Digimon Adventures and Guardian Belief

“Oh, what do we do, what do we do? Those poor children, do you think they’re alright? What if they got hurt? We have to help them!”

Tooth was in the midst of a full-blown panic attack, zipping to and fro with anxious energy.

“If light was bad, why only effect a few children?” North wondered, studying the now-colorful lights.

“Not like it stopped them from believing.” Bunny agreed. “Still shining, if a bit different.”

“What does that mean, anyway?” Jack piped up, balanced precariously on the crook of his staff next to Sandy. “Did it…change them?”

Silence fell as the Guardians digested this new idea.

Was it possible…?

Sandy waved his arms to catch everyone’s attention, an array of symbols appearing over his head.

“You are right, old friend!” North boomed, grinning. “Will never find out if mortal or not by sitting! Everyone, to the sleigh!”

Bunny only had a few precious seconds to grumble before being pulled along, but they were worth it.

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Casey felt the mother of all headaches coming on, and for once, math was not to blame.

“Whoa…” Bee whispered, eyes wide with awe as her mind raced with the implications.

“So, you’re our Digimon now.” Kim reiterated, eying Tsunomon skeptically. “And whatever transferred you from your world to ours Bonded you to us.”

“Yep.” Bukamon answered happily, hovering in circles over Faye’s head so the teenager giggled and tried to catch him.

“But…why us?” Ma wondered, concern tinting her expression.

“We don’t really know.” Yokomon admitted softly.

“All we know is that you’re special!” Tokomon added, earning a giggle from Rocky for his enthusiasm.

“But what if someone finds them?” Ally worried, hugging Tanemon close. “And they think they’re aliens, and the police take them away, and the government gets them, and they end up in Area 51 with the aliens, and they get experimented on, and-”

“Ally. Chill.”

The blonde obediently began to take deep, calming breaths, and Casey let out a relieved sigh.

Looking over her friend’s nervous faces, she straightened up, and Koromon could almost feel the determination that steeled her.

“What’s with you guys? Nothing’s ever stopped us before! We’ll figure this out, and we’ll deal with it, like we always do.”

Her words emboldened the others, and they no longer seemed unsure or hesitant.

All of the Digimon could feel the surge of confidence like a wave rushing up the shore.

Then seven little stomachs growled angrily, demanding sustenance.

Laughing, Faye caught little Bukamon in her arms, grinning.

“Lunchtime!”

“How about a picnic?” Ma suggested, the worry lines around her mouth disappearing as she smiled.

“That sounds wonderful!” Ally agreed, beaming. “What do you think, Tanemon?”

“If there’s food, I’m there!” The little green Digimon assured, already excited.

Everyone seemed rather taken with the idea as well, and a roguish grin took shape on Casey’s face.

“Why don’t me, Kim, Rocky and Ma head to my house to make sandwiches?”

“I’ll get the strawberries!” Faye voiced, practically vibrating with energy as she squeezed Bukamon in joy.

“I-I have some ch-chocolates at home…” Bee offered, watching how Motimon’s fingers intertwined with hers.

“And I’ve got a blanket we can sit on!” Ally chirped.

“Then it’s settled! We’ll meet back up here in an hour, kay?”

The six other girls nodded, and the group split in two, one headed for the nearer apartment buildings and the other for the slightly-farther suburban dwellings in the opposite direction.

Hugging Tokomon like one would a treasured teddy bear, Rocky started up a lively conversation with the Digimon on all the types of sandwiches they could make, distracting the hungry little stomachs from the long walk.

Sometimes she would look up to Kim for confirmation on a treat that might still be in the fridge or a sweet still sitting in a cupboard, and the teenager’s entire face softened when she answered, the harsh edges smoothing over.

“What’s cheese?” Koromon asked, looking up at Casey with big, curious red eyes.

“Pretty much aged milk, I guess.”

“Ew, why would you age milk?” He replied, sticking out his tongue in disgust.

“You’ll understand once you try my amazing ham and cheese sandwich!” Casey assured brightly, a skip in her step.

“You add pickles.” Ma voiced, brown eyes warm in amusement.

“The pickles are what make it amazing!”

Kim rolled her eyes at the redhead’s antics, a secret smile hidden in the corner of her mouth when Rocky giggled.

Tsunomon looked up and caught a hint of it, but a new sound caught his attention before he could draw attention to the rare sight.

Tokomon’s ribbon-like ears twitched, and the flower on Yokomon’s head perked up, the petals opening as if trying to absorb information like most plants take in sunlight.

Casey stopped, feeling a strange tension in Koromon’s round little body.

“What is it?” Ma wondered, looking around with growing nervousness as Rocky pressed into her sister’s side.

If they concentrated, the girls could almost make out some sort of…droning sound.

“Bees?” Kim suggested, outwardly unaffected. “It is starting to get warm, so they should be getting active.”

The noise grew in volume, now an almost violent buzzing, and Casey felt the hairs on her arms stand on-end as a sense of dread took root in her gut.

“I don’t think it’s bees…”

At that exact moment, with a horrible grating screech, a massive red beetle landed in front of them, concrete and asphalt cracking under it’s armored feet as scissor-like jaws opened to let out a roar.

“It’s Kuwagamon!” Tsunomon shouted, and the ‘run for your life’ part seemed like more than just an implication.

So, taking that into account, the three teenaged girls came up with a plan…

They about-faced and ran like Hell.

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For the life of him, Bunny could not figure out how he had gotten stuck with Jack for a search partner.

Grumbling complaints under his breath as said winter spirit snickered, the Pooka checked the tracker North had thrust into his paws roughly ten minutes ago.

As the Guardians had gotten closer to the little town, the group of children had apparently decided to split up and head in different directions.

Bunny and Jack were following the larger half, but…

Why had they stopped moving?

The two spirits shared a glance, and Frost’s expression finally turned serious.

Something was wrong.

A roar, as if from some great beast, shook the buildings and parked cars like they were no more than children’s toys.

“This way!” Bunny shouted, racing towards the source despite every instinct in him screaming to go the other way.

He had to save those kids.

Jack did not hesitate a moment, flying after the fleet-footed Guardian of Hope on the strongest gust Wind could conjure.

Whatever that was, it did not sound friendly.

Or like a herbivore, for that matter.

Bunny rounded the corner at breakneck speed-

And crashed into another figure, sending both tumbling to the ground in a heap.

Quite a few choice words flew through the Pooka’s mind as his back started to ache, and he was ready to voice most of them when he was met with a pair of bright gold eyes upon opening his own.

Every word fled his mind, except one.

“Crikey…”