Chapter 8: Bond

Chapter Text

The King watched with satisfaction as the events unfolded. A large number of useless Digimon had already been sorted out. Data streams flowed through the castle, and soon only four shadows remained in the hall. These were Takutoumon's four generals, who were to lead him to victory.

"Well then! You four will serve directly under me. I will give each of you a magical orb that will maximize your powers. Who among you will be the first to prove his usefulness to me?"

One of the shadows stepped into the light. It was a large Digimon that resembled a golem.

"Your Majesty! I am Gogmamon and I am at your service! Entrust me with the task of defeating the enemy and obtaining the book!"

Takutoumon was satisfied. His new general seemed strong and would definitely deliver results.

"Then off you go! Travel to the human world and show these creatures that they'd better not mess with us!" he ordered.

Gogmamon followed the order and promised not to disappoint him.

Kyotaro Yamada didn't like standing in line. Actually, he should have been in the office by now. Admittedly, he was the head of the department, but he couldn't be away indefinitely. But he had a very good reason. Well, at least in his opinion. A new restaurant had opened near his office that offered take-out food. In New York, it was difficult to find good Japanese food. Here, he had definitely found a new favorite restaurant. As he was about to grab his food, someone sat down next to him.

Yamada looked up and recognized that the person was also Japanese.

"Yamada-san! It's been a while, hasn't it? What a coincidence that we meet here."

Yamada strongly doubted that it was a coincidence. No, definitely not.

"Mr. Yagami. Nice to see you again. How can I help you?"

Tai leaned forward and clasped his hands.

"I just wanted to ask how things are going at the FBI. Oh no, wait! I heard that you're not with the FBI anymore, but now head the Digital Threats Agency. Quite a career jump, huh?"

Yamada nodded.

"Yes, I can't complain. It's not as exciting as your work, but that's fine with me."

Tai tried to smile.

"That's just as well, then, that I'm catching you here. Because I actually have a few questions. You have surveillance stations installed all over the Digital World, don't you?"

Yamada sighed.

"I'm sorry, but all information is classified. I can't pass any of it on, not even to you."

Tai nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, I understand that, of course. But please try to understand me, too. The thing is, you see... for some inexplicable reason, I've forgotten to buy my little sister a birthday present. I don't even know how that could have happened. But anyway... I have to give her something now."

Yamada eyed his counterpart skeptically.

"Well... I still can't help you with that."

Tai took a deep breath.

"Yes, that's really bad. By the way, I didn't know they sell takoyaki here."

Yamada wanted to protest at first.

"Yes... but only here. It was a stroke of luck that this store opened up."

Tai chewed contentedly and grabbed the next one.

"So... could you please buy some for yourself?" Yamada found Tai's behavior a bit cheeky.

Tai looked up at him.

"Oh, I can't. You see, the restaurant has just closed."

Yamada remembered the time. Indeed, he had been one of the last customers. He wanted to grab the bag, but Tai had already taken it.

"Mr. Yamada, I'll explain to you how this works. I'm going to eat one of your takoyaki after another until you give me something. And I warn you, I haven't had anything to eat yet today."

Yamada couldn't believe it. Would the DigiDestined really go that far?

"But... I'm not allowed to!" he reminded him once again.

Tai took another takoyaki and let it disappear in his mouth. Only when he grabbed the next one did Yamada give in.

"All right! You've won! But please leave me some!"

Tai handed him the bag, and the agent pulled it tightly to him.

"You... shouldn't have gone that far..."

Tai saw it differently.

"There is a new faction in the Digital World. Japan has been the victim of attacks five times in the last week."

Yamada realized that cooperation was necessary.

"Well, this information is confidential. Please do not pass it on to unauthorized persons. After the reboot, there was a lack of structure in the Digital World. The Sovereigns had disappeared, and the presence of the DigiDestined was only sporadic. And then a new figure appeared on the scene. An extremely strong Digimon named Takutoumon, who conquered the Digital World in a storm. And by that, I mean not violently. It convinced its peers and gathered followers around it."

"And now it has proclaimed itself king. A king who is anything but a fan of Digimon," Tai continued.

Yamada confirmed this to him.

"Apparently, they're after a kind of book. You're probably familiar with it."

