And the next chapter!
This one is going to feature a slightly edited evolution sequence, nothing major, just simplifying it really.
You can probably guess what that means... though the title makes it really obvious.
Also, something I want to mention, I decided on Japanese VAs for Gyro and Pierce.
Gyro is voiced by Yusaku/Playmaker's VA from Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
And Pierce is voiced by Roronoa Zoro's VA from One Piece.
Anyway, let's go!
The Flower Fairy! Lillymon!
"Pedal! Pedal! Pedal!" Agumon and Veemon said encouragingly as Gyro and Pierce were paddling the swanboat they'd found when they reached the water...too bad being a swan boat, it meant the speed wasn't the fastest.
"How much further?" Pierce asked.
"Shouldn't be long now. I think we should see the coast soon," Gyro said.
"It's pretty foggy though." Agumon added after a moment.
"Can't be helped with how early in the morning it is." Veemon said with a shrug.
"Good thing we got the radars, or this could have been very annoying," Pierce sighed. "Still though, hope its not another situation like Jaune. I mean, whoever is in wherever we're going hasn't been moving around much."
"If they are, then hopefully we don't have to cut a figurative bloody swath this time…" Gyro sighed as well.
Eventually, the large form slowly came into view through the early morning fog, the brothers looking up curiously from high it was, until they were able to identify it.
"Is… is that a pagoda?" Pierce asked as he saw the very tall japanese style castle.
"I guess? This place sure likes to have different kinds of architecture." Gyro muttered at the end, shaking his head with a sigh.
"Well...at least we know where they are," Agumon offered weakly.
"Eh, we'll take that," Pierce shrugged as they soon got on dry land again. Not wasting any time, they made their way to the castle. Fortunately the drawbridge was already down so getting to the front entrance was an easy enough thing to do. When they opened the front door, they were soon met with an odd sight.
A large number of frogs with what looked like tuba's around their necks, and overgrown tadpoles, running around, panicking as they all talked over one another.
"So… these are?" Gyro asked, letting the question hang.
"The frogs are Gekomon." Veemon said, pointing to one of them.
Digimon Analyzer: Gekomon
Gekomon. Virus Type. An Adult Level Amphibian Digimon. Though it looks rather silly, it has a surprisingly pleasant singing voice. It can even replicate the sounds of various instruments using its horn and strange tongue. Its special attack is Crash Symphony, attacking the enemy with high frequency vibrations.
"And the tadpoles are Otamamon." Agumon added.
Digimon Analyzer: Otamamon
Otamamon. Virus Type. A Child Level Amphibian Digimon. A Digimon who spends most of its life underwater, making its skin softer than most other Digimon. It occasionally climbs to the surface to do vocal training. Its special attack is Lullaby Bubble, singing a mysterious melody that puts enemies to sleep.
"Wonder what's the rush for these guys," Pierce mused as they tried to listen in on the frantic amphibians.
"So busy so busy!" they said frantically. "The Princess needs honey and tea!"
"No, she needs onion soup!"
"You're wrong, she needs a soothing potion!"
And on and on the Digimon argued back and forth, apparently trying to prepare something for some 'Princess'
The group looked at all the Digimon running frantically, before Gyro and Pierce nodded at each other and brought their fingers to their lips and each letting out a loud whistle that halted everyone and brought attention to them.
"Ok, I don't know what's going on, but all of you, take deep breaths, you look like you need it." Gyro said, the Gekomon and Otamamon looking between each other, before slowly doing that, and already they looked more relaxed.
"Alright, you were talking about a princess? And how she needs something?" Pierce asked, hoping to understand what was going on.
One of the Gekomon nodded as he stepped up "Right, the princess isn't well, so we're trying everything we can to make her feel better."
"What exactly is the problem though? Some kind of cold?" Agumon asked in confusion.
"She's lost her voice!" one of the Otamamon said, about to panic, before another motioned for him to breathe deeply.
"I can see how that's an issue, but is it really a cause for panic?" Gyro asked, not seeing how this was that bad, since the 'Princess's' voice would come back eventually with enough rest.
"Because she was supposed to sing for us to awaken our lord. But there's only one song we know could wake him up, and she couldn't sing it because she didn't know the language, so we've had to not only give her vocal practice, but also teach her a whole new language." the Gekomon in the front explained further.
"So… this princess is someone you found recently then?" Veemon asked, figuring she probably wasn't from the area if she didn't know the language they wanted her to sing in.
"That's right, and she kind of looked like one of you." one of the Otamamon said as he pointed at Gyro and Pierce.
They both blinked at that, and quickly came to the same conclusion "What Digimon was with her?"
"Palmon." the same Otamamon answered simply.
"So it's Ruby then. Glad we found her." Gyro said, sighing in relief, before he looked back at the gathered Digimon "Thanks for looking after her, she's the youngest of our group so we were a bit worried something may have happened to her."
"Another one of you showed up a few days ago though, she said something pretty close to what you did." Gekomon added.
"Really? And what Digimon did she have with her?" Pierce asked.
"A Biyomon." Gekomon said… simply.
"Yang too then? That's good, I've been missing her." Pierce said with a grin, happy his girlfriend was here.
"She's not here right now. She went with some of the other for some herbs that might help the Princess," One of the Otamamon explained.
"Figures she'd be worried." Gyro said with a smile "Can you take us to see the princess then?" he asked, some amusement in his voice as he tried to picture Ruby as a princess.
"Well, if you're her friends, sure," one of the Gekkomon said, before leading them to one of the upper floors, and to a door...which ironically had a rose on it. "Here's her room," the Gekomon said. "But please be quiet if she's resting."
