Seimei no Shan AO Chapter 008

Seimei no Shan AO
Written by: SeiferA
With Story Assistance By: Digistar

Chapter 008: The Biggest Dreamer! Digistar’s Journey With DATS!
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Several additional hours have passed since Shinsei and his friends made their journey into Lavar’s Peak and discovered new friends there. As the crew continued onwards towards Capitol City in the red Volkswagen Beetle, Patamon, Impmon and Kazpa were all in a back area in the vehicle initially designed to hold luggage; However, the spacious area was small yet wide enough to act as a small room for Patamon and Impmon, with Kazpa looking over the back seat.

“Alright, so here’s the thing.” Impmon began as he was speaking with Patamon, “We know your training with Shinsei has made you learn a couple of moves. But if you’re gonna be a constant target, you know what the next step HAS to be!”

Patamon gave a dead pan expression to the imp, “... I know that. I’ve been telling you I know that several times now!”

“And yet you still haven’t done it yet!?”

A vein popped on top of Patamon’s forehead as he started to twitch, “Look, I told you I don’t even know how I can even do it, ok? It’s not something I can simply switch on...”

Impmon smugly waved his hand to the side, “Well no duh!” Then he looked sternly at Patamon, “But if you’ve been battling by Shinsei’s side for this long now you should have the capability of doing it already! I mean, the dude’s got a freakin Tri-Ark for crying out loud!”

“So you’re saying it’s MY fault!?”

“Well SOMEBODY’S not doing their part in making you do it!”

“YEAH DO THE THING ALREADY!” Kazpa exclaimed raising his fist with a smile. Patamon glared at Kazpa, “YOU DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT!”

“EEP!” Kazpa quickly retreated behind the seat, antenna and eyes barely viewable, “I-I-I do! Seriously! It’s something to do with... battling right?”

Both Patamon and Impmon blinked at the Yokai as Impmon sighed, “At least he’s half right...”

“They’re talking about Patamon evolving, Kazpa.”

Kazpa looked over to Shinsei, whom was relaxing in the driver seat as Rose was taking automatic control, “Usually when a Digimon battles enough time and has a certain connection with their Tamer, the bond between the two can allow the Digimon to evolve to a higher stage.”

The ghostly yokai put his finger on his mouth slightly confused, “A higher stage...?”

Shinsei nodded as he continued his explanation, “You see, both Patamon and Impmon are in what Tamers called the Rookie Stage. When a Digimon evolves from that stage, they can reach a stage known as Champion, taking on a more evolved form with greater strength and fighting capabilities. If the Tamer and their Digimon continue to grow and fight together, the Digimon can eventually reach higher stages, from Ultimate all the way to Mega. It’s the goal of every Digimon Tamer as well as their Digimon to have them reach their maximum level.”

“That... sounds so COOL!”, Kazpa exclaimed in awe, “If only Yokai could evolve like that! Well... some of us kinda can but only to one stage! The fact that Digimon can evolve up to THREE stages sounds amazing!”

Impmon repeated his smug expression, “Heh! And that’s not even counting the mode changes when in Mega! Maybe I could show my Mega stage to you sometime, kid!”

Kazpa darted over to Impmon, “S-Seriously!? You can evolve to your highest stage!?”

Impmon put on a really smug look as he crossed his arms, smiling, “Naturally! Any Digimon associated with DATS totally has to have the capabilities to fight any foe, small OR big!”

“WOW!!!” Kazpa couldn’t help but exclaim out loud in awe, “You’re so awesome and cool, Impmon-sempai!”

Impmon’s face suddenly went beat red, “S-S-SEMPAI!? WHAT THE FUDGE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT MAN!?” Patamon giggled as he pointed, “SOMEONE is clearly embarrassed!”. Impmon in turn lashed out, his face still red, “S-S-S-SHUT UP! ITS NOT LIKE I LIKE HIS COMPLIMENT OR ANYTHING, Y-YOU STUPID IDIOT!!”

As Patamon continued to laugh and Impmon continued to defend himself, Shinsei couldn’t help but look at the rear view mirror, seeing the talking taking place, chuckling a bit at the antics. Soon afterwards, however, Rose’s avatar spoke, “Hey Shinsei, we’re about to approach Talanto. Should we make a pit stop in town for a bit?”