Tai nodded.

"Yes, we're protecting it, don't worry. But we should clarify the problem before Takutoumon's sphere of influence expands any further."

Yamada knew what the young man meant. This Digimon posed a threat that needed to be eliminated. The Digital Threats Agency was not capable of doing this, but the DigiDestined were.

"Well, we'll try to find out the location of this threat. We'll get in touch with you," he promised.

Tai didn't want to hear any more. He thanked the agent and shook his hand. Then he said goodbye and took out his phone. He activated FaceTime, and a moment later, his sister's face appeared on the screen. He reported what he had found out and promised to continue gathering information. Then he hung up.

He was sure that Davis and the others would be able to handle this new threat. However, there should already be a new generation of DigiDestined again. He hoped fervently that they would be ready.

Prismamon and Rurimon were slowly getting used to this new world. Especially the latter, who had been on the run until now. Constantly surrounded by fearful people and sleeping in hiding places had taken its toll on the little one. In Takeshi's bed, however, everything looked quite different.

He was just studying his book, and the boy recognized unknown characters. Was this the language of the Digital World? He came to the conclusion that he couldn't read it anyway. He was just getting ready for school and turned to his partner.

"Prismamon, take good care of your friend while I'm gone, okay?"

For the Digimon, this seemed to be a matter of course. Especially since it felt guilty for having left Rurimon alone for so long, even though it had promised to be there for it.

Takeshi left the house and headed for school. In class, he noticed how Shun was already sitting over his books. He was taking this school year very seriously and didn't want to disappoint his parents. Tsubasa was just talking to a group of girls. He was happy that she seemed to have already found friends. It was only during the break that they had time to talk.

"Has Rurimon settled in well? Hebimon insisted on wanting to guard it," Tsubasa said.

Shun could sing a song about it.

"Koemon is no different. Well, they have been given a mission. Even though I'm not sure about this Gennai. What do you think of him?"

Takeshi thought about it for a moment.

"I don't think he's a bad person. Human would probably not be the right term. We should be more concerned about the Digimon that are attacking us. While we were away, Davis-sensei and Co. had to deal with an opponent against whom we wouldn't have had a chance. I'm afraid that at the moment we're still too weak to effectively protect Rurimon."

This discouraged Tsubasa in particular.

"Should we really leave the Digimon with you? Maybe it would be better off with TK, Kari, or even at Izumi-san's company."

Shun didn't see any difference.

"No one besides us knows that it's staying at your place. That's why I'd say it's safe there for now."

"Still, I think... we have to get stronger. We can't afford to lag behind the others," Takeshi was sure.

Tsubasa raised her hands in defense.

"Hey, they just have a lot more experience than we do. There's nothing we can do about that."

But his friend didn't want to accept it that easily.

"Prismamon wants to protect his friend. And as his partner, I have to support him in that."

Shun leaned against the wall.

"I've been thinking about what it means to be a partner to a Digimon lately. In the first place, it probably means fighting with it."

Tsubasa didn't quite see it that way.

"Not only! Hebimon and I have a lot of fun together. It's always slithering around my body parts and is quite playful in general."

The boys had to admit that they had become friends in the meantime, too.

They had actually wanted to meet at the frame store, but Takeshi remembered that there was a party there today. Davis and Veemon would be busy all around. So they went their separate ways after school, and Takeshi marched straight home.

As it turned out, this was the best idea. When he entered his room, Prismamon and Rurimon were already arguing.

"Hey, don't mess anything up in here, okay?" he admonished them.

Rurimon jumped onto the bed.

"Prismamon won't listen to me! I can feel it very clearly! There's a ball nearby, the book tells me so!"

Takeshi pricked up his ears.

"Are you really sure?" he wanted to know.

But Rurimon seemed to have no doubts.

So he came to a decision.

"Well, then I'll go eat first. I'll bring you something up. Then we can go look for the ball, strengthened," he suggested.

Rurimon didn't like it, but in the end, he agreed.

Said and done, the three of them left the house less than an hour later. Rurimon could only tell him the direction in which it was sensing the presence of the power that was once part of it.

Takeshi walked north and soon found himself in a dead-end street. But Rurimon insisted on keeping the direction. So he climbed over a fence and found himself on the grounds behind it. In the distance, he recognized a dilapidated building.

