The Crest of a Master

by PizzaSpino

When the Digital World is in peril it doesn't just turn to a regular group of kids. It turns to a group of kids raised in a world centralized around raising and battling monsters! Join Ash and Agumon as they make new friends, battle an army of monsters, and hopefully save both of their worlds from an ancient evil.

22. My Fair Birdramon

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan fiction written by someone who enjoys creature collector franchises. Pokémon is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, Creatures Inc. and Satoshi Tajiri. Digimon is owned by Bandai, WiZ, Toei Animation, and Akiyoshi Hongo. If you want to support the official releases, worry not. Lord knows there is plenty of merchandise to choose from.

Listening to as smoke the beehive: Flight of the Bumblebee Techno Remix (Rimsky Korsakov/Jason Rowan)

The Crest of a Master Chapter 22: My Fair Birdramon

Down, down, May, Iris and the Digimon fell. It wasn't so much a free fall as a massive slide that they had the good fortune of riding down rather than getting crushed by the rubble. But as to where they were sliding May could not see.

Finally, the rush of rocks came to a rest. Heart hammering, May felt around. Wherever they were it was pitch black. Hopefully, if she could find her flashlight she could check on everyone else and figure out how to escape.

A voice called out. "Is everyone okay?"

May couldn't quite recognize the voice. Maybe it was one of the soldiers? "Yeah, I think."

Blindly sweeping the ground with her arm, May was able to find her flashlight, and turn it on. Looking around with the light May was relieved to see that everyone was miraculously okay. Sore and covered in dirt, but okay.

"Good, you've got a light."

Turning around, May shined her light on one of the Chameleonmon soldiers who smiled at her comfortingly. "Don't you worry. Everything is going to be just fiAAAH!"

The lizard's reassurances were cut off when a giant figure moved behind the Chameleonmon and picked it off the ground. Shining her light upwards, May stepped back in terror. Looming above the group was a bulky insect with a metal face that made it look like it was wearing a welding mask specially designed for bugs. The metal mandibles of the Beedrill clamped down on the helpless lizard while the mouth of the monstrous Digimon chewed straight through the Chameleonmon's body until it dissolved.

Unable to properly see the rest of the Digimon's body thanks to the dark, May looked down to her Digivice. According to the holographic display, the rest of the Digimon resembled a bulky Beedrill with a metallic abdomen, tiny wings, and three pairs of mechanical limbs: two armored feet, two smaller arms for carrying tools, and two massive arms equipped with massive clamps for hands.

"ForgeBeemon, champion level," May off her Digivice. "They specialize in construction using their giant glue guns to stick things together. Its special attacks are his ripping Torque Stinger or electrocuting with its Bumble Welder."

The dissolved bits of the Chameleonmon began to float into the ForgeBeemon until Biyomon released a shrill shriek and flew forward to begin pecking at the bug's mask. Distracted and ironically swatting at Biyomon like she was a tiny bug, the ForgeBeemon stopped absorbing the data allowing it to clump together into a new egg.

"Dracomon help her out!" Iris ordered, her Digivice glowing.

"I'm going in!" Dracomon roared as he charged towards the giant bug.

Dracomon Digivolve to…Coredramon!

No sooner had ForgeBeemon successfully swatted Biyomon away did Coredramon pounce on the bug pushing it back. Sparks lite up between the bug's metal pinchers before it jabbed it into Coredramon's gut. The dragon snarled but refused to budge. Instead, he caught the other pincher and throw a punch straight into the bee's face. As the two larger Digimon fought, May crept over to Biyomon who was slowly rising from the dirt.

"Biyomon, are you alright?" May asked reaching over to her Digimon. She tried to place a comforting hand on her partner, but before she could even touch a feather on Biyomon's body the bird whipped around and bit her.

It was only when Biyomon heard May's yelp of pain that she returned to normal. "May! Oh my! I am so sorry!"

Hearing May's cry, Iris scampered over. Or at least that's way May assumed happened having dropped her flashlight when Biyomon bit her. "What happened?"

"I," Biyomon said before making a clicking noise which was probably her fidgeting with her claws. "I might have bit May."

There was a momentary pause before Iris responded. "Hold on a second."

Iris went over to grab the flashlight before returning to May's side and asking for May's bandana. One tight knot later and Iris was able to wrap May's hand in a makeshift bandage. "I think you should be good for now. That wound didn't look too deep."

WAM! There was a loud crash which caused the tunnel to shake. Coredramon's voice rang out. "Can one of you guys shine a flashlight over here? I think I got him. Wait, I'll check myself. Blue Flare Breath!"

The fight between Coredramon and ForgeBeemon lite up deep blue as Coredramon unleashed a stream of flames onto the giant bee. The bee squealed in pain before bursting into particles and transforming into an egg.

"That was close call," Gabumon's said as he trotted forward. "For a moment I thought the tunnel was going to collapse on us."

"That still might happen," Armadillomon followed after Gabumon. "Speakin' as someone trained in excavation, I think our dragon friend should probably shrink down for now. Someone that big stomping around these tunnels may cause a cave in or worse."

"Worse?" May asked.

"Reinforcements," Armadillomon elaborated. "I don' think that ForgeBeemon was diggin' for fun. It was probably either looking to build a new escape path for the rest of the swarm or tryin' to loosen up the earth to get the CannonBeemon free."

"A shrinking we will go," Coredramon agreed before reverting to Dracomon in a flash of light. He then went over to the pair of eggs from the bee and the soldier and carried them over to the group. "Anyone got nursery experience? The only eggs I know about are from non-Digimon animals."

Gabumon accepted one of the eggs. "I know a few things from helping Pegasusmon take care of some of the eggs he found, but I'm not an expert."

"Hold on," Iris brought her Digivice up. "There's a nursery app on the Digivice. Maybe it has some tips."

Clicking around, the dragon trainer selected the final mysterious app on the Digivice. Upon opening it a small popup appeared in the middle of the screen. Leaning in to get a better-read May saw the message on the pop up read: "Digi-Eggs detected. Do you wish to store them? Yes. No."

The two girls shared a look before Iris went ahead and clicked "Yes." Immediately both eggs transformed. They kept their shape, but their shells looked to be made up of coiled up streams of blue and purple light. The streams began to unravel reminding May of the bandage wrappings used for a broken arm. As the streams unwound, they flew into the Digivice until there was nothing left. Once the process was finished, the eggs were gone, and a pair of pixelated eggs appeared on the Digivice's hologram.

Gotcha! ForgeBeemon and Chameleonmon were caught!

Iris voiced May's thoughts. "What was that?"

"Cool!" exclaimed Dracomon. "You turned them into fractal code!"

Gabumon tilted his head. "That's what fractal code looks like?"

At the risk of sounding dumb, May decided to ask. "What's fractal code?"

Dracomon tilted his head. "You know, fractal code. The stuff that makes every Digimon what it is. It tells your body how to repair itself when it's damaged, guides what form you take when you Digivolve, uh, dictate the number of scales on your body."

The dragon rookie looked back and forth between the two humans before coming to the obvious conclusion. "Right, humans wouldn't have fractal code. You guys probably have DNA."

"What's DNA?" Gabumon asked.

"You know what DNA is?" May asked.

Dracomon's muzzle scrunched up in offense. "I'm a ranger! I know SOME things about biology."

"So, wait," Iris brought back up her Digivice and looked at the eggs. "Are you saying I turned the eggs into Digimon DNA and then the Digivice sucked them up?"

"I said I know some biology, not all of it," Dracomon said defensively. "This is like, I don't know, super theoretical mad scientist stuff. Ask me about relocating raccoons."

May brought out her own device and opened the nursery app. Whatever was going on, it looked like it was shared between the Digivices because she could see the same eggs on her hologram. Pressing down on one of the eggs allowed her to see some stats including what kind of Digimon it used to be, time of capture, and an option to release the egg. "I think they're okay, we can take them out if we want."

"Might want to hold off on that option. It'll be easier to carry them if they're bein' stored in your Digivices," the group looked around to see Armadillomon observing the pile of rubble at the end of the tunnel. "This is where we came in. And it's goin' to take more than one Armadillomon to dig out."

"This looks like a job for Excadrill!" Dracomon cheered pumping his claws in the air.

Everyone turned around to look at the dragon and his trainer. In contrast to Dracomon, Iris was more hesitant, taking out her Poké Ball but staring at it instead of throwing it. Catching this, Dracomon gently tapped Iris with his tail. "I said, this looks like a job for Excadrill."

Taking a deep breath, Iris tossed the ball in the air with a cry of "Excadrill, help us out!"

