6. Under Attack

Shinyu sat on a metal table, his shirt folded beside him. Small sensors, like the kind found in hospitals, were stuck to his chest. They had no cables; instead sending information digitally to a wide screen attached to the wall.
He couldn't read what was displayed on the screen. He knew the rows of ones and zeros were binary code, but he didn't know how to decipher it.
Looking at this screen was a blue digimon that resembled a small dragon, with ice covering his head, claws, tail and tiny wings. The cold air surrounding him made Shinyu wish he could put his shirt back on.
"His data seems to match that of the average human adolescent male." The digimon looked at the pad in his claws, seemingly comparing what he saw to the information on the larger screen. "Though he does show signs of heightened stress and symptoms of sleep deprivation. He might be suffering from anxiety issues."
"Excuse me? I'm right here!"
Babamon placed her hand on Shinyu's shoulder. He'd been visibly upset since learning of Tigremon's deception, and she didn't want him to experience any more distress.
"Thank you Blucomon, but could we please focus on the device?"
The device in question was floating in a beam of light between two generators. Below it, another screen showed more binary writing.
Blucomon examined the information displayed and tapped his pad a few times.
"It seems to be monitoring his data as well. Tigremon's too, despite her absence. There's also a memory file on a second digimon. A Champion from the looks of it."
"Smilomon." Shinyu said. "That's what appeared on the screen when she... changed."
The memory of the battle with Baboongamon flashed through his head. Trees being ripped out of the ground; clods of dirt and grass flying through the air; a huge clawed hand reaching out to grab him.
"Oh, there go those stress levels again." Blucomon said, pointing at the first screen.
Babamon saw Shinyu's hands gripping the edges of the table and his breathing was speeding up.
"Okay, I think that's enough." She patted his knee to get his attention and handed his shirt back to him. "You've recorded all the available data, right Blucomon?"
"Yeah, no problem." The blue dragon was tapping away on his pad, barely looking up to answer. "There's still a lot left to decode. I'll let you know when I've found out more."
Babamon took the white device and handed it back to Shinyu. He hesitated for a moment before accepting it.
Leaving Blucomon to his work, the two of them exited the lab and set off down the hallway.
Babamon cast a worried look at Shinyu. He was walking with his head down, staring at the device gripped tightly in his hand.
"Look, I know today hasn't exactly gone according to plan - for either of us; but I still believe some good can come of this. What Tigremon did was wrong, and she will be punished for it; but you have provided us with definitive proof that humans and digimon can achieve things together that were not possible before."
Shinyu looked up at her words and let out a sigh.
"I still want to help. I know I can't just go home and forget about this. It's just... I keep thinking about Baboongamon, and what could've happened; not just to me, but to Arisu and other people in the area."
"Let's try to put that aside for now." Babamon spoke in a cheerier tone. "Today is a day for celebration. For the first time ever, digimon and humans have come together."
Shinyu tried to share her enthusiasm. This was indeed a historical event; and he was going to be a part of it. But he couldn't shake the sense of dread hanging over him.
He felt like he was in a raging river, being dragged along with the current; having no control over which direction he went.
The one person he'd been counting on to guide him was Tigremon. Now he wasn't sure how he felt about her.
Looking again at the device in his hand; he thought back to Babamon's words about how it was the result of a genuine bond.
How could their bond be genuine if they were never even supposed to have met?

