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Chapter Text

[Human World- Japan, 1999]

[Taichi]

  “When on earth is this snow going to let up? It’s been like an hour…” Mimi sighed, wistfully staring out the window of the old shrine. The air was musty and there were far too many of them huddled in this tiny old building, waiting for the snow to pass. She twiddled her thumbs, leaning against the window sill. “I didn’t think to bring a jacket…”

“This was supposed to be summer camp, and yet here we are, in a blizzard.” Taichi grumbled, joining Mimi by the window, “Hopefully it’ll be over soon enough.”

“I sure hope so, I’ve got some explaining to do to the counselors as to why we thought it would be a good idea to go missing in action during a snowstorm! Granted, who would’ve thought it would start snowing, of all things.” Jyou spoke up from his place by the shrine’s Kami, an old stone figure in the back of the small room. 

No one else spoke, quietly biding their time as the snow only got worse. Taichi grumbled something under his breath, avoiding Jyou’s eyes. After all, it had been his idea to go on a non-supervised nature walk, exploring the mountainside near the small camp. Their teachers had planned some boring board games- and who goes to a summer camp to play board games indoors when exploring was so much better? Naturally Sora accompanied him, and Mimi tagged along- she and Sora were in the same cabin, weren’t they? The little blonde boy- Takeru, if he remembered correctly, had gotten excited upon hearing the plan, and the older blonde refused to let him out of his sight. Taichi didn’t know Yamato all too well, as he had transferred into the other class mid-way through the year, but it was obvious the two were related. Takeru didn’t even go to their school. Koushirou followed along due to Mimi dragging him by the hand. Taichi could’ve sworn he saw a faint hint of blush on Koushirou’s cheeks- after all, Mimi was a girl! And a really pretty one at that. Jyou had tried to convince them not to go, or at least to tell a counselor where they were heading, but had ended up following them, and soon enough they were at the mountainside. He did remember to bring the emergency bag, so at least they had a couple of granola bars to snack on while they waited out the storm.

Taichi looked around the small shrine, eying its inhabitants. Of the kids here, he knew Sora and Koushirou the best- the three of them were in their school’s co-ed soccer club, and they sometimes ate lunch together. Upon finding out that Koushirou was in his cabin, Taichi was hoping to play a bit of soccer with him, but unfortunately that hadn’t happened yet as Koushirou seemed to be glued to his laptop- just like he was now. Sora was sitting by Jyou, nodding off after munching on one of the stale granola bars. Yamato and Takeru sat along the other wall, both seemingly immersed in their own world, ignoring everybody else. Taichi couldn’t help but stare- there were very few people he knew that had blonde hair, let alone naturally. Their eyes were strange too- Takeru’s eyes were a soft, light blue that seemed a little too bright, but Yamato’s eyes downright scared him. They were deep and sapphire colored, but in a very eerie way. Maybe it was just the way he stared at people. Taichi recalled some classmates whispering about him possibly being a ghost, or some kind of spirit. Of course Taichi didn’t believe it, but still… it’d be cool to meet a ghost. Not that Yamato was a ghost, of course. Maybe he was European, but being a ghost would be much cooler. Mimi started talking again, Sora having gotten up to join them by the window. They talked for a couple minutes, and Taichi tried to ignore the quiet rambling, but then Mimi got a little louder, and two words stood out. “…Aurora Borealis?” He repeated, dumbfounded.

“…Yeah, look! It’s so pretty!…” Mimi quickly slipped her boots back on, and made her way out the door. The snow seemed to lessen a little, so surely being outside for a couple of minutes would be totally fine. Sora followed suit, and Takeru ran out after her, laughing about having a snowball fight. Yamato followed. Taichi perked up at the mention of a snowball fight, and soon he was corralling everybody else out of the shrine, dragging Koushirou by the arm. 

“Hey!! Let me at least put my laptop up, geez!-… Holy moly…” Koushirou said, making his way out the door. He silently followed the others, head tilted up to the sky as he took in the bright lights. 

Taichi was the last to leave the shrine, and quickly came to a stop by the other kids. Other than a snowball fight, if there really was an aurora borealis, it’d be cool to look at. “Wow, you guys are acting strange- HOLY CRAP, that’s weird!” Taichi followed the gazes of the other kids, instantly noticing the bright green streaks across the sky. He slipped his goggles over his eyes in order to block the thick flurry of snowflakes, watching the beautiful haze of color as it danced through the sky.

“That shouldn’t be there…” Yamato murmured. 

“What, do you know the lights or something?” Taichi responded curiously. Yamato turned to look at him, deadpan expression on his face. 

“It’s an aurora borealis. If you haven’t noticed, we’re a little too far south for that to be a normal occurrence.”

“Okay, geez, just asking…” Taichi mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. Everyone stayed quiet for a moment, taking in the strange beauty above them. It seemed to twitch, almost. It didn’t look natural…

“Hey, HEY GUYS!! Look at that!” Koushirou shouted, pointing upwards.

Taichi immediately looked to where Koushirou was pointing, noticing the one, two… seven bright lights in the sky. He heard a slight hissing sound, and they seemed to be getting bigger- wait. “DUCK!!” Taichi screamed, immediately hitting the ground, hands over his head. He heard the surprised gasps and yells of the others as they hit the ground, immediately followed by a high-pitched whooshing sound, then loud BOOMs and CRACKs as the lights hit the ground, cratering all around them. Dust and dirt flung into the air as light after the light struck the ground all around them. Mimi and Jyou were screaming, Koushirou curled protectively over his laptop case. But as soon as it had started, it was over. 

Taichi looked up, sliding his goggles back up onto his forehead, and looked over the others, all huddled on the ground. Takeru peeked out from underneath Yamato, crying, the others slowly starting to sit up. Sora was the first to stand, cautiously making her way towards the crater right in front of her, peering into the bright light inside. The light- whatever it was- started floating. Then the one by Mimi started to float. Taichi looked at the crater next to him, watching with bewilderment as the light-thing rose into the air. He raised out a hand, slowly reaching out to touch it- he felt drawn to it, somehow. 

“No, don’t touch that!” Jyou barked, but it didn’t register. The light was calling to him, it seemed, telling him to touch it, to reach out and hold it. So he did. He stood up and grasped it in his hand, expecting it to be very hot, after all it had just come crashing down from the sky, but as the light settled in his hands, it dimmed- leaving a small, square-ish device behind. It hummed softly, thrumming with a strange, alien pulse. It tugged slightly against his fingers, as if saying ‘up.’ The others quickly followed suit, taking the floating light into their own hands, each rewarded with a device, strangely warm, strangely thrumming. 

“What on earth…” Taichi mumbled, watching the little device with fascination. He could faintly hear the other kids talking, but then he heard it- a strange, rumbling sound that seemed to echo into his very being. He looked up quickly, immediately met with what looked to be a giant wave, opening up into a great black void. He didn’t have time to scream as the wave came crashing down over them.

Chapter Text

[Digital World- File Island, Day 1]

[Yamato]

All Yamato knew was that his head was ringing. He couldn’t tell which way was up or down, only vaguely aware of of the scent of earth, and something soft pressing against him. He couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes, trying to remember exactly what happened. One moment he had been standing there with Takeru, watching the aurora, then- Takeru. Where was Takeru? Yamato’s eyes flew open and he took in his surroundings, trying to right himself. “Takeru? Takeru where are you?!” Yamato cried. The world spun all around him as he tried to push against what he believed to be the ground, but he didn’t have enough strength to hold himself up. Something against him moved- that warm softness he had felt earlier- and he found himself in the arms of a large, furry…. creature? Creature was the best way to describe what he was met with- a large, yellow reptilian thing, wearing white, striped fur. The dull purple claws were frightening, pressed against his arms, holding him up. The thick, swishing tail curled next to it was massive, with sharp, pointed scales along its length. The creature, also somewhat wolf-like in appearance, had bright red eyes and a large yellow horn. It almost seemed to smile at him, as best it could. Yet all Yamato saw was the flash of sharp teeth, and instantly he shoved himself away from whatever it was, quickly stumbling towards the base of a nearby tree. 

