Chapter Text
01: Falling down the Rabbit Hole
Nozomi Morinobu wasn’t made for the wild.
She knew it, her parents knew it, and the few friends she had knew it! The beauty of nature meant nothing to her when, in each tree, on each blade of grass, under each stone, were...insects! These creatures of the deepest circle of hell!
It was just not normal to have so many eyes and limbs and be slimy or hairy! Only thinking about it made Nozomi feel sick to the stomach. God, sometimes having little spiders at home, who crawled inside through the open windows, was a nightmare, but in the forest?!
Nope, nope, nope!
Nozomi would rather eat spinach with peanut butter and raisins than face these creepy crawlers. That’s why she was so happy she lived in Odaiba, Tokyo. Everywhere, skyscrapers and barely any nature, that was true paradise!
So knowing her aversion to the wild...why did her parents stick her in summer camp?! She had been a good daughter, did her chorus, barely contradicted them, and brought home just good grades.
Her parents' excuses have gone like this: They had told her she would have fun (lies). That she would make a lot of friends (as if!). How she needed to get out more and not just read books/manga and play video games (what was so bad about that?!).
Oh, Nozomi was so angry. She had a feeling why her parents shoved her into summer camp. They surely wanted time alone to do adult stuff. With her around, they were barely a couple, so the solution was to banish her to the forest.
Her revenge would be brutal, she swore. She didn’t have a plan for what she would do, but she would get her parents back somehow, just watch her!
Anyway, for now, she was stuck in summer camp, but to hell with her participating in any non-obligatory activities. As soon they children had free time, Nozomi grasped her pastel purple backpack with the silver star stickers and searched for a place where she could hide till it was dinner time.
Skillfully, she avoided the camp counsellors who wanted to motivate the kids to do some activities. Not gonna lie, she felt like a ninja on a secret mission, which was fun.
The first fun she had in this hell camp.
Nozomi's search for a hidey-hole led her up to an abandoned shrine. Oh, if that wasn’t perfect! It was far enough from camp, so no one would bother her, but still close enough that she would hear when dinner time was.
Excellent!
Happily, she stepped inside, made herself sit comfortably on the old tatami mats, and pulled out her newest book from her backpack. It was called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, a big hit currently in the literature world. Nozomi had been curious if all the fuss about it was worth it, and borrowed it from the library.
She had to admit, the book was very good. The world of Harry Potter was fascinating. It pulled you in, made you forget your worries, exactly what she needed to forget that she was in her own personal hell. Even for just a while.
Humming a happy tune, Nozomi's brown eyes flew over the written words, eager to see what adventure awaited Harry in the magical school Hogwarts.
The brunette girl didn’t know how long she read; there was no clock, just from one moment to the next, her little sanctuary was stormed. A bunch of kids had entered, bringing with them icy cold wind.
Wow, icy cold wind in summer. That was weird.
But for a few months now, the weather has been crazy all around the world.
Why not a cold front for Japan then? All was possible!
“Close the door, close the door!” Nozomi barked, with no intention to turn into a popsicle, and was thankful one of the other kids did so.
They were safe from the cold now, which gave the brunette girl time to scowl at her unwelcome company, other kids from summer camp and also familiar ones.
Sora, Taichi and Yamato were here, her classmates at Odaiba Primary School.
Then there were Mimi and Koushiro from the fourth class.
Jo-Senpai, the sixth-grader.
And a little blond boy who was cuddled up to Yamato.
There were definitely seven people too many for the solitary Nozomi, even though she already considered Sora a good friend. Sora was always nice to her and didn’t bother people if they wanted to be left alone, which the brunette appreciated.
Sora was also the one who noticed her.
“Nozomi, you're here too,” the redhead said in surprise. The brunette with the pigtails was the last she expected at a summer camp. All knew how much Nozomi hated insects and wouldn’t go freely in a forest full of them.
“Against my will,” Nozomi answered curtly, putting her book back in the backpack. No chance to read now with so many people around.
“I'm surprised to see you outside the library!” Taichi laughed at her. He liked how he could always make Nozomi lose her patience, just like now, as she gave him a venomous look. “Did your parents drag you here?”
“That you even know what a library is, with all the soccerballs you get hit in the head with, Taichi,” Nozomi retorted.
“Hey!”
“She's right,” Yamato agreed. He and Nozomi weren’t close, but she was a smart girl from the few interactions in class they had and was always ready to sass Taichi back, which was funny.
Everyone laughed a little, and Taichi grimaced in annoyance. What nice friends he had!
“Hilarious, guys!” Taichi grumbled.
After that, everyone was quiet and just listened for the snow to stop falling.
