Digital Monsters, Digital Adventure

“Dad, are you sure this is okay?”

“Everything’s fine, Angie. It’s not like the world is going to end.”

‘I highly doubt that, dad…’

There had been a fog rolling in before they’d all set out at dawn, and the Digidestined knew what probably lay ahead.

Ari never left her sister’s side, gripping her hand tight, as Agumon kept a watchful eye from Angie’s shell.

Artemis and April were talking about old times, and Leo would sometimes join in when not trying to understand what was making his children so fidgety.

With a sigh to release the tension, the sky-masked turtle looked out the window…

“Uh oh…”

There were Bakemon and people being herded into the streets below…

“Angie? Is something wrong?”

She immediately closed the blinds.

“Nothing! Everything’s fine!”

Ari looked under the blinds…

“ANGIE…”

“It’s okay, Ari…”

A knock on the door…

“Aunt April, don’t!”

The red-head stopped, looking curiously at her ‘niece’ as her hand hovered over the knob.

“Why, Angel?” Artemis wondered, concerned.

“Just trust me. You do NOT want to open that door.”

Ari was already sliding behind her sister…

“ANGIE…I-I see th-the bad D-Digimon…”

“Digimon? What is she talking about?”

Angie looked almost pained, her expression mixed with concern and guilt and shame…

“I…I can’t tell you…”

“Why? What’s going on-?”

The door flew away in splinters, and April cried out…

“APRIL!”

Artemis darted forward, fire on her hands…

“Mom, don’t! It won’t work!”

The sky-masked turtle ran forward, trying to stop the Bakemon…

“ANGIE! Pepper Breath!”

The Bakemon around her were knocked away, and Agumon kept her younger sister behind him as Leo seemed to overload…

“Agu, take care of them-!”

Another scream, and April was being pulled out…

That wasn’t where the scream came from…

“Zombie Claw!”

Artemis held her bleeding arm, panting and glaring, when a dart hit her neck…

“MOM!”

“MOMMY!”

Slumping to the floor, the gold-masked turtle was unconscious before the Bakemon lifted her up.

“PUT HER DOWN, YOU LOUSY EXCUSES FOR DIGIMON!”

“Pepper Breath!”

Desperate for an escape from the vengeful Digidestined and her equally-enraged partner, the ghosts jumped out the window…

“SHIT-!”

Angie was at the sill, glaring down…

“Agu!”

“Agumon, Digivolve to…GREYMON!!”

The wall was busted open, and Angie pulled her sister onto her shell.

“Angela, what is going on?!”

“Dad, now isn’t the time for explanations!”

“Angela-!”

“Get on, dad.”

“But-.”

“Trust me!”

Standing on Greymon’s shoulder, one hand gripping his horn and the other keeping Ari up, her eyes softened…

“Trust me, daddy…”

Greymon kept still, understanding how pivotal this moment was…

“…Alright…But you’ll tell me everything you know.”

“Right. Not now.”

“Right…”

The blue-masked turtle jumped onto the opposite shoulder, and Greymon jumped down to the street below, making a spider web of cracks outside of the crater around his feet…

“The others are probably in trouble too, Greymon! We’ve got to save Aunt April and mom before we can look for them!”

“I’m on it!”

He started chasing after the mob of humans and Bakemon at a thundering pace…

“Shadow Scythe!”

Angie cried out, moving away as Greymon’s shoulder was cut…

“GREYMON!”

“Well, Greymon…It looks like your time is up.”

“Phantomon…” She growled.

“Nova Blast!”

Phantomon dodged, and a chunk of a building fell away…

“Sorry, Angie…I’m losing it…We’ll get them later…”

Watching her partner’s pained eyes, Angie nodded, putting Ari in her place.

“You take them somewhere safe, Greymon. I’ll get my mom.”

“Angie, no!”

He caught her before she jumped far, and the she-turtle struggled.

“We need you, too! I can’t fight without you!”

“Greymon-!”

“If we lose you, we won’t stand a chance! What about Ari?”

That seemed to reach her, and the dinosaur Digimon almost cuddled her as he turned to flee…

“I’m sorry, Angie…But everything will turn out alright. I promise.”

He felt the tears on his skin, and his heart ached…

“And I don’t break my promises…”

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Izzy stopped, Gabumon on her back, on a rooftop, looking around warily…

“What’s wrong?” Jake wondered, seeing both turtle and partner tuned-in to something he couldn’t sense.

“Somethin’ ain’t right…”

“You mean the fog?”

