EPISODE 21 - HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
The thrashing black waves below mirrored both the star-studded evening sky and Moxie’s mind. Dark. Conflicted. Hard to read. Shimmering and swirling in rhythm, all headed in the same direction - towards land. They couldn’t avoid it; it was the only way they could move, just as Moxie’s thoughts couldn’t help but drift towards File Island.
“It’s hard to believe we’re so close, huh,” she said, not really expecting a response.
Beside her, perched on the railing, Pop shifted slightly, ruffling her feathers. Moxie sensed her tilt her head, but when she lifted her own to look over at her, Pop’s gaze was fixed on the ocean. Moxie’s eyes slid back out that way as well.
She sighed, adjusting her position, arms folding across her chest as she turned around to lean back against the banister. On the deck were dozens of other Digimon, all of whom were heading to File Island just like her. Just like the rest of the group.
A tall golden humanoid Digimon approached two smaller Digimon sitting at a table, one a fierce-looking blue and red dog with a muzzle around its flaming jaws and the other a bipedal dinosaur-like creature wearing full Navy Seal gear. The golden Digimon lowered one blade-arm to slide some plates of food onto the table, bowing slightly as the Digimon thanked it and then turning to leave. The dog Digimon stared down at the plate for a moment, then reached a claw up to its muzzle, looking like it had just had a dire realization.
Moxie watched the golden Digimon disappear back inside the ship’s cabin, then caught the eye of Azure, on the other side of the deck. She lifted a hand to wave at them and they nodded back before turning around to drape themself over the railing again. Moxie felt a twinge of both sympathy and pity; most of the group had not been very lucky in regards to seasickness.
Moxie sighed again, looking back over at Pop once more. She was still clutching the ship’s railing, staring out at where they could just faintly see File Island, approaching quicker and quicker, through the ever-darkening sky. She’d barely said more than a word in the past hour; it was like she couldn’t take her eyes off of the island.
Truth be told, Moxie found it difficult as well. It had been so long since she and Damien and their partners had been there that she wasn’t sure if she’d even recognize it once they arrived. She hoped she would. It would be a bit disconcerting if she couldn’t.
She didn’t know if she’d be able to handle that.
The ferry cut through the water with ease. They’d made good time, leaving at noon and set to arrive sometime in the late evening. Moxie and Pop had been out on the deck for almost the entire time, relishing the open sea breeze and the sound of the waves crashing against the bow of the ferry. Watching File Island slowly inch closer was just a bonus. …Maybe more than a bonus.
It was peaceful, really, to be out on the ocean with the wind and setting sun on their faces and Server Continent at their backs. It was a new chapter for them. The start of something new.
She heard a clicking sound coming from the cabin and turned to see Ezra, standing in the doorway next to Ember, looking between her and Azure. It was hard to see his face in the growing dusk and the shadow cast upon him by the light from within, but from what she could see, he didn’t look too good. He looked… harrowed, almost. He’d been out on the deck with Ember and Anna and Bunny when they’d first gotten on the ferry, but had very quickly ushered the three of them back inside shortly after, disappearing almost entirely for the next few hours. This was the first time Moxie had seen him since.
He opened his mouth, then closed it again, and Moxie’s stomach flipped over, for some unexplainable reason.
“Hey,” he said, and, well, that about explained it to her.
He sounded… anxious. Confused. Scared? Moxie had thought he’d looked a bit on edge earlier, but she hadn’t thought it was this bad.
What on earth had happened?
Next to her, Pop had turned around to look at him, and now she furrowed her brow. Moxie reached a hand over to place on her head, smoothing her feathers down, but Pop didn’t even notice.
She looked back over at Ezra, the pit in her stomach growing larger.
Ezra raised a fist to his mouth, looking down at his feet, then shook his head. He looked up at Moxie, meeting her eyes for a split second and then tearing his gaze away.
He took a deep, shaking breath. “We need to talk.”
The ferry docked at Southern Pier two hours later.
The sky had darkened exponentially, leaving only the light of the moon and stars and street lights to guide the way as they departed from the ferry and regrouped. They looked each other over, made sure they had all their things, double checked that they hadn’t left anyone behind. Few words were exchanged, even fewer glances. It was hard to bring themselves to face each other after what they’d learned.
Especially for Moxie.
This whole time, her mind was playing on repeat, it’s been for nothing. It’s all been for nothing.
Damien led the way through the town to their hotel. He hadn’t said anything since they got off the boat, simply gesturing for everyone to follow him as they set off. Bumble hovered at his side, looking up at him every so often but remaining just as silent.
Moxie absentmindedly reached a hand up to stroke Pop’s head, but received no reaction. That was fine. She hadn’t really been expecting one.
They reached the hotel eventually. She didn’t know how long it took; probably not very, judging by how little the sky had changed color. It certainly felt like hours.
Damien checked them in at the front desk. Moxie wanted to go up with him, help him shoulder some of it, but she couldn’t get any words out when she opened her mouth. It felt dry.
The walk to their rooms was just as silent as the walk to the hotel. Harmony waved goodbye to Moxie as she and Ren entered their room, and Moxie managed to weakly lift a hand in return.
She face planted onto the bed in her and Damien’s shared room as soon as he closed the door behind her, grabbing one of the pillows and squishing it over her head. The bed shifted, sinking slightly as Damien sat or laid down next to her, she wasn’t sure (and she wasn’t going to look over to check).
She was just… overreacting, right? Surely. It wasn’t… super awful. It could be a lot worse. She was just being dramatic.
But she couldn’t help but plead with herself to allow herself to feel some sliver of fear, of despair, of defeat.
Her fingers tightened around the pillow, and she vaguely heard Damien sigh.
