"Man, after a few days it feels good to be back on land," Ryo said after he set foot on the beach. He, TK, Willis, and their partners were stretching to prepare themselves for the journey ahead.
"We were only on the ship for a day and a half," TK said but Ryo didn't care. TK then turned to the ship to see Catherine and Ken staring down at them. "Are you guys going to be alright?"
"We'll be fine, besides we'll have Stingmon to protect us if anything happens," Ken told him and Wormmon climbed up on the railing to show that he was prepared to defend the ship and his friends.
After breakfast, TK thought that they would all look around the island in hopes of either finding one of the crests or something that could help them find the crests, but Catherine disagreed with the idea. She didn't want her sister to do anything dangerous after what happened earlier that morning and TK agreed with her. Chloe did argue, but Catherine pointed out that Penguinmon was still hurt and was in no shape to travel. Chloe quickly agreed to stay behind after hearing that and Catherine chose to stay with her to make sure she doesn't run off.
TK didn't want to leave them alone and defenseless if a Digimon attacked, with Penguinmon being hurt and Floramon not being able to Digivolve yet. He didn't want Ryo, Willis, and Ken to go off alone and get hurt because they were inexperienced with the Digital World. He was gonna ask Ryo to stay behind, but after seeing how excited he was about seeing more of the Digital World he didn't want to force him to stay behind. He wasn't going to ask Willis to stay behind because neither Terriermon nor Lopmon had Digivolved yet and thought it was a bad idea to have four rookies, with one of them being hurt to defend everyone. Which led him to ask Ken and Wormmon to stay behind.
It made sense, and they were both willing to stay behind. Wormmon could Digivolve and Stingmon could fly so if his group needed help for any reason, they could signal back to the ship and Stingmon could fly in and help them.
"Good luck guys! Stay safe!" Catherine cheered for them. The group waved back and started to walk into the jungle.
"We'll make sure to come back with food!" Terriermon called out.
"Make sure you don't clean out the fridge!" Ryo added.
"Don't worry we'll– CHLOE, FLORAMON, PENGUINMON get out of the fridge!" The group heard Catherine scream and they laughed as they entered the jungle.
A few minutes passed by as the group traveled through the jungle. They kept their heads up searching for food, Digimon, and low-hanging branches which Ryo had a habit of walking into. Willis kept looking at his Digivice hoping to find any sign of the crests. It was frustrating that after a few days in the Digital World they haven't even found anything that could lead them to a crest.
He was glad that he was summoned into Terriermon and Lopmon's world and he was happy that he made some new friends along the way, but he was getting annoyed. In the short amount of time he's been in the Digital World it's been raining every day, he worked in a library, and he's been attacked by multiple Digimon. Sure, he did find a book about the Digital World in the library but it was more like a history book than anything else. But what annoyed him the most was how useless he's been.
He didn't help Chloe make money for the ship and he doesn't help out on the ship either, choosing to stay inside to read his book. He was expecting someone to yell at him and force him to clean but no one did. They all just let him sit at the kitchen table and read. Then there were the Digimon attacks.
For the past day and a half when they were attacked he barely did anything to help. When the Flymon attacked he did order for their Digimon to help out Angemon but that was after he told Ryo to not Digivolve Monodramon, they were lucky that Wormmon managed to Digivolve. Then when Chloe almost drowned he froze and watched her helplessly flair her arms trying to stay afloat. It was scary to think that if Penguinmon didn't save her then Chloe would most likely be dead right now.
"Heads up!"
TK's voice broke through his head as Willis looked up for a branch to smack into his face. He reeled back and grabbed his nose to see if it was bleeding. Thankfully he wasn't but the laughter of Terriermon and the snickers of Lopmon and the others filled him with embarrassment.
"You ok?" TK asked after he calmed down a little, though Willis could still see him smirking.
"My nose hurts but other than that I'm fine," Willis answered. He saw Terriermon sprawled on the ground dying from laughter. "And what's so funny, Terriermon?"
