I don't own digimon.

Story 64

Burger Time!

Burgermon stared about the parking lot he was standing in. As places to be dropped down into, there were definitely worse places to end up. Especially without anything in the way of making a burger. That couldn't do in the slightest. No, he would just need to find the ingredients and make some to sell. It would be just like old times! Or at least, something resembling old times. Labor laws were bound to get in the way of setting up a streetside hamburger stand of sorts. That, and probably fo-

"Burgermon?" a voice called out and Burgermon spun around. Floating in front of him was Bakemon of all digimon. Carrying a little lawyer briefcase, a woman stood beside him. Dressed in a white blouse with a dark blue pencil skirt, she paired it up with gray leggings and tennis shoes. Moving up to her face, Burgermon was met with locks of brunette hair framed by hazel eyes and triangular earrings.

"It's been too long!" Burgermon announced, waiting a moment for his friend to float down. Once Bakemon had, that provided the perfect opportunity for a hug. Taking care to not hit Bakemon's briefcase, the gesture was well appreciated by the ghost digimon. Letting go a couple seconds later, Burgermon's focus shifted to Bakemon's human. "And who might you be?"

Lisa let out a chuckle.

"I'm Lisa, Bakemon's partner and helper." Lisa greeted and Burgermon nodded. While he couldn't remember whether or not Bakemon had ever talked about her, the burger digimon chalked it up to the number of digimon he had served over the years. He had probably forgotten more information related to his customers than most digimon would learn in their lifetimes. A shame that most of that information was in no way useful and instead possibly dangerous to know. Just one of the many joys of being a cook.

"I've been back for a little bit. How have you been since the last time that I saw you, Burgermon?" Bakemon inquired, the trio taking the time to transition off of the pavement of the parking lot and over to the sidewalk.

"Pretty good, minus the part of waking up on this side." Burgermon announced and gazed around the surrounding area. A bunch of large, tall buildings had been clustered together in this decent-sized area. Nothing in the way of a burger place. Those were all probably closer to a main street or near an entrance/exit to a highway. They were likely not near either of those things at the moment, sadly. Unless this was somehow a weirdly small town. Burgermon doubted it. Too easy, in his book. No, his partner was bound to have chosen a town where she could stretch her limbs and get the most out of the opportunities offered here. For now, the burger digimon let that thought fade away. Turning back to Lisa and Bakemon, a smile formed on his face.

"How has the legal business been for you?" Burgermon announced and Bakemon floated down slightly. Taking care to remain above the ground, that still let him shake his friend's hand for good measure.

"Pretty good. Currently on a major case involving Lilithmon of all people." Bakemon announced and Burgermon's hat nearly fell off. Grabbing it at the last moment, he took care to put it back on his head. Getting it all snug, he continued walking on.

"As in the... Lilithmon?" the burger digimon announced and got a nod from his lawyer friend. There was just no way. Bakemon had his fair share of high profile clients in the digital world. But the Demon Lord of Lust felt a touch too out here. She was bound to have a team of highly qualified lawyers more than capable of solving whatever legal problems Lilithmon might have… unless none of them were in the Human World. In that case, it was still odd for a demon lord to specifically seek out someone like Bakemon. Had to be quite a high value case. "Is there anything that you can disclose to me?"

Bakemon and Lisa shook their heads. While they could sort of understand why Burgermon would want to know, that didn't change the fact that telling him anything would be in clear violation of the agreement they had signed with their client.

"We've been over this more times than I can count, Burgermon. Attorney-client privilege." Bakemon announced as they turned to the right. Continuing down the sidewalk, Burgermon did his best to ignore his friend's statement. Yes, he was very much aware of that concept. But that wouldn't stop him from at least trying to pry some information from the ghost digimon. Maybe after a juicy burger or three he would be more willing to talk about. Maybe. It all hinged on the variety of burger ingredients he could get his hands on. Which meant having to wait until they reached Lisa's home. Or an apartment. As long as he had access to a source of heat and a pan, there was very little to stop him when it came to making burgers. They might be not the best burgers, but they would still be good for the human tongue. For now, Burgermon let that thought fade and turned his attention back to Bakemon.

"Hey. Can't blame a digimon for at least trying here." Burgermon announced and was met with an eye roll from the ghost digimon. For as much as things seemed to change, some things remained the same as they always had.

"Is he always like that?" Lisa whispered and Bakemon nodded. Part of him had wanted to lie on that front, but it wouldn't have done anything. No, probably get him a look from her. So he let that thought fade and a new one take its place.

