You thought I forgot, didn't you?
You REALLY thought I would forget one of my favorite stories in favor of some new ones?
Well… you'd be right XD.
Sorry about that guys. It's just been hard to think about what to do after the last chapter, especially with how long it was. I will admit that due to recent events with Pokemon, I veered away from this story and for that, I am genuinely sorry. But I will try and get working on the rest of my stories, especially with the hours of my job.
Let's move away from real life and move onto the recap.
To recap: Both team Natsu and the D-Warriors were enjoying a much needed break in Warrod's home, having succeeded with their mission. While enjoying their dinner, the groups were introduced to Taichi and Veemon, which revealed Warrod's connection to Digimon, as well as his allegiance to Fairy Tail. He went on to explain the wise words of Mavis Vermillion and even told the groups about Tarturos and their experiments. Elsewhere, the Master granted Myotismon free reign to conduct Project: Nightmare on the grounds that Megan would be spared for some odd reason. The next day, the groups left and Taichi and Veemon went on their own journey of self discovery.
What challenges will our heroes face? And what IS Project: Nightmare? Let's find out…
A single flower was brushed by the calm wind, followed by a flock of birds flying by.
Then, a lone figure walked in front of the flower, blocking the sun from shining onto it. The figure was a maroon-eyed yellow-skinned lizard in a bluish-white pelt with navy blue markings and purple claws. A yellow horn protrudes at the top of its head and its belly is blue with unusual pink markings.
"Hi. I'm Gabumon." The creature known as Gabumon introduced himself to the flower, getting no response, obviously. "I'm… I'm something called a Digimon, I think. Ummm…" He twiddling his claws a bit, staring at the flower before straightening himself up. "So, what do you like?"
The flower was brushed by the wind once again.
"Oh. That's nice. Well… I like food. I like apples and oranges and bananas and watermelon. I also really like meat, especially when it's cooked. Not to brag, but I'm a good chef, though the only one that's ever eaten my food is me. But I give it an A."
Again, the wind brushed against the flower.
"What else? What else… OH! I also like art! Whenever I go to a city and see a mural, I always try looking at it, trying to feel the artist's emotions. Art is a really fun thing…" Gabumon sighed dreamily before he looked at the flower. "So, do you have anything you like?"
A single petal broke off the flower, as if answering Gabumon's question.
"Oh… okay. Sorry to bother you." Gabumon apologized before he walked away from the flower with a sad expression. That was the tenth flower to 'reject' him in the last month, and needless to say, it was disheartening.
But flowers weren't the only thing that pushed Gabumon away. Every time he tried speaking to the wildlife in the forest, they would either ignore him or outright try to eat him, thinking he was a free meal. It got to the point Gabumon almost wanted to just curl up in a cave and sleep for the rest of his life.
'But I wasn't trying to be mean. I just wanted to make friends.' Gabumon thought as he walked up the hill, not even caring what was in front of him due to his sad mood. One friend. That's all he ever wanted right now. A friend to talk to.
To eat food with.
To laugh at each other's jokes.
To just BE there for one another.
Was that too much to ask?!
*WHISTLE*
"Huh?" Gabumon was brought out of his funk when he heard a train whistle echoing through the fields. Curious, he ran all the way to the top of the hill, looking down to find a train station, where a train was just about to make a stop. "OH! A metal snake's here! Wait… oh no. Not a metal snake. That's a train… I think." Shaking his head, Gabumon smiled brightly as he ran towards the train station, hoping to get on the train to wherever it was going.
And perhaps even make a friend on the way.
'Inside the train cart'
"It seems we've stopped." Carla pointed out from her chair, seeing several people exit the train while a few were jumping on. With her were the rest of team Natsu, minus Natsu and Agumon, of course.
"This is stop 333. So that means… we should be at Magnolia station by this afternoon." Lucy told everyone while looking at the map in her hand, which showed all the train routes. She then glanced over to her Digimon partner with a smile on her face, seeing as he was sleeping soundly. "Looks like Flamemon's still sleepy."
"Considering he Digivolved the other day, you can't blame him." Gray said out loud while casually leaning on the window. "I wonder if Flame Brain and the others made it back to their town."
"I'm sure they did. After all, we left around the same time." Erza commented while drinking some of the tea the train staff happily provided her. She pulled away from the cup and looked down at the warm liquid. 'Still, I wonder where Zubamon went. I still haven't thanked him properly for what he did.'
"Hey, I was wondering." Happy suddenly spoke up, getting everyone but Flamemon's attention. "Since we're going back to the guild." He turned his attention to the sleeping Digimon. "And Flamemon's coming, how is he gonna join us?"
"Well, for now, he can just stay at my apartment. And maybe down the line… I can introduce him to the Master. Maybe he'll be willing to let Flamemon join." Lucy informed everyone, though judging by her tone, it was clear she was rather nervous about it.
"That may not be the wisest decision." Carla told her with a frown. "While it is true that Exceeds exist in this world, creatures such as the Digimon are a far cry from what anyone has dealt with. While I believe Master Makarov will not simply throw out Flamemon, we should also consider what to tell him in regards to where he is from."
"Maybe…" Everyone turned their attention to Wendy, who was looking rather shy about something. "We can… let him know about the D-Warriors?"
