Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The final leg of the path to the Forest Terminal had been rather quiet. It wasn’t that nobody had been willing to talk. It had just been such a long enough stretch that conversations had petered out with nothing more to say. Every so often, something would pop up, but only after a long bout of silence, one which it would return to quickly.

This time around, it was Tomoki’s turn. He lingered for a good ten minutes or so- maybe longer, but the change in body language only started to appear around then. His hands couldn’t find a place to settle, moving between dangling at his sides, being stuffed into his pockets, and crossed along his chest. He made it clear there was something he wanted to say, but he struggled to actually say it.

Eventually, he at least managed an uncomfortable grumble. “Hey, so…”

Several of them slowed, but nobody stopped. Takuya glanced over his shoulder. “What’s on your mind, little buddy?”

He wandered to a stop, hands wringing. “S-so, uh, I’ve gotta say first, I’m not mad or anything, and I’m not scared, I was just thinking about this for a while.”

That was a good way to get everyone’s attention, and they halted in their tracks. Junpei half-shoved his hands into his own pockets. “We didn’t leave anything behind, did we?”

“No, that’s not it. I was just thinking, y’know. About the spirits.”

“What about them?” Asked Izumi, tilting her head.

“We never really use the spirits outside of fighting. I don’t think we’ve used the Human Spirits more than once or twice without something to fight against, and we haven’t used the Beast Spirits at all.”

Koji responded with a confused scowl. “Well, we shouldn’t be, right? We weren’t called here to just goof around.”

“Right, right. But, um, if we want to get better at using the beasts, maybe it’d help if we did?” Tomoki said. “And then if something did go wrong, it’d be less dangerous. We could put all our focus on fixing that, instead of handing a bunch of stuff at once.”

They seemed uncertain, though in different ways. “It sounds like we’d just be killing more time…” Said Izumi.

“Yeah, and the beasts are dangerous.” Takuya nodded. “Shouldn’t use them unless we really need it, right?”

It was obvious where his viewpoint was coming from, though nobody said it aloud. One successful run wasn’t enough to convince Takuya- and, to some extent, everyone- that he had that newfound power completely under his control.

Bokomon, as he often did, consulted the book. “While I do agree against dilly-dallying, there may be some merit in Tomoki’s theory.” He flipped through a few pages. “Nothing seems to indicate there is any inherent ‘evil’ to the Beast Spirits. I presume their power and forms are simply something very different from what you are used to. It is entirely possible that more time spent in that form would allow you a better understanding of how the beast thinks- and, from that, give you a better sense of control.”

Takuya was visibly dismayed, but kept his mouth shut and head down.

“It’s not like most of us even know what it feels like, Koji and Takuya are the only ones who even have them!” Junpei said.

“Then…we’ll take turns, I guess?” Offered Tomoki. “When we get more, then we’ll practice with them!”

“I guess…eh, I’m tired of walking anyway.”

“C’mon, we should keep going- “ Takuya started, but quickly realized nobody else was going to follow him. “...guys?”

“He’s got a point, Takuya. Maybe we should try it out.” Said Izumi. “We’ll be careful. And we’ll do our best to keep each other safe!”

He recoiled, visibly unconvinced. “No. No way. I won’t use it unless I have to.”

“Fine. Then I’ll go.”

“Wh- “ Another recoil, this one even harsher. “Koji, wait, you shouldn’t-”

“Why not? Kid’s right, we’re not gonna be much use if we can’t control them.” The boy shrugged coolly. “And if things start going bad, you can beat me up until I knock it off.”

Izumi, Bokomon and Neemon retreated to a nearby tree for safety. The others pulled out their D-Tectors, and stood across from one another.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Junpei asked.

“Guess there’s only one way to be sure.” Replied Koji. “Execute!”

He had no words to properly describe the sensation. It was something vaguely like trying to hold the reins of a horse, and guide a leashed dog simultaneously, but both of them were also himself at the same time. No, that wasn’t it, not quite. It was close, but…

He felt Garummon move on its own. The first time, he had wrestled against the beast’s will in a desperate vie for control, trying to climb its back and force it to obey. This time, he hesitated. He let his grip loosen, and gave it more slack.

Hunt?

It sniffed the ground before it, and then the air.

No. Many smells. Not food. Friends? Enemies?

Its thoughts were simple, animalistic. But, thankfully, not hard to understand. Letting Garummon wander on its own around the others, even if they weren’t completely defenseless, was making Koji nervous. But he kept it muffled, and did his best to not immediately force himself into control. He would let it inspect them, and as long as its thoughts stayed calm and its sword-wings stayed folded, then he would give it a degree of leeway.

He could feel a hint of emotion in their shared mind, but it was uneasiness, not aggression. Slowly, tentatively, Garummon stepped closer, taking in the group with apprehensive curiosity.

Yellow. Bug smell. Too crunchy. Not food.

Red. Strange. Familiar…?

None of them were of particular interest to it. At least, it didn’t view them as something to be threatened by. It studied the smallest among them.

Pale. Smells of cold. Wet. Metallic.

‘Tomoki.’ Koji pressed down slightly harder than he had, just to make sure his point was made. After last time, the kid didn’t need another near-death experience. ‘He’s not an enemy. Don’t hurt him.’

Not food. Not enemy…

Friend!

The beast’s demeanor instantly shifted. Its metal ears perked up atop its head, and the tail behind it started to swish.

“Uh…” Tomoki looked between Garummon and the others. “Is this normal?”

“He looks like he doesn’t want to hurt you, at least,” Izumi said. “More like he wants to play.”

Junpei scoffed, with a hint of fear still clear in his voice. “What, so he’s just a big dog now? We’re supposed to throw him a tennis ball or something?”

Friend! Friend! Friend!

Even without the beast’s thoughts, Koji still struggled to decipher what the others were saying. It was words, obviously, yet now they sounded garbled and strange, like fluent speakers of a language he knew nothing of. All he had to go by was their body language, and that was only so much help. Were they trying to talk to him?

Garummon was equally confused, though moreso from the strange people and their mannerisms. The tiny one said something to the others, then pulled out an oversized gun. It recoiled for a moment at the sight of a weapon pointed towards it, but quickly grew curious again at the strange round white things that it appeared to be loaded with. They also smelled cold and wet.

More friends?

“Hey, big guy! Fetch!”

Tomoki tilted the launcher back and fired it off well above the Digimon’s head. Garummon immediately spun around and chased after it. With the speeds it moved at, it very quickly caught up, and didn’t even wait for the projectile to fall further before jumping right off the ground to snap it up out of the air. Predictably, as soon as its jaws shut, the snow exploded into a wet white cloud.

Even without proper words, delight radiated throughout its mind. It was a strange feeling, but Koji reached over (inside himself? both?) and gave the beast a pat on the head. It almost reminded him of his own dog.

‘Nice, you caught the ball.’

Ball?

Ball!

Ball ball ball throw another catch another!

Garummon loped back over to the gun-toting teddy bear and wagged its tail even harder.

“Huh? Want me to shoot it again?” Tomoki slowly grinned, raising his weapon once more. “Okay, go get it!”

BALL BALL BALL

CATCH THE BALL!

Izumi covered her mouth as she laughed behind the tree. She didn’t want to let her guard down, but it was difficult to see the beast as something intimidating while it wagged its tail and chased after snowballs like an excited puppy. Takuya almost had a smile on his face, but as soon as he noticed her watching, he dropped it and turned away.

“Me next! Me next!” Neemon shouted, flailing his arms. “I wanna catch it!”

He ran after the next round of snowballs, but was far too slow and was quickly outpaced by the creature far larger than him. Garummon gave a playful little yip and paused in place, scratching its chin with a back leg.

Friend! Friend! Love new friend!

‘Well, uh, good. So don’t attack them, alright? They’re not enemies, so don’t attack them.’

Though it said nothing, he could tell Garummon was happy to oblige.

“He looks okay.” Izumi crept out into view, still cautious but less nervous. “Doesn’t look like he’s gonna start lashing out, right?”

“Even if they lack the ability to communicate as you do, Miss Izumi, Beast Digimon are not mindless!” Bokomon doddered out after her. “There is still reasoning to their actions, one would not simply attack out of nowhere.”

Tomoki nodded, tucking away his snowball launcher. “I think he looks pretty calm…”

After a few nervous attempts, Garummon seemed convinced enough to let itself be pet. Tomoki rubbed the space between its ears, and Izumi found one of the few non-armored spots on the side of its neck. Junpei and Takuya lingered slightly further back, watching to be certain that nothing went awry.

