Genesis, Part 2

 is the second episode of Season 1 and second episode overall of Digimon.

Chapter One
The six rock figures stopped moving towards the humans. Veemon’s stance also lightened. He recognized them as Gotsumon. They were among one of the friendlier Digimon species. One of the Gotsumon approached Veemon and asked, “Is Minotaurumon still up there?”

“He was when we fell down here and he sealed us in here,” Veemon answered.

The Gotsumon nodded, “He thinks he’s killed you. He will be gone for a while. Follow us.”

“Why should we follow a tiny rock man?” asked Val.

“Because these are Gotsumon. They won’t harm us,” Veemon replied.

“I don’t even know who you are. The point also applies to you. How can we trust you?” Val asked.

“He can be trusted,” John replied, turning to face Val.

“And how do you know?” Val shot.

“How do you know that you can trust your red dinosaur?” John shot back.

“Guilmon can be trusted. I just know deep down that he can,” Val replied.

“I feel the same way about Veemon,” John told him. John turned back to the Digimon, “Where are we going?”

“Back to our village,” the Gotsumon said, “We will be safe there for now. The Minotaurumon doesn’t go into the village.”

The six rock creatures led the Chosen down the darkened corridor. Val was at the back of the group. He still didn’t trust anyone. That included both the Digimon and the humans. The only one that he knew he could trust was Guilmon and he was nowhere around him at the time. For all he knew, Guilmon could have been killed when Minotaurumon hit him. That upset Val greatly and he didn’t understand why. He just knew that he was uncomfortable with the whole situation.

John on the other was not. He didn’t feel like he had to worry about anything. He had never been here before yet he felt like he had lived in this world his entire life. The encounter with Minotaurumon was terrifying yet fulfilling at the same time. He couldn’t figure out why. He nearly died during that encounter and less than half an hour before that he met a small dinosaur dragon man who he now put his full trust into. He knew the others had the same trust in the Digimon that they were partnered with. Fortunately for him, John’s partner was still with him. He couldn’t imagine being one of the others not knowing where your Digimon was. As for the Gotsumon leading them, John trusted them for the sole reason that Veemon trusted them. He knew that they were leading them somewhere that was safer than where they had been. There was something that he felt the Gotsumon weren’t telling them though. He was going to have to find that out when they reached the village.

“What was this place?” asked Colt, his ever questioning mind wondered aloud.

“This is one of the places that the Agents used before they disappeared,” the lead Gotsumon told him.

“Who are the Agents?” Colt asked.

“We don’t really know. What we do know is that they looked exactly human but they were not human. And they were not Digimon. Stories say that the agents were the ones who formed the Digital World to their design. As well as keeping this world and the Human World balanced out.”

“Where did they go?” Karin joined into the conversation.

“No Digimon knows,” Veemon took over, “They had been here since the very beginning of the Digital World but vanished centuries ago without a trace.”

“That doesn’t sound strange at all,” Karin replied.

“How does it not? It is very strange,” one of the Gotsumon told her.

“That’s also called sarcasm. I take it you guys don’t understand that kind of humor,” John smirked from behind Karin.

“We have never heard of sarcasm,” the Gotsumon replied.

“Oh, we are going to have so much fun in this world,” John said.

“Yes, we are,” Karin joined John’s side.

“That’s all sorts of fun, but I think I do see an exit up there,” Val chimed in from the rear.

“Our village is right outside of the entrance to the corridor,” the lead Gotsumon replied.

“Then you will tell us what you have been hiding from us so far then,” Val commented to the Gotsumon.

“What was that about?” asked Karin.

“Val thinks that the Gotsumon aren’t telling us something. Probably about Minotaurumon. That I happen to agree with Val on; the Gotsumon are hiding something from us,” John answered.

The Gotsumon didn’t jump around the subject. The one that had done the most of the talking responded, “We are not hiding something from you. We chose to wait until you were reunited with your partners so all of you could hear what we have to say about Minotaurumon, but since you want to know I believe it will fine to tell you know. Minotaurumon never used to be as violent as he is right now. He has changed.”

“Changed how?” asked Karin.

“He used to be a kind and gentle Digimon who protected the Gotsumon village.”

