Silence hung over the room as Elecmon’s announcement echoed in the heads of the fillies and colt seated around the table. Elecmon glanced around at the shocked faces staring back at him as he waited for someone to say something.
“Bwaahahahahaa!”
Everyone turned to see Diamond Tiara leaning forward, forelegs clutching her barrel as she laughed. “That’s...that’s a good one!” she said as she tried to catch her breath between giggles. “You...you really had me going there.”
“I don’t understand,” Elecmon said. “What’s so funny?”
“You telling us that we’re...what, DigiDestined? That we’re supposed to be some kind of heroes or something? You have an...interesting sense of humor.”
“Um...thank you, I guess. But what made you think I was joking?”
Diamond Tiara shook her head with a chuckle. “Okay, the joke’s been played. You can stop now.”
“...What joke?”
“Okay, seriously...knock it off with that—”
“I think what my friend here is tryin’ to say—” Apple Bloom interrupted. “Is that, while we appreciate that you think mighty highly of us...I’m afraid you’ve got us mixed up with someone else.” Everypony around the table nodded and murmured in agreement.
“Hmm…” Elecmon put a paw to his chin for a while before shaking his head. “Nope, I don’t think so.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“You remember when we met? You told me that the Digivices attached themselves to you. There must have been a reason for that.”
“Yeah,” Diamond Tiara said in a flat tone. “The reason being Scootaloo was too curious for her own good!”
“Hey!” Scootaloo shouted, throwing her forelegs up. “Why you gotta pin this on me?”
Diamond Tiara turned to Scootaloo. “You’re the one who opened that display case! You’re the one who decided to reach in to get a better look at these things! Then what happened next, huh?”
Scootaloo glanced down at the red Digivice on her foreleg. “But...I didn’t know…” she fumbled. Her ears flopped down to the side of her head, and her shoulders slumped as she looked down at the Digivice. She looked back up to her friends around the table. “Do...do all of you think this? Is this really my fault?”
“What? No!” Sweetie Belle said, getting out of her seat and walking over to Scootaloo. “Of course it’s not your fault.”
“But I did open that case! I reached out to touch this thing, then they flew on to us,” Scootaloo said, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “And then...that machine froze us in place and then—”
“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle said putting a hoof on her shoulder. “It’s okay...I was curious about these things too.”
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said. “I mean, let’s be real here; if you didn’t try to pick them up, I’m sure one of us would have.” Sweetie Belle nodded.
“Pfft,” Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. “Says you.”
Apple Bloom leaned forward on her forelegs, looking right at Silver Spoon. “Tell me you weren’t curious. Look me in the eye, and say that you wouldn’t have tried to get a closer look at them!”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Silver Spoon stuck her nose up. Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her. Silver Spoon looked back down at her plate, trying to evade Apple Bloom’s gaze. Still feeling it a few moments later, Silver Spoon sighed. “Well...maybe I would have taken a little peek.”
“Alright,” Diamond Tiara sighed. “Cards on the table, I was waiting for somepony to pick one of these things up.” She lifted her foreleg to show her Digivice. Looking around the table, she saw everypony nodding or rubbing the back of their heads. She looked back to Sweetie Belle, who motioned her head to Scootaloo.
“Look, Scootaloo…” Diamond Tiara began. “I’m sorry I said that. I don’t blame you for us being here.”
Scootaloo wiped her eyes before looking up. “Really?”
Diamond Tiara nodded. “Apple Bloom’s right. If you didn’t pick it up, somepony else would have...then I would be blaming them.”
Scootaloo smiled. “Alright, apology accepted.” She glanced to Sweetie Belle, who was still by her side. “Um, Sweetie Belle...you know you didn’t have to get out of your seat, right?”
“I know,” Sweetie Belle said, backing up to her seat. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You looked like you were going to cry their for a second.”
“No I wasn’t!” Scootaloo protested. “I...had something in my eye. Piece of bread or something.”
“If you say so,” Sweetie Belle smiled.
“Our common curiosity aside,” Babs Seed said. “Just because we have these Digivices doesn’t make us heroes. I mean, if I got my hooves on a cop badge, would that make me a cop?”
“She has a point,” Rumble nodded. “Forgive me, but you seem to be basing this all on the fact that we have these Digivices, and not much else.”
“Well, that’s not entirely true,” Elecmon said. “I suppose that anyone could find a Digivice, but merely possessing it does not necessarily make them DigiDestined. One thing that does however, is that they also work with a partner Digimon.”
“A partner Digimon?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yes,” Elecmon nodded. “According to the stories, the Digivice’s primary function is to channel the energy and emotions of a DigiDestined in order to digivolve a Digimon to a higher level. Said Digimon works as a partner with the DigiDestined, and rarely leaves his or her side.”
“So, a partner Digimon can evolve...without having to absorb any data?” Rumble asked, to which Elecmon nodded.
“You mean kind of like how Guilmon...” Scootaloo trailed off. She turned to Guilmon, thinking back to the events that transpired yesterday. She looked over to Apple Bloom, who was looking at Armadillomon the same way. “Hey Apple Bloom, do you remember what happened when we were cornered by Kuwagamon?”
Apple Bloom looked up at Scootaloo and nodded. “Right after Upamon and Gigimon charged in...our Digivices started glowin’. And then they digivolved into Armadillomon and Guilmon.”
“And I remember telling you last night that it’s probably just a coincidence,” Silver Spoon said.
“I don’t know,” Babs Seed piped in. “When DemiVeemon was rushing to help me, mine was glowing right before he evolved into Veemon.”
“Coincidence!” Silver Spoon shouted.
“Sil!” Diamond Tiara leaned back. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” Silver Spoon parroted. “Please don’t tell me you’re actually buying this. That we’re supposed to be some kind of heroes, and that these Digimon are supposed to be our partners!”
“What’s wrong with that?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“What’s—” Silver Spoon took a deep breath. “Okay, let me spell it out for you. We. Are. Just. Kids!” She paused to let that sink in. “I mean...why would these Digivices choose us? There’s got to be somepony more qualified for this, somepony older than twelve!”
Apple Bloom looked down. She has a point, she thought. Me, Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara are all twelve. Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon are eleven, and so is Rumble I think. And Babs’ thirteenth birthday is in a few months!
Elecmon pursed his lips as he looked lost in thought. “Will you excuse me for a moment?” he asked, getting up out of his seat and walking down the hall.
“Now don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for their help,” Silver Spoon continued, gesturing to the Digimon at the table. “But just because they helped us out doesn’t mean they’re supposed to be our partners, is it?
“What’s the matter?” Terriermon asked. “I’m not good enough for you?”
“Well no, I didn’t mean it like that. You’re a nice guy Terriermon. I’m just saying, how do we know if we’re supposed to be partners?”
Everyone looked at each other for a few moments before Guilmon spoke up. “Well, when I first saw Scootaloo on the beach, it was almost like...like I knew her from somewhere.” Guilmon shook his head. “I don’t know, is that weird?”
“No…” Everyone turned to Armadillomon. “No, I think I know what you mean. When I saw Apple Bloom, it felt like I had been waiting for her...for a while.”
“Same here,” Palmon chimed in. “With Sweetie Belle anyway.”
Babs Seed looked over at Veemon. “When I saw DemiVeemon, I kinda saw a bit of myself in the little guy. And the way he digivolved trying to help me, I felt a bit more of that kind of connection.”
