This chapter is going to be a two-parter. It wasn't supposed to be that way, Tentomon was going to digivolve in this, but I ended up writing a lot more than I should've where there ended up having about eight thousand words before I reached the climax.
And I know that if I continued writing this making this chapter a little longer I would've ended up rushing the ending which I do not want. The next chapter might be a little shorter, but I will be adding a lot more scenes to that chapter.
Thank you to everyone who left a review on the last chapter. Nightshadegirl I have responded to your comments on AO3.
Izzy just doesn't care. He doesn't care that Mimi came back to the surface with Aruraumon acting so scared and gloomy. He doesn't care that BlackAgumon ate all of their food. He doesn't care that TK tripped over a rock and was crying about his bleeding knee. He doesn't care that Tai angered Matt and they were now yelling at each other nonstop. And he doesn't care that they lost Kari and that it took them an hour to find her.
All he cared about was his laptop and all the information it carried. While everyone was worrying over why Mimi was acting so sad, he was sitting by a tree with a laptop placed on his lap. When everyone else was looking for more food after BlackAgumon ate it all, he was sitting on a boulder with his laptop on his lap. While everyone was looking for Kari, he was typing away on his laptop.
The only time he actually put it away was when they get attacked. That's the only time he put his away so he and Tentomon could focus on getting away. But still, all he could think about was getting back to it.
There was so much Izzy wanted-needed to learn. This world was filled with so many mysteries. Like what are these creatures? How are they here? Why are they here? Are there any good Digimon? What is this world even made of anyway?
Izzy always believed that there were other worlds, other creatures unknown to humans. But everyone always made fun of him for believing in such things, it was humiliating. He was so proud of himself when he landed in the Digital World. All of his theories were proven to be true, yet he had no way to prove it to everyone else. He couldn't even find a way to get home.
The sun was setting, and Sora declared that it was time to get some rest. They set camp right outside the forest, near a cliff. Matt and Tai were trying to start a fire, the Digimons went into the woods to gather more food, Sora was using some leaves and plants to make a blanket where everyone can sleep on, and Joe was making sure TK and Kari would stay away from the damn ledge.
Mimi was still acting unusually dark. She was sitting by a tree, hugging her legs, burying her face in her knees. They didn't know what happened to Mimi to make her act like this. Mimi has been ignoring everyone since she got back, and Aruraumon would avoid all of their questions.
It has been days now, and honestly, to Izzy, it seemed like everyone gave up on trying to cheer her up. Except for Sora, who sat by Mimi's side once she finished setting up camp. Izzy was the only one (other than Mimi, TK, and Kari) who wasn't doing anything. Tai and Sora tried to get him to help, but he couldn't get off his laptop, not until he finds answers.
"We're back!" BlackAgumon announced, the other Digimons behind them. Each one of them was holding some odd fruits in their arms, except for Salamon and Tsukaimon, who were too small to hold any and carried some extra sticks for the fire instead.
Tai's smile widened at their BlackAgumon and he swung his head around. His stomach grumbled with hunger and anticipation, but his smile turned into a frown once his pupils landed on a load of fruits.
"Fruits?" Tai grumbled as the Digimons dropped the fruits near the campfire. "This is the third night we had fruits for dinner!"
Biyomon huffed, dropping the fruits right on Tai's feet. Tai yelped, as he hopped away, fruit juice splattered on his white shoes. Biyomon glared at him, sending a small chill running down his spine. "There is nothing else to eat! So be grateful!"
Tai muttered something under his breath, stuffing his hands into his pockets and accepting their dinner. No matter what he does Biyomon always hates him.
TK and Kari ran up to the fruits, Joe behind them, making sure they're kept safe. They slowed down their pace at the sight in front of them. They were hungry, but the fruits didn't look right...it was all wrinkly and squishy. The eight-year-olds frowned and crouched down in front of the fruits. They gagged and grimaced at the smell coming from their dinner.
"Why does it smell like that?" TK groused, pinching his nose. Kari took a stick from Salamon and poked the blue mango. The poke received squelching noises from the fruits, and the juice gushed out.
TK and Kari gasped as they covered their face with their arms, the blue juice splashing on them. The mango deflated as all of its juice evacuated it and was left as a soggy mango skin flattened on the ground. They groaned at the sticky liquid on their face and arms.
"Ew," TK sniffed, peeling his sticky sleeves away from his skin. Matt sighed, watching the two youngest in annoyance. He kneeled and picked up a water bottle. They didn't have any lake nearby to wash them, so the spring water will have to do.
"Joe!" He called out to the senior and threw the water bottle at him. Joe looked up and raised his hands to catch the bottle. He looked at it for a few seconds, unsure what to do with it.
"Clean up TK and Kari," Matt ordered as if he read Joe's mind.
"Oh!" Joe said, turning to the second graders.
"Come on," Joe said calmly, taking their hands into his own and dragging them away from the group to get cleaned up.
Tai was observing the deflated blue mango. He poked it with the same stick his little sister used. It was just mango skin now, nothing else.
'What happened to the actual fruit?' Tai thought, lifting the skin with the stick. Tai knew the Digital World is different from the human world, but no way can their mango be filled with only juice.
