Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I don't own digimon or anything related to it. I do own some of the OCs that will appear later on and also some of the digimon designs. I intend to use all ten legendary spirits and have created designs for four extra spirits.
"He went that way!" Iori pointed as he turned the corner.
They had chased the boy from chaos struck square into the maze of streets. How the day turned out like this was mindboggling but not something that Joe hadn't seen before, and their digivice might be warning them as they started acting up after years.
It was supposed to be a smooth sail, and for the most part, it had been. In the morning, Joe attended school, after which he took extra classes, planned to take some more credit hours, and would finally end the day with a relaxing trip to the library. But of course, when did his plans of having a peaceful life go accordingly? They hadn't when he was eleven and weren't going to now. Joe was informed that Ken's computer had picked up some digital anomaly. Shinjuku was one of the four places.
Shinjuku was in chaos. A swirling hole dominated the sky where Ken's computer supposedly picked up an anomaly. It wasn't huge, but it was something Joe couldn't miss as it loomed overhead: a dark swirling vortex that seemed to suck in even the heavens. Joe's first thoughts were on a possible digimon attack. For a moment, he was taken to years back when digimon swarmed their world like some alien invasion. I suppose it was, in a way. As he observed the portal, unsure what to do now that he was here, he could imagine a giant red bug or a giant green parrot swooping down on them. The thought, even years later, was chilling.
"Joe'san!"
Iori's startled voice brought Joe out of his thoughts. He noticed the beeping sound, Iori's D3 was ringing.
"It started all of a sudden, so can't have anything to do with the vortex."
"It's not like this is the first time it's happening," Joe replied, remembering Hikari and Takeru's D3. "There must be something else triggering it." He added as his gaze swept over the chaotic square. He had heard Koshiro's theory about remote resources and how Taichi thought it could be something alive, watching younger members. If that was true, then. . .
"SOMETHING IS COMING OUT OF IT!" A woman's screamed.
Joe's eyes snapped toward the portal. If Joe had blinked, he might have missed it. It streaked across the road, transparent white, surrounded by what appeared to be a mini-blizzard. Just when Joe thought it would hit the earth with a deafening boom and he was about to brace himself for it, it was caught by someone who was thrown back on the hard concrete. A boy with a cap!
It didn't seem like most people cared what was coming out of the portal, just as long as they could escape it. Only a few had stopped to help the boy to his feet.
"What was that?" A woman asked.
"Um. . ." The boy said.
"Was it a comet!" A young man asked.
"What did you catch!" This time it was a middle-aged man asking in an aggressive tone. The boy was getting cornered.
"I. . .have. . ."
This was turning out worse than bad. The boy was cornered, and Joe could feel his old habits again showing their heads as nervousness started creeping in.
"We should help him," Ever the calm, Iori suggested.
Joe agreed, not knowing how. A distraction! Joe looked around frantically, hoping his eyes would catch something. What could they do to distract the whole mob? Where are Taichi or Mimi when I need them?
"It's shrinking!" A girl cried out. "The hole in the sky, it's getting smaller!"
Joe was taken aback for a moment. As he glanced toward the sky, the portal collapsed in itself, leaving the blue expanse of sky.
"Joe'san!" Iori called urgently.
Joe's gaze snapped back to the boy. The boy had slipped away when people noticed the vortex shrinking and eventually reduced to nothing. Joe followed Iori after the young boy in the alleys.
"We are losing him." The boy was fast on his feet, and Joe was not.
"He went that way!" Iori pointed as he turned the corner. Iori got ahead of him and disappeared around the corner.
As Joe stumbled over a garbage bag and rounded the corner, he stopped to a halt. The two younger boys just stood there: their path blocked by a blocked figure.
"Tomoki Him and Iori Hida?" The cloaked one said. He looked toward Joe, and his lips curled up. "And look, Joe Kido also joined us. Perfect day for eh. . .an adventure. Wouldn't you agree?"
Joe turned pale, and his eyes widened. A chill ran down his body. Is this a joke? Of course, it wasn't. The stranger, or it appeared to be, knew their names. More than that, the way he said the part about adventure. The mockery and sarcasm in his tone cried out loud that he was talking about digiworld. Joe could think of only one reason for the stranger to corner them, but why Tomoki? Joe glanced at the younger boy pondering the question. It didn't take long for a possible answer to hit him, and he gasped. A new digidestined? That blizzard/ comet: what was it really?
"How do you know our names?" Iori asked as he took a fighting stance.
"Who?" The younger brown-haired boy, Tomoki, asked, turning to Joe and Iori, " What's going on here?" The boy, wisely, had taken a defensive posture of his own, ready to fight.
Joe took a step back as the person in their path threw something.
"What is that?" The boy, Tomoki, had caught the silver object.
"DROP IT!" Iori yelled as the device glowed with a blinding green flash.
Joe's head throbbed in pain, which would be expected after the weird day. Although, it might have to do with that green light.
