Two years had passed since the primal invasion, and the digital world was basking in its newfound peace and tranquility. Cody and Mimi were working together to replant in the area that had been destroyed by the final battle with King Drasil, while Joe, alongside his fiancé was working diligently to finish the final touches on the hospital he had started on the server continent in his free time. Davis and Veemon however were strolling through the woods under a familiar sky. The same pathway that they took heading out from the amusement park and deep into the woods where they had fought against Hyogamon. Davis was sporting a brand new blue and black leather jacket with the same plumage around the collar as his old one, along with Tai’s old goggles on his head with Veemon walking close by him. His appearance notably more demure than usual though, as he seemed to be kicking at the dirt with each step.
“Veemon, you ready?” Davis quietly asked, briefly stopping along the trail.
“Sure, why not.” Veemon sighed, crossing his arms.
“Come on buddy! We came out here for a reason right? Get outta the kitchen, get some fresh air. You know, so to speak.” Davis carried on, trying to psych up his friend. Veemon simply crossed his arms and closed his eyes for a moment.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we got a break from cooking for a while, but this isn’t exactly a vacation.”
“Don’t worry!” Davis assured him, offering an emphatic thumbs up. “We’ll shake off some of that rust and show we still kick some serious ass.” No sooner he finished his sentence that the bushes around him began to shuffle with movement. Pouncing to each others side, they readied for anything that might come. “Remember, stay in rookie for this part, got it?”
“Pah, like this will even be a challenge.” Veemon touted. Lunging from the bushes came a Gazimon, aiming right for Davis. Veemon never hesitated and intercepted him right away. “Vee Head butt!” He shouted, slamming the rabbit digimon out of the air and tumbling into the dirt along the path. Two more sprang from the tree line and readied for an attack.
“Electric Stun Blast!” They called out as they fired their bolts together. Davis and Veemon dove off in opposite directions, avoiding the attack. Springing to his feet Veemon lined himself up and leapt once more.
“Heel Kick!” Veemon cried out, landing a solid axe kick on the head of one of them before spinning around to deliver another attack. Jabbing the Gazimon twice in the head and chest, he swung his arms and powered up. “Full power punch!” Sending a haymaker of a punch across the face of the second Gazimon. The two fallen digimon dissolved in a distortion of large cubic shaped pixels while Veemon turned to the only remaining one. “Ya gonna put up a fight or what?” He shouted, standing firm in his fighting stance. The Gazimon rose to his feet and wiped at his cheek.
“Electric Stun Blast!” He cried out once more.
“Vee Head butt!” Veemon shouted right back, blowing right through the electric shock and right into the face of the final Gazimon. Falling to the ground he faded away in a similar fashion to the others as Veemon dusted off his hands. “See, too easy.”
“Awesome job buddy!” Davis complimented. “See you still got your basics down. Ready for the next challenge?”
“If they were anything like these chumps, I’m not worried one tiny bit.” Veemon proudly touted. Materializing behind them was a Hyogamon, roaring as he stood only a dozen feet from them. Veemon slit his eyes and clenched his fists tight. “Him again? It had to be him again!?”
“Don’t get shaken up Veemon, come on! We got him this time! Digi-armor energize!” Davis called out, breaking out his new digivice.
“Veemon armor digi-volve to! Flamedramon, the fire of courage!”
“I got your back Flamedramon! Watch for the ice attacks from his hands, he’s most exposed at the body!” David advised.
“Got it!” Flamedramon acknowledged.
“Ice mace!” Hyogamon shouted, swinging wildly at Flamedramon who dipped and dodged each blow before parrying the last one and blasting him in the stomach with a fire rocket. “Ice Punch!” He fired back but Flamedramon deflected the attack and flipped backward closer to Davis.
“He’s hitting a fair bit harder than usual.” Flamedramon noted.
“It’s not a problem is it?” Davis replied with a smirk.
“Not for me.” Flamedramon smiled right back.
“Snow Punch!” He shouted as another frosted sphere was launched at the two.
“Flame Shield!” Flamedramon called out, raising a barrier to deflect the attack. “To hell with you! Huah!” He shouted, rushing in at blazing speed he wreathed his fists in flame. Landing several devastating blows to the body and one last uppercut to Hyogamon’s chin, Flamedramon wound up a harsh spinkick sending Hyogamon into a nearby tree. “Fire Rocket!” Lunging at full speed, shrouded in flame he jammed the blade on his head deep into the chest of Hyogamon. Davis was in awe, he knew Flamedramon could be a tenacious warrior, but this a lot more brutal than usual. Withdrawing the blade, Hyogamon was clearly stunned as white data began bursting from the wound. Flamedramon back flipped before leaping high into the air to charge up his fists once last time. Slamming the ground he aimed true and fired. “Fire Rocket!” The volley of flaming torpedoes launched and slammed into Hyogamon and finishing him with an explosion. As the smoke cleared, the icy digimon was nowhere to be seen. Flamedramon smiled and folded his arms. “Too easy.” He quipped as he reverted back to Veemon.
“Whoa dude! That was brutal!” Davis exclaimed.
“What? It’s not a big deal, right?” Veemon posed to his friend.
“I guess, lets see how we did.” Davis stated, revealing a rather distinct wristband with a display on it. “End sim.” He said, as the area around him began to dissolve away into blue gridded room with golden trims. “Display score for training session Server 1.4.”
