brendon's forehead closer toward him and then released, causing them to fly back and slap him in the face. Brendon's head snapped back and Koromon went flying.
"Ahh, you jerk!" Brendon shouted in pain. The impact of the goggles left big red circles around his eyes. "Oh, yeah! You're Matt for sure!" A small digimon bounced out from underneath Jeremy. He, too, looked like a large head, but he had light brown fur all over him, save for his face. The strangest thing about him was the large horn on the top of his head. Jeremy was lucky he hadn't sat down on him.
"Jeremy, that wasn't nice!" the digimon scolded.
"Sorry, Tsunomon. I couldn't resist." Jeremy said, his face turning slightly red.
"If I'm not mistaken," Genaii began, "You're also all the same ages as the digidestined whose clothes you wear."
Brendon thought for a minute. He started counting with his fingers; once to 13, three times to 12, twice to 10 and twice to 8.
"He's right!"
"So, I guess this makes me Izzy." Tal said. He was wearing an orange button-down shirt with brownish green shorts and yellow gloves. A small digimon that looked like a pink blob shaped like a sock jumped off of Tal's head and into his arms. This elicited a gasp from everyone except Genaii; apparently he was the only one who noticed he was there.
"Tal, what's an Izzy?" the creature asked.
"He's a cartoon character, Motimon," Tal replied, "And would you stay off my head?"
"Yuck." Cody said. "Who dresses like this? I hate green." Cody was wearing brown shorts, a light green shirt, and a darker green vest, but what he really disliked was the large green hat.
"That would be TK," Brendon answered, "and chill out, kid. It doesn't look that bad. There's not much you can do about it anyway."
"Well, I'm obviously most like Mimi." Jen said. "After all, we both have the same fashion sense."
"Yeah, her wardrobe's just like her digimon," Amber whispered to Sarah, "straight from the forest!" The two girls erupted into a fit of laughter. Jen, on the other hand, was not amused.
"YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS BECAUSE MIMI DRESSED BETTER THAN SORA OR KARI!" Jen was leaning in on Amber and Sarah so hard as she yelled that they were bent impossibly backwards, their arms dragging on the ground.
"Chill out, Princess," Amber said.
"Yeah, it was just a joke," Sarah added.
Albeit with an element of truth. Amber thought.
"Besides, I like these clothes!" Sarah exclaimed. "Who am I supposed to be, Brendon?"
"A girl named Kari, Tai's little sister," Brendon said with a smile. "Kinda funny, isn't it?"
"Yeah!" Sarah squealed. "I'm your little sister, too!"
"That's right!" Brendon shouted as he got into a furious tickle fight with his sister.
"Would you two quit fooling around?" Nathan scolded. "We're in a serious situation here. We're stuck in another world, we don't know how to get home, and we don't even know why we're here!" Nathan was shouting by that point. He was really mixed up about the whole thing. Motimon looked at him with confusion. Genaii's hologram flickered. "AND WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE HECK IS UP WITH THAT HOLOGRAM!"
"Nathan, calm down before you start hyperventilating… again." Brendon said, his limbs still entangled with his sister's. "The hologram's coming from a projector on the ground. It's weird; I just noticed it. It keeps messing up because there's dirt shifting around it."
"Pretty close, actually," Genaii explained. "That projector is actually a shield that belongs to a friend of mine. He must have misplaced it again. He can be a bit absentminded."
"Well, I was close," Brendon said as he rose, brushing the dust off of his new clothes. He walked closer to the hologram and inspected the projector, tilting it on its side.
"Hey, watch it!" Genaii exclaimed as his hologram tilted. Brendon noticed red straps on the underside.
"You're right; it is a shield." Brendon said, taking a closer look. "In fact, it looks kinda familiar." The gang noticed a rustling in the bushes a few feet away. The entire group tensed. They heard a voice through the brush. It sounded distinguished and somewhat Shakespearean.
"Odsbodkins!" the voice exclaimed. Who ever the voice belonged to was obviously frustrated as well. "I must have dozed off again. And in my sleep I've lost my second shield! The digidestined children could arrive at any moment and I need my shield so Genaii can speak with them!" Genaii's eyes widened and he smiled. He obviously recognized the voice.
"There you are, Mercurymon!" Genaii called. The rustling in the bushes grew louder as the digimon searching for his shield grew closer, drawing closer to the voice. Finally, the digimon made his way through the brush. His appearance elicited a gasp from everyone but Brendon and Genaii. He looked somewhat humanoid, but he was made entirely of metal. He had two large mirror plates for his chest and face and on his left arm he held a shield identical to the one on the ground.
"Genaii!" Mercurymon shouted, "The digidestined…"
"Have arrived at last," Genaii said. "And not a moment too soon. Children, our world is in very grave peril. The creatures of this land are under attack by the evil Pathomon."
"Pathomon?" Brendon asked, scratching his head. "That sounds somehow familiar."
"I don't see how," Mercurymon said. "He hath never been on any season of thine television series."
"How do people in your world know about that show anyway?" Nathan asked.
"Nathan, look at Mercurymon. He's basically a walking T.V." Cody said. "Don't you think they get reception from our world?"
"Cody, that's completely ridiculous," Amber said.
"Allow me to explain," Genaii began. "Everything that was portrayed on your television series actually happened. I'd go into the whole parallel universe explanation but I'm sure you get the idea. There are some special humans in your world with a psychic link to ours. I still can't believe they turned it into a TV series."
"Ha!" Nathan laughed. "And here I thought they just had awesome writers."
"Wait," Cody interrupted, "does this mean that eventually we'll be on TV, too?"
"I've got it!" Tal exclaimed. "Pathomon! Like the word 'pathogen!'"
