Chapter Five
Suiting Up
"Y-Yolei? C-Cody?" Ken's legs turned to stone when he saw them, keeping him firmly rooted as his two friends walked up to him.
"Ken?" Yolei repeated, stopping before him with Cody by her side.
"What are you two doing here?" Ken asked in a croak.
"We could ask you the same thing," Cody pointed out in a hush. "Is this where you've been going every day?"
"I—I—" Ken couldn't seem to form a response.
"You two know each other?" Davis asked, poking his head between the three of them.
"That's a fair assumption by now, Davis," Kari pointed out, pulling him back by the back of his shirt. Once he was back by her side, she stepped up to Ken, "Ken, these are the ones who received the two other Digivices that came out yesterday."
Ken would've preferred being told that the Paladin had added another General to his ranks rather than hear what Kari had just said right then.
"No," He rasped, his legs sporting a noticeable quiver. "No, absolutely not. They can't be a part of this."
"But they're Digidestined," Kari said. "They have partners waiting for them somewhere."
"No they don't!" Ken retorted in a hiss, his hands clenching at his sides and his gaze falling with his gritted teeth. "They can't be here! It's too dangerous! They can't be a part of this! These are my friends; I can't put them in that kind of danger!"
A feeling of tense coldness overcame the area following Ken's outburst, and everyone around him couldn't help but wince in the face of it.
"Ken…" Wormmon went up to wrap his little claws around his leg. "It's okay…"
"Wait, how come you're cool with us fighting, but not them?" Davis asked. "What, you're perfectly fine with throwing us in the line of fire?"
"Davis!" Kari shushed.
Ken kept his gaze firmly on the ground, trying to regain some semblance of calm back in his buzzing skull. Already, the mental image of another one of his loved ones, lying on the street before him was lancing through his head like a hot knife.
"Ken…?"
Thankfully, Yolei's voice dulled the buzzing in his head.
"Ken?"
And Cody, the calm, level tone of Cody's timbre managed to dilute the image's clarity, bringing it down to a dull swath of grayness.
In the soothing familiarity of those voices, Ken managed to lift his ten-ton gaze, catching sight of his friends just as his hands were taken into each of theirs.
"Is this what has been leaving you looking so exhausted day after day?" Yolei asked.
Ken gulped. Hist throat felt impossibly dry, but he managed to force some semblance of words out from between his lips.
"The…Digimon…Needed…Me…"
Cody smirked solemnly, "Well, I can't say I know a lot about this whole Digimon thing, but I do know that if this is what you've been working so hard for, then I'm willing to lend you a hand."
"Same here, Ken," Yolei said. "Cody and I have been wanting more than anything for a chance to help you, and now that we apparently have that chance, we're not backing down from it, okay?"
Ken knew they were serious. The fiery glimmer in Yolei's eyes and the kind sternness in Cody's made it apparent.
But the fear still left a sizeable chunk of ice in his stomach.
"But it's too dangerous…" He croaked.
"This isn't dangerous," Davis interjected. "You know what's dangerous? Mrs. Kamiya's cooking!"
"Davis," Kari groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose and wishing more than anything she could disagree with him.
"If I may interject here—" Izzy stepped into the little circle of three. "Ken, was it?"
Ken perked up a little bit, "That's right. And you're Koushiro Izumi, the Digidestined of Knowledge."
Izzy chuckled and brought a hand up to scratch at his red, frizzy hair, "Yup, that's me. But you're free to just call me Izzy. Everyone does." He brought his arm down and looked at Yolei and Cody, "Can you two show Ken your Digivices please?"
Yolei and Cody jolted, but did as they were asked, reaching into their pockets and pulling the crystalline Digivices out to present to Ken.
Ken lost another breath when he saw them.
"I understand where you're coming from, Ken," Izzy said. "But the fact of the matter is that these Digivices mean your friends have inarguably been drafted into the role of Digidestined, same as you and I. And in all honesty, Ken—" He smiled, "—You should consider yourself lucky."
"Why is that?" Ken asked somewhat tartly.
"Well," Tai stood back up, "because when us older kids were first pulled over here, we all barely knew each other. We were just a bunch of misfits that got pulled into this crazy world."
"Tai speaks the truth," Izzy chuckled. "We were all really no more than acquaintances back then, well except for Matt and TK that is, but that was expected. Nonetheless, that lack of familiarity definitely came with a fair share of growing pains, and we all had to work through them before becoming a cohesive unit."
Tai snorted, "Growing pains, yeah, that's what I'd call them."
"That's why you're lucky," Izzy went on. He looked between the three of them, "Because since you three are already friends, that means you should have some modicum of trust in one another. Am I right?"
"Absolutely!" Cody exclaimed. "We trust Ken to the moon and back!"
Ken's eyes widened, "Cody…"
"We're your friends, Ken," Yolei said determinedly. "We're here for you, for sunny days and for stormy ones!"
"That goes for us, too!" Kari pulled Davis into the group. "We may not know each other very well yet, but we're here for the long haul, Ken!"
"Yeah!" Davis agreed. "Tai and the others may have had that whole 'lack of familiarity' thing to deal with, but they all seem pretty tight now. I don't see any reason why we can't be the same." His eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest, "Provided you cut it with the whole 'Daisuke' thing."
