Digital Monsters, Digital Adventure

The desert sand scorched their feet, but the turtles were numb to the pain by now.

They were tired and hot and thirsty, and wanted a rest and shade more than anything.

Angie fretted over Koromon, who seemed almost ill, and Palmon tried to keep her own partner from falling over in exhaustion.

Tokomon seemed alright, but then again, he rode on his partner’s head.

“Koromon, hold on. You’ll make it, little guy.”

“Don’t worry, Angie.” Lily assured.

“We’ll all be fine as soon as we find some shade.”

“Yeah…”

“I haven’t sweated this much since Uncle Leo made us run five miles…” Elie whined, Biyomon trying to help her partner stay on her feet.

“Ya know, what we need right now is a whole bunch of shade…” Palmon stated dreamily…

“A big umbrella, or a really big tree…Or maybe I could grow into a giant cactus and smile down on all of you as I provide cool refreshing comfort…”

“…Pal?”

“Yeah, Lily?”

“I think you’re dream kinda came true…”

“Really?”

Looking up, the plant Digimon spotted the giant cactus.

It easily surpassed the height of most of the skyscrapers in New York, and was a bit thicker around than some.

“It’s HUGE…” Elie voiced.

“I bet there’s shade!” Gabriel added.

With that single thought pulsing through their bodies, the turtles ran towards the giant plant before them.

Izzy quirked an eye-ridge when she saw it waver…

‘What the hell-?’

Then, it disappeared with a crackle once they were a few feet from touching it.

“…It was a mirage…” Lily informed, disappointed.

“AWWWWW…”

Rose fell on her butt, too tired to try and stand.

“Damn mirage…” Z complained, Gomamon on her shoulder, drooping.

“Hello there! It’s about time you got here.”

Angie’s eyes widened.

“Gennai…”

The familiar rainbow column of light appeared from where the cactus had been, and Gennai appeared.

“I was just about ready to give up on you.”

“Gennai, we found the tags and some crests, just like you said…But when we fought Etemon, our Digimon couldn’t Digivolve.”

The sky-masked turtle cradled her partner close…

“And now Koromon is worse off than before…And I’m supposed to be helping him.”

“Calm down, kids. Let me explain.” Gennai soothed, seeing the group getting worked up.

“The tags and crests are extremely important. Make sure that no one else gets a hold of them. In the end, you shall see that they work together to help you create total harmony.”

“But…” Izzy started, then gathered her courage.

“What ‘bout ‘fere that? How are we supposed ta defend ourselves till we all get our crests? We can’t keep lettin’ what ‘appened to Koromon keep goin’ on!”

“Just trust me. After all, I’m the floating glowing guy. As for Koromon, he wouldn’t be so helpless if you knew how to care for him in the proper way.”

“But I’m doing the best I can! What else can I do?”

“Patience is what you need to learn, my friend. And you will learn it in time.”

Angie didn’t particularly like that fact…

Like her mother, she’d inherited somewhat impatient tendencies, and it was hard for her to be patient in certain situations.

Everyone knew it, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, so her father had tried training it out of her.

Nothing had worked, and now she had to fight through it without her parent’s guidance…

“I’m starting to lose my connection…Good luck.”

“Wait, Gennai!” Gabriel shouted.

“We need to ask you some more questions!”

But Gennai disappeared, leaving the group unsatisfied on the hot desert sand.

“For kami’s sake-!”

Z held back more colorful curses, having to satisfy herself with thinking them loudly in her head.

“…We don’t mean to take care of them bad…” Elie muttered, feeling a bit guilty.

Had they done something wrong?

How could they know?

“If only we knew exactly how to take care of them…” Gabriel muttered to himself, looking downhearted not knowing something so important.

“Don’t be so hard on them.” Gomamon advised the Digimon.

“They couldn’t know. And with the way things are, they’re doing their best.”

“…Thanks, little man…”

“No problem, Z.”

“We don’t blame you.” Biyomon assured.

“We aren’t sure why it didn’t work, either.” Gabumon added.

“…Still, we’ll figure this whole thing out.” Lily soothed, standing.

