Chapter 2: A Technical Encounter

"Check over there! He can't be too far from here!" A group of digimon searches through a thicket thoroughly. Looking around and checking every corner to look for their target.

When nothing was found, a noise from afar takes their attention "He's running over there, after him!" The group rushed over and gave chase towards the direction of the sound.

Once the coast is clear, their target in question finally reveals himself. An unassuming dead tree shuffles in place, opening a cavity that lets out a human boy with purple hair.

"Finally!" Akio sighed in relief as he stretched his aching body. "Thank you Woodmon, I wouldn't know what would have happened if you didn't offer to help." He turned to the "dead" tree and thanked it.

Above the orifice of the dead tree opens a set of eyes. The dead tree is not a dead tree at all as it moves and stretches just like the teenager.

"You do not need to thank me. Those scoundrels have been bothering the forest too much lately. Any victim or enemy of theirs I would gladly help." The tree digimon spoke his animosity openly. "I suggest you go far away from here boy."

The boy looked away and scratched his head. "Yeah… about that. I'm not exactly sure where I am or where a safe place is."

"Oh dear. Then I would suggest heading east. There's a small village that's still untouched by those rowdy followers of Bagramon." Woodmon points to the direction. "Stay safe young human." The wooden digimon departed after giving his last regard.

Akio turned to the direction Woodmon pointed and started walking. An annoyed frown showed on his face as he walked with the white device in his hand. The boy brought the device close and stared at the screen.

"Out of the frying pan and into the flames huh?" The purple-haired boy spoke with a tired tone.

"Well… this is certainly not what I expected at all." The screen of the device lit up and showed the apologetic face of Etemon.

It all starts right after Akio, Etemon, Numemon, and Sukamon enter the portal. All of a sudden the digimon beside him got sucked into the white device, leaving him all alone in the portal before he found himself here. He picked up the device and tried to make Etemon and the others exit it but to no avail. At the very least they found out that communication with each other is still possible.

Now it wasn't that bad until he tried to ask for directions from a group of digimon nearby. That one's on him but he didn't expect the first digimon he met in this place to try and capture him. All of them raved about him being a human and how he would be a great offering for Bagramon. He didn't even bother listening to them more as his legs quickly carried him away from that mess. Then comes the inevitable losing chase as the digimon are physically superior to him and caught up to him quickly. It was a stroke of luck that he found Woodmon willing to hide him.

"So you still can't release us?" Etemon asks with Sukamon and Numemon peering over his shoulders.

"It's just… not working. I tried pressing the button and turning the dial but nothing happened."

"Have you tried smashing it?" Sukamon suggests carelessly.

"We just found out this thing can suck you inside, what if you guys are just stuck forever if this is destroyed?" Akio quickly turned down the suggestion.

In the short time the device has been in his hands, it remained a mystery to him. It's similar to a phone and mp3 player but considering what it just did he had to guess its functions are wildly different.

"Hmm… it's hopeless for us then." Etemon shrugs with a yawn. "Why don't you rush over to the village and find someone that could help us?"

"You think someone can help with this mystery device?" The teenager raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Well there are some really smart digimon that live in the digital world. Usually they tend to help out or stay as a recluse so there's a high chance of meeting one in the village." The monkey digimon explains with a raised finger.

"That's not a guarantee but it's better than nothing I guess." Akio shrugs acceptingly.

The boy and his confined friends continue on their journey to the supposedly safe village. Luckily for him he didn't encounter any more bad digimon on the road. With no immediate danger it lets Akio to go at his own pace and take in the sights of this new zone.

Past the thicket he hid in, the whole area seems to be a mountainous region. Massive mountains surround the whole place with the forest offsetting the sight below. The path he's taking has him hiking up a faint trail that presumably leads to the village.

Along the way he saw some digimon minding their own business. A drill nosed digimon- Drimogemon was its name if he remembers correctly- popping in and out of the rocky area. A fight between a centaur-like digimon with a group of living rock digimon, the latter piqued the boy's interest on how their biology works. He also saw some lizard-shaped digimon with a body made out of flames. In a better situation he would probably glee over everything but after the previous encounter he's a bit high-strung with dangerous looking digimon.

It took Akio quite a bit of time until he finally reached the village. Quite an interesting sight to boot. A village made inside an opening from the mountain. He assumes the space was made with Drimogemon or other digimon that could bore holes to the mountain. It reminds him of that mountain carved temple he saw during history class.