A while later, the snowstorm seemed to have calmed down.
Taichi was the first to open the door to check. He happily stepped out into the beautiful snowy landscape.
“The blizzard seems to have finally stopped.”
“There's lots of snow!” the little blond boy cheered happily, “That's cool!”
Yamato followed on his heels and warned him: “Hey, Takeru! You'd better watch out!”
“This is really cold. It's hard to believe it's summer”, Sora shivers.
“Let's go back to the adults,” Jo-Senpai suggested. “We mustn't put down roots here.”
Meanwhile, Mimi was enchanted by the winter wonderland, and Nozomi stayed inside with Koushiro.
No way would Nozomi go out! Snow was only alright on Christmas, when you’re inside your warm home, with a cup of hot cacao and waiting to unpack gifts. On any other day of the year, snow could stay in hell with insects, found the brunette.
Koushiro grumbling about something having no connection made its way to Nozomi's ears. Ah, yes, if she remembered correctly, the younger boy was a bit of a computer nerd. He dragged his laptop and mobile phone everywhere and also preferred to stay indoors.
Nozomi bet that he had sent to camp against his will, too. City Kids like them weren’t fans of nature for a lot of reasons.
Suddenly, surprised shouts could be heard from outside. What was now? Don’t tell Nozomi that a polar bear made its way to them. Yes, it was impossible for one being in Japan, but so was also a snowstorm in August, so who knews?!
“Koshiro! Nozomi!” Taichi called. “Come out, come out!”
Normaly she would have stayed inside, whatever Taichi was calling them outside, but Nozomi was also curious. A tiny look couldn’t be bad, no?
Her mouth clapped open in shock, and she pinched her arm to be on the safe side. No, she wasn't dreaming!
There really were the Northern Lights in the sky!
She couldn't help but stare at it while she half-realized that Koushiro had remarked that there was no aurora borealis in Japan and that Jo-Senpai was telling everyone to go back to camp.
Then it got even crazier!
A green vortex formed in the centre of the aurora, and from it, eight golden lights came hurtling towards Nozomi and the others like meteorites!
The eight children tried to protect themselves as best they could. Anyone just falls, covering their head. Fortunately, none of the lights hit them, even though they were now covered in snow.
While everyone was shaking the snow off their bodies, Sora asked worriedly, “Guys! Is anyone hurt?”
“We're fine,” Yamato told her as he helped the little blond boy up.
“I was scared!” Mimi admitted shakily.
Jo-Senpai shook his head. “What on earth was that?”
“No idea,” Nozomi replied. “I just hope that's it for today!”
She had enough of all the excitement. That's why she prefers books.
When crazy things happened, they happened to the characters and not to her! Why again had her parents brought her to this cursed summer camp?
Unfortunately, the craziness continued when small, white devices floated up from the mini craters in front of the eight children. More out of reflex than anything else, Nozomi grabs her gadget.
What was that now?
Koushiro informed everyone that it was neither a pager nor a mobile phone, when suddenly, out of the blue and in an impossible way, a huge wave rushed towards the eight children!
All they could do was scream for their lives as they were caught. Nozomi fell and fell and fell until she blacked out.
After that, there was only darkness and silence.
(*)
“-Zomi! Nozomi!”
Someone called out to her.
"Come on, wake up!"
An annoyed grumble left Nozomi's mouth. She had no desire to wake up when she was sleeping so soundly!
Then she felt something warm on her chest and nudging her cheek. This wasn't a hand... it was something completely different!
Something like paws!
Frightened, Nozomi opened her brown eyes to meet the blue eyes of a round, yellow fox face!
What was that?! She had never seen a fox like that before.
"Be careful not to catch any flies," the little fox teased.
....Wait a minute?!
"It's talking!" Nozomi screamed in fear and frantically crawled backwards away from the monster.
Oh God, was that a fox spirit?! Was she dead? Is this the afterlife?!
The fox spirit (?) simply followed her on its four little legs, sitting down in front of Nozomi. "Of course, I speak," it snorted, insulted. "After all, I'm a clever Viximon!"
"Viximon?" Nozomi repeated, trembling.
The brunette was completely overwhelmed by the situation. She wanted to run away, but her legs were like jelly, so there was no point in running away. She also had a feeling that this Viximon would simply follow her.
"Are you a fox spirit?" she asked to be sure.
Perhaps if she got Viximon involved in a conversation, Nozomi could find a way out.
Viximon blinks in confusion.
"No, I'm a digital monster, or Digimon for short," it explained, or was it a she? The voice sounded more feminine.