Six months. It had been six months since she’d been on File Island. Six months since she and Damien and Pop and Bumble set off for Server Continent to find a new home, to run away from the one they’d made for themself in File City.
They couldn’t risk anyone finding them. If someone else came to the Digital World to look for them - despite the fact they had known, even at the time, that the possibility of anyone else finding a way through was near impossible - they’d end up in File City and they would so easily find them. If they just asked around about two humans living there, they’d find them instantly.
They couldn’t go back, so they left. And now it turned out that they hadn’t even needed to leave at all.
The whole time Moxie and Damien had been in this world had been for nothing.
Something lifted the pillow off her head just as she scrunched her face up to stop the tears threatening to roll down her cheeks. She sniffed, smushing her face into the mattress, ignoring Damien even as he patted her head with the pillow and then (presumably) picked Pop up to place her on her back.
“You okay?” he asked.
“What do you think,” she mumbled, rolling her shoulders to adjust Pop’s position. “Of course I’m not okay. How on earth are you?”
“We’re not on earth,” he said. Moxie’s heart sank in her chest, but she ignored it.
She propped herself up on her elbows, wiping her eyes and keeping her gaze down. “We just found out that the seven months we’ve been here have been less than five minutes back home. Maybe even less than one minute.”
Pop stepped down off Moxie’s back, coming around to her head to settle down next to her, respectfully not looking at her but leaning against her shoulder.
Moxie bit her lip. “It’s all been for nothing. Everything we did to get here and then get to Server and stay away from everything was for nothing. If we go back home it’ll be like we never left.”
“Then we won’t go back home.”
“We can’t stay here forever.”
Damien didn’t reply. Moxie finally looked over at him, sitting cross-legged against the headboard with his gaze fixed in his lap. Bumble sat curled up in front of him, looking out the window on the opposite wall at the city below.
They all knew just as well as she did that it was true.
The Digital World had been a temporary solution. They’d known they couldn’t stay there forever, couldn’t avoid the problem forever, no matter how much they wanted to. It was the only thing they could think of. It was the only place they could go.
But they knew they’d have to leave eventually.
Moxie slid off the bed, walking to stand in front of the window, arms crossed, shoulder pressed against the frame.
They’d tried so hard to avoid what was waiting - or rather, not waiting - for them back home that they’d fled to another world.
And it didn’t even matter.
How much time has passed? Five minutes? Ten? Who else has heard about it? Has anyone come to look for us? How much longer until they do?
How much longer can we avoid it?
She shook her head out, looking back to the bed. Damien had laid down, Bumble resting against his back next to Pop. She stood still for a moment, watching the rise and fall of their chests - too quick, too labored.
They were all hurt and confused and scared. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t hide it. Not fully.
Moxie moved to turn the light off and then laid down in bed, pulling Pop close to her chest, staring at the back of Damien’s neck.
They just had to keep going. It was the only thing they could do.
Morning dawned only after a too-sleepless night.
Moxie had had fitful dreams, as she assumed the rest of the group did. It was evident on their faces; the flickering of their gazes back and forth, the dark lines under their eyes, the way their smiles didn’t quite seem natural.
They were trying to keep it together.
“I don’t really have a theory yet,” Azure was saying as the group sat for breakfast in the hotel restaurant. They waved their fork around, a piece of pancake stuck on the end of it. “But I’m going to assume that it isn’t natural. Moxie, Damien -” they looked to the twins in turn “- the time dilation didn’t always exist, did it?”
Moxie and Pop shook their heads, and Azure nodded. “So if the time flows have been synced in the past, that means something caused the dilation.”
“And what is that something?” Castor asked.
It was Azure’s turn to shake their head. “I’m not quite sure,” they admitted, before taking a few bites of their food. Moxie tilted her head, watching their eyes flick up to the ceiling as they thought.
…Something had been on her mind since the realization, actually. She’d thought that it was just her mind playing tricks on her, or maybe the minds of their neighbors playing tricks on them, but…
“Actually,” she said, cutting in before Azure could continue. She bit her lip, wondering how to phrase it. “It might not be anything, but… Damien and I probably entered the Digital World the same day you did, right?” Nods from all around. “We had actually been in the Digital World for a weekend vacation around two weeks before that, and the time flows were synced. But…” She trailed off, trying to recall. “When we came back to the Digital World this most recent time, our neighbors in File City acted like they hadn’t seen us in years. I thought it was just them being overdramatic, but…” Moxie spread her hands out, taking in everyone’s faces. Confusion. Shock. Bewilderment. She shrugged nervously, crossing her arms across her chest and turning to Azure for continuation.
Azure regarded her for a moment, then squeezed their eyes shut, massaging their forehead. “…Okay,” they said slowly, and Ko patted their shoulder gently. “So the time dilation must have started in between you returning to the human world, and you entering the Digital World again. That’s a period of, what, two weeks?” They sighed, long and loud. “…In the human world, at least. We can’t figure out how long ago in the Digital World it was.”
“Sorry,” Moxie said, and Azure waved them off.
“Don’t be,” they said, pulling out their phone - they’d explained the document they’d been keeping of their adventures together last night after Ezra and Anna had broken the news to them. They’d written down everything Anna had said, keeping careful note of all the relevant information, and now they quickly typed out what Moxie could only assume was what she had just said.
…It at least felt nice to be useful somehow.
They discussed theories for the rest of breakfast, trying to take their minds off of the reality of the situation. Moxie appreciated it. Damien and Bumble were characteristically quiet during the whole conversation, but they at least listened in. It was better than nothing.
They packed up and headed out once they’d finished eating, hitting the town for one last stop before they headed out. They’d already stocked up on supplies in Northern Pier while Ezra, Ember, Anna, and Bunny had had their little escapade, but it couldn’t hurt to make one last round.