"Hey, you guys alright?" Someone asked.
Tomoki, maybe, or Iori! Joe wasn't sure.
"I am fine?" A second person replied, "Are you alright, Joe'san?"
Yes, that was Iori.
"My head feels like it would split open any moment!" The pain did start to recede after a few moments. "But it's getting better!" He opened his eyes and shut them back. It wasn't real. It was a hallucination. . .but then again, there was that green flash and everything else that happened today. There was suddenly a scent of wood instead of cement and garbage. The air was also a light breeze, and the sound of nature had taken over the horns and shouting. It's not an illusion. He took a deep breath and calmed his nerves with the smell of wood, earth, and flowers. Joe had left most of his neurotic tendencies years behind, it doesn't mean someone could teleport him to another world, and he wouldn't get nervous. He opened his eyes and took in the scenery.
Tall trees scattered as far as the mountains that marked his horizon. The thick branches were casting patches of deep and rather inviting shadow. Joe would lie if he said he wouldn't like to nap in the cool breeze under the shade. Herds of digimons could be seen far in the distance.
"Joe'san, you think. . .?" Iori asked in awe.
"Yes." He could recognize those black and white dinosaur digimns with massive horns.
"It can't be!" The third boy spoke, "No way!" His eyes were wide as tennis balls.
Joe groaned. He had almost forgotten about Tomoki in his shock. "Now, we will have to explain all this to him!" He complained to Iori, almost feeling the head returning back.
"I am back!" Tomoki yelled.
Great! Joe sighed. He is already going crazy. . .wait a minute! "What did he say?" Joe snapped his eyes toward the Tomoki, and his jaws fell apart.
The younger boy didn't seem scared or worried at all. On the contrary, he was screaming, 'YUHU and I am back!' and hopping around like a rabbit.
"What on earth is. . ."
"Maybe he is a digidestined," Iori replied.
It was plausible. The kid was too excited for it to be anything else. One time he almost stepped on a Terriermon.
"Hey, watch it." Terriermon snapped.
Tomoki jumped back.
"Sorry, Lopmon copycat," Tomoki said and hopped the other way.
"I AM NO ONE'S COPYCAT!" Terriermon shouted, waving his tiny fist, and then marched off, muttering something that sounded close to stupid humans.
Tomoki was already waving to a group of Monochrmon.
Joe had to admit, it was refreshing to see at least one having the same energy as Taichi. Joe wouldn't have been too fond of this when he first came to digiworld, but it now helped to ease the tense atmosphere. Too bad I will have to bring him back to earth. "Hey, Tomoki, right?" He said aloud. "Hate to break your bubble, but you realize that we are stranded here without food and water, right!"
The boy ran around for a few seconds and then stopped as if he finally had the words registered in his mind, "Sorry. I was just. . .in shock!" He said, perhaps thinking that his behavior shouldn't make much sense to the other two, and came back running, "We were there, and suddenly we are here. Like magic; which is impossible. . ."
"We both saw how scared you were!" Joe replied sarcastically. "By the way, know about digimons and digiworld as well."
"Oh. . .WHAT! Did you come here when Ophanimn sent the message?" He crossed his arms and looked away, "Wait a minute; she only sent it to Shibuya. Or not?" He started pacing, hands crossed behind him. "Of course, you would know since digimons appeared a few years back. . .stupid me. . .but wait a minute! How would you know they are called digimons, and this is digiworld. This is making no sense! Are you guys from Shibuya?" Tomoki finally stopped his ramble and turned to them.
Joe was left to wonder what was up with Shibuya. It feels like I forget something but what? He crossed his arms, pondering but couldn't remember it.
"No, we are from Odaiba," Iori replied.
"What's up with Shibuya?" Joe asked Tomoki. "Seems like it's pretty important to be from Shibuya if you know about digiworld?"
"Wel. . ."
"Enjoying ourselves, are we?" It was the stranger who sent them to digiworld again.
Joe cringed. He didn't want to hear that voice again soon because it would likely mean more trouble. Then again, that stranger might be our only way to get some answers. He whirled around.
The stranger was standing atop the cliff wall. His face was still hooded, "Reminiscing about the old days, maybe. It's been a while, after all. Don't worry. This is just the st. . ." He lunged away as Tomoki lunged at him, "And to think you were once bullied on that train!"
Tomoki landed back on his feet, a bit pale, "How do you. . ."
"Not important for you to know. What is important to know is that your friends are also here," He glanced at Joe and Iori, "Yours' as well."
Friends! Don't tell me he did something to others. Suddenly, many horrible possibilities ran through Joe's mind, from kidnapping to broken arms. After all these years, he somehow controlled himself to think further; it had become more manageable.
"Who are you?" Iori asked, "And what did you do to our friends?" He demanded.
"You better not have hurt any of them, you hear me?" Tomoki snapped.
