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 take your tickets: Hogwarts Express (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban PS2)

The Crest of a Master Chapter 25: Coordinator on the Trailmon Express

?

"Hello?" Dawn called out. "Anyone here?"

In contrast to the blindingly white snowfields she had been trapped in for weeks, Dawn now found herself in what looked like an endless field of dust. The landscape before her was flat and featureless. Behind her were large chunks of rocks that made it look as though someone took the ground from several landscapes, ripped them apart, and chucked them straight down into her current location where they landed sidewise, wedged into the earth.

There was little to no light. No sun, no moon, no glows from any far off towns. There were stars, sort off. The "stars" would start off small before some of them stretched and grew wider momentarily adding more light to the bleak world. Once the "stars" grew large enough, they would then slam shut like a massive eye.

Dawn slowly made her way down a series of train tracks that lead away from the landmass debris and further into the sullen void. Train tracks meant someone came through here, right?

Sounds were almost none-existent here. The only noises Dawn could hear were her own muted footsteps, the echoes of her voice from when she called out, and occasionally…

"How long do you guys think these tracks go?"

That was the voice of a girl around Dawn's age. Dawn looked around wildly for the girl, but there wasn't anyone here but her. What's more, the girl sounded close. Like she should have been right next to Dawn.

"Excuse me, I'm lost. Can you give me some directions?" Dawn asked whoever that was. She began waving her arms around in a fruitless attempt to locate the invisible girl.

"What? No. That's a stupid idea," came a boy's voice just ahead of her.

"What's stupid? Where are you!?" Dawn shouted.

"Ash? Are you okay? You've been out of it since…" a new girl's voice spoke up then died down before she could finish her sentence.

Dawn latched onto that incomplete sentence. Was that girl talking to the same Ash from the DigiChat? "Ash? I think I might know that guy! Could you take me to him?"

Nobody responded. The voices had gone completely mute leaving Dawn feeling truly isolated.

"Hello? Hello!" Dawn began to panic. "Please! Someone! Anyone!"

THUMP

Dawn's pleads were answered by a massive tremor. The ground rumbled and shook tripping Dawn up and sending her falling forward.

THUMP

Another earthquake. This time it was accompanied by the sound of chains.

THUMP

The shakes had a steady rhythm. Just like footsteps.

THUMP

Slowly, Dawn turned to look over her shoulder. Towering above her was a massive beast with muscular arms, multiple pairs of wings, and long, ridged horns. Most of the creature's form was obscured by shadow, but Dawn could feel the heat emanating from the dark flames crackling on the creature's chained limbs.

The creature's glowing red eyes narrowed when he spotted Dawn and drool began to drip from its fanged maw. One of its clawed hands began to reach forward.

A scream erupted from Dawn's lips as the claws scraped against the ground and closed in to grasp her. Just before the beast's fingers could wrap around Dawn, the ground gave way to the beast's weight and began to crumble. Now Dawn was falling, falling, falling.

Two voices spoke to Dawn. The first was high pitched and quiescent. It spoke like a long sigh. The second voice was deep and booming. Somehow, despite how different both voices were, they spoke together in perfect unison.

"I've been here before you knew life. When you dodge the dragon's wrath, I'll be here, starving. When the angels fall, I'll be salivating. When the world crumbles, I'll be waiting."

Wake Up!

Dawn bolted forward in her bed. Panting, she looked around. The barren wasteland was replaced with a dimly lit room. Beneath Dawn was a large, warm bed. A stark contrast from the tundra she had been hiking through previously.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Dawn bundled up the covers and hugged her legs to her chest. It was just a dream. The wasteland, the isolation, the giant monster, all a dream. And yet, it felt so real. She could still practically feel the beast's hot breath blowing down at her.

Shaking, Dawn left the comfort of her bed and crossed the cold, wooden floor. Lighting her path was the dim glow emanating from the coals in a small stove. From the light, Dawn could vaguely make out the furnishings of the room she slept in. A wooden dresser, a long mirror, and a bunch of thick tapestries hanging around the room depicting winter landscapes and various snow Digimon ranging from packs of roaming Garurumon, to a Beartic equipped with skiing gear, and to a large, hairy Mamoswine with an elongated trunk and a metal mask.

Reaching the window, Dawn threw open the curtains to look outside. Her shaking began to ease as she observed the sunrise on the mountain town below. The cobblestone streets that lead from one log cabin shop to another cottage café were clear from villagers and shoppers. The only Digimon that were up and about were some of the shop keepers getting their stores ready and a lone, Loogamon patrol man.

Sighing, Dawn took in the quant scenery. When she first arrived at the Digital World she was practically convinced that the only form of civilization were tiny villages like Penguinmon's village or the sparse trade outposts. The stories from other humans of beaches, abandoned cities, and treehouse universities felt worlds away. She almost didn't want to leave the tourist-trap looking town she was currently bunking in, but duty called.