Shinsei gave a nod, “Yeah, sounds like a plan to me!” He turned over to Digistar, “What do you think? Should we get something to eat at--”

He noticed Digistar once again asleep on the passenger seat. He then nudged her, “Hey Digistar! Wake up!”

“ZZZ--SNORK-WAH-HUH?” She rubbed her eyes while the young black haired teen looked at her with a bit of concern, “You ok? You’ve been sleeping nonstop since we left Lavar Peak.”

She simply reached for her glasses under the seat as she simply replied, “Yeah... Im fine.”

As Digistar grabbed her glasses and put them on, Rose continued, “My scans indicate that your heart rate increased during various points while you were asleep.” The DATS Agent resumed reaching for her glasses as she spat, “So AIs like you still have the capabilities of scanning vital info, huh?”

Rose’s avatar nodded, “It’s not as accurate and informative as the modern equipment most AIs have but it gets the job done.”

“Well either way, I’m fine, ok?” She put on her glasses as she adjusted them, “Just had... a nightmare, that’s all.”

Shinsei looked over to Digistar, “What was it about?”

A hard glare was given to him, “It’s none of your business!”

Feeling attacked, Shinsei shrugged his arms, “Ok, ok! Jeez!” He then crossed his arms and gave a side glance to Digistar, “You know, all I’m trying to do is help you! If you wanna talk about it, I’m here.”

Her glare continued, “I never asked for your help! I don’t need anyone’s help with any of my problems or dreams or whatever! Don’t forget I’m only here because Captain Suzaku told me to be your escort to Capitol City: Once we’re there, my job is done and I can focus on resuming my duties as a DATS Agent as oppose to being YOUR babysitter!”

An equal glare was given from Shinsei, “I never asked for a babysitter! I may be a teenager but me and Patamon can manage on our own perfectly fine to Capitol City!”

“You think I care if you can or not? I’m only here because if I disobey my direct orders, I could very well be demoted or, worse yet, get fired from DATS! And thats the last thing I want to do!”

“OK! FINE! I wont ask anything anymore!”

“GOOD!”

“WELL OK THEN!!”

Rose’s avatar, Kazpa, Patamon and Impmon all simply blinked towards both of them as they kept their arms crossed and looked away from one another.

For the most part, the remainder of the trip towards their pit stop destination stayed unusually quiet, with the three monsters in the back keeping to themselves and giving small talk as the trip went on.

beep beep beep beep beep

Digistar blinked as she digged into her pocket with Impmon looking over her seat, “Huh... that’s strange. The DATS Alert System is active...” As she looked at her iC Digivice, Shinsei asked, “What’s so strange about that?”

She began to press a few button as she explained, “The System usually isn’t active unless there’s a call for major backup. It can extend to any agent in the area, even if the area is normally isn’t in their jurisdiction.” When she was done doing her gestures, she grabbed an ear piece from her vest pocket and put it on her right ear then pressed a button, “This is Digistar, DATS Agent 7098 from the Saint Nano Branch. What’s the situation?”

She heard a male voice over the ear piece, “This is Colley Dogstar, DATS Agent 18849 from the Talanto Branch! I got a situation here and need immediate back up!”

“Roger that! I got a fix on the disturbance marker with my Digivice! We’ll be right there!” She then pressed the button on her headset and looked over to Rose, “Rose, I’m gonna need to ask you to gun it to a certain location.”

Rose’s avatar looked to Digistar briefly before she looked over to the driver side, “Shinsei?”

He gave a nod as Digistar began to upload the data, “Don’t push yourself too hard, though. You’ve been driving more than a thousand miles by now.”

Digistar gave a glare to Shinsei as Rose’s avatar gave a nod and began to accelerate faster, “I don’t think you get it, Shinsei. When a DATS Agent says to gun it, then you need to gun it at 100%!”

Shinsei gave a glare right back, “And I’m telling you that we need to be gentle with her engine! We’ve been fortunate her engine hasn’t given us any major issues so far, but if we press it too hard, it could cause something to falter! Don’t forget what kind of vehicle we’re driving in here!”