"I don't know about that. I mean I trust Gramps, but even he might find the whole idea of Digimon to be weird." Gray admitted while rubbing the back of his neck.
"We shall cross that bridge when we get there." Erza told everyone with a hint of finality in her voice. "For now, let us rest and report our progress when we return."
Not wanting to argue with Erza, everyone simply sat back in silence, waiting for the last of the new passengers to jump onboard the ship.
However, the group failed to see a group of rather suspicious looking men enter a carbon three carts away.
"We're in." One of the men muttered with a smirk, happy to have passed the Rune Knights stationed nearby.
Gabumon poked his head out, watching as the last person entered the train.
"Ohhh…" Gabumon muttered in awe, rubbing a claw against the last cart of the train. He had rarely gotten the chance to be anywhere near a train, so this was a new experience for him. "I wonder how far this train goes."
"Alright! That's everyone!" One of the conductors announced as the train operator threw in a fresh shovel full of coal into the engine, powering it up.
*Whistle*
Once again, the train began to whistle loudly, with the wheels slowly moving forward.
"Oh no." Gabumon gasped as the train slowly began to move away from him. He began to follow it, but every second, the train continued to move faster and faster ahead, forcing the Digimon to run. 'I need to jump on!'
Running as fast as his little legs could go, Gabumon extended a claw forward before leaping, grabbing onto the railing of the back cart. With a grunt, he pulled himself over the railing and only the floor of the train cart, much to his relief. "Oh… that was… close…" Panting a bit due to how fast he had to act, Gabumon got back up and looked at the door to the cart. "I wonder…"
Curiosity got the better of him as he grabbed the door handle and opened it, sneaking inside to find food or anything interesting.
'With the D-Warriors'
"Alright. Who wants some bread?" Megan asked her friends with a smile, a bag of fresh bread in her arms. Her Pawnchessmon stood next to her, carrying his own bag of bread. Akame didn't even hesitate as she took a baguette, taking a big bite out of it.
"I'll take some." Vex took some bread, offering one to Gaomon, who politely took it. Next was Ichigo and Terriormon, followed by Haru and Guilmon, Sarah and her Pawnchessmon, and finally Tsubaki and Falcomon.
"Ohhhhh." Agumon stared at the bag of bread Pawnchessmon offered him, taking one in his claws before sniffing it, making him smile. "It smells really good!" Opening his mouth, Agumon took a big bite out of it, his eyes widening in delight. "MMMMHHHHHH!"
"I know! Me and Harumon love fresh bread!" Guilmon added gleefully while he ate baguette after baguette without a care in the world.
"Sheesh. I get it's good, but no need to yell." Terriormon teasingly told him before eating his own bread. He then glanced over to Sarah and raised a brow. "So… I'm guessing HE doesn't want any."
The HE Terriormon was referring to was Natsu, who was lying on Sarah's lap to keep himself from throwing up.
"It must be terrible for him." Tsubaki commented with a sympathetic frown.
"Wendy mentioned using a spell on him to help with motion sickness, but she used it so much, he's immune." Ichigo reminded her while glancing at Natsu. "Still, I kinda feel bad."
"Maybe we should knock him out." Renamon offhandedly suggested as she took some bread before disappearing like a ninja.
"I doubt that needs to happen. Still, it seems he's at least comfortable with sleeping on Sarah's lap." Gaomon said while noticing the relaxed look on Natsu's face.
"Does it feel weird?" Haru couldn't help but ask Sarah, who shook her head.
"At first, yeah. But now it's not really a problem. Besides…" Sarah smiled as she poked Natsu's cheek, making him groan in annoyance. "He's really cute like this."
"Perhaps teasing his condition isn't wise." Falcomon told her with a sweatdrop. Akame just glanced over to Vex, who was staring at the window with a thoughtful frown.
"Is something wrong?" Akame asked Vex, who looked back at her briefly.
"I'm worried, to be honest." Vex confessed out loud, getting everyone but Natsu's attention. "First, we fought Devimon, who seemed to be able to use magic to try and take the Eternal Flame. Then, we learn about Tartaros and their involvement with this whole thing. It's just got my head spinning."
"I can see why. Even my uncle might have an issue with this." Megan confessed with a sigh, finding all this too convenient. "When we get back to the guild, I'm going to start looking into Tartaros. Maybe I'll be able to find something that can give us an edge."
"We should probably tell Fairy Tail about it too." Haru added, getting looks from everyone. "At least Erza and her friends since they know about Digimon."
"Maybe. But now, we need to be extra careful." Vex told them with a serious tone. "Whatever's out there might strike again, so we have to be ready."
All the members of the D-Warriors and their Digimon all nodded in agreement, their will to protect the people growing.
*Snore*
Suddenly, the serious moment was cut short when Natsu let out a snore, moving around before wrapping his arms on Sarah's stomach, making her eyes widen.
"H-Hey now! Let's save hugging for an actual date." Sarah told Natsu with her cheeks turning pink slightly, not expecting such an action from the sleeping Dragon Slayer.
"Huh. Looks like Natsu's starting to like you… as a pillow." Ichigo told her with a small smirk, getting the others to laugh in amusement while Sarah just pouted. She couldn't keep it up as she too joined in on the laughter.
It seemed even when asleep, Natsu was able to lift everyone's spirits.
