Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nicki couldn't help the scream that ripped out of her while running from a giant, man-eating beetle-thing.

The forest around her was thick with humidity, her lungs struggling to keep up as she ran through the thick air. The foliage was dense with leaves, vines, and bright tropical flowers she had to frantically shove past. She felt rather than saw her legs being scratched up by the resulting thorns.

The big beetle-thing was rampaging just behind, its roars earsplitting, its breath practically tickling the hairs on her neck. She didn't dare look back. The beetle was gaining on her, she thought, but if she looked she would know for sure. She wasn't sure she wouldn't die of terror if she saw its bright orange carapace right now.

She didn't mean to make it mad. Honest! When she first saw it and screamed, waking it up, who could blame her? She was lost in some random jungle, when the last memory she had was hugging a pillow in her bed. In Wisconsin. The state was not known for its tropical subclimate!

Regardless, she was here with a giant bug. Her legs were sore and stinging, the trees around her an endless ocean threatening to drown her. That is, if the beetle didn't eat her first.

It was in that despair-filled moment that she spotted a haven just ahead- a clearing, the trees parting for a plateau jutting out of the ground. And nestled in the wall of that plateau was-

'Cave' might be too generous a word. 'Tiny child-sized hole' would be more accurate to the size of the thing, which was perfect for Nicki's rapidly forming escape plan.

She ducked under a low hanging branch, counting 3 seconds before she heard a vicious 'snap!' of the wood breaking. It really was gaining on her. Nicki prayed it wouldn't reach her as she edged the clearing and broke into a desperate sprint.

The light of the clearing nearly blinded her, but she ignored it. She heard the mandibles slam closed behind her as ducked down, charging headfirst into the small rocky shelter.

The walls were rough around her as Nicki squeezed as far as she could into the crevice. The hole was deep enough to hide, but only barely. She hissed as the cave walls scraped against the scratches she'd already obtained. She still heard the roars of the beetle-thing clearly behind her when she pressed herself against the hard barrier of rock at the back of the cave.

"Um, would you mind moving over? Some of us have to breathe, you know."

Nicki squeaked in surprise as she realized there was something squished against her legs. Something... warm. And fleshy. She would have assumed it was an animal, maybe a reptile or amphibian of some sort, but no animal could speak full sentences like that, right…?

Oh god, it was a gnome wasn't it? She knew her parents were wrong when they said gnomes didn't exist, but this isn't how she wanted to prove it!

"Hellooo? Are you gonna move?"

"Sorry!" Nicki yelped, shifting her legs. There wasn't much room in the cramped little cave, but she could at least try to help make the gnome comfortable.

"Thanks," the little guy (she assumed he was a guy?) said as she felt him adjust to a more comfortable position. The more he moved, the more she realized: this creature was not human-shaped. It had sharp little feet and smoother skin than she expected.

"What... are you?" Nicki asked.

"Hm? Oh, I'm Betamon," the little creature replied.

Yeah, that wasn’t really an answer she could understand.

“What’s a betamon?” she tried again.

“Not a betamon, I’m Betamon!” the little guy insisted. “I’m a who, not a what!”

“We’re all a what at some point in our lives,” Nicki argued, “for example, I’m a human. That’s what I am.”

“That does sound smart,” Betaman mumbled, “I guess you’re right. I’m a Digimon! That’s what I am.”

“What's a Digimon?” she asked.

“Hmmm. I don't really know, I just know it's what I'm called!”

Nicki wanted to cry. Between the giant beetle-thing and this little ‘Digimon’ that made no sense, she had no clue what was going on. Or where she even was, for that matter. For all she knew, she was thousands of miles from home, lost in a jungle without any way to call for help. She covered her face with her hands, back sliding down the wall. Nicki was done. She didn't want to move from this spot.

“...Do you have a name, human?” Betamon asked. She could swear she felt his eyes watching her.

“Nicki. That’s who I am,” she said, muffled.

“That’s a great name! I think!” Betamon said. His enthusiasm was tempered by an edge of worry. Nicki still didn’t remove her hands from her face.