The ball snapped open to release the mole. For a moment, May thought Excadrill was going to stay in its burrowing mode like it had been during the fight with Lady Coredramon. To May's surprise, Excadrill opened up soon after its release. The mole wondered over to the cave-in and gave it a quick sniff while he prodded it with his claws. A frown crossed Excadrill's snout before he turned around and began waddling down the tunnel.

"Wait, Excadrill, where are you going?!" Iris called after the mole.

"The cave in's over there," Dracomon added on.

"No, I agree with your friend," back at the cave in Armadillomon squinted up at the pile of rocks. "This don' feel stable. I reckon one wrong move while diggin' will cause this tunnel to collapse in on us."

A pit formed in May's stomach. "We're going to have to go down the tunnel, aren't we?"

"Yes, that exactly what we're going to have to do!" Gabumon interjected with more confidence than May was used to hearing from him.

"Figures," May muttered.

"But we've got help," Gabumon added on. "I've just made contact with the rest of the team."

Huh? "How?" May asked.

"The Digivice," Gabumon responded with a wagging tail. "Gary's using it to talk to me in my head!"

A smile spread over Iris's face. "That's right! We can talk to our Digimon from a distance with the Digivice!"

"Good reception," Dracomon commented looking up at the thick ceiling of earth.

"He says that the Armadillomon up there are saying the same thing as our Armadillomon, that digging us out would be a bad idea," Gabumon reported. There was a moment of silence and Gabumon's face scrunched up in concentration. "They're hearing a lot of buzzing off in the distance. The Chameleonmon think the hive may be on the move and the ForgeBeemon we fought was building a tunnel for the other members of the hive to exit so that they can help CannonBeemon out."

There was a longer pause. Gabumon's face once again perked up before changing. His tail went limp while his shoulder's drooped and his eyes widened in horror. "They think the CannonBeemon is close to waking up. We're going to have to move some of the bombs left by the last attempt to sneak onto CannonBeemon to the core."

"WHAT?!" everyone collectively shouted.

"Quiet!" Armadillomon shushed them. "Another member of the swarm may come down this tunnel if they hear us yellin'."

"We can't set up a bomb!" Iris hissed to Gabumon.

"Don' worry. I'm trained in demolitions. I'll handle the explosives. An' thanks to Gabumon we've got a connection to the rest of the team to help us navigate through the hive," Armadillomon tried to assure the rest of the group.

"That doesn't exactly make me feel better," May said, her mouth feeling dry. Not only was her only path of escape from a cave-in to follow a tunnel to a hive of killer Beedrills, but now her group had to either set off a bomb or face annulation by a robotic army and their flying laser base.

"I think we should be fine," Dracomon said reassuringly. Whether he was extremely optimistic or just oblivious to how much danger they were in May did not know. "You've got me as your bodyguard. I'll protect you guys if things get to hairy!"

"Thanks, Dracomon, but we might want to go for stealth first," Iris said as she grabbed her flashlight and started down the tunnel after Excadrill followed by the rest of the group.

Before following after the others, May looked over to Biyomon. The bird had been silent ever since she bit May. Cautiously, May approached Biyomon. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Biyomon said in a small voice. "How's your wound?"

"It's fine, see-" May began to reach out with her hurt hand to Biyomon when her arm froze. It was an involuntary reflex, but May knew the source. This was the first time Biyomon actually attacked her. There had been multiple times throughout their travels when the bird hissed or acted aggressively, however these had always been directed at some enemy Digimon. Never May.

Despite her nerves, May managed to give her partner a smile. "It wasn't really that bad. Come on, we need to stick with the others."

Biyomon wordlessly nodded and followed May down the tunnel. The group walked in silence with Excadrill in front followed closely by May and Iris with their flashlights.

At some point during the walk Iris made her way over to May and whispered. "Hey, is everything okay with Biyomon?"

"Sort of," May whispered back. "She goes berserk from time to time. I'm not sure why."

"Do you think it's just a Biyomon thing?" Iris continued to whisper. "Like a Hydragon. They don't always mean to harm; they just tend to be aggressive by nature."

"No, it's not a Biyomon thing."

Both May and Iris jumped upon hearing Biyomon's voice. At some point during the walk the bird had snuck up behind the two and was now looking off to the side. "It's me."

Seeing where this was going, Gabumon trotted up next to Biyomon. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Biyomon shook her head. "No, I was going to tell them at some point. Might as well be now."

The air stilled as Biyomon looked around at the rest of the group before she spoke again. "You see, the thing is, I wasn't born civilized."

Years Ago

It had been several weeks since the air strikes on Filetropolis. Several weeks since Gabumon picked up one of the Digivices in an attempt to save the powerful artifacts from the destruction raining from the sky. Several weeks since it reacted to him, recognizing him as one of the reincarnated Digimon. Since then, a couple of the sentries who had been guarding the Digivices found and began watching over Gabumon while they sought out the other chosen Digimon.

Pegasusmon was a wise horse who was well versed in history and had saved Gabumon from the indiscriminant destruction of Filetropolis. They were joined by Pegasusmon's old friend, Moosemon, who was well traveled and agreed to guide them across the continent in their quest to find the other Digimon.

Finding the other Digimon should have been hard, but according to Pegasusmon the reason he and the other guards knew to look in Filetropolis is because the Digivice was able to point him in a general direction to Gabumon. The horse's claim was proven true when the other Digivices began projecting a hologram that led their group up to the far north where they found a remote village in the tundra that was home to a Penguinmon who, like Gabumon, was able to bond with one of the Digivices.

Since they found the second Digimon, the small team of travelers set off to follow the Digivices to the next Digimon. Thankfully this Digimon was in a much warmer area and Gabumon had an easier time foraging for food and didn't have to worry about being buried alive by a regular snow fall.

The downside of their new location was that it was basically in the middle of nowhere. No city, no village, not even a random hut in the middle of the woods. Just trees, bushes, mud, and the occasional wild Digimon.

"Star Shower!" Pegasusmon shouted as his wings unleashed a barrage of star-shaped energy down onto a wild Monochromon.

"Horn Blade!" Moosemon followed up Pegasusmon's attack by charging into the dinosaur's side. Groaning in pain, the Monochromon snorted and turned tail. It seemed as though the wild monster decided that it would be less trouble to just let the strangers pass through its territory without punishment.

Watching the Monochromon stomp away, Pegasusmon turned toward a large rock sitting off to the side. "It should be safe now."

From behind the rock, Gabumon poked his head out before scampering up to the two armor Digimon. "That was a really well coordinated fight. Thank you for the protection," complemented the reptile.

Pegasusmon's eyes closed in a manner which indicated he was smiling underneath his mask. "It was nothing special. One day you'll be strong enough to scare away Monochromon without even engaging them in battle."

"I hope so," Gabumon looked down at the satchel he was carrying which contained his and the other Digivices. It was all so surreal. Sure, the Digivice responded to him, but he didn't feel any different from when he was just a regular groundskeeper. Maybe the powerful hero feelings would set in once his human arrived?

Gabumon's train of thought was interrupted when Moosemon cleared his throat. "Now that we have fended off the local fauna, shall we continue our journey?"

Gabumon frowned. "The Digivices stopped responding when we entered this forest. I don't know what went wrong."

"Perhaps nothing went wrong," Pegasusmon said thoughtfully. "The Digivices stopped working when we brought them to Filetropolis and again when we entered that village up north. I think the next chosen Digimon is in this forest."

This conclusion didn't comfort Gabumon. How where they supposed to find the right Digimon? March around the forest fending off wild Digimon until the Digivice went off again?

As if reading Gabumon's mind, Moosemon walked over to a clearing. "We'll figure out a plan tomorrow. For now, I think we could all use some rest."

"An excellent idea," Pegasusmon followed the moose. "Gabumon, as the only one here with hands we're going to need your assistance in setting up a fire."

"Okay," Gabumon said weakly, showing how tired he was from the day's journey.

Catching the tired look on Gabumon's face, Pegasusmon chuckled. "Come, I'll tell you a story while we work."

That night, as the rest of the group slept, Gabumon got up to wonder into the woods. He drank a whole bunch of water before going to sleep and now his bladder felt like it was going to burst. Once Gabumon finished with his business, he made a move to head back to camp until he heard something coming from the satchel. Curious, Gabumon began to fish around in the bag until his hand came out with a blinking Digivice. Now why would the Digivice be acting up? Unless-

"CAW!"

"Ahh!" Gabumon cried as his arms folded over the top of his head in a vain attempt to shield him. While Gabumon was digging through his satchel, another wild Digimon attempted to attack him. This one was smaller than the Monochromon, but every bit as vicious.

