Rise of the Mechanical Digimon

Neil's eyes went wide at the sound of Beat mentioning a problem with Agumon as Yomaki said, "Neil, you'd better come," then added, "Seems you got caught in the act. I told you to be careful."

Neil narrowed his eyelids as if to say 'You' then shrugged as the two headed to the storage area. However, when the two got there, it seemed Beat was merely freaking out over a spider in the mech's circuitry.

Pulling out the spider, Yomaki said, "It's not too big a deal, just a dead spider."

"I came all this way for that..." Neil groaned as Agumon's eyes came on, the boy blinking as the mech lifted up its hand, giving Neil thumbs up.

"I guess it feels ready for the duel later," Midori said.

After another hour or so of work, it was time for lunch as Neil took a big bite out of his meal, Midori blinking and saying, "Wow, you're energetic."

"Well, I need to be strong and well-fed for tonight, right?" the boy replied, "I'm not backing down from this. If it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll get."

Hearing this, the others started whispering amongst themselves. Were these words really coming from Neil?

Mato beamed and patted Neil's shoulder stating, "That's the spirit!" Neku giving Neil a mere thumbs up of support.

Soon enough, the shift was over as Agumon, carrying Neil, walked to the outskirts of town, the others there to give the boy support. Neil's knees started trembling as he sighed, "Goddammit."

However, the others were confident in him as Alejandro gave Neil thumbs up exclaiming, "Good luck bro! Kick his ass!" Mato pulling out a pair of pom-poms while shouting, "Gambare, Neil-Chan!" Kotaha smiling sweetly and saying, "Good luck."

At that moment, a huge mech emerged from the distance as Neil's eyes went wide, his heart beating. From the distance came a large mishmash of robots with 5 arms, each different from the other, a pair of wings, a skull helmet and a pair of white feet with blue stripes.

Everyone stared in total shock. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Whatever this mech was, it was huge. In fact, it had to have been at least five times bigger than Agumon.

Even Midori felt scared at the sight of it as the man piloting it smiled and said, "Hello, I'm Aku. I assume you are Neil."

The boy gulped and uttered, "Y-y-y-y-yep..." as the man replied, "Good to see you got my letter. This mech is Chimairamon. It's a combination of various other mechs."

Neil trembled at the sight of this monstrosity, terrified out of his mind while Aku explained, "As you know, I challenged you because of your mech's ability to transform, thus I refuse to attack until Agumon does so."

Neil shook his head and thought, 'That thing might look scary, but I'm sure I can take it.'

With that, Agumon formed into Greymon, letting out a loud battle roar. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as it looked.

However, the others got a little distracted, wondering what their mechs would look like after transforming. Those thoughts soon ended as the current situation was too serious for them to dwell on trivial matters like that.

Aku smiled and said, "Alright, just to show what a good sport I am, I'll let you have the first shot," as Neil uttered, "B-big mistake, buddy!" Greymon releasing his Nova Blast, hitting the mech hard.

As the smoke cleared, Chimairamon had only taken in a small little bit of visible damage as Neil's jaw dropped, Aku saying, "Not bad considering my baby here is an Ultimate model."

Neku, Mato and Kotaha all spat, "ULTIMATE?" Beat turning and replying, "Oh, did Yomaki-San not tell you? Ultimate level mechs are the next level, stronger than Champion level mechs." The others glared at Yomaki who shrugged and let down a sweat drop.

Neil was now frightened out of his mind as the beast opened up its mouth, releasing a powerful beam. Greymon barely dodged only to be struck hard by two of its arms.

"We're screwed..." Kotaha groaned, Alejandro wrapping his arms around Midori and shouting, "Worry not, fair Chika! I will protect you!" Mato shaking her pom-poms, squealing, "GREYMON! NEIL-CHAN! GO, GO, GO!"

Midori grunted, removing Alejandro's hands as she said, "This is serious. His life is on the line here."

Greymon tried to get up only to take in another blow, Aku saying, "I have to say, I'm disappointed. I expected better."

"No!" Neil grunted as Chimairamon rose its foot, sending it towards Greymon, the boy shouting again, "NO!" Greymon lifting up its hands, stopping the incoming attack as the others stared with shock, Greymon soon overpowered anyway as one of Chimairamon's hands rammed into him, shutting the dragon mech down.