"You should be asking when he isn't like this." Bakemon answered and Burgermon shot him a look. While that was true, it did feel a touch on the rude side. He would let it slide, but the burger digimon was more than willing to prove his friend wrong on that front. Already he was thinking of ways to do that. But they all involved burgers, which would look incredibly suspicious. Pushing that thought to the backburner, his attention turned back ahead. Leaving the city center proper for the suburbs, Burgermon swore he could make out a tall armored angel figure. But his eyes had to be tricking him here. There was no way someone of that size, stature and evilness was there. No, probably just someone

"If you're looking at the Ophanimon Falldown Mode in the distance, she is very much real. Even got on the news after a volcdramon of all digimon terrorized an office building and she tried to hug it." Lisa explained and Burgermon froze. There was no way she was telling the truth. This all had to be some kind of strange misdirection in order to hide some kind of surprise. At least, Burgermon hoped it was. While stories of a digimon like Ophanimon Falldown Mode had never come up, it wouldn't surprise him that he just forgot about it. Yeah, that was probably it. Just to be on the safe side, that didn't stop him from waiting for Bakemon or Lisa to shout something along the lines of 'fooled you!'. But that moment didn't come. Instead, silence fell over the pair. That was all Burgermon needed to see here.

"Any other fun stories about this 'Ophanimon Falldown Mode' or is she the sort that keeps to herself?" Burgermon inquired and got a sigh from Bakemon. Looking in the direction of Ophani for just a moment, the armored angel digimon remained in place. Turning back to Burgermon, a shrug followed.

"There was something at the school, but details have been sparse." Bakemon explained as they came to a crosswalk. Taking the time to look both ways, they were met with slow-moving cars doing their best to notice the trio. Coming to a stop, Burgermon and company crossed over. Even with the cars stopping, the burgermon did have a little trouble getting to the other side. But that could be chalked up to his short stature and totally not the wind deciding now was a good time to throw his bun hat off. Grabbing it before the apparel was blown into a car, Burgermon still waited until they reached the other side to fit it back on his head. The last thing they needed was him getting hit by a car because he decided to dawdle in the middle of a crosswalk. Especially before being able to cook any burgers for Lisa and Bakemon.

"Phew." Burgermon whispered, the trio taking an opportunity to step off to the side. There, Burgermon got his hat back on. Making extra certain to get it on snug, he gave it a tap to boot. If it somehow came off again, the only person he had to blame was himself here. Simple as that. "Would it be wrong of me to assume that it isn't much further to our destination?"

Lisa nodded and reached down to Burgermon's hand. Grabbing hold, all that accomplished was lifting him up into the air and pulling the burger digimon along. While not the most ideal situation to find himself in, Burgermon didn't mind. Did beat walking ever so slightly, but not by much.

"Yeah. Just a little bit further. Do you want to walk with us or is this good enough for you?"

Burgermon stared down at the ground. Even from his elevated position at Lisa's side, the question went through one ear and out the other. No, his thoughts had turned elsewhere. More specifically, to his own partner. She was always a big eater, even in the face of her condition. He could only hope that things worked out and their paths would cross in a timely manner. If not, then the burger digimon could only wonder when that moment might come. "Burgermon?"

Burgermon looked up to Lisa. Realizing that she had just asked him a question, his demeanor changed ever so slightly.

"Uh… this works till we get to your home. Have you gotten in touch with Paya as of late?" Burgermon inquired and Lisa brought her free hand up to her chin. When was the last time she had spoken to the foodie? Had to be right before Bakemon had appeared. While the actual conversation

"Not really. I've been busy helping Bakemon through the hoops of getting his digital world law license recognized as an official license to do bar and the other legal activities that came with such a license." Lisa explained as she slowed her pace ever so slightly. Shifting her grip on Burgermon, it provided the perfect opportunity to get a look at her abode. Unchanged even after the amount of money that had been thrust upon them by Lilithmon, Lisa couldn't really see a reason to change that. Not until her child had grown up. Then, it would be a time for the trio to seek bigger, greener pastures. Burying that thought for now, Lisa transitioned off the sidewalk and onto the path leading up to the porch. Setting Burgermon down, he took a moment to get his hat back on snug. Just in case. "Also, I adopted a kid. While it helps to have friends who are more than capable babysitters, it's still a struggle."