Just as the boy takes a step into the village, a group of digimon quickly gathers in front of him.

"Stoooop!" A small iron ball with comical looking eyes, small mouth, beefy arms, short red legs, and hands covered in punching gloves moves forward. "You! Stranger! What are you doing here?" The iron ball digimon points at him suspiciously.

The boy raised his hands disarmingly to the group. "I'm just here to hide from Bagramon's followers!" Akio clearly answered to not give any misunderstanding.

The digimon cupped his round face with squinted eyes for a moment. The digimon hummed for a moment until its eyes opened widely and its face turned neutral. "Okay then, you're welcome here!"

Akio almost stumbled over nothing at the sudden change. "For real?" The boy leaned down and spoke unsurely.

"Yeah yeah, those guys are jerks. A lot of us here are hiding from them as well." The digimon waves his hands dismissively. "Just don't cause any trouble and you'll be a-okay!" The digimon gave him a welcoming thumbs up as the crowd dispersed from their approval.

"Oh… well thank you uh…"

"Name's Mamemon. Nice to meet you newbie." Mamemon took the boy's hand and shook it vigorously. The purple-haired boy felt himself almost being lifted as the small digimon is surprisingly strong even with that small frame. The hand Mamemon shook feels numb even after he lets it go.

"Wait before you go. Do you know any digimon that's good with tech around here?" Akio asks before Mamemon turns around.

Mamemon tilted his round body and crossed his arms. "Tech? Looking for someone smart?" Akio nodded twice. "Hmm… I want to say you're just in luck but…" Mamemon gave an uneasy frown.

"But? What's wrong with the digimon?"

"Well… Datamon is not exactly in a good condition."

"...What's wrong with them?" Akio raised an eyebrow.

The metal ball digimon spoke with a concerned frown. "Encountered those Bagramon followers a while back and didn't escape unscathed. You can see it for yourself. His house is at the far end of the village, the one with scrap metals strewn around." Mamemon points at the deeper part of the village. "See ya around." The metal digimon left Akio to his own devices.

The boy took out the white device from his pocket. "Hear that?"

"A Datamon huh… I didn't know one of them would be here." Etemon mused.

"You know the guy?"

"I know their kind." The monkey man corrected. "Unfortunate circumstances but he's the only lead we have."

"Yeah… do you think he'll be willing to help even in a bad condition?"

"Maybe or maybe not, we won't know until we get there."

Sure enough, at the deepest part of the village there's a small house with metals and machinery strewn all over. When examining them, the boy is not even sure what they're for. Now he's curious what kind of inventions are made in the digital world.

Right as Akio was about to knock, he noticed the door was slightly ajar. Not wanting to be rude he knocked a couple of times, loud enough to be heard, before opening the door.

"Pardon the intru…sion? Uh… is anyone inside?" His eyes scanned the single room house with the occupant missing. Metals and machinery strewn all over just as it is outside. Idly the boy enters the house, looking left and right to try and find Datamon.

"Huh, guess he's out of the house." The boy murmured disappointedly. "Hey Etemon, what does Datamon look like anyway?" He asks while raising the device.

"Datamon? Well to start with he's short like that Mamemon from before." Etemon started. "Also it's hard to miss him, he's basically a small robot with long elongated limbs, hands made out of wiring, small legs, and his head is a cylinder with machinery in a jar." The abridged summary lets him visualize a bit but not by much.

Machineries in a jar though…, that should be recognizable. Akio looks around the room wondering if Datamon left a trail he could follooo… oh.

"Uh… Etemon."

"Yeah?"

"C-can we get in t-trouble for finding a c-c-corpse?" The monkey raised a brow at the boy's shaky tone. Akio points the device forward to let Etemon see.

"Ah." It was Datamon…'s head. Both its eyes are dull and the body missing its limbs. "Sorry Aki-boy, looks like we're heading to prison." It never occurs to the boy that his companion is joking so he rightfully panics.

"Oh god! I just got out of a warzone and now I'm going to be pinned for murder?!" Akio held his head and scratched it erratically.

"Hehehey, c'mon kid I was just-"

"Wait no, there's still time. No one knows this yet, we can hide the body!"

