Chapter Text
Akatsuki rushed out of the bathroom, hurrying back over to the nightstand by the beds. She picked up her Codebreaker from the drawer, looking at the screen:
NAME: veloci.mon
PARTNER SIGNAL LOST
NAME: gankoo.mon
LEVEL: (data unavailable)
ATTRIBUTE: (data unavailable)
Akatsuki frowned at the screen. “Signal lost? What the hell does that mean?”
Keramon floated over to her. “Uh oh. She might be intending to end your Partnership.”
“End our Partnership!? Just because of one argument!?”
“Maybe that argument was just the final straw. How much trouble have you guys had since you started the Partnership?”
Akatsuki sat at the edge of the bed, squirming from both nervousness and a desperate need for the bathroom. She hadn’t treated Velocimon that poorly, had she? She didn’t always do what Velocimon wanted to do with her, but that was usually because she couldn’t. Their apartment was too small, and it was too risky for her mother to find them, and the likelihood of her mother throwing Velocimon out was way too high. And Akatsuki had been planning to give Velocimon a place to play, where she didn’t have to be holed up in her room. This stupid mission had just…
It had overwhelmed the poor kid, hadn’t it? Velocimon was so young, and this mission was asking a lot of her.
“She couldn’t have gotten far,” Akatsuki said. “You guys need to go after her- I’ll be right behind as soon as I’m done in the bathroom.”
Kokoro nodded. “Pulsemon, let’s go.”
Pulsemon nodded, following Kokoro out of the inn room. Tohru and Keramon weren’t too far behind.
Velocimon didn’t want to admit it, but as she left the inn and entered the next town over, she realized she wasn’t quite sure what to do. She didn’t know how to maneuver around the city, or how to find D.E.S.T’s main base.
As it turned out, it was easier to make a plan than to enact it.
Who would have thought?
Ah well, at least she didn’t have to be quietly abandoned anymore.
Velocimon had enough fun running around the city. She leapt across cars and trash cans, her presence illuminated by the flames on her head. A few late night pedestrians paused as they spotted her. Velocimon playfully leapt toward them, chasing them off.
“Hey, what are you doing in the open like this?”
Velocimon paused, searching for the voice. She tentatively stepped toward an alleyway, spotting a shape in the darkness. The orange glow from her flames glinted off of the creature’s eyeballs- and those eyeballs seemed strangely spaced. The creature didn’t seem to be that large, so she didn’t think its head was that massive. (It was the only way she could determine why the eyes were spaced like that.)
“Can you come a tad closer?” Velocimon asked.
“No way! I don’t want to risk getting nabbed by those Digimon hunters!”
Velocimon brushed him off. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about them while I’m around. I’m the strongest Digimon there is, didn’t you know?”
“Does that make you a Royal Knight?”
Was she really only of value to anyone if she was a Royal Knight? What was the point of saving other Digimon if they were worthless compared to giants like them?
Well, maybe that was the only way she could lure this Digimon out of hiding.
“I’m ‘Royal Knight adjacent’,” Velocimon said. “I uh… I was created in a lab. With Gankoomon’s DNA.”
The eyes disappeared. “Tch. Sure you were. Go ahead and prove it.”
Velocimon rubbed her chin in thought. That would be kind of hard. It wasn’t like she had any of his powers.
Except…
“You have to contend with those Asura thingies, right?” Velocimon asked. “Well, I can sense where they’re gonna come from.”
She summoned her clones, her chest puffed out. “And I can destroy them in one fell swoop.”
The figure hummed in thought. He finally stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself as a kind of impish figure with a dark cowl- and eyes on the palms of his hands.
“Those guys might be kind of handy,” the Digimon said. “Can you make them do anything you want?”
Velocimon analyzed the clones. “Pretty much. I’m still practicing with using them to their full potential.”
The Digimon grinned. “Well, while we’re looking for an Asura for you to destroy, why don’t we have a little fun? I want to see what those things are capable of- and if we find those Digimon hunters, we may be able to use those to give them the slip.”
Velocimon dismissed her clones. “Oh, that’s way too simple for me. It’ll be fun traveling with you.”
The Digimon put his hand out. “The name’s Dracmon. It’s nice to meet you.”
Velocimon winced at his hand. “Is it alright to grab your hand like that?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”
Velocimon took his hand. “Right. I’m Velocimon.”
And the two of them went on their way.