“Confirmed.” The feminine voice replied. A display appeared before them.
***** Session Server 1.4 Simulation *****
** Performance Evaluation: Difficultly level 37/100**
Target (Gazimon 1): 85/100 Target (Gazimon 2): 82/100
Target (Gazimon 3): 90/100
Primary Objective ( Hyogamon ): 78/100
Final Score: 83.75 (Great!)
Pros: Cons:
Exceptional speed. Excessive Force.
Rapid Digivolution. Partner too close to combat.
Used weakness to Ice digimon.
“Hey! Not bad, 83%!” Davis cheered.
“Excessive force? Come on!” Veemon huffed.
“Oh yeah, Izzy said for us to be watching for that kind of stuff you know, for whenever we ever fight in public.” David noted while pausing for a moment. “To be honest, I was surprised you stabbed him in the chest like that too.”
“Humph!” Veemon pouted turning away. “If that computer or whatever doesn’t like how I beat the bad guys then it can try next time.”
“Aww buddy, don’t get mad. This is still a beta system that Izzy’s working on. I couldn’t resist the chance to test it out.” Davis insisted patting his friends head.
“I guess.” Veemon conceded with a smile. “But you know, trips to the ice cream shop are a lot more relaxing; in fact, I vote that’s where we go next.”
“Haha you know what? You’re right!” Davis cheerfully agreed as his phone began to ring. “Aw come on, who’s callin now?” Taking out his phone. “AHHH!! It’s the boss! No way, I’m not coming in tonight it’s Saturday and that means we have to prep all the squid again and I ain’t doing that! Hello this is Davis.” He politely answered. Veemon stood there baffled for a moment before speaking up.
“I don’t know who’s having the weirder mood swings, him or Michiko.”
“Davis, have you spoken to Michiko?” The gruff voice spoke over the speaker phone.
“No sir, I thought she was starting at 9 today.”
“She hasn’t shown up.”
“That’s not like her at all, she’s had better attendance than me.”
“That goes without saying. Look we should be ok tonight but go check on her as soon as you can. I know the two of you have been seeing each other, despite me telling everyone no dating amongst staff.”
“Buaah!!” Davis cried out, flailing his arms. “I don’t know what you mean sir!”
“Don’t lie to me Motomiya, if you two having this little fling gets in the way of the customers I’ll send ya both packing. So get over there and find out why she isn’t coming in.” He insisted.
“Yes sir, I’ll go check on her right away. Have a good night sir.” Davis breathed a sigh of relief. “I can handle a delay, but if we had to work tonight that woulda been just one day too many for me.”
“You and me both.” Veemon agreed.
“Come on, first Michiko’s then ice cream. There’s a pizza place too nearby, I might pick up a few slices.” Davis suggested.
“Davis, you aren’t 18 anymore, you keep eating like that and your belly’s gonna stick out over the counter at work.”
“Can’t trust a skinny chef! Hahahaha!”
Davis and Veemon had arrived at her apartment and rang the buzzer outside her door. Waiting for a while, Davis playfully drew his finger along the 148 on her door next to the small oak ornament with their family name, Ishikawa.
“No answer.” Veemon stated. Davis hummed and peered in through the window but the blinds were drawn and it was hard to see inside. Knocking on the door, he took out his phone with the other hand and checked his messages. Aside from the one he sent asking if she was home and ok, there were no replies.
“Hmm, maybe.” Davis thought aloud, stashing his phone away he reached for the handle and turned it. Gasping he turned to Veemon. “It’s unlocked.” Veemon seemed a bit shocked as well. Gently turning the handle and slowly opened the door.”Hello!” He called out. “Michiko! It’s me, Davis!”
“And Veemon!” He chimed in.
“You home!?” He asked opening the door the rest of the way. Behind a door he could hear the subtle sounds of someone sobbing. A couple of the chairs were knocked over as well and one of her sweaters was on the floor. Davis gulped and glanced to Veemon. “Careful, someone else might be in here too.”
“I’m ready.” Veemon agreed. Davis steadily approached the door to her room with Veemon close beside him. Placing a hand on the knob, he gave one last look to Veemon as the two exchanged nods. Turning the handle he opened the door to the darkened room inside.
“Michiko, is everything-“ Davis started to speak but cut himself off. A girl with long black hair in a white and green top and orange skirt was lying in bed and turning around to see them, was a golden Veemon. The digimon glared, as tears appeared to be streaming down their face and rose up to its feet, fists primed for action.
“What are you doing here!? Get out!” She shouted.
“What did you do to Michiko!?” Davis fired right back. “Did you hurt her!?”
“Don’t you come near her! Vee Headrush!” She shouted, lunging for Davis.
“Vee Head butt!” Veemon called out right back, the two collided and tumbled back where they came, with Veemon being caught by Davis and the other landing near the base of Michiko’s bed.
“You ok buddy?” Davis asked, helping his friend to his feet.
“Ugh that one smarts.” He complained rubbing the front of his head.
“I’m not gonna ask ya again!” Davis demanded. “Who are you and what did you do to Michiko!?”
“Stay away from her!” She shouted right back, inching herself back to her feet. “I’m warning you!”
“Ugh.” Michiko moaned, reaching for her head. The gold Veemon looked shocked and turned around.
“Michiko, are you ok? Talk to me, say something.” She cried.
