Name: Kokuwamon
Level: Rookie
Attribute: Data
Attacks:
- Powe Surge
- Stun Shock
“How you talked us into going this way is beyond me,” Diamond Tiara murmured through her covered nose.
“Oh, quit complaining,” Skull rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad? We’re in a sewer!” Diamond Tiara gestured to the dark, dank tunnels around them. “Bad is the ONLY way to describe this place!”
“And I thought the city smelled bad,” Guilmon murmured through his claws. “This place smells awful!”
“I need air!” Palmon gasped.
“This is just pathetic…” Shades shook his head as they approached a fork in the tunnel. “Alright, we turn right up here. After that, it should be a straight shot to the outside of the city walls.”
“Great!” Apple Bloom said, her voice muffled through her bandana. “I think I speak for all of us when I say the sooner we get out, the better.”
“Mmhmm,” Shades nodded. He quietly dashed ahead of the others, peering around the corner. After confirming that the coast was clear, he signaled for everyone to follow him.
“Hey Terriermon, how are you doing?” Silver Spoon asked.
“Doing the best I can,” Terriermon grimaced as he tried to keep his ears from touching the ground.
“Here, you need a little lift?” Silver Spoon lowered herself.
“Really? Thanks, Silver Spoon!” Terriermon hopped onto Silver Spoon’s back with a smile.
“Oof! You’re heavier than you look,” Silver Spoon grunted to herself.
“Aww, that’s so sweet of you, Silver Spoon,” Diamond Tiara smiled.
As the group ventured further down the tunnel, Bearmon huddled close to Rumble, nervously glancing at every shadow that danced along the grimy walls. “H-hey, there’s something I wanted to ask,” Bearmon stuttered. “What’s the deal with your guild and the Black Ashes Cartel? Why do you hate each other so much.”
“Well, to be fair, we’re not the only ones who hate the Cartel. That’s mainly because the Black Ashes knows how to exploit loopholes in the Armistice,” Skull said.
ToyAgmon adjusted his rucksack and waddled up to Bearmon. “They were originally made up of a few minor guilds who had trouble establishing themselves among the more major players. To keep up with the competition, they had to expand their services range to more than just gathering scrap. Or more likely, stealing scrap.”
“What kind of services?” Rumble asked.
Shades adjusted his sunglasses. “Well, security and courier services to start. Those are some of the more public services, but they’re more known for their illegal jobs. Theft, threatening rivals, sabotaging workshops, and wetwork.”
“Wetwork?” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “Do they mess up other businesses’ plumbing or something?”
The Digimon of the White Flame Guild shared an uncomfortable glance. “Well…” ToyAgumon started. “Wetwork is when a Digimon is...uh…”
“Digimon usually hire the Black Ashes Cartel for wetwork when they want to remove a rival from business permanently,” Skull explained. Afterward, he slowly drew a claw across his neck.
“Oh…” Scootaloo shivered. “That’s...awful!”
“Hey, that’s life in Scrap City. Business is cutthroat, often in more ways than one.”
“But you guys aren’t like that, right?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“Well, we certainly don’t stoop to the levels that they go to,” Skull shrugged. “But I wouldn’t call us squeaky clean either. No business in the city is.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well...everyone hates the Black Ashes Cartel, or at least almost tolerates their existence. But the cartel holds a pretty hard grudge against us. That may or may not have something to do with the alloys we stole from them a couple of months back.”
“Wait, you did what?!” Scootaloo shouted.
“Shh! Keep it down!” Shades hissed.
“What, you worried the turds of this place are gonna rise up to swallow us whole?” Babs Seed jeered.
“In a manner of speaking, yeah,” Shades nodded.
Before anyone could ask what he meant, a strange noise began drifting from the darkness behind them. “Does anyone else hear that?” Bearmon cowered behind Rumble.
“It sounds like someone muttering,” Rumble edged closer to Bearmon.
The muttering began to grow in intensity, and a disgusting slithering sound filled the air.
“Oh crud, it’s the Numemon. They found us!” Shades hissed.
“Wait, you mean Digimon LIVE down here?!” Diamond Tiara grimaced. “What kind of Digimon lives in the filth?”
“They don’t live in the filth; they ARE the filth!” ToyAgumon shivered.
“Just keep still, and don’t make a sound,” Shades whispered. “Maybe they’ll pass us by and head into a different tunnel.”
A few moments later, a group of the ugliest Digimon anyone had ever seen emerged from the darkness. They looked like green slugs, with buck teeth and a long tongue. The slugs charged past the intersecting tunnel, barreling down towards the group of adventurers.
“Are those the Numemon?!” Diamond Tiara stepped back.
“We need to move, now!” Shades dashed further down the tunnel with Skull and ToyAgumon. A few of the ponies followed close behind.
“Come on, Veemon, we gotta go!” Babs Seed turned around when her partner wasn’t with her. He stood his ground alongside a hesitant Guilmon, the latter of who was getting his tail pulled by Scootaloo.
“What are you all running for?” Veemon smirked as he lowered his stance. “We can take these guys. Right Guilmon?”
Guilmon glanced from Scootaloo to the oncoming Numemon. “Uh…”
More and more Numemon began to emerge from the darkness, turning the small group of slugs into a horde of living filth.
Guilmon stared at the horde while Veemon’s stance went slack. “...Nope!” Guilmon turned around and dashed after Scootaloo.
“Yeah, I changed my mind! I don’t wanna stay here!” Veemon shrieked as he caught up to the others.
Everyone ran as fast as they could from the gargling horde of Numemon behind them. “They’re gaining on us!” Terriermon shouted from Silver Spoon’s back.
“Well, then do something about it!” Silver Spoon yelled.
Terriermon turned himself around and took a deep breath, despite the surrounding stench. “BUNNY BLAST!” he shouted, firing a blast of green energy from his mouth. The attack knocked a few of the Numemon back, but more surged forward to fill the gap in the next moment. Terriermon fired a few more blasts, but the horde barely slowed down. The Numemon retaliated by throwing lumps of pink, funky smelling sludge at them.
“Okay, this isn’t working!” Terriermon turned around, grabbing onto Silver Spoon’s neck. “Giddyup, Silver!”
“You’re not making this easy!” Silver Spoon growled as some pink sludge landed a few feet behind her.
The group ran through the tunnels, the Numemon hot on their heels, narrowly dodging the sludge thrown at them.
“There, I see sunlight!” Sweetie Belle shouted. “We’re almost out!”
Spurred on by hope and adrenaline, the group sprinted for the light at the end of the tunnel. Leaping from the tunnel, everyone crashed a few yards away as the horde of Numemon stopped. Most of the slug-like Digimon shielded their eyes from the light, but a few threw a couple of extra rounds of pink sludge, which landed barely a few feet from the tunnel entrance. After a few moments, they retreated into the darkness, grumbling all the way.
“Numemon...hate the light,” Skull wheezed. “They won’t follow us out here.”
While everyone took a few moments to catch their breath, Apple Bloom glanced at some of the pink sludge the Numemon used to attack them. “What in tarnation is this stuff?” Apple Bloom wrinkled her nose as she pulled her green bandana down from her nose.
“That’s Digi-sludge, don’t touch that,” Shades said.
“But...what is it?” Apple Bloom stepped away from it.
Hawkmon nervously bit his beak. “Digi-sludge is...well…” he stammered, struggling for words. Eventually, he sighed. “It’s Digimon...excrement.”
Apple Bloom blinked. “Excre-what?”
“Poop,” Sweetie Belle clarified while she backed further away from the sewer tunnel. “They were throwing poop at us.”
Apple Bloom’s expression twisted in disgust as she backpedaled away. “Okay...ew!”
“Yeah...so, can we please get this mission rolling?” Skull asked irritation leaching into his voice.
“Yes, please!” Apple Bloom hurried after the two Gazimon, the others following close behind.
The journey through No ‘Mon’s Land was long and quiet. Shades led the team through the scrap yards, winding around massive metal hills and destroyed vehicles’ stacks. Everyone eyed the surrounding junk, wary of rusty metal and creaking piles.
