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.

24. Interlude 2 The Electric Bogaloo Part 2

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 I get ready to tell some ghost stories: Victim (Lucas King)

The Crest of a Master Chapter 24: Interlude 2 The Electric Bogaloo Part 2

Centuries Ago (The Slums)

"Why are we looking for these things again? They're clearly just weird animals. Just call up some pest control," complained a Commandramon.

"Because these 'weird animals' are eating through power cables and stealing our supplies!" explained another Commandramon in an exasperated voice.

"The power cables of a dusty, old warehouse. Who cares?" grumbled the first Commandramon. This comment earned him a knock in the back of his head causing his helmet to slide forward over his eyes.

"We don't have infinite wires!" snapped the second Commandramon. "Every resource, even the ones for dusty, old warehouses counts!"

The second Commandramon walked forward to continue his sweep. "Besides, those warehouses are for storing food. If these things' smorgasbords continue to go unchecked people will starve."

"Yeah, yeah. You're right," sighed the first Commandramon. He had readjusted his helmet and was now helping the other checkered SWAT dinosaur check the house. "I just wish that these things would leave a scent. It's like they're there one minute then disappear. Where do they go?"

While the Commandramon searched below, a human hid above. Nestled safely in the rafters, he was able to eavesdrop on the security while waiting for an opening to escape.

It had been a week since the human first arrived in this city and he still wasn't completely sure how he got here. Last he remembered he was talking with his friend, then the mountain began to shake, and the two fell into a (for lack of a better description) large, static, purple dome.

Within the dome the human and his friend found themselves engaging in fights with the weirdest Pokémon the human had ever seen. Though caught off guard by the bizarre situation, the pair were top tier trainers and were able to fend off the odd invaders. They were about to escape the massive dome when one final surprise manifested.

Tendrils of yellow and blue energy sparked into existence and wrapped themselves around the human. The human managed to push his friend out of the dome before the tendrils dragged the human away. The world began to dissolve as the tendrils grouped together to form a massive claw of energy. There was a flash of light and roar. A creature in white armor and a red cape sliced through the claw freeing the human. There was a flash of light and then nothing. The human awoke on a train which let him off at this city.

Since that incident the human had found himself scurrying from shadow to shadow in an attempt to figure out where he was without getting caught by some of the less pleasant locals. The human didn't consider himself appetizing by any stretch of the imagination, but he supposed that to any monster who was big and hungry even a scrawny man would look like a decent meal.

Meals, as it turned out, were heavily rationed in this city. If you were a citizen you would report to a nearby warehouse every so often for your share of food (though you could get an extra helping if you sufficiently bribed the right people). It was a paltry amount, but it was more than nothing which is what the human got for not being from this city or planet for that matter.

This was a big problem as the human had not only himself, but six other mouths to feed. One mouth requiring far more than the others. It was shameful, but without any local currency or ID the human had few options.

Stilling himself, the human carefully made his way across the network of steel beams that supported the warehouse's roof. Each step was carefully calculated as to not make a single sound. Though one misstep meant possible death via a cloud of bullets, the human couldn't help but to feel somewhat pleased. Back when he was a kid, he met another trainer who was far more experienced in stealth than he could ever hope to be. If she saw him now she'd be beaming at how far her student had come. She'd then taunt him with how the tables had turned with him acting as a food thief and her as an agent of the international police. She was kind of petty that way.

Finally on the other side of the warehouse, the human silently climbed down the stacks of crates to the floor below. All he had to do was tip toe to the side door, reach out, grab the door knob and…

CLUNK!

Holy Arceus. That was one loud knob.

"What was that!?"

"The door! It's trying to make an escape!"

Since stealth had just been tossed out the window, the human decided to fling the door open and slam it behind him before the guards could round the corner of boxes. Just in the nick of time, the human was able to dive out of the way before a hail of bullets blasted through the door. The human ran down the street, the Commandramon hot on his heels.

"After him!" shouted one Commandramon as it made a dash after the human.

The other Commandramon spoke into a walkie talkie. "Back up, back up. Suspect is in warehouse district Y. Heading for the slums."

Peaking over his shoulder, the human could see the Commandramon pursuing him was closing the gap. Making a sharp turn, the human ducked into an alley way and kept running. It wasn't until the human made it to the end of the alleyway that he realized that this sector sat on top of a cliff which overlooked another section of the city. A metal rail was all that separated the human from death by gravity.

"Freeze!" The Commandramon had caught up to the human and was now creeping down the alleyway, rifle pointed right at the human.

The human took a deep breath, gripped onto the railing, and flung himself over the fence and down the cliff. Fortunately, the Commandramon was so surprised by the human's apparent suicidal move that he didn't shoot. Unfortunately, humans cannot fly. Fortunately, the human had a couple of companions with wings. All he had to do was reach down to his belt, grab a Poke ball and…whoops. Judging by the way this ball was scuffed up it wasn't either of his fliers.

THUMP!

Though the human didn't grab the proper ball in time, his fall was broken by a cushy pile of trash. Scrunching his nose in disgust, the human made his way down to the bottom of the trash mound. Not his greatest moment, but he'll take smelling like garbage over splatting against the ground any day.

Now that he had successfully put some distance between himself and the Commandramons, the human was able to slow down and take in his surroundings. If he had to guess, he was now in the ghetto. The buildings all looked like they were falling apart with hastily nailed planks boarding up broken down walls and glassless windows facing the garbage littered streets.

The streets themselves were empty with the only sounds disrupting the silent atmosphere being the human's footsteps and his growling stomach. Frowning, the human placed a hand on his belly. He was so busy making sure that his team were properly fed that he neglected to grab food for himself. He supposed he could fly back up to the warehouse, but then he'd be risking a confrontation with more alert guards. Besides, his fliers were a bit flashy and could end up attracting unwanted attention.

"Sorry, kid. Not interested."

Not wanting to be caught, the human slammed himself up against a wall and made himself as flat as possible. Peering around the corner, he saw the source of the voice. There were two groups of monsters. The first group was made up of large and intimidating monsters. In contrast the second group was made up of smaller, weaker-looking monsters most of which didn't even have proper bodies.

The leader of the group of small monsters was a creature which resembled an orange Totodile with large claws. "But we can pay you! We've got food! We don't need much, just someone to protect us."

A monster which looked like a large black and white Rhyhorn shook his head. "Mercenary work pays way more than anything you have."

Another monster, this one looking like a green dragon-type with long horns growing out of its shoulders, nodded in agreement. "It's nothing personal. Sticking around here to play bodyguard would cost us job opportunities from people who can actually pay up."

"But-" the Totodile began. Alas, the group of tougher looking monsters moved on. The Totodile bowed his head and the little head monsters all made various sad sounds.

"What are we going to do now?" whimpered one of the heads. "I know I saw a Boogiemon last night!"

The rest of the tiny monsters began panic and cry while the Totodile bent down to try and comfort the frightened heads. The human thought over what he just witnessed. It sounded like the little guys needed a guardian and the human was no stranger to combat. It also sounded like they were looking to hire, not for much but some money was better than none. Seemed like a good deal.

On the other hand, the human wasn't very good with kids. Tiny monsters or not, those defiantly sounded like children and the human was no parent. Well, technically he was a parent. He just wasn't very good at it.

There was a small pang in the human's heart. How was his kid? How was his wife?

Another growl from the human's stomach reminded the human of his current situation. He wasn't going to solve any problems if he starved himself. Stepping out from behind the building, the human made his way over to the group of small monsters.

Immediately the smaller monsters cried out in surprise and hid behind the Totodile. Said reptile released some puff of smoke and growled in warning. "What do you want? Because if it's these hatchlings, you'll have to get past me!"

The human gave the agitated reptile a placating smile and raised his hands in a surrender motion. The Totodile gave the human a suspicious glare, but allowed him to approach. As the human walked closer, he noticed some "Help Wanted" fliers laying at the Totodile's feet. The fliers confirmed what the human heard, that the Totodile was looking for some security for his home. Food and pay were offered, but the flier didn't say how much. Probably because these guys didn't have much.

Reaching down, the human grabbed one of the fliers and handed it to the Totodile. The reptile gave the human and quizzical look. "You want to help?"

The human smiled and nodded. His need for food and money aside, he couldn't just stand by and leave these guys defenseless. He was a Pokémon Master after all.

