Pardon the long, long wait, I've been going through a lot of bumpy stuff. Throughout November I was stuck in NANOWRIMO! *cue dramatic music* (for those of you who don't know, it's basically a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. I failed last year so tried again this year and succeeded in the word count, but failed to finish the actual novel. I'm still proud of myself, that's a lot of words in one month! Victory!) I've also been pretty busy the whole of December to with family stuff and homework so I haven't really been reading or updating anything till now. I hope all you guys' December didn't suck as much as mine did. . . . Anyway, I've now returned to this story with a fresh mind and ready to give you guys something to chew on after my rather dark and evil cliff-hanger last time. Enjoy the New Year everybody, and so, the first chapter of 2015 is up! It's kinda lengthy!
This is the Real Deal presents:
Ghosts of the Past: 2015!
Chapter 14: The Old and the New
Emily stared at the scene before her in disbelief. The truth sunk into her slowly, painfully slowly. Yellow flecks of data and energy hovered before her eyes as Yoshi vanished from view. The silence hung heavy in the air, nobody uttering a word. Time didn't slow down the way she expected. It moved at the same unforgiving space it always moved at, and she felt every single moment without Yoshi...
"Were... were we too late?" Allison asked nervously.
"Looks like it kid," Persiamon said with an evil grin. "Your friend's been reduced to dust, nothing's left of him. Not except for the tiny flecks of data left behind, and even that's soon going to me."
"Wait... what?" Persiamon held her arms out to her sides, the wind blowing through her fur gently. The yellow flecks all began floating towards her, getting absorbed into her body...
"She's... she's loading his data!" Jay yelled. "If she does that, Yoshi will never be able to come back ever again!"
"You monster," Sam growled under his breath, holding his Xros Loader up. A heavy hand was placed on his shoulder, the sheer weight of it nearly sending him to his knees. He looked up into the tall intimidating face of Ryuga. His whole face had been turned to stone, a dark seriousness within them that a child couldn't possibly understand. He glared at Persiamon, the intensity of his stare sharp enough to pierce shields.
"I will assume direct control now," Ryuga said, his tone of voice low and menacing. "Dorumon... It's time that we wake up."
"Our year of fatigue is finally over isn't it. . . ." DexDorumon growled. Ryuga pointed a stern finger at Persiamon.
"This enemy is unforgivable . . . DexDorumon, kill her!" No sooner were the words out of his mouth had Dorumon already started firing cannon balls rapidly from his mouth, Persiamon's meal getting interrupted in a cloud of smoke. "DexDorumon, kill her!" Ryuga repeated. Lightning built up around Dorumon's mouth, the lightning flashing between blue and black.
"Hyper Dash Metal!" he roared, firing a much larger silver ball of electric energy. The ball impacted, going up in a cloud of smoke. Ryuga slashed a card through his Digivice, rage apparent even in his movements.
"Digi-Modify, Matrix Digivolution!" Dorumon howled in rage, red light engulfing him as he arose into the air.
"DexDorumon Matrix Digivolve to..." All of the metal panels covering him peeled off violently, slabs of metal and wiring flying around him in storm like winds. His body grew far larger, sinuous muscles pulsing with power swelling until the whole creature looked like a fully fledged demon, Ryuga standing at the height of one of its legs. Silver metal coated its tail again as more red tendrils grew around it, wrapping their way around its tail. Two pairs of blood red wings sprouted from its back with razor sharp barbs lining the edges. A metal helmet covered its face and eyes as the transformation was complete, flashes of red thunder accompanying him. "DexDoruGreymon!"
"Don't give her a chance to move!" Ryuga roared. "Fire! Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire!" DexDoruGreymon roared, an unearthly mix of voices accompanying the sound. Even with the situation at hand, Sam could only stare in awe at the sight of the dragon digimon, its black scales shining from the light of its own flames. Large metal cannonballs streamed forth from its mouth, the trees in front of him getting torn to shreds from each blast, the dust cloud Persiamon was hidden behind becoming even larger. "Don't let her escape! She can't keep fighting like this!" Emily stared up at the monstrous digimon in wonder, blinded from the chaos it was causing. Blinded by the sheer amount of determination it was giving off. Even Ryuga looked grim faced, holding a shining digivice in front of himself.
"Ryuga..." Emily whispered.
"Not just Ryuga," Sam uttered, half to himself in the process. Emily turned back towards Sam, his injured form still lying against a rock. With what looked like a visible effort, Sam forced his way back to his feet, his legs shaking beneath him, part in shock, and part in fear to Ryuga's monstrosity of a digimon, the pair's unbridled rage gushing forth from it. "I can feel it from everybody in the Xros Loader to... I can feel it burning inside of me as well... After what Persiamon's done, we're all freaking pissed!" Sam held up his Xros Loader once more, light glowing from it already.
"He's not the only one!" Allison yelled, tears brimming in her eyes as she cracked her knuckles aggressively. "Yoshi was our friend to! It's time to put the screws to her! Digisoul, Full Charge!"
"We'll take it from here," Lexi said, slashing a card through her D-Arc as well. "We're not going to rest until Persiamon's been dealt with! Matrix Digivolution style!"
"We've got your back to!" Mwape added. "Mighty, digivolve! Digisoul, Charge!"
"Starmon, AdultMegamon, DigiXros!" Sam roared, even before the transformation was complete, the fusion crossing together above the heads of the spectators.
"Bitemon...Matrix Digivolve, and tear her to shreds!" Jay finished, slashing a card through his digivice, VenomFangdramon also forming in front of them all. All their digimon grew to their greatest forms, the only exception to the Ultimates being the Starmons and AdultMegamon. Everybody open fired within the dust cloud, flashes of light filling the entire forest, the very trees themselves bent backwards, the force of the battle stretching them to their limits.
"Starmon, give this next shot everything you've got!" Sam roared, his Xros Loader vibrating in his hands.
"This one's for Yoshi!" Megamon roared, holding his cannon above his head, green light swirling around the gun as it grew even larger, his silver wings glowing red hot. Green stars appeared in his glasses as he pointed the gun forward again, the whole cannon trembling with power. "Take this! Meteor Cannon!" He fired, a volley of yellow arrows showering down into the dust cloud below, an explosion expanding from the impact zone, flames and dust rising from the epicentre. Everybody stopped firing, still holding the weapons in front of them, locked and loaded. The dust began to fade away, the wind sweeping it away in great dusty blankets. A small crater was now in place of what was once a chunk of the forest, Persiamon nowhere to be seen within it.