"What. Wait kid that's not-"

"Yeah… this place is a man made cave isn't it? I'm sure if I hide it somewhere in the cave's crevices they'll chalk it up as an accident!" There was a dangerous glint in the boy's panicked eyes that made his companion sweat.

"Wait hold on-" Etemon's attempt to calm the boy was ignored as Akio is already trying to move the disembodied head.

For its small size it's surprisingly heavy. Akio managed to lift it but struggled to carry it. Grunting with each step he takes. Something feels odd though, for a corpse he can feel whirring and shaking from inside the head.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The boy stopped in his tracks as the head spoke. "Where are you taking me-" Akio throws the head on the wall and jumps back in fright.

"The corpse is alive!"

"Corpse? What are you talking about? I have been alive from the start." Datamon replies in a confused tone, unperturbed by how roughly its head was handled.

"Listen kid!" Finally Etemon's voice reached the boy. "I was kidding!"

"You are? Oh my god…" Akio slumps down as he feels relief taking over him.

"Yes. Geez kid if Datamon didn't talk what else were you going to do?"

"...No comment." The teenager looks away innocently before yelling at Etemon. "And this is your fault! I thought I was going to be in trouble!"

"It was funny! Still is too, I didn't expect you to go that rou-"

"If you are done bickering, would you explain why you are barging into my home?" Datamon cuts their chatter short with an unamused tone.

"Oh right, Datamon." Akio and Etemon said in unison.

"Uh, yes excuse me mister Datamon. My friends and I need some help concerning a… an unknown tech… I think." The boy shows the limbless machine digimon the white device, screen showing Etemon at the front.

"Hmm…" The digimon's lone exposed eye narrows as he examines the device. Etemon waving and thumping at nothing on the screen. "Interesting… This device reminds me of… what was it? Ah yes, a Digivice."

"A digivice?" At the digimon's answer the purple-haired boy tilted his head.

"An old legend really, I have only read scraps of information on it. Supposedly it's a device used by a human with their partner digimon. Allowing them to achieve… something, the record was too broken to know what that something was."

"That… doesn't explain much at all." The boy slumps a bit at the explanation. "Let me be more specific. My friends got stuck in this digivice… thing? And now they can't get out at all."

"Ah, I see. Have you tried pressing the buttons-"

"Of course we tried pressing the buttons!" Akio and Etemon exclaimed at the same time with an exasperated expression.

"Oh, then there is nothing I can do then." Akio imagined the limbless digimon would shrug if he had all his limbs right now.

"Really? Is there no way for my friends to get out?"

"I have never encountered the device before. I do not know how it works and as you can see my state, I am not quite in the right condition to help. I would not be able to tweak or examine how the device functions like this." Datamon's head jiggles in place to reinforce his point.

"Oh yeah… Mamemon said you're not in a good condition. Being limbless is… spot on for not good." Akio said with a wince.

"It is because of those Bargamon followers that I am left like this. They demanded me to work for them to appease Bagramon so that they could join his army. When I refused they all attacked me, took my belongings and left me like this. It was only because of Mamemon and the others that I managed to survive." The mechanical digimon regale clinically.

"Eesh, that sounds horrible." Akio sympathized with an apologetic look. "Sorry to bother you then. We'll try another way to-"

"Halt," The boy stopped right as he was about to turn. "There is… a way I could be of help."

"Really?"

"Yes. Due to my mechanical nature, I am able to survive with just my head. This would not have been a problem usually, with enough data I am able to generate limbs for me to use. However," Datamon paused mid-explanation, wires and cable tried to protrude out but paused just as it reached a small length. "A digimon named Clockmon stops me from doing so to further punish me, so he said." He ended with an annoyed tone, the first time Akio heard the machine digimon being so emotive.

"And what can I do to help?"

"Don't you mean we?"

"I'm the one with moving arms and legs here, Etemon." The teenager retorted dryly. Even without seeing the screen he can imagine Etemon raising and lowering his finger.

"I need you to bring me to their hideout and bring me to Clockmon." At the boy's hesitant look the limbless digimon elaborate. "I am not asking you to brave their hideout and fight, I am simply asking you to carry me and bring me to the digimon that caused my problem. Limbless I may be, I am still a perfect level digimon. I have my ways to fight."

"...I'll pretend I understand what you mean by perfect level. That means you're strong right?" The teenager scratched his head with a confused smile.