“Aw, stop it,” Veemon blushed.
“Come to think of it,” Rumble started. “That’s sorta how I felt around Bearmon.”
“I’ll be honest, Hawkmon was the first Digimon I really felt comfortable around ever since we came to the Digital World,” Diamond Tiara said. She looked around to see all the Digimon staring at her. “Um, no offense.”
“None taken,” Armadillomon chuckled. “Guilmon’s pretty scary lookin’.”
“Yea—” Guilmon’s eyes widened. “Hey!”
Terriermon laughed along with the rest of the table. He looked right to see Silver Spoon staring at her plate. “Hey, come on Silver Spoon. Moumantai!”
Silver Spoon glanced at Terriermon. He said that back in the caves too, she thought. Even though I’ve never heard it before, he was able to calm me down after saying it once! And he gave me a piece of that bread, even though it could have given him more energy to help fight our way out. Could he really be...
A weight slammed against the table, shocking Silver Spoon out of her thoughts. Everyone looked up to see Elecmon with a large old book in front of him.
“What’s that?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“A scrapbook,” Elecmon smiled as he opened the book. “I wanted to show you all something.” Everyone leaned forward as Elecmon leafed through several pages showing photos of the village, and the playful Digimon who inhabited it. Eventually, he stopped at one particular page and smiled. “There you are!”
Elecmon put the book down on the table and turned it towards everyone else. Elecmon pointed to a picture of him standing next to a small, two legged creature only slightly taller than him. The creature had light skin, blue eyes, and traces of short blond hair coming out from the green hat it was wearing, a longer tuft of hair coming out of the front. It wore green overalls over a light green T-shirt, green shoes, and white socks. On top of the creature’s hat was a small, orange and cream colored guinea pig-like creature with light blue eyes, and bat wings in place of ears. All three of them were smiling for the camera.
“This—” Elecmon tapped on the clothed creature in the picture. “Is T.K. and his partner Patamon.”
“What is he supposed to be?” Silver Spoon asked.
“Well, he’s a human child who came to this world with—”
“Wait, human? What’s a human?”
Sweetie Belle perked up. “I think I’ve heard of them before!”
“Wait, really?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yeah, Spike told me about them. He said that he and Twilight met some after going through some portal to a parallel universe.”
“Well, what are they like?” Apple Bloom asked.
“He said they were kind of like us, in some ways. But before he could go into detail, Rarity walked into the room and well...he kinda forgot about the conversation we were having.”
“Of course,” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes with a chuckle.
Silver Spoon turned back to Elecmon. “You said Patamon was his partner. Does that mean that he was a DigiDestined?” Elecmon nodded and pointed to the picture again. By T.K.’s foot was a small blue backpack, and on the side of it was a turquoise Digivice. “How old is he in this picture? Are all humans that size?”
“No,” Elecmon shook his head. “T.K. was very young when he first came here. Eight years old, I believe.”
“Whoa, only eight?” Babs Seed asked. “He was eight years old and had to go saving the Digital World by himself?”
“No! Goodness no,” Elecmon laughed. “He was part of a larger group of children that came here. You see, a long time ago, an evil Digimon sought to control the island. When the DigiDestined came to stop him, he split the island apart into seven pieces, and sent each of them to a piece of it. He thought if he could separate them, his plans wouldn’t be threatened.”
“Anyway, T.K. and Patamon found their way here while I was out getting food for the babies. When I came back, I found most of the Digimon crying, and those two going around from crib to crib. Given the circumstances, I assumed that they were troublemakers and tried to fend them off. Patamon and I fought for a bit before T.K. told us both to stop. He didn’t want to see us fight, and saw that we were only scaring the babies.”
“So, what happened then?” Rumble asked. Elecmon looked up to see everyone enraptured by his story.
“Well like I said, T.K. didn’t want to see us fight.” Elecmon continued. “So, he had us talk about the situation, and ultimately come to an understanding of one another.”
“...That’s it?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yep,” Elecmon nodded.
“Really?” Veemon asked. “Because I heard that T.K. had you and Patamon settle your fight with a tug-o-war match, which you lost.”
“What?” Elecmon exclaimed. “I...uh...who told you that?”
“That’s...just what I heard,” Veemon said.
“Well it’s not true!” Elecmon said quickly.
“Are you sure?” Terriermon asked. “I heard that too. And you seem to be awfully defensive about—”
“Were you there when it happened?” Elecmon asked.
“Well no, but—”
“Then you can’t prove it. So drop it!”
“Alright, alright!” Terriermon put his paws up. “Sheesh…”
Babs Seed snickered and leaned over to Veemon. “I think you struck a nerve there,” she whispered. Veemon covered his mouth to suppress a giggle.
“You said there were others with him, right?” Apple Bloom asked. “What happened to ‘em?”
“Oh, they actually met up here,” Elecmon said. “They defeated the evil Digimon, Devimon, and brought File Island back together.” He turned a few more pages into the scrapbook before stopping at another photo. “Here’s a picture of them with all the friends they made while they were here.”
“Anyway, after they defeated Devimon, they were needed at—”
“What’s his deal?” Apple Bloom asked, pointing to the human in the picture with goggles on.
Elecmon looked down at the picture. “Oh that’s Tai and his partner Agumon. What about him?”
“What in tarnation is wrong with his hair?”
Babs Seed trotted over to Apple Bloom, peering over her shoulder. “What about it?” she asked.
“It looks like he got out of bed, stepped in front of a fan, put on some goggles, and went on with his day!”
“I think it’s kinda cool.”
Apple Bloom slowly turned to Babs Seed. “Cool…” she said. “You think that ridiculous hair style...is cool?”
“...Yeah?” Babs Seed nodded.
Apple Bloom stared at Babs for a few moments with a slack jaw and a twitching eye. She looked down, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then looked back up to Babs Seed with a smile, draping a foreleg onto her back. “Babs…” she began. “You know I love ya. And I hope one day, you’ll be able to open your own salon and get to be some big shot stylist in Manehattan.”
“Well...thanks cuz,” Babs Seed said. “I’m glad you have high hopes for—”
“But I swear, if I ever find out that you gave somepony a haircut like this,” Apple Bloom continued. “I will come down to Manehattan, hunt you down, hogtie ya to a chair, and shave that mane of yours off myself!”
Babs’ pupils shrank to pinpricks as she took a couple steps back. “You wouldn’t…” she whispered.
“Try me!” Apple Bloom grinned.
Babs Seed narrowed her eyes and smirked. “You think I’d let ya hogtie me just like that? I’d woop your tail so hard, you’ll be back in Ponyville asking yourself, ‘what in tarnation?’”
“Bring it on city filly, I know Kung Fu!” Apple Bloom got up on her hind legs and started doing a series of punches and kicks in the air. After trying to finish off with a spin kick though, she fell flat on her back with a yelp.
Everyone stared at her before bursting into another fit of laughter. “Truly, you possess the grace of a crane,” Babs said, doing an impression of a martial arts master, ending with a bow.
Apple Bloom rubbed her head as she got up. “I said I knew Kung Fu, didn’t say I was good at it,” she muttered.
“So, these guys saved File Island?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Well, yes,” Elecmon answered. “Shortly afterwards, they left for the Server continent across the sea. But they would eventually return to save the entire Digital World.”