Gary (Jofi)

The evening was quiet. Too quiet. While it was true that Gary was taking a walk to cool off after his fight with Iris, he was kind of hoping to find some wild Digimon to fight, or some new random object growing out of the ground, or SOMETHING to break him free from his thoughts. But no, for once the Digital World decided that he had enough action today and was mercifully leaving him alone.

The only noise Gary could hear was the gentle thumps of Garurumon's massive paws tracing his path right behind him. Garurumon had been silent throughout the walk, not once stopping his partner to converse. A part of Gary was grateful that the wolf was giving some space to sort out his thoughts. Another part of him…

"Okay," Gary finally broke the silence. "I know what you're going to say."

"You do?" Garurumon stopped walking and sat down. "That's pretty amazing. I don't even know what I'm about to say."

If anyone else said that sentence Gary would have thought they were being sarcastic.

"I should have left well enough alone. I shouldn't have challenged Iris to a sparring match or at least I should have, I don't know, did something different during the match," Gary ran his fingers through his hair. He was talking to Garurumon, but in his mind eye he could see his grandfather giving him a boring speech about the importance of sportsmanship and winning with grace and blah, blah, blah.

Gary sighed. Things were so much simpler back home. He would go up against someone in a practice battle, he'd taunt, he'd dominate, and everyone would head home with no problems. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Once Gary set off on his Digital World adventure, his daily routine had not been as smooth. Sure he continued to dominate, but the monsters here were a lot less forgiving then the trainer friendly Pokémon at Gramp's lab.

His teammates were also less compliant than the usual group of kids who followed him or teenage girls who fawned over him (what could he say? He was a natural ladies man). Lillie got along with Gary fine, but he could tell May and Goh didn't warm up to him so easily. Even so, there weren't any major issues. Sure he'd butt heads with his other teammates but they'd usually come around to see things his way.

So how did that fight with Iris get so out of hand?

"What would you do if you were in my shoes?" Gary asked his partner.

"Your shoes?" Garurumon looked down at Gary's boots with a curious head tilt.

"It's a figure of speech," Gary explained with a sigh. "I'm asking what you would do if you were in my position. If you were the trainer and I was the Digimon in a sparring match."

The explanation just seemed to confuse Garurumon even more. "I never really thought about that kind of stuff. Would I even make a good human?"

Garurumon lied down and placed his head between his massive paws. "I'd have to balance on stilt legs and think of things to tell other people to do. That's a lot of pressure. I'm not even sure if I'd be able to make you Digivolve. You'd probably just be a Gabumon and I wouldn't want you to fight against Coredramon like that. Wait, would Iris and Coredramon also be swapped? Would this be a situation where I was hatched a human or did a Wizardmon switch our minds? Because if it was a mind swap, I'd probably try and figure out how to reverse it instead of fighting-"

"Garurumon," Gary interrupted the wolf's ramblings. "You're putting way too much thought into this scenario. I just want to know what you would do if you were calling the shots in that one particular battle."

"Oh, sorry," Garurumon's head lifted. "Well, I guess I would still challenge her to a fight. We're all trying to improve our skills by battling each other. I don't think I would avoid fighting a particular person. But I, um,"

Catching the worried look in Garurumon's eyes, Gary thought back to the Royal Knight's castle and how he had snapped at Gabumon for trying to advise him. In his defense, Gary wasn't used to receiving criticism outside of his family. Well, his grandfather and his parents. His sister tried to scold him, but Gary made it a point not to listen nor care.

What was a new experience to Gary was having his own monster criticize him. This wasn't to say that Pokémon weren't capable of disagreeing with their trainers. Gary had heard many a story of strong Pokémon deciding they were too good for their trainers and disregarding their orders. Some Pokémon even went as far as to attack their trainers. Or the old man who kept prodding the clearly agitated Pokémon. Seriously Gramps, you are an expert, why do you keep doing this?

Now in most cases of Pokémon turning on their trainer it was because their trainer messed up or was not worthy of their monster companion. So hearing mild mannered Gabumon get on his case carried bit more sting than if another human was to criticize him. Still, it was better than Garurumon attacking him. Might as well man up.

Gary motioned for Garurumon to continue. "Go ahead, I can take it."

"I probably wouldn't taunt," Garurumon said before quickly adding on. "But that's just me."

"I figured you say something like that," Gary muttered.

"Oh, okay" Garurumon's head tilted. "…so why did you do it?"

"I taunt, it's what I do," Gary explained, though his voice had a bit of a guarded edge. "I did it all the time back home. It was fun."

"I guess," Garurumon said, though the muscles around his face contorted making it look like he was thinking hard. "But just because something's fun doesn't mean you should do it."

"I know," Gary snapped. "It's just a habit, alright?"

There was a moment of silence before Garurumon spoke again. "I know old habits can be hard to change. But I think you can do it. You were really nice to Lillie when we first met her. And you were really nice to me."

Gary folded his arms. "Lillie clearly has some issues she's working through. It wouldn't be right to pick on her and you," Gary paused and thought back to their first day on the beach. Admittedly the main reason he warmed up to Gabumon so fast in the beginning was that Gabumon told him he was a chosen hero. It wasn't until they started their journey that Gary really found himself getting attached to the reptile-dog monster. "You're a hard guy to hate on."

"Thank you!" Garurumon's tail wiggled. "You know, my offer on helping you apologize is still on the table."

"…I'm not good at apologizing," Gary muttered. He could apologize alright for small things such as bumping into someone. Larger issues, on the other hand, were usually facilitated by one of the adult's in his life.

"It's not hard," Garurumon assured Gary. "All you have to do is acknowledge what you did wrong and promise to work to change it. Here, you can practice on me. Pretend I'm Iris."

Garurumon sat up and scratched at his mane. When he was done, Garurumon had managed to separate his fur to resemble Iris's pigtails. Gary opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was laughter.

"Stop, stop," Gary managed to say between breaths. "I can't take this seriously."

"I guess I'm not good at impersonations," Garurumon sighed, shaking himself out and returning his fur to normal. "Do you want to try something else?"

"I'll think about it later. I'm already late to the meeting," Gary replied pulling out his Digivice. "Besides, I don't think Iris wants to hear from me for a while."

"…I guess," Garurumon made a noise that sounded like a cross between a grumble and a whine, but didn't press Gary any further.

Satisfied that he had side stepped this conversation (for now), Gary brought up his Digivice and opened the chat app. Looking to the side of the screen he saw that no one was online at the moment. Which meant he missed the meeting. Well, nothing left to do but to get caught up. Gary began to scroll through the Digichat.

SpotlightQueen

ONE MORE MOUNTAIN!

TomboyMermaid

Sounds like somebody's happy.

SpotlightQueen

Ever since I was catapulted into this world I had been doing nothing but hiking across snowy wasteland after snowy wasteland. Then every time I take a break I read everyone's posts and all about the amazing places you guys have seen while I'm wallowing in the tundra. I. Deserve. This. Happiness.

SightsNFlavors

If it makes you feel any better, it's been kind of hard to appreciate the places we've been. For example, we just escaped from a living aircraft. It sounds cool, until you remember it was swarming with giant Beedrills.

PalmOfMyHand

And before that we had to fight a knight and a dragon in a medieval village and before that there was the squads of robots in that abandoned city.

BookWurmple

Don't forget the haunted woods with the secret lab and the demon virus. Oh! And before meeting up with you guys Lunamon, Gary, Gabumon, and I defended a meat farm from a vampire Lycanroc!

SightsNFlavors

Still can't believe what you guys said about the farmers growing meat plants.

PokePuffPower

Hey now, you guys aren't the only ones living interesting lives. We just so happened to defend a ninja school from a Scyther-Sneasel.

RockSolid

This was after a herd of dinosaurs almost brought down a mine in a stampede.

TomboyMermaid

And then there was the fight with the giant Pinsir in the oversized bug hive.

2BAMaster

Which happened after the back to back battle beach battles. Wow, we've done a lot here.

SpotlightQueen

Is it bad that I am jealous? I know you guys almost died, a lot, but I'm still jealous.

PalmOfMyHand

Aren't you the one with train tickets? Shouldn't we be jealous of you for getting a free ride?

SpotlightQueen

Luxury train ride! Yesssss!

SightsNFlavors

Wait, those are luxury tickets!?

SpotlightQueen

No. But after weeks of freezing my buns off anything's a luxury. A warm ride with actual seats instead of a pile of snow? That sounds like a first class trip to the temple to me!