Everyone stared silently. They couldn't believe what they had just seen. Did Neil just... lose?

Mato was too scared to even react to this, her eyes stuck in the same position for a while. Alejandro started to panic, though, as he spat, "What do we do!" Kotaha turning to Yomaki and asking, "Yomaki-San?"

"The deal was a one-on-one battle," Yomaki said, shrugging, "Neil has to accept death now."

"But he's a crybaby when it comes to that kind of thing," Jasmine replied, "He can't deal with it."

And, as predicted, Neil was letting down serious waterworks as he shouted, "NO! MOVE! COME ON, WORK!"

However hard he tried, though, Greymon just wouldn't activate. It was over.

However, after a while, everyone realized that Chimairamon had no intention of moving as Aku grinned and said, "I have to admit, you have balls to try and fight back in the position you were in."

"Huh?" Neil replied, sniffing and wiping his eyes, the man adding, "I can see you becoming more of a challenge. Until then, I will spare your life."

With that, Chimairamon turned around and took off, Neil breathing a sigh of relief, Greymon still unable to move, though. However, this hardly mattered right now. Everyone was simply relieved to see him still alive.

With that, Beat, Mato, Neku, Yomaki, Midori, Alejandro and Kotaha ran toward the mech with concern. They wanted to make sure for good that Neil was okay, Beat banging on Greymon's door to open up.

As Greymon opened up, Neil groaned and looked up asking, "Mato... is that you?" then seeing Beat there, he blinked and asked, "What's a filler character doing worrying about my health?" as Midori ran over, pushing the man to the side and smiled saying, "I gotta hand it to you, Neil, you got guts."

Alejandro looked slightly ticked by this. Why did Neil get Midori's attention and not him? Would Alejandro have to almost get killed?

Kotaha, on the other hand, walked over to the mech and touched him softly, saying, "You did good, big guy."

Mato looked at Neil with tears and spat, "NEIL, YOU BAKA!" tackling him while sniffing, "We were so worried about you..." Alejandro thinking, 'Come on! A wimp like him gets girls and tears? I wanna be him!'

Neil smiled weakly and wrapped his arms around Mato, holding her tightly and saying, "I thought I was gonna die," letting down tears and crying lightly, "I don't want to die."

Kotaha looked over Greymon and said, "Seems both of them might need medical attention, but Greymon's is out of my league. Mato, does it look like Neil needs medical treatment?"

"He does seem to have some scratches," Mato replied as Kotaha nodded and replied, "Bring him inside. After all, I am a former nurse."

"No, I'm fine..." Neil said, trying to get up but falling forward, his head going between Mato's boobs. However, even Midori didn't see this as a perverted as Neil was out like a light afterwards, not even panicking, feeling aroused or anything like that.

Yomaki looked at Greymon and sighed, "Well, time to bring out the old monkey wrench. Neil's gonna have to stay home for a while, though, meaning he won't be able to join us in combat."

Mato surprisingly sported a motherly smile in response to this as she patted his head, stroking the back of it and saying, "There, there," Alejandro letting down tears and thinking, 'So lucky...' Neku staring wide-eyed.

Yomaki looked at the scene and nodded before saying, "Good, you fix him up, Kotaha. Mato, bring Neil back to his house. The others... uh... go do whatever and let us handle this," Kotaha giving an army salute and going to get her medical equipment, Mato carrying Neil to her car.

Midori let out a sigh and said, "Well, all's well that ends well," then said, "Neil's so gonna kick that guy's butt next chance he gets." Once again, she'd shockingly said something nice about Neil.

Soon enough, Neil, Kotaha and Mato were at Neil's house as the man was placed on his bed, the covers over him as he lay there, still unconscious. In his stupor, he muttered, "Mato..." Kotaha sighing, "Well, he's in good condition, but he'll need lots of rest."

The next morning, everyone had arrived at work except for Neil and Mato. Mato had stayed at Neil's house to watch over him out of concern.

Mato looked like she was about to fall asleep when she snapped herself out of it, groaning, "Mou!" pinching herself. She wasn't going to get distracted, not for a second. Neil was holding onto Mato's hand, still asleep but now smiling and at peace.

Midori let out a sigh and said, "Well, at least I still got the other girls to keep me company," as Yomaki noticed Alejandro and said, "You look like you have something on your mind."