"Cut it out!" Gabumon yelled at his attacker. Not that it did much good as the mystery Digimon just continued to claw and peck at the back of Gabumon's head. "Okay, I warned you! Blue Blaster!"

Gabumon spun around and blasted the Digimon. The attacking Digimon backed off for a second before racing forward to continue its assault. Gabumon tried for another fire breath, but the attacker managed to bowl him over before the flame could leave his mouth. This caused Gabumon to drop the Digivice in his hand. Now on the ground, all Gabumon could do was curl up to try and defend against the wild Digimon's scratches.

The wild Digimon gave out another feral caw before green fire began to swirl in front of it. Just as the attack was about to launch, another figure came galloping into the clearing and punted the wild Digimon away with a swift kick.

"Gabumon, what did we tell you about wondering off?" Pegasusmon lectured the downed reptile.

"Never be afraid to ask for an escort," Gabumon mumbled from his fetal position.

"You are not a bother to anyone," Pegasusmon sighed. "We don't want you-"

The horse's life lesson was interrupted when the Digivice that was spilled on the ground began to emit a blinding light. The same blinding light that Gabumon's Digivice gave off when it connected with him and would later be given off when the Penguinmon received his Digivice. What's more, this Digivice was laying on the ground right next to the KO'd Biyomon which meant…

"One of the human's partners was reincarnated into a wild Digimon?" Gabumon asked in surprise.

"It was always a possibility," Pegasusmon muttered looking over the bird with calculating eyes. "Though this could be a problem. Given how temperamental wild Digimon can be, it may prove difficult for its human partner to handle."

"Maybe, but I might have a way around this," Moosemon came into the clearing to investigate the noise. "I know someone who can help."

Back to Now

"You're a wild Digimon!" May exclaimed.

"Hatched and raised in the great outdoors," Biyomon said with a nod. "Well, not so much raised as I just managed to live long enough to make it to the rookie level."

May's mind was going a mile a minute. This would explain why Biyomon went into her feral fits and also some small quirks like Biyomon's inability to read. But now May had a whole new set of questions. "Then why are…"

"Drill! Drill!" from up front Excadrill called out to the rest of the group before running to some boulders and leaping over and behind them.

For a split-second May was caught between pressing Biyomon on her backstory and questioning what Excadrill was doing. However, weeks in the Digital World taught her to not dwell when self-preservation was involved. Holding her questions, May followed the mole to take refuge behind the boulders right as the tunnel began to rhythmically shake to the footsteps of an incoming Digimon.

"Flashlight," Armadillomon urgently whispered to May.

Nodding, May was about to do the same when she noticed Iris. The other girl had turned off her flashlight and was now petting and whispering to Dracomon. The dragon was starring ahead with a wide-eyed expression as his body shook. Iris's motions seemed to calm down the dragon making May wonder how Biyomon was right now.

Looking over at Biyomon May saw that, like Dracomon, the bird was shivering. May was about to reach out her, only to pause when she noticed the bandana bandage wrapped around her hand.

"Turn your light off!" Armadillomon hissed.

Snapped back to the moment, May flipped the switch on her light. The rhythmic shaking continued and soon enough May heard the heavy footsteps that accompanied the shaking. Peaking over the boulder, May could make out the glow from the mask of another ForgeBeemon coming down the hallway. The massive insect paused when it passed by the hidden group to look around before continuing to stomp away.

Once the bee's footsteps died down, everyone released a sigh of relief.

"That must have been another scout," Armadillomon surmised. "We should probably finish headin' down this tunnel quick before another one shows up."

Not wanting to risk another premature encounter, the group continued their way down the tunnel.

"So," May began awkwardly, not sure how to phrase her inevitable next question. "How did you learn to…not be wild?"

Back in time, again

It took a while to get the wild Biyomon to cooperate. The most fundamental instincts for a Digimon basically amounted to fight, kill, and assimilate. More specifically assimilate the data of other Digimon so that they may grow stronger and continue to the cycle. This meant that it didn't matter how well fed Biyomon was, it would always try to attack Gabumon to try and absorb the modest reptile's data.

To counteract this predatory impulse, the trio of travelers had to invoke anther instinct: self-preservation. The Biyomon knew from the night before that if it got too aggressive it would risk agitating the Pegasusmon with a powerful kick. Under normal circumstances this would call for a retreat, but Gabumon stopped that by quickly tying a rope around one of Biyomon's and one of Pegasusmon's legs.

Understandably the bird made several get away attempts before realizing that the rope was attached to it. Once that was deduced, the Biyomon began to try and peck at as well as burn the ropes. Luckily Pegasusmon wasn't stingy when he was gathering adventure supplies and sprung for rope that was made with the intent to be sturdier in the face of your standard Digimon attacks. Thus, the Biyomon was now trapped and had no choice but to follow the group in their journey to Moosemon's friend.

Despite the Biyomon's attempts to maul Gabumon, he couldn't help but to feel a little bad for the bird. To try and make the wild Digimon feel somewhat comfortably about its confusing situation, Gabumon would regularly venture out into the woods to grab snacks such as berries and small mammals for the bird to eat. This became a useful means of garnering cooperation from the Biyomon such as placing berries on the ground for it to follow as the group walked.

While Gabumon lured the Biyomon along, Pegasusmon addressed Moosemon. "Can we trust this friend of yours?"

Moosemon nodded. "He's a bit unorthodox, but he's a well renowned Digimon psychologist and behaviorist. He's been spending these last years in the wilderness researching the minds of wild Digimon."

"And he's here in these woods, right?" Gabumon asked running to catch up to the ungulates.

"That is correct," Moosemon affirmed.

"That's a relief," Gabumon sighed. "Because I'm out of berries."

Right on que Biyomon spread its arm wings and began flying off. In response Pegasusmon just casually stomped his back hoof on the ground causing the line to yank Biyomon back to the earth. "It's getting late," observed the horse. "We should rest for the night and finish our journey tomorrow."

Taking Pegasus's recommendation, the team set up camp for the evening. For its part, Biyomon was just tied to a tree that was close enough to the group that they could keep an eye on it, but far away enough that it couldn't try to sneak attack them while their guard was down. With nothing to do, the Biyomon tucked its head under its arm and snoozed until Gabumon came by with its dinner.

"I have some food," Gabumon offered politely. He placed the bowl down on the ground before quickly backing away and letting the Biyomon eat. As the bird pecked at its meal, Gabumon began to talk. He wasn't sure how much wild Digimon understood standard speech, but it was oddly comforting. Without a voice of its own, Gabumon could say whatever he pleased and go on for as long as he wanted.

"Wow, you sure are hungry. Which is pretty standard for most Digimon, I guess," Gabumon began. "Kind of reminds me of Psychemon. At the end of each day, she would eat everything on her plate before I had a chance to blink. BlackGabumon used to make fun of her for it, he said she was probably a Burpmon wearing a pelt. She'd then start chasing him around the apartment. They never really fought for real, just clowned around."

Gabumon's vision began to blur as tears weld up in his eyes. "It sounds stupid, but I was hoping that either all of us were reincarnated Digimon or none of us were. Just so we could stay together. I don't know if I will ever meet friends like them again. I don't remember what kind of person the first human was like. People said that he was a good strategist, but I don't know if he was nice or cold or shy or anything. I like to think he was a good guy, but even if he was, I don't know what kind of human I'll be partnered with."

"And then there are the other reincarnated Digimon," Gabumon continued. "Penguinmon seemed like a good guy. Polite, though a bit stiff. I don't think he was interested in hanging out and talking. I know it's silly, but I was kind of hoping that with everyone being on the same team in the past would instantly make us friends in this life."

Looking over at the Biyomon, Gabumon saw that the normally hostile bird was watching him. Its head was cocked to the side making it look more curious than vicious. Carefully, Gabumon approached Biyomon.

"I know we didn't get off to a good start, but do you think we could start over? Friends?" Gabumon asked, slowly reaching out with his hand.

Before Gabumon could begin to pet the wild bird, Biyomon screeched and leapt, talons forward. Gabumon quickly turned tail and ran before Biyomon could finish its attack.

The next morning Gabumon, Biyomon, and their escorts arrived at the psychologist's place. When Moosemon first described the hermit scientist, Gabumon pictured a quant cabin in the middle of nowhere. He was not ready to see the extravagant mansion with a rock garden in the front.

Tending to some flowers bordering the rock garden was an Armadillomon. The mammalian Digimon was whistling a merry tune before it spotted their group entering through the front gate. "Howdy," greeted Armadillomon. "We got your letter on your situation. My name is Armadillomon and I'm the gardener and housekeeper. Please make yourself at home while I go fetch the doctor."