“Takeru? TAKERU!!” 

“Quiet! Calm down, do you want to get eaten?!” The strange creature lunged at him, quickly slamming a hand over his mouth. “I’m not gonna hurt you, okay? Calm down… My name’s Gabumon. I’m gonna let go, okay? No screaming.” Gabumon waited a moment before slowly taking their hand away from Yamato’s face.

“I-I’m dreaming, right? N-No, what are you, who are you?… Where’s Takeru?” Yamato said as quietly as he could, eyes locked on those sharp teeth. If he so much as moved, he was dead. No, it… it said it wouldn’t hurt him, right?… The creature stared at him for a moment before sighing.

“I’m Gabumon,” It repeated, swishing its tail, “And you’re not dreaming. You quite literally just fell out of the sky, I imagine the others must’ve met your friends by now. If this ‘Takeru’ looks anything like you, they’re probably with one of the other Chosen Digimon. We can find them, don’t worry.”

“Where am I?… I-I remember the snow, the…” Yamato’s words died as he remembered the lights. How they crashed down all around their little group, how the lights started floating, and how the instant he held the light in his hands, a huge wave crashed down onto them. And now he was here. With this… whatever Gabumon was.

“You’re in the Digital World. Right now we’re on File Island, about a day’s walk away from the Tanemon Village.”

“…That makes no sense to me. I’ll think about whatever that means in a bit; but right now I have to find Takeru.” Yamato said shakily. He tried to stand up, a little wobbly at first, but Gabumon was there to hold onto his arm. Gabumon was a little shorter than he was, coming up to almost his shoulder, and was easily the strangest thing he’d ever seen in his life. But that was beside the point. What mattered most right now was finding Takeru. “Takeru!” Yamato called a little quieter, choosing a random direction and trying to make his way through the thick underbrush. 

“Woah, hold on there.” Gabumon stepped in front of him, blocking his path, “Were you recently near Takeru? Other than your own scent, your clothes smell like someone else. I can follow the scent.”

“Yeah, I was… Thanks. I’m… I’m Yamato, by the way.” Yamato murmured. 

Gabumon smiled, eyes softening. “I know.”

[Sora]

“…Piyomon? You’re… quite frankly the biggest bird I’ve ever seen.” Sora mumbled, looking at the bright pink bird directly in front of her. One moment she had reached toward the floating light, and felt how it thrummed in her hand. Then, the next moment everything went dark- and now she was here. In the jungle, in the presence of this irrefutably large pink bird. 

“That’s right! I’ve been waiting for you, Sora!”

Sora blinked. It even knew her name. She hadn’t even introduced herself yet! This day could not possibly get any weirder. Snow in the summer, an aurora borealis, meteorite lights that turned into these tiny devices, and now a giant pink bird? Where were the others? Sora looked down at the little white device she now possessed. It had stopped thrumming, it’s screen now blank, no longer an impossibly bright light. She clipped it to the belt of her fanny pack and stood up, brushing off her pants. “Well, have you seen any other kids like me? There should be… 6 others.”

“I’m so happy I finally get to meet you, Sora! The other Digimon must’ve met with their partners by now, so all we have to do is find them! I dreamed of you, Sora, so I know you’re my partner!”

“…You dreamed of me? And what do you mean, ‘Digimon?’”

“Well,” Piyomon began, preening her feathers, “It’s what I am- what most every species in this Digital World is. Except fish and a couple other oddities. We can be really big or small, and all shapes or sizes! Like Agumon’s a dinosaur, and they’re bigger than I am! But Gabumon’s bigger than Agumon by a little bit. Don’t tell them I said that, they’ll refute it...”

Sora took in her surroundings, letting the large bird keep rambling as they walked. She appeared to be in a tropical forest, with brightly colored foliage. The alien trees were tall and winding, with a thick canopy of bluish-green leaves, and dull purple bark. Strange orange flowers sprouted from vines that hung from the wispy branches, littering the otherwise cool-colored environment with splashes of color. The forest floor was covered in thick bushes and plants, making it hard to walk through. Wherever this forest was, Sora was certain she wasn’t in Japan anymore. But at least it wasn’t snowing. Her hand brushed against the little device she now possessed, and then it hit her- her friends had gotten their own devices too, so they should be nearby! They shouldn’t be too far from here-

BBBBGGGGTZZZZ  

Sora immediately clutched onto her hat as she felt a strong burst of wind, quickly lowering herself to the ground as she saw a large, red thing zoom by, crashing through trees, letting out an angry buzz. Piyomon had gone quiet, quickly wrapping her wings around Sora, eyes wide, head cocked as if listening to the wind. 

“Wh-what was that thing?!” Sora gasped, the two of them backing up quietly towards a nearby bush. If she had thought Piyomon was a massive bird earlier, than that was an absolutely monstrous bug. 

“Quiet. That was Kuwagamon, an Adult level Digimon. It never flies this low into the forest unless it’s spotted prey. But what fool would get high enough for a Kuwagamon to spot them? No Digimon goes high into the trees, the underbrush is thick enough to hide us all pretty well...”

Sora opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a high pitched scream, and the rough call of an unfamiliar voice, yelling, “TAICHIIIIII!!!” The sounds of trees cracking echoed through the forest, and the screech of the angry bug seemed to get closer. Piyomon dragged Sora back further into the bush, winged arm over her mouth. They watched silently as Taichi and Koushirou, along with two very strange looking creatures, ran for their lives, following after a small, red bug.

“This way!!” The bug cried out, flying quickly and directly into a tree. Sora watched with utter shock as a large, orange dinosaur herded her friends into the large tree, where they quickly disappeared inside of it. The massive bug- Kuwagamon as Piyomon had called it, flew by once again, and a sharp burst of wind rustled the foliage all around. Yet, the tree her friends had disappeared into remained eerily still. After a few moments, Sora could no longer hear the Kuwagamon. 

“It’s safe now…” Piyomon said, supporting Sora as she stood.

Sora rushed over to the strange tree where her friends had disappeared into, shakily calling out for them. “T-Taichi? Koushirou? The bug is gone, you can come out now…” 

Despite having seen them run face first into the tree, she was still surprised when Taichi’s head peaked out of the dull purple bark. He looked around for a moment before stepping out, quickly followed by Koushirou and the two strange Digimon. 

“Wow. That was an angry bug. He made me fall out of a tree!” Taichi said, rubbing the back of his head. There was a twig stuck in his messy brown hair, and scrapes on his elbows and knees. 

“I told you it was a bad idea…” The orange dinosaur sighed, shaking it’s head. 

“You said no such thing, Agumon! Leave it to you to try to look good in front of the ladies. Hi, Sora! Seems like you have a Digimon too? This is Agumon.” Taichi smiled, signaling to the Digimon at his side. 

“And I’m Tentomon, Koushirou’s partner Digimon. It’s nice to meet you.” Tentomon tilted itself in the air, giving the illusion of bowing. “We shouldn’t stay here too long, Kuwagamon might come back.”

Sora quickly caught up with Koushirou and Taichi, hearing their stories of meeting their Digimon, and what on earth they had done to anger the Kuwagamon. Agumon kept their eyes peeled, watching for any signal of the large bug as their partner talked, leading their small group to a little clearing underneath a tree, surrounded by bushes. They sat and caught their breath, going over the events of the day. Taichi had wanted to see where they were, climbing into a large tree to use his trusty pocket telescope, unfortunately catching the attention of Kuwagamon. Hiding for now was their best option, until Kuwagamon spotted another unfortunate creature to hunt.