“So why did he go and join the dark side?” asked John.

“What do you mean dark side?” asked another Gotsumon.

“It’s a movie reference,” John explained.

“What is a movie?” asked the Gotsumon.

John’s face went blank, “Never mind. Why did he go evil on you?”

“We don’t know for sure. He was just like normal one day, but by the end of that day he started to blast away at the village. It took all we had to turn him around. It pained us greatly to cause harm to one of our own.”

“One of your own?” Karin asked.

“The Minotaurumon was once one of us Gotsumon.”

“How in the world can a small rock man turn into a minotaur with a cannon hand?” asked John.

“Digivolution.”

That word perked up Colt’s interest so he came and joined into the conversation, “What is digivolution?”

“Digivolution is how we Digimon change from one form to another. It is our process of evolution.”

“How does digivolution work?” asked Colt.

“No one truly knows. What we do know is that rookies and champions are the most common Digimon. Ultimates are rarer. Megas are the stuff of legend,” Veemon explained.

“Are those levels?” asked Colt.

“Yes. I believe humans would call rookies children and call champions adults. Ultimates are the adults that become the dominant member. As for Megas, there is no human comparison. Megas are far more powerful than the others combined,” Veemon answered.

“So have you met a mega?” asked John.

“No. None of us here have. To be honest there are some who believe megas are just stories that are told to rookies and the levels below rookie to make them behave or keep them in check. It’s like behave or a mega will come. That’s what megas are. They are mere stories and nothing else.”

“Is that what you believe, Veemon?” asked John.

“I never thought about it. I just hope to one day become a champion and then an ultimate. The goal of mega is really not on my mind,” Veemon told John.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but we have arrived at the village,” a Gotsumon said.

Chapter Two
Several Weeks Earlier

Minotaurumon patrolled the woods around the Gotsumon village. He was the village’s protector during times of trials and tribulations. He beat back the threats that would try to harm the peaceful Gotsumon who he called family. Minotaurumon remembered back to the time he became a Minotaurumon. A trio of Garurumon came from the north and started to attack the village. In the chaos an older Gotsumon tried to defend the others from the pack. His attacks bounced off the wolves without doing any damage. He was mocked and ridiculed by the Garurumon until something started to stir within him. He didn’t know where it was coming from or who was doing it to him. The Gotsumon felt a surge of power flowing throughout his body. He felt like nothing could contain the power that was welling up inside them. The power was so great that he actually started to glow until the power could not be contained any longer. The power exploded and a blinding white light engulfed the area.

When the light receded, the Gotsumon was no longer there. In its place was a Minotaurumon. The Garurumon trio stopped mocking. They tensed up, snarling at the Minotaurumon. One of the Garurumon lunged at Minotaurumon only to be struck down by Minotaurumon’s powerful pummel, Darkside Quake. With a whimper the Garurumon was out of the fight. The other two charged, slamming into Minotaurumon. One of the wolves bit Minotaurumon’s neck only to yanked off and thrown into the ground. Without caring for the remaining Garurumon attacking it, Minotaurumon yelled, “Demon Arm!” The blast from his hand cannon was powerful, knocking Minotaurumon off his feet. The blast tore through the air and blasted the second Garurumon into oblivion. His confidence growing, Minotaurumon stood to his feet and blasted the first Garurumon to its death as well. The final Garurumon who was not hit by any of Minotaurumon’s attacks jumped off of his opponent.

Garurumon howled, “Howling Blaster.”

A blast of blue lightening shot from the wolf’s mouth, slamming into Minotaurumon. Minotaurumon merely held out his normal hand and deflected the Howling Blaster attack. Minotaurumon’s anger rose from deep within. His pupil’s shrank so small that they seemingly vanished as veins started to bulge from the cannon arm. Raising his cannon, Minotaurumon yelled, “Demon Arm!”