BlackAgumon stared at the fruit with desire clouting his eyes. He drooled, his stomach grumbled, and the thought of eating the delicious fruit was too much for him. He couldn't handle it any longer, and snatched the fruit off the stick, stuffing it in his mouth.
"Hey!" Tai yelled, watching his partner stuff his face with more and more fruits. "Save some for the rest of us!"
Matt picked up an orange apple. It was rotting away, the skin all wrinkly and squishy. The fifth-grader gently squeezed it, and it exploded, the juice staining his green shirt.
"Dammit!" Matt cursed, throwing the apple skin. Psychemon caught it and swallowed it up, his Tamer attempting to wipe the mess off his shirt.
Tentomon poked a purple orange. Unlike the other Digimons, who just wanted to eat, Tentomon was actually curious. He did hear that sometimes the fruit was grown as juice, but he never actually seen one himself.
Penetrating the fruit, Tentomon ripped a hole open. He extracted his claw, purple orange juice dripping off of it.
"Interesting," Tentomon mused, sucking the juice off his claw.
Izzy ignored the commotion happening around him. He continued to type away on his laptop, to find some answers. But he couldn't find any. No matter what code he writes, he still couldn't find the answers he needs.
"Hey Izzy," Tentomon quipped, wabbling up to his Tamer. "You hungry?"
Izzy sighed and took his attention off his computer. He leaned his head towards Tentomon and brought his pupil downwards to see Tentomon holding a ripped open orange. He quirked an eyebrow once he saw purple juice flowing inside the orange. Tentomon chuckled noticing his human's reaction.
"Or thirsty?" Tentomon corrected. Izzy gave him a weird look, but he put his laptop aside anyway.
"Thanks," said Izzy, taking the fruit from his partner's claws. He held the orange close to his face and dipped his tongue in it. It tasted like orange juice, but sweeter, which felt strange to Izzy as the juice was the wrong colour. But everything was strange here, so he ignored it and drank the rest of the liquid.
While Izzy gulped down the orange juice, Tentomon reached for more fruits. He stuffed down a whole yellow pomegranate in one, chugging down the juice. Izzy placed the skin down and picked up his laptop setting it back on his lap. His fingers pressed against the keyboard, typing down a new code.
While stuffing his face, Tentomon glanced at his Tamer to find him on his laptop again. Tentomon knew Izzy was a very curious kid when he first landed in the Digital World. The insectoid was bombarded with several questions from the child, most of them he didn't have an answer to. He was always on his laptop and doesn't even try to interact with any of the other Dark Digidestined. He never even told the others what he was doing on it, always dodging the question when it was asked.
Tentomon continued to watch his Tamer work on his laptop. He watched Izzy slam his finger against the keyboard with his eyes narrowed, biting his lip. Curiosity took over, and Tentomon hopped over to Izzy.
"What are you doing?" Izzy snapped himself out of his concentration hearing his partner speak. He swung his head to his right finding Tentomon leaning over his lap, squinting at his laptop.
"N-nothing," Izzy frowned nervously, turning his laptop and body to the left, lowering his screen. Tentomon blinked at Izzy, confused as to why his Tamer would act like that. But he decided to ignore it not wanting to make his partner more uncomfortable.
Izzy let out a puff of air. He felt relieved seeing Tentomon moving away from him, eating more of those odd fruits. The redhead brought the screen up, and his hands moved against the keyboard again.
The fourth-grader squinted his eyes, the screen light causing a strain on it. He knows that he has to put it away so he doesn't cause more damage to his eyes, but he couldn't do so yet. He has a strong feeling that it might be finally getting somewhere, and he wasn't going to give up yet. He shifted his right hand to the right, his ring finger hitting the enter key. Right when he pressed the button, something popped up on his screen.
Izzy's eyes widened, expecting another failed attempt. His screen was covered by green and blue spots, with marks and lines scattered on the screen. Izzy squinted his eyes and leaned in closer, trying to figure out what it was. It then hit him, it was a map. Izzy leaped with joy, jumping onto his feet. His lips spread into a huge smile. His eyes were wide and it glistened with happiness.
"A map!" He beamed, raising his laptop into the air. This caught everyone else's attention, each child and Digimon swinging their head to Izzy. Tentomon's shell cracked open, and his wings buzzed. His wings picked him three feet off the ground and he zoomed his way to Izzy.
The ladybug looked over Izzy's shoulder to see the laptop's screen, his Tamer too excited to hide it from him. Tentomon's eyes roamed over the screen and inspected the map. A thought seeped into his mind.
"It must be a map of this island!" Assumed Tentomon staring at the map. "It's too small to be the whole Digital World..."
All the other children stayed quiet hearing Tentomon and Izzy muse together on what the map might mean. This excited Tai. The goggle head was always into adventures, and with a map, plus his handy little telescope, this trip in the Digital World could actually feel like a proper adventure.
"Let me see!" Whooped Tai, jumping over the pile of strange fruits and skipping towards them, BlackAgumon following him. Izzy shifted the laptop in his arms to show Tai. He nudged the laptop towards his older friend, but before Tai could even take a peek, his screen went black. Izzy's heart dropped to his stomach. His eyes widened and he anxiously began clicking the trackpad.
