Hey. Again it's been too long during updates with this XD Sorry to everyone who's been waiting patiently. Hope this was worth the wait. I'm off to bed now as it's getting late and I've spent ages trying to get this text looking right on the document upload thing here. It's starting to annoy me XD
Aldamonburst: Yeah, Willis has kids. They'll be appearing later on in the story.
LoneWolfVampire13: Thanks :)
Flurry of Freezing Flames: Thanks. I wasn't sure with the DNA digivolving thing at first but it looks like it worked out right
Sync The Dragon Tempest: Thank you :) Oh yeah he's planning something quite bad XD
Keyblade King 12: Sure I'll check out your story. And you got it right about Dawn and Stacey hehe. I haven't decided if Garurumon will have his own ultimate form yet but he'll definitely have his own mega form.
TKariinlove: Thank you!
Angeloflight04: Thanks :) yeah I thought it was time she went home.
GatomonRules: Yeah! XD
Lachelle92: hehe I think you're the only one who noticed that. I realised after I wrote it that it was off Mulan
Shadoweeveelutions: sorry I didn't include KendoGarurumon. I'll try and see if I can add him in the future.
Dragongirl19510: Thank you :)
Saskia Wolf: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it ^^
Daikari Princess: Don't worry Tricia will be making an appearance in this chapter
Fruitloop Trooper: Thanks :)
Kristina M Dixon: Thank you!
LilGreenFairy: Thanks. Sorry this has been a long time waiting for this chapter.
L-ily-13-06: Thanks. Yeah they will. MJ and Margaret were already best friends/like sisters before TK and Kari got together so they're happy their parents are together.
FFnetfanHANNAH: Thank you ^^
Digimon Season 2.5 "Adventure 03"
Episode 23: "A Fight to Forget"
.:Kido Residence, Odaiba, Tokyo:.
Mimi sighed as she continued to wash the dishes with a cloth whilst balancing the cordless phone between her ear and shoulder. "Joe, you've been working non-stop since yesterday morning. Come home and take a rest. You sound exhausted."
Tricia looked up from the morning programme she was watching in the living room and glanced over to her mother in the kitchen, who had her back to her stood by the sink.
"I can't come home just yet. Many Digimon were injured from the Waspmon attack yesterday evening. We're still getting patients in now. Some have very serious injuries."
Mimi sighed once more. She put a small dish down and took the phone in her hand. "And you're not the only one working there either. I'm sure the others can take care of things for a few hours while you get some rest."
"Is that Daddy on the phone?" Tricia spoke up standing behind her mother, startling her a little. "When's he coming home?"
Mimi brought the phone down from her ear for a second. "I'm not sure sweetie. He's very busy at work right now."
Tricia's face lit up a little. "Can I go help him?" she asked, excitedly.
Mimi glanced at her nine year old daughter, unsure of what to say. "Well... I... Uhh..."
"I wanna be a doctor just like Daddy! I promise I won't get in the way." the young girl begged.
Mimi blinked a little surprisingly at her only child before bringing the phone back up to her ear. "Uhhh honey, you might have an extra helper on the way..."
.:Rainbow Bridge, Odaiba, Tokyo:.
Fernanda was stood at the edge of the pier staring out at the waters of the bay in front of her. She looked out as far as the horizon, blocking out all sounds of the traffic that was moving steadily across Rainbow Bridge. A few Digital Splits blew over the pier just behind her, but she didn't notice.
She had forgotten how long she had been stood there. It would have been a while and her parents were probably wondering where she was. She had left to go get some groceries from the store, but on the way she had taken a detour towards Rainbow Bridge.
Armadillomon was stood behind her, watching her the whole time. He was wearing a dark blue overcoat to disguise himself, and people assumed he was a dog or something. "C'mon Fernanda, let's head back. We've been stood here for about an hour now."
"Huh? Is that how long it's been?" his human partner replied.
Armadillomon walked up and stood right beside her, looking up. "Don't feel bad about this. Seadramon X was tough and ran away like a coward."
Fernanda continued to look out across the bay. "But he's out there somewhere Armadillomon. Who knows where he could be at this very moment. He could be miles away in the middle of the ocean by now or still lurking at the bottom of the bay just waiting to attack again."
"And when he does we'll be ready and take him down for sure next time."
She sighed and lowered her head. "But then my father will know I lied. He thinks we destroyed him. He's been so proud but when he finds out I lied to him he's gonna be so disappointed in me."
Armadillomon paused for a second before replying. "Well... we'll just have to make sure he doesn't find out when that time comes."
"He's going to find out Armadillomon. Every Digimon attack that has happened has been broadcasted all over the TV and the papers. And it's not like we can predict when Seadramon X will attack again and make it there before anyone else spots him. It's impossible to keep it a secret."
"We could always ask Jonathon to help. I'm sure he'll have some sort of technology that can trace down Seadramon X's signal. If we can find out where he is we can lure him to a place where no one will be around to witness the fight."
Fernanda bit her lip a little nervously. "I don't know Armadillomon..."
Armadillomon shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it's either that or you'll have to tell your father the truth. Telling him will probably be a little better than him finding out by the news report that you lied."
Fernanda sighed and lifted her head up looking out at the bay once more. "Why did I have to lie to him? Why didn't I just tell him the truth when it happened?"
.:File City, File Island, Digital World:.