“Is it just me, or…is Koji way, way friendlier than he usually is?” The former asked.

“Seems like,” Takuya replied. “It’s weird.”

Izumi looked over her shoulder, still offering the dog scritches. “Yeah, but that’s not bad, right? It’s just different.”

He offered no response. Bokomon took it upon himself to fill the space, once again checking the book.“Well, one of the notes on Garummon mentions its intense sense of loyalty. It is said that it never betrays those it has sworn allegiance to. If Garummon is taking his thoughts and feelings and interpreting them according to its own instincts, it seems he’s quite fond of you all, even if he doesn’t say it.”

“Aww~” Izumi moved her hand down, and the beast happily flopped over to let her scratch its flank. “So he’s secretly a big old teddy bear underneath that grumpy face?”

“Do you think he even knows what he’s doing?” Junpei asked.

Behind them, Takuya shuddered. “Koji? Can ya hear us, buddy?”

Garummon rolled back over, staring him down, and stood up. It stood in place for a moment, blinking slowly.

“Yeah.” A familiar, if gravelly voice came from the beast’s mouth. “I couldn’t understand what you were saying for a while, but everything sounds normal again.”

“Nope, he’s still too nice.” Junpei shook his head. “That’s still Garummon.”

“Oh, knock it off.”

“Koji, it is you!”

Takuya took a nervous step closer. “And it’s not…weird?”

“Seems pretty weird to me!” Neemon chirped.

Garummon shrugged, or the closest that it could shrug without human shoulders. “Sorta. I’m getting used to it already. It’s weird, but it’s not bad.”

Ribbons of violet-blue code wrapped the beast in a cocoon, pulling away to reveal the human that they were more familiar with. Noticing how he was poised, awkwardly perched on a knee, Izumi offered a hand.

“Here, do you need a little help?”

“Gotta be tired after that,” Said Tomoki.

Koji brushed her off, shakily rising to his feet. “It’s fine. I’m just getting used to it. It’s fi-”

A bold claim, especially as it was immediately disproven. He lifted one foot to take a step- and immediately lost balance, stumbling over himself and hitting the ground.

With sounds of alarm, the others immediately swarmed to make sure he hadn’t injured himself. Still, Takuya found himself biting back a snicker.

Once again, any attempts to help Koji up were ignored. “No, I’m fine. I’ve got it-” And, just like the last time, the boy lost his balance as soon as he’d found it, this time only kept up by his hands keeping him somewhat upright.

A stifled tone of amusement crept into Junpei’s voice. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Koji was turning red. He ignored the question entirely to try and put all his focus into finding his footing. He did not succeed.

Izumi gave her friends a pointed frown. “Come on, don’t be mean you guy- oh, oh no-” she broke off into a trilling laugh, covering her mouth in a fruitless effort to hide it. After yet another failure, Koji was currently facedown on the ground in a heap. “Ohhh, Koji, are you not used to having two legs? Did you get used to walking on all fours, like Garummon?”

He let out an irate grumble, and while there weren’t any real words to decipher from it, it almost sounded like a ‘yes.’

Chapter Text

The question had only been asked once, but it weighed on him like a cinder block.

”So Koji’s done it, when are you going to, Takuya?”

He’d been stacking excuses in his head, just in case someone tried. Repeated them over and over again. ‘We shouldn’t waste time,’ ‘we don’t want to attract attention,’ ‘it would be a waste of energy,’ ‘isn’t it going to be nightfall soon?’ They were true, at least true enough.

It didn’t help now, too, that he had something to be compared to. He’d already gotten off to a terrible start, but of course Koji hadn’t had any trouble. He never looked like he struggled with anything. Anything that he did on his own would look weak in comparison.

Takuya shook his head. No, that wasn’t fair, was it? And when was he ever someone to give up on a challenge? Well…when it put other people in danger, but maybe he was falling too far into the doom-and-gloom mindset…or was he just being practical for the first time?

“Hey, Takuya-”

“I’m fine,” he snapped, before he could stop himself. “Izumi, don’t worry ab-”

Someone grabbed his arm and roughly pulled him to the side. He wanted to shout at them, until he realized there was a tree that he had been fully intent on crashing into while his thoughts were elsewhere.

“...You were gonna plow right into that.” Junpei clarified, if he hadn’t already realized, before letting go of his arm. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I…”

He had no answer. So instead of trying to fudge one on the spot, he turned away and ran.

“Wh- Takuya!” Koji shouted after him. “Reckless idiot…”

Izumi sighed in frustration. “Knock it off, Koji. Let’s just find him before he gets too far.”

“Ugh, fine.” He grumbled back. “Try not to get lost while you’re looking.”

Takuya, like most boys his age, utterly hated the idea of crying. He could feel that familiar sting in the back of his eyes, but he was doing everything in his power to make sure that was all it was. Even if he wanted to, he didn’t feel as though he had the right. He had been the one causing the problem, how did he have a right to be upset over it? This was his doing.

’But it wasn’t your intention.’ His thoughts tried to reason with him. ’You didn’t want to hurt them.’

“But I did.” He muttered back, into his sleeve. It didn’t matter what the spirit’s will was, he should have fought back. He should have pushed harder and regained control. How could he justify any excuses when it was his own fault for failing?

’You were just trying to help.’

“Some help I was…”

He picked up on the sound of rustling leaves. Whether it was one of his friends or a Digimon, he kept his head down in his arms and hoped it would pass by, unaware of his presence.

“Sheesh, Takky, there you are! Why’d you have to make me run around here?”

Well, he supposed that was just his luck. Takuya didn’t look up. “Go away, Junpei. I’ll…I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

The other boy’s shoes kicked up the dirt, the noise moving closer and closer to where he was. “Yyyyep, not happening. The others would lose it if I didn’t bring you back.”

“They set you up to this?” Though it was slight, Takuya turned his head just enough to peek out.

“Nope! Everyone’s looking, I’m just the one who found you. Y’know you freaked everyone out, running off out of nowhere. Tomoki especially.”

Whether or not that was meant to be a jab, it stung nonetheless. He didn’t reply, instead letting out a little groan.

Junpei’s shoes rustled more of the dirt and grass. Without saying anything, it was obvious he was uncomfortable with the situation and wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself.

“Jeez, this is exactly the sort of thing I stink at…” He grumbled. “I just want to say, uh, we don’t think any less of you for it. We know you weren’t exactly trying to do any of that.”

Takuya took a moment. “Thanks, I guess. I dunno if I was worried about that. I dunno. Maybe.”

Despite his tone, Junpei remained surprisingly patient. “So what are you worried about, then?”

“Destroying stuff. Hurting someone. Again.”

Tomoki had been so small in his claws. So…fragile. So easy to break that it was almost tempting to bear down, see how little effort it would take to crush him.

A shudder ran up his back.

“So are you just never gonna use it again?”

To be honest, he hadn’t thought much beyond that initial fear. “That would be safe. I mean, maybe when Tomoki finds his, it’ll be safer to try…?”

With a dry, mirthless laugh, Junpei plonked down on the dirt next to him. And despite himself, Takuya lifted his head to look at him. “Hate to break it to ya, dude, but we don’t exactly have much of a choice here. How long do you think that’ll take? Days? Weeks? More? We have no idea where any of the other Beast Spirits are.”

Takuya scowled. “Are you trying to reassure me, because you’re really doing the opposite right now.”

“Look, I know you’re freaked out. I’m probably gonna freak out too when I get mine. But we’ve figured it out with Koji, these things can be reasoned with. Even if it’s hard, we know it isn’t impossible. We don’t know how many of those other warriors have Beast Spirits of their own, so we can’t afford to pull punches.”

“I’ll- I’ll figure something out, just not now.” He didn’t want to think about it now. He didn’t want to think about it ever.

“Fine, fine, I’m not gonna make you do anything.” Sighed Junpei. “But do you really want Tomoki to never stop being afraid of you?”

“Y-...” Takuya wanted to say something, but once again, he didn’t know what. Before he had the chance, he was interrupted.

“Hey, is that Takuya? Did you find him?”

“Yeah, Koji, over here!” A hand waved in the air to beckon the voice over. “Are the others with you?”

Something rustled in the opposite direction. “Koji? Junpei? Is that you guys? I’ve got everyone else with me!”

The little clearing became very crowded with the addition of Izumi’s group and Koji. Takuya found most of their eyes falling on him, and he tried and failed in ignoring it.