-

Kumomon sat staring at Charlie with her chopsticks held halfway to her mouth. The human was gulping down her seventh glass of ice water since the start of their meal.
Charlie had followed her nose to Meramon's noodle stand. While Kumomon had been content with some fried vegetables; Charlie had insisted on ordering the specialty. This turned out to be Meramon's own Red Hot Ramen, which even Meramon himself had warned might be too hot for humans.
Charlie had taken this as a challenge, and had spent the last twenty-five minutes steadily working her way through the scarlet noodles. Her eyes were watering and sweat was pouring down her face, but she showed no signs of giving up.
A small crowd had gathered around the stand and Kumomon was mentally weighing the pros and cons of jumping into Meramon's pot of boiling broth to get away from the stares.
A Tukaimon flapped up to her, pointing at Charlie.
"Is that your human?"
"T-Technically, yes."
Tukaimon held his tummy and let out a giggle.
"She's funny! I wish I had a human. They're so silly!"
Kumomon was about to reprimand Tukaimon for that generalisation, when Charlie threw her head back and let out a howl.
"Aaawwooo! That's tangy!"
She then gave her head a vigorous shake; sending some sweat drops directly into Kumomon's eye; and went back to eating.
Tukaimon went into a laughing fit and most of the gathered digimon joined in. Some took seats at the stand.
"I'll have a Red Hot Ramen."
"Me too. The human's making it look so fun!"
Kumomon wondered if it was possible to actually die of embarrassment so that she could escape into a digiegg.
Charlie grabbed her bowl and tipped it back, draining the last of the spicy broth. She set it down and opened her mouth, only for her eyes to cross from the heat. She grabbed the jug of ice water and, forgoing the glass, poured it's contents down her throat.
The surrounding digimon laughed and cheered. Charlie felt some pats on her back. She struggled to remember the last time she'd been able to enjoy herself without being met with frowns and whispered insults.
She put the jug down and took a few deep breaths.
"Merci pour le repas." She thanked Meramon and took out her wallet. "Do you take Canadian dollars?"
The fire-engulfed digimon smiled and held up a hand.
"You know what? It's on the house. You've drummed up a lot of business for me."
He pointed to the digimon already seated and the line that had formed behind them.
Just then, a static screech sounded out, causing everyone to flinch. Charlie followed the digimon's gazes to a loudspeaker tied to a lamppost by thick gray cables. From it came a synthesised voice she recognised as Ballistamon's.
"Attention. Attention please. The welcoming banquet is set to begin. To all visiting humans and their escorts; please make your way to Town Hall. Thank you."
Charlie pulled her hat on and hopped off of her seat.
"Alright! It's time to party! Let's go, buddy."
Kumomon tried to ignore Tukaimon's snickering as Charlie lifted her up and deposited her in her hood again. Waving goodbye to Meramon and his customers, the girl set off in the direction of Town Hall.
However, no sooner had she turned a corner than she came to an abrupt halt.
"W-What is it?" Kumomon asked.
"Say, before we go; is there a bathroom around here?" Charlie began hopping from one foot to the other.
"R-Right now? C-Can't it wait?"
"I just drank three pitchers' worth of ice water. My back teeth are floating!"
"A-Alright, fine." Kumomon pointed towards a wooded area. "Th-There's a public r-restroom down that p-path. Just pl-please make it q-quick."
"No problem. I'll be done in a flush."
Charlie set off at a quick jog towards the forest.

-

Tarumon gently stroked a large blue flower. It's petals folded back to reveal a baby bottle. He then took Pusumon's pacifier in between his fingers and began to tease it out of his mouth. The baby digimon made a little growl of protest and bit down harder.
"Come on, Pusumon." There was humour in Tarumon's voice. "It's only until you've eaten. Pacifiers aren't very nutritious."
As the battle of wills carried on, Kartik looked around the nursery. It was situated inside a wide tree, with flowers growing out of the floor and walls.
A third of the space was taken up by a large playpen. It was lined with soft flower petals and walled by crisscrossed ivy. Inside, digimon even smaller than the In-Trainings were snuggling up to plush toys that resembled strange looking animals. Kartik couldn't help but wonder if they were based on actual digimon.
"I can't believe you take care of all these children yourself." He said to Ganimon. "How do you manage them all?"
Ganimon waved a dismissive claw.
"It ain't so hard, once you get into the routine. The little'uns mostly eat, sleep and cuddle; and the In-Trainings spend a lot of their time at the schoolhouse."
He pointed to Tarumon, who had managed to get the bottle into Pusumon's mouth.
"We used to run this place together 'til Babamon announced her plan to make contact with humans. You'd think someone 'ad set his tail on fire, he was so quick to sign up." He folded his claws and looked fondly at Tarumon. "I wasn't surprised none. When he wasn't 'ere, he was down at the library, reading everything he could get his mitts on about humans."
"There's a library?"
Kartik thought back to his bungle concerning the digimon's past lives. He didn't want to make another mistake like that at the banquet. Maybe this library had information about the Digital World's customs.
He approached Tarumon, who was laying a sleepy looking Pusumon down in the playpen.
"Tarumon, could we visit the library? I want to read up on digimon and your culture."
"Great idea. There's a bunch of stuff I could show you about -"
Tarumon paused and looked over the babies snuggled together in the pen.
"Hey, Ganimon." He called over his shoulder. "Someone appears to be missing again."
The crab digimon scuttled over and checked his charges.
"Sukamon's slime! That little rascal!"
He went to a wide set of shelves that lined the wall and began picking up and inspecting the objects on it.
"Has one of the babies disappeared?"
Kartik wondered why the digimon didn't look particularly concerned. Ganimon seemed more annoyed than worried, and Tarumon had a look of amusement on his face.
"It's just Relemon." He replied. "She can disguise herself as small objects and likes to play hide and seek."
"'Cept she can't disguise her tail, so it always gives her away." Ganimon picked up a rattle and turned it over in his claws, looking for the telltale tail. "Look, I can handle this. You two mosey on over to the library. The banquet could start any time now."
"Okay. See you later, Ganimon."
Tarumon gave the babies one last fond look before stepping out the door. Kartik followed, stopping to slip his shoes back on.
"Thank you for showing me around." He called back to Ganimon, then took off after Tarumon.
Ganimon waved him off without taking his eyes off of the shelves. This caused him to miss the small yellow tail disappearing into Kartik's bag.