"My laptop!" His words died as he clicked the trackpad harder and faster hoping to turn his laptop back on. He didn't write down the code, and he didn't save the map in any way. Drops of sweat fell down Izzy's forehead as the thought of losing the map makes him feel more and more anxious.
"Izzy?" Tentomon noticed his Tamer's distress. He was sweating profusely and his hands were trembling as he tries to turn his laptop back on. Tai also noticed this, as he watched with concern.
"Izzy?" Tai kneeled so he could be at eye-level with the redhead. He grasped onto Izzy's arm, but he didn't react in any way. He just clicked on his trackpad non-stop, not responding at all. "Izzy?!"
Sora, Matt and the others observed the scene in front of them. And all of them, minus Mimi gathered towards the nervous redhead. He still didn't respond, and they all came to the realization that Izzy doesn't notice them.
"Izzy!" One last call out to him and Izzy finally snapped out of his trance. His pupils swung upwards and his hands stopped trembling. He blinked, confused as to why everyone else was so close to him.
"Izzy?" Sora asked quietly, slowly walking to him. "Are you alright?"
Izzy blinked. He did not understand what happened. He let out a shaky breath, before looking back down to his laptop screen to see a battery sign with a red exclamation point blinking on the screen.
"It's dying!" Izzy panicked and he felt himself trembling again. Sora had to step forward and shake him by the shoulders to calm him.
"Izzy! Calm down!" She sighed but it didn't work. All the emotions he faced before came back to him. "I need to charge my laptop! Or else all I'll lose all of my work!"
"Hey, guys!" Joe called from the edge of the cliff. Everyone whirled their heads to him, not noticing the eldest leaving them at all.
"There is a factory over this cliff! Izzy could charge his laptop there!" Said Joe pointing over the edge of the cliff. Izzy gasped at the revelation and he charged towards Joe.
"Izzy, wait!" Tentomon gasped, flying in the air to catch up with him. Izzy ran to the edge but slowed down once he got near it. Joe was right, there was a factory down the cliff in front of more trees. The rest of the children followed, stopping at the edge of the cliff.
Matt huffed crossing his arms. "What makes you think there's anything there to charge his laptop?"
Joe flinched at Matt's usual cold tone, not expecting the question. He grunted, scratching his scalp.
"I-I don't know..." He mumbled turning his gaze away from Matt's cold glare. "I just thought there might be something..."
"It is getting pretty late..." Sora sighed looking up to see the sun setting, the moon slowly rising. It'll be dark in no time, so It'll be too dangerous to go now...
"Let's check it out tomorrow?" She suggested. She bowed and clasped TK and Kari's hands. "It will be safer to do it when the sun's out."
Joe spun around, flinging his arms into the air. "I agree!" He declared determinedly, keeping his hand raised.
Tai shrugged, not really caring about the outcome. He patted BlackAgumon's head, and gently squeezed Izzy's shoulder, who flinched at the touch.
"So we're going in the morning?" He asked looking at Sora, Joe and Matt for an answer. Sora and Joe nodded but Matt shrugged his shoulders, not caring for the outcome either.
"Okay! Let's go to sleep!" Tai ordered and strolled away with his hand pointing to the campsite, BlackAgumon behind Taichi copying him. Everyone else followed Tai, each of them bending down to pick up their sleepy Digimon. Everyone but Izzy, who still stayed near the cliff staring at the factory.
Tentomon turned around but noticed Izzy wasn't following him. He hummed, turning back to the cliff to see his Tamer staring down the cliff.
"Izzy?" Tentomon slowly crawled back to his partner, watching the young human observing the land below the cliff. The insectoid gently held Izzy's hand with his claw, but his Tamer didn't notice.
Izzy watched the smoke seeping out of the factory, blending in with the air. He clenched his laptop. Matt is right, there might not be any outlets or any power there, but he has to check, and it can't wait until the morning. If he did wait, he wouldn't have been able to sleep at all thinking of the results.
Tai sighed as he slipped into a sitting position on the 'mattress' made of plants. He crossed his legs, BlackAgumon sitting right next to him with a lap full of fruits and one green grapefruit stuck between his teeth. Tai snatched an apple from BlackAgumon, carefully tearing off a piece without spilling any of its juice.
Kari let out a tired yawn and fell to her knees beside her brother, a sleeping Salamon curled on her lap. The younger Kamiya nuzzled her head against her brother's arm, cuddling next to him. Tai chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder scooting her closer to him.
Tai looked around the campfire to see everyone else surrounding it. Matt and TK were sitting across them, the younger brother placed on his big brother's lap. Their Digimon was sleeping right beside them. Tsukaimon was curled into a little ball with Psychemon wrapping his arms around the little Digimon, snuggling next to him.
Matt reached forward and picked up a dragon fruit hearing TK's stomach grumble from hunger. He carefully ripped the fruit in half, some juice spilling onto TK's lap in which the boy whined. Matt shushed at TK, who pouted at his brother, as the older blonde handed him one half of the fruit.
Joe flopped onto his stomach letting out a loud sigh. The sixth-grader took off his glasses leaving them on his book bag and facepalmed on the hard grass. Gomamon let out a loud yawn stretching his mouth wide open. He snuggled up to Joe, nuzzling his head into his partner's shirt.