"That's the old toy factory. I remember it, we used to play Kamen Yusha there a lot," he said.

"The energy is coming from this building, I can feel it!" Rurimon said, and Takeshi dared to venture further.

He had to look for a point of entry first. Finally, he found a broken window and entered the interior. He found himself in one of those 'Lost Places' as people called them. There was no electricity inside, of course, so he had to rely on the sunlight. If he had to go deeper, he could also rely on Prismamon's special ability to illuminate the surroundings.

The two Digimon had left the backpack in the meantime to be able to search more effectively. Rurimon ran ahead, although Takeshi and Prismamon told it not to get too far away from them. Finally, it ran into a dark corridor, and the two of them had trouble following it. Then they found themselves in a poorly lit hall.

"It's here!" Rurimon announced excitedly.

Then they heard rumbling noises. They sounded like a landslide. Were some metal pipes falling over and tumbling around now? No, as he looked up, he recognized the source.

Someone was standing above them, and he was big. He looked like a large pile of stones, or rather a golem.

"Caution! That's a Digimon!" Prismamon warned.

Takeshi lunged forward and grabbed Rurimon. Just in time, because the golem jumped down and left a large imprint in the ground.

"You... you belong to the Digimon King! Right?" Prismamon challenged him.

The golem laughed.

"And how! I'm even one of his generals. And it's my job to bring the book to him. Look what I have here," he growled and produced an object.

It was one of the balls they were looking for. Now Takeshi was slowly beginning to understand. This was a trap. The ball hadn't landed here, but had been brought here. And by this Digimon.

He carefully sent a distress call to his friends while the golem was still busy with Prismamon. Because he didn't think this Digimon was someone you could have a nice cherry-eating session with.

"Rurimon! Hide until we've taken care of this. It mustn't get what it came for," he whispered to the little dragon.

He nodded, and Takeshi came to a decision.

Prismamon groaned.

"I understand. This king has already brainwashed you and your comrades. As if humans had any interest in driving you out of your habitat."

Gogmamon destroyed a machine out of anger.

"As if I would listen to your lies! Only the king knows what is good for us Digimon!"

Takeshi ran up to Prismamon. "He won't listen, we have to do it the hard way." His partner seemed to see it the same way. Immediately, Takeshi activated his Digivice and helped Prismamon to digivolve.

"Prismamon digivolves to... PrismKnightmon!" His partner was ready for battle, but the opponent seemed gigantic. Takeshi hoped fervently that he was up to it. He himself put some distance between himself and the battlefield. Gogmamon struck with his stony arm, but his partner parried with his shield. Then he used his sword, but it couldn't penetrate the golem's stony body. It struck again, but PrismKnightmon jumped over it and dodged. Takeshi realized that his partner was faster. Clearly, Gogmamon was just a walking landslide. But would this advantage really be of any use if the sword couldn't penetrate its body? He had actually wanted to play for time until the others arrived. But... should he really do that? He had sworn to himself to get stronger. If he and Prismamon couldn't even handle an opponent on their own, what was the point of it all?

"OK! Try to find its weak spot!" he called out to his Digimon. PrismKnightmon wanted to try, but no matter where it struck, its sword couldn't penetrate the stone. Now Gogmamon was on the move again and rushed forward. Takeshi's partner could barely defend itself, and its shield had a crack. Then it grabbed the sword and broke it in two. This was not good at all. His partner had lost its active weapon, and its defense was not in good shape either. Gogmamon now let sharp stones hail from its body, which caught PrismKnightmon cold. It was hurled back and buried under some boards. Takeshi cursed at the fact that his partner didn't stand a chance. Gogmamon set itself in motion again and stomped towards the pallets behind which Rurimon was hiding. Takeshi wanted to run to help Rurimon, but... he didn't move from the spot. What exactly had he been planning to do? Gogmamon wouldn't even pay attention to him, it would simply bury him under its gravel feet. No, he couldn't help Rurimon, he was only a human. The Digimon had almost reached the hiding place. Takeshi kept looking at the spot where Prismamon had ended up under the boards. It didn't move, it seemed to have been completely defeated. It was over. They had lost, that was a fact he had to face. But what would happen now? The enemy would take Rurimon and the book with him. Maybe he would ignore him and... no, this faction of Digimon hated humans. Gogmamon would take care of him just like it had his partner before. And that's when Takeshi realized something. If that was the case... then it didn't really matter. He ran off and stood in Gogmamon's way. He spread his hands and blocked its path.