"That means you Veemon." Pierce said quickly.
"Oi!" Veemon said in annoyance at suddenly being called out.
"To be fair, you DO get pretty loud at times." Agumon told him.
Veemon crossed his arms and grumbled under his breath, unable to deny it.
Gyro laughed awkwardly at that, before knocking on the door a few times, waiting to see if anybody would answer it.
He only had to wait a few moments, before it opened, and a familiar pink flower poked out from the door.
"Yes?" Palmon asked as she poked the rest of her head past the door, before she smiled and was quickly hugging Agumon and Veemon "Guys! You found us!"
"Good to see you too Palmon. So, how's Ruby?" Gyro asked as he crouched down, chuckling a bit when the plant Digimon hugged him and Pierce as well.
Apparently she was really glad to see them.
"She's asleep right now. Her throat still isn't pretty good, she can't even talk normally." Palmon said with a frown, before inviting them into the room.
And in all honesty, it looked pretty modest, save for the fact the bed was rather large and it had curtains around it. It really didn't look like the stereotype Princess room, but it definitely fit Ruby.
The tea table did feel somewhat out of place for a room that belonged to Ruby though, but at least they had a place to sit down at as Palmon started to recount how exactly they ended up here.
"After we got separated by that explosion, me and Ruby were wandering for a little while, then when we got close to this castle, the Gekomon asked us to come and see if one of us could awaken their lord. They said Ruby's voice was pretty good, but they had a specific song they wanted her to sing, it's called 'I Wish' but Ruby didn't understand the words, so they've been teaching her how to read it, and she's also been doing vocal practice. But, she ended up practicing so much she lost her voice." Palmon finished with a frown "So, the Gekomon have been trying to find a way to help her voice heal, and a few days ago, Yang and Biyomon arrived and they decided to help out, so they went with some of the Gekomon and Otamamon to look for some herbs that are supposed to be a good remedy for sore throats."
"I see…" Gyro frowned. "I'm guessing you guys aren't going anywhere until you've helped them, so….anything we can do to help?" he asked.
"Well… do you know the language the song is in?" Palmon wondered, going to a dresser in the room and coming back with a lyrics sheet and showing it to him.
Gyro had a quick look at it "Ah, no wonder Ruby doesn't understand it, it's in japanese. So… the song is called 'I Wish' huh? I think I've heard about it on Earth before actually."
"Can you sing it?" Palmon asked hopefully.
"I mean… yeah, but it won't sound right sung by a guy with a voice like mine, maybe if I had a softer and higher pitched voice it could work." Gyro said with a frown.
"Then I guess all we can do is try and help Ruby get better," Veemon sighed.
"Or we could try singing it anyway," Agumon suggested...but was promptly met with deadpan expressions. "...what?"
"Do I really need to answer this?" Gyro said dryly.
Agumon slumped down at that.
"So...now what? We just wait till Ruby wakes up?" Pierce asked.
"Or maybe we could try singing different songs to see if they work?" Veemon added.
Everyone blinked at that "Well… it's worth a shot." Palmon said with a shrug.
Minutes later, the group was down in the room where the lord of the Gekomon was asleep in… and he was BIG.
"Wow, talk about a wide load." Pierce said, before Gyro elbowed him in the gut.
"So, what's his name?" Agumon asked as he ignored the currently doubled over Pierce.
"ShogunGekomon apparently." Palmon answered.
Everyone was silent for a moment at that, until… "Why isn't anyone saying anything?"
"I dunno, I think we were all expecting something to happen when we heard his name, don't know what though, it's a weird feeling. Oh well, maybe it'll happen later." Gyro said with a shrug. "So…" he turned to one of the Gekomon that were in the room. "What's the story behind this guy?"
"Well...it was about 300 years ago…" Gekomon started.
"Wait...300 years? He's been asleep for that long?!" Pierce blinked in surprise.
"Well...yes...but anyway, our lord was known for and prided himself for his singing voice. He was undefeated when it came to singing. However...one day he was challenged to a karaoke match and lost completely and utterly. The shock caused him to fall into a depression, then sleep...and now he hasn't woken up since…" the Gekomon sighed. "It is said that when he hears a voice singing more beautifully than his own, he will awaken."
"And does it HAVE to be the song 'I Wish'?" Agumon checked.
"Well...technically no, but it WAS his favorite song, so we figured…"
"That if you had someone with a good singing voice that fit the song try and sing it, it would give the intended effect," Gyro nodded in understanding. "Clever."
"But that also means maybe if we use another song with a good voice it might work too," Pierce nodded.
"Well, if you can do so you're welcome to try," the Gekomon nodded. "We'd really rather not have the Princess push herself too much, she's been nothing but helpful since she came here," he smiled.
"Alright then, let's give it a go," Gyro nodded.
"I'll go first. I got an idea," Pierce said, before turning to the Gekomon. "How good are you guys at playing just music?"
"We can play any song with any instrument as long as you give us the notes," the Gekomon puffed his chest out in pride.
"Great, cause I got a song I need you guys to make for me," he said, before explaining the details. It wasn't long after he was standing on stage, with several Gekomon ready with the instruments.
(Play Eyes of Zoro from the One Piece soundtrack)
The song started off mostly instrumental, though it had a sort of techno vibe to the sounds, before the lyrics finally hit.
