Digital Monsters, Digital Adventure

“Look! A pizzeria!”

“Oh, dear lord…” Z mumbled.

“Come on!” Elie begged.

“I’m HUNGRY!”

With their watches on and Digimon in their arms, the turtles stood outside the restaurant.

“What do ya thin’, Fearless?”

“Well…”

Angie tried to ignore the hopeful looks…

“We should keep going, but…Our Digimon DO get weak when they’re hungry…”

Looking down, she was met with the adorable watery eyes of Koromon…

‘Must-Resist-CUTENESS! It’s too strong!’

“Oh, alright…A few pizzas won’t hurt, I suppose…”

“Yes!” Elie cheered, making humans stare at the strangely hyper little girl.

“Thanks, Koromon! Come on, Pat! We’ll get a jumbo pepperoni!”

“MAN, am I starvin’…Don’t eat it all, Elie!”

“AW…”

“Come on!” Lily urged.

Stepping into the warmly-scented restaurant gave them memories of home…

Like when Mikey wouldn’t burn the home-made pizza and the cheese was still warm…

“Trust me buddy, ya’ll love New York pizza. It’s the best!”

“If you’re sure, Izzy…”

“Positive.”

“Motimon, stop squirming!”

“But it smells so GOOD, Gabe!”

“We’ll get some right now, just stop fidgeting!”

Angie ordered three of the largest pizzas they had, each with a different topping; pepperoni, sausage, and cheese.

Sitting in a corner out of sight, all fourteen hungry stomachs devoured the food like crazed mongrels.

“Where do ya guys wanna go next?”

“Actually, Belle…Maybe we could go by Keishi’s place…”

“A’right, Fearless. I thin’ Jake’s there, too.”

“Maybe even Shadow…”

The three eldest cousins fell silent, remembering their boyfriends…

“Gomamon, that was my piece!”

“It didn’t have your name on it!”

“IT WAS ON MY PLATE!”

As girl and partner fought, the others smiled in amusement.

It was such a regular occurrence that no one minded it.

The two were only playing, after all.

“Rosie?”

“Yeah?”

“What are parents?”

The pink-masked turtle paused, putting her slice down as she noticed the other Digimon watching her as well…

“Well…parents take care of you. They love you no matter what, and they worry about you a lot. When you have nightmares, they chase the monsters away and rock you to sleep…When you’re hurt, they kiss the pain away…”

“They teach ya right from wron’, an’ ‘ow ta treat others…” Izzy added.

“They play with you and laugh and tell stories…” Elie remembered.

“An’ they’ll just ‘old ya ‘cause they wan’ ta an’ protect ya…” Z murmured in memory…

“They’ll sing you to sleep and show you all the special things about you…Make you unique and strong without changing who you are…”

“They’ll read your favorite books to you at night and answer all your questions without getting mad…”

Angie sighed, looking up at the ceiling…

“They want to fix all your problems and make sure you don’t cry…They’re stubborn and warm and protective and fierce and strict and loving…”

“…You miss them, don’t you?”

Misty crimson eyes locked with guilty burgundy, and she tried to reassure him.

“Everyone misses their parents when they’re gone…But I don’t regret meeting you for a second, little guy…”

Smiling, she patted his head soothingly…

“You’re my best friend and I love you like a brother…I wouldn’t be complete without you, Koromon…”

Once the other Digimon were likewise assured, the group finished off the pizzas and headed out.

Angie led the way to her boyfriend’s apartment, excitement beginning to fill her as the crimson-eyed girl realized she hadn’t seen Keishi since three days before their trip to the Digital World…

Koromon leeched off her eagerness, and wanted to meet the person that made Angie so happy…

Looking up at the ‘Second Time Around’ store, Lily froze.

“Wait!”

“What is it?” Her brother wondered.

“Aunt April and Uncle Casey!”

THAT got their attention…

“What ‘bout ‘em?” Izzy asked.