“I mean, we’re the Digidestined! And not only that, we’re ninja! If anybody can do this, it’s us!”

“But Lily…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

She smiled hugely.

“If our parents could fight an alien invasion and defeat the Shredder, I’m sure we can do this!”

Her optimism seemed to be just what the group needed, and they stood up.

“Right!” Elie stated.

“We can do it!” Rose agreed.

“Nothin’ can stop us!” Izzy exclaimed.

Something like a fog horn, and the group turned around…

“…Is that a cruise ship?”

Z nodded, and Izzy’s expression remained blank…

“…Is it comin’ fer us?”

“Uh huh…”

“…Not a mirage?”

“Nuh uh…”

“…Run?”

“Run.”

“…RUN!!!” Angie shouted, and the turtles bolted to the side.

The ship pulled itself to a halt beside them.

“WHOA…” Rose whistled.

“Who would want to take a cruise in this place?” Gabriel wondered.

“Crazy people.” Izzy replied.

A Numemon peeked over the edge, wearing a sailor suit.

“…Uh?”

Angie decided that getting some rest was more important than being cautious right then.

Before she could say anything, Lily stepped forward.

“Hi, there!”

She smiled sweetly, which seemed to catch the Digimon’s attention.

“Would you mind letting us on? I’d LOVE to see the rest of your ship…”

Her shyness seemed to be a turn-on, because the Numemon looked love-struck before he lowered the plank.

“…Nice job.” Z noted, smirking.

“That’s our cousin!” Izzy congratulated as the group stepped up the metal and into the ship.

The place SURE was fancy…

“I’m going to go take a shower…” Lily voiced, heading for it with Palmon.

“Me, too!” Elie agreed, running after with Biyo on her heels.

“I’m going to take a dip in the pool first.” Angie decided.

“Guess I’ll join ya…” Z stated, following her elder cousin.

The remaining three turtles shared a glance before a grin broke across their faces.

“FOOD!”

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Angie stretched out on the floating seat, sunbathing as the water cooled her occasionally.

She’d pulled off her clothes, wearing only the elbow and knee pads most of them still wore, and kept them with Koromon under an umbrella.

He was sleeping soundly, her tag and crest beside him.

Z was sitting on the edge, feet dipped in the cool water as Gomamon swam around her.

Her own pants were just rolled up to her knees, but her crest was left near Koromon as well.

“…What do ya thin’ our crests do ‘xactly?”

“I don’t know…Maybe it has something to do with the meaning…” Angie replied.

“…Like, mine is courage…and yours is reliability…Maybe it has something to do with that…”

“Maybe…”

“…What do you think he meant when he said we weren’t taking proper care of them?”

“No clue. We’ve done e’erythin’ ‘xcept give ‘em give ‘em an allowance. An’ e’en our parents don’t do that.”

“True…”

Angie still looked up worriedly at the blue sky…

‘I know we love them…isn’t that enough?’

She heard something strange, turned her head to the other end of the pool.

‘What are those Numemon doing?’

A net flew from their hands towards her, and she struggled against the ropes.

“Z!”

“Angie!”

The Earthbender stood up, ready to run around and beat on the Numemon holding the ends of the net, when another whipped through the air.

It lashed her limbs together, and with a cry of surprise she fell into the pool.

“Z!!!” Gomamon called, swimming forward to try and keep her afloat.

“G-Gomamon…” She sputtered, but she was being jerked towards the edge as another net flew for her partner.

“Marching Fishes!”

The colorful fish knocked it away, and he jumped onto the ground, facing the Numemon holding Z’s back against the side of the pool.

Two headed for the table Koromon sat on, intent on the two crests sitting up on it.

“KOROMON!”

“Koromon, Digivolve to…AGUMON!!”

Jumping down from the table, he warned them away.

“Pepper Breath!”

“Agu!”

A giant bird Digimon marched up, knocking the fiery attack away.

Z even stopped her struggling and sputtering to look up in shock.

“Oh no…Run, Gomamon!”

“I won’t! Not without you!”

“Go fin’ the others!”

The ropes tightened, and she struggled to breathe properly again.

“We’ll be fine! RUN!”