Her fangs showed as Digistar yelled, “I’M SORRY, I THOUGHT THIS VEHICLE COULD GO AT BREAKNECK SPEEDS LIKE THE TIME WE CHASED AFTER RALDO!”

Shinsei brought out his own fangs and yelled back, “THAT WASN’T AFTER A THOUSAND MILES WERE RACKED UP IN THE ODOMETER WITHIN ONLY A FEW DAYS! I know her engine more than you do and you’re under our mercy; So we’ll race there, BUT WE’RE NOT FLOORING IT!”

Digistar ruffled her hair as she exclaimed, “GYAAAAHH, FINE!!!” Then slammed on her seat and crossed her arms, sulking. Everyone, including Rose, simply gave a sigh as the vehicle continued to race down the pathway, with several futuristic buildings towering over the horizon.

*************************************

Getting off the pathway and entering into neighborhood roads, the red Vokswagen lowered it’s speed as it approached the target relayed to it. As it did, the vehicle took a hard left, then approached in a park with a sign saying “GRANT PARK”. In the park were dozens of trees decorated over the road. As they continued to race down, they finally saw their target in an open field:

A lone DATS Agent with his Digimon were fighting against what looked to be a massively large yellow Sabertooth Lion with a large spiky mane and 4 orange threads coming out from it.

The Digimon raised it’s huge paw and slammed it down towards the opposing Digimon; A short blue bi-ped dogish Digimon wearing red boxing gloves and a red headband named Gaomon. The Digimon was barely caught from the tail end of the explosion from the ground as his body was sent flying upwards and crasheded to the ground.

“Gaomon, are you ok!?”

Gaomon looked over to the Agent as he slowly got up, “Ugh, I’m fine. Just grazed a bit. I still got a lot of fight left in me, Colley!”

The agent named Colley was in fact part of one of several types of Alter races known as “Furries”; Bi-ped animals to be more specific. In this case, this Agent looked to be a light blue canine colley with dark blue eyes, wearing the DATS Vest with a light blue shirt with an orange star in the center: One side completely filled in orange, the other showing the letter “K”. To complete the look, he was also wearing blue jeans.

As Shinsei and the others looked at the acton from far away, Digistar quickly got out with Impmon, “You all get somewhere safe! I’ll give you a call on the Key Tool when we’re done here!”

“Are you kidding!?” Shinsei exclaimed, “It’s only that one DATS Agent out there! Let me and Patamon help you!”

“This isn’t your normal Digimon exhibition match, Shinsei!” Digistar exclaimed out sternly, “Just trust me on this!”

Shinsei gritted his teeth as Patamon looked over with concern... and eventually Shinsei sighed, “You heard her, Rose. Let’s get out of here.”

As the Volkswagen slammed it’s passenger door and did a quick U-turn to get away from the area, both the DATS Agent and her Digimon rushed in towards the fight. She pointed forward as she declared out, “ALRIGHT IMPMON, LET’S DO THIS!!”

Impmon gave a determined nod as he lept forward and declared his attack.

“SUMMON!!”

A powerful ice blast was launched right towards SaberLeomon’s eye, causing it to cry out in pain, it’s paws holding onto it’s eyes.

Impmon gave a confident smirk as Digistar gave a fist pump, “Alright, good job Impmon!”

Colley and Gaomon looked over to Digistar as she looked over to the two and briefly introduced herself, “Agent Digistar from the Saint Nano region reporting in! I presume you’re Agent Colley?”
The blue colley gave a nod, “That I am! Good to see you here, Agent Digistar! We need all the help we can get.”

As the two looked over towards the SaberLeomon trying to regain itself, Digistar asked, “What exactly prompted this attack?”

Colley began to explain, “This Digimon was somehow able to break through the Digimon barrier in town and has made his way towards downtown. We need to stabilize or defeat him as soon as possi--”

“COLLEY, LOOK OUT!!”

Gaomon quickly tackled down Colley as Digistar and Impmon equally ducked from a powerful left paw thrust the Digimon unleashed. At that moment, he gave a powerful roar, causing the group to back off slightly as Digistar exclaimed, ”Is there any backup coming!?”