Tenohira no suna sarasara to ochi
Kumo wa nagare nochi seiten
Shio wa hiki mata michite yuku tsuki o miru
Roukaku wa mata kuzuresari
Hito wa nagare todomaru mono to
Se ni omou mata kibou to iu yoake mae
Gekka no hana tsuyu no shizuku
Kanashimi wa ta ga tame ni fukiareru...
Yume o mita otoko-tachi wa
Chizu ni nai michi o isogu
Kono fune ga tadoritsuku no wa
Maboroshi da to shite mo...
koko ni aru no wa tashika na mono
Ichiaku no kaze karakara sugite
Daichi kawaki nochi ni ame
Midori moe mata karehatete nemuru toki
Hi o kakonde wa yoru no utage
Hito wa hitori hitori ga tsudoi
Ge ni yukai mata karisome no yume o miru
Gekka no hana fukarete iru
Owaru tomo shirenu tabi sakihokoru
Yume o mita otoko-tachi wa
Osorenaki kokoro motome
Kono karada sutete miru yume
Maboroshi da to shite mo...
koko ni aru no wa tashika na mono
Gekka no hana tsuyu no shizuku
Kanashimi wa ta ga tame ni fukiareru...
Yume o mita otoko-tachi wa
Chizu ni nai michi o isogu
Kono fune ga tadoritsuku no wa
Maboroshi da to shite mo...
koko ni aru no wa tashika na mono
(End Song)
As the song ended, several of the Gekomon were clapping at the performance, before they all looked up… and saw their lord was still asleep.
"Well… I don't know if I should be feeling insulted right now honestly." Pierce said with a sigh as he walked off stage.
"Sorry, don't get us wrong, the song was great, but I guess it's just not what our Lord wants," one of the Gekomon said. "But thanks for showing us this song, it'd be great for another day."
"Okay, so I guess next is…" Gyro mused thinking what he should sing before…
"We wanna try!" Agumon and Veemon said.
Gyro blinked at that, looking down at the two of them "Well… I guess you can try. What do you two want to sing though?"
"Hm...well...how about we try that song the Gekomon said their lord liked?" Veemon suggested.
"Yeah, that might be good," Agumon nodded in agreement. Their enthusiasm...wasn't shared by their partners judging by the deadpan stares the two humans were giving them. "...what?"
"Just… oh god this is NOT going to go well." Pierce started, before muttering the last part.
Gyro sighed "Gimme a few minutes to translate the lyrics into something more clear to read at least."
Minutes later, and the result was… painful to the ears.
"Why are they so bad?" Palmon groaned as she covered what served as he ears.
"This is what's called being tone deaf." Gyro said,having pulled some earplugs from his pouch, and having just barely heard Palmon's question.
"So yeah, sorry guys, but I think that's a DEFINITE no," Pierce deadpanned, causing the two to slump slightly, before getting off the stage.
"Alright, my turn," Gyro sighed, getting on the stage.
"What do we play this time?" One of the Gekomon asked.
"Actually, if you could get me an acoustic guitar, I'll be able to do it myself." he requested, surprised the Gekomon a bit, before one of them ran off, and returned a few minutes later with just that, handing it to him.
It didn't take too long to set up this time compared to others, Gyro making sure the guitar was perfectly tuned, before he soon started playing.
(Play Tobira DOOR (acoustic version) by Yamato Ishida)
The song started off slow with a few strums of the guitar, before he starting singing.
Totsuzen yatte kuru shoutai fumei no fuan itsumo bokura wo neratteru
Uke uri no chishiki kudaranai joushiki bokura wo madowaseru
Sonna mainichi ni iyake ga sashitara kyouto ni demo yuku no kai?
Shiranai furi shite sugosu yori mitsumeyou bokura no shinjitsu
Kore dake wa yuzurenai jibun no puraido mune ni hisomase...
Hashiridasou dare no tame demo naku tomatteru yotu mashi dakara
Toumei na kuuki kirisaite mabushii ano umi ni mukatte
Oh keep on running keep on running
Find out your reality
Atarashii tobira no mae de gusugusu shiteru hima wa nai
Josou tsukete tobidasou ze sono tobira keriagete
Kimi datte kitto dekiru
Mienai fuan ga kimi wo tsutsunda kimi no me ga mayotteru
Yuragu jishin itsumo to chigau bokura karada wo furuwaseru
Sonna jibun ga iya dakara hiza wo kakaete iru no kai?
Me wo tojiru no wa hayasugiru mitsumeyou bokura no shinjitsu
Muryoku nante koto nai bokura no yuuki furishibotte...
Mitsuke dasou dare no tame demo naku akirameru yori mashi dakara
Okubyou na kimochi furihodoite hontou no kotae sagashite
Oh keep on running keep on running
Find out your reality
Atarashii sekai no tobira kagi nanka kakatte inai
Jishin motte susumou ze sono tobira keriagete
Kimi nara kitto mitsukerareru
Hashiridasou dare no tame demo naku tomatteru yotu mashi dakara
Toumei na kuuki kirisaite mabushii ano umi ni mukatte
Oh keep on running keep on running
Find out your reality
Atarashii tobira no mae de gusugusu shiteru hima wa nai
Josou tsukete tobidasou ze sono tobira keriagete
Kimi datte kitto dekiru
Kitto tadoritsukeru kara...
(End Song)
As Gyro strummed the last few notes on the guitar, the Gekomon clapped just as much as with Pierce, even though their lord didn't wake up, it was still nice to hear other people sing.
And thrown into the sounds of clapping was a whistle being blown just loud enough for everyone to hear it, making everyone turn to the door to see…
"Ruby! When did you wake up?" Palmon asked, a bit surprised to see her partner as she ran up to her.