Just like their trip through with ToyAgumon the other day, any conversations were either quick whispers or discouraged entirely. Unlike ToyAgumon, however, Shades’ caution didn’t border on paranoia. Instead, it felt more disciplined. It was the kind of caution one would expect a soldier to show when leading his troops through hostile terrain.
There were several moments where Shades would hold up his claw, signaling everyone to stop. He would then scout the area ahead to make sure it was safe. If he heard something even remotely sounding like a fight, he would signal everyone to double back and go a different way.
After a couple of hours of sneaking around, the team found a broken down double-decker train car to stop for a break. At the moment, Rumble was on the second deck towards the back of the train car, looking out the window with Skull. He could see part of a collapsed purple obelisk leaning on a mound of junk in the distance.
“That’s an old Control Spire,” Skull explained as he borrowed Rumble’s scope. “An old relic from the time of the Digimon Emperor.”
“Digimon Emperor?” Rumble asked. “I think I’ve heard of that somewhere before.”
“Supposedly, he was a human child who sought to rule the Digital World. He would use those Control Spires to prevent Digimon from digivolving, and provide power to his Dark Rings, which allowed him to control Digimon in the area.” Skull handed the scope back to Rumble. “That area with the spire, that’s the Exclusion Zone.”
Rumble looked at the spire through the scope. “But it’s destroyed now, right? What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is with the dark magic left over from the spire. It drives the Digimon who live out there completely mad. Everyone in the city is worried about what might happen if they stick around too long, so they tend to avoid that area at all costs if they can help it. Hence the name.”
Rumble nodded. As he scanned the horizon, he noticed several Digimon hovering around the Control Spire like vultures. He squinted into the lens, trying to get a better look. Some of them vaguely looked like Pteramon, the aerial Digimon that attacked them at the Sleepypine Trading Post a couple of weeks ago. But they were too far away for Rumble to be sure.
Rumble shrugged, figuring that they must have been Digimon who lived in the Zone. He carefully reattached the scope to his headband before going back downstairs to rejoin the others. Everyone was sitting in the few train seats that hadn’t completely rotted away yet. Most were eating a small lunch, chatting with the others in hushed tones.
The train car itself looked like someone had tried fortifying it at some point. Somebody had barricaded the windows with bits and pieces of junk. Skull explained that it wasn’t unheard of for scavengers to set up camp outside of the city walls if they didn’t make it back before dark. Feral Digimon were much more active at night.
Rumble took a seat next to Bearmon, who passed him some food. A few seats over, Silver Spoon was hunched over the puzzle cylinder from ToyAgumon’s workshop.
Terriermon peered over Silver Spoon’s shoulder. “Look at you go, you’re on fire!” he smiled.
Silver Spoon stopped turning the cylinder for a moment to look at the sheet of paper that came with it. “The lines on the cylinder match the ones on this paper,” she said, noting the solid and dotted lines forming a pattern on the paper. “Looks like I’ve got to line up the rotating panels to match the pattern on this paper.”
“Okay, sounds easy enough,” Terriermon shrugged.
“Here’s the thing,” Silver Spoon returned to the puzzle cylinder. “When you switch from one panel to another, a mechanism makes one of the four panels turn a notch or two.” As she turned a panel on the far right side, the panel on the inner left side turned a notch in the opposite direction.
“That looks like it could get annoying real quick,” Scootaloo said.
“Oh, it does, believe me,” Silver Spoon grinned. “But, the mechanism seems to follow a certain pattern. And I think I’ve figured out how to work around it.”
With a concentrated look in her eye, Silver Spoon kept turning the panels on the cylinder. The train car was filled with the sounds of quiet clicking as she worked furiously on the puzzle. Until finally, the cylinder split in half with a louder click.
“I got it!” Silver Spoon quietly cheered. She held the cylinder delicately in her hooves. “Okay, full disclosure: if there’s another tiny puzzle in this thing, I’m probably going to chuck it out the window as far as I can!” she added.
“So like, three feet out?” Babs Seed chuckled.
Silver Spoon stuck her tongue out at Babs Seed before turning back to the finished puzzle in her hooves.
The two halves of the cylinder gently slid apart. And in the center of the remaining frame rested a small purple rectangular tile.
“What the…?” Silver Spoon gently pulled the tile out and turned it over. On the front of the tile was a pattern featuring a pair of circles joined by an arch, almost looking like binoculars.
“Isn’t that one of the Crests?!” Diamond Tiara leaned over her seat to get a better look.
“It’s the Crest of Knowledge!” Hawkmon confirmed.
The Crest in question began to glow. It slowly hovered into the air before gently sliding into Silver Spoon’s Tag.
“Whoa!” Silver Spoon admired her new Crest. “Talk about an awesome prize!”
“Huh, the Crest of Knowledge goes to the nerd,” Scootaloo snickered. “Who saw that coming?”
“Why, you little…!” Silver Spoon stood on her seat, ready to pounce the loudmouth pegasus.
“Be quiet; we’ve got company!” Shades whispered.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and dropped onto the floor. A few moments later, a Digimon stumbled out from behind a mound of junk, collapsing in a clearing near the train car. It looked like a robotic insect with a head shaped like a taser. Rumble peeked through one of the windows and aimed his Digivice analyzer at the bug. As soon as the circular reticle was filled, Rumble ducked back into cover as the Digivice projected the Digimon’s stats.
Name: Kokuwamon
Level: Rookie
Attribute: Data
Attacks:
- Powe Surge
- Stun Shock
Bearmon peeked through the window. “He looks hurt! Shouldn’t we help him!?”
Rumble stopped Bearmon as he tried to get up. “Wait a minute!”
A few moments later, three Goblimon emerged from around the corner. As they strolled to the injured Kokuwamon, Rumble spotted their armbands bearing the Black Ashes Cartel’s insignia.
“Did you think you could just walk away from us like that?” one of the Goblimon casually swung his club back and forth. “I mean, it was rude enough when you were avoidin’ us in the city. But come on, show some courtesy.”
Another Goblimon stepped in front of Kokuwamon, leaning on his club. “Now, I’ll ask you this one more time. Where. Is. Our. Money?”
“I...I told you. I don’t have it yet,” Kokuwamon stuttered.
The Goblimon in front of Kokuwamon sighed. “You don’t have it. Even after a month, you say you don’t have it!” Goblimon ended with a slam of his club. He then began walking in a circle around Kokuwamon, dragging his club in the dirt behind him. “You know, when you came to us begging for those circuit boards, you seemed pretty sure you could pay us back. You assured us that you would pay back double the usual fee. That was the deal!”
“I know that!” Kokuwamon looked up at the Goblimon circling him. “But how was I supposed to know that the delivery would get robbed?”
Another Goblimon chuckled. “Maybe if you’d kept your caravan’s delivery route a secret, nothing would’ve happened to it.”
Kokuwamon’s eyes widened. “What? A-are you saying that you robbed it?” Kokuwamon trembled. “Why? Why are you doing this to me?!”
The lead Goblimon stopped circling him and jabbed him with his club. “No more excuses! I don’t care how it happens; can you get us the money or not?!”
Rumble looked around the train car. Many of his friends looked concerned for Kokuwamon, and their partners were itching to destroy the Goblimon. But the Gazimon of the White Flame Guild kept them back.
“Why are we just sitting here!” Veemon whispered through clenched teeth. “We can take these guys; there’s only three of them.”
“There’s bound to be more of them hanging back in case someone ambushes the main group,” Skull whispered.
“I don’t care if you have to sell bits and pieces of your shop. You will pay us what you owe!”
Kokuwamon pushed himself up. “You know I can’t do that! I'm barely scraping by as it is! If I sell my shop, then I’ll never—”
“Oh, forget this, we aren’t getting anywhere,” a Goblimon sighed. He then grabbed his club and slammed the Kokuwamon over a heap of scrap. A few moments later, a DigiCore flew from around the corner.
The lead Goblimon walked toward his colleague and smacked him upside the head. “What is wrong with you!?”
“He just kept spouting off excuses left and right! There was no way he was going to pay up!” the Goblimon rubbed his head. “Besides, didn’t you say he took out a few loans from one of those financial guilds? The Mythril Scales? Can’t we talk to our guys in there and forge some repossession papers?”