“Are they gonna tell pop ‘bout our Digimon?”

“We can’t tell ‘em, then. Ma would flip!”

“What would daddy think?” Rose questioned innocently.

Angie sighed, clenching her fists…

“He won’t think anything.”

The group locked with her serious crimson eyes.

“We won’t be telling anybody about our Digimon.”

“We can’t just lie!” Elie replied, almost hysterical at the thought.

None of them, except the three eldest, had ever really hid anything from the family, and even those secrets had been revealed.

“If we tell them that we’re fighting to save two worlds from the powers of darkness, they’ll never let us leave the lair!” Angie reasoned.

“The best thing we can do is look for the eighth child as discreetly as possible.”

“…What about Shadow?”

“An’ Jake?”

The normally sky-masked she-turtle paused, really thinking it over…

“…We can tell them, and they can help us out. But they’ve got to swear not to tell!”

“…Ya know, my pop’s got a ‘scare the shit outta Jake ta get info’ thin’, right? If any ‘a us are suspicious, ‘e’ll go ta ‘im first.”

“Then we can’t be suspicious, Belle.”

“Angie?”

She looked down at Rose and Patamon…

“Are we going to be okay?”

“…Yeah…We will be. Come on, guys.”

Hefting their Digimon onto their shells, the holographically-hidden turtles used the fire escape to jump up to Keishi’s apartment on the top floor.

Angie managed to slip the window open once her watch was off, and slid in with Koromon under her arm.

“Keishi?” She called.

“Angie?”

Jake came out of the kitchen first, beer in hand, as Izzy came in with Tsunomon.

“JAKE!”

Hugging him with one arm, she seemed to surprise him.

In Earth time, she’d seen him only a couple of days ago…

Lily came in after, the others following, and she carefully put Palmon on a chair when she felt an arm around her waist.

“Shadow…”

Happy as a puppy almost, she spun in his hold and kissed him.

Angie was just as ecstatic to see her own boyfriend, and kissed him soundly before he could get a full greeting out.

All three boys were confused, but Shadow was the one that noticed the biggest thing…

“What are those?”

“…Shadow…This is Palmon. She’s my Digimon.”

“…Digimon?”

The boys seemed disbelieving, but when Palmon stood up and showed she wasn’t a toy, they realized this must be serious.

“Hi!”

“What exactly IS a Digimon?”

“They’re from a parallel world like our own, only inhabited by Digimon. It’s called the Digital World.” Gabriel explained.

“Time flows faster there than here, so when we were gone there for months, it was only a few minutes in our world.”

“Why were you guys there?” Keishi wondered, settling on a couch with his girl on his lap.

“You see, we were chosen a few years ago to be the Digidestined because we saw two Digimon fight in the city. It was called a terrorist bombing.”

“I heard of that…” Jake mused.

“Digidestined?” Shadow wondered.

Everyone was seated, Digimon allowed to move about freely and explore the apartment.

Koromon stayed at his partner’s feet, studying Keishi, like Tsunomon and Palmon seemed to be doing.

They realized how attached their partner’s were, and only one thought really stood out in their minds…

‘If he hurts her, he’ll regret it!’

They wouldn’t have to worry about that, however.

Keishi, a black-haired, green-eyed ninja, was gentle with his girlfriend, and, having hurt her once, had vowed to never do so again.

Jake, a tough-looking green-haired, purple-eyed boy, was actually more of a teddy bear than a gang member now.

Shadow wasn’t in ‘uniform’, as he called it, showing his shaggy dirty-blonde hair and green and blue-tinted brown eyes.

He was called Shadow because of his vigilante/hero lifestyle, following in his father’s, Nobody’s, footsteps after he’d retired.

They understood the importance of the story they were being told…

“We’re meant to save this world and the Digital World from being taken over by evil Digimon. We came back because one came with a bunch of his minions to find…To find the eighth Digidestined child.” Gabe admitted.