-

Shinyu peeked through the double doors into the banquet room. Most of the chairs at the table were filled by digimon and their human guests.
Babamon was standing next to him, peering around his body. Although he couldn't see her eyes, Shinyu got the impression that she was even more nervous than him.
Reaching into the sleeve of her robe, Babamon produced a stack of cards and began pacing while organising them.
"Okay. So we'll start with my introduction and a quick recap of our situation. Oh, wait. I should probably begin with an explanation of the Digital World in case they didn't get the full story from the envoys. That could take a while, so maybe I should tell Ballistamon to have the refreshments served while I'm talking. But I was hoping to begin the meal with a toast to celebrate our first meeting. And I don't even know whether I should mention the device, since we don't know everything about it yet. Arrrggh! We haven't even begun and I'm already blowing this! The humans are going to think I'm insane and leave. The Digital World is going to collapse and we're all going to wind up homeless or dead; and it'll be all my fault!"
Shinyu knew an approaching anxiety attack when he saw one. He stepped in front of Babamon and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"It's okay. Just take deep breaths. In through your no- your mouth and out through your mouth."
Shinyu motioned the breathing with his hand and soon Babamon was following suit. After a minute, she straightened up and let out a sigh.
"Thank you, Shinyu. I guess I was more stressed than I realised."
Shinyu gave a small shrug.
"Welcome to the club."
Babamon looked at the cards in her hand, then returned them to her robe.
"Let's try sharing a meal, and see where things go from there."
Before Shinyu could answer, a series of loud booms and crashes echoed through the hall. The walls shook and dust rained down from the ceiling.
"What in the world?"
Babamon took off down the hall at a surprising speed.
Shinyu looked back into the banquet room, where the occupants had noticed the noise too. Some were standing up, only for Ballistamon to tell them to remain where they were.
Figuring someone should get some answers; Shinyu set off after Babamon.

-

"I mean, I didn't lie to him per se. I just didn't share certain details."
Tigremon was sat in Babamon's chair with her feet on the desk. She poured some digibytes into her mouth from a hexagonal container and took another swig of tea.
"A lie by omission is still a lie."
Ogremon was sat opposite her, eating from his own box.
"Well, what was I supposed to do? He was already freaked out, just by learning we exist. If I had told him that I wasn't supposed to be in the Physical World, there's no way he would've agreed to come." She flicked a ring-shaped snack into the air and caught it in her mouth. "Besides, if I really wasn't supposed to go; then why did Yggdrasil let me through the gate?"
"You know that's not how Yggdrasil works." Ogremon took a sip from his cup. "It maintains the Digital World. It doesn't stop foolish young digimon from doing stupid things."
"Look, I didn't know about the weak spots in the barrier! Babamon never mentioned that! Now, who's withholding details?"
"She shouldn't have had to. She's our leader and one of the oldest digimon. You should trust her judgement."
Tigremon crossed her arms and leaned back into the chair with a huff.
"It would be nice if she showed a little trust sometimes."
Suddenly, a thunderous boom sounded out, rattling the windows.
Sharing a surprised look, the two digimon got up and ran to the windows. Outside, a veritable swarm of flying digimon was spreading out across the city. Some of them were carrying other digimon. The closest was a Birdramon that was making a beeline to City Hall raining flaming plumage down on the buildings in her wake.
"Oh, no... Shinyu!"
Tigremon bounded towards the office doors, only to have Ogremon move to block her.
"Wait."
"Ogremon, I don't care what Babamon said! I have to get to Shinyu!"
Ogremon placed his hand on the wall and swiped it along, revealing a rectangular screen of static. He reached in and pulled out a large white bone studded with metal spikes. Hefting it over his shoulder, he looked down at Tigremon and flashed a grin.
"Let's go."

