This one's a bit shorter than the last chapter, but I think it's pretty decent. Just because Digimon don't get enough attention themselves in their own archive.
Chapter 12: Being the Leader Sucks
"Committees here, meetings there, speeches in five, hearings in ten, I'm sick of all of this!" The king marched broodily through the halls of his castle, angrily kicking open the doors to his throne room. The guards, two tall knights wearing robes over their armour stared at him in worry, before hurriedly standing at attention with stiff backs as the king glared at them. The king grumbled as he dragged his feet very un-regally towards the throne. He plopped down in his chair in exhaustion. "At least now I'll be able to get some rest! Sheesh being the king is hard!" Not even given a second to catch his breath, a pink blur appeared in front of him. "Lekismon…"
The pink blur, now that it had stopped moving, looked a bit like a large pink anthropomorphic rabbit, covered in pink fur with yellow stripes along the legs, purple tipped ears and purple breast. Its six tails were also entirely purple. It wore a silver medallion tied with black leather tubes over its neck and a silver mask, leaving only its ears and red eyes exposed. The rabbit clenched its gloved fists, placing one of them on the ground, the gold crescent moon pattern on them showing.
"Sire," the rabbit, evidently Lekismon, said in a feminine voice. "I have received word that a convoy of humans has arrived on Eclipse Island."
"What's so special about that? Humans arrive there all the time. They're multiplying like rabbits…" Lekismon coughed at the rabbit related joke before continuing.
"These humans didn't arrive through the regular channels. It would appear they transferred zones from the Human World to Eclipse Island."
"Still not interesting me."
"My Lord, they Zone Transferred. That means they're in possession of Xros Loaders or D-3s. Humans chosen to battle on Eclipse Island do not receive such gear. Not just that either, but two of them have enormous Xros Code signatures, one rivalling that of a General and not just a simple Hunter. Worse, this super-massive Xros Code is filled with darkness. It's the feeling of despair given off under Baguramon. This Code may be linked with the individual known as 'Lord Bane.' We must act swiftly!" The king let out another deep breath.
"I just plain can't get time to relax anymore can I?" he said. A figure stood in the shadows by the king's side, his face obscured from view by his hood.
"Of course not," the figure said. "This isn't how things used to be in the days you spent with your partner. You can't shirk your responsibilities as King simply to go hunting." The king lowered his head, a nostalgic smile gracing his lips as he thought back to his old worn memories.
"No, I guess not… Alright, I'll consult with the youngsters then, if only to make you feel better. Monitormon." Another blur appeared beside Lekismon, only this one was instead for the most part a tiny child sized ninja dressed entirely in green, however in place of a head it had an old fashioned TV monitor. The Monitormon bowed his head before looking up at the king, the screen flashing on. A brightly lit room appeared on screen, an image of a sun appearing on the floor. Standing in the centre with their backs turned towards the screen were a green haired human male and a tall angelic digimon, talking with what looked like a group of Tamers with various digimon. The human and digimon turned towards the screen, the digimon smiling at the sight of the king while the human frowned. They dismissed the Tamers while approaching the screen.
"Milord," the digimon said. She was equipped in green royal looking armour, a green shield on her left arm and a golden lance in her right. Four pairs of wings lined her back, three pairs being made entirely of gold. Despite her terrifying appearance she gave him a warm smile. The male merely nodded his head in acknowledgement. He looked slightly less friendly. Though he didn't look openly hostile, it didn't look like he met eye-to-eye with the king. He wore a red headband around his forehead, and stared with tired brown eyes. Even so, his posture was as upright and firm as ever. "Is there a reason for calling?"
"Yo! Sorry for disturbing and all but…" Lekismon cleared her throat loudly.
"Perhaps a more formal conversation is in order?" she suggested.
"Right, right, sorry about that… Uh… Chief Glare, Ophanimon, I apologise for interrupting your… Whatever you were doing, but I've got a question to ask about the new arrivals."
"New arrivals? What do you mean?" Chief Glare asked.
