Show [No] Mercy (Digimental Hunt, Complete)
Sept 24, 2016 9:49:44 GMT
Post by Maia on Sept 24, 2016 9:49:44 GMT
"Your return is in perfect timing. I was just thinking about you the other day." Makuramon notified Maia, as her Digimon stuck his face into a freshly prepared bowl of broth-and-sugar. "I have a request for you, that I feared you'd be unavailable to answer."
After several weeks of being grounded, the first place that the tamer and her partner had visited upon returning to the Digital World was a little noodle cart in Terminus. Of course, quiet days were essentially unheard of, as the monkey Digimon continued on with, "and, I suspect that the reward would fit well for you." Rewards? What did they need with a reward? Better yet, what would make Makuramon think of the duo when it came to whatever was involved with said reward? The Digimon could see that they weren't biting. Well, Kuu was trying to, but it was really hard to bite soup. So, he leaned forward, letting out an exasperated sigh as a plea began. "I agreed to sponsor one of the contestants. But, they dropped out. A lot of Digimon did. This thing is tomorrow, and I'm out money regardless of if I find a replacement." Leaning back again, the monkey dusted off a sign on his noodle cart, "so, I was hoping you would go as my sponsored team. Reward's yours if you can win it."
Despite a few arguments back and forth, including pointing out that Kuu was really only good with eating, and that they would probably lose any contest that they entered, the Makuramon never gave in on the discussion. Maia had to suppose the Digimon really didn't care who entered, as long as he was represented by someone.
"I can't help but think we got the short end of some sort of stick here," the tamer mumbled, sitting on Reppamon's back, as they stood at the opening of some sort of garden. Two other Digimon stood to the sides of the duo, with a Sangloupmon carrying a younger boy on it's back. There were no crowds, or... anyone, really! What was going on here? Was this a real event?
Kuu didn't seem as concerned about the situation, tilting his head and chirping, "but Makuramon said the prize was good for us! I like prizes. Think I can eat it?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll do that anyway."
"Okay! Listen up!" A voice boomed from a tall, makeshift stand nearby. Atop it was a Hi-Vision Monitamon, lifting short arms in the air to try to gain some sort of attention. "Welcome!" The Digimon shouted, looking to the three Digimon that stood near the entrance to the maze. "I am Monitamon, and I thank you for participating in the," the screen-faced Digimon paused, looking around briefly. "Annual? Biennial? How often do we do this?" Face turned down, to look at an Owlmon that was flapping near the stand. A soft, "oh! Uh, I dunno? I'm just a volunteer," echoed through Monitamon's speaker, as the television monster let out a nervous laugh. "Ah... Hum. Anyway! Welcome to this extravagant event!" Yes, that was a nice save, wasn't it? "Before we begin, does anyone have any questions?"
To this, the Prariemon to the right of the duo lifted a bladed paw, "yeah. Where is everyone?"
This elicited a nervous laugh from the television, and a scoff from a Sangloupmon to the left of the tamer. "W-Well! Uh," again, the Monitamon turned to look at Owlmon, who did his best to shrug mid-flight and repeat something about being a volunteer. "Any other questions?"
"Yeah!" The Reppamon shouted, curiously. "We have no idea what's going on!"
The monitor face covered in static, as the flustered 'Mon stuttered several, "oh-oh! Uh. You-you don't? Well! Uh," and again, faced to his unhelpful partner. Now, the T.V. pouted, stomping a foot on his rickety stand, "you did this last ye-ear? Decade? Whatever! You did this before! Why aren't you helping?"
"I'm just a volunteer," the owl retorted again, "the rules change all the time anyway. Learn from casualties, or something-something-something? I don't know. I left the rulebook at home."
Casualties?
"You're no help! What do I pay you for?"
"But volunteers don't get paid," picked up over the microphone again.
"O-okay! I've got this," the stubby Digimon huffed, looking back to the contestants. "No digivolving past your current level! No flying over the hedges! It's cheating! Uh," with a little bit of stammering, the monster waved the antennae in his hand, "anything else goes!"
Raising a giant paw again, the Prariemon piped in another important question of, "isn't there, y'know, a tyrant in this place? Like, that it's named after? If we can't digivolve, isn't that dangerous? Where's the prize at, anyway?"
The black television was left stammering again, as he managed, "those! Those are, uh, great questions! Fear not! The monster you speak of? Is no more! Or, uh, at least we couldn't find him. So you're okay!" That wasn't comforting! "I think he's a myth anyway. Certainly not here, nope!"
"I'd be more worried about the other things in there," was softly picked up through the microphone, as the host began to panic and try to keep the Owlmon's words out of the conversation.
Still, the host was trying to recover the situation, "the Digimental you're all drooling over is already in the maze! You've just got to get it, and you'll be the winner!"
"If they can find it," was another inclusion that Monitamon really wished that Owlmon could keep to himself.
"Just-uh! Just don't use it until you get out of the maze, and we have the winning ceremony!" The High-Vis 'Mon instructed, rapidly, before the monitor on his face picked up signal, revealing a decent crowd of people someplace safer than the contestants were at. With a flicker, the television then picked up an image of the competitors, which hovered up and down with each beat of Owlmon's wings. "Anyway! Go! Start! No more questions! Get that Digimental!"
Sangloupmon immediately raced into the entrance of the maze, while Maia and Kuu waited, looking to the hesitant Prariemon. The rabbit looked to the tamer and partner, shrugging nervously, before scuttling into the maze. Amber eyes dropped to her Digimon, "we're going to die. Aren't we?"
Kuu was busy gasping, doing a little dance in place, "but, Maia! A Digimental! Like Coronamon has! I want one too! Remember? You wouldn't let me keep the last one! I can has this one! I want it!" While his tamer mulled over the situation further, the Digimon looked up to Monitamon, only to add in a deadpan tone, "oh. And Spooked Bunny's 'bout to get hurt, so we could probably help him or something."
"What?"
"You don't see it?"
Eyes snapped up to the monitor-faced Digimon, as Prariemon was clearly on the screen, hopping through a part of the maze. Nothing seemed particularly off about this scene. Then, the image flipped to Sangloupmon in a different corridor, only to immediately return to the rabbit monster, ensnared in twisting vines. How Kuu had identified the situation was beyond her, but the poor Prariemon seemed completely off guard!
"We gotta be the hero."
There was silence, as Maia found herself gripping onto the ropes that twisted around her partner's neck. Why couldn't anything be easy? All the tamer wanted to do was go home. This was awful. But, she had lost any footing in a situation that would have convinced Kuu to leave without the prize. "Go."
Now, the screen flickered to the duo, as paws left the ground, springing through the entrance of the labyrinth. The teen's eyes snapped shut, as she pressed herself into the fur of her Digimon. There wasn't time for hesitation, when it came to risking someone's life. All of the Owlmon's mumbling to itself seemed to be presenting itself even clearer, while the girl tried to keep memories of a Porcupamon using it's own innards to draw a helpless Digimon to it's demise. The sound of old screams were soon drowned out by the sound of panicked breathing, and small cries of a trapped animal attempting to free itself. Only then did Maia lift her head, to see the Digimon being slowly yanked back, into thick brush, by a mass of vines.