"Did we get her?" Allison asked.
"No, she just got away," Lexi replied. "There's no streams of data floating into the air. She got away, and we were too angry to even notice when she slipped out."
"Darn it!" Ryuga roared, collapsing to his knees, the sheer frustration too much for him to take. "If I'd just kept my cool, then maybe we might have seen where she went. . . ."
"That's not the problem right now," Mwape pointed out. "We can go after Persiamon anytime, but right now we've got to deal with Yoshi and Emily." Everybody's attention snapped back to Emily. Floating around her were yellow flecks of light, hovering just before her face. The same flecks that Persiamon had just a moment ago been trying to absorb. Emily simply stared blankly at them, her expression unreadable aside from the streams of tears rolling down her face.
"Be strong, Emily." The disembodied voice of Yoshi echoed through the forest as the light all floated towards Emily's wrist, as if magnetised to her Digivice. Emily stared at the contraption, still too shocked to really understand what was happening as the screen lit up.
Scan data complete. 75% retrieval of data. Digimon generation possible. Data may be corrupt. Continue?
Even with all the events that had passed, Emily could still understand that sentence. Slowly moving her finger, her whole arm still trembling, she pressed a few buttons on the watch. The light swirled in the air, a high pitched whine accompanying it as it gathered in front of Emily's arms. Instinctively, she held her arms forward, the light slowly dropping into her arms before finally dying down, solidifying until it was finally egg shaped, roughly the size of her head if not larger, pitch black with a silver gear pattern all over it. The wave of relief released from the group could physically be felt, pent up breaths all sighing in relief. The stream of tears became a torrent as Emily clutched the egg close to her body, burying her face into it as her whole body was racked by sobs, her words blurred by her wailing.
. . .
Conversation around the campfire had grinded to a halt. The fish tasted stale, and everybody's muscles ached too much to be animated. Everybody had retreated to their own small groups, for the most part in pairs of two between each human and their partner. Emily was seated furthest from the flames, still clutching her egg tightly. She hadn't let it go until it turned dark, and even then it was only to set up her hammock before resting against a tree, a pair of earphones on and plugged into her Digivice. She hadn't said a word either, wrapped up in her own thoughts instead. Sam stared on helplessly by the campfire, Starmon hovering by his side as he absentmindedly nibbled on a piece of burnt salmon. Or something that looked like salmon at least.
"Mind if I take a seat?" a gentle voice asked. Sam looked up to see Lexi standing over him, Salamon by her side. Sam shuffled along on the log he was sitting on, giving her space as she sat down near him. Starmon hovered down into Sam's lap as Gatomon rested in Lexi's. "You're looking pretty glum."
"Do I stand out? Blue isn't a good colour for me is it?"
"Not at all. Sunny colours work a lot better. What's eating at you?" Sam looked up at the stars, flicking his goggles nervously before looking back down at his toes.
"I'm not really sure what to do about Emily. Got any advice?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I somehow feel like this was all my fault. I'm the one who first mentioned that Musyamon could still fight Persiamon, and I didn't try to stop Emily either. What's worse, even when I had the power to DigiXros, the ultimate game changer, I still couldn't save him. Sure, Emily still has Yoshi's egg, but that was still way too close, and we don't even know if he'll have his memories. Persiamon stole a big chunk of his data."
"And Emily's still taking this really hard too," Salamon added.
"Exactly. She's our tactician. As far as Emily's concerned, this is probably her fault. I want to tell her that this isn't her fault. I want her to know that I'm sorry about this. I just want to comfort her somehow you know?"
"I know just what you mean," Lexi said comfortingly. "I know some people just like to be left alone for a bit when they feel upset, but I'm also worried about her. But you've gotta be careful what you say! Emily doesn't think like most of us . . . more mortal beings. She's going to try block out the grief by thinking. A lot. If you say anything that sounds like it might be a lie, she'll pick up on it instantly, and since she is the tactician, she's going to be blaming herself a whole lot." Sam faced her, blinked, and laughed. A hollow laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.
"Wow, you sure do know a lot about people. I thought you were more of the quiet type."
"Believe me, she's way too loud once you get to know her!" Salamon groaned. "What're you waiting for anyway? Go talk to her, be a good bestie or whatever."
"Right," Sam mumbled as he stood up. "Thanks for the advice Lexi, appreciate it."
"Only say thanks if you actually manage to make her feel a little better," Lexi replied. "It hurts to see her like this. She's tough as nails, but she almost lost her partner forever. She might still have if he doesn't remember anything. I can't even imagine what she's going through right now."
"She'll be fine, just needs a bit of time." Just before he could move though, he spied Flare from the corner of his eye, limping towards the edge of the forest on a makeshift crutch. "Hey, Starmon, wasn't Cho-Hakkaimon over that side?"
"Last I check. She didn't look like herself though."
"Then it looks like Flare's also got something to deal with. . . ."
. . .
The night air felt cool, a strong contrast to the heated tension of the campsite. Flare looked behind at the warm glow of the campfire, then ahead at the darkness and gloom seeping into the forest around him. Drawing his matches for light would've been the first option, but who knew how quickly the forest would catch fire if he let a stray spark out. Instead, he simply clicked his finger, his eyes warming up rapidly. To any staring at him at the moment, it would almost look like his eyes were on fire, but at least he could see clearly. Cho-Hakkaimon's was visible in the distance, her silhouette still clearly visible against the night sky. He battled through the thicket, limping heavily as he leaned on the wooden crutch that Mighty had forged for him earlier until he finally stopped before a large rock, Cho-Hakkaimon seated at the top of it.
"Umm . . . Cho-Hakkaimon? Are you okay?" Flare asked.
"No, no I'm not okay!" she yelled back, holding back a sob as she yelled. "Just leave me alone." Flare was almost tempted to turn back and do just that, but the nagging feeling in his stomach told him that he'd probably regret it later. Instead, he clambered up the rock, fighting through the pain tearing through his spine as he seated himself by her side. Her face was buried in her arms that were folded on top of her knees. Even her helmet somehow looked deflated, sitting slightly askew on her head. "I totally goofed up today. I couldn't help any of you guys! I nearly crushed you that time when I was only trying to help, and if I hadn't cut him, Yoshi might've still been here with us right now. . . ."
