Digimon World Tour Chapter 26: WereGarurumon's Opera House, a digimon fanfic

Digimon World Tour

Recap

[Shoutmon] Last time on Digimon World Tour... Lord Bagra was getting fed up with his generals failing all the time, so he took matters into his own hands, disguised himself as the Old Clock Shop Man, and recruited four kids from Tokyo to join him. Meanwhile, Matt was all depressed because he couldn't Digivolve Gabumon to Ulitmate. So, he tried everything he could to improve himself, even going all Rocky Balboa on the Paris streets. It's a good thing Thomas was there, otherwise Matt would've drowned. Even talking to Sora didn't help, so he went all Gino Vannelli at this really famous opera house. That's when Ryouma showed up with Psychemon, a Digimon that looks just like Gabumon, except he's differently colored. Who's gonna win? There's only one way to find out!

Chapter 26: WereGarurumon's Opera House

["The Loved One"

Written by Ian Clyne, Gerry Humphrys and Rob Lovett

Performed by The Teenage Wolves

Lead Singer: Marcus Damon (Quinton Flynn)]

With Matt out of the production studio, a session player has to come in and take over bass guitar. This player looks remarkably like Shikamaru Nara. "Look, can we get this over with? I'd like to get a nap in before my shōgi match at five," the bass player complains. "Yeah, yeah. Keep your shirt on," Marcus says. He directs his attention to Paul in the control booth. "We good over there?" Paul gives the thumbs up. Marcus goes back to his drum set, making sure the mic can pick up his noise over the drums. "Check, check. A, B, C, D, E, F.U. Kyle Sandilands." Greg deserts his post and punches Marcus in the arm, hard. Then, he walks back. Marcus rubs his arm. "Hey! I ought to have this arm insured by Lloyd's, ya know." Thomas rolls his eyes. "What a drag," the bass player laments. After the count off, the band gets started.

Marcus:

Yonder she's walking
She comes my way
Her red dress on, her long black hair
Walking like, and talking like
Wanting like, she comes to me

Marcus/Band:
"Oh baby I love you so,
I need you now
I want you back
I can't go on"

Marcus relishes acting as the lead singer for this particular number.

Marcus:
Helpless baby, e-evil child
I've known you well

If you wanna stay that's alright
But you want me again!

And then you come a-running to me
Baby baby, that's alright
Oh, that's alright
Heyyyyyy, that's alright

And now she's gone
She's walking away
Her red dress on, and her long black hair
Well I love her so, yeah
And now she'll come running
Any time I say now
Any time I say

Marcus/Band:

"Oh baby I love you so,
I need you now
I want you back
I can't go on"

And as they go around again, we get various shots of the band.

Marcus/Band:

"And baby I love you so,
I need you now
I want you back
I can't go on"

"Oh baby I love you so,
I need you now
I want you back
I can't go on"

Marcus:

"Oh baby I love you so,
I need you so
I want you back
I can't go, can't go on"

As the song continues to fade, we get more shots of the band. They end as they fade out. "Three minutes, 42 seconds," Paul reports at the appropriate time.

T.K.

"Great job, guys. Take five." I dismissed the group, pulled out my cell phone, and texted Matt. Marcus approached me. "Dude, what's up with your brother? He just walked out on us." "I don't know for sure, Marcus, but I think it might have something to do with me." "Wha- seriously? Heh, maybe it's a good thing your parents got divorced. Sounds like he can't handle you." "That has nothing to do with it and you know it, now stop jumping to conclusions! I'm worried about him." He just slapped me on the back. "Well don't worry about it, bro. If I know our fearless leader, he's gonna come through." "I hope so, Marcus... I hope so."