Wide eyes shifted to fix on the two, as the Prariemon stopped trying to claw himself free, and instead strained to reach out for them with his gauntlets. "Help? Help! I don't--!" The vines jerked violently, pulling the victim off his feet, and settling whatever was trying to be conveyed.
"We might lose to him if we help, though," Kuu pointed out, as a reminder that this wasn't just a daily situation. Were these 'traps' just toys? Some fake-haunted house style maze, perhaps? Or, was there something more sinister behind it?
But, the color draining from the rabbit's face implied that it did not find this any sort of game. "N-no!" Terror shook in the monster's voice, as he scrambled again to try to free himself.
This just wasn't right. What kind of sick game was this? "Kuu!" the girl chastized, thumping her fist on the beast's shoulder, "I don't care about the prize!"
The Champion scoffed, but still rounded the other Digimon, swiping claws at the vines that strained to drag the rabbit in. "Lion Claw!" While the attack was more restrained than the Reppamon preferred, in some attempt to prevent Maia from getting injured, it still managed to do the job, as grip slackened, allowing Prariemon to swipe himself free.
"I knew this competition was sketchy," the rabbit grumbled, as he finished freeing his feet from the vines. "The second people started dropping out, I should've too."
With the reminder of Digimon dropping the competition, Maia was prompted to ask, "why did they? Someone else told us that people were cancelling."
Long ears twitched, as Spooked Rabbit attempted to establish if the tamer was asking a serious question. "Do you guys seriously not know?" To this, Kuu shook his head. "After the list went up, everyone changed their mind. I think they got scared about this place," the Digimon looked up and around. After all, it seemed that he was pretty concerned about the location, too! "Then, last week, most of the stragglers ended up in a Trailmon accident. I got lucky, I guess. But, I don't get cold feet easily," the monster pointed out, with a thump of his foot. "I was hoping I was just going to win by default, but I'm getting a feeling that the guys running this don't even know where the reward is in here."
Now, things were clicking into place. Tongue pressed to the roof of the tamer's mouth, as she processed everything. "This sounds worse by the second," she admitted.
Prariemon nodded, leaning to look behind the duo. "I think I'm bailing. Five minutes in, and I'm already sick of this. No prize is worth getting trapped in here forever." With a few steps, the rabbit craned his head to try to look for Monitamon. "Good luck against the Kid and Wolf. I actually thought they were the reason people were leaving, until I got here," he huffed. "I'll root you on from somewhere safe. Don't wake anything that you shouldn't!" With sound advice, the long-eared Digimon fled from the race.
With a crack of static, Monitamon announced across the field, "ooh! You're kidding me! Prariemon has left the competition!" This triggered a soundtrack-like boo-ing, before the Digimon continued with, "this only leaves Reppamon and Sangloupmon, along with their humans, in the race! Sangloupmon has a heavy lead and a strong nose! Will the underdog be able to find the goal first?"
To this, Maia could almost hear her Digimon scowling under his mask, "my name is Kuu, not Reppamon! And, I'm not a dog! Or under anything! Maia! Tell them to fix it!" Ugh. Was he really going to throw a tantrum right now?
How was she supposed to do anything aside from embarrass Makuramon in all of this? "Sure, I'll tell them," she mumbled, irritated. The tamer looked up at the leaves that shielded the sky. "If you win."
Mask lifted, as the Digimon grew silent. Was that seriously something he was considering? A breeze managed to break through the overgrowth of the labyrinth, messing the Holy Beast's mane. "'Kay."
"Kay?"
Without a chance to question if that meant compliance, the monster had already began moving rapidly throughout the maze. Drifting around corners, the Digimon moved without any hesitance to his step. The announcer began to inform listeners of something, but Maia couldn't hear a word of it. Was it about them? Was it the other contestant? Or, did the host just have a bickering session with his assistant? It was hard to say. Either way, Kuu seemed to have little intent on stopping.
Until a flash of purple stepped into the Reppamon's path, forcing the smaller Champion to dig his feet into the soil to brake in time. It was a good thing Maia was holding on well, otherwise, that could have ended poorly. "Beep beep!" Kuu 'honked,' in attempt to get the other Digimon out of his way. "Trying to win stuff here!"
Sangloupmon looked casually at the mass of thorns in front of it, before turning it's head toward the one addressing him. Head tilted, while eyes were shielded by purple wings. "We are, also," the wolf pointed out with a scoff. Tail swished, impatiently, as the two Digimon with masked eyes seemed to stare at each other for far too long.
"What's the hold up?" the boy on the Digimon's back finally spoke up, looking over to the other Champion. "We aren't moving! Let's go!"
"Can't," Kuu finally broke, while Sangloupmon remained silent. While Maia wanted to ask why, the blonde decided that she had already asked too many questions in one day, and waited to see if there would be an answer. "As Maia would say, we're a little tied up." Of course, the Digimon let out a groan at his own statement, but demonstrated as he attempted to lift a front paw, only for it to remain firmly on the ground. As the tamers leaned to see the area, they found a mass of thorns and vines stretching across the ground, somehow having twisted around the feet of the champions. "They weren't moving before we stopped. Didn't see 'em coming." Oops.
"What? It's, like, grass! Louie! Break it!"
Still, the winged Digimon remained motionless. "I cannot." And, with that response, the other tamer began slamming his fists into the shoulderblades of his partner, while digging heels into it's sides. Seemingly unbothered, the purple monster simply looked around, slowly, trying to assess their options. "Have you seen it?" Now, the question seemed addressed to Kuu.
Waiting a tick to answer, the masked Digimon finally nodded, "Creepy-Spooky-Halloweeny? Yeah, it had the other guy earlier." To this, he only received an, "ah," and no further input.
Okay, maybe questions were necessary. "What?"
Neither Digimon answered, as they both remained still for far too long. Finally, Kuu broke it with, "huh? I dunno. We're looking." Looking? For what? And, how? Could either Champion even see?! And, how was Sangloupmon remaining so relaxed for a Digimon with a kid beating the crap out of him on his back? Humans must be really weak against Digimon! Or, he was just used to it. It was hard to tell in situations like this.
Still, Maia found herself growing tired of waiting, and fished around in her pockets. "Alright, since nobody wants to tell me what you're doing, I'm improvising," she mumbled, finally pulling one card from her deck, and holding the D-Arc in front of her. "Digi-Modify. Guilmon's Pyro Sphere, activate."
A bright glow began emitting from the Reppamon's mouth, as he flailed his head a bit before aiming it downward, toward his feet. A fireball blasted from the monster's maw. Upon hitting the vines, popping and sizzling filled the air, as they began to shrivel up and away from the champions' feet. And, then, a shrill screech filled the air. Thorns and vines began to wildly thrash about, as Sangloupmon took several steps back, freed by the alarming motions of what should normally be stagnant vegetation.
"Maybe that was bad," the teen admitted, wide eyed, while her Digimon simply nodded.
Finally, the screeching died, and the lashing shrubbery slowed, only for a soft giggle to emit from the area. Trick-Or-Treat."
Both Champions barely had enough time to move, as a large pumpkin came barreling from the sky, shattering as it landed where the two Digimon had once stood. Vines began to twitch again, as Sangloupmon stood across the path from Reppamon. Within moments, nettle and bramble stretched between the two, creating a very unpleasant looking barrier. And, behind the female and her partner, a soft, child-like panting broke the silence.