“What’s the matter with you?” Koji snapped. “Were you trying to get us all lost?”

“Sorry…” He mumbled back.

“The important thing is that we found each other again.” Said Izumi, trying to rein Koji in, while also expressing her own annoyance with the situation. “C’mon, let’s go find the path we were taking. It shouldn’t be far.”

While Junpei helped Takuya to his feet, Tomoki pattered closer. “What were you guys talking about?”

“We were just talking. About the Beast Spirits.” The older boy grimaced in thought, looking over at the others. “Look, guys, I don’t think Takuya-”

“I’ll try it again.”

Junpei blinked, swiveling his head back. “Huh?”

“I wanna try it again.” Takuya nodded at his own words. “I have to try, don’t I?”

A strange feeling rippled through the group. Unease and relief, with neither emotion quite winning against the other.

“That does seem practical, yes.” Bokomon ventured a nod.

“I mean, fine, sure.” Koji shrugged. “But we’d better get to the terminal soon.”

There was more space to be had on the path, anyway. At least it would make things a little harder to burn. Takuya mulled over his own words, wondering if he had made a mistake. Or if he should change his mind.

“We’ll stop you if we have to.” It’s a reassurance, at least in a Koji way.

Something prodded his arm. “Y- are y-you sure you want to do this, Takuya?”

It’s Tomoki’s voice, tiny and far-too-breakable that nearly pushes him over the edge in his own mind. Tomoki, still terrified of him, even if he doesn’t say that to his face. If he can’t control Vritramon for his own sake, then he’ll do it for Tomoki. He has to.

Still, the device in his hand shakes as he tries to raise it. “Execute!”

It isn’t a soft landing. The ground crumbles underfoot, and as he falls, the wind is hot and humid against his skin.

He was immediately struck with an overflow of energy, like dropping right into a strong ocean current that threatened to wash him away. In desperation, his arms dragged through it and tried to find something stable to grab onto. An instinctual part of himself knew that Vritramon was there too, standing in the center of the cyclone and furiously beating its wings.

Outside, the others watched on in fear. Izumi and Junpei kept Tomoki shielded in the back, while Koji stood alert, ready to lunge and grab on if the dragon took a step out of line.

The lack of control was familiar. Takuya had nearly drowned in it the last time, only barely dragging himself out of the rapids. This time was only easier in that he knew to expect the difficulty, but he felt no more prepared beyond that. He watched Vritramon throw its head back and bellow, sawlike teeth glittering in the flames.

In a desperate burst of adrenaline, he managed to swim closer with his head still afloat. The beast is even larger up close, and if he wasn’t careful, a wayward food could easily crush him. He’d expect that Vritramon had every intention to try, but…for some reason, it doesn’t. And it could easily snatch him up or roast him alive, but the closest he gets is a wayward tail slap that misses him by a good distance. If anything, the dragon hardly seems aware of his presence.

The thought strikes him. The wingbeats aren’t to stir up the storm. It’s a futile attempt to escape it.

This is risky. The plan forming in his head might as well turn him into barbecue right then and there. In spite of that, Takuya feels some kind of reassurance in taking a leap of faith. It’s what he knows. He just hopes it’ll pay off this time.

A jut of rock barely breaks the storm’s surface. He manages to plant both feet firmly on it as he passes by and jumps, throwing himself up into the air (thank you, soccer practice!) By sheer dumb luck, Takuya finds himself flying right towards Vritramon at full speed. His second landing is even less gentle than the first, but the wind being knocked from his chest doesn’t fully jar loose the vice grip he’s taken to the large spike on the beast’s shoulder armor. It isn’t an ideal handle, but it’s something, and he holds on for dear life as the storm rages on.

What almost knocks him loose isn’t another flap or jerk, but the sudden force of a voice bellowing inside his own mind.

ENEMY!

Despite the intense heat, Takuya feels his blood freeze. This is familiar. He knows the voice. It said the same thing last time, overriding any of his thoughts and dragging him along as it rampaged. If he can’t stop them both, it will be the same horrible result again.

For now, their shared body remains calm enough as their individual wills press against each other, and he plans to keep it that way. Climbing the panels of smooth armor is difficult, but a couple of lucky jumps help him climb the back of Vritramon’s neck. The boy kept his grip strong as a vision flashed through the back of his head.

Garummon- Koji- taking a step closer, wingblades unfolding and ready to deliver a blow. Vritramon twists the sight into something more malevolent, envisioning their would-be opponent even more jagged, rabid foam oozing from its jaws, eyes an eerily glowing red.

ENEMY! The dragon roared.

‘No!’ Takuya shouted back. ‘He’s not an enemy! Don’t fight!’

ENEMY! ENEMY!

‘No! We are not going to do this again! I’m not letting you hurt them again!’

Vritramon let out a raptor shriek, both inside and outside of its mind, and clawed at the dirt. Garummon took a few steps closer with a warning growl.

With a strength he didn’t know he had, Takuya forced one of their legs to step back. There came another shriek, still shrill but a touch less forceful.

E E ENEMY! KILL THE ENEMY KILL THEM MAKE IT STOP MAKE THEM STOP!

‘They’re not attacking you! They won’t attack you if you don’t attack them first!’

A strange sensation was making his skin tingle. Though he had managed to reach the top of the dragon’s head, Takuya nearly tumbled all the way back down as he grew distracted by scratching at his forearms.

MELTING SKIN MELTING KILL THE ENEMY MAKE IT STOP

‘I’m trying to understand you! What are you trying to say??’

HURTS HURTS HURTS HURTS

‘It hurts? Where?’

TOO MUCH HEAT TOO MUCH TOO MUCH

The jittery, buzzing sensation seemed to bother Vritramon as much as it bothered him. Gouts of flame squeezed out in between the plates of its armor- he felt a tiny bit of relief, but it wasn’t enough. And it didn’t look like it was enough for the beast, either. It let out another roar, this one more desperate, almost pained. Takuya had barely any control, but something was telling him that Vritramon had no more than he did.

‘Calm down, big guy, calm down! I can help you! Just tell me how to do it!’

TOO MUCH TOO MUCH IT HURTS

Bokomon looked up from the book. “Wait a moment, I see the issue here.”

“Well, kindly fill us in before we all get burnt alive!” Junpei shouted.

“Vritramon is likened to a volcano, its body is said to be filled with a mysterious energy that constantly flows off of it. It appears that it has a difficult time handling its own power. It doesn’t know how to maintain itself without overheating.”

“The Spirit of Flame can’t handle its own fire??”

“No point arguing about it now! How do we stop it, do we have to cool him down?” Said Koji.

Izumi managed a sigh. “Well, maybe if I had mine, I could get a nice breeze going…”

“Move!”

A too-small arm shoved past, carrying with it a chilly breeze. Before anyone could stop him, Tomoki was unloading a round of snowballs into Vritramon’s side.

It recoiled upon being struck, teeth bared…and the beast paused to shudder as the snow melted against its armor. In a way more like a rabbit than a dragon, it took the moisture and pawed at its face.

Junpei looks between Tomoki and the beast. “It…it liked that?”

“Like how it worked on Koji, too!” Replied Izumi, lighting up with a smile. “Do it again, Tomoki!”

Pointing a weapon at something actively hostile seemed like a massive risk, but it was still the best option available. A quick frozen breeze refilled the gun’s tank, and Vritramon was pelted with more snowballs. Though unlike with Garummon, it didn’t move to snap up the snow, instead letting it slap against the plates of its armor and roll down the surface.

PAIN. PAIN IS…FUZZY?

The harsh orange sky overhead seemed to cool into a sunny yellow. The storm still raged, but Vritramon managed to stand up straight.

HEAT IS…COOLING…

The spring forest that had been overflowing with greenery was now host to a tiny, localized blizzard right in the middle of it. Flowers and grass had been buried under a thick blanket of white. With an odd sort of glee, Vritramon let out a series of chirps as it rolled in the snow.

“Is snow just the magic solution to all of the Beast Spirits?” Junpei asked, half-sarcastic. “Guess we’ll just hope we’re near some when you get yours, Tomoki.”

“It- it’s just a funny coincidence.” He replied, though it did feel kind of nice to be useful. And maybe it would make Takuya less nervous around him if he knew he had a definite way to defend himself.

As it had with Garummon, they could feel the atmosphere shift. Something about it became less aggressive and more playful, like Vritramon was actually enjoying itself. Small jets of fire burst from its gauntlets and from in between the armor, but they were more measured, visibly restrained. The rest of them moved closer and closer with caution, except for Neemon, who immediately took the opportunity to make a snow angel.