“Why?”

“All eight of us have to be together to save our worlds.” Angie explained.

“And these little guys help you HOW?” Jake wondered, looking skeptically at little Tsunomon.

“’E can be tougher than he looks, honey. They get bigger an’ do some major damage.”

There was a cough, and the group swiveled to see Don and Mikey in the front hall.

“Oh…SHELL…” Z breathed.

Mikey looked somewhere between confused and excited, while Don seemed as doubtful as the boys had at the beginning of the tale.

“Digimon, huh?”

“Daddy, you’ve got to believe us…” Lily started, standing.

Palmon followed her, looking between them worriedly as Gabriel also got to his feet with Motimon.

“How much did you hear?”

“Everything. We would have come in, but Mikey insisted.”

“We wanted to hear what you guys were talking about.”

Mikey looked curiously at Yokomon and Gomamon, then up at his daughter’s eyes.

He may have seemed dense most of the time, but when it came to reading his daughters, he was a master.

There was truth and worry and this new light he’d never seen deep in their souls.

It was like love, warm and protective, light and fun…

Seeing the hopeful light in the eyes of the creatures in their arms, he decided he believed them.

“Donnie, I think they’re telling the truth.”

The smile he got from Elie and the sigh of relief from Z made him grin.

“Who are these little dudes?”

“This is Yokomon, daddy! But I call her Yoko!”

“Gomamon…”

“Cool.”

Ruffling his eldest’s hair, he caught the soft smile that played across her face before she seemed to start trembling.

“Z? You okay, baby?”

Like a rocket, she was hugging him, Rose not far behind him.

They were crying and clutching him close like they hadn’t seen him in forever…

Well, if he believed their story, they hadn’t even been in the same world for MONTHS…

Lily and Gabriel were trying to convince their father and hold back their joy at the same moment…

Seeing this, Don softened…

“…Come here.”

Like flashes of lightning, they were hugging and crying, and the purple-masked turtle’s skepticism melted away…

They wouldn’t be crying like this if they hadn’t been gone for months…

Probably with no idea how to get back…

He and his own siblings had gone through some strange things, so why was this so hard to believe?

Because it was his own children?

Palmon and Motimon hung back until their partners offered to share the embrace, and they jumped into the outstretched arms.

Once they’d calmed down, now the others were wondering how their parents would take it if they found out…

Oh SHELL…

“Uncle Donnie?”

He looked up at Angie, who fidgeted with Koromon in her arms.

“…You won’t tell our parents, will you?”

“…I understand why you don’t want to…” He started uncertainly.

“…If this whole ‘search’ thing is real, then I’ll trust whatever you all think is right.”

He could see that they’d grown, that they weren’t as naïve and innocent as before.

“Daddy?”

He looked down at his eldest daughter, seeing that her little Digimon was in her arms.

“This is Palmon.”

“And he’s Motimon.”

Don sighed, looking concerned…

“How are they going to protect you guys?”

“They can Digivolve, dad. It’s when they get bigger and go to the next level. They’ve been protecting us for months now.” Gabriel assured.

Suddenly, Izzy sharpened.

“Foot Ninja.”

It was a snarl, a warning, before a window was busted in.

“Buddy, move!”

Scooping up her partner, she delivered a hard kick to a ninja’s face.

“We need to get out of here!” Angie ordered over the noise of fighting, Koromon on her shoulder.

“MOVE!”

Even Don and Mikey reacted instantly to the leader tone in her voice, and soon all twelve of them were out the windows and running across the rooftops towards the large bridge.

It was actually closer than it seemed, even with seven of the girls carrying their partner’s along.

Then they were cut off by Hun on the bridge sidewalk…

“Holy SHELL, dude!” Z cursed.

“Can’t ya take a ‘int? We beat yer ass once today a’ready!”

“Bring it on, little turtle.”

“Ya don’t WAN’ me ta!” She growled.