“Agu, get away!”

“It’s Kokatorimon! I can’t leave you with him!”

“Petrifier!”

The strange attack turned both Digimon to stone…

Z’s eyes widened.

“NO! GOMAMON!”

She thrashed violently as Angie almost trembled…

“Agu…AGU!!!”

Kokatorimon swiped their crests off the table, chuckling.

‘What are we gonna do now?’

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“Look at all the food!” Izzy exclaimed, mouth practically watering.

“It looks delicious!” Her sister agreed.

“But…well, it could be a trap. Remember what Devimon did?”

Tentomon sniffed.

“It doesn’t smell like a trap, Gabe.”

Everyone stared at the food before the three turtles shared another glance…

“Then again…” The blue-banded turtle started.

“…It would be rude to let this food get cold…”

The Digimon beamed.

“Then lets eat!”

Scarfing down the food like there was no tomorrow, they stopped when the Numemon skidded to an abrupt halt at the door.

“What’s up with them?” Rose wondered, pulling back as Tokomon jumped to the ground.

“Something’s wrong…”

He bristled, baring shark-like teeth.

“Tokomon-?”

The Numemon tried to strike, but Gabumon got in the way.

“Blue Blaster!”

“Why are they attacking us?!” Gabriel wondered, backing up as one threatened to tackle him.

“Super Shocker!”

It fell back, smoking a bit, and Tentomon hovered in front of his partner protectively.

“I don’t know, but there’s big trouble coming!”

“Bubble Blow!”

Kokatorimon slid through another doorway, catching the three Digimon by surprise.

“Petrifier!”

They turned to stone…

“BUDDY!”

“TENTO!

“TOKOMON, NO!”

Izzy glared…

“Ya’ll regret this yet, chicken-head…”

‘I’ll make sure ‘a it…’

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The water was so WARM…

Lily hummed to herself as she washed off the dirt and breathed in the soothing steam…

Elie seemed to be enjoying herself just as much, but pulled herself out first.

Towel-drying, she quirked an eye-ridge at the two Digimon that stayed so close to the door.

Pulling on her tank top and skirt, the orange-masked turtle finally decided to voice her curiosity.

“What are you doing, Biyo?”

“Something’s coming…” The pink Digimon replied.

“Dress quickly, and tell Lily to do the same. We’ll need to move soon.”

Trusting her partner, Elie pulled on her boots and jacket, grabbing her hat before peeking her head into the shower.

“Lily, you need to dry off now. Biyo thinks something’s up.”

“Alright…”

The violet-masked turtle stepped out, grabbing a towel and drying off before grabbing her own tank top and jeans from the hook.

Once dry, she pulled everything on before looking at her partner.

“Pal?”

“He’s coming to the door…”

“We can get out through the window. Go, Elie!”

Helping the youngest turtle through, she squirmed her way through right after.

Once the Digimon joined them, the pair started off at a run.

“Where are we going, Lily?”

The blue-eyed she-turtle tried to clear her head, turning a corner.

‘What would Izzy do?’

She took hold of the younger turtle’s hand…

‘Protect Elie…But how?’

Something got in their way, and she skidded to a halt forcefully.

Elie almost tripped going forward, and Lily helped right her.

“It’s Kokatorimon!” Palmon shouted.

“He’s just a giant chicken!” Elie replied.

“He’s bad news!” Biyomon explained, flapping her wings anxiously.

“Wait…”

Lily’s eyes widened.

“He’s got Angie and Z’s crests!”

The younger turtle seemed near tears…

“But what did he do with Angie and Z?”

“I ran into some of your friends by the pool, but don’t worry. They’re just drying off.”

Lily took a step back, ready to bolt…

“L-Lily…”

“Elie-.”

“You cackled once too often! Spiral Twister!”

“Poison Ivy!”

Both attacks missed or were ineffective, and the violet-masked turtle grabbed her partner’s hand.

“RUN, PAL!”

“Petrifier!”

“RUN!!” Elie agreed, grabbing Biyomon out of the air in a one-armed hug and following her elder cousin in their hasty retreat.

Turning the corner to avoid the attack a second time, Lily almost started panting.