"If I remember right… Clockmon is a Champion level digimon." Etemon chimed in. "That's one below Perfect." He added at Akio's silence, making the boy nod in understanding.

"If you help me, I will be able to help you with that device. What do you think?" Datamon offers.

"It's not like we got other choices." Akio said while looking at the screen of the device. "So where is their hideout, and how do I carry you there?" The boy accepts the request with a wary but determined look.

"Wonderful, I shall be your guide child."

"Oh yeah, I never introduced myself properly did I? My name is Akio Hirose."

"Is that so? Then it is nice to have you aid me, Akio."

-o-

Akio left the village with Datamon in tow using a small wagon gifted by Mamemon. The village guard happily gave it to him when he said he's going to help Datamon. After seeing how friendly everyone is at the village, the human boy feels a bit mad and confused at the Bagramon followers. He supposed not everyone would be helpful and friendly like them but why would you trade that to join Bagramon? From what he saw so far from Bagramon's army, they're not exactly trying to paint themselves as the good guys with all their conquest and deceit.

The journey was a bit of a struggle. Wagon in a mountainous region, go figure. But it wasn't all bad, he had Etemon and the others to talk with and Datamon helpfully fills him in on knowledge he didn't know about digimon. Like their now unchanging evolutionary stages.

It's bizarre to hear that digimon used to be able to digivolve, as they say, into different and stronger forms. Even if the ability to digivolve has been lost, it's an interesting thing to hear about. It also helps the boy figure out what power levels he should be wary of. Datamon added that just because a digimon is at a higher evolution level it doesn't mean that they would just stomp digimons at a lower level. Their powers aren't absolute, and there are cases where higher level digimon are not as powerful as their peers.

It took the boy and his companions a while to reach the follower's hideout. After braving rocky grounds, Drimogemon tunnels, and evading hostile digimon, he finally reached the hideout Datamon mentioned. It was… rather big, a quarry filled with tunnels and structures filled with digimon here and there. Some look normal while others look menacing, like the one made out of pure fire. How does that even work!?

"Uh… Datamon, how am I supposed to sneak here? I don't even know where to look for Clockmon." Head popping out of their hiding place not far from the hideout, Akio whispers to the mechanical head that he propped up to see the hideout together.

"It would seem their numbers have grown since my last encounter with them." Datamon voiced his surprise in monotone. "But this is no cause of distress."

The teenager raised an eyebrow at the statement. "You sure? I don't think I can even find a good place to walk and hide there with that many digimon standing by." The boy looks left and right, seeing digimon stationed in almost every corner of the place, either working or slacking. With the numbers they have it won't be long til one of them sees a random human boy sneaking suspiciously in their hideout.

"Worry not, for this is the job for one of my inventions." The mechanical digimon opens his mouth, wirings and cables come out together with a device resting atop of it. The boy frowns in slight disgust after imagining what it would look like should Datamon not be a robot. "This is something I had made before my current state, a device that cloaks the user's presence." Even though his mouth was occupied, the mechanical digimon's voice still came through.

"A cloaking device?!" Akio gasped in surprise and some small excitement. "You can make something like that?"

"Yes. With how rowdy this zone had become I made this in order to hide myself. Unfortunately, these scoundrels caught wind of this and sought me after which then led to my current predicament."

The boy takes the device, his fingers fidgeting around the device in his grasp. "So how do I use this and where should we go from here?"

"Simply press the button on its side and the device should cloak its user in a small radius. This would allow myself to be hidden as well." Akio made a small noise, grimacing at the idea that he had to carry Datamon while he sneaked around this place. "Do not worry, this small wagon should be covered as well, but do be careful when one of them is close." The purple-haired boy gave a sigh of relief after hearing that.

Device in hand and the wagon being brought closer to his body, Akio and Datamon sneaks into the quarry. Once he's in, the purple-haired boy makes sure to move in slowly and carefully while looking for their target. There was an occasion when he froze on the spot as a dinosaur looking red digimon stared right at him, but the device proves its worth as the digimon went past him without trouble.

He's not sure what to expect from a base of the "Follower's of Bagramon" but the rabble and chit-chat he heard gave him some insight.

"Man this is boring, I haven't seen any action since-"

"They're starting to hide more often, you think we're too aggressive?"

"Bah! They wouldn't join us, they deserve to be crushed!"