Agumon’s head raised and they sniffed the air, looking around. Piyomon and Tentomon also looked around, but didn’t seem to have that air of urgency Sora had seen in Piyomon earlier. 

“Hey, Gabumon! Wait, come back!” Agumon called out. Sora followed Agumon’s gaze, seeing a large Digimon hidden well against the bushes. It’s back was turned to leave, but when Agumon called out, it turned around, tail swishing. Was that…?-

“Yamato? You’re here too?” Koushirou called out. Yamato didn’t come any closer, instead staying close to the large, wolf-like creature’s side.

“None of you are Takeru, are you?…” The creature said coldly, staying a good few feet away.

“Well, no. This is my partner Sora, Tentomon’s partner Koushirou, and Agumon’s partner Taichi. And yours is?…”

“Yamato. We’re looking for a Takeru. I followed the scent here, but…” Gabumon paused, sniffing again, then looked to the side. 

A small, orange Digimon waddled into the clearing, laughing. “I’m over here, Takeru!” The little blonde boy followed soon after, chasing after it. It was much smaller than the rest of the Digimon, and looked like an orange hamster with wings.

“Takeru!” Yamato called out, rushing into the clearing towards his brother, quickly leaning down to meet him with a hug. 

“Onii-chan, look! I met Patamon, aren’t they cool? We’ve been playing tag!” Takeru gushed.

“Well, that figures why your scent kept changing directions…” Gabumon murmured, slinking over into the clearing to stay by Yamato’s side. This Digimon was vicious looking, with sharp teeth and claws, and cold eyes. It didn’t seem nearly as friendly as the other Digimon Sora had met so far, but as soon as it’s gaze fell back on Yamato, it seemed to soften up a bit. Taichi’s partner, Agumon if she remembered correctly, also looked pretty scary, but at least they appeared a little friendlier.

“We should find the others, instead of waiting here for them to find us. What if Kuwagamon finds them?” Sora said, looking around. She didn’t hear or see the large bug, but what if Jyou or Mimi ran into it first?

Chapter Text

[Digital World- File Island, Day 1]

[Kuwagamon]

The Kuwagamon let out an angry hiss as it’s prey disappeared into the underbrush, taking shelter underneath the thick trees. It could manage a long while without food, surviving by picking off smaller Digimon, whenever they darted out into an open clearing, or risked going into the trees. It wasn’t often that so many little creatures of prey gathered in one location- Kuwagamon had smelled up to 10 of the little creatures, nestled under the protection of the forest somewhere. Four of them had only narrowly escaped it’s hunting plunge, soon after gathering with a small group of others. If their hunt was successful, they would feast tonight- that was enough food to last months. Maybe they’d pick off one or two every so often, as long as they fiercely protected this territory from any other hungry Digimon. Kuwagamon circled the air above the forest, chittering angrily at the close call, grinding their pincers. 

Then they smelled it- four more little critters, just north of the larger group. Two small Digimon, and two more of the gangly, furless critters… Right in the middle of a bare, grassy clearing. The little prey creatures seemed to make it too easy, just waiting to be caught. Kuwagamon chittered again, then let out another screech, circling high over the clearing for a moment. Their eyes locked on the brightly colored one, it’s red clothes sticking out like a sore thumb against the greenery of the grass. They would not fail this time.

Mimi heard the slight buzzing above her as she followed after Jyou, who was still trying to run away from the strange-looking seal. Seals didn’t usually have purple markings, or bright orange hair either, but then again, she was holding a talking plant in her arms. The buzz got a little louder.

“Jyou, d-did you hear that?” Mimi called out, coming to a stop by the older boy, who was panting. He clutched the emergency bag tighter to himself, looking over to Mimi. “Wh-what? I wasn’t… Huh?” Jyou noticed how the little seal creature had stopped talking, no longer calling out his name incessantly. The one in Mimi’s arms seemed frozen. They all paused to listen to the wind, hearing the slight buzz above them.

“…W-we’re being hunted, aren’t we?” The plant whispered. The buzzing noise got louder, then went silent for just a moment. 

SKKREEEEEEGGGZZ

“DUCK!!” The seal yelled, head butting the back of Jyou’s knees, causing him to stumble. The plant quickly sprung into action and pressed Mimi to the ground just as a monstrously large bug lunged at them. Massive red pincers snapped angrily as it landed in the grass just behind them, wings buzzing as it prepared to lunge again. 

Jyou didn’t have time to scream as the creature dove at them again, barely missing. They wouldn’t get another chance. “RUN!!!” Mimi screeched, taking off towards the woods as quickly as she could, the plant-creature, Palmon, following quickly behind. The seal ordered Jyou to move, and soon they were running towards the woods as quickly as they could. 

“Come on, come on, MOVE MOVE MOVE!!” Palmon ordered, rushing deeper into the woods. The massive bug wouldn’t just give up so easily. Jyou and Mimi ran as quickly as they could, ducking when they heard the buzzing once again. There was an awful screech, and suddenly the trees surrounded them were gone- broken, ripped in half. 

Mimi’s heart was pounding, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes. She balled her hands up in the fabric of her dress, and let out a blood curdling scream. This was it, everything was over. They couldn’t run, they weren’t fast enough, and this giant bug would just find them all over again! She couldn’t help but hyperventilate, barely aware of Jyou shaking her arm, yelling something incoherently. The world was spinning, and the bug prepared to lunge again, pincers snapping-

“Pepper Breath!!” 

Mimi watched as a large fireball whooshed over her head, slamming into the face of the giant bug. It stumbled back, screeching once again, but that only made it more enraged. A large dinosaur ran in front of them, shooting out another fireball, backing up slowly towards the woods. Another large creature rushed around them, calling out, “Blue Blaster!” before letting out a bright blue flame. It joined the side of the dinosaur, but the two attacks did nothing against the massive bug. A hand tightly gripped Mimi’s arm and pulled her back, jerking her out of her spiraling thoughts, forcing her to move. “Come on Mimi, we have to go!!” Taichi called out, forcing her back towards the others. Her new plant friend, Palmon, and Jyou’s seal joined the line of fire as they retreated back into the woods, soon met with the rest of the kids. Koushirou and Yamato dragged Jyou along, kicking and screaming into the woods, with Yamato slapping a hand over the boy’s mouth. Sora helped Mimi stand, the two of them huddled close as they followed after the boys. The four Digimon that had attacked the bug dispersed in different directions, taunting it before doubling around and meeting up with the group. 

“We don’t have time, we need to move! A hiding tree’s not going to fool Kuwagamon twice!” A smaller bug hissed, urging them along, herding them through the dense forest. They ran as quickly as they could, trying to stay quiet, but Kuwagamon was hot on their tails. 

SKKKREEEEE

Someone yelled to ‘duck,’ and this time Mimi was prepared. She grabbed Sora and hit the forest floor just as the monstrous bug slammed into the trees, screeching and hissing, those snapping pincers dangerously close. 

“GO GO GO!!” Taichi roared, bolting off towards the tree line, everyone else quickly following suit. The forest thinned out a little, but Mimi paid no attention to that as she ran. Suddenly the trees disappeared and she caught up to Taichi and Koushirou, who stood shaking at the edge of a cliff. The rocks were jagged at seemed loose, dead tree roots sticking out of the ground. A river flowed through the bottom of the ravine, leading to a lower part of the forest floor.