Surprisingly, a voice Nozomi knew reached her ears. Not a second later, Mimi, with a little green plant on four legs, stepped out from the bushes.
Okay, a walking plant with a face, why not?
What was next, a dinosaur?
It was getting crazier by the minute!
"Nozomi, I heard right," Mimi spoke to her and squealed when she saw Viximon. "Ah, you have a little fox, how cute! Almost as cute as my dear Tanemon."
What?!
Shocked, Nozomi regained her strength and was able to stand up. "You think these things are cute?"
Mimi just smiled and nodded. "You don't?"
Okay, objectively speaking, Viximon and Tanemon were cute, but that didn't mean that these Digimon were harmless! Who knows if this wasn’t a trick to make them feel safe and then to eat them alive?!
"Hey, we're not things, we're Digimon," Tanemon pouted cutely.
Viximon answers the little plant: "I think Nozomi is simply overwhelmed. It must be a shock for the children to be here on File Island."
"Could be, Viximon."
"File Island?" Nozomi and Mimi repeated, astonished. They had never heard of such a place. Where was this?
Viximon nodded wisely, while Tanemon smiled at them.
"Exactly, this place is called File Island,"
As if on command, the two girls looked at each other.
"Well, Dorothy, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Nozomi joked nervously, so she didn't completely collapse. She knew summer camp had been a bad idea, but did anyone listen to her? No! Now they were somewhere completely different with strange, cute creatures!
Mimi laughed nervously. "Yes, I think you're right."
They couldn't talk anymore, because a large red stag beetle flew towards them!
"Yuck!" screamed Nozomi and Mimi together, neither of them fans of beetles. Oh, that would haunt their nightmares for ages to come! How could an insect be so large?! That was not normal!
"No, not yuck!" Tanemon shouted.
"That's Kugawamon, a nasty Digimon!" Viximon clarified. "Quick, we have to get out of here!"
No one needed to be told twice, and the girls with their Digimon ran away. Unfortunately, Kugawamon continued to chase them in the air. As they ran into a clearing, still screaming, the pursued saw familiar faces calling their names. It was the others, who also had little Digimons with them.
Kugawamon flew just above everyone, which knocked Mimi and Nozomi to the ground, and then disappeared for the moment between the dense trees.
"Mimi, are you OK?"
"Tanemon..."
"Nozomi, are you hurt?"
"No, everything's fine, Viximon."
Sora ran towards them and knelt.
"Be strong," the red-haired girl tried to encourage them.
"It's coming back!" Taichi warned loudly as Kugawamon appeared again.
Sora quickly helped them up, and the girls with their Digimon ran away with the others. Everyone ran like world champions, even Nozomi, who was completely unathletic, but Kugawamon didn't let them go. It lunged at the group again, and everyone just managed to throw themselves to the ground thanks to Yamato's warning. Kugawamon flew over them, back into a group of trees.
"What the hell is that monster?!"Jo-Senpai gasped. "Where in the name of all that is holy did we end up here?!"
Another plant-like Digimon warned: "It's coming back!"
"That's why I hate insects so much!" Nozomi grumbled, while Viximon looked at her worriedly.
"Shit!" Taichi cursed, "We won't let that dung beetle get to us!"
"Taichi, forget it," Sora pleaded as she helped Mimi up.
"Exactly! We don't have any weapons to fight back!"Yamato reminded, who was kneeling protectively next to the little blond boy.
Koushiro thought that escape was the only option. Nozomi agreed, and the large group took off again, Kugawamon always hot on their heels. They didn’t know how long they ran for their lives, but everyone came to an abrupt stop when they reached a cliff.
"Great! Dead end!" Nozomi swore.
They were trapped!
Taichi suggested finding another way, but that didn't work because Kugawamon had caught up with them. Once again, everyone threw themselves to the ground to avoid being caught by the evil Digimon. The latter swung around and wanted to attack Taichi now!
However, a round pink Digimon with long ears jumped in between. The small ball attacked with soap bubbles, but the giant stag beetle didn't mind. It swatted the small ball away like an annoying fly, which made Taichi call out his name in concern: "Koromon!"
Undeterred, Kogawamon wanted to attack the rest of the group, but all the remaining Digimon jumped into the air to protect the children. Like Koromon, they also used soap bubbles against the large insect. It also knocked the other Digimon to the ground, like Koromon, but at least the evil Digimon landed inelegantly in a group of trees.
Nozomi and the other children were dismayed to see the unconscious Digimon lying on the ground. These little creatures had risked their lives for them! Why would they do something like that for someone they barely knew?
The brunette with the pigtails felt warmth in her heart, a few tears falling from her eyes.