Moxie and Damien were running out of money, but they didn’t say anything. They didn’t want to worry anyone.
(They could get some more in the next town they stopped in.)
Though she couldn’t fully distract herself, she managed to engage in some lighthearted conversation with the others. It helped to give her something to do, words to say, things to think about. Things other than the main thing.
Her mind kept drifting back to it, but she untangled herself from those thoughts the best she could.
It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders once they left the town behind and fully stepped into the wilderness. It’d been almost a week since they’d walked on dirt and grass and not heard the roar of the ocean to their left or felt the sand shifting beneath their feet. The sky was blue and cloudless; the sun was just barely visible off to the east as it climbed its way up over the trees of Native Forest.
They’d be there eventually.
“We don’t know where the Catalyst is,” Damien said, stating the obvious - fitting that that’d be the first thing he’d said all day. “All we know is that it’s somewhere on File Island. Our only option is to go everywhere.” He pulled his sunglasses down off his face for a second, looking everyone dead in the eye before resting them on his nose again. “And I do mean everywhere. File Island’s a lot smaller than Server, but it’s still relatively big.”
“How long is this going to take?” Ryan asked.
“Around six weeks,” Pop said, and instantly groans went up from practically everyone. She lifted her arms in a whoa-there motion. “I know, I know, but it’s the only thing we can do. You’ve been in this world for around six weeks. Think of it as finally being halfway through!”
“And it’ll only be six weeks if we don’t find the Catalyst along the way,” Moxie added, sensing that absolutely zero doubts had been assuaged. “It’s highly likely we will.”
Damien continued, going over the route they’d be taking - Gear Savannah, Browser Jungle, Panoramic View, a few more shorter stops along the way - while Moxie cast her gaze back towards Native Forest. File City was just beyond the trees, and though it wasn’t visible, she knew just how close it was. She knew it would be so easy to turn around right now and go there immediately - but they couldn’t. They’d already planned their route.
It wouldn’t be much longer.
Eventually - once everyone was satisfied with (or, at the bare minimum, okay with) Damien’s planned route, they set off again, heading northwest. They were in Native Glade currently, a large sweeping grassland that was more grass than land. Truthfully, Moxie was glad they were out in the open again. She’d had enough of forests over the past few weeks. She’d honestly rather take another beach, and that was saying a lot.
They crested hills and descended shallow valleys, crossed tiny streams and bubbling brooks and, at one point, a river almost too deep to wade across (Miguel, Harmony, and several of the Digimon would disagree with the “almost”).
“What would you say you’re most excited for?” Harmony asked, spreading her arms out for balance as she jumped atop a rock. “Like, a destination that’s upcoming.”
“Oh, easy,” Moxie said, reaching over to help Harmony hop down. “File City. It’s not likely we’ll reach it, since it’s the last stop, but if we do, I can’t wait to see it again.”
“Do you think it’s changed much?” Pop asked from atop her usual perch.
Moxie shrugged her opposite shoulder. “Maybe? It’s only been a few months. It didn’t change much in the apparently several years we were gone.” She stared off into space for a moment, exhaling slowly. “I wonder who’s living in our home now.”
She felt Harmony’s eyes on her, and looked over to meet her gaze. Harmony tilted her head, smiling lightly; on the other side of her, Ren flicked an ear, but kept her own eyes ahead.
“You sound like you miss it a lot,” Harmony said.
Moxie nodded. “Well, yeah. It was our home for a good few years. I’d like to see it again.”
“If you miss it so much, why is it our last stop?”
“…Well,” Moxie said, silently scrambling for an excuse, “it didn’t feel right for us to just… go straight to where we wanted to go, right? We’re not here to take a vacation back home, we’re here to find the Catalyst.” She smiled, trying to appear normal.
If someone came to the Digital World to look for us, they’d end up in File City and find us.
Harmony obviously wasn’t buying it, and Moxie opened her mouth to explain herself further, but Harmony just shrugged and nodded. “I get it. And even if we don’t actually go there this time, we can always come back later and visit, yeah?” She grinned, kicking a foot out in front of her and sending a clump of grass flying.
…We.
“Yeah,” Moxie said. “We will.”
“Personally I really want to see whatever Panoramic View is,” Harmony said. “With a name like that… surely you can see all over the island.”
“I’ve heard it’s really pretty,” Pop said, nodding her assent, and Harmony visibly lit up.
…And then she deflated, staring into the middle distance. “We have to cross Browser Jungle to get there, don’t we,” she said, voice deadpan.
“Yeah,” Moxie said, and Harmony groaned, pulling her cheeks down.
“I am sick and tired of jungles and rainforests and their stupid trees and annoying flowers and evil ninja monsters,” she muttered. “I thought Plugin Forest was bad enough, but that was tiny. Didn’t Damien say Browser Jungle would take like four days to get through?”
“Browser Jungle is nothing like Plugin Forest,” Ren said, folding her arms. “No stupid trees. No annoying flowers. Hopefully no evil ninja monsters. And if there are…” She trailed off, flexing her claws and giving Harmony a look.
“Well, I’m so glad I have you to protect me,” Harmony said, looping her arm through Ren’s. “If there are any evil ninja monsters, I trust you to take care of them and then run off into the forest immediately afterward, leaving me lost and confused.”
“Will you let it go,” Ren growled, and Moxie and Pop laughed.
“I have to say I’m a little worried about Server Desert,” Pop said, tapping her beak. “I’m not exactly built for hotter weather, and I think by now we all know my thoughts on dry heat.”
“And Below Zero is going to be really tricky for us humans,” Moxie said, and Pop nodded sagely. “Hopefully we’ll find a village willing to trade us blankets and coats.”