Dread washed over her as she realized they were trapped. Looking around, she took in the strange creatures that now accompanied them- she knew Palmon and Gomamon, but now there was a dinosaur, a wolf-like… whatever it was, an orange hamster, a smaller, more friendly-looking bug, and Sora’s large pink bird. They formed a protective barrier around them, herding them closer to the cliff’s edge as they took their stances. Takeru held the hamster tightly, both crying, pressed up against Yamato’s legs.

“W-we can jump into the water, but that’s a big fall!” Koushirou cried out, peering over the edge. He clutched his laptop bag tightly, hands shaking. They’d be lucky to get out of this mess alive. The buzzing got louder, and another screech rung through the forest. The larger Digimon all snarled and flashed their teeth, preparing to fight.

“N-No, you’ll all just get killed!” Takeru sobbed, struggling to keep his hold on the hamster.

“We’re not going down without a fight! Let me go!!” It cried out, thrashing about in Takeru’s hold, wings flapping about.

“No, no, NO!!”

It swiftly bit Takeru’s hand, causing him to yelp and let go, the creature flying to the front lines. It took its’ stance by Palmon, growling as fiercely as it could, despite the obvious trembling.

After a moment, Mimi saw it- Kuwagamon standing among the destroyed trees, cutting off any means of escape. They were cornered with nowhere to go, looking death in the eyes. The moment it stumbled against the rocky ground, their new Digimon companions opened fire. The multitude of attacks scorched the Kuwagamon’s armored body, but left nothing more than  small singes and dents. The monster came closer, pushing through the barrage of attacks like it was nothing, and then it lunged.

SSSSKKREEEEEECCCCZZZTT  

Mimi could hear the collective scream of her friends alongside her own, and prepared for the worst. But the oncoming pain didn’t come. The little meteor-device on her purse suddenly glowed, and a bright, flashing light pierced through the dust. Seven bright flashes of light soared towards Kuwagamon, blinding it, leaving it in a crazed frenzy. Mimi lost her footing as it slammed into the ground, pincers piercing through the cliff side. The ground began to shake, and suddenly the world started rising. 

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Palmon’s vines wrapped around her waist as the rocks crumbled down, and she watched as her friends fell all around her. The pink bird was attempting to carry Sora, wings flapping furiously as they continued to fall. The strange fur-wearing one was holding Yamato tightly, whose hand was clasped around Takeru’s arm. Jyou was screaming bloody murder, Gomamon wrapped around his head. Taichi and Koushirou must be beneath her, along with their Digimon, and the massive bug fell too. Kuwagamon screeched out, quickly righting itself and taking to the skies. Hm… the sky looked so pretty from down here…

She bit back a scream as she hit the water, immediately engulfed by the strong current. Palmon held onto Mimi with the vines of one of her hand-like appendages, the other reaching out, trying to grab ahold of something, anything. The little plant let out a screech, holding on for dear life. Mimi gasped, swimming to the surface of the river, trying to see where she was heading. She spotted Gomamon supporting an unconscious Jyou, and Koushirou holding onto of of the small bug’s claws as it flew above the water. Yamato’s Digimon had Takeru in one arm, with Patamon perched on its’ back as it deftly swam through the water. Yamato seemed to be doing fine on his own, but held onto Takeru as to not get separated. Sora was upriver a ways, with her pink bird chirping with concern.

Mimi coughed, gasping with shock as she tried to swim as best she could. Both she and Palmon were struggling- her purse and dress were making it difficult to swim. “Ack, w-we need a branch, or something! I’m gonna sink!” Mimi cried out, trying to support both herself and her new friend as the current got stronger. Thankfully Kuwagamon seemed to be gone for now, but there was no telling where this river lead, and everyone needed to stick together if they were to have the best shot at survival. 

“Plants aren’t made for swimming!!” Palmon screeched, flailing around.

“Marching Fishes!!” Gomamon’s voice rang out like a war cry and they lifted a flipper out of the water, pointing it forward as if signaling something. The next moment, Mimi heard an increasing amount of little splashes from behind them, then the startled yelps of the kids behind her. Large, colorful fish appeared in all directions, swimming all around her and overtaking the river. Palmon wrapped her vines around one of the fish as they pushed up underneath them, keeping them from sinking under the water. Soon, all Mimi could see was the ever growing school of fish, overtaking her vision with flashes of reds, blues, and yellows. 

“What is this?!?!” She screamed, not believing what was happening. Gomamon’s laughing could be heard in the distance, and soon enough the school of fish deposited them on shore. 

“Cough, I could’ve… Mimi, are you okay?!” Palmon asked, crawling along the shore. Mimi stared at her for a moment, feeling her heart pounding, body trembling. Her throat was tight. She shakily nodded her head, watching as the remaining kids were left on the shore. Mimi took Palmon in her arms, holding her tightly.

“Fish are all cool and fun, but we should probably find shelter. Kuwagamon might come back…” Gomamon stated once everyone made it to shore. They were all soaking wet, but for the most part in one piece. Sora was bleeding from hitting something in the water, most likely a falling chunk of rock, but it didn’t look too bad. Jyou was unconscious, draped unceremoniously on the sand. Everyone else was left wide-eyed and shivering. 

“Y-yeah, let’s… let’s do that.” Taichi mumbled, rubbing his head.

Chapter Text

[Gabumon]

The small, ragtag group was currently huddled in a small cave not too far from the shore. The kids were all wide-eyed and shaky, cuddled tightly against their partners. Everything was suddenly crashing down on them- no longer were they safe at camp, no longer were they even in Japan, or wherever it was they were from. Gabumon looked over at Yamato, who held his knees to his chest. Today had been very eventful for all of them. The dark-haired one, Agumon’s partner, had foolishly caught the attention of Kuwagamon, and despite escaping, Kuwagamon had found Gomamon and Palmon’s partners. And now here they were, tucked in a small cave, waiting for the constant buzz of the angry Digimon to fade away. The poor humans didn’t know any better, really, but they could’ve died because of it. 

The one with glasses woke up eventually, and aided the red-haired girl in patching up her cut. Quietly, the humans started to share supplies and looked each other over, mending any small scratches and scrapes. Agumon kept watch over the mouth of the cave, keeping an eye out for the large bug.

“…We have a couple of hours until nightfall, so I think we should go out in groups to find supplies. Might as well make nests in here. Maybe by morning the ol’ bug will be gone!” Agumon said, eying the skies outside. 

“I’ll go too, I want to see more of the forest-“ 

“No, Taichi, I mean us Digimon. You guys stay here. You’re noisy and don’t really know how to move around the forest. No offense. Plus, someone has to watch over the others!” Agumon smiled, tail wagging for a moment before quickly glancing in Gabumon’s direction. 

“Alright, will do! Just let me know if I can help.” Taichi responded.

“Gabumon, you stay here for now. Tentomon, will you come with me? I’m gonna go look for bedding.” Agumon asked. Tentomon nodded, nudging Koushirou for just a moment before flying over to Agumon’s side.

Piyomon stood and ruffled her feathers, “Palmon and I can forage for fruits and herbs. That should leave Gabumon, Gomamon, and Patamon to watch over them.”

“That’s fine by me, but we should probably leave at separate times. We don’t want to attract any unwanted attention. Tentomon and I’ll go ahead and go.” 

Gabumon watched as Agumon and Tentomon left, leaving their partners in their care. “Well… if they’re getting bedding, we can go ahead and start digging nests.”

“You sleep in holes?” Jyou said. He looked surprised, nudging his glasses back up on his face. Mimi let out a slight giggle.

“No, we sleep in nests, whenever we’re traveling. Just dig a hole, fill with moss and leaves and other soft stuff, and boom! Nest. It also camouflages us during the night.” Gomamon responded, patting Jyou on the back. “Though putting fourteen nests in this little cave is pushing it.”