Now at the door, Lisa wasted little time in pushing it open. Inside, a college student was trying her hardest to entertain what appeared to be a young boy. Beside the woman, stood a large teddy bear. Charred fur on full display, what few places weren't showed much signs of wear and/or attempts by people to kill it. A replacement eye hung within their left socket, while someone's attempt at fixing their muzzle was on full display here. Definitely an attempt by the college student here.

"Hi Layla. Hi Monzaemon." Lisa greeted and the pair looked at Burgermon. Staring for a couple seconds, Burgermon didn't know where to put his gaze. Eventually settling upon splitting his gaze between, the words refused to come to him. Was actually kind of annoying. These were new people more than willing to get to know him. Perhaps one of them might have some kind of information when it comes to finding Paya. While unlikely, there was always a chance.

"I'm Burgermon. It's a pleasure to meet you." Burgermon greeted and Layla scooped him up. Holding the burger digimon up to Monzaemon's level, Burgermon got a quick examination. Then it's right back down.

"Oh right. You're the burger guy." Monzaemon greeted and squatted down. Charred hand outstretched, Burgermon took the time to shake it. Then it's back to Lisa. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Burgermon got his thoughts in order.

"Would you mind if I cooked up some burgers for all of you while you try to get in touch with Paya?" he inquired and Lisa nodded. Pointing in the direction of the kitchen, the burger digimon headed off. Humming a tune to himself, he tried his best to hold in his excitement. For something that didn't look likely initially, things were looking up.

As kitchens went, Lisa's was alright. By no means on the same level as the one he was using in the Digital World, that was a heartless comparison to make. Of course that one would always be better. The luxuries of the Digital World provided much in the way of options. All of which at a cheap enough price that one could actually afford in a reasonable timescale. Here, that just wasn't possible. At least, not on the scale that Burgermon wanted it to be. Nonetheless, he headed over to the fridge. Looking around for the handle, he eventually found a groove on the side and grabbed hold. Pulling the fridge open, Burgermon found himself now hanging from said groove. Jumping back down, care was taken to prevent the fridge from closing on him and knocking the burger digimon out. Once that had been accomplished, Burgermon stared into the fridge. All the essentials were there, with a bunch of jars of baby food thrown in good measure. Moving his gaze to the lower half, Burgermon pulled a drawer out. There, a tube of ground-up beef stared back. Pushing his head further in to see if there was any more, Burgermon came up empty. Nonetheless, he picked the tube of ground beef up and closed the drawer. Setting it on the floor for now, the burger digimon returned to looking through the fridge. Eventually finding a head of lettuce, he managed to pull it down. A small bag of tomatoes came right after. That was more than enough to make the most basic of burgers. Minus spices and seasonings, of course. That would require looking through Lisa's cupboards. Which might require a touch of assistance from someone with a taller stature. In retrospect, perhaps it would have been best to have asked someone to assist him on this front. Oh well. The rest should be easy to do without a human's assistance. At least, that was what Burgermon told himself as he managed to grab the ketchup, mustard and pickles. Couldn't forget the last one. Was it really a burger without pickles? Probably was and he needed to expand his horizons. There were bound to be whole flavor palettes that didn't involve pickles out there and he was going to need to step out of his comfort zone in order to find out. Nonetheless, Burgermon scooped the ingredients up. Looking for something that he could use here, his gaze eventually fell upon a stray chair. Heading over, care was taken to pull it over to a nearby counter. Then came the hard part - actually jumping up from the floor and onto the chair's seat. Which would be followed by the equally challenging task of jumping up to the counter proper. Gritting his teeth, Burgermon took a couple steps back. He had at most one shot at this before Lisa and/or Layla ran in to see what happened. While the help getting up to the counter sounded nice, they probably didn't want to help him every time he needed to get either to the floor or the counters. Let alone with the cupboards either. No, it was best the burger digimon did his best to get over this obstacle in order to make the best burgers imaginable. Charging forward, he jumped mere inches away from the chair. Gaining a couple inches of height, that was all he needed in order to get up onto the chair's seat. Staring up at his final destination, the realization of height left to clear forced a gulp out of Burgermon.

"Burgermon, is everything alright?" Lisa announced as she scrambled into the kitchen. Eyes locked onto the burger digimon, a sigh escaped her lips. "Would you like some help getting up to the counter?"

Burgermon nodded. Figures that would be what drove someone into the kitchen to see what he was doing. As much as he wanted to say no, it would only draw further suspicion on himself.

