What it is like to be weak (Solo, Xros Hunt)

Eito knows what it is like to be weak. He is a mortal child in a world of monsters and gods. He is small in a land of giants. Besides the baby Digimon, even the weakest of the bunch are more than a match for him. The world itself seems to be designed to cull the weak and let only the strong survive. As he stands now, Eito will surely die soon.

However, Eito refuses to let himself stay as he is now. He has met two humans and their Digimon partners who have taught him to become stronger. Chie and her partner Do have taught him to be on guard, and to rely on more than just the power of his D-ARC cards. Ryouta and Valt have taught him that he cannot rely solely on the help of his Trailmon, Tetsu, in cases where he is unable to summon him. All of them have put him through important training that he now continues in order to become stronger. While he may be only human, in a world where anything could kill him, he will not make it easy for them to do so. There was only so much he could do by himself, however - but he has Tetsu, and soon they will have more.

"So... partner..." Eito slowly asks from inside Tetsu, "Where are we heading?" The Trailmon sits stationary. "Not heading anywhere right now, boss! Where do you want to go? You're in charge!"

"That's right, I am in charge. And as your boss, I'm hiring you as my guide. I defer to your judgement and knowledge of the Digital World. Where should we go, guide?"

It was hard for Tetsu to argue with that. "Well, boss... I suggest we head towards the Hardware Den. Lots of mechanical-type fellows that I could probably Xros with safely. Maybe then I wouldn't be so weak..."


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Tetsu knows what it is like to be weak. By all accounts, he should be a powerful Digimon that can protect his boss, Eito. However, he just does not have the strength that a Digimon of his size should have. Most Trailmon are Champion level. If he can't run it over, he has trouble fighting a Rookie. He has defense and raw striking power, but his attacks leave a lot to be desired, and despite being a vehicle, he has low mobility. As he stands now, Tetsu cannot help his boss.

However, Tetsu has a new path ahead of him. After a humiliating yet completely expected defeat, he was crushed for a while, before meeting fellow Trailmon Ilbert. The ex-GranLocomon made him realize there were many different rails he could take to find his strength. He could install more useful parts to increase his utility. Weapons, mobility parts, and security would allow much better protection of Eito. Of course, there were still some weaknesses he could not cover with installation of gadgets and armaments. He needed to find allies.

Thus Tetsu heads full-steam towards the Hardware Den. It was a long distance away, however, even for a Trailmon. It would be a good few minutes before they will reach their destination. "I know a shortcut! That should get us there faster!" Tetsu's shortcut happens to be through the Server Woods. Did he pick up on this shortcut when training in the woods, or has he known about it all this time? Or... was he completely mistaken and now horribly lost? Definitely the latter.

"Sorry Eito... this part of the woods wasn't this overgrown last time!" Tetsu didn't understand what could have happened.

Eito did, however. "How long ago was that," he asks calmly, though obviously frustrated.

"Oh, only about a couple... a few wee-... mon-... years ago... aheh." As Eito suspected. Time was a tricky thing for Tetsu. A few years was more than enough time for the layout of the woods to have changed, and Eito wasn't even sure that it wasn't even longer ago. "I'll back us out," the embarrassed Trailmon says.

Halfway through backing out, Tetsu runs through a storm - er, swarm - of giant electric metal bugs. "S-sorry, sorry!" he apologizes, profusely, before saying a worried "oh crud"  under his breath. For some reason, though, the normally dangerous BladeKuwagamon swarm just ignores the Trailmon, rushing into the Server Woods. "Well, that's... weird."

"What's weird?"

"Well, those bugs are territorial and grumpy. They should have torn us apart! Something must be scaring them!"

Sure enough, a loud roar shook the ground beneath Tetsu. It was coming from behind! Once he has enough room, he turns around to see a lone BladeKuwagamon fighting a giant, heavily-armored spiky turtle: Tortomon.


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Tsurugi knows what it is like to be weak. They should have been an equal member of the BladeKuwagamon hive, a proud champion among proud champions. However, they were way too weak. Somehow, they weren't even at full Rookie strength. Tsurugi was the runt of the swarm - was, but no longer as they were ejected from the swarm. Not even their ability to direct his electricity into blasts was enough to prevent his exile. They just dragged the swarm down.

Now, there was a threat that the swarm could not handle. BladeKuwagamon can cut through almost anything, yet this Tortomon's shell seems impenetrable! What should have been a one-sided fight of a swarm of Champions versus a single one somehow tilted in the lone Tortomon's favor. Thus the BladeKuwagamon retreat - but the 'runt' that was not even part of the swarm any more continues to put up a fight.

