Digital Monsters, Digital Adventure

Rose cried out, clutching her bed tight as it flew through the air.

Patamon was holding tightly onto her shell, trying to keep himself from screaming.

The furniture flew over the edge of a waterfall, and headed straight down.

“PAT!!!”

Flapping his wings as hard as he could, the little Digimon managed to keep his partner aloft.

She had her clothes clutched to her chest, and watched the bed shatter on the sharp rocks.

“Thanks…”

Patamon flew jerkily to the shore, letting her down.

With a sigh of relief and drooped ears, he nodded.

“No problem, Rosie…”

The pink-masked turtle relaxed her arms, pulling her clothes on before looking around.

There was a calming river to one side, and a forest on the other.

Suddenly, she felt intimidated.

She wasn’t used to being alone…

‘What would Izzy do?’ Rose wondered to herself…

‘She’d probably pick a direction and go looking for the others…’

The brown-eyed she-turtle carefully stood up.

‘But where could they all be? The island broke apart…Are we separated on all those little pieces?’

“Come on, Pat. We need to find the others.”

“Alright, Rosie.”

The little Digimon flew up to her head, and the turtle set off.

‘What if we never find them? What if we’re all alone forever?’

Tears filled her eyes, and she felt Patamon shift.

“Rosie? Are you okay?”

“N-Not really?” She admitted, rubbing at her eyes.

The heat was making tears balance precariously on her lids…

“Rosie, don’t cry…” Patamon soothed, sliding to her shoulder to try and keep the hot sadness at bay.

“Wh-What are w-we going t-to do, P-Pat? I’ve n-never been a-alone like th-this before…”

Truthfully, the little blue-eyed partner didn’t know…

The comfort of the group, of the older, more powerful Digimon was no longer there to shield them…

‘What would Biyomon do?’ He thought…

‘She’d probably Digivolve to Birdramon and fly away…I wish I could fly too, but I just can’t seem to Digivolve…’

Once he started crying, it seemed to catch Rose’s attention and stop her own tears.

“Pat? Pat, what’s wrong?”

“I wanna fly too! I wanna Digivolve!” He sobbed out, and she cradled him in her arms, wiping away his tears.

“What would you Digivolve into?”

The tears stopped a bit as he thought about it…

“Well, I won’t know until I Digivolve and find out what I am…”

“…Maybe you’ll be able to fly, then.”

“Maybe.”

“…We can’t stay here…”

The pink-masked turtle looked up, seeing the forest stop on the edge of what looked like a prairie.

“We need to keep searching for the others.”

Patamon seemed to brighten.

“Right!”

So they started out, sometimes talking about what Patamon might be when he Digivolved, or where they were headed.

Even where the others might be, or what they were doing right then.

Rose even noted that her sister was probably ripping across the island in search of the others.

The long, faded green grass tickled her knees, and the pink-banded turtle was actually a bit pleased.

The air was fresh, not heavy with smoke or fumes like back home, and everything was so free and cool and WARM…

Still, there were things she missed that these things couldn’t fill…

Her mother, her father, her uncles and aunts…

Not to mention her room and the family night they all shared…

She liked making s’mores in the chimney her uncle managed to make, and being held in her father’s warm arms…

Rose was used to being looked after by now, but she needed to be a big girl now.

She was ten years old, and even older than Elie, so she needed to be strong until she found the others.

Then she could cry if she needed to…

Still, the silence seemed to be a bit unnerving for her.

Living in the sewers, she was used to constant noise.

It was the way it was in New York.

That’s why it was called the City that Never Sleeps.

“Rosie…What’s a family?”

“It’s a lot of people that really care about you…They love you and take care of you and work together…”

“…Are the others a family?”

Rose paused to think about it…

“Yeah…I think we’re a family. I don’t think we’re the same kind that I have back at home, but we’re still a family.”

“What family do you have at home?”

“I have my daddy and my mommy and Uncle Leo and Aunt Artie and Uncle Donnie and Aunt Mizu and Uncle Mikey and Aunt Chi and Grandpa Splinter and Uncle Casey and Aunt April and Uncle Leatherhead and Uncle Professor Honeycutt and…And I think that’s all…”

“That’s a lot of people…Are they all like you?”