A huge shadow loomed over the buildings as Blimpmon made his way towards the File City airfield. The city was still fairly quiet from yesterday's attack but there were a few Digimon around that looked up in amazement at the huge Digimon.
Dan grinned as pressed his face against the window and peered down at the city. "Alright! We're finally here!" he grinned.
Everyone else was sat at the large dining table enjoying a breakfast that had been provided by Burgermon. The table was full of fried eggs, miso soup, boiled rice and other side dishes.
Jonathon looked up from his food and glanced out of the window as one of the buildings passed by. "I can't believe how far we ended up away from our original destination. I still don't understand what happened and why we were transported to the Folder Continent instead of here."
"Yeah, well it's just a good job I was here to come and rescue you." Dawn half smirked before she stuffed some fried eggs in her mouth.
Jonathon gave her a disapproving look before he turned his attention to his laptop and began typing.
"Can you not go anywhere without that thing?" Dan asked as he walked back over to the table and sat down in-between Dawn and Veemon.
Jonathon didn't take his eyes off the screen as he replied; "I'm emailing my father to let him know we've arrived in File City safely and should be home soon."
Blimpmon slowly began to make his descend down towards the city airfield...
Burgermon stood up from the table and began to clear away some of the empty dishes. "I want to thank you children letting me travel back with you. With my portal destroyed I would have been stuck in Star City."
"Don't mention it. You helped us rescue our friends." Agumon replied.
"Where are you going to work now?" MJ asked, looking up at the champion Digimon.
Burgermon sighed. "I'm not sure. I'll have to start looking around."
Dawn, who had wandered over to the sofa, suddenly jumped up. "Hey I know!" she exclaimed. "You can go work at the hospital." She walked back over to the table. "It'll be perfect for you, and for the sick Digimon. If they eat your special burgers they'll be healed in no time."
Margaret smiled, nodding. "Yeah, Dawn's right. And we know the doctor who runs the hospital. We can put in a good word for you."
Burgermon smiled. "Thank you."
Blimpmon quietly touched down on the runway. For a big city, it was a small airfield. Mainly due to that Digimon usually travelled by train and not by air. A large metal wire fence surrounded the airspace, and in the corner by the main gates was a small terminal building and control tower. Once Blimpmon came to a complete stop, he opened up his doors and the DigiDestined and Digimon jumped down onto the tarmac of the runway.
MJ stretched her arms. "That was the longest air ride I have ever taken. I never thought we'd get here."
Patamon jumped up onto the top of MJ's hat. "How long have we been away for?"
"I'd say almost a week." Jonathon replied as he cradled his laptop under his arm.
"Alright! We missed a full week of school!" Dawn grinned, pumping her fist up in the air as the group began to make their way out of the airfield.
Margaret glanced at her younger cousin. "I wonder how our parents have explained to the teachers how all of us have been absent at the same time."
"I'm sure my father has thought of something." Jonathon responded. "After all it is part of his job to keep Digimon activity a secret."
The kids and Digimon walked through the main gates of the airfield and onto the streets of File City, where they all suddenly came to a halt and gasped. In front of them was a trail of destruction. Windows were smashed, roads had been damaged and buildings blasted.
"What happened here...?" Salomon trailed off as she looked around.
"This can't be the damage left by SkullMammothmon X could it, Agumon?" Dawn asked, glancing at the rookie beside her.
Agumon shook his head. "I don't think so. SkullMammothmon X attacked downtown where the hospital is. Unless the battle moved down here after we left the city."
Dan glanced at his best friend. "SkullMammothmon X?"
"It was a Digimon that attacked the city before I came to rescue you guys. It was just after we defeated Datamon. We were staying at the hospital when he attacked. I had to leave with my Mom but Dad and Mr Kido stayed and took him on. I'm guessing they destroyed him because soon after Dad and Agumon showed up just as I was fighting the Undead King for the first time." The Kamiya girl explained.
"The Undead King sure likes his X Digimon." Veemon spoke up.
"Yeah. It seems to be his favoured plan of attack. There's been Garurumon X, the X army, Rosemon X and SkullMammothmon X. And those are the only ones we know about." Jonathon explained.
"Well, whatever he throws at us we can handle it." Dawn boasted. "Huh?" she turned around as she heard something behind her. There was a pile of rubble in the middle of the pavement that had fallen down from one of the damaged buildings.
The rubble began to move a little before a Calumon emerged from underneath, whimpering and limping a little.
Margaret walked over and knelt down in front of him. "Oh, you poor little thing." she said softly as she gently scooped up the small in-training Digimon in her arms.
"We better get him to the hospital. He looks hurt." Salamon commented.
Veemon pointed up to a road sign that was at the end of the corner. "According to this sign the hospital is two miles down this road."
Near the hospital, Tricia and Palmon were walking the streets, searching for any sign of Digimon that could be in trouble and in need of medical attention. They were out with a team of Mushroomon who were aiding the search. Hardly any other Digimon apart from them were out on the streets.
"This is awful Palmon. Who would do such a thing?" Tricia asked as she looked around at the destruction. The syringes from the Waspmon attack were still littered across the roads and pavements.
Palmon looked up and down. "Everywhere is so quiet. Usually at this time File City is a lot busier than this." She said as she watched a lone Apemon wander down the empty street.
"Well it looks like there is no injured Digimon on this street. Let's move onto the next one." Tricia said before they headed to the end and turned the corner.