Alejandro sighed, "Well, my boss got me some kind of modelling gig in Europe, imploring me to at least do this before permanently leaving his agency. It's, like, four days from now, but only if you'll allow it."

Yomaki let out a sigh and said, "Well, luckily for you," then leaning forward, whispered in his ear, "I'm taking the company on a surprise vacation. I'll pay for that plane ride and you can go wherever you want," then said, "Don't tell," winking at him as Alejandro nodded, a smile on his face, Neku simply polishing Wormmon and not caring about anything else right now.

There were still problems today as most people weren't as into their work as usual. Midori picked up a table as she said, "Come on, do something!" as one guy, Michael replied, "I dunno, somehow, without Neil around, I just don't feel as motivated. I don't know why. I don't even care that much for him."

Meanwhile, Kotaha was sitting by Lalamon, looking into her eyes. All the while, she wondered if the mech actually thinking. But could robots think?

Alejandro looked at Midori at work and thought hard about how he could get her attention. This just frustrated him. Neil was getting everything and a handsome stud like Alejandro was getting nothing.

After a while, everyone had lunch, however they weren't enjoying it as much as they usually would have due to Neil and Mato's absence. Neku took small, slow bites of his food, pretending it didn't get to him as well.

"You're all a bunch of babies," Midori said, taking a big bite out of a steak, Neku stating, "Oi, you'll choke on that."

Things were beyond awkward right now. Alejandro was still upset over Neil getting more attention than him, Midori was acting like she didn't care, Kotaha was trying to keep a positive spirit and Neku wasn't sure how to feel. However, the silence soon ended as the alarm went off, a large metal insect with a blue torso and a grey helmet called Kabuterimon flying through town, shooting lightning all over the place.

"Alright, no more sitting around!" Midori spat, shouting, "OFF TO BATTLE WE GO!" rushing off. The truth was that she was just as torn up as everyone else, but she also had her own priorities to keep straight.

Unfortunately, among all four mech pilots, Midori and Kotaha were the only ones with enough spirit to help, Alejandro too depressed to even care about what he was doing as Midori sighed, saying, "Don't worry, Kotaha. I'm here to help you out."

Kotaha let out a sigh and replied, "It's not so much me but Neku I'm worried about. He seems depressed and won't show it," Midori biting her lip nervously as the nurse added, "I hope the three of us alone can pull this off."

"We'll be fine," Midori said as the mechs left, the woman saying, "See? There's only one enemy."

As the 3 mechs stood tall, the boy piloting the Kabuterimon turned to face them and said, "Dammit, it's you!" then had the beetle shoot a blast of electricity from its horn.

Kotaha had Lalamon dodge it right away, Kabuterimon simply turning to Wormmon and swiped at him only for Monodramon to knock its hand to the side. Neku managed to muster up enough caring to have Wormmon shoot string at the bigger bug.

The string seemed to work as the arm was stuck in place, however this made hardly any difference as Kabuterimon rammed its other hand into Wormmon, knocking it to the side and aiming electricity at Lalamon. Lalamon only narrowly dodged, Kotaha nervous as could be. This guy was proving to be tougher than expected.

Midori sent Monodramon's drill fingers into Kabuterimon's shoulder as the kid inside growled, Kabuterimon prying the dragon off as Midori shouted, "C'MON, HAVE A LITTLE MORE FAITH IN YOUR MECH, KOTAHA! YOU ACT AS IF GREYMON HAD TURNED ON NEIL OR SOMETHING! IT'S NOT AS IF THOSE TWO DIDN'T TRY THEIR HARDEST! AND FOR GOD'S SAKE, WHY IS EVERYONE ACTING AS IF NEIL'S DEAD!"

Alejandro and Neku looked up, Kotaha smiling softly and saying, "You're right..." Lalamon's fighting spirit also going up, the kid piloting Kabuterimon barking, "DON'T IGNORE ME!" releasing an electric shock towards Lalamon.

However, Lalamon dodged again, this time shooting her bombs that resembled seeds at the bug, hitting him hard. Strangely enough, the seeds were actually enough to halt the electric shock as the kid gritted his teeth, something strange overcoming the flower mech.