PokePuffPower

The temple. We've been talking about reaching it for so long. It feels weird that we're almost there. I wonder what it's like. Renamon said there would be trails once we get there. I hope they aren't too hard.

2BAMaster

I won't be hard. After everything we've been through I think we're ready! I'm getting pumped just thinking about it!

Gary looked over at Garurumon. "You used to live near the temple, right? Did you ever visit it?"

"Not the trial part. You can only go there if you're going to take the tests," Garurumon replied. "They did have a section that you could visit to get guidance from the temple guards. That was open to the public. You would visit them if you were getting ready for the tests or if you were just looking for life advice."

"And you've been there?" Gary probed.

"A couple of times," Garurumon elaborated. "The first time was when I was moving in with my roommates and I wanted some advice on how to fit in with them."

"So, they offered counseling?" Gary asked. He pictured a room filled with various Digimon dressed in priest clothing talking to other Digimon and reading through massive tomes.

"Exactly," Garurumon nodded. "For example, the Rabbitmon who helped me was an expert with friendship and was able to give me some tips on how to get along with BlackGabumon and Psychmon."

"Friendship expert?" Gary asked dryly. Please let this have nothing to do with My Little Ponyta. His sister was obsessed with that show when they were younger. Scratch that, she was almost an adult and she still watched it.

"It's one of the eleven crests," Garurumon explained. "Courage, Friendship, Love, Sincerity, Knowledge, Reliability, Hope, Light, and Kindness. According to the temple guardians, you can Digivolve beyond champion without having to kill and absorb other Digimon if you follow those virtues."

Okay, sounded straight forward enough. "So, what do the trials do?" Gary asked.

"I think they're just supposed to help you find out which crest works best for you," Garurumon said thoughtfully. "I didn't really look into it. I figured I'd learn more after I Digivolved to champion."

"Hmm," Gary hummed. Alright, so all Gary had to do was navigate the trails with Garurumon and they'd somehow tell him what he had to do to get Garurumon to the ultimate level. It should be pretty easy once they figured out which crest they needed. After all, the crest names sounded self-explanatory…wait a moment. Gary ran the list of crests through his mind. "You said there were eleven crests, but you just listed nine."

"Oh! Sorry," Garurumon apologized. "I don't know much about the last two crests. They're supposed to be very rare. Most Digimon don't get them."

Gary frowned at the lack of information, but let it slide. If those crests were really rare, then what were the odds that anyone from their group would have to deal with them? He just decided to turn his attention back to the chat.

2BAMaster

Hey, what kind of trails do you think we'll be given? Because if there are any battles, then I'm taking them!

TomboyMermaid

Of course, you'd call dibs on the fights.

PalmOfMyHand

Does everything around here have to be a battle? Can't we just do a puzzle or answer a questionnaire?

2BAMaster

But battling's fun!

SightsNFlavors

Oh yeah, nothing but fun here. Wheeee.

2BAMaster

…That was sarcasm wasn't it.

RockSolid

It is kind of hard to tell in a text chat.

SightsNFlavors

Yeah, sorry. That was sarcasm.

PokePuffPower

Wild Digimon attack?

SightsNFlavors

More like friendly fire.

BookWurmple

We just had a sparring match that got a little out of hand.

RockSolid

Now that you mention it, neither DragonsFTW nor SmellYaLatr have said anything so far.

BookWurmple

The match was between them. They're just recovering right now and need some alone time.

2BAMaster

What did Gary do this time?!

Garurumon peered down at the screen over Gary's shoulder. "Uh-oh."

TomboyMermaid

Ash, you need to ask more question before hurling accusations!

PalmOfMyHand

No, he's right. It was Gary.

BookWurmple

Too be fair, he and Iris have been going at it for a while.

SightsNFlavors

Don't try to smooth things over. He was the one trying to egg Iris on throughout that entire match.

2BAMaster

That's Gary alright. He does this all the time.

PokePuffPower

Ash, you probably shouldn't gnash your teeth like that. You're going to grind them down.

SightsNFlavors

Can't say I blame him. He's the worst. He's bossy, vain, and his head is the size of Mt. Silver.

PalmOfMyHand

Practically elected himself leader when our groups joined together.

"Uhhh," Garurumon intelligently said. Gary could practically feel the Arcanine's eyes nervously dart back and forth between his trainer and the chat. Gary just continued to read.

BookWurmple

Guys, please. Gary has his…short comings, but he's not as bad as you're making him out to be. Wait, what is it Lekismon?

PalmOfMyHand

Alright, why are you defending him, Lillie?

SpotlightQueen

What? What did Lekismon say?

PalmOfMyHand

Apparently the first thing Gary did when he met Lillie was laugh at her for her fear of Pokémon.

TomboyMermaid

Wow, that is pretty jerky.

2BAMaster

Told you so.

BookWurmple

Okay, yes. He did laugh at me. But he also helped me learn how to battle and has been an overall good friend.

2BAMaster

Are you a girl?

BookWurmple

How is that relevant?
2BAMaster

He's got a whole bunch of fangirls back home. He was probably only polite to you because he was picturing you in a cheerleader outfit.

BookWurmple

I...He…I mean…

RockSolid

Everyone calm down! You do realize that this is a group chat and Gary is probably going to read all of this later.

2BAMaster

Good! Let him know what it's like to be dogpiled.

RockSolid

Look, I'm not saying your feelings aren't valid. But I think I should remind everyone that we are all stuck in the Digital World together. Constantly being at each other's throats isn't going to help anyone. Understand?

PalmOfMyHand

Okay.

SightsNFlavors

Sure.

BookWurmple

Y-yeah.

RockSolid

Good to hear. Ash?

RockSolid

Ash?

2BAMaster

I want a rematch.

RockSolid

Ash!

2BAMaster

I was going to save this for the temple, but I want to finish our battle. I've never won against you in a practice battle, but I've been getting stronger since we came to the Digital World. I know I can beat you.

TomboyMermaid

And would you look at the time! We should all get to bed. Good night!

Gary sighed and leaned back against Garurumon. The Arcanine gently leaned his chin against the boy's hair. "You're not a bad person," Garurumon said confidently.

A small blush rose to Gary's checks. Both from Garurumon's statement and from the chat. It felt…weird. He knew that his teammates didn't hold him in as high regard as the kids back home, but seeing them all rile up and express such disdain against him was a new experience. Back at Pallet Town the only people to really get that upset with him were his sister and Ash.

Ash.

Since the incident with the teleporter Gary had come to terms that his neighbor didn't hesitate to escape with him out of spit. Ash just wanted to fight the giant cocoon monster. In short, he was being an idiot as usual.

But just because those feelings weren't a driving force in that decision doesn't mean they weren't any negative emotions festering. It was as Pegasusmon and that RockSolid guy said. They were all here together and had to somehow make this work. Taking a deep breath, Gary summoned the chat's keyboard.

Still watching, Garurumon chimed in. "Do you want to practice apologizing to Ash?"

"I don't know if that's going to work," Gary replied. Even if Gary could overcome the awkwardness of pretending the giant canine was his old friend, any apology he rehearsed would have felt hollow. "But I'm going to figure something out."

SmellYaLatr
Hey, Ash. I accept your challenge.

Pegasusmon (The Knight of Hazard and the Dragon of Ruin)

About a year ago…

The nights on Byte Island were the best. After a day of honest work fishing, orchid tending, training, and rearing the younger Digimon, Agumon and Gabumon could settle down and eat. Thanks to the crowd of small Digimon, the food was gone within minutes which usually meant bed. But on some nights, they were all given one extra treat before heading to their huts.

"Story!" chirped the in-trainings. "Story! Story! Story!"

"Settle down! This is no way to behave!" Candlemon began to scold the younger Digimon.

Pegasusmon just chuckled. "No, it's alright. Now, which story shall I tell tonight?"

"Hey! Cut it out!"

While Pegasusmon was contemplating what tale he should regale, Agumon was busy fending off some of the more rowdy islanders from plundering the fruit stock. "Leave some fruit for later!" Agumon growled at the tiny hoard.

"But we want food now!" chirped Pagumon. He then lunged at the basket of fruit.

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon spat out a fireball at the Pagumon.

The floppy eared slime was sent flying back. When he landed he immediately got up and glared at Agumon. "That hurt!" he exclaimed.

"There's more where that came from!" Agumon growled. Licks of flame lashed out from Agumon's maw sending the crowd of in-trainings hopping away screaming.