Dawn was going to have to be fast. She and Penguinmon had a long day ahead of them and time was a valuable commodity that could not be wasted.

3 hours later

Penguinmon waddled down the hallway to Dawn's room. On his back was his neatly packed bag. All he had to do was pick up Dawn, checkout, and they could head to the train station. Upon reaching Dawn's door, he pulled out her spare key. When he opened the door he was hoping to see the girl dressed and ready to go. What he hadn't been expecting was to be blasted with a massive cloud of steam.

"Miss Dawn?" Penguinmon yelled. "Miss Dawn!"

The bird's calls were answered by the hiss of a shower. Waddling forward, Penguinmon felt around until his clawed flipper came up on the door to the bathroom. He knocked. "Miss Dawn? Water you doing?"

Dawn's voice came in loud over the shower. "Penguinmon? I'm in the shower!"

"Could you hurry this along? We need to catch a train!" Penguinmon called back.

"No need to worry! I asked the concierge and he said that the train arrives in the afternoon. We have plenty of time!" Dawn shouted back. "Besides, it's been weeks since I've done any self-care. Let me have this, please!"

Penguinmon sighed and waddled over to a cushion to sit down. He then took off his pack and pulled out a fairly hefty tomb which he proceeded to read.

1 more hour later

Once Dawn was satisfied with her hair, she and Penguinmon checked out of the lodge. Now they were making their way down a very busy street. Penguinmon was heading straight forward following the signs leading to the train station. Dawn, meanwhile, wasn't in a rush.

"Look at this quilt!" Dawn said standing by an elaborate blanket depicting a snowy forest.

"It is very nice, but we don't need it," Penguinmon said diplomatically.

"I know, I'm just browsing. Give me some credit," Dawn replied. "Oh! Look! Wood carvings!"

Dawn rushed over to the wood shop and began inspecting a table covered in small, wooden statues. She heard Penguinmon's clawed footsteps behind her as he waddled to keep up. Spinning around, Dawn showed him the statue she was holding. "Doesn't this look just like that Mojyamon we bumped into last week?"

"I suppose I see the resemblance," Penguinmon said with a head tilt. He then shook it and gave Dawn a serious glare. "Miss Dawn! I must insist we stop this dilly dallying and move along!"

"Ah come on, Penguinmon. We haven't had a chance to see any towns since we left from your home," Dawn said, putting the statue back. A warm scent then caught her nose, guiding her along to the next shop.

"We did stop at some trading posts," Penguinmon pointed out.

"Doesn't count," Dawn said dismissively. She then ducked into a bakery and went up to the Dracomon manning the register. Dawn studied the menu. "Let's see, we should probably get something to eat while we're on the train. Oh! And maybe some local treats."

Her order complete, Dawn headed back out into the street with fuller arms. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught her partner staring at her with a scrutinizing gaze. "Don't look so sour Penguinmon. We've been trudging through snow storms for days. It won't kill you to take a moment to soak in a little bit of merriment."

Penguinmon shook his head. "While I'm happy that we are having a break from the normal level of danger, we shouldn't become too complacent. This town may be enticing, but it is also a tourist trap filled with money wasting products and frivolous activities designed to waste…our…time…"

As the bird spoke his eyes began to wander to a gazebo down the street. Following his gaze, Dawn saw a Digimon that looked like a wooden taiko with a red headband, a pair of drumstick hands, stubby, clawed feet, and a face in its side with a zigzag mouth. Surrounding the drum were small, floating flames with stubby arms, wide, blue eyes, and stitched up mouths.

Shifting the straps of her bag onto her arm, Dawn pulled out her Digivice. "Let's see. The drum's name is Dondokomon, rookie level. He has the power to pump his audience with his drum beats. The fire Digimon are called DemiMeramon, in-training level. Even though it's small, it burns so intensely that its body is always aflame."

The Dondokomon began striking his skull in a slow beat which caused the DemiMeramon bobbed up and down. As Dondokomon's pace quickened, the DemiMeramon began to fly away from their circle and soared around the air. As the DemiMeramon flew they left behind trails of fire creating 3D patterns in the air. At the end of the performance, the DemiMeramon flew into each other creating a small explosion which wiped out the patterns. Once the smoke cleared, it revealed the DemiMeramon floating in a straight line. All the performers took a bow as the audience clapped and tossed them spare change.

"You've got to admit, that was pretty cool," Dawn said joining in the applause. Glancing down she saw Penguinmon was staring at the performers in awe. A smirk crossed her lips. "My, my. Could a certain Penguinmon be enjoying something that might be considered, dare I say, frivolous?"

Catching himself, Penguinmon turned away from the performance, beak in the air and arms crossed. "There was nothing to enjoy. It wasn't even a good performance."

"I thought it was fine," Dawn frowned.