Down the other end on the exact same street were the others. Dawn was leading the group with Agumon and Margaret stood either side of her.
"This city makes me feel like we're back home... expect for it's a lot busier in Tokyo." MJ said, breaking the silence.
Jonathon observed the buildings as they strolled past. "I bet some of these buildings are similar to the ones in Tokyo. My father once told me that the Digital World feeds off the earth and produces objects, plants, trees and buildings almost exactly the same to the ones we have."
"The Digital World is made up of the earth's computer data." Tentomon added as he flew beside his human partner. "So any changes made to that data would have an immediate effect here."
"My Dad told me this story about a group of government scientists who hacked into the Digital World's data trying to research more about it but they ended up messing the files and data up. That's how Datamon was able to come back." Dawn explained from the front of the group.
"My father told me the same story too. They died in suspicious circumstances before they were able to complete their research. But they left a huge amount of damage behind them. It took my father months to set it all right again." Jonathon added.
MJ glanced at the black haired boy. "Do you think that's what Starmon was meaning when he said humans destroyed half of his city eleven years ago? Was it those scientists who broke the data codes that were part of Star City which destroyed the buildings?"
"It's all starting to make sense now." Patamon said.
"And they didn't die mysteriously. It was Datamon who killed them." Dawn stated.
"Hey look it's Tricia and Palmon." Margaret suddenly chirped up pointing ahead. "Hey Tricia!" she called loudly as she waved and ran over to where they were stood at the edge of the street corner.
Tricia glanced over her shoulder. "Oh hi Margaret." She smiled. "I didn't know you were back from Star City."
"We just arrived back now." MJ replied as the others walked over.
"And what're you doing here?" Dawn asked with her arms crossed. "I thought you didn't like coming to the Digital World."
Tricia shot a look over at the Kamiya girl. "I never said that." She stated. "I said I didn't like fighting. I'm here because I'm helping my Daddy at the hospital. There was an attack here yesterday and lots of Digimon got hurt. Daddy worked through the night helping them."
"That would explain the damage throughout the city." Jonathon commented.
"Do you know what happened?" Tentomon asked.
Both Tricia and Palmon shook their heads before the Kido girl replied; "No. All we know so far is that there was an attack and the city got damaged pretty badly. Daddy wouldn't tell me anymore."
"Well we need to get to the hospital." Salamon spoke motioning to Calumon in Margaret's arms. "We found Calumon by the airfield. He was trapped under some debris."
"Oh well follow us! We were just about to head back to the hospital ourselves." Palmon replied. Tricia and Palmon lead the group down the street to where the hospital was situated at the end.
"If you're helping your Dad, then why are you out here and not at the hospital all ready?" Dawn asked, walking right beside the younger girl.
"I'm out here searching for injured Digimon that could be trapped or unable to get to the hospital themselves. Daddy won't let me do any of the medical stuff yet. Although he said he'd teach me how to put on a bandage." Tricia then noticed the bandage around Dawn's left wrist, and the deep cut above her right eye. "What happened to you?"
"Huh? Oh... it's a long story."
The kids and Digimon reached the hospital. Burgemon paused and glanced down the street. He turned back to the children. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you now. I need to make sure my family is alright."
"Sure no problem." Dawn replied. "Thanks for all your help."
As Burgemon departed down the street, the children crossed the road towards the hospital's entrance and saw how busy it was. Digimon were being rushed in on stretchers whilst others hobbled in. They walked through the main entrance, trying to dodge the Digimon that flew past them. Tricia and Palmon led the small group towards the elevators. Once they were all in Tricia pressed the button for the top floor.
Upstairs, the doors to the elevator opened and the children and Digimon stepped out into the corridor. It was a little less busy than downstairs. But there were a few nurse Digimon running in and out of the rooms carrying medicines and equipment.
Tricia spotted her father exiting a room hanging his stethoscope around his neck. "Daddy!" she called running up to him.
Joe looked up. "Oh hi kids." he said half paying attention as he was given a clipboard before he quickly read it and signed his signature at the bottom before handing it back to the nurse Digimon. He turned to the children. "Is everything ok?"
Margaret walked up to him and held out the injured Calumon. "We found this Digimon hurt on the other side of the city."
"What happened here Mr Kido?" MJ asked.
Joe took Calumon from Margaret, holding him gently in his arms. "There was an attack on the city yesterday evening."
"Yeah, we gathered that." Dawn said. "What exactly happened? Who attacked?"
Joe ignored the girl's slightly rude comment before continuing. "There was a swarm of Waspmon that attacked from the sky." He pulled out the syringe from his white coat pocket. "They were firing these at all the Digimon." The bearer of Reliability then handed the syringe to Jonathon. "I've emailed your father and told him to take a look at that. There's still some of the stuff inside of there, so if you could get that to your father that would be great."
Veemon watched as Jonathon took the syringe from the doctor. "What is it?" he asked, looking up.
"From what me and Gomamon gathered it is something that transforms Digimon into X Digimon."
"W-what?" the kids all gasped.
Joe nodded. "The Waspmon managed to transform hundreds of Digimon so quickly. They all piled onto two Trailmons and left the city. I don't know where they were heading."
"Wait a minute... on the way over here the streets were littered with those syringes." Salamon spoke up.