"Let's sleep," Suggested the seal, Joe nodding as a response. He pushed himself onto his side and pulled Gomamon into a hug shutting his eyes closed.
Sora was guiding Mimi away from the tree and next to the fire with her hands squeezing the taller girl's shoulders. She pushed her to one of the 'mattresses' with their Digimon partner walking beside them and pushed her into a sitting position. Sora sighed and sat beside her, Biyomon climbing onto Sora's lap and Aruraumon crawling beside Mimi.
Sora picked up a pink lemon and handed it over to Biyomon, who used her claws to tear open a hole. Sora took it back and with her thumbs, she made the hole bigger.
"You hungry?" Asked Sora to carefully handing the lemon to Mimi to not make a mess. The fourth-grader hadn't eaten anything in a while, and with her sudden change of mood, she was worried. Mimi glanced up at Sora, and then down to the fruit with gloomy eyes. She shook her head and turned her whole body to the right facing away. She hugged her knees again, burying her face back into it.
A sudden wave of sadness hit Tai and he looked away from the scene. He didn't know the girl all that much, but judging by what Kari told her, the fourth-grader was always so enthusiastic but a bit whiny. Mimi's sudden shift of moods was so odd and has left a sad feeling affecting the group. Mostly TK though, as the young blonde harboured a close relationship with the girl.
Something then hit Tai, as he looked around the campground once more. Everyone was there. BlackAgumon, Kari and Salamon was beside him. TK, Matt, Psychemon and Tsukaimon sat across them. Sora, Mimi, Aruraumon and Biyomon were by their right while Joe and Gomamon were by their left. But not everyone was there...
Tai snapped his head to his left, to where everyone was once at when they saw the factory, to the edge of the cliff. Tai felt his face go pale and cold, his heart thumping in his chest. "Izzy?!" Tai yelled gaining the attention of everyone else, waking up the sleeping Digimons, Joe and Kari.
"Izzy?!" Izzy and Tentomon were gone.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tentomon asked as she scooted closer to his partner. Izzy gripped onto Tentomon's claws for safety and comfort.
"No," Izzy admitted, moving another low-hanging branch out of the way. "But it's the only thing we can do."
Tentomon nodded and decided against asking his partner more questions. The sun above them was lowering and the sky was dimming, darkness slowly and slowly taking over the sky. Izzy grunted as he squinted his eyes, trying to see in the night.
"Let me help," Offered Tentomon noticing Izzy's struggle with the darkening sky. Tentomon's eyesight was much better in the dark than any average human's. The insectoid placed his claws around Izzy's waist, guiding him through the darkness.
"Thanks," Muttered Izzy, squeezing one of Tentomon's claws. Tentomon helped him take a step forward without bumping into anything. But one more step and Izzy's foot hit against a tree stump.
"Ouch!" Izzy whimpered throwing his foot up. He grasped his shoe, his big toe thumping in pain. Groaning, Izzy's brushed his thumb against the front of his shoe and then it grasped it, squeezing the toe through the thick material.
"Are you okay?" Asked Tentomon kneeling to be eye-level with his Tamer. Izzy's eyes were shut close, his face screwed in pain, but the redhead nodded anyway.
"Y-yeah," He gasped, letting go of his foot. He wiggled his big toe, the toe that hit the stump, and he let out a pained breathe of air feeling his toe slowly recover. "Let's go,"
"I can't believe he left!" Scowled Sora, as her Tai, Matt, and Joe hovered over the cliff sitting on their knees and hands, their respective partners beside them. "We told him it's late!"
"It's fine Sora," Matt rolled his eyes scoffing. Sora snapped her head to her left where Matt was. She pouted at him, sending him a glare.
"Now what?" Asked BlackAgumon scratching his head. "Tentomon is out there too!"
"They'll be fine!" Biyomon retorted, Psychemon nodding his head in agreement.
"What makes you say that?" Joe leaned forward so he could get a look at Biyomon, his nails digging into the dirt. Biyomon shrugged, brushing her feathers.
"Tentomon can fight," She responded. "Izzy would be fine against wild Digimons if he stays with him!"
"But he can't digivolve!" Gomamon chimed in wagging a finger at Biyomon who huffed back at him.
"Gomamon's right," Tai sighed placing a hand under his chin. He leaned upward sitting onto his crouched legs. "Izzy and Tentomon would be in trouble if we don't help them,"
Silence overtook them. They sat there, thinking of what to do. Tai was right, Tentomon still couldn't digivolve and he and Izzy would be screwed if they bumped into a Digimon bigger than them. But the sun was already down and the sky was painted black, the stars and the moon acting as their only source of light. It was too late for them to leave.
Matt looked back to the campsite where everyone was asleep. TK and Kari cuddled together, their Digimon stuck between them. Mimi was sleeping alone, with only Aruraumon by her has comfort. She was hugging her legs in her sleep with Aruraumon snuggled behind her. TK and Kari were exhausted. The eight-year-olds couldn't even process anything that happened, so the comfort and consolement of their older siblings were enough to put the situation past them and drove them to sleep.
