Chapter 27: The Trials Of 404 Island (Part 2)

Taylor had just collected the ten flags within the time limit and caused her Crest Of Water to glow more brightly. The flags, when arranged by number, told her to go to a cavern one mile to the east. Taylor turned to go in that direction, but before she could do anything, the two Piranimon that had pursued her caught up to her!

"All that swimming sure made me hungry!" One of the Piranimon said. "I'm really in the mood for some mermaid sushi." The other Piranimon said. Taylor took off swimming in the east direction. She planned on using her newly acquired Speed Swimming skill to leave them eating bubbles like the last time, however, Taylor found that she couldn't do it again! Why? Taylor knew exactly why. She had used up most of her strength. She was simply too tired to use Speed Swimming again. Her heart started racing. If she could only swim this fast, the Piranimon would eat her for sure! And without Sharkmon there, there was no way to fight them. She could reduce them to DigiEggs out of self defense if her partner were with her, but Sharkmon was exactly who she was trying to find! Was this the end? Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! One of the Piranimon snapped. Taylor managed to pull in her tail three consecutive times as one of the Piranimon tried to take a bite out of her. Taylor was swimming as fast as her little body would allow, but her strength was continuing to fade. Chomp! The other Piranimon bit down, but narrowly missed Taylor's tail as she yanked it inward.

Adrenaline was rushing through the tween mermaid's brain. "This is bad! This is bad! This is bad! This is bad!" She thought. "Someone help!" Taylor cried out, hoping some Good Samaritan Digimon would be nearby who would be at the Champion or Ultimate level and save her. But unfortunately, in this place, there weren't many Digimon around! "HELP!" She cried out again as she continued to swim. One of the Piranimon laughed. "Aint nobody comin' to help you, little girl!" He said. Taylor then looked and saw a large rock nearby. It looked tall, so tall that it went above the surface of the water. Taylor swam up. When she got to the surface of the water, she quickly hoisted herself up onto the rock. She turned her tail into legs and climbed up the rock like…well, a rock climber. When she got up to the top of the rock, she looked back and saw the two Piranimon struggling to get to her. The Piranimon had very fishlike bodies. They were not equipped to climb up on rocks like merpeople could. Taylor pulled up her goggles over her forehead and took a sigh of relief. "Safe…for now. But….I can't just stay here forever. I have to find Sharkmon to pass Witchmon's test." Taylor said.

"Hey, climbing up on a rock is not fair!" One of the Piranimon complained. Taylor got an angry look on her fist. She leaned over and raised a fist. "It is too fair! It's called survival of the fittest, you idiot! Instead of complaining, maybe you could evolve!" Taylor yelled. The nerve of these Digimon who were trying to kill her complaining about her means of escape being "not fair!" The Piranimon whimpered. "Evolve? We can't simply evolve! We need years of fighting to achieve digivolution!" He complained. Taylor smirked. "Well, maybe if you had a tamer, he could use his digivice to digivolve you." Taylor said, holding up her D-Eco. "Way to rub it in, girly! You're mean! I might not even eat you at all!" The Piranimon said. The other Piranimon sweat dropped. "I think you should work on your threats, brother." He said.

Taylor looked frustrated. She was safe on top of this rock, but she knew that the Piranimon could simply wait her out. "It's like those fortified cities I read about in history books. When conquering nations couldn't get through a city's defenses, they would simply encamp around it and wait until the inhabitants had no choice but to come out. They'd wait until the inhabitants would begin to die of starvation and thirst. I may be safe in the short term, but in the long term…." Taylor thought to herself.

Taylor then had another flashback to her conversation with her grandmother which took place months before she even met Sharkmon. "Another ability some merpeople have but others don't is what the humans have referred to as Siren Singing." The gray haired Victoria said as she sat next to her granddaughter on her bed. Taylor tilted her head in confusion. "Siren Singing? But in my mother's book, she said that that was just a myth. Something that developed from our kind visiting Earth in ages past. Are you saying that mermaids really used to drown sailors by singing?" Taylor asked. Victoria shook her head. "If you read the footnote of that part in 'Mermaids: Separating Fact From Fiction', you'll notice that Jessica made note that Siren Singing was a real thing, but that there's no historical evidence that any Aqualians ever used it to drown people. In the footnote, Jessica said that it was more likely that mermaids used this ability as a means of simply charming human men they fell in love with. But even then, there's nothing magical or mythical about this ability. It's basically just an audio version of batting your eyelashes. Jessica also noted that the amount of Aqualians who actually have this ability are extremely rare, with only 10 documented contemporary cases on Aqualia right now and only 3 on Earth." Taylor blushed a little bit. "Oh…yeah." Taylor had completely forgotten then.