Ken's stone-heavy heart still sat in his stomach, but as he looked at all the other Digidestined surrounding him, he felt it start to hover back into his chest.
"It's just what we were hoping for, Ken." Wormmon hugged his leg tighter, and caught Ken's eyes in his own when he looked down at him. "We have people to help us now. You don't have to do this alone anymore."
Ken gulped, "I—" He looked up again, matching sights with Yolei and Cody. "Okay…" He managed to say at long last.
And because of his friend's smiles, the fear in his heart shrank to almost nothing, far from unnoticeable, but soothed thanks to their words.
"BOSS! BOSS!"
Unfortunately for poor Ken, a relaxed heartbeat just wasn't in the cards for him that day, thanks largely in part to the booming voice of the fluttery winged Digimon that decided to grace the room at that very moment.
Tai tensed up when he saw the familiar face, a great annoyance from his previous adventures.
"Demidevimon!" Tai scowled at the little bat winged Digimon clad in stitched up black cloth. "What are you doing here?"
"This isn't the same Demidevimon that aided Myotismon way back in the day, Tai," Ken explained, his hand still pressed over his drum solo performing heart. "He's one of my many intel agents. He keeps me up to date on the Paladin's activities." He lifted his head to acknowledge the Digimon, "I'm guessing you have something to report?"
"We've got a message from Impmon and Guilmon!" Demidevimon said. "It's coming from the Protocol Ruins!"
Ken, Wormmon, and Gatomon seized up at that, "The Protocol Ruins!"
Ken immediately asked the others to follow him, and together, the Digidestined with partners in tow dashed through the tunnels.
"What in the Digital world are they doing over there?!" Ken growled, stopping before the great keyboard and screen.
"Gatomon, didn't you mention something about a Protocol Forest?" Kari asked.
"Yeah, and beyond that is the Protocol Ruins;" Gatomon replied. "A.K.A, just about the most dangerous place within three sectors of here!"
"And that was just with the Dokugumon running around," Ken huffed, bringing up the little envelope that had appeared on the screen. "Never mind now with the Paladin's Digimon running around."
"I've been meaning to ask about that," Izzy said. "Just who is this Digital Paladin?"
Ken didn't answer Izzy. Neither did anyone else, thanks to the words that now glowed on the screen.
Ken,
Me and Red got chased into the Protocol Ruins by some Haloed Digimon. Be as mad about that as you want, but we found some of those Digimentals you've been looking for. They seem to be at the center of this place so get here fast, before the Paladin's flunkies do!
Impmon
P.S: Red would appreciate it if you could bring him some bread.
"Ken…" Kari was the first to break the deafening silence. "Before we got here, Cody and Yolei's Digivices reacted to something. Do you think it could be the Digimentals?"
Ken just gritted his teeth.
"Then that means their partners could be over there," Davis filled in. "Which means…They have to come with us, right?"
Ken's fingers clenched against the keyboard.
"Ken?" Wormmon said concernedly.
"We need to get to the armory," Ken choked out.
…
"Hey, Kari, check me out!" Davis spread his arms out as he span to show Kari his new duds. "I look pretty good in armor, don't I?"
Davis certainly felt pretty cool. The navy-blue cloak that fell over his shoulders shimmered in the dull lights of the lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling, with the golden colored collar around the neck of the cloak gleaming extra bright, as if competing with the sapphire fabric. On his body proper, he wore a dark blue chainmail vest latched together over his usual light blue shirt, complimented by the dull silver plates that fell over his long olive-green cargo shorts, and on his sleeves were a pair of dark gray leather gauntlets with lines of silver digicode scratched onto them.
Kari smirked and adjusted the brilliant white digicode emblazoned red sash that was tied around the waist of her own armor, a thick white hooded tunic made with a chainmail inlay, complimented with a pair of crimson leggings inscribed with gleaming ruby-red digicode and a pair of burgundy red leather gauntlets of her own that went up to her elbows.
She had to say, she liked it, even though the color scheme made her feel like a walking piece of red velvet cake she once saw in a bakery window.
"I can't say we look lame," Kari agreed, going to stand by Davis in the mirror. "Though I do find myself concerned about the lightness of the armor. Are these really going to protect us? I mean you're still wearing your shorts for Pete's sake."
"You don't need to worry about that." Ken walked into the room, stepping past Kari and Davis and towards a curtained off hole in the wall. "The armor works by projecting a Digital field made by the digicode inscribed in it that repels and absorbs Digimon attacks. Trust me, when an attack is headed your way, you'll be glad to be wearing it."
"That's good to hear, because…" From another curtained off hole behind Davis and Kari came Cody, now wearing a light green long sleeve shirt with a darker grassy green chainmail overlay over the central torso area of the shirt. On the sleeves were beige colored scrawls of digicode, matching the beige cloth pants that he wore.
"These don't really inspire a lot of confidence on their own," He finished.
Ken immediately turned away from the hole he had originally been heading for and went over to Cody instead. "Well, luckily we just received all these armors," He said, reaching into the small cardboard box he held in his arms. From within the box, he pulled a long stretch of fabric and presented it to Cody with a quick flourish, "Here, this should give you an extra bit of help."
Cody took the fabric, marveling at the bright viridian digicode etchings within its clay-colored stitching.