“Ugh, wha?” She moaned, realizing who was tugging at her. Her soft brown eyes suddenly bloomed wide open. “Oh god, you’re real.” She gasped, lifting herself up she turned her attention to the other two. “Davis? Veemon?”
“Hey! Michiko!” Davis rushed over to her bedside and kneeled down. “Are you ok? What happened?”
“Don’t you hurt her you creep!” The gold Veemon barked at him.
“Don’t talk to him like that.” Michiko quietly chastised. “Only I can get away with talking to the knucklehead like that.” She smiled.
“You know him then, ok good.” She sighed with relief. “Still.” She turned to him. “Breaking into a girl’s home, you boys are seriously rude. You’re lucky I didn’t flatten you the moment you walked in.”
“You’re the rude one!” Veemon barked right back. “Attacking us for asking if someone we care about’s ok, you got some nerve!”
“Please stop shouting, both of you.” Michiko begged, rubbing her eyes.
“Yeah guys come on, take it down a notch or two.” Davis agreed.
“Rich hearing you say that, with that megaphone mouth of yours.” She smiled. “Look who stumbled in here today.”
“She can’t be a Veemon, is she?” Davis questioned.
“She sure looks like him; cept for the color.” Michiko agreed.
“I don’t look like that lout.” She confidently answered, clasping her hands together. “I am Dawnveemon, but my friends call me Dawny. Well, they would. If I ever met anyone else besides you Michiko!” She giggled. “I’m your digimon partner and I’m here to protect you!”
“Dawnveemon, never heard of you.” Veemon was quick to state.
“I’d be surprised if you could hear of anything passed that thick skull.” She quipped.
“She appeared in the kitchen while I was prepping my lunch for work. It freaked me out really bad and I don’t remember what happened after.” Michiko explained.
“You passed out and I carried you to the bedroom here so you could rest.” Dawny explained. “I was really worried, you bumped your head on that chair and I don’t think humans were made to do that all too well.”
“So that’s why those chairs were knocked over.” Davis spoke to himself. “Chef Takato called me and asked why you weren’t in.”
“Why I wasn’t.” She trailed off, before checking her alarm clock in a panic. “Oh god! It’s 11:00, I’m so late!!” She screamed.
“Easy! You’re off the hook ok. He said everything was good for tonight.” Davis assured her.
“Oh great, and let me guess, you got called in?” She asked.
“Nah, I’m off the hook too.” Davis smiled.
“Oh good, we didn’t need you torturing the customers tonight with your hacked squid.” She was quick to joke.
“Hey!”
“I can’t help it if I’m the better chef.” She smiled. “Don’t worry handsome, you’ll get the hang of boiling water soon.”
“Aw come on, me and Veemon blew off getting ice cream and pizza to come here and check on you, the least you could do is be a little nicer!”
“Move.” Dawnveemon shoved Veemon’s shoulder with hers passing by him and heading out the door. Veemon growled and raised his fist.
“She’s seriously annoying.”
“Davis.” Michiko asked, taking his hand. “Is she really my digimon?” She asked nervously. Davis winced for a moment before breathing a sigh and nodding.
“It seems that way. The only way we’re gonna know for sure is if you got a digivice.”
“I’m scared.” She shuddered.
“Why, I’m here.”
“You know why. I hate fighting. I like making people happy, I like cooking and my friends and making fun of you.” She explained.
“Shock.” He smiled, rubbing his thumb along the palm of her hand.
“I don’t know how to be a digi destined.” She said. “Also.” Pausing she began to rub at the back of her head. “This really hurts.”
“I got a friend we can see about that.” Davis replied.
“Joe?”
“Uh huh.” Davis smiled and nodded.
“I remember him, he’s super sweet. Ok, we’ll go see him.” She agreed.
“Michiko!” Dawnveemon called out, coming back into the room. “I fixed the chairs and well, this was on the table.” She said, producing a digivice in her hand. “I think, it belongs to you.” She smiled.
“Oh boy.” She nervously took it from her hand and clenched it in both of hers. “Dawnveemon, right?”
“Call me Dawny if you like.” She winked with a wave of her finger. “Don’t worry, I’ll be here to help ya through anything.”
“Why don’t we start by getting you to see Joe and make sure you don’t have a concussion. That’d take ya out a work for a week easy.” Davis suggested helping her to her feet.
“That’s a real good plan, Davis!” Veemon complimented.
“Who’s this Joe guy?” Dawnveemon was swift to ask.
“He’s a doctor, but only part time now. He’s working on the digital world’s very first hospital.” Davis explained. Breaking out his phone he called up Izzy and waited for a moment.
“Hi Davis, can this wait?” Izzy quickly answered.
“I just need a port to Joe. My girlfriend had a bad fall and I wanna get her checked out.”
“Oh! Ok, that shouldn’t be a problem. Give me a moment though, I can’t talk right now. Take care!” Izzy swiftly concluded the call while Davis smirked and stashed his phone in his pocket. Rolling up his sleeve he revealed the same bracelets they used during the primal invasion.
“Piece of cake. Give him a sec and we’ll get to the hospital faster than you can say Digimon ramen extraordinaire!”
“So long as you got my partners best interest at heart, I’ll go along with this for now mister.” Dawn cut in, crossing her arms.
“Stop being a jerk you jerk.” Veemon was quick to shut down.
“Ugh.” Michiko moaned, rubbing her eyes. “I really hope it’s not a concussion but it’s sure feeling like one.”
