Episode 7: Going Apemon!

MetalRyumon hovered above the jungle before he located a cleared spot to land.

As soon as he landed, he let the others climb down.

"Wait Regan." MetalRyumon said as his partner was going to climb down.

"What's wrong, MetalRyumon?" Regan asked.

"We'll have to go." MetalRyumon said. "Don't you remember that Jijimon wanted to see us after we've dealt with the problem at Toy Town?"

"Ah yes...but, what about Evander?" Regan asked.

MetalRyumon looked at Evander and the others with him. "I'm sure you will be able to find that flower on your own. We really need to meet up with Jijimon."

Regan sighed. "Alright, MetalRyumon." he said, then he looked at Jessica and the others. "Do you think you can do it on your own?"

Jessica looked at Regen. "Ok, I'll find that flower, you guys need to continue the mission. I'll catch up with you guys after he heals, ok?" Jessica said. Ladybugmon looked down and made a sad whining noise while pushing his two hands together. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't dark digivolved, Evander wouldn't be hurt." Ladybugmon said. Terriermon patted Ladybugmon on the back. "Stop it, Ladybugmon. Beating yourself up over this isn't going to help anyone." Terriermon said.

MetalRyumon nodded in Jessica's direction. "Got it." MetalRyumon answered, then he started to take off.

"Be careful out there! There can be evil digimons around! So watch out!" Regan shouted from his digimon.

Then MetalRyumon soon rocketed away, out of hearing range.

Jessica started looking for the Flower. She crawled around on her hands and knees, moving flowers around. She knew what the plant look like because her Digimon Analyzer showed her a picture of one in a hologram that came out of her blue D-Power. "Where the heck is that darn Herb!?" Jessica thought to herself. She was getting flustered. She occasionally glanced over to her Digivice, the hologram picture of the herb that was hovering over her digivice's screen. She would look at the picture, and then at the flowers around her. The picture of the herb on her digivice looked like two gardenias stuck together, except one was red and the other was blue. And they were also coated in flashing white 1s and 0s. An oddity to humans (and mermaids), but plants like this were commonplace in the world of the Digimon. In the Digital World, everything was data. Jessica was getting flustered. "I still can't find it." Jessica said. She had only been searching for a few minutes, but she knew time was of the essence. Jessica looked back at Evander. He was laying on the ground, squinting and grimacing in his sleep. "THE PAIN!!!!!!!" Evander yelled in his sleep. Jessica had a worried look on her face. She turned back to look down at the flowers. "I've got to try." Jessica thought to herself. She continued to move plants around. She crawled through the forest. Jessica continued to crawl on her hands and knees. She eventually bumped her orange head into a yellow belly that belong to some creature. Jessica looked up to see what in the world she just bumped into. What she saw was a small yellow reptillian creature wearing a light blue pelt with dark blue stripes. He had a yellow horn on his head, and the pelt covered his head and back. The creature had pink claws on both his hands and feet. Jessica looked surprised. "A…Gabumon?" Jessica said in surprise. The creature smiled and nodded. "Yep. I'm Gabumon! I've lived in this forest my whole life! You're kind of strange looking for a Digimon." He said. Jessica sat up and giggled. "That's because I'm not a Digimon." She replied. Gabumon looked surprised. "Not a Digimon!? Then that must mean…oh my gosh! You're a human! I've heard of humans! They came to the Digital World 15 years ago to stop some evil threat! I've never seen one in person before. Well, actually, I've never seen one at all!" Gabumon said cheerfully and enthusiastically. Jessica smiled weakly and tilted her head a bit. "I hate to break it to you. But I'm not human either." Jessica said.

Gabumon raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Not human either? Then what are you?" Gabumon asked. "I'm a mermaid from the planet Aqualia." Jessica replied. Suddenly, Jessica's Blue D-Power started beeping. She took out her digivice and looked down at the screen. The ginger girl's eyes widened as the words "Partner Found" scrolled across the digivice. "This says 'Partner Found'. That must mean….you're my partner Digimon. I have more than one just like Evander." Jessica said. Gabumon looked even more confused. "What's a mermaid? What's a partner?" He asked. "You don't know? Ladybugmon, Terriermon, and Agumon knew right away. They knew Evander was their partner and they even knew his name." Jessica said.

Gabumon had a look of realization come across his face. "Oh! A partner! You mean you're a Digidestined!? Of course! How could I be so stupid? No human…err….well, no being resembling a human would come to the Digital World if they weren't called. As for knowing about this, it's as much of a surprise to me as it is to you. Maybe the Chooser changed his or her mind at the last second." Gabumon said. "The Chooser" was what Digimon called the entity who called children from the physical world into the Digital World. Jessica smiled and giggled. "Well, anyway, since we are partners. I think you ought to know my name. My name is Jessica. Jessica Amber."