Matt sighed as he stood up. Psychemon snapped out of his train of thought and stared at his Tamer with wide eyes, watching him brush the dirt off his pants.
"We'll go," Matt offered stretching his arms. Everyone's eyes widened at his statement and they blinked, surprised that he would even offer anything like that.
"We will?" Psychemon questioned cocking his head to the side. Matt gave him a small smile, patting the lizard-wolf's head.
"Yep." His answer was short and blunt. He walked closer to the edge of the cliff, slipping down to his rear end, his legs dangling off the edge. He nodded at Psychemon, and the Digimon jumped to his feet following his Tamer.
Tai stood there as he watched Psychemon copy Matt. The Digimon crawled to his knees, sitting next to the blonde. The two nodded at each other and were about to slip off until Tai stopped them.
"Wait!" Tai yelled causing everyone to flinch. They swung their heads towards them, watching Tai stand up picking up his mini telescope.
"We'll come too!" He exclaimed jumping at this opportunity to do something fun that doesn't involve running away from monsters. Or at least he hopes it doesn't.
The fifth-grader stalked off to the edge, his Digimon partner right behind him.
"Yay!" BlackAgumon cheered gleefully raising a claw in the air. "I get to go on an adventure with Tai!
"Can Biyomon and I come?" Sora asked with a wide smile excitedly. Biyomon gasped at her, furrowing her brows.
"Soraaa!" Biyomon whined grasping Sora's hand. "I don't wanna go!" Sora gave Biyomon a nervous smile, chuckling awkwardly. She placed a hand over Biyomon's head and rubbed the bird's neck making the bird purr.
"Come on, it'll be fun!" She chirped her hand now scratching Biyomon's feather gently. She turned her head back to Tai and Matt, who were sitting on the edge with their partners waiting for her and Biyomon.
"Can we come?" She asked again gaining a shrug from Matt.
"I don't care," He said and slipped off the edge.
"Matt!" Psychemon gasped. Alarmed, the Digimon glided off the cliff. Tai looked back to Sora, waiting for her to follow. She nodded and stood up, dragging Biyomon with her.
Another step forward and the slightly blurry factory became clearer. Izzy squinted his eyes, his grip on Tentomon's claws tightening, the light coming from the factory helping them go through the forest. Izzy let go of Tentomon's claws, picking up his pace, walking faster to the factory. Tentomon called out for his Tamer, but he didn't respond.
Finally, Izzy left the forest and was now standing right in front of the large white factory. Izzy strained his neck, peering upward. The tall factory released a heavy load of smoke, causing Izzy to cough. He looked back forward, his eyes resting at the factory. He clenched his laptop, hoping that there would be something in there to charge his laptop.
"Izzy!" Tentomon sighed letting out a breath of air. He flew to his feet, connecting his wings onto his back. Although it did not look like it, Tentomon was pouting, annoyed at how his Tamer would run away like that. Tentomon was about to scold Izzy for his actions like he should've done before, but then Izzy took a step forward and strolled towards the factory.
Tentomon shot up, alarmed, his wings buzzing and his shell cracking open. Izzy ran off to the factory, placing his palms against the door. He bit his lip and grunted as he pressed his palms and his weight onto the door. He gasped, as he tried to push against the door, but his small body couldn't do a thing.
"Dammit!" Izzy hissed, pushing himself off the door. He wiped his hands, his palms were red and sore. Tentomon waddled to Izzy's side, his claws gently tapping Izzy's shoulders to get his attention.
"Izzy! Tentomon!" Izzy and Tentomon twisted around at the sound of their names. They turned around to see Tai, BlackAgumon, Sora, Biyomon, and Matt and Psychemon running towards them.
"Tai?" Izzy quirked an eyebrow, amused at the fact that his friends came from the cliff to get them. But then his pupils landed on Sora, who had a stern and angry expression on her face. Izzy flinched and his eyes went wide. He bit his lip and clenched his laptop tighter, watching Sora stomp closer to them, her fists planted on her hips.
He isn't that close to her, but he did remember her outburst when they needed to leave Tai for their safety. And although he tried to ignore it and did his best to seem unfazed, he was deeply afraid of her mama bear side.
Sora had been the first to reach them, and she pinched his ear, hard. He yelped and jumped in his spot, leaning down. Sora pinched his ear harder and he squeezed his eyes shut, his hands shooting up to Sora's wrist.
"Ow, ow, ow!" He winced as everyone watched Sora scold Izzy, her eyes glaring at the younger boy.
"I told you to wait until the morning," She seethed between her clenched teeth. Izzy opened one of his eyes as he whimpered, he watched Tai and Tentomon attempt to stop Sora.
"I know! I know!" He gasped, digging his nails into Sora's gloves. But that didn't seem to affect her at all, as she did nothing to try to stop the small redhead. "I'm sorry!"
Tai laughed nervously, placing his hand on Sora's shoulder. "Come on Sora!" He chuckled, "He said he's sorry!"
Tai turned to a silent Matt. "Any help?" He shot out tempestuously, and Matt merely shrugged in response earning a glare from both Izzy and Tai. Tai muttered something under his breath.
"What was that, Tai?" Matt snapped.