"Oh, sweet!" Davis exclaimed. "A ninja scarf! You got another one of those, Ken?"
Ken rolled his eyes and began moving back towards where he had originally been heading, "'Fraid not, Daisuke."
"Hey! What'd I say about calling me that?!" Davis fumed.
Ken ignored him and brought himself to a stop before the closed off portion of the wall. "Um, Yolei?" He gulped.
The curtain swung over, and from the little impromptu dressing room came Yolei.
Yolei wore a deep indigo colored leather jerkin, tied up with burnt orange straps with gleaming orange digicode characters written down both sides. Beneath that she wore a bronze chainmail skirt with a simple pair of vermillion cargo pants.
"Yeah, Ken?" She asked, pulling her lilac sleeves down to her wrists.
Ken blushed and reached into the box, "I—I got you this." From within the box, he pulled out a helmet, a bright orange helmet made of malleable leather. Upon the center of the helmet was a symbol of a purple stylized flower in mid-bloom.
A symbol well known to Ken.
"This'll provide you with a little bit of extra protection as well," Ken murmured, holding it out for her.
Yolei looked upon the helmet for a moment, then smiled at Ken and took it.
Everything about this situation was craziness incarnate, from being told of another world, to being sucked into that world through a computer, to probably craziest of all, finding out that the friend she had been so worried about was actually fighting to save that world.
It was nuts on the face of it, but…
She meant what she said earlier. She was happy for a chance to help him.
"Thanks, Ken," She said, placing the helmet upon her head. Once it was settled amongst her lavender locks, she looked at him again. "How's it look?" She asked, coming out and spinning once for the whole group to see.
Ken smirked, "Great. Very gallant."
"So we're all suited up then?" Davis spoke up, his excitement clearly rising judging by the giddiness in his voice. "Does that mean we're good to go?"
Ken sighed and had to bite his lip from retorting something harsh back at Davis. "Just about," He muttered, turning back to survey the lot of them. "We only have one last thing to do before we go…"
…
"Wow, I can't believe he really went and got some bread for that friend of his," Davis said from his place against the wall.
"Ken cares very much for everyone under his wing," Wormmon explained.
Ken walked up to the group, throwing the bag filled with bread and other delectable goodies over his shoulder. "Let's go," He said, gesturing them forward with a swish of his neck.
Davis clicked his tongue, but followed Ken alongside Kari. "Jeez, not a lot of manners on this guy, is there?" He groused.
"Easy there, Davis," Kari soothed. "He's probably worried, about a lot of stuff."
"We'll be leaving through our transporter," Ken explained while keeping his eyes forward. "That way we can save time on getting to the Protocol forest."
"Wait, you have a transporter?" Davis squawked. "Why didn't you use that to get us here instead of having us use the slide of doom!?"
"I'm afraid the transporter can only be used to get to other bases or short distances from the base itself," Ken replied. "In the case of the latter, it can only transport outward, not inward. That way we mitigate the risk of enemies transporting in."
"Can we get that in English?" Davis huffed.
"He's doing his best!" Yolei interjected hotly. "Is that clear enough for you?"
Davis scowled, but kept his gaze on the ground after that, simply trudging along in agitation.
Ken meanwhile was left alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that wriggled incessantly in his mind with the difficult task ahead of him, ahead of all of them.
"Oh, there you all are."
The five of them looked up with Tai's greeting. He and Agumon sat against the far wall while Izzy seemed to be examining the computer.
Tai stood up, holding Agumon close as he walked up to them.
"We'll try to be back as soon as possible," Ken informed.
"Are you sure you don't want us to come?" Agumon asked.
Ken shook his head with a smirk, "I'd feel better if you stayed, Agumon. For one, you're still in recovery, and for two, you've just reunited with your partner."
"And I assume this strange phenomenon about digivolution being impossible comes into play as well?" Izzy surmised turning towards Ken. "Why is that?"
"It has to do with the Digital Paladin," Ken explained. "Through some means we've yet to fully ascertain he's made it so that armor digivolution is our only option."
"That's the digivolution we used yesterday, isn't it?" Kari stepped between the three of them, fishing her Digivice out of her pocket. "The one that was enabled by the digimentals?"
"That's correct," Ken affirmed, turning towards Yolei and Cody, "And that's why we're all making this trip to the ruins together. If it weren't for those, I'd honestly prefer you guys stay here."
"I wouldn't want to let you go alone either way," Cody adamantly retorted.
"Yeah!" Yolei said, her fists raised determinately. "We're here to help you, Ken! Be sure you remember that!"
Ken couldn't help but smile fully at that, "And I appreciate the help." He looked over Davis and Kari as well, "From all of you." He then went over to the computer, tapping away at the keys to bring up several applications and folders onto the screen.
"Izzy, these folders will detail every piece of information we've gathered thus far on the Paladin." He chuckled and glanced back at Izzy, "That includes Tentomon's contact info. Feel free to give him a call, I'm sure he'd be happy to see you."
Izzy visibly perked up, first at the mention of information, then even more when he heard of his own beloved partner. "Thank you, Ken. I think I'll do that."
Ken looked back up at the screen, clicking on an icon of circling arrows, "Before you do that though, would you mind starting the transport?"
Izzy agreed and with a final tap of the keys from Ken, a crackling sound began to come from above the group.