“Well here.” Davis insisted, taking her arm over his shoulder. “I got ya babe, nothing to worry about.”
“Aww.” She pouted playfully, tugging on his nose. “Davis being the sweet boyfriend instead of the loudmouth doofus, what a nice change of pace.” She giggled. Davis heard his band go off, and a green light flicker on.
“Right, let’s go!” He proclaimed, aiming for the doorway, he opened a port to the digital world and helped Michiko pass through with Veemon and Dawnveemon close behind after a quick exchange of scowls.
At the hospital, Joe and Gomamon had Michiko on a small bed and were passing a small pen light over her eyes.
“Ok, look up for me.” He said softly. “Any loss of memory, nausea, double vision?”
“I just remember her flashing into my kitchen then it all goes blank.” She explained. “But no, none of that other stuff.”
“Ya got a history of fainting at all?” Gomamon questioned as well.
“Uh, well not really a history I think. It’s happened maybe twice in my whole life.”
“Well.” Joe smiled, stashing his light away in his chest pocket. “The good news is I don’t think you’re concussed. But that’s a great goose egg you have on your head.”
“A digimon appearing can be a bit a shock.” Gomamon joined in with a smile patting her arm. “I think maybe you’ve just been working too hard and the shock of seeing Dawnveemon there was a last straw kinda deal.”
“Precisely.” Joe agreed. “You passed out and bumped your head. Nothing too serious. Though I would keep an ice pack at the ready to keep the inflammation down.”
“Phew.” Michiko smiled.
“Awesome, thanks Joe and Gomamon, you two are the best!” Davis praised.
“Always happy to help out a new member of the team.” Gomamon gleefully answered.
“It was actually really nice to meet you guys too.” Dawnveemon complimented reaching to shake Gomamon’s paw. “Hahaha, I have to admit, I was really worried I made the worst first impression on my new partner.”
“I could tell ya some great stories of how Joe reacted to me.” Gomamon glanced back to him with a devilish grin.
“No! Thank you Gomamon! That’s enough. No traumatizing the patients!” He protested at the rest of the room erupted in laughter. “There’s a pharmacy downstairs, grab some pain relievers if you feel the need. You should be fine.” Joe confirmed.
“Alright!” Davis cheered, extending his hand to Michiko. “Let’s head on out then. Joe, Gomamon, I’ll see you guys around right?”
“Hopefully not here.” Joe shyly smiled and waved. “But yes, next weekend we plan on coming to mini-golf. Honestly we could use the break.”
“Dawnveemon, welcome to the team. If ya ever need any pointers or tips gimme a call.” Gomamon offered.
“Oh ho! You trying to get all friendly with me already?” She giggled. Gomamon brushed the back of his head and laughed.
“Nah, I got a great babe already. I’m just happy to help.”
“Thanks! I might just take ya up on that.” Dawnveemon agreed.
“Let’s go Davis.” Veemon requested, tugging at his partners leg.
“Right, come on.”
After a couple days rest, Davis and Michiko were both back in the kitchen along with Veemon. Dawnveemon was up at the front of the restaurant, talking with one of the servers and was learning how to carry bowls and cups, practicing with some plastic ones for safety. Davis and Veemon were on the line behind the counter, and the two were taking some time to slice carrots and bok choy.
“Hey, Veemon? Can you pass the cayenne?” Davis asked. Veemon seemed lost in thought, and wincing a little Davis spoke up a little louder. “Veemon, hello, earth to Veemon?”
“Huh!? Oh cayenne, sure.” Veemon abruptly complied, passing the white shaker off to his partner.
“What’s on your mind buddy?” Davis questioned, adding the spice to his broth.
“Nothing.” Veemon sighed, pushing the carrot slices to the side with his knife.
“Hey, come on. It’s just us guys back here, you can tell me.” Davis insisted.
“Exactly.” Michiko cut in, bumping Davis’s backside. “You like dating us guys, right?” She giggled.
“For a guy, you got an awfully small carrot down there of your own.” Davis cracked with a toothy grin. Michiko laughed and started packing away some of the ingredients they weren’t using anymore. Veemon headed for the walk in without saying another word. Davis took a moment to think before handing the ladle over to Michiko and tapping her shoulder. “Keep an eye on this for me, ok? Don’t let it over reduce.”
“Uh, oh. Ok.” Michiko complied as Davis ducked passed the plastic drapes shielding the walk-in.
“Veemon?” He asked, seeing his friend leaning on one of far right rack. “Hey, something’s going on, I know.”
“It’s ok, you don’t need to worry.”
“And let me guess.” Davis cut in. “It has to do with-“
“No, not Michiko or Dawnveemon.”
“Nope, not entirely. You’ve been like this since you found out Gatomon was pregnant and having a digi-egg with Patamon.” He answered swiftly.
“Ugh!” Veemon gasped and started rubbing the back of his head. “Since when did you become that insightful?”
“I don’t know about all that, but we’ve shared everything from food, fights, screw ups and bathes for over thirteen years, so I think I got a pretty good sense on what goes on in your head.” Davis proudly answered.
“Yeah, you do like bubble baths.”
“Hey! Shhh!” Davis animatedly hushed. “Guy secret!” Veemon just covered his mouth and chuckled a little.
“I guess that has something to do with it.”
“The baths?” Davis asked.
“No, Gatomon.” He replied, hanging his head.