The blast from Minotaurumon’s cannon was so forceful, the beast was shot back a dozen feet. The stream of energy fully engulfed the Garurumon, deleting it instantly. When the blast faded, there was nothing left of any of the three Garurumon. As the dust and the dirt settled from the fight, dozens of Gotsumon appeared from hiding. They stared at Minotaurumon in awe. They had all heard of the process of digivolution but none of them had seen it happen before. Minotaurumon looked down at the Gotsumon he called family. His rage had subsided. His pupils were back. The veins were gone. With a gentle look in his eyes, Minotaurumon smiled at the Gotsumon who he towered over now.

Ever since that day, Minotaurumon was the protector of this Gotsumon village. In the times that they lived in, the Gotsumon needed a protector. There was something evil growing on the island they lived on. Digimon were turning evil left and right. He didn’t understand why. Some of the nicest and kindest Digimon suddenly turned into the most violent and vicious Digimon you could imagine. He didn’t know how they could change so fast and dramatically. Minotaurumon walked over to a cliff with a small drop off. He could smell the sea water even though it was a good ten miles away. He could smell it whenever the wind was just right. He wanted to go and see what the ocean looked like but he could not leave the Gotsumon alone. They would be destroyed. He just knew it.

The scent of sea water vanished. It was replaced by the repulsive smell of a Digimon who had met several times before. Minotaurumon readied himself. Getting his cannon prepared, Minotaurumon turned around to see a monstrous green Digimon with long, white hair. Two large horns were on the sides of his head. Its mouth was constantly open even when it spoke. The thing asked, “So Minotaurumon, have you considered the offer?”

“Leave me alone, Ogremon,” Minotaurumon said quietly.

“Oh don’t get like that. Have you even thought about what you would be given as a reward for your obedience to him,” Ogremon said.

“I will not serve this master of yours. He is not someone I have met. Therefore I cannot trust him.”

“I told him that you would not listen to me, and why won’t you?” asked Ogremon.

“Because I serve the Gotsumon.”

“They are little rookies. You can wipe them out with ease. Why do you protect them?”

“I was once one of them and you know that!” Minotaurumon snapped.

“But you are no longer one of them. Heck, you are not even Data anymore. You digivolved into what I am, to what my master is. You are now a Virus so join us Viruses.”

“As I have said many times before, my loyalty is to the Gotsumon and only the Gotsumon. There will nothing you can say that can change my mind about that. They are the ones I serve. They will be the only ones that I serve. You master will have to find someone else to work for him. Someone as despicable and lowly as you are, Ogremon.”

“I still plead for you to reconsider. My master will give you riches and glory you have never seen before. You could be one of the three greatest Digimon on this island. Why do you choose against that? Why do you choose against glory and power?” asked Ogremon.

“I do not want glory and power. My goal is to only to protect my people and there is nothing that you can do or say that can change my mind. I will not serve your master. Not now. Not ever. Now leave my presence.”

“Or what?” asked Ogremon, smugly.

Minotaurumon charged his cannon and raised it to face Ogremon, “Or I will destroy you for threatening the village and myself.”

“Oh, I think not,” Ogremon smirked.

“Why not?” asked Minotaurumon.

“You will be too busy serving my master,” Ogremon said.

A black object slammed into Minotaurumon’s back, digging into the flesh until only a couple of black spikes were poking out. Minotaurumon lowered his cannon and powered it down. Minotaurumon then said, “What does the master wish?”

“He wishes that you serve him and when the humans come, destroy them. Oh and terrorize the Gotsumon that you used to protect.”

“I serve my master,” Minotaurumon said.

Chapter Three
Present

The seven humans and Veemon were led into the heart of the Gotsumon village. The inhabitants stared. Some were filled with awe. Others were filled with fear or suspicion. Yet others didn’t seem to care. They were just curious. The humans looked like nothing they had ever seen before. There were some Digimon that shared certain traits with the humans but they were decidedly different. The things that humans looked like were the Agents of old, but they were not the Agents. The humans were something else, something far more important to the Digital World than the Agents. They were the Chosen.

When the Chosen reached the center of the village, the other rookies reunited with their partners. They were slow to move and weak from being completely owned by the Minotaurumon an hour earlier, but they were healing quite fast. Veemon was the only one of the seven who was at full strength even though he had been pummeled. Veemon looked around the village. He saw all the Gotsumon staring; each one with a sense of wonder on their faces. Veemon asked, “Why are you all staring at us like that?”