Without turning, Maia simply stared toward the other competetors, barely visible through the thickets. The boy seemed to be having a discussion with his partner, before the Digimon turned away, and began to leave Kuu and his tamer to their own devices. "Seriously?" Maia snapped, quietly, "they're not going to help?" While most humans that the duo had met in the Digital World seemed more than willing to help out, this one did not. Was a prize really worth more than someone else's life?
Then again, Maia hadn't faced the stranger yet.
Finally, with a soft pat to Kuu's side, the beast turned to see the creature behind them. And, of course, it was creepy as all hell. A strange, doll-like monster stood, blocking the escape route, with a pumpkin for a head, and an axe embedded in it. Lifting her digivice, slowly, the girl scanned the monster. Pumpkinmon. A puppet type? Why were puppets so creepy? It's face held no expression beyond what had been carved into it, making the experience all the more uncomfortable. "Ah-uh. Hello?" That was friendly, right? Be friendly, and maybe it won't be violent! Then again, one could only imagine that a giant pumpkin falling from the sky had originated from the one with a squash for a head. Still, the strange Digimon didn't respond, looking more like a stuffed doll that someone had simply propped up behind them. The only thing that implied otherwise was it's shoulders rising and falling from it's heavy breathing. Was it even really breathing? Did puppets need air? Or, was the monster just trying to be creepy?
And, after a short pause, the monster finally moved. Slowly, and heavily, the Pumpkinmon lifted it's arm, wrapping it's hand around the handle of the ax. With a soft 'thunk' of the hollow pumpkin, the blade was removed from it's head, and the hand and weapon dropped to it's side. With weapon dragging against the ground, the puppet began to move it's feet. At first, slowly, but as the ax raised behind it's body, the creature began to sprint.
"Vacuum Razor Wind!" A technique, that had worked well in past instances, ripped through the maze corridor, shredding shrubbery, and meeting the running target. Monitamon's camera displayed the Pumpkinmon's body slamming into an invisible force, face still emotionless, as it was flung backwards, sliding across the dirt. And then the giggling began again. "Maia," Kuu mumbled, taking a step back. This could be really dangerous for a human to be caught up in! Especially when the rules dictated that Kuu couldn't surpass champion, if he wanted the prize! And, oh, did he want that prize.
"Can we outrun him?"
The masked fox made a soft 'click' with his tongue, as he looked past the Halloween-themed Digimon. "I guess" the alien sighed, leaning forward a bit. "But, you gotta hold on!" Not wanting to know why, Maia did as she was told, and shut her eyes again. Which, really, was for the best. Kicking off with his back legs, the Champion charged toward the Pumpkinmon, only to lean to the side, and bolt up a nearby tree. From the height, he managed to hop the hedge, and scurry deeper into the maze.
"That has to be cheating!" Bellowed across the maze, only to be reminded, "it's cheating to fly over. Not jump. You made the rules." Curses! Monitamon wanted to be able to shout 'disqualified!' at someone! Plus, Sangloupmon was winning anyway. They didn't need the other contestants, as long as one was competent! Having to pretend that second place was actually important was too much of a hassle! And, it was easier to do anything when there was only one competitor!
Tilting his head from side to side, the Digimon listened carefully as he ran, in some attempt to avoid being caught off guard again. Now, the Digimon slowed down, as he began trotting toward a ledge. "Kuu," a warning tone arose from the Digimon's back, as Maia finally opened her eyes to see a large gap in the ground. "Do not try to jump that."
This received a scoff, "well, no!" The Digimon snickered, as if his tamer had told a hilarious joke. "We don't want to jump it! We want to go in it!" Oh, no. No, no, no. That sounded like an awful plan! But, sure enough, there was a ledge visible below, leading into some sort of cave. Already on the ledge was Sangloupmon, while his tamer walked several feet ahead of him. Was the Digimental seriously inside of a giant pit? There was no way this was safe!
And to prove the point, Kuu let out a whine, watching the ledge begin to crumble beneath the wolf digimon's weight. "This is bad," Maia mumbled, gripping tightly on her own Digimon's mane. "do something"
Kuu peered into the pit. Sure, there were ledges, but none of this was safe for his tamer! Why couldn't he have a non-squishy partner? Little would Maia ever realize that she wasn't the only one that hated her mortality. Ground crumbled away under the Sangloupmon's hind leg, causing a stagger as he attempted to regain footing. Finding a moderately safe path down, Reppamon slid down the side of the pit, finding just enough footing on a mass of rocks to kick himself off the wall, and land on the quickly dissapating ledge. In a rough scramble, the fox dashed forward, to avoid losing his own ground, and lurched his face forward. In an awkward movement, the Champion managed to grip his mouth onto the scruff of the purple Digimon, and inch him back onto stable ground. Once everything seemed safe, the Holy Beast let out a loud exhale, and dropped into a sitting position, forcing his tamer to stand for herself.
"Thank you," the wolf breathed, barely throwing a glance over his shoulder. Who knew what was at the base of the pit. As far as anyone could tell, it was bottomless! Cautiously, the monster began to step past Kuu, to return to his place behind his tamer, who hadn't seemed to even notice the entire event. Instead, the brat was standing in front of a stone pedestal within the cave, with a mass of Pagumon cowering behind it. Atop the pedestal, though?
The Digimental.
"Hey," Kuu chirped, catching the boy's attention, "I think we earned that, because it's pretty and I've been working real hard all day. Can I have the pretty?"
The young tamer turned around, face scrunched in disinterest. "Uh, no?" Well, that didn't sound very friendly. "We got here first! It's mine!" Kuu opened his mouth to protest, but the boy was already busy with his next demand, "Louie!" The tone instantly caused his Digimon's ears to flatten. "Make them go away! It's mine!" Wow. Not even 'ours.' Nope. Just his.
As Sangloupmon turned, determining what would happen to the people that had just saved him, a different answer reared it's head. Vines again twitched and snapped, as Pumpkinmon began it's way toward the group from a dark corner of the room inside of the cave. How long had it been there? Regardless, face was fixed on the boy closest to the Pagumon, as it lifted weighted hands upward and vines followed suit. But, before it could instruct the vegetation to strike, Kuu was already on top of the Ultimate. "No! Bad! Humans are squishy!" Retracting it's vines from it's original target, they moved upward to strike the Champion. With a twirl, the fox announced, "Spinning Slash!" Sangloupmon was immediately at his tamer's side, as the boy snatched the Digimental off the pedestal.
"Loser," the boy snickered, as he began to walk past Maia. There was a pause, and he turned to look at her.
Crossing her arms, the tamer bit her lip. Kuu struggled against the vines, but clearly, this person wanted her attention. "We haven't lost anything yet," Maia pointed out, using her index finger to motion at the egg. "At least we haven't scared a bunch of defenseless Digimon half to death, and we are trying to keep everyone alive." Some people just had no decency! Maia actually liked the entire event better when she didn't have a voice to match with the other tamer!