They sat like that for a while, waiting silently. The time passed sluggishly, inching forwards with no real goal in mind. She could vaguely see the daylight outside slowly fade away into sunset through her fingers. She didn't care, everything was too much right now. Betamon was quiet for the most part, chatter dying when he realized she wouldn't respond.

She tried to breathe deeply like her mom told her to do when she was upset. Slowly, her heartbeat settled into a steady rhythm, and the tears in her eyes abated. While nothing was ideal at the moment, she felt a little more calm. Betamon said nothing the whole time, but hummed a comforting little tune. She appreciated the attempt.

Nicki herself was close to dozing off when she realized: it was quiet. Dead silent.

“Is the bug gone?” she finally whispered.

“Bug!? Where!?” Betamon shouted, suddenly frantic.

“Shhhhh!” she shushed him quickly. “Keep your voice down! It might still be here.”

“B-but bugs are bad news!” Betamon thankfully dropped his words to a whisper. “They can mess up whole chunks of the Digital World! Shouldn't we tell someone?”

Nicki squinted at where she thought Betamon sat in the dark. She got the feeling she was missing something here. Either way…

“We’re not going to accomplish anything staying in here. Do you hear any roars or other sounds outside?”

Betamon let out a ‘hmm,’ and stopped for a moment to listen.

“I don't think so,” he said.

“Then, on the count of three, we peek our heads out to see if the coast is clear. Ready?” Nicki asked.

“Oh, um, okay,” Betamon replied.

“Okay, one… two… three… now!”

Nicki poked her head out quickly, scanning her surroundings as fast as possible for any sort of threat. The clearing was empty, with only a few downed trees on the edges of the woods to show the beetle-thing was ever there. She exhaled slowly, stress slightly abating for now.

“Looks fine to me,” Betamon whispered still.

“Yep,” Nicki nodded, “I think it’s safe to go out now.”

She proceeded to squirm her way out of the cave, careful not to jostle the small ‘Digimon’ too much as she carefully stepped back into the clearing. The sun was indeed setting when she got a good look at the sky again. That wasn't good, she needed a shelter she could properly sleep in, surely monsters patrolled this jungle at night! Her musings were interrupted by a loud sigh next to her feet.

“Finally, we’re out of that dumb cave! It was way too cramped in there,” Betamon complained.

Nicki stared. The little guy smiling up at her was not what she imagined in the dark. He had little clawed toes and bright green skin, with an orange dorsal fin that sort of looked like a stylish Mohawk if she thought about it. He watched her with big, bright red eyes. He was kind of like a cute, ugly frog with sharp teeth. The longer she stared, the less he smiled, until he was fully frowning at her.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing!” she said quickly. “Just… trying to figure out where I'm gonna stay for the night.”

Betamon perked up.

“That's easy!” he chirped. “You can come stay with me in my village! We don't have much, but you'll at least have somewhere to sleep.”

Nicki raised a brow.

“If you have a village, what were you doing in this awful jungle? There are giant monsters here!” she said.

“I was looking for mushrooms,” Betamon replied.

Well… she guessed that was as good an explanation as any. She sighed, dusted off her shorts (that she definitely wasn't wearing last night) and turned to the ‘Digimon.’

“Lead the way,” Nicki said.

Chapter Text

Nicki was beginning to think that whatever a 'Digimon' is, they probably haven't met many humans.

They arrived at Betamon's village well after dark, the moon above a thin scratch barely giving off light. Thankfully they made it out of the jungle before the sun fully set. Unthankfully, where they ended up was a swamp. This is what she gets for following a frog.

The mud squelched under her shoes as she tried to stick to the driest land possible. All around her were tiny huts woven together with reeds from the swamp. Some of the huts were settled in mud, while others seemed half-submerged in the water. She hadn't seen any other 'Digimon' yet, but she assumed it was because they were all asleep. Somehow.

Speaking of...

"How am I supposed to sleep here?" she asked quietly. She didn't want to wake anyone up. Betamon looked up at her, confusion in his gaze.

"You just... sleep?" he said, unsure.

"Humans don't sleep in water," Nicki said. She really hoped he had some sort of alternative.