"Well it's true that my body feels like it's going to fall apart," Flare added. "I think your shot hurt more than all of Persiamon's combined actually. . . ."
"See what I mean?! I'm totally worthless!" Cho-Hakkaimon broke out into tears, degenerated into a dribbling mess as she wailed.
"H-hey, don't start crying on me!" Flare yelled, unsure how to react. "L-look, it's not that bad! I was just overdoing it to, and I'm all fine now, see? I just need to crash in Sam's Xros Loader for a day or two and I should be good as new! And . . . and also, Yoshi's still perfectly fine, as soon as his egg hatches he'll be a totally new mon! Then it'll be just like before!"
"You're just saying that to try and make me feel better!" Cho-Hakkaimon cried, sniffing loudly as she tried to wipe away her tears.
"Well, there's that," Flare admitted. "But I'm not lying to you when I say that you caused more good than harm, wizard's honour!" Even if wizard's aren't the most honourable beings in the world. . . .
"I still don't believe you. . . ."
"Look, the point is that Yoshi's going to be totally fine. Think about it! His data went straight back to Emily's digivice instead of to a daycare, meaning there were backups stored on it already, like an autosave I guess! For the most part he'll wake up feeling even tougher than before!"
"Still, who knows what might happen next time? What if I goof up next time and "I still don't believe you. . . ."
"Look, the point is that Yoshi's going to be totally fine. Think about it! His data went straight back to Emily's digivice instead of to a daycare, meaning there were backups stored on it already, like an autosave I guess! For the most part he'll wake up feeling even tougher than before!"
"Still, who knows what might happen next time? What if I goof up next time and you end up getting seriously hurt, or even . . . deleted?"
"I won't let that happen, I've been through worse situations than that!"
". . . Really?"
"Of course! Trust me, fighting Yoshi and Emily when their mad is much scarier and much more risky than brawling with Persiamon! If Sam hadn't been there, I would've been erased for sure!"
"So Sam saved your life then?"
"Sort of, but it doesn't really count since he was trying to capture me anyway. . . .The agreement was that I could leave if I was sorry and we got to the Digital World, but he's a lot of fun to travel with, and I've made some friends to." Cho-Hakkaimon went silent for a moment, sniffing loudly as she looked at her toes, regret still plain in her eyes. Flare sighed in exasperation as he dug through his coat. "Good grief, if you needed a handkerchief you could've just asked. I don't want to see you vacuum snot back into your nose. It's gross." He fished out a white handkerchief, blue snowflake patterns on it.
"Huh? You don't mind?" she asked, eyeing the cloth in surprise. "Hey, it's got snowflakes on it. . . ."
"It was my brothers back when we were both little kids. It doesn't really match me anyway so you can keep it. My tough guy image would disappear if people knew I had a baby blue hanky."
"I think it looks cute," Cho-Hakkaimon giggled before she took the cloth, blowing her nose loudly into it. The force of the simple action nearly blew Flare off the whole rock, but he didn't comment. How was he supposed to comment on that anyway? Cho-Hakkaimon crumpled it up, fumbling with the cloth between her massive gauntlets before finally stuffing it into the side of her leg gauntlet. She looked back at her toes nervously, the guilt clearly still in her eyes. "So . . . are you sure Yoshi's going to be fine?"
"I'm about ninety percent sure he'll be okay!"
"Ninety percent?! What's the other ten percent?"
"That's not important, I'm a wizard, not a mathematician. Just trust he'll be okay!" She nodded her head, clearly unconvinced.
"Even so, I still feel bad about this. I made the whole fight that much harder, and even when I was DigiXrosed. . . ."
"Fusions are hard to master. You're combining two things to make something new, then expected to work together perfectly. It's only natural your first time was kind of tricky."
"But when you're trying to protect people, you can't afford to make mistakes. That's what all the teachers back at home kept telling me, and cause I didn't get that I got kicked out to. Maybe I'm really not cut out for this, and I really can't help anybody. . . ."
"That's stupid, you've helped loads already since you've joined us! For a start, you're the only one of us that can actually cook good food! Plus, your strength is awesome! If I was even half as strong as you, I wouldn't even need to Xros up with Strikedramon to fight! Don't forget, fusing is hard. You have to form a strong connection with whoever you're fusing with, and the more you understand each other's properties, the stronger the fusion. It's a bit like alchemy actually."
"Wow, you know a lot about fusions don't you?"
"I studied a whole tome on The History of Jogress Evolution with my uncle. I get the basics."
"So it needs a strong connection huh? Then you and Strikedramon must get along really well, because as Flamedramon you're unbeatable. I wish I was like you two today with Greymon. We were totally out of sync, it was embarrassing. I could tell he was trying to help me, but I was always a bit behind what he wanted me to do. Maybe I just don't connect the way you two do. . . ." Flare scratched his head in thought, planning out his next words carefully.
"I'm totally going to punch myself for this later but . . . if you want, then next time I'll ask Sam to fuse us together. I'll be really gentle with your body so as not to hurt you. . . ." The second he saw the shades of red Cho-Hakkaimon's face turning, he immediately began to backtrack over his words, stumbling over them as his own face mirrored hers. "Wait-no! Not like that! I didn't mean it that way, I just meant that I'd take care of your body-wait, that's no better. I meant . . . just . . . darn it this isn't working." Cho-Hakkaimon laughed, her cheeks finally dying to a shade that was physically possible.
"It's alright, I get what you're trying to say. But Flare, I didn't think you thought of me that way!" she teased him with a wink.
"I DON'T!"
"Deny it all you want Flare!"
"But I don't . . . never mind, this isn't getting me anywhere."
"But, you're sure you're okay with that? I'm really clumsy, and I don't know if you'll be able to take it."
"I'll be fine. If it doesn't work, that weird Xros Loader bond stuff should make up for it. We're friends right? The power of friendship can't be beat!"
"We're . . . actually friends?"
"Yeah, is there a problem with that?" Flare stared in confusion at the tears welling up behind her eyes. Before he knew it, her arms were wrapped tightly around his chest, his whole body being crushed in her grasp. "H-hey, hey, what're you doing? Ow, that seriously hurts! Hakkaimon, you're crushing my spine, it's hard to breathe! You're going to reopen the wound on my stomach, it seriously hurts! Ah! Too late, it's bleeding!"
