Digimon: Digital Defenders
Episode 3: Chandler! Find Your Partner!
"We're here!" announced Flowamon excitedly, as the group exited the forest, emerging from a cluster of thick tree trunks, with Bearmon, Meilin, and Casey trailing behind her.
"So this is it?" asked Chandler, pushing away a stray tree branch while exiting the forest last. The town that stood before them was rather civilized, with houses and buildings perfectly lined up next to each other that were made of brown adobe. The dirt paved roads sent up clouds of dust as the group walked.
"Yup, welcome to Bustle Town!" welcomed Meilin, happy to find civilization. The city was full of commotion. Digimon of all shapes and sizes, walked around, conversed, and bought items at local shops.
"Bustle Town? Why is it called that?" asked Chandler again. Suddenly, without Chandler noticing, purple penguin Digimon, carrying a small brown box in it's wing-like, clawed hands, was sped towards him on a blue skateboard. Hearing the skateboard's wheels rolling on the ground, Casey instantly grabbed the collar of Chandler's red shirt and yanked him out of the way, just narrowly missing impact with the skateboarder.
"Sorry!" yelled the Digimon as it sped away. After that, a tall, hairy, slim yellow ape-like Digimon, with green armbands and strange markings, carrying a large box, ran through the group, and bumped into Chandler, almost making him fall.
"Excuse me!" yelled the monkey Digimon as it kept running. Then suddenly, a stampede of small, purple, aquatic Digimon that resembled tadpoles, with finned tails, rushed past Chandler's feet, making him trip and land on his bottom.
"That's why." answered Casey in response.
"It's called Bustle Town because everyone's so busy!" said Bearmon.
"How surprising." commented Chandler sarcastically.
"I'm so hungry! Fighting takes a lot out of you, you know." complained Chandler with a grumbling stomach, as they walked amongst the crowded streets.
"Me too." moped a hungry Bearmon, rubbing his white furred stomach.
"What are you talking about? It's not exactly like you've done a lot of fight--" said Meilin, but was interrupted by her growling stomach. Meilin let out a chuckle of embarrassment. Walking with folded arms, Casey's stomach grumbled as well, sighing in response to her hunger.
Feeling a tug on her overalls again, Meilin looked down to see a familiar face that belonged to Flowamon.
"Meilin…I'm quite famished myself." spoke a sheepish Flowamon.
Letting out a sigh, Meilin straightened her glasses and spoke again.
"Fine. There's this diner a couple of blocks from here, that's run by a Kokatorimon. We'll eat there, and then we're back on the road, okay?"
"Yay!" cheered Chandler, Bearmon, and Flowamon in unison. Casey gave a satisfied smirk, while Meilin let out another sigh.
.
"Well, we're here." said Meilin, as the group stood in front of the restaurant. Made of hard lumber, the brown restaurant was at least one story high, and gave off a very sturdy look. By the way the restaurant's condition looked, you could tell that the owner took very good care of it, and kept it in good shape. "Tori-Tori Diner" in big white letters, is what the red sign above the building read.
"Tori-Tori Diner?" Chandler read aloud, as they pushed open the wooden swing door and walked in.
The interior of the diner gave off a very western feel. Almost everything was made of wood. Wooden stools stood perfectly lined up in front the side of the bar's wooden counter, which stood to their right.
To the left, three large wooden tables with their own chairs had their own individual window, with a good view of outside. For a very busy city, the diner was surprisingly empty, except for a creature behind the counter.
"Why, hello Meilin and friends!" rang the creatures voice in a southern accent, as it caught the group's attention.
"Hello Kokatorimon!" greeted the group in unison, minus Chandler, who simply gawked at the creature. The group walked to the bartender standing behind the counter. Standing around seven feet tall, the creature greatly resembled a rooster. Donned in white feathers that ruffled when it moved, it also had a Mohawk of black feathers on its head. The rooster Digimon also sported an array of red tipped tail feathers, like a peacock.
"Well what brings you here today?" asked Kokatorimon, using his wings for hands to dry an empty beer mug with a white cloth.
"We were passing through, when we deciding to get a meal." explained Casey with folded arms.
"Oh." said Kokatorimon, nodding his big yellow beak, avoiding Casey's serious glance.
"I see you've got yourselves a new tagalong." said Kokatorimon, eyeing Chandler curiously, with his large red eyes, who was still gawking at the Digimon.
"Yeah, this is Chandler." said Bearmon, introducing the boy.