"Oh, believe me, they are as safe as they can be in digiworld together without their partners or spirits,"-
Well, that's not much, if someone asked Joe. . .Spirits?
"The rest is their skill and fate."
"Why did you bring us here?" Joe asked.
"It's simple, really. Find them."
"Excuse me, What!"
"You have to look for each other. Let's see who gets to find others first," The stranger whistled. There was billowing as a bird swooped down and took the hooded stranger higher, "Good luck! You will need it, and I hope you have it." The bird flew away and disappeared in the brilliant blue sky.
"Well, thanks a lot! That didn't make much sense!" Tomoki said, "What does this guy think he is laying at?"
"I have no clue, but we need to find our friends!" Iori said.
Joe wasn't sure if he was relieved that he, Ioi, and Tomoki weren't alone here or worried that his friends were also in danger.
"At least he didn't hurt them!" Tomoki commented.
"Leaving us stranded in digiworld, all by ourselves, isn't exactly what I would call benevolent. And we shouldn't take what that person said at face value," Joe stated. Still, he had to admit that the younger boys had a point. "My D-terminal was left at home because since this morning no one told me I would have to rush to Shinjuku directly from extra classes." He sighed and checked his pockets from habit, noticing his own was missing. "Have you got yours, Iori?"
Iori fetched out his D-Terminal. He frowned as he opened the lid of the D-terminal lit up. "That's weird!"
Here comes the worst! "What's wrong?"
"There is nothing here!"
"What do you mean, nothing? D-terminals are supposed to work everywhere!" He took the device, and indeed, the screen was completely white. "Is it broken?"
"Maybe there is something interfereing with it," Iori suggested. "I checked it earlier."
Yep, the worst! "Now, why would that guy do it if he wants us to find others," He handed Iori D3 back. "I don't see how this would possibly help. Unless he really is just playing a game." In this case, we should be ready for our situation to worsen. Should we even go along with it if it's just a game? There is safety in numbers, but. . .
"What if something else is behind it.," Iori put the D3 back. "I mean, should we really assume it's just one faction?"
That was a good point, but it could mean more enemies. Joe never liked to bet on bad odds, even though he had learned it was necessary sometimes. "What are you doing, Tomoki?" Joe asked.
Tomoki was pressing buttons on a device. "It has a built-in communicator that allows us to talk to each other," Tomoki replied. "At least it once did, but then again, that time, it was a transformed version of my cell phone."
"Us! You mean your friends!" Oh yeah! Tomoki isn't the only one. So there was a guy who knew about digiworld, wasn't a digidestined, even though there were more than two hundred, and had friends who also knew about digiworld. Joe didn't even want to begin imagining the implications. At least Koshiro would be thrilled.
Tomoki nodded. "Operating this thing is a real pain, though. I still don't know how these functions work with just two buttons." He kept punching the buttons, "Didn't have enough time last time with Ophanimon to understand it. I guess you guys know about Ophanimon as well?" He almost dropped the device.
To Joe's shock, a hologram of a globe appeared above the screen.
"That's new!" Tomoki gasped.
"That's impressive!" Iori exclaimed. "Is this device a digivice?"
Tomoki's eyebrow shot up. "A what now?"
"Maybe they have a different name for it," Joe suggested and fetched out his digivice. "See. This is a digivice."
"And here, this is a D3, although it's just another type of digivice," Iori added, showing the D3.
Tomoki took a good look at the two devices.
"Can't say if it's similar, but I doubt it would be. This one is a D-tector, though." Tomoki turned to D-tector once more. He probed the hologram sphere and managed to move it with his fingers.
"Koshiro would love to get his hands on one of these! That's for sure," Joe commented.
"Koshiro?" Tomoki questioned.
"He is one of us, a computer geek. He loves tech."
"Well, he isn't getting mine after I got it back after so long."
"It doesn't look like a communicator," Iori stated, pointing toward the hologram, "More like a compass."
As Joe took a second look, he agreed. There were three needles inside the globe pointing at specific destinations. Each destination held some unique symbol.
"It seems like it should point me toward the D-tectors of my friends," Tomoki replied, "Each symbol is one of us."
"It seems like your friends are scattered," Joe pointed out, pointing toward the different needles, "I guess the length of the needle is for distance, relatively speaking."
Tomoki nodded, "I don't want to mess with it to find the communicator and end up losing it as well." He gave them a wary look, "Well, you guys should come with me. You will be safer."
"I am older than you, you know. " Joe crossed his arms. He supposed that needed to be stated.
"You are talking like Junpei. I doubt age is gonna matter much!" Tomoki replied confidently, arms crossed behind his head.
Joe gave the younger boy an annoyed look, taking personal offense. The boy had started reminding him of a few specific individuals.
"What do we do now, Joe'san?" Iori asked.
"Well, logically, we shouldn't separate," Joe replied and turned to Tomoki, "But I doubt you will listen."