Everyone listened as Elecmon told them the tale of a group of evil Digimon known as the Dark Masters, who took over the Digital World a few months after the DigiDestined left File Island. How they would reformat the Digital World into Spiral Mountain, corrupting Primary Village in the process, and rule it for years before the DigiDestined reappeared to stop them. They would then face the terrible Apocalymon, triumph over his dark powers, and save the Digital World.
“Before they went home, they took this picture,” Elecmon gestured to the group picture in the scrapbook.
“So they were able to go home after all that?” Scootaloo asked, to which Elecmon nodded.
“Do you know how they got home?” Silver Spoon asked.
“Nope, sorry,” Elecmon shrugged.
“Drat!” Silver Spoon muttered.
“And…you believe we’re like them?” Rumble asked. “That we could be heroes like those guys?”
Elecmon nodded. “From what I’ve seen so far, yes.”
Silver Spoon looked down and chuckled. “This is...this is crazy. What you’re saying is crazy. This whole mess we’re in...is crazy.”
Elecmon looked around the table, seeing the doubt in everyone’s eyes. “Look,” he sighed. “Despite everything I’ve said, I’m no expert on what makes a DigiDestined. I’m just going off of what I know and have seen so far. Whether or not any of it is true is another matter. But hopefully those answers will become clear soon.”
“In the meantime, you’re more than welcome to stay here,” Elecmon smiled. “It’s the least I could do.”
“Thank you Elecmon,” Sweetie Belle said. “And we’ll do anything we can to help you out around here, right girls?” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded.
“Thank you, I appreciate that,” Elecmon said. “I’ve set up a few rooms upstairs for you all. You should get some rest.”
Everyone got up to help clean their places before heading off to bed. Despite the beds and the exhaustion from today’s ordeals, sleep would not come easy for some.
“Are you hungry little guy?” Sweetie Belle coed to the Poyomon in the crib.
“Poyo, Poyo,” Poyomon smiled.
“Here you go,” Sweetie Belle smiled as she levitated a baby bottle towards Poyomon, who happily suckled on it. As she fed the baby Digimon, a cry made her look up towards the field of cribs she was in. She saw her friends going from crib to crib, feeding the babies and ensuring everything was alright. Another cry came from the crib Veemon was hovering over.
“What’s the matter? Aren’t you hungry?” Veemon asked, picking up a small black Digimon with yellow eyes from the crib. He glanced down into the crib. “Is there something wrong with—” He leaned back with a sour look on his face. “Oh...clean up on aisle twelve! Hey Bearmon, could you give me a hand?”
“I’m a little busy here,” Bearmon said from a few cribs over, feeding a red Digimon with small spikes.
Veemon put down the black Digimon and turned to Bearmon’s direction. “But what am I supposed to do about this?” He turned back to the crib to find the black Digimon gone. “Hey! Where’d you go Botamon?” He spotted him hiding behind another one of the cribs before darting off. “Hey, where are you going? Come back here!”
Veemon chased after the little Botamon, passing by Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Babs Seed and Silver Spoon. “Well...someone’s havin’ fun with this,” Apple Bloom said as she fed a green Digimon named Datiramon. “Is he always like that Babs?”
Babs Seed looked up from feeding a Paomon. She watched as Veemon struggled to catch Botamon, who was nothing but a little black blur darting from crib to crib. Just when it appeared he would get the agile little Digimon, Veemon tripped on a rubber ball, sending him flat on his back. He sat up as Botamon looked back from behind a block building, making a gurgling noise that resembled a chuckle before disappearing behind the building. Veemon laid back on the soft ground with a groan.
Babs Seed chuckled. “Yeah, he kinda has a knack for charging in without thinking. But his heart’s in the right place, even if he does end up making a goofball of himself.”
“GAH!”
Everyone looked over to see Guilmon with a Pabumon, a slimey green Digimon that emanated small green bubbles, who had attached itself to Guilmon’s muzzle. The ponies could see small bits of mashed fruit all over Guilmon’s face, which Pabumon eagerly sucked up as Guilmon tried to pry him loose.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to spill it. I just wanted a taste!” Guilmon pleaded. He shook his head in an attempt to get him off his nose, during which he stumbled back into Pabumon’s empty crib. As Pabumon expanded himself to suck up the fruit covering Guilmon’s face, Guilmon did the only thing he could. “Heeeellllp!” he cried, flailing his arms and legs. “I’m stuck, and Pabumon’s trying to eat my face! HE’S EATING MY FACE!”
Scootaloo watched as Elecmon came to the rescue, coaxing Pabumon to release him. “Wanna compare notes?” she chuckled.
Babs shook her head and laughed. “Yeah, you got a grade-A goofball for a partner didn’t ya?”
A groan made everypony look at Silver Spoon, who slammed an empty milk bottle into a nearby crate with several others. “What’s your problem? Who spat in your applesauce this mornin’?” Apple Bloom asked as she placed Datiramon back into his crib.
Silver Spoon glared at Apple Bloom. “My problem is the fact that you all are eating this whole “Digimon partner” nonsense like it’s a batch of cookies that just came out of the oven!”
“So you’re mad at us for having an opinion of our new friends?” Scootaloo shot back.
“No, I’m mad because two days ago, I was heading to summer camp with my friends,” Silver Spoon said. “I would have been able to at least tolerate the bugs and dirt for the week because I knew I would be back home soon. Instead, we’re stuck in another world, surrounded by monsters, and with no idea how to get back.”
“Well, yeah but—” Apple Bloom began.
“I’m upset,” Silver Spoon continued. “Because last night, we were told that we’re supposed to be some sort of heroes that will save the Digital World from...I don’t even know what!”
Everypony shared a glance before looking back to Silver Spoon.
“And I’m grouchy right now…” Silver Spoon started before looking down with a sigh. “Because some of what Elecmon said is actually starting to make sense.”
“Wait, what?” Apple Bloom asked.
Silver Spoon nodded. “I’ve been trying to deny it, but these Digimon have some kind of a connection to us. When we first got here, Guilmon, Armadillomon, and Palmon had no obligation to help us. And yet they saved our lives when we were attacked by Kuwagamon, and stuck with us afterwards.” She looked up and spotted Terriermon in the field of cribs, carrying a couple of empty milk bottles. “And when we needed help in the prison, Terriermon and Veemon were there to protect us. The latter of which digivolved when Babs was about to get beaten up by one of the guards.”
Silver Spoon looked to Babs Seed. “Her Digivice lit up without her touching it as he evolved into Veemon. And the same thing happened with Guilmon and Armadillomon. Elecmon might be right, we really might be DigiDestined.” She looked down with her ears folded against her head. “And that scares me…”
“Why is that scary?” Apple Bloom asked
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said. “Haven’t you ever dreamed about being a hero? Ever imagined what it would be like to stop the bad guy and save the world?”
“I don’t think there’s a filly or colt in Equestria that hasn’t fantasized about being a hero at some point,” Silver Spoon admitted. “Especially if you live in the same town as six of the nation’s greatest heroes. But then one day, you suddenly get told you’re meant to be one and then—”
“It turns out to be a bigger pill to swallow than you thought it would be?” Babs Seed interrupted.
“Yes, exactly!” Silver Spoon said.