"He's new." added in Flowamon, shyly. Giving an understanding nod, Kokatorimon talked to Chandler.
"Hello, son, my name is Kokatorimon. I run this here establishment." continued Kokatorimon, who observed Chandler, wondering why he was still staring at him.
"You're a big chicken." commented an amazed Chandler. Kokatorimon chuckled loudly.
"He's a little spacey, isn't he?" Kokatorimon whispered to the rest of the group. Flowamon giggled.
"Apparently." said Meilin, sighing.
"Uh, what about the food?" Bearmon chimed in.
"Oh! I'm sorry! Must've slipped my mind! Take a seat!" apologized Kokatorimon, chuckling, and ushering the group to an empty table.
"So, what'll it be?" asked Kokatorimon, pulling a pen and notepad out of the pocket of his light blue apron.
"I'm feeling like bacon and eggs today. Yeah, I'll take that." decided Meilin.
"I'll just take a cheeseburger." ordered Casey.
"I'll have a cheeseburger, too." said Bearmon, following Casey.
"May a have a fruit salad, please?" requested a blushing Flowamon.
"You got it!" said Kokatorimon, putting the notepad back in his apron, and dashed with lightning speed, into the kitchen behind the bar.
"Why didn't you order anything?" Meilin asked Chandler.
"Because…" Chandler trailed off.
"Because?" asked Casey.
"Because I have no money!" yelled a whimpering Chandler, pulling out empty pockets from his black jeans, aside from his D-Stryke. The whole group let out a horrified gasp.
"Here ya go!" rang Kokatorimon, running back and sliding plates of food to their respective customers.
"Thanks! Let's eat!" yelled the group in unison, minus Chandler, who stood their, hungry.
"Wow, that smells good…" commented Chandler dreamily, as he smelled the group's cuisine from afar.
"Say, can I have some?" asked Chandler, leaning over Casey and Bearmon's shoulders while they were eating, who both hissed at him in return, sending him jumping back in fear. Chandler then looked at Meilin and Flowamon, who both looked away, as if they didn't see him.
"You guys are mean." Chandler moped, as he let out a disappointed sigh.
"Why don't you just get a job?" asked Bearmon, while chewing his cheeseburger.
"A job? Who's going to hire me?" questioned Chandler, miserably.
"This town's full of busy people. Finding an odd job is easy." explained Meilin, who took a bite out of her bacon.
"Fine. I'll look." said Chandler, sighing again. He then left the diner. The rest of the group simply shrugged, and continued to eat their food.
/A job? Where am I going to find one in this place?/ thought Chandler to himself, as he walked along the dirt road. Suddenly, Chandler heard grunting noise from afar. Tracking the source of the noise, he walked around a corner, and through a narrow alley, when he spotted a small, wooden cottage. The small home looked old and tattered, as if it were about to collapse. The wood looked aged and weak. Walking closer, he spotted a small, feminine Digimon, grunting and jumping, trying to reach a dusty window. She appeared to be struggling, and needed help, as far as Chandler could observe.
"A job opportunity. How convenient." commented Chandler to himself, as he walked up to the struggling Digimon.
"Um, do you need any help?" asked Chandler, causing the Digimon to turn around and notice him.
"Why yes, yes I do." spoke the Digimon in a raspy, old lady's voice. The small Digimon appeared to be very old, with wrinkles covering her entire face. Her dusty gray hair was neatly tied in a bun, and her bangs covered her eyes. Carrying an old broom in one hand, she also wore a faded green robe with red and purple patterns in various areas.
"I'm trying to clean my windows, and as you can see, I'm too short to reach it! Will you be a darling and help me? I'll reward you for your troubles."
"Okay, sure thing!" said Chandler, opening the old wooden fence gate and walking on the dried up, crunchy grassed lawn.
"Here you go." said the old Digimon, passing Chandler a rusted metal bucket of water, and a tattered cloth.
"By the way, my name is Babamon. I sure wish there were more Digimon as helpful as you around these parts, although you're the first human I've seen in awhile.
"I'm on it!" said Chandler, and with a fast pace, scrubbed and wiped all of the cottage's dirty windows clean.
"Impressive! Oh, your reward." praised Babamon, clapping her little hands. She then reached into her robe's pocket, and pulled out a small purple purse. She opened it and pulled out a small wad of money in paper U.S. dollars. She then handed it to Chandler. Chandler also noticed that Babamon had a lot more money in her purse.
"Thank you, but this is too much. I can't accept this." replied a modest Chandler.
