Here’s a useful tip for life: if you’re finding that traversing the sea on a giant turtle kaiju shell is not the most interesting thing that’s happened to you today, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re doing far too much, and that you should definitely take a break. Maybe have a quick power nap. There’s always more excitement remaining for tomorrow.

Admittedly Chelydramon’s shell wasn’t the comfiest of places to sleep, but due to the handy pockets between the plates the group found they were fairly safe from prying eyes, and more importantly, from rolling off (though Callum did have the tendency to roll around in his sleep a lot, so begrudgingly he was given the central pocket, which was large enough for him to wedge himself inside. Just like a sleeping bag, albeit one buried two-thirds into the ground.

The turtle tried her best to keep her jostling to a minimum, but she wasn’t doing a very good job. Not that it mattered, as pretty soon all five children had zoned out completely, the past few hours – scratch that, the past day or two – having taken far too much out of all of them.

Consequently, nobody was conscious by the time they reached their destination, and Chelydramon hauled herself up onto the sandy shore.

It was a few hours later when Ursula’s eyes flicked open. She moaned, covering her eyes as bright blue light shone down.

Being particularly un-eloquent first thing after waking up (or ever, to be frank), Ursula mumbled unintelligibly and sat up.

Then she promptly lay back down again, her D-Psyche still doing its best to hinder her every move. She sighed. Here to save the world and yet not allowed the tiniest bit of dignity.

After three painful attempts, the girl was finally stood up; hair dishevelled and eyes blinking in the bright blue sunshine.

Most of the others were still asleep, sprawled out on the sand beside her. Even Chelydramon had given in at this point, her face half-buried in a dune. Ursula looked around, taking in her surroundings. It was a very interesting looking place; a far cry from the islands they’d departed on the south side of the ocean. The beach they were on was the most familiar part, although with course silvery sand instead of the normal stuff. The sand was only a fairly thin strip, giving way to what appeared to be a rainforest not one-hundred metres away.

The vegetation was far thicker than before, and very alien looking; great flat-leaved trees with straight trunks, flowering buds that opened and closed at will, and utterly huge structures that could have been wood or metal, stretching above the vast canopy and looming over the rainforest. To top off the ensemble, all through the canopy lay thick, sprawling cable-like creepers, which reached out far and wide, and even digging into the sand like veins into skin. One lay very close to Ursula’s foot, and without warning it twitched, making her jump sideways. Another one jerked sideways, and several around it coiled up, as if they were reacting to something.

It was a little unsettling, to tell the truth, but at the same time it had its own sort of...weird techno-nature-punk beauty; one which Ursula found she was appreciating more and more the further she travelled through this deadly world.

Although, she realised as she put her hand up to shield her eyes from the blue light, there was one thing glaringly wrong with this whole picture.

Chelydramon shifted next to her, and let out a large yawn, just on the verge of waking up. Ursula bit her lip, and shuffled towards her. She held her hand out hesitantly, then reached out and tapped the turtle sharply on one shoulder. Chelydramon’s eye snapped open, and rolled towards her in an angry fashion.

“Hurgh, what!”

Ursula pointed skywards. “Hey genius, you’ve brought us to the wrong place!”

It was sadly true. The bright blue sun up above was not, in fact, a bright blue sun, but the giant swirling orb of the digital core itself. Admittedly they were a lot closer; close enough in fact for Ursula to make out little satellites of rock and metal dotted around it, connecting to the main body with long tubes and making the whole assembly look for all the world like a squashed firefly on a windscreen.

But the fact remained that the core was still up there. By several miles. Even after everything, they still weren’t where they were supposed to be.

Ursula pointed again, getting slightly irate. “How on earth could you miss it?”

Chelydramon blinked, the eye bleary.

“Five more minutes...”

“Excuse me? I haven’t-“

The girl felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Eleanor, standing behind her and shaking her head.

“Give her a break. She’s had a long day. Besides, I know why we’re here.”

Ursula’s shoulders slumped, and she rubbed the bridge of her nose. “This is absolutely wonderful. Why am I always the last to know when we change our plans?”

“Oh don’t worry. You’re not. I haven’t told the others yet.” Eleanor grimaced. “You’re all gonna love me...”

“You did what?!”

“For god’s sake, Eleanor...”

“Terramon, you had one job!”

The now-devolved Terramon looked sheepish, and held her forearms. Eleanor just stuck her hands into her pockets, looking the other way and muttering. “Told you this would go down well...”

The others were none the worse for wear from their seafaring voyage, although their temperaments could have been a little better. Surprisingly it was Aardmon who was the most irate; hopping up and down and getting sand everywhere.

“We don’t have time for this! There is a monster up there that’s been tearing our world apart for ages, and you’re off island-hopping? We finally get a chance to move in the right direction without jumping through portals or falling into pits or being kidnapped by stupid-strong pink sods so why for the love of Yggdrasil are we still ending up in the wrong place? Why?”

Eleanor popped her cheeks out, and looked down at Terramon. “Yeah...I’m gonna let you explain this one.”

The turtle nodded. “It’s Gizamon.”

“Who?”

“I need to find her.” Terramon peered behind her, looking up nervously at the forest. “This island is the last place I saw her. We were attacked by...something.”

Ursula sighed, and thrust her hands deep into her pockets. “Oh fantastic. Because if this was just a nice family visit to a place full of sunshine and rainbows then it would be far too boring.”