Colley yelled out, “We had a similar disturbance on the other side of town so our forces are working to get here immediately!!”

“See, this is why I said you should’ve brought Shinsei with you, sis!” Impmon yelled out. Digistar twitched her eyebrow as she glared at Impmon, “I told you that we’re not going to rely on his help!!”

As the SaberLeomon stopped roaring, it immediately backed off and unleashed the four orange hairs on it’s mane, directed right towards Gaomon and Impmon. Despite the intense battle that was occuring, past memories began to flood Digistar’s mind...

************************************************

“I... want to become a member of DATS!”

A younger Digistar, whom was roughly around the age of 14 or so, stood in front of a large, towering man sitting behind a white curved desk as she struggled to catch her breath. The man had short dark blue hair wearing dark shades and a dark purple jacket, with a familiar white ferret Digimon named Kudamon wrapped around his neck.

The man lowered his glasses as he stared in curiosity towards the girl. Just then, an older girl with black hair in a dark purple DATS uniform popped up from the open door behind Digistar as she exclaimed, “THERE YOU ARE! I told you we’re not accepting any new recruits!” She then grabbed her wrist as Digistar exclaimed, “LET ME GO! I WANT TO BECOME A DATS AGENT!!”

“Hold on, Miki.”

The man raised his hand towards the two as Miki blinked in confusion as she released her hold, “... Commander Satsuma?”

The man readjusted his glasses, then placed his two hands together and gave a gentle smile to the girl, “So you wish to become one of our agents, huh? Why?”

“Why?” Digistar blinked in confusion briefly before she responded with determined eyes, “Because it’s been my dream to be a DATS Agent! I’ve been watching that TV show “DATS” since I was in Primary School! Nothing would make me happier in my life than to protect people against wild Digimon and defend Digimon who are being harmed by Alters!”

“I see...” He then raised his clasp hands towards his chin, covering his mouth, “And do you realize the risks that come with being a DATS Agent? Sometimes confrontations with Digimon and Alters don’t always go well. You and your partner Digimon could be in harm’s way. As an Agent, we always understand the risks involved. So this is the biggest question I can ask you.”

He lowered his glasses as he gazed hard at Digistar’s own eyes, “Are you willing to accept this reality to join our ranks?”

Digistar knew already there were risks; After all, the TV Show she saw always portrayed some of these risks. But she was willing to accept all of these factors to join. It was all she felt like she could be good at. As such, Digistar gave a stern nod.

Satsuma could see this determination in her eyes, but despite this, he needed to consult. He looked over to his shoulder, “Kudamon?”

“Hmm...” Kudamon’s eyes gazed at Digistar as it continued, “There’s no doubt that she’s willing to break beyond any obstacle and accept any reality to join our ranks. But the question is how much experience does she have as a Digimon Tamer?”

Digistar chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head, “Yeah... the truth is I don’t have my own Digimon yet...” Everyone in the room blinked as Kudamon leaned forward, “Then... how did you expect to join DATS if you don’t even have your own partner, much less any experience as a Tamer?”

She brought her fists together, “I was planning on getting my own once I joined! That way both me and my partner can learn how to be Tamers AND proper DATS Agents at the same time!”

Satsuma raised an eyebrow as he looked to Kudamon, “... is she seriously for real?” Kudamon couldn’t help but smile, “Heh. Well, I admit there’s a bit of logic to that. Instead of learning from experience in a safe environment and through basic teachings in school, you prefer to learn everything immediately head on. Am I right?”

Digistar nodded in response. Kudamon shook it’s head, it’s smile intact, “Alters can be strange beings sometimes. Still, I suppose I could agree with this girl being brought in if was willing to go through the tough lessons immediately.”

Digistar gave a huge smile as she realized where this was leading to, “So you’ll take me in!?”

Miki placed her hands on her shoulders as she gave a slight glare towards Digistar, “I already said we’re not taking in any applicants!” She then looked over to Satsuma, “Besides Boss, she’s only 14! We don’t even take in recruits until they’re 16 years of age, remember?”

“Hm... that is true...” As Satsuma thought about this, Digistar seemed to show a bit of concern. However, he then looked over to Kudamon, “You know that one job role I’ve been considering posting for a while now?”