“Oh man. I thought you got over her.” He huffed, leaning on the door frame.
“I did. It’s not that.”
“So what is it?” Veemon took a moment before answering, crossing his arms keeping his gaze low.
“Everyone we know is, finding someone. Someone they love. Even you.” Veemon eventually started to say. “I don’t wanna be the jealous type, I really wanna be happy for everyone. And I am! But. Davis.” He stammered, trying his best to speak from his heart. “It’s so hard to see everyone moving forward like that and not me.”
“Oh man, yeah. I get that.” Davis said, looking up to the ceiling. “Well hey, there’s Dawny.”
“Pah.” Veemon scoffed, suddenly finding some posture and strength to his voice.
“What?” Davis countered with a smirk.
“That girl’s as cuddly as a cactus. Not to mention the way she treats me, she’s so rude and pushy. Sides, no one else we know is breeding with their own digi-type.”
“She’s not your flavor of digimon, yeah I get ya.”
“I just wish I knew what to do. If I even knew where to go to meet other digimon, maybe I could find someone. But well, you know.” Veemon said, lowering his head once more.
“Got me stumped there too. Half the digimon we meet in the digi-world are either trying to blow us up, or they’re working on rebuilding after the invasion. Not exactly much of a social scene.” Davis conceded. Veemon started rubbing his shoulder and was letting a tear escape.
“Exactly, it’s near hopeless for me. I just.” He stammered once more. Davis started making his way over and put a hand on Veemon’s shoulder. “I just wish I knew what was wrong with me so I can fix it.”
“What are you talking about, Veemon? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you.” Davis said, trying his best to console his partner.
“Then why can’t I find someone to love like you can.” He cried, really letting it loose now.
“Aw Veemon, come here.” Davis moaned, pulling his friend in for a good long hug. “It’s gonna be ok pal, I promise. I’ll tell ya what. I’ll ask around this weekend when we meet up with the others. Maybe I can shake an idea or two loose. Mimi, Tai, Sora, maybe even Yolei’s got an idea or two rattling around in her head that can help.”
“You really think they can help?” Veemon asked, pulling back from the hug.
“I never have to know for sure, I just know to keep looking till we find a solution. It’s just like our crest, right? Gotta pump up that tenacity and power through it.” Davis spoke up, trying to encourage his friend.
“Yeah!” Veemon smiled, wiping at his eyes. “Ok, so long we work together on it.”
“Hell yeah!” Davis agreed, raising his hand. Veemon finished wiping his eyes and clasped his best friend’s hand good and tight.
“You got it!”
The following weekend, the vast majority of the digi-destined team had made it to the mini-golf course in Koto City. Broken up into groups of four, they were enjoying the summer sun and warm weather that came along with it. Tai, Davis, Willis and T.K along with their digimon were all together in their group and were just approaching the fourth hole.
“Man it’s a hot one!” Tai stated, wiping his brow and almost the score card with it.
“Careful!” T.K was quick to cut in, snatching the scorecard from his hand. “Nice try Tai, but that five on the last hole’s gonna count.”
“Hahaha, even I got it in three shots.” Agumon chuckled away with Patamon on his head.
“Why don’t I keep score?” Patamon offered. “After all, I’m not playing. Just enjoying some time outside.”
“Sure.” T.K agreed, passing the scorecard to him.
“So, you guys.” Davis spoke up. “We have a. Small issue.”
“Davis, it’s ok.” Veemon tried to cut in, tenting his fingers nervously while holding the putter under his arm.
“Come on buddy, we said we’d try, right?”
“What is it, Davis?” Willis asked.
“Veemon has been having some trouble, meeting people. If you know what I mean.” Davis cautiously explained.
“Meeting people?” Tai scoffed. “What is he trying to get in on some kind of ramen network for you?” T.K covered his mouth and laughed, shaking his head at Tai.
“No Tai, I think he means mating.” He finished for him.
“Oh!” Patamon spoke up. Agumon rushed over and put a paw on Veemon’s shoulder.
“Veemon, I got a cousin you could meet in the Koromon village.”
“Since when do you have cousins there?” Tai immediately cut in.
“Since every Koromon is a cousin to someone.” Agumon answered with a big smile.
“Oh lordy.” Willis laughed, shaking his head. “Well one, Koromon are in training, and most of the Agumon who digivolve there don’t stay in the village so, that’s out Agumon. And two, I thought after she appeared, you and Dawnveemon would start hittin it off.”
“She’s really mean, and so rude and pushy. I offered her some of my leftovers from the restaurant the other day, and told me she didn’t drink dog water.” Veemon answered.
“Ouch, that’s cold.” Tai winced.
“Oof, yeah. That’s not so nice.” Agumon agreed. “That poor food, please tell me you gave it a nice home!” He insisted, shaking Veemon a little.
“Uh, ok, I won’t tell ya.” Veemon confessed.
“Guys come on, I really wanna help him with this. If he’s struggling then we gotta figure out something.” Davis insisted.
“Well isn’t there a place digimon meet up for that?” Tai questioned.
“No, not really. Terriermon, Lopmon and I were actually looking into the same thing. Those two wanna date, but they’re not looking for anything permanent.” Willis explained, lining up his shot. “Probably why they’re over at the snack bar, and not here getting their butts whooped by me.” He smirked, giving the little blue golf ball a solid chip, bouncing off three walls of the Z shaped course and landing near the hole.