A Gotsumon who appeared larger than the others approached them from out of the center of the crowd. He said, “I am the Gotsumon Chief in charge of this village. We are staring because you are the Chosen.”

John stepped out in front of the others, “Chosen? What’s that?”

“You don’t know?” the Chief asked.

“No, we don’t,” Karin joined John’s side.

“Then I will tell you,” the Chief replied, “The Chosen are the saviors of our world. The stories and legends say that in great times of darkness. In times of darkness so great in times of evil so powerful that Digimon themselves cannot defeat it, humans will be called from their own world to ours to save it. But they would not be able to do it alone. Humans against Digimon and powers so great could not hope to defeat it. Humans alone are weak and fragile compared to Digimon.”

“Then why are we called here if we are weak and fragile,” Val asked with a sting in his voice.

The Gotsumon Chief didn’t get the nasty tone in Val’s voice, but John sure did. He turned around, “Let the Chief finish, Val. He’s right. Do you think you or I could have been able to stop Minotaurumon? Do you think that we could be able to the get in to a fight with a Gotsumon and win?”

Val replied, “Definitely not against Minotaurumon. I am not insane. But maybe a Gotsumon. Probably against a Gotsumon.”

“How Val? They are made of rock. Not flesh and bone. Have you ever punched a rock?” John went on.

“No. That would hurt,” Val answered.

“Exactly. Punching a rock and punching a Gotsumon is the same thing. They are rocks. So we are not as strong as you would like to think against Digimon,” John answered.

“Both of you shut the hell up! Or I will shut you two up myself,” Karin snapped, “Your bickering is pointless. Let the Chief finish.”

John stopped talking and Val just glared at John. Karin looked at the Chief, “I apologize for that. Please continue.”

“Thank you, Peacekeeper.”

“Just Karin.”

“Well thank you, Karin,” the Chief responded, “Since humans alone could not hope to defeat the darkness engulfing our world; they would be given a Digimon partner to fight alongside them. The Digimon that they were partnered with would be the force that the humans would use to fight the evil. The humans that were partnered with the Digimon would give the Digimon strength to fight. The two would share a bond that would strengthen the both of them. Each human would have one of their greatest traits chosen to help power their Digimon even further. The battles between the great powers of evil and the humans chosen to defend the Digital World would be awesome and climatic.”

“So you believe us to be the Chosen?” asked Karin.

“I do. You fit the description. You are humans that were brought here to save us. You have been given each a Digimon partner.”

“What is the great evil?”

“We do not know. Digimon on this island have been turning violent and evil. The nicest and kindest Digimon would suddenly become monsters. Such as our old protector Minotaurumon.”

John was interested in the conversation but he felt an uneasy feeling flowing through his body. He had to leave the group for a minute. He would only get this feeling before something big was about to happen. He walked away from the Gotsumon to a tree that was close to the village center. He looked up to see a large fruit within arm’s reach. With a feeling deep within his soul, he picked the fruit. It was about the size of a football. From behind him he heard, “John, what are you doing?”

“I don’t know, Veemon,” John turned around to his Digimon partner.

“What is that in your hands?” asked Veemon.

“I think it’s the digital version of a papaya, a fruit from Earth,” John answered. He looked at the fruit and looked at Veemon. He felt the urge to tell his partner to eat it. So he decided to trust his gut. He offered it to Veemon, “Here you go. Eat this. You look a little hungry.”

Veemon’s face lit up. A huge smile went across his face, “I’m starving. Thanks, John.”

Veemon devoured the fruit within sixty seconds. John felt a calm rush over his body and he couldn’t figure out why. A flash of light lit up the entire village. The sound of a massive explosion rung in his ears causing a ringing that hurt like a hot poker being put into his ear. The shockwave shook him off of his feet. When the light, noise and shockwave left, John looked up to see Minotaurumon staring the others down in the village center. The rookies except for Veemon tried to attack but still being weak from the fight earlier, they couldn’t manage any attack. John rushed towards the group, weaving through fleeing Gotsumon. He reached the center of the village and yelled, “Get out of here! All of you.”