“I didn’t think snow would be a good idea,” Izumi admitted. “I thought it’d hurt him. It doesn’t hurt, having his flames put out?”

“I don’t suppose, no. As I said before Vritramon is positively brimming with volcanic energy, I can’t imagine it’s lacking in the ability to make more.” Bokomon replied.

For a moment, they were all distracted by their chatter. Even Koji turned his head, far enough to not immediately notice when the dragon moved to stand again.

Within his mind, any reassurance was starting to fizzle. Takuya looked down, nervous. He hadn’t moved them.

‘Uh…what are you doing?’

An uncomfortable feeling twisted his insides, so abrupt that he nearly fell off of his perch on Vritramon’s head. It was nowhere near as bad as last time, but it was enough to make the beast restless.

EMPTY

‘...’empty?’ Are you hungry? Is that why you’re like this?’

NOT ENOUGH NOT ENOUGH TOO MUCH FIRE EMPTY

In trying to fix one problem, now he’d made another. The fire leaked out, then the snow cooled its body down. Vritramon was just as volatile and desperate as before, if only slightly less dangerous due to its hunger. No food meant nothing to properly catch a fire with- and, while on paper that sounded ideal, Vritramon was very unhappy with the sensation, and it still had perfectly good claws and talons to vent that unhappiness with.

As soon as it set its sights on the others, Takuya had to force down a spike of panic. ‘Look, I can get you food! If we get you something to eat, then you don’t have to attack them, alright?’

He felt no ‘yes,’ but the beast was not dead-set on its current target. Gripping onto its horns with as much strength as he could muster, the boy jerked its head away from his friends and towards a nearby tree. It was only so much, but something about it was far more compelling to Vritramon, who immediately sprinted over to it on all fours.

The tree was filled with apples- FOOD, as the beast’s mind shrieked. In his state, he didn’t care that they were raw, nor that he was chewing as many branches as apples. All of it went down together in ragged bites. It made for a surreal reminder of just how big he was in this form, far larger than he was used to. Agnimon was taller than he was, too, but it was only a modest change, one that was at least realistic to imagine. It was what he imagined being an adult felt like. Vritramon didn’t feel like an adult, it felt like a creature. Inhuman.

But…maybe that didn’t have to mean it was a bad thing. Wasn't that what Koji had said?

He could feel a swell of calm that rose with each mouthful. Control. It felt like control. He tried to find a way to make the sensation more familiar. Though rampaging was definitely new, Takuya reminded himself that he could also get irritable when he was hungry. This wasn’t a completely foreign concept, it was just…a lot more intense.

And the feeling of fullness was familiar, too. Vritramon was very happy with it. It let him unlatch their claws from the broken tree without any resistance

‘There. Calmed down yet?’

Full. Sleepy.

‘Figures…’

Vritramon didn’t wrest control away from him, but everything did suddenly feel very heavy. Takuya couldn’t find much more energy than to find a soft-looking patch of grass. Had grass always looked so plush and fluffy? He hadn’t exactly gotten to sleep in a bed for a while, maybe his standards had just lowered. But man, this was some nice-looking grass. He even dragged the tree with him, so he wouldn’t have to get up for a while.

The others watched on, trying to internally debate whether or not it was safe enough to be amused. Vritramon was oddly cute, in a way, calmly curled on the ground and gnawing on a felled tree. The force of its tail thumping nearly knocked them over the first few times.

“Okay, so…now he’s calmed down…? Maybe?”

Koji was skeptical. “Who’s to say he’s not gonna keep doing that? Can we trust he has any control over it?”

“We have to give him some kind of trust, don’t we?” Replied Izumi, looking at him with dismay. “We trusted you, Koji.”

“Don’t give me that look! I’m just saying we need to be cautious after-”

While they argued, a little figure slipped by under their noses. By the time they realized their group was missing another member, the bear was close enough to Vritramon that he could easily be swiped up.

“Tomoki! Get away from him!” Shouted Koji.

He didn’t obey. He didn’t even look back. “H-hey, Takuya.” He greeted his companion with the calmest voice he could manage, despite being scared out of his wits.

Takuya, likewise, did everything he could to force Vritramon to back away, but failed.

‘Don’t hurt him! Don’t you dare hurt him again!’

“I’m- I’m gonna put my hand on your face, okay? I’m just gonna touch you, that’s all.”

Vritramon was puzzled, but curious. A twinge of familiarity twinkled in its eyes, but it was hard to tell if it was the Digimon that recognized him, or some fragment of Takuya seeping through.

Its nostrils flared, but otherwise remained motionless. After a few more moments to reassure himself, Tomoki gingerly reached out and placed his little, three-fingered paw on the dragon’s nose. And, after that, he let Chackmon’s code dissipate, leaving nothing but a tiny, defenseless human behind.

“T-there.” He stuttered, trying to force his tiny voice louder. “It’s me. It’s Tomoki. You don’t wanna attack me, do you?”

To-mo-ki? Enemy?

Takuya felt Vritramon thinking the concept over. There was uncertainty…apprehension…but something so small was unlikely to be a threat, and tiny things should be cared for and protected, not eaten.

To-mo-ki…friend.

With the difference in size, the beast moreso licked up Tomoki’s entire forearm and face, but it was a friendly lick nonetheless.

Takuya felt the remaining barriers fade as Vritramon sank into a controlled calm. The limbs felt strange still, but they felt like his. He gave his new tail an experimental sweep against the dirt.

‘W-we- We’re gonna get along now, okay? No more attacking people. I mean, uh, we can still do that, but only some people.’

It made a curious noise in the back of his head. ‘How’s this, I’ll make sure you don’t overheat and show you who you can attack, and I can borrow your power for a little bit?’

…We find this agreeable, kindling.

Huh, awfully verbose all of a sudden. This guy was full of surprises.

“Takuya? Earth to the giant fire lizard?”

He snapped to attention, and it almost felt odd that his own body obeyed his orders (well, was it his own body? Was he just borrowing- oh, what did it matter, as long as he could control it) Everyone was so small compared to him now, but they didn’t look frightened.

“You alright?” Junpei asked. “Can you hear us now? You get Vritramon to calm down?”

“Are you okay?” Said Tomoki, with those big soft eyes that looked at his giant dragon body as calmly as he did when he was human. Not distrustful. Not afraid.

Takuya felt himself smile. “Yeah. I’m fine now.”

And this time, it wasn't a lie.

Chapter Text

“You’re pretty! Your Beast Spirit made you pretty! W-well, of course, it’s not like you’re prettier than me!”

Izumi had wanted to laugh in her face. Beauty? Is that what mattered to her, even now? For a moment, Izumi had almost understood the drive that Ranamon had possessed, seeking out her spirit. But looks? With all this raw, unfettered power, who could even care about looks??

Some part of her wishes it was bigger, sharper, louder- just like Vritramon had been. She doesn’t envy the level of physical and mental strain, obviously, but the ferocity. The others had remarked on her looks, and she wasn’t oblivious about that, but the true appeal to her was the beast’s wildness. It was a freedom she had never known before. It didn’t matter if parts of her still looked human, when she opened the beak beneath her mask and let out a piercing, hawklike shriek that echoed in the distance, she made it plenty clear that Shutumon was something beautifully terrifying.

Fairimon had flown with ease, commanded the wind with finesse. Shutumon soared without any effort at all, and commanded the sky like a god in its domain.

And, by some wondrous streak of luck, it’s a power the beast is willing to share. Shutumon is a being of simple needs, and, thankfully, most of those align with what the human wants, too. Stretch its wings, doze in the sun, tear apart enemies. If its desires are met, it hands over the power to rip apart the sky and cut the sea in half.

In some part of her mind, Izumi knows it’s temporary. The spirits won’t be theirs forever. Maybe it’s selfish to grow attached to them. She finds herself envious of the others again, but in a different way. Maybe if she’d had that initial moment of incompatibility, she would feel less hesitant about parting with Shutumon. It feels like an organic extension of herself now, not the least bit strange at all.

Sometimes she forgets that she isn’t supposed to have wings.

It’s a state of mind she’s so alluringly comfortable with, the rare oddities manage to slip by until someone else pointed them out. In the moment, she hadn’t thought of it as anything strange to start casually preening Vritramon’s wings. They were mussed and dirty, she had a perfectly good beak, wasn’t that perfectly logical in and of itself? It made sense to her, at least until the others had begun laughing and she realized there was a chunk of someone else’s feathers in her mouth.