"Because you look like that reindeer from the Christmas movie," Terriermon continued to laugh and after trying to hold it in for so long Lopmon burst out laughing as well. After a few seconds, Willis laughed along with his partners. He probably did look silly even though he couldn't see what he looked like.
After everyone calmed down they continued walking through the jungle. Willis was thankful for the distraction, he would've liked it more if he didn't get hit in the face but he will take what he could get.
"Hey, could I ask you something?" TK asked Willis. "How come you have two partners? During my first adventure, all of my friends had one partner, and everyone in our group has one."
Willis looked at Terriermon and Lopmon as he mulled over TK's question. If he was being honest, he didn't know why he had two partners. He didn't even know there were other people with Digimon partners until a few days ago.
"I guess I'm just special," Willis chuckled. "I never really think much about why Terriermon and Lopmon are my partners. I'm just glad that I have two great friends who are always there for me."
"If it weren't for us you'd be locked up in your room all day," Terriermon said. Willis wanted to argue but he knew there was some truth to Terriermon's statement.
"Hey guys, look at this!" Ryo called out. The group caught up with Ryo and gazed at what was before them. It was a wide-open field with huge toy building blocks and trees with toys hanging off them. Willis thought the place looked like a huge play area for babies while both TK and Patamon had stars in their eyes. Without warning, TK and Patamon bolted down into the open field ignoring both Ryo's and Willis' cries.
They chased after the boy and his Digmon down to the open field looking out for any dangerous Digimon. Out of nowhere the ground suddenly became soft and they all bounced in the air after every step they took. The Digimon loved it, Ryo looked nauseous, and Willis was confused about why the terrain changed. TK and Patamon stopped, allowing Willis and the others to catch up.
"Why did you run off, TK?" Willis asked. Both Terriermon and Lopmon continued to bounce on the soft surface with Patamon joining them, while Ryo was dry heaving as Monodramon was rubbing his partner's back.
"Sorry, it's been so long since we've last been here," TK apologized with a huge smile on his face.
"And where exactly is here?" Ryo asked after he started to feel better.
"This is Primary Village! The place where all Digimon life begins!" TK told them as he led the group through the village. Now that they were closer Willis could tell that the blocks that he saw earlier were stuffed and were used to build a tower with no entrance. "During our first adventure, Patamon and I were separated from our friends and we ended up here."
TK started to tell a story about his first adventure, but Willis wasn't paying that much attention to it. He was in awe of the village, a place where all life begins. It was amazing to think that this was the place where Terriermon and Lopmon started out before they were sent to him.
"Hey, what's that?"
Ryo's voice broke him out of his thoughts as he looked where Ryo was looking. There was a vast field filled with big colorful eggs each with its own design. There were also these weird stone carvings as well that Willis couldn't make out.
"Those are Digi-eggs. All of us Digimon start off as eggs," Patamon said and Ryo was awestruck by what the winged Digimon told him.
"You mean you guys come from eggs!?" Ryo exclaimed. He picked up a cream-colored egg that had a red swirl pattern.
"Yeah, we do! And if you rub that egg gently it will hatch," Patamon told him and Ryo did just that. After gently rubbing the egg nothing happened for a few seconds until they all heard a cracking noise. The egg hatched revealing a white blob with long red ears and a red tail.
"Pao!" The blob said.
"Aww, it's adorable," Ryo cooed. The blob broke the rest of its shell and hopped in Ryo's hands. "It's so slimy."
"That's Paomon: It's naturally slimy and not because it's freshly hatched," Patamon informed them but Ryo wasn't paying attention to the Digimon. He was too busy pinching Paomon's squishy cheeks.
"Ok, that's enough gushing over the baby Digimon we should get back to exploring the island," Monodramon said, annoyed that his partner is paying so much attention to Paomon.
"Fine," Ryo sighed as he stopped pinching Paomon's cheeks. "I have to go now, little buddy. I wish I had somewhere to put you."
TK and Patamon looked at each other and smirked because they knew what's gonna happen next. Suddenly, there was a huge puff of smoke as a crib appeared in front of them with Poamon sleeping inside. Everyone was amazed by this while Willis' mind went elsewhere.