"Ugh… is joining this place really a good decision?"

"You said this place would be safe right?"

It would seem that not all of them are excited to attack and bully other digimon. These followers… rather than an organized group it's more of a rabble filled with digimon from all sorts of places. He heard a few of them mention only joining because the leader promised that they would be safe, or that they just don't want to be bothered anymore.

What's the point of making this group and harassing other digimon then? His attempted kidnapper mentioned pleasing Bagramon but only few mentioned the digimon's name again.

A shouting match between two digimon caught his attention, especially when one of the names being thrown around was Clockmon.

"Are you serious? That's another digimon that you left injured! We're trying to make digimon join, not cripple everyone that refused!" A digimon with a twin horned bone white mask shouted, eyes full of disbelief towards the digimon in front of him.

The one being yelled at simply crossed their arms annoyedly, all four of them as the digimon seems to be a combination between a humanoid torso and a robotic clock. Its bottom half is a robotic clock with red eyes peeking on its left side, it has a gun with red scope for its right hand even though its left is a simple robotic pincher. Its humanoid upper half is that of a man wearing black skin tight suit with red gloves, red hood covering his head and face, and a mouth that's stitched like a doll. A metal mallet rests atop the robotic lower half.

"Clockmon." Datamon muttered, confirming the group's target.

"So what, Yaksamon? I came to them multiple times and they still refused. I just gave them an extra incentive to join us ya see?" The hooded digimon said unapologetically.

"Threatening them won't make them join us, doubly so when you injure or cripple them!" The masked digimon swipes his hand to the side disapprovingly. "You can't keep doing this! Now more and more of the recruits are following your examples!"

"And? I'd say let them! It's better like- URGH!" The clock digimon froze in place with a painful grimace. The eyes of the masked digimon glows menacingly. Akio assumed it was the masked digimon's power.

"Do you not remember the reason why we made this farce in the first place?" Yaksamon spoke sternly. "I am tolerating your actions because you were there with me when we decided to make this followers of Bagramon nonsense. You know the reason why we made this, where is your compassion towards the digimon of this zone!"

For a moment Yaksamon lets go of his hold on Clockmon. "You think Bagramon and his army would just let us go scot free just because we're obedient to them?" Clockmon asks challengingly. "I know what I've heard and what I saw. They want ruthless mons in their army, not some rabble that's only joining to seek refuge. It's better if we forget the others and just make a powerful army! Only then they'll see us as an asset and let us be!"

The masked digimon paused for a moment, he knew that what Clockmon said held some truth within. However, "I can't just do that Clockmon. No matter what you said or heard, this is my choice." Yaksamon stays firm.

The clock digimon scoffed and stormed away from Yaksamon.

"That sounds like… a lot to take in." Akio mutters quietly after eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Hmm… Indeed." Datamon agrees. "But that can wait, Clockmon is going away, Akio." The boy hurries to follow behind the clock digimon, giving the masked Yaksamon one last look before leaving.

"So I just bring you closer to him and you do the rest?"

"Yes, but not right now. Wait until Clockmon is somewhere quiet, away from prying eyes as well." The boy doesn't disagree with that, the place is chock full with digimon that would probably be miffed when they decide to attack a part of their group.

The purple-haired boy tails the clock digimon carefully until finally the digimon reaches a short tunnel that he guessed as the digimon's abode.

He pursues the clock digimon into the tunnel. It was dark and hard to see inside, but the boy follows the sound of the clock digimon's robotic footsteps as a guide.

The footsteps suddenly stop.

This is it. The boy thought. He just has to get Datamon's head closer and-

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Clockmon's voice came next to him and then he felt something big and cold gripping his body hard and lifting him up.

"HRGK." Akio yelped as Clockmon's mechanical arm squeezed him.

"You're smart for using a cloaking device, I'll give you that." The clock digimon grinned while looking at his invincible captive. "But entering here was a big mistake."

"H-h-how'd y-you know?" The boy stuttered amidst being squeezed painfully.

"This cave here is pretty quiet, I don't need to be a detective to deduce the low footsteps and rolling noise behind me." The digimon scoffed as if he was answering a stupid question. "Now who do you work for?"

"UGH! So-sorry for sneaking up o-on you, but I go-got here because of an acquaintance of yours." Akio struggles to speak. Another squeeze from Clockmon's mechanical hand cracks the device in the boy's possession. The device stopped working and revealed his form to Clockmon.