"ENOUGH!" Pegasusmon shouted, stomping his hooves on the ground. "I think I've decided what story needs to be told. Everyone who was rough housing around the food, sit next to me."

Agumon grinned smugly as the in-trainings filed over to sit near the island's elder. His smirk was whipped away when Pegasusmon called out to him. "You too, Agumon."

"But," Agumon began.

"I know you were trying to defend the food, but I will not abide the use of excessive force. You are older and stronger than most of the Digimon here. You should not have to use your attacks on them," lectured Pegasusmon. He then nodded to a spot next to him. "Now come. I think you need to hear this story too."

Grumbling, Agumon complied.

Satisfied that he now had the mob's undivided attention, Pegasusmon began his story. "Though the times we live in now seem like turmoil, we must never forget that our world is no stranger to conflict. From both outside and within the Digital World had faced powerful fiends who threatened to break our lands apart and terrorize the Digimon who wanted nothing more than peace. To protect our lands and people, champions were called upon to take up the sword. One group of champions was the Royal Knights."

At the mention of the heroic group, everyone from the newly hatched fresh slimes to the older rookies chirped excitedly. Even Agumon perked up, though he tried to hide it.

Pegasusmon continued. "Though the knights had a wide plethora of members from the idealist Craniummon to aloof Alphamon, for this story I wish to focus on one knight in particular. Gallantmon the Chivalrous."

The Gallantmon fans cheered.

"Is this the story on how he defeated Beelzemon?" asked a Gigimon.

"Or maybe the story of his fight against Galacticmon!" smiled a Nyaromon.

"This is a story that I haven't told you," Pegasusmon calmly explained. "It is about Gallantmon's final defeat."

At this statement, the audience once again stilled allowing Pegasusmon continued. "Ever since he was a rookie, Gallantmon had been a virus Digimon. Though all Digimon have a wild side, virus Digimon's destructive instincts are more acute than others. From an early age Gallantmon realized this and fought to control his wild side. Though he would occasionally lose control and snarl and rampage, he would always reign himself back and even work to right and wrongs he did when he lost control."

"Eventually, Gallantmon mastered his programming and learned how to channel his natural ballistic habits into a shield for the innocent," Pegasusmon paused his story for a moment before his expression darkened. "But no one is invulnerable, not even the greatest among us."

"One day, an invader spilled over into our reality. This invader had no shape. It was a blob of chaos which ate and destroyed all that it touched."

"Millenniummon?" Gabumon asked form his corner of the campsite.

"No," Pegasusmon shook his head. "Though this monster was said to have made several appearances when Millenniummon assaulted our world. Perhaps Millenniummon's time warping powers broke off some of the monster and brought it forward in time through some kind of space-time distortion. Hmm."

Pegasusmon trailed off thinking about the events of Millenniummon's first rampage leaving his audience hanging. Frustrated, Agumon shouted. "What was the monster!?"

"Oh, yes," Pegasusmon snapped out of his thoughts and continued his tale. "This creature became known as the D-Reaper. As the D-Reaper ate, it grew larger and more powerful. Fearing that this invader meant the end of the Digital World, the Royal Knights rallied together to defeat the beast."

"The battle was long and arduous," Pegasusmon looked over the crowd. "But in the end, their efforts were fruitful and the D-Reaper was soon slain with Gallantmon landing the finishing blow."

Hearing the knight's victory, the crowd of young slimes began to cheer until Pegasusmon spoke again. "But his victory came at a price."

Once again, the crowd settled down, allowing Pegasusmon to continue. "When Gallantmon slayed the D-Reaper, the monster took a parting shot. A parting shot, which went straight to Gallantmon's core."

"At first, Gallantmon was non-the-wiser. But over time began to notice that he would lose control of himself in battle. That the composer he had spent years building began to crumble. And then one day it happened."

"Gallantmon became an entirely different Digimon."

This new turn in the story got the younger Digimon whispering. "Can that happen?" asked a Tokomon.

"Of course it can, stupid," a Poromon chirped. "It's called Digivolution!"

"Poromon, language. We don't make fun of each other for asking questions," Pegasusmon scolded causing the Poromon to bob its body in shame. Pegasusmon then addressed the Tokomon. "What happened to Gallantmon wasn't Digivolution. It was a rare phenomenon called a 'Slide Evolution.' This is when a Digimon takes a form of similar power or level instead of devolving to a lower level or Digivolving to a higher power."

"What did he turn into?" inquired a Hiyarimon.

"A dragon," Pegasusmon answered. "But not a friendly dragon like Imperialdramon or a Veedramon. Gallantmon's form was twisted into a vicious dragon whose mere presence was detrimental to the Digital World."

"Detrimental?" asked Gigimon.

"It means harmful," Pegasusmon explained. "Unlike the D-Reaper that had to consume the Digital World to destroy it, Gallantmon's new form was causing the world to fall apart by just existing. His virus nature was now fully released and Gallantmon could feel his mind slipping further away each day."

"Desperate, Gallantmon sought out his friends, the Great Dragons. He hopped that their wisdom and centuries spent as dragons could help him tame his new form, but alas, when Goldramon examined Gallantmon's core he determined there was no way to help the former knight. All they could do was put him down before he lost himself completely."

"Just then," Pegasusmon's voice grew sharp as his tale reached its climax. "Before the dragons could peacefully end their friend, Gallantmon snapped and began attacking the other dragons. The three of them attempted to slay the corrupted knight, but were unsuccessful. Magnadramon lost her life in the jaws of her old friend forcing Goldramon and Azulongmon to cast a binding spell on Gallantmon. They used Azulongmon's chains to bind the beast and sealed him where he would never again see the light of day."

His story concluded, Pegasusmon neatly folded his wings and looked over the crowd. In contrast to his usual stories which would end in fanfare and discussion from the youngsters, this story was followed by a somber hush. It was easy to see why, for most of the newly hatched Digimon this was the first time they heard a story where the good guy did not live "happily ever after."

Finally, Agumon broke the silence. "That ending sucked!"

"That was history," Pegasusmon responded evenly. "It's just what happened."

"Well, what was the point of that story?" Agumon asked with a defiant scowl. "Why did you tell it to us?"

"I recount history, both good and bad, so that you may learn from it," Pegasusmon spoke in his teaching voice. "Make note that even as he was losing everything, his mind, body, and core, Gallantmon still did what he could to protect our world from himself. Even if it meant his own end."

Pegasusmon gave both Agumon and Pagumon a hard stare. "This story is also a reminder that all Digimon, even the ones who wish to be righteous, have a vicious side that they must tame."

"It sounded more like the moral was don't touch alien slime," Agumon grumbled.

"Where is Gallantmon now?" Gabumon asked.

"Nobody knows," Pegasusmon said mysteriously. "During his battle against the Great Dragons, Gallantmon's corrupted form fell deep into the maze of codes, programs, and subspaces that make up the lower mantle of the Digital World. In the past, there had been a number of expeditions made to try and find the rabid knight. However, none were successful. In my humble opinion, this was probably for the best. Eternal rest was probably the best fate Gallantmon could have hoped for given his circumstances and I fear the day that someone would be foolish enough to revive him."

Kiwimon (A Waste of a Good Specimen)

In contrast to her teammate, Kiwimon held herself with dignity. Tensions were high, the members of the Forces of Chaos were on scrambling across the underground base, and rumors were flying through the troops like a swarm of angry Yanmamon. It was clear the higher ups were planning something soon and she could not afford to look incompetent or disposable.

Vademon X, on the other hand, had seen better days. The Martian was clutching and pulling at his lobes while manic rambling spilled form his tube mouth. "Reassigned to his team. Reassigned to his team. Why did I have to be reassigned to HIS team?! Why couldn't I just stick with Antylamon's team?"

"I was under the impression that you were looking to transfer out of our team," Kiwimon said pointedly.

"That was before I learned that I was going back to my old master!" Vademon X whimpered. "Sure, Antylamon and his team are thugs and adrenaline junkies, but at least they are somewhat sane!"

"I would not use the term 'adrenaline junkie' to describe Vulturemon," Kiwimon responded idly.

"They never spiked my food. Digimon we killed stayed dead. I was actually able to sleep some nights without one eye open," Vademon X continued to ramble. "I transferred out of the lab to get away from that madness! Now they want me back in?"

"No, they didn't request you. I did."

Vademon let out a high pitched squealing noise that Kiwimon had come to recognize as a scream. Much to her chagrin, the alien leapt onto her and began clinging to her back by wrapping his tentacles around her body. Kiwimon clicked her beak in annoyance, but didn't pry the invader off. Instead she just turned around to see who snuck up behind them.