"You know, I don't know why we have to wait for the ceremony-thing. I'm going to show you how you're a loser! And we're going to let you guys get eaten by that thing!" In some attempt to show off, the boy began fussing with the egg, while his Digimon peered over his shoulder. "H-uh. How do these things work?" With several shakes of the Digimental, the younger tamer grew obviously irate. "It's not, it's not going! Make it work!"
Fed up with all of this, Maia reached out, snatching the poor item out of the boy's hand. The tantrum had lowered the young tamer's guard, as he seemed completely astonished that anyone would even dare take something from him. "Fine," she nipped, stepping away before the Digimental could be pulled away from her. Sure, it was kind of stealing, but Kuu was in danger, and this kid was just annoying! Recalling watching Marshal's obtaining of a similar item, the teen mumbled, "Digi-Armor... Energize?" And, with the magic words, along with a much better grasp of the element, the egg began to glow.
"I feel warm," the fox chirped, as he struggled against the puppet monster. "Reppamon... armor digivolve to," there was a pause, for dramatic effect of course, "Quetzalmon! The, uh, Guardian of Mercy!" Oh, he was bad at this.
"Did you just make up that title?"
"It was cool when Coronamon did it," the snake-like monster huffed.
"So, yes. You made it up," Maia pointed out, "and, here I had thought the evolution just came with a fancy title."
Puffing up cheeks, the armor evolution looked to his tamer, seemingly completely uninterested in the vines wrapping around him. No, he had to argue this! "Well, I don't know this stuff! What, you think it's in my coding? I mean, I didn't really even digivolve! It's kind of a... slide digivolution thing? Or, would it be de-digivolving?" Wait, what? Rapidly lifting her digivice, she found the information that it scanned on her partner's new form.
Quetzalmon. Champion-Level Armor Digivolution.
"So, the digimental...?"
"Is totally useless for all of us? Sort of! But nope! Because-- Oh. Hold on," turning his head, Quetzalmon looked to Pumpkinmon, "you're being real rude, and I'd like to go home now, okay?" Without receiving a response, the vines tightened around it's prey, only causing the Armor digimon to roll his eyes. "Fossil Wave," was announced, as a soft flash spread from the Mythical Animal-type, and Pumpkinmon let out a small giggle, while the vines halted entirely for a moment, and the Ultimate ever-so-slowly began moving stuffed hands around, trying to establish what had happened. "We don't want y'er babies, anyway."
This seemed to be something the slowed Digimon understood, as it completely ceased movement, staring unblinkingly at the lower level monster. It all made sense, really, as Maia looked between the puddle of little baby digimon, and the aggressive one that had stopped fighting for the moment. "You're kidding me!" Apparently, the other tamer didn't find the connection between the creatures. "Those do not turn into that!" There were rapid motions of pointing between the gray circles, and the pumpkin-headed puppet. "Louie came from that! He doesn't turn into a pumpkin-freak!"
And, now the stillness in the air had taken up an entirely different form of hostility. Puppy-like growls emitted from the babies, as vines released entirely from Quetzalmon. Instead, brambles began breaking across the ground, as Kuu swerved over to Maia, and lowered his head. "We gotta go now. Spooky-Halloweeny is mad. Shouldn't call 'em a freak, I guess," he pointed out, despite it being incredibly obvious. While the puppet Digimon had once managed laughter, despite trying to protect it's home, it was completely silent. Defensive, even, as it's shrubbery bore itself deep into the ground, shaking the entrance.
Rocks began to crumble from the roofing of the chamber.
While the Ultimate directed vegetation to hold the roof over it's babies heads, along with it's own, it was clearly intending on collapsing the entire entrance. Sangloupmon looked to his own tamer, then back to Kuu. "Need help?" This only warranted a shake of the head from the wolf, as he finally got his tamer's attention, and the boy climbed back onto his pet.
"I can protect my master, alone," he pointed out, almost coldly. During this time, Maia finally took a deep breath and climbed onto her own Digimon, despite seeing very obvious wings, and knowing the pure terror that was to come. Still, she managed to catch the 'master' part. What kind of egotistical weirdo made their partner call them master? That was just strange! Without more words shared, the purple Digimon sprinted from the mouth of the cave, using far-too-small wings to glide off the ledge, and began to claw his way up the side of the pit, while the wings curled back to safely contain his tamer. Talk about determined!
Kuu was more interested in taking the new, easy way, however. With a test-flap of his wings, the childish Digimon let out a small laugh. "Oh yeah! So, I was saying! I was saying it's not totally useless! Because!" There was another beat of the wings, the snake shot from the cave, much to his tamer's horror. While Maia worked to hide her face in the green mat of hair on top of the Digimon, Kuu was clearly having a great time. Swirling upwards, and out of the gaping hole in the ground, the Champion finally finished his sentence, "I can fly for real now!"
Once on safe ground, the duo waited for Sangloupmon and his tamer to work their way to the top, and Quetzalmon offered his tail to assist in the final hike, though he was ignored yet again. And, there was another boom of a microphone. "What's this? A digivolution took place off-screen?" The Monitamon sounded clearly offended, as Owlmon remained silent beside him. Since the bird Digimon had refused to follow anyone into the pit, they had been left blind to the events within. "This had better not be cheating!"
"I'm actually weaker than before!" Kuu chirped, in a far too happy tone. Why would he admit that? Try to sound tough, Kuu! Not squishy!
There was a confused mumbling between the host and his assistant, until the tamer on Sangloupmon's back huffed, "Only because you could figure out the Digimental first."
"What?" Why did the kid have to say that? "That-that's not fair! That's cheating! Disqualified!" Finally! He got to say it! "You have to hand over the reward, because you didn't follow the rules!" An awkward pause filled the air, as the contestants stared up through the maze, to try to see the Digimon on his makeshift stand. Finally, Quetzalmon pointed out the obvious.
"We can't? I'm kind of using it!"
Oh.
Monitamon began aggressively stomping on his stand, flailing arms in the air, and letting out angered sounds that didn't seem to actually have words behind them. If there were words, it was clear that nobody could understand any of it! Why was everyone getting so upset about things? Was it 'throw a tantrum' day or something? Once he had at least regained the ability to form sentences, the angered television shouted, "well, how am I supposed to use it if you have it?"
Oh.
That. That made more sense, suddenly. The slip-up was caught seconds too late, as the host stammered, searching for an excuse of some sort. "I-I mean, I can't give it to a winner! We can't have a ceremony! It's the rules!"
"That actually isn't in the rulebook."
"What do you mean it's not in the rulebook? You said you left it at home!"
"Well, I remembered that part's not in the rules."
The two hosting Digimon beginning to bicker again, and the tamers exchanged glances, only managing to shrug at one another. "So, uh, do we," Maia paused, trying to figure out the situation, "do we just go home now?"
The boy looked down at the pit one last time, before answering with, "yeah, I guess."
"I can fly us home now?" Oh, that excited voice was terrifying.
A much less interested, "I guess," was repeated from the younger tamer. Before Maia could even begin to protest, the Quetzalmon was already in the air again, flailing away to where ever it was that he thought was home. With any luck, Makuramon wouldn't be entirely upset with how his contestants had managed to play through the game. They technically won, after all, right?