"Yes." Burgermon whimpered and Lisa lifted him off the chair. Setting him on the counter, that was her cue to grab the hamburger buns as well. Pulling his gaze away, Burgermon set his ingredients down and turned his attention to the cupboards above him. By no means labeled, one of them was bound to have what he needed. Though, this problem could be easily solved by way of Lisa. Now holding the buns, she set them in front of the burger digimon. "Lisa, which one of your cabinets has salt and pepper in it?"

Lisa looked up at her cabinets. Opening one to the upper left of Burgermon, out came the titular salt and pepper. Handing them to Burgermon, the pair's attention shifted to the stove. Right next to Burgermon, the only thing missing was a frying pan. Thankfully, the pair didn't need to look far for one. Setting it down on the stove, Lisa took the time to get a cutting board out as well. Handing the board to Burgermon, she watched him set it in front of him.

"Is that everything you need, Burgermon?" Lisa continued and watched Burgermon open up the tube of ground beef. Separating the meat out into balls, those would need to be seasoned before being flattened. Was kind of hypnotic to her eyes.

"Yeah. How have you been at least, Lisa?" the burger digimon answered and watched his subject look away. Turning his attention back to his beef balls, he got to work seasoning them. By the time that he was done with that, Lisa should have her thou-

"I came out as ace to my parents and friends." Lisa announced and Burgermon stared at her. While he didn't quite comprehend what the legal assistant was talking about here, it sounded good. He was all for good things happening to the friends of Paya.

"I'm happy to hear that." Burgermon answered and smushed the balls into patties. Looking them over, he seasoned them one more time. Just in case. "I'm guessing that kid is yours?"

Lisa nodded.

"Yeah. I guess that isn't the oddest thing in the world - a woman not interested in a sexual relationship adopting a child, but it's probably up there." she continued as Burgermon set the patties onto the stove. Reaching over to the dials, the utmost care was taken to turn them on. Once they were, Lisa handed him a spatula. Burgermon accepted the gift and shifted his attention to the burgers. Staring for a couple seconds, his gaze returned to Lisa

"Not really? There's bound to be tons of people like you." Burgermon answered and flashed a thumbs-up. Attention swiveling back to the burgers, he moved one ever so slightly. This was perhaps the least interesting part of the process. Just watching meat cook and then flipping it when it was ready. As activities went, there were a variety of other things the burger digimon would much rather be doing here than this. But considering that the burgers wouldn't cook otherwise, he was more than happy to get through it for the stuff he actually cared about. Like actually plating the burgers and serving them to customers. They always had the nicest expressions on their faces when he served them. Sometimes he would just let them talk. Feelings of loss over their partners, frustrations of not being there when the world would've needed them most. The joys of a recently broken record and then the anticipation of the training to get even stronger and achieve that new goal. Perhaps this meal would just be like that in some capacity. Would serve as a nice transition point for everything. But the burger digimon wasn't holding his breath in that regard. No, he would take the interactions he got with a smile and not throw a fit. Flipping the burgers over, the burger digimon began humming a tune to himself. By no means memorable or really needed here, it felt quite nice. Especially once Lisa began humming along for good measure. Not half bad in his book, helping ever so slightly when it came to the burgers cooking.

"Is there anything that you want on your burger, Lisa?" Burgermon announced and brought a swift end to the near-silence hanging over the room. Lisa's gaze swiveled over to him, a hand getting raised to her chin right after.

"Probably just ketchup and mustard." Lisa answered as Burgermon turned off the heat. Watching the flames dissipate below the pan, Lisa set a plate down beside the burger digimon. Waiting a moment for him to notice, she was met with a thumbs-up.

"Thank you." Burgermon answered and grabbed the hamburger buns. Opening them up, the hamburgers were set down within. Once he had done that, Burgermon did up Lisa's just like she had told him. "Here you go."

Handing the burger over, Burgermon grabbed the plate and the condiments. Carefully jumping down, he made his way out of the kitchen and into the living room. Setting the plate down on a nearby coffee table, the burger digimon didn't need to wait long for everyone to approach. Part of him had hoped that Paya would be in the crowd, but that was not the case.

"Thank you, Burgermon." Bakemon announced and Burgermon nodded. Looking at the door, feelings of anxiety surged across his body. Any moment now it would happen. She would come through that door dressed in a stupid outfit, maybe with an equally groan-worthy pun to boot. That was the Paya he kn-

"Let me slide right in!" a voice called out and the front door opened up, revealing a woman dressed in a hamburger costume. Hamburger-styled glasses hung by her forehead, making the locks of brown hair with red and yellow tips all the odder. "There's my little slider! Come to the chef!"

Burgermon ran over and accepted the hug from Paya.