He was back home standing in a hallway watching his mother crying over a crib. He didn't understand why she was sad when she was happy the day prior. He wanted to say something but he couldn't find the words to say. He's never seen his mother in such an emotional state before.
He wanted to walk up to her and show her that he was there for her but he couldn't. He was scared, he didn't want his mother to yell at him like she did to his father.
"Willis?" Lopmon said, breaking him out of his trance. She had a worried look on her face which made him feel bad. "You wouldn't respond no matter how many times I called out to you."
"I'm sorry, Lopmon," Willis apologized and he picked up the small Digimon. He looked around to find that the others were nowhere to be found. "Where are the others?"
"They went on ahead. They didn't go too far just over that hill," Lopmon pointed towards a hill that was close by. Willis thanked his partner and walked over to the hill. When they reached the top he saw the others talking to a small red creature with nine tails.
"Hey, guys! Thanks for waiting for us!" Willis said sarcastically when he reached the group.
"We knew you'd catch up. Besides, we didn't go that far," Terriermon answered back in his own sarcastic tone. Willis just rolled his eyes at his partner's shenanigans before turning to the red creature before them.
"So who's this?" Willis asked.
"I'm Elecmon, I am the Guardian of Primary Village and the caretaker of all the baby Digimon. It's nice to meet you," Elecmon said with a little bow.
"Me and Patamon met him on our first adventure when we were separated from the others," TK said.
"Yeah, I beat him in tug-of-war," Patamon said proudly. "You ready for another round?"
"Maybe another time," Elecmon said. "So, what are you guys doing here?"
"We saw this island earlier in the morning and decided to check it out," TK said but he could tell that wasn't the answer he was looking for.
"No, I mean, what are you doing in the Digital World?" Elecmon said grimly.
"The crests were destroyed and we and three others were summoned to the Digital World to find them and fix everything!"
Elecmon sighed and scratched the back of his head. "That explains why Primary Village has its own island. Can't say it's a bad thing, more fish to catch, and the babies are safer from evil Digimon attacks. But if you guys are here then that means that the whole world is in danger and it wouldn't matter if the babies had their own island or not!"
"Right! So, do you think you could help us?" TK asked. Elecmon massaged his chin like he was thinking then he looked over at the field of eggs and cribs.
"I wouldn't be much of a caretaker or guardian if I don't protect the world so all the little ones can live and be happy! I'll help you guys out!" Elecmon declared and both TK and Patamon cheered a little. "What do you want me to do?"
Willis stepped forward and showed Elecmon his Digivice. "Gennai installed something in our Digivices that shows us where the crests are but so far we're coming up with nothing. Have you seen any crests or anything that can lead us to a crest?"
Elecmon looked at Willis' Digivice and studied the screen. Three dots were grouped together, one yellow and two blue, with three blue dots off to the side of the screen. "Sorry, but I can't say I've seen anything."
The group groaned and Willis put his Digivice away. "It's fine, if the Digivice didn't pick anything up when we arrived then I wouldn't have expected you to see anything."
Elecmon frowned, sad that he wasn't that much help. TK knelt beside the caretaker Digimon and patted his head. "Don't worry about it. If it'll make you feel better then we can scour the island and see if the Digivice picks anything up."
"I'd like that," Elecmon perked up a little before having a troubled look on his face. "But I don't want to leave the babies alone for too long."
Ryo was about to volunteer when Willis spoke up. "I can look after them."
"Are you sure?" TK asked. He didn't want to leave Willis alone and defenseless if a Digimon attacked, it was one of the main reasons he didn't ask Willis to stay with the ship.
"I'll be fine. Terriermon and Lopmon will be with me and three heads are better than one," Willis said, but TK was still worried.
"But…" Willis cut him off before he could even say another word.
"Don't worry, if anything happens I'll have Terriermon or Lopmon with me. Besides, why would any Digimon attack a bunch of babies?"