"Hardly!" Penguinmon sniffed. "The third DemiMeramon on the right clearly needed work with its rhythm. That Dondokomon was trying to blend together jazz and traditional with mix success at best. They clearly should have incorporated the air drawings into the finale, not destroyed. Furthermore…"

As Penguinmon continued to list his criticisms, Dawn stared awkwardly. "Yeesh. Tough critic."

Hearing Dawn's comment, Penguinmon quickly brought his flipper up to his beak and coughed. "In any case, we should go full steam ahead to the train station if we don't want to be late. You still have the tickets, right?"

Grinning, Dawn reached into the pocket of her parka (which she was totally ditching the second they made it to a warmer climate) and withdrew a pair of tickets. She held the tickets up high. "No need to worry. They're right here."

It was at that moment that strong breeze blew through the town, knocking the tickets out of Dawn's hands. Both Dawn and Penguinmon watched slack-jawed as the tickets fluttered away.

"The tickets!" Dawn cried. She and Penguinmon took off after the precious strips of paper chasing them around and over to the gazebo. For a moment it looked as though the wind was dying down. The tickets began to descend and then disaster happened.

Dawn's arms stretched out to grasp the tickets, but just as her fingers brushed the paper it caught aflame. Apparently one of the DemiMeramon performers was right in the path of the rogue tickets. One touch was all that was needed to reduce the paper tickets that Dawn had held onto and guarded for a month into ash in the wind.

Oblivious, the DemiMeramon turned around to see a human and Penguinmon with twin expressions of horror. "Can I help you?"

Dawn and Penguinmon just stood there, wide eyed and jaws gaping.

"Uh, okay….bye," said the DemiMeramon before he flew away.

Finally Dawn and Penguinmon snapped out of their stupor. Penguinmon was the first to speak. "What are we going to do now?! Without those tickets there's no train ride! And without the train it will take forever to reach the temple!" Penguinmon rambled. He then gave Dawn a pleading look. "Please tell me we have enough money left to buy more tickets."

A guilty smile crossed Dawn's face as her eyes slid down to the bag of treats. "Well…"

"Dawn!" Penguinmon squawked.

Dawn quickly recovered. "No need to worry! I'm sure if we just explain our situation to the conductor, he'll let us on!"

Train Station

"Sorry, kid. No ticket, no ride"

After a short jog, Dawn and Penguinmon found themselves at a small train station on the outskirts of town. The train itself was fairly short with less than ten cars. The train at the front was large, rust colored, and covered in bumps and curves.

The conductor was a short, mammalian Digimon covered with red fur and blue stripes. It had a series of tails sticking out of its rear end which fanned out like a Quaquaval and a pair of tall ears sticking out of the holes in his conductor hat. Underneath his half-lidded eyes were the largest eye bags Dawn had ever seen.

"I'm sorry mister…excuse me," Dawn took out her Digivice to scan the conductor. "Elecmon, rookie level. It's curious and loves mischief. When threatened, he can unleash lightning from his tails using his Sparkling Thunder attack."

Now armed with the knowledge on who she was talking to, Dawn put her Digivice away. "It's REALLY important that I reach The Temple of the Crests. Can't you loosen the rules just this once?"

"Listen, this train is carrying important cargo. I can't just let any hooligan aboard," Elecmon folded his arms. "No ticket, no entry."

Penguinmon stepped forward and gestured to Dawn with one of his flippers. "This girl isn't some hooligan. She's one of the humans prophesized to defeat Millenniummon!"

Taking this as her cue, Dawn struck a pose. She fluffed her hair out with one hand and opened her parka making it look like the coat of some Pokéstar celebrity. She finished off by giving Elecmon a wink.

Elecmon looked Dawn up and down. "She doesn't look like a human."

Dawn nearly fell over at that comment. Standing straight back up, she rounded on Elecmon. "WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!" she yelled. "WHAT DO YOU THINK A HUMAN LOOKS LIKE!?"

"Probably something more impressive than you," Elecmon said, completely none threatened. "Now scram."

"Oh no! You're not getting rid of me that easily!" Dawn seethed. She placed her hands on her hips. "I demand to speak with your manager."

Dawn looked around the train station, only to see nobody. "Um, do you have a manager?"

Rolling his eyes, Elecmon pointed to the front of the train.

Following Elecmon's claw, Dawn walked to the head of the train. Looking around, Dawn found no one. Just the front of the train which was, as it turned out, was the weirdest looking locomotive Dawn had ever seen. Its two pairs of headlights were placed on the each side of its anterior and instead of a buffer (or whatever it was you called the front, lower part of a train) there was a mouth filled with teeth.

"Excuse me," Dawn called out. "I need to speak to the manager. Are you here?"

The train's headlights opened up to reveal two pairs of yellow eyes. "You're looking at him."

"Ahh!" Dawn intelligently yelped.

"What's the matter, Doll?" the train asked in a gruff voice. "Never seen a Trailmon before?"

As a matter of fact, no. Dawn should probably scan him.