And as Gyro looked at the young reaper, he blushed a bit as he saw her wearing a long black dress with red accents that stopped at her ankles, it was slightly poofy like a princess dress, but not overly so, and the only piece of her original outfit she was wearing was her hood and cape."Wow...uh...nice dress…" Gyro said when he regained his senses.
Ruby smiled, and blushed a little bit at the compliment, before walking over to them and placing a hand on each of their shoulders and smiling brightly, as if to say she was happy to see them.
"Good to see you as well." Pierce said, having gotten the gist of it.
"So, practiced so much you lost your voice huh?" Gyro asked in slight amusement.
Ruby puffed up her cheeks in annoyance...too bad it made her look absolutely adorable...before she pointed at the still sleeping ShogunGekomon, then mimed waiting for a very long time, then showed a look of desperation on her face, before crossing her arms, as if saying she couldn't just let the Gekomon be when they explained the problem to her, not when she could do something about it.
"I think I get what you mean yeah, can't just leave them hanging if they've been waiting for a few hundred years for him to wake up." Gyro said with a nod "By the way…" He blushed a bit "What did you think of the song I played?"
Ruby blushed a little, before nodding her head, and giving two thumbs up and a big smile. The message was obvious.
Gyro chuckled a bit, nodding in thanks.
"Say, Ruby, how was Yang when you saw her?" Pierce asked, sounding a bit worried.
At the mention of her sister, Ruby's expression turned glum. She folded her arms and slowly shook her head, looking utterly downtrodden, before doing an exaggerated shrug. The best she could do to say that Yang...wasn't doing so well...and she had no idea why or how to help.
"I see…" Pierce frowned. He'd been worried about her for a while now, remembering the look she had when they'd saved her from Datamon. He'd wanted to have been there for her but...it seems things just weren't allowing that to happen… "So...when is she gonna be back?" he asked.
Ruby seemed to sigh, before shrugging, meaning that she honestly didn't know, though it was clear she was hoping that they would return soon. Fortunately, it seemed they were in luck that day, as just as she did that, a Gekomon came running in. "Big news! The search party has returned!" he reported.
"Talk about convenient!" Palmon said with a smile as they all followed the Gekomon back to the main castle.
"Lots of convenience these days really." Agumon said, blinking in thought.
"Well, I think we should hurry and meet up with them," Veemon said. "Or I don't think Pierce is gonna wait for us," he added with a chuckle as true enough, Pierce was already running for the main hall.
When they did reach the main hall, there was a pause as Pierce entered it, and the first person he saw was Yang, and despite the fact she looked like she hadn't slept much recently, she still looked like her usual self.
When she saw him, he noticed her expression did brighten...but it was still...weak compared to how it usually was. Heck, Biyomon seemed very worried as well…
He wanted to talk to her, really he did, but from the looks of it, the Gekomon wouldn't be letting them...at least not until they got all the herbs they'd gathered.
When the Gekomon finally cleared away with all the herbs, Pierce finally went up to the lilac eyed girl and hugged her.
"I missed you." he murmured as he held her close, relaxing when she rested her head against his shoulder.
"Missed you too…" she mumbled. He could tell she meant it, but she very much lacked the energy she'd usually say that with.
"...something's wrong...isn't it?" he sighed. "Don't worry...we can talk later if you're feeling uncomfortable about it."
Yang nodded, thankful to him for being patient with her.
"For now though, please, get some sleep, you look like you really need it." he told her sternly.
She grimaced a bit "I've tried, trust me… mind staying close to me?"
He nodded at her request, before one of the Gekomon guided them to a room where she could get some rest.
When she was gone, Biyomon went up to Gyro and Ruby "I think Yang's afraid of something, or maybe it's something else, but it's not good." was the first thing the bird said.
Ruby frowned deeply at that. She'd also noticed, but she couldn't do anything to try and help on account of her voice being gone still. Likewise, Gyro frowned at that. "That's not good...did she by any chance say something? Even in her sleep maybe?" he asked. Maybe if they had a clue, they could start to help her.
"Well… a lot of the times she did manage to fall asleep she'd seem to have nightmares, something about not wanting someone to go… I think she also talked about her mother once." Biyomon explained.
Gyro winced, having a good idea what the issue might be "So… abandonment issues." he said, glancing at Ruby, who nodded, because that sounded pretty much accurate.
"Do you know how we can help her?" Biyomon asked hopefully.
"That's….a tough one…" Gyro sighed, and inwardly winced at how much of an understatement that was. Heck, Yang right now almost looked like she did at the end of...Volume 3…
"What caused it though?" Agumon wondered.
"Well…" Biyomon started, putting a wing to her beak in thought "I… I think it started around when we all learned what crests everyone has. Yang's crest is Love."
"And she has to deal with THOSE kinds of issues…." Gyro sighed, already realizing how bad the situation could become if they weren't careful.
"What can we do?" Veemon asked, looking back from where Pierce and Yang had walked away.
"Honestly, the only ones who have a chance at being able to do anything to fix this are Pierce, Ruby and Biyomon." Gyro said with a sigh.
"How can we help her?" Biyomon asked seriously.
"The best thing you can do is be there for her when she needs it." Gyro said with a shrug.
"Alright. We can do that," Biyomon said as she and Ruby nodded.
"Now then, aside from that though, how are we supposed to use those herbs to make you feel better?" Gyro asked.
"We're supposed to use them in a potion!" One of the Otamamon said.
