Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Renewal of the Forgotten ❯ Trigger Happy ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Though it was still light out, Emma couldn’t tell due to the fact that the trees that made up the forest she found herself in blocked out the sky for the most part. Every so often a thin shaft of light made it’s way through the tops of the trees, but it was very weak and instead of making the dark forest lighter and more cheerful it made it eerier. The trees clustered together in tight groups and the small spaces in between groups of trees were filled with large ferns that looked almost prehistoric, or some other form of shrubbery. Fallen moss covered trees or stumps and rocks covered whatever open ground that was left making it difficult to navigate. After slipping for the fourth time on a slick moss covered log that caused Emma to twist her ankle yet again she decided to sit down and rest. She brushed some strands of hair out of her face and let out a heavy sigh. She was ticked off for a number of reasons. First of all she didn’t know where she was. Second, she had been trying to make her way through the forest for a good hour now and had found no signs of life, nor had she been able to locate Kayla. And third, the tricky ground cover of the forest was challenging her otherwise excellent balance which she prided herself on.

Emma took her ankle in her hands and examined it. She cringed a bit as she tried to move it. She couldn’t see her ankle very well in the dim light but as far as she could tell it wasn’t too swollen...yet.

“Crap...this isn’t good,” she muttered to herself. “This is total crap!!” she shouted at the forest in order to relieve herself of some frustration. She breathed in deeply and blew the air out again through tight lips before crossing her arms, pulling her knees up to her chest, and resting her head on her knees. She closed her eyes and calmed herself and listened to her surroundings. There wasn’t much to listen to: a barely audible breeze, a falling leaf. Quiet...too quiet...disturbing quiet. She could feel a dull throbbing in her ankle...

“May I be so bold as to inquire what exactly is ‘total crap’?” came a disembodied voice. Emma’s head snapped up immediately. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the dim light after being closed for several minutes. She was afraid to move, or even to reply. A rustling in the bushes at 2 o’clock. Her head snapped in the direction like a distressed cat who had just spotted a large dog. The bushes parted and a large figure stepped into her view. It looked like a large deer-like creature. It was white as far as she could tell. She stood up a little, leaning back on the moss covered log behind her, her left leg shaky from the increasing pain in her ankle.

“You’re a human, are you not?” The white deer-like creature said again. Emma began to speak then stopped, then began again and stopped again. She did this over and over for a minute or so but all that escaped her mouth was a long line of incoherent noises. Finally she raised a finger in a matter-of-fact fashion and said, “You look familiar,” in a high, nervous voice. The deer-like creature took a step toward her and bowed his head slightly.

“I am Moosemon,” he introduced himself. “There are many of us in this forest, you may have seen one of us before. Perhaps that is why you recognize me.” Emma’s eyes adjusted a little more to the dark and she examined him. Mostly white, and she could faintly see darker colored stripes covering his body. Broad antlers sat proudly on top of his head. His face was so beautiful, it had an angelic quality, nothing at all like a moose. His tail was long like a cows’ rather than a short little tuft of fur.
“W-wait...did you say Moose-MON ?” she said, not thinking she heard him correctly.

“Yes.”

“But...that would make you a...digimon,” she whispered the last part as she began to get lost in though. The Moosemon watched her curiously, not understanding what was so surprising about the name ‘Moosemon’. A moment later Emma had an epiphany. “No way...,” she muttered to herself. She turned quickly to Moosemon.

“Where are we?” she asked, almost shouting the question at him. He was very calm and didn’t react in any way to the sudden yelling.

“We are in the Native Forest, in the souther region of File Island.”

“NO WAY!” Emma said again, shouting this time. Her voice range through the almost lifeless forest.

“You have forgotten to answer my question...you are a human...are you not?” Moosemon inquired once more.

“Yeah, I’m a human,” she replied, casually brushing the hair from her face and looking around her, now more intrigued than ever by this ghostly forest.

“Since you are a human do you mind if I ask why exactly you are out in the middle of Native Forest by yourself?”

It slowly became apparent to Emma that she was being asked a question and slowly she brought her attention back to Moosemon.

“Huh, oh...uh...that’s a good question actually,” she said thinking back. “Well...let’s see...last I remember I was sitting at home with my friend...oh wait, I remember, we were sitting in front of the computer and it started spazing out and making funny noises. I had never seen it do that before. Then, there was a bright light...and then I was here. I’ve been wandering around the forest for who knows how long,” she scratched the back of her head.

“Then I assume you have nowhere to stay for the night?”

“Preeeetty much...I’ll just have to make due out here...,” she replied.

“Well, if you like, you may join me and my herd. We are heading toward the village. It’s a bit deserted but many digimon in the area and travelers alike stay there because it is much safer than staying in the forest. It would be best if you went there with us since you have no means of defending yourself against aggressive digimons.”

Emma didn’t need to think about it long.
“Yeah, sure that sounds great,” she made to stand up but winced when she put her left foot down. It had become worse while she was talking to Moosemon. Moosemon looked at her concerned.