(For what it was worth, Takuya was at least appreciative)

Everything is so…colorful.

She wouldn’t be sure how to describe it to the others if she tried. At first, Izumi hadn’t actually known Fairimon wore a visor over its eyes. Everything looked completely normal. The bestial aspect of a bird was far, far different. Everything had a color. Everything. Even the wind was tinted in different hues, shifting colors as it twisted in different directions. Pheromones, maybe? Atmospheric pressure? Who knew. The sight of it took her breath away, and it took all her willpower not to stare on, attention taken by every wisp of color as it passed.

The others had color, too. She had been debating whether or not to tell them. What would they do with the information, anyway? Would it just weird them out? Would they think she was making it up to mess with them? She couldn’t say for certain, so for now, it stayed a little secret between her and Shutumon.

Still, she found herself loving it. The auras her friends had, how little sparkles of it would linger on things they had just interacted with, how it softly pulsed with movement even when the humans weren’t, how it shifted in movement and intensity with their emotions. If they were separated, she could follow the trails they left behind with ease, without even thinking about finding steps in the dirt or scratches they had made on trees.

The more times she used Shutumon’s power, the more it lingered afterward. The first few times, Izumi was certain it had been afterimages that would fade. Yet they only seemed to grow more intense with her human eyes.

It was difficult not to stare in delight. Even the most minor interactions became exciting. Yet another petty squabble between Takuya and Koji was now alight with spectral energy, warm orangey-red flaring with the former’s shouts and sharp stabs from the latter’s icy-blue. Even when they made contact, the colors stayed sectioned and distinct- though when the argument inevitably settled down, and they came to a begrudging impasse, the very edges of their auras blurred into each other and became a gentle pale lavender.

Actually, the more comfortable the others were with each other, the more the colors smudged and faded together. Another brotherly pep-talk from Takuya to a fretting Tomoki, and orange ran together with pale olivine, equal parts whitish and green. Junpei’s was a distinct bicolor, harsh lemon-yellow in some places and deep navy in others. When he let his guard down, dropping the casanova nonsense and speaking with her genuinely, Izumi had noticed her own silvery-pink aura fuzzing against his and making a line of light dusty gold. And, in the times when they all hunkered down close for the night, she saw how everyone’s ran and smeared into everyone else’s, making a swirly rainbow haze that floated over the campsite like mist.

Perhaps that was what drew the Spirit of Wind to the sky in the first place. It felt so capricious, almost scatterbrained at first, but ignoring the colors was simply not an option. Izumi could feel a deep thrum in her muscles and bones, calling her to glide along with the breeze. The beats of her large, feathered wings stirred the individual colors of trade-winds and boras into one another like mixing paint on an easel. This is home. This is where she belongs, soaring so high that the earth below becomes a muddled patchwork of green, and skimming so low that she can count the grass blades before steering back up into the free, endless expanse above.

The others couldn’t dream of catching her if she tried to fly out of reach. Their wings of chitin and fire and metal could never compare to the nimble power of her own. At times, she almost wanted to challenge them, just to prove herself right. Shutumon taps into a reckless streak that she hadn’t realized she possessed. Izumi had enough willpower to keep her thoughts in control, though every time she crested into the sky and felt euphoria fizzle under her skin, there was a moment where she understood why Icarus had flown so close to the sun.

Chapter Text

How strange that the tiniest among them became one of the largest.

If anything, the change in size was the hardest for Tomoki to get used to. Blizzarmon wasn’t too strange a creature- still animalistic, sure, but it still had two arms and two legs, no freaky extra stuff like Shutumon’s wings or Bolgmon’s tank feet. But it was massive. His friends and the strangers walking around looked like toys that moved on their own. But toys were made of metal and plastic, they were durable, and even if they did break accidentally, they didn’t bleed or die.

Being careful was an absolute necessity in that form. So wasn’t it just his luck that Blizzarmon was the exact opposite of ‘cautious.’

The spirit had a personality of its own, he had found. It wasn’t entirely new to learn, Tomoki had heard from the others and from Bokomon’s book about the Beast Spirits. Garummon was noble and loyal. Shutumon was headstrong and independent. Bolgmon was methodical and intelligent. They all sounded cool! He could only imagine what it must feel like to work with someone like that. Blizzarmon wasn’t like any of them, and not in a nice way. Blizzarmon was rowdy and reckless.

It reminded him of the other kids at school. Before, when he’d been so much of a crybaby that he could barely even run out of fear of tripping and scraping his knees, he had watched others run around the playground with reckless abandon, unbothered by nicks and bruises and scrapes. They’d climb on big rocks and then try to push off anyone else that climbed up after them. Grab sharp sticks that fell off the trees and play in makeshift swordfights. Swap the fake swords for a real ax, and many of them would have been exactly the same.

Would it have been better if the spirit had gone to someone more fitting…?

Though he wasn’t sure if it was selfishness, or his own time spent in the Digital World, Tomoki found the thought rolling off his back with relative ease. Someone with a rowdy streak may have been more familiar with the beast’s habits, but his own reservations were what kept Blizzarmon in check. A more reckless person wouldn’t bother trying to control that power properly. They were a good fit, strange as it was.

And, at least, they share an understanding of who is a friend and who isn’t. Blizzarmon could lash out, but it always seemed to know who could and couldn’t have an ax thrown at their heads. He had that much going for him.

He just…wishes its understanding of ‘friends’ wasn’t so…strange.

Blizzarmon knows what it is, yes, it knows exactly what it is. A successor of the divine arbiter of winter, carrying all the power and responsibility that such a status entails. It is a warrior- a princely one, but a warrior nonetheless, most at home on the battlefield, weapons held high. The thrill of combat is one of the few things to warm its blood, to ignite its icy soul and set it all ablaze. Blizzarmon knows the distant memories baked into its code, times long past of its predecessor, AncientMegatheriummon, storming into battle with its allies by its side. Names and faces are fuzzy, but it knows that the divine arbiter viewed them as dear to its soul, no different than blood-given packmates.

Allies. Yes, Blizzarmon knows of those, too. The ones who charge into battle alongside it. They are very different from it, though. Not bearish, like it, or with any of the thick woolen fur that guarded it from adverse weather. It had hesitated, at first, wondering if such strange things really could be packmates. Was it truly supposed to live alongside these things, eat with them as brothers-in-arms, nurse their battle-wounds, clean the dirt from their pelts? What a thing to consider! Inconceivable, almost! Almost…but no. Those echoed memories would not be there if they were untrue, would they? For all of its brazen tendencies, Blizzarmon knows that the wisdom of its predecessor was far beyond its own. These were not bears, they came in strange shapes and colors and sizes, but they must have been its pack, nonetheless.

Redbird is leader. Smaller than it, but more powerful. At first, Blizzarmon had thought about fighting Redbird for dominance, but small-cub insisted against it. It had not liked small-cub at first. Too small. Too breakable. But very smart. Smart enough to be boss. Small-cub listened to Redbird, and Blizzarmon listened to small-cub.

Metalbug. Sharp-Dog. Skyglider. Very misshapen, not like it at all, but very good packmates. Blizzarmon shows them the respect they deserve as such. Lowering its head to speak at their level, fighting alongside them in combat, grooming them.

Its packmates are dirty. Even if they are wrong-bears, it will still clean them. Cleanliness is important. It would be a great tragedy, an ignoble end for a powerful warrior to succumb not on the field of battle, but from a mere dirtied wound.

Mmm, later, perhaps. It is tired. This tundra has little in the way of proper nesting areas. It will need to fix that.

Takuya watched on in amusement. “He’s kinda cute like that, isn’t he?”

Blizzarmon had dug a shallow pit in the snow, just large enough to curl into for a nap. One paw served as its pillow, while the other covered its snout to keep it warm.

It had been too quick to judge. The others make for fine brothers-in-arms.

That fills the beast’s soul with ferocious delight. It bangs its axes together in glee, before launching back into the fray. Their methods of fighting are different, but it is only because their bodies are different. It understands now, the wisdom of AncientMegatheriummon and its allies. Fighting with brothers is far more satisfying than it ever had been fighting alone. Redbird is a novel pack-leader, and it is honored to fight under their guidance. With it, they have torn through enemies and shown all they encounter that their pack is not to be trifled with. Though they have not slaughtered their adversaries today, the fear on their faces as they flee is almost just as satisfying.

Blizzarmon stands over where their foes had stood, and lets out a triumphant yowl, once again slamming its axes together to release a harsh metallic sound. Victory, victory, victory. This is what it lives for.