Gyro had a deadpan look on his face as he watched the 'brewing'. The Gekomon in charge of making it either enjoyed the atmosphere or he was just a massive ham...or mentally unstable...whichever might have been more accurate, as right now they were all in a dark room, with said Gekomon giggling slightly while he stirred a big bubbling cauldron...oh and he was wearing a witch's hat on his head.
"...okay, are we brewing a cure for Ruby's throat, or a potion to curse our enemies with?" Gyro couldn't help but deadpan at the sight. Seriously, this looked less 'make a cure' and more 'sinister spellcaster'.
"A cure for the princess of course." the Gekomon said, looking up from the cauldron as he inserted some thankfully tame looking ingredients, such as plants and extracts from other plants… like honey and other such things.
"Been meaning to ask about that actually…" Gyro trailed off as he eyed Ruby who was sitting patiently "Why did you start calling her 'Princess'?"
"Honestly...it sorta started as a nickname one of us started, and eventually it stuck. She's been really nice and helpful, and she really does care. Like a princess in the old stories," one of the Otamamon explained.
Gyro nodded after a moment "Can't deny that." he said, while Ruby blushed a bit bashfully, though she was smiling.
"Its done!" The Gekomon called out, finishing off with a bang on the pot, before he grabbed a heaping ladle and poured it into a sizeable bottle, several more loading it onto a tray and presenting it to Ruby. "Here you go, Princess. This will heal your throat," they said
"So, is this going to be immediate or slow acting?" Gyro asked as Ruby slowly drank the concoction, grimacing as she pulled the bottle away from her lips.
"Slow acting, she'll be good as new in an hour or so." the Gekomon said proudly.
"In that case, mind if I take a few bottles and the recipe? In case we ever need more." Gyro requested.
"Of course! Help yourself! We have enough in the cauldron to last us a while anyway." was the answer, and Gyro nodded gratefully as he started filling a few bottles while the Gekomon wrote down the recipe.
"Alright then, so...now what do we do while waiting?" Agumon asked.
Ruby thought about it, before miming something that they could all easily tell.
"At once! We'll prepare a feast!" the Gekomon nodded happily.
All at once, the four partner Digimon present all had their stomachs growl. Hearing that, all of them couldn't help but chuckle, all agreeing that lunch sounded like a great idea. As such it wasn't long before they were all seated before a banquet with a full spread of various dishes. It seemed the Gekomon didn't pull their punches when it came to a feast.
"This looks delicious!" Veemon grinned as he was about to dig in, something that Agumon and Palmon were ready to do as well.
"I wonder if Yang will come down to eat?" Biyomon asked.
"Probably not, she looked like she really needed the sleep." Gyro said with a frown as everyone started to eat.
"Pierce isn't here too," Palmon mused.
Ruby made a few gestures, earning an understanding nod from the Gekomon, before some gathered some food into a tray, going to the upper floors, no doubt for said humans.
"Good thinking," Gyro nodded, to which Ruby smiled.
The meal was a more or less enjoyable affair, and by the time all was said and done, it was already past the time for the potion to work. Gathering with the others, Ruby took a small breath, before testing her voice, and found that yes, she could talk again with no difficulties.
"Finally." she sighed out in relief.
"Nice to have you back." Gyro said with a chuckle.
"Now, time to wake their boss up!" Ruby said, just about to run off towards the smaller castle where the sleeping lord was, but the Gekomon got in her way.
"Wait princess! You still need to let your voice relax a bit, it'll take about 2 days before you can sing again." the Gekomon who had brewed the remedy explained.
"...oh…" Ruby deflated. "Well...I guess waiting a bit more won't hurt."
"Don't worry Ruby, we'll be waiting for you right here," Agumon added, everyone grinning in agreement.
The next day had come, and Ruby was currently walking down into the dining room after having woken up and getting dressed.
She didn't see any sign of Yang last night, so she figured her sister was finally able to catch up on her sleep. So deep in thought, she almost missed the sound of metal creaking. Looking up, she was just in time to see a chandelier come off and fall down...fortunately she activated her semblance and avoided the chandelier that crashed into the ground.
"Ruby! What was that-?!" Palmon started as she came around the corner Ruby had walked out of, and stared with wide eyes at the crashed chandelier "What happened?"
"I think it broke off." Ruby said, looking at the ceiling, before going up to check on the chandelier… and quickly noticed something "Or something worse."
"What's worse?" Palmon asked.
In response, Ruby held up the chain the chandelier was hanging off of, with one of the links in the chain clearly sawed in half "It wasn't an accident."
The two didn't waste any time and quickly gathered the others.
"...10 bucks say its DemiDevimon," Pierce growled.
"Yeah, that little imp tried to keep Jaune and Pyrrha stuck," Agumon frowned.
"But why would he want to stop Ruby from waking up ShogunGekomon?" Veemon frowned.
"I don't think it's so much as stopping her from waking up ShogunGekomon as it is just stopping her in general." Gyro said with a frown.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked in concern, and she'd clearly had a good night's sleep recently.
"Well, with Jaune and Pyrrha, at first he was just trying to keep them stuck at a diner, but he also started to try and put them at each other's throats, to stop their crests from activating." Gyro explained "My guess is, he just decided to go for the direct route and get rid of Ruby directly since nothings happened to get her to stray from her Crest. Heck, now that I think about it...how DID you come to singing for the Gekomon?" Gyro asked.
"Well...we were wandering, and we saw the castle, hoping to be able to stay the night…" Ruby started...then it clicked. "Come to think of it, they seemed happy to see us, and they even asked us to try and sing...do you think that...DemiDevimon...had told them about us?"