"So you don't know about them after all… A bunch of newbies just arrived on Eclipse Island. Since they're just below Shine City and Darkmoon City I thought you would like to know anyway. Normally I wouldn't call about something small like that but these are from the human world. Humans normally go through either you or Chief Julia when they arrive but it appears they didn't. Two of them have Xros Codes, and one human is filled with extreme amounts of dark power. It's getting my advisors awfully worried."
"You mean Lekismon? I don't blame her, even if you are a king you're quite a handful to deal with."
"Oi, keep that to yourself, it would be a problem to the several dukes and lords if they knew their leader was really as simple as me."
"In all honesty sir, you don't normally do a very good job of hiding it to the rest of the world."
"Indeed," Ophanimon added. "Lekismon is only worried because she has known you for so long. If anything were to happen to you it would weigh heavily on her. However, your attitude alone is not a weakness, it just lets the people know that you don't hide behind the masks your social class must wear, that you're always true to yourself."
"Sometimes a little bit too true," the king mumbled to himself.
"Did you say something sire?"
"Huh? No, nothing of the sort. W-well, if you meet these humans, observe them closely. It would be hazardous to the kingdom if another threat arose and we failed to stop it, even with all of our power." Chief Glare nodded his head as the transmission turned off. The king rubbed his temples in annoyance. "Too many problems all at once…"
"Perhaps you should contact Chief Julia as well?" the hooded figure suggested. "She will feel offended if you choose to ignore her after consulting Chief Glare. She can be quite… intimidating…"
"Agreed on that front," the king said. The king tapped his fingers impatiently on the throne. What would he do if his knights reported finding these humans? If one of them had a super massive Xros Code, their strength was on par with a Digidestined. Strength like that was dangerous, very dangerous. He would have to monitor them closely to make sure they didn't do anything dangerous. "Wisemon."
"Sire?" the robed figure answered.
"Collaborate with the Information Network and spy on them and their movements. I'm interested in their goals and why they entered my kingdom."
"Requesting permission to experiment on the ones containing this raw power. With their consent of course."
"Permission denied! They're humans! Simply one of your experiments could be fatal!"
"Oh well… It was worth asking." With ominous laughter, Wisemon disappeared back into the shadows, his presence going along with him. The king closed his eyes, exhaustion showing plainly on his face. At least all he had to do was sit and talk to people now. That wasn't so hard.
"Milord!" A knight-digimon called as he entered the throne room, bowing down onto one knee. "Prince Mamemon has arrived and is requesting an audience with you immediately." The king let out a deep breath.
Not even a few minutes of rest… Whatever…
. . .
Emily's eyes slowly creaked open, the sunlight forcing them shut again. The first thing she wondered was why she was sleeping in front of her window instead of closer to the door, with the sunlight blaring into her face. The next thing she asked was why her bed was swaying so much. It was almost as if she was in the sea.
"Morning!" A cheery voice called energetically. The sound was enough to remind her she wasn't in her home anymore. She was in the Digital World. She sat up lazily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The smell of smoked fish wafted through the air, the strong smell being surprisingly good. She groped for her glasses by her side, Yoshi handing them to her gently. It was a wonder they didn't break in his gargantuan hands. In the centre of the clearing, everybody was starting to stir from their slumber, a campfire already set up, their breakfast cooking on it. Cho-Hakkaimon was already up, roasting fish on a spit, a white apron wrapped around her waist as she hummed a tune to herself. Sam was also waking up just then, strapping his goggles on as usual. He stretched out his limbs, holding his Xros Loader in the air as he did so, all of his digimon shooting out of it as well.
"Morning everybody," Sam replied before spotting the fish. "Hey, you cooked breakfast for us? Thanks! I didn't know you're a chef!" Sam reached over for the fish, Cho-Hakkaimon sharply smacking his wrist.
"No! That one's not for you! It's for Flare!"
"What? Me?" Flare asked, staring at the fish suspiciously. She nodded her head vigorously.