“Commander Assistant?”

“That technically isn’t an actual job role within DATS, is it?”

“N-Not really... Satsuma, are you really thinking about...?”

Satsuma nodded as he looked over towards the younger girl, “I’m sorry, I never did get your name.”

“I-It’s Digistar, sir!”

“Digistar?” Satsuma showed a hint of confusion, “An interesting name. In any case, allow me to introduce myself: I am Commander Satsuma, head commander of this sector. I may have an appropriate position for you here in DATS. While you may not be able to become a full fledged agent with us until you turn 16, if you become my appointed assistant, I will teach you the ins and outs of not only being a Tamer, but also being a DATS Agent.” He gave a gentle smile as he gestured his hand forward, “Would you like the position?”

Something about Satsuma made her heart fluttered. Maybe it was the way she gestured at her. Maybe it was his smile. But something about all of this made her have feelings she never felt before. She couldn’t help but blush slightly, but brought herself to regain her composure as she nodded, “Y-Yes! YES! I’ll take it!”

Miki couldn’t help but frown and cross her arms as Satsuma got up from his chair then walked over to her, his hand extended, “Then welcome aboard, Digistar.”

Her excitement for knowing that she had taken her first step in DATS was barely contained as her smile was wide and accepted the powerful handshake from Satsuma.

************************************************

CRASH!!!

Both Impmon and Gaomon barely were able to dodge the powerful attack from SaberLeomon, with Colley and Digistar bracing themselves from the impact of the blow. Impmon gritted his teeth as he exclaimed, “This is a lot more annoying than I thought it’d be!”

Something began to nag behind both Digistar and Colley’s minds as they began to stare down the SaberLeomon, whom retracted it’s hairs. Colley was the first to ask as he sideglanced, “So... you can evolve your Digimon, right?”

Digistar looked over to Colley and snapped, “O-O-OF COURSE I CAN! I just... we need time to do it! We gotta make sure our determination is in it’s peak! Can’t you do it too!?”

“Huh!? Y-Yeah, of course I can!” He snapped back, “But my reasons are the same too!”

“Well until we can get ourselves to our peak, we should have our Digimon fight together.” She recommended as she looked back towards at the large Digimon, “That’s the only way we can hope to succeed with this!”

Colley also looked over and nodded, “You got a point with that. Let’s do it!”

“IMPMON!”

“GAOMON!”

Both of them looked towards their Tamers as they exclaimed, “Fight together!”

Impmon looked over to Gaomon as he did back to him and they both nodded, with Impmon giving a smirk, “Don’t get in my way.” Gaomon chuckled a bit, “Same to you.”

They then rushed onwards and lept forward right towards SaberLeomon...

********************************

“Impmon.”

The Digimon was laying down on one of the guest couches inside DATS Headquarters, relaxing and loafing around. As he heard Satsuma call to him, he stretched his arms and yawned, scratching his underarm, “What now?”

Satsuma stepped forward towards the Digimon with Digistar next to him, “We have a new recruit. Though she is my personal assistant, I would like for you two to work together in the next 2 years to become strong enough partners to serve in DATS.”

Digistar smiled as she stepped forward, extending her arm out towards Impmon, “My name’s Digistar! It’s a pleasure to be working with you!”

Impmon gazed at Digistar briefly... before he scoffed as he lied back down on the couch, facing away from Digistar, whom showed confusion from the action, “Tch! So you’re finally gonna make me work for my keep here, huh Satsuma?”

A slight smile could be seen on Satsuma’s face, “I always did say if we ever found a suitable DATS Recruit that you’d be partnered with them. Despite your temperamental attitude.” He then turned to Digistar as he explained, “Impmon here has been in our DATS Offices for a while now. Took him in when he was just a Kiimon after one of our missions had his Digiegg wind up here. While we let him stay around as he evolved to his rookie stage, we did make an agreement that he would be a DATS Agent’s Digimon eventually.”

Impmon looked over from the corner of his eye and mouthed off, “So convince me why should I let this newbie be my Tamer, Satsuma! Give me one good reason why!”

“Because if you just lounge around, you’ll never be able to evolve. Much less obtain that coveted ‘Burst Mode’ we keep telling you about.”