"Professor Datamon," Kiwimon greeted the diminutive robot cordially. "We were just heading to your lab."

"Ah, then it is good that I caught you," Datamon strolled past Kiwimon. "I'm currently doing some testing outside the laboratory today. Come, follow me."

Despite the extra weight she was carrying, Kiwimon complied. Shaking, Vademon X bent down to whisper in her ear. "Maybe, if we're very quiet, we can sneak away while his back is turned."

Kiwimon rolled her eyes and was about to retort when Datamon spoke up. "Please do not. Time is of the essence right now and I'd rather not waste it chasing down one of my lab assistants. And besides, you wouldn't be able to escape. My computers have indicated that you still have yet to remove the chip I placed in you."

Vademon X moaned, but didn't make a move to run. Kiwimon suppressed an annoyed sigh as she continued to carry her unwanted passenger down the tunnel. Said tunnel was a cylindrical grid with a flattened bottom for walking. The current base for the Forces of Chaos was so deep underground that the earth lacked the proper textures to create rocks, dirt, or even magma. All that was down here, aside from the occasional floating platform, were teleporters that would lead to a predesignated subspace. Kiwimon herself had made extensive investigations on which teleporter lead where and even she was prone to getting lost.

"Here we are," Datamon announced.

Kiwimon stared at the teleporter Datamon was about to step on. "Sir, that teleporter leads to-"

"Where I'm observing a most interesting specimen, yes," Datamon supplied. The robot then stepped onto the teleporter and was transported away.

Once his boss disappeared, Vademon X looked down at Kiwimon. "Isn't that where the generals are keeping-"

"Yes," Kiwimon snipped. Vademon X had a bad habit of blowing things out of proportion, but he was right about one thing: the Digimon who worked for the Forces of Chaos were insane.

Even though she knew what she was going to find on the other end of the teleporter, Kiwimon felt her heart stop. Laying down in front of her, bound in chains, was the very same Digimon she and the rest of Antylamon's team retrieved for the Colonel.

Kiwimon felt a shiver run down her spin (which was aided by Vademon X's intensified shaking). It was bad enough she was back in the presence of that…thing, but to make matters worse there was a small army of Troopmon swarming the dragon's slumbering form. The artificial Digimon were climbing up and down the dragon scanning it with handheld machines and using tools to pick off pieces of the beast's hide which were quickly stored in containment jars before they could dissolve into data.

Kiwimon's fear was quickly replaced with fury. Spotting Datamon casually walking up to the doomsday weapon with wings, Kiwimon charged forward (though Vademon X desperately plead her to turn around). "Datamon, sir! Permission to ask a question."

"Permission not needed. I'm always free to converse with someone who wishes to learn," Datamon hummed.

"With all due respect, what are you thinking!?" Kiwimon hissed. "Do you realize what that is? Are you trying to wake it up?"

Though Kiwimon addressed Datamon with an aggression that should not have come from a lower ranked officer, Datamon did not seem to mind. He just calmly scuttled over to a nearby table that held some snacks and reached up for a plate. "To answer your questions in reverse, no, yes, and I'm thinking that it would be a crime to just leave such a valuable specimen go to waste without first taking some samples. Would you like some brownies, dear? A Prairiemon dropped them off earlier."

"Do the generals know about this?" Kiwimon demanded.

"It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is permission," Datamon replied taking a sip.

"Then by all means, start asking."

Despite her years of training on retaining a straight face in the heat of battle, Kiwimon couldn't help but to jump. Somehow, both the draconic general and the Colonel managed to sneak up on them. An impressive feat given both mega's stature and armor.

The draconic general glared down at Datamon. "You're supposed to be finalizing your project."

Even though he was looking up at a Digimon who could crush him without even trying, Datamon maintained his usual calm and polite demeanor. "I have finished your weapon. My other student is currently administering the vaccine to the rest of our troops as we speak. Right now I am merely making use of my free time to study a Digimon whose current affliction was brought about by a core temperament that I wish to study. A Digimon, might I remind you, our leader is planning to unleash on our enemies like a mere guard Gaogamon."

"What our leader plans to do with which Digimon is none of your concern," the draconic general growled. "Recall your Troopmon before they prematurely wake it up!"

Just then, a Troopmon that was trying to chip away at the dragon's eye crust fumbled. Instead of taking off a piece of the eye crust, the tool stabbed the slumbering dragon right in the eye. There was a low snarl followed by a hiss and the dragon began to stir. As it moved against the chains which bound it, the symbol on the dragon's chest began to glow.

Misty

"Greymon, double Nova Blast!" Ash called out to his partner.

The massive fire type shot out two giant fireballs, one at Kyubimon and one where she landed to dodge the first fireball. The second fireball also missed, though just by looking at Ash's determined expression Misty could see the wheels turning in his head. The boy was clearly trying to figure out how to turn the battle in his favor.

"I think he's getting better," Betamon commented.

"I guess," Misty frowned. She was still thinking about that last group chat. Judging by the recent drama in the other traveling group, Gary was every bit a problem child as Ash made him out to be. But Misty still didn't approve of Ash's challenge.

"Are you okay, Misty?" It looked like Serena was watching from the sidelines for this round.

"I'm fine. Just a little worried," Misty sighed.

"About Ash?" Serena glanced over at the boy in question. "He has been pretty intense ever since Gary accepted his challenge."

Misty snorted. "No kidding." Ever since they got that ping from the Gary in the DigiChat, Ash and Greymon had been either training or talking about possible strategies on how to take down a giant fire breathing wolf. If they weren't hiking, they were blasting apart the landscape.

"It's not all bad," Serena said carefully. "I mean, we are supposed to be getting stronger and they're getting along better with Kyubimon."

Admittedly, Ash's choice to make Kyubimon his sparring partner made sense. Not only was Kyubimon experienced, but she had the same body type and elemental affinity as Garurumon. Though Kyubimon made it known that she thought the grudge match was needless, she ultimately agreed to train with Ash and Greymon. Her reasoning being that it would be best to polish the pair's skills, even if it was for something she found petty.

Greymon roared and smashed apart the ground with his tail. For his part, the dinosaur completely supported Ash's decision to even the score with his bully. He was especially happy to have Kyubimon as his sparring partner, though Misty suspected it was because Greymon was a sore loser and was trying to get at least one win against the Ninetails under his preverbal belt.

"The training isn't bad," Misty admitted. "I'm more worried about what the result will be for the battle."

"Result?" Serena inquired.

"Ash is putting a lot of his pride on the result of this battle," Misty elaborated. "I'm afraid that if Gary ends up winning he won't just be sad, he'll be crushed."

"Well, what if Ash wins?" Serena asked.

"I don't think winning will solve whatever problem those two have," Misty replied. From personal experience, Misty knew that just being a better battler wasn't the end all be all. She herself had spent a good chunk of her trainer carrier training herself to surpass her sisters as a superior battler and all around water Pokémon expert.

When the day finally came for her to fight her siblings, she won in a landslide. But nothing changed. They still saw her as their baby sister and they were still in charge of the gym. The fact that Misty was the strongest just added insult to injury as her current position as the runt.

BOOOM!

The match came to a halt with the sudden shake of the ground. Ash made eye contact with his Digimon. "You won't just have happened to have just learned a new ground attack, would you?"

"That wasn't me," Greymon replied, just as bewildered as Ash.

BOOOM!

The ground began to rumble and shake again. Cracks began to break through earth while both human and Digimon toppled to the ground. The cracks grew larger and larger until the ground split. A massive gorge opened up and began to swallow the surrounding land.

"Ash!" Greymon quickly scrambled to his feet and charged forward to his human. The dinosaur used his muscular tail to flip the kid onto his back before he continued to run away from the growing landslide. Meanwhile, Kyubimon dashed over to the girls.

The fox was fast, but Misty, Serena, and Betamon were unfortunately right next to the newly formed landslide and were quickly swept away. Though swift, Kyubimon couldn't do as much on without solid ground. The fox tried to catch up by using the chunks of rock as stepping stones, but she was still falling behind.

Thinking fast, Misty called out to Betamon. "Freeze the ground!"

Betamon Digivolve to…Seadramon!

Though not water, Seadramon was able to swim fairly well through the unstable dirt. The sea serpent fought back against the landslide and reared up. "Ice Blast!"

