Chapter 5: The Chosen Four

Data Forest- Late Afternoon

Somehow, someway, we all managed to get out of the slave camp without drawing the attention of the queen's army. We also seemed to have added two more people to our group, Ethan and Gaomon. Ethan's story was similar to mine and Kate's, weird computer program, and sucked into the Digital World. Ethan was an ok kid, he was a bit immature, but since he was only sixteen it wasn't too surprising. Gaomon on the other hand… he was still mad about Commandramon, refusing to make eye contact with either him nor me.

Speaking of Commandramon, I've noticed since we left the camp he'd been basically glued to my side. Following me around like an obedient puppy, a puppy with a machine gun but still. Commandramon was a Digimon of very few words, only speaking when explaining something to us like how the Tankdramon usually do rounds just outside the camp.

Suddenly, "Dude do we even know where we're going?" whined Ethan, clearly tiring of just wandering around the forest aimlessly.

I shook my head, "I don't know man, I'm hoping if we keep wandering we'll run into something eventually." I admitted, I didn't know thing one about the Digital World! How the hell was I supposed to know where to go? Everyone none the less just froze in their tracks.

Gaomon, of course, was the first to lay into me, "You mean you have NO clue where you're going?!" He snapped at me, I had learned a while ago it didn't take much at all to set Gaomon off, add this to the fact he was still mad that I let Commandramon hang out with us and you had the recipe for a miserable hike.

I had to defend myself here, "Dude back off! I'm not exactly familiar with the area!" I said, I am not taking crap from a little blue dog in boxing gloves! Man, I'll take things I never thought I'd say for a hundred Alex, oh look… the Daily Double…

Kate decided to interject, "To be fair, none of us know this place very well." she pointed out.

Gaomon then moved himself in front of us, "I know where we can go, there's a rebel camp not too far from here, they might be able to help us with supplies and maybe even a map." He suggested, I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised there was a rebel group, the Digimon King and Queen didn't exactly run a free and fair democracy here. And to be honest, a map would be awesome! However, of course Gaomon had to use this to lay into Commandramon, "Although I don't think your friend here will be well received there." He said, shooting a dirty look at Commandramon.

Commandramon just kept his usual stone solid demeanor, how he was able to resist clocking Gaomon in the head I'll never know, I rolled my eyes, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there." I said, Gaomon simply shook his head and lead the way. At least we had a destination now, although what Gaomon said did worry me a little, Commandramon wasn't a bad Digimon, he like anyone deserved the chance to change for the better. I just wish Gaomon could see that…

Me and Commandramon hung at the back of the group, Gaomon and Ethan standing up front as the former lead us to the rebel camp. The forest's weird artificial quality still got to me, it was just so… weird. "Jason, permission to speak?" I heard Commandramon say suddenly.

Permission to speak? What am I? His Drill Sargent? "Dude you don't need to ask me if you can speak, what's on your mind?" I replied, Commandramon seemed a touch surprised by my response, I guess he wasn't used to being in more… casual company, instead of being ordered around by the Digimon Queen and her cronies.

"Why did you stand up for me back there? By all accounts Gaomon is right, you have little reason to trust me." He said, I guess Gaomon's words were getting to him more than I thought.

I sighed a little, "Because I believe everyone deserves second chances, I just wish Gaomon could see that." I responded.

Commandramon took a moment to respond, "You confuse me." He then suddenly said, what did he mean by that exactly? "You go against everything I know about humans and Digimon, I'm not… used to how you treat me… it's… bizarre." He elaborated.

It's just what I thought, he was so used to having apathetic and controlling masters, he never really knew compassion or friendship, I guess Gaomon was right after all, all Commandramon do know is how to hurt and destroy, but it was just a bit more literal than Gaomon thought. All he needed was someone to show him the way. "You've never had a friend before have you?" I asked him, to see if I could confirm this.

Commandramon stopped, "F...Friend?" He said, as if the word was alien to him, a foreign concept he had never even contemplated before. Being a creature manufactured to guard a slave camp I guess it wasn't too surprising. I'm probably the first person he's ever met that actually treated him like a person instead of a tool to be used.

The little dino soldier averted his eyes for a moment, thinking over the concept of friendship I bet, "You okay?" I asked him, he seemed to jump at this.