The younger shrugged his shoulders.
Joe scratched his neck. "It's not like we have any leads anyway."
After thinking for a few moments, Iori spoke, "Maybe our friends are with his friends." Joe was lost, wondering where that had come from. "Your friends were also observing the portals, right Tomoki? There is a chance they all were sent in digiworld together."
"Well, it's a possibility," Joe replied. "Were any of your friends in Odaiba, Shibuya, and Tamachi?"
"Shibuya, and Odaiba." Tomoki replied.
"Better than nothing, I guess." It didn't mean they were sent to the digiworld together, but the idea was still comforting. "I guess we will come with you then."
"Great!" Tomoki perked up, "Let's go, guys!"
"Hey, look, a Floramon," Tomoki exclaimed, pointing toward the flower digimon, "And a Sunflowmo, ooh, a Woodmon! This is AWESOME!"
It didn't take Joe to learn that the boy was quite the opposite of him and Iori. Both of them were happy to be able to come back, despite the problematic repercussions that would haunt Joe's thoughts from time to time. They would point toward different digimons, and Joe felt nostalgic seeing all that.
Tomoki had much more energy than Joe and Iori's calmer personalities. He would exclaim jubilantly, seeing different digimons, wave at them, and completely forget what he was doing for a few moments. Tomoki kept on doing this nonstop. "There is a Mushroomon!" Tomoki exclaimed.
Joe sighed. It hadn't been half an hour, and Joe was already starting to get fatigued by this. "Man, it's just like the old days!"
"So, Um. . .what's wrong, Iori?" Joe asked as the younger stopped.
"Do you guys hear something?"
"Hear!" Joe blinked and noticed he could hear some kind of rumbling and...wait...is the ground shaking! Joe snapped around and felt a chill as if someone had dropped a bucket of cold water on him. But it wasn't the temperature but what was heading their way. A wall of black and white with giant horns! Monochromon!
"RUN!" Iori beat Joe in ordering.
"Already ahead of you!" Tomoki yelled as they headed parallel to the coming wall of massive horned tanks. Clouds of dust and the form of beasts were getting bigger, and the rumbling was getting louder.
Bigger!
Louder!
Earth shaking!
They jumped across a three feet gauge. Joe stumbled over some rocks but kept his balance. The wall of horned enraged black and white beasts passed them.
Joe's heart was drumming in his chest. "Yeah, just like the old times!"
"It's been years since I felt such a rush of adrenaline," Tomoki said. "Was exciting, though."
"We were almost trampled," Iori stated.
Tomoki shrugged, "Anyway, let's get back on our way." He turned to the D-tector, "It seems that Takuya and Izumi have Koji and Junpei along. Let's not make them wait!" He started following the directions with the same excitement.
Joe and Iori exchanged an exhausted look, sighed, and followed suit. It hadn't been more than fifteen minutes, and Joe was starting to get hungry. I shouldn't have skipped lunch. Iori was constantly keeping watch, and Tomoki was immersed in jubilation.
"How much further are they?"
"Ten minutes of walk, I guess," Tomoki replied, examining the D hologram. "Takuya, Izumi, Koji, and Junpei are heading our way. Koichi is a bit farther."
It appeared at least his friends were together. Joe hoped Taichi and the rest were also with them. He didn't want to end up with a bunch of strangers with just Iori. "Oh! A river!" Tomoki suddenly pointed. Joe's eyes followed his gaze. He could see a pale blue river wounding its way through the land. "Come to think of it, I am getting thirsty. Let's get some water, and maybe we can find some food." A grin broke across his face. A grin bordering on wickedness, "Maybe some interesting digimon too!"
"There might be a dangerous digimon?" Joe pointed out. Just because he was hungry and thirsty, he wouldn't stop thinking about possible ways the river could kill them. All the same, he knew firsthand how easily they could end up without a drop of water. It would be foolish to end up in trouble, hungry and thirsty. It wasn't like they wouldn't find dangerous digimon on the way.
Joe wiped the water from his mouth.
"I have this if you guys want some," Iori fished out some sandwiches from his bag. "I was going to eat them after kendo class."
"Thanks!" Tomoki replied as Joe started filling his bottle.
"So, how long have you been you a digidestined, Tomoki?" Iori asked as Tomoki slumped against the trunk of the tree.
"Digi...what?" Tomoki asked, arcing up an eyebrow.
Joe exchanged a bewildered glance with Iori. This boy wasn't a digidestined, then how come he knew about that world?
"How do you know about digiworld?" Joe asked in utter confusion.
"Well..." Tomoki avoided their gazes. Joe guessed that the younger boy wasn't sure if he should tell them, then spoke, coming to a conclusion, "First tell me how you guys know,"
"Well, it will take some explaining to do."
"We have a lot of time on the way," Tomoki replied and unwrapped a sandwich, "I missed this. It will be fun along the way."