"Trailmon, champion level. These guys act as the main mode of transportation in the Digital World carrying goods and even other Digimon. They come in different models and can use their Cool Running attack to speed up or Emergency Brake Spark to shock anyone who gets too close."

Penguinmon waddled over to Dawn's side. "Pardon me, Trailmon."

"Please call me Worm. That's the name of my model," said Worm.

"Worm," Penguinmon corrected himself. "We have a bit of a conundrum."

"You don't have to repeat yourself. I heard you guys talking to Elecmon," Worm replied. His eyes looked down at Dawn. "A human, eh?"

Dawn stood silent as Worm inspected her. While the Trailmon looked Dawn up and down, he would occasionally blow out a plume of smoke from his fanged mouth making Dawn feel as though she's in the presence of some big boss smoking cigars.

Finally, Worm came to a decision. "Hm, tell you what. You clean out some of my dirtier cars and I'll give you passage."

"You believe us?" Dawn asked in surprise.

"There aren't many Digimon around that were alive when the first human was active, but my mentor, GranLocomon, said he saw him once or twice," Worm explained. "Said it looked like a gangly monkey in weird clothes."

"And you're saying I fit that description?" Dawn asked flatly.

"Don't look too down," laughed Worm. "You resemble a legendry hero. At least enough for me to offer you a ride."

"We should probably go along with it," Penguinmon whispered under his breath. "He's being very generous."

"I guess you're right," Dawn sighed. Though she wasn't very fond of the train's description of a human, Worm was being very charitable. And right now she was looking like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Glancing down at her bag, Dawn decided to repay Worm. "Do you like cinnamon bread, Worm? I bought a freshly baked loaf this morning."

Worm's mouth turned into a grin. "You're a real peach, kid. It's been ages since I've had something to eat that wasn't coal!"

With that, Worm opened his fanged maw wide. Inside Dawn could see a large tongue with coal at the base and a massive flame crackling in the back of Worm's throat. Taking out the loaf, Dawn quickly unwrapped it and tossed it inside. Worm's mouth slammed shut and he proceeded to slowly chew, savoring the tiny treat.

"Delicious," Worm complemented. "Okay you two, get your tiny butts into one of my passenger cars. Elecmon will tell you what you need to do. ALL ABOARD!"

Aboard

The inside of the passenger cars wasn't that different from your average passenger train. Two rows of wooden benches seated next to glass windows with a carpeted aisle in-between. Standing in said aisle, looking very ticked off, was Elecmon.

"I don't know how you two were able to sweet talk your way on this train, but don't forget that you aren't passengers. You are temporary employees working under meeee," Elecmon said before releasing a very loud yawn.

"You okay?" Dawn asked, eyebrow arched.

"Most Digimon are fighting on the front lines. We're understaffed and I'm overworked. What do you think?" grumbled Elecmon. "Alright, before we go any further I'm going to give you the rules. Rule one: no slacking off. Rule two: stay in the passenger cars."

Jabbing his thumb over his shoulder, Elecmon continued. "Behind me are several cars containing important cargo. Don't go in there."

"Important cargo?" Penguinmon asked with a head tilt.

"Medical equipment, food, and other supplies for the Digimon stationed around the civilian zone," Elecmon explained. "Oh yeah, and another car with other…stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Dawn probed.

Elecmon's eyes narrowed and electricity sparked off his tails. "If I catch you in that car…"

Dawn's hands flew up in a surrender motion. "Okay! Okay! Forget I asked."

Satisfied, the electricity from Elecmon's tail died down. "So, here's your jobs. Penguinmon, there's a couple of stains in the next passenger car that need scrubbing."

"Sounds doable," Penguinmon nodded.

"What about me?" Dawn asked.

Elecmon handed Dawn a metal spatula.

Later

Even though Dawn was essentially getting a free ride, she couldn't help but to feel kind of annoyed. Just how many people placed their gum under the seats? Was it really that hard to find a trashcan? And what was the gum in the Digital World made of? Cement?

Groaning, Dawn put down her now gum incrusted spatula and crawled out from under the bench she had been working on. She had been down there for who knows how long and she needed to stretch. As she stood up, Dawn was able to get a good view outside the window.

The landscape had just switched from mountain to desert. In an instant. No in between. One second Dawn was looking out at trees and waterfalls and the next all she could see was cacti and mesas. It's a good thing Dawn removed her parka. Though she might want to invest in a wide brimmed hat.

"Wow," smiled Dawn. Looking around, she didn't see Elecmon anywhere. Perhaps now would be a good time to sneak on over to the next car to check on Penguinmon?

Quietly creeping out of her car, Dawn made her way to the next car where Penguinmon should have been working. Before Dawn pulled the door open, she peered through the window. Penguinmon was standing next to a stain in the carpet with his large book opened and leaning against one of the benches.

When Dawn quietly cracked open the door, she could hear the bird mutter incantations. "Scourgify!"

Nothing happened.