TK had to agree with Willis' logic, there's no point for a Digimon to attack babies, and it's not like Elecmon is the strongest Digimon in the Digital World. Elecmon isn't a mega, an ultimate, or even a champion-level Digimon, only a rookie. So even if a Digimon did attack it wouldn't be anything Terriermon or Lopmon couldn't handle.
"Ok, but if anything happens try to contact us somehow and we'll come running," TK said and Willis nodded.
"Thank you, Willis, Terriermon, and Lopmon! We'll try not to be away too long," Elecmon told them. The group started to walk away except for Ryo who didn't want to leave the babies. Monodramon sighed before dragging Ryo away by his arms.
"Come on, the babies will still be here when you get back!"
"B-But, I wanna stay and help out!" Ryo cried out as he was dragged away into the forest. Willis rolled his eyes and walked over to the field of cribs and eggs.
"Why did you want to stay behind, Willis?" Lopmon asked.
"You can barely take care of yourself. What makes you think you can take care of a bunch of babies?" Terriermon added.
"I just needed to be away from the others for a few minutes," Willis admitted. He poked the cheeks of the Paomon from earlier, who cooed in response. "Besides, I managed to take care of you two. How hard can this be?"
After a few minutes, Willis was proven wrong. Even with both Terriermon and Lopmon's help, he had a hard time keeping track of all the babies' needs. He had to constantly send out both Terriermon and Lopmon to get fish and fresh water for the babies while he had to constantly comfort the cranky ones. Whenever he managed to calm one baby three more would burst out in tears.
When Terriermon and Lopmon came back to help out was the only time Willis was able to catch his breath before he had to send them off to get more food and water. It always gets harder when his partners leave not only because he has to calm down more cranky babies, but because when they leave their big ears would always brush up against some Digi-eggs causing them to hatch. The freshly hatched babies were always the hungriest too.
"I don't know how Elecmon does it," Willis exhaled after he collapsed underneath one of the toy trees. He managed to put almost all the babies to sleep and the ones that were still up weren't far behind. Both Terriermon and Lopmon were under the tree with him massaging their feet.
"Maybe he has some secret ability that feeds the babies all at the same time," Terriermon speculated. "Because I have a hard time believing that a Digimon that is as tall as me can take care of that horde!"
"The others shouldn't be long now. Let's hope they found something," Lopmon said and Willis hummed in response. She soon yawned and curled up in a ball. "I think I'm gonna take a nap."
"After the day we had a nap sounds good right now," Terriermon said before curling up into a ball as well.
Willis leaned against the tree as he massaged his partners' ears as they both slept. After a few seconds of enjoying the silence and being out of the light rain, Willis decided it wouldn't hurt to rest his eyes for a few minutes.
Willis didn't even have his eyes closed for five seconds before he felt the ground rumble. He bolted upright, waking both Terriermon and Lopmon. He heard the babies getting restless as he was looking around for where the rumbling was coming from. He heard trees crumbling behind him and he prepared himself for whatever was coming.
It was quiet for a few seconds before a hulking monster made up of rock and crystal burst through the trees. It let out a ferocious roar and it swung its arm right where Willis was standing. Remembering that his legs still work, Willis grabbed both Terriermon and Lopmon and dove out of the way. Willis felt his heart sink into his stomach when he saw the crater that was left behind from the Digimon's attack.
"Why is there a Gogmamon here!? Don't they live deep inside caves!?" Terriermon said and it didn't make Willis feel any better about the situation by learning the monster's name. The crystals on Gogmamon's back started to glow and Willis could only feel dread watching it.
"What's happening?" Willis managed to say.
"He's charging up his ultimate attack, Curse Refraction," Lopmon answered while having a puzzled look on her face. "But I'm surprised he's able to attract light in the rain."
The wails of the babies rang through Willis' ears. They needed to quickly come up with a way to prevent, or at least change the trajectory of Gogmamon's attack before he hurts one of the babies. "Quick, Terriermon, Lopmon make it lose balance!"
"Terrier Tornado!"