Dawn glanced at her Digimon partner. "I'm guessing it was the Undead King who's planned this attack. He's the one who's been using X Digimon."
Agumon nodded. "Yeah. He must have a base or something somewhere so I bet that's where the Trailmon were taking those Digimon."
"Well we have no idea where that base is right now." Joe spoke, pushing his glasses up.
"Well we'll just have to find it, and then destroy it." Dawn said confidently.
Margaret glanced at her cousin. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"
"Yeah, most of our Digimon aren't even at the ultimate level yet." MJ added. "It's gonna take a lot more than what we have now to bring down that base."
"But if we don't find his base soon he's just going to continue to capture Digimon and turn them into X antibodies. And of course it's going to be dangerous, but if we don't fight the Undead King he's gonna end up winning." The Kamiya girl exclaimed.
"Why are you so obsessed with fighting?" Tricia asked.
Dawn turned around to face the younger girl. "What?"
"That's all you ever talk about. Fighting. To win something you need to plan a strategy. It's not all about attacking the opposition. Surely being the top soccer player you are, you'd understand that." Tricia said, with a hint of sarcasm at the end.
Dawn clenched her fists. "What do you expect? We have to fight to defeat the Undead King. You can't expect to win by just batting your eyelashes at him and hope he'll surrender through pity. That's why "Princess's" never fight battles. If you're not gonna fight then Palmon will never digivolve and you'll just be a useless part."
Tricia huffed and stomped her foot. She spun round on her heal and storming off towards the elevator with Palmon in toe.
Joe sighed, his glasses slipping a little down his nose. "Dawn, that was uncalled for." He said. "Now I haven't got time for any petty arguments right now so go and apologise." He added before walking off to tend to the injured Calumon.
Dawn just huffed and crossed her arms stubbornly. She glanced to her left to see everyone staring at her. "What?"
"Dr Kido is right Dawn. You need to apologise." Her cousin spoke.
"What?" the younger girl exclaimed.
"What you said was pretty harsh." Jonathon added. "Just because Tricia doesn't like fighting, doesn't mean you have to make her feel unwanted. So go and apologise."
"Hey you can't tell me what to do nerd boy!" Dawn snapped back. "I don't even know where she went."
"Then go and look for her. You'll be able to track her signal down through your digivice." Tentomon added, hovering beside his human partner.
Dawn growled a little in frustration as she noticed everyone was looking at her. Realising she wasn't going to be let off this one she huffed and spun around muttering; "C'mon Agumon."
.:Fileville, File Island, Digital World:.
"Tricia, where are we going? Please stop."
Tricia continued on, ignoring her Digimon behind her. She had not stopped walking since leaving the hospital. Walking out of the entrance she had just chose a direction and headed down the street, which happened to be the one that lead into Fileville.
"We can't wander too far away from the hospital. Your father's going to wonder where you are."
Tricia finally stopped. She had her head down, staring at the ground. "What's it like to digivolve Palmon?" she finally spoke.
Palmon glanced up at her human partner. "I don't know. I'll never know what it feels like until I digivolve myself."
Tricia continued to stare down at the concrete before taking her green digivice off her belt and looking at it. "Maybe that's what we need to do."
"Huh?"
"We need to make you digivolve." The nine year old girl replied, glancing at her Digimon. "If you reach the champion level then maybe Dawn will finally see we're not just a spare part and start taking us seriously."
"But Tricia, to make me digivolve you know what that means-"
"I know Palmon." Tricia interrupted. "I know I said I didn't want to fight but I guess this is the only way to prove to Dawn that I can be a DigiDestined just like her." She glanced to her right and pointed to the brush of the outskirts of the Native Forest. "We'll go in there and look for a Digimon to fight."
Palmon tilted her head and looked up at her human partner, a little unsure. "Tricia... that's going to be dangerous."
The nine year old girl began to walk towards the wooden fencing that blocked off the forest from Fileville. "I know. But it'll prove to Dawn I'm not just a scared little "Princess" she makes me out to be." She paused as she reached the fencing. "Uhhhhh... how do we get past this?"
Palmon sweat dropped with a sigh. "I think you climb over it."
Tricia stepped up to the fence and studied it. She grasped it before trying to hoist herself up over it. She hadn't climbed a lot of trees and fences in her lifetime and it clearly showed. Palmon gave her a helping hand by pushing her up and over. Tricia squealed as she fell head over heels and landed on a heap on the ground.
Palmon pulled herself up and peered over the fence. "Uhhh sorry." She said meekly before jumping over and landing next to her human partner.
Tricia huffed and got to her feet, brushing the dirt off her jeans. "Don't do that again Palmon." She said before walking off into the forest.
Palmon quickly followed. She watched as Tricia pushed away low hanging vines and branches with the tips of her fingers with minimum touch. The little green rookie sighed as they both disappeared into the thickness of the forest.
.:Fileville, File Island, Digital World:.
The steady beeping of Dawn's D-Power gradually got quicker as they walked down the main street of Fileville. "Well we're getting closer Agumon." The Kamiya girl spoke keeping her eyes on the small green dot that represented Tricia.
"Who knew she could walk this fast. Where is she going?" Agumon wondered.
"How should I know? She's probably got lost somewhere and we'll end up bailing her out of trouble." Dawn commented.
"Hello, back so soon?" a gentle voice chuckled.