Following Armadillomon's instructions, Gabumon found a nice large rock to sit down on while he waited. Likewise, Pegasusmon and Moosemon found a couple of spots to stand while Biyomon fluttered over to the tallest rock in the garden and took roost, glaring down at the rest of the Digimon present. It didn't take too long for the doctor to come bursting out of the mansion's front door. The Digimon was a species Gabumon saw a couple times in Filetropolis, usually as part of the various acting troops which would use the park to set up outdoor performances.

The Digimon that was now strutting his way over to Moosemon was a Kabukimon, a humanoid Digimon downed in traditional red and yellow clothes. A frill of bright pink petals separated his long, red hair from his white, mask-like face which was accented with red markings giving his calm expression an exaggerated emotional appearance. Instead of hands, this Digimon had thorny vines ending in pink flowers with the petals serving as fingers and smaller versions of his face engraved into the palms.

"Moosemon!" said Dr. Kabukimon in a booming, theatrical voice. "It has been too long! How have you been fairing?"

"It has been trying, but I still live and breathe," Moosemon responded cordially. "You gardener told us you received our letter?"

"Ah yes. Let us take a look at my patient," Dr. Kabukimon affirmed. The doctor strode right over to Gabumon and began prodding and inspecting the rookie reptile. "Let's see here. Horrible slouch, could defiantly use a shower, we may have to wrestle away that pelt to launder it, but it desperately needs some mending. This poor creature looks like he has both matting and mange, clearly it doesn't know how to take care of itself."

Dr. Kabukimon turned around to address the rest of the Digimon. "It's good that you came to me. Don't worry, this feral Gabumon may seem hopeless, but I assure you it is completely within my power to make a gentleman out of him."

Pegasusmon cleared his throat. "Actually, it's the Biyomon."

"Oh," there was a hint of embarrassment in the doctor's voice which he quickly covered up. "I suppose I can work with her too."

Dr. Kabukimon then untied the rope around Pegasusmon's leg and took hold of it like a long leash. Seeing a complete stranger was now holding on to it, the Biyomon began to freak out and flap its arms wildly in a desperate bid to escape. For his part Kabukimon casually held the rope in place making it look like he was flying the world's weirdest kite.

Watching Biyomon, Kabukimon brought a flower hand up to rub his chin. "If you don't mind, I'm going to ask you stick around for a bit. This Digimon is a lot more familiar with you than myself. It may help if one of you assists me in the begging stages of taming. Preferably the one who has been handling most of the feeding duties."

"That would be Gabumon," Pegasusmon said cordially.

Gabumon nervously gulped.

Back to Now

"Dr. Kabukimon was an expert in wild Digimon," Armadillomon explained. "He wanted to study them and figure out how big the divide between wild and civilized Digimon were. His working theory is that when all Digimon hatch, they are in a state of tabula rasa."

"Tabula rasa?" Iris asked.

"It means blank slate," Armadillomon explained. "See, we Digimon are very adaptable. How we grow and what we Digivolve into depends on our surroundin's and behavior. A Digimon who takes good care of their health can evolve into more powerful Digimon. For example, Digimon who don't take good care of themselves are more likely to turn into Numemon."

"And a Digimon who lives a virtues life is more likely to take on forms like angels and protector Digimon," Dracomon continued. "While Digimon who Digivolve with darkness in their hearts take the form of demons and other destructive Digimon."

"That's Dark Digivolution, right?" May asked remembering the incident with BlackGarurumon.

"Not exactly," Armadillomon corrected. "Dark Digivolution is caused by extremely dark emotions. A Digimon can live a perfectly good life but if they Digivolve while their mind is in a dark place, it effects their next form and they stay trapped in that mind set."

"It can also be caused by demonic diseases," May muttered.

"Any who," Armadillomon said, taking back the reigns of the conversation. "Knowing how Digimon adapt to their surroundins' and havin' seen how civilized Digimon fell back on more animalistic instincts in certain situations, Dr. Kabukimon theorized that wild Digimon could be civilized with enough trainin'."

"Well, I'd say it worked," Iris said with an encouraging smile. "Biyomon is defiantly the most proper member of our team."

"Thank you," Biyomon said quietly, still staring at May with worried eyes. May felt a slight shiver. Did Biyomon see her hesitate to comfort her earlier?

"Excadrill!" hissed Excadrill.

The team came to a stop behind the mole and cautiously shined a light ahead. Apparently they were standing at the mouth of a massive cavern. All around them were signs of digging evidence by the claw marks that scrapped away at the walls in addition to numerous tunnels bored into the walls. But the main attraction was in the middle of the cave.

Towering above the ground was the largest Digimon, scratch that, monster May had ever seen. Sgt. Chameleonmon wasn't kidding when he said CannonBeemon could grow to be the size of a city. This particular Digimon was mostly buried with the lower half of the main body completely submerged in the earth and the top half of the honeycombs entombed in the dirt above.

It was quite a grand sight. The CannonBeemon emitted a soft golden glow which light up the cavern. Judging by the various dents and holes covered in the CannonBeemon it had seen better days. The best May could guess was that these were left over wounds from the battle that left the massive Digimon buried.

"There it is," Iris surmised. "Now how do we get in?"

"I'm voting against the front entrance. Look," Dracomon pointed up at the honeycombs. Climbing in and out were a number of Waspmon and ForgeBeemon making it obvious that even if the group was to somehow climb onto the massive bee's back they'd have a high chance of being spotted.

"You guys wouldn't just so happen know of a back entrance, would you?" Iris asked the Digimon.

Gabumon spoke up. "They're talking about it on the surface. The Chameleonmon are using the Digivice's mapping ability to track us so they should know where we are. But they're worried that if they start digging down they'll cause the hive to go into a frenzy and awaken the CannonBeemon."

"Which means we're on our own," Armadillomon concluded.

"Actually, um, Gary has an idea," Gabumon said carefully.

Catching Gabumon's tone, Iris arched an eyebrow. "What idea?"

"He, uh, he thinks we should try using Excadrill to drill into one of the weakened section of the armor and…never mind,"

"What? What else did he say?" Iris asked, advancing on Gabumon.

"He…very politely expressed his surprise that you didn't think of that yourself. Since, you know, Excadrill is your Pokémon," Gabumon said very quickly.

Not falling for the obvious lie, Iris looked directly into Gabumon's eyes. "Well, Gary, I was a bit busy thinking about other stuff. Like how a kid like yourself could be flexible enough to bend backwards to stick his head up his-"

"As far as I can see, there aren't any good drilling sections where we can go in undetected," Armadillomon said, squinting at the scene in front of them.

"There's a spot by the right side of the head," Biyomon spoke up. Seeing that all eyes were now on her, Biyomon elaborated. "Bird eyes. We've got good vision since we need to spot our prey from high places." She looked uncomfortable as she spoke.

"Alright!" Dracomon interjected, practically oblivious to Biyomon's mood. "Let's sneak around the back and get a drilling!"

"Drill," Excadrill huffed and turned around. "Drill, exca, drill, drill."

May might have not been fluent in whatever the Pokémon language was, but she was willing to guess the mole's dialogue went something along the lines of "You want me to get close to that thing? No thanks." Or maybe it was "I'm sorry. I value my life." Either way, May was pretty sure both of these were valid responses to the current situation.

Iris sighed and brought up her Poké Ball. "Thanks for playing underground look out. Excadrill, return."

With Excadrill safely back in his ball, Armadillomon spoke up. "I may not be a drill, but if the armor is weakened enough I may be able to punch a small hole inside."

The general consensus for Armadillmon's plan came down to a "what do we have to lose" and everyone snuck over to the CannonBeemon. Being a master of stealth, Dracomon took point leading the group through a field of rubble left behind by the hive's tunneling all the while giving them signals when it was okay to move forward. May was uncertain as to how Dracomon was able to determine when it was safe to move as she felt that the army of bees overhead in addition to the occasional ground soldier should have caught them twenty times over.

Finally, either by Dracomon's skill or just dumb luck (maybe both), the group made their way over to the weakened side of the ultimate air craft Digimon. The toughest part of the trek turned out to be climbing up the side of the part of the main body that had not been completely buried made possible thanks to the various dents. After curling up into a ball, Armadillomon launched himself at the weakened armor creating a hole that was just barley big enough for everyone to squeeze into.

The lighting inside the CannonBeemon was a vast improvement. The group no longer needed flashlights thanks to the bioluminescence coming from sections of the wall, though it wasn't perfect. Sections of the wall emitted a low golden glow while others were pitch black making May wonder if the courier Digimon could fully light up if it wasn't so wounded.