KRRR! The ceiling began to crack, and from its earthen surface came a large circular slab of metal, humming loudly as little blue lines of digicode glowed at its edges.
That's not ominous, Kari thought sardonically.
"Don't worry." Ken went over to the center of the room, picking Wormmon up along the way. "The transport sequence is much less nauseating than traveling through the Digi-port."
"We don't have to worry about that whole 'destroying us and reassembling a copy of us' theory, do we?" Yolei asked, gulping as she stepped under the slab.
"It's no less dangerous than blinking, don't worry, Yolei," Wormmon said.
"That's good enough for me," Cody said as he joined them under the slab as well.
Davis smirked and went under the slab with Veemon in tow, "Well, I ain't gonna chicken out after coming this far."
"Neither am I," Kari said, taking a step forward, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
"Wait, Kari…" Tai gently turned Kari towards him. When she was facing him, he bit his lip, his face growing marred with clear worry. "Be careful out there, okay? I know we've faced some pretty nasty stuff in the past, but I still don't like the idea of you facing them without me there to at least tank the hits."
Kari smiled, "You're still thinking about that time you took hits from Piedmon, aren't you?"
"More the time I took an arrow to the back so Agumon could become Wargreymon," Tai chuckled, putting his hand to his chest. "Talk about heartburn."
"You said you didn't feel anything," Kari shot back smarmily.
"Uh, yeah, it's called putting on a brave face for your little sister," Tai countered just as smarmily. "It's basic big brothering 101, Kari."
The two of them shared a couple of laughs after that exchange, enjoying the moment of lighthearted banter that they just loved to partake in.
But of course, they had to fall back to reality.
"Seriously though, Kari," Tai muttered with a quirked cheek. "Be careful out there, for me, okay?"
"I'll be fine, Tai," Kari assured with an emphatic nod. "Besides…" She quirked her sights down to Gatomon, "I've got Gatomon with me."
"Yeah!" Gatomon agreed with raised paws. "If anyone even looks at Kari the wrong way, I'll redirect them with a little lightning paw work to really show 'em what for!"
"And I'll be there, too!" Davis called out.
Tai clicked his tongue and shook his head, "Be that as it may—" He lifted his hand to his head, laying his fingers over the lenses of his goggles before pulling them off of his head.
"Ouch!" He winced with the strands of hair that were pulled. Once he was past that and the goggles were fully extracted, he held them out to his little sister. "I'll feel just a little bit more confident if I send you with a little extra luck. Here, Kari, from me to you."
Kari's eyes widened, "Tai…Really?"
"You're trying to convince me otherwise?" Tai chuckled. "Aren't you always swiping them from under my nose?" He bent down to Kari's level, tilting the goggles out a little further. "Take 'em, Kari. And go make me proud."
All of Kari's bravado seemed to dry up, leaving only the grand meaning of what was being entrusted to her to weigh heavy on her heart. Those goggles had always been her brother's trademark item, the moniker she had always associated with him, a symbol of the safety he impressed upon her.
And he was giving them to her?
I—I need to make the most of this. She brought her hand up, reaching for the little glass trinket with trembling fingers. I can't—I won't let him down!
Her brow creased when her fingertips touched the black band that strung the goggles together. The cool surface of the lenses were like little bolts of static on her skin, and as if a bolt of lightning ran through her, Kari pulled the goggles to herself and slung them over her mousy brown hair.
She winced when a few of her hairs got snagged for a second, but after a second of adjustment, they were settled, leaving a fringe of messy bangs over her forehead and a little tuft sticking out at the leftmost corner from beneath the band.
"H-How do I look?" She asked, suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious.
Tai smiled a proud smile, "Way cool, little sis."
"Yeah, you look awesome, Kari!" Davis crowed.
"Like the cat's meow!" Gatomon added.
Kari felt her cheeks tinge pink, and she brought a finger to scratch one of said cheeks. Why did the goggles she always took for fun suddenly feel like a crown of heavy gold?
"Kari?" Ken spoke up, prompting Kari to turn towards the rest of the group. "I hate to interrupt, but we really do need to get going."
Kari bit her lip, "Right." She looked back at Tai with a sideways glance, "See you when I get back, Tai."
"I'll be looking forward to it," Tai said, giving Kari a gentle shove towards the group, "Now go do the Digidestined thing, little sis."
Kari didn't say anything else after that, thanks largely in part to the frog that suddenly took root in her throat. She just went to join the rest of the group with Gatomon.
"Are we all ready?" Ken asked once she and Gatomon were in the fold.
"What, you wanna break for lunch?" Davis poked.
Ken rolled his eyes and looked towards Izzy, "Izzy, if you please?"
"Right," Izzy acquiesced, turning towards the keyboard. He brough the cursor over the little tab that would initiate the transport. "Be safe, everyone," He said, clicking on the tab.
Yolei closed her eyes after she heard the click of the tab being pressed, and when the slab above them began to hum, a thought crossed her mind.
Please don't let me be disassembled!
…
No sooner than she finished that thought, the humming faded, replaced swiftly by the interspersed symphony of insects buzzing and leaves rustling in the wind.
"Wow, that really was like blinking." Cody's words made Yolei's eyes pop open.