Babs Seed nodded as she put Paomon back into her crib. “I hear ya. Last night I was havin’ a little trouble sleeping after Elecmon’s little speech. I mean, out of all the ponies in Equestria, why us? What makes us so special?”
“You know I asked my big sister the same thing,” Apple Bloom said. “Before Twilight showed up in Ponyville, she was just an ordinary, down to earth apple farmer. And yet, the night that Nightmare Moon returned, she became the bearer of the Element of Honesty. Why her? Honesty ain’t exactly an uncommon trait in Ponyville, why didn’t it go to Lyra Heartstrings or that stallion who runs Sofas and Quills? Was it because Applejack was the first pony to reach the element and she happened to fit the bill?”
“And...what did she say?” Babs Seed asked. Apple Bloom looked up to see she had the attention of not just Babs, Scootaloo, and Silver Spoon, but a few Fresh and In-Training Digimon had gathered to listen to the story.
“Well, she didn’t know what to think at first. It might have been some kind of destiny or sheer dumb luck. But as time went on and Applejack and her friends kept savin’ Equestria, she said that maybe she was meant to find the Element of Honesty that night.”
“And what, you think that may be the case with us?” Silver Spoon asked.
Apple Bloom shook her head. “I don’t know what to think.”
“That’s my point! There’s too much that we don’t know. Let’s say that we are DigiDestined; what happens now? What are we supposed to do?”
“Well—” Apple Bloom started.
The bellow of a horn made everyone look up from the field. Another blast echoed throughout the village, reverberating off of the block buildings. A couple of the In-Training Digimon near the ponies groaned, while others looked worried.
“What’s goin’ on?” Apple Bloom asked.
“That's the alarm horn,” one of the In-Training Digimon said. “They sound it whenever the Gotsumon see an attack coming!”
“Or when it's just a drill,” another Digimon muttered.
“Well, which one is it?” Babs asked.
“Alright everyone,” Elecmon said with a smile. “You all know the what to do. Get to your safe zones quickly, and stay calm.”
All the In-Training Digimon began to file out of the crib fields and move deeper into the village. A few Gotsumon came by and began to gently pick up some of the baby Digimon from the cribs before joining the sudden exodus.
Apple Bloom walked over to Elecmon. Looking over her shoulder, she could see her friends had the same concerns as she did as they made their way over to her.
“Hey Elecmon?” Bearmon asked. “What’s going on? Why didn’t you tell me about the evacuation drill?”
“Uh...did I not tell you?” Elecmon rubbed the back of his head, laughing sheepishly. “I’m so sorry. Why don’t you all follow me for a second so I can fill you in.” Before anyone could say anything, Elecmon was already on all fours, quickly making his way to a vacant area of the crib fields. Bearmon looked back to everyone, shrugging before following Elecmon.
As everyone gathered around Elecmon, Sweetie Belle was the first one to speak up. “So, what’s going on? I keep hearing something about an evacuation drill? Why didn’t you tell us about this?”
Elecmon made sure no other Digimon were nearby before looking back to Sweetie Belle, his smile vanishing. “I didn’t tell you about the drill because there isn’t a drill scheduled for today,” Elecmon said.
“Wait, so are ya sayin’ that…” Babs Seed trailed off.
Elecmon nodded. “The Gotsumon only sound that horn if there is a scheduled drill, or if there’s an incoming attack that could overwhelm the village.”
Sweetie Belle glanced back to the Digimon filing out of the crib fields. “Shouldn’t we tell them what’s going on?”
“No,” Elecmon said. “The last thing we need is for everyone to panic. I need you all to help with the evacuation.”
“What do we need to do?” Scootaloo asked.
“Work with the Gotsumon to get all the Digimon to the center of the village. There are some huts that the Gotsumon built that can take a beating if it comes to that. Get them inside, and try to keep them calm.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
“Yeah, barbarians are at the gate and we just have to act like everything’s okay.” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “What if they break through?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Elecmon replied. “Right now, focus on getting everyone to safety!” With that, Elecmon dashed off to a nearby field where a small group of Digimon were still playing.
“Well y’all heard him,” Apple Bloom said before starting back into the crib field. “Let’s get goin!”
As Rumble took a few steps forward as he followed the group, but stopped when he saw Bearmon had not moved a single inch. He stood still, taking shallow breaths as he watched the Digimon file into the village. “Bearmon?” Rumble asked, getting a startled gasp in return. “Are you alright?”
“Uh...yeah,” Bearmon nodded, averting his gaze from Rumble. “Come on, let’s get to work.”
Rumble started picking up baby Digimon from the cribs, occasionally shooting Bearmon a concerned glance.
Meanwhile, Veemon helped to direct the flow of Digimon to the shelters. After watching the stream of villagers pass for a few minutes though, he noticed that someone was missing. He quickly made his way over to Babs Seed, who was nervously holding a baby Digimon that resembled a large cherry bomb with three eyes, complete with a burning fuse. “Hey Babs, have you seen Botamon?”
“Who?” Babs Seed asked, not taking her eyes off the potentially explosive Digimon in her hooves.
“The little black Digimon from earlier.”
“Oh, the one you were chasing? Nah, haven’t seen him. Hey, you think you can help me out with this little firecracker?”
The Digimon in Babs’ hooves glared at her, and its fuse seemed to burn a little bit faster. “Alright first off, his name is Bombmon,” Veemon corrected. “Second, it’s probably not a good idea to get him mad.”
“Oh,” Babs Seed chuckled. “Uh...sorry little guy. Didn’t mean to get you all fired up.” Bombmon’s fuse burned faster still. “Oh geez I’m makin’ things worse, aren’t I?” Babs Seed stayed silent as she hoofed Bombmon to a nearby Gotsumon. “Alright, so what’s this about Botamon?”
“I’ve been directing the traffic back there for awhile now, and I can’t find the little guy anywhere.”
“Well, maybe ya just didn’t see him.”
“I don’t know…” Veemon looked around.
“Alright,” Babs Seed sighed. “If it helps your conscience, we’ll look for him for a little bit. But he’s probably somewhere safe already.”
“Still, I’ve got this...gut feeling,” Veemon said as he made his way to the buildings where he last saw Botamon.
“Well you did eat a lot of fish last night,” Babs chuckled, following his lead.
“That’s it, keep movin’ y'all,” Apple Bloom smiled. She watched as the Digimon made their way into one of several huts built in the center of the village. Much like the surrounding buildings, these huts appeared to be made of giant children’s building blocks. Instead of being made of felt however, these blocks were solid.
Looking back Apple Bloom saw Armadillomon, who had a few baby Digimon riding on his shell, making his way towards the hut she was near. Behind him was Elecmon carrying a couple of Digi-Eggs. All of her friends were helping to either carry the baby Digimon, or direct traffic. “So far, so good,” she whispered. A glimmer in the corner of her eye made her look to a field of eggs nearby. She turned to see a red Digi-Egg with yellow spots materialize in the fields. Not five seconds later, three more of the same color scheme appeared.
Apple Bloom turned towards Elecmon, who stared at the new eggs with concern. After putting down the eggs he was carrying, Elecmon made his way over to Apple Bloom. “Tell your friends to stay on their guard,” he whispered. “They’re probably inside.”