“I think you’d look really cute in a coat,” Harmony said, and Moxie’s heart skipped a beat before she realized she was speaking to Pop. “Pull your hood up and be all toasty and warm.”
“But then she wouldn’t be able to show off her precious head feather,” Moxie said, patting Pop’s head. For a brief moment, Harmony looked vaguely confused, but then she nodded.
“A small price to pay for being all toasty and warm,” she said, and Moxie laughed.
“What about you, Ren?” Pop said, leaning behind Moxie’s head to look over at the fox. “Anywhere you want to go? Or not go?”
Ren shook her head. “Not really.” Harmony nudged her slightly, and she rolled her eyes. “…I guess I’m not looking forward to Midnight Isle.”
“Oh, yeah,” Moxie said. “We’ll make it a quick stop, don’t worry. I’m not a huge fan of the whole nightclub style either. ”
“…That’s not what the problem is,” Ren mumbled, but she didn’t elaborate, and Moxie got the feeling she shouldn’t press.
The conversation died out after that, but they soon rejoined with the rest of the group, consolidating once more after spending some time away from each other. The sun was high in the sky by this point, beaming down on the group from its peak, but it was warm rather than abrasive.
They got to talking together, about anything and everything. Moxie listened as the others recounted stories from back home - a time when Alex had tried making pizza for Ezra but given him food poisoning instead, a day where Harmony had shared her lunch with Miguel because he’d forgotten his, a class in which Ryan hadn’t studied for a test so he copied off of Azure instead (they were absolutely scandalized at this). Anna even snuck her way into some of the tales; Alex told them the story of how she’d gotten her nickname of Bunny, leading everyone to immediately question why she’d named her partner the same nickname Alex had given her. Anna refused to explain, and Bunny herself didn’t even seem to know the story.
Eventually, as it typically did, the conversation wandered back to the present - though thankfully, it didn’t focus on what was plaguing Moxie’s mind.
“I know this has been asked a lot,” Dare said, drawing everyone’s attention to the front of the pack, “but I just want to see where everyone’s at. So. What do you think the Catalyst is?”
Silence. Then, barely a moment later:
“Maybe it’s the evil Digimon himself,” Anna said, much too quickly for an off-the-cuff theory.
“Ooh, I hadn’t considered that at all,” Ember said, clenching his fists. “Wouldn’t that be crazy? Imagine we’re hunting down the exact same guy who wants us dead!”
“Technically we’re doing that already,” Alex said as Moxie’s stomach began to churn. “We need to find him in order to fight him and defeat him and save the world. We’re just focused on the Catalyst right now because Piximon told us to.”
“I don’t think Piximon would have us chase down the very Digimon we’re fighting against without telling us so,” Castor said, shaking his head.
Damien laughed. “Yes he would.”
“Regardless,” Castor went on, ignoring Damien’s interruption, “I think it’s much more likely that it’ll be a key item we need in order to figure out what to do. Some sort of guide to us, sort of like Asuramon and Piximon.”
“Oh, yippee,” Damien mumbled, and Moxie narrowed her eyes at him. He caught her looking and smiled in faux innocence.
Ryan sighed. “I don’t see why the hell Piximon couldn’t just tell us what it is. Would be a lot easier if we could ask people about something specific rather than being annoying and vague about it and calling it by some stupid title.”
“Piximon probably didn’t know what it was,” Moxie pointed out, and Ryan frowned. “He didn’t know Anna and Bunny’s names.”
“Yeah, but he at least had the sense of mind to call them a ‘missing piece’,” Ryan said. “Lot more descriptive than some word that’s only ever come up in chemistry class.”
“…I think this would all be a lot easier if we had an idea of where to start,” Pop said, and Moxie relented. “It would be nice to know a bit more. But we don’t. We have to make do with what we have.”
The group was quiet for a bit, only the sound of the grass beneath their feet to break the silence. Moxie looked over to Harmony, seeing her gaze cast to the ground, but it was Ren who spoke next.
“It feels like this whole world is out to get us.”
Moxie’s brow creased.
“But you’ve made it this far,” Anna said, holding Bunny close to her chest. “You said you’re halfway through, right? You just have to keep going.” She reached a hand up to scratch her cheek. “I’m sure we’ll find the Catalyst. It’s somewhere on File Island.”
“That’s not really what I meant,” Ren said, but whatever she wanted to say next was drowned out by the sound of something from above.
“
“Shit,” Moxie said, instantly diving to the ground as something swooped low over the group. The rest of the group had fortunately had the same idea, pressing themselves to the grass as the Digimon passed by.
Moxie shoved herself up into a crouch, seeing the Digimon - a giant skeletal red bird - bank left to come back around. The tip of one of its wings was shrouded in a dark energy, and it dipped it to the ground as it once again flew over the heads of the group.
It circled high into the sky and flared its wings out, and around the group a large circle of darkness burst from the grass, rising into the air until it had formed a wall around them.
Moxie reached out to the wall and hissed when it burned, shaking her hand out.
Her digivice sounded off with a beep and Pop went up in pink light, jumping into the air as Aquilamon as soon as it dispersed. The Digimon was still hovering in the sky above the group, and Moxie squinted up at it, meeting its pure white gaze.
As more of the partner Digimon evolved, Moxie dug into her pocket to pull her digivice out and analyze the Digimon.
“Velgrmon,” her Digivice said as Dare shot a cannonball into the Digimon’s wing, sending it tumbling to the ground. “Ultimate level giant bird Digimon. It has the appearance of a monstrous, colossal bird, and due to its baleful appearance and nature it is called the Corpse Swallower.”
Charming. Moxie looked over to see Ezra pulling Anna and Bunny - who had not evolved - onto Ember’s back, who then jumped up and over the wall of darkness, flaring his wings out to lift himself and slow his descent.
