Chapter Eight
Break! The Calm Before the Storm!
"I thought you said the people here where acting strange?" Tai asked as he looked at the scene before him.
"They were I swear it!" Gomamon resorted. "Right guys?" Gomamon turned to Terriermon, Henry, Ken, Wormmon, and Joe. The five nodded their heads in agreement
"Are you sure it wasn't a group hallucination? " Davis add helpfully. "I mean look at them, not a more normal bunch I've ever seen in the Digital World." Davies gestured at the interior of the town., Various Champion Digimon were strolling its streets, some chatting and others shopping, while Rookies skipped at their feet.
"Trust me that was no hallucination!" Gomamon huffed. "Trust me I would never imagine a smelly Dino talking down to me!"
"While you are pretty emotionally unbalanced." Joe chuckled.
"Your not helping you know." Gomamon shot back.
"Well clearly there's something strange about that town." Izzy stated cutting right to the point. "So why don't we send some in well the others see if we can't get find anything in the forest, just in case the natives turn out less friendly than they look."
"Good idea Izzy, but who'll go were?" Tai interrupted.
"I'll take the city!" Mimi offered eagerly.
"I think it'd be best if Suzy and I also head into the city." Henry add.
"Can we come too?" came a voice and a tug on Henry's pants leg, looking down Henry saw that it was Ai.
"Sure." Henry replied. "Will anyone else be joining us?"
"I'll come." Jeri said
"Me too!" Takato add quickly after Jeri.
"I can help look after the kids." Kari suggested.
"Same here." Sora called.
"And me an Marine Angamon can make sure no one masses with us!" Kenta boasted.
"Right," Mimi breathed looking at the floating pixie. "Are sure about that?"
"Hey he may not look it but Marine Angamon is a Mega!" Kenta quickly shot back
"Pu!" Marine Angamon add proudly.
"You know I think that Cody and I should go along to help stabilize things." TK stated
"I concur." Cody add.
"While I guess that settles that." Tai said. "The rest of us will head out into the forest."
"Fine with me." Rika said and started off towards the undergrowth. Behind her the others shrugged and followed her in.
"Hmmm..." Mimi hummed as she picked through a shelf in a small mart. "What's with all these floppy discs?"
"I think they contain data that Digimon can ingest." Henry speculated as he examined one.
"So what do they do?"
"Don't know." Henry shrugged.
"Well we could ask the store owner." TK suggested.
"Right." Henry walked up to the counter and glanced around before he spotted the owner in the back room. "Excuse me?"
"Yes?" the Centarumon answered well walking towards the counter.
"Can you tell me what this does?" Henry held up a gray floppy.
The Centarumon looked at Henry oddly. "It's a recovery disc."
"What does it do?"
"It allows a Digimon to recover some strength." Centarumon was now looking at Henry as if he had his head on backwards. "Say what kind of Digimon are you anyway? Can't say I've seen your kind around before."
A group of small sweat drops appeared on Henry's head. "Um, Humon?"
"Hu!" Centarumon shook his head. "Can't say I've ever heard of that before."
"Yah well, most of use live quit a ways from here."
"Ah, so I take it you don't have floppies were your from? Strange."
"Yes and thank you." Henry turned and headed back to the others.
"Hey no problem." The Centarumon returned to the back room and his work.
"So?" TK asked the returning Henry.
"Well according to the owner these gray floppies restore some of a Digimon's strength, apparently there pretty common."
"These could prove quite useful." Cody interjected
"Yeah and another things, these Digimon don't seem know about humans or the real world, so if asked what kind of Digimon you are tell them your a humon."
"That's all you could come up?" Mimi asked.
"While it was on short notice."
"You know." Takato intervened. "I just realized something."
"What?" Jeri asked.
"We don't have any money." A large sweat-drop slid down everyone else's head.
"Anyone find anything!" Tai yelled out into the woods.
"Well." Joe walked into ?Tai's view carrying some mushrooms in his arms.. "I did find some mushrooms, but I don't know if there poisonous or not."
"Great." Tai rolled his eyes.
"Are sure we need to eat?" Rika brushed some sweat from her forehead
"What d you mean?" Izzy asked.
"Well in the test Digiworld that we were in you didn't have to eat unless you thought you did."
"Strange." Izzy contemplated. "But still better safe than sorry."
"Right but that still leaves the question of whether or not these are poisonous."
"I'll deal with that." Davies took a mushroom from Joe and took a bite.
"Davies!"
"What?" Davies happy said as he munched on the mushroom. "It tastes fine."
A sweat-drop rolled down everyone else's head. "It could have been poisoned!"
"Than Joe would have cured, me no big deal."
"Davies you really do need to learn to think about your actions me thoroughly first." Ken said shaking his head.
"Well now we know that the mushrooms are safe to eat so what's the problem?" Davies crossed his arms and snapped defensively.
"We'll talk about it later." Ken sighed.
"Hey guys! Come over here I found something." Yolei called.
"What is it?" Izzy leaned over her shoulder. "Wow!" Before him lay blots of ones and zeroes.
"What is it?" Yolei mumbled.
"If it's what I think it is it might help us find were Bullmon want."
"Why?"
"I think it's Digital blood." Izzy got up and brushed himself off.
"What! What makes you say that?" Rika demanded.
"Well if you remember our fight with Bullmon some of his wounds were leaking ones and zeroes."
"So in this world Digimon have the equivalent of blood?" Matt questioned.
"Maybe." Izzy speculated. "It's hard to say for sure without more information, But it might just be the data that makes up the "shell" of the Digimon surrounding its core."
"Well whatever it is it might make a trial leading to were Bullmon want, right?" Rika injected.
"That's right." Izzy confirmed.
