David and I have made it our goal in life to travel the multiverse and learn new forms of Digivolution. Some heroes get to go on epic quests, fight in massive wars, and become interdimensional heroes. But exploration for exploration’s sake has its perks too. Take my Digimental of Dedication. It’s an egg-shaped artifact that the Kid and I found years ago while we were adventuring in an alternate Digital World. I can use it to become Panzermon, a special type of Digimon known as an Armor Digimon.
This story starts off pretty usual, with the Kid and I exploring the Digital World. This particular Digital World was currently going through some really bad hardships: a child decided to utilize his connection to the powers of Darkness to become an evil ruler known as the Digimon Emperor. He started building these massive black towers and created a network that was able to block standard Digivolution. He then brainwashed Digimon and used them as his personal army as he tried to take over. Luckily, a team of heroes stood up to him and waged a battle to return peace to the Digital World. You may have heard this story before, and it’s certainly not my place to retell it. The Kid and I may not have played a major role in that story, but that doesn’t mean our little side quest doesn’t have its own charm.
The Kid and I found ourselves in a sleepy little hamlet nestled in a oasis. A small pond, little more than a puddle, really, was the only source of water far as the eye could see. These massive cliffs formed a natural barrier around the handful of buildings, and a singular black tower loomed atop a distant peak. We were following the map on our D-Terminal, leading us toward one of those special Armor Digi-Eggs. Oh, man, D-Terminals. Those were like cellphones before smart phones were a thing, and they only came with half the features. Check them out under the “D3” in the Digivice section if you’re interested in a stroll down memory lane. Back to the story, though. When the map led us to the hamlet, we assumed it was abandoned because no one greeted us as we entered through the janky main gate.
“According to my D-Terminal, the Armor Egg should be right here.” David said as he scanned the area. “Maybe it’s in one of these little houses?”
“If you’re looking for something, you are wasting your time. There isn’t anything that the Digimon Emperor hasn’t already taken.” A voice called out from behind a rock.
Floating out from behind its cover was a tiny little fireball with big blue eyes and a stitched smile. I recognized it as a Demi Meramon. Following the leader, about ten other Demi Meramon creeped from their hiding spots. Once grouped together, they continued their tale.
“The only thing left is the spring water and us. The Emperor said we were too small and useless to bother with. It’s the only reason we’re still here. You’d think that be a blessing, at least he left us alone now, but no! Three Vilemon, calling themselves the Terror Triplets, used the chaos caused by the Digimon Emperor to swoop in and take over. Now they are holding us hostage in our own homes!”
I don’t know if you ever met a Vilemon, but trust me, that’s such a Vilemon thing to do. They are small, imp-like creatures with bat wings known for targeting those weaker than them. Setting up shop in the biggest house on the edge of town, they made the locals cook and clean for them, and they showed no signs of letting up.
“My name is David. This is my partner, Grizzly. We’re… looking for some buried treasure.” The Kid always tried to come off as some brave hero, which always makes me smile. This is the same guy who was too scared to watch horror movies by himself until he went to college. Putting on a brave front has always been one of his better skills.
One of the Demi Meramon laughed in joy. “OH! You mean the town secret! Not even the Digimon Emperor could find it!” The crowd perked up and began murmuring amongst themselves before continuing. “We’ll make you two a deal! You help us take care of the Terror Triplets, and we’ll tell you where the secret is! But it’s too risky to tell you before we get rid of them. We don’t want them getting their grubby little claws on it.”
“That shouldn’t be hard to do. Vilemon are just a bunch of bullies.” I said. Most of the villagers gave me a confused look. “Yea, okay, that may be funny coming from a Gazimon, but it’s still true.”
After a brief discussion, David spoke to the crowd. “Grizzly and I are going to handle the battle part. You guys are just going to help with the set up. Here’s the plan. The Trio makes you guys cook al their meals, right? We put way too much salt in one of their dishes. Then, we put pepper in one of their drinks. The two with the gross food will think the third one was behind it. The three of them will start fighting each other, and that’s when we take advantage of the situation. Grizzly will launch a sneak attack! Even though we’ll be outnumbered, Grizzly should be able to get the upper hand.”