The humans and their partners didn’t have to be told twice with the exception of Karin. She looked at him, “What are you doing? You said that you can’t fight against this thing. Even Val agreed with you on that. So what are you doing?”

John looked at her with confusion etched into his face. He told her, “I don’t know. I just know I have to be here. Trust me, Karin. Please get out of the way.”

Karin nodded and took off with the others. John turned to face the Minotaurumon. The monster smirked as it saw John just standing there. It raised its cannon, ready to fire. John closed his eyes as he heard the cannon charging up. Time slowed down to a slow crawl. John waited for the inevitable blast wave, but he heard a shout from behind him, “V-NOVA BLAST!” John opened his eyes. He saw a red ball of fire fly overhead, hitting Minotaurumon. It knocked the monster off of its feet, leaving it dazed for a moment. John slowly turned around to see where the fire ball came from. John saw a blue dinosaur standing there with white markings, two large horns on the back of its head, a long horn on the dinosaur’s nose, and large muscles all over its body. John stood there in awe and terror.

The Minotaurumon stood up and roared. John turned back around to see the creature. The ground started to rumble from impact tremors caused by the dinosaur charging the Minotaur. One foot slammed down on John’s right, followed by a foot slamming down a dozen feet in front of John to the left. John sat there stunned with his mouth open in amazement as the dinosaur and Minotaurumon slammed into each other.

Chapter Four
Veemon stared as John stood in the line of fire of Minotaurumon. He didn’t understand why his human partner would do something so stupid like that. Veemon saw the monster smirk with evil. He couldn’t let the Minotaurumon do anything to John but Veemon wasn’t strong enough to fight a champion with that much power. As if on cue, a great surge of energy started to rise from deep within Veemon. It was power he had never felt before. As it flooded over him, Veemon saw the pocket that held John’s digivice. From underneath the fabric of John’s pants, the light of the digivice shined through brightly. The brighter the digivice got the more power Veemon felt within himself. It finally got to the point where Veemon’s body couldn’t contain the power anymore. He never felt like this before. He wasn’t sure of what to do, but something deep within himself calmed him down. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew that somehow everything was going to be okay. Even in the midst of the chaos around him, Veemon saw everything around him vanish in a blinding light. There was nothing. He knew what had to be done now. He sensed it in his very core, his very essence. He let happen to him for he knew nothing bad was going to become of him. So Veemon said, “Veemon digivolve to…”

Instantly after he said that, the light wrapped around him. Veemon felt his horns of the back of his head straighten out and grow multiple times the size of what they once were. He felt rapid muscle building as the bones of his body stretched out. The tiny stub that considered the horn over his nose grew as well when his muzzle extended out. He felt the teeth in mouth grow larger. His claws tore through the flesh on his fingers to a much larger size and his foot grew a fourth claw on the back of his foot. He finished the statement that the statement that he had started, “…Veedramon!”

When the light receded, he got his first look at his new self. His body was much more muscular than Veemon’s had been and he now saw the world from not at four feet tall, but from twenty-five feet tall. He now felt that he had the power within himself to defeat Minotaurumon. No. He was wrong. He knew that he had the power to defeat Minotaurumon. Looking at the enemy now with the confidence and power to defeat it, Veedramon roared, “V-NOVA BLAST!” A massive ball of fire tore from Veedramon’s mouth. It flew over John’s head and the center of the village. The fireball slammed into Minotaurumon, knocking it off of its feet. Veedramon saw the Minotaurumon obviously dazed. He took that opportunity to charge. Running through the center of the village, Veedramon’s right foot slammed down right next to John and his left foot slammed down a dozen feet in front of John. As Veedramon passed over John, Veedramon’s only thought was about protecting John. There was nothing that Veedramon wanted more as he slammed into Minotaurumon.

As the two started to fight it out, John ran from the center of the village to where the others were outside the Gotsumon village. The seven humans, six rookies and the entire Gotsumon village watched as the two massive champions fought. Minotaurumon raised his cannon and yelled, “Darkside Quake!” The cannon came flying down, but Veedramon caught the cannon and turned Minotaurumon’s own attack against it. Veedramon pulled the cannon down even further, pulling the Minotaurumon off of its feet. The Minotaurumon slammed into the ground and hut that nearby. Minotaurumon turned around and yelled, “Demon Arm.” The blast hit Veedramon point blank. Veedramon flew off of his feet and crashed down on several more huts.

