Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon Adventure: REMIX ❯ Protect Your Friends! Burning Evolution ( Chapter 4 )

Digimon Adventure Remix: Episode 4
Protect Your Friends! Burning Evolution
(AKA: Piyomon's Fiery Power)

Sora here. I suppose this time I should tell you guys what's up. We stopped to camp for our first night on a peninsula, but it was attached to the tail of the giant serpent Seadramon. Gabumon evolved into Garurumon and stopped Seadramon, then Gomamon got us safely back to the shore of the lake. All sorts of weird adventures are going to happen while we're here. I'm sure of that much.

Piyomon pulled another worm out of the ground. They were hardly her favorite, but the others kept eating all the fruit before she could. As she swallowed it, she looked up, and saw a flying black gear in the sky. The gasps from the others told her she wasn't just seeing things.

"What the hell was that," Koushirou said, his teeth grinding together.

"Looked like some sort of . . . black gear," Yamato said, shrugging. He was still leaning on Taichi, who looked very nervous. But the other boy couldn't escape, with Yamato's arm behind his back.

"Well, this does make my theory more plausible." Koushirou said, nodding sagely.

"The aliens? Yeah! They hit us with some antigravity beam and made us crooked," Jou said, panicking as he saw the road signs scattered throughout the forest. "Or . . . no, I guess it's just that all these signs are crooked."

Piyomon jumped forward as Takeru slipped, keeping him from falling. "That was close," she said, pulling back. "You should be more careful, Takeru."

"Yeah," Taichi said. "It could've been Snakemon, or something worse!" He grunted softly as Yamato pinched his shoulder and whispered something to him.

"Oh," Takeru said. "Hey, Piyomon, are there really snakes here?"

"Nope, and I've never heard of any Snakemon either. It's just bugs and more giant digimon," she said, smiling.

"Don't worry Takeru," Yamato said. "The Digimon will handle them, right guys?"

"Of course," Patamon said, jumping up onto his partner's shoulder. "I'll always protect you, Takeru."

"Look, Yamato, I was just pointing out the danger," Taichi shouted, pushing his friend away. He was enraged at the thought that Yamato had thought he was serious. "And you're clearly strong enough to support yourself again, so stop leaning on me! Come on guys, let's go!"

"Go where?" Yamato replied, keeping his voice level. "First off, Goggles, we don't know where we are. Secondly, where would we go? And third, Hikari is exhausted. We haven't eaten anything since this morning, and it's been at least three hours since last time you let us rest. Think of the rest of us, Goggles."

"I'd rather not think of you," Taichi muttered, before answering. "Look, with all the signs we've seen, there must be people here somewhere. So we're going to find some intelligent life."

"Sora, is he saying that we're not intelligent?" Piyomon looked up at Sora, and then towards Taichi.

Taichi shared a glance with Sora, and nodded. "Well," Sora began. "That's not it at all. He's just saying . . . Well, I agree with him on this one. We need to keep moving to find out where we are. We need to be calm, and work together."

"That sounds like a good idea," Piyomon said

Sora's voice faded off, as she gave some speech about working together as a team to make zany headway. Yamato was still close to Taichi, but respecting his wish to not be touched.

"Sora, open your eyes," Piyomon yelled.

"Well, so much for working together," she yelled. "Wait up!"

Yamato grinned as he saw all of the signs. "Our next stop on this tour is the Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs," he said, chuckling. Everyone except Taichi and Sora laughed to some degree. "No pictures, please."

"This is just great," Sora muttered sarcastically, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "We're lost, and he's cracking jokes."

"And why not," Gomamon said, jumping up to the top of her head. "When there's no time for humor, there's no point in living!"

"Amen to that," Yamato said, grinning as he looked at Taichi. He looked ahead, and smiled to see the blue sky. But only a moment later, he was as disappointed as everyone else to see that it wasn't a field in front of them, but a desert.

They were resting before even deciding what to do next. Hikari had gone off with Sora. Koushirou had, as usual, pulled out his computer again. "Still broken," he muttered, looking around.

"Maybe those power lines could help," Mimi said, pointing to the poles in the desert.

"Telephone poles," Jou said, looking at them. "And maybe so. Except none of the wires come to this side of the desert."

Hikari came running back, panic on her face. "We saw it again, everybody," she shouted, running up to her brother. She threw her arms around his waist and held him close, as if she expected his protection. "That weird black gear, and it was flying towards the hills over there." She pointed towards the desert, in a direction the did, indeed, show hills.

"Whatever we're going to do," Sora said, looking around the group, "We should decide quickly."

