The walk was quiet, a bit uncomfortable, but Raph hardly noticed.
"I wonder what my crest will be…"
Mikey perked.
"Maybe it's the Crest of Meanness."
THAT earned the orange-banded turtle a smack upside the head…
Leo and Agumon were getting farther and farther ahead, but no one noticed.
"Bet Ell got the Crest of Shyness." Rach teased with a joking smirk, making Elisa blush.
"It could be something unexpected. Like YOUR crest, Rach." Gio added in.
"HEY!!!!"
Leo noticed the others had almost completely stopped, and turned around.
"What's the hold up?"
"Nothing! We're coming!" Mikey replied a moment before Kuwagamon struck.
Leo grabbed hold of it jaws when it came through the sand beneath him and his partner, and was flung to the sand.
"LEO!!!!"
"Pepper Breath!"
The attack had little effect, however, and Kuwagamon threatened to cut him in half with his sharp jaws.
"Agumon, DIGIVOLVE!!" Gabumon yelled.
Leo's heartbeat raced.
'What if I mess up again? …What if…'
Skullgreymon flashed through his mind.
'…What if I make him a monster again?'
Agumon was having similar thoughts.
'I don't want to hurt my friends…especially not Leo…'
The jaws were ready to snap shut.
'LEO!!!!'
The blue-banded turtle tackled his partner to the sand, the jaws snapping shut above them.
"Come on, Agumon!! Digivolve!!" Tokomon encouraged.
That's when Kuwagamon disappeared, and a small pink Digimon with a long spear appeared.
"That's Piximon!! He's the trainer for all the great Digimon fighters!" Biyomon exclaimed.
"You must be the Digidestined, but so far I am not impressed!"
He turned to the Digimon, Agumon included.
"You're supposed to be protecting them! But half the time they're protecting YOU!"
"So?!"
Piximon turned to a glaring Rach.
"In friendship, ya protect each other! The same with family! Now don't ya tell me that we shouldn't protect each other!"
Leo stood between them.
"Maybe we should just hear him out. He's more experienced than we are."
"And you two need the most help!"
Leo and Agumon gave him surprised looks.
"…Excuse me?"
"Well, let's get going! We need to start training!"
Gio stepped in front of Leo before he could threaten to strike.
"Don't! That's NOT a wise decision."
"Why?"
"He's a Digimon…you're not…Agumon DOESN'T want to Digivolve…any of this getting through?"
She knocked on his forehead, and he glared lightly.
"We gonna follow him or not?" Rach asked, walking.
And so they followed the small Digimon through the desert…
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"Are we there yet?"
"Almost."
…
"Are we there yet?"
"Almost."
…
"Are we there yet-?"
"I swear, Mikey, if ya ask that puffball one more time-!!" Raph threatened, at the end of his patience.
"Whoa! Cool it!"
Rach got between the two brothers, glaring.
"We're here!"
Piximon's exclamation snapped them out of the stand-off.
"…Does he realize we're still in the middle of the desert?"
Piximon twirled his spear, and a circle opened in the air, rainforest on the other side.
"…Whoa…"
Everyone walked in, and the strange entrance closed behind them.
Elisa heard pounding feet, and turned to see Etemon's 'trailer', which was drawn by a Monochromon.
"G-Guys!!"
Everyone turned around and froze in panic.
"No need to worry! He can't see through the barrier!"
With the fear ebbing away, they continued to follow Piximon.
"Here's my house!"
They looked UP the mountain, up ALL the stairs, and looked at the mansion WAY on top.
"…PLEASE tell me there's an elevator…" Raph asked gruffly.
"Nope!"
A collective groan.
"Well…I guess it could be like training with sensei…" Leo noted.
So up they walked, and they reached the mansion by sunset.
Exhausted, they groaned again when Piximon ordered them to clean the floors…ALL the floors…
Leo was about to grab a rag and help when Piximon rapped his knuckles with the stick of his spear.
"OW!!!"
Leo looked indignantly at the small Digimon as he rubbed his injured hand.
"You two have special training! Follow me!"
Leo and Agumon followed tiredly, both giving Piximon a strange look when he stopped in front of a cave.
"Go in."
Leo obeyed first, Agumon not far behind.
"It's so dark…" Leo muttered.
He cried out sharply when he fell through quicksand, Agumon's cry near him.
And everything went dark…
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"I NEVER want to do that again!!" Rach grumbled, sitting down on a futon after dinner.