"Ah! Sorry, so, so, so, sorry! I didn't mean to!"
"Then why are you still hugging me to death!"
"Oops, I'm really sorry!"
"You're STILL DOING IT!"
. . .
"Hey, Emily?" Emily didn't respond to Sam's voice, simply staring at the egg in her arms. "Are you okay?" She weakly nodded her head. Sam sat down by her side, not saying a word for a few minutes, still thinking of what he was supposed to say. "Umm . . . how's Yoshi doing?"
"I think he's okay," she said. "My Digivice says he'll hatch pretty soon. Digimon hatch quickly don't they?"
"Maybe it's because he's paired up with a human partner? Just like it's easier to Digivolve with a partner, it's probably easier to hatch with a partner to."
"Yeah. Probably." Sam frowned, the unenthusiastic response doing little to ease his worry.
"Even though you've got your buddy more or less in one piece, you still look pretty gloomy. What's up?"
"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
"Not possible. I've known you since we were ankle biters, and you don't normally look this down for such a long time. Start talking." Emily sighed, clutching the egg even tighter. The egg pulsed slightly, shaking a little with life.
"Well, for a start, I almost lost my partner today. Maybe I should calm down by now. I mean, I still have him here. Things could have gotten a lot worse, and if it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't have his egg with me right now. But even so, this all happened because I was getting overconfident. I was relying too heavily on all the readings my Digivice was giving me, even when Yoshi told me that he'd had enough. I still kept fighting, so sure that Persiamon couldn't beat me, and if she did, I'd just rematch her till I won. I was thinking of this all like it was just a game, and Yoshi paid the price."
"Hey, you made a tactical error this time, but you've saved my bacon from loads of other situations. If you ever do mess up again, then we'll just have to wing it!"
"You don't get it. Do you remember what Digitamamon said? That this isn't a game? I thought I understood them, but I didn't get it at all. Because of me, Yoshi nearly died. Sam, we could die if we're not careful. We're not just going camping, if there's more digimon like Persiamon, or even Gargomon if we're not careful, then we'll be fighting for our lives!"
"So we've just got to train to be tougher than them don't we?"
"Yeah, but still, am I really prepared for all of this? What if Yoshi comes back and he doesn't even remember me? Even if he did, if somebody really does kill him, will I be able to take it?"
"Look, Em, I'm not really good at thinking too hard on things, but if I know anything, it's that you two are super tough, you won't go down that easily, and if somebody gets close then me and Starmon will show them what's what, alright?" Emily nodded her head, even if she seemed unconvinced. "Anyway, I don't think you should think about it too much anyway, that egg of yours will get upset if you keep thinking of gloomy stuff. Get some rest early, you must be totally exhausted." She nodded her head again as she got up, crawling into her hammock, dragging her egg with her. "Are you not going to let that egg go at all?" She shook her head. "Well, don't drop it then. Goodnight Em." He walked off, just leaving Emily there to stare at the egg before she drifted off to sleep.
. . .
"Breakfast is the perfect pick-me-up!" Allison yelled energetically before popping an entire fruit into her mouth, skin and all, despite its suspicious pink polka dot colouring. "Although, we're starting to run low on supplies. . . ."
"Starting to?" AxeHounmon asked. "We're out of bread and that's no thanks to your bottomless stomach either. Our water supplies won't be replenished until the nearest stream either. We'll last another couple of days at best, but we should really restock."
"And just where exactly are we gonna do that, eh? It's not like there's a supermarket anywhere in the same dimension! All we've seen this whole time is grass and trees!"
"Actually, there are plenty of villages, towns, and even cities in the Digital World," Ryuga explained. "On Eclipse Island alone there's Shine city and Darkmoon city, both of which are pretty descent sized even for the human world."
"There are towns and cities in the Digital World?!" Allison exclaimed.
"Of course. What made you think there weren't?" AxeHounmon asked. "Digimon are just as capable of creating structures and buildings as humans, though even I have to admit that humans have some special vision that digimon lack." Interrupting their conversation was a loud beeping sound coming from Jay's pocket, almost startling him into dropping the fruit he held in his hands. He fished into his trouser pocket, pulling out his Digivice.
"No fair, you've got Skype on that thing," Allison groaned as he answered it. "How come my Digivice doesn't have Skype? How's it even possible to put Skype on a Digivice?" Jay ignored her, answering the call instead.
"Jay, it's me, Yami," a voice said, the raven haired individual appearing on the screen. "Sorry I haven't really been in touch recently, there's been a swarm of bad signal ever since you got there. Is everybody in one piece?" Jay looked behind him at the rest of the group, Sam and Allison pushing by him to try and wave energetically at Yami. He stared particularly long at Emily, Yoshi's digi-egg still right by her side where she could see it.
"For the most part, yes. We got into a big fight yesterday with a Persiamon we met in the real world. She seems to have formed a grudge against us."
"Persiamon? You escaped in one piece?"
"We managed to fend her off, but Yoshi got degenerated down to an egg. We're lucky we escaped with our lives."
"Word of advice: next time you meet her, run far away. That helter skelter ability is no joke and you don't yet have a way to counter it either. Where are you guys now?"
"The middle of nowhere?" Allison piped up. "I mean seriously, we've seen nothing but trees for miles! How're we meant to know?"
"Haven't you been keeping progress of where you're going or anything? Don't tell me you've been walking aimlessly this whole time."
"About that," Sam added. "We were kind of busy trying to survive so that wasn't really our priority. Sorry." Yami shook her head in exasperation.
"And here I was hoping that Ryuga would actually get you going in the right direction. . . . Call Ryuga up, I need to talk to somebody reliable." Within a few minutes, the blonde haired individual arrived, his hair even spikier than normal. "Okay short stuff, do you have any idea where we are?"
"I'm even taller than you! Don't call me short stuff!" Ryuga yelled. "But yeah, we're just at the western edge of chip forest. We haven't entered Resistor jungle yet. We're running low on resources and I don't know Eclipse Island that well. You think you can lead us somewhere where we can get supplies?"
"You're in luck. Just go north-north-east until you find a green gateway on the ground. There should be a couple of signs nearby pointing you in the right direction so you shouldn't have any problem finding it. When you reach it, tell me and I'll open it for you guys."