Hinkymon blinked up at her. “But it’s no fun if it ain’t dangerous.”

“Hinkymon, please understand that we have very different opinions on this.”

The goblin stuck out his tongue and winked. Unfortunately his mirth did not really resonate with the rest of the group. Martin stood awkwardly, scratching his head. “I don’t know...we do have our own problems to worry about. Just a little.”

“But she’s my partner.” Eleanor stepped forwards, trying to keep her cool. “Look, I did...sort of promise her back on Motimon’s ship that we’d help...that I’d help. I should have told you all back then, but I figured we were all a mite depressed at the time.” She looked sadly down at her partner, who shuffled even more awkwardly.

“But I did make a promise. And come on, she deserves something. She did pretty much get us out of there single-handedly.”

This led to a muttering amongst the Digimon. Polypmon rolled up their tentacles and huffed. “Nice to know that my input is appreciated so much.”

Terramon finally snapped, her tough exterior cracking.

“I’m worried, okay? Gizamon and I...we were friends a long time. She could be hurt. Or...worse...I just need to know. I couldn’t get up here before; I wasn’t strong enough. But now you’ve given me a chance.”

Empermon rested on his saxophone. “Terramon, do you have a plan? Or a place to start looking?”

The turtle sniffed, and shook her head.

“I can smell her. She’s somewhere here; I’m sure of it. But I don’t know where.”

“Well that’s reassuring.” Empermon sighed, and looked up at his partner. “What do you think?”

Callum didn’t answer. He’d been very quiet throughout the whole affair, rolling something around in his palm. He opened it up, revealing it to be his flash drive with the reboot program on it; one of only three they had remaining. The boy turned and looked up at the blue nova above, his D-Psyche twitching just a little.

“Callum?”

The boy looked at Eleanor, and pointed at the woods. “Can we talk just for a second?”

His gaze moved around the group, focusing on the other children. “Just us humans. I think...we need to think about a couple of things.”

Eleanor cocked her head slightly. “Sure...”

She looked down at the turtle, who seemed more than a little despondent. “Try thinking up a plan with a bit more...substance. We’ll be back in a minute.”

The Digimon watched as the five humans trudged through the sand into the edge of the woods, disappearing quickly in the thick undergrowth. Empermon tapped his foot, etching a hole in the sand.

“I do keep forgetting they’re nothing like us.”

Shrewmon bounded up, her snout twitching. “I know. But aren’t they the coolest?”

“You’re in high spirits.”

The shrew giggled. “Isn’t that what happens on an adventure? Right, Aardmon? You’ve been with them since the beginning, haven’t you?”

“Yeah...”

“What’s wrong?”

Aardmon rolled her claws in her fists, clutching the sides of her tunic.

“They’ve all done so well to get here. I just hope we don’t end up breaking them.”

She stared up at the blue orb above, the light reflecting in her eyes.

“It could all go really, horribly wrong...”

“This is remarkably civilised,” said Eleanor, as the group of them found a small clearing and formed a rough circle. Even though they’d only gone a hundred metres in, the vegetation was already thick and twisting, blocking out a lot of light and practically all sound. Only the faint glimmer of the core through the trees pointed their way back to the beach. It was all just the tiniest bit unsettling.

Nobody else paid it much notice, as Eleanor folded her arms. “So what’s with the private chat?”

Callum sat down on a nearby stump, resting his head in his free hand as the others waited expectantly.

“What are we doing?”

Martin and Ursula blinked in turn. Lorelie held out her keypad.

“The best we can.”

“No, I mean...what are we doing here? What were we supposed to be doing in the first place?” He held up the little pendant in his palm, the device glowing faintly. “I mean yay, we’ve nearly reached the core, but what are we supposed to be doing with these?”

Martin held his thumb to his lips, breathing heavily. “I guess you have a point.”

Eleanor turned on him. “Huh? Not you too? I thought we were doing fine.”

“So did I. I guess we all did, but actually...what have we done since we got here?”

Another set of angry tapping from Lorelie. “We’ve all found our Digimon partners! That’s something!”

“Exactly. But we weren’t supposed to. That wasn’t what we came here for.” The boy turned to Callum, who sat slumped. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it? We’ve made the mistake of coming all this way assuming that we’re walking towards a fight...”

There was a pause, while the others processed the comment. Callum finished it off.

“...and I don’t think we can.”

“Callum...”

The boy’s free hand went to his D-Psyche, his fingers clawing at the metal.

“I thought we were doing fine. It wasn’t easy; it was never easy, but we were able to stand our ground. Our partners were able to evolve. But this is too much for us. It...has to be.”

Eleanor’s shoulders sagged a little, and she scratched behind her head. “Geez, Callum, why are you saying this now? You’ve gained more power than any of us.”

“Yeah...look how well that turned out...”

The boy smirked, but it was a very different tone to the one he usually took. It was clear from his face. The strong, sturdy, and slightly dumb confidence he’d held up until this point had been scraped away over the past day or so. It was fairly clear why, but still...

Eleanor leaned against a nearby tree, her face stern.

“So what do you suggest? We just...give up? Do nothing? We’re nearly at the core, for fuck’s sake.”

Callum glared up at her. “If we can’t beat the Funnyman, we may as well not be here at all.”

“Callum, get your head out of your arse and think for a moment, will you?”

The boy bit his tongue, but refrained from answering. Eleanor carried on. “You’ve lost once. Once. You’ve carried on all this time, dragging us along with you, but now that you’ve been severely beat down you’re just gonna leave it there?”