"He did. He said a human with a beautiful singing voice was coming and that she could awaken our lord," one of the Gekomon spoke up, surprise and suspicion creeping into their ranks as they wondered if they'd been unwitting pawns the whole time.
"That little rat's sneakier than I thought." Gyro said, nibbling his thumbnail in thought, before snapping his fingers "I got it, if he wants to attack Ruby, we'll just catch him in the act."
"Oooh, so we'll use the same trick as with Jaune and Pyrrha?" Pierce grinned. "Or at least something like it."
"Something simpler actually, we just make Ruby wait out in the open basically while we lie in wait." Gyro said with a shrug.
"That works, I doubt he could resists the opportunity." Biyomon agreed with the idea.
"I don't know about this." Yang said with a frown.
"You'll get first dibs when we catch him, besides, I haven't show it off much, but I do have a gun in this thing." Pierce said as he pointed to Pandora on his back.
Yang looked him in the eyes..before slowly nodding. "...alright...but if anything happens…!"
"If anything happens, we'd probably do worse to ourselves," Gyro said, dead serious.
Ruby seemed a bit worried at how the conversation was going, but was quickly relieved when they simply nodded and the plan was a go. Now they just needed to set the stage.
"I'll be inside for a bit. Palmon, please don't disturb me," Ruby said gently, before opening the door to the music room she used to practice.
"But Ruby, aren't you still supposed to be resting?" Palmon asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, I won't be doing anything straining," Ruby reassured, before going into the room.
Once inside, she went to a box full of the music sheets and started going through them, her back turned to the open window.
Minutes later, as she was sat and warming up her voice, a small figure appeared in the window, unseen… or so they liked to think.
DemiDevimon grinned to himself, thinking about how this was just the perfect setup to get rid of her, and almost cackling in glee when she put on a pair of sound dampening headphones. This was just too perfect. With that in mind, he soon prepared his attack. His legs/claws came together and a syringe materialized, ready and aimed at the back of Ruby's neck. "Demi…!" he started...but didn't get far as he was suddenly caught in a net.
"Well well well," came Pierce's amused voice. "Look what our little trap dragged in. A conniving imp."
"Wait what?!" DemiDevimon said before he was hoisted up into the air, tangled in the net.
"So, hook, line and sinker huh?" Ruby said as she turned around, pulling the headphones off.
"You REALLY just don't learn do you? You actually fell for the same trick we used with Jaune and Pyrrha," Gyro chuckled. "You're lucky he's not around or we'd give you to him to make a new rug with."
"But…" Yang glared. "You DID try to attack my little sister. So that's...gonna cost you." With that she cracked her knuckles, before they moved to another room, the Gekomon having prepared some kind of metal bar...and the net was hung on the bar...in a way that looked like a punching bag.
"W-wait! No! What are you doing?!" DemiDevimon tried to struggle free, only for his cries of protest to soon be replaced with those of pain.
"WAIT!" Veemon suddenly shouted, stopping Yang in surprise...before he borrowed Pierce's Scroll and set it on camera mode. "Please continue."
Everyone couldn't help but laugh at the action, before Yang obliged, the room now filled with the sound of DemiDevimon in pain...and a camera clicking.
After an hour or so of the pain, they soon brought the now battered and bruised imp to a balcony.
"AND STAY OUT!" the group roared before one shotgun powered punch later, and DemiDevimon was flying through the air, till he was little more than a twinkle in the sky.
"Glad he's gone," Palmon huffed. Now they could probably continue in peace.
"Yep, and just a bit more and we'll be able to wake ShogunGekomon up. I think I'll get the song right this time," Ruby said, earning a few cheers from the Gekomon.
That night, the castle was quiet. Yang sighed as she walked to her room, Biyomon having gone ahead earlier.
"You've been doing that a lot," came Pierce's voice as he came up behind her, having followed her earlier. "You know you can talk to us, right?"
Yang turned to him, looking down with a frown "Yeah… I know." she sighed "I guess… I just don't know what to do. I mean, my crest is supposed to be what makes Biyomon stronger, but I don't know if I can actually make it work."
Pierce sighed, he could understand her feelings to a degree "This is about your birth mother leaving, isn't it?" if her wince was any indication, he hit the nail on the head. Frowning deeply, he didn't say anything, instead he went over, and pulled her into a comforting hug.
She didn't react at first, until she laid her head on his shoulder, slowing bringing her arms around him, sniffling at first until she started to sob.
"W-what am I supposed to do dammit?" she asked through her tears as she clung to him.
Pierce was silent for a long moment, before he took a breath "I guess… I'm sorry in advance if this sounds cheesy, but think about what love is, in all it's different forms, and ask yourself if you've been doing it right."
Yang listened to his words, tears falling silently, but at a slower rate as she focused on his words "Is it really that simple?"
"Who knows? I'll get back to you once I find the perfect guide to the human emotional spectrum." he said with a snort, wanting to cheer her up, and thankfully, it worked, as she let out a chuckle at his words.
"Guess I'll be waiting a LONG time for that, huh?" Yang joked back, a small smile on her face.
"There's the Yang I know and love," Pierce smiled.
Yang smiled a little at that, before she sighed again, wanting little more than to enjoy his embrace. But at the same time, it was getting late. Perhaps she was feeling bold...or vulnerable...but she asked her next question anyway. "Could you...stay with me tonight?"
Pierce smiled at her, before he nodded "Sure, I can do that." he then gained a slightly teasing grin. "Just don't blame me if my hands wander in my sleep though."
