The place was dark at first, but many modern lights in the roof would change that, revealing modern equipment in the shape of computers, test tubes, and other sophisticated devices.
An individual gets in the room, followed by 3 more, hardly a third of the former's size.
"Hope you don't mind the strong lights." -The first individual was Lowemon, with hands in his back, he turns to the Digimon being escorted by 2 Gladysmon. - "They're here to make sure the researchers don't lose sight of any single detail on their subjects."
"..." -The Digimon doesn't respond, not even trying to make visual contact with Lowemon.
"Anyways, you're quite lucky, you've been selected for the Spearhead Project, you will aid our big brains with their research." -Lowemon walks across the lab, reaching a door at the end of it, after pushing a button, the door opens, with the knight ordering both Gladysmon to bring the captive Digimon.
The 2 Gladysmon obey and force the prisoner to walk ahead, alongside Lowemon, to see what was at the other side of the door.
There was surprise in the face of the Digimon, the place was a huge room, bigger than any other he has ever seen, with cubes floating in the air.
"This is our little training site, we can generate water, mountains, mock of enemies, whatever you want." -Lowemon crosses his arms as he turns to the prisoner- "...That way, we can make sure the experiments are well-refined."
"What... Do you want from me..." -The prisoner is revealed to be Restimon, he was alive, although it was more than clear he hasn't been treated well in prison, he was still injured and dirty, his eyes only being able to look at his hated opponent now- "...Why did you bring me here?"
"As I said, you were selected, guess your adventures in the sewers made you somewhat familiar with seeing things you're not supposed to see..." -Lowemon smiles as he looks at the training site again- "...So we decided we should give you permission to see our little secret, by becoming part of it, what an honor, huh?"
"You're all rotten... You..." -Restimon says, his voice sounding tired- "...You won't get away with it..."
"Oh, my friend, that's where you're wrong." -Lowemon places an arm on Restimon's shoulder as a Gladysmon grabs something from a nearby table.- "Your job from now on is precisely about that..."
The Gladysmon places the object in Restimon's shoulder, causing the blue Digimon to feel a sudden burst of energy.
It was overwhelming, his pain and tiredness went away, but so did his sense of connection to reality, he couldn't control his reflexes as he began to growl with his pupil contracted.
"...You'll help us get away with it..." -Lowemon points at one of the cubes floating in front of them, in the huge room- "...And that's the one that wants to prevent that... Do you know what you do with those?..."
"N-No... I... D-Don't..." -Restimon fixed his sight in the cube, trying to fight against his primal instinct taking over, his body desperately shaking and moving, trying to charge against that cube, slowly being replaced by an allucination of his real enemy.
But he could control himself, that was a cube, a thing, why would he hate it?... Lowemon seemed to notice this, and, with clear dissaprove in his face, talked.
"Only one's still not enough." -Lowemon talks to one of the Gladysmon- "You know what to do."
The Gladysmon nods and connects another object on Restimon.
The energy flowing from his body was too much, he felt about to explode, his mind was now incapable of finding any peace nor reasoning.
A violent roar was the last thing Restimon did before jumping against the cube and viciously attacking it with all he had, to the point of even headbutting it.
Lowemon then made a sound with his spear against the metallic wall of the room, attracting Restimon's eyes.
But the aquatic Digimon just looked at him for a few seconds before returning to the destruction of the cube.
"Well, at least we know this works." -Lowemon stores his spear- "...Wonder what that cube is looking like in his mind..."
...
"Secret facilities... In the sewers..." -Miura had his arms crossed as he was resting against the wall in that room of the Suzaku's main building, along him, there was Aspen, Ventomon, Growlmon, and Elise, looking better after a good nap. - "I don't remember a lot about those."
"When I woke up, I went down there to hide from the sudden influx of MAGAMI guards that appeared, that's when I saw one of them leaving this corridor leading to a gigantic door..." -Elise replied as her glasses reflected the light of the lamps in the wall, at this point, they were at night- "...From what I could gather, they had it 200 meters north of where I appeared in, I'm not sure if anyone here knows the layout of the sewers."
"I do" -Ventomon replies- "However... It's an old map, from the Seekers Era, if they really constructed a facility there, I imagine there must be some notable changes."