"Prestidigitation!" Penguinmon declared wiggling his claws.

Still nothing.

"Are you practicing magic?" Dawn asked, inviting herself into the car.

Penguinmon jumped. "Don't sneak up on me!"

"Sorry," Dawn Mareepishly rubbed the back of her head. "I just wanted to see a cool spell."

Sighing, Penguinmon went over to his spell book and began flipping through the pages. "We've been over this. Spells aren't meant to be cool. They are supposed to be useful."

During their adventures in the digital arctic, Dawn noticed that Penguinmon would exhibit odd habits when setting up camp. Every time they stopped to rest, Penguinmon would slowly scoot in a circle around the site, holding up several claws, and muttering under his breath.

As it turned out, Penguinmon was a bit of an amateur wizard and was casting a spell to obscure their campsite, campfire, and noise from potential predators. The spell had its limits. The campfire couldn't be allowed to get too big (not a problem considering the lack of firewood) and they couldn't make too much noise. Also, if a predator just so happened to walk into the spell's circle through sheer dumb luck the spell would be broken.

Aside from camping magic, Penguinmon also knew several spells to buffer Dawn and himself against the harsh elements. According to Penguinmon, those spells were meant to shave off the effects of hunger, fatigue, protect against frostbite and dehydration, and most importantly keep her warm. Despite the Piplup's reassurances that the spell was protecting her, Dawn still felt extremely chilly leading her to wonder how cold the arctic actually was and how long she would have lasted without Penguinmon. The fridged hikes caused Dawn to recall seeing a picture from one of her old school textbooks of a muscular, shirtless man living in the snow back in Hisuian times (how a man like that existed was beyond Dawn).

"Just because something's flashy doesn't make it less useful. In fact, my mom's job is to be flashy," Dawn debated.

Back home, Dawn's mother was a class of Pokémon trainer known as a coordinator. Coordinators specialized in performing in Pokémon Contests. These were events which aimed to dazzle using Pokémon and their moves as appose to just their raw power. Dawn herself was looking forward to receiving her first Pokémon so that she could follow in her mother's footsteps and become a famous Coordinator, until she was abducted and shipped off to freeze in the Digital World.

"Ah, yes. A coordinator. I'm sure your family's profession is…lovely. But in the tundra we don't have time for entertainment. The climate is harsh and food is scarce. If you're not spending your time gathering materials or fortifying the village's defenses you are considered a strain on our resources and will be given the cold shoulder," Penguinmon explained.

"That doesn't sound too bad," Dawn said.

Penguinmon raised a claw. "For the record, the cold shoulder is what we call exile. Exile to the arctic desert."

Yikes. Dawn made a mental note not to do anything to get on the bad side of an arctic Digimon. "Well, those rules only apply to your snow village. And here there isn't a flake in sight!"

"I still see some snow on the mountains back there," Penguinmon muttered peering out the window.

"You're missing the point!" Dawn exclaimed. "We're out of the tundra! You don't have to be so serious! Out here you can cast whatever spell you want!"

Frowning, Penguinmon folded his arms. "Even if I were so incline, I could not. Most of the spells I know are because they're snow survival spells that have been passed down from one village mage to another."

"What about your spell book?" Dawn leaned down to pick up the book in question. She thumbed through the old pages covered in nonsense words and diagrams. "These can't all be winter survival spells."

"That book does contain a wide variety of spells, but it's difficult to cast them without the proper programming or education," Penguinmon explained.

"Programming or education?" Dawn asked. Dawn had asked Penguinmon about the digital part of "Digital Monsters" but the penguin just said that Digimon were just the way they were, nothing special. He then asked Dawn how that was unusual to which Dawn informed him that digital was a computer term. Penguinmon then asked her what a computer was and that's when Dawn quit.

"Programming as in nature," Penguinmon explained. "As a penguin, snow spells come more easily to me than say, a fire spell."

Penguinmon then gave the floor a downcast stare. "As for education, I would have liked to have attended the magic academy in Witchelny. But that realm has become another casualty of this war."

"I'm sorry," Dawn said compassionately.

"And I'm sorry for you," Penguinmon looked back up at Dawn. "A woman of the arts shouldn't be forced to play the role of a soldier."

Dawn blinked. Yeah, that kind of was her situation, wasn't it? Just like how Penguinmon's school had been destroyed, Dawn was taken away from her home to a land where no one heard of a Pokémon coordinator. She should have felt some melancholy at this, but for whatever reason it never set in. Maybe she still hadn't gotten over the fantasy land feel of the Digital World, or maybe it was how Penguinmon had always managed to help her slip around what would have been a fatal Digimon encounter, or perhaps it was just that small voice inside that told her that she would go home someday. Whatever the case, Dawn just didn't feel like a warrior. She was still Dawn, future coordinator.

Then again, there was that barren wasteland from the previous night. The deafening silence, the still air, the dim lights. The duel toned voice speaking to her. A shudder ran down Dawn's spine.