"Can anyone in the Poseidonic Line do that?" Taylor asked.

"I don't think it's an inherent ability of Poseidon. I mean, have you heard your mother sing? The only thing that could get sailors to do would be to hang themselves." Victoria joked. Taylor laughed. "No, this is just one of those special talents that some mermaids have and some don't." Victoria added.

When the flashback ended, Taylor was blushing and grimacing. She didn't consider herself much of a singer. She was even hesitant to sing in the shower on the off case someone heard her. She really didn't want to do this, but it might be the only way. "Another longshot, but what choice do I have?" Taylor thought to herself. She took a deep breath and began to sing. "Hit the road Jack, and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more! Hit the road Jack, and don't you come back no more." Taylor stopped. It seemed like a fitting song since she wanted the Piranimon to leave, but nothing happened! The Piranimon looked confused. "Well, that was random." One of the Piranimon said. "Who the heck is Jack?" Asked the other Piranimon. Taylor's entire face turned red. She didn't want to sing in the first place and now her plan didn't even work! Then she remembered something else her grandmother told her. "Never sing 'Hit The Road Jack'. A siren's song is supposed to be inviting, not repellant. You want your jolly sailor to come to you, not go away."

Taylor smiled. She knew the perfect song; "Honey" by L'arc En Ciel. Whenever it would come on the radio, Jessica would tell Taylor that it was "Their song". Evander's and Jessica's song.

"I have always been gazing

ever since the distant days of my childhood

Even till today, that faint scenery

still decorates my pure-white walls.

In the rolling roads,

I just went a little crazy.

I can't take away the deep pain but,

don't look at me with those sad eyes.

Entangled by the dry winds,

taking you with me

Honey so sweet, I want you to believe me

Even if this world is a lie.

I want to fly, waitin' for sunrise.

I want to fly, waitin' for sunrise."

She sang the song at a slower tempo than usual. Taylor's voice was absolutely beautiful. It penetrated the hearts of the Piranimon. They began crying. "So….beautiful. So….beautiful. We can't eat her! The world must not be robbed of a voice so precious!" One of the Piranimon said through his tears. "I agree, brother! Hey, I wonder if she's on Spotify." The other Piranimon said.

Taylor blushed, rubbed the back of her head, and grinned. She was still embarrassed, but it looked like it worked. Then her bashful expression changed to a surprised one. "Wait, it worked!?" Taylor exclaimed. This ability; this audio aphrodisiac, this ability to get people to do what you want just by massaging their ears with your voice, this ability that only 10 people currently alive on Aqualia had the ability to do….was possessed by her!? She looked down at the back of her D-Eco and saw that her Crest Of Water was shining even more brightly. The Piranimon waved at her, "Hey, sorry for trying to eat you!" One of them said. "Your singing is like that of a goddess! Please serenade us again sometime!" The other Piranimon said. Then the turned around and swam away.

Taylor willed her legs to become a mermaid tail again and pulled her goggles back over her eyes. She put her D-Eco into the satchel around her waist, and she dove back into the water. Once Taylor was under, she continued East towards the cavern where Sharkmon was being held. Taylor entered the cavern and sure enough, there was Sharkmon. He was chained to a wall, with a shackle around each one of his four limbs. When Sharkmon noticed Taylor, he smiled and laughed. "Taylor! You're here!" Sharkmon said in a cheerful tone. Taylor smiled with her eyes closed and giggled. "Yep! I'm here to rescue you!" She said. Then, Witchmon's voice came into her mind again. "Bubble, bubble, these chains are trouble. These rhymes may be old, but you'll never pass unless you learn how to create hot and cold."

"Hot and cold?" Taylor said aloud. A confused look came over her face, but then a look of realization replaced it. "Wait a minute. So far, this trial has basically been about me becoming a better mermaid. First, I learned how to transform into my gilled and tailed form while underwater. After that, I activated my Speed Swimming ability. Then, I learned the art of Siren Singing. According to this pattern, it would seem like a justified inference that this next test will also require a unique Aqualian ability." Taylor said. "I don't know what you're going on about, but could you please get me out of these chains? My butt itches and I can't reach it!" Sharkmon said.