Ventomon looks down, with dissapointment in his face.
"...I sent a team to gather intel to Asuka, so we could properly prepare to attack it eventually, as the plan stated, we would begin with Suzaku and Genbu, then slowly make our way to that city." -Ventomon sighs- "But they attacked directly instead... "
"Oh, so they were the ones that fought against the guards that day?" -Elise seems surprised to hear this- "...Who was leading them?"
"I... Sent Cadenza." -Ventomon says- "...She insisted in going to save time, after all, Miura and you were still yet to appear to take Genbu and Suzaku... But I still have no idea why she attacked, only thing I know is that she's alright, a member came to inform me of that."
"She's hiding in the Central Sector as of now." -Growlmon adds.
"Cadenza..." -Miura looks down, worried- "...I know she was always hot headed, but to go this far..."
"I'll take responsability for it, I sent her." -Ventomon says while putting a hand on his chest, ashamed.
"However... That attack did help me, no, I'd say it saved me..." -Elise speaks again, attracting everybody's attention- "...I sneaked in the facilities at that time, and met Submarimon, but if it wasn't for that distraction, we wouldn't been able to escape... I owe her one."
"Wow... That's one way to put it." -Says a surprised Miura, before he sighs and smiles- "I see you still always find the glass half full."
"Cadenza may be impulsive, but her heart is feeling the same as ours, and her will is what made us advance many times in the past." -Elise smiles while placing her hands in the back- "I can't wait to reunite with her."
"So do I..." -Miura says, then he adopts a more serious expression- "By the way... What did you find in those facilities?"
"Experiments... Living experiments...Records of them, training grounds for them, machines analyzing and transforming them..." -Elise sighs before saying this- "...They were... Turning Digimons into monsters."
"Monsters?" -Ventomon says, confused- "Like... Digievolution?"
"No, something worse, I'm not sure if you can call that a Digimon anymore, even if I just looked at some videos and images." -Elise turns to the window of the place, looking at the moon from afar- "In fact... One of those monsters were located here, codename, X3 - Catalyst."
"Catalyst?!" -Ventomon exclaims, with everyone else also in shock.
"No way..." -Miura says- "...So... Just like the ledgers, this confirms MAGAMI perfectly knew about it."
"You had to face it?... I remember reading it could be activated if there was a strong reaction... Like an explosion." -Responds Elise.
"The ship..." -Everybody turns to Growlmon as he talks- "...When WardMusyamon blew the ship up, it sank and crashed against the sea floor... Just in that moment, Catalyst appeared... However, it looked old and rusted, just how old are these facilities?"
"They're brand new, cutting-edge... However... I did see some old photos with Catalyst in them, clearly from previous eras, seems like they were preparing these monsters way back." -Everybody is speechless, Elise crosses her arms as she walks up to the window- "I'm afraid the Digiworld may have more Catalysts out there..."
Ventomon thinks about it for a moment, remembering how powerful Catalyst was, they could defeat him because of his disabled claws and the help of Geovasmon, but next time, they weren't going to be so lucky.
"Their amount of guards must be low there, right? If they're secret, we can enter into the sewers with a big force and destroy those facilities." -Ventomon clenches his fist- "We can't allow them to keep making these monsters."
"That's not a good idea, Ventomon." -Up to this point, Aspen was silent, limiting himself to hear the conversation, but now everyone turned to him, causing the boy to look down, pressured- "Y-You know... I was there when this raid happened and I..."
"What? You were in the sewers?" -Miura says, confused.
"I had to run for my life, Miura, everything was blowing up." -Says Aspen as he slowly walks closer to the rest, with Elise's glare being especially intimidating for some reason... They haven't talked since she came back, did she already knew he wasn't Aspen Leonard?- "...Anyways, I fell in the sewers by a door in Asuka's Inn, there I had to run from an Asuka guard going by the name of Lowemon, he also had 2 knight-like Digimons at his side, so I'd say those sewers are pretty well protected."
"Lowemon... I think that classifies as an adult Digimon, right?" -Growlmon says as he places a hand on his chin- "...And I imagine that, being a sewer, they also had aquatic Digimons."
Aspen denies with his head.
"No, actually, me and Restimon escaped underwater, there we went unopposed."