“Are you able to walk,” he inquired. Emma took in a deep breath.

“No...I don’t think so, not through that crazy mess,” she said, motioning at the expanse of forest.

“Then here,” Moosemon said, crouching down, “climb onto my back. I will carry you there. Don’t worry, I don’t mind.”

Emma nodded at the idea. She balanced on her right foot while trying to crouch down a little, then she launched herself at Moosemon the best she could, wrapping her arms around his neck and trying to swing her left leg over his back at the same time. She ended up clinging to his side, struggling to pull herself up all the way with her leg. After falling off and trying a second time she managed to get herself on his back.

“Ok, I’m good now,” she said a little out of breath. Moosemon raised himself off the ground and began navigating through the forest with such ease that Emma now felt completely incompetent for tripping and falling so many times earlier.

“My herd is close by. They will be ecstatic to see you. We have always wanted to meet a human, you see.”

“Yeah, I can imagine how they feel. I felt the same way when I realized you were a digimon...hey, by the way, you haven’t seen another girl around here have you?”

“No, not another human girl.”

“Oh...yeah, that would make sense if you were surprised to see me...”

“Is she the friend you were speaking of earlier?”

“Yeah. She was with me when my computer started spazing so I have a feeling she’s around here somewhere, I just don’t know where.”

“I shall inform my herd and have them keep an eye open for her.”

“Really?! You’d do that? Thanks so much!”

A noise in the bushes nearby took their attention. Within seconds many pairs of green reflective eyes were watching them.

“Hello everyone!” Moosemon called out. Just like the munchkins in the Wizard of Oz, more Moosemon seemed to appear from everywhere possible. Emma even spotted a smaller Moosemon standing precariously on the lower branch of a tree. As they crowded around Emma’s Moosemon they all gaped and awed and seem to examine every inch of Emma. Those who were farther back in the crowd stood on their hind legs so they could catch a glimpse of the newcomer.

“Is she...really a human?” one of them finally asked.

“Why don’t you ask her for yourself,” Moosemon said turning his head to look back at Emma.

“Oh...oh yeah, yeah I’m human.” Awes and gasps washed through the crowd. Emma felt a bit funny having the spotlight put on her. She suddenly realized how an animal at the zoo must feel when chubby little kids press their faces up to their glass cased habitats. But she smiled politely at them. And then, without warning a tsunami of questions and inquiries came down on her. She tightened her grip around Moosemon’s neck hoping he would realize her growing anxiety.

Luckily(or unluckily, however you see it), the crowd was hushed by a sound. The sound of a gunshot. And the metal projectile which they had just heard being launched barely missed grazing Emma’s right ear as it zipped by on its way through the labyrinth-like forest. Instinctively Emma grabbed at the side of her head as she usually did when something went flying by her head. Every Moosemon in the crowd had the same deer-in-the-headlights look on their faces. A moment of deadly silence followed. Not a single thing moved. Not a hoof dug at the ground, not a nose twitched, not even a single eye blinked. Speaking hardly above a whisper Moosemon told Emma to hold on tight. Emma pressed her body closely to Moosemon’s and wrapped her arms even tighter around his neck.

Like a swarm of flies that have been disturbed from their resting spot the group of Moosemon scattered. Emma’s Moosemon leapt into the air, sailing clear over two other Moosemon to get to a semi-cleared pathway that led deep into the tangled forest. With the speed and skill of a champion racing horse Moosemon charged through the forest, his hoofs thudding away at the solid dirt ground, not missing a step. Leaves fluttered off the ground as he thundered past. He jumped and leapt and climbed over the fallen logs and moss covered rocks. He knew how to navigate this forest just as well as one knew how to breath, and if Emma didn’t think her life was in danger she would have been awe-struck by this fact.

As the noise from the chaos behind them subsided another noise was soon heard. The noise of a mechanical whirring sound was soon added to by the creaking and rustling of the tree branches above them. More gunshots were fired. Emma clenched her eyes shut and let out a scream like a siren.

“It’s Gargomon,” Moosemon shouted to her over the din.

“What?! Why’s he shooting at us?” There was a pause in the gunfire and a mischievous chuckling could be heard. Emma turned her head to look up into the trees. A shadowed figure bounded from tree branch to tree branch. It was difficult to get a good clear look at him. The mechanical whirring stopped and clicked...he was reloading. Moosemon charged on but as Emma turned her wide-eyed gaze from Gargomon to the path ahead she noticed that a large tangle of trees was about to block their way.
“I think we’re in trouble,” she told Moosemon. He turned his head to look at her with one eye.