"Thanks sis, knew I could count on you!"
"Oh yeah, and I hear that Yoshi's in a bit of trouble. Is that true?"
"Uh. . . well, we got knocked around a little bit, and Yoshi got degenerated to an egg. We don't yet know if he'll have all of his memories either."
"You idiot, you're supposed to be taking care of these kids, not getting them half killed. You and Dorumon are the experts here, act like it!"
"Sorry, it was a tricky situation! It would be a lot easier if you were also here with me!"
"I already told you, that's not an option right now alright? Just make sure that they don't get eaten on your way to Shine City. For Yoshi's egg, just make sure that it stays close to Emily. It shouldn't take too long to hatch, but if it's memories are still intact then they're bound to be on Emily's digivice, so don't separate them." The connection cut as Jay stuffed the Digivice back into his pocket.
"Well then guys, it's time to move out," Ryuga ordered as he turned to face everybody else. "We're setting off in five minutes. Finish your breakfast out and let's move out!"
. . .
The gate could hardly be called such as the group stopped before it. They were still in the middle of the forest area, trees leaning over them from all sides, but placed on the ground just in front of them was a small green circle, pulsing with energy, only just large enough to fit one person on it at a time.
"Wait, is this the gate that Yami was talking about?" Jay asked. "It doesn't really look like a gate."
"Just wait," Ryuga said. "Wait for Yami to grant us access and we'll be able to cross right through. She's probably noticed we've arrived by now so any second now. . . ." Before he could even finish speaking, the gateway began glowing even brighter, the green light enveloping the forest as everybody shut their eyes. Emily wasn't sure whether they were even allowed to do something like that, but that thought wasn't in her mind the moment she opened her eyes.
"Wow, this place is amazing!" Sam yelled, looking around at everything in wonder.
"Calm down bro, you're making us stand out even more!" Starmon yelled, although the wonder was difficult to keep out of his own voice. "Shine City is amazing though!" Shine City as it was called was filled with digimon all busy going about their daily lives, just like in the human world, and the marketplace that they had arrived at was lined with stalls at each side, colourful cloths shielding the inhabitants from the sun. The ground was covered in a thin film of sand, dust occasionally billowing up in dust devils. Digimon filled the main street as the traders at the stalls, also digimon, all advertised their wares to whichever passerby would listen. There was the occasional human that passed by but none in large groups like theirs, and the stares they were attracting showed it wasn't a common sight for the digimon either.
"If we're looking for food, then let's go this way!" Gatomon yelled, running ahead of the group on four legs. "I can sniff out anything edible from a mile away!" The group all marched through the streets, trying their best to ignore all the stares they were gathering. Aside from the strange glances and the huge assortment of digimon, the marketplace was just like any other market, with stalls all putting their wares against one another, fishing for each unsuspecting passerby that wandered near them. It didn't take long before they'd finally restocked on food and water.
"Well then, now that's been taken care of, we might as well do our own thing now that we're in town," Lexi suggested. "Let's all go do something then! Shopping maybe?"
"Shopping for what exactly?" Mwape asked. "We don't even know where to get everything in the first place, and what would we even need? A new tail ring or something? It's not like we're on earth, we can't just find a supermarket at every turn, and if we could, what would we buy?"
"It's not like it has to be shopping," Allison said, backing up Lexi. "Just getting to know the place. Who knows, we might have to come back here one day, and then we'll wish we knew the place better! So why not get a feel for the city now while we have the time? We'll split up so we cover more ground that way."
"I'll go with Lexi," Jay said. "If I'm going to grab lunch, I'd rather not be with somebody who'll end up stealing food right off my plate." He gave Sam an intense glare as he spoke, the look going almost unnoticed by the orange-haired youth, Sam already looking around for something to catch his interest.
"I might as well go with Mwape and Mighty," Allison said. "They're the least likely of you guys to get in trouble! Well, Mwape is at least."
"Dibs on going with Emily!" Sam yelled energetically before holding his Xros Loader in the air, bright lights flashing from it as all the digimon inside were released. "You guys can do whatever you like I guess." The one sight that stood out among all the other dispersing was that of Cho-Hakkaimon dragging Flare reluctantly through the streets by his arm, her own locked with his like a vice. Starmon on the other hand stayed floating by Sam's side.
"Dorumon and I will do our own thing," Ryuga said. "We'll all meet up back at the entrance in an hour. Don't be late guys." With that, the group all dispersed, melding into the crowd within a matter of moments. Emily looked around as she took her glasses off, wiping the lenses as she racked her brain for what she was supposed to do. She didn't even have a clue where to start looking, and the egg she'd been carrying around all day, now tied to her back with a bright purple sweater, was too heavy to keep carrying around.
"Hey Em, this way!" Sam yelled, already having appeared at the other end of the street. "What're you doing?! You're way too slow!"
"How did you get that side so quickly?!" Emily asked in shock, pushing past the throng of digimon and people to reach him. They finally reunited, but even then Sam looked like he was ready to bounce right out of his seat at any moment.
"Hey, I've got an idea!" Sam piped up. "Why don't we go over that side?! I heard a really weird sounding melody coming from over there!"
"That might be a good reason to avoid that part of town," Emily warned.
"Fine then, why don't we look for some kind of place that checks out hardware and stuff? They might know more about your weird digivice, and how to make digimon turn back to normal when they digivolve. Think of how much of a pain it'll be once Yoshi hatches! What if you digivolve him and you can't turn him back again?"
"Point taken. Where do you think we could go though?"
"We could ask someone for directions maybe." Sam looked around, his eyes scanning the crowd like an eagle. Emily could only guess that he was looking for the least intimidating digimon to ask, but she could never really tell with Sam. His eyes brightened up as he saw another human pass by. She was rather pudgy and had blonde hair framing her round face and enormous blue eyes. The red sweater and red beret that sat on her head helped her stand out a little, but she otherwise looked digivices?" The girl turned to Sam in confusion. "I need a bit of help. My friend here has a weird one, so we were wondering if there were any stores that dealt with this kind of thing." The girl took a look at Emily's digivice before her eyes widened in shock.
"That's a . . . what in the world is that thing?!"
"It's a digivice, just like any other digivice, like this one to!" Sam held up his own Xros Loader, as if trying to show what it was. "Don't you know where I can get hers looked at?"