The hallways themselves appeared very clean with hexagon panels on the walls. Some of the hexagons lacked plating turning them into passageways into other areas of the hive while others had clear plating indicating they may have been holding cells.

Armadillomon moved closer to one of the darker areas. "Stay close to the shadows and hold still if you see any movement," he whispered. "The Chameleonmon can camouflage themselves. We can't."

Gabumon crept to the front of the group. "Gary is giving me instructions from the teams that have come down here before. I can lead us to the bombs."

The journey down the corridors of the CannonBeemon was in tight competition with the Loogarmon incident as the most stressful situation in May's life. Heart hammering, palm sweating, May's nerves were going haywire. She kept expecting a massive bug to appear around a corner and spot them. She could hear them. The echoes of the humming buzz of their engines and the stomping of their feet danced around the hallways reminding May that she was surrounded by predators even if she couldn't see them.

"The last infiltration team left their bombs in here," Gabumon quietly announced sniffing around the entrance of a hallway.

"What happened to the last infiltration team?" May dared to ask.

"Some of them were able to retreat back to the surface, others," Armadillomon began before looking at the wall opposite the hallway which sported a collection of burnmarks blasted into the plating.

Turning the corner, May had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from yelping. Before her was a hallway lined with holding cells. In each cell was a sleeping Digimon. One wrong move, one loud noise, and the swarm would wake up.

May's stupefied stare was broken when she saw Iris's hand wave. Following the other girl, May saw a small stack of blocky devices piled up to the side. Trembling, May followed Iris and the Digimon to each pick up a bomb. Her nerves almost got the better of her and one of the devices slipped from her hands but was thankfully caught by Biyomon.

After dodging that close call, Gabumon lead them over to a massive room. In the center there was a column which held a metal orb.

"That's the core," Armadillomon sad. "Since we don't have enough explosives to create a blast large enough to take out both the CannonBeemon and the remaining troops, the best we can do is just take out the CannonBeemon. Hopefully the power from the blast should also take down some other Digimon with it."

"Uh," Dracomon raised his hand. "How do we make sure WE aren't some of those other Digimon?"

"We rig the explosion with a timer," Gabumon said. "I'm receiving instructions on how to arm the bombs."

"I'll help him out," Armadillomon nodded.

"And the rest of us will stand guard," Iris said firmly though May could hear the undercurrent of nervousness.

As Gabumon and Armadillomon got to work, May, Iris, and their Digimon stationed themselves outside the door. Looking back into the room, May wondered if they would set the bomb up with enough time to escape. Furthermore, she wondered if that escape was going to be impeded by members of the hive who would come after them once they caught on to the team of intruders.

"May?"

Would the guards vaporize them the same way they killed the first infiltration team? Would they slow the escape down long enough for the blast to consume them all?

"Excuse me, May?"

Even if they escaped, there would still be other members of the swarm to track them down. Or maybe the swarm wouldn't even get to them, may be the entire cave would collapse on them. A mercy killing considering what waited for them beyond the blockade.

"May," May snapped out of her musings to look down at Biyomon. The rookie was back to fidgeting with her claws. She peered up at May with concerned eyes. "Are you afraid?"

"Biyomon, I," a lump formed in May's throat.

"Because I'm her to protect you," Biyomon said with more conviction. Just like Iris, it felt a little forced.

Trying to find the words, May was about to speak again when the ground began to rumble. It was just like the rumbling from the previous day, but this time it didn't stop. Previously dim sections of the ultimate's insides lite up much like switching on the lights of a room.

The rumbling began to intensify as everyone stumbled around in an attempt to gain better footing. May grabbed at the door for balance and shouted inside. "Are you guys setting off the bomb already?!"

"It's not us!" Gabumon yelled back.

"It's the CannonBeemon!" Armadillomon added on. "It think it might be wakin' up!"

Dracomon Digivolve to…Coredramon!

May's head whipped around to see that the dragon had switched to his champion form and was now going ballistic spraying fire all over the place. Iris was at Coredramon's feet yelling up at the panicked dragon trying to calm him down. If this kept up it would only be a matter of time before-

"ZZZZZ!"

-a bunch of Waspmon show up.

"SCREEE!"

As if one Digimon freaking out wasn't bad enough, Biyomon joined in with Coredramon's hysterics. She threw herself into the face of the nearest Waspmon and immediately began pecking. May tried to call out to her Digimon, but Biyomon was so wrapped up in her attempts to claw the eyes out of the mechanical bug she didn't notice May. If it was any consolation prize, another Waspmon did take note of May and began firing lasers at the girl.

Screaming, May took cover around the doorway in the room with the core, Gabumon, Armadillomon, and the bomb. Said bomb had slipped out of Gabumon's and Armadillomon's grasps and was now sliding across the room propelled by the shaking caused by CannonBeemon's awakening. The two Digimon made a move to grab the bomb, but one of the Waspmon spotted them. It fired a couple of blasts into the room before flying past May and into the core room to pin the rookies to the floor.

With the demo-mons pinned, the bomb continued to slip across the floor and towards hole made by the Waspmon's lasers. Time slowed down for May as she took stock of the situation. Iris, Coredramon, and Biyomon were out by the entrance dealing with the oncoming swarm. Gabumon and Armadillomon were now in the claws of an angry Waspmon that was probably going to rip them apart and eat them. And the only means of preventing this madness from escalating was about disappear down a hole.

Leaping to her feet, May dashed forward and grabbed the bomb. At that time another Waspmon managed to bypass Coredramon's rampage and flew the room. It spotted May and aimed its stinger towards her. Closing her eyes, May ran forward.

Maybe laser fire would be a swift and painless death. No more alien wars, no more pressure to have to save the world, and no more wondering if she would even see her family again. It would be a quick end. Hey, maybe if she was lucky enough the blast would set off the bomb and May could manage taking out the CannonBeemon core. She could at lease say she did something useful with her life.

The blast never came. Instead, when May opened her eyes, she was met with the sight of the Waspmon sent flying to the sides. In the middle of the swarm was an energy filled sphere with Biyomon in the center.

Looking down towards her waist, May could see her Digivice was beginning to glow. But this wasn't the same as the glows that her friends' Digivices emitted when unlocking the champion level. The light would glow brightly before flickering and dying back down before cycling into another bright light. As this was going on the Digivice was emitting a loud hiss which sounded like TV static.

Biyomon Digivolve to…

Within the sphere Biyomon curled into herself right before her body burst into black flames. The flames intensified growing in size until they took up the entire sphere. The sphere then bust open and the fire spread out into two, large, black wings. Between the wings was an avian Digimon with razor sharp talons and a beak filled with jagged fangs. Long streams of flames formed a tail and a pair of whip-like horns on top of the new Digimon's skull.

The new Digimon released a blood curdling shirk as her flaming wings ignited the walls and any Digimon that was too close. "Saberdramon!"

Immediately all the Waspmon dropped what they were doing and rained lasers down on Saberdramon, clearly the biggest threat to the hive. Shrieking, Saberdramon flapped her wings and took to the air. Thanks to the limited space within the core room Saberdramon didn't need to fire off any attacks. The sheer width of her wingspan made sure that any bug that got near her suffered from burn damage.

Now free from the Waspmon swarm, Iris took out her Digivice. "Saberdramon, champion level. She's a violent Digimon who will savagely attack any Digimon she targets. Her signature move is Black Saber where she dives down from the sky to strike with her talons."

May said nothing, she just stared up at her enraged partner. She knew that Biyomon was prone to violent outburst when under duress, but there was something about this new form that didn't feel right. It was only when May felt a tug on her shirt that she snapped out of her stupor.

Looking up at May with worried eyes was Gabumon. "May? Are you okay?"

"I'm," there was a lump in May's throat. "I'm alive, I guess."

"SCREEEE!"

Between the size and ferocity of Saberdramon, the left over Waspmon had collapsed to the floor in flaming heaps. Now Saberdramon had turned her attention on the rest of her team. Dropping to the floor, Saberdramon studied the human and the smaller Digimon left behind by the Waspmon and took a step forward.

"May, say something!" Gabumon urged.

Right, this was her Digimon. May opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her hands balled into fists and she felt the bandana bandage. Saberdramon wasn't going to listen to her. She couldn't control Biyomon's feral outburst, what hope did she have now?

As if sensing May's despair, Saberdramon's beak opened and was about to clamp down on May and Gabumon. But before the bird's fangs could spear May, Saberdramon let out a squawk of surprise. The bird was then dragged back by its tail and thrown against one of the core room's walls.

Having made his throw, Coredramon let out a challenging roar before placing himself between Saberdramon and the other members of the team. Not pleased with being dragon-handled, Saberdramon got back to her feet and charged.