“Yeah…An’ somethin’ else…”

The crimson-masked she-turtle scanned the other rooftops, and then the streets…

“It’s empty out, ain’t it?”

“You’re right…I’ve never seen the city so quiet…”

“…Then I’m right. Somethin’s goin’ on.”

Jake tried to catch up with her high jumps…

“And what’s up then?”

“My guess? Myotismon.”

There was a cry, cackling laughter…

“Damn it!”

Dropping into an alley, Izzy’s eyes widened.

“Pop!”

“Izzy?”

Raph kicked a Bakemon back.

“What are ya doin’? Get outta ‘ere!”

Stubborn by now, she let her partner down.

“I’m yer only chance…”

“Blue Blaster!”

The Digimon were knocked back, and Raph and Casey watched as the little blue-furred creature defeated all the Bakemon rather easily.

“…Izzy, what’s up wit’ this?”

“Pop, it’s a LON’ story…An’ I don’t thin’ I understand ‘alf ‘a it…”

The gold-eyed she-turtle looked up at her father, holding Gabumon’s hand…

“I’ll explain it once we get somewhere safe.”

Jake nodded in agreement, and the four headed back up to the rooftops, Gabumon on his partner’s shell.

They found a warehouse that seemed safe, and settled down before Raph tried to pry free information.

Jake stopped them when they heard someone coming…

“Izzy?”

“Fearless?!”

Angie slipped in, Agumon and Ari directly behind her as Leo followed.

“Izzy! Uncle Raph! Uncle Casey! Jake! You’re all okay!”

Angie looked sincerely relieved, a smile breaking out across her face.

“Now that there’s no imminent danger…”

She got the point…

“Alright, alright…I guess you’ll all want to be hearing this…”

The sky-masked turtle sat on some crates, rubbing Agumon’s arm as Ari leaned into her side.

Izzy plopped onto the cold cement nearby, Gabumon draped over her shell to keep her warm…

“Look, you know when we went to that comic convention a few days ago?”

“Yeah.”

“’Course.”

“Well…We didn’t.”

“What were you doing?” Leo demanded.

“On the way there, we were transported through a portal into the Digital World…It’s a parallel world made from broken data from the world wide web…It’s where the Digimon live. We were there for months…And we learned we’re the Digidestined.”

“It’s our job ta save both our worlds from bein’ taken o’er by e’il Digimon.”

“Our Digimon can Digivolve, like Agumon did back at Aunt April’s place. They can become more powerful than that if we use our crests.”

“An’ what would those be?”

“These.”

The two eldest cousins showed the tags and crests around their necks.

“Each one’s got a different meanin’. Mine’s friendship.”

“Mine means courage.”

“…The others are in on this?”

“It’s not a prank!” Angie replied, offended.

“And yes, they are. They have their own crests, too. And those stuffed animals? Digimon.”

“Ya e’en let ROSIE do this?”

“I didn’t ‘ave a choice, pop!” Izzy defended, eyes fiery.

“If I coulda stopped ‘er, I woulda! But she loves Patamon, an’ I ain’t gonna pull ‘em ‘part fer anythin’!”

“What about Ari?”

“She is…We came back to look for the eighth Digidestined…Myotismon…The evil Digimon that’s making this whole thing situation…He’s trying to find her…”

“Why?”

Leo felt like he didn’t want to know, and Ari hid her face in her sister’s side…

“He’s trying to find her so he can kill her…He even recruited the Foot…And the Shredder…”

“Wait a sec!”

Izzy turned accusing eyes to her only elder.

“Ya didn’t tell me Ari was the eighth child!”

“There was no time!”

“There’s no time for fightin’!” Casey shouted.

“…Now what are we gonna do now?”

The two eldest Digidestined shared a glance…

“Leave that to us.”

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“Lily?”

“It’ll be alright, Elie.”

“But…Mommy…”

“She got away with Biyomon, remember? Besides, we still have Pal.”

“Right…”

With their watches on, they blended in well with the panicked crowds in the overcrowded mall…

“What can we do?” Elie wondered, feeling vulnerable with Biyomon by her side…

‘Biyo, go with my mom!’

‘But Elie-!’

‘Take care of her! PLEASE!’

‘I promise! I’ll come back and save you, Elie!’

‘I hope so…’ The orange-masked turtle thought…

“Lily?”

Looking up, her face lit up…

“Aunt Kasai?”

The Firebender nodded, smiling.

“Do you have a plan?”