She hadn’t had time to rest, and was beginning to tire.

“Come back here, you chickens!”

‘It’s not fair!’ She thought in her head.

‘First a giant teddy bear, and now a giant chicken!’

“Lily, what are we gonna do?”

“We’ve got to get the others and free the Digimon from whatever has them…”

Coming out at the front of the ship, Lily had to stop at the very front.

“…We’ll need to fight him…”

“But Lily…”

“There’s no other way. We can’t run anymore.”

Elie turned to see Kokatorimon ready to box them in…

“Biyo…”

“Pal, get ready.”

“Time to walk the plank!”

“BIYO, DIGIVOLVE!”

“GET HIM, PAL!”

“Biyomon, Digivolve to…BIRDRAMON!!”

“Palmon, Digivolve to…TOGEMON!!”

Birdramon took to the air quickly, rising up on the desert winds.

“Meteor Wing!”

Kokatorimon jumped back in alarm, quickly realizing he was becoming out-muscled.

“Meteor Wing!”

The two crests were dropped onto the planks, and Elie ran forward to scoop them up.

“Needle Spray!”

The dark-eyed little she-turtle ducked under the attack that sent Kokatorimon back, clutching the dark grey crest to her plastron.

“Light-Speed Jabbing!”

A sharp uppercut had the evil Digimon flying into one of the smoke stacks, and Lily ran forward to check on her cousin.

“We did it!” Elie cheered.

“Come on, Elie. Let’s go get the others.”

On the way, they met up with the other Digimon, free of whatever spell they were under.

Finding the strange net suspended above the pool, they all worked together to pull it down and free all the turtles tied there.

The Numemon removed their suits and abandoned ship, so Angie decided it was time to follow suit.

Once on the sand, they were back where they started.

Walking across blazing sand and having the sun beat down on their necks, and trying to keep from overheating.

“What are we going to do?” Gabriel wondered.

“Keep walking…” Angie replied.

“There’s nothin’ else we CAN do…” Z agreed.

“It hasn’t gotten any hotter, at least…” Rose pointed out, cradling poor Tokomon in her arms.

“Wait.”

Everyone stopped, seeing Izzy looking over her shoulder with narrowed eyes.

“I ‘ear somethin’…”

Something started speeding into view, and Lily’s eyes widened.

“It’s the ship!”

“And it’s heading straight for us!” Elie shouted.

“RUN!!!”

The group tried to move faster than they ever had before, muscles stretched and burning and pumping hard, but the sand slid under their feet and slowed their progress.

“Kokatorimon don’t know when ta give up!” Izzy snarled.

“We’ll show ‘em when ta stop!” Z replied.

“Look! The giant cactus is back!” Palmon pointed out.

“Get behind it!” Her violet-masked partner shouted, leading the group behind the giant needled plant.

The ship hit it full-force, but the cactus only bent backwards, taking the whole ship off the sand before flinging it into the sky.

The wire attached to it caused it to start pulling apart in midair, and then the cruise ship exploded.

Once the light died, Lily looked up at the giant plant that had saved them…

‘It’s huge…what’s that on top?’

It was a large, beautiful pink flower…

‘That’s strange…Then again, there are cactus in our world that have flowers…’

The flower seemed to be blooming slowly, catching everyone’s attention, and a large stone tablet came free, showing the symbol engraved upon it.

It tilted to face them, and Lily’s tag began to glow…

‘My crest…’

As the tablet glowed and move towards them, it shrunk.

By the time it was beside the she-turtle’s tag, it was the proper size to click into place.

With a clink, it settled against her plastron, the crest now green.

“It’s the Crest of Sincerity, Lily…” Palmon stated.

“Sincerity…”

Gabriel smiled.

“I think it suits you, sis. Sincerity…It means honest.”

Izzy grinned.

“That’s great fer ya, Lil. Don’t got ta worry ‘bout the tag messin’ up.”

Lily seemed uncertain, looking at the crest…

“I’m not so sure…But if Pal needs me to have this, then I’ll keep it.”

“Aw, Lily…”

‘I just hope I don’t mess up…’