"Me, too…" Mikey agreed, flopping down on his own bed.
'I wonder where Leo and Agumon are…' Gio mused, settling down.
They all fell asleep, but two turtles woke up to glowing tags.
So Raph and Don set off, without Gabumon and Tentomon, to find the two crests.
"Maybe we should go back and get them…"
"Stop being a baby, Donnie! We'll be fine!"
They saw a well just outside of the barrier, glowing lights from within catching their attention.
"Let's go."
"But we shouldn't leave the barrier without our Digimon-!"
"It's right THERE! We'll be fine!"
Raph dragged Don out of the barrier and to the well.
"Let's go in, brainiac."
Don nodded hesitantly, and they climbed down the rope.
Two symbols danced on the walls, making the glow of the tags brighter.
"Hold your tag out towards the wall." Don advised, holding out his own glowing purple one.
There was a bright light, and the crests were in their respective tags.
They climbed back up, smiles on their faces, until the rising suns light showed a large red dinosaur Digimon.
"Shell!!!"
Raph grabbed his brothers arm, pulling him into the protective barrier.
The Digimon busted through after them, but they didn't stop. They sped through the trees as fast as possible, when their Digimon came into view.
"Raph!"
"Gabumon!"
"Donnie!"
"Tento!"
Piximon and the others weren't far behind, and Piximon put up a barrier to defend them from the blast of fire.
"It's Tyrannomon!" Tentomon exclaimed, clinging to Don's shell like a backpack.
"Really? Now I know why he looks like a T-rex!!!!" Raph snapped.
Piximon tried to ignore them.
'Leo! Agumon! You two need to hurry!'
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Leo woke up in a rowboat, the water making it rock slightly, with Agumon still knocked out beside him. The blue-banded turtle sat up, rubbing his head as sewer pipes appeared above them.
"What's going on?"
Agumon woke up beside him, and both watched as the familiar sewer pipes of New York took shape.
'Am I home?' Leo mused before they were dumped onto the damp brick.
Leo looked up, slightly dazed, and his eyes widened.
They were in the dojo, with him at five years old…practicing a difficult kata…
The even younger blue-banded turtle turned sharply, falling over and ending up on his shell.
Leo remembered what happened next…
'Hey, Leo! Why the sad face?'
The familiar voice ringing in his head made Leo feel more homesick.
"I-I can't d-do it…" The smaller Leo on the floor sobbed out.
'There's nothing to cry about. Look, I'll help you.'
Familiar violet eyes surrounded by a white mask flashed through his mind as Leo felt bad, seeing the hopeless look on his young counterparts face.
'You can't give up, bro. Where's the Leo that never gives up?'
Determination filled his heart, and Leo walked towards the younger turtle.
"Don't give up."
Watery chocolate brown eyes looked up at him and Agumon.
"B-But it's t-too hard…"
"Just because you messed up once doesn't mean you'll never get a hang of it eventually." Leo encouraged.
"B-But…"
"Look, I'll help you."
Leo took hold of the younger turtles wrists and guided him smoothly through the kata.
"I-I can do it!" The younger exclaimed, pride in his voice as he continued.
That's when it hit Leo.
He'd given up on trying to get Agumon to Digivolve…when he should've kept trying…
"Agumon…now I know why Piximon sent us here…"
He turned to his partner, who looked up at him expectantly.
"I was so scared you'd become Skullgreymon again…I didn't want you to Digivolve at all…but I shouldn't have…"
"I was scared of that, too…but it doesn't mean I shouldn't keep trying."
Leo smiled, getting into the boat.
"Ready to try it out again?"
Agumon nodded as he settled in the boat, grabbing an oar.
"Then let's go!"
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'Where are those two?! If they don't get here soon, I'll be forced to attack!!'
Piximon was surprised when Tyrannomon was knocked over by Greymon, a roar from the standing Digimon shaking the trees.
Leo walked silently into the group.
"Miss us, guys?"
"LEO!!!!"
Gio hugged him around the neck in her joy, making him blush.
They turned back to the fighting Digimon in time to see Greymon throw Tyrannomon into the desert.
"Nova Blast!"
With Tyrannomon done with, they all thanked Piximon.
"Thanks, Piximon. I really needed that reminder." Leo said gratefully as the others started walking away.
"You're welcome, Digidestined of Courage."
'And I hope your courage doesn't fail you, young one…'