"Hey you two!"

"GAH!" Dawn and Penguinmon yelped. Looking around Dawn saw Elecmon, arms folded and foot tapping.

"This isn't a free ride, remember?" Elecmon growled as electricity sparked from his tails. "Get back to work!"

"Yes, sir!" Penguinmon squawked. He grabbed a bucket and sponge that had been placed to the side and began rapidly scrubbing the stain.

Now that break time was officially over, Dawn returned to her car to continue the thankless task of gum scrapping. Somehow, she was able to complete her job and wad up the gum to the side. Wiping her brow, Dawn grabbed her spatula and headed to the next car.

When Dawn opened the door, she was surprised to find that it wasn't the door to the car Penguinmon was working in. That door was a deep brown. This door was stark white. Thanks to all that climbing underneath benches, she must have gotten turned around and opened the wrong door. This was probably the door leading to that "other stuff."

Knowing that she was explicitly forbidden from opening this door, Dawn dutifully turned around to head out the other door.

…

Oh, what the heck. A little peak shouldn't hurt.

Carefully, Dawn cracked open the door to the mysterious car. Inside was what appeared to be a windowless passenger car. There were no benches, just a few beds and a large tank. The room was mostly dark save for a large fire that was sitting atop one of the beds. Miraculously, the blaze wasn't burning the furniture. On another bed there was some kind of plant that resembled a large gourd with a fan of colorful leaves sticking out the top.

Tip toeing inside, Dawn looked around. What was going on here and why was Elecmon so protective of this car? The bluenette turned her attention to the large tank. The bottom looked empty, but floating near the top was a Digimon which resembled a dark blue Finizen with light blue stripes, tattered fins, and a scarred muzzle.

Curious, Dawn took out her Digivice. "Dolphmon, champion level. It's highly intelligent and can move at high-speeds while swimming. They don't' like fighting, but won't hesitate to attack with Shaking Pulse if provoked."

"Who are you?"

Spinning around, Dawn saw that the gourd was looking at her! It turned out the yellow gourd was a Digimon with a long fanged beak, a frill of blue and red leaves atop its head, and vine-like arms.

"AHHH!" yelled Dawn in surprise.

"AHHHH!" yelled the plant Digimon, surprised by Dawn's surprised scream.

"AHHH!" a scream came from behind Dawn, probably the Dolphmon.

Suddenly the fire rolled around on its bed. Now facing Dawn, she could see that the fire was also a Digimon. One that resembled a burning man with tired blue eyes and a stitched up mouth.

"What's going on?" asked the fire man sleepily.

"AHHHH!" explained everyone else.

A moment of recomposing later

"Sorry about that," Dawn apologized bashfully. "I was just curious what was in the secret car, so I decided to investigate. I didn't expect to find Digimon."

"Well, you shouldn't have come in here if you were told it was off limits," berated Dolphmon who was leaning over the edge of his tank.

"Oh hush," scolded the plant. She reached over with one of her vines and bopped Dolphmon on the nose. "I know for a fact you've poked your bottle nose where it didn't belong plenty of times."

"Used to get use in trouble with the staff sergeant all the time," nodded the fire man.

Knowing that it would be rude to call the two other Digimon "plant" and "fire man," Dawn scanned them with her Digivice.

"Vegiemon, champion level. She can emit a sweet scent from her mouth to lure in prey so she can snag it with her vines," Dawn read, pointing her Digivice at the plant. She then moved onto the pyro Digimon. "Meramon, also champion. If angered, he can use his fire to burn everything around him using his burning fist. Otherwise he can control his flames to keep them from torching his environment."

Satisfied, Dawn put her Digivice away. "So, you guys are soldiers?"

"Technically yes, though I'd say we're closer to glorified delivery monsters," Vegiemon replied.

"Our job is to receive cargo delivered by Trailmon and take it to the troooooopzzzzzz," Meramon began to explain but then began to fizzle and blink out of existence.

"Woah!" Dawn exclaimed jumping back. She remembered reading an account by some of the other trainers about a Knightmon that was "glitching" like a haywire piece of technology. It was crazy to read about and even crazier to witness. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Not-not really," Dolphmon replied, momentarily glitching too.

"We're all survivors of an ambush that happened near our train station," Vegiemon explained. Her form began to break apart before gluing itself back together. "We're kind of on our last legs, so to speak."

"We're the lucky ones," Meramon humbly stated. "Most of the Digimon there were killed and absorbed."

"Lucky? Who's lucky?" Dolphmon blew a frustrated snort through his blowhole. His body pixilated for a second. "Just look at us! We're less than useless like this!"

"That's not true," Dawn scolded. "I'm sure you guys are plenty useful!"

"No, he's right. Most Digimon who glitch just end up dying," Vegiemon sighed. "We're a liability on the front lines."

"Just because you can't fight doesn't mean you are useless," Dawn argued back, hands on her hips.