“We might have been able to...if you hadn’t iced him just now,” the lead Goblimon buried his face into his hand. “We can’t repo the assets of a deleted Digimon, you imbecile!”
Just as it was looking like the two goblins were about to come to blows, another Goblimon ran out from the way they came. He ran up to the lead Goblimon and whispered something in his ear. The lead Goblimon glanced towards the train car for a moment before scratching his red mohawk.
“Right then, I guess there’s not much else we can do here,” the lead Goblimon sighed. “Let’s just head back and see if we can find a way to make all the money we just lost.” He brushed past his fellow Goblimon and led them out of the clearing.
After a few moments, Shades crept up to the front of the train car and peered out the window. “I think we’re clear.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. “That is one brutal gang!” Babs Seed whispered.
“I still think we could’ve taken them,” Veemon clenched his fists.
“You would’ve been jumped the second you stepped out of the car,” Skull reprimanded. “The Goblimon may look like a bunch of dumb brutes, but they can be ruthless when they attack in groups.”
“Dumb brutes, you say?”
Everyone turned to the front of the train car to find a Goblimon leaning against the entrance. “That’s hilarious coming from a narrow-minded weasel,” he smirked.
“What are you doing here?” Skull growled. “What do you want?”
“Well, my crew and I were passing through the area, taking care of some business,” the Goblimon inspected his claws. “When one of my boys just happened to spot a mysterious light was coming from this train car.”
Everyone glanced towards Silver Spoon, who hid behind her hat as she sank into her seat.
“I decided to check that out. And I find a bunch of outsiders and rats all huddled in here.” The Gotsumon tensed while ToyAgumon kept glancing towards the windows, looking for a way out.
“As to what I want, well, I won’t bore you with the list,” the Goblimon continued. “But...I suppose I could start with thinning out some of my competitors. Oh, and clocking that blue wannabe tough guy back there.” Goblimon gestured towards Veemon.
“Ohoho...a glutton for punishment, are ya?” Veemon cracked his knuckles.
“Um, V?” Babs Seed reached out to grab her partner. “Maybe we shouldn’t—”
“You only got lucky yesterday,” Goblimon continued. “You probably couldn’t fight your way out of a paper bag. If the Sentinel hadn’t stepped in, I certainly would have sent you home in one.”
“Big talk coming from a stunted green scumbag!” Veemon dashed across the aisle towards Goblimon, who continued to relax against the entrance.
“Veemon, wait!” Babs Seed called out.
As Veemon got within a few feet from Goblimon, two more Goblimon burst in from the windows behind him. Before Veemon realized what was happening, the two assailants pinned him down and started punching him, while the third walked up and kicked him.
“Veemon!” Babs Seed leaped out of her seat.
“Hey, we’ve got another problem!” Palmon pointed to the hatch leading to the upper deck, where two more Goblimon leaped down to join the fray.
“I’ll go help Veemon!” Bearmon ran down the aisle.
“Bearmon, I’ve got an idea!” Palmon threw her hands forward. “POISON IVY!”
Palmon wrapped her vines around one of the Goblimon attacking Veemon and yanked him down the aisle. Bearmon punched him out of the air, sending him flying onto his back before curling up into a ball. “BEAR ROLL!”
Bearmon rolled down the aisle and slammed another Goblimon off of Veemon. With his legs now free, Veemon kicked the last Goblimon in the face.
Bearmon sprung back up into a fighting stance as Veemon picked himself up. “Thanks for the assist!” Veemon curled his hands into fists. The two Digimon stood back to back as the three Goblimon angrily dragged themselves to their feet.
“Right, we’ll handle these goons!” Hawkmon turned his attention to the two Goblimon approaching from behind. “FEATHER STRIKE!” Hawkmon threw his feather, knocking the Goblimon off the stairs. He then flew towards the closest one as his beak charged with energy. “BEAK PECKER!”
But the Goblimon grabbed his club and smacked Hawkmon into the ceiling before he could land a hit.
Guilmon’s pupils turned to slits as he growled. “ROCK BREAKER!” he shouted as his claws glowed with energy. He charged one of the Goblimon, busting straight through the walls of the train car. With Veemon and Bearmon fighting three in the front of the train car, and Guilmon fighting another outside, only one Goblimon left inside.
“Alright, this one’s mine!” Armadillomon jumped into the aisle and pawed the floor. “DIAMOND SHELL!” Armadillomon curled up into a ball and launched himself forward. Goblimon ducked out of the way, sending Armadillomon sailing down the aisle, making him pinball around the train car. After bouncing around a few times, Armadillomon slammed Goblimon from behind.
Apple Bloom jumped out of the way with a yelp as her partner crashed into a rotting seat. She peered over the seat as Armadillomon uncurled himself upside down.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“Did I get him?” Armadillomon asked in a daze.
A roar made Scootaloo look outside, just in time to see a DigiCore float away. Guilmon watched the core fly off as his eyes returned to normal.
In the front of the car, Veemon and Bearmon had managed to defeat two of the Goblimon. The lead Goblimon leaned towards the door nervously as two DigiCores floated out of the windows.
“Come on, don’t tell me you’re scared of us, you green wannabe tough guy!” Veemon taunted.
“This isn’t over yet!” Goblimon growled. He looked to his remaining comrade. “Fall back!” he yelled before bursting through the car door.
The Goblimon that Armadillomon had knocked down slowly picked himself up. “Ugh...I’m up, I’m up!” he opened his eyes and cringed when he saw that he was surrounded. With his path to the car door blocked, he quickly picked up his club and started climbing out the window. But his retreat was soon interrupted.
“Gah! I’m stuck!” the Goblimon wiggled his legs.
Apple Bloom smirked. “Oh here, lemme help you with that.” She hopped onto the seat next to the flailing Goblimon and delivered a powerful kick straight to his butt, sending him flying out the window. “See ya!” she laughed.
Guilmon stepped back into the train car through the hole he made. “Did we win?”
“Uh-huh,” Scootaloo nodded. “Is everyone alright?”
“We’re a little banged up, but I think we’re all good for the most part,” Diamond Tiara helped her partner back onto his feet. “How about you, Hawkmon?”
“I’ll be alright right after I stop seeing double of you,” Hawkmon groaned.
“How about you, V?” Babs Seed trotted over to Veemon. “They looked like they got some pretty good hits on ya.”
Veemon grimaced as he rubbed his shoulder. “I’ll be fine,” he answered plainly.
Babs put a comforting hoof on Veemon’s shoulder.
“Okay, if we’re all done licking our wounds, can we please get moving?” Shades begged.
“Well, you’re impatient today, aren’t you?” Sweetie Belle grumbled.
The rag-tag team of scavengers ducked through a hole in a chain-link fence to reach the abandoned foundry. The distant Control Spire made the metal building look even more foreboding.
“This place is spooky lookin’,” Apple Bloom shivered. “Kinda reminds me of that haunted house back on File Island.”
“The Grey Lord’s Mansion?” Scootaloo asked. A distant rumbling sounded in the distance, almost like thunder. Scootaloo looked around the clear blue sky in disbelief. “Really?!”
Skull approached the front entrance and peered in through a crack in the door. “Hmm...looks like there’s rubble blocking the front entrance. We’ll have to find another way in.”
“I memorized the old floor plans of this place,” Shades said. “There should be a loading dock on the western side.”
“Right then, let’s check it out.”
Following Shades, the team crept around the foundry wall, making their way to the loading dock. Shades crept up to the employee entrance and jiggled the door handle. “It’s locked,” he grumbled.
“All right, this is where I come in,” Skull walked up to the door. “Step aside.”
“She’s all yours,” Shades gestured to the door with a small bow.
Skull knelt in front of the lock for a few moments before taking off his sling bag. Opening the bag, he brought out a locksmithing kit. He fished out a lockpick and tension wrench and got to work picking the lock.
“I thought the bag was to help carry the parts we need,” Rumble said.