"You two are weird," the girl said rather bluntly. "Where did you even find digivices like that? They don't sell those anywhere, and they don't issue them at Shine HQ either. Do they even work? Aren't they fake?"
"They're not fake!"
"Then sorry, I can't help you." Sam's expression fell, even his goggles seemingly tilting down in a frown. His crestfallen expression was enough to stir even the hardest heart. The girl furrowed her brow in thought, tapping her toe repeatedly.
"Although . . . I might know somebody who can. I heard that there's somebody who's great with mechanics at the eastern edge of town, but she won't stay for long, and who knows where she'll end up going, so you better catch up to her today." His expression immediately softened, a broad smile stretching on his face as he shook the girls hand, thanking her repeatedly. The girl wandered off as Sam darted in the opposite direction, Emily forced to keep up with him.
. . .
It didn't take them long to arrive at the part of town the girl had been talking about. How could it with Sam running the whole way?
"Hey bro, are you sure you know where to go from here?" Starmon asked as Sam stopped dead in his tracks. "Sure, we're in the area, but we've been at this same spot three times already."
"Shut up! I know where I'm going! I'm not lost!"
"Nobody said you were lost but you," Emily pointed out. "Although you've saved time by admitting it."
"Come on, you can't be against me to!" Sam yelled. "You're supposed to always have my back!" Emily ignored him, scanning the dusty looking buildings until her eyes fell on one in particular. The windows had been bordered up, the glass cracked and missing. The giant wrench shaped wooden sign above the door was hanging on only one hinge, and most of the letters were too faded and abstract to read clearly.
"That place looks like a good start," Emily pointed out. Sam followed the direction of her gaze until he spotted the building himself.
"You really couldn't have pointed that thing out sooner?"
"It was more fun watching you run around aimlessly." Sam glared at her before they entered the musky looking building.
The first thing that Emily noticed was the strong smell of motor oil and grease that hit her nostrils. The air felt like it would smother her, the heat like a thick blanket of air on top of her. The sound of a fan could be heard coming from the back, hidden from view. The room itself was a dull grey, posters of complicated schematics and odd robotic parts plastered all over the walls. The windows would only let in thin beams of light, so the only other light source was a flickering light bulb dangling from the ceiling. The counter on the other end of the room looked like it was made of solid concrete, and with e occasional loose screw and blotches of paint, it looked more like a work bench than a counter. A ragged curtain separated the room they had just entered and a backroom, the flashes of light and sound of sparks betraying the presence of somebody besides them in the building. Sam walked up to the counter, peering through the curtain as best he could.
"Hello?" he yelled. "Anybody home?"
"Just a second," a voice called back, the sound of metalwork going silent. Clanking metal on the floor sounded followed by a pained yelp. A young girl stepped out from the dark room, not much older than twelve from the look of her.
"This place just isn't lit enough," she grumbled, rubbing a bruised hand. "All sorts of accidents can happen. . . . So, what can I do for you guys?" She looked up at the new arrivals, smiling warmly at them.
Her smile was warm and friendly enough, and the orange freckles on her cheeks rose whenever she smiled. Her hair was tied up into two pigtails, but curiously enough, instead of being any natural shade, it was instead a dark purple, bordering black. Emily's eyebrows raised in surprise at the sight of the purple rimmed goggles that rested around her neck, and the girl's smile spread even wider at the sight of Sam's own pair. Oddly enough however, instead of just having that pair, there was also another pair of goggles strapped to her forehead, the left lens being as black as soot while the right one, much like the ones in the pawn shop, were extended out like a telescope, an array of odd magnifying glasses of varying sizes attached to the side of the goggles. "Hey, you've got a pair of goggles to, and they look just like mine to! Except that yours have a blue rim and mine have a purple one, and that my lenses are orange and yours aren't but they're practically the same! Like minds think alike huh?"
"I think you got that phrase slightly wrong," Emily pointed out. "And even if you didn't, I'm not sure you can really call Sam a 'great mind' anyway. . . ."
"Watch it you!" Sam yelled in annoyance. "And here I'm actually trying to help you out! Hey, I heard that you were good with digivices and electric junk. That true?"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly say that I'm an expert. I'm a lot better at working with bigger stuff, like engines, but I think I could probably fix a digivice if it's nothing major. What's up, a button's jammed? Got peanut butter under the screen? Dropped it in water?"
"How do you get peanut butter inside the screen?" Sam asked in shock. "No, nothing like that, just some basic how-to stuff. We're kind of new to this."
"Ah, that explains why you're still travelling with a Commando Starmon," she said, nodding her head in understanding.
"Oi! Starmon is my partner!" Sam yelled, giving him a friendly pat on the back (that almost sent him crashing into the counter). "I would never abandon him, he's the first digimon I ever got!"
"No, no, no, I don't mean you should abandon him!" she replied hastily. "It's just that Commando Starmon isn't very powerful, not many people leave him as he is. Wait . . . that Starmon was your first ever digimon?"
"Yeah, is that weird?"
"Yes, it is weird! You're supposed to get a starter digimon from Shine HQ aren't you? Or from Darkmoon HQ. Or from Central Square even! Starmon has never been one of the starters before, so how did you get it?"
"Cause we're from out of town," Starmon replied. "This is actually our first time coming to Shine City. You mean that there's more cities than this one on Eclipse Island?"
"Well duh, where do you think all the humans in town are coming from? Come on, how could you not know that? Eclipse Island is home to teams Night Crow and Light Fang, two separate communities filled with budding tamers, helping them get on their feet! And since us humans are weak, crunchy, and taste good with ketchup, we couldn't exactly survive in the wild without some place to stay. We needed lodges and resources, and naturally this attracted a few helpful digimon and a lot more money hungry ones to help us out and trade with us. After a few years, Shine city and Darkmoon city were set up! A few more years and both teams eventually set up their own exclusive headquarters, cities that only authorised people could go to, like members of their teams. So that's four cities on Eclipse Island, and then theirs Central Square on the mainland to, but that's been there foreeever. Oh, sorry for going so far off topic! So, what do you need?"