Taylor's mind again went back to her conversation with her grandmother. "There are two more abilities that some Aqualians possess. Hydro-Cryokenesis and Hydro-Thermalkenesis. These are the abilities to freeze and boil water respectively. They're both very dangerous. If you can't focus on freezing or boiling just a part of the water, you'll either make yourself into a popsicle or mermaid soup! These abilities evolved in some merpeople as self defense mechanisms against predators, but as advanced as our people are today, we don't really need to rely on such primitive tactics. A quick laser blast is both more practical and much safer" Victoria explained. Taylor had been listening intently to her grandmother. "Wow! I wonder if I'll ever manifest these abilities!" Taylor said enthusiastically while waving her arms out to the side. Taylor's grandmother titled her head, closed her eyes, and smiled. "You never know, dear. You never know." She said.

Back in the present, Taylor looked down at her hands with a look of determination on her face. "The consequences of messing this up are either a Taylor flavored popsicle or mermaid soup." She said. Sharkmon's stomach growled. He frowned a bit. "Taylor, don't mention popsicles and soup right now! I already have an itchy butt, I don't need to be hungry on top of it!" Sharkmon complained. Taylor took a big gulp. She was nervous. She placed both of her hands on one of Sharkmon's chains and concentrated. "Ok…..here we go."

Taylor concentrated, but rather than freeze the chains, she just made the water around them drop in temperature dramatically! Sharkmon began shivering. "BRR!!! Someone cranked up the AC!" Sharkmon complained. Taylor grimaced. "Sorry, Sharkmon!" Taylor said. Taylor focused on the chain some more. Again, the temperature around them began dropping. "W-W-W-W-W-W-WHY IS IT S-S-S-S-S-SO C-C-C-C-C-C-COLD!?" Sharkmon exclaimed. Taylor growled in frustration. "Ok, so obviously I have some kind of thermal manipulation capability, but I'm not hitting my target. Looks like we'll be frozen fish sticks after all. Think, Taylor, Think! How can I focus the thermal alteration to just the chain I'm touching?" Taylor thought aloud.

"Maybe you're worrying to much. Just like with your transformation ability, maybe you muck things up if you're too filled with anxiety." Sharkmon suggested. Taylor nodded, looking at Sharkmon for a moment and then returning her gaze to the chains. "Right. I just need to relax. I can do this if I just focus and stop letting my mind wander to the negative consequences." Taylor said. Taylor decided to give it one more go. She focused on the chains again and this time, she forced her mind to envision her success only. The chains became completely covered in ice! Taylor smiled in surprise. "I-I did it!" She cheered. Taylor focused again. "Now, it's time to turn up the heat, and mermaid soup is NOT on the menu!" As Taylor focused on heating up the chains, the ice melted and soon, the chains glowed bright red! "Ha!" Taylor then focused on freezing the chains again. Success! She then focused on boiling them again. Success! She repeated this over and over again; freezing the chains, then heating them up to where they were so hot, they glowed red, then back to freezing them, then back to heating them up.

Sharkmon had a confused look on his face. "Taylor, what in the world are you even trying to do?" He asked. "It's simple physics. Objects become brittle if they are rapidly heated and rapidly cooled over and over. I'm going to cause these chains to become so brittle that even a little girl like me can rip them apart!" Taylor explained. Sharkmon smiled. "Taylor, you never cease to amaze me with how smart you are! You could have the Crest Of Knowledge instead of Izzy!" Sharkmon said.

Back at World For One World HQ, Izzy was typing at his computer and suddenly sneezed. Tentomon handed him a tissue. "Gesundheit." Tentomon said. "Thank you." Izzy said, taking the tissue from Tentomon and wiping his nose. Izzy then resumed typing.

Back in the waters of 404 Island, Taylor was ready to rip apart the first chain. "Here! We! Go!" She said as she pulled on the chain. The chain snapped like a Turkey's wishbone! Taylor's plan had worked. "Alright! Now for the other three!" Taylor said. She turned and began to work on the next of the three chains, but then she heard Witchmon's voice saying, "Oh, that won't be necessary." The shackles around Sharkmon's other limbs came open, seemingly on their own! Witchmon's voice spoke again; "Of a human man and a mermaid, you are the beloved daughter. You've passed every test and now you are completely one with the water."

Taylor looked down at her Crest Of Water in the back of her D-Eco. It was shining so brightly that both Taylor and Sharkmon had to shield their eyes. The blue light coming from it was blinding! Sharkmon then felt his whole body tingling! "Whoa! Whoa! What's going on!?" Sharkmon exclaimed.

On the screen of Taylor's D-Eco, the word "DIGIVOLUTION" scrolled across the screen.

"Sharkmon digivolve to….Jawsmon!"

"Jawsmon digivolve to…WarJawsmon!"

"MEGA DIGIVOLUTION"

"WarJawsmon mega digivolve to…….Tritonmon!"