Dawn and Agumon turned around to see Burgermon with his wife and children stood at the edge of their garden behind the white fencing. "Hey!" Dawn ran over to greet them.
"What are you doing back here? I thought you'd be heading home back to earth." Burgermon said.
"We were but we're looking for our friend. We think she came down this way." Agumon responded.
"She's got light brown hair and always wears a pink cowboy hat around her neck." Dawn added.
"Oh the little girl that walked past her not too long ago." Burgermon's wife spoke up. "She had a Palmon with her."
"Yeah, that's her."
One of the little Burgermon jumped up onto the fence. "She was walking very fast and looked upset. She went down that way."
Another small Burgermon also climbed up next to his brother. "They stopped in the middle of the road but when we turned away for a second and looked back they was gone."
"She disappeared?" Agumon gasped.
"We're not sure; no one else was around so it's impossible she just vanished. She could have gone into the Native Forest. But I don't think she carried on down the street." Burgemon explained.
Dawn sighed before looking back at her digivice. "We better get moving before we lose her signal." She said to Agumon before looking up at the Burgermon family. "Thanks for your help, see ya around!"
The Burgermon family waved goodbye as Dawn and Agumon carried on down the street. A few Digimon were out in their gardens. They passed two Lunamon who were playing in a small paddling pool in their garden, and a Falcomon who was fixing a hole in his roof.
"Hmm." Agumon paused and looked around the area. He glanced to his right and saw something shimmering in the sunlight underneath the fence. "Hey look over here!" he suddenly exclaimed as he ran over to the wooden fence. "This looks like Tricia's bracelet." He said, squeezing his claw through the gap and picking the small silver bracelet up.
Dawn walked over and took the bangle from her Digimon partner. "Huh?" she glanced at the signal on her digivice before she looked up into the Native forest. "Looks like Burgermon was right. What's Tricia doing in the forest?" she asked.
"She could get lost in there. We better find her quick." Agumon said, looking up at her.
Dawn sighed and grabbed the fence before she leaped over it with a quick and almost effortless jump, swiftly followed by Agumon. "Why am I the one who has to go running after Miss Princess Perfect?" she thought as she and Agumon ran off into the depths of the forest.
.:Native Forest, Digital World:.
Tricia and Palmon had found a small gravel path and were following it deeper and deeper into the forest. It was dark with only small rays of sunlight escaping through the gaps in the trees.
"How hard is it to find a Digimon in this place?"
Palmon looked around. "Maybe we should head back to the hospital Tricia. It looks like there is no one around. They're probably all in hiding after what happened to the city yesterday." She looked up at her partner as they continued to walk. "You shouldn't let Dawn force you into doing something you don't want to just to prove something to her."
Tricia sighed and came to a slow halt. "Maybe you're right. We haven't seen a single Digimon since we entered the forest." She then glanced behind her. "But... but I don't know which way we came. We can't even see the city buildings from here."
As Tricia spoke, a rather large spider began to make its way down from a low branch it had been hanging from. It crawled down its silk thread and perched itself on Tricia's right shoulder.
Palmon glanced up at her and was about to speak when she noticed the spider. Gulping, she spluttered out; "T-T-Tricia... there's a-a-a..." she trailed off pointing up to her shoulder.
Tricia turned slightly to look at Palmon. "Huh?" That's when she noticed the creepy crawly. "Ahhhhhhh! Get it off!" she screamed at the top of her lungs before swiping her hand at the spider and running off ahead.
"Tricia wait!" Palmon shouted chasing after her.
Tricia continued to run and didn't realise she had ran out into a huge clearing where a lake was situated in the middle. She glanced down at her shoulder, not looking where she was running. "Is it off?" she cried out. But then she suddenly collided with something hard.
The nine year old girl was thrown back onto the ground, a little dazed. Holding her head she looked up and gasped at what towered over her.
Palmon came bursting out of the brush of the forest and into the clearing. "Tricia! Are you okay?"
What Tricia had collided with slowly lifted his head and turned around, the ground shaking as his feet stomped on the ground. It was Monochromon X.
Monochromon X's eyes fell upon the Kido girl and her Digimon partner. Water was dripping from his mouth as he had been drinking from the lake. "Well, well what do we have here?" he spoke gruffly, a sly expression on his face.
Tricia gulped and slowly got to her feet. "U-Uhhhh sorry... I didn't see where I was going..."
Monochromon X began to slowly make his way towards them. Tricia and Palmon backed up. "So you DigiDestined managed to escape from High Falls huh?" he grumbled. "You might have gotten rid of me back there but I'll finish you off right here and now."
"W-what's he talking about Palmon?"
"I have no idea..."
Monochromon X roared loudly and lifted his two front legs up before pounding them in to the ground causing it to shake. Tricia and Palmon both lost their balance and tumbled to the ground and the X Digimon began to charge.
"Run!" Palmon cried as her and Tricia scrambled to their feet and began to run towards the gravel path they had walked along moments ago.
"Not so fast. You're not getting away that easily." Monochromon X muttered before he opened his mouth and fired a large fireball. It flew overhead before dipping in the air and blasting a large tree. The thick trunk of the tree was completely blown to bits and the weight from the top half of the tree began to topple over before it crashed to the ground blocking the path out of the clearing.
Tricia and Palmon skidded to a halt. "Oh no!"
There was a faint rumble and the ground shook around Dawn and Agumon before a faint roar could be heard coming from the distance.