The villagers spoke among themselves for a bit, but we all agreed, When the Trio showed up and demanded their meals, the Kid and I hid behind one of the tiny houses. It didn’t take long before they started gulping down their grub, and one started gagging.
“This is terrible!” He belched. His partner in crime handed him a glass, unknowing it was the one full of pepper. His face turned bright read and I swear he spit fire.
The three Vilemon smashed their plates and growled in anger. “What is this? You guys trying to poison us!”
David and I shot each other panicked stares. We didn’t count on the Vilemon sharing their food, and we didn’t really know what to do next. This was a fine time for the jerks to decide to be nice to each other. I acted without thinking and started my best fake laugh as I sprang up from behind the wall.
“Man, I heard the bosses of this town were stupid, but you guys are dumber than I thought!” I chuckled.
“And just who are you!” The red faced Vilemon demanded. It was at this point when it dawned on me he must have been the leader. That explains why the other one gave him his glass. I tried using that to my advantage.
“I’m just a wanderer. I heard three guys took over this sleepy little town, and you got a pretty good gig. Is it true these little guys do whatever you say?”
“Lemme guess, you want in?” The leader asked. “I guess we could think about it. Why don’t we talk it over in our room? Away from the help.”
I followed them into a nearby hut, but I knew from talking to the villagers that this wasn’t where they were staying at. As soon as I walked in, they locked the door behind me. Before they left they told me that next time I wanted to join a club, maybe I shouldn’t make fun of the team captain. I wasn’t at all surprised. I knew they would pull something like that. I just hopped I bought enough time for the Kid and the villagers to come up with a plan B.
Back outside, the villages told David their terrible secret. They had no idea where the Digi-Egg was hidden. They never even heard of any treasure in the area. They were only trying to trick us into helping them. And now they got an innocent Digimon locked up. I don’t know what David said, but I imaging he was all like “We can’t worry about that now! We have to rescue Grizzly! My life has no meaning without him! I am just a chubby human boy lost in a sad, empty world with no hope if I lose Grizzly”. Or something like that. I wasn’t in the room at the time.
What I do know is after the Demi Meramon fixed their captors a new dinner, the Triplets went back to their stolen house to sleep. Under the cover of darkness, David snuck up to the window of the tiny hut I was locked in and called out to me. With a rock in hand, he was able to break the lock loose from the door fairly easily. It’s a good thing the Vilemon didn’t know about David. There was no way a Demi-Meramon was big enough to bust the lock, but it wasn’t too hard for a human boy. The Kid and the villagers told me about the lie they used to get my help, and how they would understand if the Kid and I just left. After all, they had nothing to offer us now.
I gave them a hard time at first. Liars never prosper and all that. But after that, I assured them we’d still help. We promised we would help, and my word is my bond. This was one of the first times I realized David’s “coming off as a brave hero” thing was starting to rub off on me. Unfortunately, it was also the point where the Terror Triplets heard all the rucks and snuck up behind us.
One of the little pipsqueaks clawed at my back, and one flew directly towards the Kid. The third chased down the villagers and herded them into a house where he locked them up. I was putting up a decent fight, but the Kid got knocked over and fell into the spring water. It must have been way deeper than it looked, because after a second I couldn’t even see him. I may have gotten scared, and I may have called out to him. But even if I did, it’s not a big deal. Not like I was worried about him. And I didn’t need to be either. A few seconds later he doggy paddled his way back to the top. He never was a very good swimmer, but at least he could make do in calm water. He flopped his way onto the ground with a smile, stretching his arm to the sky. In his hand was a small metal sphere with two bladed spikes poking out from behind a shield. He found the treasure, the Digi-Egg. Wouldn’t you know it, it was emblazoned with the Crest of Dedication.
I Armor Digivolved for the first time that night. My new armor and punching daggers gave me the edge I needed to beat down the triplets until they finally gave up and took off. I freed the villagers, took out the tower, and saved the day. I kept my promise to them, and my Dedication gave me a brand-new form. And I guess the Kid helped a bit too. Like I said, the Kid and I may not have played a huge part in the fight against the Digimon Emperor, but we sure played a huge role for that hamlet.
I bid you adieu.
Grizzly.
DedicatedGazi 