Frontier 02: Rebirthing – Chapter 27: Caught
madjack89: And now it's time for Madjack's Random Rambling Corner!
Shino: What happened to chapter 27 of F2R?
madjack89: We'll get to that momentarily. First, I need to ramble a little about something that occurred to me the other day that has to do with episode 16 of Digimon Frontier.
JP: Ah, the "girl power" episode.
Zoe: sigh What about it?
madjack89: Well, in the episode you guys are going after the Toucanmon that you stupidly allowed to steal your D-Tectors.
Kouji: Not my fault.
Tommy: Hi Kouji! Are you okay now?
Kouji: Yeah, I'm fine. Besides, Madjack gave me another slushie.
Takuya: What is it with you and slushies?
Kouji: I like slushies. Is there anything wrong with that?
madjack89: Guys, shut up and let me talk!
Takuya and Kouji: Sorry.
madjack89: Good boys! Anyway, the Toucanmon fly over to the island adjacent to the one you're on and you can't simply swim over to it because of the whirlpools. So, what do you do? You build a boat. Thinking about this, I wondered why you didn't just get Zoe to Spirit Evolve and fly over to the island, intercept the Toucanmon, retrieve your D-Tectors, and fly back with them. You could even have flown all the Gomamon over to the other island, and heck, Zoe being around those whirlpools so much might just have gotten her Beast Spirit to fly up into her D-Tector on its own. Then again, I think you have to be on the brink of death to get your Beast Spirit…
Takuya: Well…the boat seemed like the best plan at the time…
madjack89: The best plan? It took you another whole freakin' episode to get your D-Tectors back when you could've gotten them back in that one!
Kouji: Ranamon could have showed up at any time.
madjack89: All the more reason not to be in a rickety old home-made boat in the middle of the ocean with the WARRIOR OF WATER lurking about! Haven't you ever seen Jaws?!
JP: But…
madjack89: PLUS, your plan completely failed! The Toucanmon were long gone by the time you got to the island! So all I have to say is…what the heck, guys?
Takuya, Kouji, and JP: …
Zoe: Well, she does make a valid point.
Tommy: And I couldn't swim back then, so I could easily have drowned.
Kira: Ha, you guys are idiots!
madjack89: Yeah, they are! Alright, time for some reviews!
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GoldenDragon326: They are cute, aren't they? Thanks for reviewing! (BTW, how'd you make that little heart? It's awesome!)
DigiBleach: Hi, uh, Bleachy? (I don't know!) Hey Dusky, you're getting a big hug! (Duskmon: Uh…no thanks.) DO IT! (Duskmon: Fine. holds out arms) Now hold that position until I get this chapter out! (Duskmon: I'll be stuck like this for the next month or so…) Shut up! Okay, thanks for reviewing!
hazeleyedharmony: Shino torture, mua ha ha! Making people like Dusky, mua ha ha! Seiko might just be taking happy pills…or is that Dai…MUA HA HA! (lol) No, I did not go to the Digital World when I fell, so it wasn't even worth it! Oh well, thanks for reviewing!
beybladeingninjaprincess: (Nina: Hooray, a friend!) Good for you, Nina. Anyway, I don't think Squishy will get THAT emotional…for a little while yet. (Duskmon: …What?) Thanks for the congrats, and thanks for the review!
Aldamonburst: Yeah, I gotta mix a couple good things in with the bad things, or Kouji really will go insane! (lol) Aw, poor you! I actually did that same thing while trying to catch up to my friend but, once again, I didn't really hurt myself and merely slid down a couple stairs. I get really lucky when I fall! Anyway, thanks for reviewing! (And Sora, you're a weirdo.)
garnettfox: Yay snow! Isn't it glorious? (lol) I'm glad you liked the explanation, and thanks for reviewing!
61wisampa: If he hasn't gone mental by this point, I doubt I can drive the boy insane. (lol) Thanks for reviewing!
apapa155: Aw, sorry you're grounded! Yay gifts! Guys, what do we say? (Everyone: Thanks for the gifts!) Good job! And Eva, if you feel sorry for Dusky NOW, I suggest that you prepare yourself for chapters to come…anyway, thanks for reviewing!
fg1fg: I tend to avoid ice thanks to my slight balance issues! It was Masumon that called him Kouji. That'll be explained shortly. Anyway, I must travel to Japan and track down an anime producer and force them to read my crap! (lol) Alright, thanks for reviewing!
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madjack89: Hey Kouji, guess what?
Kouji: What?
madjack89: A reviewer requested that you answer their review, so hop to it!