When the light of digivolution subsided, in Sharkmon's place was a muscular merman with sharklike features. The humanoid half of his body was a man with cerulean colored skin, a shark fin on his back, sharp jagged teeth in his jaw, and long bluish white hair. On his chest, across his pecks was "Taylor Glovion" tattooed in DigiCode. He had a clam shell over each shoulder. In the lower half of his body was a merman tail that heavily resembled the lower half of a shark. On the back of his merman tail was a shark fin exactly like the one on his upper back on the humanoid half. In his left hand, he held a pink conch shell. Taylor floated there in awe. "Sh-Sh-Sharkmon?" Taylor uttered. Tritonmon smiled. "I am Tritonmon; Sharkmon's mega form. My Conch Crusher attack will blast away my opponent with powerful sonic waves. I can play my conch shell like a trumpet to unleash my Conch Lightning attack and make my enemies into fish filets." He said. Tritonmon's voice was a deep, manly voice, like a Steve Blum.

Taylor smiled brightly and started giggling uncontrollably. "We did it! We did it! You digivolved to Mega!" Taylor said before giggling some more.

Tritonmon rubbed his hands over his muscular male humanoid figure. "Whoa! This is different! I look kind of like you!" Tritonmon said. Taylor put her hand up to her mouth and giggled. "Maybe it's because we've spent so much time together. Like a dog and his master." Taylor teased. Tritonmon and Taylor then swam back to shore.

Back on the beach, Witchmon had landed and was standing next to Wizardmon and the other Digidestined and Digimon. Tritonmon and Taylor scooched themselves onto the beach. Taylor pointed at her partner. "Guys! Look! Guys! Sharkmon achieved Mega!" Taylor said enthusiastically. Everyone looked amazed. "He's like a shark merman!" Drusilla observed. Taylor looked around, "So…anyone else get their megas?" She asked.

Wizardmon shuttered nervously. Witchmon looked over to Wizardmon with an intimidating glare. "Wizardmon…" She began. Taylor gasped while her eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth. "Don't tell me you guys failed!" Taylor exclaimed. "Come on guys! With the right amount of effort, you too can become a sexy merman like me." Tritonmon joked.

Wizardmon began sweating profusely. Martin stepped forward. "Actually….the whole time you were doing your trial, Wizardmon has been trying to come up with ways he could test us." Martin said. Naturemon folded her arms and nodded. "Yep. That's right. Wizardmon has no clue on how to get us to become one with our elements." Naturemon said. Witchmon had fire in her eyes! She turned around and began repeatedly beating Wizardmon with her broom stick. "WHAT! DO! YOU! MEAN! YOU! DON'T! KNOW! HOW! TO! TEST! THEM! MIREI! GAVE! US! THREE! DAYS! TO! COME! UP! WITH! TRIALS!" Witchmon yelled as she whacked Wizardmon. "I'm sorry! I just have teacher's block!" Wizardmon said, trying to defend himself. hWitchmon stopped hitting him, but she was still visibly upset. "TEACHER'S BLOCK!? YOU JUST MADE THAT UP!" She screamed. "Well, you didn't test Emmett yet!" Wizardmon argued, nervous inflections filling his voice. Witchmon gave him one good smack with her broom. "That's because I can only handle one kid at a time, dummy!" She fussed.

Witchmon sighed in exasperation while folding her arms. "I didn't think you'd be this incompetant, but I came up with ways *I* would test them if *I* were overseeing their trials." Witchmon said. Witchmon then said something in Witchish and then a clipboard appeared seemingly out of nowhere in her hands. She walked towards Wizardmon and handed him the Clipboard. "Here, take a look at this." Witchmon said. Wizardmon took the clipboard out of her hand and started reading what was on it. Wizardmon chuckled. "Oh, wow. This is brilliant! You're really clever, Witchmon." Wizardmon said, before looking up his longtime rival. Witchmon blushed, scowled and then turned away while scowling and folding her arms. "Well, it's not like….you know….I knew you're better at learning than teaching or anything. It's not like I wanted to help you or anything. Idiot." Witchmon said. Wizardmon said "Thank you." and then he turned around and ran into the forest. "Naturemon! Come with me!" Wizardmon shouted as he ran. Naturemon ran after Wizardmon. "Coming!" She shouted as she ran. Soon, they entered the dark forest and were out of sight.