“Well why isn’t there? I mean wouldn’t it make sense to have a digimon bar or club or something?” Tai suggested.
“What like a brothel?” T.K spoke up. “That’s a little risqué, don’t you think. Sides, Veemon isn’t looking for a quick mate, but a relationship.”
“I get that!” Tai shouted.
“Huh.” Willis thought to himself for a moment.
“But come on, some place where they could meet up, hang out. There’s gotta be somewhere? There’s tons of villages and towns in digi-world right? You’re telling me not one is any kind of meet up place for singles?” Tai insisted.
“Not that I’m aware of at least.” Willis answered. “But that’s not a bad idea.” He took out his phone, opened up his notes app and starting writing something down.
“What, you texting your girlfriend?” Davis asked.
“Nah, she’s at the point that even my chewing is bothering her.” Willis smirked. “Pregnant girls are so weird. But I like that idea, Tai I’m gonna get back to you on that.”
“Guys what about for now.” Davis questioned.
“Well.” Agumon said, folding his arms and catching everyone’s attention. “What do we know about Veemon’s species. They’re an old one, right? We don’t even know if he’s the only one left in the digi-world besides Dawny. Hey I got it! Tai, we should go talk to Izzy and see if he can do a scan of the world to find where all the Veemon are.”
“Agumon that’s a great idea!” Tai cheered. “I’ll go ask him right away.”
“Tai, shoot first, ask questions later.” T.K jumped in, nudging his side. Reminding him that the two were still in the middle of a game.
“Right, don’t worry Veemon, we’ll talk to Izzy. Willis, maybe you could try too. Let us know if you can find any place where digimon might congregate and hang out.”
“Thanks Tai!” Veemon cheered.
Veemon, Davis, Dawny and Michiko were inside Izzy’s office. Tentomon was on the desk rubbing his chin will Izzy kept typing away with an ever growing look of distress.
“So, anything Izzy?” Veemon spoke up.
“Well, here’s the thing.” Izzy sighed, taking a break from the keyboard, he grabbed his bottle of tea from the desk and clasped in both hands. “From what I can tell, the Veemon line as a species is extinct in the digital world. According to the directory Gennai granted me access to, all 450 of them, minus you and Dawn are currently inactive.”
“Awww.” Veemon hung his head.
“What destroyed them all?” Dawn asked.
“It’s hard to say.” Tentomon took his turn to speak. “It does seem that Veemon were more common in the old world and that only a group of 30 or so existed in our current one.”
“I could petition Gennai to reinstate some of them.” Izzy offered. “It’s possible he could scout out a location for them to repopulate and all it would mean after that is whether or not Blackgatomon and Elecmon are willing to raise them. But, well. It would be quite a long time before any of them were, mature enough.”
Veemon moaned and hung his head, as Davis placed a hand on his back.
“Izzy, were there ever any like me?” Dawn questioned.
“No, never. I don’t have a single record of a gold Veemon anywhere. But I think I know how you came here.” He stated.
“Really?” Michiko spoke up. “I’d sure love to know then.”
“Ever since our battle with the Primal Worlds digimon, quantum data has been floating through the digital and real worlds. Their digimon don’t come back to life, they’re returned to something called the quantized stream where their data is reconfigured into new digimon. The data from both Kuwagamon defeat in the real world, and Megaseadramon in the digital world are still lingering around. I think you picked up a fraction of that data when you were being transferred to Michiko and so it changed you.”
“Wait, does that mean she’s a quantum coded digimon like Blackgatomon?” Davis asked.
“No, not entirely. It’s likely just a fraction of her code that’s been altered. Still, she might have a slight baseline strength increase relative to the normal species of Veemon. Along with some augmentation to their species abilities.”
“Ha! So I’m already tougher than you, blue boy.” Dawn smirked at Veemon who growled right back.
“I don’t think so, Dawn.” Izzy cut in.
“What? But you said-“
“Veemon has a vast wealth of battle experience that completely eclipses your own. You’d be foolish to rule that out. Veemon is likely at least twice as strong as you.”
“Yep, I’m a beefy digimon alright!” Veemon proudly flexed his arms and smiled.
“Dawn, you might benefit from Veemon training you.” Izzy suggested.
“Ugh, as if.” She brushed off.
“You don’t approve?” Izzy countered.
“I can learn just fine on my own, but thank you very kindly.” Dawn dismissed.
“Don’t be so sure.” Tentomon cut in again. “Thanks to our new training server, me and Palmon have learned quite a lot from each other. Not to mention Gabumon whenever he and Matt are back on Earth.”
“Yeah, Gabumon’s a great teacher.” Veemon agreed.
“Veemon might be able to give you better insight into your own attacks, Dawny.” Michiko suggested, kneeling down to her level. “I think it’s a good idea, why don’t you train with him a few times in Izzy’s server when we’re at work.” Dawnveemon suddenly looked shocked and begged her partner.
“You don’t want me working with you at the restaurant?”
“Of course, it’s great when you’re there. But it’s just as important you learn some basics too, right?”
“Veemon, what do you say?” Davis questioned. Veemon tipped his head to the side and took a long deep breath.
“If she’s willing to listen I guess.”
“Fine.” She sighed, folding her arms. “If it’ll make everyone feel better, I’ll start kicking your butt in that training thingy.”
“Oh lord.” Michiko giggled.