"Grab her wings! Make sure she can't take off!" Iris called to Coredramon. The dragon followed Iris's orders, jumping forwards and grabbing Saberdramon's wings, his dragon scales withstanding the intense flames. While Coredramon fought, Iris ran over to May and the other Digimon. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine here," Armadillomon walked up and watched as Coredramon and Saberdramon rolled around the floor. Saberdramon in particular kept trying to twist her head around to snap at Coredramon who was either able to move his head away or ram his horns into her face to protect himself.

"Good," Iris then turned to May. "Do you have any ideas on how to snap her out of this?"

May's mind started flying through her options, which were very skim. What was she supposed to do to reel in a giant angry bird? It wasn't like she had any special powers. Wait a minute. "What about your powers?"

"My powers?" Iris looked at May questioningly.

"Do what you did to Lady Coredramon," May elaborated hoping that this wasn't a dead end. "Connect with Saberdramon!"

Iris's shoulders fell. "I can only attune my aura to dragons. Sorry."

"That's perfect!" Gabumon said looking up at Iris hopefully. "If a Digimon has 'dra' in their name, it means that they have some dragon in them!"

For a second, Iris looked unsure. But that expression was gone in a flash and replaced with determination. "I'll see what I can do."

Iris's eyes closed and her forehead wrinkled in concentration. May watched as Saberdramon broke free of Coredramon's grasp and began to fly away from the dragon. Coredramon flew after Saberdramon and grabbed at the bird's talons causing Saberdramon to struggle and snap to throw Coredramon off.

"Anything?" May asked urgently.

"I've got a connection," Iris responded. "But I'm having a hard time talking to her. Her aura is in chaos. It's like trying to break through a wall of pure emotion. But it's weird."

"Weird?" May probed.

"These emotions don't match up with what she's doing. I was expecting aggression and rage, but I'm feeling a lot of fear and despair. She's fighting, but a part of her feels like she wants Coredramon to end her. It's like-"

"Like she's useless and trapped in an unwinnable situation," May finished. Looking back up, May watched as Coredramon sent Saberdramon crashing to the ground nearby. For the first time, May locked eyes with Saberdramon. The bird's eyes were piercing and bright yellow, the kind expected from a merciless predator. But they were not angry or focused. Instead Saberdramon's eyes were wide, pupils dilated, and corners wet from tears.

May took one final look down and her bandaged hand before ignoring her friends cries of shock and taking off towards the battle.

Back in time: Biyomon's training

Across the various universes creatures that had gained advanced intelligence had managed to domesticate a number of fauna by taking the members of a particular species that were more open to cooperation and breeding them. Generations of selective breeding would result in more docile animals that would be trusting of their masters and even go on to develop an instinctual dependence. This method had no bearing on taming a wild Digimon.

Digimon were not created with the ability to breed and thus couldn't pass on any genes that would predispose a theoretical offspring to an inherent friendliness or submissiveness. While it is true that some Digimon possess programming that makes their species more gracious and other species more hostile, it is a Digimon's environment and choices are ultimately the key determining factors when it comes to a Digimon's temperament.

Case in point, Digimon of the same species have been observed to yield extremely different behaviors depending on whether they lived in a settlement verses living in a cave. It was theorized that Digimon society started not with any new magical evolution, rather when Digimon began to form packs and learn how to communicate. Socialization was the seed that would soon grow into civilization.

Following this theory, Doctor Kabukimon hypothesized that the key difference between wild Digimon and civilized Digimon was encultation. This line of thought was immediately shot down when opponents of this theory pointed out that there were plenty of species of wild Digimon who did work in groups such as packs of Guilmon or herds of Monochormon. Doctor Kabukimon would retort by saying those were wild Digimon socializing with other wild Digimon. He would then go one to say that just as any civil Digimon would demonstrate bestial behavior when provoked, a wild Digimon could be just as capable at suppressing their killer instincts if they began to assimilate into a group of civil Digimon. All that was needed was for the wild Digimon to see its civilized counterparts as a means to survive and thrive. All that was needed was for the wild Digimon to open up to the group and adopt their customs.

All that was needed was trust.

Armadillomon had been working for Doctor Kabukimon for a long time as a gardener and housekeeper and had grown accustomed to the scholar's eccentric survey methods. The behaviorist would often venture out into the woods to observe and document the habits of wild Digimon and come back in the evening covered with scratches and burn marks. Nothing a day of self-care couldn't fix. Said self-care took the form of the professor pacing back in forth in his study and muttering to himself between writing down a sentence or two.

Supposedly Kabukimon had been able to make some headway into civilizing wild Digimon in the past, but the most Armadillomon had actually seen of the doctor actually implementing his theories was when Pegasusmon's team brought the Biyomon. Kabukimon had welcomed the group of travelers to stay for a while to help the bird settle in. Not that the Biyomon looked like it was comfortable with its captors to begin with.

The travelers stayed for a little over the week. During that time Armadillomon spent most of his time with Gabumon learning about the Biyomon's habits and care. In return Gabumon would assist Armadillomon with his duties which would lead to a number of friendly interactions between the two rookies. Needless to say Armadillomon had a hard time processing that the humble Gabumon and the wild Biyomon were both reincarnations of the Digimon who worked alongside the legendary human. Then again there were stranger things in this world.

"Here you go, Biyomon, breakfast," Gabumon happily announced. He then tossed a skinned chicken over to the bird. In a flash, Biyomon had pounced on the food and pinned it down with its talons before using its sharp beak to tear the meat off the bone.

"It's weird," Gabumon mused as he watched Biyomon. "I think I'm going to miss it."

Armadillomon nodded. "Too bad y'all can't stay longer. This place is goin' to feel really empty."

"Yeah," Gabumon said wistfully. "Thank you for having us. It was nice to have a roof over my head instead of a tent tarp or an igloo ceiling. The food was really good too."

"It was all our pleasure," Armadillomon said with a dramatic bow. "Please, master Gabumon, don't feel afraid to drop by our humble mansion during your future travels."

The two rookies shared a laugh before Gabumon turned to Biyomon who was still pecking at the chicken's skeleton. "I don't know if you can understand me, but I just want to say I hope that we can work together when the time comes. As friends. And, um, good luck and good-bye."

With that Armadillomon joined Kabukimon out front to see Gabumon and his guardians off. As the trio left, Armadillomon returned to the mansion to get started on his chores. First on the list was cleaning up after Biyomon's meal.

When Armadillomon entered Biyomon's room he was expecting to see the bird guarding her "kill." He was surprised to see the bird was instead roosted by the window that looked out over the entrance the group of travelers just left through.

"Gou-od-biii," the Biyomon said in a stilted voice.

Back to Now

"Saberdramon!" May shouted as she ran up to the giant raptor.

"May, get back!" Coredramon roared. The dragon flung himself at Saberdramon to try and pin her down again, but Saberdramon managed to push him pack with her sharp talons.

Saberdramon then turned on May and stared down at the girl. The raptor stood over the girl, wings stretched out, curling around the room and around May.

"To answer your question form earlier, yes. I'm afraid," May spoke loudly, yet carefully. So far so good. Saberdramon could probably kill her in more than a dozen ways by now yet the bird stood frozen, reptilian eyes fixed on May. "I'm afraid of dying and of dying before I can do what I want to do…even though I don't know what that is."

May continued to babble. As she did Saberdramon began to relax, drawing her wings into her body.

"I'm afraid that I'm not good enough," May went on. "Even before I came to this world I didn't have any special talents and then I was brought here and everyone tells me I'm part of some magic team that's going to save everyone. I-I never believed any of it. I'm no one! I know people who are someone, but I'm not them. I'm not smart, or brave, or skilled. I'm just someone who likes to read restaurant reviews and watch the occasional movie. I'm sorry you got stuck with me as your human partner. In fact, I'm convinced I grabbed your Digivice by accident and your real human is somewhere in Petalburg."

Tears pricked at May's eyes. "Bu-but the thing I'm most sorry about is not being there for you. You were scared of being abandoned and I couldn't even work up the nerve to let you know that you're my friend. I don't' care if you used to be a wild Digimon, I don't care if you still are a wild Digimon. I mean, I'm probably going to stay way if you're on a rampage, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you!"

Despite fatigue setting in, May could have gone on. But her monologue was cut short when the walls of the room began to rattle. All around them May could hear banging followed by the piercing sound of steel ripping apart. Looking up May could see more Waspmon and some ForgeBeemon breaking through the walls of the chamber.