“Not really. My mom and a few of my aunts are humans, and grandpa is a mutated rat. Uncle Leatherhead is a BIG crocodile, and Uncle Professor Honeycutt is a robot.”

“Like Andromon?”

“Kind of. He’s not a Digimon, though…”

“Are you all related?”

“I don’t think so…But we act like family, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”

Rose smiled up at her partner.

“Just like how we’re family, but we’re different.”

“Right.”

Something was rising up in the distance, and the brown-eyed turtle tilted her head curiously.

“Where are we heading to, Pat?”

“I don’t know…I guess we’ll know when we get there!”

And they did, for the town soon spread out before them looked like a giant baby’s playground.

Giant stuffed blocks made into towers, feather-soft floor like a trampoline, and even trees bearing toys like they were fruit.

Patamon landed on the ground beside his partner, and both looked at the place in wonder.

“What is this place, Pat?”

“I think this is Primary Village…”

They shared a glance, and Rose smiled...

They jumped on the bouncy surface, flying through the air like they were on the moon.

Laughing and giggling, they eventually ended up in a roll, stopping on their backs.

Still trying to breathe, the pink-masked turtle looked up at the clouds.

“That one looks like an ice cream cone…and that one’s a puppy!”

“That one looks like a Koromon!”

Enjoying this game, the two partners continued until they heard something.

Sitting up, Rosie looked off in the general direction of the strange sound.

Patamon jumped onto her shoulder, ears perked high to help him catch the noise again and identify it.

“Let’s go find out what it is.” The she-turtle decided, standing up and starting at a jog.

They found what looked like hundreds of stone cradles, each one holding a different baby Digimon.

Each one was cute in its own way, and Rose enjoyed playing with them when her partner found something else.

Interested, she followed him out to the field of giant eggs.

They each had colorful patterns, very few similar to each other, and they were as tall as her plastron.

Kneeling beside one, she put a hand on the top before finding a note.

“What does it say?”

“It’s in Digi-Code. It says ‘rub gently’.”

“Okay…”

Rubbing the side carefully, the turtle looked up at her partner.

“What is it?”

“It’s a Digiegg.”

“You come from eggs?”

“Yep!”

The egg shook, startling her attention back, and the top popped off cleanly.

Cute little black eyes and a white head showed themselves, and she smiled.

“It’s so cute! But now it needs a cradle…”

“I’ll go look for a free one.”

Setting the little Digimon down, Rosie was about to help him…

A poof made them turn to find a cradle had appeared for the little Digimon, and they looked almost confused.

“Oh, so THAT’S how it works…”

“You didn’t know?”

“Can you remember things from when you were a baby?”

“…Well…”

Flashback:

A little Rosie was crying, though truthfully, she didn’t remember why…

But the broken remains of her favorite toy seemed to renew the tears…

She didn’t seem ready to stop until someone lifted her up into a hug.

Cradled next to a warm plastron and a beating heart, she seemed to calm down…

“Now, that’s my big girl…”

The voice soothed her further, and she looked up at smiling gold eyes…

“Don’t worry, Rosie…I won’t let anyone ‘urt ya…”

End Flashback:

“I think…I think it was Izzy…But besides that…”

The she-turtle shrugged.

“I can’t remember what it was like…”

“See?”

“Well, at least I know I didn’t come from an egg.” She teased, starting to run.

Patamon grinned, taking up the playful chase.

They played with the baby Digimon, but they soon became upset from something neither could name.

Thinking they wanted to play with toys, Rose set off to the toy trees to get some.

She climbed up as high as she could, pulling down some plastic fire trucks and rattles, when she looked down.

Remembering her mild fear of heights, she gripped the branch tight.

‘Don’t worry, Rosie…’

Izzy had said that years ago, when her younger sister had been five and somehow managed to get stuck on top of the TVs…

‘If ya fall, I’ll catch ya. Trust me.’

Pretending that she really wasn’t up THAT high, the pink-masked turtle carefully climbed to the ground.