"You know, Maia," Kuu hummed, happily flying about, "we never did figure out why everyone else quit the competition. Do you think we should go back and solve mysteries?" Failing to receive an answer, the Digimon simply continued on his way, not necessarily feeling like turning around. After all, what if Maia was asleep? She certainly wasn't! But, the snake didn't know for certain!
After several weeks of being grounded, the first place that the tamer and her partner had visited upon returning to the Digital World was a little noodle cart in Terminus. Of course, quiet days were essentially unheard of, as the monkey Digimon continued on with, "and, I suspect that the reward would fit well for you." Rewards? What did they need with a reward? Better yet, what would make Makuramon think of the duo when it came to whatever was involved with said reward? The Digimon could see that they weren't biting. Well, Kuu was trying to, but it was really hard to bite soup. So, he leaned forward, letting out an exasperated sigh as a plea began. "I agreed to sponsor one of the contestants. But, they dropped out. A lot of Digimon did. This thing is tomorrow, and I'm out money regardless of if I find a replacement." Leaning back again, the monkey dusted off a sign on his noodle cart, "so, I was hoping you would go as my sponsored team. Reward's yours if you can win it."
Despite a few arguments back and forth, including pointing out that Kuu was really only good with eating, and that they would probably lose any contest that they entered, the Makuramon never gave in on the discussion. Maia had to suppose the Digimon really didn't care who entered, as long as he was represented by someone.
"I can't help but think we got the short end of some sort of stick here," the tamer mumbled, sitting on Reppamon's back, as they stood at the opening of some sort of garden. Two other Digimon stood to the sides of the duo, with a Sangloupmon carrying a younger boy on it's back. There were no crowds, or... anyone, really! What was going on here? Was this a real event?
Kuu didn't seem as concerned about the situation, tilting his head and chirping, "but Makuramon said the prize was good for us! I like prizes. Think I can eat it?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll do that anyway."
"Okay! Listen up!" A voice boomed from a tall, makeshift stand nearby. Atop it was a Hi-Vision Monitamon, lifting short arms in the air to try to gain some sort of attention. "Welcome!" The Digimon shouted, looking to the three Digimon that stood near the entrance to the maze. "I am Monitamon, and I thank you for participating in the," the screen-faced Digimon paused, looking around briefly. "Annual? Biennial? How often do we do this?" Face turned down, to look at an Owlmon that was flapping near the stand. A soft, "oh! Uh, I dunno? I'm just a volunteer," echoed through Monitamon's speaker, as the television monster let out a nervous laugh. "Ah... Hum. Anyway! Welcome to this extravagant event!" Yes, that was a nice save, wasn't it? "Before we begin, does anyone have any questions?"
To this, the Prariemon to the right of the duo lifted a bladed paw, "yeah. Where is everyone?"
This elicited a nervous laugh from the television, and a scoff from a Sangloupmon to the left of the tamer. "W-Well! Uh," again, the Monitamon turned to look at Owlmon, who did his best to shrug mid-flight and repeat something about being a volunteer. "Any other questions?"
"Yeah!" The Reppamon shouted, curiously. "We have no idea what's going on!"
The monitor face covered in static, as the flustered 'Mon stuttered several, "oh-oh! Uh. You-you don't? Well! Uh," and again, faced to his unhelpful partner. Now, the T.V. pouted, stomping a foot on his rickety stand, "you did this last ye-ear? Decade? Whatever! You did this before! Why aren't you helping?"
"I'm just a volunteer," the owl retorted again, "the rules change all the time anyway. Learn from casualties, or something-something-something? I don't know. I left the rulebook at home."
Casualties?
"You're no help! What do I pay you for?"
"But volunteers don't get paid," picked up over the microphone again.
"O-okay! I've got this," the stubby Digimon huffed, looking back to the contestants. "No digivolving past your current level! No flying over the hedges! It's cheating! Uh," with a little bit of stammering, the monster waved the antennae in his hand, "anything else goes!"
Raising a giant paw again, the Prariemon piped in another important question of, "isn't there, y'know, a tyrant in this place? Like, that it's named after? If we can't digivolve, isn't that dangerous? Where's the prize at, anyway?"
The black television was left stammering again, as he managed, "those! Those are, uh, great questions! Fear not! The monster you speak of? Is no more! Or, uh, at least we couldn't find him. So you're okay!" That wasn't comforting! "I think he's a myth anyway. Certainly not here, nope!"
"I'd be more worried about the other things in there," was softly picked up through the microphone, as the host began to panic and try to keep the Owlmon's words out of the conversation.
Still, the host was trying to recover the situation, "the Digimental you're all drooling over is already in the maze! You've just got to get it, and you'll be the winner!"
"If they can find it," was another inclusion that Monitamon really wished that Owlmon could keep to himself.
"Just-uh! Just don't use it until you get out of the maze, and we have the winning ceremony!" The High-Vis 'Mon instructed, rapidly, before the monitor on his face picked up signal, revealing a decent crowd of people someplace safer than the contestants were at. With a flicker, the television then picked up an image of the competitors, which hovered up and down with each beat of Owlmon's wings. "Anyway! Go! Start! No more questions! Get that Digimental!"
Sangloupmon immediately raced into the entrance of the maze, while Maia and Kuu waited, looking to the hesitant Prariemon. The rabbit looked to the tamer and partner, shrugging nervously, before scuttling into the maze. Amber eyes dropped to her Digimon, "we're going to die. Aren't we?"
Kuu was busy gasping, doing a little dance in place, "but, Maia! A Digimental! Like Coronamon has! I want one too! Remember? You wouldn't let me keep the last one! I can has this one! I want it!" While his tamer mulled over the situation further, the Digimon looked up to Monitamon, only to add in a deadpan tone, "oh. And Spooked Bunny's 'bout to get hurt, so we could probably help him or something."
"What?"
"You don't see it?"
Eyes snapped up to the monitor-faced Digimon, as Prariemon was clearly on the screen, hopping through a part of the maze. Nothing seemed particularly off about this scene. Then, the image flipped to Sangloupmon in a different corridor, only to immediately return to the rabbit monster, ensnared in twisting vines. How Kuu had identified the situation was beyond her, but the poor Prariemon seemed completely off guard!
"We gotta be the hero."
There was silence, as Maia found herself gripping onto the ropes that twisted around her partner's neck. Why couldn't anything be easy? All the tamer wanted to do was go home. This was awful. But, she had lost any footing in a situation that would have convinced Kuu to leave without the prize. "Go."
Now, the screen flickered to the duo, as paws left the ground, springing through the entrance of the labyrinth. The teen's eyes snapped shut, as she pressed herself into the fur of her Digimon. There wasn't time for hesitation, when it came to risking someone's life. All of the Owlmon's mumbling to itself seemed to be presenting itself even clearer, while the girl tried to keep memories of a Porcupamon using it's own innards to draw a helpless Digimon to it's demise. The sound of old screams were soon drowned out by the sound of panicked breathing, and small cries of a trapped animal attempting to free itself. Only then did Maia lift her head, to see the Digimon being slowly yanked back, into thick brush, by a mass of vines.
Wide eyes shifted to fix on the two, as the Prariemon stopped trying to claw himself free, and instead strained to reach out for them with his gauntlets. "Help? Help! I don't--!" The vines jerked violently, pulling the victim off his feet, and settling whatever was trying to be conveyed.
