WoS Chapter 15 Part 1: JP

The story so far: Kouji (Lobomon, Warrior of Light) and JP (Beetlemon, Warrior of Thunder) split from the main group to chase after the Gotsumon who found the Beast Spirit of Light. This allowed Gotsumon to transform into an even more powerful digimon form called Garmmon which SHOULD belong to Kouji.

Irreparable differences in opinion caused JP and Kouji to go their separate ways. Kouji continues to look for Gotsumon while JP just wants to go back to the other three humans also stranded in the Digital World like him. In an ironic twist, JP find Gotsumon first but before he can capitalize on his finding, the enemy Warrior of Wood, Arbormon, shows up. Arbormon also has Beast Spirit with him, Petaldramon the Beast of Wood. Gotsumon who has never been able to control the Beast of Light despite not wanting to part with the Spirit, transforms into Garmmon--and immediately attacks JP.

Chapter 15 Part 1 - Consequences

-JP-

With a huge plant dragon in front of him, Beetlemon had thought there would be no confusion over who was the bigger threat. So, Garmmon utterly blindsided him. Beetlemon couldn’t evade and suffered a harsh reminder that Beast Spirits hit obscenely hard.

During their first encounter with the Beast of Light, only Kazemon had been unfortunate enough to acquaint herself with its laser beam; now he fully understood how it had forced Zoe to drop her transformation. How could anything be so painful? Gigasmon’s Quagmire Twister was nothing compared to this!

When Beetlemon finally stopped screaming and could concentrate on his surroundings again, he was at least fifty meters away from his original position. He lay in a swathe of destruction, a dozen mangled and broken trees on either side with a glittering data ring circled around his prone form. Huh. Everything hurt but somehow, he’d held onto the transformation! And nothing had come over to claim his data, which was even more surprising. Beetlemon sluggishly moved a broken branch off his chest and fought down a groan.

At the start of the newly created breach, two titans were fighting—presumably over the right to scan him. Garmmon was viciously clawing at Petaldramon’s throat. Phew, they hadn’t spontaneously decided to put away their differences. Petaldramon wouldn’t have passed the chance of earning a free Spirit for his deranged master and—if Blizzarmon was any indication—an out-of-control Beast Spirit was very aggressive about prey that it had brought down to the data ring. Beetlemon supposed that he should be thankful for the little things. At least Gotsumon’s never-ending failure to control Garmmon was a conflict of interest with Cherubimon’s goons.

Beetlemon slowly freed himself from the splinters of wood stabbing him in the back and, through the murderous headache, summoned the fractal code back inside. Wouldn’t do to attract their attention with something this shiny.

With the larger digimon focused on each other, it was high time to get out of the danger zone. Beetlemon took to the skies.

Garmmon was now handing out laser beams like they were going out of style, apparently happy to remember that it possessed that attack. What had brought Beetlemon to the brink of unconsciousness didn’t seem to have the same impact on Petaldramon. The plant lizard either countered with his Leaf Cyclone or just let the attack hit home.

The laser managed to tear out a decent chunk of wood but hopes of somehow wearing Petaldramon down died quickly. His special ability as the Beast of Wood seemed to be insanely fast regeneration. One time lapse of moss-taking-over-tree-bark later and voilà, he was fully healed. Walking through ice and earth paled in comparison.

Beetlemon hovered over the battlefield and, honestly, he didn’t know if he should even intervene, or if he should leave and never worry about this again. He’d already gained valuable intel about another enemy that they’d face in the future. Besides, neither of the two Beast Spirits was happy to see him.

Well, Garmmon would eventually transform back into Gotsumon who was a decent, if misguided guy... And he was also someone who had transformed (mostly involuntarily) multiple times today with no meals for a quick energy boost. He’d gone into the battle at a severe disadvantage.

On the other hand, Petaldramon was just getting into gear. He was constantly spouting randomness about control issues of elements not suitable for you, health tips, and that he was in this game for years. Oh great, as if a bulldozer like Petaldramon really needed the additional boost of vast combat experience.

The enormous skill gap seemed to even penetrate whatever animalistic cloud had vaporized Garmmon’s reason and intelligence. It had to realize that it was running extremely low on energy and that a trip back to its weaker origin was imminent. So, it tried something new.