"Hey, so what're we meant to eat?" Sam asked.
"Don't worry, I cooked more of them, but these ones are the freshest, bestest fish I could get my hands on, with all of the best spices!" She stuck a stick through the fish's mouth and handed it to him. He took a slow, tentative bite at it, chewing slowly, savouring it. Suddenly, his eyes widened in surprise.
"It's good! It's really, really good!"
"You see? I knew you'd like it!" Emily got out of bed tiredly. Food always got her out in the mornings, especially good food.
"Let me have a bite," she said, Cho-Hakkaimon handing her a fish as well. She pulled a piece from the side off and took a tentative bite into it, careful to avoid all the bones. The skin outside was crispy to a touch, but the soft meat beneath it seemed to almost melt in her mouth, the spices exploding on her taste buds.
"Good? This is amazing!" Emily shouted, remembering to finish chewing before speaking. "I wish my mom could cook as good as this, or at least something edible!" The others all awoke from their slumber, noticing Cho-Hakkaimon's meal as they grabbed some for themselves.
"When did you even have time to catch all this?" Flare asked. "It's like you fished out an entire river!"
"Well, I had to say thanks for saving me somehow, though I can't really remember how I got knocked out in the first place… And I couldn't get to sleep either because I was too busy thinking of yo- wait, not important what I was thinking of! Well, either way I got up super early in the morning, travelled a mile or two to the nearest river and caught as many fish as I could, washed them off, then hauled them back a few more miles, prepared them and cooked them! Sure, it's a little bit weird having fish for breakfast, but at least it's something right?"
"Wait, a few miles?" Even the ever-unshakable Ryuga looked surprised at this, thought it didn't lessen anybody's appetites.
"Alright everybody, we need to head to the nearest port city," Ryuga said, holding his Digivice up like a compass. "So we go southwest till we make it to the river. Everybody stick close, don't get lost, and don't go squishing any more digimon." Everybody glared at Sam while Cho-Hakkaimon looked at him in confusion. The trek started off without anything eventful going on. Even as their tamers talked amongst themselves, their digimon all hung back with their own conversations, always keeping one eye peeled and an ear out for danger.
"Hmm… the forest air really is good for me," Gatomon said in a relaxed, almost dazed voice. "The air's so clean and fresh and the sky's clear it makes me want to just curl up in a tree and fall asleep… it's nothing like the city back in the human world!"
"I dunno," Mighty said with a frown. "It's cool and all but the muck here's getting stuck inside my suit and it feels weird without the smog to filter through… Maybe it's because I'm an android digimon or something but it's like the nature here doesn't agree with me."
"I think it might just be you," AxeHounmon suggested, taking lazy strides. "However that's no excuse to ride on my back…"
"Aw come on, I know you don't really mind right?" AxeHounmon growled angrily, Mighty scrambling off without another word.
"You just need to get used to it, that's all," DexDorumon said. "Mighty, you've been in the Human World for a long time haven't you?"
"Yeah, like practically all my life. I was created in a research facility and I'd basically been stuck there doing loads of stupid tests. Pick up this, shoot that, wear this, run for this long… It was so boring! It's not like I had any friends either, the only people I ever saw were dull looking human scientists in white lab coats, and they aren't the most sociable of guys, trust me on that. The experiments were the worst. Don't even get me started on the experiments! I'd go to sleep on some days hurting in places I didn't even know it was possible to have places…"
"Mighty that's awful!" Gatomon said sympathetically. "You were locked up your whole life? It must've been torture…"
"It was rough alright, but I didn't really notice at the time. I was created to serve and to protect, and as Megamon I was still going through the beta stage, testing. I didn't know any better. I didn't know what freedom was or any other life. It sucked but it wasn't too bad. Then they took me for a field test. A simple one, just run around on some lonely little rock out in the middle of nowhere, shoot a few birds maybe. I knew what the outside world looked like, but I'd never actually seen it before. It was… well, it unlocked something inside me that I didn't think existed before… I wanted to see more of the world. I wanted to go out and play, run around with other people, play video games, eat pizza, even just relax in the sunshine."