“We can do 7 larger nests and just sleep with our human, if that’s okay.” Palmon said, looking up at Mimi from where she sat. 

“Yeah, I’m okay with that.” Taichi responded. Everyone else nodded- after the coldness of the river and trauma of the day, the idea of sleeping close to their new friends seemed like a good idea. No one would admit the desire for comfort either- after all, they had just been sucked into a strange world, and almost gotten eaten immediately. Piyomon and Palmon took their leave, and the remaining Digimon began digging shallow holes in the soft dirt.

Gabumon chose a nice spot near the back of the cave, pulling away dirt from under their claws. This cave was relatively low and very close to the shore, leaving the ground damp. They hoped it wouldn’t rain tonight. The river would rise and flood them in, or at least ruin their nests. And after today, Gabumon needed a nice rest. 

Their ears twitched, eyes noticing how Yamato slowly approached. They couldn’t help the slight wag of their tail- this was Yamato, the one they had dreamed of, the one who was to be their partner- whatever that meant. Gabumon recalled sharing their dreams with Piyomon once, discussing the visions of war and destruction that plagued their sleep. Of smoke and fire and rage, of the thrill of evolution, of the blonde human who rode with them into battle. Piyomon’s dreams were similar. Despite the battle and chaos of their dreams, they felt hope, the companionship of the one who was destined for them.

“I dream of a girl with bright red hair… The battle is filled with fire and smoke, and the forest burns, but we rise through all of it. Together… All of us have similar dreams, I think. The Piyomon elder once told me about the legends, you know. Back when I was a Yokomon and didn’t know what it all meant.”

“…All of us seem to be dragged into this, without even being given a choice. What does it all mean? I just… I wish I…”

“Do you… not want to meet them?…”

“No, it’s not that… It’s just… why did it have to come to this? Why bring creatures from another world to deal with our problems?… They’re like sacrifices… I wish the dreams would show me peace. But if I have to fight, I will.”

Gabumon shook their head, trying to focus on the task at hand. Yamato was here now, after all these years. This small group of humans, thrust into an unforgiving wilderness. And for what? “I… I’m sorry you have to be here.”

“What do you mean?” Yamato whispered softly, scooping out dirt from the soon-to-be nest. 

Gabumon watched for a moment. Yamato’s hands were smaller than their own; not very good for digging. “I’m sure it must be strange, falling out of the sky into an unfamiliar landscape… meeting creatures you’ve never seen before. Then almost getting eaten, and falling off a cliff. It’s been an eventful day, hm?…”

“…Can’t say I expected it. But I’m here now, and it’s cold, so let’s build a nest. I’d rather stay in here than go out there, anyways… besides, I need time to process all… this. I’m still not sure this isn’t a dream.” Yamato responded, giving them a slight smile.

“…Agumon and Tentomon should be back soon with bedding, then we can finish the nest. They might have to go out again for more though, there’s a lot of us… I haven’t camped with everyone like this in a while. It’ll be a nice change of pace, I suppose.” Gabumon brought their tail around to their knees, then stretched their back. It was going to be a tight fit with all of them in this little cave, especially with the fear-scent that seemed to emanate from everyone. At least they had time to lick their wounds, and get to know each other a bit better.

Soon enough Agumon and Tentomon returned, each dragging a large leaf covered with rolls of moss. It would be enough for them, although sparse, but at least it would keep them dry. Gabumon took one of the rolls of moss and started to stuff their nest. It wasn’t nearly as much as they would’ve preferred, but at least they’d be warm and dry. 

“Is it… alright if I sleep with you? I don’t want to intrude, I know the others just kind of decided…” Yamato said, approaching them cautiously. Gabumon turned to look at him- he still seemed to be a little afraid of them, eyes drawn to their claws and teeth. Would he really be comfortable with that? They thought humans were predators, based on what they’d been told, but this small group acted like prey animals, and smelled like it too. “I’m okay with it, if you are... I don’t wanna scare you though. If you’d prefer, you can sleep with Takeru, and I can be with Patamon.”  

Yamato’s eyes widened at the suggestion, but he didn’t mention anything. As long as Takeru was close by, everything would be alright. But… Gabumon’s fur looked warm. “We’ll… see how it goes.” He murmured. Gabumon had already fought to protect him today, and had even made sure Takeru stayed afloat in the river. He felt he could trust Gabumon, at least a little, even if they were a bit unnerving. Once their nest was finished, Yamato took a seat in it, trying to get comfortable. Gabumon smirked at him, trying not to show their teeth.

Piyomon and Palmon returned with a couple small fruits, dividing them up between the large group. Once everyone was settled, fed, and nests built, quiet overtook them. Everyone could still hear the faint buzzing of Kuwagamon, who circled the skies above. It was too quiet like this.

“…So. We have a lot to talk about.” Taichi began, sitting next to Agumon, “First off, we got abducted. Then, almost eaten. And now, here we are. With our new friends. Should we do introductions, or…?”

“I know all your names, and I think I’ve got most the Digimon down too. What about they tell us about the Digital World, or their cultures?…” Koushirou interrupted, looking at Tentomon.

“…Sure. For those of you who don’t remember, I’m Tentomon. Right now we’re on File Island, in the Digital World. Most of it’s a wilderness, so we have to be very mindful about how we travel- a Child level Digimon can’t take on an Adult level Digimon very easily.”

“What’s a Child level, or an Adult?… Was Kuwagamon an Adult?” Sora asked, shifting in her seat.

“We’re all Child Level, but that doesn’t mean we’re stuck as children forever, that’s just our level’s name. For example, a newly evolved Agumon’s gonna be a lot smaller than me. I’ve traveled around a lot! Kuwagamon’s an Adult level, but there’s levels beyond that, too. I’ve never seen a Perfect Level Digimon before.”

“But what about you guys? What’s your story, what are you doing here, of all places?… Earlier you said this place was about a day’s walk from a… what, a Tanemon village?…” Yamato asked, turning to look at Gabumon. 

They blushed as everyone’s eyes fell on them. “Well, um…yes. We are about a day’s travel from Tanemon Village, but with such a large group it’d take a couple of days to get there. We’d have to pass through Overdell. As for me… I just travelled around, from village to village. Waiting. Trying to find answers for some things. I met a lot of interesting Digimon along the way, and I know my way around pretty well.” 

“What were you waiting for?” Takeru asked, looking up at them with large, doe eyes.

“…Yamato. All of us were waiting. Patamon waited for you, too. I travelled around a lot, and met other Digimon who had similar dreams as I did. That’s how I met Agumon and the others… but there’s more to the story, something’s just… off about this whole mess.” Gabumon shook their head, “…It’s getting dark. Let’s rest for the night, and if Kuwagamon’s gone, I say we move out, I don’t care where we go.”

Gabumon curled up in the nest, not paying any attention to the rest of the conversation. Of course they were thrilled to finally meet Yamato, but they didn’t like the mess they were getting themselves into. All the other Digimon seemed perfectly okay with being pawns for some higher order, who chose them for some grand purpose.

…But maybe they were reading into things too much.

Taichi and Agumon volunteered to take first watch, then it would be Jyou, Koushirou, and then they and Yamato would finish up the night. Everyone nestled into their nests just as it got too dark to see. Gabumon could no longer hear Kuwagamon’s buzz, instead only hearing the constant flow of the river, the crickets outside, and the soft breathing of Yamato next to them. They turned over, pulling the warm body closer as they drifted off to sleep.