"Well, we were wondering if you can do something about this," Emily said, taking off her digivice and placing it on the counter. "I'm not sure how-"
"No freaking way!" The girl squealed in delight, snatching the digivice right off of the table, examining it through a scrutinising eye. "Are you serious?! Do you have any idea what you have on your hands?! Nevermind, your blank expressions say you're clueless. . . . This is a freaking 01 Digivice! The original digivices! This thing's a freaking collector's item, you could sell it for millions! This model wasn't mass produced, there were only like five of these ever made, and none by humans! When the digital world was still young, some legendary heroes known as 'digidestined' used digivices like these and saved the entire digital world! The first ever tamers in existence! How on earth did you get something like this!?"
"Umm . . . I don't know, I just got it when I met my partner digimon-"
"Where is he or she? I have loads of questions to ask them!" Emily looked towards the ground, her expression crestfallen. She swung the purple jersey towards her front, clutching the egg tightly in her arms. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't know that-"
"It's okay. Umm, sorry to be a downer on the mood. . . . Let's talk about my digivice. I don't really know how it works. Everybody else can digivolve and degenerate digimon whenever they want, but when I digivolved my own partner, I couldn't get him down to rookie level again. You know how it works?" The girl scratched her head in thought, racking her brain for some kind of solution. She peered at it closely, placing her goggles over her eyes, extending the scope before flicking all of the magnifying glasses before the lens.
"Aha!" she cried.
"What is it?" Emily asked, leaning in closer in anticipation. The mechanic stepped away from the device, taking her goggles back off.
"I have no idea how this works!"
"Don't get our hopes up then!" Starmon roared.
"Sorry, sorry, I've just never actually seen a 01 digivice except in books and stuff, so I haven't really got a clue about its potential. If what you're telling me about it is true, it's probably evolution locked."
"Evolution locked?"
"Evolutionary lock. It's a method of raising digimon where instead of keeping it at a base form then pumping it full of energy to digivolve, you instead allow it to digivolve and grow according to its age, experience, training and surroundings, but lose the ability to digivolve it freely whenever you like. It's kind of inconvenient because if you're at the rookie stage for example, and you're fighting a tough enemy, you can't force them to digivolve when they're not ready. It also means that if they get too big, you can't carry them indoors anymore cause you can't degenerate them. Still though, it's a really popular training system nowadays because you have a lot more control over what they're digivolving into and stuff, and how strong they get. A smart tamer will find that evolution locked digimon are a lot tougher than regular digimon!"
"But can't you turn the evolution lock on and off?"
"On most modern digivices, with a bit of a struggle and slight stat penalty, yes you can, but don't forget how archaic this thing actually is. It probably doesn't have that function. I could open it up and find out or add it, but who knows how much damage I might do to it!"
"Aw come on, you've got to be able to do something!" Sam yelled. "Hey, maybe if you had another digivice, and you opened them both up, you could compare them and see what works to get Emily's to work! Here, you can use mine!" Sam placed his own digivice on the table, only to see the girl nearly leap into the ceiling.
"My days, that's a Xros Loader! Do you have any idea how rare those things are?! That's a new age digivice that was used as a weapon of war because of its massive storage space and huge array of fusion capabilities! With the right digimon, you could even create an entire mobile base! After the Xros Wars, no more Xros Loaders were ever produced for safety reasons so only a handful of Hunters and Generals have one! This is ultra rare! I think I may just be in love. . . ."
"Whoa hold up!" Sam yelled, taking rapid steps backwards, his face bright red. "Hey, we just met and all, and sure you seem pretty cool and all but. . . ."
"I don't mean you tin for brains!"
"So you mean. . . ."
"I don't mean your girlfriend either! I'm talking about with the digivices!"
"Hey!" Both Emily and Sam yelled simultaneously.
"Look, your idea sounds fun, but I can't do that," the girl stated bluntly. "A Xros Loader is even more complicated. It sacrificied a simple and powerful evolution method for the power to fuse digimon, so it's evolution mechanisms aren't understood by anybody but Baguramon, and he was destroyed in the Xros Wars so that knowledge is lost. At its most basic, Xros Loaders can completely jump the Champion stage and send you straight to Ultimate level, which is already complicated enough, and it's incapable of reaching the Mega level normally, but there are at least two different kinds of Super Digivolution out there, and the legendary General Kiriha is said to have been able to Super Digivolve a MetalGreymon, a digimon that was already at Ultimate level! It's . . . really weird!"
"Oh. . . . Well, it was worth a shot at least." The mechanic stared at the digivices before her, flicking her dangling goggles impatiently.
"I tell you what: I may not be able to fix your digivice, but I can give you a little something to fix your problem. Now where did I put them again?" She opened up a series of cabinets behind the counter, rummaging through the junk within them aggressively. "Ah, here we go!" She pulled out a bunch of SD memory cards on the counter. There were ten of them in total, half of them bright blue while the other half were green. "These puppies over here are beginner Digivolution chips! I programmed them myself so they're not quite complete, and they're really experimental, but the basic idea is that they let you digivolve your digimon up to the Champion level. Regular ones send you right up to Mega level, but only for a few moments. These ones last longer, but will only get you to Champion. Don't use them on top of each other, or else! Don't look at me like that, believe me when I say you don't want to know what or else is! The green ones degenerate them instead, right down to in-training level. Again, experimental, and very rare, so use them sparingly."
"Whoa, you made these?" Emily asked, examining one for herself. "And you're sure there's no side-effects or anything?"
"Well, my hands haven't failed me just yet, but they haven't been tested yet, so don't be surprised if you explode or something. These ones are on the house since you showed me the oldest and the newest digivices together. That alone is totally worth it, but the next time we meet you'll have to pay if you want these babies!"
"Right, thanks for the help!" Sam yelled. "We really appreciate it!"
"Pleasure doing business with ya. . . . Hey wait just a second, I should at least introduce myself to you guys!" She yelled just as Emily was turning to leave. She extended her hand over the counter. "My name's Gear. I'm just travelling through this world for reasons of my own, so if you find me anywhere I might have cool stuff to sell you!"
"Gear huh? That's a weird name," Emily pointed out.
"Yeah I know, I get that a lot. You can blame my dad for that one!"
"Well, I'm Emily," she replied, shaking hands with her. "Those two are Sam and Starmon, and the egg in my other arm is Yoshi, though he's taking his dear sweet time to come out. We're trying to make it to Folder Continent with the rest of our friends, but they're all split up throughout town."