Dolphmon gave Dawn an exasperated stare. "Kid, I appreciate your positive attitude, but we're glitching pretty bad here."

"No really!" Dawn's mind raced. Truth be told, she wasn't sure what a Digimon could do once it started glitching, but she wasn't about to feed into these guys' depression. Besides, that Knightmon was able to find a happy ending, why not these Digimon?

Looking over at Meramon, a bulb lite up in Dawn's head. She pointed at the fire Digimon. "For example, I was stuck traveling through the cold for a month! I would have loved to have you walking next to me!"

A thoughtful look crossed Meramon's face. "I could retire to a mountain town."

Smiling, Dawn moved onto Dolphmon. "And you remind me of a Finizen. Everyone loves Finizens!"

This statement of reassurance just confused Dolphmon. "What's a Finizen?"

"It's this super cute and friendly Pokémon who can do a whole bunch of tricks like leap really high and balance balls on its nose!" Dawn explained.

"You'll have to try something else, girl," Vegiemon laughed. "Those tricks would be too much for this guy. No fin-eye coordination!"

In response, Dolphmon shot Vegiemon a dirty glare before addressing Dawn. "Do me a favor. Grab a glove from that drawer over there."

Confused, Dawn walked over to a nightstand next to Vegiemon's bed. Inside she found a box of disposable, Elecmon paw-shaped gloves. "Do you mean this?"

Dolphmon nodded. "Now blow it up like a balloon and tie it shut."

Dawn did just that. "Okay. What's next?"

"Toss it here," Dolphmon ordered.

So Dawn tossed the balloon glove. Once the glove floated over Dolphmon's tank, the porpoise dove underwater. He then came up and began bouncing the glove into the air like a ball. He finished off his short performance by spiking the balloon on the floor. The glove balloon bounced off the floor and into the air. When it came down, Dolphmon jumped onto the floor where he successfully balanced the balloon on his nose earning a bout of applause from Dawn and the other two soldiers.

"Alright, my turn," Vegiemon looked up at Dawn. "What do you think I should do?"

Dawn looked down at Vegiemon thoughtfully. The Digidex entry said that Vegiemon were pretty weak. Not too many special abilities. Though those vines looked pretty nifty. "Hmm, with those vines I think you'd make a pretty good…"

Before Dawn could finish that thought, she spied Penguinmon out of the corner of her eye. The bird was peeping at the group through the door leading to the passenger cars. When their eyes met, Penguinmon quickly closed the door.

"Penguinmon!" Dawn exclaimed before taking off after her partner.

"You're right! I'd make a great Penguinmon!" Vegiemon cheered. She then paused and her face scrunched up in confusion. "Wait, that doesn't make any sense."

A little ways down the track

A trio of figures stood atop a tall mesa, their steeds roped up to a rock just behind them. One of the figures looked through a telescope. He could just make out the trail of smoke left behind by Worm coming down the track.

"Get ready, boys," the figure called back to the other Digimon. "Our paycheck's on the horizon!"

At their leader's order, the other Digimon began to whoop. Guns clicked into place and bird feathers ruffled as the trio of bandits got ready to ambush their prey.

AN: Well, if you're looking for a solid spell I'd recommend Spiritual Weapon as it gives you an extra turn for a little chip damage. Doesn't seem like much but it can add up.

Sorry for the short chapter. In addition to the holiday rush, I've been having a little writer's block with this chapter. I was able to come up with an outline, but I didn't have time to write the whole thing and I didn't want to leave you guys with nothing before I get swept up in Christmas so here you go!

Any who. I'm going on a little Christmas road trip so I might not be able to give you part 2 until next month/year. I'm hoping to get back to a twice a month release schedule next year, though it won't be a hard and fast rule.

Remember that part at the beginning of "Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning" where Yolei was visiting the Digidestined partnered with a Meramon? And how that Meramon was somehow not burning the house to the ground? Either Meramon can control his flames, or his tamer bought a whole bunch of flame retardant furniture. I'm going with the former explanation.

Been a while since I explained a Digivice color. Dawn premiered with the Diamond and Pearl games. Both diamonds and pearls can come in the color pink, a color which matches with Dawns wardrobe.

You probably have a good guess as to what Dawn's champion is going to be. I admit he seems like bit of a random choice, but I'll explain my thought process next chapter.

Reader Response Recess!

Ashpoke55: Most of the flashbacks will be to the first human's journey. As of now I'm planning on getting two knights involved in these flashbacks. The first is Kentaurosmon as he is Renamon's past life. The other is [spoiler]. He's kind of special in that he is [Spoiler] so he can [Spoiler].
Gundam-Knight-Chris: Thanks for the heads up! Stinks that people are constantly trying to scam others. Just goes to show that we must stay on our toes!