"Hmmm... that is a problem," he muttered. She suddenly had a lot less hope. Her eyes darted around, searching for a hut she might be able to duck into. They were a lot smaller than she planned to deal with however - some of the entrances only came up to her waist. Her chest tightened. Would she have to sleep in cold, wet mud?

"Oh wait a second!" Betamon perked up, "I think we have blankets stored away! Those should work on the ground, right? It doesn’t look like it’ll rain tonight at least, so you can sleep under the stars!"

Nicki let loose a gusty sigh of relief.

"That should work," she agreed.

_________

When Nicki woke up, it was to the sensation of a small warm body resting on her stomach. She opened her eyes, meeting face to face with a little... green... duck thing.

"Good morning!" it greeted cheerily.

Nicki yelped, pushing herself up onto her hands and dislodging the small creature. It rolled off of her and landed on her makeshift floor of blankets.

"Hey, what was that for?!" it- they- complained.

"Um, sorry! You surprised me," she said. The little duck puffed up, glaring at her, before leaving her blanket nest and diving in the nearby swamp water.

"Geez, no need to be so crabby," Nicki muttered, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

She sat up properly, taking a look at her surroundings. Now that it was daylight, the swamp actually looked kind of... pretty? The water was clearer than she expected, and the trees were blooming with moss hanging over their branches. The sky was clear above, the sun rising slowly. She had no idea what time it was, but it seemed to still be morning.

What really caught her attention, however, was the bustling of the huts she was sleeping in full view of. There were countless little blobs running (or swimming) around, some staring at her. Nicki hunched her shoulders. She wasn't a big fan of being watched.

The little creatures appeared to notice her shyness, because they quickly looked away. Mostly. Some looked like they wanted to actually approach her, and she wasn’t sure how that would end considering her last conversation.

"Nicki! You're awake!"

She turned her head to see Betamon emerge from a hut a few yards away. He waddled over to her.

"Yep," she replied.

“How did you sleep?” he asked.

“It was… nice…” she answered awkwardly. Truth be told, it was kinda difficult to get her brain to stop thinking. Could anyone blame her? This wasn’t exactly a vacation. Still, Betamon was kind enough to offer her a place to stay, even if that place didn’t have a roof.

"So, what do you want to do today?" he asked her.

Nicki thought for a moment. What did she want to do? She wasn't anywhere near home, and she had no idea how to get back in the first place. She didn't have her phone on her, not that it would likely even help in this place - there was no way this swamp got a signal.

Then her stomach growled, and she realized exactly what she wanted to do.

“Do you have anything to eat?” Nicki asked.

Betamon avoided her eyes, glancing off to the side in what seemed to be an awkward deflection. She got the feeling she wasn't going to like his answer.

“Not really,” he sighed. “That’s why I was hunting for mushrooms in the jungle. We’ve run out of fresh fish here, so I was trying to find us some food. All the babies are getting awfully fussy,” he admitted.

That didn’t sound good. She looked back at the little blobs hurrying about. Babies? Was Betamon the one taking care of them, then? Sadness panged her heart, she didn’t realize that the village was struggling. Nicki made up her mind.

She stood up, blankets falling to the ground.

"I guess we should go find some food then," Nicki said. “For all of us.”

“Really?” Betamon asked. “Thank you! With the two of us, the babies will be fed in no time!”

Well, that was that.

_________

The first thing Nicki realized as she was slogging through mud in the swamp, was that it was hard to walk long distances when she hadn't eaten anything for a day and a half. The second, much less pressing thing: she had no idea where the clothes she was wearing came from.

It was a modest outfit, denim shorts with running shoes, a pale orange and white striped shirt, and a dark olive coat. She was certainly thankful for the coat, considering last night, but she had no idea whose clothes they were! It kind of creeped her out to be wearing clothes she didn't know, but fit her perfectly. It was even more creepy that they were clothes she really liked. Seriously, they looked like they came straight out of a dream journal, even if she'd never written one before.

Nicki pushed it out of her mind for now - she needed something to eat. She almost felt sick with how empty her stomach was.