"We might lose to him if we help, though," Kuu pointed out, as a reminder that this wasn't just a daily situation. Were these 'traps' just toys? Some fake-haunted house style maze, perhaps? Or, was there something more sinister behind it?
But, the color draining from the rabbit's face implied that it did not find this any sort of game. "N-no!" Terror shook in the monster's voice, as he scrambled again to try to free himself.
This just wasn't right. What kind of sick game was this? "Kuu!" the girl chastized, thumping her fist on the beast's shoulder, "I don't care about the prize!"
The Champion scoffed, but still rounded the other Digimon, swiping claws at the vines that strained to drag the rabbit in. "Lion Claw!" While the attack was more restrained than the Reppamon preferred, in some attempt to prevent Maia from getting injured, it still managed to do the job, as grip slackened, allowing Prariemon to swipe himself free.
"I knew this competition was sketchy," the rabbit grumbled, as he finished freeing his feet from the vines. "The second people started dropping out, I should've too."
With the reminder of Digimon dropping the competition, Maia was prompted to ask, "why did they? Someone else told us that people were cancelling."
Long ears twitched, as Spooked Rabbit attempted to establish if the tamer was asking a serious question. "Do you guys seriously not know?" To this, Kuu shook his head. "After the list went up, everyone changed their mind. I think they got scared about this place," the Digimon looked up and around. After all, it seemed that he was pretty concerned about the location, too! "Then, last week, most of the stragglers ended up in a Trailmon accident. I got lucky, I guess. But, I don't get cold feet easily," the monster pointed out, with a thump of his foot. "I was hoping I was just going to win by default, but I'm getting a feeling that the guys running this don't even know where the reward is in here."
Now, things were clicking into place. Tongue pressed to the roof of the tamer's mouth, as she processed everything. "This sounds worse by the second," she admitted.
Prariemon nodded, leaning to look behind the duo. "I think I'm bailing. Five minutes in, and I'm already sick of this. No prize is worth getting trapped in here forever." With a few steps, the rabbit craned his head to try to look for Monitamon. "Good luck against the Kid and Wolf. I actually thought they were the reason people were leaving, until I got here," he huffed. "I'll root you on from somewhere safe. Don't wake anything that you shouldn't!" With sound advice, the long-eared Digimon fled from the race.
With a crack of static, Monitamon announced across the field, "ooh! You're kidding me! Prariemon has left the competition!" This triggered a soundtrack-like boo-ing, before the Digimon continued with, "this only leaves Reppamon and Sangloupmon, along with their humans, in the race! Sangloupmon has a heavy lead and a strong nose! Will the underdog be able to find the goal first?"
To this, Maia could almost hear her Digimon scowling under his mask, "my name is Kuu, not Reppamon! And, I'm not a dog! Or under anything! Maia! Tell them to fix it!" Ugh. Was he really going to throw a tantrum right now?
How was she supposed to do anything aside from embarrass Makuramon in all of this? "Sure, I'll tell them," she mumbled, irritated. The tamer looked up at the leaves that shielded the sky. "If you win."
Mask lifted, as the Digimon grew silent. Was that seriously something he was considering? A breeze managed to break through the overgrowth of the labyrinth, messing the Holy Beast's mane. "'Kay."
"Kay?"
Without a chance to question if that meant compliance, the monster had already began moving rapidly throughout the maze. Drifting around corners, the Digimon moved without any hesitance to his step. The announcer began to inform listeners of something, but Maia couldn't hear a word of it. Was it about them? Was it the other contestant? Or, did the host just have a bickering session with his assistant? It was hard to say. Either way, Kuu seemed to have little intent on stopping.
Until a flash of purple stepped into the Reppamon's path, forcing the smaller Champion to dig his feet into the soil to brake in time. It was a good thing Maia was holding on well, otherwise, that could have ended poorly. "Beep beep!" Kuu 'honked,' in attempt to get the other Digimon out of his way. "Trying to win stuff here!"
Sangloupmon looked casually at the mass of thorns in front of it, before turning it's head toward the one addressing him. Head tilted, while eyes were shielded by purple wings. "We are, also," the wolf pointed out with a scoff. Tail swished, impatiently, as the two Digimon with masked eyes seemed to stare at each other for far too long.
"What's the hold up?" the boy on the Digimon's back finally spoke up, looking over to the other Champion. "We aren't moving! Let's go!"
"Can't," Kuu finally broke, while Sangloupmon remained silent. While Maia wanted to ask why, the blonde decided that she had already asked too many questions in one day, and waited to see if there would be an answer. "As Maia would say, we're a little tied up." Of course, the Digimon let out a groan at his own statement, but demonstrated as he attempted to lift a front paw, only for it to remain firmly on the ground. As the tamers leaned to see the area, they found a mass of thorns and vines stretching across the ground, somehow having twisted around the feet of the champions. "They weren't moving before we stopped. Didn't see 'em coming." Oops.
"What? It's, like, grass! Louie! Break it!"
Still, the winged Digimon remained motionless. "I cannot." And, with that response, the other tamer began slamming his fists into the shoulderblades of his partner, while digging heels into it's sides. Seemingly unbothered, the purple monster simply looked around, slowly, trying to assess their options. "Have you seen it?" Now, the question seemed addressed to Kuu.
Waiting a tick to answer, the masked Digimon finally nodded, "Creepy-Spooky-Halloweeny? Yeah, it had the other guy earlier." To this, he only received an, "ah," and no further input.
Okay, maybe questions were necessary. "What?"
Neither Digimon answered, as they both remained still for far too long. Finally, Kuu broke it with, "huh? I dunno. We're looking." Looking? For what? And, how? Could either Champion even see?! And, how was Sangloupmon remaining so relaxed for a Digimon with a kid beating the crap out of him on his back? Humans must be really weak against Digimon! Or, he was just used to it. It was hard to tell in situations like this.
Still, Maia found herself growing tired of waiting, and fished around in her pockets. "Alright, since nobody wants to tell me what you're doing, I'm improvising," she mumbled, finally pulling one card from her deck, and holding the D-Arc in front of her. "Digi-Modify. Guilmon's Pyro Sphere, activate."
A bright glow began emitting from the Reppamon's mouth, as he flailed his head a bit before aiming it downward, toward his feet. A fireball blasted from the monster's maw. Upon hitting the vines, popping and sizzling filled the air, as they began to shrivel up and away from the champions' feet. And, then, a shrill screech filled the air. Thorns and vines began to wildly thrash about, as Sangloupmon took several steps back, freed by the alarming motions of what should normally be stagnant vegetation.
"Maybe that was bad," the teen admitted, wide eyed, while her Digimon simply nodded.
Finally, the screeching died, and the lashing shrubbery slowed, only for a soft giggle to emit from the area. Trick-Or-Treat."
Both Champions barely had enough time to move, as a large pumpkin came barreling from the sky, shattering as it landed where the two Digimon had once stood. Vines began to twitch again, as Sangloupmon stood across the path from Reppamon. Within moments, nettle and bramble stretched between the two, creating a very unpleasant looking barrier. And, behind the female and her partner, a soft, child-like panting broke the silence.