“Dawnveemon.” Izzy sighed, placing his tea back on the desk. “If you want to be part of the team, you should learn to respect everyone on it, including Veemon. I can sense that the two of you aren’t getting along, and that’s ok. But remember, the weight of the world itself could very well rest on your shoulders at any given moment. So take every opportunity to learn from those who’ve felt that weight and prevailed. It would be a foolish opportunity to squander.”
“Oh.” She looked a little astonished. “Like, the possibility of Michiko getting hurt too.”
“If you don’t take it seriously when it happens, that’s a very probable outcome.” Izzy cautioned.
“You know what, you’re right. I’m sorry. Ok, I’ll do the training. And I’ll take it seriously.” She agreed.
“I’m glad to hear it.” Izzy smiled.
“Come on babe, we gotta get to the restaurant. Veemon buddy, I’ll cover for you on the line so you and Dawny can train tonight.” Davis explained.
“Right, we still have about two hours of prep to do.” Michiko agreed.
“I’ll set up a basic training regiment for you. Give me about an hour or so. It should be ready by the time you get home.” Izzy said with a quick smile, turning right back to his computer.
“Sounds great Izzy!” Veemon cheered.
The two digimon arrived at Davis’s apartment and Veemon dusted his feet on the mat before walking in. Dawn took a brief look around, seeing the kitchen off to the right with a few pots still left near the sink and a single bowl out on the counter. The living room was surprisingly large, with a 47 inch flat screen T.V with a playstation nearby and two controllers on the charger. A wood and glass coffee table sat in the middle of the room before the black leather L shaped couch was positioned near the balcony window. Between the kitchen and living room was a shallow hallway with two doors on either side, one for the bathroom and other for the bedroom.
“This is a boys place, huh?” Dawn commented.
“It’s a lot better than it used to look. Michiko actually got Davis to start cleaning his apartment. I help as much as I can.” Veemon explained.
“It’s not as organized as Michiko’s place, but you can’t expect perfection out of everyone I suppose.” She said shrugging her shoulders.
“Whatever.” Veemon brushed off. “We got home pretty fast, we can probably eat before Izzy’s server is up and running.”
“I’m fine.” Dawn dismissed, heading toward the couch and plopping herself down on it. “Though this is actually really nice.” She said, giving the cushions a good press.
“I helped Davis pick it out. We wanted to get one comfy enough for people to sleep on if they stayed over.”
“That happen a lot?” Dawn asked.
“Yeah. Davis and Ken like to hang out a lot, and T.K and Kari live in the building across the street so they’re here pretty often too.”
“I haven’t met them yet, have I?”
“Nah, Kari isn’t feeling well so she wasn’t at Mimi’s when Michiko and you went there.” Veemon answered, bringing out a small bowl of ice cream and placing it beside Davis’s computer.
“Everyone I met there was really nice, but their bellies were all big.”
“A lot of them are starting families of their own.” Veemon explained, letting his head hang a little low as he did.
“Michiko’s all the family I need.” Dawn proudly stated.
“Yeah well.” Veemon trailed off, logging into his account on the computer and waiting for the screen to load. He snuck in a quick bite of his ice cream as well before talking again. “Davis and Michiko are very close you know.”
“She talks about him a lot. Calls him a goof ball, but a loveable one. I don’t get it. Does that mean she likes him, or thinks he’s an idiot?”
“Hey!” Veemon snapped back.
“What I’m serious! I’m still new to all this, I don’t get it when she says stuff like that.” Dawnveemon retorted.
“Well, it just means Davis can be a little thick headed at time, but his hearts always in the right place and he loves her.”
“Oh.” Dawnveemon pondered for a moment, crossing her arms and tapping her finger a few times. “Well if she feels that strongly about him, I guess he’s ok.”
“It’s open!” Veemon answered, quickly shoveling the ice cream down, he stepped in front of the screen and looked back to Dawnveemon. “Come on, stand here. We’re going in.”
“Going in where?” She lightly demanded. Veemon grew a devilish grin and grabbed her hand, dragging her toward the display. “Veemon! Let go or so help me-“ She tried to protest before the screen sucked her in.
“Hehehe, worth it.” He lightly cackled before lunging in. Dawn was picking herself up off the ground while Veemon landed on his feet nearby. The area they were in looked a bit like a playground with a forested trim all around them. Several training dummies and punching bags were set up, along with what looked like realistic wax sculptures of Biyomon, Gabumon, Agumon and Patamon. Beyond that was a massive structure, in a Japanese cottage style design with a red roof and white and grey walls lining the building along with a sliding door entrance.
“What is this?” Dawn asked in awe.
“This is Izzy’s handy work. I haven’t been to this training server, but it sure looks like one of his. Honestly reminds me of that house he made for us during the Primal digimon crisis.”
“So what do we do?” She asked. Veemon rushed off to one of the dummies and took to a typical fighting stance.
“Watch and learn from the master.” He proclaimed. Taking a few swings, the arms of the dummy swung back and Veemon started a routine of taking a few swings and dodging the errant attacks from the dummy. “You gotta get a feel for what it’s like to be right in the mix of a fight! Get a real sense of someone trying to hurt ya and being willing to hurt em back!” He explained. He threw a few more swings and as the dummy fired back, he caught the blow and shot a solid punch to it, breaking it in half. “Haha!” He cheered as the dummy regenerated. Leaping back he gave a quick gesture for Dawn to give it a try. “Go on, give it a few swings.”