'With team Natsu, one hour later'
Gray watched as the train passed by another set of trees for the tenth time in a row, a bored expression plastered on his face. He liked train rides as much as the other guy, but this trip was especially boring. Maybe because a certain fire wizard wasn't around to pick fights with him before failing miserably due to his motion sickness.
'Like I miss that idiot.' Gray thought while shaking away those thoughts. He looked around and took note of how everyone was passing the time.
Erza, who was sitting next to him, was sleeping soundly, most likely conserving her strength. Happy was on her lap, munching on a fish with a satisfied expression.
Across from them, Lucy was reading a book she had brought on the journey, a smile on her face as she turned to the next page. Wendy, who was sitting on one side, was peeking over Lucy's shoulder while checking out the book in interest. Carla, who was sitting on Wendy's lap, seemed to be knitting what looked like a tiny sweater that was her size(he didn't even know she had taken up knitting). Next to Lucy, Flamemon was still taking a nap, though he was now leaning on Lucy's shoulder as a makeshift pillow. Not that Lucy apparently minded since she was still calmly reading her book.
"I'm gonna use it." Feeling nature calling, Gray stood up from his seat and began to exit the booth, catching Lucy's attention.
"We're not that far from Magnolia. You sure you don't wanna hold it?" Lucy asked, getting a head shake from Gray.
"Nah. I need to stretch my legs anyway." Gray answered as Lucy shrugged and went back to her book. Leaving the booth, Gray began to walk through the train cart, occasionally looking over to see what the other passengers were doing. Eventually exiting the cart, Gray entered the next one, finding the bathroom sign on it. "Good."
But just as he was about to knock on the door…
*CRASH*
"UH OH!" He stopped when a loud crash was heard in the backroom of the cart, followed by the sound of a distressed person. Raising a brow, Gray moved away from the bathroom and began to walk towards the backroom door.
"Hello? Everything alright in there?" Gray spoke up, hoping to get some confirmation from whoever was inside. However, much to his confusion, he got no response, as if the person on the other side was hiding from him. "Hello? Can you hear me?"
Again, there was no response, making Gray narrow his eyes. While he could have simply gone about his business, his instincts were telling him to investigate. He could always tell the guards on the train about the strange passenger later on.
Right now, he needed to see who was inside the room.
Reaching for the handle, Gray grabbed it and slowly slid it open. The backroom was rather dark, with only small cracks of light leaking through the windows. Entering the room before closing the door, Gray began to walk through it with narrowed eyes, trying to find any form of movement.
'I know I heard someone here. Maybe a stowaway?' Gray thought as he snuck passed several chests, which were clearly transporting something.
*Creek*
Gray stopped moving when he heard a small creek, followed by a hat stand toppling over. "Who's there?" He called out sharply, looking around once again while getting ready to cast a spell if need be. "I'm not gonna hurt you. But you better show yourself. Otherwise, I'm telling the train to stop."
"Wait! Don't do that!" The strange voice spoke up from behind a large lizard-like statue. "I'm coming out…" Gray waited patiently as he saw something emerge from behind the statue, only for his eyes to widen.
"What the hell…" Walking out of his hiding spot was Gabumon, who for some reason was wearing a large white button-down shirt, loose jeans and a floral hat, as well as a pair of glasses he found somewhere. Gabumon raised his claws in a surrendering stance, as if he was being arrested.
"Please. I didn't do anything. Well… apparent from trying on some clothes…" Gabumon sheepishly admitted while smiling nervously.
"... You're not a human." Gray bluntly pointed out while lowering his hands. "Who or what are you?"
Gabumon perked up upon hearing this. "Oh! My name is Gabumon and I'm traveling around, trying to make friends! I saw this train come by and thought I should try and jump on. Then I found this big room with all sorts of things!" He gestured to the clothes he was wearing. "Boy, you humans really have clothes that are too big for you."
"Right… wait, you said your name was GABUMON, right?" Gray asked, getting a nod from Gabumon. "Tell me, are you a Digimon?"
"YOU KNOW ABOUT DIGIMON?!" Gabumon suddenly rushed over until he was close to the ice wizard. "Have you met any other Digimon? What were they like? Would any of them be my friends? Do they like art too? Actually, do YOU like art? Because I really like art. Sometimes, I see painters go out and paint nature and I think 'Oh, that's really nice.' What kind of food do you like? I like apples and oranges and bananas and-"
"Woah woah woah. Easy there." Gray tried to calm Gabumon down, not wanting to continue hearing his little rant. "Why don't I tell you my name first, okay?"
"Oh… you're right. I'm sorry!" Gabumon quickly gave Gray a bow, causing the hat and glasses to fall off his head.
"The name's Gray. Gray Fullbuster. And yes, I know about Digimon. An idiot I know and another friend have Digimon." Gray explained before kneeling down to Gabumon's level. "Look, I get you wanna travel around, but you shouldn't go putting on other people's things without permission. It's rude."
"I'm sorry…" Feeling down in the dumps, Gabumon took off the shirt and pants, with Gray folding up neatly. "It's just… I don't have any friends."
"Really?" Gray asked with a small frown. "You said you travel, but no one's ever tried talking to you." Gabumon took this chance to walk over to a chest and sit on it, dangling his feet a little.
