Chapter 4
“I think you went a little overboard,” stated Flint to Dan. “I mean, I got a little burnt, but it was only on my left foot. You didn’t have to put it over both of them and my arms weren’t that sore from the fight.”
“You shouldn’t complain,” Rex said trying to flex his left hand. “I can’t even move my fingers on this hand.”
“Don’t blame me,” replied Dan, who was patched up a bit too. “You guys didn’t want to stop by the Med Center for professional care because you were in too much of a hurry to eat. Besides I think I did a pretty good job.”
After their little scrape with Team Terrorbyte just a few short hours ago Team Matrix made it back to their camp. Dan told them they should always visit a Med Center for a checkup after every adventure, but Flint and Rex didn’t see the need this time since none of them got anything worse than a slight burn or scrape. Dan was still adamant that they at least let him give them a look over. The results left them all partially mummified. Flint and Dan had gotten minor burns one of their feet, but ended up with both of their feet completely bandaged. Dan’s left leg was also bandaged up as well. Flint and Rex had some scrapes and bruises on them from fighting and they were bandaged up as well, though Rex ended up with his left hand wrapped into a ball. Dan had a scrape over his should and chest that he patched up without too much trouble. Finally, Rex’s ears were a tad scorched from when he was fighting Meramon. He was just thankful he could still hear clearly despite the bandages.
The unloaded their extra supplies from their adventure to make more room to put the treasure Rex and Flint were carrying. They would have to exchange it for RAM before they could buy anything and Dan promised them a big meal tonight.
They arrived at the Treasure Guild Facility from before and got quite a few looks from the other Digimon there. They recognized many from earlier who had seen their first encounter with Team Terrorbyte and they were either intrigued they had bandages on or that they were even there at all. They paid them no attention as all three of them were much too hungry to be bothered with anything else. They made their way to the front of the line where Digitamamon was waiting for the next group to come up.
“I see you’re back,” he said. “Usually, new groups aren’t back for days when they are first starting up. I’m impressed.”
“Enough chitchat,” groaned Rex, holding his stomach. “We need to exchange so treasure for RAM.”
Digitamamon didn’t seem too pleased with Rex being rude to him and said, “I need to verify with your DigiPad that everything is in order. It may take some time.”
It was obvious he was saying that to get back at Rex who was moaning in weakness from hunger. “Oh, need food. Can’t hold on… much longer.”
After a few minutes of looking over the data, Digitamamon announced, “Everything appears to be in order. Though, there seems to be something interested here. What are these coordinates here?”
“Oh, uh, probably just something while I was trying to figure out how it works,” lied Flint.
“Well, let me scan your badges so I can register you have all completed the mission then you can show me the treasure you are trading in.”
The others gave Flint their badges to hand in and then Dan took off his backpack and hefted it onto the table. Digitamamon slid their ID cards across a scanner and handed them back before digging through the backpack full of shiny metals and rocks. He then began sending them through a machine behind him.
“This machine will analyze each piece of treasure and calculate their value and give me and give out an equivalent amount of RAM. Shouldn’t take but another moment.”
Rex was still on the ground dead from hunger while Flint, hanging on the counter, and Dan watched the machine process all the money. When it finally finished Flint was amazed by all the RAM that came out. Digitamamon placed it on the table in front of them. The sight of all the money seemed to reinvigorate Rex enough so that he was ready to turn all their hard earned cased into a money rain. Flint quickly restrained him before he threw their money into the air and made every Digimon go ballistic in trying to grab as much RAM as they could. Dan pocketed the money as was his job as the group’s treasurer.
“Have a nice day,” Digitamamon called out to them as they made their way out and then a made a mad dash with Dan in the lead to get the feast they all desired.
“So, how much do we have?” asked Rex.
“It’s a little over 20,000 RAM,” explained Dan. “We will be eating well tonight, but we have to put some away for supplies in the future.”
“Yeah,” added Flint. “We can get tougher missions now that we’re at Rank 2.”
“Not quite,” replied Dan. “It will take more than one adventure to go up in Rank. But don’t rush or you’ll miss out on the here and now because we are here.”
They looked up at the building before them, the Cat’s Cradle. It was enormous compared to the Treasure Guild Facility they were just at or even any building that Flint and Rex saw in Zip Town.