The violet-masked Waterbender seemed deep in thought, a blanket-swathed Palmon on her lap…

“…I don’t know…”

“…Mind over Matter…”

Looking over her side, the blue-eyed turtle quirked an eyebrow…

“It’s how me and Z beat the Bakemon before. We made a chant, and it weakened them.”

“What chant?”

“Bakemon, lose your power.”

Standing, Lily nodded…

“I’ve got a plan. We need all of these people to help, though.”

“Leave that to me!”

Elie ran off into the crowd, and Lily was making a sign when the little turtle returned with a group of willing humans.

“Then let’s go.”

Repeating the chant hundred-fold, the Bakemon fell like flies as they ran…

“Elie, you take the men that way and free the others, and I’ll take the women and children!”

“Right!”

They split off, and Lily hit the bottom floor in the sunlight when something crashed…

“Crap-!”

“It’s Darktyrannomon!” Palmon informed, throwing off the blanket.

“We’ve got to protect these people! Protect Elie!”

“I’m on it! Palmon, Digivolve to…TOGEMON!!”

The cactus Digimon faced off against the black and red-striped dinosaur…

“Light Speed Jabbing!”

“Togemon, you got him! Hit him again! Right hook! Left jab! Uppercut! UPPERCUT!”

Darktyrannomon threw Togemon to the floor…

“NO!”

“Fire Blast!”

“I’m okay…”

“TOGEMON, STOP! I DON’T WANT YOU TO GET HURT! TOGEMON!!!”

“Don’t worry, Lily…I’ll take care of him…”

“Oh, Togemon…”

A punch caught her across the face, and Lily fell to the floor hard…

‘What was-?’

Her head snapped up…

“Bishop…”

“It seems I have only two choices. Subdue you or destroy you. With your friend a bit…BUSY…at the moment, I suppose I’ll try the former…”

Flipping to her feet, she pulled moisture from the air.

“I don’t think so…”

Attacks flew, were blocked, dodged, and her heart pounded faster and faster in anxiety…

‘It’s over…We’re all doomed…’

A kick caught her in the stomach, and her back hit a wall…

‘Myotismon won and now Togemon and Gabe and everybody else is going to suffer…’

A hand over her throat, choking her…

“Any last words, my little flower?”

‘I won’t let it end like this…I won’t!’

“I won’t let you win…”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“If I can do anything…It’s protect my family!”

Her crest began to glow, blinding agent as she kicked him in the face.

A tear fell, hitting her crest…

“My family is everything to me, and I won’t let you hurt them!”

The glow was so bright, so warm…

‘Sincerity…’

“Togemon, Digivolve to…LILLYMON!!”

“She…Digivolved…” Lily stated in amazement…

“Flower Cannon!”

“Go get him, Lillymon!”

The Waterbender avoided a kick, bringing water up to knock Bishop off balance and away.

Lillymon seemed to be doing exceptionally well, as was her partner…

“Flower Wreath!”

Freezing Bishop to a structural beam, Lily breathed out before looking up as her partner tamed a once-raging Darktyrannomon.

Meanwhile…

Elie cried out, and was smacked back into a balcony railing.

“It’s the end of the line for you, my pretty little miss.” Phantomon stated.

The orange-masked she-turtle was TERRIFIED…

‘Oh, Biyo…Where are you?’

“Seize her. Take her away.”

Two Bakemon grabbed her arms, but dark eyes opened in confusion…

“Mommy? Biyo?”

A nod, and both turned, throwing off their disguises…

“Biyomon, Digivolve to…BIRDRAMON!!”

The earth rumbled as the phoenix Digimon took flight…

“Oh, it’s just a bird…A large bird, I’ll grant you…A large, angry bird-AHHHH!!!”

“Mommy!”

“Stay back!” Chi ordered, earth shards trying to strike at the non-earthbound Bakemon…

“But-!”

“Ya should go!”

“But…Oh, mommy…I’m sorry!”

“There ain’t a thin’ fer ya ta be sorry ‘bout! An’ now ain’t the time! GO!”

“I-I couldn’t-!”

“They’ll need ya somewhere else!”

Back with Lily…

“We did it! YES!”

“We’ll see about that!”

The violet-masked turtle tensed…

“Myotismon…”

“Back to the Digital World with you!”

Darktyrannomon disappeared, and the Flower Wreath fell to the ground…

“You, meddlesome little flower-child…It’s time I plucked your petals! Crimson Lightning!”

“LILLYMON!!”