"Yeah, as long as some crazy bug don't decide to attack us," Joe replied.
"It wouldn't be digiworld if that doesn't happen, would it."
Despite the problematic implications, a chuckle escaped Joe's mouth. This was as close to reality as it could get.
"At least we have some food," Iori said. "Though, it might amount to nothing in the long run." He added in a less optimistic tone.
"Well, there were times when we had nothing to eat. I can live with it. . .for a while at least."
"I can relate," Joe replied as the memories of getting stranded in a desert, hungry, flashed through his mind. Iori had never gone through that, so naturally, it would be harder for him. "Speaking of which, what will we do to get out of here?" As much as he loved digiworld, he did not want to get stranded here again.
"Maybe we will find a TV," Iori replied hopefully.
"TV!" Tomoki asked, arching his eyebrow once more.
Iori nodded, "We used to use them to get from digiworld to the human world."
Tomoki pouted and crossed his arms, "That's not fair! We were sent back and never told about anything again."
"How many are you?" Iori questioned. "I mean in your group."
"Six," Tomoki replied, crunched a chip, and then frowned and straightened up. "How did you guys survive in digiworld?"
"Why. we had our partners, of course." Iori's face took a sober look, "I miss them. Wonder when we will meet them."
"Partners? You mean guides?"
"No!" Joe replied. "That would be Gennai. Is that what you guys called your digimon partners?"
"Not sure if a partner is the same thing as the guide. Gennai doesn't sound like digimon. Besides, I doubt we could have survived with only Bokomon and Neemon around," Tomoki said. A solemn smile appeared on his face. "I miss them. Doesn't change the fact that they would be as useful in a fight as a twig in a typhoon. I wish we meet them somewhere."
"But that's only two," Iori pointed out. "Every digidestined has a partner each."
At this point, Tomoki seemed officially lost. "What are you talking about? Didn't you. . .wait! That voice..." Suddenly he broke into a run.
"Hey, wait for us!" Iori called after as he and Joe ran through some bushes. Joe could make out a figure in red among all the green and dark shadows of trees.
"I think I broke something!" A boy complained.
"Nothing to worry about. Braking your brain isn't gonna make much of a difference. It's usually malfunctioning anyway." It was a second boy who mocked.
"TAKUYA KOJI!" Tomoki called out aloud.
"Tomoki!" It was a brunette boy in a red shirt and green jeans. "Hey, buddy!"
"Guess what! I was almost trampled by a. . .what are they called again?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Monochromon!" Joe replied.
"Yeah, those!" Tomoki said as if he couldn't have been happier. "They are big dinosaurs with giant horns on their faces."
"And we were nearly barbecues over by a Meramon!" The boy in the red shirt replied with a grin across his face as if the prospect was the most appealing thing ever.
"This is so digimon!" Tomoki almost squealed with excitement.
"I see another one has adjusted well to the situation!" The big structured boy said a brunette, appearing from a thicket of the trees along with a blonde girl.
"You bet!" Tomoki exclaimed.
"I told you guys it was a bad idea to leave him alone with Kanbara for too long." A third black-haired boy complained to the big structured boy and the last member: a blonde girl.
A normal one! Joe took a sigh of relief.
"Excuse me!" Iori spoke, "You haven't seen someone else here have you?"
"You must be the one they were looking for!" The blonde girl said and looked over her shoulder. "They were just behind us. Oh, here they come!" A blonde followed by a brunette boy appeared from the thicket of trees and bushes.
"You guys are fast!" The blonde, Takeru, commented, dusting his clothes off the leaves. "Joe'san, Iori!"
"So you guys came as well!" Daisuke said, grinning from ear to ear.
"More like dumped here, but we did," Joe replied, eyeing them for any injury. "You guys alright? I heard you had a close call with a Meramon!"
"It was an accident, but we are fine," Takeru replied.
"That's good. I don't eve want to imagine what Yamato would have done if you were hurt!"
Takeru released a chuckle at Joe's comment.
"Well, lucky for you, I saved his butt!" Daisuke replied, puffing his chest out.
"Funny, I remember pulling you out of that groove!" Takeru replied in a dry tone.
Daisuke shot him a glare in frustration. "I could have done that myself!"
"You know Hikari isn't here, don't you? You can stop being so macho. It's not like it would have worked on her anyway."
Ouch! Joe winced.
Daisuke's face could have given a tomato a run for its redness. "I AM NOT BEING MACHO!"
"So the others aren't with you, I take it." Joe said, changing the subject successfully.
"No. But we met these guys along the way." Takeru glanced toward the second group.
Suddenly there was awkwardness. The two groups eyed each other warily, not knowing how to proceed. It was one thing to start talking with Tomoki alone. It was a whole other thing to initiate a conversation with five strangers. Joe was hoping Daisuke and Takeru would start something.
The black-haired guy, Koji, spoke and demanded first. "Well. . .out with it now. Who are you guys, really?"