The Digimon in the mini-safehouse decorated their respective territories. They found houses to settle in, with a few of them taking out the supplies they managed to bring with them. Lekismon, in particular, unloaded a few vegetables she had stolen from the markets in Tokyo. She was surprised that they digitized in this place- did the presence of Digimon energy transform it somehow?
It wasn’t like she was complaining, of course. Far from it.
Turuiemon arrived at the edge of the Homerian Vaccine territory, waving at the others. Lekismon, as the group’s unofficial representative, approached them.
“I’m here to build farm plots for you,” they said.
“Would you be willing to let me help with that?” Lekismon asked. “I’ve been twiddling my thumbs since sorting through my supplies.”
“Of course, of course. Come on.”
They set about digging together, plowing the soil at the center of the territory. Turuiemon started tearing a chunk of Digi-Meat into small chunks, preparing to plant it.
“Wait, don’t fill the whole plot with those,” Lekismon insisted. “I have some vegetables that I want to try planting.”
“Really? Did you… want to lend some to me? I’d like to give them to the other territories.”
Lekismon frowned, backing up. “I’m not sure I trust an Yggdrasili to take my hard-earned goods.”
Baboongamon groaned from his perch. “Why do we have to have so many farm plots? Why can’t we have one at the center of the village? That would be simpler to keep track of.”
Kabukimon quickly came over to slap him on the back of the head. “Don’t tell me you enjoyed being seen as a savage. That’s what will happen to us if we mingle with those Yggdrasili.”
Lekismon nodded in agreement. “Besides, this is only a temporary residence. We don’t want to make a permanent home here.”
“Then does that mean you want to hold on to your vegetables until we arrive at the safehouse?” Turuiemon asked.
Lekismon folded her arms in thought. “Oh gosh, well now I don’t know.”
“You may as well plant them,” Kabukimon said. “We don’t know how long it will take for that dumb Royal Knight to bring us to the safehouse, and I don’t want to subsist on just Digi-Meat the entire time.”
Baboongamon winced. “Ooh, but will us having vegetables spark jealousy in the other camps?”
Turuiemon raised their hand. “Oh! Oh! One last thing, before I forget! Sir Gankoomon is lightly tampering with the server- trying to give it accurate skies to the time outside. So don’t be surprised if the sky changes on you.”
“Good to know,” Lekismon nodded.
With that, Turuiemon set off. Lekismon walked back over to her friends, holding onto her vegetables. Maybe it would be better to wait until some time had passed before she planted them. It would be good to gauge the atmosphere in this “mini-safehouse” before setting off on something like that.
“You may as well plant them, Lekismon,” Kabukimon insisted. “I doubt that Royal Knight is going to do anything to take care of us.”
“But he brought us here…,” Baboongamon muttered.
“Don’t forget they were the ones who started the war. I saw their black knight cross the border, and then the rest of them rushed in to accuse one of ours of crossing.”
Lekismon nodded in agreement. “They were chomping at the bit to start a war with us for millennia. It wouldn’t surprise me if those Yggdrasili were planning to get rid of us for good.”
The three of them sat together silently, the sentiment echoing through their minds. Then they all shivered at the implications. Those Yggdrasili were planning to kill them all, weren’t they? What if they were planning something right now?
“Lekismon, you should go do reconnaissance,” Baboongamon said. “We need to figure out what they’re planning.”
“No way! You go do reconnaissance!” Lekismon retorted. “Since you’re so eager to share our hard-earned goods with the enemy!”
“Look at me! They’ll attack me on sight!”
Kabukimon crossed his arms. “We should be prepared for an assault, then. Do we want to recruit the Homerian Virus Digimon to our cause? They can give us the numbers to achieve victory.”
Lekismon nodded. “We may as well. Typing doesn’t matter as much as your homeland does. That’s the one thing we can agree on.”
Baboongamon winced. “Does that mean I really have to go?”
Lekismon and Baboongamon frowned at him.
Baboongamon sighed, lumbering off. Lekismon ran in the opposite direction, gearing up to negotiate with the Virus Digimon. An assault was incoming, and they needed to be ready.
The sky above “Nansei Village” changed from bright blue midday to late sunset, just as the Data Digimon told them. Loogamon sat on the rooftop, watching the sky change. It didn’t quite have the same feeling as a natural sunset, which only served to remind him of their circumstances. It was times like these when he really missed home.
Fanbeemon fluttered over to him. “Loogamon, there’s an emergency.”