"A few. But a lot of the time, they get scared of me because of my looks. And even when I try to talk to them, they panic and start yelling at me." Gabumon told Gray with a sad frown, tears threatening to fall down his face. "I know I look scary, but I have feelings too. Why can't anyone talk to me like you are?"
Gray couldn't help but pity the blue Digimon in front of him. Contrary to his appearance, Gabumon seemed like a friendly, albeit socially awkward Digimon who was simply curious about everything. He couldn't blame him for feeling sad about being lonely. After all, Gray himself understood that feeling thanks to that monster Deliora.
"Hey. Gabu-"
"Is it in there?"
"Well, it's the back cart, so obviously it's there."
Gray and Gabumon perked up when they heard voices coming from the door.
"Shut it, you two! The boss wants the loot secure, so keep it down!"
"Come on, Louie. Not like anyone's in there."
"Well we don't know, do we dumbass? Open the damn door."
"Ummm, Gray? Who's th-MMMM." Before Gabumon could finish asking the question, Gray put a hand over his mouth and moved them to cover. The door to the back cart opened up, with three brutish-looking men walking inside.
"Ohhhhhh. Look at this." One of the men whistled, noticing all the things in the cart.
"Boss is gonna be happy." Another of the men added with a smirk.
"Alright, you know the drill. Loot whatever's gonna make us Jewel and bring it back to the boss. And if you find a rat in here… kill it." The third man told the two, getting nods of agreement as they began to look around for anything worthwhile.
'Great. Now we have bandits in here.' Gray thought with a glare, still covering Gabumon's mouth so they wouldn't be discovered. He could simply take them out, but he didn't know how many of them were on the train.
"Look at this shit. Clothes, clothes and more clothes. Not even worth crap." One of the men threw a blouse away in annoyance. "You sure this is the train?"
"The boss said these jackasses were bringing in a gold shipment in disguise, so it has to be here. Check harder!" The third man yelled in annoyance as the other two kept looking around. He took this chance to pull out a pocket watch, checking the time. "We should be passing the mountains soon."
'Why are the mountains so important?' Gray thought, listening intensely at the man's words.
"What about everyone else on the train?" The second man couldn't help but ask, making the third man smirk.
"After the boss stops the train, we get rid of everyone inside. No witnesses. Got it?" The third man informed them, making Gray and Gabumon widen their eyes in horror. It seemed like these men were going to do everything in their power to steal the train's valuables and slaughter everyone inside.
"Gway. Gway!" Gabumon yelled through Gray's hands while trying to escape his grip.
"Shhhh. Stop making, Gabumon." Gray whispered as Gabumon continued to free himself from Gray's hold.
"You hear something?" The men stopped looking, believing to have heard a sound.
"Seriously, knock it off." Gray hissed, now growing a bit annoyed by what Gabumon was doing, unaware that he was about to knock something over.
That is until his back struck the lizard statue, causing it to topple over and shatter loudly.
Gray and Gabumon froze as the three men turned their heads towards the two with surprised expressions.
"...Shit." Gray said out loud.
"GET HIM!" The three men began to rush towards the duo, not wanting them to spoil their plans. Gray quickly removed his hand from Gabumon's mouth and was about to rush the three men…
"BLUE BLASTER!" Suddenly, Gabumon launched a stream of blue flames from his mouth, striking two of the men as they screamed in pain.
"HOLY SHIT! THAT IS HOT!"
"WAIT! WHY IS THERE ICE?!" Much to their shock, the two men were slowly encased in ice, following back with a loud thud.
"W-W-What the hell are-"
*BAM*
The third man couldn't finish as Gray took this chance to punch him hard in the face, knocking him out cold.
"Damn bastards." Gray muttered while glaring down at the men before he looked over to Gabumon. "Did your flames just freeze those guys?"
"You mean my Blue Blaster?" Gabumon asked before he grinned sheepishly. "W-Well, my flames are so cold, they can burn whoever gets hit by it. Though, that also makes cooking in the forest hard since I end up freezing the wood." He then gave Gray a hopeful expression. "But did you think my Blue Blaster was good?!"
"Ummm, yeah. It was really good." Gray said while giving Gabumon a thumbs up, much to his joy. He then turned his attention to the three men before frowning. "These guys plan on robbing the entire train. We need to stop them."
"Stop them?" Gabumon then adopted a serious expression. "Right! We have to stop them before they hurt the people!" With that, he began to run towards the door, only for Gray to stop him.
"Hang on, Gabumon! You can't just run out there." Gray scolded him, making Gabumon stop. "I know you wanna help, but if you go out there yelling about bandits, not only would you cause a panic, but you'd also give the rest of these bastards a chance to fight back."
"We can't let them hurt anyone!" Gabumon shouted while trying to pull away from Gray.
"That's why we need a plan." Gray told him while giving a deep frown. "Look, me and my friends know how to handle bad people. So right now, I need to let them know what's going on so we can stop them, okay?" He then gave Gabumon a small smile. "Plus, we could always use your Blue Blaster in case things go wrong."
Gabumon stared at Gray with complete shock. Not only was Gray going to take on these bandits, but he was also asking HIM for help. Just the thought of it brought a smile to Gabumon's face as he gave an eager nod.
"But before that…" Looking around, Gray found some clothes on the floor, making him smirk. "We need to make you a disguise."