"Nonsense. You deserve it. Here." said Babamon, grabbing Chandler's hand with amazing strength, and placing the money in his palm.
"Um, thanks." said Chandler, putting the money in his jeans pocket.
"Oh, no problem at all." said a beaming Babamon.
"Uh Babamon? If you have so much money, then why do you live in a place like this?" asked Chandler.
"Well…" said Babamon, scratching her cheek. She then looked up at the sky.
"When you become old like me, you tend to be content with what you already have. I lived my life, and now it's time I settled down. I still live in this rundown shack because I'm happy living here. I lived here ever since I was a little Digimon, and I feel satisfied here. You get my point?" Babamon explained to Chandler.
"Yeah, I guess." Said Chandler.
"Good then. You see, you're young. Chase your dreams, and don't rest until they come true. Always live your life to the fullest, and never give up." advised Babamon.
"Now go! Continue your journey!" continued Babamon, rushing Chandler off of her property, continuously poking Chandler in his backside with her broom.
"Goodbye." waved Babamon, grinning.
"Bye." Chandler bode farewell to the old Digimon, and continued on his way.
"Kids these days." said Babamon, sweeping off her steps with her broom, sighing happily.
"So, do you think Chandler found a job yet?" asked Flowamon, concerned with Chandler's welfare.
"Beats me." said Meilin. The rest of the group simply shrugged again, and continued to eat.
"Now I'm really hungry!" said Chandler, rubbing his stomach, even more famished than the first time
/Now, to find that restaurant./ Thought Chandler, thinking about all of the good food that awaited him at the diner. But his daydream was interrupted by a shouting voice.
"Hey! Get back here!" Chandler heard a voice in the distance. Suddenly, a red blur running at lightning fast speed, knocked into Chandler's legs, making him fall on his bottom again. After getting up and rubbing his backside, he looked around to see his ambusher.
Just a few feet away from him, Chandler spotted the culprit. Rubbing its head the creature got up from the ground. The creature that stood before him was surprisingly short and scrappy. Covered in red fur and purple stripes, the creature's long red and purple tipped ears stood up like a rabbit's. It had nine red and purple striped tails arranged in the same style as the Kokatorimon Chandler had met earlier.
"I said get back here you thief!" Chandler heard the familiar voice again. In the distance, Chandler could see another red, legless Digimon with vines for arms, hopping towards their direction in a white apron.
"Uh-oh." said the red clad rabbit Digimon, or what Chandler thought was a rabbit, in a gruff, but childish sounding male voice. Getting back up on its feet, the rabbit Digimon was about to make a run for it, but it was too late. The pursuing Digimon caught up with it, panting from exhaustion.
"I got you now! Return what you stole at once!" commanded the red plant Digimon. Observing the confrontation from the sidelines, Chandler noticed a long, wrapped sandwich tucked under the rabbit Digimon's right arm.
"Pfft, fat chance!" retaliated the thieving Digimon defiantly.
"You little punk! I'll teach you a lesson in respect!" yelled the enraged plant Digimon, raising its long, thorny vine to attack the thief. With amazing speed, the plant Digimon's large vine came crashing down, about to lash the rabbit Digimon, when Chandler interrupted the attack.
"Excuse me, but instead of hurting him, I wouldn't mind paying for the sandwich myself." Chandler chimed in with a weak chuckle, stopping the plant Digimon's assault.
/What?/ thought the rabbit Digimon, shocked by Chandler's offer.
"Uh, sure, why not?" replied the red plant, scratching its head with its right arm-vine, puzzled. Chandler then stood up, reached into his pocket, and took out a couple of dollar bills.
"Will this do?" asked Chandler, handing out the money.
"It sure will! That's more than enough!" yelled the plant Digimon in delight, graciously accepting the money. Finally satisfied, the plant Digimon turned around to leave, when the rabbit Digimon spoke.
"Stupid RedVeggiemon!" shouted the angry rabbit Digimon, sticking up its middle claw in a disrespectful manner.
"Why you little!" yelled the enraged RedVeggiemon, turning back around, about to attack again.
"Leaving!" said Chandler instantly, snatching up the rabbit Digimon, running as far away from RedVeggiemon as possible, who was cursing obscenities at them.
Chandler came to another alleyway, where he decided to hide for the time being, and released the captive Digimon. The alley was long and narrow, with cemented ground, and didn't seem to lead anywhere. Exhausted, Chandler sat up against the side of the adobe house that towered over them.
"You're pretty lucky I came along. You would've been toast." said a relieved Chandler.