From outside the village, the humans and Digimon just stood there in awe staring as the larger Digimon kept fighting and leveled the village. John looked behind him to the see Gotsumon’s reaction to what was happening. Most of them had fear and sadness written on their faces. The Chief however did not. John could only guess that even though he saw his village falling apart, it could be rebuilt. The Minotaurumon was finally being taken care of and that is what mattered to the Chief the most even though it pained him to see a Digimon he considered family getting killed but the Chief knew it had to be done. John turned back to see Veedramon lay a punch across Minotaurumon’s face. The Minotaurumon turned and fell on its stomach.

“V-Nova Blast!” Veedramon declared. Another fireball tore out of Veedramon’s mouth and hit Minotaurumon point blank in the back. As the fire raged, a black object ripped out of Minotaurumon’s back. In the fire, the black object disintegrated. The Minotaurumon didn’t move. It just stayed there limp and unconscious. Veedramon didn’t attack it again. Even though he didn’t understand why, Veedramon felt like the threat was gone. Maybe it had something to do with the black thing that came out of Minotaurumon’s back. Veedramon looked up towards the edge of the village. Veedramon grabbed Minotaurumon’s horn and started to drag him to the edge of the village where the others were.

The humans and Digimon outside the village saw the two of them heading their way. Needless to say most of them didn’t want them to get there. John didn’t feel that way. He knew the threat was over. He didn’t know how he knew. He just knew. He thought it might be because of his connection to Veemon, well now Veedramon. Karin came up to John, “What is he doing? He needs to keep that thing away from us.”

John shook his head, “No. This is what needs to happen. Everything is fine now. There is nothing to be afraid of.”

“How do you know?” asked Karin.

“I don’t know how I know, but trust me I know,” John replied.

Karin nodded, “I trust you.”

Veedramon reached the group and let go of Minotaurumon’s horn. Veedramon told them, “Everything is fine now. Minotaurumon is no longer a threat.”

“Are you sure?” asked John.

“Do you doubt?” asked Veedramon in response.

“No.”

Another light surrounded Veedramon. This time the light shrank along with Veedramon. When the light receded, Veemon was standing there again. Veemon looked at himself, “Ah man. I was hoping I’d say Veedramon. Anyway, I’m starving. Do you have another papaya?”

“No,” John smiled, “Your fight kind of scorched the tree.”

Veemon looked to where the tree was and only saw a burnt cinder, “Dang it.”

The Minotaurumon started to groan, and the whole group next to him got on edge waiting for what was going to happen. Good or bad.

Chapter Five
The morning sun rose as the Minotaurumon groggily woke up. He pushed himself up, moaning in pain. Sitting up he looked around to see several buildings in the village leveled to the ground and smoke pouring into the sky. He moved to get up, but he couldn’t. His muscles ached all over. He felt like he had just been through a fight and lost. It would explain the smoke and debris in the village. Minotaurumon looked to his other side and saw the Gotsumon with other Digimon and things he could thought looked like the humans in the stories he heard when he was in his Gotsumon form. Minotaurumon asked, “What happened here?”

“You don’t remember?” asked the Gotsumon Chief.

“No. What happened?” asked Minotaurumon.

“You went dark side on the Gotsumon,” John said.

“Dark side?” asked Minotaurumon.

John shook his head, “I’m going through this again. You went crazy and started attacking the village.”

“When?”

“Several weeks ago, my boy,” the Chief told him, “But these humans came and saved you. It did take one of their Digimon partners to digivolve in order to beat you though. You are one tough opponent.”

“Humans? So the stories are true then. Humans will come in our darkest hour,” Minotaurumon said, “That is good because something evil is here, and it turned me. So did the humans truly save me?”

“Yes they did,” the Chief said. He turned to the humans, “Thank you for saving our village and Minotaurumon from evil. How can we repay you?”

“It’s nothing. We are okay. Thank you,” Karin said.