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13wolfsbane: You know what? I'm not even gonna bother arguing. Okay, let's see…oh god, no wonder I have to answer this. It's partially from Yin. Alright, let's get this over with. Uh…yeah, I didn't expect it either. Bottom line: Madjack is evil. I don't even feel like asking why you hate me right now, Yin. I'm too pissed, anyway. But I do have one question. How am I a back-stabber? I never double crossed anybody I liked, after all. (Just wait, Minamoto.) Oh, go away, Madjack! Alright, thank YOU for reviewing, 13wolfsbane. As for you, Yin, I know how to use a dictionary myself, you violent, destructive, crazy…
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madjack89: Okay, let us get to some super-dee-duper F2Rness!
—
"We're the suckiest rescue party ever, aren't we?" Kira muttered sarcastically. "Whoa, déjà vu."
"We don't seem to be very successful, that's for sure," Hotaru agreed, finally relaxing after being tensed up for the last twenty minutes. "All the halls we've been down are empty."
"Maybe the others are having better luck," Takuya said, glancing at his D-Tector. "But they said they'd contact us if they found Masumon or if anything bad happens…and I'm kind of worried about Tommy."
"Oh, it'll be fine, Taki," Kira said, smiling reassuringly. "Tommy can handle himself."
"I know that," Takuya replied, glancing down. "But it just seems that every time we get separated, something bad happens, and he doesn't have any of us to help him. I guess I just worry too much about him, especially since he's younger than the rest of us."
Instead of a more sympathetic response, Kira chuckled. "Taki, you sound like a mom!" she stated, laughing even harder.
Takuya chuckled slightly too. "Yeah, but if I'm the mom, you're the dad."
"I think I suit the dad role better, anyway," Kira said, calming down slightly. "I'm more manly than girly when you get right down to it."
"Oh, I think you're plenty girly," Takuya replied only half-jokingly.
"Well, you would know, wouldn't you?" Kira retorted, smirking.
Suddenly, Kira and Takuya remembered that there was someone else with them. They both turned to Hotaru, who looked extremely uncomfortable despite trying to look nonchalant. This gave the two a mischievous idea.
"Taru, have you ever liked a girl?" Takuya asked.
Hotaru jumped, caught off guard by the unexpected question. "Have I what?"
"You know, have you ever had a crush on a girl?" Kira clarified, smiling deviously. "Or even a guy, if you roll that way."
"Why the sudden interest?" Hotaru asked slowly, giving the other two a bewildered look.
"Well, you seemed uncomfortable with our flirting, kind of like when Zoe and Chief flirt in front of Shino," Takuya explained. "Plus, we're insanely curious. So, do you have trouble with girls or what?"
"We promise we won't tell the others," Kira added with big, pleading puppy-dog eyes.
Hotaru sighed. "It's not that I have girl troubles, it's just that I've never really thought of girls that way. Besides, relationships are too complicated for me."
Takuya and Kira glanced at each other. "You have no idea."
—
"C'mon Tommy," Gotsumon said, tugging on Tommy's arm. "Let's check the cells for Masumon."
Tommy blinked, brought back to the present. "Yeah," he replied listlessly, following Gotsumon down the hallway. For a moment, he'd felt like someone was behind him, watching him. Someone he knew…
Tommy shook his head, concentrating back on searching the cells. He recalled Witchmon's description of Masumon: blonde hair, hazel eyes, "I can't believe she's lasted so long in a dungeon when she looks like jailbait!"
He wasn't really sure what jailbait was, but he could definitely find a hazel eyed, blonde haired, human type female Digimon. However, the only Digimon he saw in cell after cell were monster-like with claws, fangs, and the works.
But the thing about these Digimon weren't their various appearances. He was used to seeing claws and fangs at this point. What bothered him was how they glared at him and Gotsumon as they continued down the hallway. They didn't look at all happy to see them. It was like they didn't care anymore.
After at least ten minutes of this, Tommy finally said, "We have to do something about this."
Gotsumon turned, face expressionless. "What do you mean, Tommy?"
"I mean we have to free these captives," Tommy said more forcefully, gesturing at the cells lining the walls. "Look at them! We can't leave them like this!"
"Calm down," Gotsumon said quietly, glancing right and left. "I know how you feel, alright? The problem is, freeing all these prisoners isn't what this mission is about. We're looking specifically for one Digimon. No more, no less."
"But we can't leave them here to be tortured by Ilsemon," Tommy protested hotly.
"From the looks of it, they already have been," Gotsumon muttered. Then he added in a louder voice, "Think about this, Tommy. We only brought a small group with us for infiltration purposes. If we let all these Digimon out, we'd be alerting the entirety of the RMS's forces to our presence, and I don't care how pimp the Legendary Warriors are, we would still lose, and this mission would have been for nothing."