“It has some space in it, but he mainly uses it to carry his infiltration tools,” ToyAgumon explained. “You see, a lot of the old buildings in No ‘Mon’s Land still have a few locked doors and other security measures. He specializes in breaking those security measures quickly and quietly.”
Sweetie Belle gestured towards Shades. “What about him? What’s his specialty?”
“Recon,” ToyAgumon nodded. “He knows how to make his way through the scrap fields without causing a stir. The guild master likes sending those two out on jobs like these. They make the perfect team.”
“Huh,” Diamond Tiara watched Skull fiddling with the lock. “Where’d your guild master find these guys?”
“From what I heard, he caught them trying to steal from his home downtown,” ToyAgumon said. “He saw that they were just a couple of street urchins trying to get by, and not agents from a rival guild. So, he offered them a way off the streets by giving them jobs at the White Flame Guild. A couple of diamonds in the rough, that’s what the guild master called them.”
“You don’t say…” Diamond Tiara smiled.
A click came from the door. “We’re in,” Skull grinned. He put away his tools and opened the door a crack. “Looks clear, let’s move!”
The team followed Skull’s lead, moving swiftly and quietly into the building. The inside of the loading docks looked just about as run-down as the outside of the building. Crates and torn up boxes were strewn around the warehouse. Overhead lights still flickered dimly above them. Despite the apparent age of the place, it seemed as though it still had a pulse.
“Think we’ll find the parts we need in here?” Rumble asked, eyeing the flickering lights casting shadows over the metal walls.
“Doubtful,” Shades said. “We want to head to the main assembly area, maybe check out maintenance shacks. If we can’t find spare parts, we’ll need to cannibalize the machines here.”
Everyone followed Skull to a steel door at the far end of the warehouse. “Drat! It’s an electronic lock. And from the state of this place, I don’t think we’re going to find any ID cards lying around.”
“Can you crack it?” ToyAgumon asked.
“Of course I can,” Skull scoffed. “It’s just gonna take a while. Why don’t the rest of you look around, see if there’s anything worth taking while I work here?”
Skull put on some yellow insulated gloves and began pulling a few more tools out of his sling bag. The rest of the team dispersed, wandering around the warehouse.
Sweetie Belle wandered over to an office with Palmon and Rumble. Inside sat a familiar-looking machine stationed on a desk. A horizontal tablet lined with buttons labeled with various letters and characters was wired to a box with a screen on it. It looked a lot like the machine that brought them to the Digital World in the first place.
While the ponies kept their distance, Bearmon crept up to the machine and tapped on the keyboard. The screen flickered to life, and a single cryptic message bounced back and forth between the edges of the screen in DigiCode.
YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL PYLONS!
Sweetie Belle and Rumble looked at each other in confusion. Even the Digimon couldn’t explain the meaning of the message.
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom and Armadillomon were rooting around through various crates with ToyAgumon.
“Hmm…let’s see here,” ToyAgumon peered into one of the open crates. “Trash, trash...trash. Wait, is that...nope, more trash.”
Apple Bloom looked over to a shelf, holding several crates and spilled boxes. One small rectangular box with a lock caught her attention. Standing on her hind legs, she carefully grabbed the box and set it down. “What do ya’ll reckon’s in here?” she asked.
Armadillomon and ToyAgumon walked over to the box. ToyAgumon took a look at the lock, giving it a few experimental tugs. “Must be pretty valuable to be locked up in something like this.”
“Think we can find a key layin’ around here?” Armadillomon asked.
“No need,” ToyAgumon took off his rucksack and dug out a plasma cutter and a pair of welding goggles. “You two might wanna step back.”
Apple Bloom and Armadillomon took a few steps back and shielded their eyes as ToyAgumon fired up his plasma cutter. A few moments later, they heard a small clank as the lock hit the floor. They looked back as ToyAgumon took off his goggles and opened the box. They peered inside to find a chunk of grey steel with a divot running up the center and off the edge of the slab.
“Hmm…” ToyAgumon gingerly picked up the chunk and looked it over. “Looks like it’s in pretty good condition, even though it’s just a piece.”
“Hold on a sec…” Armadillomon looked closely at the chunk. “Don’t ya think this looks familiar, Apple Bloom? I reckon it’s the missin’ piece to that mold that you were workin’ on, ToyAgumon.”
Apple Bloom looked at the mold and the divot that ran down the center. “I think yer right!”
“Yeah!” ToyAgumon smiled as he gently wrapped the chunk in cloth and placed it in his rucksack.
Meanwhile, at the door, Skull was fiddling around with wires sticking out of an access panel near the door. When he cut one of the cables, a soft clang came from the door. Skull looked over to the door and smiled. “And there goes the mag locks.”
Skull put away his wire cutters and pulled a small crowbar out of his sling bag. “Hey, someone give me a hand here!”
“Coming!” ToyAgumon waddled over to Skull, Apple Bloom, and Armadillomon close behind.
Skull used the crowbar to pry the door open a crack. From there, the three Digimon and filly were able to pull the door open.
“Alright, you got it open?” Shades said as he walked out of another room with Babs and Veemon in tow.
“What does it look like, genius?” Skull rolled his eyes. “What about you? Find anything worth stealing?”
“Plenty of lightbulbs, plaster, cleaning supplies, and tools. Found a few spare parts to replace some machines, but none of what we’re looking for.”
“I see,” Skull nodded. “ToyAgumon, it looks like you’re gonna step up and earn your keep soon.”
“I won’t let you down!” ToyAgumon saluted.
“I won’t hold my breath…” Skull muttered as he walked into the main assembly area.
Hidden in the rafters of the old foundry, a smirking Tsukaimon lay watching the crew of scavengers enter the assembly area.
“Clip clop comes the hooves of our conquering victims,” Tsukaimon quietly chuckled. He adjusted a small pouch before flying deeper into the foundry. After flitting among the shadows along the ceiling, he found what he was looking for in a nearby annex.
Tsukaimon reached into his pouch, pulled out a camcorder, switched it on, and aimed it at himself. “Hello everyone, this is Tsukaimon. Welcome to my live stream!” he whispered. “Today, we’re gonna sic an Ultimate Level Digimon on a gang of colorful pastel horses and watch the chaos unfold.”
Tsukaimon looked down at the feral Digimon sleeping just below him. He pulled out a crystal swirling with purple dust and held it up to the camera. “This is my master’s latest strain of his Black Shadow Virus. And he has asked me to conduct the field test today and record every moment of it. So, here we go!”
Tsukaimon aimed the camera at the sleeping Digimon below him and held the crystal over him. “Wakey, wakey!” he whispered.
Tsukaimon dropped the crystal, watching as it shattered and released the purple smoke inside. Tsukaimon retreated into the shadows, grabbing the camcorder as the virus oozed into the feral Digimon and began to take effect.
The group wandered through the semi-dark halls of the assembly area. Among the massive remnants of old, rusted machinery, they found a room with a few forges similar to those in the guildhall. Among the most intact of these machines was a massive forge.
ToyAgumon climbed into the cold, dead machine. As he rooted around inside the device, the rest of the team watched the shadows of the factory.
“So, is there anything we can salvage in there?” Skull leaned to the machine.
A few clangs came from the forge, followed by light leaking through the machine from ToyAgumon’s headlamp. “Oh yeah, there’s plenty here. All in good shape too.”
“How long will it take to get what we need?”
“Well, I could either do it fast or do it right!” ToyAgumon argued. “Just keep me covered while I work on this here.”
Skull rolled his eyes. As his gaze wandered the ruined halls, he could see the bright flickering blue light that was ToyAgumon’s plasma cutter out of the corner of his eye. “Just so long as we don’t get any more surprises today…”
“AAAH!” Diamond Tiara shrieked as she jumped atop a pile of boxes. “Rats!”
Everyone turned to where she was pointing and found a couple of small metal shapes moving around on the floor. With their small grey spherical bodies and little red eyes, they looked a bit like mice, except for the sparks of electricity that would occasionally arc from their tails.
Skull sighed. “It’s just some MetalKoromon, calm down.”
Diamond Tiara, still rigid atop her perch, aimed her Digivice at the MetalKoromon as they zipped around the floor.