-

Babamon flung the front doors open and pulled up short at the sight before her.
The digimon who had gathered in the courtyard were fleeing as balls of fire were raining down from the sky. Some of the nearby buildings had been set ablaze.
A bestial shriek sounded out as a Birdramon swooped through the air overhead.
"Meteor Wing!"
Fiery feathers shot out of her wings, heading straight for City Hall.
Babamon gripped her broom in both hands and swung it towards the flaming projectiles.
"Empress Haze!"
A light purple mist was expelled from the broom's bristles and amassed in front of the building. Upon making contact with it, the feathers were extinguished and crumpled into ash.
Birdramon pulled up and banked away from the cloud. It was then that Babamon noticed a figure holding onto the Champion's leg.
They jumped from their perch and hit the ground with a roll; a white cloak billowing around them. As they stood up straight, Babamon's mouth dropped open with recognition.
"Baalmon."
The tall humanoid digimon walked towards Babamon; his arms hidden underneath his cloak. He stopped about twenty metres away from her.
"Babamon. You know why I'm here."
Babamon's grip tightened on her broom.
"We discussed this, Baalmon. You've got no right to interfere in File City's affairs."
"And you have no right to invite humanity to interfere with our affairs." Baalmon's eyes narrowed and his voice cracked with barely restrained anger.
"They're not interfering! We simply want to work with humans to expand our knowledge. I thought you, of all digimon, would appreciate that."
"I understand, better than most, the power of knowledge." Baalmon bowed his head. "And I know that it always comes with a price."
His head whipped up and he raised his right arm, revealing a wide white sleeve covered in belts and paper talismans. Out of the sleeve poked the end of a shotgun.
"I'm only going to ask once. Send these humans back where they came from, and close the gate."
Babamon flicked her sleeves back and held her broom out in front of her.
"No."
Baalmon's gun fired, sending out a pair of glowing red bullets. Babamon swung her broom, sending them back the way they'd come.
Baalmon jumped back as the bullets hit the ground, sending stone and smoke into the air. He raised his black leather-clad left arm into the air.
"Guiltish!"
His cloak spread open, revealing numerous talismans lining it inside. Several of them floated into the air around him and folded themselves into the shapes of arrows and knives.
Baalmon pointed at Babamon and the talismans sped through the air towards her.
Spinning her broom like a bo staff, Babamon maneuvered through the storm of blades; dodging and deflecting the projectiles.
Inside City Hall, Shinyu was watching the fight through the front door windows. He was amazed at Babamon's agility, but this was reminding him too much of the battle against Baboongamon. He remembered his earlier advice to Babamon and focused on his breathing.
The sound of heavy footsteps approaching quickly behind him, caused his breath to hitch. He turned around and let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was Ogremon with Tigremon riding on his head.
"Shinyu! Are you okay?"
Shinyu couldn't deny that he was happy to see Tigremon, despite how their last conversation went. He nodded and pointed out the window.
"Who is that? He and Babamon seem to know each other."
"That's Baalmon." Ogremon replied. "He's a Gate Guardian, like Babamon. I was with her at the Guardian meeting where she proposed reaching out to the Physical World for help. Baalmon was vehemently against it, but he got outvoted."
"So now he's trying to stop her himself?" Tigremon growled. "Even after she got Yggdrasil's permission? Some 'mons just won't take 'yes' for an answer!"
"Aren't you two going to help her?" Shinyu gestured to the fight happening outside.
Ogremon shook his head.
"We'd just get in Babamon's way. Best wait for her to take down their leader, then we can clear out the invaders."
Looking out the window again, Shinyu saw the flame covered bird-like digimon, that had carried Baalmon, perched on top of a smoking building. She was watching the fight intently, but making no move to assist her comrade.
"Are you sure Babamon will be alright?"