He looked back at me, "I… I apologize, I'm just… I've never had someone use that word in reference to me before." Commandramon replied, his usual flat, monotone grew a hint of sadness. I gave him a little pat on the head, "You'll get used to it." I told him, and I could have sworn… he grew a little smile on his digital camouflaged face…

Meanwhile…

Me and Hawkmon left the village after the dust had settled from the battle earlier, or at least, what was left of the village. Hawkmon said there was a rebel camp not too far from where we were that would be willing to help us. Naturally, I didn't like the concept of relying on strangers for help, but in our position we had no choice. So now me and Hawkmon struck out to find the rebels.

Hawkmon took point, since he was the one who knew where we were going. "It shouldn't be too far from here if I remember correctly." Hawkmon said, Hawkmon was oddly chipper for someone who just watched the village he lived in go up in flames, I think I'd be a touch more cross about that sort of thing if I were in his position.

I guess that was just the kind of person Hawkmon was, the kind of person who didn't let things get to him, sometimes I wished I were the same way. "Are you sure they'll be willing to help us, I mean, they don't exactly know me." I asked.

Hawkmon waved it off, "Once they hear our story they'll be willing to help us." He said with his usual optimism. I hoped he was right, I wasn't exactly looking for another fight, my head was still kind of recovering from that hit to the head I took.

Hawkmon's face then lit up, "We're here!" He said to me, I looked to see we indeed found a camp, so many bizarre creatures populated it, some resembled animals, others creatures of myth like dragons and even a centaur! When did this become Narnia? Hawkmon wasted no time in going into the camp, I followed close behind, if anything to make sure he didn't end up getting killed.

The Digimon in the camp just sort of stopped when I came into view, they all had an expression of pure shock like I was the freak. "Uh… hi?" I said sheepishly. No response, well they sure did know how to make a guy feel welcome didn't they?

Then the centaur from earlier approached, letting me get a closer look at him, he was a light, brownish color from head to toe, with a few bluish gray bits on his muscles. He wore a silver knight's helmet on his head, covering most of his face apart from one singular red eye.

The creature examined me, "And here I thought you'd never come Digidestined." He said, there's that word again, "Digidestined". He then motioned for me to join them in one of the tents, "Come, we have much to discuss human." He said. To be honest, I probably should have been more weary of this, he seemed a bit too eager to chit chat. But I wanted answers, so I did as I was asked, I just hoped I didn't end up regretting it…

Meanwhile…

After a long time of walking I managed to spot two watch towers above us, at first I thought we had bumbled right back into a Digimon Queen hideout, but then "HALT!"

Suddenly we were surrounded on all sides by various Digimon, how goofy must this look from an outsider's perspective, a group of people being threatened with spears and swords by rabbits, dragons, and other goofy looking creatures, I think one of them was even threatening us with a kendo stick!

Commandramon naturally readied his gun, pointing it right at a tiny little flower creature, if I wasn't fearing for my life, the image alone would have made me chuckle.

"Lower your weapons everyone! They come in peace."

We all looked to see a humanoid figure approach us, but as he came into view, it was clear that, despite it looking human, it was really another Digimon, he kinda looked like Robocop if he lost a fight with a wood chipper. He wore silver metal robotic armor, apart from the bits that seemed to have been blown away, exposing his rather putrid looking flesh, despite his rather alarming appearance, he wore a friendly expression. "These humans mean us no harm." The robot creature said.

And with that, everyone, even Commandramon, lowered their weapons, the robot creature then approached me and Commandramon specifically, studying Commandramon a bit before turning his head towards me, "You managed to turn one of their Commandramon against them? Very impressive human." He said, well I guess I didn't have to worry about Commandramon causing a panic at least…

He then motioned us to follow him into camp, "Come, one of your fellow Digidestined has already arrived, and if it's all the same to you, I think it would be much more efficient to explain what's happening to all of you at once." He said, wait another "Digidestined" arrived? Did that mean another human was here? Just how many humans were dragged into this world?

I decided for whatever reason to take out my device thing, it suddenly came alive with a bio for the robot Digimon:

Andromon

Level: Ultimate

Type: Cyborg

Attribute: Vaccine

Family: Metal Empire

Attacks: Gatling Missile, Spiral Sword

Andromon is a prototype cyborg Digimon, it's strong enough to defeat any Digimon below Ultimate in one blow. Andromon lacks emotion, and faithfully follows it's programming.