"I wonder what their trial is going to be." Tritonmon said. Taylor looked over to Tritonmon and smiled. "I don't know. Let's wish them luck." Taylor said. Suddenly, Tritonmon glowed and de-digivolved! But he didn't de-digivolve to his Rookie form! The Digimon Tritonmon de-Digivolved to was a little round gray ball with a shark fin on top, eyes, a snout, and a mouth with jagged teeth. Taylor and the others looked surprised. Taylor ran over and picked the little shark head up. "Based on your appearance, I'd say this was your In-Training form." Taylor said. "And you'd be right about that. I'm Nibblemon! I used up so much energy since it was my first time going Mega that I de-digivolved further than usual." The little guy explained.

Drusilla raised an eyebrow. If the same happened with the rest of their Digimon, they'd all get to see what their In-Training forms looked like.

After a few minutes, Wizardmon exited the forest and walked over to Martin. "Ready for your trial?" Wizardmon asked. Martin nodded. "I am." Martin said. Wizardmon turned around and gestured for Martin to follow him, which he did. They both walked into the forest entrance and kept walking until they were both out of view from the other children and Digimon.

Nibblemon started to look sleepy. "All that trial stuff….really takes it out of a guy." He said. He fell asleep in Taylor's arms. Taylor giggled. "Takes it out of you? I'm the one who did all the work." She said.

In the forest, Wizardmon stopped walking. He was about two feet in front of Martin. When Wizardmon stopped, Martin stopped. Wizardmon turned around and pointed his finger at the cat eared boy. "Your trial is designed to make you more in sync with the earth. The earth, meaning the ground and all that encompasses it. Nature as land dweller understand it; dirt and plants. That's partly why your trial is here in Mystic Forest." Wizardmon explained. Martin nodded to indicate that he understood. Wizardmon snapped his fingers and seconds later, a horde of Goblimon appeared! They were hiding up in the trees and were waiting to jump down at Wizardmon's signal. Martin looked taken aback at the sudden appearance of the Digimon. "Your first trial is to fight these Goblimon and win. Witchmon chose Rookie level Digimon as they would neither be too strong nor too weak for a Demi-Felincius like yourself to fight against. I want you to be aware though that although this is a test, these Goblimon have been instructed to attack you with the intent to kill. If you don't give it your all, you'll die." Wizardmon explained. Martin looked nervous. He took a hard swallow. "No pressure." He said. "Oh, and by the way. You'll have beaten a Goblimon when the Goblimon calls Uncle. However, you won't have that luxury." Wizardmon explained.

Martin thought about what Wizardmon meant about the Digimon being neither too strong nor too weak for a Demi-Felincius like him to defeat. He also noticed that his home planet, Felinicus, was also a heavily forested environment. 50% of the planet was covered in forests. The other half was ocean. There were a few deserts and and towns, but no cities like on Earth. The most civilization on Felincius were small towns with houses and other buildings built in tree tops. It was mostly a wild place with hardly any technology. Felinciuses considered reliance on technology a sign of laziness and weakness. Of course, Martin had never seen his home planet, but he was told about it by his mother, Flora.

Wizardmon started walking away. He went over to a tree and sat down underneath it. "Begin." Wizardmon said. Martin's eyes went wide. "Wait! Aren't you supposed to say 'Ready, set, go!'?" Martin exclaimed. Just as Martin finished his sentence, a Goblimon ran up to him and swang his club at him. Martin managed to dive to the left a mere second before the club made physical contact with him. Martin picked himself up and looked at the one who swung at him with a determined expression on his face. "I will defeat you! I need Naturemon to digivolve to Mega so I can save my mom and dad!" Martin exclaimed. Just then another Goblimon swang at him. Martin jumped backwards this time to avoid the swing. But as soon as he dodged, another Goblimon smacked Martin in the torso! Martin shouted in pain when he got hit. The blow sent Martin flying into the back of a tree! Martin groaned in pain as he touched the area the Goblimon had struck. Martin stood up and ran over to the Goblimon. He tried to punch him, but the Goblimon dodged by cranking his head off to the left. Immediately after dodging, the Goblimon he tried to punch retaliated! "Goblin Strike!" the Goblimon yelled, holding his palm out towards Martin and causing a fireball to form and then fire from the palm of his hand! Martin got hit with the fireball and shouted in pain!

Martin then had a flashback of a conversation he had with his mother. Martin was sitting in a tree with his mother. They were in a heavily forested area like the area in which Martin was fighting in the present. Martin was a young 6 year old boy with a super hero t-shirt on and a pair of shorts with red and yellow sneakers. The 35 year old Flora Soleman wrapped her arm around Martin. The young Martin looked like he was deep in thought. Flora noticed this, and asked, "You've been awfully quiet today, Martin. Is something wrong?" Martin shook his head. "Nuh uh." He began. "It's just that….I was wondering what Felincius is like. That's all. That's where you're from, right, Mom?" Flora smiled. "Yes. That's where all Felincius and Demi-Felincius are born and raised, at least prior to this generation. What do you want to know about it?" Flora asked. "Everything." Martin replied. Flora closed her eyes and giggled. "That would take a long time, Marty. Let's start with just a few facts."