Martin gave a small cough, drawing her attention. “Not to interrupt, but...maybe we should keep the tempers down a little?”

Eleanor sighed, and crouched down, looking at Callum in the face. “I’m not mad, Callum. Promise. I’d feel the same way. But if I did what you’re doing you’d drag me up out of the gutter and push me back into the battle, so y’know. Tit for tat.”

Behind her, Ursula pressed her lips out and kicked at the ground. “What a beautiful friendship we all have.”

“Well, it’s what we need to do.” Martin said, pressing at his own D-Psyche. “Though I do sort of agree with Callum.”

“Judas!”

“I’m serious. We haven’t exactly had a great battle record up to this point. We have four Champions, or three Champions and an Ultimate who can’t aim.” He looked to his right, and nodded at Lorelie. “And Shrewmon, of course.”

The girl typed a response. “And Aardmon?”

“...yeeeeeeeeeah...”

“...”

Martin cleared his throat. “Maybe it wouldn’t do us much harm to stay here and...just try and get stronger? Maybe? Come on, we don’t even know what the Funnyman looks like.”

Ursula turned to the shorter boy. “But we don’t have enough time. You saw the problems on Earth when we left.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Well we’ve managed to bullshit our way through everything else.” Ursula looked at everyone in turn, a surprisingly uplifting tone in her voice. “Why can’t we do it again?”

It wasn’t really a sentiment that anybody could get behind. But at the same time, nobody really had a counter. Not even Callum.

After a few moments, Lorelie decided to break the ice. “So what do we do about Terramon?”

Martin rubbed his chin. “We’ll cover more ground if we split up anyway...”

“What are you suggesting?”

The boy shrugged. “If we are gonna fight, we’re gonna need plans. And more importantly, we’re gonna need to understand our partners better. I mean, presuming we don’t want a repeat of Ophicleimon’s killer opera.”

Callum stuck a thumb up, grinning sarcastically. Eleanor nodded. “So we kill two birds with one stone. Use this whole quest as a lovely team-building exercise. Riveting. And maybe even find Gizamon and someone else to help us.”

“That’s a plan.”

“Question!”

Martin turned back to Callum, who had his hand raised. The boy took in a breath. “Yeeeaaaah, I don’t think Empermon really wants to stick with me anymore.”

(I mean, it was a valid point, but everyone else had been too polite to bring it up.)

Martin scratched his hair. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt for you two to sort out your issues separately.”

“But then who am I supposed to have a life-changing bonding experience with?”

As he raised his hands, Lorelie thrust her keypad under his nose.

“Maybe you could take Aardmon? She can get lonely.”

“Oh great. She’ll do a lot to help my growing anxieties.”

Lorelie’s screen showed a nodding smile, tinged with a tiny twinge of sarcasm.

“I’m sure you’ll have fun together.”

There was a chuckle amongst everyone else. Eleanor folded her arms, hiding a smile.

“I like this idea already.”

They didn’t hang around when they returned to their partners; partly due to the ambiguous urgency of the situation, and partly because the shifting tendrils all around were really starting to creep them out. As it stood they had about three directions to go; east, west, or straight north, through the thick jungle itself. Martin and Eleanor, being the most mobile and least likely to fuck up a monster encounter, opted to go this way (a decision which went down less well with Polypmon, who muttered something about getting their tentacles tangled up in the environment.)

Callum tried his luck, edging towards his partner and raising his hand to speak. The penguin stopped him with a flipper.

“I...uh...think that could be dangerous.”

“Well so do I. I just...”

Empermon sighed, his saxophone dragging in the sand. “I didn’t expect to be coming this far when I agreed to help you.” He looked up, the blue lights reflecting in his big blue eyes. “I just need some space.”

Callum swallowed.

“Okay. Cool.”

The boy watched as his partner wandered off down the beach with Ursula, Hinkymon, Lorelie and Shrewmon, taking the slightly easier route. That just left him and Aardmon standing together on the beach, with only the sound of the waves lapping at the shore beside them. Callum pulled a face.

“Aardmon?”

“Yeah?”

“You ever get the feeling nobody wants to hang out with us?”

“I’m not gonna think about it.” Aardmon sniffed. “If I do I might have to spend several hours in a corner somewhere crying.”

“I knew this was gonna be fun.” Callum beckoned over his shoulder. “Welp, may as well do our job. You coming?”

The two wandered off the other way down the beach, not quite sure what they were looking for, but somewhat glad to leave the creepers flapping in the sand behind them.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later that the creepers froze, and slowly twisted in all directions. They blinked; red, blue, red again and pure white. Then, with the slipperiness of eels and the speed of vipers, they retracted into the deep forest.

The inside of the jungle turned out to be even more of a confused mess than the outskirts. While the first few minutes were okay, pretty soon all semblances of paths and clearings just vanished, replaced with pitfalls, rope snares, swaying pendulum-like tree trunks and a myriad of leaves and flowers that looked more like they belonged in a torture chamber than in an area of outstanding digital beauty.

Not that it stopped the intrepid explorers Eleanor and Terramon from progressing, as they barged their way through the leafy death-traps with scarcely a glance back. Martin, being slightly less intrepid and slightly more easily stuck, followed the two at a more leisurely pace, with Polypmon hanging just behind him, ready to try and free their partner when he inevitably fell into something deep and spiky.