“Wait, are those eggs—” Apple Bloom whispered. Elecmon gave a curt nod before focusing on the evacuation again. Aw, crabapples… Apple Bloom thought as another red and yellow egg appeared in the field. Alright, stay calm Apple Bloom. Everything’s gonna be fine. Just get the little ones safe and sound, and let the Gotsumon take care of the rest. Their mighty serious about protectin’ that wall, there’s no way they’ll let anything—
The sound of ripped fabric and a burst of feathers made Apple Bloom look up in time to see a Gotsumon fly through a block building, bouncing across the ground before landing on his back, dazed. “Oh...that ain’t good,” Armadillomon said. A few moments later two Gazimon came around the corner. “Definitely not good!” he shouted as the Gazimon charged.
“SUPER THUNDER STRIKE!” Elecmon yelled as he lept into the air, discharging a powerful bolt of electricity from his tail and reducing the Gazimon to data in moments. The moment he landed on the ground, Elecmon turned to the Digimon gawking at him. “Get everyone inside now!”
The Digimon, now understanding the gravity of the situation, began to rush for the shelters. “Easy, single file, single file!” Sweetie Belle said from the shelter she was near, until more Gazimon appeared. “Okay nevermind, all at once, all at once!”
Terriermon and Bearmon rushed to stop the Gazimon. “TERRIER TORNADO!” Terriermon spun into a green tornado, knocking aside a couple of Gazimon in the process.
Bearmon charged to one of the Gazimon. “KARATE FIST!” he shouted, sending one of the Gazimon flying. He turned to face the other one, only to be knocked to the ground as he was tackled. As the two Digimon grappled on the ground, Bearmon looked into the Gazimon’s eyes. What he saw made him stop struggling for a moment. Instead of the yellow eyes Gazimon naturally possessed, the Gazimon that Bearmon was fighting had red eyes, with faint dark purple veins running outwards from them.
As Bearmon struggled against the Gazimon, he caught a red blur of motion out of the corner of his eye. A moment later, the Gazimon stopped struggling, falling onto his side before shattering into data. Bearmon looked up, nodding to Hawkmon as his red feather spun back to him. Glancing back to the Gazimon’s DigiCore, he noticed a faint purple wisp dissipate from it before the orb floated to the nearby eggs, rematerializing as a Digi-Egg.
“Please tell me this is all the Digimon,” Palmon pleaded as a few more Digimon rushed into the shelters.
“I don’t think so,” Elecmon shook his head. “There may be some stragglers in the village. We need to find them and get them back here. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Rumble, Guilmon, Palmon, and Bearmon, I need you to come with me to help look for any other Digimon. The rest of you, stay here and protect the little ones!”
“Wait, where’s Babs?” Apple Bloom asked, her head darting left to right. “Don’t tell me those goons took her again!”
“I think I saw her go off with Veemon earlier,” Scootaloo said.
“If we see her, we’ll tell her to come back here,” Elecmon assured Apple Bloom, before turning to the rest of his team. “Let’s go!”
Silver Spoon watched Elecmon lead their friends back into the village before trotting up to Apple Bloom. “For what it’s worth, I know Babs isn’t afraid to take on one of those deranged cat-rabbit...things. And she’s got Veemon with her, who I’ve seen wipe the floor with them without breaking a sweat.”
“Alright, I get it,” Apple Bloom nodded. “She’ll be fine.”
“Glad to hear that, because right now we got bigger things to worry about,” Silver Spoon glanced at the huts. “Like how we’re going to protect these guys from a full on assault…”
“Here Botamon,” Veemon beckoned as he looked behind a makeshift fort made of pillows and toys. “Where are you little guy?”
Babs Seed looked back, the sounds of fighting growing louder as time went on. If we don’t find the little guy soon, then they will! she thought. A high pitched gurgling sound came from between two block buildings. “Hey Veemon, I think I heard somethin’ coming from over here.” Babs crept into the alley with Veemon right behind her. Babs stopped, motioning to a corner of the alley where a pile of old stuffed animals sat. On top of the pile, was a stuffed orange T-rex, which seemed to be quivering.
Babs crept closer to the pile of stuffed animals. “Botamon, are you in there?” she whispered, watching as the stuffed dinosaur’s quivering intensified. “It’s alright, I won’t hurt ya.” She crept closer until she was able to gently lift the cute little dinosaur up to reveal the scared little Botamon. She offered it a comforting smile before extending her hoof to it. “Why don’t we get you someplace safe, huh?”
Botamon glanced from Babs Seed’s hoof to her smile. He edged closer to her before glancing over her shoulder. He quickly backed into the stuffed animal pile, quivering again.
“Aww, what’s the matter?” Babs Seed chuckled before looking over her shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of—” Her eyes widened. “VEEMON, WATCH OUT!”
Veemon turned in time to see a Gazimon leap from the alley entrance. He leapt into the air, spinning around to deliver an aerial kick, putting the Gazimon on his back. Glancing behind him, Veemon spotted Babs scooping the Botamon up in her forelegs. He turned his focus back to the Gazimon, who was already back on all fours, glaring at Veemon with his red eyes. “Alright pal, you wanna play with them?” Veemon asked. “You gotta go through me first!”
The Gazimon hunkered down, back legs tensing as he prepared to pounce. Suddenly, he froze, his eyes squeezed shut and his claws shook as he reached his head. He gripped his head, moaning in agony as Veemon and Babs Seed watched. After a few moments, he lifted his face up from his claws, his eyes having reverted back to their natural yellow and filled with fear.
“P-please…” Gazimon stuttered, his bottom lip quivering. “Help me!”
Babs Seed and Veemon stared at Gazimon. “What do you mean?” Babs asked. “What’s wrong with you?”
Gazimon opened his mouth to answer, but all that came out was a strangled groan. “No…” Gazimon groaned, putting his claws back on his head, his breathing starting to get erratic. “Get out of my head! GET OOOUUT!” His eyes squeezed shut again as faint dark veins grew from them. When he opened them again, they had turned back to a menacing red. He let out a low growl as he charged.
Veemon snapped out of his stupor, getting low and putting his fists up before charging. The second that Gazimon leapt into the air, Veemon bounced off the trampoline-like ground, launching himself like a missile. “VEE HEADBUTT!” he shouted as he collided with Gazimon, headfirst. As Gazimon bounced across the ground, Veemon kept in pursuit with a smirk on his face. Veemon bounced off the ground again, bouncing between the two buildings to gain height. Finishing with a flip, Veemon dove down to the Gazimon, delivering a kick to his gut before back flipping a few feet away.
“Booyah!” Veemon yelled as Gazimon burst into blue shards. Veemon spread his arms out, ready to absorb his opponent’s data, but stopped when he saw his DigiCore. Coiled around the pulsing white orb like an ivy vine around a tree, was a purple cloud. As Gazimon’s data faded into the Digital World, the dark cloud dissipated. Babs and Veemon watched as the DigiCore, free from the ghostly parasite, floated deeper into the village.
“What was that?” Babs Seed asked.
“You got me,” Veemon shrugged.
“You think that was why he was acting like that?”
“Maybe.”
“And why his eyes were red?”
“Possibly.”
A gurgling from Babs’ forelegs reminded them of the Botamon they were looking for. “Yeah, you’re right,” Babs giggled as she put Botamon on her back. “Let’s get ya outta here first.”