"Reinforcements," Coredramon snarled. The dragon unleashed a stream of blue fire at the bees. He was able to send a couple back, but this wasn't enough. More just kept streaming in. One Waspmon managed to zoom around Coredramon's fire and dive down straight at May.

Though she knew it wouldn't do any good, May threw her hands up in front of her face for protection. When the android's stinger failed to impale her, May dared to bring down her hands. Stretched out above her and the rest of the team were a pair of massive flaming wings not unlike Saberdramon's. However, unlike Saberdramon's black fire, these wings burned with a bright orange flame.

Looking up, May saw that the fire wasn't thing only trait that changed. Saberdramon's eyes had changed to a cool shade of blue. They no longer looked panicked, instead looking down at May with a relaxed, knowing expression.

While May stared up at her partner with a stupefied expression, Iris once again took the initiative and to scan the bird. "Birdramon, champion level. Legends say they are born from Firewalls and take out their enemies by raining their feathers down on their enemies using their Meteor Wing attack."

"Armadillomon, Gabumon," everyone looked up when they heard Birdramon speak to them with a stern, raspy voice. "Finish arming the bomb. I'll help Coredramon hold off the hive."

There was a massive BOOM which caused the CannonBeemon to shake. The sensation beneath May's feet felt early like an elevator ascending. Birdramon spread her wings. "Hurry!" she urged.

No further incentive needed, both of the rookies got back to work setting up the explosives. Meanwhile, both Birdramon and Coredramon flew around the core room keeping the hoard of invading insects at bay. When the bomb was finished and the timer set, both champions quickly descended to the floor. Most of the raid party climbed onto Coredramon's back while May found a massive talon offered to her.

"I will not drop you," Birdramon promised. With no time to lose, May accepted Birdramon's declaration and latched onto the bird leg.

Flying out through CannonBeemon's hallways was a tricky matter. Coredramon was able to fit just fine thanks to his short wingspan which didn't surpass that of the typical Waspmon. Birdramon, on the other hand, had a broad width and the ends of her wings dragged along the walls melting the metal as she flew. It didn't take long for the two champions to burst out through one of the honeycombs on CannonBeemon's back.

Now outside, May could see that her team was too late. The ultimate level Digimon was no longer subterranean and was now hovering over a battlefield of Waspmon and Chameleonmon. And what's more, the CannonBeemon was staring straight at May and Birdramon.

"May," Birdramon called out. "I'm going to take evasive maneuvers, hold on."

May was about to call back up to Birdramon when a loud humming caught her attention. Looking down May could see the giant stinger-shaped cannon beginning to emit a warm, blue light. May spoke into her Digivice. "Birdramon, the cannon!"

"Understood," Birdramon acknowledged. She dived down before making a sharp turn and using the momentum to sore upwards out of the cannon's line of fire just before the laser blasted out of the stinger. The laser traveled over the landscape and only came to a stop when it collided with the side of a mountain resulting in a massive explosion. From her spot on Birdramon's talon May could see the avalanche of rocks falling to fill in the newly formed crater on the mountain.

"SHREEEE!" May's attention was brought away from the mountain and back onto the CannonBeemon. Judging by the smoke that was emanating from a hole on its back, the bomb just went off. This was confirmed when the massive insect began to fizzle in and out of existence much like Knightmon had.

Sadly, just like Knightmon, the CannonBeemon refused to go down easy. Though it was glitching out of existence, the CannonBeemon still managed to open the hatches for the honeycombs on its back revealing a collection of missiles. Right before the CannonBeemon finally burst into data dust, it fired off what remained of its arsenal right at Birdramon.

Just as the missiles were about to hit their target, Birdramon's wings momentarily folding in front of her body. When she opened them, a hail of large fireballs rained down on the rockets. "Meteor Wing!" Birdramon cawed.

The fire attack prematurely detonated the missiles allowing Birdramon to safely fly over the explosion and down to join the battle below. As the two descended, May activated her Digivice collecting the fractal code for the CannonBeemon's egg.

Gotcha! CannonBeemon was caught!

Later

After a long day, the battle was won. Exhausted, May found herself sitting on a hillside overlooking the battlefield. Charred pits darted the meadow with upturned earth and rubble dotting the areas in between. Chameleonmon and Armadillomon marched across the field picking up eggs and surveying for anything they may have missed. Both May and Iris had already released the eggs they captured from the day to the Chameleonmon in hopes that they could deliver the little guys to someone who could take care of newborn Digimon.

"How are you doing?" Birdramon's voice came from behind May. Though a little startled, May wasn't surprised. She felt both the heat from the dragon-phoenix's feathers as well as the ground tremble when she landed.

"I'm fine," May responded.

"May," Birdramon said softly. "I know you wanted to die."

That comment got May to spin around and look Birdramon. Though both her eyes were fierce with reptilian slits, there was a certain softness to them which reminded May of her parents' whenever she cried to them after a hard day. "I felt it when I Digivolved."

"Oh," May said. Looking back, it kind of made sense that Digimon felt their partners' emotions given that a lot of the Digimon Digivolved when their partner was in danger. Kind of like a shot of adrenaline when you feared for your life. Then there was that blood test Lillie observed with Datamon. "Sorry you had to feel that."

Birdramon settled down next to May. The bird's flaming feathers cooled enough to not ignite the plants around them while still emitting heat making May feel like she was sitting next to a comforting campfire. "Do you want to talk about it?" Birdramon offered.

"It was just a spur of the moment thought," May tried to play it off. "It was just stressed and it looked like I was going to die anyway. But, you know, better me than Iris or Gabumon. Those guys are probably going to end up more useful than me in the long run."

Birdramon quietly regarded May before looking out towards a forest neighboring the battlefield. "May, do you know what it is like to be wild?"

Not sure where Birdramon was going with this shrugged. "It's not something I've really thought about."

"You see the world in a very different way," Birdramon explained. "You don't' reflect or pontificate. Your only thoughts circle around survival. What shall I eat? Where will I sleep to avoid being eaten? You do not dare drop your guard even to just get a drink of water or groom yourself."

The pair watched the sun set cast a plethora of warm colors. "You live in a world filled with beauty, yet you hardly appreciate it," Birdramon continued. "All you know is that you're surrounded by competition and death. A tree grows and blocks out light for other plants, a fish must eat smaller fish to keep swimming, and if a Digimon doesn't get strong fast enough, it is only a matter of time before she is absorbed by someone more powerful."

"When I was a part of that world, I never felt true happiness. Momentary satisfaction or relief, but never happiness. I was alive, but all I did was exist," Birdramon turned her head away from the forest to look down at May. "And then I learned that I was meant to care for someone. The day I became self-aware enough to comprehend that truth was the happiest day of my life."

"May," Birdramon voice turned serious. "This world is very unforgiving. I know what it feels like to be lost and disposable. It's thanks to this that I also know just how precious life is. How precious you are. So please, no matter how lost or worthless you feel, never take your life for granted."

Birdramon then leaned over and gently nuzzled May with her fanged beak. Feeling her partner's affection, May smiled and nuzzled back.

Meanwhile, in the warzone

The battlefield bared little divergence from any other location in the warzone. Smoking, desolate, and falling apart. Due to its true nature, the Digital World it was very malleable. This had been useful in the past when it came to reconstructing and revitalizing parts that had been ravaged by powerful Digimon such as the Demon Lords and Millenniummon. Now though, the land had become so demolished that one could see the wire framing and bits and pieces of code that gave the world its structure.

Scattered throughout the field were Digi-eggs nestled in the overturned dirt and shattered rock formations. The number of eggs were far less than the amount of Digimon who went to battle. Not because the soldiers were able to flee before their end, but because their data was absorbed before the egg could form.

Floating above the scene were two figures, both armored and kept airborne by the collection of golden wings sprouting from their backs. The feminine figure's lips curled in disgust as she watched soldiers scavenge the land for lone eggs and spare equipment they could use. "At this rate we won't have to wait for Millenniummon to manifest for our world to be reduced to dust," she said, not bothering to hide the disgust in her voice.

"It's not all lost," the male figure responded in a serene voice. "Had we not stood our ground, there would be less Digitial World to fight for."

The male waved his hand, motioning at the broken off chunks of the Digital World which were now floating in the sky almost completely ignoring the pull of gravity. "It may look bad now, but if we can stop the Forces of Chaos and fix Millenniummon's locks we should be able to salvage and recreate what was destroyed."

The female sighed. "I envy your optimism."

"I suggest you try to emulate it. The road ahead doesn't look any less treacherous," a third figure floated up to the first two. Unlike his companions the third figure did have a humanoid body, rather it looked like a large rabbit with an extravagant neck ruffle. "We have just received word from the Information Broker."