Impmon stayed silent for a while before he gave a deep sigh, “... fine...” He then hopped off the couch, then looked over to Digistar as he brought out his hand and said with an unenthusiastic voice, “It’s a pleasure to be working with you...”. In turn, Digistar smiled as she shook his hand.

From that point forward, Digistar and Impmon would begin to train together, learning the basics and advance techniques of Digimon Battling through DATS’ iC Digivices. All the while, Digistar continued to serve as Satsuma’s personal assistant, helping him with various tasks in DATS. Through that time, Digistar began to grow a bit of an affection for Satsuma. Whether it be because of his good looks or his mysterious yet kind attitude, she began to enjoy all the times she could with him.

As time progressed, on one particular day, Satsuma stepped forward towards Digistar as she and Impmon exited the training room in DATS Headquarters, “Good job you two. Your scores are exceeding the standards set for our initiatives when they first start with us. I’m sure you both will be ready to instantly become DATS Agents when you turn 16, Digistar.”

Digistar gave a grin and pumped her fists, “YES! I CAN’T WAIT!” Impmon, in turn, gave a smirk and waved his arm, “Heh! I gotta admit we do make a decent team.”

“By the way, I was going to ask you for a favor, Digistar...”

The girl looked over to Satsuma curiously as he explained, “So... I’m going to be grocery shopping once my shift ends and... well, you did say you know a bit about cooking right?”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, totally!” She exclaimed, “I got a recipe book at home and everything!”

Satsuma looked a bit to the side as he continued, “This... this is a bit embarrassing for me to ask, especially to one of my younger recruits, but... do you think you can show me some recipes from that book of yours and... teach me how to cook...?”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, “E... Excuse me, sir?”

Kudamon explained, whom was still wrapped around the back of his neck, “He’s never really cooked more than a bowl of ramen in his entire lifetime.”

“KUDAMON!”

Digistar couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as Satsuma rubbed the back of his head in embarassment, “I’m sorry, it was a really silly question.”

“No, no, not at all!” She exclaimed with joy, “I’d be happy to hang out and show you a few pointers!”

Satsuma gave a smile and a sigh of relief as she accepted his offer. From there, the two would continue to hang out with one another outside working at DATS from time to time. While Digistar felt an incredible amount of joy hanging out with Satsuma when she could, he in turn felt like for the first time in some time he had someone he could call a friend. And really, having someone like that as is felt rather good.

The two’s friendship would continue to strengthen, well until Digistar hit the age of 16, where she would finally become a DATS Agent. Both she and Impmon would continue to grow as partners, taking down criminals and keeping Digimon at bay.

Then... one day, everything changed.

***************************************

Impmon and Gaomon both laid on the ground as the towering SaberLeomon gave a roar of victory over the two. Both of them struggled to get up, but their energy seemed to be completely sapped away. Digistar and Colley felt as if they were out of options. Colley, however, pushed a nervous smile as he asked, “Your Digimon... can’t evolve either, huh?”

She too gave a nervous smile... and shook her head.

“... thought so.” His focus shifted towards SaberLeomon as it moved forward towards both of them, “At least I know my own set of defensive moves. I appreciate the help, but it’s about time you fall back.”

Digistar’s upset eyes pierced towards Colley, “Like heck I am! Me and Impmon don’t know the meaning of the words ‘Run Away’ so if you think you’re pushing me back, you got another thing coming, buddy!”

Colley gave a side glance and couldn’t help but sigh, “... there’s no convincing you, I see. Just try to keep yourself safe and follow my lead.” He then got into a fighting stance as the SaberLeomon gave a powerful roar right towards the group...

“AIR SLAM!!!”

POW!!!

Suddenly, what seemed like out of nowhere, Patamon unleashed a powerful body slam right onto the middle forehead of SaberLeomon. The Digimon roared in intense pain as it held it’s head with it’s paws, with Patamon landing on the ground and staring down at the Digimon with determined eyes.