"Well we can't stay here," Taichi said, picking up his little sister. "Besides which, those telephone poles in the desert may have some clue about where we are, or how we can get home."

"But we don't know how far it is, Goggles," Mimi said. "What if my shoes wear out? Where will I ever get a new pair of shoes in this world?"

"Don't worry about shoes," Gabumon said. "What about the heat? We could bake ourselves to death trying to get across. Where's the use of that?"

"Don't worry about shoes?" Mimi was in shock as she leapt at Gabumon, and landed face first in the dirt. "Why you! You did that on purpose, Gabumon! You made me get all dirty."

"Hey, Mimi, chill," Koushirou said, sliding his laptop back into it's case. "We can always turn back if it's too hot or dry. I just want to see if I can get any power from those phone poles."

"But what about the phone booths," Takeru said, looking up. "Remember them? They didn't even work when we got to 'em!"

"And that streetcar was a trap. Seadramon almost had us for dinner last night," Yamato said, frowning. "Maybe it would be a better idea to find a way around this desert, rather than through it."

"But then we may never get my Charlene working again," Koushirou said, "I'm not one to take sides, but I say we go through the desert. Even birds know that a straight line is faster than a twisting course, so this is bound to lead us wherever we end up going that much faster."

"I agree with Paso-chan," Mimi said, smiling sweetly at him.

"And I say he's right," Taichi said. "Besides, the streetcar wasn't a trap. It was just an unlucky coincidence."

"I . . . I don't know what to do," Hikari said, looking up at her brother, then back towards Takeru. "Takeru-kun?" He just shrugged, not wanting to fight with his brother, but not wanting to leave the group either.

"Yamato, we're going this way," Sora said, grabbing him by the shirt. If you don't like it, you can do what you want, but the rest of us are going through the desert."

"Even me," Gabumon said. "They're right. Besides, there is a Pyokomon village on the other side of the desert, by a lake. We were there until only a few days ago. It's safe there, for all of us."

"All right," Yamato said, looking towards Taichi. "But only because I don't want to let down Taich . . . Takeru."

He hates me, Yamato thought, turning away from Taichi. My best friend, hates me. Why can't he understand how I feel? Why do I have to hide my feelings from him? And how long will this act go on? Maybe soon he'll accept it, but until then . . . until then, I'm alone with my problems.

"Come on, Takeru," Yamato said, following behind the others. "Time to show them that the Ishida men are real men."

They had been in the desert for almost an hour when Mimi decided to check her purse for some gum. Her fingers closed on something hard and round, then started searching for something else.

"It's so hot," Hikari said. "Big brother, turn off the heater please."

"I can't," Taichi said, for the hundredth time.

"I can feel the heat through my shoes," Takeru said, looking up towards his own brother.

"Then maybe you should try walking barefoot," Yamato growled. It was pretty obvious he was pissed off at the whole thing, but the glances he made towards Taichi . . . Mimi wondered for a moment about that. before finally, reluctantly, pulling out the round metal cylinder her fingers had closed on.

"Well, so much for that plan," Koushirou said, looking up at the five phone poles that were within easy spotting range. "They don't even have connecting wires. Shit! And I'd really hoped it would work."

"Maybe they're not really telephone poles," Jou said, putting one hand on Koushirou's shoulder. "Maybe you need to plug in a wire yourself to get the power."

"Or maybe they're just for making perches where we can sleep," Piyomon said, flying up into one of the metal arms. "Not that they're very comfortable."

"Guys, remember the phone booths?" Mimi was not surprised when everybody nodded. "And the streetcar?"

"Of course," Koushirou said. "They don't have power because we don't need them to have power yet! The phones worked because we needed them to, even if it wasn't the way we needed them to. And the streetcar didn't work because we only needed it for sleep. So, when we need it, these phone poles will do . . . whatever the hell they want, I suppose."

"Actually, I was just thinking that none of them worked right, so why should these," Mimi said. "But more importantly, look what's happened to my compass."

"A compass? Why didn't you get that out earlier," Jou yelled. "Now we're going to end up dead in this desert, dehydrated and roasted like hot dogs."

"Jou-sempai," Hikari said. "Please calm down. Mimi-sama is just trying to be helpful."

"See how the needle is all crazy," Mimi said. "I don't think it's supposed to do that."

"That's right," Yamato said, taking the compass. "This sand must have iron in it, which is scrambling the compass needle. It won't help us get anywhere."

"Hey! I just found something," Tai shouted. He pulled out his telescope and focused it, trying to get the image clear. "Maybe not . . . no, wait! It is there! It's real! A village with water! It must be that Puke mon village," he said.