Matt

I looked at this differently colored clone of Gabumon. His claws were green, his fur was extremely light blue with violet stripes and his main body was light red. His faux-suit wearing partner, Ryouma, continued smirking. "Perhaps it's fitting that my Psychemon challenges your Gabumon, Mr. Ishida. After all, they are more alike than you realize." Gabumon thought of a clever taunt. "Are you kidding? What happened, did your pelt get mixed with the colors?" Psychemon stuck his tongue out and gave my partner the middle claw. "Oh no you didn't! Come over here, I want a piece of you!" I held my partner back by the pelt. "Gabumon..." "But Matt, he disrespected me. He disrespected you, too, and I can't let him get away with that." "I agree. We'll have this little battle of yours. But if we win-" "When we win." "When we win, you've got to tell your Digimon to apologize to Gabumon." Ryouma smirked again. "All right, challenge accepted."

We made our way to the stage. "So, why are you doing this?" "It's simple. An opportunity came along and I took it. Not only do I get a chance to make a cool billion, I also get your Digimon to boot. From what my boss tells me, Gabumon has an incredible amount of firepower. I want it." "Why?" "Because, Mr. Ishida, power is everything."

T.K.

Thomas, Marcus, Greg, and I sat there with our bottles of Perrier. "What is this stuff, anyway?" Marcus asked, taking a swig. Thomas explained it to us. "It's Perrier, naturally carbonated mineral water from a spring in Vergèze. You're drinking the supposed BMW of bottled water." Marcus took another swig of it and let out a loud "aaaah!" "Whatever it is, I like it!" he declared. I had bigger things on my mind.

Marcus wiped off his mouth with his hand. "So, T.K., you figure out what you're gonna do with that paternity suit? We gotta make some kind of a statement." "Why?" I asked. "Because, you're one of the lead singers. You've got a reputation! Just think of Michael Jackson! Did he put up with any of that crap? No!" "Michael Jackson?" Greg took another swig. "Yep, the King of Pop. He based 'Billie Jean' on a bunch of groupies he and his brothers faced in the 70s. Everybody was trying to claim paternity on the Jackson 5." "Oh please, I beg of you, don't fill that boy's head with delusions of grandeur," Thomas griped.

["Billie Jean"

Written by Michael Jackson

Performed by Takeru "T.K." Takaishi (Michael Cunio) [and Marcus Damon (Quinton Flynn)]

The King of Pop's Vocal Tics Performed by Patamon (Bridget Hoffman)]

As T.K. begins to visualize it, we're taken into his head. He imagines himself wearing black pants, leather penny loafers, a black sequined jacket, and a single white rhinestone glove. He freaks out a little, but decides to go with it. Then, he snaps his bucket hat to his head and strikes a pose — his right hand on his hat and his left leg bent. Then, he dances his way through Paris, to the Eiffel Tower. As he walks along a sidewalk, each tile lights up at his touch. Patamon flies besides him, performing Michael Jackson's vocal tics and hiccups, which are too numerous to count and write here.

T.K.:

She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene
I said "Don't mind, but what do you mean, I am the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round?"
She said I am the one, who will dance on the floor in the round

She told me her name was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round

People always told me "Be careful of what you do
And don't go around breaking young girls' hearts"
And Mother always told me "Be careful who you love
And be careful of what you do 'cause the lie becomes the truth"

After he performs a quick spin, T.K. jumps and lands, freeze framed, on his toes. He continues along his way, passing various landmarks.

T.K.:

Billie Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son

For forty days and for forty nights
The law was on her side
But who can stand when she's in demand
Her schemes and plans
Do a dance, on the floor, in the round
So take my strong advice, just remember to always think twice
(Patamon: Do think twice) Do think twice

She told my baby we'd danced till three, and she looked at me
Then showed a photo my baby cried his eyes were like mine (Patamon: oh, no!)
Do a dance, on the floor, in the round, baby

As he continues on his way, T.K. glides backwards to perform the moonwalk. Initially, the front foot is held flat on the ground, while the back foot is in a tiptoe position. The flat front foot remains on the ground but is slid lightly and smoothly backward past the tip-toe back foot. What is now the front foot is lowered flat, while the back foot is raised into the tiptoe position. These steps are repeated over and over creating the illusion that the dancer is being pulled backwards by an unseen force while trying to walk forward. He spins on his heels and lands en pointe, then continues on.