'With the others'
"Gray sure is taking his time, isn't he?" Lucy commented out loud, having closed her book briefly as she noticed her friend was still missing.
"Yes, he has." Erza joined in the conversation, having woken up while narrowing her brown eyes.
"Maybe he had a bad stomach. If he could me, I could've healed him with my magic." Wendy said with a frown, feeling bad that she didn't help with Gray's upset stomach.
"Please. If he has an upset stomach, he should have told us sooner. His suffering is not our responsibility." Carla chimed in, not taking her eyes off her knitting.
"Maybe he just needs some fish." Happy pointed out while taking out yet another full fish from his little pack. Flamemon let out a small yawn, catching everyone's attention. "Hey look. Flamemon's awake!"
"Hey guys." Flamemon tiredly said while stretching his arms, making sure not to lower his hood. Opening his eyes, he noticed Gray was missing, making him raise a brow. "Where's Gray?"
"Right here." As if on cue, Gray came back to the booth with a serious expression. "We got a problem."
"If it's about your stomach, we don't want to hear it." Carla swiftly told him with a frown before noticing someone standing next to Gray. "Who's that?"
"Yeah… we have a stowaway." Moving away, Gray gestured to Gabumon, who was wearing a rather clumsily put disguise. Flamemon sniffed the air a little before his eyes widened in shock.
"You're a Digi-" Gray quickly put a hand over his mouth before he could blurt out the sentence out loud.
"Not so loud." Gray whispered at Flamemon harshly before moving Gabumon in the center of the booth. "This is Gabumon and he snuck on the train."
"Hello! It's nice to meet all of you!" Gabumon spoke up with a big smile, happy to finally meet Gray's friends.
"He looks like Gaomon!" Happy pointed out, comparing the two dog-like Digimon.
"But why is he wearing clothes?" Lucy asked with a confused frown.
"I need to dress him up to move him here, but we've got bigger problems than that." Gray motioned his friends to lean in close. "There are bandits on this train. Me and Gabumon took out three of them, but we overheard them talking about taking the train once it passes the mountains."
This certainly caught everyone's attention as they were surprised to hear such a thing.
"Do you know what they look like?" Erza asked with a serious tone, getting a head shake from Gray. "This is troubling."
"So, what should we do?" Flamemon asked nervously.
"For now, we will need to divide and conquer." Erza told the group. "Gray, you and I will move towards the engine room to prevent the train from being taken." She then glanced over to Lucy and Flamemon. "Lucy, you and Flamemon will protect the middle carts while Wendy, Carla and Happy guard the rear. Hopefully, we can detain them before we reach Magnolia." Everyone seemed to agree with the plan, though one certain Digimon felt left out.
"But what about me? I wanna help." Gabumon complained, wanting to be a part of the action.
"He's a good fighter, Erza. I think he can help." Gray added, having seen Gabumon's power in action. While Erza and the others hadn't seen Gabumon's powers, with what they witnessed in Sun Village, they knew that the Digimon in front of them could at least fight.
"Very well. But stay close. We don't know what these people are planning." Erza reminded him with an intense look, making Gabumon gulp nervously.
'I don't know why, but this human's very scary!' Gabumon thought with a sweatdrop.
'Inside one of the train carts'
Inside one of the train carts, a group of men were waiting patiently, ignoring the sounds of the other passengers as they mentally prepared to pull off their heist.
One particular man stood out from the rest, being over six feet tall. He had a tight bodysuit-like attire with dark skin, tattoos on the right side of his face and a nose ring on his left nostril.
The tall man took out his own pocket watch, smirking a bit in delight.
"Alright. Let's move, boys." The tall man ordered the other men, who all nodded in agreement before they began to exit their booth.
"Excuse me. Excuse me." However, one passenger was trying to make his way towards the bathroom, accidentally bumping into the tall man. "Sorry, but I really have to go to the rest-"
"Oh?" The tall man looked down at the passenger, who shrunk a bit due to the intense look in his eyes. "You wanna move? Then move!" Grabbing the passenger by the collar, the tall man threw him to the ground, catching everyone's attention.
*Bang*
Everyone screamed as one of the tall man's grunts shot a revolver in the ceiling. "Attention, all passengers." The tall man called out like he was a showman. "You are now being robbed. If you would be so kind as to hand over all your loot and belongings, that would be appreciated." Some of the passengers attempted to run away, only for several more grunts to come out of nowhere and block their path. "Ah ah ah. Sorry, but you're going to have to wait in your seats. Otherwise, we'll have to hurt you. And believe me, I'd rather not." Despite saying this, the tall man still had a smirk on his face, indicating that he WANTED them to defy him. "Now, my friends here are going to ask for your Jewel, so please give it to them." With that, several of his grunts began walking down the aisle, a large sack in hand. Reluctantly, some of the passengers began giving them money or whatever they had.
"Boss, what about the engine?" One of the grunts asked, having taken an elderly woman's necklace.
"Don't worry about that. Just make sure you get all their money. And meet up with J in the back cart." The boss ordered his men before he and three others left the cart, making their way towards the engine room.
"Come on. Come on!" Everything you got! Don't you hold back!" One particular grunt seemed extra excited about stealing some loot. He stopped in front of a young couple, raising a brow at the defiant look in the boyfriend's face. "What?"
"You're scum." The boyfriend told the grunt with a growl as he stood up. "Stealing from hard working people. What gives you the right?!"