“Ok.” Dawn took a couple practice punches but right off the draw caught a hit from one of the dummies arms right away on the side of her head. “Ow! That stung!”
“Don’t let it hit you, you gotta duck it or block the attack.”Veemon advised. The two carried on for a while longer as Veemon offered more tips and guided her through a few basic combinations for practicing on the dummy. After a good warm up on them, he and Dawn approached the simulated digimon and gave each of them a quick once over. “If I were to guess, we tap one of these and they become a live target for you to fight.” Reaching out, Veemon tapped the Agumon and it stepped forward and spoke in a rather synthesized voice.
“Please select difficulty level.”
“Oh this really is like the last server. 40 please.” Veemon answered. “They work on a scale of 1 to 100.” He quickly informed Dawn.
“Duel beginning in 5.” It said once more, raising its claws. Veemon leapt back and readied himself to fight. The Agumon charged for him and swung for Veemon’s head then belly but Veemon was quick to deflect both attacks and landed a good gut shot on the Agumon. Sliding back a bit and falling to its knee, he primed up a pepper breath and fired for Veemon’s head. Dodging the blast, Agumon fired again and Veemon deflected it down to the ground and lunged.
“Vee head butt!” He shouted slamming the Agumon hard it fell to the ground. “No fooling around, take this!” He shouted, leaping up into the air he slammed the Agumon with a harsh crescent kick and defeated it. Dematerializing it reappeared alongside the other digimon. “Haha! Cake walk!”
“Combat score, 90/100.” It spoke. “Excellent control, skillful deflections. Suggestions: choose a more challenging difficulty.”
“Oh, so you picked an easy one. That’s why you made it look like such a cake walk.” Dawn scoffed.
“If you think it’s that easy, why don’t you pick one and try fighting it.” Veemon offered.
“I will!” She touted, heading over to Gabumon. “He looks rather menacing.” She said, tapping him. Once again the same voice spoke up.
“Please select difficulty level.”
“50! I want a proper challenge.”
“Uhh, oh boy.” Veemon began to sweat a little. “You sure you don’t wanna change that? 50’s pretty tough you know.”
“I’m not scared. I may be a little new, but I’m no push over.”
“Ha!” The Gabumon called, spinning wildly it aimed right for Dawn who cried out, leaping out of the way.
“Jeez! That was rude! Vee Headrush!” She screamed, leaping for Gabumon who met the attack by slamming her into the ground. She barely had time to turn over before he began firing on her with a blue blaster. “Ow ow ow ow!!” She cried out, getting away from the flames. “What gives? I thought this was a simulation! That really hurt!”
“We can’t actually take any real damage in here, Izzy put safeties on for that. Just don’t be careless, we can still feel the simulated pain.” Gabumon was charging for her and took a few good swings to which finally Dawn was able to deflect them. However when she tried to swing back, Gabumon caught her hand and grabbed hold of the other and fired a hard kick to her stomach. Sending her back and down on her knee, Gabumon primed himself and fired his blue blaster once again. Raising her arms up in a cross shape she clenched her eyes and screamed.
“Vee Reflect!” Slamming her hands down, a short lived shield appeared that fired the attack back at Gabumon and sent him down to the ground.
“Whoa! I’ve never seen that before!” Veemon complimented. Growling she leapt into the air and tried to pull the same crescent kick that Veemon did, but the blow was caught by Gabumon. Shoving her off balance, he leapt up to his feet and charged for Dawn and drove his horn into her neck. “Dawn!” Veemon cried out, as the Gabumon dematerialized and reappeared back in line with the others. Dawn seemed positively stunned and grasped her neck. “Dawn! You ok?” Veemon asked, rushing to her side, he put a hand on her shoulder and took a look at her neck.
“Did he?”
“No, it looks like the safety worked.” Veemon sighed with relief. “Man you scared me to death!”
“Combat score: 19/100.” The Gabumon spoke up. “Poor performance. Trainee failed to maintain guard during critical moments of fight. Adjust to lower difficulty.”
“Shut up!” Dawn barked back. “This was stupid, I don’t need to take that from a dumb computer!”
“Dawn, calm down.” Veemon said in a hushed tone. “Screaming at it’s not gonna help. It just means you need more practice is all.”
“I’ve had enough for today.” Dawn shrugged off Veemon’s hand and scowled. “Get me out of here.”
“Alright, come on, the exit’s back here.” Veemon gestured back to where they came in. Though there wasn’t any visible barrier, he could sense where the sim ended and stepped through. The two landed back inside Davis’s apartment and Dawn huffed her way to the door. “We should try again tomorrow maybe.”
“Why!? So you can show off with that cheating simulation?” She angrily fired back.
“It didn’t cheat, don’t you remember what Izzy said, I just have more combat experience.”
“I don’t need some stupid computer telling me whether or not I’m ready to protect my partner. I wouldn’t have been chosen if I wasn’t ready so to hell with your training!”
“I was just trying to help you! You don’t have to yell at me!” Veemon fired back. Growling she swung around and stomped her foot.
“I don’t need, want or care for your stupid help! Get lost!” She yelled one last time before slamming the door as she left. Veemon growled and kicked at the floor.
“Man, what a horrible attitude! I’m glad I was never so ungrateful when I started out with Davis.” He sighed. “Boy, she was so mad though.”