And she had distrusted Viximon! Viximon, who didn’t hesitate to protect her!
She quickly ran to her Digimon and lifted her into her arms. Around her, the other children did the same with their Digimon.
"Viximon, why?" Nozomi sobbed,
"I have to protect you...", the little yellow fox resolutely replied, even though you could see that she was in pain.
Unfortunately, no one could breathe a sigh of relief or take care of their Digimon, as Kugawamon freed himself from the trees! With their respective Digimon in their arms, everyone ran over to Taichi and Koromon at the end of the cliff.
"Does anyone have an idea?" Nozomi hoped, pressing Viximon protectively to her chest while Kugawamon stomped threateningly towards them.
Sadly, none of the children had any idea how to deal with the giant stag beetle.
"I have to go!" Koromon declared. "We have to fight!"
"What are you talking about?!" Taichi said in disbelief.
"Exactly! We've been waiting for this moment," Koushiro's ghost-like Digimon agreed.
"Stop it!" the red-haired boy begged.
Sora looked worriedly at her little plant when it announced that it wanted to fight, too. She made it clear how crazy it was for the little Digimon to take on Kogawamon again. Now, all the Digimon tried to free themselves from their children's arms to throw themselves into the fight.
"No, Viximon, don't do it!" Nozomi pleaded, but the little fox had already jumped out of her arms and raced towards Kugawamon with the other little Digimon.
Each of the children screamed the name of their Digimon with all their hearts, full of desperation, hoping for a miracle.
And a miracle happened!
Rainbow light fell on the nine Digimon, changing them.
"Koromon digivolves into Agumon!"
"Pyocomon digivolves into Biyomon!"
"Viximon digivolves into Renamon!"
"Motimon digivolves into Tentomon!"
"Tsunomon digivolves into Gabumon!"
"Tokomon digivolves into Patamon!"
"Pukamon digivolves into Gomamon!"
"Tanemon digivolves into Palmon!"
When the rainbow light went out, Nozomi and the others saw the change their Digimon had undergone.
Of course, they were all amazing, but Nozomi's gaze was drawn to Viximon, or rather Renamon. Renamon was a yellow fox on two legs, bigger than all the other Digimon and, if Nozomi had to bet, bigger than her and the other children, too.
"What happened?" Taichi stuttered.
"A miracle," Nozomi breathed ecstatically, like in one of her books! "A miracle has happened!"
"Get him!" Agumon, the little yellow dinosaur, cheered on his Digimon friends.
So all the Digimon threw themselves at Kugawamon, who knocked them away, but they all landed on their feet without any problem. No comparison to before.
"That little bit doesn't bother us!" Agumon teased.
"Don't get cocky," Renamon warned in an older boy's voice. "The fight is not won yet!"
Kugawamon rose into the air in anger, but Palmon grabbed one of his legs with her tendrils and stopped him. Patamon flew behind Kugawamon, took a deep breath and shot a load of air into Kugawamon's stupid face. Tentomon followed up with a small electric shock, which made Kugawomon sizzle nicely. Gomamon slipped under one of Kugawamon's legs, which brought him to one of his knees. Then Agumon, Gabumon and Biyomon shot various fire attacks at the insect, which made it burn. Finally, Renamon jumped elegantly into the air and attacked with his diamond storm. Sharp little white splinters rained down on the evil stag beetle, causing him to bleed.
The evil insect Digimon screamed angrily.
Agumon ordered his Digimon friends to attack together once again. All those who had defensive attacks unleashed them on Kugawamon. The storm of fire, air, lightning and sharp diamond shards was too much for it. Defeated, it fell backwards into the trees.
Nozomi and the other children were simply stunned. It was unbelievable what their Digimon had done! They couldn't even look that fast before their Digimon ran happily towards them.
The brunette met Renamon halfway, falling into her fox's arms. Yes, Renamon was at least two heads taller than her.
"You were awesome, Renamon!" she cheered. "You're so cool!"
She had changed her mind about Renamon; someone who risks their life for them couldn’t be evil. Maybe some would call her reckless, but Nozomi just had a good feeling about her Digimon friend.
"Oh, it wasn't worth mentioning," Renamon stated casually, patting her head, which made Nozomi giggle.
The others also hugged their Digimon, praising them.
But as so often in life, everyone had celebrated too soon. Kugawamon was back on his feet!
It rammed its sharp jaws into the bottom of the cliff on which the children and Digimon were standing.
Immediately, it began to shake and wobble.
Nozomi clung to Renamon as she screamed: "Oh no, not again!"
Unfortunately, yes.
Once again, everyone fell deep into nowhere...