"Hmm… pizza," Bitemon said, his imagination drifting off at the thought of food. "Now I'm getting hungry…"
"Hush up," Gatomon snapped, sharply nudging him in the side.
"When they said I had to go back, I went berserk. I'm not sure what happened after that but when I came to I was wandering around the city all on my own, holding a Digivice they'd been developing. Mwape found me half dead in an alley and in need of serious repairs and helped me out. We've been friends ever since."
"Whoa, that's rough bro," Starmon said quietly. "So do you know who these jerks are or what group they were in?" Mighty shrugged his shoulders.
"No clue. It wasn't important at the time. So long as I was strong enough to pass my tests. Maybe if I saw them now it'd jog my memory… Hey wait a second, where'd everybody else go?" Sure enough, their tamers all seemed to have separated, the stretch of forest they were in completely empty. Not just them either, the larger digimon had all disappeared at some point to. Greymon, Yoshi, Strikedramon, Cho-Hakkaimon… all of them were nowhere to be seen, the rookie digimon being left on their own.
"No way!" a Pickmon exclaimed. "We were so tiny that they didn't even notice when we went missing! We have to catch up with the others!"
"No wait!" Gatomon called just before Starmon could float off ahead of them. "If we just charge after them we might get lost. AxeHounmon and I should try and sniff them out first."
"Uh, there might not be time for that," Mighty said nervously. Gatomon looked at him questioningly then looked up at what he was staring at. Standing before him was a very angry, very familiar looking rabbit.
"Hi pipsqueaks!" Gargomon said with an evil grin. "Looks like you guys don't have your tamers with you today. Well isn't that just wonderful for me?" Gatomon stepped in front of her friends, clenching her fists tightly.
"Gargomon! What do you want? We're not going to pay your toll, we're already halfway into the forest. Besides, you don't have your friends with you this time, what can you do?"
"A lot apparently, especially when you've got a friend like this on your side!" A gigantic red beetle stepped out of the trees behind him, roaring angrily. Two enormous looking pincers gnashed together as it glared at the digimon below it. It didn't look like it had any pair of visible eyes, and yet it stared right at them, its wings vibrating. All of them backed off nervously.
"Great, a bug," Mighty groaned. "I hate bugs. They're so slimy and gross and make my skin crawl just thinking about them…" Giving the insect no time to even move, Gatomon jumped into the air, punching it hard just above its mandibles, the creature crashing to the ground.
"Now's our chance!" Starmon yelled. "Meteor Squall!" The Pickmons shot into the air, circling around the beetle and drilling into its armour.
"Aura Pellet!" Mighty roared, firing blue blasts from a recently materialised cannon on his hand, the bug going up in smoke. Gargomon pointed his own guns at the group.
"Gargo Pellets!" he yelled, spraying bullets at them wildly. In a panic, everybody retreated behind shelter, the bullets just barely missing them and flying over their heads.
"I know what to do!" Bitemon yelled enthusiastically. "Leave the rabbit to me. I've got a game to play with him!" Bitemon's face began to swell up, going bright green in the process as Gargomon proceeded forward, firing all the way. "Venom Spit!" he cried before he spat out a large globule of green venom. The attack sailed past Gargomon, landing directly on a tree.
"Hah! You missed!" Gargomon laughed.
"Where're you looking?" Bitemon said with a smile. Gargomon stared at him questioningly before hearing the loud creak of bending wood. In horror, he turned back to the tree that Bitemon had spat at, only to see it falling slowly. He didn't even have time to react as it crashed on top of him.
The bug roared at the sight of Gargomon's flattened body (Gargomon slowly crawling out from beneath with a dazed expression before yet another tree crushed him) slashing enormous claws angrily through the air, trees slicing apart as they toppled to the ground.
"What?! Did you see what that thing did to the trees?" Mighty cried. "I don't wanna take a chance with something like that!"