"Not another step! I won't let you get Rurimon! Prismamon has promised to protect it. And as its partner, that promise applies to me, too!" The enemy couldn't help but laugh. "Partner? Your partner is lying there over there! You're just a weak human, what do you think you can do?" Takeshi had to admit that he was right. But still... what difference did it make now? "Well, what if! I don't have a chance against you anyway, but I still have to stop you!" Gogmamon growled and raised his arm. Just as he was about to let it crash down, PrismKnightmon stepped in between. It raised its shield and protected the DigiRider. "Caution! It's much too strong! You'll still lose!" Takeshi warned, but his partner didn't even think about it. "And leave you in the lurch? I don't think partners act like that. Takeshi! I really want to get stronger, just like you said. Let's do it together!" Immediately, he felt how his Digivice started to glow.

His partner did the same, and they immediately felt a new power awakening within them.

"PrismKnightmon Super Digivolves to... PrismDukemon!"

Takeshi watched as his partner grew even larger and more noble. He now wore a cape, similar to that of Kamen Yusha. And in his hand, he brandished a mighty lance.

They had done it. They had become stronger together.

"Well, then! Now we'll show it to him!" he cheered on his partner.

PrismDukemon went into position, and Gogmamon was not impressed. Once again, it raised its paw and let it crash down. But Takeshi's partner simply blocked it with the back of its lance. Then it went on the attack and drilled the tip into Gogmamon's chest. It staggered back and cursed. It struck again with its rocky arm, but the lance broke through it and left only gravel behind.

Gogmamon was now missing an arm and was limited in its fighting style.

"Give up. You can't win against us!" Takeshi called out to him.

But the opponent didn't seem to be at the end yet. "Hehe, I think you're wrong about that. I still have a trump card, or have you already forgotten about this?" it said and produced the blue ball again. Takeshi and his partner had to watch as it swallowed it and it also began to glow. A bad suspicion came to the DigiDestined. Gogmamon also digivolved now, and its stony body turned into diamonds. In the end, it not only wore a cape like its opponent, but also had all kinds of jewels on its head. It growled again.

"Hahaha! Now I am Blastmon, this is my ultimate form! It was given to me by the one true Digimon King!" PrismDukemon could hardly react as Blastmon's fist struck it and hurled it backwards. Takeshi couldn't believe it. It had all looked so good. They had been about to win.

"Don't give up! We still have a chance!" he called out to his partner. PrismDukemon rose and concentrated all its power on its lance. Once again, it rushed forward, but Blastmon simply grabbed it. It clenched its fist once and shattered it into a thousand pieces. Takeshi and his partner watched in disbelief as the Digimon was disarmed. Another punch ensured that PrismDukemon was defeated and digivolved back to Prismamon. Then Blastmon simply kicked the little Digimon aside and cleared the pallet out of the way. Rurimon crouched in a niche and protected its bag.

"There you are. You're coming with me now. The king will give me a nice reward for it." It stretched out its hand towards the dragon, when a pipe hit it on the head. It turned around and recognized Takeshi. He was busy with Prismamon and at the same time throwing things at Blastmon. It laughed only. What did this kid think he could achieve with that? But it was fine with him. It would first take care of these disturbances, then there would still be time for the book. It walked up to the exhausted opponents and prepared its attack, when it was suddenly attacked itself.

"Desperado rockets!" someone called out, and already projectiles were flying towards it. In front of Takeshi and Prismamon, a Digimon with wings landed, which was half reminiscent of a dragon, half of an insect. "Takeshi!" he heard his voice and saw Davis and Ken running up to him. They stopped in front of him and analyzed the situation.

"Prismamon... has lost. Even though it's digivolvedto its mega level. Get yourself to safety, Davis and I will take care of the rest."

Takeshi wanted to follow, but then remembered something important.