"Pyokomon," Palmon replied. "But it's not very close yet. How can you see it, umm, Goggles?"

"Well, this thing is a telescope," he said, showing it to the Digimon. "It has one lens on this end, and another on this end. Then, it lets you see things far away."

"Well, then we should head there," Mimi said, her eyes wide at the thought. "Maybe they have a nice beach where we can swim and get fresh juice, and work on my tan."

"Mimi," Palmon said. "As much as the sunlight is good for a plant, this much heat isn't. I was wondering if I could, maybe . . . borrow your hat?"

Mimi's brown eyes widened in shock as she heard those words. She had never let anyone else wear this hat, and she didn't plan on starting now . . . but she didn't want to be mean to her new friend either. "Well," she said, shifting her eyes nervously. She couldn't think of any reason to keep it that didn't just sound selfish. "I suppose, you do need it more than I do. So, you can wear it until we reach the village."

Koushirou gasped. Had Mimi just let someone borrow something? This is fucking ridiculous, he thought. First, everybody follows her ideas, then she lets someone else use her hat? She really is changing for the better. Although I suppose her choice of me to keep everyone else from looking in that streetcar last night was motivated by greed, I . . . There was more to it than just her need for privacy. She wanted me, instead of one of the other girls.

A pinch on his ear brought him standing upright, and staring right at the front of Mimi's dress. "Oh, err . . . What is it, Mimi?"

"You remember last night," she whispered. "Well . . . meet me tonight, in private. I have something I want to show you."

"Oh . . . all right," Koushirou said. "Now, we should really get moving."

"Hmmph," she said, raising her voice. Her ditzy act was back on, and as convincing as ever. "This place would be much more popular if it had a few simple things. A lifeguard, some water, some sunscreen, a nice cook fire, and we could have a regular beach party!"

"You forgot the food," Takeru said. "We need to have food."

"Well that goes with the cook fire," she explained. "That makes sense, right?"

"Hey, if it was freshwater, we'd just need some lemons, sugar, and ice," Jou said.

As the sun moved to the west, the gear burrowed through the mountain, towards it's target. It finally pierced the end and flew into it's target: a giant flaming monster with pure blue eyes. It drove itself into his body, and he screamed in pain. "What the hell?"

Meanwhile, the children had reached the Pyokomon village. Hikari sighed as she collapsed in the shade of one of the small huts, and Patamon ran to find some water for her. The Pyokomon were all surprised and glad to have visitors, but confused at the same time.

"Hello friends," Piyomon said, hugging one of the Pyokomon. "We all need to have something to drink."

"But . . . what do giant digimon drink?" The Pyokomon replied, looking confused.

Sora noticed the Digimon looking at her, and was suddenly nervous. "Me? I - I'm not a Digimon," she said.

"Sora and her friends are what are called 'humans'," Piyomon explained. "And we share our food all the time. So, can you help us out?"

"Hikari!" Taichi's voice pierced the sky, interrupting everyone else. "We need water for her. Yamato, get water, anyone else, find food."

Koushirou's thoughts of food were interrupted by the yelling, and he looked angrily towards Taichi. "I doubt it's truly that serious, Goggles," he said. "I'm sure she'll be just fine shortly."

"Water," Takeru shouted, jumping up from behind one of the huts. "I found the water!"

"That's great," Koushirou said, walking towards the child. "Amazing, a fountain full of water. But how do we know it's safe?"

"Simple," Agumon said, dunking his head in the fountain for a moment. "This fountain's water comes straight from Miharashi Mountain. It's the best water in all the world."

"No," Tentomon said. "It's the best in the whole universe." A rumbling sound followed, and Koushirou closed his eyes.

"Where is this Miharashi Mountain," Yamato asked.

"Over there," Gabumon said, pointing in the distance.

"Where the gear was headed," Sora said, confirming Yamato's fears. "And it looks like it's a volcano."

"It is," Piyomon said. "But it never erupts. The heat just purifies all the water, so it's perfectly safe to drink."

"A volcano," Koushirou muttered, shaking his head. "Then that noise." The rumbling came again, stronger this time. "Is the sound that comes before an eruption!" He was absolutely correct, as within the next instant, all the water boiled away into a superheated steam, followed by a burst of fire from the well. "A very troubling thought."

"Well it's cool, but we're still thirsty," Hikari said, looking at Takeru.

"We don't ever go to Miharashi Mountain," One of the Pyokomon explained. "Because it's guarded by a giant fire Digimon named Meramon. He's usually very nice, but if a gear crashed into the mountain, he may have stopped the water thinking it was an attack."