It extended the wing-like blades on its back to either side and swiped past Petaldramon, heading for the trees. That was to say, the trees that their fight hadn’t completely ravaged. Petaldramon moved to follow it, but his legs gave away under him and he stumbled. That swipe had cut through his side and the gargantuan beast had to wait until his wood powers repaired him. He didn’t look particularly bothered, which was worrisome. Was there more to being the Warrior of Wood than healing? Could he maybe sense stuff through the trees? Again, Beetlemon caught himself jumping to the worst conclusion; he was on a roll today.

In any case, Petaldramon was a conveniently large target. So, using his lofty position in the air, Beetlemon sent out his own attack. “Lightning Bomb!” It was just to remind his enemy that he still existed, and the retaliation was swift.

“Leaf Cyclone!”

Beetlemon didn’t fancy sticking around. He swooped low to avoid the attack and checked Garmmon’s position—again flying proved crucial in tracking it. After that laser attack, Beetlemon wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep going. He was about to fly towards a coastal village that he thought he might be seeing at the horizon when he noticed a flurry of dispersing data strings. Garmmon was gone and Gotsumon was staggering through the forest.

Beetlemon contemplated only for a moment if a laser beam to the face was a deal breaker for a daring sky rescue. Ah well, being the Warrior of Thunder really raised his chivalrousness.

Petaldramon made a beeline into Garmmon’s last known direction, so Beetlemon hurried to reach the fleeing rock digimon first. Gotsumon didn’t even complain when he picked him up (woah, he was heavy) and started to fly towards the mountain range that split the forest in two. If Petaldramon really used the trees to see for him, a mountain mostly bare of vegetation would be ideal to lose him.

Two minutes had to pass before Gotsumon was recovered enough to turn to him with huge, yellow eyes. “I think I attacked you!”

Something in how he blurted that out made him seem much younger than earlier.

“Yes. Yes, you did,” Beetlemon said curtly. Finding a suitable space to land took up most of his mental capabilities and besides, what was he supposed to say to that?

Gotsumon said nothing, and despite being a completely different species and having completely different facial features, he suddenly reminded Beetlemon of Kouji. Come to think of it, the terrible attitude towards compromises and the single-mindedness in chasing one goal and one goal alone was also all Kouji. That didn’t make it easy to be gracious about his inability to take charge over Garmmon. It had nearly cost them everything.

“I thought that I had it this time,” Gotsumon mumbled, dropping his gaze to look at the craggy mountain below them.

Beetlemon snorted, earning an annoyed look from Gotsumon. The guy had lost control literally the second after he initiated the transformation. Beetlemon still felt that damn laser beam in places, so he countered the look of annoyance with a look of smug superiority at having the moral high ground.

“You do know that Petaldramon might be right about you simply not being compatible with Garmmon?” he offered after Gotsumon wouldn’t deign him with a reaction. In the back of his mind, he remembered Gargoylemon’s lecture about souls and elements and, if anything, Gotsumon looked like a candidate for becoming the Warrior of Earth. Too bad that catastrophe was still causing trouble elsewhere.

Gotsumon clearly didn’t want to hear that. He expertly changed the topic by pointing at a grassy area on the mountain. “Look, fruit trees. You should land over there.”

Beetlemon wasn’t sure if he should let the topic slide that easily, but the call of food was simply too strong to allow for another exhausting argument about Gotsumon’s Spirit choice.

He drifted towards the indicated area and saw a small cave nestled into the mountain just a couple of steps away from the trees. The whole plateau gave them a nice view on the forest this side of the mountain. A small stream flowed from behind the trees and made its merry way down a few cliffs. The cave was completely devoid of life. There was no immediately visible way up.

With the setting sun drenching this untouched piece of land in cozy red light, Beetlemon was fairly certain that he could wait until tomorrow to get back to the Gotsumon village. A decision mostly influenced by the juicy meat apple trees that somehow managed to grow even at such an altitude and looked positively inviting.

He checked with Gotsumon, but the spunky rock digimon seemed to have nothing against suspending his war against Cherubimon and calling it a day. They gathered firewood and plucked some apples, and Gotsumon showed some amazing wilderness skills by getting a fire started with minimal fuss.