"She'll be fine." Tigremon answered confidently. "She's got the advantage in both level and type. I mean, an Ultimate Virus-type versus a Mega Vaccine-type? What was Baalmon thinking?"
Seeing the utterly perplexed look on Shinyu's face, Ogremon patted him gently on the back.
"I'll explain later. Just know that you can leave this to Babamon."
"Ooh, ooh! She's going for the Tri Banish!" Tigremon pointed excitedly out the window.
Babamon sidestepped the fire that spewed out of one of Baalmon's talismans and quickly closed the gap between them. Baalmon's eye widened in alarm as she advanced on him.
Spinning the broom in her hands, Babamon lunged forward and slammed it, handle first, into Baalmon's chest.
"Tri Banish!"
A surge of glowing yellow energy ran along the broom handle and entered Baalmon. The cloaked digimon stood, hunched over, for a few seconds before raising his head to face Babamon.
His eye now held a look of triumph.
The energy shot out of Baalmon's body and sped along Babamon's broom with black electric sparks shooting off it. Before she could let go, the electricity spread around her body and she froze in place; unable to move a muscle.
Baalmon straightened up and reached behind his back.
"Did you really think that I; knowing how powerful you are; would challenge you without a plan?" He drew a short sword with a ridged red blade. "One as arrogant as you would only bring ruin to the Digital World; and I will not let that happen! Kamiuchi!"
With lightning speed, he slashed Babamon across her torso, sending her flying back through the air.
"No!"
Ogremon threw open the doors of City Hall and ran to intercept Babamon's fall. He caught her and cradled her in his long arms. Tigremon came running out behind him and, after a moment's hesitation, Shinyu followed.
Shinyu couldn't stop the gasp from escaping his mouth when he saw Babamon's wound. There was a wide cut running diagonally across her body, with particles escaping from the edges. In the gap, he could see a pink wireframe just like Tigremon's.
He instinctively reached out to put pressure on the wound; even though he wasn't sure if it would help. Before he even touched her, Babamon's hand whipped out and grabbed his.
"Shinyu..." Her voice was strained but commanding. "The device... Don't let him get it... Run away... Now."
Shinyu placed his free hand on the machine tied to his belt.
"I... I..."
He struggled to speak, but his brain and mouth seemed to have lost connection.
Ogremon gave him a shove, almost knocking him off his feet.
"You heard her! Get going! You too, Tigremon!"
Tigremon had been staring fearfully at Babamon. She looked up as Ogremon said her name.
"But Babamon... I can't - "
"I'll take care of Babamon! You have to protect your human!" He placed his big hand over Tigremon's head and looked her in the eye.
"I'm trusting you with this, Tigremon."
Everyone looked up at the sound of Baalmon's approaching footsteps. He brandished his sword, clearly intending to finish what he'd started.
"Empress Haze!"
Babamon had managed to keep hold of her broom. She now pointed it at Baalmon and the same purple mist from before sprayed out at him.
Baalmon jumped back with a grunt, clearly wanting to avoid making contact with the mist.
Babamon swung her broom around, coating the courtyard with the colourful smoke.
"Go!" She yelled.
Tigremon pulled her goggles up over her eyes and grabbed Shinyu's wrist.
"Let's move!"
She started running towards the mist, pulling Shinyu behind her. Feeling him hesitate, she called over her shoulder.
"It's okay! The mist won't hurt you!"
Having no choice but to believe her, Shinyu took a deep breath and ran into the haze. A tingling feeling spread along his skin, but there was no pain.
Just as they were exiting the cloud, the bird digimon appeared in the air above them. Letting out a shriek, she dived down towards them.
"Pummel Whack!"
A large ball of dark coloured energy split the haze apart and collided with the digimon, knocking her back into a building that proceeded to cave in on her.
As Tigremon pulled him away, Shinyu looked back towards Town Hall. The gap in the mist showed Ogremon with his fist outstretched towards them.
To Shinyu's alarm, Baalmon appeared running at Ogremon with his sword in hand. Ogremon turned to face his attacker, brandishing his bone club.
The mist closed in just as they were about to clash, and Shinyu was forced to turn away; focusing on escape.