"Wonderful," Sora said. "Of all the mountains, it had to choose Miharashi Mountain."

"No," Koushirou said. "It may have been intentionally planned that way, to test our reaction skills. I think we should just wait calmly until the water returns."

The boy they called Taichi, or Goggles, had just dropped a stone into the well. "Shit," he said, listening for the sound of it hitting water. "It's bone dry. Isn't there any other water? What happened to the lake from earlier?"

"That's a wonderful idea," another of the Pyokomon replied, her eyes widening. The lake is always full of water . . . but? What happened? Why is the lake empty?"

"As dry as the well," Yamato said, narrowing his eyes.

"Hmm. Pyokomon, what, exactly, does Meramon look like?" Taichi was focusing his view on a black mark coming down Miharashi Mountain. But as the image resolved itself, it became quite clear that it wasn't black, but flaming. "Does he by any chance look like one of us, only taller and on fire?"

"That would be about right," Pyokomon said. "Why?"

"Because he's headed this way," Taichi shouted, his left eyes suddenly twitching. "Everybody run for shelter."

"It seems like he's in pain," Mimi said, watching from Koushirou's side.

"Except Meramon is a fire element Digimon," Palmon said. "Being on fire is his natural state, it shouldn't hurt him."

"Perhaps it isn't the fire," Tentomon said. "If that gear crashed into the mountain, what if it somehow dug its way into him?"

"I didn't think of that," Palmon said, blushing. "Well, I guess that's why we have you, Tentomon."

"Amazing," Koushirou said, pulling out his laptop. "All of a sudden, it just powered on. I wonder if I can find anything one Digimon or Digital World."

"Don't bother," Taichi said. "Paso, you get to the boat. I'll make sure the rest of us are safe."

"All right," Koushirou said, typing frantically on his keyboard, one handed. He couldn't seem to get online, though, and sighed as Tentomon caught up. He ran down the edge of the lake, and slid to a halt before entering the boat. "Dammit! I can't even get online. Something must be wrong here."

"All right, do we have everyone?" Taichi looked around the group assembled on the deck of the boat, and nodded. "Yep. Seven here."

"Seven? I think we're missing someone," Mimi said, counting on her fingers. "Oh, that's right! We're missing that other girl, Sora. She said something about making sure the Pyokomon were all safe."

Taichi gasped as he ran to the edge of the boat. "Sora!" She was running towards the outside of the lake, even as Meramon reached it.

"That's about it," Sora sighed, ushering the last few Pyokomon into the boat. "So, everyone is here now. Me and Goggles, Paso, Mimi, Takeru, Hikari, Jou, Yamato, and all the Digimon. Except," she gasped as the image flashed in her mind.

"I must protect my friends," Piyomon said, looking down at Sora. "I'm going to try to reason with Meramon."

"No," Sora said. "You have to save yourself. Come on down, be safe with us."

"No," Piyomon said. "Even if I do have to fight, I must protect you. It is my duty as your partner, Sora."

"Protect me?" Sora suddenly flashed back to the moment before Shellmon had thrown Taichi her way. "When Goggles was in danger, Agumon evolved." The sight of Yamato being squeezed nearly dead by Seadramon's tail was yet another unpleasant thought. "And when Yamato needed him, Gabumon was able to evolve. Piyomon, if you won't come here, I'll have to go up there!"

"Sora," Taichi shouted, hanging over the edge of the boat. "Don't do it! We're not that important!"

"Shut up," Yamato said, pulling Taichi back. "If there's any trouble, Piyomon will protect her. Come on." He dragged Taichi into a dark room, and shut the door. Sora knew that's what he'd done, even if she couldn't see it.

"You're acting very odd, Meramon," Piyomon said, looking at him. "Is there any way we can help you?"

"Destroy the Chosen," Meramon grumbled. "Destroy the Chosen!"

"No," Piyomon shouted. "Magical Fire!" The spiraling flame hit him, and he winced. But it wasn't enough.

"Help her out," Jou shouted, panicking. "ANyone, help her."

"Petit fire!"

"Baby flame!"

"Petit thunder!"

All the attacks connected, but Meramon laughed and grew as he absorbed their power. "Burning fist!" The attack knocked Piyomon out of the air, and Sora scrambled to catch her.

"Here's where all that soccer pays off," she said, leaping into the air. She caught Piyomon, and rolled into a landing. "Piyomon? Are you, are you all right?"

"I think so," Piyomon said, focusing her gaze on Sora's face. She looked into the human girl's brown eyes, and giggled. "Please understand, I have to go back. But I know I can handle this, Sora. Just trust me."