“This is a restaurant?” asked Rex in awe.
“The part we are going to is, but it has a lot of other things too like a hotel and spa. All of it is incredibly expensive and only really wealthy Digimon can afford it. You won’t see many teams below Rank 3 or 4 here, but since this is to celebrate the success of our first mission I can’t think of a better place to go to.”
When Dan said this there was a twinkle of excitement in his eyes. Rex and Flint looked at each other and knew he had never acted like this before. While he may have not have lied to them he appeared to have ulterior motives for wanting to come here.
When then entered the establishment from the restaurant side they were even more amazed by the insides. It seemed even larger on the inside which was good since there were Digimon of all sizes and levels inside. Music played loudly making it hard to hear what anyone around them was saying. The aromas of a variety of foods overwhelmed their senses. The room was dimly lit with strobe lights of all different colors spinning around the room.
“If this is paradise I don’t want to leave,” cried Rex excitedly.
“So, do we sit ourselves or wait to be seated?” Flint asked Dan as loud as he could muster through the noise. However, Dan, who seemed so eager to come, was now frantically looking around. “Dan?”
“She’s not here,” he started to say when the strobe lights stopped and the music faded.
All the Digimon in the restaurant went quiet as well as a spotlight shined on the entrance that was just behind Dan, Flint, and Rex. They turned to set it landed on a Gatomon who had a Gabumon, Gaomon, and Gomamon following behind her. The Gatomon was flashily dressed with black sunglasses and a very expansive looking pink dress. She walked past Team Matrix like they didn’t even exist, the spotlight following her every step. Her entourage followed her up to a stage in the center of the restaurant. She picked up the mike from the stand and everyone applauded, calling her name, “Angel!” They all had on a love stricken face.
Flint and Rex turned to Dan to figure out what was going on, but he was chanting along with everyone else, hearts in his eyes and the same love stricken face as everyone else.
“Who’s Angle,” asked Flint to Dan. It didn’t snap him out of his trance, but he did give them an answer.
“Angel is the most famous idol in the world,” he explained as if he were reading her bio off a magazine. “Her songs enchant the hearts of all who hear them. She started out here and made this place what it is today. The only Digimon allowed in her entourage are Digimon whose type starts with the letter ‘G.’ It feels so good to be a Guilmon.” He said “Guilmon” with particular emphasis on the ‘G.’
“Never heard of her,” shouted Rex trying to speak above the chanting, but his voice carried to every ear in the room causing it to become quiet again, but a different kind of quiet. This one came complete with the glares of countless fans not amused with what he just said.
“Never heard of me?” stated Angel. “What are you from some backwater town like Zip City or something? Everyone else knows and worships the ground I walk on. You’re friend seems to be with the program.”
“I love you,” Dan called out to her, after hearing her acknowledge him. “I’ve loved since you first set foot on that stage.”
“Can’t say I remember you, though,” she replied, but it a lot of work remembering every individual fan. Her words seemed to be like honey to Dan as he seemed as infatuated with her as ever. “Now, as for you two, I am a very forgiving person. So, get on your knees and worship me and all will be forgiven.”
Her order wasn’t aimed at Dan, but he quickly began to do as she said. Flint and Rex looked at one another then back to Angel. “No thank you,” Flint answered. “We just came for something to eat.”
Everyone was shocked at the words that escaped him mouth and the distinct sound of everyone in the room pulling out weapons could be heard. Angel, merely chuckled and said, “If you won’t worship me like all these others you must want to be my loyal knights in shining armor. If not then you just have a death wish that will gladly be answered by everyone in this room.”
Flint and Rex grew nervous at the last thing she said. They didn’t doubt that everyone Digimon in this room wouldn’t hunt them down to the ends of the Digital World for Angel. “What do we have to do to be your, uh, loyal knights?” asked Rex nervously. It was clear that this choice was by far the most preferable to any of the others they had.
“You just need to complete a trial of my choosing. Pass and you will be my knights,” she explained.
“What if we fail?” asked Flint.
“Nothing at all,” she stated, but from her words it was clear that this trial wasn’t going to be without its risks. “For this trial it shall be the Gourmet Gullet Battle. It will be my entourage vs. you three.”
At her words, everyone began cheering loudly and Rex and Flint didn’t have the faintest clue why. They violently shoot Dan to get some answers out of him.