They were back in the woods, the very same ones that they had originally landed in when Demiveemon had opened the digi-port. Only, they were elsewhere in the forest, standing before a pair of arched and barren trees that framed a significantly grayer path ahead of them; a path littered with dead leaves and clumps of web.
"This is it," Ken said. "The entrance to the Protocol forest."
"Cheery looking place, isn't it?" Davis snarked.
Did Ken just feel his eye twitch? "Just a quick rundown before we go in," He began, turning to address his new allies. "Since none of you have materialized a weapon yet, I don't want anyone but the Digimon and me to engage should an enemy appear."
"Right," Gatomon and Wormmon readily agreed.
"R-Right!" Veemon agreed a second or so after.
"Weapons? Materialized?" Davis blinked and tilted his head slightly, "Whaddya mean?"
"Ken, you haven't explained that to them yet," Wormmon informed.
Ken had forgotten about that; about the difference in experience he shared with even a veteran Digidestined like Kari. "Oh, right…" Was all he could say. He glanced down at his D3, glimmering in its strange onyx and obsidian shine along his belt loop. "I guess that's something I can fill you in on at another time," He said, turning away and starting on his walk into the forest.
"Why don't you tell us now?" Davis asked. "It's not like we're taking a math test or something, what's keeping us from talking."
Crick! Suddenly, the sound of something snapping in the darkness of the trees made everyone jump.
"That's keeping us from talking!" Ken hissed once nothing happened. "This place is a former Dokugumon nesting ground!"
"Former?" Cody queried in a hush.
"The Paladin slaughtered most of them," Wormmon explained morosely. "A few have been spotted here and there, but now this place is mostly empty, well empty aside from the remaining Paladin subordinates going around."
"Another thing we have to worry about," Ken impressed with a venomous glare towards Davis, "So keep quiet."
Davis' teeth gritted behind his lips, "Fine…" Okay, yeah, I am really not gonna like this guy.
Unfortunately, he had no rebuttal to use against Ken, so he just had to put up with his orders and do as he said, keeping his yap firmly shut and a bubble of anger roiling away in his stomach whilst they all ventured into the dark, web-covered forest.
Fortunately for him, that anger bubble wasn't left to stew away for long, as less than a minute later, he felt an arm loop around his waist, pulling him against its owner in an affectionate side hug.
"Don't worry," Kari whispered, giving him a gentle smirk. "I'll talk with you plenty once we're out of here."
Davis blushed, but gave her a nod of thanks in return, thankful for at least one person in the group that was his friend.
Though both of them would be lying if they said they weren't left still wondering what Ken had meant about weapons.
…
"Hey, Impmon?"
"What is it, Red?" Impmon didn't even bother opening his eyes, keeping his arms folded behind the back of his head as he lazed along the gray bricks of the floor.
"I'm hungry."
Impmon's face scrunched up in response to Guilmon's dozenth declaration of his hunger. "I know you're hungry. I'm hungry, you're hungry, the friggin digimentals are probably hungry! Can you please keep it to yourself?!"
"Can't say I disagree with him though, I could go for a bite myself," The voice from the amber digimental remarked.
"I'll say," The voice from the silver digimental confirmed. "We have been here for quite a while. Granted we've been in stasis for a good portion of it, but that doesn't make the want for food any less intense."
Impmon groaned and brought one of his forearms over his face, And I thought those schmucks were annoying before… "Can you two please stick a sock in it yourselves?" He tartly pleaded.
"Well forgive us for wanting to make some conversation with the first Digimon that have come our way in—how long—maybe a millennium?"
"I reckon that sounds about right. Maybe a millennium and a half."
A millennium? That was certainly a question waiting to be asked. Unfortunately, Impmon just wasn't in the mood to ask any further questions. Turns out headaches beat inquisitiveness.
"Are they talking to you again?" Guilmon queried.
"They're a regular couple of chattermon," Impmon sighed. "I'm still wondering why you can't hear 'em."
"Maybe it's because I'm hungry?" Guilmon suggested.
"I was thinking more along the lines that you were just too much of a bonehead," Impmon huffed, pulling his hands back to instead lace them over his chest.
"Hey!" Guilmon objected.
"Why can't he hear us?" The amber digimental asked.
"I hate to say it, but our little purple friend may have a point with the 'bonehead' moniker," The silver digimental said.
How lucky for me, Impmon thought with a little bit of a scowl, Once again being the smart one comes back to bite me in the a—
"Hmm?" Suddenly, Guilmon rolled onto his legs, arching his back as his pupils grew into aggressive pinpricks. "Impmon, someone's coming!"
"Ken?" Impmon sat up with a jerk, hoping against hope that for once Guilmon was going aggro with no viable danger anywhere nearby.
"No, a Digimon!" Guilmon replied with bared teeth.
"Aw nuts…" Impmon gulped, leaping to his feet. He turned towards the digimentals. "Hey, glow-guys, is there someone living here with youse two?"
"What part of 'in stasis' did you not get?" The silver digimental pointedly replied.
"Sorry, bud," The amber digimental said. "The last time we were awake was when some Digimon in a monkey suit was running around."
"Terrible singer, he was," The silver digimental remarked.
"Point is, we don't know who else calls this place home," The amber digimental went on. "And judging by how loud those footsteps are getting, I'd suggest hightailing it outta here sooner rather than later."