Tommy wanted to protest, but he knew that Gotsumon was right. They couldn't risk it. "Can we come back for them another time?" Tommy asked hopefully.
Gotsumon smirked. "Of course. Do you really think I'm that cruel?"
Tommy smiled, relieved. "Well, you were a lot like Kouji when we first met you."
Gotsumon put a hand to his chest, mocking pain. "My gosh Tommy, I didn't think you were capable of such spite!"
Tommy chuckled. "Hey, you two are both alright now, so it's okay!"
Gotsumon lowered his hand, smiling. "I'm glad we have your approval."
"You know Kouji?"
Both Tommy's and Gotsumon's heads turned sharply to the cell to their left. Sitting hunched over in a corner of the cell was the Digimon who had spoken. She was a plant-like Digimon with a large pink flower on her head, which had been lowered before. Now she was staring intently at Tommy and Gotsumon, waiting for a response to her question.
"Um, we know Kouji," Tommy replied tentatively.
"The real question is how do you know Kouji?" Gotsumon added, giving the Digimon a wary look.
The Digimon smirked. "He didn't tell you about me, did he? He really should share his thoughts with others more often." Then she grew serious again. "My name is Palmon, and I was Shamanmon's apprentice."
"Shamanmon?" Tommy said, surprised. "We were looking for Shamanmon a few weeks ago, but no one knew where he was."
Palmon glanced down, looking pained. Then she said softly, "That's because he's dead."
"What?!" Tommy exclaimed, shocked. "But that can't be! He's…he's Shamanmon!"
"Hallucimon impaled him. I saw it all," Palmon explained. "After killing Shamanmon, Hallucimon took me and brought me here because I have the same power as Shamanmon."
"No way…" Tommy couldn't believe that Shamanmon, with all his age and wisdom, was dead.
"Wait, did you say that you have the same power as Shamanmon?" Gotsumon asked.
Palmon nodded weakly. "I'm a fortune-teller by trade. However, I've never had visions like Shamanmon did, until the other day."
"What did the vision show you, Palmon?" Gotsumon asked gently this time, for he could tell that Palmon was pretty shaken up.
Palmon took a calming breath. Then she explained, "The Legendary Warriors cannot be allowed to confront Ilsemon. If they do…" Palmon stopped, shuddering.
"What'll happen?" Tommy asked, beginning to get nervous.
A tear escaped Palmon's eyes as she continued, "If they do, then all hope of preventing Lucemon's rebirth will be lost, and this time, he won't bother with the Digital World. He'll go straight to the human world…there was so much blood!"
"Thanks for sharing, Palmon." Tommy stiffened, recognizing the voice behind him. Both he and Gotsumon turned in time to see a black cat sprinting down the hallway. Before he disappeared around a corner, they heard him say to himself, "Time to sound the alarm."
—
Shino slowly opened his eyes. He quickly found that he could breath again, which gave him hope that perhaps Gaomon had been able to attack Wizardmon from behind and disarm him. His hope was short lived, though, because Wizardmon was still standing in front of him, glaring as he slowly lowered his wand.
"Why…?" Shino began, wondering what had happened. Wizardmon had released some sort of blast from his wand in order to hit Shino, but it didn't seem like anything had happened to him.
Then he noticed smoke curling up from the wall to his right. He turned his head slowly and, sure enough, there was a small charred dent in the wall next to him. He turned back to Wizardmon and said in a shocked voice, "You missed?!"
Shino couldn't gauge Wizardmon's expression thanks to the brim of his hat covering his eyes. "What the hell?" Shino stated, confused. Wizardmon wouldn't, no, couldn't miss at point blank range. So what had happened?
While Shino was preoccupied with his ponderings, he didn't notice Wizardmon's wand suddenly coming toward him again. By the time he did notice, it was already too late, for Wizardmon had poked him in the stomach.
Shino gave Wizardmon another confused look. That attack hadn't hurt, either. What in the world was Wizardmon…?
Suddenly, Shino's whole body began to tingle, as if all his limbs had fallen asleep at once. The only indication he had that he'd sunk to the ground was the fact that he was now staring at Wizardmon's torso. "What…what did you…?" Shino struggled to form words, for he quickly found that even his head felt numb.
Still hiding his eyes, Wizardmon said quietly, "Don't worry. The numbness should wear off in about ten minutes. That gives me just enough time to finish this dog off…while you watch helplessly."