“What is Gourmet Gullet Battle?” they cried, needing to know.
“Two teams compete in a battle of eating. They keep going till one side cannot go on. The winners eat for free and the losers are forced to pay for both groups.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” commented Rex, feeling a sigh of relief come on.
Dan then continued, “Each serving of food is worth 500 RAM each and a single match can reach as high as 1,000,000 RAM.” With that, all both Flint and Rex nearly choked on their sighs of relief. That was way more than what they had on them. If they lost they’d be swimming in debt. “If we lose we’ll be forced to become Angel’s slaves to work off the debt. Won’t it be wonderful?”
“No!” they shouted, seeing that this was going to be the true price for failing.
“You’re going to be up to this?” asked Flint, worried that Dan was too out of it to be of any help.
“Do not worry. If it means becoming one of Angel’s knights I will do anything for her. Climb any mountain or swim any ocean. I’m burning with the power of love! BABY!” Dan exclaimed seemingly set ablaze with the power of love.
Flint and Rex held each other tight, finding this side of Dan to be quite scary. Never more in their life did they want to go home.
They were led to the center right by the stage. There they noticed a place for them to sit just below the stage and even more strangely a conveyor belt rotating around the inner part of the table. Dan, Flint and Rex took their seats and the Gabumon, Gomamon, and Gaomon sat across from them. Angel, on stage began to explain the rules.
“For those of you who don’t know the rules of the Gourmet Gullet Battle, let me explain,” she announced. “When it begins the conveyor belt will activate and send dishes out to the contestants. They must each take a dish and finish it before grabbing another. Each dish is worth one point. You are disqualified from continuing if collapse, vomit, or give up. The team who scores the most points wins by the time everyone is out wins and the loser pays for both. As a special treat, I’m going to perform a special show for all my adoring fans.” Everyone cheered after hearing that last part. “Now you all know my entourage. And this here is… what do we call you?”
Rex and Flint were too nervous to answer, but Dan happily announced, “Team Matrix!” as he spun around in his chair.
“Team Matrix!” Angel repeated and the audience applauded eager for the competition to begin. All the competitors picked up a set of chopsticks at their side. Flint had to help Rex to hold his chopsticks properly since he only had use of one of his hands; luckily it was his dominant hand.
Angel removed her black sunglasses revealing her deep blue eyes and tossed them towards her eager fans that scrambled to claim them. She then began singing, her voice was calm and soothing at first before it exploded energy and the entire room lit up with an assortment of colors.
This spectacle distracted Flint and Rex momentarily as the food began to dispense out a slot that the conveyor belt came through, though it was set up in such a manner to have the food endlessly loop around until someone picked it up. Flint had to grab food for both Rex and himself since he couldn’t hold his chopsticks and grab his plate at the same time with only one hand.
The first food served to them was bowls of rice. It was treated with a brownish sauce, just the right amount to enhance the taste without overwhelming the other spices and herbs mixed into the rice. They took their first taste and it was no wonder why Dan recommended this place. It was almost enough to bring a Digimon to tears, in fact they did.
“So good!” they cried before shoveling the food into their mouths, but savoring the flavor of every grain of rice. It was such a welcome change of pace from the current craziness that they had become enwrapped in.
After three bowls of rice were made spotless a new entrée moved down the line. This time it was a thick, juicy steak. It was already cut into bite-sized pieces so they could pick the pieces up on their chopsticks and munch it down without missing a beat.
“How you doing?” asked Flint to Rex. “Not getting full are you?”
“You kidding?” he replied. “I’ve been working up an appetite all day and this was the meal I’ve been waiting for all my life. No way am I going to stop any time soon.”
“That’s the spirit,” Flint stated with a smile. “We have to keep up this pace if we are going to win.” Flint’s excitement was quickly broken when he saw the score was 18 to 12 against them. He took a moment to see what was going on and to his surprise he was Gabumon, Gomamon, Gaomon, and even Dan eating not only with incredible speed, but in perfect synch with one another. “Rex, we may have a problem.”
Rex quickly picked up at what Flint was getting at and grew just as worried. “What’s going on with them?” he asked.
“I’m not sure, but I think it’s the power of pop idol worship,” explained Flint. “They’ll do anything to please Angel even if it means becoming love sick, eating machine zombie Digimon.”