"And I'm Gabumon. Oh wait, you already told me that." Gabumon said. "Gosh, Jessica, you sure are pretty. Are all humans as pretty as you?" Gabumon asked. Jessica smiled and blushed. "You're sweet, Gabumon. I'm not human, but I think other mermaids are just as pretty as I am. My mom, for example, is absolutely gorgeous." Jessica said. "Does she have bright orange hair too?" Gabumon asked. Jessica nodded. "She does." Jessica replied. At that moment, the two heard a voice from off in the distance. "Hey! Jessica! Where's that herb! Evander is literally dying over here!" it was Terriermon's voice. Jessica had gotten distracted. She looked startled. She looked back to where she heard the sound of Terriermon's voice, and then she turned to Gabumon. Taking Gabumon's front claws, Jessica looked him in the eye and said, "Gabumon, a very dear friend of mine is sick. If he doesn't get what's called a Mcboo Herb soon, he could die. Will you help me find one?" Gabumon nodded. "Sure. Anything for my new partner. But I don't need to help you search. I know exactly where they are." Gabumon said. Jessica smiled and clasped her hands together. "You do!? That's wonderful!"

Gabumon lead the tween mermaid by the hand until they eventually came to a small pond. McBoo Herbs surrounded the entire pond. Jessica looked around at all the different plants. They appeared exactly as they did on the D-Power's screen. They looked like red and blue gardenias stuck together with white flashing 1s and 0s on them. Jessica looked down at Gabumon and said, "Thank you, my friend." Jessica said. Gabumon nodded and smiled. "You're welcome." Jessica went over and grabbed a few of the McBoo Herbs. Then she looked at Gabumon and said, "I need a bowl to mix up the medicine." Gabumon put his left paw to his chest and smiled with his eyes closed. "Leave it to me, Jessica." He said. Gabumon made a bowl out of leaves and clay. Then Gabumon handed the bowl he had crafted to Jessica. Jessica started mixing up the Mcboo Herb with the Water from around the pond. The water in the pond looked surprisingly clear, so Jessica figured it would be ok to drink.

Jessica and Gabumon then went back to where Evander and his Digimon were. Jessica knelt down beside Evander and gently put the bowl up to his lips. "Drink." Jessica said softly, opening Evander's Mouth and pouring the medicine in. The oil from the McBoo Herb mixed with clean water. The Digimon Analyzer said that such a medicine was to be taken orally.

Evander had a wet leaf on his forehead that Gabumon had gotten as a makeshift washcloth. This was done in order to keep him cool, since the Hornetmon venom had caused him to have a fever.

While they waited, Jessica and the Digimon engaged in conversation. Jessica gestured over to Gabumon and said, "Everyone, this is Gabumon. According to my Digivice, he's one of my Digimon partners." Everyone waved. "Hi, Gabumon. I'm Terriermon. I'm Evander's partner Digimon." Terriermon said. Augie poked Terriermon in the shoulder, pretending to clear his throat. "Ahem! ONE OF Evander's partner Digimon. He has three you know." Augie said, sounding a little annoyed. Then Augie turned to Gabumon and smiled. "I'm Agumon. I'm also one of Evander's partner Digimon. But you can call me Augie. There's this other kid named Mario who also has an Agumon, so I think sticking with my nickname might be best to avoid confusion." Augie said. Gabumon smiled and nodded. "It's very nice to meet you, Terriermon and Augie." Gabumon said. Ladybugmon was sitting in between Agumon and Terriermon. "I'm Ladybugmon. Another of Evander's partner Digimon" He said in a sad tone. "And I'm Leormon. I'm Jessica's very first Digimon partner!" Gabumon noticed that Ladybugmon looked sad. The reptillian Digimon gave Ladybugmon a sympathetic look. "You…seem sad. What's wrong, Ladybugmon?" He asked. Ladybugmon was silent. He looked down and put his black hands together. He didn't say anything, but he made a sad little whining noise. Jessica frowned. She looked over to Ladybugmon and then Gabumon, who was sitting next to her. "We faced off against a very powerful Devimon. He was more powerful than his digivolutionary level. Someone or something powered him up. At one point during th battle, Devimon grabbed me by the throat and threatened to kill me. Evander was so enraged that his anger and hatred caused Ladybugmon to dark digivolve. Ladybugmon…or should I say…Hornetmon, went on a rampage and ended up hurting Evander." Jessica explained. Gabumon lowered his head with a frown. "Oh, I see." He said.