A powerful blast of snow and wind erupted form Seadramon's throat encasing the loose dirt in ice. Kyubimon leapt over to the new pathway and finished her charge towards Serena and Misty. The two girls were able to cling to Kyubimon as the fox whisked them away from the river of land that was quickly turning into a waterfall.

Seadramon managed to swim after them before slithering back on to solid ground. By the time Seadramon protectively wrapped her coils around Misty, the earthquake halted.

"Hey!" Brock and his team ran up to the group with Golemon and Brock's Pokémon ready for action. "Is everyone okay?"

"I thinks so," Misty said as she climbed over Seadramon's body. She looked over to the new formed canyon. What was that about?

Iris

Iris moaned as she rolled around in her sleeping bag. Try as she might, she couldn't put yesterday's battle out of her head. She was neck and neck with that smart-mouth, how could she loose?

"My dad's lost from time to time and his Pokémon still obey him. If you ask me this a YOU problem."

Shows what he knew. Dracomon was still willing to fight on her behalf even after reverting. So she couldn't be the problem. Right?

Iris's eyes wondered over to her bag. Sitting just outside of it was Excadrill's ball. Focusing, Iris tried to connect with the mole within, but it was no use. She was a prodigy when it came to connecting with dragon types, but connecting with other Pokémon were still beyond her reach. Even so, Iris tried to establish some kind of link with Excadrill. 'We're still a team. You know that right?'

BOOM!

There was a loud crash. Iris scrambled over to Excadrill's ball and grabbed it before it could roll off. "Please tell me that wasn't what happens when you try to connect auras with a ground type," she said to herself.

BOOM!

The earth began to shake violently. All around the campsite both human and Digimon were scrambling to get footing and avoid getting bludgeoned by loose objects.

Birdramon screeched and rose to her feet. "Everyone! Grab my talons!"

Of course! If they all took off into the sky they would be safe from the quake. Iris grabbed ahold of her Digivice. The more flying Digimon the better. "Let's help them out, Dracomon!...Dracomon?"

Normally, Dracomon would have scampered right to her side. But looking around, Iris could see the little dragon was not paying attention to her. The dragon was scurrying around the campsite tail lashing out every which way while he spewed fire from his jaws. When Iris saw Dracomon's eyes, they lacked their usual bright and warm demeanor. Instead, they were shrunken into slits reminding Iris of a Druddigon that was backed into a corner.

Running forward, Iris tried to get close to the dragon. While Dracomon had wings, they weren't strong enough to allow him to fly away from the ground long enough to flee the earthquake. She needed to grab him and board Birdramon if he wasn't going to Digivolve.

"Dracomon-omph!" she called out. Her cries were interrupted by another powerful shake which tripped her up.

"Iris!" Iris heard someone call out to her, but that didn't matter. All she could think about was her partner.

Squatting down, Iris sprang forward and pounced at the dragon. She managed to grapple Dracomon from behind and get a good grip as the two were tossed and turned by the shaking ground. Suddenly, another presence grabbed Iris carried her up into the air.

Looking behind, Iris could see it was Lekismon! The rabbit woman had managed to catch up to Iris and was now hauling her and Dracomon up into the air along with Lillie. Lekismon locked eyes with Iris. "I'm going to suspend us up here for as long as I can. I need you to calm Dracomon down, okay?"

Nodding back, Iris closed her eyes and focused on Dracomon's aura. Just as she thought, the dragon was terrified. His aura was ragging and squirming like a spooked Sawsbuck. Iris tried to reach out and sooth it while gently stroking the dragons physical body. "It's okay, Dracomon. We're safe now."

Slowly, Dracomon's thrashing ceased. "Iris?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"I'm here," Iris confirmed.

Tears dripped down Dracomon's face and onto Iris's sleeves. "Iris, Raindramon…he…I…Groundramon…I didn't mean…you're safe right?"

"It's okay," Iris said in the most soothing voice she could muster. "I'm right here. Nobody harmed me."

She continued to hug and pet Dracomon until the earthquake subsided. The two would then fall asleep next to one another. Dracomon, content now that the ground was still, slept peacefully. Iris, however, had a more restless night. She dreamed of a dragon trapped underground. A dragon that was filled with malice and pain.

Kiwimon

Kiwimon's talons gripped at the gridded floor. Would the dragon awaken prematurely? If so their chances of survival was slim given how many methods the dragon could dispose of them. Fire breath, a voice capable of creating shockwaves, acidic spit, and those were just the options that the beast was limited to while he was chained up. If he somehow managed to break Azulongmon's chains, he could just crush them with one of his clawed hands.

It was only when the slumbering dragon stopped stirring that Kiwimon released a sign of release. She watched as the naga's movements stilled and the glowing on the creature's chest died down. Soon after the tectonic plates of the Digital World stopped shifting and everyone could relax. They were safe.

SHIKT!

Safe from the slumbering dragon. The draconic warrior on the other hand…

"Call off your Troopmon NOW!" hissed the warrior, knife like claws glinting now that they were free from their gauntlet holsters.

Despite the threat of imminent dismemberment, Datamon ignored the draconic general. His eyes were instead glued to the sleeping dragon. "He hardly awakens and already he exudes so much influence."

Datamon snapped his fingers. As one the Troopmon dropped what they were doing and began to climb down form the dragon's mountainous body. The android then swiped a tiny radio off the table and spoke into it. "Vademon, come in."

Almost immediately a new, snooty, voice buzzed in. "I am here."

"I want you to drop whatever it is you are doing and deploy as many drones as you can to collect data. I want atmospheric readings, soil samples, radioactivity measurements!" Datamon ordered, not paying any mind to the angry general behind him.

"I would, sir, but I currently under orders to vaccinate an army," Vademon answered. His voice sounded strained. Not that Kiwimon could blame him. He was just put in a position where he had to both adhere to the generals' orders while appealing Datamon's never ending lust for new information. Upsetting either party would be ill advised.

"I'll put Vademon X in charge of the vaccines," Datamon said dismissively. "Now stop dilly dallying!"

"Of course, sir," Vademon replied. Though his voice mostly sounded the same, Kiwimon could detect a hint of relief at the out the lab assistant was given. "Welcome back, Vademon X."

Now reminded of her passenger, Kiwimon turned her sharp beak upward and gave the alien a decisive peck to the rear end. Vademon X yelped and sprang off of Kiwimon, landing on the floor in a clutter of tentacles.

"It's good to be back," Vademon X groaned.

The other Vademon spoke up from his end of the radio. "If it puts your fragile mind at ease, Datamon has put his x-antibody studies on hold. You should be safe from vivisection, for now."

Wobbly, Vademon X stood up. "You always know what to say to cheer me up."

At the mention of vivisection, Datamon's eyes zeroed in on the dragon's chest. "How did your core change when you were poisoned by the D-Reaper?"

In a flash, the Colonel's arm shot out and morphed into a lance. There was a crackling sound as electricity danced at the lance's tip. The Colonel spoke in a cold voice. "There is only one Digimon who's allowed to cut open my old master: me."

The two Digimon locked eyes for a minute. Finally, Datamon turned and began scuttling away. He made his way to the teleportation pad followed by his Troopmon, one of which was dragging along Vademon X.

Once Datamon's team had completely vanished, the draconic general turned to Kiwimon. "Kiwimon."

Remembering herself, Kiwimon straightened up. "Sir!"

"Follow Vademon X. Make sure he actually does his job," the draconic warrior sheathed his claws and stomped over to the teleporter before disappearing. The Colonel gave the sleeping dragon one last look before following.

Council of Chaos

The serpentine general's eyes narrowed when he saw the draconic general and the Colonel enter the generals' subspace. The Colonel didn't even have to ask for permission to enter. Either the draconic general invited him, or the Colonel's promotion to general was imminent, neither possibility pleased the serpent. He had enough dealing with one smug suck-up to their army's leader, he didn't need two.

"You're late," the serpent hissed. It was paltry, but he'd take what little satisfaction he could.

"There was an incident with Datamon," the draconic general explained. "It seems our top scientist couldn't resist running some tests on our latest attack dog."

"That would explain why the world was shaking like a maraca," mused the humanoid general. "Do you think we could get him to do it again for martini night?"

"Why do we keep that glorified calculator around? We have what we needed from him," the serpent hissed.

The humanoid shrugged. "Same reason I'm still alive. Because he's useful."