“Are they even tasting how good the food is?” cried Rex. “That has to be a fate worse than death, but can we even compete with that?”
“I don’t think so,” sighed Flint. “But in any case, we might as well enjoy this meal. It may be out last... here… for a while anyway.”
“You’re right!” cried Rex digging in again, tears of a mixture of sadness and joy in his eyes. The score was now at 24-14 against them.
With each new dish that arrived, the gap in the lead only grew wider. It wasn’t only because their opponents were enchanted by pop idol worship, but every once in a while Flint had to stop to help Rex if he needed to get a hold of his chopsticks during a course that didn’t need them or if he needed a drink of water to quench his thirst. Dan was the only one in the group who was keeping pace with the others, but that was only due to him in the same boat as their opponents so he was not able to eat any faster to help them catch up.
By the time the score was 3,000 to 2,000 and Flint and Rex were barely able to keep up with a single opponent combined fullness was inevitable. They were amazed they made it as far as they did and they were well past owing 1,000,000 RAM by the time this was over pending their loss of course. It seemed eating any more would only make the dig themselves into bigger debt, but it didn’t seem like that would matter since none of the others seemed to have slowed down in the least. It didn’t seem possible. All their stomachs appeared painfully distended with food, Flint and Rex could attest to that, but they didn’t even seem fazed by it.
“How many much more do we have to eat to win?” burped Rex, chowing down on the 50th piece he had eaten so far; the batch this time was banana cream. He barely had any room or strength to keep eating and he’d have loved to stop at this point, but the need to win and the delicious flavor encouraged him to keep going.
“A lot,” Flint said gasping for breath. He was nearing his capacity for eating as well. “I don’t think they’ll stop eating till we give up, or vomit from eating too much. Maybe if we never stop eating we won’t lose.” His words got Rex to chuckle a bit, lifting both their spirits if just a little. “Do you think forever will come before we explode though?”
“I’m not sure,” replied Rex. “Hey, Dan, how are you holding up?” They were both surprised that Dan actually reacted to them, stopping from eating and falling behind the others (not like it mattered at this point).
“I’m fine,” he smiled, not sounding the least bit tired. “As long as I hear Angel’s beautiful voice I can go on forever.”
Flint and Rex hadn’t noticed, but Angel had indeed been singing the entire time they ate. So many hours had passed and she didn’t even seem to have a sore throat.
“How can anyone sing that long without losing their voice?” asked Flint.
“Angel isn’t an idol for nothing. She’s trained her voice well and nothing can distract her,” explained Dan.
“There has to be something,” Rex said between bites. “Think. It is our only hope.”
“Well, there is one thing,” Dan commented before a mischievous smile spread across his face. It wasn’t like the introverted Dan from before or the love consumed Dan. He put two claws in his mouth and made a sharp whistling sound that pierced through Angel’s singing. He did it several times, but it was clear after the first that Angel had become quiet, staring around the room as if she were looking for the source even though it was clear that Dan made the sound. She dropped the microphone on the ground and caused it to send a feedback of the mike hitting the floor. In a flash, she retreated out of the room into the employee lounge where none of her fans could follow.
“You did it, Dan,” cheered Flint, both surprised and relieved.
“I don’t feel so well,” he replied his red face looking quite green. He also appeared back to his old self, not longer overwhelmed by his love for Angel. It was the same for Gabumon, Gaomon, and Gomamon, green and seemingly more human (figuratively speaking since they are Digimon after all).
Before long they collapsed to the ground, unable to nibble on another piece of food let along eating anything.
“What happened?” asked Rex.
“Oh,” moaned Dan ready to share their fate. “Without being enchanted by Angel the sensation of all that food hit us all at once. And with that…” Dan collapsed to the ground, rubbing his boulder of a belly to soothe the pain away. It left Rex and Flint as the only two participants left, but that didn’t mean much since they were still losing by a lot.
The crowd stared at the lone two Digimon with stomachs swollen quite a bit already, unsure if they could continue on even with the amount of food needed to make a comeback insane even by Digimon standards. The room grew quiet and the only noise came from the conveyor belt. Flint and Dan locked eyes with one another, trying to gather strength from the other. They then hit their arms together like before and attacked the food in front of them with gusto. They ignored the chopsticks, napkins, and table manners altogether. Plate after plate, and bowl after bowl they scarfed, munched, devoured, and gulped down the food like it was air, moving faster than ever. They racked up points so fast it was almost frightening to the spectators who had renewed their cheering for the two little brave Digimon with not so tiny tummies anymore.