“Z!” Lily shouted, pulling up water from below to knock away Foot Ninja.

Angie punched another in the face as Palmon jumped to guard her partner’s shell.

“Poison Ivy!”

Elie ducked behind her father with Rosie, who was also guarded by a determined Patamon.

Gabriel was doing his best to battle without his Bo staff, when Hun smacked him back with a meaty fist.

The blue-masked turtle tried to grab something, but…

He caught air, and felt his stomach drop as gravity took hold…

“GABE!!!”

“GABRIEL!!!”

“NO!!!”

Fear grabbed his heart as he felt the wind whip past him…

“MOTIMON!!!!!!!”

…

“Motimon, Digivolve to…TENTOMON!!”

Catching the turtle by his ankle, the bug Digimon managed to keep him from falling any further…

“Thanks, Tento…” Gabriel said breathlessly…

“Are you okay?”

Something began to rear out of the water, and it roared strangely into the air…

“Holy SHELL-!” Izzy started.

“What’s that?!” Rose wondered.

“It’s Gesomon!” Gomamon informed.

“We’ve got to get Gabe OUT of there!” Lily decided.

“Little man, thin’ ya can take ‘im?”

Gomamon grinned, nodding.

“I can beat him, no problem! Don’t worry, Z!”

The brown-banded turtle smiled up at her dad secretly.

“Now ya’ll see what these guys can do…Go get ‘im, Gomamon!”

As Tentomon managed to heft his partner back over as Izzy and Angie turned to beat off the strangling Foot Ninja, Gomamon free-fell towards the water…

“Gomamon, Digivolve to…IKKAKUMON!!”

Landing with a splash, he reared with a mighty wash of water and lunged with his horn at Gesomon.

“Get ‘im, Ikkakumon! Skewer ‘im!”

But the Earthbender wasn’t completely unaware of her surroundings…

A wire of metal smacked Hun through the air, and he almost fell over the edge.

Seeing that taking on an angry-eyed Earthbender twice in one day might not have been that great of an idea, he decided to retreat with the ninja and leave Gesomon to fend for himself.

Angie turned her attention to the edges of the bridge, which were beginning to flood with people…

“We need to get out of here.”

Z jumped onto the special guard railing, looking thoughtful…

“Who wan’s ta go fer a swim?”

Looking unsure, the adults still followed the four boys and six girls as they managed to climb down enough to reach Ikkakumon safely.

“Harpoon Torpedo!”

Smoke filled the air, giving them a smokescreen as they climbed onto the shaggy back and swam away…

Z hung onto his horn, proud as ever, and looked back at the others.

The seasoned Digidestined settled easily, almost drifting off to sleep…

Mikey and Don were asking questions that Gabriel answered easily enough, though most were above his uncle’s head, and they dropped the three boys off near Jake’s place.

After kissing goodbye, the two groups parted ways as the turtles headed for a sewer opening that was relatively close to the lair.

Once they were safely in a sewer tunnel, Digimon hefted onto shells or held in arms, Ikkakumon Dedigivolved so Z could catch him.

Don and Mikey led the way, taking the four curious Digimon’s questions in stride.

Tentomon seemed to be rather fond of his partner’s father, and was thinking of what his mother must be like from the explanations he received.

Palmon felt much the same, and Yokomon had already declared she liked Mikey very much and was eager to meet his wife.

Gomamon joked a bit, but made it clear he already felt a bond.

Reminding their partners that, except around them, Don, Mikey, Splinter, and Ari, they were to act like stuffed animals and keep utterly and completely SILENT.

Mikey already pointed out how well that would turn out…

Bad…

Still, the children believed in the plan as they walked into the lair and were faced with their parents…

“Yo. Ya guys took a while.” Raph pointed out.

“Don’t be like that, Raphie. They probably had a lot of fun.” Kasai replied.

She had gold/red hair, long and somewhat wild, and the gentlest gold eyes.