“I’m so hungry, I could eat these immediately,” JP said and gave the meat apples roasting over the flames a longing look.

Gotsumon was leaning back against a piece of wood and said idly, “I wouldn’t recommend that. That’s like eating rotten bread. Have you ever had rotten bread? It’s terrible.”

“Yep,” JP agreed emphatically. He’d once made the mistake of forgetting his lunch in his sports bag and hadn’t checked on it during the entirety of the summer holidays. He hadn’t tried eating the green and chunky liquid that the bread had turned into, but the smell alone had haunted him for weeks and just thinking about it now made him gag. “Ugh, thanks for reminding me!”

Gotsumon snorted. An incredibly mischievous look crept into his yellow eyes. “You know we once went to this restaurant over in Fire Country—that was back when it still existed by the way—and the family at the other table had ordered something that smelled so fierce, it assaulted you right when you entered.”

“Stop.”

Gotsumon did no such thing. “So I just had to see what that was and walked over to their table.”

“Stop. I don’t want to hear that!”

“And you know what it was?”

“No and I don’t—”

“LIVE MAGGOTS!” he shouted out dramatically, ignoring the feeble protests.

JP shuddered, but Gotsumon wasn’t done yet, “And they were wiggling around in this creamy soup and—”

“Alright, you’re on,” JP interrupted him loudly and a disgusting food story of his own sprang into his mind. “Back in the human world, there’s this country called Sweden and they have a fish dish with a name I can’t remember or pronounce. It looks like vomit mixed with buggers, muck and sewer water.”

He could see Gotsumon wasn’t impressed, so he gleefully continued with a detailed explanation. His taste buds were already ruined for the evening, and he had to repay the favour.

Turned out that even rock skin could change colour. JP smirked and finished, “Seriously, the worst part of it is its smell! It is so gross it can literally make you puke even if you only get the tiniest waft! Even if you’re on the other side of the building!” He made a dramatic pause and then added, “And there are still people out there who eat it!”

Gotsumon took a while to compose himself and idly checked on their meat apples. Hehe, he looked a lot less pleased! Sadly, they weren’t done yet.

To pass the time, the digimon found a new terrible food to talk about. “That sounds disgusting, but I bet you’ve never even heard...”

What followed could be charitably called a conversation about their different experiences with food. Aside from the urge to vomit, JP took one other realization away from it: this Gotsumon had travelled all around the Digital World.

They called it quits after JP shared what he’d heard about some fast-food chains in America and the terrifying industrially produced meat. It won him their unofficial ‘Who Knows the Most Disgusting Food’ contest and they finally fell silent.

Then he grinned and said, “Hey. Want a nice, meaty apple?”

“I can’t put my finger on why, but I hate you,” Gotsumon said, rolling his eyes. He reached for one of the meat apple skewers and proclaimed them done.

JP had his suspicions, considering that they allegedly tasted like rotten bread if prepared incorrectly, but found nothing wrong with them. Though, he managed to burn his tongue. He could almost feel Beetlemon giving him an annoyed look before the Spirit took the discomfort away.

None of that stopped JP from grinning. “You started it.” When it came to food, he always won.

The sun had almost disappeared over the sparkling ocean horizon when he sent Gotsumon a questioning look over the flames. “You’ve been to a lot of different countries.”

The digimon nodded, but then seemed to collapse into himself. He stared at his half-eaten apple with a hollow look. “Uhm. I used to travel a lot with my dad.”

JP frowned. Used to? Not anymore?

Gotsumon plunged the skewer into the loose earth next to their fire and leaned back to stare at the night sky. “I really hate Grumblemon.”

Well, that much was obvious. Even as Garmmon with its uncontrollable rage, he would’ve liked nothing more than to disintegrate the Warrior of Earth.

An awkward silence spread between them. JP shifted closer to the fire—mainly because it was getting really cold. The silence persisted. So he said carefully, “I’m sorry for what Grumblemon has done to your village. I guess if it were my home I’d want to see him dead too.”

JP hadn’t really thought about how the people living here dealt with their world being slowly, but surely destroyed. Now he felt uncomfortable on top of all the awkwardness and Gotsumon’s next words didn’t help.