"Huh, a human boy? Don't remember having an acquaintance that knows a hum-"

"He means me." Clockmon looked down, a wagon was next to where he picked up the boy carrying a familiar mechanical head.

"You're- Datamon?" Clockmon looks in disbelief before cracking a smile and laughing loudly. "HAHAHAH! Is this your big plan to get at me? I told you before, the only way you can get your whole body back is to join-"

Before the clock digimon could finish gloating, Datamon opened his mouth and shot wires that instantly connected to Clockmon's lower body. The clock digimon scowled at the action, dropping the boy to attack the limbless head with his metal mallet. But his hands froze.

"Wha? What did you-" No, it's not just his hands, his whole body can't move.

"We are both Machine types and you know what my work is. It's easy for me to manipulate your data with our nature." Datamon explains while hacking the clock digimon. "I just need to… ah, there we go." Wires shoot out from the sides and below the mechanical head, forming a pair of arms and legs.

The wires connected to Clockmon were detached, but the clock digimon is still frozen in place. With his limbs recovered, Datamon aids the human boy up. "Are you okay Akio?"

"Ugh… I've been better. Good god,that's how it feels being crushed by a machine? Hrgh…" He gladly took Datamon's help and shivered uncomfortably. His eyes then stared at the frozen clock digimon. "Uh… so did you kill him or?"

"No, I simply stopped his motor functions. It will last for a while so do not worry about any sudden attacks from him." The purple-haired teenager poked Clockmon curiously as Datamon explains.

"Huh… neat." He mutters before turning to Datamon. "Well now that you've got your limbs back, can you help Etemon and the others out of this digivice?"

"Certainly, but I would suggest that we do not do it here." The machine digimon points out.

"Yeah, true enough. But the cloaking device is kinda broken." The boy stares at the cracked device. Pressing the power button only yields small sparks of electricity now. "Can you fix it or do we have to sneak around without it?"

"Not to worry, I am fully functional. I will have the device fixed in no time-"

"Clockmon, are you here? Apologies for my harsh reaction earlier but I-" Yaksamon walks in and stops at the sight before him. "Clockmon?! Who are you two? Intruders?" The masked digimon brandished two wooden swords and pointed it at the duo.

"Whoa whoa whoa, this isn't what it looks like!" Akio held his hand up disarmingly.

"It looks like you attacked one of my allies."

"...Crap that is what it looks like." The boy looked to the side in a conceding tone.

"I suppose it is imperative that we-'' Before Datamon could finish, the purple-haired boy grabbed Datamon's arm.

"Way ahead of you!" The purple-haired boy ran away from the masked digimon with Datamon in tow.

"Hey! Intruders! Everyone on high alert, we have intruders!"

-o-

"Goburi Bomb!"

"Crusher Bone!"

"Fake Bone!"

"Hah! Hiiii! Whoa!" Right jump to dodge the fireball, roll to the left to evade the first bone, duck and let the second bone crash to the wall.

Now run again-

"Watch out!" Datamon stretched his hand, grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to the side, just barely avoiding an iron club that aimed for the purple-haired boy's head.

"Holy crap!" The boy exclaimed, seeing the club embedded itself deep inside the rocky walls. "Datamon, don't suppose you can find a safer way to escape?" Akio asks frantically as they run into another direction.

"We could return to where we entered this place, but I doubt it would be left unguarded with everyone being on high alert. Another way is to break through their defenses but we do not have the manpower necessary."

Seeing a group of digimon running towards them, Datamon stretched both his hands, one to grab onto higher ground and another to grab the teenager, pulling both of them up.

"I know I'm asking a bit much right now but maybe you can try letting out Etemon and the others then?"

"I suppose I can try, more hands are definitely appreciated. But we need to hide somewhere. A moment of respite is all I need to examine this device."

"Do you have any attacks?" Looking back, another group of digimon caught on to them again. "Something that can cover our tracks! Anything at all?"

"I do have a range attack that shoots mini bombs from my fingertips."

"That'll work!" The purple-haired teenager looks around as they run. The digimon chasing them comes only from behind so far, there are also some cave openings to the side. "Shoot behind us and between those openings on the side!"