The serpent had a few remarks on exactly how useful the humanoid was, but held his tongue. As loath as he was to admit it, that mouthy clown was useful. While his status as a mega was nothing special, the rest of the generals were at least at that level, the humanoid did have his unique utilities. Namely his magic, despite his appearance his species were wizards. The humanoid also did his fair share of recruiting, bringing in a plethora of expendable lowlifes to fill out their ranks.

Then there was the serpent himself. He wasn't going to pretend he was in the best standing with their leader. They had massive disagreements in philosophy and the serpent was willing to bet that once the leader was done with the humanoid, the serpent was next on the chopping block. Fine by him. He and his mistress spent their lives clawing their way up from the mud. Adversity was a reoccurring visitor which did nothing but made them stronger. When all was said and done and Millenniummon was finished reducing the Digital World to a pile of ashes, the serpent and his mate would be at the top of that pile.

"In any case, it would be best to keep Datamon away from that slobbering dragon. He is needed for our grand finally," concluded the humanoid.

"Then I suggest placing some guards by his cage until it's time to let him out," the serpent said.

"Actually I was talking about you. But you are right, we should look after the other slobbering dragon," joked the humanoid.

The serpent's eyes narrowed. He just had to resist the urge to stab his tail through the clown's back for just a little while longer…

The draconic general steered the conversation back to the plan. "For our gambit to work the Celestials will need to be backed up in a corner, desperate. Will they bite our bait?"

The lead general, who had been quiet throughout the usual shenanigans, spoke. "Up until this point, we've been playing it safe. To prove to the Celestials that we are willing to follow through with extreme measures we'll need to give them a show of force."

There was a sound of machine parts moving as the main general turned his attention to the serpent. "MetalSeadramon, you've been clamoring for an opportunity to break through the barricade, haven't you?"

From his spot coiled up on the ground, MetalSeadramon rose. His golden and silver metallic plating glistened in the sparsely lite room. As he moved his bladed fins and twin, bladed tails, shifted to help guide his body as though he was swimming. Likewise, his long, purple hair drifted behind him in the same manner as the locks of a long haired swimmer. The high-tech cannon mounted on the tip of his muzzle and in front of his bladed nose-horn hummed to life and his mouth split open creating a Sharpedo-fanged grin.

Dawn (Sled Ride)

Earlier, during the earthquake

The border between the artic desert and the rest of the continent was separated by a long range of mountains. The rocky region itself was every bit as cold as the tundra itself. Between the climate and the elevation, Dawn was out like a light when it came time to rest.

And then the earthquakes happened.

Getting tossed around in her snug sleeping bag was bad enough, but then Penguinmon had to grab said sleeping bag and drag it across the ground. Thoroughly alarmed, Dawn squirmed until she freed herself of the bundle of sheets and animal furs. It was only when she was released from the sleeping bag that she saw what had her partner up in arms.

Barreling down the mountain side was a massive cloud of cold, white fury. An avalanche.

Immediately Dawn turned around and scooped her partner up in her arms. Penguinmon wasn't the smallest of rookies, but he was still small enough to grab and carry for a short distance. The purple and white bird squirmed in surprise when his human grabbed him. His tiny, yellow feet wiggled and his red claw-tipped flipper wings flapped in surprise. Atop his head, a pair of long purple feathers resembling ears raised in alarm.

"Miss Dawn," the penguin's narrow yellow and black tipped beak emitted a formal voice that did not sound like it belonged to such a cute animal. "While I appreciate the assistance, I don't wish to be manhandled!"

"Sorry! No time! Short feet!" Dawn managed to explain while she charged across the snow scape. A feat made even more difficult by both the thick layer of snow on the mountainside and the thick parka and snow pants.

Finally Dawn spotted what she was looking for, a cave that the pair passed by earlier that day. Without a moment to loose, Dawn dove into the mouth of the cave. Taking a moment to catch her breath, Dawn released Penguinmon. The two travelers watched as the deluge of snow cascaded past the cave's entrance, sparing the burrow's new inhabitants.

"Phew," Dawn sighed and sagged against the cavern walls. "That was a close one. Why didn't we camp in here to begin with?"

A loud growl sounded off from within the cave.

"Never mind," underneath her parka Dawn paled. "I just figured it out."

Another growl followed the first one, this time it sounded closer. Turning their heads, Dawn and Penguinmon were able to see the cave's owner. Standing behind them was a large, bipedal dragon. Its main body was covered in a poncho of blue and white fire while its wings, limbs, tail, and cranium looked to be carved out of ice. The body parts that weren't covered in fur or ice were coded in blue scales which matched its blue claws. The dragon narrowed its red eyes at the pair of intruders.

"Why hello!" Dawn greeted in the friendliest voice she could muster. "Is this your cave? Sorry about the whole breaking and entering. But we were in a bit of a life or death situation."

"Very true," Penguinmon nervously joined in. "Now if you excuse us, we'll get out of your hair. No harm, no fowl."

The dragon raised one of its arms, talon's ready to strike.

"Run," Penguinmon squeaked.

Before the dragon's claws could come crashing down, Dawn and Penguinmon dashed out of the cave and into the now settled snow. Penguinmon dropped onto his belly and began sliding down the mountainside while Dawn followed behind.

Wait! How can you properly retreat if you don't know what you're running from? You've got to scan that dragon!

As Dawn charged after her partner, she reached into her coat and took out her Digivice. "Paledramon, champion level. They're ice dragons who can survive even the coldest storms. Not so good when it comes to heat. Too bad we don't have any fire types. Special attacks are Meteor Hail where it performs a sky drop and Ice Age where it freezes its foes with its breath, ah oh."

Peering over her shoulder, Dawn could see cloudy mist gather up in the dragon's jaw signaling an oncoming Ice Age attack. Dawn tried to pick up the past, but just like before the combination of snow gear and environment headed her movements.

Mind racing, Dawn's eyes darted around her surroundings. In addition to the trees and snow from before the avalanche, now there was a collection of rocks and branches littering the ground. Debris left behind by the rush of snow. One piece of debris in particular caught Dawn's eye. Running to the side, Dawn grabbed what appeared to a hollowed out log that was sliced straight down the middle.

"Penguinmon, carve me a path!" Dawn shouted, reading her new, large piece of wood.

"I don't know where you're going with this but I will assist! Slide Attack!" Penguinmon launched himself in the air and came back down onto the snow below before continuing its slide with more power. As he made his way down the mountain, he left a path of flattened snow, perfect for sledding.

Readying her ride, Dawn flopped down on the ground and followed Penguinmon. Just in time too. Right as Dawn took off, Paledramon's attack enveloped the area, freezing the location Dawn was standing moments ago in a miniature iceberg.

Now safe from the dragon, Dawn concentrated on steering her makeshift sled down the mountain. Penguinmon's path was a huge asset as it kept her from slamming face first into the tree's and rocks which decked out the mountain, but Dawn still had to work to keep her sled on track and not just barreling off into the foliage.

Finally, the pair broke through the tree line at the base of the mountain. At first, Dawn racked her brain to figure out how to stop. She was so worried about death by frost dragon that she forgot to figure out how to put the brakes on her decent. Luckily, nature was one step ahead of her.

"OMPH!" Dawn cried out as she and Penguinmon crashed into a massive pile of snow created by the avalanche earlier.

Penguinmon was the first to dig his way out of the pile. When he looked around and failed to spot his human, the bird immediately began frantically clawing at the snow. "Dawn? Dawn!"

Penguinmon's concerns were soon put to rest with an eruption of snow. Springing from the snow was Dawn. Her parka was lost in the snow pile revealing the girl underneath, a fair skinned bluenette with long hair that was kept out of her face by a pair of large yellow hair clips. In contrast to her snow pants and lost parka, Dawn's wardrobe was not suited for the tundra with a sleeveless black V-neck with a white undershirt, a light, pink scarf, and a white beanie with a pink Poke ball insignia in the middle.

Dawn's blue eyes sparkled as she cheered. "WHOOO! I'M ALIVE! IN YOUR FACE DIGITAL WORLD!"

The girl's cheers slowly died when she saw that she and Penguinmon weren't alone. As fate would have it, the pile that ceased her sled ride was right in front of a mountainside town. A mountainside town filled with Digimon. Digimon who were staring at her and her outburst.

Catching the townsfolk's awkward stares, Dawn's eyes trailed down to Penguinmon. The bird Digimon was currently covering his face with a clawed wing and turning away from Dawn in a vain attempt to pretend he didn't know her. Chuckling nervously, Dawn gave the townsfolk a little wave. "Hi. You guys wouldn't just so happen to have a hotel, would you?"