The amber digimental was right. In the half minute since Guilmon had first reacted, the ground had begun to shake and little bits of dust were falling from the ceiling as the sounds of heavy stomps reverberated into the room from the darkness.
"Well which way do we go?" Impmon yelped, looking around the room.
"The stairs, my good Digimon, the stairs!" The silver digimental lit up the room with its red light, illuminating the stairs far behind the stand the two of them rested on. "Now go! Before you find yourselves pulverized into digi-dust!"
"Don't have to tell us twice!" Impmon cried, dashing around the stand. "C'mon, Red! We need to go!"
"Right behind you!" Guilmon said, following after him. "Thank you for helping us, little eggy things!"
"And please, Impmon!" The silver digimental shouted after them. "If you find our partners, please bring them back to us!"
Impmon turned his head as he stepped down the first stair, "Come back here are you friggin' kidding m—"
He had every intention of telling them he had zero plans of coming back, but upon seeing the sight of the two digimentals, all alone in the darkness, something panged within Impmon.
A millennium waiting? Impmon hated waiting for water to boil. He couldn't imagine waiting an entire epoch in some dark dingy ruin for some theoretical partner to show up. He'd be tearing his pointed ears by the end of day three! How could he ever say no?
"I will!" He said instead, placing his foot back on the top step. "I'll bring 'em to you, I promise! Then you'll be able to get out of there!"
"Lookin' forward to it!" The amber digimental said, just as a horned silhouette was beginning to form behind it, "Now go! It's here!"
Impmon's fur stood up when he saw the dark metal of an arm cannon at the shadow's side. "C'mon, Red!" He cried, turning tail and leaping down several stairs at once.
But even as he and Guilmon fled, Impmon didn't forget his promise. He would get those partners to those Digimon within the digimentals, even if he had to wind up at Primary Village for trying.
…
"Ken! Look!" Wormmon hopped into a dark clearing where the webs were clustered particularly thick.
"What is it, Wormmon?" Ken followed his partner into the center of the clearing, the rest of his compatriots close behind. Upon reaching Wormmon, he kneeled down to inspect the items littering the ground.
"Is that…food?" One of Cody's brows rose and he crouched down to pick up one of the foodstuffs that was laying lopsided next to the shattered crate; a strange purple apple.
"These were the food supplies that Impmon and Guilmon had been sent to get," Ken explained. He scooped up a large red berry that exuded a scent similar to a lunch meat. "And judging by the fact that they haven't been eaten, that means—"
"That Impmon and Guilmon were chased off by something not looking for a meal?" Wormmon guessed.
"That's correct," Ken confirmed, standing up. "Which also means that Impmon's message was correct, so be on the lookout for any haloed digimon."
"So essentially what you told us before we came in here then?" Davis snarked.
Kari elbowed Davis in the rib in response, "Davis!"
"What'll we do if we do run into any haloed Digimon?" Yolei asked, casting a fierce glare at Davis while she went to Ken's side.
Ken blushed when she got close, but managed to reply with a sort of squeaky, "Wormmon and I will protect you, don't worry."
Aww, how sweet, Kari thought.
Wow, who knew Ken could be so sappy? Gatomon thought with a smirk and a shake of her head.
Yeesh, that smarts! Davis thought, his hand rubbing the spot where Kari's elbow had rapped against his ribs.
I wonder if Ken would mind if I ate some of these meat berries? Veemon thought, rubbing his stomach.
"Let's get going," Ken muttered, thankful for the darkness of the forest hiding his blush. "We should be approaching the ruins soon. From there, it shouldn't be much longer."
Davis took his hand from his rib. Right behind you, "fearless leader", He thought sardonically. He followed after Ken, only stopping when he noticed Cody wiping the strange purple apple on his sleeve. "Dude, are you going to eat that?" He asked.
"My grandfather always said you shouldn't waste food if it's still good," Cody explained, taking a bite of the apple. He hummed when he found that it was quite sweet, yet somewhat spicy, with an odd custard-like consistency within it that paired abundantly well with the inherent juiciness it held.
"I'll stand by that!" Veemon said, grabbing a few meat berries and chomping into them. He chewed with vigor at first, but then slowed and stared down at the berry with a bit of a displeased frown, "Though I shoulda done what Cody did and wiped off the dirt first…"
"Eww!" Gatomon laughed.
…
Freezing cold air was the norm high up in the skies of the Digital World; made all the worse when the one trekking through it was clad in metal armor.
But the Digital Paladin paid no mind to such matters, instead riding onward, kicking his heels into his steed.
The pigmented specks of white that made up the clouds were no match for the frantically waving hooves of the haloed Unimon, pushed harder and harder by each strike that was made against his ribs, crying out for a reprieve from the frigid metal digging into his sides.
Its cries fell on deaf ears though, because to the Paladin, all that mattered was the great expanse of greenery that had appeared on the horizon. The Wire Forest, a smaller facet of the Digital World, mostly safe except for the occasional Kuwagamon looking for a meal. Even then, all it took was the smallest modicum of a fight to repel it. No, the real point of danger was the darker path of trees further in, the dreaded Protocol forest; home of the Dokugumon.
Fortunately, thanks to his efforts, those vile beings had been nearly completely culled, expunged from the forest and leaving it with some modicum of peace. Perhaps with time, it would match the quiet beauty of its companion forest, rather than the dour mire that currently permeated it.