“Just make sure he doesn’t run off again,” Veemon rolled his eyes as he made his way towards the alleyway entrance. After making sure it was all clear, Veemon motioned Babs Seed to follow.
“Alright, but can I ask you something?”
“Hmm?”
“That bit of parkour back there? That was just showin’ off, wasn’t it?”
“SUPER THUNDER STRIKE!” Elecmon shouted as he blasted another Gazimon.
“POISON IVY!” Palmon threw her vines forward to catch a Gazimon moving towards a cornered Digimon. “Get to the safe zone!” She yelled to the Digimon as her vine’s toxins paralyzed the Gazimon. The Digimon nodded before taking off towards the village center. Another Gazimon jumped out from behind a building, intent on catching the little Digimon.
“PYRO SPHERE!” The Gazimon barely had time to find the source of the shout before a fireball sent him into a building, leaving a trail of data as he flew.
“We need to cover more ground,” Elecmon said. “Everyone split up!”
“Got it, let's go Bearmon!” Rumble said.
“Alright,” Bearmon nodded.
As the two split off from the rest of the group, Rumble couldn't help but glance at Bearmon. He would see his head dart side to side as they ran, the same worried look from before still etched in his eyes.
“Bearmon, what's wrong?” Rumble asked.
Bearmon glanced back to Rumble. “My home is being attacked, and you ask me what's wrong!”
Rumble slowed down a bit, ears folded back at Bearmon’s words. “I'm...sorry. I completely forgot that—”
“No, it's alright. I shouldn't have snapped…” Bearmon sighed. “It’s just that...the last time the village was hit this hard, so many Digimon were taken.”
“HELP, HELP!”
Rumble looked up. “You hear that?”
Bearmon nodded. “Sounds like it came from over there!”
The duo turned left, down a street littered with toys and knocked down structures. After a few moments of running, they peered around a building to find three Gazimon that had cornered two Digimon.
“Bearmon, we gotta help them!” Rumble turned to Bearmon to find him staring at the conflict with quick breathes and wide eyes. “Bearmon...Bearmon?”
Bearmon only starred, his paws beginning to shake.
“Bearmon!”
“We gotta go now Tsunomon!” DemiVeemon shouted.
“O-Okay…” Tsunomon nodded as he hopped out from behind the fort they were building before all the chaos broke loose. He kept his eyes on DemiVeemon, trying to ignore the shouts of panic and screams as Gazimon ran through the streets, grabbing Digimon and Digi-Eggs alike. The two made their way to a set of wrecked playground equipment, hiding underneath a plastic dome.
“Wh-Why are they doing this?” Tsunomon asked, trying to catch his breath. “What do they want?”
“How should I know?” DemiVeemon asked as he peered out from beneath the dome. After making sure the coast was clear, he waddled back to his shaking friend. “Listen, we’ll hide here until they leave or until Elecmon kicks their butts, okay buddy?”
“But...what if they find us?”
DemiVeemon smiled. “You’ve got a horn, don’t you?”
“But you know I can’t fight!” Tsunomon protested.
“Shh, quiet!” DemiVeemon whispered. The two Digimon looked up as they heard the buzz of insect wings pass above them. The buzzing grew louder and louder, making Tsunomon start to shake again. After a few tense moments the buzzing stopped suddenly.
Silence reigned for a while until Tsunomon broke it. “Are they gone?” he whispered.
Several talons pierced the dome, the plastic cracking as it was torn off of the ground. The two Digimon looked up to see a Flymon looming over them. “RUN FOR IT!” DemiVeemon yelled.
Tsunomon didn’t need to be told twice as he hopped away from the playground. He could hear the Flymon discard the torn plastic dome before taking off. He hopped faster and faster, not daring to look back as he heard the Flymon’s buzzing get louder and louder. In seconds, the buzzing had become deafening, and Tsunomon could feel the force from the Flymon’s wings behind him.
As he braced himself for the inevitable, Tsunomon felt something slam into his side, sending him tumbling to the side of the street. The sound of buzzing insect wings faded as he shook himself off. Looking back, he saw no sign of any Digimon behind him. His eyes widened once he realized that. “DemiVeemon?” Tsunomon said. “DemiVeemon? Where are you!” He looked up, seeing the Flymon from earlier in the distance as he carried a small, squirming blue Digimon in his talons.
As Tsunomon sat there watching the Flymon carry away his best friend, the sounds of the ongoing struggle around him faded into white noise. The Digimon who always played with him, who always was there to cheer him up when he felt down, who always stood up for him when he was bullied by Pagumon, was gone in an instant. As the Flymon faded into the horizon, Tsunomon’s vision began to get misty. “Pagumon was right…” Tsunomon thought. “I’m nothing but a stupid, scared little fuzzball!”
“Hey, I found another one!” a voice shouted. Tsunomon barely turned to see two Gazimon walking up to him. Deep down, he knew that he should be running, but he couldn’t move. Not because he was tired or scared, but because he simply couldn’t find the will to move.
“LIGHTNING KNIFE!”
The Gazimon looked up before a small barrage of blade shaped lightning bolts hit them. As they fell to the ground, stunned, Tsunomon felt two paws quickly lift him off of the ground and carry him off. “Hey, are you alright Tsunomon?”
Tsunomon looked up to Elecmon’s concerned face as the dam within him broke loose. “Elecmon…” Tsunomon cried. “DemiVeemon is...gone!”
Elecmon looked down. “I know…”
“We-we gotta do something!”
Elecmon shook his head. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do now. The only thing I can do is get you and as many Digimon as I can to safety.”
“But...what about—”
“Let’s go!”
“NOOOO!” Tsunomon cried.
“No…” Bearmon whispered. He looked down at his shaking paws. “No…”
“Bearmon, what’s wrong!” Rumble shouted.
But Bearmon didn’t hear him. He didn’t hear anything. He could only see his shaking paws. When he looked up, he saw the Gazimon cornering DemiVeemon and himself in his In-Training form. He closed his eyes, letting his paws rest at his side before clenching them into fists. “No…” he growled, feeling a small flame ignite in his heart.
“B-Bearmon?” Rumble whispered as Bearmon approached the Gazimon.
“You won’t take them,” Bearmon growled. “I won’t let you take another Digimon from this place!”
Rumble’s Digivice began to glow.
“NEVER AGAIN!” A light enveloped Bearmon, and the small flame grew into a roaring fire.
Bearmon digivolve to…
Grizzlymon!
Rumble looked at the large Digimon that stood before him. True to his name, Grizzlymon resembled a full grown grizzly bear. Bearmon’s black coat of fur was replaced with a night blue one, with a portion of fluffier, lighter blue fur on his upper back and head. Red armor adorned his shoulders and front paws, the claws on the gauntlets razor sharp. And a crescent moon was emblazoned on his forehead.
The Gazimon turned towards the new challenger as he stood on his hind legs, towering over everyone in the area. “Leave...now!” Grizzlymon growled, his voice having gotten much deeper. Instead of heeding his warning however, the Gazimon charged him. “Suit yourself.” Grizzlymon raised his forelegs, claws at the ready.