"Did you feel that?" Agumon exclaimed looking around.
Some loose branches and leaves fell down and Dawn stepped to the side avoiding them. "Yeah. Was it an earthquake?" she asked. Then, they heard a faint scream. "That sounded like Tricia! Let's go!" the Kamiya girl exclaimed before the two friends took off down the small gravel path as fast as they could.
Tricia screamed as she and Palmon darted behind a large tree. She whimpered quietly as they knelt down on the floor trying not to make a sound.
Monochromon X growled under his breath as he spun around. "Hold still and you won't feel a thing." he spoke but realised they had disappeared. He snarled, growing a little impatient. "These human children are a right handful." He then spotted Palmon's tail sticking out from behind the tree trunk. He chuckled under his breath and snuck up on the unsuspecting friends. "Gotcha!" With one swift move, Monochromon X sliced through the tree trunk with his blade like horn.
Tricia and Palmon both screamed and scrambled to their feet and began to run. But Monochromon X picked up the tree he had sliced and threw it with all his strength. The tree passed over the human and rookie Digimon before crashing to the ground, blocking their path.
The two friends came to a suddenly halt before turning around to face Monochromon X who was making his way towards them. Tricia grabbed hold of her Digimon partner, clinging to her tightly.
"Tricia!"
Tricia and Palmon both turned at the sound of a familiar voice that came from in the thickness of the forest. Dawn and Agumon burst out from the thick brush and into the clearing. But they suddenly came to a skidding halt.
The Kamiya girl gasped. "It's you!"
Monochromon X turned his attention away from Tricia and Palmon. He instantly recognised them. "So you're alive as well. My friends didn't finish you off?" he said, his voice growing louder at the last part of the sentence.
"Haven't you crawled back to the Undead King yet? Dawn snapped clenching her fists.
Monochromon X snarled under his breath. "Well, if my friends haven't completed their duty and destroyed you I'll do it myself."
Dawn quickly unclipped her digivice from her green belt. Glaring at Monochromon X, and giving him an unimpressed look, she held her digivice up. "Just try it... Digital Ring, Release!"
Agumon held his claw up and grabbed hold of the golden ring once it left Dawn's D-Power.
"AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TO... GREYMON!"
Tricia watched on, in slight amazement at Agumon's transformation. This was the first time she had seen a Digimon digivolve.
Monochromon X scoffed a laugh. "Please." He mocked. "If your pet dinosaur didn't beat me the first time, what makes you think you're gonna win now?"
Dawn grinned still holding up her digivice. "We're gonna beat you this time. We've got a new trick up our sleeve." She took out her crest from underneath her t-shirt.
But before Dawn could release the second ring, Monochromon X charged forwards towards her. As quick as a flash he swung his huge knife like horn and smacked the orange D-Power right out of the ten year old girl's hand. The digivice was thrown across the clearing and fell into a small hollow tree trunk.
Dawn gasped clutching her hand. She looked up and quickly threw herself to the ground as Monochromon X took a swipe at her. His horn barely missed her head before she scrambled to her feet and ran towards the hallow tree trunk as Greymon slammed into the X Digimon.
Dawn skidded and knelt down before sticking her arm through the hole. She stretched her arm as far as it would go but her fingers just lightly brushed her D-Power, unable to get a grip on it.
"Dawn..." Greymon growled. "Hurry up and release the ring... he's too strong." He had both of his claws on Monochromon X's horn and was pressing hard against the fellow dinosaur's strength.
"I...I can't reach it..." Dawn let out a frustrated cry and cringed as she tried to force her arm further but it would not go.
Tricia backed up a little as she watched the two dinosaur Digimon battle it out against each other's strength.
Greymon grunted as his feet began to sink into the soil as he was slowly being pushed backwards. He quickly jumped out of the way, causing Monochromon X to go flying forward crashing to the ground. Greymon quickly spun round and released his attack. "Nova Blast!"
Monochromon X scrambled to his feet and barely dodged the attack. The fire ball broke apart when hitting the ground, singeing the grass. The X Digimon turned so he was facing Greymon and released his attack. "Volcanic Strike!"
He fired three large fire balls from his mouth. One struck Greymon's right shoulder before the other hit his left arm and the final fire ball blasted him in the face. He grunted in pain and slowly fell backwards crashing to the ground.
"Get up Greymon!"
Hearing his partner's plea, Greymon growled and lifted his head up. "Nova Blast!" he fired another attack but it was way off target. It completely missed Monochromon X and sailed over the tree tops and up into the sky.
Monochromon X chuckled. "You have to work on your aim. Let me show you how it's done... Volcanic Strike!"
Greymon was just getting to his feet when Monochromon X's attack blasted him full on in the chest. The dinosaur Digimon was thrown back. He lost his footing and tumbled backwards into the lake with an almighty splash.
"Greymon!" Dawn shouted in horror as she watched her Digimon partner disappear underneath the water.
"We have to help them." Palmon declared. "Greymon has to digivolve again." She turned and began to run towards Dawn. "Here Dawn let me help!" she called over.
Monochromon X turned around. He saw Palmon running across the clearing to where Dawn was knelt down, waving her left hand vines in the air. "Oh no you don't, Volcanic Strike!" he fired a fireball of energy which struck the ground inches in front of Palmon. The little rookie was thrown back from the force of the blast. She did a backwards summer-salt before landing in a heap.