Velgrmon, having righted itself, saw this, and was not happy about it.
“
Something tugged on Moxie’s hand and she looked over to see Damien pulling her towards Bumble. Bumble grabbed onto both of them, lifting them over the wall and placing them down on the other side before returning to help Azure and Miguel.
“
Moxie ran to her partner’s side as soon as she landed, dodging more attacks from Velgrmon as it downed more and more of the Digimon. Pop struggled to her feet, spreading her wings out to shield Moxie from Velgrmon.
“I’m fine,” Pop said, already sensing Moxie’s question. She was breathing heavily, but she straightened herself out, glaring up at Velgrmon. “I think we might be able to beat it like this. I’ll give it all I’ve got.”
She shot into the sky, leaving Moxie alone with a budding worry in her chest. By “like this”, she had meant “in their champion forms”. But when was the last time a champion had been match enough for an ultimate? She couldn’t help but think of how Ember hadn’t been able to defeat Astamon, how they’d had to flee from MarineDevimon more times than she could count, how Baalmon had -
“
Pop crashed into Velgrmon, horns glowing red, and the two of them spiraled to the ground below, landing with a shock that nearly toppled Moxie. She scanned the area, seeing the wall of darkness had dispersed and most of the humans were safely out of Velgrmon’s range, before again running toward Pop.
Velgrmon took to the air once more, shooting beams of energy at the surrounding Digimon, while Pop stood up and shook herself out. Velgrmon knocked Bumble out of the sky and followed up by swooping down toward Castor and Ren, sending a wave of darkness from its wing toward them as it passed by. Flip shot a torpedo up at it, but it shook it off with a flap of its wings before diving down, raking its claws across Flip’s face.
There was too much happening.
Velgrmon was too fast and too strong and too composed for them. Too few of the Digimon could actually fly, and even those that could were always summarily downed. Velgrmon would take an attack and then respond with two more.
And the Digimon weren’t evolving further.
Would they even be able to?
Can we even win?
It was reminding Moxie too much of something that had happened all too recently for her liking. She’d tried to block it from her mind, especially after the Aegiochusmon fight, when panicking had nearly cost her her life, but it kept crawling back.
She couldn’t escape it. She couldn’t win.
So many things could go wrong.
Pop and Bumble being so grievously injured they devolved. Moxie and Damien throwing themselves into the line of fire. Having to flee - to run away, to give up, to not look back.
She didn’t know if she could handle that again. Just one time had been enough to scar her so deeply that to this day she still saw it happen in her dreams, over and over again, inescapable even in her sleep.
Why did this always come back to haunt her?
She was aware of her breathing quickening, of her heart skipping its beats, of the way her blood went cold in her veins. She was rooted to the spot where she stood; she couldn’t move even if she had wanted to. She couldn’t do anything.
Velgrmon slammed to the ground in front of her and she didn’t even react. Pop and Bumble landed a moment later, standing between her and Velgrmon as if to guard her. It didn’t give her any reassurance.
Her mind went back to the last time she’d felt this way, facing off against Aegiochusmon outside Hallowed Hall. It was almost a month ago at this point, but it felt like yesterday. It was so vivid in her memory. Like she’d never really left. Like it was happening all over again.
That was all she could focus on. The fact that she’d felt this way before. The fact that this wouldn’t be the last time.
You just have to keep going.
But how? How can I do that if I don’t have any idea of where to start?
At thirteen years old, Moxie had faced off against the likes of which she had never seen or imagined. She hadn’t been strong enough. None of them had been strong enough.
All she’d had was Pop’s devotion and Damien’s hand in hers.
It hadn’t been enough then.
But it was what she had right now.
We have to make do with what we have.
“Ultimate evolution engaged.”
Moxie breathed a sigh of relief and Damien tightened his fingers around hers. Before them, Pop and Bumble were consumed by white light, and then it burst apart and finally, finally, revealed their ultimate forms again.
They wasted no time in attacking, Pop dashing forward and Bumble rising to meet Velgrmon in the air again. Pop jumped into the sky behind Velgrmon, extending a leg and aiming straight for it.
“
She hit Velgrmon in the back, and it stumbled forward slightly, wings flapping haphazardly to keep it aloft. It spun around, shaking Pop off its back and glaring down at her on the ground, giving Bumble just the opening he needed.
“
“
She shoved her arms forward. “
“
For a moment, Pop and Velgrmon stared each other down, neither moving. Velgrmon’s breathing was ragged; it didn’t make any move to escape. Pop grit her teeth and began to gather the golden energy in her hands.
Moxie clenched her empty fist.
“
Velgrmon dissolved into pixels and Moxie took a shaky breath in. Her fingers slipped out from between Damien’s, and she clutched her hands to her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible. Even when Pop and Bumble both began to glow and shrink, returning to her rookie forms, she did not look any of them in the eye.
Velgrmon had been defeated. Pop and Bumble had evolved again.
So why was she still so scared?
“Hey,” Damien said, and Moxie realized she’d knelt on the ground, digging her fingers into the earth between blades of grass. She blinked up at him, reorienting herself both physically and mentally.
Damien reached a hand down to her, and after a moment of hesitance, she took it, standing up and somehow stopping herself from stumbling into him.
She cast her gaze around the meadow, taking in where everyone stood. The rest of the Digimon had devolved by now, returning to their partners so they could check each other over.
Everyone seemed mostly unharmed, but…
“Is that it?” Anna said, and Moxie looked over to her. She stood with Bunny in her arms in between Ember and Ezra, the latter of whom was still looking her over for any injuries. Anna squeezed Bunny tighter, shying away from Ezra. “Is it over?”