"Restimon?" -Everybody asks, curious.
"A Digimon I met... A friend... Or at least I think I could've made a friend in him." -Aspen looks down after remembering Restimon, all what happened made his mind busy, and he didn't have time to remember about his friend, but it still hurted to know he was probably dead by this point, hunted down by Lowemon- "...MAGAMI found us later at Seyruu, and he sacrificed himself just so I and Calizmon could escape... It's a favor I'll never be able to return..."
"Mm... I'm so sorry to hear that, Aspen... However, that's interesting..." -Elise says as she gets closer to Aspen- "I... Think I saw Lowemon getting in that facility before I escaped... He said something about 'Catching him alive'... Do you think that maybe they were referring to..."
"...Restimon?" -Aspen turns to Elise, surprised... Could this be?... Could Restimon be alive?- "Elise... He must be alive, Restimon must be there!"
Elise nods.
"Wow, wait there, Aspen" -Miura says while leaving the wall- "We don't know that for certain, are you sure they were talking about him?"
"Of course, and in Seyruu, while I didn't hear a lot, I do know Lowemon was somewhat toying with him, treating him as if he was a friend..." -Aspen looks down while placing a hand on the back of his head, unsure of wanting to say this- "...In TV series the bad guy always does that when he wants something specific of the hero."
"TV... Series?" -Growlmon and Ventomon raise an eyebrow, clearly confused, with Elise covering her mouth while letting a slight giggle out, Aspen blushes, knowing that point probably wasn't necessary, but it was the truth, TV and movies somewhat helped him understand people and their ways to act, the accident left him almost unable to engage in conversations.
"...I... Well... This is a new one." -Miura blushes as well, then shaking his head and resuming the talk- "They were willing to go to Seyruu just to get him?"
"No, they were searching for me..." -Aspen gets more serious- "...Because I... I was with Asuka's lord, Kenzo Elan, just as the attack happened, and they accused me of leading that attack against him."
"What?!" -Everybody in the room is baffled- "W-Wait, you haven't told that before... And you were planning to leave this city and go alone with Calizmon? As a wanted man? The whole server will chase you like crazy for that."
"The Asuka lord himself is a human... That confirms it..." -Ventomon says as he turns to Aspen- "...Aspen, what happened at Seyruu?... We know its lord went missing around the time of the attack... Did you have something to do with it?..."
"Uhh..." -Penetrated by everyone's eyes, Aspen clears his throat before talking- "...Well, how do I put this... They kept searching for us after escaping, they eventually found us and..."
Aspen touches his fingers.
"...Calizmon killed Airdramon."
There were almost 10 solid seconds of nobody saying a single word while the white-haired young man stood in the middle of the room, knowing he had the glare of everyone focused on him.
"You two... You two were the ones that caused Seyruu's city to get reinforced?..." -Ventomon begins to walk to Aspen, but Growlmon stops him.
"What were you thinking?!" -Miura was the one that approached Aspen and grabbed him by the neck of his jacket- "One thing is to do it with Cadenza and the rest! But you just went and did all of that by yourself? You're public enemy number 1! Of course they were going to disable the portals if they couldn't find you!"
"M-Miura! I had no idea! I...!"
But it was Elise the one that separated Miura from Aspen, forcing him to back up a few steps as she stood in front of the white-haired boy.
"Elise?"
"Miura, stop it, you already heard Aspen, he had no way to avoid getting involved, and he wouldn't be alive if his Digimon partner didn't kill Airdramon." -Calm but firm, Elise says- "Besides, if you think about it, Cadenza was the one that started it all with her attack."
"Elise..." -Miura takes a few seconds before turning around, annoyed- "...She had no way to know..."
"Neither did you and I, the only fact we are in the Digiworld is already a milestone, but we knew it wasn't going to be easy." -Elise sighs before looking at Aspen- "...We were fated to become enemies of MAGAMI, because the only thing we can do is to fight... For this fantastic world, and for the partners that did the same for us back in the day... Nauticmon, Vasimon, Restimon... Hagurumon..."
"..." -Miura closes his eyes and clenches his fist after hearing Vasimon getting mentioned, calming down.
Ventomon also calmed down, and frowned at Miura's reaction to Vasimon, something Growlmon noticed.