Name: MetalKoromon
Level: Fresh
Attribute: Free
Attacks:
- Jamming Powder
“Aww...these lil’ fellas are kinda cute,” Apple Bloom smiled as she went to pet one. As she reached her hoof out, a small bolt of electricity arced out of its tail and socked her. “Youch!”
The MetalKoromon made a cute sound akin to giggling before zooming off to run circles around a collection of pipes with its friends.
Shades took off his shades and looked around the room; his ears perked. “Does anyone else hear that?”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened. Amidst the howling of the gentle breeze flowing through the halls, there was a slow but steady clunking noise. Moments later, the Metal Koromon scurried further into the factory, away from the noise. The ponies edged closer together while the Digimon tensed up. Except for ToyAgumon, who stayed hidden in the derelict forge.
After a few moments of tense silence, a tall, disfigured being lumbered forth from the shadows. The humanoid Digimon looked like something out of a sci-fi horror film. It had semi-rusted armor covering most of its body. But a portion of its right arm and a majority of its left leg were nothing but exposed wires.
“Intruders detected!” the Digimon said in a deep robotic voice. “This facility is a restricted area. All intruders are subject to immediate termination. Surrender and die!”
“Um...don’t you mean ‘surrender OR die’?” Sweetie Belle whimpered.
“Negative!” the robot took another few steps forward.
Babs Seed brought up her Digivice and analyzed the mechanical monster.
Name: Andromon
Level: Ultimate
Attribute: Data
Attacks:
- Spiral Sword
- Gattling Missiles
“Sounds like this guy’s itching for a fight!” Veemon cracked his knuckles. “I’d be happy to give it to him.”
“Um, V?” Babs Seed glanced from her eager partner to the bloodthirsty cyborg. “I-I don’t think that’s a good—”
“B, please!” Veemon glanced back to Babs, his desperate voice echoing in her head. “Please give me this! I need to make up for that mess in the train car.”
Babs Seed rolled her eyes. “Fine…” As Veemon got into a fighting stance, Babs Seed’s Digivice began to glow. A moment later, blue light swirled around Veemon.
“Initiating Rook Protocol,” Andromon’s right hand began to spin until it glowed with blue energy. “Eliminate all trespassers! SPIRAL SWORD!”
“Veemon, digivolve to…
Andromon swung his arm forward, launching a blade of blue energy at Veemon’s “light cocoon.” Babs shielded her eyes as the cocoon exploded, and Veemon came flying out, bouncing off of a large pipe before landing on the cold hard ground.
“Veemon!” Babs Seed galloped over to her partner, gently picking him up. “Are you okay, bud?”
“Oh, I’m just peachy keen good sir! Care for a spot of tea and crumbly crumb crumpets?”
Veemon said in an accent similar to Hawkmon’s before passing out.
“Wow...today isn’t his day, is it?” Sweetie Belle said.
“Nope,” Babs Seed tossed Veemon’s unconscious body onto her back before dashing into cover.
“Eliminate all trespassers!” Andromon droned as he stepped forward.
“Hey, what’s going on out there?” ToyAgumon peered through a hole in the wrecked forge. Andromon turned to the toy dinosaur with a menacing look, piercing daggers right through him. “Eep!” ToyAgumon ducked back into the forge.
“Target acquired!” Andromon turned to the forge, his hand starting to spin.
“ToyAgumon, get outta there!” Apple Bloom cried out.
“I’m goin’ in hot!” Armadillomon leaped toward Andromon as Apple Bloom’s Digivice started to glow.
“Armadillomon, digivolve too…
Ankylomon!”
Andromon looked up in time to see Ankylomon’s hulking golden form barreling down on him before being knocked back several feet.
“Hooey! It’s good to be back!” Ankylomon smiled. “How’d you like that, you oversized bag of bolts?”
Apple Bloom smiled. It had been a while since she had seen her partner fight in his Champion form. But that smile soon vanished as Andromon got back up without so much as a scratch.
“New threat detected,” Andromon droned. “Threat assessment: trivial.”
“What was that?!” Ankylomon growled. “I’ll show you who’s trivial, you overgrown movie prop!”
Ankylomon charged into Andromon, but Andromon managed to grab him by his horns and dig his feet into the floor.
The two massive Digimon grappled on the factory floor for a while before Andromon started to gain ground. He twisted Ankylomon’s head, throwing the dinosaur onto his side. Andromon focused on Ankylomon’s exposed underbelly as his right hand began to spin and glow.
“Ankylomon!” Apple Bloom cried out. “Move!”
“This is bad!” Silver Spoon brought up her Digivice as it began to glow. “Terriermon, get in there and give him some support!”
“Roger that!” Terriermon spread his ears, gliding towards the fight as he began to digivolve.
Terriermon, digivolve too…
Gargomon!
Terriermon skidded to a stop at Andromon’s flank, quickly whipping out his gatling guns. “GARGO LASER!” Terriermon blasted Andromon with a barrage of green lasers, making Andromon roll out of the way.
“New threat detected, analyzing…” Andromon’s eye glowed red. “Threat assessment: minuscule.”
“Hey!” Gargomon yelled. “I’m standing right here, you know!”
“Calculating combined threat assessment. Status: mediocre. Deploying additional weaponry.” Andromon’s chest opened up to reveal two missile slots. “GATLING MISSILES!”
Andromon launched two strange-looking missiles out of his chest. They looked like a cross between an ugly predatory fish and a rocket. The rockets flew towards Gargomon. As they got closer, the fish/missile’s mouths opened to reveal tiny gatling guns. Gargomon shielded himself from the missile’s bullet barrage as he fell back.
“Sheesh, talk about overkill!” Rumble said.
The missiles looped back around for another run. Gargomon raised one arm to shield himself while using the other to take shots at the rockets. As they got within firing range, Gargomon managed to blast the missiles out of the air.
“Haha! I got—” Gargomon started. But Andromon slammed him into a wall before he could finish his sentence.
“TAIL HAMMER!” Ankylomon rushed Andromon, whipping his mace studded tail into him. Andromon caught Ankylomon’s tail as the room rumbled around them.
“You’re heavy,” Andromon said before spinning Ankylomon around and throwing him into Gargomon, sending them both crashing through the wall and out of the foundry. As the dust cleared, Andromon slowly stepped through the resulting hole.
Everyone gazed out the hole as Gargomon and Ankylomon slowly got up.
“Holy smokes, this guy’s intense!” Babs Seed whispered.
“He kinda reminds me of that cyborg from that old action movie,” Rumble said. “What was it called? The one where he goes back in time to find that guy’s mother?”
“No, I know what you’re talking about,” Babs nodded. “It’s uh...the uh...The Exterminator? Something like that?”
“Our friends are fightin’ a battle to the death with some freaky cyborg! Why are you tryin’ to remember some movie?!” Apple Bloom yelled.
Babs Seed and Rumble glanced at each other.
“You dun goofed!” Veemon sleepily chuckled from Babs’ back.
“Go back to sleep, Veemon!” Babs Seed whispered.
“Okay…”
“ToyAgumon, we need to get those parts now!” Skull said.
No response came from the forge. Meanwhile, the fight raged outside as Andromon continued his assault on Ankylomon and Gargomon.
“ToyAgumon?”
A quiet shaking echoed from inside the forge. “I-I’m scared!” ToyAgumon whimpered.
“C’mon, don’t fall apart on me here!” Skull banged on the forge.
“What if that thing comes this way? I can’t fight something like that! I’m useless here!”
Apple Bloom galloped over to the forge. “Nobody’s askin’ you to fight here. We just need you to get the parts we need. Right now, no one can do that ‘cept you.”
“She’s right!” Skull nodded. “Look, you might not be the best fighter. To put it frankly, you’re garbage in that regard.” Apple Bloom shot a glare at Skull. “But, you’re a top-notch blacksmith and just as good a mechanic. Would you trust my partner or me to handle something like this?”
“Well...not really?” ToyAgumon said.
“Listen…” Skull sighed. “I know we all rag on you from time to time, and I’ll admit I didn’t like the idea of the guild master making you come along with us. But looking at the situation now, I realize that he knew that you were the only one who could do something like this. You know how these machines work inside and out, and you know what we need and how to get it without damaging it.