Loogamon turned to look at her. He wasn’t sure why everyone was deferring to him for advice- wouldn’t it make more sense to seek out Nanomon? But he wasn’t exactly complaining. It was high time everyone gave him proper respect.
“What is it?” Loogamon asked.
“We just did our most recent headcount, and we can’t find Elizamon. I don’t know where she ran off to.”
Loogamon frowned. “She better not be turning traitor on us.”
Tinkermon, who was perched on a nearby tree, fluttered onto the rooftop. “Why? Just cuz she was hanging out with that vorvomon? What’s wrong with that?”
“Ugh, don’t you remember what we taught you?” Fanbeemon asked. “The Homerians started the war when they sent one of their spies after Alphamon. And then they had the gall of accusing us of wanting to start a war- as if we don’t have anything better to do than fight big, costly wars. You should know what it means if Elizamon has chosen them over her own people.”
Tinkermon crossed her arms. “Why does it have to be like this? Why can’t we all just live together and get along? I’d give anything to hang out with Biyomon again.”
Loogamon snorted. “Put Biyomon out of your mind. I’m sure she’s already forgotten about you.”
He then caught something in the corner of his eye, and looked down to find Gankoomon walking toward the house. His footsteps faltered, and his shoulders hung heavily with exhaustion. Loogamon almost thought that the Royal Knight had gotten lost heading to his actual destination, wherever that was.
“Hey, what’s Gankoomon’s Typing?” Fanbeemon asked. “I don’t want to have to hate him.”
Tinkermon flew off of the roof. Loogamon hopped down, racing after her as she ran toward Gankoomon. She tackled Gankoomon in a hug. Loogamon winced as he watched her- that was a rather forward approach to give to a Royal Knight. But Gankoomon didn’t seem offended, giving her a friendly pat on the head.
It was a relief that Gankoomon was the one here. She would have been toast if she tackled any other Royal Knight in a hug.
“How are ya?” Gankoomon asked her. “Settlin’ in well?”
Tinkermon released him. “For the most part. I miss some of my friends, but I’m not worried about those Digimon hunters coming for us, so that’s nice.”
“Good to hear it. For a moment, I was worried this place wouldn’t suit y’all.”
Loogamon padded up to him. “Are you alright, Gankoo-Sama?”
“Just Gankoomon. Don’t give me that ‘sama’ crap.”
He stifled a yawn. “...And I’m fine. Turns out, if ya wanna hook up this server to the laptop’s clock, ya have to manually stitch ‘em together. It’s harder than it sounds.”
“We’ve been cleaning up the houses, getting them ready for nighttime. This one over here should be ready, if you wanted to take a quick nap.”
Gankoomon pressed a hand to his forehead. “I shouldn’t. I still have to make the rounds through the other camps. I don’t want that to slip my mind.”
“You’ll do better work if you’re properly rested, won’t you?”
Gankoomon hummed in thought. “...S’Gettin’ hard to focus right now. I s’pose a quick nap wouldn’t hurt. Can you guys do me a favor, though?”
Tinkermon set her hands behind her back. “Of course. We’d do anything for you, Gankoo-Sama.”
“The other reason I came here was to give somethin’ to Nanomon. Could you bring him over here? And either wake me when he gets here, or just wake me in twenty minutes. Whichever comes first.”
“I can do that. And you’ll take care of him, won’t you, Loogamon?”
Loogamon nodded. “Come with me, Gankoomon. Let’s get you settled in.”
Tinkermon flew off on her quest. Loogamon led Gankoomon into the house. There were a few other Digimon putting things away in storage, pausing as Gankoomon arrived. Loogamon led him into one of the rooms, which held two beds in it.
“It should be comfortable enough for you in here,” Loogamon said. “Make yourself at home. I’ll come fetch you in twenty minutes.”
Gankoomon scoffed tiredly. “Y’all are too kind. I hardly deserve this.”
“Don’t say that. After everything you’ve done for us, we’re more than happy to return the favor.”
Gankoomon nodded. He climbed into one of the beds, passing out as soon as his head hit the pillow. Loogamon left the room, closing the door and giving the Royal Knight his space. Fanbeemon flew inside, hovering straight up to Loogamon.
“What is he doing here?” Fanbeemon asked. “We should ask him to help find Elizamon.”
“Hm, now there’s an idea. I’ll tell him in twenty minutes, once his nap is done.”
Fanbeemon crossed her arms. “He can afford to take a nap at a time like this?!”
“Even Royal Knights need to rest. Now keep it down, and don’t bother him.”