"Restimon?..." -Aspen says to Elise after taking a moment to calm down- "...You know him?"
"I see you really forgot... Hagurumon doesn't ring a bell, right?" -Elise turns to Aspen, feeling bad for the boy.
"..." -Aspen sighs, looking down, saddened- "No... Sorry, but I'm not..."
"It's okay, Aspen." -Elise places a hand on Aspen's shoulder, surprising the boy as she walked to his side- "Let's talk outside..."
...
The night was pretty, especially with the now lively and shiny Suzaku back in its former glory, the warm red lamps decorating the quiet lake as the stars did the same in the dark sky.
At the outskirts of the place, a serene ambient could be felt as Elise and Aspen were walking by the coast, the cold breeze helping to create a nice atmosphere.
"So, Aspen, will you tell me about you?" -Says Elise to break the silence as she looked at Aspen.
"I... Well, hard to say." -Aspen looks down, having expected that difficult question- "...As of late, I'm not sure who I am, if someone that saved the Digiworld back in those times, or a simple nobody that entered here by mistake."
"No, I'm more interested in you as a person, as Aspen Leonard. As the one I have in front right now"
"Oh, yeah..." -Aspen looks back at Elise, placing a hand on the back of his head, he probably overreacted with that answer- "...To begin with, my full name is Aspen Mark, I'm 18, going to school and living in the big city. I will graduate this year due to the 2 years I had to compensate after the accident that caused my amnesia."
"Sorry to hear about the accident, but nice to meet you, Aspen Mark, I'm Elise Renoix." -Elise smiles as she gets in front of Aspen, with her hands in the back and smiling with her eyes closed- "...20 Years old, I live in the charming Normandy, in France. Aiming to become a professional artist."
"The pleasure is mine, Elise." -Aspen smiles, Elise was really kind, and somehow, transfered serenity to him while the moon illuminated her back. The boy wanted to know more about his new friend- "Artist, huh? What kind of art you like?"
"Everyone! From classic oil paintings to modern abstract scultures! And of course... The attractive and lively look works like these depict, with these fantastic digital creatures called Digimon..." -Elise extends her hand to the moon before looking back at Aspen- "What about you? What do you like?"
"I think I like them too, the Digimons, I mean." -Aspen approaches Elise while looking at the city- "...Heh... Sometimes I feel confused, do I really like these crazy creatures coming from what MAGAMI is trying to turn into a game, they... They trigger something inside me, something moving."
"I understand." -Elise gets at Aspen's side- "...It makes you feel alive, right? The power they have, the world they live in... Sometimes I wish I could bring them to our dimension... But that's impossible."
"Impossible?"
"Yes, it can't be done. And even if it did... It wouldn't be right, both species are so different, it's a miracle we could find such good friends in our adventure, our connection will always stay..." -Elise sighs as she looks at the sky- "...But art is better untouched, is easier to destroy something than to create it."
"Its a good point." -Says Aspen, pensive- "...Say, Elise... Talking about our friends, the Restimon I knew talked about the Seekers Era with admiration, he said he wanted to mimic what the Seekers did... Do you think he may be related to the Restimon you knew?"
"...I doubt we are talking about the same Restimon, if the one you knew was talking about the Seekers Era as if it was a legend." -Says Elise while looking at Aspen.- "...Mine had green eyes and an amulet, just like the rest of the Seekers."
"The one I knew had red eyes... And actually mentioned something about an amulet..." -Aspen said, remembering about Restimon's amulet, the one that caused the aquatic Digimon to go back to the sewers even with how dangerous that was- "...An amulet belonging to the Seekers."
"That's possible, actually..." -Elise turns to Aspen- "...You see, at some point in our campaign, you... Or Aspen Leonard, did an amulet for every Seeker, an amulet representing our friendship and unity... I always carried mine, even when I left the Digiworld..."
Elise gets a hand on her pocket and slowly reveals a shining, precious diamond shaped amulet.
"...This is the one."
"..."
*Aspen*
*Aspen... I"m sorry...*
*We were going to finish this journey together...*
*...Why did it have to come to this?*
*But it won't be in vain... I can still do it, I can still change how this world works.*
*Nobody will suffer again.*
A gear-shaped hand coming from the dark, holding that amulet, was the only thing he saw alongside a hurt, weak voice.