Datamon complies swiftly. He points his hands back and to the sides. "Plug Bomb!" Each fingertips opened and shot out a small bomb that exploded bigger than the boy ever expected to with their sizes. Clouds of dust cover their vision from the aftermath of the bombs and the runaway duo heads into one of the cave openings to hide.

A moment passes with the duo staying as quiet as possible. They saw the digimon group running past their hiding place and sigh in relief as silence replaced the rumbling footsteps of their pursuers.

Hastily, the boy passes the digivice to Datamon. In the digimon's grasp, he held a palm in front of it, wires and cables untangled themselves from his hand and connected to the digivice. The screen lit up, showing Etemon and the others inside, perplexed and looking around as Datamon tries to access the device.

"Aki-boy and Datamon! Have you two found a way to let us out?" Etemon asks jovially at the sight of them.

"Datamon's working on it." Akio answered while cautiously looking outside. "How is it?"

"Quite complex. Would this- no, perhaps this one… no as well." Datamon mutters, sounds of whirring and electrical sparks coming off of his connected wires.

The mechanical digimon's eyes then widened shortly, making Akio gasp in excitement. Did Datamon figured something out?

"GR-UGH-GUAGH!" A loud burst of electricity suddenly shocks Datamon and blasts him into the rocky wall loudly, dropping the device and causing Akio to jump back in fear and worry. The mechanical digimon slowly peels himself off the wall, leaving a Datamon shaped crater.

"A-Are you okay?" Stupid question, but the boy is not over the shock of the sudden blast.

Instead of answering with his mouth, there were loud whirring sounds coming from inside the mechanical digimon. Akio could've sworn his eyes even turned blue like an error screen. "KRZT- ZZT- ZZZTTT- ah! Oh my, that was highly volatile." Datamon comments as he comes to, staring at the digivice on the ground.

"Is-is there something wrong with it?" The purple-haired boy picked up the digivice cautiously. "Etemon? Numemon? Sukamon? You guys okay in there?"

"Holy smokes! What the heck happened there?!" Etemon shouted, the monkey digimon had some bruises on his face while the other two were sprawled on his side.

"It appears th-th-th-that there are sa- ZZT- safety measures implemented." Electricity crackles from Datamon before dying down. "Preventing anyone from forcibly accessing the digivice." Akio couldn't help but frown after hearing that.

"Over there! They made that noise!" A shout came from outside. It was the group of digimon from before. The boy and the digimon were about to turn and head deeper but, "Drimogemon!" Two mole digimon burst out of the walls with their companions in tow.

Without giving them time to react, the digimon unleashed their attacks. With quick thinking, Datamon made a makeshift wall to cover them with the wires within him. The blast caused by their barrage is blocked but the force flung the two far outside the cave.

It was painful. Akio could bear the initial blast that was blocked, but crashing on the hard ground from the force really hurt. He slowly tries to rise but only manages to stand on his knees. Datamon stood before him protectively while he saw the approaching group of digimon closing in on them.

The mechanical digimon began attacking their pursuer the best he could to let Akio recover. But one digimon is not enough to cover all sides. One digimon who looked like a goblin slipped through Datamon's attacks and went after Akio. The scary look on the digimon's face made him freeze in place.

But at the last moment, just as the goblin digimon's hand was about to reach him, the digivice shines bright, blinding everyone.

[...]

[Imminent threat detected]

[Initializing emergency protocol]

[Scanning user…]

[Scan complete]

[Xros Loader temporarily registered to user: Akio Hirose]

[Accessing Xros Loader… Error]

[Xros Loader features inaccessible]

[Insufficient user data…]

[Reload feature available]

[Initializing Reload]

Akio had shut his eyes, bracing for the digimon to grab and capture him, not realizing the spectacle that just happened before him.

"Kept you waiting huh?" The familiar voice made the purple-haired boy open his eyes right away. A large orange monkey stood in front of him, his hands catching the goblin's arm in place before he threw them away.

"Etemon!"

"The digivice was functional?" Datamon murmured as he saw the monkey digimon materializing.

"That's right everyone," With a wide smile that shows his pearly white teeth, Etemon brandished his mic and posed. "It's the return of E-T-E-M-O-N! ETEMONKEY!" He loudly shouts, blasting the digimon surrounding them away with dark energy. An attack disguised by his proclamation.