Fanbeemon huffed.
Velocimon and Dracmon found their way to a mall. It was getting close to closing time, so the crowds were quite thin. Velocimon and Dracmon didn’t concern themselves with the shoppers as they went along. Why would they? Velocimon was more than capable of fending off any sordid souls.
“So where should we start first?” Velocimon asked. “Do we want to find an ice cream shop? Or maybe go to the music store? Or-Or the electronics store? I think that’ll be the place where they have music players.”
“You like music that much?”
“Yup yup! I’ve always wanted my own iPod, but I’ve had to make due with borrowing Akatsuki’s. And she always gets on my case for trying to download extra songs on it, but she doesn’t even use it anymore.”
“...Akatsuki?”
Velocimon winced. “My Tamer. I’ve run away from her, but we haven’t formally cut ties yet. It’s only a matter of time. She chose… she chose a Royal Knight over me.”
“Oof, that’s tough. I can’t imagine any other Digimon a Tamer would ditch their old Partner for. Humans are too risky to Partner up with. I was interested in the idea before, but after running into those Digimon hunters, I said ‘no thanks’.”
They paused at the intersection between two hallways. A janitor marched along as he swept, jamming out to a song on his walkman. It was quite surprising to run into him.
Well, it was surprising to find an existing walkman in this day and age.
“If you want a music player, that’s not a bad place to get it,” Dracmon said. “What’s your plan?”
Velocimon grinned. “I’ll tackle him, and you’ll grab the walkman.”
Dracmon cracked his knuckles. “Sounds good.”
Velocimon summoned her clones. Together, they tackled the janitor, knocking him to the ground. His broom fell to the side, and Dracmon leapt over it. He jumped onto the janitor’s chest, putting up his palm-eyeballs.
“Eye of Nightmare!”
A dark aura came from Dracmon’s palm-eyes, floating into the janitor’s face. The aura cleared, and the janitor’s gaze grew unfocused.
Dracmon grabbed the walkman. “Come on! Let’s go!”
Velocimon dismissed her clones, hurrying down the hall after Dracmon. They snuck into a bathroom to hide, catching their breaths. Dracmon chuckled, holding up the walkman. “What do you think? We did pretty good, didn’t we?”
Velocimon looked at the walkman, her heart sinking. Something about this felt wrong, and she didn’t know why. She had stolen things before, and she had a justification for it each time.
Well, it was just money she had stolen. And the group needed money in order to get by.
She didn’t really “need” a walkman.
She should be allowed to have a walkman though, right? She wasn’t with Akatsuki anymore. She could have anything she wanted, and no one could argue against it.
Velocimon sighed, shaking her head. She couldn’t let it go.
“You can have that, if you want,” she said. “Walkmans aren’t that great, anyway. You don’t get to put as many songs on those tiny little cassette tapes.”
“Hm, I wonder what songs this guy does have on here.”
Dracmon put the headphones on, playing the walkman. After a minute, he took the headphones off, saying, “I have no idea what any of those songs are.”
He handed the headphones to Velocimon, offering her the chance to listen. Velocimon put them on, listening to a few minutes of the first song. Her face lit up, and she announced, “Ooh, Bump of Chicken! That janitor guy is cool, actually!”
“What is that? Is that like Shoutmon’s music?”
Velocimon’s smile faded just as quickly. She took the headphones off, saying, “I don’t know. I’ve never heard their music.”
“It’s pretty good. And so was that music, from the few minutes I listened to it. I’m not sure how I could show you Shoutmon’s music. I think most of our music recordings were destroyed when the world shattered. Unless we find some super neurotic guy that hoards everything they own, I’m not sure we’ll find it.”
Velocimon’s head drooped down. “I guess you guys have a lot of different songs and traditions and things like that.”
Dracmon shrugged.
“And I was born in this world, so… so I don’t have any of that…”
Dracmon quickly patted her on the back. “Hey, why don’t we pull a prank on that Royal Knight guy? Getting one over on your rivals is always a good spirit lifter.”
Velocimon blinked at him. “Are you serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life. What’s his name? I need to do my research.”
“...It’s Gankoomon. I mentioned him before, remember?”
Dracmon rubbed his chin. “Hm, not much of a challenge. He’s always coming around to visit the little folk. No matter. We’ll come up with a good prank against him. Let’s grab the stuff we need.”
Dracmon led the way, and together they set off on their supply gathering mission.
All the while, a small, robotic bear creature stalked them from the shadows.