...
"Argh!!!" -Aspen grabs his head as he kneels to the ground, he felt it was about to explode, all he could do was to scream in pain, as soon as he saw the amulet, that familiar voice appeared in his mind.
"Aspen!" -Elise runs and kneels at Aspen's side- "Are you okay?"
"E... Elise... Tell me... Who was Hagurumon?" -Aspen looks at Elise while breathing heavily, the headache still affecting him- "Please... I... I need to know... Am I Aspen Leonard?"
"Hagurumon... He was your best friend... Your Digimon partner, you both ended up sharing a very deep connection, almost never separated..." -Elise looks at Aspen, saddened- "...He wasn't with you when the Badlands Disaster happened... No, you two were too far from each other in that time, you couldn't even get to say goodbye."
"So I am Leonard after all... But it makes no sense, that was never my last name, hgg..." -Aspen keeps grabbing his head- "...Hagurumon... If I were Leonard, I should remember him better, I should at the very least... Search him..."
"I'm afraid that's not possible." -Elise sighs- "He was at the Badlands when the disaster happened..."
"What?" -Aspen turns to Elise, shocked- "Does that mean that he...?"
"He's gone." -Elise places a hand on Aspen's back- "I'm sorry, Aspen."
...
"How..." -Calizmon's voice was low, almost to the point of being impossible to hear, but the place was completely silent, the only noise coming from the water flowing trough the river.
Submarimon and Calizmon were in a river at the swamp, just watching the moon as the bat was sitting at the submarine's side.
As he was looking down, shy, he resumed his question as Submarimon turned to him.
"How... Did you survive?" -Calizmon looks at Submarimon- "I though you were dead."
"It wasn't easy... A lot happened." -Submarimon looks down as he remembers, frowning- "...After that flash, I woke up in some strange place, surrounded by lights and Digimons... They did horrible things to me, including..."
Submarimon sighs, with Calizmon guessing what he was going to say.
"...The color of your body?" -Submarimon nods- "How?"
"One time, they didn't put me in a sleep chamber, they just proceded to change the code on my body with me having to see my own wireframe..." -Submarimon says with clear hatred and grief- "...Those monsters, I don't even know how I gained this color, but everything began to feel different, my powers, the things around me, this strange noise in my head... They transformed me."
Submarimon then turns around violently, his gaze fixed on a section of the jungle, confusing Calizmon.
"Submarimon?..." -Then, the bat hears something coming from that same section, also turning around, only to see how a bird Digimon was casually flying around the area, without noticing them both- "...They don't seem hostile... Must be a resistance, or Green Wind, guard."
Calizmon then turns to Submarimon again, surprised, he had superior hearing thanks to his bat ears, if Submarimon could detect that Digimon before him, that speaked a lot of the new capabilities of the submarine.
"I can tell by a mile all of these changes were made for combat, my whole body feels like having adrenaline all the time, I... I can't quit reacting or detecting any possible threat, no matter how small it is..." -Submarimon looks at Calizmon, saddened- "...If it wasn't for Elise, who knows what they could've done with me."
"Submarimon..." -Calizmon sighs and caresses Submarimon's side with his hand- "...I'm so sorry to hear that... But you're here now, with me, I missed you so much..."
Calizmon clenches his teeth.
"...I even tried to use a portal, even if I had to make it work myself, like you always wanted, but now I have no way to analyze how they work... I even failed at that."
"It's okay, Calizmon... I no longer have any interest in portals."
Calizmon looks at Submarimon, shocked.
"What? But what about the real world? And the submarines?"
"They can wait, but this can't..." -Submarimon looks at the sky.- "...MAGAMI can't be allowed to continue with their plans, that Catalyst monster is just the beginning of a whole army they plan to deploy soon, and if they capture anyone, they'll go to that cursed lab... The whole Digiworld is at risk here."
"The whole Digiworld..." -Calizmon also looks at the sky- "...That's serious alright, but what are you planning to do? Exactly?"
"Calizmon... Do I count with you?" -Submarimon turns to Calizmon, looking at the bat at the eyes- "...I won't sugarcoat it, I'm going to attack Asuka and destroy that lab. And I need you to come with me."