Without turning, Maia simply stared toward the other competetors, barely visible through the thickets. The boy seemed to be having a discussion with his partner, before the Digimon turned away, and began to leave Kuu and his tamer to their own devices. "Seriously?" Maia snapped, quietly, "they're not going to help?" While most humans that the duo had met in the Digital World seemed more than willing to help out, this one did not. Was a prize really worth more than someone else's life?
Then again, Maia hadn't faced the stranger yet.
Finally, with a soft pat to Kuu's side, the beast turned to see the creature behind them. And, of course, it was creepy as all hell. A strange, doll-like monster stood, blocking the escape route, with a pumpkin for a head, and an axe embedded in it. Lifting her digivice, slowly, the girl scanned the monster. Pumpkinmon. A puppet type? Why were puppets so creepy? It's face held no expression beyond what had been carved into it, making the experience all the more uncomfortable. "Ah-uh. Hello?" That was friendly, right? Be friendly, and maybe it won't be violent! Then again, one could only imagine that a giant pumpkin falling from the sky had originated from the one with a squash for a head. Still, the strange Digimon didn't respond, looking more like a stuffed doll that someone had simply propped up behind them. The only thing that implied otherwise was it's shoulders rising and falling from it's heavy breathing. Was it even really breathing? Did puppets need air? Or, was the monster just trying to be creepy?
And, after a short pause, the monster finally moved. Slowly, and heavily, the Pumpkinmon lifted it's arm, wrapping it's hand around the handle of the ax. With a soft 'thunk' of the hollow pumpkin, the blade was removed from it's head, and the hand and weapon dropped to it's side. With weapon dragging against the ground, the puppet began to move it's feet. At first, slowly, but as the ax raised behind it's body, the creature began to sprint.
"Vacuum Razor Wind!" A technique, that had worked well in past instances, ripped through the maze corridor, shredding shrubbery, and meeting the running target. Monitamon's camera displayed the Pumpkinmon's body slamming into an invisible force, face still emotionless, as it was flung backwards, sliding across the dirt. And then the giggling began again. "Maia," Kuu mumbled, taking a step back. This could be really dangerous for a human to be caught up in! Especially when the rules dictated that Kuu couldn't surpass champion, if he wanted the prize! And, oh, did he want that prize.
"Can we outrun him?"
The masked fox made a soft 'click' with his tongue, as he looked past the Halloween-themed Digimon. "I guess" the alien sighed, leaning forward a bit. "But, you gotta hold on!" Not wanting to know why, Maia did as she was told, and shut her eyes again. Which, really, was for the best. Kicking off with his back legs, the Champion charged toward the Pumpkinmon, only to lean to the side, and bolt up a nearby tree. From the height, he managed to hop the hedge, and scurry deeper into the maze.
"That has to be cheating!" Bellowed across the maze, only to be reminded, "it's cheating to fly over. Not jump. You made the rules." Curses! Monitamon wanted to be able to shout 'disqualified!' at someone! Plus, Sangloupmon was winning anyway. They didn't need the other contestants, as long as one was competent! Having to pretend that second place was actually important was too much of a hassle! And, it was easier to do anything when there was only one competitor!
Tilting his head from side to side, the Digimon listened carefully as he ran, in some attempt to avoid being caught off guard again. Now, the Digimon slowed down, as he began trotting toward a ledge. "Kuu," a warning tone arose from the Digimon's back, as Maia finally opened her eyes to see a large gap in the ground. "Do not try to jump that."
This received a scoff, "well, no!" The Digimon snickered, as if his tamer had told a hilarious joke. "We don't want to jump it! We want to go in it!" Oh, no. No, no, no. That sounded like an awful plan! But, sure enough, there was a ledge visible below, leading into some sort of cave. Already on the ledge was Sangloupmon, while his tamer walked several feet ahead of him. Was the Digimental seriously inside of a giant pit? There was no way this was safe!
And to prove the point, Kuu let out a whine, watching the ledge begin to crumble beneath the wolf digimon's weight. "This is bad," Maia mumbled, gripping tightly on her own Digimon's mane. "do something"
Kuu peered into the pit. Sure, there were ledges, but none of this was safe for his tamer! Why couldn't he have a non-squishy partner? Little would Maia ever realize that she wasn't the only one that hated her mortality. Ground crumbled away under the Sangloupmon's hind leg, causing a stagger as he attempted to regain footing. Finding a moderately safe path down, Reppamon slid down the side of the pit, finding just enough footing on a mass of rocks to kick himself off the wall, and land on the quickly dissapating ledge. In a rough scramble, the fox dashed forward, to avoid losing his own ground, and lurched his face forward. In an awkward movement, the Champion managed to grip his mouth onto the scruff of the purple Digimon, and inch him back onto stable ground. Once everything seemed safe, the Holy Beast let out a loud exhale, and dropped into a sitting position, forcing his tamer to stand for herself.
"Thank you," the wolf breathed, barely throwing a glance over his shoulder. Who knew what was at the base of the pit. As far as anyone could tell, it was bottomless! Cautiously, the monster began to step past Kuu, to return to his place behind his tamer, who hadn't seemed to even notice the entire event. Instead, the brat was standing in front of a stone pedestal within the cave, with a mass of Pagumon cowering behind it. Atop the pedestal, though?
The Digimental.
"Hey," Kuu chirped, catching the boy's attention, "I think we earned that, because it's pretty and I've been working real hard all day. Can I have the pretty?"
The young tamer turned around, face scrunched in disinterest. "Uh, no?" Well, that didn't sound very friendly. "We got here first! It's mine!" Kuu opened his mouth to protest, but the boy was already busy with his next demand, "Louie!" The tone instantly caused his Digimon's ears to flatten. "Make them go away! It's mine!" Wow. Not even 'ours.' Nope. Just his.
As Sangloupmon turned, determining what would happen to the people that had just saved him, a different answer reared it's head. Vines again twitched and snapped, as Pumpkinmon began it's way toward the group from a dark corner of the room inside of the cave. How long had it been there? Regardless, face was fixed on the boy closest to the Pagumon, as it lifted weighted hands upward and vines followed suit. But, before it could instruct the vegetation to strike, Kuu was already on top of the Ultimate. "No! Bad! Humans are squishy!" Retracting it's vines from it's original target, they moved upward to strike the Champion. With a twirl, the fox announced, "Spinning Slash!" Sangloupmon was immediately at his tamer's side, as the boy snatched the Digimental off the pedestal.
"Loser," the boy snickered, as he began to walk past Maia. There was a pause, and he turned to look at her.
Crossing her arms, the tamer bit her lip. Kuu struggled against the vines, but clearly, this person wanted her attention. "We haven't lost anything yet," Maia pointed out, using her index finger to motion at the egg. "At least we haven't scared a bunch of defenseless Digimon half to death, and we are trying to keep everyone alive." Some people just had no decency! Maia actually liked the entire event better when she didn't have a voice to match with the other tamer!
"You know, I don't know why we have to wait for the ceremony-thing. I'm going to show you how you're a loser! And we're going to let you guys get eaten by that thing!" In some attempt to show off, the boy began fussing with the egg, while his Digimon peered over his shoulder. "H-uh. How do these things work?" With several shakes of the Digimental, the younger tamer grew obviously irate. "It's not, it's not going! Make it work!"