"Rurimon! It's back there, we can't leave it behind." The two older DigiRiders understood.

"Paildramon, distract the thing for us!" Davis called out and then set off with the dragon. This one buzzed around Blastmon, who was pursued by Davis. Together, they managed to escape through the entrance to the outside. Inside, there were several explosions, then Paildramon was hurled through one of the windows. Blastmon followed and left a deep crater where it landed. From its fist, it shot jewels that hit Paildramon. "Ken, we have to be serious about this opponent," Davis said, and his friend nodded. They held their Digivices up high, which gave Paildramon more power. Immediately, it began to glow and grew immensely. It was now a huge dragon that faced Blastmon. It grabbed the now smaller opponent and flew up into the sky with it. High above, it let it fall, and Blastmon crashed hard onto the ground. Then Imperialdramon changed its form and aimed a huge cannon at the enemy.

"Laser finger!" it fired a wide beam that caught Blastmon cold. It dissolved into data, and the danger was averted. Imperialdramon landed again and split into Veemon and Wormmon. Rurimon jumped off Davis' back and turned to Prismamon. It seemed to be in very poor condition and was having a hard time staying conscious.

"We have to help Prismamon! It's not doing well!" it said. Takeshi agreed with him and turned to the older DigiDestined. They nodded to each other. "We should take it to Izzy for safety's sake," he decided. No one objected.

An hour later, they were sitting in Izzy's workshop, as he analyzed Prismamon with a laptop. Takeshi paced nervously back and forth. Ken had suggested that he should sit down, but he couldn't do that at the moment. Finally, Izzy was finished and turned to the boy. "Prismamon is doing well so far. The structure of its data seems to be intact. I think the battle has simply exhausted it too much. Give it some rest, and it will fully recover," he suggested. Takeshi thanked him, and a little later, they left him again. While Ken said goodbye, Davis accompanied the boy home. When they arrived there, Takeshi turned to him. "Thank you. Without you, we wouldn't have made it this time. Prismamon and I have even gotten stronger. And yet... it wasn't enough." Davis looked at him for a moment. Then he gave him a slap on the head.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Don't you know it?"

Takeshi was confused.

"What do you mean?"

Davis grinned.

"I was once an underdog too. It's because DigiDestined and Digimon are constantly getting stronger. You and Prismamon will notice that you're already stronger next time. It's a development, for both the human and the Digimon. That's why you have to stick together, understand?"

Takeshi decided to think about the words and said goodbye. In his room, he gently placed Prismamon in bed and let it sleep. Rurimon didn't leave its side. He realized that he still knew too little about Digimon. So he decided to do some research to close his gaps. Next time, he wanted to support Prismamon better than this time.

After the shock, Davis invited him to a round of ramen at the restaurant first. Izzy was just doing an analysis, but Prismamon would recover quickly. Takeshi was glad that his partner was so tough.

"Oh, that's right. I wanted to give you something," Davis said now.

Takeshi pricked up his ears.

"Dessert?" he asked hopefully.

The ramen chef smiled, but then shook his head. He went to the back, but returned a few minutes later. In his hands, he held a gray box, which he now placed on the counter.

"Here, I want to give you this," he said finally and pushed it towards the boy.

Takeshi had to admit that he was quite curious. He pushed his bowl aside and opened the container. He grabbed the object inside and pulled it out.

"Is this... a pair of aviator goggles?" he asked.

Davis nodded.

"Yes, and from today on they belong to you," he said with pride in his voice.

Takeshi still didn't quite understand.

"Yes, but... what exactly am I supposed to do with them?"

Davis growled and knocked his hands on the wood.

"Well, listen! They are passed on from one generation to the next! And now it's your turn!"

Takeshi wasn't quite sure how to assess this. Did Davis mean his grandfather with generations? The aviator goggles looked old and already slightly worn. Nevertheless, he felt that they had to have an emotional value for him.

He put them on for a moment, but then took them off again.

"Uh, thanks. Maybe I'll wear them sometime."

Davis sighed and resigned.

"It was worth a try. Your generation isn't grateful for anything anymore."

Takeshi apologized and put the goggles away.

After the meal, he said goodbye. At home, however, he couldn't help but take a look at the aviator goggles again. Somehow... they did radiate something.