Once their triumph has been declared, it moves onto the important post-victory tasks. It has sustained no injuries of its own, only mussed fur, so it moves to the nearest of its packmates to assist them. It is Metalbug. Blizzarmon doesn’t hesitate in putting its hands on them, trying to find dirt or parasites to pluck off.

“Uh…can I help you?” They ask, pivoting towards it.

The beast huffs. To help would be the exact opposite of what is currently happening. It’s more difficult to groom someone in motion. It nearly growls in warning, but small-cub intervened.

“S-sorry, weird instinct.” He explains. “The spirit is really concerned with keeping everyone clean.”

It makes perfect sense in its own mind, and it nods with confidence. Skyglider, for reasons beyond its understanding, regards it with skepticism.

“Really?”

Now it’s confused. Why would they…oh! The sentiment is obvious in hindsight. Skyglider is higher in the group hierarchy, it must think it deserves being assisted first.

Well, that works just fine for it. Blizzarmon picks itself off the ground and moves over to its smaller cohort…but as soon as it tried to clean through their wings, Skyglider took off into the air.

“Nnnope! Not happening, not today.”

How curious. Is this a game? Are they trying to play a game with them? Skyglider does seem the type for silly little pranks and games. It is happy to play along!

Small-cub makes a sigh in the back of its mind. Yes, Blizzarmon agrees, it is a bit frustrating, but it can entertain them this time.

Sharp-Dog is not well. Sharp-Dog is not Sharp-Dog. There is a tiny, furless thing that lives inside it, like how small-cub lives inside itself. It is not the color that it should be- red in places, purple in others, limping along far slower than normal. Blizzarmon cannot see Sharp-Dog, but it can hear its soul whimper.

Packmates respect each other. Packmates fight together…but they also care for each other.

Without warning, it scoops him right off the ground.

‘Wh- what are you doing?! Don’t hurt him!’

Not hurting. Helping.

Blizzarmon finds a cozy spot on the ground and lies down on its back. The tiny human in its hands is placed on an especially furry patch of its chest.

Warm now. Sharp-Dog warm now.

With the difference in size they have, it has to carefully stroke his back with a single finger to make sure it doesn’t break any of the human’s small, fragile bones. It hears no cracks, but there is a stifled whimper. It lessens the pressure. Emits a soft chuff to calm him. Sharp-Dog will be fine. Blizzarmon is here to keep them safe.

Chapter Text

Bolgmon is…peculiar. Not in the way that the others are, though. Bolgmon is a distinctly mechanical creature. From the bottom of the tank-treads to the very tip of the welded facsimile of a beetle’s horn shaped into a cannon, everything is a component of a machine. So, naturally, it defaults to the rigid, structured mindset that a machine would have.

PATH CALCULATED. DIRECTIONAL INPUTS IN PROCESS.

‘Hey, hey, hold up! You’re gonna run over Tomoki’s snowman!’

CURRENT PATH IS DESIGNATED MOST EFFICIENT.

‘Just go around it!’

SUGGESTED DEVIATION DECREASES ENERGY EFFICIENCY BY .0028%

‘And that’s fine!’

REQUEST: SUGGESTED PARAMETER OF ‘FINE?’

‘Just- just don’t run over the other guys’ stuff! Being a little less efficient is okay as long as you’re not rolling right over everything. Don’t run anyone over, and don’t crush anything fragile!’

SYSTEM EDIT NOTED. PATHFINDING PROTOCOLS RESTRUCTURED TO INCLUDE CHANGES.

‘Sheesh…’

The others, at least, still have legs, even if they were stretched and bent into odd shapes. Bolgmon has no knee joints, barely even a foot in any sense of the word. The treads roll against the ground, kept in formation by wheels more suited to a war machine or a tractor than anything alive, and he doesn’t have to do so much as lift it to move. The fact that he can feel both the treads and the wheels is something he thinks should horribly unsettle him, but in the moment, some foreign part of his mind is simply happy the sprocket wheel is in perfect synchronicity, turning to start a new rotation as effortlessly as the first. The satisfaction of perfect, mechanical efficiency nearly drowns out the initial disgust.

Which was more disturbing, that he was a flesh-and-blood human turning into a cold, welded machine, or that there was a point it became normal?

It hadn’t, at first. When he had first used the spirit, the lack of control hadn’t come from battling against Bolgmon for dominance. If anything, it had been perfectly amenable. But the controls it had offered were completely foreign to the human’s mind, and all he could do was pull levers and hit buttons to try and figure out how the heck any of it worked. He hoped it hadn’t looked too stupid, fumbling around like that. It was even more annoying that they’d been robbed not long after, how was he supposed to prove he wasn’t always clumsy like that if he couldn’t even transform? At least part of the sting was taken away in that the other guys were in the same boat as he was. He had that much going for him.

This was stupid. This whole thing was really, really stupid. But…well, it was better than doing nothing, and nothing was just about everything there was to do around here. The relieved joy at realizing most of them had managed to escape out of that bizarre tower-eye-monster-thing and the shared stories of their experiences had passed several hours ago, as had the fear about the final two who had yet to find their way out of the maze. All there seemed to be left was waiting, watching, and trying to ignore Bokomon snapping at Neemon for whatever dumb thing he’d said or done in the last five-minute block.

And-and it wasn’t like the others hadn’t done it, too. Tomoki had let them use Blizzarmon as a warm, fluffy spot to nap on for a little while, and Izumi had used Shutumon to help fan their stick-fire enough to help it burn properly. Then again, though, he wasn’t using it for anything so noble. If anything, it felt more like hiding away. Of course, they could still see him- it’d be basically impossible to miss something so big so close, but this still felt like enough a degree of separation that he had some privacy.

With the greater handle he’d obtained over Bolgmon’s abilities, Junpei had fashioned himself a comfortable little spot in their shared mental space. Something like the cockpit of a tank, but way roomier, with enough little touches to make it feel less sterile.

UNKNOWN ENEMY STRUCTURE LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 15 METERS AHEAD. HAS A BATTLE STRATEGY BEEN PREPLANNED?

‘Just…just try to ignore it for now, okay?’ Admittedly, that was part of the reason for hiding. Even if it didn’t move, the darn thing creeped him out beyond all belief. He couldn’t prove those eyes were staring at him, but it definitely felt like it.

The literal cogs within the beast’s mind spun and whirred. RATIONALE INSUFFICIENT. FURTHER EXPLANATION REQUIRED.

‘I just need some quiet, alright?? I just need everyone to stop looking at me for just a minute!’

…THIS UNIT IS SENSING EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.

‘Wow, how’d you guess?’ Junpei snapped back. The lights in the cockpit flickered. ‘I’ll be done in a couple minutes and then you can go back to sleep. So can I just have that?’

Bolgmon obliged, though he could still hear it whirring in thought. The others outside remained distracted by the fire. From their perspective, he was only sitting there in silence.

He had come inside to relax. Wasn’t it just his luck then, that no matter how he sat or what he leaned against, nothing felt quite right. Something had gotten on his nerves, and each failed attempt at calming down only irritated them further.

Junpei let out an irate sound, not loud enough to be a shout but not quiet enough to be a grumble. The sight must have been pathetic, irritably squirming in place as he tried and failed to vent his frustration in any meaningful way.

Immediately, Bolgmon took notice. ARE YOU INJURED?

‘Didn’t I tell you to leave me alone!?’ It was unfairly harsh, especially towards someone that was supposed to be his partner, but Junpei simply couldn’t stop himself. A flicker of horror mixed into his anger when he realized what he’d done, and all he could think to do was turn away and cross his arms.

‘...S…sorry.’

THIS UNIT TAKES NO OFFENSE.

‘Cool. Great.’ Junpei could feel a slight pressure in his thoughts. ‘You’re gonna ask me again, aren't you?’

LACK OF PROPER COMMUNICATION IS DENOTED AS A PRIMARY CAUSE OF ACCIDENTS.

‘What, so if I don’t talk about my personal issues, I’ll fall over and twist my ankle or something?’

POSSIBLY. ACCIDENTS OCCUR IN A WIDE VARIETY OF SETTINGS. THIS UNIT CAN RECOGNIZE A SOURCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS WITHIN YOU. DUE TO THE HUMAN PREFERENCE FOR ‘PERSONAL SPACE,’ THIS UNIT HAS REFRAINED FROM DECIPHERING THE CAUSE MANUALLY.