Joe was suddenly reminded of Yamato, except ten times worse.
"This again! We told you there is no need to be so rude." The bulkier of the lot admonished, and the blonde girl stepped forward, introducing herself.
"I am Orimoto Izumi! Here is Shibuyama Junpei, Knabara Takuya and Minamoto Koji. Don't mind him. He is just a bit insecure of strangers."
Koji crossed his arms and looked away, annoyed. Clearly, he disagreed with the girl.
"And little screwed in his head!" Takuya added in a mocking tone.
"Look who is talking!" Koji scoffed.
"I guess you already know Himi Tomoki!" Izumi finished.
"Yeah. I got to know him very well," Joe replied dryly as he and Iori shared a knowing glance.
"I bet you did!" Junpei replied with a chuckle ruffling Tomokis's hair. "The kid is becoming a handful." Tomoki sent a glare his way.
"I am not a kid!" Tomoki growled.
"Well, I am Motomiya Daisuke, Hida Iori, Kido Joe'san, and here is nobody important enough!" Daisuke introduced, finally pointing at Takeru, who gave him a look.
"Can we go and find Koichi now!" Koji demanded his friends as if he had been holding that inside for quite a while.
"Koji, relax. Koichi can take care of himself better than us." Izumi replied.
Koji scoffed, clearly disagreeing with the answer. Suddenly his eyes narrowed, and he jerked his gaze toward his friends. "Do you hear that?"
Joe exchanged a questioning glance with Takeru. "What?"
Koji's looked toward the tree tops. "Something is coming!"
"What's coming?" Daisuke asked as his own gaze roamed the area.
"Wait! I hear it too!" Iori replied.
There was an ominous silence. The tension in the air was thick. Joe joined everyone as they subconsciously formed a circle. Even though the sun was high in the sky and the weather was warm, Joe could have sworn the temperature dropped by a few degrees. He gulped. Gomamon, I can really use some help right now!
After what were a few moments but felt like an hour, Takeru spoke. "Sounds like Kuwagamon!"
"Let me guess. It is a red bug that is too overgrown for even the Carboniferous period?" Takuya asked in a dry tone.
Joe blinked, amazed at such an accurate description. "Yeah!" He asked.
"How had you, of all people, know that word?" Koji asked in a suspicious tone.
"What do you mean 'me of all people'?" Takuya snapped. "I know stuff!"
Koji snorted.
"STOP SNORTING! A bunch of those are coming for us!"
Joe snapped his gaze to follow Takuya's and gulped. Three, no four, Kuwagamon were about to swoop down upon them in a minute or so. It seemed that, unlike the Monocromon, these Kuwagamon had a specific target.
"Alright, Tomoki, I will be honest here. None of us can digivolve. What about you?" Junpei asked.
"Funny! I can't either!" The youngest of the group replied, not the tiniest bit of fear in his tone.
"I guess we are in big trouble then, huh!" Junpei chuckled nervously.
"Digivolve! You guys?" Daisuke asked.
Joe was surprised Daisuke even noticed that bit. Honestly, he was too busy focusing on the approaching doom.
"We have to run! NOW!" Takuya shouted, ignoring the question.
Chaos ensued as nine teenagers sprinted through the woods. The disturbing buzz of Kuwagamon's approach rang louder in their ears.
To say Yamato didn't like going along with this would be an understatement. Granted, he didn't have much choice, what with having no way of contacting Takeru and being stranded in digiworld and surrounded by woods, it didn't mean he had to like this position.
"If Mimi was here, she would have hated this place," Sora said, carefully pushing away sharp leaves doted uncomfortably bright red. "How far do we have to go?"
"I am not sure," The stranger, Koichi, replied, looking over his shoulder. "I never used this functionality before," Koichi said, examining the globe hologram project by his digivice or detector as he called it. "But if I had to guess, I'd say we are close."
Yes: he didn't like it at all! They were blindly following a stranger! A boy who knew everything about digimons had a digivice while they had no information about him. The last time this happened, they ran into the digimon emperor. If the guy tricked them, it would be a piece of cake for him to lead them into a trap in this place. His sight was limited by all the trees, thickets, and shrubs. Anything could be hiding around here and snap on them like lightning. The whole situation was putting him on edge.
"What choice do we have but to go with him!" Sora had argued.
If only! They had no leads to their friends, and this boy seemed to know where he was going. There was a chance the rest of the group was with the boy's friends, and Yamato was worried enough about Takeru to go along. He released a sigh.
"D-terminal is still not working," Hikari said as she placed the device in his pocket. She jumped over a massive sickly black and brown log of woods.
"It seems like the whole place is some kind of electronic dead zone," Koshiro replied as he turned off his tablet. "Only our digivices seem to be working."
"I guess we can only hope this leads us to find others," Taichi said in a frustrated tone. "So you were in digiworld before the digimons invaded our world, right?" He asked the raven-haired stranger.