"Tiny Twister!"
Both cyclones made a direct hit on Gogmamon, but the golem didn't even flinch. Willis was getting worried when he saw the crystals getting brighter. "Spin faster!"
Both Terriermon and Lopmon's attacks were growing as the two spun faster. Willis helped out by throwing some toys at the giant. Gogmamon's crystals continued to grow brighter as all their attacks bounced off him. Willis continued to urge his partners to spin faster.
Terriermon and Lopmon's cyclones grew bigger and they began to pull toys and chunks of ground into the air and flung them at the giant. Willis didn't know if their attacks were doing a thing until he saw Gogmamon shift his feet filling Willis with hope. He threw more toys and Terriermon and Lopmon spun faster as both their cyclones became even bigger.
Then both of their cyclones merged into one big tornado. Willis could see Gogmamon's crystals grow even brighter but it didn't matter because he saw the giant being pushed backward. Gogmamon lost his balance right as he fired off his attack. Willis watched the beam shoot overhead missing the babies but hitting one of the block buildings causing a huge explosion.
Terriermon and Lopmon collapsed after they stopped spinning.
"We should never do that again," Terriermon said and Lopmon grumbled in agreement. Not wasting a second, Willis scooped up his partners and turned to the giant.
"Hey! Over here you freak!" Willis yelled at Gogmamon. He waited until Gogmamon had their attention on him before bolting into the jungle. He didn't need to look behind him to know that Gogmamon was chasing him, he could feel the ground shake underneath his feet.
Willis dodged trees, jumped over roots, and ducked underneath low-hanging branches. He didn't know how far ahead he was of Gogmamon but he wasn't going to slow down to check.
"Willis, what are you doing?" Lopmon asked after the world stopped spinning for her.
"Buying us some time. Hopefully, someone saw that explosion and they're on their way to help us!" Willis told his partner. He ran through a shallow stream almost slipping on some rocks but he quickly regained his footing.
"Then why didn't we stay back in Primary Village?" Terriermon asked.
"I didn't want to put the babies in any danger," Willis said. He could see an opening in the trees and he burst through to be met with the ocean. He couldn't see the ship anywhere and he could hear Gogmamon getting closer. He started to run along the beach before he tripped on his own feet and slammed onto the sand.
He couldn't even get onto his knees before Gogmamon burst through the trees. Willis looked behind the giant to see that he left behind a trail of destroyed trees.
"Bunny Blast!"
"Tiny Twister!"
His partners didn't waste any time defending him, launching their strongest attacks. Just like earlier, Gogmamon didn't react as the two attacks bounced off him. Gogmamon reared back his fist and slammed it to the ground creating a shockwave and sending the Digimon flying.
"Terriermon! Lopmon!" Willis cried out before he noticed Gogmamon was standing over him. Gogmamon reared back his arm again and Willis closed his eyes waiting for Gogmamon's attack.
"Willis!" Terriermon and Lopmon cried out. Willis' Digivice started to glow and both Terriermon and Lopmon glowed as well.
"Terriermon Digivolve to…" Terriermon grew in size as both of his hands were replaced by mini gun gauntlets. He gained a pair of jeans and strapped a brown belt across his chest. "Gargomon!"
"Lopmon Digivolve to…" Lopmon also grew and her brown fur turned into a light shade of purple. She wore a yellow gi, a blue bandana around her neck, red gloves, and black martial arts shoes. She also wields iron claws on both arms. "Turuiemon!"
Turuiemon instantly jumped in between Willis and Gogmamon and blocked the giant's attack with her claws. Gargomon shot Gogmamon's face causing him to back off.
"Terriermon? Lopmon?" Willis said, but he could tell they weren't exactly his partners.
"Not exactly. I'm Turuiemon! I wield the Tokaku Tessou and I use them to defeat any bad Digimon who wants to bring harm to my friends!" Turuiemon explained.
"And I'm Gargomon! Don't let my size fool you, I am very nimble!" Gargomon said proudly. Gogmamon stirred behind them and let out a ferocious roar. Gargomon and Turuiemon smirked at each other. "Don't worry, we got this!"