So he had a name now at least, it seemed this device had the ability to scan Digimon and give me a read out of it's bio and stats. I could see how that could be useful if we ever had to fend off a Digimon attack or needed a quick info dump on someone.

Andromon lead us into the camp, and into a tent where we saw that there indeed was another human here, he looked a little bit older than the rest of us, early twenties if I were to hazard a guess, his arms were completely covered in tattoos, he wore a black sleeveless t-shirt, tight jeans, and combat boots. His hair was a long, brown ponytail. Next to him was a Digimon, it resembled a bird with a native American motif going on with his belt headband that had a decorative feather attached and red face markings.

The man just sort of glared at us with his ice blue eyes, he seemed more annoyed than anything though, oh good another sour puss, as if Gaomon wasn't bad enough…

At the other side of the tent stood what could only be described as an armored centaur thing, although stranger still he had six legs instead of the usual four, he was covered from head to toe in red armor. A rather large crossbow was attached to his left arm, his lavender colored hair spilled from the back of his helmet.

The creature had a commanding presence to him, "Ah, I see the others have joined us, I was just going to explain to Ross here why you all are here." The creature said in a calm yet commanding voice. I got the feeling that he was the leader of this rebel camp, there was just something about him that just gave it away.

I stood next to the new guy, who's name I now knew was Ross, Ross continued to remain silent, I guess he just wanted answers like the rest of us. The centaur knight then began to explain, "Now, I'm sure you four have many questions about why you're here, and what those devices you hold in your hands are." He began, I looked to see I still had the thing in my hands, it seemed Ross had one too since I saw him holding one in his hands, except his had black grips instead of red.

Ethan looked at the devices, "Hey! I didn't get one!" He blurted out.

The centaur then shook his head, "check your pocket Ethan." He instructed him, Ethan did so, and surprisingly produced his own device, this one having blue grips. "When the hell did that get there?!" Ethan asked.

The centaur remained still as stone, "You all got them when you arrived in the Digital World, Kate has one too, despite the fact she seems to yet find her Digimon partner." He explained, as if to confirm this, Kate fished in her own pockets and produced a device of her own, green grips this time. "Those, are your Digivices, they're special devices meant to link humans to Digimon, so you can share your power, and eventually Digivolve." He explained.

There's that word again, "Digivolve", I can't believe I forgot to ask anyone about that! God I was such a flake sometimes! "What's Digivolving?" I asked, the centaur turned his gaze in my direction, "Digivolving is the process we Digimon use to move between levels, the farther up a Digimon goes, the stronger it is. I, Kentaurosmon, for example, am a Mega Level, the highest level a Digimon can reach." He explained, letting me know his name in the process.

Kentaruosmon then began to pace back and forth, looking in our direction the whole time. "You four have been selected by our agent in the real world to help us stop the Digimon King, no doubt you've seen the Digimon King's handywork on your way here?" He asked. I guess the creepy bum guy was the "agent" they were referring to. I didn't even want to begin to try to wrap my head around how that works. He then looked to Commandramon, "Given how it seems one of you were able to turn one of their Commandramon against them. Which one of you managed this may I ask?" He asked.

"Th… that would be me sir." I squeaked, it was hard not to be intimidated by Kentaruosmon, he was huge for one thing, and his claim that he was at the highest power level for Digimon certainly didn't help.

Kentaruosmon quickly walked over to me, looking me right in the eyes, "Most impressive human, Commandramon are known for being blindly loyal to their masters… and while I naturally am… cautious… about having one in our midst, I am intrigued to see what comes of this." He said. Was it really that impressive? The queen had her attack dog rip his arm off! I'm pretty sure if my boss did that to me, I doubt I'd be too eager to return to working for them either. And too be honest, I could actually see my manager doing that…

"All I did was help repair his arm after the Queen had her… wolf thing attack him." I explained, sure reattaching someone's arm was a pretty cool thing to do for someone to put it lightly, but I kinda felt like they thought I did some super magic spell on Commandramon to make him a good or something.

But Kentaruosmon shook his head, "You showed him compassion Jason, something others in your position would have never done. That is why I chose you to be one of my Digidestined, you four each have something unique and special about yourselves, something the Digital World needs..." He explained.