“Oh? Why do you think that,” he replied with the faintest hint of sarcasm in his voice, and, though she couldn’t see it, a slight smirk as well. With a loud creak Gargomon launched himself from the tree branch high above them and sent himself spiraling through the air. His long floopy ears intertwined and his machine gun arms whirred wildly, it would have looked almost graceful...but the bulky Gargomon was not the most graceful looking of digimons. He landed with a heavy thud on the horizontally curved trunk of a young redwood right in front of them, sending a spray of debris and dead leaves into the air. His arms were at the ready and a wild smirk was spread wide across his face.

“HA HA HA! I’ve got you now, Moosemon!” he shouted with a child-like enthusiasm. Moosemon reared himself onto his hind legs, nearly unseating Emma in the process. She clung to his neck, furiously digging her fingers into his fur. Moosemon kicked at the air with his front hoofs and twisted his body around to try and head back down the path. His attempt at trying to turn backwards on a dime threw Emma off his back completely. Her back hit something hard and rolled back onto the path only a few feet from where Gargomon stood. She cringed and moaned as she pushed herself back onto her feet, putting unwanted weight onto her swollen ankle. Her hair, now tangled with leaves and twigs, covered her face and made it nearly impossible to see where anyone was.

Moosemon could be heard thundering down the path. Another mischievous laugh from Gargomon and then the gunfire commenced. Emma screamed and threw her arms over her face and half limped-half hopped on one leg backwards down the path. If that wasn’t enough, the blood colored digivice that she had forgotten was clipped to the side of her pants began squealing and carrying on.

It hadn’t taken Moosemon very long to figure out something was missing.

“The human,” he gasped. He whirled around and charged back towards the dead end where he could see Emma desperately trying to dodge bullets. One of Gargomon’s bullets clipped Moosemon’s right leg. He stumbled but quickly regained his footing.

“Duck!” Moosemon shouted at her. Instinctively she crouched down and completely covered her head with her arms.

“HORN BLADE!” he shouted, forcefully swinging his head in the direction of Gargomon. Gargomon just smiled and jumped into the air dodging the blade of light-blue energy that was sent his way. He landed back on the tree trunk and it crunched under his weight. Emma jumped back up and shoved the tangled mat of hair out of her face and shrieked: “Has everything lost it’s bloody mind?!”

Gargomon clicked his arms once more and aimed at Moosemon who now had a stream of blood running down his leg. Moosemon, for the first time that Emma could noticed, looked truly fearful. Emma turned angrily towards Gargomon, her hair whipping around her head causing the twigs to claw at her face. She took no notice. Her threatening glare caused him to pause for an instant. All the while the screaming from the digivice grew ever louder.

“What the HELL is wrong with you?!” she gestured at Gargomon. He just blinked at her, then looked back at Moosemon, aiming his arms once more. Before anything could happen something red rocketed into view, stopping suddenly in mid-air between Gargomon and Emma, wings spread wide.

“You will not harm her!” it screeched with an anger in its voice that surpassed even Emma’s. Gargomon paused yet again to confront the newcomer.

“Oh yeah,” he smirked, “and what are you going to do about it? You’re just a Rookie!”

“Not for long.”

The digivice that was clipped to the side of Emma’s pants let out it’s highest squeal yet just before a beam of light shot from it to the red winged creature. It engulfed the creature and grew brighter. Emma shielded her eyes with one hand. Seconds later the light died down as did the noise and where the red winged creature hovered just moments before there now stood a very large burnt orange colored bird. With wings outspread it raised its head to the sky and let out a high cackling call which reminded Emma of some sort of prehistoric creature. Under its raised wings she could see the deadly sharp talons, each nearly the length of her arm, digging into the hard earth. Gargomon fell backwards off the tree trunk in surprise.

“Okay, okay! Truce! I give up! I won’t shoot!” screamed Gargomon as he flailed his limbs to block the attack that never came. The large orange bird hovered threateningly over Gargomon for an instant before folding its wings and turning slowly around. It took Emma a few minutes for everything to register in Emma’s head. When she looked up, open-mouthed and awe struck in to the birds face she remembered that night she walked the dog...the two burnt orange feathers she had hanging on her bedroom wall...

“Birdramon...,” she barely whispered. Birdramon de-evolved back into her rookie form of Biyomon then smiled cheerfully at the girl. Something was not right about Biyomon though...

“You...you’re supposed to be pink and blue...aren’t you?” she said to Biyomon. This Biyomon was not the traditional pink and blue bird that Emma was familiar with. The pink was replaced with a deep red color, like dried blood...‘the same color as the digivice,’ thought Emma. And the blue was replaced with black. Other than the color change everything else was the same. The bird monster looked at her seriously for a moment and said, “Not everything is like in the TV show.”

The girl fell to her knees, both from disbelief and exhaustion. Biyomon immediately trotted up to her and embraced her, pressing her head into the girl’s chest. Still in a dazed state she did the same, wrapping her arms gently around the bird’s head and running her fingers through the soft feathers just to make sure this was real.

“So,” said Gargomon climbing out of the bushes, “I’m hungry. Who wants to head to town and grab a bite to eat?”