A couple of hours passed.

Jessica kept a cool "washcloth" over Evander's forhead. Evander then slowly opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around "Where am I? Am I dead?" He asked. Jessica threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "No! You're not! Thanks to Regan…and MetalRyumon….and Gabumon!" Jessica replied in a cheerful voice. Her tone of voice was filled with happiness, but it cracked a little because she was getting so emotional. Gabumon raised his paw and added, "And thanks to you too, Jessica." He said. Jessica looked back at Gabumon, smiled, and nodded. "Yes. But I couldn't have done it without your help." Jessica said.

Agumon, Terriermon, and Ladybugmon were all sitting down to Evander's left. Agumon raised his right claw. "Evander, Gabumon is Jessica's new Digimon partner. She has more than one just like you do." He said. Evander looked over to Gabumon and smiled. He gave the little guy a thumbs up and said. "Welcome to the team. And thanks for helping us out." Evander said. Evander tried to stand up, but it was obvious that he was still a little weak. He fell on his butt initially. Then, he propped himself up and tried to stand up again. "We…have to get going. Jijimon's house." Evander said. Evander got up on wobbly legs and then fell on his butt again. Evander growled, frustrated at his own weakness. "I'm….still too weak to get up. Darn it." He said before folding his arms and pouting like a child. Well….a younger child. Jessica smiled lovingly towards him. "Evander…you're always in such a hurry. Just…wait until you're feeling better." She said, placing her hand on top of the blue baseball cap on his head that his goggles were wrapped around. Evander looked over to Jessica. He was still scowling, upset that he couldn't move. He had the strength to sit up, but not stand. The Hornetmon venom hadn't completely been negated yet. But as he looked as Jessica's gentle smile, his hard exterior faded. There was something soothing about that smile. It was the reason he looked forward to seeing her every day. "Jessica, we really need to go. Maybe somebody can digivolve and I can ride them." Evander said. Jessica put her arm under Evander's armpit and propped him up. She chuckled slightly. "Well….if you're that impatient, I guess I'll just have to carry you." Jessica said. Evander blushed. "Well…that works too….I guess. Umm…thank you." Evander said.

While walking through the Jungle, Leomon Devolved to Leormon.

BATTLE NOW!

Suddenly, out of the trees dropped a yellow ape-like Digimon weilding a massive bone as a club. Apemon.

"You ain't going out of here intact!" the digimon growled as he lunged at Jessica and Evander.

Agumon fired at some candles to light up the Jungle since it was Night. Evander noticed this and thought it was kind of odd that candle sticks would be jutting out of multiple trees in the forest, but then again, this was The Digital World. Human world rules don't always apply. "Bunny Blast!" Terriermon shouted, firing a big green ball of energy at Apemon. The ball of energy hit Apemon and sent him backwards before he had a chance to get too close to them. "Why are you attacking us?" Jessica Asked. "I don't know but we'll protect you guys!" Leormon said. "Yeah!" Augie agreed. "Time for me to take part in my first battle as a partner Digimon!" Gabumon said.

Evander reached into his pocket and pulled out his Orange D-Power. He pulled up the Digimon Analyzer to look at Apemon's data.

"Apemon.

Type: Primate.

Attribute: Data.

Level: Champion.

Digivolves from: Monmon. (Koemon)

Attacks: Bone Boomerang, Ape Frenzy, Bone Club."

Jessica sat Evander on the ground, leaning him up against a tree.

Ladybugmon flapped his wings at high speed to send air slices at the enemy that would cut them. "Super Sonic!" Ladybugmon exclaimed. Leormon swiped at apemon with his claw while exclaiming "Leo Claw!" Agumon shot a ball of fire out of his mouth while exclaiming "Pepper Breath!" Terriermon shot multiple green balls of fire out of his mouth while exclaiming "Bunny Blast!" Gabumon fired a small stream of blue fire out of his mouth while exclaiming "Blue Blaster!"

They had all attacked at once.

Apemon jumped in the air to dodge the attacks then brought down his bone club on the digimons to strike them. The bone club was swung horizontally, so when it hit Agumon, he fell over and knocked over Terriermon, who in turn, fell over and knocked over Leormon, who in turn fell over and knocked over Gabumon. They fell like dominos. Ladybugmon didn't get knocked over because he was flying in the air, above the rest of the Digimon.

Apemon knew he had missed Ladybugmon, so he swung at him a few times with his club. "Bone Club! Bone Club! Bone Club! Bone Club!" Apemon shouted as he swung his bone club. Ladybugmon managed to evade all four of the hits.