“Yeah,” Alex said, a few paces away from Ezra. “It’s over.”
Anna frowned. “What happened to it?”
Right. Anna hadn’t seen a Digimon defeated before. Moxie bit her lip, trying to figure out how to phrase it.
“Digimon are made of data,” Bunny said quietly, peering up at her partner. “When we die, our data gets reformatted and we get reborn as new Digimon. Velgrmon’s not gone forever. It’ll just become someone else.”
“Will it come back and attack us?” Anna asked. Her face remained neutral, but Moxie sensed a quiver in her voice.
Bunny shook her head, albeit a little hesitantly. “No. It won’t remember us.”
Anna nodded slowly. “Okay.”
She didn’t look convinced. Moxie wasn’t either. She knew that Bunny was right - that Velgrmon was gone, and even when it would be reborn, it wouldn’t remember them.
She knew this. She knew that she had Pop, that she had Damien and Bumble, that she had the rest of the group. She knew that she wouldn’t ever have to face what she’d faced all those years ago ever again.
She knew she was safe. So why did she never feel it?
The flashbacks and nightmares and panic never ended. She didn’t know if they ever would.
Would I even be the same person if they did?
The group started walking again shortly after, not wanting to spend too much time sidetracked or dwell too long on the fact that not even a day into being on File Island they had already run into a manic Digimon. They’d known they would eventually, but they hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. It didn’t bode well for the rest of their journey, but they couldn’t focus on that. They had to keep going.
Moxie had hung back to the rear of the group, behind even Miguel and Flip, the ones usually at the back. Pop had tried asking if she was okay a couple of times, but Moxie always shrugged her off. She knew that Pop already knew the answer; she knew well enough by now when Moxie was troubled, and even more easily so when she’d just come out of a panic attack.
They tried to make small talk with each other. Even though Moxie was definitely not in the right headspace to talk to anyone else, she didn’t want to be fully alone, and she got the feeling Pop didn’t either.
It would have to do.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it,” Pop said quietly, and Moxie heaved a resigned sigh.
“I don’t know what answer you want from me,” she said, sticking her hands in her pockets. Pop tilted her head down at her.
“The truth.”
“You already know the truth.”
“I need more than that to go off of.”
They’d had this conversation so many times in the past that Moxie could practically recite it line for line. She shook her head. “You know why I panicked. It happens every time.”
“I’m not trying to be your therapist,” Pop said, and Moxie snorted, “but talking about it is sure to help. It always does for you.”
Loath as she was to admit it, Pop was right. She hated it when Pop was right.
She stared down at her feet for a moment, lost in the rhythm of their movement as she walked. Eventually she shrugged her unoccupied shoulder and looked up at the sky.
“I don’t know,” she said, and she could practically feel Pop’s eye roll, but she continued. “I think you know by now that I… there’s a lot of things I should talk to a real therapist about.” It was Pop’s turn to laugh, and Moxie smiled thinly. “I try everything I can to process it like a normal person, but I can’t. No matter what I try, I just… can’t.”
“Everyone heals differently,” Pop started, and Moxie cut her off with a shake of her head.
“It’s not that I process it differently,” she said, looking down at her hands. “It’s that I process it… wrong. If at all.”
It had been years at this point. She should be over it by now.
She’d done everything she could think of. Talking about it. Writing about it. Meditating. Ignoring it. Focusing solely on it. Screaming, crying, breathing deeply, forcing a smile.
Nothing worked. It always came back.
Pop opened her beak to say something, and Moxie raised a hand to halt her. “Save it,” she said quietly. “I know you’re trying to help, but… not right now.”
“If you say so,” Pop said, and she left it at that.
Logically, Moxie knew she was fine. In the past, it had just been her, Pop, Damien, and Bumble; in the past, their partners had only been able to evolve up to champion, and that was only when they were able to evolve.
Now, they were getting better at evolving more regularly - all of them. More control on evolving practically at will, more skill with their champion forms, and that was saying nothing of the fact that, on rare occasions, they could evolve even further. Pop and Bumble had done it again today; who was to say that the others wouldn’t be able to soon?
They were with a group now. A full group who, even if they didn’t know exactly what they were doing, were at least doing their damn best to figure it out. Doing what they could with what they had, right? They could lean on each other, rely on each other for help, protect each other. That’s what they’d been doing this whole time. They’d made it this far.
Something is wrong with me.
It was a thought she’d had many times over the course of her life, for many different reasons. Something is wrong with me and I don’t know what and I can’t fix it.
Why can’t I heal? Why do I never feel safe?
She pushed the thoughts away, shoving them into a dark corner of her mind. She didn’t need to focus on that right now - or ever, really, but she knew she wouldn’t get off that easily.
As the group walked further into the day, the hills rose more and more with the sun. Moxie had been aware of and entirely expecting this, but it didn’t make her any happier when they had to crest their first truly strenuous hill, one they couldn’t see anything past until they reached the top. What they saw beyond it were more hills, sloping up and down and just barely relenting every now and then for as far as the eye could see. Off to the northeast, further inland, they shallowed out slightly, cascading down into a mess of trees that slowly turned into a forest, too thick to see anything within.
Moxie frowned slightly, but didn’t think much of it.
They stopped for lunch atop the hill, passing around leftovers and refills of water. Moxie enjoyed some leftover cobb noodles from a few days ago while Pop snacked on an apple. She felt a little bit better now that she had some food in her stomach, at the very least.
Alex lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked out across the land. “Can’t say I’m looking forward to climbing these hills.”
“We could technically go around them,” Damien said, pointing down into the valley, specifically at the winding routes between the bases of the hills, not entirely flat but at the very least not incredibly steep. “It’ll take a lot longer though, and we’ll be more at risk of being ambushed from above.”