Junpei gave the spirit a look, but relented. ‘At least you’re honest about being nosy. It’s, uh, It’s about that weird copy of me- uh, you- us? The one that attacked us.’

CONFRONTATION HAS BEEN STORED WITHIN THE SECOND-MOST RECENT COMBAT MEMORY SLOT. REQUEST: DO YOU WISH TO REPLAY IT?

‘No! No, don’t. I don’t want to see it again.’

UNDERSTOOD. REQUEST: WHAT ABOUT THE CONFRONTATION HAS CAUSED YOU EMOTIONAL DISTRESS?

‘It wasn’t the fight itself. Not really. It’s just- the others got to deal with their issues in private, why did mine have to be on full display? Why was I the only one that everyone had to stare at?’

RATIONALE INDICATES THE END RESULT YIELDED A MORE IDEAL OUTCOME. YOUR ALLIES WITNESSED YOUR HUMAN FAILINGS AND ACCEPTED THEM.

‘That’s not the point! What if they hadn’t?’

THIS UNIT DOES NOT PROCESS THE VALIDITY OF THAT STATEMENT. IT WOULD NOT BE LOGICAL TO DEVOTE RESOURCES TO CONSIDER IT.

‘Well, I’m not! I’m not…’ He trailed off, covering his face with a hand. ‘Maybe if I was, then maybe none of this would’ve happened. Maybe then everyone at home would have liked me.’

The cockpit went quiet again. Even the whirring seemed to soften. Maybe it was just the blood pounding in his ears that muffled it.

THIS UNIT CAN SEE INTO YOUR LATENT MEMORY. YOU APPEAR TO BE SURROUNDED BY PEERS.

The boy responded with dour, lifeless laughter. ‘Yeah. They’re there now, but as soon as the magic show’s over, or I stop saying something funny, off they go. That’s not friendship. I used to think it was, but it isn’t.’

THIS UNIT DOES NOT UNDERSTAND. ACCORDING TO THIS DATASET, YOU HAVE PERFORMED THE STANDARD TENETS OF SOCIAL INTERACTION.

‘Pfft, sheesh, you sound like my mom.’ He made a mouth with one hand. ‘’Ohhh, Junpei, I don’t know why everyone wouldn’t want to be your friend! You’re such a charming boy.’ She said it all the time, but I know she just did it to make me feel better.’

CLARIFICATION REQUESTED

‘It’s- y’know, moms always try to soften bad stuff.’ No, that wasn’t much of a helpful explanation. ‘I dunno. That’s just what they do. Sometimes I’d even believe it, when I was at home. But as soon as I went to school again, it was the same.

MEMORIES INDICATE YOUR EFFORTS WERE REPEATED. REQUEST: WHY WOULD YOUR PEERS REMAIN INFLEXIBLE IN THEIR LACK OF RECIPROCITY?

‘I don’t know why. You think I haven’t tried everything I could think of? I’d bring snacks to school, I’d tell jokes, I’d do magic. Then I’d ask if anyone ever wanted to hang out after school, or on the weekend. Nobody ever did.' He could feel that prickle in the bottom of his throat, the one that he always tried to swallow back down. Chocolate always helped. But he hadn’t felt it in a while, so he hadn’t needed the chocolate. He wished he had some.

…FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH, JUNPEI, THIS UNIT CONSIDERS YOU A GOOD FRIEND.

‘Y’mean an ally, right?’

NEGATIVE. THIS UNIT IS A MACHINE, BUT IT STILL COMPREHENDS THE CONCEPT OF FRIENDSHIP. LIKEWISE, THE BEHAVIORAL DATA GATHERED FROM YOUR FELLOW WARRIORS INDICATES A 96.773% LIKELIHOOD THEY HAVE CATEGORIZED YOU AS A FRIEND AS WELL.

Bolgmon stated it all with so much frankness, that the human found himself bent over laughing. ‘Is that so? Well, darn, guess I can’t argue with numbers!’

OF COURSE, JUNPEI. IT IS MERELY LOGICAL.

Chapter Text

Truth be told, he had been afraid to evolve again the first time. Even if it was by his own volition now, with tools that hadn’t been warped and twisted to pry into his head and dredge up all the anxieties and hatred that crept around in the back of his mind, Koichi feared how much the feeling would resemble it still.

And…it felt like sinking into a warm embrace. This darkness wasn’t jagged sharpness and mercilessly hunting prey under the shadow of night. It was tranquil moonlight, nooks in tree hollows, heather dusk lulling day-dwelling creatures to a long, pleasant rest until morning.

The new forms lacked the domineering energy that the ones before had. Despite what the others had told him, and with what Velgemon had felt like, the beast was strangely placid, like an oversized housecat that butted against his leg. If anything, it felt like he was the one being reined in, having his thoughts kept calm and composed. KaiserLeomon had greeted him with a knowing look in its eyes and calmly handed over its power to him.

It spoke to him, too, in a language he didn’t know yet somehow still understood.

No worrying. Worrying bad. Naptime now.

‘But we haven’t even done anything. What could be making you tired?’

Naptime, little-cat.

Its voice was deep, but there was a maternal quality to it, reminding him of his mother in a way he couldn’t pin down. Everything about it did. It behaved less like something he had to dominate and more like something taking care of him. A tired, aching fragment of himself half-buried in his deeper thoughts almost wishes he could stay in that form all the time, wrapped in someone else’s warmth, a cat’s soft purrs filling his ears. It’s too self-indulgent to last, but for those moments, it feels like love.

He…he missed home. Something about it hurt his head when he thought about it for too long, maybe the anxiety of his mother worrying where he’d gone. For now, the beast was almost an alternative to his mother’s watching over him.

It helps quite a lot when he loses control. The power doesn’t overwhelm him, but there are times when the memory of being taken advantage of, having his autonomy stripped away creeps into his thoughts. His breaths turn ragged and short, and suddenly he doesn’t feel real. This isn’t his body. Does he even have one? Is he actually human, or is he some rogue clump of data that’s managed to delude itself into thinking it is?

Whenever he would feel a twitch of panic in battle, KaiserLeomon would grab him by the scruff of his shirt collar like a kitten and drag him back to his senses. The pressure and sensory information grounds him until his thoughts reorganize himself. Even then, though, it’s tiring, and the beast lends itself to keep him standing until it’s safe to lie down for a while and regain their shared strength.

Is it ungrateful of him, to be taken aback by kindness? Both KaiserLeomon and the other humans have offered him warmth and companionship without any strings attached. He finds it difficult to not be wary. It had only been the three of them, for as far back as he could remember. Just his mother, grandmother, and him. Others had been well-meaning, like the teachers who had asked him, with concern in their eyes, if his academic scores dropping meant there was something difficult going on at home (of course there was, that was how it always had been. But even if he said something, all they could offer him would be condolences and a warning that he could be held back a year). Far more had been more naked in their inability to help- or in their lack of any real inclination to do so. The landlord, rapping his knuckles against the door to remind them of their overdue rent, his mother’s boss all but demanding more overtime hours while holding last week’s paycheck over her head, and the strangers on the street between their house and the corner store that offered her money to do…something, she hadn’t explained what any of the words and gestures had meant, and the look on her face told him that he wasn’t supposed to ask.

Izumi hands him a plate of dinner. Before he can figure out what she wants in exchange for it, she’s gone, passing out food to the others. When she finally turns back to him, it’s to ask him if he wants more. He hasn’t been eating much, is he feeling alright? Does he feel sickly? Does he want to lie down for a bit and try to sleep it off?

(He says no, with his usual polite smile. Izumi still gives him the softest spot to sleep on that night)

They’re kind. They’re too kind. He doesn’t feel like it’s something he has earned. The opposite, actually- how much harm had he caused them? They should hate him, all of them. How many times had he almost killed them? How many had he actually succeeded in killing? The memories are fuzzy, but he recognizes the feelings of hatred like the back of his hand. He can’t lie and say that it was all artificial, all manipulation. He had that anger inside of him, and under the right circumstances, it was so deep and terrible that he could be capable of such horrible things.

(When they wander into the Village of Beginnings and witness so much life starting anew, it takes all his willpower not to burst into tears. KaiserLeomon purrs against his back until the stinging in his eyes goes away)

Koji had told him how much difficulty they’d all had with the beasts. He didn’t know why he seemed to be a rare exception. Not that he was ungrateful, far from it. Koichi wasn’t sure if he’d be able to handle that loss of control again. His demeanor is polite, not only because he wants to cause as little trouble as possible, but because he worries that if he succumbs to his own anger again, escaping it would be impossible the second time around.