"Palmon!" Tricia ran to her fallen friend and knelt down beside her.
Monochromon X glanced at Dawn. "I'll leave you till last." He snarled before charging straight at Tricia and Palmon.
"Palmon, are you okay? He didn't hurt you did he?" Tricia asked, her head down and unaware of the danger approaching them. The ground began to shake under the weight of the X Digimon's feet.
Palmon's eyes suddenly snapped open to see Monochromon X was almost on top of them. "Tricia look out!" she reacted quickly and pushed her human partner out of the way. Monochromon X's teeth sunk into Palmon's right arm and she cried in pain her eyes widening.
Everything at that moment seemed to happen in slow motion. "PALMON!" Tricia's scream echoed through the forest as she held out a helpless arm to her Digimon partner. The small rookie's eyes closed and she collapsed to the ground motionless. Dawn slowly stood up holding her breath. She had remembered what she had been told. Mr Izumi's voice rang through her head;
"Any Digimon bitten by an X Digimon will also get infected with the virus."
Monochromon X stepped back, a small grin appearing on his face.
"Palmon! Palmon wake up, please!" Tricia pleaded, almost on the verge of tears. She was hunched over shaking her Digimon partner gently.
A noise was heard from behind them as Greymon emerged from the lake, water dripping from his body. He growled as he heaved himself up onto the land. "Nova Blast!" he blasted Monochromon X with his fireball attack and the X Digimon was sent flying across the clearing, straight past where Dawn was stood before he crashed into the thick bushes, disappearing from sight.
Dawn suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and bolted over to where Tricia was knelt. "Tricia, get away from her!" she exclaimed about to grab the younger girl's arm.
"No!" Tricia snapped, smacking Dawn's hand away. "She needs help. Palmon wake up! Palmon!" she continued to cry. But she suddenly gasped when she noticed Palmon was starting to change. Her purple vines were starting to turn white and she was growing a larger, colourful flower on top of her head.
Dawn's eyes widened before she grabbed Tricia's arm, dragging the girl to her feet. "Tricia, we need to get away! She's an X Digimon now!"
Tricia's caramel eyes were also wide and tear filled. She slowly turned to look at Dawn. "W-what?"
"C'mon!" Dawn tried to drag her away but she wouldn't move. She was just staring down at Palmon who was now almost completely transformed into Palmon X.
"Palmon... this is all my fault... I didn't mean for you to get hurt. You're my best friend. What was I thinking? This is why I didn't want to get involved with all this fighting."
She was suddenly broke from her thoughts by Dawn who was still trying to pull her away from her fallen friend.
"Tricia snap out of it and move!"
Neither girl noticed Monochromon X emerge from the bushes, angrier than ever. As quick as a flash he charged at Greymon and rammed into the dinosaur with his huge horn.
Tricia suddenly spun around her eyes full of tears and glared at Dawn. "No! Palmon's still my best friend no matter what she looks like!"
Greymon howled in pain and was thrown back and de-digivolved back to Agumon before he hit the ground. Monochromon X turned his attention to the two girls...
"No, Tricia you don't understand!" Dawn tried to explain. No one noticed the glow on Tricia's digivice... "She's an X Digimon! She's been taken over by the virus and-" but Dawn was cut off when she looked up and saw Monochromon X about to strike them with his horn... "Look out!" Dawn used all her strength and pulled the younger girl out of the way.
Monochromon X's horn ended up slamming into the ground, getting it stuck in the dirt. He grunted as he yanked it back out. "Get out of my way puny rookie." With one quick swipe of his claw he smacked Palmon X out of his way. The little Digimon was thrown a good few hundred yards before hitting a tree, slumping to the ground.
Tricia gasped as Dawn stood protectively in front of her and the two girls began to back up as Monochromon X made his way towards them.
He chuckled gruffly under his breath as he lowered his horn. It was now inches away from Dawn's neck. "Looks like I'll be winning round two."
Palmon X moaned and slowly opened her eyes. "Tricia...?" she murmured under her breath. Pushing herself up off of the ground she saw Monochromon X had cornered Tricia and Dawn and was about to strike.
Monochromon X lifted his horn up high into the air. "Too bad you won't be around to see who wins best out of three!" he mocked before he brought his horn down towards the two children...
Dawn and Tricia both flinched, their eyes shut tightly waiting for the pain that was about to come. But it never came. The two girls slowly opened their eyes to see Palmon X had her vines tightly wrapped around Monochromon X's horn, preventing it from striking them.
"W-what is this?" Monochromon X demanded struggling against the small rookie's power.
Tricia suddenly smiled at seeing her Digimon partner up and on her feet. "Palmon! You're okay!"
"Huh? How come Palmon hasn't turned over onto the Undead King's side?" Dawn thought looking puzzled.
Palmon X gritted her teeth as she continued to pull against the champion Digimon's strength.
Monochromon X grunted as he continued to struggle. "You really think a puny Digimon like yourself is going to beat me?"
"It doesn't matter how small I am compared to you it won't stop me protecting my friends." Palmon X declared. "Whether you're strength is ten times more than mine, it's my duty to protect my human partner and I'll do everything I can to protect her from the likes of you!"
Tricia stared at her Digimon partner. "Palmon is willing to put her life on the line for me... even when it's almost impossible for her to win. I only wish I could help by helping her digivolve...there has to be something I can do. I can't let her fight alone..."