“I’d almost take that over the hills,” Azure said, taking a long, deep breath. “I think my asthma is going to kill me.”
Damien looked at them for a brief moment before shrugging and pulling his glasses back down onto his face. “It’s worth a shot, I guess.”
“Would probably be a lot easier, even if it does take longer,” Ko said, and several of the group nodded their assent. “Just have to make sure we keep on track.”
The descent down the other side was only marginally easier than their climb up. It was difficult to keep themselves from walking faster than they wanted to, propelled by gravity and the angle of the slope, and they had to stop every now and then to get their bearings. The grass, too, made everything much more difficult than it needed to be; it was long and slippery, and several of the group found themselves sliding and tripping on it, saved by their nearby companions reaching out to grab them before they could tumble down the hillside.
They made it to the bottom eventually, and an inaudible but collective sigh went up once they’d touched down on flat ground.
Pop and Bumble took to the skies, offering to patrol from above to hopefully avoid any more surprise attacks. They had to watch not only the sky but the hills around them; a Digimon, or group thereof, could very easily ambush them if they attacked from up above.
Ironically enough, it was not the top of a hill or the blue sky from which their next attacker appeared, but rather directly in front of them.
As they wound around one of the hills, a few yards away, a small purple Digimon poked its head up from the grass, took one look at them with its bright green eyes, and then grinned.
“
It all happened in the span of about two seconds. A small red fireball shot directly toward the group, landing about three feet in front of them and setting the grass ablaze for a pitiful few seconds before dying down. Moxie blinked, stepping to the side to get a good look at the Digimon from her position near the back.
“
“Ow!” she shouted, pinning her ears back and opening her mouth. “
The cannonball struck the Digimon directly in the face, and it fell back into the grass unceremoniously, crying out in pain and shock. Dare growled at it, and Ren bounded forward, picking it up by the scruff and holding it up above the ground, kicking and thrashing.
“Put me down!” it said, sounding suspiciously like a New York mobster (of which Moxie was all too familiar with). It waved its arms around, trying to dislodge itself from Ren’s grasp, but she tightened her claws on its bandana.
Moxie took a step back, looking up for her partner and waving her down. Pop and Bumble descended, Pop landing on Moxie’s shoulder and Bumble fluttering to Damien’s side, both regarding the new Digimon with wary gazes.
Next to Moxie, Azure reached into their pocket for their digivice, switching it on and pointing it at the Digimon. Its eyes widened when it noticed the device, and its struggling increased.
“Hey, I’m sorry, I was just joking!” it said frantically, swinging back and forth. “I didn’t mean to hurt ya! Now can you please let me go and stop pointing that thing at me!”
“Calm down,” Ren said, and Azure’s digivice finally spoke.
“Impmon,” it said, and Impmon’s eyes widened even further at hearing its own name coming from a small rectangular box. “Rookie level mini devil Digimon. Although it is a Digimon that loves mischief and malice, it never toadies to the strong, but stands up to them with a strong attitude.”
“Oh,” Impmon said, his tail flicking slowly behind him. “If ya wanted my name, you coulda just asked! I even woulda told you all of that extra stuff too! Though I don’t exactly know what ‘toadies’ are.”
“So he’s harmless,” Ren said, dropping Impmon. He landed on the ground with a whump and a groan, pushing himself up onto his elbows and rubbing his head.
“What was that for?” he said, glaring up at Ren.
“Why did you attack us?” Moxie said, stepping forward. Impmon wasn’t manic, and he certainly wasn’t strong enough to be able to take on a group of nine Digimon even if he was. “We didn’t do anything to you.”
“I told ya, I was just joking around!” Impmon said, springing back up onto his feet. He shook himself out, narrowing his eyes at the group as he took them all in. “You weren’t actually hurt by that, were ya?” he said then, looking to Dare.
She frowned, but shook her head. “No, but that doesn’t mean it was okay. Attacking strangers is a joke to you?”
“Of course!” Impmon said.
Dare sighed. “Well, it’s not a funny one.”
Impmon gaped at this, placing a hand on where his heart would be. “What? You take that back! I’m plenty funny!” He stomped his foot on the ground, balling his hands into fists.
“Calm down,” Ren said again, swishing her tail around to nudge Impmon away from Dare. He glared up at her and crossed his arms with a hmph, turning away slightly.
“I wanted to have some fun,” he muttered, kicking a nonexistent stone away. “But you guys are just a bunch of party poopers.” He stuck his tongue out at the group.
“We’re not trying to be,” Harmony said, holding her hands up. “We’re sort of in the middle of something. Also usually when we get attacked it’s by someone who actually wants us dead, not someone who’s just playing a prank.”
“Wants you dead?” That got Impmon’s attention quick. He stood up on his tiptoes, leaning towards Harmony. “What, you guys criminals or somethin’? Should I have actually attacked you?”
“Literally not at all,” Ryan said. “It’s everyone else who’s a criminal.”
“Well, technically there’s no law against it,” Pop mumbled, and Ryan jerked his head towards her.
“Murder isn’t illegal here?”
“Like Harmony said,” Moxie cut in, shushing her partner, “we’re in the middle of something important. We don’t have time to play games, sorry.”
“Aw, you’re no fun,” Impmon said, crossing his arms again. “What exactly are you in the middle of?”
…Moxie gave the others a look, which was returned in kind. Castor cleared his throat, drawing Impmon’s attention to him while the humans quickly mouthed hurried concerns to each other.
“Nothing important,” Castor said, and Impmon squished his face up.
“You just said it was something important! I’m not trying to stop ya, I’m just curious!”