"Electro Shocker!" Tsurugi shocks the Tortomon with a jolt of energy, but it barely annoys it. At least it was doing more than the swarm's blades did, Tsurugi thinks. However, it was not enough by any stretch of the imagination. The Tortomon roars, and slashes at the BladeKuwagamon- only for Tsurugi to dodge. In the battle of sub-rookie versus powerful champion, agility was the underdog's greatest asset. The slow Tortomon couldn't land a hit, and the BladeKuwagamon couldn't damage the Tortomon. "Knock it off you pest," he roars at the bug. "This is my territory now!"

"Think we should help out," Tetsu asks, unsure. "I mean... it seems like the Tortomon is stealing the land."

"None of my business," Eito coldly replies. "I don't deal with territorial disputes-"

Finally, the Tortomon lands a glancing blow on the BladeKuwagamon. The near-unconscious bug slams into Tetsu. "Oof... are you sure, Boss?"

"I'm... I'm sure." Was he?

"...are you sure... Eito?"

Eito. Not boss. That was it. Tetsu was desperate. This was heartfelt. Eito could not turn him down. "Okay. Open the door."

Tetsu's door slides open, allowing Eito to call out to the BladeKuwagamon. "Get in here! We're here to help!" The bug Digimon weakly flies in and collapses. "You wish to help?" Tsurugi could hardly believe it. "Are you strong? Tsurugi is...not. Tsurugi is weak. Why help Tsurugi?"

Eito runs through many possible answers to that question. In the end, he finally comes up with one that surprises even him. "Because we know what it is like to be weak."

Eito did not have a speech prepared, nor did he expect to be trying to recruit anyone this soon. Instead, he just speaks from the heart. "We all start out weak. We all end weak. But for a moment, there is a time where we can find ways to become strong. These ways can be done alone. But... I've found more strength with others than alone."

"Eito... good answer." Tetsu is moved, taking the sentiment to heart. "I agree. We're stronger together. We're stronger with others' help too. So... Tsurugi was it? Want to join us? Want to be strong with us?"

"Tsurugi... wants that very much. Tsurugi... accepts." With Tsurugi's acceptance, a new connection was forged. Eito's army grows from one to two. The family grows from two to three. And in an instant, the two Digimon become one.

Tsurugi was absorbed into the Trailmon, giving him - them - many changes. The grill/plow on the front of Tetsu becomes similar to BladeKuwagamon's pincers. A blade juts out in front of the Trailmon. The eye turns crimson, and silver armor protects the top. the biggest change, however, was that Tetsu was no longer land-bound. Instead, he rose two meters off the ground, energy surging beneath him.

"Woo... this... I feel... so powerful! I'm... I'm a MagnaTrailmon now! Hey, Tortolinimon! You done picking on our swa- on the swarm of BladeKuwagamon?" Tetsu was all charged up!

"You trying to tell me what to do is pointless," Tortomon retorts. "This is my forest now!"

"This... isn't even a forest," Tetsu corrects. "Nonetheless, this is not yours. It belongs to all the Digimon!"

"We'll see about that. Gwaaar!" The Tortomon barrels full tilt at the MagnaTrailmon, but the huge train Digimon floats out of the way just in time. "Wow, even with how slow I am, you're still slower! Time to slice and di- No, no slicing. Tortomon is immune to Tsurugi's blade. We have electricity though!"

"I saw how that went," Eito replies. "But... what kind of electricity do you have now?"

"This kind! Bwrrrrp!" Tetsu opens up, showering Tortomon with sparks. "Er... sorry."

"Heh, that's good, now's our chance!" Sure enough, while the sparks weren't super damaging, they were definitely distracting. "Gwaaaah, where'd you...ow, my eyes!"

"Can we still ram things," Eito asks, and quickly gets a response from Tetsu: "We sure can, boss! Oh shoot, the door!" He FINALLY closes the open door. "Hold on tight!"

The energy underneath the MagnaTrailmon glows brighter, a lot gathering to the back of him. It forms a ball - or more accurately, a bubble, as it soon pops, propelling Tetsu at breakneck speeds straight at the Tortomon! Regardless of how well-armored Tortomon was, the pure force behind the strike rattles him to his core, and sends him flying with spirals for eyes. "I'm sorrry mommyyyyyy..." he yells as he flies away.

"We did it! We're not weak!" Tetsu celebrates, doing a swaying floating attempt at a dance in the air. However, the two digimon soon unfuse, causing them to crash onto the ground. "...ow. Y-you all okay?"

Eito was fine, but Tsurugi was stunned. "Tsurugi? Tsurugi, are you okay?" Eventually, Tsurugi answers. "Tsurugi is fine... just confused... what happened? Are we... a new swarm?"

Tetsu erms and uhs. "Well... uh... that is to say... I don't think we-"

"Yes, yes we are," Eito interrupts. "And we'll be the strongest swarm."