Then Ross finally decided to speak for the first time since I've met him, "So who is this Digimon King anyway?" He asked in a British accent.

Kentaruosmon sighed, "He is so much more than any of you realize, but he is also shares much more with you than you know." He began, oh I didn't like where this was going… "He, like you, was once human… but somehow… he became more than that, he is now neither human nor Digimon, but something… in between…" He continued. "We don't know much about him before he came to the Digital World, but we do know he is ruthless, efficient, and cares very little about who or what he hurts… just that he gets his way." said Kentaruosmon.

So… he was some kind of… horrible human Digimon thing? What? "Why do you need us to stop him?" I asked. It was an important question, did they really need our help to stop a squishy human? Digital hybrid or not?

A simple shake of the head told me there was more to it than that, "Somehow, The Digimon King was able to bring both the Metal Empire and the Nightmare Soldiers under his command. His army is too vast for us to have any hopes of even making it to his location, let alone defeat him. Only the Digidestined stand any chance to taking him down." Kentaruosmon said.

Kate decided to be the next to ask a question, "But, we're just a bunch of young people, how the hell are we supposed to stop something that the most powerful Digimon in the digital world can't even hope to crack!" She asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

Kentaruosmon turned to her, "A bond between a human and a Digimon is far more powerful than you realize Ms. Peterson. While you aren't ready to face the King directly yet, in time you will be." He replied before returning his gaze to the rest of us. "For now, feel free to make camp here, I'll have my men ready your supplies, for now I suggest resting, you have a very long journey ahead of you." He said before taking his leave.

We all took the time to try to process what we had just learned, we were all just a bunch of random people, but yet Kentaruosmon just decided to put the fate of their world on our shoulders! Either he was out of ideas, or he's out of his mind! Maybe even a mix of the two! I mean god, I could barely stand up to raging costumers at work! What chance did I stand against an army so vast that even the world's strongest Digimon couldn't even crack it?!

Ross gave a sigh, "So… anyone else get the feeling we're in over our heads? Or is it just me?" He asked, clearly sharing my sentiment that we were woefully unqualified for what was being asked of us.

Kate shook her head, "Well he seems pretty sure we can! I think that's good enough for me!" She said, "Besides, it beats being stuck at home, bored out of my mind!" She added. Oh sure, we might die horribly, screaming in agony, but at least we'll have fun dying!

Ethan seemed to share Kate's sentiment, "Kate's right, I think we have a pretty good shot. Kentaruosmon doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd trust someone with something if he wasn't sure we could do it." He said. It seemed we were even split on this, me and Ross thought we were biting off more than we could chew, but Kate and Ethan seemed to like our odds.

But Ross didn't seem to be willing to allow this optimism to go unchallenged, "Are you f***ing mental?! We aren't in bloody Wonderland kid! I barely survived my encounter with the Digimon King's army! This isn't some magical holiday where you can go off into the sunset and be an idiot! We're entering a war! A war that I find very unlikely we can win!" He snapped at Ethan.

However Ethan seemed just as unwilling to back down, "And what do you want us to do huh? I've seen what that bastard does to these people! You want to what? Just leave them behind cause YOU don't have the BALLS to even try?!" Ethan yelled back.

Everyone else just stood back and watched the sparks fly, they both had very valid points, we were clearly in over our heads, but doing nothing would be kinda soulless to put it lightly. Suddenly Kate decided to let that Irish temper out, and grabbed both of them by the arms and flipped them over on their backs! Man was she strong for a girl of her build!

The two groaned as they sat up, "You two are both being idiots! We're going to help these people! And I don't wanna hear no complainin' from you're ponytail wearin' arse!" She yelled at Ross before turning her ire towards Ethan, "And YOU! We all need to work together if we're going to pull this off! And throwing childish insults at people isn't helping!" She barked at him.

Ross and Ethan both picked themselves off the ground, "Bloody Irish women..." Ross grumbled as he stood to his feet, and dusted himself off, and with that, I guess it was decided we were going along with Kentaruosmon's plan, I wasn't about to object to anything after seeing how well Kate… handled it.