AN: Alright, the identity of the first human has been revealed. It was Danny DeVito! He is the Trash Man!

Do I really need to explain why Dawn's partnered up with Penguinmon?

Sorry for the lack of updates this last month. I was taking a short break from The Crest of a Master to try my hand at some other projects. One of which is a Pokémon werewolf story which will eventually incorporate Mystery Dungeon elements. If that sounds appealing to you please check it out.

As for this story it's still going to be slow for a bit. The end of the year is chalk full of holidays and family visits so I won't be writing as much. I'll try to give you a chapter in December, but I make no promises. Until next time.

The More You Know: Jofi, or Yofi, was the name of the Chow Chow that belonged to famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Not only did he observe that people were more open around the dog, but Jofi was an excellent time keeper and let Freud know when a session was over by approaching the door.

Reader Response Recess!

Ashpoke55: Sorry about making you worry. And sorry for the lack of updates in October. Thank you for your permission to use your Digimon, but I'm going to refrain from fan made monsters for now. While I have read your fic and thus know who NeoGreymon is, other readers would be out of the loop.

Ultimate Savior Infinity: *Hangs head.* Yeah, I know. My bad. But in my defense, Pteramon are based on pterosaurs. The spelling was rigged against me!

MacaroniChicken: Well of course the Team Rocket Trio would try to capture the Digimon. I can just see it now. Picture da boss. He'd be sittin' down at his desk to check his email when OH NO! A computer virus! But then his new Digimon would come in and defeat the virus so that he can do his computer work in peace. Happy that he was able to get his work done the boss would then say: "For givin' me these helpful Digimon Meowth and his friends deserve a reward!"

ZoyeZest, Naedinefebruary 2.0, and any other artists reading: Thank you for your offers for art commissions. I am not looking to purchase any art work at this particular time but I am flattered by your offers.

Legoguy67: Datamon is willing to work with anyone if it helps further his research. He probably wouldn't be able to converse directly with any villain groups as his current bosses wouldn't want him to be handing over secrets to the humans. But if he can find a go between man to secretly pass around information negotiations can begin.

Which crest would I choose? Interesting question as it's not so much you who chooses the crest, rather it's the crest which chooses you. Like I'd like the crest of knowledge as it would mean I'm a smart person, but I think I'd be more compatible with either the crest of sincerity (I wear my heart on my sleeve) or reliability (I'm a by the books kind of person).

Arceus is aware of the Digital World and what's going down there. He and Yggdrasil have discussed it in length as well as what role humans should play in defeating Millenniummon.

Thank you very much for that comment on my stories. That made my day. Alas, I don't have a reddit or a TV tropes account, nor do I go onto those sites regularly so I'd probably not know how to advertise even if I got some accounts. Actually most of my social media accounts have a tendency to collect dust. Also, I'm admittedly a bit on the shy side.

Mr. Navit: Well, there were some barrel rolls performed. I just didn't have one of them shout "Do a Barrel Roll!" Outside of that meme I'm not an expert in Star Fox, so I stuck to channeling Top Gun instead.

You will see at least one of the Tian Ji will appear in a future arc. I'll add in new Digimon when I can, though for some new Digimon I will want to get a good feel for what they can do before I throw them in this story. For example you're probably not going to see Maquinamon any time soon since Digimon hasn't told us much about it yet.

For some Digimon 10 yards away won't be enough. Kyubimon is not taking any chances.

I try to avoid using curse words if I can.

I would like to think being defeated by a bunch of snot nosed brats would be the punishment for being a demon lord.

Okay, now that I'm looking all this new Yodewtwo lore, I'm getting the feeling the rolled up newspaper may not be enough. I'll go grab my wooden plank.

I mean, Jijimon does play the same role as Professor Oak in some of the Digimon games in that he is the old guy who says It's dangerous out there, take this cute monster.

Yeah, now that I go back and re-read the Lekismon Snaps chapters I did give Loogamon a personality that meshes well with Paul. However, I think I found an alternative that should be just as satisfying.

…Giovanni must have a big car to fit the leader of the Forces of Chaos.

Thank you for the warning about the troll. So far I haven't seen this guy, but thanks for the heads up. Don't worry, I don't want this to be an aboddamon fic either ;)

The one who reads and writes: It's hard to say exactly how human and Pokémon symbiosis began, but we do see some of the early stages in Legends of Arceus. A lot of your second point is reflected in that game with the various side quests of your character grabbing Pokémon to help the villagers with their day to day lives such as farming and medical work.

I also subscribe to your theory about weaker Pokémon going to humans for food, shelter, and medical attention. The stronger Pokémon, on the other hand, didn't seem to want to deal with humans at first. That alpha Torterra didn't have to attack me! I wasn't trying to invade your territory! I was just walking by!

The alpha Mamoswine's attack was completely understandable. I went out of my way to provoke him.

I also subscribe to the humans in the Pokémon world are made of sterner stuff than your everyday person in our world theory. Though I attribute Team Rocket's ability to walk off explosions and everyone surviving electrocution via Pikachu to cartoon shenanigans.

And yes. Luck plays a huge part in our standing in the ecosystem. I dare say we are lucky to exist to begin with given how many factors have to come together for life to thrive in the first place.

In the anime the conflict between Iris and Excadrill came down to Excadrill not trusting Iris after their fight with Drayden. In that moment, Iris was thinking more about victory than Excadrill's wellbeing. When Iris realized this, she was able to reconnect with Excadrill. I'll be holding off giving her this epiphany for a while.

I wouldn't say being a Digimon tamer only comes down to befriending your Digimon. In most mediums, Digivolution is a manifestation of character growth. The crests in Adventure are linked to virtues the characters must exhibit, the kids in Tamers come to see their partners as equals rather than pets/fighting machines, etc. In other stories the tamer can take a more active role in fighting such as V-Tamer where Tai is ordering Zero around like a Pokémon trainer or in Cyber Sleuth/Hacker's Memory where hackers can use their computer skills to not only to order Digimon around but heal them in battle. Yes, Pokémon does put a bigger emphasis in human involvement in the fights, but it's not absent from Digimon.

If I were to say, hypothetically have humans other than our heroes team up with Digimon, they would mostly still be side characters with maybe a few exceptions. Whether they'd be with or against our heroes depends on the person.

The problem with Millenniummon is that he has space time powers. If you were to take a time traveler and lock him in a room, he can still show up at that exact time somewhere else. All he would have to do would be to travel back or forward in time from a point where he wasn't locked up. You can narrow down the amount of time he has to screw around with the timeline by tying his hands or killing him (a time traveler with a personal clock that has 5 years can't do more than a time traveler whose personal clock has 10 years), but he can still do a lot of damage in the time he does have.

Now to make things clear, no Millenniummon can't just go back to before our heroes were born and terminate them for three reasons I'll expand on in story later. But to give you the abridged version Millenniummon has a vested interest in not destroying this Pokémon or Digital World…yet (mess with them yes, but the destruction will come later). The events that have taken place and have yet to take place are vital to its existence. Other worlds are fine to destroy. Millions will parish just because he felt like it.

Reason 2 is that he's not the only monster with space time power and other chronomancers are not going to just let him go around smashing realities unchallenged.

Reason 3 is Millenniummon is not mentally all there. He only wants two things: to show off his power and…well…something that he got when he faced against the first human. And he ain't letting the spoils of that battle go without a fight.

Speaking of which, you can get at Millenniummon from the core. Just don't expect the uber powerful chimera to let you just walk up to his core and simply plant a bomb without resistance.

While we are on the topic of time travel, there was an oversite on my part when I answered one of your previous questions about the chronomancers. The first chronomancer the kids will be meeting is waiting for them at the temple. He was briefly mentioned in Garurumon Howls.

The guy who made the Digivice is very much alive.

The angels have not found the Pokémon world yet. Too bad because if they did they could have recruited some elite trainers instead of rag tag group of kids they've currently got.

That's all for now! Thank you for tuning in and being patient. God loves you and so do I!

New Digimon Introduced

Penguinmon: Rookie, Vaccine, Bird

MetalSeadramon: Mega, Data, Android

Paledramon: Champion, Data, Dragon

Next Time: Alright! One more spotlight adventure and it's Dawn and her partner. Let's join them as they celebrate not having to freeze to death by stopping a good old western train heist.