"Agreed," DexDorumon said. "I'll create a distraction, you guys escape in the commotion. He jumped out of his cover, opening his mouth as a black cannonball rolled up and out of his throat. AxeHounmon joined him, flinging wooden stakes from his tail.
"Are you stupid? They'll tear you apart if you fight them alone!" AxeHounmon advised. "We'll join you!"
"We'll stop his movements," Starmon added as the Pickmons all swarmed around the bug. Mighty rotated his arm, flexing his bicep as he stepped up next to them.
"Hehe, it looks like this is a man's fight! Don't worry, the glorious Megamon has arrived!" Gatomon grabbed him by the armour behind his neck, pulling him away from the battle.
"They'll tear through you to if you decide to act stupid! Let's go! You guys to. Dorumon, Hounmon!"
"But I wanna fight!" Mighty whined as she leaped up into the trees, the rampaging beetle digimon close behind them while the two wolfs stood before Gargomon as he stood back up, the sight slowly disappearing from Mighty's view. Gatomon kept jumping between trees, just barely leaping off each one before the beetle could chop it down.
"What about the others?" Mighty yelled.
"Don't worry about them, they'll be fine!" Gatomon replied. "They're made of tough stuff!"
"But the guy they're fighting has guns… Without my bullets or your strength, it's gonna be tough…"
"If we let the bug and the bunny stay together we're doomed, understand? Just shut up and leave this to them, we'll backtrack to them once we deal with our enemy!" As soon as she said the word, a gigantic pincer passed just below her, the tree she was on falling to the ground. Gatomon and Mighty crashed to the ground, rolling in the dirt before coming to a stop before a large rock. The beetle loomed above them, roaring into the wind.
"What're we gonna do now?" Mighty asked, holding up a gun to the beetle's face. Gatomon looked around her in panic, her paw landing on the rock behind her. Thinking rapidly, she grabbed it with two hands, shifting the boulder thrice her own size with an effort. She hurled the boulder at the insect, the rock smashing against its head, the creature collapsing in a daze.
"Oh yeah! You still wanna fight?" Gatomon roared as it slowly tried getting back up. Mighty clutched her hand tightly, dashing into the forest with Gatomon reluctantly dragging behind.
"Now it's my turn to be the voice of reason!" he yelled. "Come on, this way!" It wasn't long before they heard the insect roaring and lumbering after them yet again, tree trunks and branches flying over and past them with the intensity of the insect's rage. They both screamed as an enormous oak tree collapsed in front of them, the insect catching up in that brief instant. In the heat of the moment, Gatomon swung a balled fist at the gigantic greenery, the tree tilting sideways and out of their path. The scenery became a blur around them in the chaos of the chase. The beetle didn't let up for an instant, his claws and mandibles slicing mere inches away from their necks.
"Now what do we do?" Gatomon cried. "That thing's right behind us and if we get out of the forest it'll simply start flying!"
"We have to both hit it with everything we've got, that's what! It should slow him down enough to let us escape!" Mighty and Gatomon turned around, bracing themselves for the charging digimon. They both leaped into the air, Mighty's leg glowing blue while Gatomon's was silver.
"Mega Kick!" he roared.
"Heaven Knuckle!" Gatomon added. Their fists and legs crashed into the beetle, the digimon stopping dead in its tracks, but not before it could take a swiping blow at Mighty, the claw striking like thunder. Mighty fell to the ground, sparks coming off of his leg while Gatomon simply readied another attack. "And one to finish! Cat Paw!" She punched again, without the silver aura this time. The beetle skidded backwards in the dirt coming to a halt as it crashed into a large tree. "Now's our chance! Mighty run!"
"Umm… about that… My leg, it doesn't wanna move," he said, leaning on his right foot instead. "Go on your own for now, I'll only slow you down. Don't worry, I'll figure something out." Ignoring him completely, Gatomon ran over to him, swinging his arm over her own shoulder before she hissed angrily at the gigantic insect, perfectly imitating a cat.