Suddenly, the top of Lalamon's head opened up just like a flower bud, the pedals turning around to look more like sunflower pedals. The head then tilted 90 degrees forward, the top of the head now becoming the mech's official face, one that resembled a sunflower. Two big wing-shaped metal leaves shot out of two slots on the mech's shoulders, Lalamon's stubby hand opening up to create three fingers, a tail jutting out a hole that appeared in her back side. With that, her body expanded in size as this new form was revealed to be the champion mech, Sunflowmon.

The kid started to panic as he shouted, "That doesn't matter! Mine's a champion too!" as the Kabuterimon swiped its free arm towards her only for Sunflowmon to shout, "LEAF BLADE!" flying to the side and heading straight past the bug, striking it with one of the leaves coming out of her back.

The blade ended up cutting off the bug's arm as the kid panicked, shouting, "I WON'T GIVE IN!" firing more electricity, however, the bolt barely did any damage as the kid blinked, confused by all of this as Midori grinned and said, "Let him have it."

Kotaha nodded as she pulled hard on a lever before her, Sunflowmon's face glowing, the mech shouting, "SUNSHINE BEAM!" unleashing a powerful beam from her face.

The beam blasted straight through the Kabuterimon's chest as it started to explode, the kid hitting the eject button as he blasted off shouting, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" flying off with a jet pack.

Midori let out a sigh and had Monodramon give Sunflowmon thumbs up saying, "You rule, Kotaha!"

As Sunflowmon reverted to Lalamon, Kotaha smiled with pride as Alejandro had his head lowered. He hadn't done a thing to help nor was he getting attention. However, Neku's spirits seemed to lighten up as he gave Kotaha thumbs up.

And so the group returned and gave Yomaki the report as the woman folded her arms and said, "So, another digivolution. Well, we're making progress, but be careful. You might become a public enemy of theirs too, Kotaha," winking as Midori placed a hand on the woman's shoulder saying, "Don't worry, I got your back if that happens."

Midori was about to go back to work as she turned to see Alejandro looking upset, the woman walking over and tilting her head to the side asking, "What's eating you?"

Alejandro looked up, startled by this but also feeling happy to not only be getting attention, but getting attention from Midori of all people. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

Midori sighed and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder saying, "I don't usually show respect towards guys, but you look pathetic right now. What happened to Mister Positive? C'mon, show me that positive attitude you had when I first met you."

Alejandro sighed in response to this. They didn't know him, none of them did. He simply wanted a shot at being normal and thought being positive would help. However, he had to reply, but when he opened his mouth to speak, no words came out. He was too weak right now, still feeling useless.

Midori let out a sigh and pulled on the boy's arm saying, "That's it, you're gonna help me set up a stage," dismissing the girl she'd been working with before.

Alejandro was baffled, yet his heart was beating faster than ever before. With that in mind, he said, "You don't know the true me... I know you won't like the true me either."

"C'mon, you know by now I have a disdain towards men," Midori replied, rolling her eyes, "Nothing you say is gonna make me look down on you."

That tore it. Alejandro had light tears sliding down his face, a warm smile forming. He'd found acceptance, something he'd never truly felt before. All his life, he'd always been told by others to act perfect. Midori was the first to openly state that she didn't care what he was like and this made the man feel so happy.

Midori smiled at Alejandro and said, "Well, I'm sure whatever it is you're hiding isn't too important and I won't pressure you into telling me."

Alejandro looked into Midori's eyes, blushing madly as his heart beat faster and faster. He wanted so much to lean forward and kiss her, but he knew if he did, Midori would hate him for sure, so he suppressed his urges.

Meanwhile, back at Neil's house, the boy twitched before opening his eyes, feeling returning in his arms as he noticed his hand holding onto another, looking up and seeing Mato before him. The boy's face turned red as he retracted his hand shouting, "Sorry!"

Mato blushed and replied nervously, "Don't worry! I was just making sure you were okay," the woman fidgeting a little.

"Oh god, so I did lose," Neil groaned as he tried to get up, pain re-entering his body as he said, "I really can't move, can I?"

Then laughing, the boy said, "Geez, I thought that was all a dream. You must all have been worried about me. I'm sorry for being a loser."

"I'm just relieved you're okay," Mato replied, still fidgeting with her body.

Neil looked at the woman and asked, "Why are you fidgeting?" but before that convo could go any further, the man's stomach growled, his face going red.

Mato giggled, soon getting over her nervousness before handing Neil a box saying, "Here, have some Pocky," Neil taking a bite of one of the sweetened bread sticks and stated, "You really are the best."