T.K.:

And people always told me "Be careful of what you do
And don't go around breaking young girls' hearts"
But she came and stood right by me
Just the smell of sweet perfume
This happened much too soon
She called me to her room

Billie Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son

Billie Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son

As T.K. arrives at the Eiffel Tower after the instrumental bridge, he's met by Marcus and Agumon. The dinosaur switches off the CD and switches it with a new one, fast forwards a bit, and then hits play. And Marcus is prepared with a microphone as he belts out the chorus in the hard rock style of Chris Cornell. T.K. looks very disappointed and bummed, but not very surprised.

Marcus:

Billie Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who says that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one
But the kid is not my son

So take my strong advice and remember to always think twice
Do think twice!

We're snapped back into reality.

T.K.

I made my decision. "No, it would never work. It'd be far too silly." Thomas merely nodded.

Matt

Ryouma and I stood on opposite horizontal sides of the stage. "You know, it's not too late to back down and surrender peacefully," my opponent stated. "Hmmph. In the words of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, 'Let's get it on, it's time to get down.'" "As you wish!" With a loud "HA!" he became covered in a dark purple aura. Then, he revealed his Digivice again. "Dark DigiSoul... Full Charge." He put his hand on top until it was absorbed, then thrust the Digivice forward.

Psychemon stood there with his arms folded as a group of rings came over him. His body went white as wings sprouted from his back. He growled until he grew taller and became a demon-esque Digimon wearing a pin-striped suit. A jacket materialized, and this new Digimon put his gloved hands through the sleeves. Then, he put his hands in his pockets, signifying a cool attitude. "Astamon."

I looked him up on my Digimon Analyzer. "'Astamon, an Ultimate-level Demon Man Digimon. Though he is an Ultimate Digimon, he possesses power surpassing that of a Mega, and is a Prince of the Dark Area which governs a legion of Demon Digimon. His prided machine gun, "Oro Salmón", is the work of Vulcanusmon, who crafted Beelzemon's favorite guns.' Well, Ryouma, when you made a deal with the devil, he went all in." "Just Digivolve your Digimon already." "Right!"

I flipped open the sensor on my Digivice, then played a short riff on my air guitar as my DigiSoul ignited. "DigiSoul... charge!" After scanning my hand, I posed as the energy went to Gabumon. "Gabumon Digivolve to... Garurumon!"

I mounted my partner. "So, you wish to go down with your partner? Fine by me. Astamon. Get him," Ryouma ordered. "Let's go!" I called, and the battle began. Astamon drew out his machine gun. "Hellfire!"

He started shooting bullets, but we were too fast for him, or so we thought. One of them hit Garurumon in the front paw, causing him to howl in pain. "Garurumon!" I called in concern. "I'll fight through the pain. Ice Wall!" A thick ice wall popped out of nowhere, surrounding our enemy's Digimon. I quickly jumped off and tried to extract the bullet from my buddy's paw.

Without a word, Astamon kicked through the wall and created holes. Ryouma just stood there, calmly watching. "How sporting of you, Garurumon. You built Astamon an ice fort," he said. He walked towards my laptop. "Oh, is this your laptop? I hope you don't mind if I borrow it. I've been looking for an image song for a long time now." "Why would a kid like you need an image song?" "Oh really, Mr. Ishida. What self-respecting hero from Tokyo doesn't? Besides, I'm getting bored just standing here." He chose the right arrangement from my collection and then brought out one of those old-fashioned standup microphones from the 40s. He hit play, and the music started. It was then and there that I figured out who he was trying to emulate.

["I Didn't Mean to Turn You On"

Written by James Harris III and Terry Lewis

Performed by Ryouma Mogami (Johnny Yong Bosch)]

As the music starts, the battle continues. Matt pulls out the bullet from Garurumon's paw. He then rips off a sleeve from his shirt and quickly wraps it around the affected claw. Then, he remounts his partner as the two continue to fight. All the while, Ryouma fools around with the microphone, fancying himself as the next Robert Palmer.

Ryouma:

When I took you out
I knew what you were all about
But when I did
I didn't mean to turn you on

Now I bring you home
You told me "good night"'s not enough for you
I'm sorry, baby
I didn't mean to turn you on
No, I didn't mean to turn you on

The battle intensifies as Garurumon spews high-temperature blue flames from his mouth at the ice wall. Astamon puts away his gun and starts dealing damage with his feet. His Maverick attack releases a lot of pent-up dark Qi.