"I don't think so," she snarled. "Mwape's gonna be more than just mad if I don't bring you back as well. We're both getting out of here!"
"Get back here you stupid mutts!" Gargomon's very angry voice roared from their side. DexDorumon, Bitemon (still spitting globs of acid behind him) and AxeHounmon appeared from the forest, all of them desperately trying to escape from the storm of bullets chasing them. Gargomon leaped high over the trees, firing round after round at them, more than a few bullets actually hitting home. Both of the wolf-like digimon had scratches and bruises all over them, DexDorumon containing numerous nicks and bullet holes in his mechanical armour.
"We won't let you!" Starmon roared from behind Gargomon. "Come on brothers, let's show him the power of our rock hard spirits!" A swarm of silver Pickmons wrapped themselves around Gargomon's eyes, his bullets spreading wildly in an attempt to blindly aim. Bullets impacted with a sharp clang against the beetle's back, waking it back up with a roar. The Pickmons released Gargomon as he fell to the ground, right in front of the gigantic insect. Gargomon stared up at it, his face going pale as it gnashed its pincers before him.
"Now easy there Kuwagamon, I didn't mean to hurt you… It was an accident you see, I was trying to murderize those kids over there and I missed. You know I wouldn't hurt you right? Buddy? Pal? Amigo? Comrade? Nakama?" Gatomon grew a sadistic smile, an evil plot forming in her head.
"Hey Kuwagamon, you can't believe somebody like that after they just shot you right? What's he even paying you with, peanuts? Toffee? You can't work for a guy like that! Especially after he said that your mother was a one-legged Damemon and your father an overweight Sukamon. You can't take that can you?" Kuwagamon roared in rage, swinging a claw just inches away from Gargomon's head.
"S-she's lying!" he screamed. "There's no way I'd say anything like that about my bestest of friends! In fact, didn't she try to beat you up?"
"Only because you're working for a slime ball like him you know. I bet if you got rid of him, we could get to know each other real well!" She gave him a wink as she said the last part, Kuwagamon slashing more vigorously at Gargomon. Screaming like a girl, Gargomon turned on his heels and ran, the Kuwagamon chasing after him instead, forgetting all about his former enemies. "Oh, and don't forget to cut his ears off!" she added with a laugh.
"You know, somebody like you is called a devil…" AxeHounmon added, edging away from her.
"Oh come on, I was just having a bit of fun! Now we don't have to worry about bunny breath and the human fly for a long time, right?"
"He seemed stubborn though," Mighty said. "I bet he'll come back eventually. For now… can you stop holding onto me?" Gatomon just noticed she was still supporting Mighty, immediately releasing him in embarrassment as he crashed into the ground.
"Stupid guy, what were you doing to hurt yourself attacking something?"
"You know what that guy's made of?" Mighty shot back. "You're a Champion level, of course you're fine, but my body's still in its testing stage remember? I can't hurt guys like that!"
"Let's just try find our tamers again. I'm getting a bad feeling about the atmosphere around us. Plus…" Gatomon stared up at the sky, grey clouds hanging over their heads, foreshadowing a storm. "I really hate water. My fur will start to stink…"
"How much time do we have?"
"About… five minutes?"
"Then we have less time than I'd like… Alright, we're not gonna make it anywhere soon. Let's focus on finding shelter first. Starmon, I want you guys to scout the area for shelter and any sign of trouble. DexDorumon, you scout the ground instead of the skies in case Gargomon returns or you find shelter that Starmon missed. Just let me adjust something here…" Mighty crouched down onto one knee, tinkering with the metal panels on DexDorumon's face, despite his protests. "Like this, you should be able to radio directly with me. The rest of you, we move whichever way is southwest for now. I can't really tell where to go, maybe the weather is messing with my systems…"
"Don't worry, I've got you covered," AxeHounmon said, swaying his head around as if scanning for something. "I've got a sort of natural compass within me, I never really get lost. This way." The group all split up on their various appointed tasks. Mighty ripped off a large branch, breaking off all the small twigs and leaving behind a thick stick with two broken ends branching off of it. Using it like a crutch, he walked after AxeHounmon, Gatomon staring at surprise at him. He looked back questioningly. "Well? Are you coming?"