[The Digital World- File Island, Day 2]

[Koushirou]

Koushirou sat up with a yawn, shaking his head slightly as sunlight slowly crept its way into the cave. Everyone else seemed to be waking up, except Yamato and Gabumon, who had been keeping the last night shift. They were both leaned up against the mouth of the cave, Yamato slumped up against Gabumon’s side, having fallen back asleep. The large Digimon must’ve kept most of the watch alone, but Koushirou wouldn’t mention anything. After all, his and Tentomon’s watch was dreadful- after a day like yesterday, it was simply impossible to stay awake. 

Tentomon let out a slight buzz as they awoke, pressing their head into the soft moss in protest. During their night watch, Koushirou had asked many questions regarding the Digital World and its’ inhabitants, which Tentomon had graciously indulged his curiosity. He and the other kids were very obviously no longer in Japan, and according to Tentomon, this was a whole new world. He recalled Jyou talking about the possibilities of finding other humans here- surely if they found another village… Although it had only been one day, Koushirou was trying to rid himself the hope of Jyou’s words. It wasn’t logical for there to be any other humans here, according to what Tentomon had told him about File Island, and he wasn’t about to refute Tentomon’s words- after all, this was their home.

In all possibility, this must be a mass hallucination. Maybe they had all come down with fever back at camp, and were dreaming up this vivid world, monsters and all. But how would that explain the physical pain? Koushirou’s back still hurt from falling into the water, and he had seen the other’s minor injuries too. Plus, the fact still stood that after a full night’s sleep, he was still here. 

“…Okay. What’s the plan? Where do we go from here?” Mimi asked, sitting up in her and Palmon’s shared nest. Mimi had procured a small hairbrush from her purse, trying to calm down the frizzy brown locks. Palmon was still face-down in the moss. 

“Well, our only option is to walk downstream. This river’s at the bottom of a steep gorge, so unless we want to climb the cliff wall to get back up, we’re stuck down here.” Gabumon answered, gently shaking Yamato awake.

“Plus there’s no food down here…” Agumon moaned sadly, rubbing their stomach.

“Gomamon, maybe you can call some fish like you did yesterday?” Jyou said, earning a shocked stare from Gomamon,

Gomamon’s jaw dropped, their eyes filled with horror at the notion of eating their ‘Marching Fishes,’ “No! What if I said I’d eat your friends? My marching Fishes are off the menu!”

Taichi laughed, standing up and walking around the small cave, making sure everyone was awake. “Wakey wakey! It’s morning, and we should get a move on! Come on Takeru, Patamon!” 

Koushirou noticed the slight look of envy in Yamato’s eyes as Taichi bent down to wake up the younger blonde, whose nest was next to his own. Takeru mumbled something incoherently and rubbed his eyes, before following Taichi’s lead with a smile. 

“Takeru, did you sleep well?” Yamato asked softly, making his way over towards the smaller boy, getting between him and Taichi. Koushirou found it interesting how Takeru called Yamato ‘Onii-chan,’ despite the two having different last names. Plus, if he recalled correctly, Takeru had lived in Tokyo for a while, but Yamato had only recently transferred to their school halfway through the year. Takeru didn’t go to their school, but he had gotten to know the energetic young boy a little through some of the summer camp activities.

He shook his head, standing up. It wasn’t important to think of that now, not when they had a long day of walking ahead of them. “If this really is an island, we should be able to end up at a beach or a lake if we follow the river. Plus, if Kuwagamon’s still around, being down in the gorge should help hide us a bit, at least from the air.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess we can munch on the rest of those granola bars and head out!” Taichi reached for the emergency bag by Jyou’s side but was quickly met by Sora’s hand slapping his away.

“We need to save those for later! I know there’s no food down here, but what if by lunchtime we still haven’t found anything?”

Taichi pouted for just a moment, but when he realized Sora wouldn’t budge, he moved on, talking excitedly with the orange dinosuar- Agumon. Koushirou turned back to his computer, ignoring everyone else until they were finally ready to go. Mimi tamed Takeru’s hair with the hairbrush, then passed it around to the others. Jyou was organizing the emergency bag, taking inventory of everything they had with them, including the number of meals they could share between all of them.When Taichi gave the word, Koushirou put his laptop away in its bag, slung it over his shoulders, and followed along.

Eventually, everyone fell into a natural order- Taichi and Agumon in the lead, followed by Sora, Mimi and their Digimon, then Koushirou, Jyou and Takeru, and finally Yamato and Gabumon taking up the rear. Koushirou heard a faint buzzing, and looked up to see Tentomon hovering above him. They fell into place beside him, buzzing quietly.

“I flew ahead for a bit and went up close to the main forest floor, and it seems Kuwagamon’s not here any more. Everything should be fine, but I still recommend traveling down here.”

“…You said last night this place was called File Island, correct?” Koushirou looked towards the red bug, once again taking in its’ visage- they were the strangest thing he’d ever seen, and he desperately wanted to know more about them and this place he found himself in. Tentomon’s large, green eyes focused on him (or at least he imagined it) as they turned towards him, orange antennas flickering. 

“That is correct,” They said, “This island is off the coast of Server, the main continent, about two or three hundred miles away. A lot of Digimon grow up here and then leave for Server, but I’ve never been there. I’ve heard the trek across the ocean’s pretty difficult, and I quite like File Island.”

Koushirou nodded, eyebrows furrowing, “I understand. Have any of the other Digimon been to Server? I know last night you all said you traveled around File, at least.”

“I don’t think so. Most of the Digimon that leave File Island are adult Digimon, but I’ll visit the occasional village here or there. Gabumon’s done the most traveling though out of any of us, so they’d probably be able to answer some questions about Server. They’ve met plenty of Digimon.”

“Why have they travelled so much?” Takeru piped up, slowing down his pace to join the conversation.

“I met them when they were traveling to BeetleLand, where I’m from. All of us partner Digimon had lots of really vivid dreams, and Gabumon was searching for some answers to them, but I know the ruins are pretty heavily guarded by strong Digimon. I’ve never been in them, but I think we’ll figure the dreams out, eventually, or at least why we have them in the first place.”

“What did you dream about, Tentomon?” Patamon asked, taking a seat on Takeru’s hat.

“Well… I dreamed about me and Koushirou flying through storm clouds. All you could hear was the wind and thunder, and the sky lit up with lightning. I didn’t know Koushirou specifically in the dream, but I knew… I knew I had a companion that would be with me through thick and thin.”

Koushirou shuffled nervously, swallowing hard. He gripped the straps of his laptop bag, fingers scratching at the corded material, taking comfort in the familiar repitition. “I… hope I can live up to your expectations.” 

Tentomon gave him a quizzical look, but he ignored it. The more he learned about this place, the more it seemed that there was something… more. Something he didn’t understand. Out of everyone that could’ve been taken here, why him? He wasn’t a survivalist, he wasn’t overly athletic or brave, he wasn’t even an adult! None of this seemed real, despite what his senses were telling him. Heck, even Tentomon and the other Digimon seemed too strange to be real. Talking aliens, massive bugs, hiding trees? He had only been here for a day and nothing seemed to follow the natural order of things. 

With all of these sudden changes and new curiosities all around him, all Koushirou could really focus on was putting one foot in front of the other. There were just so many news things to explore and experiences to be had, but right now it all seemed very overwhelming. But at least Tentomon seemed to be a nice alien.

[Agumon]

“…Taichi, do you hear that?” Agumon cocked their hear, straining to hear the faint ringing sound, coming from just around the corner. They had been walking for a good part of 2 hours, maybe 3, and despite them feeling just fine, the humans were starting to get tired- well, most of them. Taichi was easily keeping pace with them, yammering about one thing or another, laughing around with them. Agumon really liked Taichi so far- he was so much fun! The humans were interesting, all of them so different-

the ringing got louder. 