"I said-"
"Enough!" Sora yelled, cutting of Tai before he started yet another argument between the two. She mercifully let go of Izzy. She glared them down as they act like children five years her junior. Tai and Matt glared at each other once more before Tai turned to Izzy.
"Are you okay?" Tai asked, inspecting his bright red ear worriedly. Izzy nodded and thanked the boy. He kneeled to pick it up on his laptop and inspected it like it was his child.
Matt rolled his eyes. To think he had walked this far in the middle of the night for Izzy and his stupid laptop. There was not a doubt in Matt's mind that if push came to shove, Izzy would sacrifice them all for the sake of his precious piece of hardware.
"Can we go now?" Asked Matt, pointing into the forest. "I don't trust Joe with TK."
Izzy jumped at the question, looking back onto his laptop. "But my laptop!" He wailed. "I need to charge it!"
Matt frowned deeply. "I seriously doubt that there's actually a charger in there."
Izzy squinted his eyes, biting his lip. "We won't know until we check," He stated. He turned around to face the factory looking up at the tall building.
"We came all this way anyways," Tai chipped in. "We might as well check it out." He glanced at Sora, who merely shrugged, 'why not?', the three turning their attention to Matt.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and huffed. "Do whatever you want!" Matt said, "but you can count me out."
Psychemon laid on the ground, nuzzling his face into the dirt. The lizard-wolf was so exhausted from the day they suffered, and after being forced to get off a cliff and walk through an entire forest the Digimon couldn't take it anymore and collapse on the spot. Matt gently kicked Psychemon, the tip of his shoe brushing against the Digimon's nose. His eyes shot open and he flung up into a sitting position. Psychemon whined as the fatigue came back to him, rubbing his eyelids.
"Let's go," Matt ordered nodding his head to the forest. Psychemon was too tired to ask any questions, so he obeyed his Tamer, and rose to his feet following the blonde.
"So..." Tai started turning back to Izzy and Sora. "He's gone..."
"Matt it's dangerous by yourself! Can't you wait a little longer?!" Sora babbled calling for Matt. "You don't even need to go in, but it would be best if we at least left together!"
Matt waved her off as he continued walking causing her to turn to Tai who just shrugged and Izzy who looked down, slightly guiltily.
'What the hell did Matt even come for then?' Tai thought as he kicked the dirt beneath him. "How do we get in?" He asked.
"There this door over here," Stated Izzy, both Tai and Sora swinging their heads to him. He pointed to the door, pressing his left hand onto it. Izzy bit his lip as he recalled himself pathetically attempting to push it open. A faint blush appeared on his face, embarrassed at how little it did.
"But I..." he started, scratching his head. He turned back around but avoided eye contact with the two older kids. "I couldn't open it up." Tai and Sora smiled at him, noticing his embarrassment but choose not to comment on it.
"That's fine," Sora said sweetly. She walked beside Izzy, brushing her hand against the door. "We'll help you,"
"Yeah!" Tai pumped his fist in the air as he jumped towards them. "Besides it shouldn't be that hard, right?"
"Do you want us to help?" BlackAgumon asked, one of his claws tapping his chin. Tai grinned at his partner.
"Hell yeah!" Tai whooped. "The more the merrier."
BlackAgumon's lips spread into a smile, and he cheerfully laughed. The three digimons and three children all gathered in front of the door. They placed their hands onto it and pushed. They clenched their teeth, squeezed their eyes shut, and grunted. Their foot dug into the ground, skidding off some dirt. Finally, the door pushed open, revealing the factory. They all fell inside, putting their entire body weight into the push and leaning on the door, they fell to their knees. Tai, Izzy and Sora panted with their partners crawling to their side.
"Are you okay?" Tentomon soothingly asked, and Izzy could only nod as he was still out of breath.
"Y-yeah," He managed to let out. He opened his eyes again, his surroundings spinning around him. He rubbed his eyes, regaining his vision. When he pried his hands away from his eyelids, he now saw Tai standing right in front of him kneeling with his hand out. Tai was wearing that silly little grin that he always wears which brought a small smile to Izzy's face. The boy blushed and snatched Tai's hands as he pulled him back to his feet.
"Thank you," He said sheepishly, rubbing his wrist.
"Now what?" Sora hummed, as she looked around the factory. BlackAgumon and Biyomon had walked back to the doorway, pressing their claws/wings onto the door and with all their strength pushed the door closed. The demon dinosaur was complaining about how cold it was, and Biyomon got him to help her close the door to make it warmer.
"Much better," BlackAgumon sighed rubbing his arms. His face relaxed as the cold breeze from outside stop entering the factory. Biyomon rolled her eyes and stomped her way back to Sora.
"We should split up," Biyomon heard Sora say as she sauntered closer to them. She wrapped her wings around Sora's waist and nuzzled her head into her shorts. Unfazed, Sora started petting Biyomon, scratching the feathers behind her partner's neck.
"This place is huge," Tai added, looking around the factory. The factory was painted white, the paint peeling off revealing the cold metal behind. It had multiple floors and halls filled with doors that lead to different rooms. The factory showed signs of abandonment. There were broken-down machinery, scraps of metal littered on the floor, and ripped open boxes that have either fallen or been crushed.