*SMACK*
The grunt responded by punching the boyfriend on the face, knocking him back in his seat. "CAL!" Before his girlfriend could help him, the grunt grabbed her by the hair, pulling her away from the seat.
"You know I don't like being yelled at." The grunt told the boyfriend before giving a lecherous smirk. "Still… I don't mind showing your girl what a real man looks like."
"Please, don't!" The girlfriend begged as the grunt took out a knife, moving it close to cut her clothing off…
*SLASH*
"GUAH!" Before he could do anything to violate her, the grunt was slashed on the back, causing him to fall while releasing the girlfriend.
"That's enough." All the passengers and even the grunts widened their eyes as they saw Erza standing in the cart, sword in hand while sporting a deep glare. She then aimed her sword at the grunts. "You're all under arrest."
"Who the hell's this bitch?" One of the grunts foolishly asked before he began to walk towards Erza, aiming his revolver at her. "Whatever. We don't got time for this."
"Idiot! Don't you know who that is!" Another grunt yelled in fear, realizing who they were dealing with.
Before the grunt could shoot Erza…
*Slash*
The barrel of his gun fell off, much to his horror. He was about to move when Erza slammed her knee into his stomach, knocking him out completely.
"Anyone else?" Erza asked rhetorically, ready to take on the rest of the grunts.
Not wanting to let their boss down, and mostly to see how far they can push their luck, the rest of the grunts rushed towards Erza.
Above the train cart, Gray and Gabumon were jumping between the gaps, making their way towards the engine cart.
"Come on, Gabumon! We're almost there." Gray called out through the wind, having jumped yet another cart.
"I'm trying! It's very windy up here!" Gabumon shouted back while using one of his claws to shield his face, the other holding onto his fur. While he agreed that jumping on top of the carts was a good way to get to the engine, the wind was making it a lot more difficult than he expected. Seeing the next gap in front of him, Gabumon leapt forward and landed on it…
Only for his left foot to slip.
"UH OH!" Gabumon yelped as he began to fall to the side, only to grab onto the ledge of the cart with his right paw. "GRAY! I MADE A BIG MISTAKE!"
"Oh shit!" Seeing Gabumon was holding on by a hair, Gray began to run towards him, sliding on his knees before grabbing the Digimon's paw. "Hang on!"
"Oh Gray! You're so nice!" Gabumon cried out before Gray was able to pull him up to the cart.
"Come on, pal. We got a job to do and I need you." Gray reminded Gabumon with a smile, making him perk up before he nodded. Having regained their bearings, the duo continued their path towards the engine cart, ignoring the smoke hitting their faces.
"We're here, boss." One of the grunts informed his boss as they finally reached the door to the engine cart.
"Good." The boss let out a smirk as he opened the door, coming face to face with the conductor.
"Hey. You're not supposed to be here!" The conductor yelled, only to freeze as he saw a knife pointed at his face.
"Now now. Let's not do anything stupid." The boss cooly told the conductor, forcing him into the engine room. "No yelling. No fighting. Just stop the train. Otherwise, we're gonna need a new conductor."
The conductor gulped in fear, seeing as he was outnumbered 1 to 3. As much as he wanted to stop these men, he knew he didn't have the power to do so. With a hint of reluctance, the conductor began to walk towards the coal engine, ready to pull on the brakes.
"Ice Make: Cage!"
"Blue Blaster!" The boss quickly got out of the way just in time as a cage made of ice trapped one of his grunts, with an icy blue flame hitting another before he was frozen solid.
"Awww shit." The boss grunted as he saw Gray and Gabumon descend from the ceiling, both giving him a glare.
"You're not stopping this train." Gray declared confidently, getting a raised brow from the boss.
"Huh. Fairy Tail. Just my luck." The boss said with a hint of annoyance. "By the way, do all you fairies take off your shirts?"
Gray and Gabumon were wondering what he meant before the former noticed his shirt was gone.
"Oh damnit!" Gray shouted while Gabumon looked at him in shock.
"Gray! Where's your shirt?!" Gabumon shouted with a blush, not expecting to see Gray topless. Before Gray could respond, the boss rushed in with a knife. Thinking quickly, Gray caught him by the wrist and pinned him against the window.
"I guess the rumors were true. Fairy Tail will take in anyone. Including nudists." The boss snarkily remarked, forcing Gray to add pressure on his arm. "Easy. You got me."
"Scum like you deserve a lot worse. By the way, I wouldn't be expecting your friends to show up if I were you." Gray told him, making the boss widen his eyes. "This train isn't stopping, so you can forget about any backup."
"Huh. So you decided to play hero. Predictable." The boss mocked with a smirk. "Still… do you really think you got me?"
"What are you-" Before Gray could finish, the boss' body suddenly began to turn into smoke, freeing himself from the ice wizard's grip. The smoke then rematerialized behind Gray, slamming his arm against his throat.
"GRAY!" Gabumon rushed in to try and help.
"One more stop, puppy, and his neck's snapped." The boss told Gabumon, pushing against Gray's throat to prove his point. "Now be a good dog and stop this train."
"B-But… But I-" Gabumon felt extremely conflicted with this. He knew that if the train stopped, the people onboard would be in trouble.
But at the same time, could that really justify sacrificing Gray's life?