"So we're dealing with some kind of virus digimon?" Brendon asked.
"Precisely," Mercurymon answered. "Thou obviously art not as dull as thine predecessors.
"Wait 'till you get to know him," Jeremy muttered.
"As I was saying," Mercurymon continued, "Pathomon is somehow mani…"
"Manipulating his data into some deadly digi-virus and spreading it all over the digital world, infecting the environment and digimon?" Brendon interrupted.
"That is exactly what he's doing," Genaii answered.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Cody.
"Brendon, how did you know that?" Sarah asked. Brendon looked down at his sister and smiled, something he had not done since Mercurymon appeared and had no intension of doing so after he learned everything they had seen on the show actually happened at some point. Mercurymon was a villain in Season 4, and a very powerful one, too. But this Mercurymon seemed nice enough and he was the kids' only link to Genaii. Brendon resolved to trust him.
"Lucky guess? It seems like the kind of thing an evil disease themed digimon would do."
"That," Genaii said, pointing to a large, black spire in the distance, "is Pathomon's citadel. It is the focal point from which his evil spreads. His virus ravages the lands, decompiling the data of almost any digimon that comes into contact with it and causes their very structure to break down. Any digimon strong enough to resist his poison is tainted by his evil, serving his will.
"That's horrible!" Brendon exclaimed.
"We have to stop him!" Jeremy agreed.
"Yeah, but if that tower is the focal point of Pathomon's virus, how do we get to him without getting infected ourselves?" Tal asked. Brendon clenched his teeth. That was one question he did not have an answer to.
"There is a way." Mercurymon said. "There is a building several miles west of here. From there, thou can reach Pathomon's lair unscathed and virtually undetected."
"Well, since this is basically a virtual world, I like those odds!" Brendon said. His enthusiasm was officially restored.
"Mercurymon," Amber said, "I hate to be a downer, but several miles west of here means several miles west of the bottom of this cliff.
"Uhh…" Mercurymon droned. He was stumped. "I…"
"Don't worry, we'll think of something!" Brendon said. "I mean, it's not like we have much of a choice, right? We'll be fine!
"Indeed you shall!" Mercurymon added. "For I shall be your guide and protector. No harm shall come to beings as lovely as these," he gestured to Amber, Jen and Sarah, "whilst I draw breath!"
Amber turned fuchsia on the spot. "You really think I'm pretty?"
"But of course." Mercurymon took Amber's hand in is as if he were going to kiss it, which he probably would have if he had an actual face. "It takes not a genius to see that the fairest in all of the land is thee."
"Back off, pal," Brendon whispered to Mercurymon as he gently but firmly pushed him aside. No way was he gonna let some metal mesh monster charm the girl of his dreams. "Anyhow, after we save the world, we're getting the grand tour! I wanna explore every inch of this place!"
"Don't worry, you'll get your wish. Once I'm done with you, you'll be in so many pieces I can scatter you across every inch of this world! Rabid Fury!"
"What the…" Brendon's words were cut short as a lion's head made of black energy slammed into the ground and sent the entire group flying.
"What the Devimon? Oh, no! Not now!" Mercurymon exclaimed. A large, dark figure hopped out of the trees and landed a few meters in front of the group.
"Leomon?" Genaii asked. "What do you think you're doing?"
"It be not Leomon, Genaii! Not anymore! Pathomon's virus hath corrupted him into the evil ShadowLeomon!
"That's right, Mercurymon!" ShadowLeomon exclaimed. He looked exactly like Leomon, but his fur was matted and jet black. "And by order of Lord Pathomon, I must destroy those children! Now, stand aside and I promise I won't hurt you!"
"Mercurymon, these children our world's last hope! Protect them at all costs!" Genaii instructed. His hologram abruptly disappeared.
"Protect them from me?" ShadowLeomon mockingly asked. "Good luck! Rabid Fury!" ShadowLeomon pointed his fist in Brendon's direction and another energy blast in the shape of a lion's head hurtled towards him. Mercurymon quickly jumped in the path of the blast and seemed to absorb it with his right shield.
"Thou art a fool! Thou must do better than that to get past me!" Mercurymon pointed his left shield at ShadowLeomon.
"Offset Reflection!" The attack that was meant for Brendon was now flying towards its originator with double the force. ShadowLeomon quickly jumped out of the way to avoid the blast, which slammed into a nearby tree and completely obliterated it. Mercurymon turned to face the digidestined.
"Hurry, thou must leave!" He shouted. "I'll handle this brutish leviathan!"
"We're not gonna leave you here to fight that!" Brendon said. Koromon hopped back onto Brendon's head.
"Yeah, we can help you!" Koromon yelled.
At this point, ShadowLeomon realized that to destroy the digidestined, he had to get past Mercurymon, but couldn't use energy attacks. He resolved to engage him in hand-to-hand combat.
"I cannot fight him and keep thee safe! Thou must flee!" Mercurymon yelled.
"We're not leaving!" Amber shouted.
"Are you serious?" Jen asked with disbelief.
"Yeah!" Nathan agreed. "You heard the mon! He can handle it!"
"GO NOW!" Mercurymon shouted. He had just intercepted another one of ShadowLeomon's blasts. He pointed his shield at the edge of the cliff on which they were all standing, between him and the digidestined.
"Hey, what're you…?"
"Offset Reflection!"
The blast shot from Mercurymon's shield and struck the ground, sending cracks through the cliff. The ground beneath the digidestined's feet began to crumble and break away. The digidestined and their digimon began to plummet towards the river below. Above their own terrified screams, the children heard Mercurymon's voice.
"Stay strong and protect each other! You're our last hope!"
To Be Continued…
Tommy: Quite a sinking situation the new gang's gotten themselves into. See how they get out of it on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!