Angel splashed some water on her face to help perk up her appearance. It had been countless ages since she had stopped singing unintentionally like that and for the same reason as this, in fact. Her manager, a Patamon, named Rich handed her over a towel.
“Are you alright?” he asked. “It was that Guilmon contestant that did the whistling. And you know I’d inform you immediately if he returned, but nobody has seen him in forever.”
“I know, but he would always show up like the wind and do that absurd whistle just to get on my nerves. I had him thrown out of this place so many times the bouncers started competing for distance.” She gave a soft chuckle recalling her memoirs. “But no matter what he kept coming back.”
“Well, he wanted your attention and you gave it to him,” Rich reminded Angel.
“Then why doesn’t he come by anymore?” she questioned him, tears forming in her eyes.
“Oh,” he said, giving her a tissue. “You can’t let your fans see you like this.”
“The burden of an idol, never let them see you cry,” she read from memory. She took a deep breath and calmed her mind. Once she was sure she looked fine in the mirror she made her way back to the stage. She was hoping her fans weren’t too disappointed by her absence, but when she emerged they were cheering loudly, not for her, but the two Digimon half-passed out at the stage. They were both moaning in agony and announcing their victory (which also sounded like moaning in agony). They crossed swords with their arms again, managing weak smiles. It had been a difficult struggle at the end, but they managed to come out of top with a score of 3,087 to 3,032. Everyone was curious as to why they kept going after seizing victory, but they figured they were too busy concentrating on eating to notice.
Angel was shocked they had managed to pull it off. She didn’t make these trials easy and this one was especially impossible. She made her way back to the stage. “With pure hearts, boundless courage, unbendable wills, and stomachs of steel, Team Matrix has proven their worth to be my Knights.”
“Woo hoo,” Rex and Flint said with weak effort.
“Just between us,” she whispered so nobody else could hear her. “It’s actually refreshing to be around people who aren’t insanely in love with me. But don’t think it means you can act however you want around me. I am an irreplaceable treasure after all.”
“Oh, Angel,” Dan said back in idolizing mode picked Angel up and hugged her. “I will be your best Knight ever and hug you and love you.”
Angel was less than amused by this, but it was enough to make Flint and Rex laugh despite being painfully full.
Throughout the rest of the night everyone continued to party and have fun. Angel sang more songs and Flint and Rex had more to eat (if you can believe it). But all good things had to come to an end as the sky grew dark and stars and the moon replaced the clouds and sun. Bit by bit the Digimon left to get some much needed sleep.
“Oh,” moaned Flint as he trudged back to their campsite. “I think we may have overdone it tonight.”
“Heh, you would say that,” mocked Rex. “I could still eat way more.”
“Well, I could eat even more than that,” Flint retorted.
“Well, I’m starving!”
“I feel like I haven’t eaten in weeks!”
“Then let’s eat!”
Dan didn’t need to settle this as their overfilled stomachs did that for him.
“If we eat like this all the time we won’t be able to go on adventures, let alone move,” joked Flint.
“Don’t worry,” Dan told him. “I’m sure the next adventure we go on will give you a good workout.”
“So soon?” asked Rex. “I feel like hibernating for a few days after all that eating to digest.”
“Too, bad,” Dan replied. “Just imagine what kind of treasures are just waiting to be discovered.”
Flint and Dan then recalled temples of meat just waiting for them to claim for their own and made a mad dash to their campsite.
“Where you two off to now?” asked Dan.
“The sooner we get back then the sooner we can go to bed and wake up go on another adventure,” Rex shouted with renewed vigor.
“Then that mountain of meat will be ours,” added Flint. “And before long, the Infinity Zone!”
“Team Matrix rules!” they shouted into the air.
“Hey! Wait for me!” shouted Dan, running after his friends.
Angel stood at the balcony of the Cat’s Cradle watching the stars. She was thinking of that Digimon from her past; the one that she thought had finally returned. In a hushed breath she sighed, “Dante…”