The wetlands were slowly transitioning back to the jungle she had fled from yesterday. Betamon had told her that if they wanted food, the jungle was a much better bet. Despite the inherent danger, she had to agree. The swamp had been oddly barren of any fish to eat, and the plants, while pretty, didn't look all that tasty.

She should've taken scouts when she was younger, Nicki lamented. She had no idea how to identify plants to eat, and she didn't know how to tie a knot for traps. She wasn't even sure if she could hunt something, the thought of hurting any animals made her feel a little ill. Maybe Betamon could help her hunt? She looked down at the little froggy guy. He had sharp claws, and those teeth had to be used for something, right?

“So,” she started, “why aren’t there any fish in the swamp anyways? The water looks clean enough.”

Betamon hemmed and hawed for a moment, as if debating to himself whether to tell her the truth.

“We’re having trouble with a champion chasing everything away,” he finally said.

Nicki raised a brow. ‘Champion?’ Like a gladiator? She asked him as much, and he giggled.

“Not a gladiator, silly! A champion Digimon!” he explained.

“Is that like… a special Digimon? What makes them a champion? Are you a champion?” Nicki questioned him further.

“No, I’m just a rookie. A champion is-”

Betamon’s words were interrupted by the sound of whispering nearby. The hair on the back of Nicki’s neck stood to attention as her eyes darted around the now dense foliage surrounding them. They were back in the jungle proper now, and anything could be around the corner. Betamon picked up on her nervousness, going quiet and sniffing the air hesitantly.

As they stood stock still, she started to make out some of the words being whispered:

"You can do it! Go, go, come on!"

Words of… encouragement? They sounded awfully close, too. Nicki’s brow furrowed.

She hadn't met anyone who talked besides Betamon, and that little duck looking Digimon when she woke up. Maybe this would be a friendly Digimon too? At least it wasn't growling like that awful beetle…

Her search finally ended as she turned left, spotting the back of a small head of hair hiding in front of some bushes. A human kid! She looked to be much younger than Nicki, maybe 7 or 8 if she had to guess. She was wearing a yellow shirt under some dusty overalls, clearly having been outside for a while. The girl’s hair was pulled into two tight, curly buns, and she was crouching on her knees so that whatever was in front of the bush wouldn’t see her. She was still whispering to whatever she was watching, too.

“Almost there… come on!” she was saying.

Nicki crept closer, not wanting to alert the girl yet. What was a kid even younger than her doing here? She seemed totally ignorant to the dangers in this place, too, if she was busy trying to cheerlead. As Nicki approached, she realized the girl was watching the very same clearing she had run from that beetle-thing into. And climbing the very plateau she had hidden in before was a little green… dragon?!

Nicki was staring, she couldn’t help it. A real, live dragon, and a baby looking one at that! It even looked like some of the cards from the game she played at school. She almost squealed in excitement, but caught herself before she could alert the girl. Right. A human girl was in front of her, and she was trying to- what, cheer on a baby dragon from the shadows?

As she watched, the dragon lost its grip on the stone wall and slid down a couple of feet. The little girl gasped loudly, seemingly by accident. The dragon must’ve heard, because it started to turn its head wildly, trying to locate the noise. Nicki’s heart rose into her throat. If that was the baby, the mother must be nearby, and she didn’t want either her or the little girl to end up as human toast.

“Hey,” she said finally. The girl whirled around, surprise painting her features. “We need to get out of here, before he sees us.”

"What? But he's so close! He's almost there!" the kid whined.

Nicki raised a brow, looking back at the wall the dragon was climbing. 'He' was maybe a quarter up the side of the plateau at best. Wait, why was she thinking about this?

"That doesn't matter," she replied, "if it sees us the mother also might-"

"Hey! You two! You're not being sneaky!"

Nicki flinched, glancing at where the voice had yelled from. The dragon was looking directly at the bush they were hiding behind, still hanging from the wall.

"Mind telling me why you're stalking me?!" he yelled.

"Nicki, what's going on? Who is this?" Betamon chimed in, finally having caught up to her through the undergrowth.