“And right now, we need that expertise to finish our mission. Right now, you’re the most important member of this scavenging op.”
“We’re countin’ on ya ToyAgumon!” Apple Bloom said. “Just focus on the machines. We’ll keep you covered!”
Outside, everyone heard a slam as Anylomon cried out. Apple Bloom winced as she felt something smack her back. She turned to the fresh hole in the factory wall, worried about her partner’s well-being.
ToyAgumon took a deep breath. “Okay, I won’t let you down!” A few clangs came from inside the machine, then the blue light of ToyAgumon’s plasma torch flickered in the dark.
“Keep him covered; I gotta look after my friend!” Apple Bloom back over to the hole, where her friends watched the fight. “What’s happenin’? I felt Ankylomon take a bit of a hit.”
Silver Spoon glanced at Apple Bloom. “Andromon used that Spiral Sword attack to try to hit Ankylomon in the head. He managed to roll over at the last second and absorb the blast with his shell.”
“How about Gargomon?”
“He’s trying to do what he can, but it’s hard for him to get a clear shot with Andromon fighting Ankylomon close quarters.”
Ankylomon shook himself off and growled at Andromon. As Andromon slowly approached Ankylomon, Gargomon moved stealthily around the surrounding junk stacks. Or at least as stealthily as he could given his larger form. He hopped to the top of one of the stacks and aimed at Andromon.
But as he shifted into position, the metal creaked beneath him. Andromon stopped, his eyes narrowed.
“GATLING MISSILES!” Andromon launched two missiles, which quickly flew behind him and homed in on Gargomon. A moment later, Andromon began spinning his arm again.
“Aw, crud!” Gargomon quickly turned his guns to the incoming missiles. He fired off a couple of lasers before the missiles returned fire. Gargomon used one arm to shield himself while he continued to fire with the other, which did a number on his ability to aim. In a few moments, the missiles reached their target, and Gargomon flew off the junk stack, which fell apart from the missile impact.
The bulky junk slammed into the ground just as Andromon was about to fire his Spiral Sword at Ankylomon. The resulting tremors knocked him off balance and caused him to miss his shot. Everyone on the sidelines watched as the blast of blue energy spiraled into another part of the factory, causing it to shake.
Ankylomon seized the opportunity and charged Andromon with a headbutt, knocking him back several feet.
“Haha! He got him!” Apple Bloom cheered.
“Yeah…” Silver Spoon looked to Gargomon as he picked himself up and the toppled junk stack beside him. Then turned her attention to Andromon as he wrestled Ankylomon. “I think I have an idea!”
“Huh?” Apple Bloom turned to Silver Spoon.
“I think he only managed to score a hit because the falling junk knocked him off balance. I think our partners can pull through if they keep up the pressure and keep him off-kilter.”
Apple Bloom looked to the fight below as Andromon kicked Ankylomon away before turning to attack Gargomon. “I think Ankylomon can manage that. I remember he caused a mini earthquake during his fight on File Island. You think Gargomon will be able to attack when Ankylomon shakes things up?”
Silver Spoon smiled. “You bet!”
“Alright then, let’s tell them the plan and hope for the best.”
Silver Spoon nodded, closed her eyes, and put a hoof to her temple.
Apple Bloom closed her eyes and focused on her partner. Moments later, she began to see through Ankylomon’s eyes. “Ankylomon, we have an idea! We need you to knock Andromon off balance. Once he’s down, you and Gargomon should be able to attack him. Think you can manage that?”
“I can certainly try,” Ankylomon replied. “But this guy’s one tough customer. No matter what we throw at him, he shrugs it off like it’s noth—”
“SPIRAL SWORD!” Andromon fired another blast of energy at Ankylomon, knocking him onto his side and Apple Bloom out of his head.
Apple Bloom shook her head to shake off the shock. “C’mon Ankylomon; you can do it!”
Ankylomon picked himself while Gargomon launched a barrage of lasers at Andromon. “All right, you ready, Gargomon?”
Before Andromon got too close, Gargomon leaped back onto one of the junk stacks. “Ready!” Gargomon cocked his miniguns with a smirk.
Ankylomon leaped high into the air. “MEGATON PRESS!”
Andromon looked up to see Ankylomon’s massive form bearing down on him. He jumped out of the way moments before he landed. The force of the impact made the ground shake, causing Andromon to stumble.
Gargomon jumped from his perch atop the junk stack, spreading his ears to glide down to Andromon. “BUNNY PUMMEL!” Gargomon’s right gatling gun glowed with green energy. The second he got into range, Gargomon slammed Andromon with a powerful uppercut, sending him flying onto his back.
“TAIL HAMMER!” Ankylomon swung his studded tail down onto Andromon, but he managed to roll away at the last minute. Ankylomon quickly stepped out of range before Andromon could counterattack. As Andromon got up, Gargomon used his Gargo Laser to keep him suppressed.
They repeated this tactic a couple more times. Ankylomon would shake things up with his Megaton Press, then Gargomon would strike when Andromon stumbled, with Ankylomon following up with another attack.
The third time around, things were starting to look grim. The constant attacks were beginning to take their toll on Gargomon and Ankylomon.
“Are we even...doing anything to hurt him?” Gargomon panted. He raised his miniguns for another attack.
“GATTLING MISSILES!” Andromon launched two missiles out of his chest that homed in on Gargomon.
“Oh, come on! Why me?!” Gargomon redirected his aim towards the missiles. But before he could fire a shot, the missiles turned split off to pincer him from two sides. “Wait, what?! That’s just cheating!”
Gargomon frantically fired lasers at the two missiles. He managed to destroy one before the other blew him back into the factory wall.
Apple Bloom looked to Silver Spoon as she doubled over with a grimace. “Come on, Gargomon...hang in there!” she groaned.
“I got you, Gargom—” Ankylomon started.
“SPIRAL SWORD!” Andromon launched a crescent beam of blue energy at Ankylomon, knocking him down.
Andromon slowly walked toward Gargomon, who was starting to glitch out as he leaned against the wall. As he got closer, his drill-like hand spun faster and faster. When he got a few feet away, Gargomon snapped his right arm forward, firing a massive shot of energy out of all the cylinders of his minigun. The blast sent Andromon flying back into an enormous junk pile. As the dust settled, Gargomon reverted to Terriermon.
Ankylomon shook his head clear and looked to the massive junk stack Andromon landed near and how it gently swayed. Summoning up the last of his strength, Ankylomon pushed himself and charged towards Andromon.
“TAIL HAMMER!” Ankylomon slammed his tail into the base of the junk stack and leaped away. Just as Andromon was beginning to stand back up, the whole stack came tumbling down on top of him. In mere moments, Andromon was buried under a veritable mountain of junk.
“And that’s...the end of that!” Ankylomon panted before reverting to Armadillomon. “Hooey! I’m plum tuckered…”
“Armadillomon!” Apple Bloom ran up to her partner and hugged him. “You were amazing out there!”
“Terriermon!” Silver Spoon dashed over to her long-eared friend slumped. “Terriermon?” she gently shook him. “Are you alright?”
“Moumentai…” Terriermon coughed with a smile.
Silver Spoon sighed in relief. “Yep...you’re okay.”
Apple Bloom trotted over to everyone else, her exhausted partner in tow. “What about Veemon? How’s he holdin’ up?”
Babs Seed lowered her partner off her back, gently cradling him. “Hey, V? You okay, pal?”
Veemon looked up at Babs Seed with a loopy grin. "Did you see me, dad? I made the touchdown!”
Babs Seed gave him a flat look, then smacked him across the face with the back of her hoof.
“Gah! What the—” Veemon shook his head as he regained his lisp. In another moment, he leaped to his feet. “Where is he? Where’s Andromon?” He looked frantically around the factory floor for a few moments before seeing the hole in the wall and the wrecked battlefield outside. He slumped forward and turned to Babs Seed. “I missed the whole fight, didn’t I?”
“Yep...sorry, bud,” Babs Seed gently patted Veemon’s shoulder.