"M-Me?" -Calizmon gets nervous- "Attacking Asuka?"
"We're buddies, aren't we?" -Submarimon approaches Calizmon- "It'll be like the old times, Calizmon."
"..." -Calizmon thinks about it for a second, breathing deep before slightly smiling- "Of course, Submarimon, like the old times."
"I knew you wouldn't let me down." -Submarimon smiles- "Get ready, pretty sure we'll be leaving soon"
Days passed, every one feeling like a countdown, the news of MAGAMI planning to deploy a whole army of monsters like Catalyst changed the agenda of Green Wind, now it was a race against time to stop that from happening.
They needed to cross the ocean to reach the Central Sector, where Asuka City was, but it wouldn't be easy with the increased MAGAMI presence, just flying wouldn't work, they needed a vehicle in the shape of a boat, even if that made them easier targets.
As the boat got prepared to sail all these days, everyone seemed focused on the day where this operation would start, Aspen occasionally finding relief and rest from this hard work in Elise and Miura, as the humans grew closer to each other, sharing their experiences and working together. Miura being a source of motivation and resolve to the white haired boy as Elise provided calmness and understanding. They avoided talking about the events of the Seekers Era, as they wanted to avoid causing more collapses to Aspen.
Finally, the day came, with the boat prepared and the operation almost crafted, there was just the last part left: The ones responsible for carrying it out.
The pier being bathed by the sunset was the witness of the reunion, many Digimons of Green Wind were present, including Ventomon, Growlmon, and Agumon.
Then, the humans appeared.
Aspen felt nervous as he approached the place, there was tension in the air, who would volunteer to go? They were just an small advance group as they needed to reach the Asuka as quickly and discretly as possible, the main bulk of Green Wind wouldn't be coming.
The boy saw Calizmon and Submarimon from afar... A sight he unknowingly became acostumed to see... This latest week felt strange, his relationship with his fellow humans flourished, but the link he once believed to be deep and irrepleasable with Calizmon seemed to whane, the bat felt... Distant.
He knew the story he had with Submarimon, he knew Calizmon needed this... But was this right? Was this how relationships worked? Does liking someone mean a previous link must be severed or replaced?
As he considered walking up to Calizmon to try and at least say hi, Elise talked to him.
"Ventomon's about to talk..." -Elise pointed to Ventomon as he and Growlmon were in front of the crowd with Green Wind members- "Are you ready? Aspen?"
"Oh... Yeah" -Aspen turns to Elise, Miura was at their side too- "...I'm just a bit nervous."
"Don't worry, I'm sure he will understand if you don't go." -Elise answers, giving a relieving smile to Aspen- "Whatever you choose, I'll respect that."
"Thanks" -Aspen smiles, calming down... It felt good to be able to share his feelings more openly, previously, he would lock himself on a cycle of overthinking, but now, he had friends to rely on...
Maybe Calizmon didn't replaced him, maybe he replaced Calizmon?... But that wasn't his intention. In any way, he decided this wasn't the time to think about it, as the reunion was starting soon.
...
"Are you sure you'll be okay without me? Growlmon?" -Ventomon whispered to Growlmon.
"I know I said I couldn't be a leader before... But I can at least defend a city..." -Growlmon reassures Ventomon with a smile, kneeling to his height- "...Our guys in the Central Sector needs their leader to win, don't worry about Suzaku here, we'll keep it shiny and safe by the time you come back."
"Thank you. I trust in you..." -Ventomon places his hand in Growlmon's knee, the dragon noticing it shaking.
"Hey, relax, okay?" -Growlmon grabs Ventomon's hand, holding it gently- "That link you had with Catalyst was probably that monster's doing... Don't let it get to your head."
"Yes, Growlmon." -Ventomon nods, smiling at the dragon, then looking at Agumon, who also nods and calls the attention of everyone present.
Everyone turns to Ventomon as he gets ready to talk.
"First of all, thanks everyone for coming, we can now initiate this meeting to choose who will go to our operation against MAGAMI's Asuka City" -Ventomon says as he points at the boat behind him, a fisher boat adapted with armor, highly reworked.- "This mission will also serve to reunite our forces in Central Sector, scattered after the Asuka raid, and has as main focus speed and discretion, so the group will be reduced to 12 members including the crew of the boat we'll use."