Ryouma:
You read me wrong
I wasn't trying to lead you on
Not like you think
I didn't mean to turn you on

I know you
Were expecting a one night stand
When I refused
I knew you wouldn't understand

I'm sorry, baby

I didn't mean to turn you on

Soon, the battle expands to beyond the stage as Garurumon chases Astamon up and down the aisles in the audience. Ryouma continues on as if nothing unusual was happening. Matt is fascinated, stupefied, and annoyed that his opponent would act this way. The two Digimon chase each other through the opera house, with Garurumon having the supposed advantage of being faster. That advantage is tempered by the fact that our hero's Digimon is nursing an injury. The two make it back to the stage.

Ryouma:
I told you twice
I was only trying to be nice
Only trying to be nice
Ohh, I didn't mean to turn you on

Babe now why should I
Feel guilty 'cause I won't give
Guilty 'cause I won't give in?
I didn't mean to turn you on
Ohh, I didn't mean to turn you on

When I took you out
I knew what you were all about
But when I did
I didn't mean to turn you on
No, I didn't mean to turn you on

I didn't mean to turn you on...

Astamon shoots a set of bullets from his machine gun into Matt's laptop, cutting off the music.

Matt

My eyes went wide open. "If I wasn't so worried about this fight, I could sue you right now for property damage!" Ryouma just smirked. I would've gone on, but Garurumon had something to say to me first.

"Matt, I wouldn't be worrying about that right now. You've got bigger fish to fry, like that gangster over there with the gun." "It's OK, we just have to keep outmaneuvering him. Maybe tire him out." We kept running and attacking. "Matt, there was something I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted by that Ryouma guy." Astamon kept firing, running, and firing again. "What, Garurumon?" "That song, earlier? It was silly, and you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. This has nothing to do with Sora, and everything to do with you. Maybe it's not the right time for me to Digivolve to Ultimate, and just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean there should be any pressure on me." "And you're bringing this up now?" "I mean it, Matt. I don't need to Digivolve right away. So you made a mistake. Tai did that, and look how he turned out. Just fine. You just need to recover and not put so much pressure on us." "Unbelievable, Garurumon. We're running for our lives and you're talking about pressure!" "Have you called the others for backup?" "Eh... no." "What's stopping you?"

I had to think about it. Why wasn't I calling for backup? "...No, it would be too easy to call the others. This is something we have to do on our own." "It seems to me you've forgotten your Crest." "Huh?" "The Crest of Friendship, you've forgotten about it. Nobody's meant to fight alone. Remember how Joe risked his life trying to save T.K.?" "Stop bringing that up, this isn't happening now. Nobody's here to help me." "That's because you haven't asked anyone to!" "Don't you get it? I can't do that! This is my fight, and my fight alone! Nobody understands, not Thomas, not Sora..." "No, Matt. You're the one who's not understanding." He stopped in his tracks, allowing Astamon to catch up. "Garurumon! Why are we stopping?!" "Because I'm hurt, and you don't seem to care! In fact, lately, you don't seem to care for much of anything or anyone except yourself!"

The truth hit me like a 20-ton wrecking ball. He was right! I had been acting like a petty jerk. At that exact moment, Astamon kicked Garurumon hard in the side, causing me to fall off to the ground. I stood there, thinking about what he'd said. "You're right, Garurumon. I've been nothing but a selfish jerk this whole time. I've been thinking about nobody but myself, and now we're paying for it." Astamon took out a small knife and threatened to stab my friend in the chest, laughing sadistically. Something within me snapped, and I rushed over and tackled the enemy Digimon to the ground. Then, I punched him in the face, over and over. As I kept punching him and grunting, the DigiSoul in my hand kept spreading and spreading. Soon it was covering my entire body. "...Matt..." Garurumon moaned.