As the Digimon recovered from the fight, a series of loud clangs came from the derelict forge. A few moments later, a rucksack was pushed out of an opening before ToyAgumon emerged from its depths.
“I got the parts!” ToyAgumon cheered. “Are we ready to leave?”
“Ready as spaghetti! Let’s roll out!” Skull motioned towards the factory door.
As everyone moved towards the door, Shades looked towards Armadillomon and Terriermon as their pony partners helped them out.
“What’s up?” Apple Bloom asked.
“You’re friends...they digivolved without absorbing data. Then they reverted to their Rookie forms after the fight was over.”
Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon looked at each other. “Um...yeah, that’s right. What about it?”
“It’s just...I’ve heard stories about some Digimon who could do that in the presence of certain humans. Now you all are not human, but you’re also not from the Digital World either.” Shades slowly took off his sunglasses, a look of disbelief and admiration in his eyes. “Are...are you all—”
A loud crash made everyone look behind them, towards the pile of scrap that Ankylomon knocked down. They were focused on the metal fist bursting out, which began shoving bigger pieces of junk aside.
“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me!” Rumble backpedaled towards the door.
“We gotta get outta here, now!” Babs Seed shouted.
“Way ahead of you!” ToyAgumon shrieked as he waddled faster than anyone thought was physically possible, already several yards ahead of the rest of the team.
Tsukaimon chuckled from his roost, recording the DigiDestined as they retreated with the rest of the scavenger team.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I call that a successful test! Forces of Mephistomon one, DigiDestined—”
“New target acquired!” Tsukaimon looked down to find Andromon staring back at him.
“Aw crud…” Tsukaimon grabbed his camcorder and flew out of the hole in the wall.
“SPIRAL SWORD!” Andromon launched a blast of energy at Tsukaimon.
“Crud, oh crud, oh crud, oh CRUD, OH CRUD, OOOHH CRUUUUUD!” Tsukaimon shrieked, dodging blast after blast as he retreated.
After making their way back through one of the city’s main gates, much to everyone’s relief, the team returned to the White Flame guildhall. ToyAgumon went back into the workshop to fix his forge with the parts they collected, while Skull and Shades went to the guild master’s office to debrief. The ponies and their partners went to the break room to relax.
“Ugh...what a day, huh?” Scootaloo leaned back on her chair with an exasperated sigh.
“Hard to believe it’s barely into the afternoon,” Rumble looked at his Digivice’s clock.
2:34 P.M.
“After all that, I think I’m ready to take a nap,” Sweetie Belle rubbed her aching legs.
A small bag of bytes was tossed onto the table, making everyone turn towards the thrower, Skull. “Compensation for your services. Thanks for the assist out there.”
“Glad we could help,” Silver Spoon grabbed the coin purse and added it to her Digivice’s inventory.
“Anyway, I heard you needed to restock some supplies. My partner’s willing to introduce you to some honest merchants in the eastern markets. But, ToyAgumon wants you to see him at his forge. He’s pretty excited about the repairs and wants you to see the test run.”
Everyone looked to each other for a moment before Apple Bloom spoke up. “I mean...we’ve got some time.” Everyone else nodded in agreement.
“Alright then, follow me,” Skull gestured towards the door.
After getting their helmets and earmuffs, they followed Skull to ToyAgumon’s forge. Hagurumon was hunched over a table while ToyAgumon finished making adjustments on the control panel.
“Temperature regulation looks good...bellows are functioning properly…” ToyAgumon muttered to himself. Afterward, he turned around with a smile. “Hey guys, glad you could make it.”
Apple Bloom looked at the large forge, which was ebbing with heat. “So, how’s it holdin’ up? All fixed?”
ToyAgumon smiled at the forge. “She lives once more!”
“That’s great!” Scootaloo nodded. “So uh...you wanted us to see the test or something?”
Hagurumon turned around with his creepy smile. “ToyAgumon, it’s all set!”
ToyAgumon nodded to his partner. “Alright, load it up. The metal should be ready to pour in a few moments.”
Hagurumon levitated a mold onto the tray in front of the forge.
“Hagurumon just finished fusing that last piece of the mold we found in the old foundry,” ToyAgumon explained. “I figured that it only fits that we use that for our test. What do you think?”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Apple Bloom smiled.
“Alright then,” ToyAgumon turned to Hagurumon. “Hagurumon, pour the metal!”
Hagurumon looked to the crucible’s control panel and smiled. “I was thinking of letting you do the honors this time.”
ToyAgumon paused. “R-really? Are you sure?”
“Well, I mean, if you don’t want to, then—”
“No no no, it’s fine!” ToyAgumon waddled over to the control panel while Hagurumon took a position at the tray. After confirming he was ready, ToyAgumon pulled the lever.
The hatch on the crucible side opened, and the molten metal flowed down the chute and into the mold. Everyone watched as the two Digimon conducted the same procedure as yesterday, cooling the metal before freeing it from the mold, then hammering it into shape with the mechanical anvil. Once they were satisfied, the metal was cooled again and placed on a table for everyone to see.
“Well, here we are,” ToyAgumon smiled. “Looks like we’re officially back up and running!”
Everyone gathered around the finished product; a large tile with a cross in the middle, interspersed with four small triangles.
“So...what is it?” Skull asked. “What’s this big treasure supposed to be?”
“I don’t know,” ToyAgumon put a claw to his blocky chin. “Looks a little simple to be a guild emblem. Maybe a holy order, or something?”
“No…” Armadillomon hopped on top of a stool. “It’s not an emblem. It’s a Crest! The Crest of Reliability!”
The moment he finished that sentence, the tile began to glow. Everyone stepped back as the tile floated into the air and began to shrink. Moments later, the newly shrunken Crest flew towards Apple Bloom, sliding itself into her Tag.
Apple Bloom smiled ear to ear. “Yeehaw!” she shouted, rearing onto her hindlegs as she cheered. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”
“You sound just like your sister,” Sweetie Belle chuckled.
Apple Bloom dropped back down to all fours, her face turning a little red.
“You lot seem to have a knack for finding those Crests,” Skull put a claw to his chin. “Aren’t those supposed to be ancient artifacts? And you found two of them today alone. It’s like they’re drawn to you, literally. What’s the deal here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Everyone turned to find Guardromon walking towards them with Shades in tow. “Nice work on the forge, ToyAgumon.”
ToyAgumon bashfully rubbed his claws. “I couldn’t have done it without my friends.”
Skull’s mouth dropped open in shock for a moment before curling into a soft smile. He turned his attention back to Guardromon. “What do you mean, guild master?”
“You’ve heard the stories about the DigiDestined from a few centuries ago? The ones who used those very Crests to protect the Digital World?”
“Yeah, sure. But I don’t understand why the Crests would react to—” Skull stopped and slowly turned to the ponies. “Okay...I’m an idiot! That’s the only possible way a Digimon could’ve digivolved without absorbing data beforehand!”
“What? What is it?” ToyAgumon said.
Skull gestured to the ponies. “They’re DigiDestined.”
Everyone in the foundry stopped working and turned to the ponies, removing welding masks or goggles to show their shocked faces.
The ponies looked around nervously, finding themselves at the center of attention.
“Um...hi,” Sweetie Belle weakly waved.
“You’re... DigiDestined?” ToyAgumon was flustered. “Wow! I heard rumors that the DigiDestined had returned, but I never thought I’d get to meet them.”
“Oh, well uh...glad we could uh…” Apple Bloom blushed.
“Use your words, cuz,” Babs Seed teased.
“Regardless,” Guardromon interrupted. “Thank you for your assistance today. It truly has been an honor to meet you all.”
“Yeah, for sure!” Skull smiled. “And, um...sorry if my partner and I were acting like jerks.”
“Yeah,” Shades rubbed the back of his head. “Now then, I believe you still needed to buy some supplies? As I said, I know a few Digimon who will give you an honest bargain. And trust me, that’s extremely difficult to come by in this city, especially for outsiders.”
“Sounds good to me. The sooner we get out of this dump, the better,” Diamond Tiara bit her lip. “Um, no offense…”
“None taken,” Shades shrugged. “When you boil it down to the facts, our city is built in a giant dump.”