"Akio, Datamon, congrats on making it this far without me." The monkey digimon pats the boy and machine digimon on their shoulders unevenly because of the height difference.

"Bah, just another one to get! One more digimon won't help them!" A digimon shouts to rally his allies.

"Non non non, it would seem you don't know what I'm capable of now that I'm here~" Etemon wags his finger, his confidence and wide smile unbroken. The surprise sound attack from earlier made the surrounding digimon wary.

The pursuer watches the monkey cautiously for any sudden attack he might pull.

"With me here," Etemon grabs Datamon. "I can simply…" Then he grabs Akio and hefts the two like cargo under his arms. "...RUN AWAY!"

In an instant, the monkey jumps high and disappears from their sights. They were so dumbfounded by the monkey's action that it took them a moment to process that their intruders were escaping.

"Wait wha… THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!" Finally someone snapped them out of their daze and let everyone rush again. Unfortunately for them, the monkey digimon's natural physique and litheness had allowed it to jump around the base and exit with no difficulty. By the time they realized they're gone, it was already too late.

…

"An Etemon showed up and escaped with them?" Yaksamon crossed his arms while hearing the report from one of the digimon that chased the intruder. The masked digimon sighed and let the reporter go on his way.

The familiar form of Clockmon enters his vision, his face disgruntled and flush with anger.

"Feeling better?" Yaksamon asks even though he already knows his ally's mood.

"Damn it, that sneaky little-! GAAAAAAH! I swear I'll get Datamon back for this humiliation!" His fury filled screams echo through the sky.

"Just give it up. Be grateful Datamon simply locked your mobility instead of doing something worse like you did." The annoyed glare Clockmon gave him didn't cow him. "Told you they'd react badly because of your little gift. Just ignore them for now and focus on gathering more digimon." The clock digimon grumbled but accepted Yaksamon's order.

"Alright, fine. But I will fight him again if I-"

The space before them suddenly cracks and bursts out. Activities in the base halts right then and there as everyone gawks at the display. The rift stabilizes into a portal after a short moment and everyone watches in trepidation. There is only one explanation for this.

Loud mechanical whirring came from the portal and out comes an imposing draconic digimon that seemed to have fused with a tank. The weaponry it carries are menacing as well, this digimon is a weapon in the truest sense. From behind it follows a large group of Troopmon as well. Those who were skeptical got their suspicion confirmed, the Bagra Army has appeared in the Mountain Zone.

The tank dragon chimera examines the base, its eyes scanning every digimon that's staring at it.

"Opposition?" One word accompanied by the pointing of its weapon made Yaksamon and Clockmon rush to kneel. Everyone who heard it quickly joined as well.

"N-no no no! We are not here to oppose you!" Yaksamon mentions quickly, the panic in his voice is apparent. "We are followers of Bagramon! Everyone gathered here to join your cause!"

"...Willing conscript. Acceptable." The tank digimon lowers his weapon. "Tankdramon, a General of lord Bagramon. The D-brigade joins their hand in his cause." Tankdramon introduced dully. "Mission to obtain the Code Crown. Where is its location?"

The sudden question from the tank digimon was met with a pause. They're after the Code Crown? Yaksamon stumbles in his mind, no one really knows where the Code Crown is, he simply thought Bagramon was collecting digimon for his army.

"Apologies, we don't know where the Code Crown is." He answered with gritted teeth.

"Unfortunate. New objective, everyone here is to locate the Code Crown." Tankdramon directed to everyone. "Comb every corner, raze everything to the ground if you must." The declaration was met with shocked gasps.

"W-w-wait wait wait! No one is going to oppose you with your army! We can't just raze our home!" A blue furred grizzly bear-like digimon protests loudly.

"Blast Gatling." A barrage of fire from Tankdramon's machine gun shreds the digimon into data. "Inability to comply with orders will be met with annihilation." His words are reinforced by the Troopmon pointing their weapons at all the kneeling digimon.

They all didn't dare raise their voice. Even the rowdy Clockmon is shutting his mouth tightly.

"A-... Apologies. It won't happen again." The masked digimon answered with defeat in his tone.

"Acceptable. Commencing search." Tankdramon left with his Troopmon in tow.

Reluctantly, the other digimon spread out to follow the order filled with fear. Yaksamon watches the leaving form of Tankdramon and glances at Clockmon with a concerned look.

Just what did they get themselves into?