"It would be faster," Izzy mused, scratching his chin. He looked behind his shoulder, as he stared deep into the darkened hall. Izzy did not know what it was, but he was oddly drawn towards that direction.
"Tentomon and I will check out that hall!" He exclaimed, pointing to the hall. Sora and Tai looked up in the direction, as Izzy gave them their orders.
"Sora, you and Biyomon go that way!" Izzy directed pointing to the left. "And Tai, you take BlackAgumon and observe over there," The redhead ordered pointing to the right. The two nodded in agreement.
"Okay!" Grinned Tai, grasping BlackAgumon's hand.
"In half-an-hour, we'll meet up back here," Tai kneeled to his side and picked up a scrap of old dusty metal. He threw it in the middle of the three, the scrap making a loud clang sound as it hit the floor.
"Got it," Sora nodded. "But remember to say safe,"
"Sure thing, oh dear mother." Tai rolled his eyes playfully as he waved her off. Sora gave a small pout at being called mother.
Izzy watched his friends interact. He stared at them with wide eyes. He was never really close with anyone, he lost touch with all his friends back at home as all they did was make fun of him, and he was always too busy for the few good ones he had. He tried to avoid people, always spending his days on his laptop.
A small smile found its way on Izzy's face. Izzy never felt so...involved before. Soon, the boy let out a small chuckle, his eyes smiling on their own.
The three went their separate ways for the time being. Izzy suddenly felt a sense of loss when he and Tentomon went into their hall alone. He now longed the feeling to be around Tai and Sora. He somehow felt wanted, cared for and actually involved with something for the first time. '
Just like when Sora pinched my ear,' Izzy actually blushed at the memory. Although the pain was unwanted the actual thought that Sora was worried about him sparked a bit of happiness.
'Matt also came...' Izzy remembered, furrowing his eyebrows. Matt was definitely not a people person, he seems to hate other people more than Izzy does. So why did Matt come down here? It could be possible that he was forced here, but that seems unlikely. There was no reason as to why they would force him to do so, and they could've forced Joe to come down instead.
Izzy's mind soon wandered to Tai, his lips becoming a smile as he thought of the goofy brunet. He knew Tai from school but they weren't really close since Tai was in a higher grade. But he felt more connected to Tai for some reason.
Whenever he was alone at recess Tai would always find a way to involve him, even when they were strangers. Tai had always tried to make other kids at least feel involved, Izzy knew that the goggle head didn't like leaving people out judging by the number of times he asked Izzy to join them, even though he always answered with a no, every single time.
Izzy frowned as he recalled all those moments he rejected Tai. He never really thought much about it before, didn't really care, but now he does, and now he regrets it. He would've felt happier much earlier, as his parents and ex-friends failed to do so.
"Izzy!" The redhead snapped out his train of thought, his pupils darting across the room. His eyes soon landed on Tentomon, who was pointing at a door. The door was different from the rest of the factory. It wasn't white and was instead painted in various colours. It was painted in red, blue, black, purple and green. The door presented a spirling pattern, spirals spread across the metal.
"It looks different," Tentomon said pointing out the obvious. Izzy walked up to the door, brushing his palm against it.
"I wonder why," Tentomon thought out loud walking up to Izzy. The bug copied his Tamer, brushing his fingerless claw across the door. Izzy continued to stare at the door. Even though it could be nothing, he wondered why it looked so different. Not only was it painted differently but it wasn't dusty and it actually looked new.
"Let's check it out," Izzy said his curiosity taking over. Izzy's hand went for the doorknob and he fumbled with it. The door quickly and easily opened, surprising the redhead.
"Well," Izzy blinked, "That was easy."
Inside the door was a cylinder-shaped room. It was pretty narrow and small, but still enough space for about 4-5 people. The lights were off, the room dark and pitch black. Izzy had to squint his eyes, trying to peer into the room, but it was still too dark to see anything. Cautiously, Izzy and Tentomon walked into the room, the boy gripping his laptop. Right, when Izzy's foot landed inside the cylinder, the lights turned on, the darkness was now gone and everything now visible.
The room was just as colourful as the door. The floor and ceiling were a jam red colour, with shiny silver rocks glued around the circle shape floor and ceiling. They were some sort of writing on the wall, each a different colour. One row had writing written in blue, another in purple, another in black, another in green and so on. Izzy's head swung around the room looking to the left then back to the right. He looked up and down, trying to find the source of the light.
"There are no lightbulbs..." Izzy noted, taking another step into the room. Tentomon followed, the duo walking into the middle of the room. Izzy was kneeling near the wall, trying to locate any sort of lightbulb that has lightened up the room. Tentomon walked up to the wall, brushing his claw across the letter written on the floor. It was bumpy, and peering closer, Tentomon noticed something.
"Hey, Izzy!" Yelled Tentomon. Izzy sighed as he stood up.
"What?" He asked turning around to face his partner. Once he turned around Izzy's irritated expression turned into a confused one, as he watches his Digimon stare at the wall with his face planted on it. "T-Tentomon...?"
Tentomon pushed himself off the wall, turning to his Tamer his eyes showcasing his happiness.