"For one thing, most of the planet is covered in forests. There are oceans and lakes, and a few deserts and jungles, but mostly forests. We do have towns with houses and shops and so on. They're mostly all in trees. It's not a very hospitable place. The law of the jungle rules there." Flora explained.

"Law of the jungle?" The young Martin asked.

"That's right. Felinciuses and Demi-Felinciuses fight for their next meal. They kill animals for prey or out of self-defense." Flora said.

"That doesn't sound like fun." The young Martin said.

"It isn't, but at your age, you wouldn't have to worry about it. I and your Father would provide you with all your needs, but only until you turned 13. Then…whether you've learned to fend for yourself or not, you'd be dropped off several miles from your own home and would be forbidden from ever returning. I haven't seen my father since I was 13. He took me far away from my childhood home and when we arrived at our destination, he turned to me and said 'Good luck' before returning home." Flora explained.

Martin looked very upset. He pulled away from his mother and looked her in the eye with a shocked and saddened look. "You mean when I turn 13, you're gonna get rid of me! I don't want that, I love you, mommy!" The 6 year old little cat boy then hugged Flora and started crying. Flora frowned. She reached down and stroked his ears, the cat ears on the top of his head. "Oh, Martin! Please don't cry! I'd never do that to you. You're my baby boy!" Flora held her son up and wiped away his tears. "That right of passage is one I've always thought was wrong. Family should stick together to the very end. You will grow up and leave home someday, but you'll always be able to see your old mom whenever you want." Flora said. The tiny tot Martin perked up. "Ok! Now, tell me something else!" He said in a cheerful tone and with a big smile on his face. Flora looked up and rubbed her chin, thinking about another fact. Then she looked at Martin and raised a finger. "Here's an interesting fact about our species. There are Felinciuses and Demi-Felinciuses. The former are far more animalistic and catlike than Demi-Felinciuses like myself. Demi-Felinciuses are a result of humans and Felinciuses interbreeding. Although I've no idea how humans ever made it to Felincia. However, both species have keen instincts. Our senses of smell and hearing are many times more acute than that of humans. Also, we can extract and retract claws on our hands and feet at will for the purpose of fighting. And we can sense when we're about to be attacked. All of these things evolved so our species could better survive against predators. Of course, living in Tokyo, neither of us have really needed these abilities." Flora explained.

Martin smiled with his eyes closed. "Wow! That sounds cool! So we're like super heroes!" Martin exclaimed cheerfully. Flora smiled and rubbed her hand gently through her little boy's red hair. "Kind of." She said. "I'm going to be Cat-Man! Evil doers beware! I will punish all doers of clawful deeds!" The little Martin exclaimed.

When Martin was done remembering this scene of when he was little, he found that he had left himself open to another attack! A Goblimon raised his hand and opened his palm in Goblimon's direction. "Goblin Strike!" The Goblimon shouted. Martin's pupils dilated in such a way that they resembled the pupil of a cat. His finger nails became claws and he jumped up 30 feet and landed on a tree branch up above. Martin took himself by surprise by the feat he just achieved. "If I'm going to past this first test, I'm going to need to fight like the Demi-Felincius I am." Martin said. Martin reached down and removed his shoes and socks so that he could use the claws on his feet. He threw the shoes at the Goblimon! One got hit right in the nose with the left shoe, the other got hit in the jaw with his right shoe. "My nose!" Cried the one. "Ow!" exclaimed the other.

Martin glared downward at the horde of Goblimon. Wizardmon had summoned ten in total. His eyes looked exactly like the eyes of a cat. His tail was stiff and completely vertical. Martin was down on all fours, making menacing meowing sounds, like the sound you would hear out of a frightened house cat preparing for a fight. It probably would sound more like a growling tiger rather than a domestic cat if it weren't for the fact that Martin was an 11 year old child who hadn't hit puberty yet. The Goblimon looked confused. One of them tilted his head and scratched his head with his index finger while sporting a confused facial expression. And then, Martin lunged down out of the tree at one of the Goblimon! He scratched him multiple times in the face with his claws, leaving scratch marks oozing dark blue blood! One of the others standing next to him tried to clobber Martin with his club, but Martin jerked his head in his direction, hissed at him, and punched the Goblimon's club, breaking it in half! Martin then lunged at him and bit down hard on his hand, all the while making angry meowing noises. "You'll pay for breaking my club, brat!" Goblimon said before throwing a punch in Martin's direction. The punch landed and knocked Martin down. But Martin wasn't down for long! He got back up and unleashed a series of claw swipes at the Goblimon, each one landing!

