Chapter 3:
In which Kastom engages in manly fisticuffs, the Rookies arrive and the exposition is pounded out
The enemy approached the group menacingly. “More humans, huh? I guess we have a problem, either way, then.”
Red whipped out his Digivice. He was certain he knew the identity of their aggressor, but it was an excellent time to test the device's capabilities. “Yep, Bakemon. Champion level. We might be in trouble here.”
“Please,” scoffed Tom, “I bet I could floor this guy myself!”
“Don't be stupid, Tom,” replied Kat, “he's two levels above our Digimon and-”
“LEEROY JENKINS!”
“And fine. Ignore me. Get yourself killed,” she finished, watching him charge the enemy, armed with nothing but his bare fists and a wooden sword.
Tom let his left fist fly. It collided spectacularly with the oncoming Bakemon, laying the enemy flat on the ground. However, it had little apparent affect beyond that.
“Oh, that's it, pal!” exclaimed Bakemon, picking itself up off the ground. Grabbing Tom by the throat, he lifted him bodily from the floor. “Any last words?”
“Yeah,” replied Tom, smirking cockily, “hold me down next time!”
Tom buried his sandal into the Bakemon's face, sending him crashing into the bar. Suddenly, his pocket started buzzing. He whipped out his Digivice and flipped it open to see Adam smiling up at him.
“Hello, Otaku bebies!”
“Kinda busy here, Adam!” yelled Tom, leaping behind the table he was sitting at a moment ago and kicking it over to create a makeshift barrier.
“Yeah, I saw the whole thing. Take a look at your hand, Tom!”
Tom did so and was surprised to discover a stream of binary encircling his fist.
“Hey, that must be Upgrade Data!”
“That's right, Red!” said Adam, “Now everyone, hold your Digivices to that data and activate Digivolution protocol.”
Gome peeked over the edge of the table to see Bakemon crawling back over the bar, clearly enraged. “We'd better do what he says, guys.”
Everyone nodded, then held their Digivices to Tom's hand. The screens went blank for a moment, then a message appeared.
ACTIVATE DIGIVOLUTION PROTOCOL?
Everyone selected yes, and the Digimon instantly began to glow, growing bigger and bigger until finally reaching their maximum sizes. The glow died down and the new, improved Digimon all charged the enemy at once.
“Do you think they'll be okay?” asked Red, “they're all still a level below him.”
Shin moved out from behind the table to gain a better perspective of the massively unfair beatdown. “Yeah, I'd say they've got it covered. Advantage in numbers and all.”
The five Digimon returned to their partners, leaving no trace of their enemy. Shin looked at Veemon mischievously. “Shave and a haircut.”
“Two bits.”
“Wait, what happened to the Bakemon?” asked Kat. Her Digivice buzzed.
“Hey guys,” said Adam, “don't worry about the Bakemon, your Digimon merely destroyed his body. His data will be reformatted and he'll be reborn later. Hopefully a little friendlier this time, though. Nice job on that fight!”
“Wait, did you send us here just to get a tutorial?” demanded Gome.
“Not at all! Your objective is to find my other tester, and Forum Town is his last known location. You guys just got lucky! Nice job, by the way, Tom. A little reckless, but it all worked out.”
“Thanks,” replied Tom, “So is that the only way to get Upgrade Data?”
“No, there are plenty of methods. And you won't always be able to leech off each others' data. A punch like that one of Kastom's generates a set amount depending on the species and level of enemy he uses it on. The Bakemon generated a mid-level source, but most Rookies would only create enough to Digivolve a single In-Training level Digimon. As for the other methods, you'll just have to discover them yourselves! I'll give you a tip, though. If you don't need some accumulated Upgrade Data yet, you can store it in your Digivice for later. Well, later Otakus!”
Gome watched Kat's Digivice screen darken. “Have I mentioned I hate him?”
“Hey, check it out, guys!” said Tom, “my shades stay on! No gum!”
The Floramon waitress returned to the table from her hiding place behind the bar. “Thank you all for getting rid of Bakemon! He's been causing trouble all over town. If you still need that information, I'd be glad to give it now.”
“Yeah,” replied Shin, “we'd really appreciate that.”
“Well, he didn't mention where exactly he was going, but the human you're looking for left town and headed West shortly after roughing up Bakemon himself. If it helps, Streaming Peak is in that direction.”
“Thanks, Floramon,” said Shin, “well, you all heard the lady. We're headed for Streaming Peak.”
"Hey, Kat, isn't Patamon supposed to be orange?" asked Red.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, yours is purple."
"Huh," said Kat, picking up the unusual Patamon, "that's kinda weird."