So it was after about twelve minutes that the jellyfish finally convinced Terramon and Eleanor to slow the pace down just a tiny smidge, and while they were at it could they please help their partner out from the two trees which he’d managed to wedge himself between quite neatly. After a lot of pushing, pulling and, of course, swearing, the boy was finally freed, and he caught his breath as he lay on the forest floor.

“Thanks...guys...this is...not my environment...”

“I’d never have guessed.” Eleanor humphed, and leaned on the nearest tree trunk, staring down at Terramon. “I’ll give you that it’s not the nicest place to get through. When we find Gizamon, please tell her she should find easier places to get lost.”

“Tell her yourself.” Terramon sniffed, and looked off into the woods. “If we find her, you mean...”

“No, I meant when. We’re thinking positive, remember?”

Martin blinked, and raised a finger. “When did you get so supportive and encouraging?”

“I’m always supportive and encouraging. It’s just people don’t usually listen to me so I have to resort to punching to get them moving.”

Martin tried to think of a reply, but shrugged. “I guess I’ve never had a problem like that. People generally think I look smart, so they mostly listen to what I have to say.”

“Lucky bastard...”

“Eh, it has its moments.” Martin stood up and hurried ahead, trying to straddle the wide shrubs in the undergrowth as the group got moving again. “Though the physical side of adventuring is not my strongest point.”

Eleanor grinned, and barged through a series of wiry vines, holding them out the way. “I thought you were all into this kind of fantasy shit, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, since I was a kid. I’d go exploring nearby woods and ponds and things all the time. Of course I’d always get stuck and someone would need to come and drag me out, but you know. It’s the spirit of adventure, isn’t it?”

This got a series of incredulous mumblings from all around. Polypmon tutted as they squeezed themselves through a narrow gap. “More like suicidal tendencies if you ask me.”

“Hey, I’m still here, aren’t I? I’m still moving forward.”

“Yeah, mainly ‘cause I’ve been dragging you half the way.”

Eleanor let out a chuckle, and smiled backwards. “Y’know, before we got to this world, Martin, I wouldn’t have pegged you as the outdoor type.”

“Look, I still don’t peg me as the outdoor type. But here we are.”

He stumbled, just managing to keep himself from falling over again. He held his breath, and looked up at Polypmon.

“That was close.”

The jellyfish gave him a tired glare. “You’re my partner and I have the utmost respect for you, but I swear if you fall in another friggin’ pit, I’m gonna friggin’ leave you.”

“No you won’t.”

“I swear-“

“Polypmon, we both know you’re not gonna do that. I’m just too likeable.”

The jellyfish slumped. “Goddamnit, you’re right...”

As the boy pulled himself out, he became aware that Eleanor and Terramon had pulled a few yards ahead, the thicket already closing in on them. He made to call out to them, but stopped briefly, blinking and adjusting his glasses.

“Polypmon, sssh!”

“I wasn’t talking!”

“No, I mean...”

The boy looked between his partner, Eleanor, and the surrounding forest. The movements did seem to have gotten more earnest; great sliding noises as the tendrils pulled themselves up and down through the canopy above. Said canopy had also gotten a lot thicker, to the point where very little light was coming down to their level.

One of the creepers trailed lazily down and brushed across Martin’s back, causing both him and his D-Psyche to let out a high-pitched squeak and shuffle forwards to the others very quickly. Polypmon followed just behind, slapping at any creepers that drifted her way.

The mysterious sounds hadn’t gone unnoticed by Eleanor, and her mirth had dissipated very quickly. She turned to Terramon. “Hey, so, uh...when you were last here, do you have any idea what kind of things there were on the island?”

Terramon swallowed. “Things? What...things?”

“Oh...y’know...”

Swish...

Whump.

The girl swallowed, and held her foot mid-step.

“Things.”

Eleanor and Martin looked in opposite directions at the very gentle movements from mere metres away in the undergrowth, and listened to the soft rubbing sounds, and the occasional dull thump. The forest readjusted itself, and the quietness took hold again.

Eleanor cleared her throat, and the four set off even deeper inside, their pace somewhat more cautious. Terramon glanced back at her partner.

“In answer to your question, I really didn’t stick around long to find out.”

“Oh goodie.” Polypmon folded their front tentacles, ducking under a tree branch that vanished as soon as they did. “I hope we all like surprises.”

“Why did we end up having to babysit?”

Ursula snorted as she and the others trudged through the sand, keeping an eye out for Gizamon. Hinkymon tutted as he plodded along beside her. “Come on, Ursula, they’re just going through some tough times.”

There was a discordant parp from up ahead as Empermon abruptly stopped his melancholic playing. “I can hear you, you know.”

“I didn’t mean any offense.” Ursula sighed, sticking her hands deep inside her pockets. “I’m just saying that it’s yours and Callum’s problem. He should be sorting it out with you.”

The penguin huffed, and walked a few paces further ahead. Shrewmon scratched behind her head, bringing up the rear. “I think you might have hurt his feelings.”

She held out a hand and helped Lorelie over a rocky bit of terrain, the shorter girl keeping close to her. Lorelie was typing and retyping on her keypad, mid-walk conversation not being her strongest point. She opted instead to just look up at Ursula, her screen showing a concerned frown. Ursula shook her head.

“I’m just irritated. We shouldn’t be doing this. It is not our job.”

“Well, who else is going to do it?”