"Then your efforts will be in vein." Monochromon X spoke spitefully before he charged at Palmon X...
Tricia suddenly yelped in shock as her digivice bleeped and the screen shone brightly. Dawn spun around and looked down at the girl's green D-Power attached to her belt.
"Your digivice! It's activated your Digital Ring. Quick, release it so Palmon can digivolve!"
Tricia stared at her with a confused look. "Huh? Do what?"
"Just do what I did!"
Tricia's mind cast back to earlier just before Agumon digivolved into Greymon...
Dawn unclipped her digivice. "Digital Ring Release!" she shouted, before a small golden ring burst out from the screen.
Agumon held his claw up and grabbed hold of the golden ring once it left Dawn's D-Power.
"Tricia, NOW!" Dawn shouted, growing impatient.
The Kido girl snapped out of her thoughts and held her digivice up. "Uhhh... Ummm... Digital Ring, Release!" she exclaimed a little hesitantly.
Her digivice shook with the power building up inside before the Digital Ring was released, flying out of the glowing screen. Tricia watched in awe as it floated down in front of her. She had never seen anything like this before.
Seeing there was no time left, Dawn suddenly grabbed the ring and threw it as hard as she could in Palmon X's direction. The ring flew over the top of Monochromon X and dipped slightly in the air. Palmon X lifted her right arm up and extended her white vines up into the air, catching the ring.
Monochromon X was still charging and was just on top of Palmon X when a bright white light consumed her whole body...
"PALMON X DIGIVOLVE TO... TOGEMON X!"
Once the light faded, Monochromon X was met with a huge red boxing glove that punched him hard in the face. He was thrown back and skidded across the ground before coming to a slow stop.
Stood where Palmon X was moments ago, was Togemon X. Similar to the ordinary Togemon, the X champion Digimon had the same body, boxing gloves and face. The only differences were this version of Togemon wore a yellow poncho and a yellow sombrero with orange markings on.
Monochromon X pushed himself up off the ground with a grunt. He looked up at Togemon X. "Ah, so what? You digivolved. You still won't beat me. Those boxing gloves won't penetrate my hard skin."
"I've had enough of your games so I'm just gonna end this quick." Togemon X stated simply. She stormed forward bringing back her left hand. "Mach Jab!" she punched Monochromon X in the face repeatedly with quick jabs. Her fists moved faster than the speed of light, making it almost impossible for her foe to counter attack.
Monochromon was slowly moving backwards from the force of the punches. Togemon X glanced ahead of her. As quick as a flash she stopped her continuous jabbing and brought her right arm back. With one almighty punch, she slammed her fist into Monochromon X's body. The dinosaur Digimon was thrown high into the air, his painful roar echoing across the clearing.
Dawn, Tricia and Agumon all watched as he fell down into the middle of the deep lake with an enormous splash. Water from the impact was thrown high into the air and sprayed the two kids and Digimon all over.
Togemon X stood at the edge of the lake as the ripples in the water began to subside. "That hard skin of his should send him right to the bottom." She turned around and began to glow as she transformed back to Palmon X.
Tricia dropped to her knees as her best friend walked over to her. She gave Palmon X a small smile before wrapping her arms around the rookie's neck and hugged her tightly.
"Hey good job Tricia." Dawn spoke walking up to her. "I guess I was wrong about what I said before. Princess's can fight battles."
Tricia sighed and rose to her feet. She turned around and began to walk away from Dawn and Agumon.
"Geez, what's the matter with you?" Dawn questioned as she followed Tricia. "You just battled an X Digimon and won! The least you could do is crack a smile."
"Don't you understand?" Tricia suddenly snapped spinning around to face the Kamiya girl. "Okay, Palmon beat him but look at her!" she exclaimed pointing at the rookie. "She's been infected with that virus too! She didn't deserve that and who knows what it might do to her in the future! This is one of the reason's I didn't want to fight. I didn't want Palmon getting hurt."
"Tricia, I may look different but I'm still the same Digimon inside. To be honest I don't feel any different apart from my appearance." Palmon X piped up.
"See? Palmon's not hurt. So just chill out. You won. That should be something to be proud of." Dawn added.
"This is your fault." Tricia muttered under her breath before she carried on walking. She pushed a stray branch out of her way and headed down the pathway out of the clearing.
Dawn stopped for a split second before storming after the younger girl. "My fault? How is this my fault?" she demanded. "I didn't force you to come out here and throw yourself in front of Monochromon X!"
"Dawn!" Agumon exclaimed walking behind her with Palmon X.
Dawn sighed and stayed to walking behind Tricia. "Look, like I said before. You were pretty cool back there for a first battle. Considering you didn't want to fight at all you did a good job. You should join in the fighting more often." She said with a little laugh.
Tricia pushed a thick branch out of her way before letting it fly back hitting Dawn in the face. The Kamiya girl tumbled backwards landing on her back with a yelp as Tricia continued walking.
Dawn pushed herself up, scowling. "Alright that does it!" she jumped to her feet, fists clenched and was about to leap at Tricia.
"Dawn, don't make things worse." Agumon pleaded, pulling her back by the sides of her t-shirt.
Dawn huffed as she shrugged Agumon's grip off her. She frowned at Tricia before continuing walking down the path. "I come all the way out here to help her and this is the thanks I get?"
To be continued...