Wizardmon was off to the side clapping. "Purrfect aim, Martin!" He exclaimed. Another Goblimon tried to come up and attack him while he was busy wailing on one of his friends, but Martin sensed his presence and kicked the Goblimon in the gut, knocking him down! Martin then punched the Goblimon he was currently wailing on multiple times until he knocked him out! One of the Goblimon looked to one of his fellow Goblimon and said, "This kid is pretty strong! Maybe we should all attack him at the same time!" and another Goblimon said, "That sounds like a plan to me! Let's teach this kitty to behave!" Then they all ran at Martin at the same time and tried to assault him with their clubs. Martin managed to evade each strike, occasionally getting a punch or a claw swipe in while dodging. Martin's face did not look like it usually did. His pupils were exactly like that of a cat's, he was baring his fangs, and he was constantly making angry meowing noises or hissing sounds. He looked like an angry cat in a human body.

Martin then jumped 30 feet up into the air and grabbed onto one of the tree branches of the trees in the area.

He pulled himself up and down multiple times in rapid succession. The Goblimon looked up at him with confused looks on their faces. "Is he trying to do chin ups or something?" One of them asked. "Well, there's no time like the present to get in shape." Another Goblimon said. "He seems to be in good shape to me! Man, he's strong! Does anyone have a squirt bottle!?" Another Goblimon said. Martin continued to shake the tree branch he was dangling from until it broke off! Martin fell to the ground, but he landed on his feet. Martin then swang the tree branch at all of the Goblimon, knocking several of them down at once! The tree branch Martin was wielding as a weapon was twice the size of his own body! Then he proceeded to pummel them multiple times! The group of Goblimon grunted and shouted in pain as the were pummeled by the large tree branch. "UNCLE!" "UNCLE!" "UNCLE!" "UNCLE!" The Goblimon shouted. However, Martin didn't stop. He continued to beat on the group of Goblimon with the tree branch which was twice the size of his own body. Wizardmon looked concerned. He stood up and ran over to Martin with his left arm extended. "Martin, stop! They're crying uncle! You beat them!" Wizardmon exclaimed.

Martin didn't seem to be listening. He continued his angry meowing and relentless beating of the Goblimon. "MARTIN! STOP! If you don't, they'll be reduced to DigiEggs!" Wizardmon yelled. Wizardmon placed his hand on Martin's right arm. Big mistake! Martin jerked his head to look at Wizardmon. He hissed at him and dropped the tree branch. Then, Martin began swinging his claws at Wizardmon! "Martin! What's gotten into you! You've passed the first test! Stop!" Wizardmon exclaimed. Wizardmon was right, and the Crest Of Earth was glowing slightly in the back of Martin's Digivice which was in the cat boy's pocket. Why wasn't Martin listening? Why was he still fighting? Martin no longer seemed human. He seemed…like a wild animal! Wizardmon continued jumping back, evading Martin's claw strikes. "He's out of control! It's like he's become a wild animal! What should I do? Wait! I think I have an idea!" Wizardmon thought to himself. Wizardmon raised his staff up into the air. The staff glowed and enveloped Wizardmon in a mystical energy. "Magical Game!" Wizardmon shouted. When the light faded, in Wizardmon's place was….Flora! Or at least, it seemed to be. Wizardmon's attack, "Magical Game" allowed him to perform many magical abilities, from turning himself invisible to creating illusions. In this case, he made himself look like Martin's mother.

"Martin, please! Stop this! You don't want to hurt your mother, do you?" the Flora-looking Wizardmon pleaded. It didn't work. Martin continued swinging his claws at him. Martin eventually landed on top of Wizardmon-who-looks-like-Flora and had him pinned to the ground. He growled at him. He raised his claw ready to land the finishing blow, then he swung his claw down ready to maul the Digimon. However, just as his claws were mere inches above the Flora doppelganger's throat, Martin stopped. He then did something unexpected; he got up…and ran into the trunk of a nearby tree head first! Martin then grabbed his head and groaned in pain. "Oowww! That's smarts!" Martin exclaimed. He appeared to be back to normal. Wizardmon caused the illusion to vanish so that he would look like himself again. He sat up and looked over at Martin, wondering if he had really come back to his senses. Martin turned around and gave Wizardmon a big thumb's up. "Sorry about that. My Mom warned me that this could happen." Martin's eyes were back to normal. They looked like human eyes again, and he was no longer growling and angrily meowing.