"Well some edible mushrooms, and a way to find and finish Bullmon and whoever's behind this. Not a bad for a day's work." Matt announced proudly.
"Well maybe we should do one more sweep just to be sure we didn't miss anything before we rejoin the others." Tai suggested.
"Oh fine." Yolie moaned
"So what are suppose to do?". Jeri asked. The group had retired to a nearby park. The older children were sitting on some benches, while the smaller children played in the grass, under the watchful eye of Henry.
"While we could look around town, see if there's some why to get some money." TK suggested.
"While one or two of us would have to stay behind to look after the kids." Kari pointed out.
"I'll do it." Henry called back.
"Three could be handful for one person, I'll help. It'll be good experience towards being a teacher." Kari cracked a wary grin.
"Right, " Takato said standing up. "I think the rest of us should pair off as well. That way we can still split up to cover more ground, but hopefully still have enough fire power per a group to defend ourselves if things get hairy."
"Good idea." TK agreed. "I think Cody and I should go as a team, so we have accesses to Shakkoumon as soon as possible if things go wrong."
"Right, so I guess I'll go with Takato." Jeri offered, electing a blush from the boy.
"Well I guess it's you and me Mimi." Sora flashed a grin at her friend.
"Hey what about me!" Kenta called.
"You can come with us." Mimi offered.
"Fine."
"Well let's go, we'll meet back here in about a hour." T.K said as he and Cody took off.
"Right!" Takato called.
"Hm, this looks interesting" Cody said glancing at large sign adorning a nearby building. "DNA Shop?" Cody looked at TK who simply shrugged.
"Might as well see what it is." Armadillomon suggested.
"Right." TK pushed the door open.
"Welcome, welcome!" a voice rang out from behind a counter a few feet in front of the door as a figure come out from behind it. Two green legs protruded from an oval casing, a small creak in the casing a few feet up reveled two glowing yellow eyes, Digitamamon. The egg's two eyes quickly darted over the group. "Right Now if which of you four are while be using my serves today?"
"Um..."
"Specking of which you two are at lest Rookies right?" Digitamamon turned his eyes to TK and Cody. "I've never seen your species of Digimon before."
"Oh don't worry about us!" TK said waving his arms franticly. "We don't need your help."
"Whatever," Digitamamon moved his gaze to Patamon and Armadillomon. "So it's you two? I have to admit I don't get a lot of children customers."
"Now listen here!" Armadillomon took a step froward. "We are not children!"
"Oh!" Digitamamon declared as if understanding something for the first time. "A couple of angsty teens trying to get away from it all, well come this way."
"Actually I think we should be going." Cody quickly scoped up Armadillomon and bowed. "Thank you for your time sir." Cody than quickly left.
"Um... yeah!" TK followed suit and gave a small bow. "Let's go Patamon."
"Right!"
Digitamamon blinked a few times as the quartet quickly left his shop. "Kids."
"UFF!" A flash yellow collided with a green abdomen, sending the recipient flying back, and out of a white circle.
"We have a winner!" A Gekomon called as he rang a golden bell. "And here's your two hundred bits as promised."
"Thank you sir." Lemon said as he accept the money, he then turned to face his opponent who was standing up. "And thank you for a most honorable and invigorating fight." He said with a slight bow.
"Yeah, whatever kitty." The Orgamon huffed as he brushed himself off. "But you do have a good punch, I guess."
"Two hundred bits? I wonder how much that's worth." Takato pondered.
"I'm sure it's enough for now." Jeri reassured him, before facing the returning Leomon. "Good job!"
"Thank you." The large beast man Digimon replied handing the money to Takato.
"Thanks." The boy said as he took the money "So what should we do now?"
"How about we look around for a little longer?" Jeri suggested.
"Fine with me."
There was an uncomfortable silence as the four made their way through town.
"Takato! I'm hungry!" Guilmon suddenly moaned.
"Well do I have this granola bar." Takato offered removing from pant's pocket.
"No Guilmon bread?" The red dragon whimpered well doing his best to make puppy eyes.
"Sorry boy!" Takato chucked as he unwrapped the granola bar and handed it to Guilmon.
"Oh well." Guilmon sighed, before quickly munching into the granola bar.
"Jeri?" Leomon rumbled.
"Yes?"
"I am, sorry if my demise caused you any trauma."
"Oh Leomon you have nothing to be sorry for!" The girl
"Especially since it's all thank to those jerks who brought us here." Takato said with an edge to his voice.
"Takato, it's the past, there's nothing we can do about it now." Jeri said laying a hand on his shoulder.
"I know Jeri." Takato shook slightly his head trying to hide the blush that had formed. "But it's not right! You didn't deserve to be used like that! No matter how they try to justify it."
"None of us deserved to be used. But that's over now and three worlds are depending on us."
"Yeah your right." Takato looked down a frown on his face. "Mystery's wrong." He mumbled to himself.
"Did you say something?" Guilmon asked as he finished his granola bar.
"No." Takato answered, but in his head he couldn't get the words of Mystery out of his head.
" I can not name one world whose history is not littered with saddens, depression, and atrocities for and in the name of greater causes and empire. It is a universal why of life."
"Which I do not accept." Takato had argued.
"Then you deny what is real."
A slightly longer chapter than normal, admittedly without much action, but I think the kids need a breather, and some time to really find out some stuff about this new world and maybe do some character development. I did drop a big hint as to what DNA Digivolving is in this world, if you're versed in Digimon outside of just the cartoon. (Hint: the hint is Digitamamon.) As for reusing the banter between Mystery and Takato, it's partly because it seemed like last line in it was a nice foreboding way to end a chapter, and partly just because I like that conversation :p. Also Blackwargreymon101 Thanks for the... enthusiastic review.