“Actually,” Val said, “We could use some food for the beginning of our journey. We didn’t plan on being thrown into this world.”

“Val’s right,” John agreed, “We need some help. We’re new here.”

“Very good. Very good. I will have some Gotsumon gather you some food for your journey to come. Is there anything else we can help you with?” the Chief asked.

“Can you tell us the enemy that we will be fighting?” asked Brie from the back of the group.

“I cannot, young lady,” the Chief answered, “For we ourselves don’t know.”

“I may have some information that could be of use to you,” Minotaurumon said, “The last thing I remember before going evil was talking to a Digimon called Ogremon. He wanted me to join his side in serving his master. He didn’t give me the name of who he served but that probably is what the evil is. Ogremon must serve it and I warn you when you cross paths with Ogremon, be wary. He is one to use both brute force and deceit in order to defeat you.”

“We will take that in mind,” John said. He looked at the ones next to him. John and the rest of the group said their goodbyes to Gotsumon and Minotaurumon kept apologizing for what he did, and they left the village. They were going to be in it for the long haul. John didn’t know which way they should go or where they would end up going but he knew that if they truly were chosen to save this world, the right decision would be made. He had his mind made up about which direction the group should go. He believed they should go south. South seemed like a good direction to go. He looked at the group, “I think we should go south.”

“Why do you get to make the decision?” asked Val.

“Why do you care?” asked John.

“Because no one made you the leader,” Val shot.

“Did anyone make you the leader, Val?” asked John.

“No but I think the others should have a say,” Val said.

Karin rolled her eyes and snapped at the both of them, “Will you two stop being such little bitches and try to work together or will your precious egos kill yourselves before you two get civil with each other? We will go south just for a bit. When we do Val, keep your mouth shut. John, you don’t antagonize him. Okay?”

“That sounds good to me,” John said.

“I guess south it is then,” Val conceded. He glared at John as Val took the lead position.

John kept in second place in silence. Karin walked up to him, “John, why do you fight with Val.”

“To be honest, I don’t know. He’s abrasive.”

“And you can be an asshole sometimes,” Karin told him.

John smiled, “Yeah, I know. I’ll try to be nicer next time.”

“Good and if you two don’t, I can kick both of you asses,” Karin smiled. Her icy tone melted away.

“I know you can,” John smiled back as the two of them continued in silence.

Further back in the group Zack shook his head and told Colt, “If the evil Digimon don’t kill them, John and Val will end up killing themselves.”

“Two abrasive personalities. That is most definitely a recipe for disaster,” Colts agreed, “But it could also make them powerful allies if they settle their petty differences.”

“That is one big if,” Zack said.

“Yes it is my friend,” Colt said.

From a cliff overlooking the area, Ogremon sat. He watched the humans and their Digimon walking along the path. Ogremon shook his head in contempt and a sense of admiration. They removed a black gear from Minotaurumon. That was the first black gear removal that he ever heard of outside of his master removing one from his slaves. Ogremon sat their silently for several minutes just staring. Finally he said, “These Chosen are going to be very dangerous. My master will both be angered that he lost a soldier but intrigued that they removed the gear without killing the Digimon.”

He had to go inform his master. That was a conversation he equally didn’t want to do yet he wanted to do to see his master’s reaction. With that, Ogremon stood up and jumped back into the foliage. He was completely gone. From down where the Chosen were, Kristian saw a glimpse of Ogremon taking off.

“What was that?” she asked.

“What was what?” Brie asked her.

“I don’t know. I thought I saw something,” Kristian replied, not saying another word as the group continued while the morning sun rose higher into the sky.

Back in the Gotsumon village Minotaurumon asked, “Chief, do you believe that they will be able to defeat the darkness in our world?”

“Yes, Minotaurumon. I truly believe they will, but it won’t be easy. They will have to overcome both great evils and the evils within themselves.”

Next Time
The Chosen continue to make their way through the jungles of File Island. After four days of walking, they arrive at a burned down village in a small valley. Most of the villagers survived, but they lost everything. The blame falls on a Greymon that was sighted nearby a few days ago. The digimon was hostile, but maybe because it too was possessed by a black gear.