Gargomon and Turuiemon started running around Gogmamon with Gargomon shooting pellets at the beast. "Gargo Pellets!"
The pellets didn't faze Gogmamon but they were able to distract the beast for Turuiemon. She jumped high into the air and her claws covered her knuckles.
"Gauntlet Claw!" Turuiemon sliced down Gogmamon's face before kicking off of the giant's chin. Not wanting to be shown up, Gargomon jumped into the air after Turuiemon kicked off of the golem.
"Gargo Pellets!" Gargomon blasted his pellets onto Gogmamon's face. Gogmamon cried out and started swinging randomly. His fist managed to hit Gargomon, launching the Digimon into a tree.
"Gargomon!" Willis screamed. Not wanting to waste any time, Turuiemon jumped onto Gogmamon's arm and started to run on the beast. She kept her body low to appear small to Gogmamon but also use her claws to scratch the rock giant's body. She quickly reached Gogmamon's head and cocked her fist back.
"Gauntlet Cla–" Before Turuiemon could even attack, Gogmamon swatted her away and into a tree.
"Turuiemon!" Willis cried out again.
He quickly realized that he was alone and that feeling was enhanced when he saw Gogmamon walk toward him. He backed into the ocean trying to create as much space between him and Gogmamon. He took another step when his foot sunk into the sand causing him to fall over. He saw Gogmamon tower over him once again, and just like earlier he reared his fist back and brought it down towards him.
"Strike Fang!"
Willis saw a flaming Strikedramon fly into Gogmamon's body. He then felt someone pull him out of the water.
"I don't think now is a good time for a swim," Ryo said jokingly. Willis smiled, glad to see one of his friends before he looked past him to see TK emerging from the jungle with Angemon trailing behind him.
"Hey, man. We saw the explosion and came as fast as we could," TK said before he turned to his partner. "What are we dealing with?"
"That's Gogmamon, he's an ultimate," Angemon said while gripping his staff. Hearing Angemon say that raised a few questions for Willis, but he could save them for later.
"So, we need to take care of him fast," TK muttered to himself. "Everyone, we need to attack at the same time!"
"Say no more!" Gargomon shouted and aimed his gauntlet guns at Gogmamon. "Gargo Pellets!"
"Hand of Fate!"
Angemon's beam mixed with Gargomon's pellets and the combined attack connected with Gogmamon's face. With their opponent dazed, Strikedramon and Turuiemon sprung into action.
"Strike Fang!"
"Gauntlet Claw!"
Strikedramon rammed into Gogmamon's face knocking him off balance with Turuiemon jabbing both of her claws into Gogmamon's face, forcing him into the ocean. Gogmamon created a huge splash when he crashed into the ocean. Everyone stood around with bated breaths, waiting to see if Gogmamon would get back up. They all sighed in relief when they saw the giant wasn't moving.
All the Digimon turned back into their rookie forms and jumped into their partner's embrace. Willis heard the others shower their partners with praise while he squashed Terriermon and Lopmon in a big bear hug. They all soon heard a buzzing noise and saw Stingmon flying towards them with Ken riding on his back.
"Guys! I saw the explosion and came as fast as I…" Ken stopped panicking when he noticed Gogmamon passed out in the water and everyone was fine.
"Don't worry Ken, we had it all under control," TK said before putting his arm around the boy's shoulder. "Besides, you can help us collect food since Elecmon stayed behind at Primary Village."
"But shouldn't I get back to the ship to protect Chloe and Catherine? And who's Elecmon and what's Primary Village?" Ken asked but TK just chuckled.
"I'm sure they can handle being alone for a few minutes, and I'll tell you along the way," TK said as he led the group back into the jungle.
They were on the edge of the jungle when they heard their Digivices go off. One by one they each pulled out their devices and saw a green arrow on the screen pointing North from where they were standing.
"Well, I guess we know where we're going," Willis said as the group stared off into the sea.