Evander took a modify card out of his pocket. It had a picture of white wings. Three wings on one side, and three on the other. Evander scanned it through his D-Power. "Digi-Modify! Hyper Wing Activate!" Evander exclaimed. Jessica took a card out and scanned it through her Digivice as well. "Digi-Modify! Robo Crusher Activate!" Augie the Agumon grew white wings like the ones on the card. Three coming out of one side of his back, and three coming out of the other side. Agumon flew around Apemon. "Pepper Breath! Pepper Breath! Pepper Breath! Pepper Breath!" Augie shouted as he shot four consecutive balls of fire at Apemon from the air. Apemon deflected all of the fire balls by swinging his bone club at them.

Leormon launched the robo thing on his arm and flung it at Apemon. Apemon was distracted by the flying Agumon as he received Leormon's Robo Crusher in the face.

He stumbled back, holding his face with his free hand, then he looked back at the Digimons.

"You...you won't get away with that! Bone Boomerang!" Apemon said as he threw his bone club in a boomerang fashion.

Agumon flew up as he dodged the Boomerange but it hit Ladybugmon in the face. Ladybugmon fell to the ground, grunting in pain. "That hurts." Ladybugmon complained.

The boomerang came back to Apemon. Apemon decided to do it again. "Bone Boomerang!" Apemon shouted, tossing the bone club in boomerang fashion again. He tossed it at Agumon, who previously had dodged it. Agumon deflected the Bone Boomerang with his "Claw Attack!" which, as the name suggests, is when Agumon attacks by swiping at an enemy or object with his claw or claws. Agumon's claw hit the boomerang and sent it flying back towards Apemon! It hit him in the face, leaving a nasty bruise. The Bone Club had fallen on the ground. Apemon quickly bent over and picked it up. "I'm getting tired of monkeying around you!" Apemon complained. Evander and Jessica took out their digivices and looked at Apemon with a determined look on their faces. "So are we!" They said.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Ladybugmon Digivolve to....BoxerIncectmon!"

DIGIVOLUTION

"Terriermon Digivolve to....Gargomon!"

DIGIVOLUTION

"Leormon Digivolve to....Leomon!"

Boxerincectmon faced Devimon and flapped his insect wings, sending out large and condensed slices of air that would cut the enemy if it made contact. "Sonic Boom!" BoxerInsectmon shouted as attacked.

Gargomon's guns on his hands began spinning rapidly and firing a plethora of bullets. "Gargo Pellets!" Gargomon shouted as his guns fired bullets.

"Fist Of The Beast King!" Leomon shouted as he punched the air. When Leomon punched the air, a blast of red and orange energy came out of his fist in the shape of a lion.

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon shouted, sending another fireball out of his mouth.

Apemon was hit by all of the attacks and went crashing into a tree which cracked on impact. The Digimon soon fell unconscious.

Then, a strange black aura briefly appeared around the digimon before fading away.

"Useless waste of Digimon..." A feminine voice said. "Dispose of him."

"Blazing Ice!" someone else shouted before a big stream of ice came from nowhere and impacted on Apemon, deleting the poor digimon who screamed when he was hit.

A black cloaked figure that stood taller than Evan and Jessica walked out of some nearby bushes.

"Some nice little work, puny ones. However, it isn't much..." She said. Nothing much could be seen from under the person's hood. All that could be seen was some blonde hair.

BATTLE OVER!

Evander looked shocked. "Who are you?" Evander asked, yelling at the cloaked one. "Evander don't get mad, Ladybugmon might Dark Digivolve again." Jessica said. Evander didn't listen, he started running. Evidently, the Hornetmon venom had been completely negated by the Mcboo Herb medicine by now. Before he could get too far, though, Jessca Grabbed ahold to his shirt. "Where the heck do you think you're going?" Jessica asked. "Oh...umm...to beat the bad guy up?" Evander replied, sounding as if his mother caught him doing something bad and he was trying to get out of it. "Oh yeah, right, Listen you are not Masaru from the upcoming Digimon season who beats up digimon." Jessica said.

"I know butt...."

"No, I'm 1 year younger than you yet I have to act as a mom to you....see what's wrong with the picture?" Jessica said.

"Well....OK." Evander said.

The cloaked figure turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. "We shall meet again, Digidestined." The mysterious female said in an ominous tone.

Well, Evander and Jessica went to Endless Plains. They had to go there on there way back to File City. As they walked, questions filled all of their minds. Who was that girl? Was she human or some kind of alien like Jessica, Flora, and Zai? Was she a Digimon? What did she want? And why did she sick Apemon after them?

As the cloak figure walked, a smirk appeared on her face. "That Apemon was weak, but at least he obeyed his queen willingly. I didn't even need to use them this time." She said.