"I didn't need your help." The rabbit Digimon huffed with folded arms.
"Oh yeah, you did. My name's Chandler. What's yours?" greeted Chandler.
"I'm not telling you." replied the Digimon, turning away in response. Chandler was amazed at how rude this Digimon was being. Fed up, he took out his red and black D-Stryke, and pressed a button. Like with the previous Dokugumon, A small hologram opened up on his D-Stryke, which gave the rabbit's picture, followed by text.
"Elecmon. Rookie Level. Mammal Type Digimon. Attribute: Data." Chandler read aloud.
"Hey!" yelled Elecmon, trying to reach for Chandler's D-Stryke, but was pushed away by the much stronger Chandler, who was laughing.
"So, your name's Elecmon, huh? Are you some kind of bunny rabbit?" asked Chandler. At those words, Elecmon became instantly enraged.
"I'm not a bunny rabbit! I'm a Kyuubi Kitsune! See these nine tails! Don't you ever call me that again!" he shouted. Chandler wondered why he took it so seriously, but apologized anyway. With both of their stomachs growling, Elecmon took out the long sandwich, unwrapped it, and almost began eating it, just when Chandler snatched it away from him, making him bite his tongue.
"What was that for!" yelled an annoyed Elecmon.
"Well, I paid for it, so it's mine." replied a smug Chandler. Being considerate, he broke the sandwich in two, and gave Elecmon half, who received it with a confused expression on his face.
"Why?" Elecmon asked Chandler, who took a bite out of his half of the sandwich.
"Because you were hungry." replied Chandler with a full mouth.
"No, why did you help me?" asked Elecmon again, with a sign of seriousness in his big, blue eyes.
"Well… because you were in need, and I'd just thought I could lend a helping hand." pondered Chandler for a moment, and took another bite. Elecmon thought on Chandler's words for awhile, and slowly began to eat.
"It's getting late, we should go look for Chandler." decided Meilin. The group, finally finished with their meals, said their goodbyes to Kokatorimon, and continued on their way.
The sun was setting, and Chandler and Elecmon were finally finished with their meal as well.
"I hate to eat and run, but I got to go. Places to be and everything." said Elecmon, getting and exiting the alley.
"Where are you going to go?" asked a concerned Chandler, getting up, too.
"Eh, I'm a drifter. I go wherever the wind takes Me." replied Elecmon, looking up at the orange sky.
"If you say so. I guess I'll see you around sometime." said Chandler, who didn't really believe Elecmon's words.
"Yeah." said Elecmon. The two then parted ways.
Coming to a town square, Chandler noticed the rest of the gang, so he walked up to them. Instead of being welcomed with open arms, Chandler was welcomed with a punch on the head from an annoyed Casey.
"Where were you?" asked Casey.
"We looked everywhere." explained Bearmon.
"We were also worried." continued Flowamon shyly.
"Heh, sorry guys." apologized Chandler, rubbing his head from the pain.
"Since we're all together now, let's get a move on, shall we?" declared Meilin. The group nodded in unison and continued on their way.
Exiting the town and entering a wide and vast valley, with lush green grass and tall, mountain-like hills, Chandler and the rest of the group heard footsteps behind them. Chandler turned around, and noticed a familiar face. It was Elecmon, standing at the town exit, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, and looking away from the group. He then folded his arms behind his head, and began to speak.
"Well, since we're going the same way and all, I guess it wouldn't hurt if I let you tag along with me. After all, I did--Hey!" Elecmon shouted after Chandler, who paid him no mind and continued to walk with the rest of the group.
"Don't turn your back on me when I'm talking to you!" continued an embarrassed Elecmon. Chandler then stopped and turned around.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Come on, bunny rabbit." Chandler beckoned Elecmon with a cheesy grin, trying to hold back laughter. Like once before, Elecmon became angry again.
"I told you not to call me that! Why you--Sparkling Thunder!" yelled Elecmon, and sent a bolt of orange, shining electricity at Chandler's feet. Not staying around for Elecmon to strike again, Chandler dashed away, apologizing.
"Excuse me!" said Chandler, bumping through the group, and running away, with Elecmon hot on his trail.
"So, do you think they're partners?" Casey asked Meilin.
"Definitely." responded Meilin.
"I think so, too." added Bearmon. Flowamon nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry!" yelled a frightened Chandler, as Elecmon continued the chase, shooting electricity, and yelling in the distance.
Next: Episode 4: Don't Go to Sleep! Prankster Prince Gazimon! (Title subject to change.)