Despite the lack of sensation in his face, Shino's eyes widened in fear. "No…" he managed to say feebly. "Don't…"
Wizardmon ignored him and approached Gaomon, who had already raised his boxing gloves defensively. "You'll find that I'm not so easily defeated," Gaomon said determinedly. "I've taken down bigger enemies than the likes of you."
"True as that is," Wizardmon muttered, wand sparking with electricity, "I got the first shot."
With that, lightning shot out at Gaomon from Wizardmon's wand. Gaomon dodged the blast with speed faster than Shino's eye could track. Before Wizardmon could react, Gaomon was behind him, spinning rapidly. "Double Backhand!" he cried, hitting Wizardmon with a dizzying flurry of punches.
Wizardmon dropped face-first to the ground, knocked unconscious by the attack. Gaomon began to relax, but quickly realized that Wizardmon's Fractal Code wasn't appearing. Suddenly, Wizardmon disappeared in a poof of smoke.
"Gaomon!" Shino yelled, growing less numb by the second. "Behind you!"
Gaomon was about to turn, but suddenly felt a wand at his back. "Gotcha, dog," Wizardmon growled.
"Since when did you have Shadow Clones?" Gaomon retorted, gesturing at the spot where the fake Wizardmon had landed. "Been hanging out with Naruto lately?"
"That's legitimately one of my attacks!" Wizardmon shouted, annoyed. "Just go watch episode 3 of Digimon Frontier if you don't believe me!"
"Whatever, Narutard," Gaomon goaded, smirking slightly. "Say, when all of this is over, let's all go to Ichiraku Ramen so you can inhale some ramen ninja-style."
"That does it, you dog bastard!" Wizardmon cried, unleashing a blast of fire from his wand and engulfing Gaomon in flame. (Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!) "Shut up, Madjack!"
"Gaomon!" Shino screamed, trying desperately to move his legs, his arms, anything. Please don't die, please, please, please just give me more time…
The flames died off after a few seconds, revealing a badly burned Gaomon. "Take that dog," Wizardmon muttered triumphantly, shoving Gaomon to the ground.
Shino watched as Gaomon's Fractal Code flared up just as he hit the ground. He watched as Wizardmon stood over him and scanned his data, leaving nothing but a Digi-Egg. That was when Shino shut his eyes. He didn't want to see Wizardmon snuff out Gaomon's life. Forever.
And I couldn't do anything about it! Hot tears formed in Shino's eyes, but he couldn't stop them from rolling down his cheeks. I failed him…I failed the others…why do I always fail everyone?!
Shino, do you wanna play hopscotch with me?
"Calm down, comrade." Shino's eyes shot open both from Wizardmon's statement and his sudden resurgence of repressed memory. However, he decided to concentrate on the more pressing matter, a.k.a. Wizardmon.
To Shino's slight relief, Wizardmon held Gaomon's light blue Digi-Egg in his hands. "So, you wanted to make sure I watched you kill Gaomon for good?" Shino asked, glaring at Wizardmon. "Fine then. Do it."
Instead of "doing it," or even making a witty retort, Wizardmon set the Digi-Egg down in front of Shino. While he was putting down the egg, Shino got a small glimpse under Wizardmon's carefully guarded eyes. Surprisingly, Shino saw…regret in Wizardmon's gaze.
After giving the Digi-Egg to Shino, Wizardmon began to walk slowly down the hall. Shino watched him, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, he settled on, "Thank you for sparing Gaomon, Wizardmon."
Wizardmon stopped briefly, not bothering to turn around as he replied, "You're welcome, comrade." Then he walked farther down the hall until he was lost from Shino's sight.
—
Hope surged in Kouji's chest, causing him to hold his breath in anticipation. Seiko wasn't supposed to remember anything about her human life, but she'd just said his name. Maybe he'd managed to jog her memory somehow…
"That's your name, right?"
Kouji sighed, letting his bated breath go. Of course she didn't remember him. That was just the price she'd paid. "Yeah," he replied, quickly standing and walking toward the far end of the room so she wouldn't see the pain in his eyes. "How'd you know my name?"
"Well," Masumon began, slowly sitting up, "this might sound a little weird, but I think I had a couple dreams about you."
"Really?" Kouji said, trying to sound interested.
Masumon nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. I don't remember too much about them, but I definitely remember that your name is Kouji."
Kouji remained silent, taking his D-Tector from his pocket.
"Oh!" Masumon gasped, noticing the device. "You're one of the Legendary Warriors, aren't you?"
Kouji nodded once stiffly. "We came to rescue you. Just let me tell the others that I found you, then I'll break us out of here."
"Okay," Masumon replied, beginning to get shakily to her feet.
"Don't try to stand!" Kouji suddenly snapped, turning and giving Masumon a stern look. "You need to conserve your strength."