He looked forward to that day, the day that it represented just a small piece of what he was trying to accomplish…
Purity. Sanctified purity for the entire Digital World.
But that wasn't the reason he was flying towards the area, not on that day. The reason he was going, was to investigate the energy signature that had been reported to have been coming from the Protocol Ruins at the center of the forest, the energy suspected of being a possible Digimental, artifacts that could drastically affect the tides of the conflicting factions within the Digital World.
So, clearly the Paladin was riding to acquire those artifacts, right?
Again, no.
He was actually going because of a hunch, a hunch with no real basis other than the events of the day prior. A day where someone he had never expected to show up, showed up.
He was riding to the Protocol Ruins on the off chance that Kari Kamiya would be there.
The Digidestined of Light appearing was truly an auspicious occasion within the Digital world. When legends were told of the times of the Dark Masters, the eight Digidestined each shared a fair amount of tales for Digimon to marvel at. But the tales that were spoken of with perhaps the most reverence were those involving the Digidestined of Light, the gentle, the compassionate, the sometimes literally luminous...
"Queen Kari"
Kari Kamiya was practically a saintly figure amongst the Digimon of the post reboot world, a person who staunchly stood against cruelty and oppression even at the tender young age she was when she faced the Dark Masters with her compatriots. In fact, the tale of her standing against Machinedramon for the sake of a group of enslaved Numemon served as common campfire literature, utilized to show the value of the ever-important inner strength that all Digimon strove for.
She was a legend, and the Paladin knew that.
And because of that, the Paladin had left his center of operations alone, so that he could face her, one on one.
But not to fight, but to talk, because the Paladin knew that he would be a fool not to seek out her support. With her at his side, his goal of purifying the Digital World would be all the more strengthened.
And why wouldn't she join him? They strove for the same thing. He fought for the light, she was light herself, it was perfect. With her, none of those accursed viruses would stand a shadow of a chance against them, and without that chance, the whole Digital World would be purified, the forces of Darkness snuffed out like a drop of water in a raging inferno.
Yes, the aid of Kari Kamiya would be a great boon, but the Paladin also remembered the actions she took the previous day. She had spoken out against him, decried what he was doing, stood against one of his Generals.
She just didn't understand what was being done, He thought with a shake of his head. I'm sure if I just explained it to her, she'd get it. She's seen the evils that occupy this world, she knows what can happen if they're left to roam about.
He gripped the reins around Unimon tighter, unconsciously pulling back on its jaw. She'll understand, He told himself. She has to.
He grit his teeth as a scowl bared itself from his expression.
And if she doesn't, He thought with a surge of sudden anger running through him, then I'll make her understand.
…
"Here we are…" Ken brushed aside the long thorny vines, revealing the grand gray stone pyramid that had served as their waypoint within the Protocol Forest; the aptly named Protocol Ruins.
"Oh wow," Kari said, moving a little bit ahead with Gatomon. "I didn't know the Digital World had architecture like this. It looks like one of those Aztec ruins I saw in a report I did for school once."
"The Digital World gets a lot of its makeup from data from your world, Kari," Gatomon explained, setting her little Saberleomon gloved paws on her hips. "So I guess it makes sense that you'd find similarities here and there. Remember that city Machinedramon controlled? Izzy said it had a lot of buildings like the ones back in your world, too."
Kari scratched her cheek with a bemused smirk, "Hmm, can't say I remember much from then. That fever I had made sightseeing kinda difficult."
"Alright, here's the plan," Ken interjected, moving up with Wormmon in his arms. "We'll split up here with Yolei, Cody and I going into the pyramid to meet with Impmon and Guilmon. As for Kari, Daisuke and the Digimon, you'll stay out here to keep an eye out for any haloed Digimon. Should any appear—" He reached into an inner jacket pocket and produced a little gray brick that he then handed to Kari, "—contact us immediately so we can regroup."
Kari flipped open the device, revealing the little screen within as well as the tiny keyboard. "Got it," She replied, peering at the little black letters written between the screen and the keyboard.
D-Terminal.
"Ya got any more of those?" Davis asked, peering over Kari's shoulder.
"'Fraid I've only got the one more for me," Ken replied tonelessly.
Wormmon crawled down from Ken's arms. "Should I digivolve, Ken?" He asked once he got to the ground.
Ken nodded and grabbed his D-3, "You bet, pal. Everyone stand back."
Once everyone did so (With Yolei actually going to hide behind Ken), Ken flipped his D-3 in his palm and brandished it towards Wormmon.
"Digi-Armor energize!"
A flash of rose-colored light erupted from the screen of the onyx digivice, bursting into several streaking lights of energy that spiraled around Wormmon.
"Wormmon armor digivolve to—" The spirals coalesced into a heart-shaped orb of rosy light, giving off several bolts of black static, and from above the orb, the faint image of a tall insectoid creature appeared. Then, whatever light was present in the area was seemingly sucked into the orb, and in a burst akin to a clap of thunder, the orb exploded and returned the light two-fold.
"Buccheimon! Emissary of Kindness!" The new being declared.
To say that Cody and Yolei were awestruck was understatement. The reflected light exuded from Buccheimon made their widened eyes shimmer in utter entrancement.