He can’t lose control again. He can still feel something blunt prying into his skull, trying to tear open a hole big enough to reach through, and- oh, that’s not a memory, is it- there’s someone in his head, someone’s trying to get inside, Cherubimon left a hole and no matter how much he tried he’d never be able to close it all the way, he’d never heal shut, and someone’s thin fingers are creeping through and grabbing on-

THEY CANNOT TOUCH YOU HERE. The beast roars, drowning out his spiraling internal voice. He feels it curl around him again.

After the moment had passed, he realizes how stupid it all sounded. ‘I’m sorry…That was-’

SAFE HERE. SAFE HERE. SAFE WITH US. KaiserLeomon chants it into his skin like a desperate mantra. Little-cat safe with us. Safe with other kittens.

He doesn’t know if that promise holds much weight. Even when combining all their power together, the Knights still push them back. But he wants to believe. He wants to hope that all of them will be alright, and he’ll do whatever he can to make it real. He takes that as his encouragement to keep moving forward. Having a friend, let alone so close and so many is something he’s never experienced before.

When he sees Garummon, it unlocks a strange feeling. Kinship, but not like human brotherhood. Something deeper, yet more amorphous, hard to discern. Like seeing an old friend lost to time, relief and remorse and regret over years lost. It takes all his willpower not to nuzzle against it or curl up by its side…and sometimes, he just can’t stop himself. Their armor grinds against one another, but it’s oddly comforting. Whatever strange creatures’ bodies they all have been borrowing, he hopes that they’re getting something out of this, too.

In rare moments, Koichi can almost convince himself that everything will be alright. He has KaiserLeomon. He has his new friends. Maybe when they can go home (and they will go home, right? Once all of this is over?) it won’t have all been just a dream. His friends will still be there. And he’ll be there with them.

…

Why does his head hurt again…?

Chapter Text

It had been more of a funny accident than anything. At first, Izumi had spotted one of the newborn hatchlings fluttering away from the rest of the eggs, and impulsively shifted into Shutumon in order to dart after it and bring the baby Digimon back to the flock. On the way back, she happened across Junpei, who had donned Bolgmon in order to think more clearly, at least in his own words. Blizzarmon across the way had filled its paws with tiny babies that bubbled in excitement to be so high off the ground. At the sight of it, Takuya had let Vritramon come out to play as well, with some supervision. Everyone gradually drifted together with enough time. Koichi barely needed any prompting to join, and Koji joined suit with obviously feigned annoyance.

Likewise, they didn’t so much intentionally huddle up as they did naturally curl into one another. As strange as the beasts had felt the first time, it had become second nature. And that peculiar animal instinct made them fall into a group pile, feeling nothing more than a casual tranquility over any sort of embarrassment. There was no need to say a word. Arms and wings draped over each other, tails wrapped around nearby legs, and heads came to rest against each other’s shoulders.

“Hey guys,” Tomoki eventually said, voice soft despite its deepness. “Are we going to die?”

The mood fell, and everyone immediately sobered. It wasn’t an unreasonable question. And, to some extent, they all had considered it at least once. But nobody moved.

Takuya asked, “what do you think would happen if we did?”

“Maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll wake up home in bed. And it’ll all just have been a bad dream.” Said Junpei.

“Maybe, since we’re in the Digital World, we’ll turn into Digi-Eggs.” Takuya offered. “Then we’ll hatch into these cute little guys.”

“Heh. No, that’d be really weird. The wrong kind of weird.” Koji said.

“Which one would you want to be, if you got to pick?” Koichi gestured across the field with a paw, to a Chibomon dozing in a cluster of flowers. “I like that one. Its smile is kind.”

“Mmm..” After a moment of thought, Izumi pointed to a Poyomon blowing bubbles. “That was the first Digimon I saw when we came here. It scared me, but I think it’s cute now! But, I hope it evolves into something that could fly. I’d want to be able to fly again.”

She paused again, head-wings fluttering in thought. “I’m wondering how long it’ll take me to miss this, once I can’t fly anymore. Y’know, once we have to give the spirits back? I’ve gotten used to it, it’s going to be so strange…”

“Heh! At least you can still fly in the real world!” Added Junpei, with a laugh. “Get your pilot’s license! Or skydive! The closest I’ll be able to get is being an electrician.”

Takuya’s tail restlessly flicked against his leg. “...Y’know, back at home, my mom wouldn’t even let me touch the stove. She said it was too dangerous for me. She said I’d hurt myself. ‘You’re too young to use fire, Takuya,’ she’d say, ‘it’s too unsafe. Wait until you’re older.’”

“A few weeks ago I was worried about my math homework. One of my biggest worries was my mom asking me to mop the kitchen floor. Now we’re responsible for saving an entire world. And we failed.”

“We didn’t fail,” Izumi replied, wrapping Shutumon’s wings around herself. “We haven’t lost. All the baby Digimon are alive. We’re still alive. So we can’t give up.”

Junpei merely sighed. “I know. I don’t want to. But how can I not worry? Every time we’ve won something, someone bigger comes along and beats us again. Who cares if we beat the other warriors, beat Cherubimon? The planet’s gone. What’s it matter?”

With a dog’s sharp huff, Koji shook his head. “We helped each other. We helped Koichi. That’s not nothing.”

“Even if it’s a losing battle, we gotta try, right?” Tomoki said.

“Don’t say it like that.” Replied Takuya, thumping his tail for emphasis. “We will win. The Knights have pushed us back, but they’ve never stopped us. They didn’t beat us the first time, and we’ve only gotten stronger every time since then. We will win.”

It was hard not to get swept up in their leader’s confidence. It was what he did best. A spark of energy buzzed through them all, as though their connected limbs conducted electricity like a wire.

Izumi sprawled across Blizzarmon’s furry back, chin propped up in her claws. “Your aura is purple, Koichi, did I ever tell you that? It’s very pretty.”

“It is?” He asked, reasonably confused by the idea. “Hmm, while I understand how it’s fitting for darkness, I wish mine was green. Green’s my favorite.”

“Really? Huh, I guess part of me had assumed…”

Koji sent her a funny look, for as little an expression as Garmmon’s armor could manage. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, I mean, pink is my favorite, I thought everyone else’s elements and colors fit them too?”

A peal of laughter rippled through the group. “I guess mine sorta fits?” Takuya said with a shrug. “Mine’s yellow. It’s sort of fiery?”

“Heh. Same. Then why’d you get fire and I didn’t?” Koji gave him a friendly laugh and a bump with his snout.

“Mine’s orange!” Added Tomoki. “Is my aura orange?”

“Nope, it’s white, like your fur. But I guess that does explain your hat, I always wanted to ask about that.”

He reached up to grab where it would have been, but there were only horns. “It was a gift for my birthday, and I thought it being all poofy would make me look taller. ‘n maybe then the other kids wouldn’t make fun of me as much…”

“Ha! Now I expect you won’t have any trouble with them.” Junpei snickered. “Try not to turn into a delinquent though, okay?”

“What about Junpei’s?” Koichi asked. “What’s his aura, Izumi?”

“His is a little weird.” The beetle-tank visibly drooped. “It’s two different colors.”

“...Oh.” He perked up immediately. “Well, I guess that means I’m special!”

“You’re some kind of special…” Takuya quipped back.

“Hey, hey, break it up you two-” Before the two boys could go at each other, Koji issued a warning growl and grabbed the dragon’s tail with his teeth, while Tomoki rooted the tank in place with his long hair. Even then, though, it was more of a playfight than anything, and just as quickly, everyone settled back down into the pile, like kittens for a nap. Tomoki didn’t even bother untangling and pulling away, merely letting his back rest against Bolgmon’s chassis.

Koichi laid still as Izumi eventually settled, half across KaiserLeomon, and the other half against Garmmon, who had nuzzled against his side. One wing draped across his head, and he let his chin settle on the moon’s dusty surface.

“It looks pretty now. Everyone’s auras are all blurred together. It looks like a rainbow.” Izumi said, voice almost longing for something she couldn’t vocalize. Her sharp fingers grazed the sky overhead. “I can tell we’re all scared, even if it’s just a little bit, but all the colors are still mixing together. I think…I think that means that even if we’re scared, we still have each other. I’m happy you guys are all here. I’m happy I got to see the rainbow. I wish you could see it, too.”

Painted over in multicolored haze, the moon fell quiet.

It was not a peace that would last. But it was peace nonetheless.