“Yeah, I hear it! Is that… is that what I think it is?” Taichi’s eyes grew wider, and upon looking around the corner, he took off running. 

“Taichi, wait up!!” Agumon quickly ran after their partner, chasing him along the beach. After what had happened yesterday with Kuwagamon, he should know better than to run into an open clearing! 

He stopped in front of one of the seven glass boxes, each one ringing with a high-pitched trill. Soon enough the other humans had caught up, each gravitating towards one of the glass boxes, desperately wrenching the doors open and taking the green phone in their hands.

Agumon watched as Taichi picked up the device, making an angry sound when the line went dead. He dialed a few numbers, and suddenly the device spoke loudly.

“You are currently located -bzzzt- on ice cream hills, with a chance of -bzzzt- 453.6 degrees south. Evening show -bzzzt- 8 p.m sharp-…”

“What the…” Taichi’s eyebrows furled as he watched the phone with morbid confusion. “I thought- wasn’t someone calling?…”

“… I don’t know. Is it broken?…” Agumon asked. 

Yamato, Takeru and their Digimon were in the next glass box over. Yamato held the device in his hands, shaking slightly as Takeru asked him to call someone named ‘Mama.’ He fumbled the phone into the younger blonde’s hands, quickly muttering something about forgetting the number. Gabumon lead Yamato out of the glass box, making their way towards Sora and Koushirou by the cliff side. Takeru looked sad for a moment before attempting to dial a number, pausing every so often to remember what came next.

Mimi and Jyou didn’t seem to have much luck with the telephones either, and soon enough everyone had gathered by the cliff side. Agumon took a seat next to Piyomon and Palmon, Taichi following close behind. Yamato and Gabumon sat a little farther away from the group, talking quietly amongst themselves. 

“…Now can we eat lunch?” Taichi asked, eying the emergency bag next to Mimi. Jyou had passed it over to her, resuming his attempts with the telephone. Mimi smiled, reaching into the bag and pulling out some granola bars. 

“Jyou said that if we each only have a little, we’ll have enough for three meals. But… that doesn’t count the Digimon. So probably only a meal and a small snack…” She sighed, pulling her legs underneath her. 

“You don’t have to worry about us, we can forage for ourselves. Eat your human-food, we don’t mind.” Piyomon made to reach for a granola bar for Sora, but paused, “Didn’t you say you had enough for three human meals? I don’t think it’s enough.”

“…What? There should be a dozen bars… where’d three of them go?” Mimi recounted the bars, and then shot a dirty look at Taichi and Agumon, who were both gulping the last remains of their snack.

“You were supposed to share those! We have to ration!” Yamato snapped, “Didn’t you-“

“Yamato.” Gabumon grabbed Yamato’s wrist, and placed a granola bar in his hands.

“Well excuse me! I didn’t know you owned them! As far as I remember, none of us ate breakfast, including the Digimon! What’s the big deal? We can always find more. Geez, Yamato, eat a snickers.” Taichi turned around, shooting a glance in Yamato’s direction, ignoring how everyone else was looking at him. As far as he was concerned, food was meant to be eaten. He was met with Gabumon’s gaze, and a quick flash of their teeth. “Okay, okay… sorry. I should’ve listened to you guys. But I was hungry! All of us are…”

“It’s okay, I have some candy in my backpack we can share! And some water bottles! Mama made sure I packed extra to share with friends.” Takeru smiled, dumping out the contents of his backpack. He held out a piece of chocolate to Yamato, who looked at it with disdain before refusing. “I’ll pass.”

“But Onii-chan, Mama said-”

“…”

“Well, I’ll eat it if you won’t!” Mimi noticed Yamato’s obvious discomfort and grabbed the chocolate, waiting a moment before popping it into her mouth with a ‘thank you.’ Jyou eventually rejoined the group, appalled at how quickly their rations were depleting. But soon enough, the humans were decently fed, deciding to rest for a few moments longer before moving again.

Agumon licked their lips, looking around. Gomamon had gone to the ocean, laughing and splashing around in the warm waves, yelling for the others to join them. They looked at Taichi for a moment, tail swishing. Taichi shoveled the last of the granola bar into his mouth, smiling. The next moment, he turned towards the ocean and took off running. Agumon chased after him, laughing.

“Last one to the beach gets no dinner!!”

“Hey!! That’s assuming we can find dinner!” Agumon yelled back, barreling into the waves. Taichi threw off his socks and shoes and jumped into the water, following Agumon out into the warm current.

Chapter Text

[The Digital World- File Island, Day 2]

[Mangrove Region Beach]

[Jyou]

The air was warm and salty, the sun just a little too bright- Jyou should’ve brought sunscreen with him. Once Taichi, Mimi, Sora and Takeru were done playing in the ocean, he was sure they’d be burnt. The weather was hotter here than it had been in camp, as it had been cloudy and decently warm before it had started snowing. Here, however, it was hot. Because of this, it was obvious that they were not in Japan anymore- they seemed to be farther south than before, not to mention the monsters. Gommamon seemed to be nice enough though, despite being strangely unnerving. 

Koushirou, Yamato, himself and their respective Digimon, including Piyomon and and Palmon, were still huddled up by the cliff wall. The emergency rations were depleted, but at least they had their first aid kit, some basic culinary tools, a Swiss Army knife, and some other random items, courtesy of Mimi. Palmon leaned against Jyou for a second, peering into the emergency bag.

“…You know, if you’re worried about supplies, we could stop by File City, unless we want to go the other direction… I don’t really care where we end up, but we could get some good food and shop around a little!”

Tentomon perked up and looked their direction, away from whatever Koushirou was doing. “We could possibly spend the night down there too, maybe do an odd job in the morning to pay and let the kids sleep in. We do need to stock up on supplies, though…” 

“It’d be kind of nice sleeping indoors after yesterday…” Yamato looked down at the empty granola bar wrapper he was holding. Yesterday had been full of excitement and danger, and he was left in shock of the strange creatures that had taken to helping them. If it weren’t for Gabumon and the others, he was sure they wouldn’t be here today. And after everything that had happened in such a short amount of time, it would be nice to stay somewhere safe. 

“I think going to File City’s a good idea, but from where we are, it’d take half a day’s walk to get to File City Bridge. We’re on the southern end of the river beach so we’d need to move north.” Gabumon responded, looking at Tentomon, tail curling around behind their partner.

“If we leave in like an hour we’d get there maybe a little after dusk, right?” Piyomon settled in the sand, watching Sora off in the distance. She and some of the others had gone to play in the waves, but if Agumon, Gomamon and Patamon stayed close to them, everything should be alright. And even if anything did go wrong, the others were close by.

Jyou sighed, hugging his knees to his chest. In just a matter of 24 hours, he had lost control of everything. No more summer camp, with a nice, controlled schedule, no more adults or counselors, no more middle-school level study books. He didn’t even have a pencil with him, and it didn’t seem worth it to try and work problems out in the sand. He had been taught to stay put and wait for help in situations like these, but staying put would be dangerous here. Plus, the Digimon seemed to take the lead.  Trusting the locals seemed like the next best thing to a trusted adult, and they were talking about going to a town! Maybe they’d have working phones there, or some means to travel back to Tokyo.

“Does… does File City have working communication? Or someplace where we can contact the authorities? And how can this be a beach? We were in the mountains at summer camp…”

Koushirou turned to look at the older boy. He was also wondering about File City, but it was pretty obvious they wouldn’t find any humans here. Tentomon had told him last night that he was the first human they’d seen, and he was pretty sure a place named ‘File City’ did not exist in Japan. He looked back to Tentomon, who began to respond.