This news did not seem to cheer up the female. "I trust that fox just about as far as I can throw him."

"You might want to rethink your phrasing. I saw how much distance you were able to toss that Brigadramon," chuckled the armored male. He then turned more serious. "While Broker may be a dubious individual, he knows that if he starts lying he'll lose business."

Turning his attention to the rabbit, the male folded his arms. "What have you learned?"

"The humans are in route. However, there seems to be a complication," the rabbit reported.

"Complication?" asked the male.

"When the Digivices ventured off into the human world, they came back with human adolescence," said the rabbit.

"Children!" exclaimed the female in shock.

The rabbit nodded. "Yes. And if Broker is to be believed some of them don't even have any battle experience prior to arriving in our world."

"So we are sending children to fight in this war?!" yelled the female, her rage building.

"This is concerning," the rabbit agreed. "But the oracle did say these humans were the ones that would slay Millenniummon."

"A claim which I'm now starting to doubt," refuted the female. "I'll grant you that Broker has a track record of giving reliable information, but this oracle is an unknown entity. She and her dragon familiars just showed up one day and gave their prophecy. For all we know she could be working with the Forces of Chaos or someone else's interests. Who in their right mind sends children to fight a universe ending monster?!"

"She was able to reprogram and split the Digivice," the rabbit pointed out. "Given what we know about the Digivice and its origins I don't think that the device would have allowed a charlatan to touch it. Not to mention the oracle may have been a chronomancer which would severely limit what she can and cannot do to the timeline. Either way the children are here. We're going to have to find some way to utilize them."

"Are you seriously advocating for the use of kids as warriors?" asked the female heatedly.

"Don't put words in my mouth," scowled the rabbit. "I'm not any happier than you about this. But the situation is what it is. If children are destined to slay Millenniummon then we must work with the children!"

Sighing, the female looked over at the male. "Seraphimon, what are your thoughts?"

There was a pregnant pause before the male armored angel spoke. "I think that before we decide what to do next, we should meet these humans face to face."

AN: "Is this going to be a stand-up fight, sir, or another bug hunt?" ~ Hudson, Aliens 1986

ANNOUNCEMENT: I usually try to do a semimonthly update, but that's going to slow down for a bit because 1) I've got several family visits in the fall and 2) I've got a couple of Halloween projects I'll be working on. One will be a Kingdom Hearts one shot based around a defuncted Tomorrowland attraction and another will be the start of a second Pokémon fic. What's the subject of that fic? Well, stay clear of the moors and you may live to find out.

This was kind of a messy chapter, but I can't afford to fiddle with it forever in hopes of making it perfect.

The final app of the Digivice has been revealed! It is a means to capture the fractal code of defeated Digimon and store them for later. Think of it as a cross of the fractal code absorber the Frontier Digivices had and a Pokeball…except you don't use the captured Digimon in battle. Just keep them on ice until you can get to an orphanage. That doesn't sound remarkable but trust me, they're going to get some mileage out of this app.

Alright, Birdramon! Let's pretend for a moment that you guys didn't see this phoenix coming from a mile away and explain my choice. Aside from Birdramon being the default Biyomon evolution, I choose her as a reference to Pokémon Ruby. Yes Groundon is an earth elemental, but what do you think of when you think of magma and volcanos? Fire, that's what.

Saberdramon was a bit of a last minute addition, but given Biyomon's feral rages and May's stressed mindset at that moment, I felt that a quick dark Digivolution was in order. She's not Biyomon's main champion form as I didn't feel Saberdramon fit May's style. Oddly enough, Saberdramon is a vaccine Digimon. Weird. You'd think it was a virus variant given its violent disposition.

Reader Response Recess!

Ashpoke55: Alright, bringing out the road map. Now that we've finished May's chapter we'll have another interlude, Dawn's chapter (or chapters depending on how long it goes), and then everyone meets up at the temple.

Legoguy67: Dawn will get to the meet up spot first and meet both groups at about the same time.

Hard to say. I sadly haven't ever completed a nuzlocke as I tend to get busy with something else in the middle of the locke (I am a busy person) and have to abandon the game. I try to not lose Pokémon on principle as each Pokémon, especially once you reach the Elite Four, is like a video game life you can't get back. But as for which Pokémon would be sacrificial it would all depend on who I still had to face. Each Elite Four have different specialties and as such require different Pokémon to take them down.

I don't really put jam on sandwiches. I put them on bread though. So I guess I'd have to say I prefer blueberry jam on toast.

Mr. Navit: It might not have been you. I go back and edit typos and minor errors sometimes. I don't make major changes without posting a note about them in the author's notes section. If you see any errors, don't be afraid to point them out, I find mistakes all the time when I go back and re-read these chapters.

As you can see, the Bee Movie protagonist isn't the final boss. However Jerry Seinfeld has toured through a CannonBeemon in his never ending quest to find out what the deal with airline food is.

Spadamon's weapon form does look like a lance. But when I looked it up on .com it said spear so I just went with that.

Elon Musk and the demon lords get into arguments on X all the time. But everyone argues over there so no one really notices.

Pinap pizza is popular amongst heretics! Just kidding. I've never tried pinap pizza so I don't have a Growlithe in this fight. I'm an onion, diced tomato, and sausage person.

In the context of this fanfic Prof. Oak traveled around a lot as a kid (one of these adventures may or may not have involved a Celebi), became the Kanto champion, then retired to become a researcher and hand out super powered monsters to other kids so that they may have as many dangerous adventures as he did when he was their age.

Yodewtwo/YoArceus is banned on the grounds that it is too alpha chad for this fanfic. I need characters that are in over their heads.

The Trailmon Red came in on is a special train. You'll learn more about it once our heroes complete the trails of the temple. For now I'll say that Red was having a heart to heart chat with an old friend on Mt. Silver when cosmic horrors decided to rip a hole in the space time continuum to grab our champ and then….to be continued.

Why would Commandramon need crosses and holy water? Is Red a vampire? If so, that's pretty cool but boy did I miss that memo.

Oh, Mirei. Sorry, I currently don't have any plans for her as I wanted the humans in this fic to just be the ones from the Pokémon cast.

Those are all excellent partner choices for Marnie. I would have to say no on the Impmon though. Not because he'd be a bad choice, he actually fits in really well with her team. It's just that I may or may not have an Impmon that I'd partner up with someone else.

Awesome, I'd love to see what Digimon you'd chose to partner with which humans. Full disclaimer, I have also got my thoughts on which Digimon could work with which human and if you see certain trainers with certain Digimon down the line.

The One Who Reads and Writes: Admitabbly I may have exaggerated May's dislike for Pokémon, but that was mostly because I kind of wished it was explored more in the show. We did get a good story arc out of her going from someone who wasn't into Pokémon, to a newbie trying to find her nitch, to a contest superstar, but I would have liked to see more of the part of the story where she wasn't really into Pokémon. It would have been interesting to see a character who didn't like Pokémon while living in a world that revolved around them. But that's just my personal preference.

I wouldn't say Iris is directly competing with Gary for leadership, just MVP. Iris is a fairly independent person and her first impression of Gary wasn't the best as he let his ego do most of the talking. It doesn't help that Iris can get pretty hotheaded. What happens when a spitfire and a prideful person meet?

As for a battle between the two…tune in next time.

You'll see Arceus either at the tail end of this arc, or at the very beginning of the next one. Most likely at the start of the next arc. I'll answer a few of your questions then.

Gallantmon is a good guess, but no it's not him. Iris knows him from somewhere else.

The explanation you gave for the partnered Digimon's durability is actually the correct in-universe explanation, plot armor is the meta explanation. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

A human can use Thunderbolt. Just give them thick wooly socks and a soft carpet to shuffle across for a while.

I might mention infinite energy, but I'd want to read more about it first hand to get a better feel for it. It sounds like it was part of the manga, which I've read bits and pieces of but not the whole thing. I'll need to track that part down.

I wouldn't say wild Digimon are evil. Dangerous yes, but not evil. If I may speak to my personal belief, I think evil requires the ability to know right from wrong. The wild Digimon in this story can gain sentience if trained, but left to their own devices they just follow their basic programming/instinct.

Thank you for reading! Don't be afraid to leave a comment or ask questions (can't guarantee I'll give you a straight answer). God loves you and so do I!

Digimon Introduced

Birdramon: Champion, Vaccine, Giant Bird

Saberdramon: Champion, Vaccine, Giant Bird

ForgeBeemon: Champion, Virus, Android

Seraphimon: Mega, Vaccine, Seraph

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Next Time: Ah, would you look at the time. We're about due for another interlude! Sit down and get comfy. I'll prep the shorts.