The heat seemed worse than before, and they were practically praying for a single cool breeze.
"Poor Koromon…he doesn't look too good…" Leo noted.
"Everything feels fine up here!" Tokomon chirped, sitting atop Mikey's head.
"Next time I ride…"
Palmon looked up.
"I wish I could become a giant cactus and give everyone cool refreshing shade!"
Palmon had a dreamy look on her face as Gio gave her a strange look.
"…You've been out in the sun too long…"
Everyone looked ahead, and froze. Towering above them like a skyscraper from New York, was a giant cactus.
"…SHADE!!!!"
They ran forward, eager for shade, but they stopped when the shade disappeared and the cactus followed suit.
"It was a mirage!" Rach griped, smacking her forehead.
Everyone fell on their behinds in defeated exhaustion when a strange device made itself known, Gennai appearing as a hologram before them.
"Gennai!!"
Don sat up, trying not to fall over.
"It's been a while. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show!"
Leo sat up, holding Koromon tight.
"You said if we found the tags and crests, they'd HELP! But poor Koromon is worse than before!"
"Maybe you haven't been caring for him properly."
"I did the best I could!" Leo defended.
"It's not the crest's fault. You must find all of them to gain their full power."
His connection broke off, and Raph growled in frustration.
"How are we suppose' ta know how ta care fer ya if no one tells us how!"
Mikey looked at Tokomon with sad baby blue eyes.
"If I haven't been caring for you right…you know I didn't mean to…right?"
"Of course! I know you just want to help."
Elisa looked up at the clouds.
"All we can do is care for them and love them…kind of like how our parents took care of us…"
She smiled sweetly.
"So I guess we're doing something right."
Gio tensed, hearing a noise in the distance.
"What's that?"
Everyone turned, straining to hear, when a cruise ship appeared on the sand…heading straight for them…
"MOVE!!!!"
They all jumped out of the way in time, and the large ship dropped anchor beside them.
A Numemon in a sailor suit looked out at them.
"Hey! Can we come onboard and freshen up?"
The Numemon didn't seem inclined, so Gio stepped forward, giving Leo a reassuring smile.
"Hey, big boy. Mind if we come up and see your ship?"
Big green eyes, adorable pout, and the shy fidgeting had its desired effect, leaving the Digimon love-struck.
When the gangway was let down, Gio smiled, and Rach high-three'd her older sister.
"Yes! Girl power rules!"
They all went onto the deck, looking around in awe.
"I'm heading to the pool!" Rach exclaimed, grabbing Gomamon and running off.
"Maybe a little relaxing in the pool won't hurt…" Leo noted, following her with Koromon.
"I'm gonna go take a shower. What about you, El?"
She nodded, and both girls headed off with their Digimon to the showers.
Raph looked around a moment.
"…I say we eat."
And all three turtles went to the dining hall…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leo was lying on a floatie in the pool, Rach sitting on the edge, wetting her feet. Gomamon seemed happy enough floating around near her, and Koromon was in the shade of an umbrella with the two crests.
"…What do you think the crest meanings are for?"
Rach shrugged.
"I don't know…I'm still surprised I got the Crest of Reliability…" She admitted.
"Then we're on the same boat, huh?"
Though Rach understood the metaphor, she was about to pry further when a net lashed around her, another restraining the blue-banded turtle.
"Gomamon!!"
"Marching Fishes!"
The fish knocked a net away from the Digimon, and Rach turned around.
"Numemon!!"
A few headed for Koromon and the crests, making Leo panic.
"Koromon!!!"
"Koromon, Digivolve to…AGUMON!!"
Agumon jumped out of the shade.
"Pepper Breath!"
The Numemon were knocked away, and the turtles struggled in the netting.
"Kokatorimon!!"
Gomamon came out of the water, and the large chicken-like Digimon smirked.
"Petrifier!"
Smokey grey eyes widened when her Digimon partner was turned to stone and Kokatorimon grabbed the two crests.
"Just like sitting ducks!"
Rach nearly growled, but she was still shaken.
'Gomamon…are ya okay?'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Blue Blaster!"
"Super Shocker!"
"Bubble Blow!"
The Numemon were knocked back, and Raph smirked cockily.
"We got 'em good, didn't we?"
They looked up when a large, chicken-like Digimon came into the doorway, stopping hastily.
"Who's that?"
"It's Kokatorimon!" Tokomon answered his partner.
"Petrifier!"