Martin then had another flashback. Flora, Mario, their Digimon, and Martin were sitting around the dinner table in their house. A 6 year old Martin had been probing his mother with questions of her home planet all day. "So, Mom. Have you ever had to fight?" The little Martin asked. "Lots of times. But, you have to be careful. It doesn't happen to every Felincius, but some have found that when they awaken their instincts for the first time, they get what our people call 'Fighter Fever'. When this happens, you continue to fight even after the battle is over. You become like a mindless animal and attack anything that breathes." Flora said before taking a big bite of the spaghetti in front of her. Mario smiled with his eyes closed and chuckled a little. "You must have had Fighter Fever when we first met back in the Digital World!" Mario said. Flora gave him one good punch in the gnoggin with the hand she wasn't using to feed herself. "Ow!" Mario exclaimed. After Flora had swallowed her food. She set her fork down and said, "If this ever happens to you, you may have brief moments of clarity. And in those moments of clarity, you'll need to find some way to hit yourself in the head. But you shouldn't have any issues after that. No one I know has ever had fighter fever more than once." Flora explained.

Back in the present, Martin looked over at the Goblimon he had beaten nearly half to death. He frowned. "I'm sorry guys. I went overboard." Martin said. The Goblimon were all groaning in pain. "Hey….don't worry about it." One of them said. "Ugggghh….I don't think we got paid enough for this job." Another Goblimon said. Wizardmon sweat dropped. "Oh no. I hope they don't ask for a raise." Wizardmon thought to himself. Wizardmon then cleared his throat and turned to look at Martin. "Well, you've passed the first test. Take your Digivice out of your pocket and gaze upon your crest." Wizardmon said, not intending to make a rhyme like his rival, but he did it anyway by accident. Martin reached into his pocket and brought out his Green D-Eco. He flipped it over and saw that his Crest Of Earth was shining a good bit. Wizardmon looked taken aback. "Whoa! It's glowing more than it should for just the first test!" He exclaimed. Martin smiled. "Is that good?" Martin asked. "It's very good. It means you can skip the second part of the test and move on right to the third and final part!" Wizardmon replied.

Martin grinned and started fist pumping. "Oh yeah!" He cheered. "It must have been because you overcame whatever just happened to you." Wizardmon hypothesized. "Fighter Fever. It's something my mother warned could happen to me if I awakened my fighter-hunter instincts." Martin explained. Wizardmon then turned around and began walking. "Well, onto your third and final test." He said as he walked. Martin began walking too. Wizardmon turned back and held his arm out with the palm of his hand extended. "No, you wait here. I have to prepare for the last test." Wizardmon then went off to a place where Martin couldn't see him. Then he raised his staff and it glowed again. "Magical Game!" Wizardmon shouted. Mystical light from his staff enveloped Wizardmon. Suddenly, one Wizardmon began 10 and the 10 Wizardmon morphed into Naturemons!

Martin stood there swaying back and forth with his hands in his pockets. "Ooook? So…what now?" He wondered allowed. "MARTY HEARTY! HELP MEEEEE!!!!" Came a voice. It was Naturemon's! Martin ran off in the direction from which he heard the voice. "I'm coming, Naturemon!" He exclaimed.

Martin came across the sight of 11 Naturemons. Martin's eyes widened with surprised. "Whoa! Eleven Naturemons! Man, I hope that doesn't mean 10 times the kisses!" Martin joked. One of the Naturemon scowled. "Hey! Marty Hearty! Are you saying you don't like my kissies?!" Then another Naturemon said "That's mean, Marty Hearty!" Another Naturemon chimed in, "That's ok, Marty Hearty. I know you were only joking. Let's just get out of here." Martin looked confused. He looked around at all of the identical Digimon. They all looked and sounded like Naturemon. "What in the world? I thought that there was only one Naturemon species in existence! But now it looks like there's a whole forest full of them!" Martin thought aloud.

"There IS only one of me! These others aren't more of my kind! These are fakes!" One of the Naturemon said.

"That's right. I'm the only real one."

"No, I'M the real one!"

"Shut up, you big phony baloney!"

"No, YOU shut up, you stupid meanie copy cat!!!"

"Marty Heartyyyyy, please. I just want to go home and eat cake, and ice cream, and maybe cuddle with you a little. These fakes are meanies."

All of the Naturemon were trying to convince Martin that they were the genuine article. Martin began sweating. How was he going to figure out which Naturemon was the real one?