"Do it… Gabumon…" Gray managed to say while looking over to the Digimon, who gave him a look. "Trust me… it's fine…"
'It's fine? What does he mean by-' Gabumon stared at Gray's eyes and for some reason, he felt like everything was fine. As much as he wanted to try and stop this thief, he had to put his faith in Gray for the time being. With a face of regret, Gabumon went over to the lever brake and pulled on it, causing the train's brakes to activate. Sparks shot out of the wheels as the train slowly began to stop, eventually halting in front of a large mountain range.
"Good puppy." The boss pulled Gray close into a chokehold, dragging him away from Gabumon. "Now stay here and wait. It'll all be over soon." Exiting the cart, the boss and Gray jumped down and began to make their way towards the opening. Turning his head towards the mountains, the boss let out a loud whistle, which echoed several times.
Soon, multiple dangerous-looking men came out of hiding, each carrying a weapon in hand.
"Just in time, boys! Ready for a pay day?!" The boss yelled out, getting multiple cheers of agreement from his men. "Alright, get out here, boys! Show us the goods!"
No one exited the train carts.
"Hey! I said get out here!"
Again, no one came out, much to the boss' irritation.
"Come on, you lazy asses! Stop hogging all the Jewel and bring out the hostages!" Little did the boss know, Gray was smirking.
"Sorry, but they aren't coming." Everyone turned their attention to the middle cart, with Agunimon standing on top of it, arms crossed.
"Who the hell's that, boss?!" One of the men called out in confusion.
"Just your run-of-the-mill traveler who was going home. But then your friends started causing trouble." Agunimon told them with a smirk. "So we had to jump in. Right, Lucy?"
On cue, Lucy and Wendy came out of their respective train carts, getting into fighting stances.
"What the hell?!" The boss asked with wide eyes. Erza also exited her train cart, tossing out the unconscious grunts she defeated. "How the hell?!"
"You made a big mistake." Gray told the boss, an icy mist beginning to come out of his hands. "You messed with Fairy Tail!" With that, Gray used his magic and touched the boss' stomach, causing ice to spread around him.
"Shit!" Realizing what Gray was doing, the boss quickly let him go and put distance between them, glaring harshly at the Fairy Tail wizards. "You bastards! You're gonna pay!"
"Blue Blaster!" Before the boss could do anything, Gabumon hit him with his blue flames, slowly encasing his body in ice.
"Wait! No.. I… GAHHH!" The boss could only scream as his whole body was frozen solid.
"Great work, Gabumon." Gray told the Digimon with a smile before he looked back at the rest of the men with a serious glare. "So… who's next?"
'Magnolia, later'
The train had finally arrived in Magnolia, stopping inside the train station while allowing its passengers to exit it.
"Finally. We're home." Lucy spoke up while stretching her arms up, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Home… it's so weird to say that." Flamemon confessed, a sad expression on his face. Given his life up until now, it was understandable the idea of home was still new to him.
"Don't worry, Flamemon. I was like that too when I first came here." Wendy reassured him while rubbing his back. "But after a while, you'll feel right at home."
"That is if everyone doesn't panic due to your… unique appearance." Carla added, getting a sweatdrop from Wendy.
"I have to make sure the Rune Knights detain the bandits, so all of you go on without me." Erza informed her friends before she went back to the train, where several dozen beaten, bruised and somewhat frozen bandits were waiting.
"See ya later, Erza." Gray and the others bid her farewell before he glanced over to the corner, where Gabumon was not-so-subtly hiding while looking at the ice wizard.
"So, what are we gonna do about Gabumon? Send him to the D-Warriors?" Lucy asked with a frown.
"That's a rather large distance to send him, especially alone. Who knows what kind of danger he might find himself in." Carla told her while crossing her paws.
"Aye. And even weren't not too sure where this Odaiba Town is, so we won't know what train to send him in." Happy called out with a paw raised. Gray frowned a bit at this before he went over to Gabumon, who perked up upon seeing him.
"Oh, Gray! Are you and your friends going home?" Gabumon asked the ice wizard, failing to hide the sadness in his voice.
"Yeah. We have to get to the guildhall and tell our Master about our mission. But then, we're gonna go back home." Gray said before a smile grew on his face. "Thanks for helping us out back there. You handled yourself pretty well."
"Awww, shucks. You're making me blush." Gabumon laughed nervously while scratching the back of his neck. It was clear he wasn't used to hearing such praise, but for some reason, hearing this from Gray made him happy. "I couldn't let any of those people get hurt. And I was really worried about you."
"Don't be. Trust me, that's the least Fairy Tail has to deal with." Gray waved off his fears, recalling his battles with evil wizards, dark monsters and most recently, an evil devil-like Digimon. He then put his hands in his pockets while looking down at Gabumon with a soft expression. "So… what about you?"
"Me?" Gabumon lost his happy expression and frowned deeply. He didn't know what he was gonna do when he came to Magnolia, so his plans for what to do now were nonexistent. "I don't know. Maybe I'll just walk around and see what Magnolia has."
"True. You can just leave and we won't see each other anymore." Gray bluntly told him, much to Gabumon's growing disappointment. "Or…"
"Or?" Gabumon looked up to Gray with a curious expression.