“I’m not sure. But I still find it difficult to believe that, as humans, we are the only capable warriors in this world who haven’t gone power-mad. If this is such a big problem, where are the large armies and superheroes or whatever this world has? Can’t they do something?”

Shrewmon raised a tentative hand behind them, but Ursula just carried on. “I don’t like clearing up other people’s messes. I’ll do it. But I don’t like it.”

Lorelie just kept staring up at Ursula, who was trying not to meet her gaze. There was a sound of sniggering and Hinkymon bounded forwards. “Ain’t you giving us your own messes though?”

“Look, you...” Ursula sighed, and pointed. “Go and keep Empermon company for a bit. You can walk faster than us. You might see something.”

The goblin stuck his tongue out, and hopped ahead, leaving the two girls walking through the dunes together. Lorelie held up her device. “He means well.”

“I know, I know. He’s wonderful.”

Another stretch of silence. Ursula finally peered down, and saw Lorelie still staring up at her expectantly.

“Are you alright?”

“You don’t think I’m a load, do you? That you have to babysit me?”

“What? No! Of course not!”

Lorelie waved her palms in defense, shaking her head vigorously. At the sight of her panicking, the taller girl tried to calm herself, stumbling over her words. “Look, you’re doing really well. I know that...sounds bad but...I mean it. You’re doing far better...you’re...you’ve...”

She stammered, her words devolving into a few seconds of gibberish before she took in a breath.

“You’ve come this far, and you’ve done as well as the rest of us. You’re still standing tall. That’s admirable.”

“Thanks.”

Ursula coughed, and looked away again. “Actually, I...sort of like having you around. With everyone else it’s just craziness, but you’re...still so kind. It’s charming.”

The girl clenched her eyes tightly for a second, cursing inwardly. When she opened her eyes, she saw Lorelie’s keypad right before her.

“You’ve come a long way as well.”

The waves lapped at the shore to their right, their calming sounds doing little to ease the pressure in Ursula’s mind. She exhaled deeply, staring out across the bay.

Lorelie nudged her, and held out her keypad again. “You okay?”

The girl looked down at Lorelie’s screen, which was showing a kind smile. Ursula returned the favour.

“I really wish I could see your face sometimes.”

Lorelie slowed, her expression slowly morphing to a slightly pink-tinged blushing one. She shrugged her shoulders, and tapped away at her keypad, before holding it up to the taller girl.

“I wish I could see yours too.”

Ursula blinked. “I...don’t understand...”

“Never mind.”

“What’s going on? What’s so exciting?”

Ursula nearly jumped out of her skin as Shrewmon popped her head up between them, whiskers twitching and a bright look in her eyes. “I thought you’d gone off with the others?”

“Meh, they’re bickering. It’s kinda boring. I guess fire and ice don’t mix well.”

Ursula paused in the middle of a footstep, her brow furrowing. “Huh...”

Shrewmon sniffed. “Besides, it’s just...weird, you know. I just kinda wandered into you guys’ group. I don’t think anyone knows what I’m doing here; heck, I don’t think I know what I’m doing here. I didn’t even help that much against Motimon.”

Lorelie held out her device, a reassuring expression on her face. “You helped us, didn’t you?”

Ursula nodded. “I mean, you’re one of the few people among us who actually wants to save the world.”

Lorelie shot her a glare and a little indignant squeak, but the taller girl shrugged. “I’m not making fun. We need someone who cares.”

“Excuse me. I care.”

“I know you do.” Ursula smirked. “You really are perfect for one another.”

Lorelie flushed a little, and looked down at the sand. Shrewmon beamed alongside her, “I promise, I’m gonna grow up and get really strong again. I’m gonna save the world with you guys whether you like it or not!”

She grinned up at her partner, but Lorelie wasn’t there. The girl had stopped, and was holding her hands together a few paces back. She stared around, her digitised expression changing to one of concern.

“Lorelie? What is it?”

The girl scrabbled at her keypad and beckoned the others back to her. “Where did the other two go?”

Shrewmon stuck her bottom lip out. “They were just in front of us, weren’t they...”

The three stared out over the pristine sand, but they couldn’t see the two, even among the flat horizon. Ursula scratched her head. “Well...Hinkymon has been known to run off by himself. And Empermon’s pissed off with everybody. They could just be sorting things out.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Lorelie tugged at Ursula’s sleeve, and pointed down. Ursula followed her gaze, and noticed the imprints in the sand; a group of footprints heading every which way. And a few metres further on, there they were; two more sets of prints, one webbed and one chubby, indicating where their partners had gone...and apparently vanished into thin air. The prints just stopped, right there in the sand. Although there was a definite snake-like trail leading away from them, curving back towards the thick forest.

Shrewmon swallowed, and clutched Lorelie’s wrist. “Unless one of them has amazing teleportation powers, something’s wrong here.”

Gingerly Ursula stepped forwards, treading lightly. She looked left and right, then back at the others.

“Something’s wrong on this whole island. We need to get back.”

Lorelie beeped, and pointed, leading the other girl to turn around hurriedly.

There, several hundred metres away, was a dark shape, conspicuous against the pale crescent of the beach. It moved slowly and deliberately, like some sort of animal searching in the sand. Ursula pulled the other two back, and they watched, keeping half an eye on the forest and half at their feet, but definitely not taking their eyes off the creature in the distance.