"Sorry, Betamon, I didn't mean to leave you behind," Nicki apologized. She proceeded to grab the girl's arm and drag her back with a 'hey!' as they retreated back into the tree cover.

"What are we doing?!" Betamon asked, worried.

"Sorry," Nicki said again, stopping behind a large tree, "but we needed to get away from that dragon on the cliff. He may be dangerous. As for her..." she turned back to the little girl, "what's your name?"

The girl was staring at Betamon, crouched in a squat to meet his eyes.

"Are you a talking frog?" she asked.

Betamon's face scrunched in confusion. "What's a frog?" he replied.

Just then, the dragon they were avoiding burst through the brush, glaring them down.

"Stop running from me!" he yelled to no one in particular. "You can't just stare at me half the morning and then run off when I start talking to you! Jerks!" He finished the statement with a huff.

"You're back!" the little girl yelped, both surprised and clearly delighted.

"Stay away!" Nicki yelled, pushing herself in front of the girl. The dragon might be small, but he was angry, and who knew if he could breathe fire?

Still, the girl squirmed until she made it past the arm Nicki was using to hold her back. She ducked under Nicki's attempts to grab her and ran towards the baby dragon.

Nicki despaired. She was never gonna learn this girl's name, was she? Because she was about to be eaten, or burnt to a crisp.

To her surprise, however, the girl didn't jump on the dragon or anything. She just slowed to a stop in front of him, smiling, and held out a hand.

"Hi," she started, "I'm Camille, but my friends call me Cammie. I'm sorry for hiding earlier. What's your name?"

The dragon squinted suspiciously at Camille's outstretched hand, as if it were secretly a weapon. Slowly, he moved his snout closer, and Nicki tensed. To her relief, he just sniffed her hand a couple of times before pulling back.

"I'm Dracomon," he replied simply.

Draco'mon' huh? Then he must be a Digimon too, right? Were Digimon all reptiles then? Even the duck-looking one from this morning had smooth, green skin. She assumed that dragons were reptiles, this one certainly looked the part. Nicki felt kinda bad being so suspicious of him, but still-

"Is your mom nearby?" she had to ask. "If she is, please tell her not to eat us, we're not tasty!"

"What's a 'mom?'" Dracomon asked, baffled. Nicki and Camille shared his bewilderment.

"You don't have a mom?!" Camille cried.

"A... mom? Like, the person who raised you when you were a baby?" Nicki said.

"I wasn't raised as a baby, I was too cool," Dracomon scoffed. What?

"Speaking of babies," Betamon cut in, "shouldn't we be looking for food, Nicki?"

The reminder struck her like a bolt of lightning. Right, she was here to help the village! She couldn't get distracted when there were hungry babies to feed. If Dracomon wasn't interested in attacking, then she had better things to do.

"Sorry Betamon!" she cried. "I'll get back to that right now! Camille, can you help us look for food?" Nicki asked, turning to the girl. She should probably keep an eye on the kid, while she's at it.

Camille looked up from her impromptu staring contest with Dracomon.

"Sure," she said, "I can show you my banana tree I found!" She sprang up, enthusiasm in her gait as she walked quickly past the group in a seemingly random direction.

"Hey! The fruit trees grow to the west!" Dracomon called, running after her.

Nicki and Betamon exchanged glances. Nicki shrugged, then started to run after them - before she paused.

"Do you want me to carry you? We'll catch up to them faster," she said.

"Yes, please," Betamon sighed.

_______

Nicki was kind of bitter at this point that she didn't wake up somewhere nicer yesterday.

After a little bit of arguing about directions (mostly from Dracomon) they finally made it to 'The Orchard,' an area west of the main jungle. The trees around them were laden with strange fruits, some sporting greens or purples as their main colors. Undergrowth was sparser and less pointy, making it easier for poor Betamon to walk on his own. Light filtered in generously through the leaves, giving the whole area a warm, comforting glow. There definitely weren't bananas in any of these trees, though.