“It’s not just that,” the digimon said, absently fiddling with the magnifying glass that he carried on a string around his neck. For a moment, it looked like he didn’t want to continue. Then, he explained tentatively, “I guess you can say that... Grumblemon killed my father and my brother two years ago.”

JP choked on his apple. He repeatedly hit his chest to dislodge the chunks and then scrambled for something to say. “Uh, sorry to hear that...” This was heading in a direction he was not feeling confident about.

“I still have my aunt and we Gotsumon are pretty big on unity.” The digimon shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. His drooped shoulders and forlorn look told a different story.

“So you want to get revenge on Grumblemon for your dad and your brother?” JP asked, mainly because he couldn’t handle awkward silence even if talking risked making everything worse.

“Of course!” Gotsumon said and with this, determination came back to him. In his eyes also appeared Garmmon’s glow and he hastily blinked it away. “Uh, as soon as I get the hang of my Spirit.”

“You sure that you don’t want to rethink this whole ‘I will throw myself at Cherubimon’s mercy’ thing and come with us to the Forest Terminal?” JP asked because it seemed like the right time to offer it again. “You know Grumblemon is bound to attack us again.”

“I don’t know,” Gotsumon admitted, rolling the magnifying glass from on hand to the other. “I guess I also want to bring peace to the Digital World.”

JP was about to point out that his group probably had the same goal when blinding light brightened their view. It erupted way down in the forest. He shot to his feet, eyes fixed on the afterglow, and rushed to the cliff’s edge. “What was that?”

The river that flowed through the woods partly reflected the red and the yellow moon. Otherwise, it was too dark to make out details.

An explosion sounded and something big flattened a huge patch of trees very close to the mountain. Even from this height, Petaldramon was unmistakable. “Petaldramon!”

“Ugh, that guy again,” Gotsumon groaned. He’d also stepped to the edge and peered down. “What’s he doing?”

“Probably looking for us. But...” But that light... Could it be that Petaldramon had found Kouji? No... Kouji had probably left the forrr—! Then, it came to him.

Kouji was looking for Gotsumon. Gotsumon was here. He’d been with him all the time. And only now JP remembered that he could’ve told Kouji any time that he’d found his prize. He’d just been too mad at him to even think about it!

Okay, no need to worry over nothing again. JP took his D-Tector and concentrated on Kouji. “Hey, you there?”

Kouji’s symbol of Light did appear on his display, but no sound accompanied it. Oh crap.

The light flashed again, exactly where Petaldramon had flattened the forest.

Damn, it really was Kouji fighting over there.

JP balled his hands into fists. Screw Kouji! That was what he got for going out on his own. After all, he wanted to fight his battles all by himself! That had been why he’d walked out on him...!

JP flinched. What was he even thinking? Back then he hadn’t known someone like Petaldramon was roaming this place! His blood ran cold. He hadn’t been serious when he thought that he wouldn’t mind Kouji being overrun by enemies! No matter how much of an asshole that guy was, there was no way he would leave him to fend for himself! He had to hurry before something bad happened!

He wasn’t sure if Gotsumon had similar thoughts or if the sight of his D-Tector excited Garmmon again, but they both summoned the data cocoon.

Execute Spirit Digivolve to... Beetlemon!

Gotsumon Beast Spirit Digivolve to... (AAHHH!)... GARMMON!

And no matter how well he got along with Gotsumon, this time Beetlemon was prepared for Garmmon’s backstabbing goodness. He immediately took to the air and evaded an angry swipe from the beast.

“Not that again.” He groaned. “Gotsumon, get a grip!”

Garmmon howled at him. If nothing else, it had gotten better at controlling its body and managed to send out a laser beam that Beetlemon avoided.

“This is getting old real fast,” Beetlemon grumbled. But somewhere down there, Kouji was possibly in a battle for his life. He needed all the help he could get.

Despite the random bouts of friendly fire, Garmmon’s massive power made it more than worth it to bring it along. It could be crucial against Petaldramon.

“Well, here goes nothing. Nice doggie! Come, follow the bait!” With that, Beetlemon started flying along the river path down the mountain, and like a hungry wolf, Garmmon followed him.