"I was gonna say the same thing." Yang shot back, smiling more naturally as she punched his chest lightly, before walking back to her room with him, and unnoticed by both, her crest gave off a faint spark before fading.
A light singing could be heard from the room as Ruby finished up her last bit of exercise. Tomorrow she'd be able to awaken ShogunGekomon, and when all was said and done, they'd be able to continue on their journey. "Perfect," she smiled as she put the sheet away.
"You're really getting good at that," came Gyro's voice, the boy having found his way into the room to get a better listen.
Ruby looked up in surprise, she wasn't in any sort of strange outfit or position thankfully, but she did blush a bit at someone listening to her when she didn't even notice, but she smiled nonetheless at the compliment "Thanks, I think I'm gonna be ready for the song tomorrow."
"That's good to know." he said as he sat down in front of her "So, how was it to learn a completely different language?"
"Kind of tough at first honestly, but I got the hang of it after enough lessons." she said confidently.
Gyro grinned a bit "Enough to hold a conversation in it?" he asked… in japanese.
"I like to think I can." Ruby replied, also in japanese.
"Not bad, but that's just a few words, can you do more?" Gyro challenged with a friendly grin, still in japanese.
"Well, I guess I can try, it can't be too hard to string together a lot of words like I'm doing right now, right?" Ruby shot back with a grin, again, still in japanese.
The two looked at each other for a few moments, before they both started laughing.
"Ok, you definitely have it down pat." Gyro said, switching back to english.
"Thanks, like I said, it took a lot of work, but it was worth it." Ruby said, also switching back to english.
"It sure was. You'll do great tomorrow," Gyro smiled encouragingly.
Ruby nodded, before having to cover her mouth as she yawned "I think I'm gonna head to bed." she said, standing up and waving at him as she walked past "Good night."
"Night Ruby." he shot back, watching her leave the room, before doing the same a few moments later.
The next morning (after breakfast of course) had them all gathered before the sleeping ShogunGekomon, before Ruby went up to the stage. All the equipment was checked and double checked, the song ready. Ruby took a deep breath, before the music began to play and she started to sing. The song was perfect, showing the practice she'd put into it, and better yet, they could tell ShogunGekomon was reacting, little by little he was stirring, before he moved and let out a large yawn as he got up.
"Lord ShogunGekomon! You've finally awakened!" The Gekomon and Otamamon all cheered, while Ruby got off the stage, the hunters and their Digimon smiling at the sight of the loyal servants welcoming their lord.
….however that image was soon shattered when instead of a happy reunion, ShogunGekomon growled angrily and smashed the stage, before starting to smash the rest of the room.
"What the heck is wrong with him?!" Gyro questioned.
"Is this another stray Black Gear or something?" Pierce couldn't help but wonder.
"If so, then here we go again," Yang frowned a bit, before pounding her fists.
Ruby however had other ideas as she ran forward. "Stop it! The Gekomon have been desperately trying to wake you up! Why are you doing this?!" she tried to reason with ShogunGekomon.
ShogunGekomon glared at her. "You think I care about that? I was having a great nap, and you lot woke me up!"
"But that's no reason to-!" Ruby tried again.
"Silence! I'm the Lord of this Castle! I can do as I please!" ShogunGekomon roared.
Digimon Analyzer: ShogunGekomon
ShogunGekomon. Virus Type. A Perfect Level Amphibian Digimon. A Digimon that evolved from a Gekomon who spent countless time in a karaoke system, and thus learned thousands of different songs. It is arrogant to a fault, believing itself to be above mistakes due to being a lord. Its special attacks are Samurai Tone, unleashing a powerful sound from its horns that blows its enemies away, and Horn Howling, shooting out an air bullet from his horns that can punch through steel.
"...okay, I'm gonna kick his ass," were the deadpan words that came from Yang, Biyomon, Gyro, Agumon, Pierce, and Veemon at the words of the arrogant Digimon.
"Just because you're the lord doesn't mean you can be a jerk!" Palmon said, and just as some loosened piece of ceiling that ShogunGekomon smashed up was about to fall on Ruby, a large boxing glove punched it away as she quickly evolved into Togemon. "And more importantly...don't you DARE look down on what the Gekomon and Otamamon went through to wake you up after 3 HUNDRED years! Togemon, let's teach him a lesson!" Ruby said, pulling out Crescent Rose.
"You got it, Ruby!" Togemon nodded as she pounded her gloves together.
"P-Princess…!" The Gekomon and Otamamon were moved to tears at her defending them like that without hesitation or doubts. Truly she was the princess they'd come to care for dearly. The sight was only made even stronger, as at that moment, a green light started to shine from within Ruby's clothes.
(Play Brave Heart)
Ruby's D-Core vibrated, before turning green with orange buttons. The beam of light was fired out of the Digivice, going through her Tag from the back and releasing the Crest into the sky. As the Crest of Purity ascended, it gathered energy before spinning in place and releasing the burst of energy, firing down the beam which flowed into Togemon. "Togemon, Super Evolution!" Togemon called out as light burst forth from here eyes and mouth, before at the top of her head, the 'hairs' began to change, a large flower growing out of her head, before it began to bloom. From within the blooming flower emerged a new Digimon, one completely different from Togemon, as it was more accurate to say this one was like a fairy, wearing an outfit made from pink flower petals, the top of her head surrounded in those same petals as long, green, thorn riddled vines came out from the bottom of those petals, mimicking hair. Her forearms were covered with green sleeves that had yellow petals at her wrists, while green boots covered her feet, yellow flowers on the ankles of the boots, and finally, four wings made of leaves appeared on her back. "Lillymon!"