MacaroniChicken: First, thank you very much! You and another reader suggested that I get a TV Tropes for this story. I'm kind of shy, and don't know much about how the TV Tropes site works aside from looking up tropes, but if there really are a lot of people who think I should get a page for this fic, I might just have to give it a go.

Matymegamax: Hope you're in for the long haul, because I plan for this story to last a looooong time. Good predictions for future Digivolutions, you've got one of them right. I see what you're saying in your point about Pokémon, and I do agree that in terms of power Digimon outclass them. I don't care how many plot shields Pikachu has, he's not coming out of a battle against a MetalGreymon alive (the plot shields may work in a battle against a regular Greymon).

That being said, I do want Pokémon to play a role in this crossover. Once we wrap up this arc we will find ways which will allow the Pokémon to help without nerfing the Digimon. Every monster has their value, it's up to the trainer to figure it out (also, I might be introducing new mechanics once we get into the ultimate/perfect levels onward, but shhhh, you didn't hear it from me).

Legoguy67: Large, static, purple domes aren't unprecedented in the Pokémon world. Though that dome in particular wasn't caused by a Pokémon.

Oh, the Forces of Chaos aren't torn on waking Megidramon up. They're fine with unleashing the apocalypse dragon. It's just a matter of waking him up at the right time.

It's more that I'd like my crest to be knowledge, but it's probably actually sincerity or reliability. What would your crest be?

Given that you and another reader have suggested I make a TV Tropes page, I might just have to look into it next year. We'll see.

Answer 1: The answer to that question is not straight forward. Let's just say that our heroes will return to their world when the forces that be deem so.

Answer B: I'm trying to figure out what the Forces of Chaos are going to do with Megidramon, but they're not letting me in on it. Must be really top secret. I do, however, have it on good authority that the Celestials have been made aware of the new Megidramon chess piece.

Answer #%?: I'd say it's a tie between MetalSeadramon and the humanoid. MetalSeadramon is a Darwinist and if he can find some way to muscle through or around Millenniummon's rampage he'll do it. Survival of the fittest. The humanoid knows everyone is going to die and is just content watching the world burn.

The One Who Reads and Writes: Sorry to say, I don't plan on showing Red fighting next time. The next flashback is going to take place after the temple and it's going to show Red meeting up with one of his Digimon party members.

Yeah, Gary is probably one of the most qualified members to lead, but people have a hard time listening to others if they don't like them. It doesn't matter if that other person has good qualities or makes good points, if they rub other people the wrong way those good qualities get tossed out the window.

Now as for the crests, you get a 5/10. Which is pretty good as in order to get all the correct answers you'd need to know some future plot points I haven't fully revealed yet. You also made some good arguments for the characters whose crest you didn't pin down so great job! I was actually wavering between a couple of crests for some characters, but you helped solidify some choices.

You won't even have to wait for the megas. I have a couple of curveballs planned for the ultimates.

It's pretty interesting with Legends of Arceus as it revolves around a settlement that's not quite used to Pokémon as you would think they would be in the timeline. I suppose this means that different human civilizations had different relationships to Pokémon back in time? It makes me very curious what they are going to do with AZ. Personally, I'm hoping for new mega evolutions, Snivy and Piplup as starters (their lines have French influences), and (assuming it takes place in the past) an explanation as to why we were hunting Zygarde cells in Alola (maybe an ancestor of a character from those games lived in Kalos).

In regards to Pokémon evolution vs Digivolution, I don't know. I've seen both franchises use the evolution mechanic as a means to demonstrated character growth and as just a power-up. The fact that Digimon have the ability to revert never bothered me as I also liked that the previous forms could still get some action. In fact, in some situations a lower level Digimon may be more applicable such as Kyubimon being used as a mount which you can't do with Taomon. Or just being able to step into a building with a small form. I don't know, maybe this is just a different strokes for different folks situation.

But you know what? I'm going to recommend to you Digimon V-Tamer manga. I don't know where you can read it right now, but it answers a number of your criticisms. The main tamer, Taichi, acts as his Digimon's, Zero, trainer by giving him orders during battle. Zero is able to take on Digimon of higher levels than him before evolving and each evolution sticks.

I think it's a bit early to reveal the other partnerships, but if I was to give the Rocket Trio a Digimon it would probably just be another member of their team as those three are a package. As for which Digimon, I think an Espimon would work pretty well. They could have it spy on the twerps and scout out potential thieving targets. Also the Espimon's machine evolution line meshes well with those guys' mechanical inclinations.

Digimon Introduced

Trailmon: Champion, Data, Machine

Elecmon: Rookie, Data, Mammal

Meramon: Champion, Data, Fire

Dolphmon: Champion, Vaccine, Sea Animal

Vegiemon: Champion, Virus, Carnivorous Vegetation

Dondokomon: Rookie, Vaccine, Musical Instrument

DemiMeramon: In-Training, None, Fire

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Next Time: What's this? Snow in the middle of the desert?! It's a Christmas miracle! Until part 2 of this train heist, Happy Holidays!