Letting out a breath, Rose hugged the toys to her chest and started off at a clipped pace back to her partner and the baby Digimon.

She found Patamon and this other Digimon fighting, wrestling, and stopped, the toys clattering to the soft ground.

“Pat…Pat, stop…”

It reminded her of something, something she couldn’t exactly remember, but it sent this fear through her.

She didn’t want to lose him…

“STOP!!!”

Both paused, surprised at the sudden shout.

“Stop fighting! You’re worse than my dad!”

Clenching her fists, she tried to hold back this strange mixture of emotions.

“If you two are going to fight, then just do it fair!”

The two Digimon separated, and she breathed out carefully…

“I have an idea…”

By sundown, they were ready for the tug-of-war match.

“Ready? Set…GO!”

The two Digimon fought against the rope, equally matched…

For a moment, it seemed Elecmon was getting the upper hand…

‘Come on, Pat…’

A sudden burst of strength, and Patamon had his opponent flung through the air and into one of the cloud-soft blocks.

Feathers fell from the sky, and Rose seemed a bit worried.

“Elecmon?!”

“Okay! I give up!”

She grinned…

“And the winner is PATAMON!”

Once Elecmon got down from his new perch, he congratulated the victor as well.

They seemed to get along so much better, and the pink-masked, brown-eyed turtle was much happier about it.

He apologized for having been so rough, since he’d known something bad might have been coming.

She was just glad they made up…

Sometimes, it seemed like adults held onto things for longer than they needed to.

Like the time Izzy had accidentally sat on Angie’s katana…

Their father still didn’t trust her in the same ROOM as a naked katana blade…

“Elecmon, do you know how to get to that mountain?”

“…Infinity Mountain?”

“Yeah.”

“You actually want to climb up there?”

Rose nodded as Patamon climbed onto her shoulder.

“That’s really not a good idea.”

“I know, but I need to find out about my family.”

“But…Devimon’s up there…”

“I know…but I need to ask him.”

“But he won’t just tell you. You’ll have to fight him.”

She shook her head stubbornly.

“No, I won’t! I won’t fight!”

“There has to be another way to find out.” Patamon reasoned.

“A way so we don’t have to fight Devimon.”

“Like asking him ‘pretty please’?”

“No, nothing like that…” Rose admitted.

“But…Do you remember what it was like when we were all laughing? You can’t help joining in, and then you can’t stop yourself…Like when you’re joking with your sister or friend or cousin, and it feels like you just ran a marathon…It’s the best part of friendship, of family…”

“That’s it!”

Elecmon seemed charged with his idea…

“You’re right! It’s all about being friends! Maybe we can use the power of friendship to return the island to normal!”

A bit uncertain at first, a smile crossed her face and she nodded.

“I’ve got to go to the Yokomon village and tell them the news!”

“Be careful!” Patamon warned.

“Have a good trip!”

“It’s just a feeling…But I really believe in it. Thank you!”

“You’re welcome!”

The pink-masked turtle watched as he ran off, and the wind played with her mask tails…

‘Maybe it’ll work…Maybe…Maybe it’ll help me find my family…’

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Sitting under a cliff, Rose was playing with the little baby Digimon.

A little Botamon was on her lap, when it suddenly stiffened…

“What’s wrong?”

In a poof of smoke, he became a Koromon.

“You Digivolved!”

“Hello, I’m Koromon!”

“Congratulations!”

Patamon seemed to think hard, looking up at his partner’s face…

That smile, the way she held the newly-Digivolved Digimon…

“…Remember, I’m your Digimon, Rosie…Someday, I’ll Digivolve, too…”

She blinked at him, a bit confused by the statement…

“Why? Is that bad, Pat?”

“No, but…”

“Do you want to Digivolve?”

“I’m just saying that it might happen, but I don’t really want it to…”

The orange-furred Digimon climbed onto her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek and neck…

“I want to stay like this forever…Always by your side…”

“I agree…Then we can be best friends forever.”

“Of course!”

Neither noticed the shadow behind them, connected to Leomon on the cliff above…