The hunters and Digimon all stared in wonder at Togemon's new form. Compared to her previous form, Lillymon didn't seem built for power. However, if there was anything they'd learned since coming here, it was never to judge a book by its cover. Lillymon landed next to Ruby and smiled at her. "Ruby, let's fight together," she said.
Ruby got over her wonder, and nodded with a smile. "Let's go, Lillymon!"
Digimon Analyzer: Lillymon
Lillymon. Data Type. A Perfect Level Fairy Digimon. Though she looks like a human child, Lillymon packs all the power of a Perfect Digimon in her body, and knows how to make use of it. She gets along most with those who have similar personalities to her, and it is said that wherever she flies, a fresh breeze will follow. Her special attacks are Flower Cannon, bringing both hands together as the petals on her wrists enlarge and form a flower with a cannon in the middle, firing an energy shell from it, and Vicious Vine, attacking the enemy with a thorned vine that shoots out from her wrist.
"Don't get cocky! Samurai Tone!" ShogunGekomon growled, before firing off his attack, forcing everyone to duck out of the way...and cover their ears...from the soundwave that blasted a hole through the wall.
"Okay, I've heard of dreadful musicians, but THIS is ridiculous," Pierce couldn't help but say at the sight of the destruction.
"Time to evolve?" Veemon asked rhetorically.
"Time to evolve," everyone nodded as the remaining Digivices began to shine.
"Agumon, Evolution! Greymon!"
"Biyomon, Evolution! Birdramon!"
"Veemon, Evolution! Veedramon!"
The walls burst as the three large adult Digimon came out, dragging ShogunGekomon with them.
"Take this outside, guys!" Yang called out, though ShogunGekomon was struggling against the pull.
"You especially! Vicious Vine!" Lillymon said, whipping ShogunGekomon's leg, causing him to lose balance and allow them to throw him out...down the cliffside, where he landed in a heap, before the four of them followed after him.
"How dare you do that!" ShogunGekomon growled. "Samurai Tone!" he fired his attack again, blowing the three Adults back. "And now…!" he started again...but not before Lillymon came out, with Ruby in her arms who seen jumped out, and using her semblance, began zipping around him. "W-what the?!" he gasped, trying to swat at her, but to no avail, before Ruby hit him on the leg, causing him to roar in pain and try to squash her...before a Vicious Vine nailed him in the face, causing him to lose balance and fall flat on his back.
"Nice try, but not good enough," Ruby and Lillymon chuckled before blowing raspberries at the large toad.
At the same time, Gyro, Pierce, and Yang got out and saw the scene. "Okay, time for a little extra power," Gyro frowned, pulling out his Tag which soon started to shine.
"Greymon, Super Evolution! MetalGreymon!"
ShogunGekomon had just gotten to his feet, before he was met with a Trident Arm to the face, knocking him back, before he tried to brace against it, actually managing to stop it. "Gotcha!" he grinned.
"You sure about that?" Gyro smirked, much to his confusion...before MetalGreymon promptly swung his arm upward, taking ShogunGekomon with it, before he was launched to the sky.
As he was airborne, Ruby turned to the Gekomon and Otamamon. "Are you sure about this?" she asked.
"Yeah," they all nodded. "We did our duty to awaken our lord, but we don't HAVE to follow him. Especially a big jerk like him!" they all said.
"Alright. Let him have it everyone!" Ruby said.
"You got it!" they all nodded.
"Meteor Wing!"
"V Breath Arrow!"
"Giga Destroyer!"
"Flower Cannon!"
The attacks all impacted, creating a huge explosion, before ShogunGekomon was launched away, screaming as he went over the horizon and was soon just a twinkle in the sky.
(Song end)
Once the battle was over, the evolved Digimon all reverted, with Lillymon and MetalGreymon going back to Tanemon and Koromon. "This is the one part of going Perfect I don't like," Koromon grumbled slightly.
About an hour later, the group stood in front of the main castle, Ruby finally having changed back to her usual outfit, as the Gekomon and Otamamon were seeing them off.
"Know that you will always be welcome here everyone, it was a pleasure to have you." the leading Gekomon said, as all of them bowed to their guests.
"Make sure the next time you guys pick a leader, you do a full background check on him." Gyro said jokingly.
"We don't want another jerk like that guy calling the shots after all." Ruby added.
"We'll be careful with who we choose the next." Gekomon assured them, before the group left, waving to the Digimon at the castle, and headed in the direction of the last blinking dot.
As they did walk, Gyro hanged back a bit so he was next to Ruby "For what it's worth, even though you were interrupted, your singing was amazing." he told her with a smile.
Ruby blushed a bit at the compliment "Thanks." she said, before acting on an impulse, and giving him a peck on the cheek.
Gyro froze in place at that, before his face slowly became completely red, and you could practically see the steam pouring out of his ears.
"I… I don't know if I should be the overprotective big sister right now." Yang said, staring at the frozen Gyro and blushing Ruby.
"Meh, don't worry, Gyro's never had an impure thought about women in his life." Pierce waved off her concerns, as Ruby intertwined her fingers with Gyro's and tugged him along.
And our next ship is sailing!
Also, yeah, Togemon reached the next level earlier.
Yeah, this is pretty much a theme at this point isn't it?
Also, obviously, Ruby is SO pure, she didn't turn out like Mimi did after becoming the princess.
It also helps she has the hero dream.
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this longer than usual chapter people, since it made up for the shortness of the last one... and of the next one.
Yeah, we don't expect it to be too long, but, anyway, for now...
The Adventure Evolves.