 “Technically this is File River, but it’s so wide across everyone just calls it a beach or a river-beach. The closest actual beach is a couple day’s journey away at Coela Point. There’s a small market down there that trades with ocean Digimon for goods like shells, nets, fish or treasures, and then merchants take the goods inland to File City. File City is mainly a merchant town as it’s in a good central location, but as far as I know they don’t have phone booths like here. Most anomalies you’ll see in the Digital World don’t have an explanation as to why they’re there…”

“Back to File City,” Piyomon interjected, “It’s a good place to stay for a couple days to figure out where we go from here, and also get some extra supplies. I have a feeling we’ll travel around a lot-”

KSHKSHKSHKKKKKkkkkkkk crAAACK—

~~~~

[Taichi]

Moments before the deafening noise, Agumon, Gommamon, and Patamon fell still. No more play splashing, no more swimming or silly banter. Taichi gulped, recalling the eerie silence of the Digimon just before Kuwagamon attacked- the way they were hyper focused on their surroundings, or any signs of danger... Sora and Takeru went quiet, Mimi slowly beginning to back up towards the shore. Taichi strained to hear the quiet gurgling, the way the ocean seemed to groan before it erupted.

A huge wave burst from the depths, immediately slamming into them. Taichi heard the monstrous roar from beneath the water, the salty liquid filling his mouth as the ocean crashed all around him. He slammed into the shore, hands pushing desperately against the sand, surfacing. His head turned wildly, eyes wide as he searched for the others, trying to regain his bearings. Mimi and Sora were to his left, Takeru to his right. Agumon didn’t give him a moment to think before dragging him farther up the shore, away from whatever made the horrendous sound. Sora and Mimi were met by their Digimon, immediately moving into a protective stance. Yamato suddenly flew by him, screaming for Takeru. The younger blonde boy was struggling in the waves, crying out for his brother, with Patamon trying to pull him to shore. 

Agumon snarled, facing the giant creature that came from the waves. It was covered in sand and seaweed, water flowing off of the enormous spiked shell as its’ disgusting pink body was revealed. Taichi’s eyes went wide, staring up at the Digimon. Slimy, pink arms folded out from under the shell, then its’ massive head emerged. Strange yellow tentacles came from its’ head, the large maw open, water pouring down. Barnacles stuck all over its’ massive body. 

“Shellmon…” Agumon growled lowly, barring their fangs. 

Taichi was more in awe than he was afraid, staring up at the beast in astonishment. It was massive, maybe even bigger than Kuwagamon. He felt the adrenaline rushing back to him as he took in his surroundings, listening to the chaos all around him. Jyou was yelling, Mimi and Sora were running towards the cliff side, Koushirou waving them towards the woods. All the Digimon were rushing towards the water, readying for battle- where were Yamato and Takeru?!

KSHKSHKSHKKKKKKkkkkk

The giant beast screamed again, the ocean turning violent with its’ movements. Its head veered to the right, raising its arm into the air- NO. Taichi screamed, running towards the ocean. But Gabumon was faster. Agumon slammed into his side, dragging him back up the shore, past the phone booths. The strange row of telephones was mostly gone, the target of one of Shellmon’s watery attacks. The other kids were just up the shore, yelling for him to run.

“GO! This is our fight!” Agumon turned around and ran towards the monster, snarling with fury. Yamato dragged Takeru through the choppy water, oblivious to the slow, furious gaze that fell over them. Shellmon grumbled lowly, snarling a final warning before slamming its arm down.

Taichi watched in shock as Gabumon barreled into Yamato and Takeru, barely missing the monster’s arm as it slammed into the water. Waves crashed all around it, the ocean floor splitting under the force. Agumon let out fireball after fireball, snarling and distracting the massive Digimon as Gabumon brought the brothers behind it, around its’ back and towards the shore. Takeru sobbed and held onto Patamon, Yamato clutching onto his arm. Gabumon threw them into the sand, snarling for them to go before circling around to help Agumon and Piyomon. The three tried to push the monster back into the ocean, at least holding it off until they could escape.

The other Digimon had herded the kids towards the woods, but Taichi didn’t follow. A strange sort of excitement rushed through him, and he picked up a metal bar that was near the destroyed phone booths. Taichi gripped it in his hands, breathing heavily as he watched Agumon fight. In this strange new place, being weak meant death. Being protected meant being being a burden. The Digimon had already done so much for them over the past day… They shouldn’t have to fight alone. Taichi screamed as he ran towards the monster, metal bar in hand. He could hear the horrified shrieks of his friends behind him, and suddenly he was up close, right there- Taichi sunk the sharp end of the bar into its’ flesh, pushing it through as far as he could. Strange black goo ushered out of the wound, spilling into the ocean like oil. Shellmon reared back and shrieked again, head rushing towards him.

Taichi laughed- partially from fear, but also from the strange excitement rushing through him. The strange, white device on his belt thrummed with hot energy, and he felt as if he was invincible- 

CRUNCH

Oh... Taichi’s vision blurred as he found himself in the air, strangled by one of the tentacles. It was tight, his arms were pinned against his sides as he was jostled around by Shellmon’s swinging head. He couldn’t breathe. Air forced itself out of his lungs, and he was unable to cry out for help. He blinked, eyes focusing on his partner, standing on the beach. He had only known Agumon for a day, but he could tell they would’ve been good friends. Maybe he should have listened to them and ran away, maybe he’d still be able to survive just a bit longer.

The tentacle closed around him even more, his bones desperately trying to push back against the force. He felt the cracking in his chest, the pain in his lungs, and the white-hot burning of the device on his belt. 

Agumon roared with fury, screaming out Taichi’s name as they flung themselves at Shellmon. Their eyes glowed with ferocity, desperately clutching onto the wave of energy that flowed through them. The white device screeched, and suddenly something snapped- something that felt natural, but wrong at the same time. Agumon had felt the bond before, like a sudden shock of energy, the first time they saw Taichi. But this was stronger. More dangerous. Agumon let it overtake them, power flooding through their system. In this moment, power was what they needed. 

Their body shown with a bright white light, their flesh ripping and expanding, new data rushing through them. Agumon didn’t try to fight it, only focusing on the bond. Right now, Taichi needed them. Their teeth grew sharper, their claws more dangerous. Horns grew from the helmet on their head, dark stripes running down their back.

Once the light faded, Agumon was no longer there. Taichi’s eyes widened as he saw the massive orange dinosaur where his partner had been. In an instant, the new Digimon lunged forward, clamping it’s jaws around Shellmon’s neck. 

KSHKSHKSHKKKKKkkkkkkGGGGZZzz

The world started falling, and Taichi’s vision grew dark. He crashed into the water, unconscious. Gabumon lunged forward him, grasping him tightly and swimming back towards shore. Their eyes were narrow, ears flattened against their head. This fight no longer concerned them, and only the newly-evolved Greymon could finish it. Yamato and Jyou met them at the shore, taking Taichi’s limp body from them and rushing towards the others. Gabumon collapsed on the beach, panting for a few moments before getting back up, shaking the water from their fur, and running after them. These dang humans, do they want to die?!

Greymon sunk their massive fangs into Shellmon’s neck, not letting go despite how its opponent writhed and screeched, trying to tear itself free. Shellmon would pay for hurting Taichi with its life. Greymon’s claws took hold of the spiked shell, lifting it out of the ocean, freeing its teeth from the disgusting monster. Black goo seeped down, clouding the ocean water. With a fearsome roar, Greymon flung Shellmon back into the ocean.

One wave crashed over the shore, then two. After a moment, the ocean went silent, swallowing Shellmon into its depth. After the ferocious battle, no Digimon would dare come close. Greymon stomped out of the waves, scaling the beach in only a few enormous steps. Then, the bond broke, and Agumon fell to the ground in a heap.

~~~~