Ventomon points at himself as he speaks.
"Due to the importance of this mission, I will be leading it, meaning that I'm a fixed member, the rest is allowed to volunteer. You better be aware that this operation will have high risks, and it is likely it will escalate into a full blown battle. Only join if you are willing to."
"I'll join" -As soon as Ventomon voice stopped, Miura's appeared, the boy taking a step forward with one hand in the air as he looked at the mantis.
It was written in the wall that Miura would join, but Ventomon still felt somewhat uneasy about humans without Digivice joining this operation... At the same time, he knew he couldn't help it.
"I will take part, too." -Elise joins Miura, soon enough, Submarimon also confirmed his participation.
His friends were all onboard this dangerous trip, Aspen was still skeptical, what would he do? What was the right choice? He remembered how one week ago, he and Calizmon were about to leave.
But his answer was now less clear... Elise and Miura... They were risking themselves, would he be able to stay in Suzaku? Unable to help them?
But what changed everything was the voice that appeared seconds after the one of Submarimon.
"Put me in, too."
Aspen watched Calizmon's hand raised, the bat looking serious as he was at Submarimon's side.
What was this all about?...
Calizmon? Of all people?...
Ventomon was almost as confused as Aspen, but quickly nodded, the aid of a Digimon able to Digivolve like Calizmon was important.
Aspen grabbed his Digivice... He was truly alone now, everybody was joining the operation.
Then he looked at Elise, who seemed resolved as she also turned to Aspen.
He felt calm... Right, together, they could achieve it. Maybe this was risky, but he wouldn't let his friends down.
"I'm in!" -Aspen said as he also stepped forward, almost shouting, everyone in the place instantly turned to the boy, including the crowd and Calizmon.
"Aspen..." -Said the bat, before his voice got hidden by the cheers of the crowd.
"The Original Seeker is back!" -Many Digimons said as they were moved by Aspen's energetic voice, it felt like a war cry, a sound of hope and strenght, the original Seeker was going to lead them to victory.
Aspen was surprised at the amount of cheers he received, he had to admit he didn't noticed how high his tone was, but it worked, everybody was lending his energy to him. It felt good.
Soon enough, more volunteers filled the remaining slots, including the Tentomon that was freed 2 week ago from the Suzaku guard.
The meeting ended as Elise and Miura talked with Aspen, feeling proud of him, they felt stronger together.
As Aspen talked with them, he didn't noticed Calizmon looking at him from afar.
"Aspen..." -Calizmon seemed conflicted, then, Submarimon got at his side.
"You know that human, right?" -Submarimon said as he was also looking at the group of humans- "Elise said he was the chap that created the Seekers, eh? The former buddy of that Hagurumon."
"Aspen is... Different, he says he lost his memories 2 years ago, even when here, the Badlands Disaster happened decades ago, and it seems his last name is also wrong." -Calizmon sighs- "...My point is... He isn't the guy of the legend, not now... Him joining is something I wasn't expecting."
"He must be doing it for you..." -Submarimon attracts Calizmon's attention by saying that- "...Take good care of that fella, he looks like a good kid. If he finds Hagurumon, the legend will revive no doubt."
"Hagurumon? The Seeker?... But he's dead, right?"
"So was I, but look at me... Never lose hope, Calizmon." -Submarimon looks at the sky- "...If that thing about the amnesia is true, he will slowly catch up to all of that, and that may help him find his buddy."
"His buddy, eh?..." -Calizmon looks down, pensive.
"But that's just in theory, and provided its not another random Hagurumon... Anyways..." -Submarimon sighs and bumps Calizmon's shoulder, wanting to cheer him up- "...Enough of all this old man's talk... Can you explain to me what the hell happened back at that Lamb Chop? Been hearing a lot about that since I came here."
"Oh... Right... Man, even you?" -Calizmon slighty smiles, crossing his arms as he walks with the submarine away from the place- "There's a slight chance I got involved in a match of Blackjack, some cheating happened, and..."
Both Digimons left the place as everybody got ready, they would be sailing the next day, on to a dangerous and important journey to save the Digiworld.