Nicki's eyes searched the trees, looking for any familiar fruits. Surely, even if they were in the Amazon rainforest, there would be something she recognized. Still, everything looked strange and alien, odd shapes and even more odd colors. Were they on an undiscovered island? Nicki's heart sank. It would take forever for a rescue team to find them...

Speaking of, how did Camille get here? Did she wake up the same as Nicki, confused with no answers? She sure didn't seem like it, bouncing around and climbing trees like the wild outdoors was some sort of play place. She should probably ask.

"Um, Camille," she began, "do you remember how you got here? This jungle, I mean."

"Nope!" the girl chirped, making her way up a tree with blue, melon-like fruits. She already had a few of them under her left arm.

Nicki sighed. She supposed Camille was just a little kid after all, she wouldn't really worry the way an older person would. Still, that meant Nicki was no closer to answers.

Oh well, she might as well hurry up and get food for herself and the village. Answers wouldn't feed an empty stomach, regardless. She rolled up the sleeves of her coat. The trees were surprisingly easy to climb, with clear footholds and branches fairly within reach.

Betamon, meanwhile, was busy headbutting a tree with lime green bark. Its fruits were a bright pink, and they fell to the ground with a satisfying 'plop!' He swept the dropped food into a manageable little pile.

"Why do we need to gather so much fruit anyways? We can just eat it off the branches," Dracomon grumbled from a branch above their heads.

“Betamon’s village - oof,” Nicki grunted as her foot slipped, “- is out of fish. Apparently a ‘champion’ scared them all off,” she added. Finally, she pulled herself up onto a thick, sturdy branch a good few feet off the ground. There were purple, furry looking fruits all around Nicki as she tried to maintain her balance.

“What!?” Dracomon yelled. “Where is this village? I’ll go beat that champion up!” he growled.

“You can’t! No one can beat up Ebidramon!” Betamon protested.

From her perch Nicki could see Dracomon roll his eyes, before he leapt out of the tree. She almost shouted in concern, but he spread his small wings which slowed his descent. He landed to the ground silently, turning to Betamon.

“I can beat up anyone I want,” he declared. “Take me to your village.”

They were staring each other down, both stubborn as donkeys. She could tell Betamon was more concerned than angry, though. Nicki sighed and quickly grabbed some of her own fruit before clambering back down the tree.

“We’re almost done anyways, right? We might as well have them help us carry the fruit back,” she said to Betamon.

Betamon let out a long ‘hmmmm’ as he looked between Nicki’s gaze and Dracomon’s. “I really don’t want our village to get destroyed because someone,” he emphasized, “decided to make Ebidramon mad.”

“We won’t make him mad!” Camille chimed in, sliding down the slanted trunk of a curvy tree. She was holding a mountain of fruit in front of her head. Nicki was impressed.

“Not if he’s too beaten up to speak…” Dracomon muttered.

“Fine! Fine, the babies need a lot of food, let’s go then,” Betamon relented.

Camille cheered while Dracomon smirked. Nicki had the feeling this was going to be a long journey back.

________

It was a long journey back, for the record. Dracomon was grumpy the entire time he had to carry fruit. While Nicki could sympathize, she was a little annoyed after a while because of his griping. Camille, on the other hand, was annoyingly peppy, trying to play a game of ‘I, spy’ every few minutes and cheering loudly whenever someone got the answer. Which was always, because a little kid is only so good at being subtle. There was a limited number of ways to hint that she spied ‘the sky,’ or ‘a tree.’

Nicki almost wept with relief when she felt the ground beneath her shoes turn soft and wet. Almost there…

The group stopped in its entirety at the sound of a huge roar sweeping across the swamplands. That sounded close by. Worse, it sounded like it was coming from-

“The village!” Betamon wailed, waddling ahead as fast as he could, Dracomon growling as he followed close behind. Their fruit lay forgotten.

Camilla’s eyes were wide as she stared at Nicki, silent.

“What do we do?” she whispered.

Nicki swallowed the lump in her throat. Her fists clenched beneath the weight of the food in her arms. She gently set the food to the ground.

“Wait here,” she ordered. “I’m going to help them.”

Without another word, she turned and ran in the same direction as the Digimon she’d said she would help.