Fed up with all of this, Maia reached out, snatching the poor item out of the boy's hand. The tantrum had lowered the young tamer's guard, as he seemed completely astonished that anyone would even dare take something from him. "Fine," she nipped, stepping away before the Digimental could be pulled away from her. Sure, it was kind of stealing, but Kuu was in danger, and this kid was just annoying! Recalling watching Marshal's obtaining of a similar item, the teen mumbled, "Digi-Armor... Energize?" And, with the magic words, along with a much better grasp of the element, the egg began to glow.
"I feel warm," the fox chirped, as he struggled against the puppet monster. "Reppamon... armor digivolve to," there was a pause, for dramatic effect of course, "Quetzalmon! The, uh, Guardian of Mercy!" Oh, he was bad at this.
"Did you just make up that title?"
"It was cool when Coronamon did it," the snake-like monster huffed.
"So, yes. You made it up," Maia pointed out, "and, here I had thought the evolution just came with a fancy title."
Puffing up cheeks, the armor evolution looked to his tamer, seemingly completely uninterested in the vines wrapping around him. No, he had to argue this! "Well, I don't know this stuff! What, you think it's in my coding? I mean, I didn't really even digivolve! It's kind of a... slide digivolution thing? Or, would it be de-digivolving?" Wait, what? Rapidly lifting her digivice, she found the information that it scanned on her partner's new form.
Quetzalmon. Champion-Level Armor Digivolution.
"So, the digimental...?"
"Is totally useless for all of us? Sort of! But nope! Because-- Oh. Hold on," turning his head, Quetzalmon looked to Pumpkinmon, "you're being real rude, and I'd like to go home now, okay?" Without receiving a response, the vines tightened around it's prey, only causing the Armor digimon to roll his eyes. "Fossil Wave," was announced, as a soft flash spread from the Mythical Animal-type, and Pumpkinmon let out a small giggle, while the vines halted entirely for a moment, and the Ultimate ever-so-slowly began moving stuffed hands around, trying to establish what had happened. "We don't want y'er babies, anyway."
This seemed to be something the slowed Digimon understood, as it completely ceased movement, staring unblinkingly at the lower level monster. It all made sense, really, as Maia looked between the puddle of little baby digimon, and the aggressive one that had stopped fighting for the moment. "You're kidding me!" Apparently, the other tamer didn't find the connection between the creatures. "Those do not turn into that!" There were rapid motions of pointing between the gray circles, and the pumpkin-headed puppet. "Louie came from that! He doesn't turn into a pumpkin-freak!"
And, now the stillness in the air had taken up an entirely different form of hostility. Puppy-like growls emitted from the babies, as vines released entirely from Quetzalmon. Instead, brambles began breaking across the ground, as Kuu swerved over to Maia, and lowered his head. "We gotta go now. Spooky-Halloweeny is mad. Shouldn't call 'em a freak, I guess," he pointed out, despite it being incredibly obvious. While the puppet Digimon had once managed laughter, despite trying to protect it's home, it was completely silent. Defensive, even, as it's shrubbery bore itself deep into the ground, shaking the entrance.
Rocks began to crumble from the roofing of the chamber.
While the Ultimate directed vegetation to hold the roof over it's babies heads, along with it's own, it was clearly intending on collapsing the entire entrance. Sangloupmon looked to his own tamer, then back to Kuu. "Need help?" This only warranted a shake of the head from the wolf, as he finally got his tamer's attention, and the boy climbed back onto his pet.
"I can protect my master, alone," he pointed out, almost coldly. During this time, Maia finally took a deep breath and climbed onto her own Digimon, despite seeing very obvious wings, and knowing the pure terror that was to come. Still, she managed to catch the 'master' part. What kind of egotistical weirdo made their partner call them master? That was just strange! Without more words shared, the purple Digimon sprinted from the mouth of the cave, using far-too-small wings to glide off the ledge, and began to claw his way up the side of the pit, while the wings curled back to safely contain his tamer. Talk about determined!
Kuu was more interested in taking the new, easy way, however. With a test-flap of his wings, the childish Digimon let out a small laugh. "Oh yeah! So, I was saying! I was saying it's not totally useless! Because!" There was another beat of the wings, the snake shot from the cave, much to his tamer's horror. While Maia worked to hide her face in the green mat of hair on top of the Digimon, Kuu was clearly having a great time. Swirling upwards, and out of the gaping hole in the ground, the Champion finally finished his sentence, "I can fly for real now!"
Once on safe ground, the duo waited for Sangloupmon and his tamer to work their way to the top, and Quetzalmon offered his tail to assist in the final hike, though he was ignored yet again. And, there was another boom of a microphone. "What's this? A digivolution took place off-screen?" The Monitamon sounded clearly offended, as Owlmon remained silent beside him. Since the bird Digimon had refused to follow anyone into the pit, they had been left blind to the events within. "This had better not be cheating!"
"I'm actually weaker than before!" Kuu chirped, in a far too happy tone. Why would he admit that? Try to sound tough, Kuu! Not squishy!
There was a confused mumbling between the host and his assistant, until the tamer on Sangloupmon's back huffed, "Only because you could figure out the Digimental first."
"What?" Why did the kid have to say that? "That-that's not fair! That's cheating! Disqualified!" Finally! He got to say it! "You have to hand over the reward, because you didn't follow the rules!" An awkward pause filled the air, as the contestants stared up through the maze, to try to see the Digimon on his makeshift stand. Finally, Quetzalmon pointed out the obvious.
"We can't? I'm kind of using it!"
Oh.
Monitamon began aggressively stomping on his stand, flailing arms in the air, and letting out angered sounds that didn't seem to actually have words behind them. If there were words, it was clear that nobody could understand any of it! Why was everyone getting so upset about things? Was it 'throw a tantrum' day or something? Once he had at least regained the ability to form sentences, the angered television shouted, "well, how am I supposed to use it if you have it?"
Oh.
That. That made more sense, suddenly. The slip-up was caught seconds too late, as the host stammered, searching for an excuse of some sort. "I-I mean, I can't give it to a winner! We can't have a ceremony! It's the rules!"
"That actually isn't in the rulebook."
"What do you mean it's not in the rulebook? You said you left it at home!"
"Well, I remembered that part's not in the rules."
The two hosting Digimon beginning to bicker again, and the tamers exchanged glances, only managing to shrug at one another. "So, uh, do we," Maia paused, trying to figure out the situation, "do we just go home now?"
The boy looked down at the pit one last time, before answering with, "yeah, I guess."
"I can fly us home now?" Oh, that excited voice was terrifying.
A much less interested, "I guess," was repeated from the younger tamer. Before Maia could even begin to protest, the Quetzalmon was already in the air again, flailing away to where ever it was that he thought was home. With any luck, Makuramon wouldn't be entirely upset with how his contestants had managed to play through the game. They technically won, after all, right?
"You know, Maia," Kuu hummed, happily flying about, "we never did figure out why everyone else quit the competition. Do you think we should go back and solve mysteries?" Failing to receive an answer, the Digimon simply continued on his way, not necessarily feeling like turning around. After all, what if Maia was asleep? She certainly wasn't! But, the snake didn't know for certain!