There was something...not quite right about it. Perhaps the sight of its huge pendulous torso swinging from side to side, or its lolloping gait, as if it was falling forwards with every step but just managed to stop itself at the last minute. It seemed clumsy, but as it got ever so slightly nearer and its shape was ever so slightly more defined, its movements still caused a chill through the trio’s bodies. Shrewmon cupped her hands around her eyes. “Do you think it can see us?”

The creature stopped, and its head swayed lazily to one side, revealing a bulbous neck and an oddly-shaped head. The head seemed to split apart, and from their vantage point, the three spectators could hear an odd sound; not a roar, or a growl, but a soft yet resonant sobbing.

“Ah-hah-heeeegh-hahah...”

It stopped, and looked directly at them.

Then it began to run.

“I’m just saying, it feels like nobody really appreciates the work I’ve put in just cause I had one little lapse of judgement. Do you know what I mean?”

Aardmon looked to one side, and mm-hmmed her approval as Callum carried on.

“I’m just as much a part of this team. I’ve done a lot of work here. At the very least you’d think my partner could give me the benefit of a doubt.”

Aardmon could help but feel that this conversation was not doing a lot to help her growing anxieties, so she interjected. “Callum, I really don’t think everyone suddenly hates you, you know?”

“Sure feels that way.”

“Oh come on, you’re a teenager. I’m sure worse things have happened.”

Callum put a finger to his lips as he trudged forwards, before shaking his head. “No, I...no. This really is the worst thing that’s happened to me. I have a right to be pissed.”

“Whoopie.”

Aardmon stumbled, before looking ahead. “Oh bollocks...”

The beach just...ended. The two of them peered over the sudden gaping drop at the rest of the beach the other side. Aardmon placed a hand on her hip. “Well that’s typical. Even when I’m given a job to do it goes really stupidly wrong.”

Next to her, the boy put his hands on his hips. “I haven’t seen Gizamon. Have you?”

“Callum, I’m a coward. I’m not blind.”

The boy exhaled, and looked to his right. “Well, I guess its inland we go. Maybe we’ll bump into Martin and Eleanor.” He scoffed. “I’ll bet you they’ve had more luck than us.”

He made to walk off, but Aardmon clutched his wrist, pulling him back. “Alright, stop, okay? You’ve been like this since that first fight with Motimon. You know nobody thinks it’s your fault, right?”

Callum blinked. “But...they do. All of them do, except for Lorelie, but she’s too nice to think otherwise.”

“Fine, yeah, alright, they do. Whatever makes you satisfied.” Aardmon’s tail drooped, and she plonked herself down on a nearby piece of driftwood. “I’ll have you know that I don’t though. I still think you’re one of the best things to happen to this world. All of you are. But my judgement doesn’t really amount to much.”

Callum stood on the beach for a few minutes, glaring at her, then down at the sand, then down at his D-Psyche (which clicked in an irritated fashion) before sighing and sitting down next to her. He pressed his lips together, watching the waves in front of him.

“Is it bad that I thought all this would be easy?”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

Aardmon’s eyelids fell, and she pawed at the sand with her feet. “We all make stupid mistakes. And stupid stuff happens because of it. I guess all we can do is try to fix the messes we make.”

She flinched suddenly, and looked up at Callum, but he was still staring ahead. The aardvark carried on. “Humans really are admirable. You can push them around and wreck their lives, and yet some of them will still insist on helping you just ‘cause you stand there and look helpless.”

Callum finally turned towards her, raising an eyebrow. “Well you needed help, didn’t you?”

“You have no idea.” Aardmon smirked, and shook her head. “I’m really thankful to all of you, you know. Even when you fuck up, I can’t be mad at you for trying.”

“Thanks...I think...”

Aardmon swallowed, clenching her paw on her thigh.

“Callum...I need to tell you-“

“Hey look.”

The boy pointed upwards, and Aardmon followed his gaze. There was something flying above; a great lolling bird- or bat-like creature, tumbling back and forth and letting out honks and buzzes, and sounding very, very distressed. Callum squinted, placing his hand above his eyeline.

“I don’t suppose that could be Gizamon, do you?”

“I think we mighthgjshsjgjmph”

“Whu?”

Callum whirled around just in time to see Aardmon vanish into the sand below, black tendrils whipping at the ground all around him.

“What the fuck?”

The boy leapt to his feet, very nearly toppling over, but steadying himself in time and turning to see the rippling bulge which was Aardmon being dragged underground straight towards the forest.

“LET HER GO!”

The boy began to run, kicking up clouds of sand behind him as he followed the slithering tendrils. There was a yell as Aardmon’s head broke the surface for a moment, trying to call out an attack before she was dragged under again. Callum nearly caught up, holding out a palm, but she was pulled deeper and vanished before his eyes.

“Oh fuck...oh fuck no fuck please fuck god fuck no fuck...”

There was nothing. No sign that the Digimon had even been there. Slowly Callum pushed himself to his feet, shaking his head.

“I can’t have done this again...I just can’t-“

The sound of flapping grew ever louder behind him. His eyes widened, and he turned, just in time to see the very large and very ugly flying creature slam into his face with the force of a cannonball.

The flapping sound smothered his consciousness, and everything went black.

Unaware of the terrible things befalling their colleagues, Eleanor and Martin found themselves delving deeper into the forest. Not that they weren’t without their own problems, as their travels made it all the clearer that they were walking into somebody else’s territory. The vines kept sliding across the treetops all around them, in addition to many, many deeply disconcerting sounds; muffled in the thick treeline, but audible all the same.

And still there was no sign of Gizamon.

“This is horrible.”