"Folder? Hey will you look at that, I'm heading to Folder in a few days to, except for me it's to meet up with my friends! Maybe we really will run into each other again!"
"I sure hope so! Thanks again for the help!" Light emanated from the join between the duo's hands, the shining white light filling the whole room. The kids all stared in amazement as the light shifted from their hands to the digiegg in Emily's arm.
Warning. Digivolution in progress, Emily's digivice blared on the table. A wire thin crack split across the top of the digiegg, the top half of the shell wobbling slightly, as if whatever was inside was trying to force its way out. The egg popped open with a loud crack, the top half of the shell falling to the ground, useless now it was actually opened. A tiny silver ball poked its head out of the broken egg, two thin, almost antennae like ears coming out with it. The ears were shaped suspiciously like thunderbolts. The creature blinked, a slight red glimmer peering through the creature's half-shut, bleary eyes.
"Well what do you know, the egg hatched!" Gear yelled. "And just when we all got to know each other to! That's either a sign, or I'm not a mechanic!" Emily cradled the creature gently in both of her arms, picking away the broken bits of egg shell first as she stared down into its eyes. The creature blinked rapidly, its red eyes finally swelling into massive orbs, staring in confusion back up into Emily's own eyes. A constant ticking sound could be heard coming from somewhere within the creature even before it chirped loudly.
"Koro!" It yelled energetically, snuggling up against Emily's chest as she squeezed it tight. It's tail rose happily into the air, the tail more like a cut cable than an actual tail, with yellow sparks flying from its end.
"Welcome back Yoshi!" She yelled with a laugh, hugging him close to her, ignoring the beeping of her digivice.
MetalChoromon
Level: Fresh (In-Training I)
Attribute: None
Type: Machine
Family: Machine Empire
Attacks: Sonar, Frothy Spit
A machine digimon and a sub-species of Koromon, It is super-tiny and has red eyes that act as photosensors. It is carrying nothing but a simple program that moves in reaction to bright lights, so if its surroundings go dark it becomes completely unable to move. It discharges electricity from its tail when in a good mood.
"Whoa, what the heck is that thing?" Sam asked in surprise. "It looks like some kind of mutated computer mouse!"
"I think it looks adorable!" Gear squealed. She leaned over the counter, stroking the creature affectionately beneath its chin. "Who's a good digimon? You are, you're a good digimon! Yes you are you adorable little. . . ." She straightened up as everybody begin to stare at her, coughing in embarrassment. "I mean . . . a marvellous piece of engineering that thing is! Really simple, and yet everything changes the second you give it a heart! I wonder how it works? Umm, moving on, it's only in the Fresh stage, so it can become hundreds of different digimon. It all depends on how you raise it, which reminds me, avoid giving it any digivolution chips like this! Not only is it too young, but who knows what you'll get! Wait until it's in a form you can recognise, then you can digivolve it no problem!"
"What would it turn into now, a giant cogwheel?"
"Hey, it doesn't matter what he is, he's still Yoshi," Emily snapped defensively. "And stop calling him an 'it' already! Just be glad that he remembers me!"
"It either- . . . he either remembers you, or thinks you're his mother!"
"Oh quiet you, of course he remembers me!"
"Umm, if I were you guys, I'd focus on getting him food," Gear advised as she handed back their digivices. "A newly hatched digimon eats more than a growing child!"
"Point taken," Emily replied, remembering how quickly Yoshi could make a bowl of noodles disappear. "See you Gear!"
"Till next time, alright?" They left the room, closing the door behind them.
"She seemed nice," Emily pointed out.
"And she knew a lot about digivices to!" Sam replied. "Do you think she has a digimon herself?"
"I dunno, I didn't see a digivice on her, and I would've thought that if she had a digimon, he or she would be nearby."
"Koro," MetalChoromon added solemnly, his expression as serious as if he'd been part of the conversation the whole time, before he hopped on top of Emily's head. They'd barely taken much more than two steps before both Emily and Sam stopped dead in their tracks. Standing before them were two large looking digimon, both of them armoured knights equipped with swords and shields. At least, from the waist up they were knights. Everything below that was the body of a horse, also clad in grey armour, much like a centaur.
"Are you the tamers with Xros Code signatures?" One of the knights asked. Emily nodded her head weakly, unsure what else she was meant to say. "Then we'll need you to come with us. Chief Glare would like to speak with you. . . ."
. . .
The door to the clock shop swung open as a customer stepped into the building. The old man was seated behind the counter, his legs on the desk as usual, his cap covering his eyes as he snored loudly. Immediately, he jerked back to life, as if sensing the presence of a customer even within his dreams. He straightened up as the customer strolled towards the counter. A young girl, perhaps fourteen or so stopped in front of him.
"Where's the gate to the digital world?" she asked.
"You're a tamer?" the old man asked in return.
"I asked you a question first. Where's the gate?"
"Even if I wanted to, I can't open it. Wait until next week Tuesday."
"I have a digivice. You'll let anybody pass so long as they have one of these right?" The girl held up a peculiarly shaped digivice, flashing it at the old man. The man sighed, dragging himself out of his seat.
"I'll show you. You can't open it. Wait for Tuesday." The man escorted her to the room in the back, through the dusty cobweb filled passage until they arrived at their destination. The television sets were all just as precariously placed as always, all of them switched off, including the large plasma screen in the centre of the room. The girl looked into the screen, peering closely at it.
"This is the gate to the digital world?"
"With correct power, yes. You cannot enter today. Have patience."
"Oh I have patience, just not the time to go with it. If you can't open it for me, then I'll just have to open it myself." The man watched curiously as she walked slowly towards the screen. She stared at it for a few moments before slowly raising her hand. Ever so gently, she placed a finger on the screen. White ripples spread across the blank surface, as if a stone had dropped into a pool of water, disturbing the peace. The old clock shop owner's expression was unreadable behind his glasses, but he did take a curious step closer.
"You. . . . What are you doing?"
"I'm opening the gate. I'm making a window that can glance at the truth, and the truth is that there's another world beyond here. Looks like I didn't need your help after all, old man." She sunk her whole arm into the screen, the rest of her body slowly sinking into it as she dove deeper into the portal.
"You are prepared for the digital world?" She smiled just as her body was beginning to vanish from sight, nothing but her voice left.
"Like you need to ask. . . . I'm a demon hunter, I'm always prepared."