Digistar and Colley looked to the side to see Shinsei pump his fist, “DIRECT HIT! Great shot, Patamon!” Kazpa, whom was next to him, gave a giggle, “Told ya I can identify any weak spot, Shinsei!” The wispy Yokai Butler then pulled a set of crude drawings from off frame as he explained them, “Remember that time when I told you the reason why you all could see Yokai was because my ability is to expose things hidden to the Alter eye? It’s totally like that except I can also use that ability to hone in weak spots in enemies! And my Soultimate Move, Kazt Off, allows me to strike those weak spots for massive damage!”

As Kazpa briefly “Ahem!”’d, Shinsei gave a deadpan expression, “Why are you just explaining this now?”

“Well our readers clearly didn’t know, so I had to explain SOMEWHERE!”

A confused expression was laid on Shinsei’s face, “.......... the heck are you talking about??”

“SHINSEI!” Digistar exclaimed, “I thought I told you to find a place safe to retreat to!”

Shinsei regained himself as he threw his Poke Ball to unleashed Majestic, “You really think I’m gonna stand around while you take all the fun? Besides, it seems like you both needed help anyway!” He then looked forward and declared, “Alright Majestic, use Sparkling Aria right on that SaberLeomon’s forehead!”

As Shinsei and his friends continued to fight for his friends, Digistar couldn’t help but feel her fist shaking in anger. She should be happy Shinsei popped up the way he did to save her and Impmon. Yet at the same time...

*****************************************

Towering over a mass amount of wreckage, a very large black armored Digimon stood above a group of DATS Agents. Digistar and her partner, whom managed to evolve into the mega level black jacket wearing demon with a black mask and green eyes known as Beezlebumon, were among the group, as they tried to formulate a plan, with Satsuma and his own partner, whom had evolved, right besides him. As the Digimon brought it’s hand towards the group, Digistar gave a smirk, “We got this!”

Satsuma brought out his hand, “Digistar, wait! Don’t be an idiot! You’re not ready for it yet!”

“When push comes to shove, Satsuma, we gotta do what we gotta do!” She stared down at the Digimon as she continued, “Besides, if protecting the people I love makes me an idiot... I’ll gladly be an idiot all the time!”

She brought out her hand as she moved her iC Digivice sideways as a powerful red beam of light came forth from the device. She put her hand over it as data cubes began to form all over, then exclaimed, “AIR SIGNAL! POSITRON CANNON!!”

Beezlebumon’s eyes shrunk as it suddenly felt a mass amount of power. He yelled out as his arm began to assemble a large energy cannon on his right arm...

However, as this began to happen, Beezlebumon’s eyes started to turn from green... to red. And his cries of power soon began to turn into cries of anguish.

Digistar’s eyes shrunk slightly, “... something’s not right...”

While crying out in pain, he immediately locked his cannon towards the enemy Digimon and unleashed a powerful red energy blast that engulfed the whole creature, causing him to evaporate into nothing almost instantly.... then he locked his sights on a building still intact and unleashed the same blast, causing that to also evaporate.

Digistar began to slowly back away, her hands trembling, “What... what have I done...?”

Multiple blasts began to shoot all over from Beezlebumon as Satsuma spat out, “Damn it! Everyone, stop Beezlebumon by any means necessary!”

As the DATS Agents and their Digimon obeyed the commander’s commands reluctantly, Digistar exclaimed, “NO SATSUMA! I can get him back under control! I can--”

“GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF, DIGISTAR!” Satsuma exclaimed, “I warned you about the risks of the Air Signal! You know what we have to do!”

The fight suddenly shifted away from the enemy Digimon to Beezlebumon, whom had lost himself from the power Digistar unleashed upon him. And on that day, she felt the greatest guilt she had ever felt.

*****************************************

“A Xros Tamer with GOOD intentions? Pft, next thing you’ll tell me is that there’s a skunk out there that can tell jokes!”

“Well that WOULD make it a stinker if it was!”

“Ha HAAAA, I get your joke...”

Back at the local DATS Headquarters in town, specifically in the cafeteria, Colley and Shinsei were having a nice chat with one another as Shinsei explained his own ambitions with the furry DATS Agent. Gaomon and Patamon equally began to chat it up, all while enjoying some burgers on the side. As the two chatted on, however, Digistar couldn’t help but keep quiet as she stared down at her food, Impmon equally sitting next to her and also giving the same expression.