The three Digimon were turned to store, and Mikey nearly cried out.
Raph glared, and Don looked at the two crests in his hands.
"He already went through Rach and Leo!"
Mikey felt tears in his eyes.
'Rach…Leo…are you guys okay?'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It felt good when the steamy water hammered on her shell, and Gio smiled slightly.
Her sensei called her 'her little flower' because she could never seem to go very far without some kind of liquid.
Elisa seemed relaxed as well, her eyes closed and shoulders relaxed.
"So…what do you think of Don, El?"
Rosy pink eyes opened to look curiously at soft green.
"He's smart and sweet…he's really nice…"
"So you like him?"
Elisa blushed, shying her eyes away.
"Maybe…I think…"
Gio smiled.
"I'm glad for you, sis."
"…What do you think about Leo?"
Gio sighed, a small smile on her face.
"Yeah, I like him. No need to use my own trick against me."
"Guys?"
Elisa poked her head out to look at Biyomon.
"What is it, Biyo?"
"Kokatorimon's coming! We've got to move!"
Gio sighed, looking around as she grabbed a towel.
"Let's go, El."
Elisa grabbed her own towel, following her sister out the bathroom window with Biyomon and Palmon. They ran as silently as they could, leaving a trail of water behind them.
"Where do you think YOU'RE going?"
The two turtles, now wearing the towels they'd gotten, turned to see a large chicken-like Digimon behind them.
"He's got Leo and Rach's crests!"
Gio glared after El's statement, knowing her sister was hiding behind her.
"What have you done with the others?!" She demanded.
"Let's just say there's nothing like little sun-baked faces for dinner!"
"You get them down before I go over there and kick your sorry butt!"
Palmon stepped between them.
"Be careful, Gio! This is Kokatorimon!"
"He'll be a chicken dinner when I'M through with him!"
"Petrifier!"
"AHHHHHH!!!"
They ran, dodging the attack.
"This isn't funny!!! Now I'm being chased by a giant chicken!!!"
They were soon on the front deck, and they were forced to stop.
"That's it! No more Ms. Nice Turtle!"
Gio looked at Palmon, gripping her Digivice.
"Go get him!"
"Palmon, Digivolve to…TOGEMON!!"
Elisa turned to Biyomon.
"G-Go get him, Biyo…"
Biyomon nodded.
"Biyomon, Digivolve to…BIRDRAMON!!"
Togemon raised her fist, jumping towards Kokatorimon.
"Light Speed Jabbing!"
"Meteor Wing!"
Kokatorimon fell back from the blows.
"Needle Spray!"
"Finish him off, Togemon!!" Gio cheered.
Togemon gave a sharp uppercut, and Kokatorimon flew into a smoke stack. The Numemon abandoned ship, and they went to get the others.
They were on a net above the pool, and the two girls were relieved that the Digimon were no longer made of stone.
Gio started untying Rach, but the net swayed, and everyone fell.
"…Ow…"
Gio blushed when she found Leo had landed on top of her, and Elisa did the same when she found Don had fallen on her. Mikey, Rach, and Raph had landed in a pile next to them.
Once everything was straightened out, leaving six blushing turtles, they got off the ship and kept walking through the desert.
It was even hotter, if that was possible, and they were panting from the heat soon.
"…Ya know what…I hate the desert more than the ocean…" Rach stated, Gomamon on her shell.
"…What's that sound?"
Everyone turned around at Mikey's statement, and their eyes widened in panic.
The cruise ship was racing straight at them!
"RUN!!!!!!!!"
They pushed themselves as fast as they could, but they couldn't move faster than a CRUISE SHIP.
"Look! The cactus!" Raph shouted as the green plant came into view.
"Get behind it!" Don ordered, pulling Elisa behind it as the others followed.
The cruise ship hit the cactus, making it bend back, but it went upright with a snap, sending the cruise ship high into the air, where it safely exploded.
"Whoa…this is one BIG cactus…" Gio stated, looking up at the large bud on top of the large, spiky green plant.
When it bloomed, her eyes widened when she saw the stone tablet come out, a symbol carved into it.
"A crest?"
Her tag glowed light green, levitating forward, and the tablet came towards her, glowing and growing smaller until it fit itself perfectly into the gold tag.
"…Whoa…"
"It's the Crest of Sincerity…"
Gio looked at Palmon, nodding.
'Sincerity…I wonder why I got sincerity…'