One of the Gazimon leapt in the air, aiming for Grizzlymon’s face. “CRESCENT DAWN!” Grizzlymon yelled, swiping the Gazimon out of the air. The remaining Gazimon dashed to his sides in an attempt to flank him. Grizzlymon stood his ground, waiting for them to make their move. Two of the Gazimon leapt at him, only to have Grizzlymon knock them out of the air before he delivered a final blow to each of them as they hit the ground.
As the two Gazimon dissolved into data, the first Gazimon snuck up from behind him. As he leapt in the air, claws raised to strike, Grizzlymon turned around, raised his left paw to block the attack, then delivered a powerful jab with his right paw. The Gazimon bounced off the building, dissolving as he landed next to the DigiCores of his fallen comrades.
As Grizzlymon watched the data emanate off the DigiCores, Rumble trotted up next to him, making sure to keep maintain some distance. “Why don’t you absorb their data?” Rumble asked.
Grizzlymon shook his head. “There’s no honor in preying upon the weak.” He turned to the two In-Training Digimon looking up at him in awe. “Go on now, best you get somewhere safe, quickly.”
The two Digimon nodded and hopped off. Before they vanished around the corner however, one of them turned back and smiled. “Thanks Grizzlymon!”
Grizzlymon let a brief smile grace his face before turning down to Rumble. “We’d better get a move on, there are still plenty of Digimon we need to save.”
“Right,” Rumble nodded, following Grizzlymon as he lumbered off.
“More coming in from the left!” A Gotsumon shouted, pointing to a couple of Gazimon dashing for the huts. “ROCK FIST!” he shouted as he fired a fired a rock from his head. As the rock struck one of the Gazimon, a spinning Armadillomon slammed into the other one.
Silver Spoon watched the battle playing out before her. There were only two Gotsumon left to defend the huts, the others having been overwhelmed by the ferocious Gazimon. Those two Gotsumon, along with Armadillomon, Terriermon, and Hawkmon, were the last line of defense for the Digimon inside.
“BUNNY BLAST!” Silver Spoon turned in time to see Terriermon launch another ball of green energy at a Gazimon. The little guy had been holding his own for awhile, much like the rest of their Digimon friends, but the ongoing battle of attrition was beginning to take its toll. She could see this not just on Terriermon, but Hawkmon and Armadillomon were a bit short of breath as well.
“Come on ya’ll, just hang in there!” Apple Bloom said. “There can’t be that much more of them!”
Armadillomon looked to see another wave coming in. A whimper came from within the hut he was near. “We need more help!” he yelled.
Terriermon looked at the Gazimon charging in, and time seemed to slow down. No… he thought. No one can reach us in time. He looked to the remaining Gotsumon. We’re all that’s left. We’re the only ones who can protect these little guys! He looked over to the huts housing the Digimon, and to Silver Spoon. We need to be strong. I need to be strong. Strong for the village, and strong for my friends!
A series of chirps caused Silver Spoon to look down at her now glowing Digivice.
Terriermon digivolve to…
Gargomon!
Silver Spoon looked up from her Digivice to see Terriermon’s new form. Gargomon was much bigger now, even bigger than Guilmon. He now sported a pair of jeans and a bandolier slung across his left shoulder. His paws were metallic, with a gatling gun on each wrist. And his face was marked with a red diamond on his forehead, and two red stripes on each cheek.
A battle cry made Gargomon turn towards the oncoming horde of Gazimon. He raised his two gatling guns, a smirk on his face. “GARGO LASER!” Gargomon blasted the Gazimon with green lasers, reducing them to data. Another group came near Apple Bloom and Armadillomon, and was quickly blasted by Gargomon.
Armadillomon gave Gargomon a nod. “Nice shot Gargomon!” Gargomon kept blasting away, a grin still on his face. “Um...Gargomon?”
“Get some! Get some! Hahaha!” Gargomon laughed.
“I think he’s losin’ it…” Apple Bloom took a step back.
“Oh dear…” Hawkmon said as he pulled Diamond Tiara to cover.
Gargomon blasted left and right, annihilating every single Gazimon that came within a hundred feet of the huts. After a couple minutes of blasting, Gargomon lowered his smoking gatling guns and absorbed the remaining data that hadn’t dissipated.
“Yeah, how do you like me now!” Gargomon cheered. He looked back to see everyone cowering behind a couple of the huts. “What’s wrong? What are you so afraid of?”
“Um…” Silver Spoon started. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Oh yeah, this is incredible! Why?” Gargomon eventually turned to where Silver Spoon was staring. All around him, several structures had been knocked down, and had several burn marks. “Oh…” Gargomon turned back to Silver Spoon, looking more than a little sheepish. “Did I do that?”
Everyone nodded.
Gargomon rubbed the back of his head. “Ehehehe...oops.”
“Apple Bloom!”
Apple Bloom turned to see Babs Seed and Veemon rush in, the former of whom had Botamon on her back. “Are you alright? We saw the smoke and came runnin’. What happened here?”
“We’re alright Babs, all thanks to Gargomon,” Apple Bloom said. “And in the process he...kinda made a mess of the place.”
Rapid, yet heavy footfalls echoed through the smoke. Everyone turned, ready for another attack, until Elecmon leaped through the smoke. “Is everyone alright? Are the huts still in one—” His eyes widened. “Sweet merciful Sovereigns, what happened here!”
“Uh…” Gargomon started. “Well you see, the Gazimon swarmed through here and they tore the place a new—”
“Gargomon did it!” Veemon pointed to Gargomon, who starred at Veemon with a slack jaw. Veemon turned back to the smoke with a smug grin on his face, which turned slack as Grizzlymon and the rest of the gang lumbered onto the scene. “Bearmon, did you digivolve...again?”
“Yes, yes I did,” Grizzlymon nodded.
Veemon threw his arms up into the air. “Is this gonna become a regular thing now! I leave you alone for a bit, and you digivolve to the next stage?”
“Jealous?” Grizzlymon smirked.
“Yes, extremely!”
Babs shook her head and laughed. “So, is that it? Is it over?”
A horn bellowed a triumphant note throughout the village. “It is now,” Elecmon gave a sigh of relief.
As Digimon began emerging from the huts, Grizzlymon and Gargomon began to glow. Everyone watched as the two Champion level Digimon quickly reverted to their Rookie forms and collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
“Bearmon, you alright?” Rumble asked, putting a hoof on his back.
“Yeah, give me a moment,” Bearmon nodded.
“How about you Terriermon?” Silver Spoon picked up the little Digimon. “Why are you so tired?”
“Don’t know,” Terriermon shook his head. “I was all fired up a second ago…”
“I noticed,” Silver Spoon said, deadpan. “You kinda leveled the place.”
“Allegedly!”
Silver Spoon gave him a flat look as a small structure behind her collapsed.
“...Alright, guilty as charged.” Terriermon chuckled.
“Well, I hope you can get on your feet soon,” Elecmon smiled. “Because now you’ve got to help clean up the mess.”
Terriermon fell back on the ground with a groan.
On a tower overlooking the huts in the village center, a small purple, spider-like machine Digimon clung to the surface. From this hidden position, it surveyed the area with the perception of a photographer, recording the aftermath of the battle and the curious four legged creatures near the huts.
Once the necessary data was gathered, the Digimon scurried off to the outskirts of the village, leaping from tower to tower to stay out of sight. After leaping over the wall, it met with two more of its kind. The Digimon chirped to its squadmates, communicating that their mission here was complete. The three Digimon turned to the forest scurrying off to report back to their master.