"But how do I get out of here if I can't run?" Masumon retorted.
"I can carry you," Kouji replied simply, continuing to fiddle with the buttons on his D-Tector. "You don't look that heavy."
It looked like Masumon wanted to protest, but knew it would be useless. Instead, she observed Kouji's button fiddling for a minute or so. Then she suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, I bet I can guess which Legendary Warrior you are!"
"Okay," Kouji said, trying to concentrate more on his D-Tector than on her so his mind wouldn't wander too much.
"I'd know that cold, standoffish demeanor anywhere," Masumon said, smirking. "You've got Lobomon's spirit, don't you?"
"Good job," Kouji muttered, narrowing his eyes. "God, this thing never works when we need it to."
"So, are all the Legendary Warriors down here with you?" Masumon asked curiously. "I wouldn't think the Resistance would put such a big group together just to rescue me."
"Maybe you're more important than you think," Kouji said quietly, lowering his D-Tector. "Alright, I'm busting us out of this damn room. Maybe I'll be able to contact everyone else outside."
"Okay," Masumon replied, wondering why Kouji had looked so sad when he'd said she was important. "Oh, and thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it!"
Kouji didn't reply, feeling his cool slipping more and more by the second. Then he faced the opposite wall, D-Tector raised. "Spir—"
Suddenly the door in the wall opened and Takuya landed flat on his back at Kouji's feet, hitting his head off the floor. "Oh, there ya are, buddy," Takuya slurred dizzily, noticing Kouji standing above him.
"Wow Taki, you pulled a Scooby Doo!" Kira exclaimed, stepping over her boyfriend into the chamber, followed by Hotaru. "And look who we found in the mystery room; pretty boy!"
Kouji sighed. "Let me guess: you took a break after searching for 'the last bigillion minutes' and Takuya leaned back against the wall, accidentally hitting some sort of secret rock and causing the door to open."
"I actually said trimillion," Kira muttered, helping a still slightly dazed Takuya to his feet.
"Looks like you found her," Hotaru suddenly stated, staring at Masumon sitting silently yet obviously curiously in the corner.
"Yeah," Kouji replied tersely, wishing he could put off this moment for a life time. "Masumon, these are three of the other Legendary Warriors. The tall one's Hotaru, the Yankee is Kira, and the goggle head is Takuya."
"Not a Yankee, pretty boy!" Kira growled, sticking her tongue out.
Kouji didn't pay attention to Kira's comment, however. He was too focused on Takuya's sudden calculated look as he stared at Masumon, as if he were pondering something.
Takuya cocked his head. "Why do you look so familiar…?"
Before Takuya could say more, a tone suddenly resounded throughout the room that sounded similar to the P.A. system in a school. Sure enough, after the tone, a pleasant female voice gave an announcement.
"Attention all residents of the Rose Morning Star. We have been infiltrated by a group of no less than ten powerful Digimon currently located in the basement. Intel has confirmed that at least several Legendary Warriors are among them. I repeat, the Legendary Warriors have infiltrated the basement of the Rose Morning Star. That is all. Have a nice slaughter!"
The announcement clicked off and there was silence for several moments.
Then Kira said, "Oh crap."
—
madjack89: Lo and behold, it is finished! It's a little shorter than other chapters, admittedly, but DEAL WITH IT!
Everyone: …
JP: Hey, I just realized that me and Dai haven't been mentioned in a few chapters. What's going on with us?
Dai: We're obviously putting on an award-winning performance!
madjack89: I don't know about award-winning, Dai, but you guys are still distracting the guards, though that's a bit null and void now.
JP: Yeah, about that…um, since that intercom thing just announced our presence in the RMS…uh, are Dai and I gonna get killed by those guards?
madjack89: Of course not! You're in disguise, after all!
Takuya: As Smileymon!
Dai: Yay!
JP: …Chief, when I die, have me cremated, then dump my ashes on Takuya's head.
Kouichi: Okay.
madjack89: Alright, see you in the next exciting chapter, where our heroes will have to beat a hasty retreat from the RMS before they're outnumbered and brutally killed!
Shino: Wait, I still can't move! How am I gonna get out?!
madjack89: Oh, that'll wear off in a minute or so.
Shino: A Digimon could be slicing open my internal organs in a minute or so!
madjack89: Oh yeah…sorry!
Shino: …Kouichi, when I die—
Kouichi: I know, dump them on Madjack's head.
Shino: Thank you.
madjack89: See ya later, guys! I gotta go play with my helicopter that L got me for Christmas!
Kouji: Duck and cover, she's behind the controls of a large flying mechanism.
madjack89: Mua ha ha!