"Yes!"
"And you also have a black digivice!"
Yamato raised an eyebrow. Guess I am not the only one who is wary.
Taichi grinned. "Funny! That reminds me of someone. Doesn't it, guys? I am only mentioning the resemblance, Hikari. No offense to Ken! I swear!"
Hikari was giving Taichi a withering glare. "We are not blind to the resemblance, big brother!" Her tone was clipped.
True to her word, there was so much resemblance. Koichi was just as soft-spoken as Ken. Kind and a bit on the shy type. But it was these things that actually made Yamato warier. Taichi had made his point. Black digivice! Unknown digidestined. They better be on guard. Yamato stared at the raven-haired boy with mid curiosity and suspicions. Koichi Kimura! The only thing they knew about this boy was that he was in the same school as Hikari and Takeru and was a digidestined. "Don't remember seeing your friends during that crisis!" Yamato questioned.
Koichi didn't reply for several moments. Perhaps after realizing that others were waiting for his response, he spoke, "It's a bit complicated. o did fight in digiworld, right?" That was the end of it.
Yamato raised an eyebrow. The boy didn't want to talk about it?
"So who is your partner d. . .!" Hikari broke off as the shouts of several different people came from ahead, followed by said people: stumbling over fallen branches and overgrown vegetation.
"It's them!" Koshiro said.
"Hey, guys! What's up?"
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! RUN!" A bulky brunette boy yelled.
"What's going. . .Oh!"Taichi exclaimed as a swarm of giant red bugs appeared, destroying trees in their wake. "Ooh! I guess that's our cue. RUN!" Taichi didn't have to order; everyone was already on their heels.
"Why is it always Kuwagamon?" Sora asked.
"They seem to be one constant of our lives, don't they?" Taichi asked.
"I thought we told you to stop finding trouble, Takuya!" Koichi asked a brunette.
"You are a fine one to speak!" The brunette, Takuya, retorted back. "Besides, it's not my fault this time. I bet they smelled your brother dear's unpleasant stench or something."
Yamato looked over his shoulder as Kuwagamons were barraging through the forest canopy as he heard someone, probably Koji, retort something to Takuya about always ending in a fistfight and then yelling.
"EVERYONE DUCK!"
Yamato lunged and threw himself and his brother on the earth. A giant shadow passed over him. "You alright, Takeru!"
"Yes!"
"Man, digiworld is in dire need of pest control," Takuya commented as he scrambled to his feet. "Bug sure gets way over their allowed sizes here!"
"I am right here!" The bulkier of the lot from the strangers complained back.
Taichi was pulling Hikari to her feet. "Come on, guys; we gotta move!" He said and pulled his sister along.
Hikari said something about her digivice and someone was yelling at something called detector to do something. Unfortunately, Yamato didn't have time to pay attention to it as he was busy looking over his shoulder to ensure everyone was on their toes. "Faster, Joe!" Yamato said.
"I am doing my best but I doubt we can just outrun them for long!"
Yamato had to agree as they all barely managed to scramble away from Kuwagamon. by rushing in the direction where trees were denser and sound of wood splintering and branches falling came from behind as the red bugs smashed through the trees.
"Any ideas, Junpei!" The blonde girl asked the bulkier brunette.
"We can hide easily in the forest," Junpei suggested.
"There is no point. Kuwagamon can sense us with their antennas." Koshuro replied.
"I am not even gonna ask how you know that!" The brunette boy from the other group said. "Just tell me how to get rid of them?"
Koshiro looked at his digivice as its screen glowed in purple, "I might be able to do something but I will need time."
"Let's lead them away from Koshiro!" Taichi ordered.
The boy with the ponytail, Koji, said as he locked his elbow with Koichi to stop him from falling on his face. "Whatever you are doing, make it fast!"
"Thanks, Koji!" Koichi said, getting a bearing on his foot.
Everyone split up from Koshiro in hopes that the Kuwagamon would follow the majority. It appeared as if they did! Yamato cursed as the earth turned into a slippery slope. He almost tripped over, only for Sora and Takeru to grab him.
"Everyone, be carefull or you will fall!" Sora warned out.
"No shit sherlock!" Takuya said.
"I have a feeling we manage to find ourselves another trouble maker!"
"ABOVE US!" Iori yelled as a shadow grew overhead and blocked the sun.
Yamato swore! They had run into a relatively open area, and Kuwagamons swooped down upon them from the sky. Yamato jumped away, dodging a pair of pincers. Pain shot through the left side of his head, and his vision turned blurry. He was pulled up by his arm as he heard Takeru calling Sora to help Joe. As the pain subsided, he looked around.
"Come on Joe'san!" Sora said, helping the older boy up. The four, Iori and some from the other group, sprung in a different direction, avoiding the falling branches.