"Look at the letters!" Tentomon exclaimed pointing to the letters. Izzy strolled up to his partner and kneeled again, his hands pressed against his knee. Izzy squinted his eyes, staring deeply into the letter. At first, it seemed normal, but as he stared at it longer Izzy soon noticed that it was kind of bright...too bright. The boy leaned closer, trying to get a closer look. Then it hit him, the reason the words written on the wall looked like this was because it was brightening the room, being the source of the light the room needed.
"That's what brightened the whole room!" Izzy gasped jumping up into an upright position. Izzy swung around the room, looking up and down the wall. "How?! It can't possibly emit that much light!"
"I don't know!" Tentomon giggled, clearly proud of himself for discovering this.
Bam! Izzy's eyes widened and he swung toward the entrance, the door now shut closed. Izzy gasped as he ran towards the door. He placed his palms on it, moving it across the door.
"There's no doorknob!" Izzy seethed, banging on the door. Tentomon eyes widened and he flew to the door.
"What?" Tentomon gasped. His eyes moved across the door, no doorknob to be found. It looked like it was a part of the wall despite the cracks between it. Izzy's fingers moved to the cracks, slipping them in between them. He tried to grasp the door and attempted to pull it open. Izzy clenches his teeth, his fingers going sore. Tentomon joined him, slipping his fingerless claws in the crack, grasping the outside of the door. Tentomon heaved as he pulled back, but his claws slipped out of the door. Tentomon's eyes went wide and he stumbled backward, falling onto his shell.
"Tentomon?" Izzy gasped, letting go of the door, He slipped his fingers out and ran to his partner's side. The insectoid Digimon was stuck on his back, his arms and legs wailing around. He was wabbling on his back, trying to get onto his feet, but couldn't lose any balance and stayed there stuck. Izzy kneeled to Tentomon and flipped the ladybug on his stomach. Tentomon huffed, shaking his head. His claws went straight to his antennas, smoothing them out.
"Are you okay?" Izzy asked as Tentomon climbed onto his feet. Tentomon nodded wiping the dust off of his back.
"I'm good," He sighed turning to his partner. The two looked back at the door with silence.
"Now what?" Tentomon asked. His head turned up to Izzy, waiting for a response from the boy. Izzy didn't know what to do. They were stuck in there with no way out. The door was sealed shut with nothing to open it. They couldn't even pull it open through the cracks. Izzy's fingers stung at the thought, slipping off his gloves. His fingertips were red now, and they were thumping in pain. Izzy bit his lip as he rubbed his fingers together trying to cool off the pain.
"Let's call for Sora," Izzy decided, swiftly strolling back to the door. He slipped his gloves back on and squeezed his hands into a fist. His fist hit the door and he started to bang it against the metal.
"Sora!" Izzy yelled harshly through the door. "Sora!"
Sora paused, blinking. Biyomon walked a bit further, but then stopped in her tracks realizing Sora had stopped walking. The bird looked behind her shoulder, tilting her head.
"Sora?" Biyomon asked snapping Sora out of her trance. Sora's narrowed eyes shot open as she chuckled at Biyomon. Biyomon blinked at her partner, strolling up to her. "Are you okay, Sora?"
Sora bit her lip, feeling Biyomon's feathered wings wrap around her left arm. Sora smiled gently, looking down at her partner.
"Yeah..." She sighed, patting Biyomon's head. She then looked behind her shoulder, looking in the direction that leads to the entrance.
"Do you think we should go back Biyomon?" Sora asked narrowing her eyes. Biyomon frowned at her Tamer's strange attitude.
"Why?" She asked her eyebrows lowered together.
"It's just..." Sora started, continuing to stare deep into the hall. "I don't know...something just seems...off?"
Biyomon shrugged, letting go of Sora's wrist. "Everything seems fine to me,"
But that did not change Sora's feelings. The bird stared at her partner with her eyes wide in confusion. The demon-bird did not understand what was going on with Sora, but she does know that something is bothering the child and Biyomon would not stand there and allow it to continue.
"We can still go if you want to?" Biyomon wondered with enthusiasm in her voice, trying to lighten up the mood. Biyomon pulled her beck into a smile (or at least she tried to) and tilted her head with her eyes closed. Sora smiled at the bird, and her hand reached behind Biyomon's neck. She scratched her feathers and the pink bird hummed against her touch.
"Thank you," Sora said kneeling with a soft look and smile present on her face. Biyomon nodded and she sighed as nuzzles her head into Sora's shirt.
Like I said before this chapter was cut short and I will be continuing this in the next chapter. And if I didn't then I know I wouldn't have gotten this out on time, and it would've also been rushed.
I am starting high school in just a week (lmao help me) so my updates might take longer than they should be. Although I will be starting to write these chapters earlier than usual, please don't expect these chapters to stay constant nor on time. I will try my very best to keep them that way but with school starting, I will be a lot busier and won't have all the free time I use to have.
And I know this is off-topic but I really want to mention that Tsukaimon is making his first anime appearance in the next/64th episode of the Digimon reboot, which I think is great because I might be able to give the little guy a better characterization. Unless he ends up being a mindless Digimon in it, then that'll just be a big shame.
Anyways, next chapter will be starting right after this ending and I will try my best to have it out on time.