“Still, we make the most out of what we’ve got,” Guardromon looked around the foundry, his eyes reflecting a smile. “And you know what? I’m proud of what we’ve managed to accomplish here.”
Apple Bloom looked around. She could tell that everything from the building they stood in, to the projects that the Digimon worked on were all labors of love. And that they took pride in the fruits of those labors. “I can tell…” she said with a smile.
“Right then. We should get going if we want to beat the evening rush,” Shades gestured towards the exit.
“Okay,” Apple Bloom turned to the Digimon of the White Flame Guild. “Goodbye, everyone!”
“Goodbye! Good luck on your journey!” ToyAgumon waved before getting back to work.
The group followed Shades as he led them through the streets of the Scrap City markets. All around them, crowds hustled through tightly packed streets, the shouts of merchants echoed all around as they tried to hawk their various wares.
“He’s not much further now,” Shades said, leading the group into a large market square, where a Sentinel overlooked the various market stalls. “He does have a bit of a stutter, but don’t let that get to you.”
“Yes, it’s a miracle how that fool’s been able to sell anything is something else,” an annoying voice chuckled from around the corner. Everyone stopped as a Goblimon walked out from behind a stall, a smirk on his face.
“What do you want?” Shades shook his head. “And I mean right now, you don’t need to give me your entire list of things that you’ll never get in this lifetime.”
“Shut up! This doesn’t concern you,” Goblimon growled before turning to the DigiDestined. “You’re only you got lucky out of No ‘Mon’s Land!”
Babs Seed blew a lock of hair away from her eyes. “Yeah, we have a knack for that,” she smirked.
“Not anymore,” Goblimon snapped his fingers. A moment later, several Goblimon leaped out from the shadows, throwing nets onto the DigiDestined.
“Hey! What’s the big idea?!” Babs cried out. She struggled as the Goblimon tightened the net around her and her friends.
Silver Spoon glanced at the Sentinel, which still stood silently over the market square. “Why isn’t the Sentinel stepping in? This has to be against the Armistice!”
“Under normal circumstances, it would be,” Goblimon chuckled as he reached into his pouch. “But when action needs to be taken to apprehend a group of wanted criminals, the Sentinels stay on the sidelines.” He pulled out a wanted poster with Silver Spoon’s face on it.
Silver Spoon stared at the wanted poster with a slack jaw. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Yeah, we kinda forgot about that, didn’t we?” Sweetie Belle said from another net.
“The bounty on all of you should be more than enough to meet our quota for this week,” the lead Goblimon rolled up the wanted poster and put it back in his pouch. “Come on, boys, let’s bring ‘em in!”
The Goblimon grabbed the nets and started dragging their captives through the streets. All the while, Shades starred at them with pursed lips.
“Please, help us!” Apple Bloom begged.
Shades put his claws up. “Hey, I can’t risk dragging the guild’s name through the mud by helping wanted criminals. And besides, it’s not like I’m in a position to do anything.”
Shades took off his sunglasses, polishing them as he skirted around the Goblimon. “I hope you all get everything you deserve,” he said with a smile. As he passed by Apple Bloom, he gave her a small wink before putting on his sunglasses. As he passed by one of the Goblimon in the rear, he swung his tail around his ankle, causing him to trip into another stall, knocking over some delicate-looking second-hand gadgets.
“Hey! That’s my livelihood you’re messing up, you clumsy jackwagon!” a large Digimon stormed out from behind the stall.
“Back off, will you! You got any idea who you’re messing with? We’re with the Black Ashes Cartel! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll—”
The shop owner grabbed the Goblimon and shoved him against his stall’s counter. “I don’t care if you’re with the Black Ashes Cartel, the Mythril Scales, or the friggin’ Jade Skull Syndicate! You’re going to pay for all the merchandise you just trashed!”
While the other Goblimon stepped in to prevent the fight from escalating further, Shades crept around the nets and quietly cut them open with his claws. “They’ll have scouts posted at the city’s main gates,” he whispered to Babs. “You’ll need to find another way out of the city.”
After cutting open the last net, Shades slinked away into the gathering crowd. While the argument escalated, the contestants doing their best not to come to blows in front of the Sentinel, the DigiDestined crept away. They had almost made it out of eyeshot when one of the Goblimon turned around.
“Hey! They’re getting away!” he shouted.
“Leg it!” Apple Bloom shouted.
“Forget that! We can take these guys!” Veemon clenched his fists.
“You think that’s a good idea, V?” Babs Seed eyed the Sentinel.
Veemon looked from the Sentinel to the group of Goblimon pushing their way through the crowd. “Grrrr...I hate this town!” Veemon growled before following Babs and the others.
The ponies and Digimon ran through the streets, winding through market stalls, weaving around street lamps and monuments, leaping over stacks of crates, and ducking under angry merchants transporting their merchandise. Eventually, the group came to a stop in a back alley between an apothecary and a run-down convenience store.
As everyone caught their breath, Babs Seed peeled a wanted poster with her face on it off the graffiti-ridden wall. Looking at her comically drawn face and the sizable bounty beneath it, she sighed. “Well...I always wanted to be popular.”
“Same…” Sweetie Belle sighed. Scootaloo nodded beside her.
“Is it everything you thought it’d be?” Palmon asked.
“No…” Sweetie Belle shook her head.
“Nope,” Scootaloo sighed.
“Eh...kinda,” Babs Seed shrugged.
Everyone stared at the amber filly as she rolled up the poster and tossed it into a dumpster. “Say what?” Apple Bloom gaped.
“What? If you wanted to get noticed at my school, you usually had to do somethin’ that would land you in the principal’s office. One time, this colt took his math teacher’s desk supplies and put them in one of the vending machines! Dude was spendin’ an hour payin’ to get his stuff back!”
“Oh my gosh, that’s awesome!” Scootaloo laughed. “How’d he managed to do that?”
“This is a cool story and all,” Silver Spoon got between the two fillies. “But in case you haven’t noticed, we kind of have a situation here! If we don’t get out of this city soon, we’re going to be in serious trouble!”
Babs nodded. “Shades told me that the Cartel would probably have spies on the main gates. If we try going out that way, we’ll get caught for sure.”
“Great…” Diamond Tiara shook her head. “If the gates are being watched, then how the heck are we going to get out of here.”
“Well...I can think of one way,” Babs looked down.
Diamond Tiara followed her gaze to a maintenance hole beneath them. “You...have got to be joking.”
“Diamond Tiara, I—”
“I am not going back down there, slogging through the mud and dealing with the living poop monsters!”
“I think they went this way,” a voice echoed from the crowded streets.
A moment later, Babs and Veemon got to work lifting the maintenance hole cover.
“I don’t like it either, but what other choice do we have?” Apple Bloom said as she pulled her green bandana over her mouth and nose.
Diamond Tiara looked back and forth between the city streets and the now open maintenance hole, which everyone started reluctantly climbing into.
Diamond Tiara made a whining sigh, took a deep breath, and crawled in after them. Hawkmon followed in after her, making sure to pull the metal cover back on top of the hole.
That night, in a remote town on Server, a lone canine Digimon stalked the streets. Ever since he searched the ruins of Myotismon’s castle a few weeks ago, his hunt had taken him far across the continent.
He growled to himself, the eyes on the two head-shaped pauldrons on his shoulders glowed. Weeks of traveling, and he had gotten no closer to his prey!
But then he had heard a rumor. A Tapirmon had visited this village to aid those plagued by nightmares. But a couple of weeks ago, he had mysteriously disappeared. That alone wasn’t enough cause for concern. But he had heard a couple of Digimon talking about how they felt a sudden chill in the air and swore that they saw shadows shifting in unnatural ways the day Tapirmon disappeared.
The dark canine Digimon followed the cold scent of dark magic into a back alley. At first glance, nothing seemed out of place. But he could sense something went down here. A quick look around, and he found a portion of the wall that reeked with his prey’s scent.
“Where are you hiding?” the Digimon growled to himself. “I’ll find you sooner or later…”