Scootaloo and Guilmon grunted as they pushed a large felt block towards a pile of debris. With one final push, the block joined the pile that was once a small tower. Catching her breath, Scootaloo took a moment to look around the village.
Thanks to the efforts of the Gotsumon, Elecmon, along with Scootaloo and her friends, no Digimon were taken. Despite the scale of the recent attack, the damage to the village was surprisingly minimal. There was the occasional damage to some of the village buildings, but the Gotsumon have assured that those repairs would be simple. The only real damage of note was done during Gargomon’s enthusiastic “defense” of the safe zone. Afterwards, Scootaloo and her friends worked to help clean up the aftermath of the battle, and to ensure the safety of any of the Digimon that couldn't make it to the shelters.
“Alright, that should do it,” a Gotsumon said. “Go ahead and join your friends, we’ll take it from here.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Thanks.”
“No, thank you for everything you’ve done here today.” The Gotsumon looked down for a moment. “And uh...sorry for making a bad first impression yesterday.”
“It’s cool,” Scootaloo chuckled. She trotted of to join the rest of her friends at a nearby picnic table. As they got closer to the table she could see a water cooler, along with a variety of fruits, vegetables, and snack foods. Digimon lined up to serve themselves a helping before finding a table, or a nice spot in the shade. Scootaloo grabbed some carrots, celery, peanut butter, and a roll before making her way to the table where her friends were seated. Guilmon meanwhile got some celery, a few bread rolls, and a large helping of peanut butter.
“So then Veemon jumps between the two buildings to gain some height before dive bombing the sucker!” Babs Seed said. “After that, we got the little guy to safety.”
“That is so cool!” Sweetie Belle smiled.
“Yeah, sounds like something out of a comic book,” Diamond Tiara nodded, taking a bite of pineapple. “I almost wish I’d been there.”
“I could say the same for you,” Babs Seed nodded towards Terriermon, who was stuffing himself with something that Bearmon called a rice ball. “Must have been cool seein’ him blastin’ away like that.”
“Yeah...it probably would’ve been cool. If we weren’t a few feet away from him, and if he wasn’t laughing like a maniac.”
Terriermon looked up from his plate, cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk. “Ay, ah shad ah wash—”
“Swallow,” Silver Spoon said, deadpan.
Terriermon complied, wiping his mouth with his arm. “Sorry,” he chuckled. “Anyway, I said I was sorry! What more do you want from me!”
“Maybe a little more self-control next time,” Apple Bloom muttered.
“I heard that! And if you wanna talk to someone about self control, maybe you should tell that to Guilmon.”
Scootaloo looked next to her to find that Guilmon had stopped eating the celery on his plate. Instead he was using it as a spoon to eat peanut butter. Seeing himself as the center of attention once again, he stopped eating, celery in his mouth. He glanced around the table for a few moments. “What?” he shrugged, dropping the celery back onto his plate.
“You are something else buddy,” Scootaloo chuckled.
Apple Bloom shook her head before turning back to Silver Spoon. “So…” she began, a smug look on her face. “Terriermon digivolved huh? Any idea how that might have happened?”
“Probably just another coincidence,” Silver Spoon smirked back before taking a sip of water.
“Oh come on! I saw your Digivice was glowin’ the moment he digivolved, don’t deny it! After all that, are ya seriously tellin’ me that you still don’t believe what Elecmon said might be true?”
Silver Spoon put down her drink, giving a small chuckle. “Well...I’ll admit it is getting harder to deny the possibility,” she sighed. Turning to Terriermon, she smiled before gently rubbing his head. “Though if it is true, I suppose I wouldn’t mind having him as a partner.”
Guilmon perked up for a moment. “Hey Scootaloo, how come you didn’t digivolve? Or your friends?”
Scootaloo stopped in the middle of taking a bite of celery. “Uh…” she looked up to her friends, sending a silent call for help.
“Well?” Sweetie Belle said, doing a terrible job at hiding her chuckles.
Scootaloo shot her a quick glare before turning to Guilmon, eager for a response. “Well because, uh…”
“So, how is everything?” Elecmon interrupted.
Oh thank Celestia! Scootaloo thought.
“Everything's great Elecomon,” Sweetie Belle said.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Elecmon nodded. Despite the smile on his face, he couldn’t help but look to the surrounding damages.
“What is it Elecmon? The damage can be fixed, right?”
“I wouldn’t worry about that child,” Elecmon chuckled. “This place has suffered worse in the past. Completely destroyed at one point, as a matter of fact. Whatever’s destroyed can be rebuilt.”
“Then what's troubling you?” Hawkmon asked.
Elecmon turned back to the village, his lips pursed. “Something about this attack didn't feel right…”
“What do you mean?” Rumble asked.
“In the past, the Gazimon’s attacks were more organized. This one seemed less of an attack and more like a frenzy.”
“Hmm…” Hawkmon lifted a wing to his beak. “They did seem to be a bit...unfocused. It was like they didn’t have a proper objective, they just attacked anything that moved.”
“You know, I think I remember seeing one of those Gazimon attack another one earlier today,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Wait, come again?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“Yeah,” Palmon confirmed. “We saw one of them had bumped into another Gazimon. The other one growled at him, threw him to the ground, then started hitting him. With a...rubber chicken.”
“Why would they start attacking each other? And over something like that?” Scootaloo asked.
“Well, they’re not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed,” Silver Spoon offered.
Apple Bloom looked over to her cousin, who was looking at her food like it had moved. “Something wrong Babs?”
Babs Seed looked up. “Well...back when we were rescuin’ Botamon, I forgot to mention somethin’. Right before he attacked us, he begged us to help him.”
“Hold on,” Diamond Tiara put a hoof up. “He asked you to help him destroy the village?”
“Case in point,” Silver Spoon muttered.
“No no, it was like he was askin’ us to save him from...himself’,” Babs twirled her hoof. “I don’t know how to say it but, it was like he was possessed or somethin’. Right before he spoke to us, his eyes turned yellow, and he was acting scared. But then his eyes turned red again before he charged at us.”
“I noticed that too,” Bearmon nodded. “When the attack started, I saw that the Gazimon’s eyes were red when they were supposed to be yellow.”
“What the hayseed is goin’ on?” Apple Bloom asked. “Who’s so focussed on takin’ the village? And why?”
“I’ve been wondering that myself,” Elecmon mused. “Every Digimon is born and reborn here; there’s not a single Digimon in the Digital World that doesn’t know that. And because of that, there’s an unspoken law to never attack this place.”
Bearmon nodded. “Attacking this place once would be bad enough. But for the same Digimon to attack multiple times…”
“There has to be a reason behind all of this, some sort of agenda,” Armadillomon added. Elecmon nodded.
“Well…” Babs Seed started. “If we’re all THAT curious, I think I may know a place we can search for clues.”
“Really, where?” Sweetie Belle squeaked.
Babs Seed bit her lower lip and turned her gaze towards the western horizon. Everyone turned to see Mt. Panorama in the distance, it's peak shrouded in a few wispy clouds.
Silver Spoon gulped. “C’mon, you want us to go back there?” she chuckled. “What are you, crazy?” Babs turned back to her with the same serious look she had given everyone else. “Yeah...you’re crazy.”