Terramon clutched the nearest tree trunk as she tried to catch her ragged breath, her claws scraping against the wood. As Eleanor reached her, the turtle bit her lip, trying to force a smile.

“I didn’t realise it would be this horrible...I just thought we might get lucky...it’s the last place I saw here...I just-“

“Shush.”

Eleanor placed a palm on her partner’s head, holding her while she calmed down. The terrapin swallowed. “Thanks.”

“There’s clearly something going on here.”

Martin made his way through the ferns to reach them, with Polypmon giving up with getting tangled and currently riding on his arm. The boy sniffed, and made a face.

“You know we’re being watched, right?”

“I’ve suspected it since the creepy plants started moving.” Eleanor cracked her knuckles one by one. “They haven’t done anything yet though.”

Terramon shook her head. “I shouldn’t have brought you. We should find the others and...and get out of here...”

Martin pushed his glasses up, and frowned. “I’m not sure we can. Besides, whatever’s going on here can’t be good. I mean it’s our job to sort this world out, isn’t it?”

“That’s the optimistic Martin we know and love!” said Eleanor, slapping him on the back of his D-Psyche with a loud clang, which disturbed whatever it was that was currently stalking them. After waiting a few moments for the surroundings to calm down, Eleanor beckoned and the group continued, sticking as close together as they could. Martin grimaced, rubbing his smarting arm where Polypmon was wrapped around it.

“I appreciate the comment, but I’m only optimistic up to a point, you know. I have limits.”

“Mate, compared to the rest of us you’re a fucking saint.”

Martin huffed. “If you think that then why don’t any of you actually help me out when things go down the pan?”

“I said you’re a saint. Doesn’t mean I’m obligated to listen to you.”

“But that’s a problem, isn’t it?” Martin sputtered as he stumbled on a tree root, before shuffling towards the girl. “I mean it. Isn’t that’s what the whole problem’s been?”

Eleanor blinked. “I was kidding, you know...”

“I do know. I know how you work; I’ve figured out how everyone works, but we’re still having the same flippin’ problems. I’m sorry, but I agree with Callum; we can’t face the Funnyman like this. Hell, we couldn’t even face Motimon.”

Eleanor paused, and looked behind her, holding onto the tree trunk as she watched Martin go slightly redder as he grew more agitated.

“I’ve tried to push us in the right direction but we just can’t do it like this. Nobody pays attention to me, or to anyone else. No-one gets the bigger picture. Not you, not Callum, not Ursula; not even Aardmon. And I guess not even me!”

The boy raised his hands, before letting them fall, a defeated expression on his face.

“I wanna save this world, Eleanor. But I’m stuck. I don’t know what to do.”

He raised a hand to his face, his fingers straddling his glasses as he turned away. Eleanor ran a hand over the back of her head. “Ah geez...”

Martin coughed, and cleared his throat. “Sorry. That came out more harsh than I intended. Rant over. I’m okay.” He smiled, his cheeks still slightly flushed. “Sorry.”

“I should be saying sorry, mate. It’s not your fault.” The girl placed a hand on her hip. “Don’t ever feel you need to apologise for being fucked off with people. I’ll give you that advice for free. It’s done me well.”

She turned around, and Martin muttered to himself. “It doesn’t suit me, that’s all...”

Polypmon shuffled up the boy’s shoulder, whispering in his ear. “I think if anyone can sort these guys out, it’s you.”

“You have way too much faith in me, you know that?”

“Well you are the first friend I’ve had who wasn’t maniacally evil, incredibly bored, or both. I’m willing to support you and your healthy outlook for this world.”

“Okay now you’re even making me feel sick.”

“Charming.”

Eleanor leaned back. “When you’ve finished flirting over there can we get back to finding Gizamon? I’m pretty sure whatever’s following us is getting pretty bored of listening to our life stories.”

As if by some divine conspiracy, the something following them chose this exact moment to drop down from the tree above, land squarely in front of the four, and roar in their faces.

(Rude)

Martin stuttered, and Eleanor flailed backwards, nearly taking the boy down as she let off a barrage of expletives. The creature swiped with an arm far too long for its spherical body, embedding its hefty red fist into one of the trees behind. It bounced a little, its legs just as long as its arms and flexing, with rippling muscles poking through skin which seemed grey and lifeless. It seemed to have a kind of smiling face, but its face didn’t line up at all, with its leering, nightmarish mouth resting upside down on the top and two circular, staring eyes where its ears should have been. To top it all off, it was wearing what looked like sunglasses, although given that they weren’t resting over its eyes, there didn’t seem to be much point other than to make the thing even fucking creepier.

It opened its mouth and let out a noise – not really a roar but certainly not coherent speech – and lunged forwards with its entire body, its arms and legs flailing like tentacles.

“ZapLash!”

“Marsh Bomb!”

The Rookies attacked in tandem, causing the creature to back away just slightly. Eleanor took her chance; grabbing Martin by the arm and yanking him forwards, with their partners following just behind.

“What the fuck was that thing?”

Terramon shook her head. “I don’t know!”

“What do you mean you don’t know? It’s a Digimon, isn’t it?”

“I...I don’t...I’ve never seen anything like it before! Well I have, but...nothing like that!”

“You’re not making any sense-“

They were silenced as a guttural roar followed them, followed by a lance of lightning that fried the vegetation to their side. Martin yelped, before glancing behind him, desperately hoping that he wasn’t going to trip over again.