"Yeah, sure I am but… I didn't think that you'd make such a good leader. I mean, you're always so carefree and all, like you're just having fun…"
"That's because I usually am just having fun. It's what I do."
"I can tell, but right now you're so…" Mighty stared back at her questioningly. His easy nature seemed hidden behind an intense stare as he leaned against his leg heavily. "Either way, I didn't think you'd get so serious."
"I was programmed to protect, no matter what the cost. If it means protecting you guys, I'll become anyone I need to be to do it, even if it means being the leader for a bit. Even if being the leader sucks... Now come on, you can't get beaten by a guy with a crutch. I'll race you!" Before Gatomon could say anything he was off, gone in a flash even with his crutch. Gatomon shook her head as she chased after him."
. . .
The rain fell in torrents, drowning out everything in sight behind a thick blanket of water. The raindrops drummed against the top of their shelter, the beat of each drop serving as an almost lulling rhythm. Stark white flashes of lightning accentuated the atmosphere, accompanied by the dull boom or the maddening crack of thunder. The group were all huddled together beneath an enormous grey mushroom, this time having checked thoroughly for Mushroomon, or even if what they were seated beneath was a giant Mushroomon in itself. It was cramped if they wanted to avoid the rain, and the grass underfoot was soggy and uncomfortable, but it would have to do. Bitemon's stomach growled loudly, the sound drowning out even the rain.
"Mighty, Gatomon…" Bitemon began.
"Don't even get started," AxeHounmon cut in. "We'll worry about food later. You don't wanna run around through this storm. The only digimon still out in the open now can probably eat us whole in one bite."
"One bite?! Not even I'm that hungry… Are we gonna be here a long time?"
"Probably. We don't know how long this storm will last. Mighty and DexDorumon will just end up getting fried by lightning if they go out now, and we're not gonna have any luck finding anybody in this weather. You'll have to wait it out." Bitemon clutched his stomach as his belly rumbled louder.
"Well I'm really hungry, and I don't like lightning… but if going outside is bad for Mighty and Doru, then I'll just wait here to…"
"Don't worry about it!" Starmon yelled enthusiastically. "As soon as the weather stops we're out of here! No need to worry about a thing! Just have to wait it out!" While Starmon tried cheering Bitemon up, Mighty simply stared through the thick curtain of heavy rain, his eyes focused ahead of him. Lightning flashed, casting shadows across his face, the whip of thunder making everybody jolt but him.
"Mighty?" Gatomon asked cautiously.
"No organisms within a hundred mile radius," Mighty whispered to himself, Gatomon's question sliding right past him. "High wind speeds and weather conditions wet and unfit for travel. Heavy rainfall and frequent thunder disturbing communications systems. Error, no communication hardware present, note taken to replace ASAP. Insufficient data for full analysis of situation, preparing for system reboot…" Gatomon nudged him gently, Mighty snapping out of his trance with a jerk. "Huh? Oh, Gatomon. I didn't see you there."
"Mighty, are you okay? You've been acting strange ever since we split up from Mwape."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry if I worried you. I'm just a little stressed, that's all. You're all natural digimon, you're suited for environments like this so you're fine. I'm an android, artificially manufactured. I'm not specially built for this. Though this is nothing, sticking here with company has my systems going into overdrive."
"With company? You're not meant to have friends?"
"Not friends per se. I'm designed to protect no matter what, yet it's hard to even protect myself to me. This may be a cakewalk for you, but for me it's taking all of my strength to keep going and keep you safe from danger. Plus, it takes lots of thinking. Thinking isn't my strong point."
"You're doing a good job so far, leader." Immediately Mighty's expression warped back to a childishly embarrassed smile.
"Leader you say? Yes, I'm the leader of all of you, you all obey my command and you're my lackeys!" He laughed arrogantly while Gatomon glared at him in annoyance.