"Or you can live with me. I live by myself, so I have plenty of room to spare." Gray said with a smile returning to his face. "I know how it feels to be alone, Gabumon. And it sucks. But if you have people with you, people who will fight to make sure you're alright, then life starts feeling a lot better."
"IF YOU THINK DYING'S OKAY, THEN YOU HAVE ANOTHER THING COMING! YOU LIVE FOR YOUR FRIENDS!"
Natsu's words echoed through Gray's mind as he continued to look at Gabumon. As much as they fought and argued, Gray truly cherished what Natsu did for him back in Galuna, so now he was offering that same kindness to the Digimon in front of him.
"So what do you say, Gabumon?" Gray took out one of his hands and offered it to Gabumon. "Wanna be friends?"
"... Friends? You… wanna be… m-my… friend?" Gabumon felt like he was hearing things, but the look in Gray's face said otherwise. He genuinely wanted to give Gabumon a chance to be friends, which was something the wolf-like Digimon had been looking for all his life. Tears slowly began to fall down Gabumon's face, his heart aching for affection. "GRAY!"
Without warning, Gabumon lunged at Gray, tackling him to the ground.
"GUAH!" Not expecting such a reaction, Gray took the full force of Gabumon's tackle and wheezed hard.
"THANK YOU SO MUCH! I PROMISE I'LL BE THE BESTEST FRIEND THERE EVER WAS!" Gabumon hugged Gray as tight as he could, rubbing his cheek against Gray's.
"Gabu… Mon… I… know.. You're… happy… but… you're… squeezing… too… tight… can't… breathe…" Gray managed to say, though Gabumon kept hugging him.
Lucy, Wendy, Happy, Carla and Flamemon all smiled at the show of affection between Gray and Gabumon.
"It looks like we have a new friend joining us." Lucy giggled a bit as Gabumon finally released Gray from his hug, all while apologizing for squeezing too tight. She then looked up at the sky, staring at the sun. 'I wonder how things will be tomorrow, especially with the Digimon. Maybe I'll find something to write about.'
Man. I feel so ashamed for not updating this months ago. But Writer's Block is a bitch of a disease, so that's why I'm finally able to write it now.
Again, I'm sorry about the lack of updates for Digi Fairy, but hopefully, I can get another chapter out this year.
I know this chapter feels a bit wacky, especially with the addition of Gabumon, but I honestly didn't know how to include him since Sun Village was done. Still, I had fun writing it, especially with the dynamic between Gray and Gabumon. As you can see, they haven't become partners… yet. However, the next arc will definitely push them closer into being Tamer and Digimon, so I hope you guys look forward to that.
Follow, Fav, Review and Pzzzzzz
… Wait, what the hell? Did my computer-
Bzzzzzzzzz….
There it is again! What the fu-
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
'?'
Deep within a forest, far from any city or town in Fiore, was a creature. The shadows of the trees around concealed its face, though a red cloak and white scales could be visible though the light gaps.
The creature took a quiet breath, feeling the wind brush against their skin.
"..."
"Well, well. Look who's having a jolly old time." A new voice called out from the trees, though the creature didn't seem to react. "Come on. Can't you say anything?"
"..."
"Now that's just rude." Emerging from the trees was none other than Type A, who was staring at the creature with a small pout. "If this is the kind of treatment you give to your friends, then I'm worried what you do to your ene-"
"Why are you here?" The creature cut off Type A, not even bothering to open their eyes.
"Okay, okay. I can see that you're really busy with your meditation, so I'll be brief." Type A told the creature before adopting a serious expression. "They're making their move."
While there wasn't much more Type A said, it was more than enough for the creature to open their eyes, revealing its golden coloring.
"What did you say?" The creature asked in a tone that held no time for jokes.
"You know what I said. Myotismon is making his move, which means sooner or later, chaos will start to spread." Type A leaned against a tree, arms crossed. "I wonder how many humans and Digimon will die because of these Dark Tamers. Probably in the hundreds, maybe thousands. And given how Devimon was, I'd wager we're in for a rough battle. One that we can't fight alone."
"Are you underestimating my power?" The creature snarled, feeling offended by the implication.
"With all due respect, you're still at the rookie level. Unless you somehow manage to grow all the way to a Mega, then you can't fight them alone." Type A reasoned, a sympathetic frown on his visible mouth. "That's why I think we need to talk to the D-Warriors."
"Children. They're all children. I won't force them to fight my battles." The creature shot down the idea, though Type A didn't seem to budge.
"And if you were killed, or worse, captured? Experimented? Turned into a monster? Then what?" Type A told him before uncrossing his arms. "I know you wanna push yourself, but not at the cost of your life. We need help, Hackmon."
The creature known as Hackmon hated to admit it, but Type A had a point. He still failed to gain enough power to Digivolve, so facing off against Myotismon or even one of his mindless minions would be too much for him. And Type A still doesn't have the strength to fight after what happened. So… there might be one other option.
"I… will speak with them." Hackmon finally relented, earning a smile from Type A. "However, I wish to see their strength in action."
"What? Can't trust the words of a friend? That hurts, Hackmon." Type A jokingly said before frowning. "Just promise you won't do anything idiotic."
"Please. That's your department." A small smirk grew on Hackmon's face before he disappeared within the shadows.
It seems the D-Warriors, and by extension, Natsu, were going to get a surprise visitor.
Next time: Growing darkness.