“Well, the vines are pulling away.”

“What’s the bad news?”

Martin pointed. “The monster brought a friend.”

The first creature was pursuing with ease, launching itself through the trees above like a gibbon and gurgling all the while. Its ‘friend’ had taken over the ground patrol, and it was doing a bang-up job of keeping up the weirdness; six gnarled legs of wood, carrying a large furry orb capped with a silver dome emblazoned with a golden eye. On the dome were mounted two ivory horns, and a long serpentine muscle that reached forwards like a neck, with a flesh-coloured orb on the end. The orb itself was carrying two muscular arms, and had its own face with a mess of a goatee and a half-torn-away jaw that swung side to side in a permanent scream.

Oh, and the orb was also wearing sunglasses.

Must have been a sale on.

The head-arm-body-thing swerved from side to side, chattering and swearing repeatedly as it effortlessly pushed trees out the way, while the main body scuttled forwards like an insectoid tank.

Eleanor let out a slight whine, and sped up, her unbalanced legs beginning to burn from the effort.

“Oh, fuck-a-doodle.”

Eleanor and Martin kept running as the blasts of lightning and energy continued from behind them, accompanied by the wretched chatterings. Polypmon took the rear, firing pathetic blasts of lightning back at their pursuers, while Terramon scampered ahead, determined to find her friend.

The trees stopped flashing, and the shuddering from behind them gently subsided, but the two humans and two Digimon still kept running, able to move more freely the further they got.

Presently they emerged fully, the blue light from the sky beating down on them once again as they stood in a clearing. The creatures didn’t seem to have followed them, although the hellish sounds were still emanating from the forest. What’s more, the cables had doubled in quantity; lying over the ground and flipping every which way, all converging to one point further into the prairie. Eleanor squinted, holding her knees.

“Well, I guess there’s someone out here after all.”

Polypmon hovered up, before swearing and ducking as another creature – a very lumpy-looking bird – flapped overhead with a loud melancholy buzz. Martin leaned upwards, before running his hands over his D-Psyche.

“This really doesn’t make any sense...”

Polypmon hissed. “Really? You’re doing this now?”

“I do pay attention on occasion. It’s the same with the monsters from back then; I’m getting a bunch of several different Digimon when I try to scan them, but the D-Psyche doesn’t seem to be working properly.”

Polypmon’s eyes flashed, and they grabbed Martin by the forearm. “I really don’t care. This wasn’t a good place to come to. This really was a stupid idea.” The jellyfish emitted a few nervous bolts of lightning, and turned to Terramon, pointing a couple of accusing tentacles. “You have a lot to explain, reptile!”

Terramon wasn’t paying attention. She was crouched in the centre of the prairie, sniffing and looking around with wide eyes.

“It can’t be...”

Eleanor crouched down beside her, looking upwards in case the bird reappeared. “What is it?”

“I knew I could smell her. Gizamon. She’s close. She’s...really, really close...”

The turtle turned, her gaze falling on a bush not far away. Gently she stood up, and shuffled forwards, holding up her hands. Eleanor followed her, aware of something lying there herself. Something small, covered with a bright orange fuzz, lying exposed in the grass. The girl held out an arm, calling out to her partner, “Terramon, be careful...”

“Gizamon?”

The little Digimon squirmed, and let out a little whine, before they peered up, blinking in the blue sunlight. Their tiny body shivered, and they backed away just a little, watching Terramon slowly approach them.

The terrapin laughed, ever so slightly, as tears began to well in her face. “I didn’t think I’d see you again...I only dared to hope you’d still be here...alive...”

Gizamon’s mouth opened, and she laughed herself, her squat face weary and bruised.

“Terramon...you came for me...”

“I did. I came...I came back to see you-”

All of a sudden, the turtle stopped. She swallowed, placing her hands over her mouth. Eleanor stood just behind her, her hands holding the turtle’s shoulders. Terramon looked up at her, shaking her head.

“It’s not fair...”

“Terramon...you cAme for me...”

Martin gasped, his hand going to his mouth as he looked down at his own D-Psyche. “Holy damn...is that even possible?”

Polypmon stared at him. “What? What is it?”

“These Digimon that have been chasing us...they are Digimon. Lots of Digimon. All at once.”

The boy shook his head. “I don’t know how it’s happened, but...somehow...they’ve all been fused together...”

He swallowed, and slowly turned towards the edge of the clearing, where Eleanor and Terramon were staring down at Gizamon. There was the snapping of branches behind him as the first two creatures finally emerged from the forest, gurgling and muttering amongst themselves. Polypmon pressed up against their partner, but Martin just kept staring forwards, his eyes wide.

“They’re chimeras.”

Gizamon smiled, choking up drool and bile as the back half of her body began to ripple and rise upwards.

“TErraMOn...”

The turtle and the girl stepped backwards as the tiny body rose up, hanging downwards on the end of a long, twisting, fuzzy tendril. The creature behind it got to its feet, revealing a horrific amalgamation of spider and puppet. Great trails of webbing dangled from ragged clothes, a baggy hat covered most, but not all, of the monster’s many split jaws and dotted eyes, and several armoured legs pawed at the ground at awkward angles. The top of the being’s hat bowed over, still dangling Gizamon’s near-catatonic body from the end.

The tiny Digimon smiled, her eyes clouded over, as she repeated her programmed mantra again and again.

“...you CaMefOr mEEEeee E...”

TO BE CONTINUED...