Later That Night…

The humans all decided to sleep after a while, they have had quite a day after all, me, Gaomon, and Hawkmon stood watch, or rather I did as Gaomon and Hawkmon fought to stay awake themselves. I however was trained for this sort of thing, sleep was a luxury not a right, and I didn't want to risk losing my new commander in an attack I wasn't ready for. I doubted the Digimon Queen would have let our escape go so quickly, she probably had a Commandramon unit out there trying to pin point our location right now. We managed to escape the mining camp unnoticed, but the Queen was smart, she'd know eventually, especially after I killed one of my former comrades, not to mention how Ethan and Gaomon were apparently her captives at one point, she would definitely notice their absence.

"How can you stay awake so easily?" I heard Gaomon ask me, his voice making it clear how tired and groggy he was.

I turned in his direction, "It's part of my training. I can go for days without sleep." I explained. These weren't conversations I was used to having, I won't lie, most of these things were just accepted among us Commandramon, it was just how our lives were.

Gaomon moved in a bit closer, to where he was sitting next to me, I couldn't help but be a little cautious of him, he hasn't exactly been the most cooperative Digimon, and I knew he had issues with trusting me. "And you never once thought to question any of it?" He asked me.

I gave a sigh, "It was just how things were, we aren't allowed to question, only obey." I explained. Gaomon reacted the same way anyone in this group of ours did when I tried to explain how things worked with us Commandramon, as if it wasn't normal. I guess for them it wasn't, but for me, it was.

Gaomon looked upwards at the sky, "Look, you and I, we don't exactly see eye to eye, but… with all this Digidestined stuff, we're both in the same boat now… we both have a human counting on us to guide them through this whole crazy mess." He began, I knew my mission Gaomon, why does he feel the need to explain this to me? "Point is, we can't keep fighting with each other, I still have doubts about your defection to our side… but I'm willing to look past it as long as you're willing to meet me halfway." He added.

I turned to him, "I never held any ill will towards you, from your perspective, you had every right to distrust me. But I do agree working together will benefit the mission a lot more than fighting with one another." I said.

Gaomon chuckled a bit, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised I got a response like that, you're still getting used to being outside of the Queen's army. I couldn't imagine living like that, obeying without question, constantly under the threat of being killed if I screw up even once… I never really gave much thought to how much she really does mistreat you Commandramon until now." He said.

I never really thought of it like that, it was just how things were, it wasn't until Jason repaired me that I ever began to question how I was treated while under her command. He was so different from her, he treated me like an equal, not an underling. It was… alien to me. I didn't know how to process it, I looked back to Jason, who was fast asleep on the ground. The first creature, human or Digimon, to show me kindness… compassion… I guess that's why I was so quick to aid him and Kate back at the mining camp… it was something that I didn't even know I longed for until now…

A friend…

Meanwhile…

Data Forest- Night

These Commandramon were so incompetent, I don't know why the King insisted on using them. They let two prisoners escape, worse one of them was human! How another human managed to get to the Digital World without Rex's help I had no clue, but I intended on finding out.

Usually at this hour I was asleep in my quarters, but because of these raving dumbasses I was forced to spend the night in a dark, dank forest looking for a boy and his dog! "Your Highness! I found something!" One of the Commandramon shouted from a distance.

I and the other Commandramon walked over to where the one who cried out was heard, we found him pointing to a gate of some kind, I recognized the architecture, the rebellion. If that human went anywhere, it had to be here, and even if he wasn't, the King would be pleased to hear we knocked over one of Kentaruosmon's little camps. "Get the Sealsdramon ready! We attack the camp at dawn! And soon… there will be nowhere left for them to hide..." I ordered, the Commandramon saluted me and rushed off to carry out my orders.

I heard the familiar sound of Okamon appearing behind me, "Are you sure the escaping human is here Bridget?" He asked me.

I turned to face him, "I told you not to use my real name!" I reprimanded him, he giving me his usual apology, "And as for if I'm sure, even if I'm not, at least we'll have one less rebel camp to worry about." I added.

I was growing tired of Kentaruosmon and his merry band of idiots meddling in my affairs, I couldn't wait to see yet another one of his little hideouts burn to the ground…

A/N- Our heroes can't seem to catch a break can they? What sort of diabolical plan does The Digimon Queen have? And who exactly is the Digimon Queen? And what is her connection to the King?

And as a side not, screw whoever named Kentaruosmon! That is SUCH a hard name to spell! God damn man! Were you trying to get use out of a bad Scrabble hand or something?