"That's incredible! How are you doing that?" Ryouma demanded to know. I stood up as my blue and silver DigiSoul continued to radiate around me. "Right about now, I should be giving a lecture about the power of friendship... but I shouldn't waste my breath. You ready, Garurumon?" My partner got to his feet.

I flipped open the sensor on my Digivice, then did the world-famous windmill strum on my air guitar, bringing my hand back up to the sky after a full revolution. "DigiSoul! Full... Charge!" Then, I scanned my hand along the Digivice and struck a pose as the power went to my partner.

"Garurumon Digivolve to..." The sequence was just like I remembered it. Garurumon stood up on his back legs and became bipedal. The jeans and battle gear materialized on him. Then, he punched the air and did a roundhouse kick. "WereGarurumon! Aroooooooooooooooooooooo!"

A huge, masculine grin came over my face. "Welcome back, man!" "Thanks, Matt. It's great to be back. Now, we've got some pin-striped trash to take out, so let's get dangerous!" WereGarurumon said.

[BGM: "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Michael Reisz and Kirk Thornton]

The battle got back underway, as WereGarurumon went into a metaphorical "Beast Mode". Astamon tried fighting back with his gun, but my buddy kicked it away. He wagged his finger, as if to say "You don't bring a machine gun to a street fight, son." "Wolf Claw!" He slashed with his powerful claws, leaving red shockwaves all over the pin-striped suit. Astamon tried to kick back in retaliation, but got stopped dead in his tracks when WereGarurumon laid out some of the extreme MMA moves he'd apparently been saving for such an occasion. Finally, he was ready for his finisher. I kicked in the air along with him. "Garuru Kick!" He kicked in a full circle, unleashing a shockwave that sent Astamon clear to the back wall, then reverted him back into a DigiEgg.

"Yes! And WereGarurumon is still the champ!" I cheered. Ryouma pointed his Digivice at the DigiEgg, and the egg was absorbed. "Well, Mr. Ishida, you won. I don't know how you did it, but... you did. Well played. My apologies for Astamon destroying your laptop and for Psychemon flipping your partner off." Ryouma offered his hand. I just stood there, puzzled. "Huh? You mean, this was all a game to you?" "Oh, it wasn't a game. This was a real life or death battle, and my Digimon lost. Now, are you going to shake my hand like a graceful winner or are you going to stand there?" I had to think about it, but I finally accepted his hand. We shook on it. "I will even fill you in on a secret, Mr. Ishida. I don't really need the money. My father's a successful corporate headhunter." That shocked me a little. "Then why'd you sign up for this?" He didn't let out a smirk, but a genuine smile. "Power, prestige, and the challenge. I hope we meet again someday... Matt." I smiled. "You know, we could use somebody like you-" "Oh no, I wouldn't dream of it. Psychemon and I must start again. We have a lot to learn." He turned and started walking away, waving behind him.

I went back to the studio and apologized to Thomas. "Well, what's done is done, and I'm only glad that you're finally able to Digivolve your partner to Ultimate. I suppose I'll be one of the next." I put my hand on his shoulder. "Oh, I wouldn't doubt that for a second, bro." Then, I gave him a noogie.

I called Sora and apologized to her. She took it very well, and was proud of me. "And look, I'd love to invite you to be our groupie, but our group's got eight people as is. You know how it is." "Yeah, I guess. I'm getting more action this way working with DATS. Still, maybe we can team up someday. In more ways than one?" "Maybe, Sora. Maybe."

As for T.K.'s lawsuit, we talked it over with the label, and they agreed to pay for this Australian girl to get a prenatal paternity test. I gave him a big hug. "I'm just glad you're feeling better," he said. "Me too."

Back at the Bagra Army headquarters, Lord Bagra doesn't look happy at all. Laylamon notices. "My Lord, are you going to allow this human to get away?" "Why should one measly human matter? Ryouma has no Digimon, and he'll be little of a threat to me anyway. Not when I'm finished with this world. Now, who to challenge next? Hmm..."

Author's Notes:

Now I thought that was a good battle, and a good way to get Matt back to his old self. Well, relatively speaking.

Astamon typically doesn't have many lines, I don't believe.

If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.