Digistar and Impmon’s thoughts continued to dwell as they realized how far they’ve fallen since their glory days together. While there was once a time where the two had immense power, one mistake from Digistar costed that strength to vanish away from them.

And no longer could Impmon evolve.

Shinsei gave a smile as he brought out his Key Tool, “So since we helped out, you think you could exchange sub info with me?”

“Oh, sure!” Colley then brought out his own Key Tool as the two devices connected and exchanged info on screen, “And you know, considering your crazy yet interesting goals, I think I know a group of friends within a group of friends within an even bigger group of friends whom might be interested in your cause. If you’re looking to rack up that rep level, you might be able to do it easily there!”

Shinsei eyes widened in surprise, “R-Really!? Where!?”

Colley smirked as he put his right paw on his shoulder, “In the glorious place known as Midfuria! They’re having a major festival going on soon, so you should check it out! I’ll send you the details about that later; Totally planning on going there myself!”

“Hmmm...” Shinsei thought for a bit, “Sounds interesting. I have no idea what we’re doing after our trip to Capitol City, but I’ll let you know how my schedule is after that!” He then looked to Digistar, “What do you think, Digistar? You’d wanna go too?”

It was then that Shinsei noticed that Digistar’s focus was still gazing at her hamburger, “Uhh... Digistar?”

“Huh?” The girl looked over to Shinsei as he asked, “Did you wanna go to Midfuria shortly after our trip?”

Digistar’s expression still looked out of it as she shook her head, “N-No. I don’t think so.”

Both Colley and Shinsei looked towards Digistar with concern as Shinsei asked, “You gonna be ok?”

“Yeah... it’s just...”

“It’s just...?”

“... never mind. Just... let me be for a bit.”

Digistar had her hands on her legs as she squeezed her hands together briefly. She wanted to express to Shinsei and Colley how much she wanted to become stronger. She wanted to tell them about the man whom gave her an opportunity to join DATS and brought her to become one of the highest ranked DATS Agents. She wanted to tell Shinsei the truth that Impmon could not evolve anymore. She wanted to tell them both that both she and Impmon are tired of constantly feeling like they’re weak and need saving since that faithful day.

There was so much she wanted to tell him. Heck, there’s so much she wanted to tell him since they started the trip, mostly because since that faithful day, when Beezlebumon went ballistic, she lost all her friends and wanted to find someone else to call her own friend.

But today would not be that day she would open up to them.

**********************************

As Shinsei and Digistar left Talanto and headed onwards with their friends, closer to their destination, Rose’s avatar spoke out, “Shinsei, the nearest inn isn’t going to be around for another few hours and we are low on funds. Should we camp out again tonight?”

Shinsei looked over to Patamon, Impmon and Kazpa as they were fast asleep in the back seat, with Kazpa wearing what looked to be orange PJs holding a wispy eyeball plush. He then looked back to Rose’s avatar, “Yeah, that sounds good. Though if we’re doing that, I should probably sleep in here tonight as oppose to Digistar. The sleeping bags we got is a lot more comfortable than the seats in here, so the least I can do is offer her that. No offense of course.”

Rose’s avatar smiled and shook her head, “None taken.”

“By the way, is her vital signs...?”

“Same thing.”

He began to look over to Digistar with slight concern, “You think her dreams have to do with why she’s so closed off?”

The avatar did a brief thinking pose before responding, “It’s possible. I mean she’s been hesistant to talk to you about what’s bothering her so much so maybe she’s having dreams about what’s been troubling her. At least, Alters have a habit of doing actions like that when they have subconscious issues anyway.”

Silence fell for a while as Shinsei began to think.

“... you think I did the right thing Rose? To just rush in there with Patamon and the others to help Digistar?”

“As long as you went there to help her as oppose to looking at it for the rep level earnings, that’s all that matters.”

Shinsei leaned back in his seat as he looked towards the sunset over the hills nearby. Many thoughts began to swarm his head as he put his hands behind his head. But as he continued to think through these things, he eventually discarded them, knowing that their destination was fastly approaching.

He had to stay focused on that. Because deep inside, he knew that whoever wants Patamon will not stop and could strike at any moment, especially once they arrive at Capitol City.

TO BE CONTINUED