"Wow…" Cody whispered.
"That was Wormmon?!" Yolei gasped.
"Snkkt!" Davis, however, once again couldn't help but barely hold back a snicker.
"Davis!" Kari harshly whispered for what felt like the dozenth time that day
"Well, whaddya want me to do?" Davis protested in an equally low tone. "Look at them standing next to each other! It's like seeing Batman partner up with Hello Kitty!"
Ken fortunately didn't hear Davis and walked up to his partner, "You mind holding down the fort out here while we go into the pyramid, Buccheimon?"
The elf-like Digimon raised a thumbs up towards Ken, "You betcha, partner! I've gotta whole can of butt-whuppin' just ready to explode for any Paladin flunky that decides to step up to us!"
Ken smirked. He was always left a little surprise by the drastic personality change that came over Wormmon after armor digivolving. "Just remember not to go too crazy, alright, cowboy?"
"But that's when it's the most fun!" Buccheimon impishly laughed.
Ken clicked his tongue and turned to look at everyone else. "Alright then, everyone. Let's get going."
"Right!" Cody and Yolei responded with gusto.
"Right," Kari agreed, her fists raised against her chest determinedly.
"Right…" Davis despondently huffed.
And so, the group split apart, with Ken leading Yolei and Cody up the many staired pyramid (with Yolei being very vocal about her displeasure in the great many steps), and Davis and Kari staying behind with the Digimon, with Davis balefully grousing about their own place in the plan.
"I thought we'd be more involved than this…" He muttered with his sights set squarely on the ground and his fists clenched irritably around the fabric of his cloak.
And he had felt so cool when he had put it on, too.
"Hey," Kari elbowed him in the rib again, this time much more gently and with a noticeable tinge of loving smarm in her tone. "No being pouty."
"I am not being pouty!" Davis protested with a quick downward pump of his fists.
"You are very much being pouty," Kari retorted.
Davis groaned and threw his hands up, "You saw how that Ken dude was treating me! I've seen soccer balls get kicked around less!"
Kari's smirk lessened in light of the genuine distress Davis exhibited and she stepped around so she was standing in front of him. "Well, you did kinda give him attitude yourself a few times today."
"Aren't you supposed to be my friend?" Davis grumbled; expression still downcast.
"I am your friend," Kari assured, leaning forward with her hands on her hips. "And as the friend who once saw you pick a fight over someone stepping on your shoe, I know from experience that you tend to get offended rather easily."
"He won't stop calling me, Daisuke," Davis grunted.
"You let me call you Daisuke from time to time," Kari said gently.
"That's different!" Davis fumed, briefly jerking up to look at her.
And just as quickly bringing his gaze back down when he felt his cheeks grow warm, "You're my friend, he isn't…"
Kari bit her cheek, her own cheeks tingeing the slightest amount at Davis' declaration. "Well…" She mumbled. She stood on her toes, "Give it time! I'm sure you two'll be getting along great before you know it!"
Davis scoffed, "Yeah, we'll be a total power duo; real hearts beating as one stuff."
"Hey, you never know," Kari chuckled. And if he does keep treating you bad, he'll have to answer to me, She mentally added when she felt a surge of protectiveness run through her.
With her little mental note made, Kari moved past Davis, flipping open the D-terminal as she made her way for the bottom steps of the pyramid, "In the meantime though, let's just relax for a bit. I wanna see what this thing can do."
Davis jolted, "Oh, if that thing has Donkey Madness, we should take turns!"
"Right, I'm sure this just has that preloaded into—" Kari sat up a little in surprise before she could finish her statement, "Well I'll be darned."
"Haha! I call first turn!" Davis laughed, dashing over to her.
"Ken handed it to me!" Kari protested, hoisting the D-Terminal above her head.
"That's only because he doesn't like me!"
"And who's fault is that!?"
As their argument broke down into a series of laughs and then a game of keep away, the Digimon watched them from afar, undoubtedly amused by what they saw.
"Wow, and I thought Ken was being sappy," Gatomon remarked with a smirk.
"I think it's nice," Veemon said.
Buccheimon summoned a small ball of rose-colored energy onto the tip of his dark pink glove. "Yeah, adorable," He said, dropping the ball onto his knee and proceeding to treat it like a hackey-sack. "Anyone wanna play? If it pops on you, you lose."
"Ooh, that sounds fun!" Veemon said, leaping in front of Buccheimon.
Gatomon rolled her eyes, but joined them, "Yeah, fun 'til it literally blows up in your face…"
Despite that, the ones left outside the pyramid soon found themselves enjoying the company of one another while the rest of their party journeyed into the dark depths of the pyramid in search of friends old and new.
Both unaware of the fights that were coming their way.
AN: If this was an episode of the show, it'd be the longest second episode ever! XD
Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, dear readers! It seems that despite what Izzy said, there are definitely some growing pains on the horizon for the new Digidestined. Will they be able to band together with the Paladin fast approaching? What of the mystery Digimon in the ruins? Will Yolei and Cody ever get to meet their partners? And most pressing of all, will Ken stop calling Davis "Daisuke"? Find out next time in the Digital Paladin! Coming to a screen near you!
And as always, reviews and feedback are always greatly appreciated! Doubly so for the more in-depth ones!
Manegie, Staying Digital!