"Maybe I was wrong to think of you as a leader just yet…"
"More importantly, the rain's stopping!" Starmon exclaimed, even as the heavy downpour grew tired of its assault, the waves of water becoming small leaky raindrops.
"Then I guess it's time we head back isn't it?" AxeHounmon said, sticking one paw out cautiously before walking out first. Everybody else followed after him, continuing in the direction their tamers supposedly were. The Starmons took to the skies, scouting out the area for them, but the thick trees probably wouldn't make the job any easier. Mighty limped doggedly on with his makeshift crutch, his eyes focused dead ahead. The crutch slipped beneath him in the slick ground, sending him crashing face first into thick mud. Gatomon gently picked him back off, barely containing a chuckle as mud covered his chin in the semblance of an enormous beard.
"Hey are you okay?" she asked when she was sure she wouldn't laugh."
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine, just need to be more careful. Didn't think the mud was so slippery."
"Lean on me for now."
"What? I'm fine, I just need my crutch-"
"Just lean on me will you? You're gonna fall again and you look dizzy."
"Glad for the help but really, I'm okay with my crutch…" Gatomon picked up his crutch, holding it temptingly in front of Mighty's face. He reached for it thankfully only to have it yanked away from him. With no remorse, she snapped it against her knee, discarding the wood.
"There, now you're not gonna hurt yourself with that stupid thing. Now lean on me before I floor you myself!" Reluctantly, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his weight just ever so slightly on her. "There, you see? What's so bad about that?"
"Everything…" Mighty mumbled. "I'm relying on somebody else for one thing, I'm covered in mud to and I feel like an old man with arthritis."
"You're not an old man Mighty!" Gatomon giggled. "You just need a bit of help right now, that's all. When we reach the others Mwape can probably repair you, or if not then you can always wait in Sam's Digivice. It heals digimon right?"
"And it's more room than Mwape's Digivice to apparently. Guess we'll have to wait and see won't we…" The conversation was interrupted by shouting off in the distance. Everybody stopped, listening intently for what it was or if it was hostile.
"Gatomon! Where are you?"
"Starmon! Pickmons! We've got food waiting!"
"Handle! I really, really miss you right now! Sorry for getting lost!" Everybody's face brightened up as they recognised the voices of their tamers. They weren't totally lost after all! They all looked at each other, nodded their heads, and sprinted off towards their tamers. It didn't matter how they got lost in the first place, or what they and their tamers were doing to lose each other. So long as they could be reunited again it was all fine to them. AxeHounmon and DexDorumon sprinted off, the two of them the fastest by far. Starmon was close behind them, spinning like a shuriken while Bitemon lumbered after them, tripping in the mud before carrying on, not caring in the slightest. Gatomon and Mighty slowed down at the last second, just before they could come into view of their tamers.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Mighty asked. "Lexi's just at the other side you know, let's go!"
"Yeah, I know. Just… Well, our Partners are all getting really close and everything right?"
"Yeah, becoming a real team, bonds of steel, etcetera…"
"Well, I guess we just go along with whatever they're doing most of the time, try to keep them safe, but before now us digimon never thought of working together like that did we? As a unit on our own. Just think what would have happened if we didn't work together back then."
"You'd be the only one of us left in one piece?" Mighty suggested.
"Yes, and no. Yes, you guys would've all been eaten, that's for sure, but also think. We discovered stuff about ourselves we didn't know before. Little things for some, big things for others. We can work as a team together, even if we're all rookies. And I learnt a little something about you to."
"Come on, don't go sentimental on me here!" Mighty said, rubbing his head in embarrassment. "Let's just get to the others for now and enjoy ourselves, right? I can hear everybody else on the other side making noise and stuff. And there's food! Are those hot dogs I smell? With such a glorious aroma how can I resist?" Gatomon laughed as he rambled on about food, supporting him as he limped back to his own Partner. She didn't even notice she was still supporting him, his arm wrapped round her shoulder the whole time…