When Taichi imagined being back in digiworld, he always had a yellow dinosaur digimon. For some reason, the red bug, pincers in front of their faces, were missing from his daydreams. Funny how the human mind works! Now all those daydreams were suddenly replaced by real memories from years back and scenarios that would probably occur in the future if they survived. Agumon! He glanced at Hikari, her wrist still in his firm grip. No! We will live through this. Koshiro will come up with something.
"Say. . .!" Koichi asked from somewhere behind him, "Will your will really be able to do smething?"
Despite all his reservations, there was something about Koichi that told Taichi he could be trusted, "Yeah!" Hurry up, Koshiro! "I trust Koshiro with our lives. He won't let us down."
"I wonder where Ken and Miyoko are!" Daisuke said.
"Let's hope they are, okay," Hikari said.
"Not now!" Takuya moaned as the tree line thinned significantly a few feet ahead.
"WATCH OUT!"
Taichi flung himself, taking Hikari with him, shielding her with his back as logs came raining down. White hot pain shot through his left leg, "AGH!" Taichi screamed. He heard someone calling his name but couldn't think much of it. After a few minutes, he got his bearings and opened his eyes. A blurry face of Hikari was looming overhead as she was calling his name frantically. "Are you alright?" He moaned.
Hikari nodded, "I am fine but your leg. . ."
Taichi raised his head and noticed his right leg locked under a fallen branch. Taichi hoped his leg wasn't broken, "Hikari, run!"
"Don't be an idiot! I am not leaing you!" Hikari snapped as she tried to lift the piece of wood.
Taichi's gaze searched for Kuwagamon and found the two red bugs attacking others, "Hikari your have to. . ."
"NO!"
"HIKARI!"
"HIKARI, TAICHI!" It was Daisuke. The brunette came running and helped Hikari lift the heavy wood. Taichi moved his leg and groaned as a sharp pain shot through his leg. "Taichi'san!" Daisuke pulled Taichi's arm around his shoulder, and Hikari did with the other.
"We have to get him to s. . ." Hikari broke off as a figure blocked the open space in the canopy.
Taichi's eyes widened, and a chill ran down his spine seeing the red bug looming over. His hand reached out his digivice only to remember that it was useless. Any time this minute Koshiro! Taichi suffed back, back, wrapping an arm around Hikari, ignoring the pain and further back! Kuwagamon swooped down. "Koshiro! AGUMON!"
Koji constantly whined about how Tomoki had become too much like Takuya. Tomoki could see where the colder twin was coming from. This idea of running away from danger wasn't sitting right with him. But this situation was more than Koji understood! Tomoki shouldn't be getting bullied like this now, especially in the digiworld. Tomoki gritted his teeth in frustration as he looked over his shoulder. Kuwagamon dashed down. He jumped. One foot on a massive log and Tomoki lost his footing.
The word was a blur as sky and canopy shfited positions with earth and then back. Waves of pain flooded Tomoki's body. He groaned and coughed out dirt and vegetation. He lay on his back for several moments. Someone was calling his name, but the pain had overwhelmed his mind. Only when someone pulled his arm did he get a hold of his surroundings.
"Come on!" Iori said as he pulled Tomoki up. "Can you move on your own?"
"I. . .yes! What about everyone else! IZUMI, MOVE!" Tomoki sighed in relief as Izumi pulled the orange-haired girl along.
"There is a river over there! Oh no! Tomoki, Iori!" The blonde Takeru exclaimed, horrified.
"You have to run!" Junpei yelled as he, Yamato, and Takeru were backed by Kuwagamon.
Tomoki turned toward the river just a short distance ahead and watched in frustration as a red lobster-like creature appeared out of the water. Huge claws and teeth that might be able to pierce through steel.
"Ebidramon!" Iori whispered.
"First Kuwagamon, and now this!"
Iori was brandishing an impressively straight piece of wood. Wherever he found that! Tomoki didn't have the desire or time to find out and no time to run. The red crustacean charged at them with surprising speed. Iori brandished the staff. The next moment there was only half of it. Tomoki's hand shot out for his detector. The damn thing will have to work! It wasn't in his pocket! Tomoki gasped as panic started filling in. Where is that damned thing? His eyes roamed everywhere. There! The gleam of the sun on the screen.
"Move!" Iori ordered as he pulled Tomoki along. The next moment, something hit them both from behind and sent them crashing.
Tomoki coughed out water. His whole body was drenched. It seemed that his mind had decided to go numb to the pain for now. Tomoki ignored the voices calling his name and reached his hand out for the detector.
"TOMOKI, GET UP!" Izumi shouted.
"COME ON! KUMAMON! WAKE UP NOW!" A cold crystal shard burst out of the detector in his hand. Tomoki curled his fingers around the icy crystal. Suddenly there were glows of different colors in his peripheral vision. The crystal shattered in Tomoki's hand, leaving behind a detector with a symbol on the screen.
Note: Read&Rview!