She was tall and slim, but she didn’t seem very delicate.

It was the air of a Firebender, and couldn’t be helped.

Rose paused, almost hesitant, as tears filled her eyes…

Patamon had to resist the urge to comfort her…

“…D-Daddy…”

The crimson/brown-eyed turtle looked a bit worried now…

“What’s wron’, Rosie? Did somethin’ ‘appen, sweet’eart?”

“Daddy!”

Almost jumping, she hugged him tight, Patamon hanging on her shell like a backpack.

She was crying, and Raph carefully lifted her into his arms and off her feet.

“It’s a’right, Rosie…Stop cryin’…”

Kasai would have tried to help soothe her if Izzy hadn’t been next, just holding her mother and crying, Tsunomon left on a nearby chair to watch solemnly.

“Lily? Gabriel? Are you alright? You look a bit knocked about…” Mizu pointed out, light blue eyes concerned.

She had long deep black hair, and was more of an average height, with tanned skin.

Lily and Gabriel almost tackled her in a hug, the warm love of their mother enveloping them in a warm embrace…

“Ya’ll seem a bit down. What ‘appened, Z?”

Elie felt tears seeing her mother…

Chi was petite by nature, but a darker skin color than the tanned Mizu and pale Kasai.

She had red/gold hair, though in a more spiky cut, and glazed black eyes from her blindness.

She had a tough air, much like Z, but you could see a gentleness in her that had not been there before she had children...

The orange-masked she-turtle enfolded her arms around the waist and muttered apologies and ‘I love you’s as she wept.

Z soon joined, and the Digimon, hanging back with Angie for the most part, saw the connection their partners shared with their parents.

It hurt them to know they might have been the reason for the separation…

“Angie? Are you home already?”

“We didn’t think you’d be home until later, Angel.”

Crimson eyes brimmed with tears…

“Dad…Mom…”

Artemis smiled a bit, trying to help…

“Don’t cry, Angel. Whatever happened is over now.”

‘But it’s not…’

Artemis, actually named Artemisia, was a humanoid turtle with the same jade-colored skin as her daughter.

Her crimson eyes seemed softer and, somehow, wilder than her child’s, and she wore a gold mask over her eyes.

Feeling overwhelmed, Angie ran forward and enveloped both parents in a hug, trying to hold back the tears in vain…

“Angie? Are you okay?”

“I-I’m okay, dad…”

Splinter walked in, immediately commanding respect from the room…

Trotting behind him was little Ari.

She smiled her greeting, but held back.

“Angie, did something happen?” Leo wondered.

“I…Dad, I-.”

“She had some troubles, my son.”

That caught everyone’s attention, and the Digidestined relaxed as they realized Splinter was going to help them…

“She came for advice as her cousins stayed at the convention. I gave her advice, but the rest was up to her.”

Leo looked at his eldest daughter, and noticed the change.

Her eyes, though watery, seemed…stronger…

Like she’d grown somehow and was able to hold herself up now.

“What was it?”

“Well…Dad, I really didn’t think I was going to make a great leader…” She admitted, unable to meet his eyes for a moment.

Realizing it was fear, she forced eye contact.

“But I’ve gotten through my…doubts and insecurities, and I think I’m up for it now.”

At least her grandfather understood what she meant…

That she’d traveled and realized what an important asset she was to her team…

“What are these?” Raph wondered, picking up Tsunomon.

“Toys we got near the convention.” His eldest daughter answered, carefully taking the In-Training Digimon into her arms.

You know, to keep their secret safe…

“They ‘ad these at a comic convention?” Chi wondered.

“There was an anime one in the same building.” Elie answered.

“We bought them as reminders.” Lily agreed.

“Alright…Time for dinner.” Artemis noted, herding the group into the kitchen.

Before taking seats, they piled the Digimon under the table…

‘I just hope these lies don’t come to bite me in the shell later…’ Angie thought glumly…