"I'll try," Sora said, feeling a tear forming in her left eye. "Do what you have to, Piyomon."

"Don't worry," she said, taking to the air. Several of her pink feathers fluttered to Sora's hands, and she smiled back at her partner. "Meramon, you aren't acting at all like yourself. Please, understand that I don't want to hurt you, but you're a danger to my partner and friends. I only want to try and bring you to your senses. Magical fire!"

Again her attack hit, and she felt power surging through her. It felt like the last time, when she'd had to protect everyone. "Sora is in danger," she whispered, closing her eyes. "Piyomon evolve . . ."

By the time she opened her eyes again, her wingspan had rocketed to over 3 meters, and she was a giant bird. Her talons alone were large enough for Sora and her friends to ride on, and her toothy beak was a definite weapon. She stared at Meramon for a moment before announcing herself. "Birdramon! Meteor wing." She launched her first attack, the fireballs from her wings raining down on Meramon.

I have to lead him away from here, she thought, flying down. She grabbed Meramon, and flew over the dry lake. "Look what you did to the village," she demanded. "You dried their well and their lake. That's nothing like the Meramon we know! Whatever is wrong with you, I'm going to fix it."

"Burning, burning, burning," Meramon said, trying to swing a decent punch towards her. "Foolish Chosen. I have been ordered to destroy you all, and I will do so!"

"I will not allow it," she said, hurling him to the ground as best she could. "Meteor wing!"

This time, it pummeled his back, and forced a shard of blackness out. "The pain, it burns!"

"Let's try this one again," She said, preparing herself. She hardly had the power for this, it would have to be enough. "Meteor wing!"

This time it worked. The black gear emerged from Meramon, and began spinning in reverse before shattering to Digi-dust. "I . . . what happened to me? Birdramon?"

"Meramon, are you back to normal?" Birdramon still had just enough strength. "Would you like a lift back to the village? You gave us quite a fright there."

"I suppose so, but what was I doing? The last thing I remember is checking on the springs in the mountain, then a strange feeling came over me. I don't remember what I was doing, though."

"You were fighting," Birdramon said. "You said you wanted to kill the Chosen. I had to protect my partner and friends, so I evolved and battled you."

"Kill the Chosen? That's insane," he said. "I worked to protect the seven of you until the time ws right. Why would I try to delete you?"

"I think it may have been the black gear," Koushirou said, sighing as he closed his laptop. "If this were still working, I might be able to explain better. Say, Meramon, would you happen to know where we could get some electrical power?"

"Andromon's factorial fortress," Meramon said. "I haven't been there, but he should be able to help you. Again, I apologize for the way I acted earlier. I should return to Miharashi Mountain, and get the water flowing again. I swear it will be running within the hour."

"Excellent," Taichi said, his eyes widening as he heard his stomach growl. "Say, I just remembered, we haven't eaten anything."

"Meramon, may you always be well," one of the Pyokomon said. "And please, next time you visit, try not to destroy our village. We would very much appreciate that."

"Of course," Meramon said, smiling. "And may you all fare likewise. Especially you Chosen. I hope to see you successful in your mission, whatever that might be."

The other children waved, before their hands abruptly went to their stomachs. "Goggles is right," Sora said, trying to chuckle. "So, is there any chance of food?"

"Yes, but there won't be water until later tonight," Piyomon said. "Don't worry, though. Our food is delicious even without being boiled."

The Pyokomon each carried out a bowl of some strange seed food, which looked suspiciously like rice. Three each carried a bowl to each child, and the children sighed as they looked at it.

"It looks like sesame seeds," Taichi said, picking up a few of them. "And doesn't smell that much different."

"It seems better than shabu-shabu," Takeru said, grinning. "I bet it tastes better too." He took a bite and smiled at the taste, which he rather enjoyed.

"Goggles, be gracious," Mimi said. "A good guest never insults the food his host provides. Unless it's bad caviar, but that's the only exception." She scooped some of the food up in her hands, and tasted it. "It's actually pretty good."

"Have you guys noticed," Yamato said, raising an eyebrow. "That we talk about food a lot?"

Koushirou nodded, and grinned as Hikari leaned up against him. "Goggles, I think your sister is tired."

So we found out about our next major stop, even if we did have to fight to learn of it. Meramon was really nice once that black gear was driven out, but I wonder what the source of the Black Gears is. Wherever they're from, you can bet it's going to be an even bigger evil than these guys, though. I suppose that will have to wait, though, for the next episode of Digimon Adventure Remix.