They hadn’t entirely been keeping their true mission a secret from strangers up until this point, but something about Impmon just seemed… off. Not in a mania way. It was just… his personality. His penchant for “jokes”. His way of speaking.
(Moxie had never really been a fan of New York mobsters.)
He was a little too interested in their goal, to say the least.
“It is important,” Moxie said, treading very carefully. “We don’t really have time to stick around and explain, though. We should be on our way.”
Impmon rolled his eyes, but held an arm out, effectually ushering them forward. “Be my guest. I wouldn’t want to stop you from whatever it is you’re doing.”
“You can come with us,” Anna said, and Moxie cringed inwardly at the same time as Impmon lit up.
“Do ya really mean it?” he said wistfully, clasping his hands together, eyes practically sparkling.
No, Moxie wanted to say, but she held her tongue, and Anna nodded. Moxie caught sight of Ezra’s pained facial expression, mirrored by several others in the group. She shook her head out, patting Pop’s head and resigning herself to their fate.
“Then let’s go!” Impmon exclaimed, pointing a finger to the sky. “Lead the way, my new mysteriously non-digital friends!”
So he was at least aware that the humans weren’t from the Digital World. That was probably the extent of his wisdom, honestly, but it was better than nothing. Saved them a lot of explaining (though that would only be true if he asked them where they were from, which didn’t seem likely).
They kept walking with their new compatriot in tow. Impmon was a lot more interested in what they were doing now than what they had done previously, or why they were here, or why they even had something important to do in the first place. The group continued to dodge his questions (Ezra pulled Anna aside and explained why to her), but he was unrelenting, and incredibly annoying. Try as they might to get him to drop the subject, he never backed down, growing more insistent and more demanding the longer and further they walked.
It made sense that eventually someone would slip up.
“I’m just sayin’,” Impmon was, indeed, sayin’, arms folded behind his head. “Might be easier if you had a tour guide, and who better than your buddy right here?”
“We appreciate the offer, really,” Moxie said, her patience stretched thin. “We’re fine on our own. My brother and I’s partners are familiar with the area, and we’ve been doing just fine until now.”
“But you could be doing even better!” Impmon said, spreading his hands out. “Trust me, I know this place better than the back of my own hand! …Well, maybe that’s not saying a lot,” he added, staring down at his gloves. “But trust me! I could be a real help to ya!”
“I don’t think the first Digimon we come across is going to know what we’re looking for,” Harmony mumbled, mostly to herself. …And then horror dawned upon her face as she realized what she’d just said. Moxie patted her shoulder reassuringly as she placed her hands over her face in despair.
Well, the truth’s out now.
Impmon perked up, hopping over to Harmony and walking backwards in front of her to face her properly. “Looking for somethin’, eh? Why didn’t ya just say so? I know everything here, I’m sure I can help! What is it?”
“Well,” Moxie said, folding her arms. “We don’t know what it is. All we know is that it’s somewhere here on File Island, and we need to find it.”
“Is it a human?” Impmon asked, and before Moxie could open her mouth to say that it wasn’t, he pressed onward on his own. “I’ve seen a human around here. Tall. Mysterious. They look like they know what they’re doin’. I could take ya to ‘em.”
“We’re not -” Ren started to protest, but Harmony shushed her, then clasped her hands and looked down at Impmon.
“That would be really helpful,” she said, and Impmon beamed up at her.
Well. Moxie was by no means a pessimist (that was her brother’s forte), but she had to admit this was a bit odd. She’d sort of been expecting it to take a lot longer to find the Catalyst, and she hadn’t thought it would be a human. That, plus the fact it was this Digimon who supposedly knew it?
But did they have anything else to go off of?
It’s all we’ve got.
It was worth a shot, at the very least.
She didn’t have a chance to say anything before Impmon suddenly ran ahead, gesturing for the group to follow him. A few confused murmurs came up from behind her, and she shrugged offhandedly before jogging to catch up to him. She once again signaled up to Pop and Bumble to call them down, both of them looking incredibly bewildered as to why they’d changed their course.
“Tell me why we’re following a Digimon whose first thought upon seeing us was to attack us and then wave it off as a harmless joke,” Damien said once Moxie had hung back to walk beside him. Beside him, Bumble twitched his antenna in his approximation of a laugh.
“He said he knows the Catalyst,” Moxie said, and Damien snorted. “He seems pretty set on it. I’m a little suspicious too, but I think we should give him a chance.”
“He knows he’s not strong enough to take us on in a fight,” Pop added. “I don’t think he’s planning to attack us.”
“Unless he can evolve,” Damien said.
“Well, so can we,” Pop countered, puffing her chest out. “At the very least, he’s not manic, so even if he does have ulterior motives, it’s not anything to do with the archangel.”
“I know you don’t like it when people go against your oh-so-carefully constructed plans,” Moxie said, poking Damien’s shoulder, “but it’ll be fine. It’s good to let someone else take leadership every now and then.”
“Not when their only skill is being a massive pain in the ass,” he said, but he held his hands up in defeat, and Moxie rolled her eyes.
Impmon led them on a winding trek around the hills, sometimes even trying to get them to go over them (though he sulkily gave in when Azure explained their asthma to him). His route didn’t deviate much from the original at first, though as they went further, it became much more chaotic and almost formless, like he was leading them on a leisurely stroll to admire the scenery rather than to take them to who they were looking for. They tried asking him to lead them on a more straightforward path, to which he begrudgingly agreed, but he always ended up slipping back into his wayward ways.
Evening was already upon them by the time they reached the forest.
It was the one they had seen from atop the hill during lunch. Moxie hadn’t realized until now just how close yet far it had been, and also just how dark it was inside. The tree cover blotted out any light that the setting sun may have provided within, resulting in a settling shroud of darkness upon the undergrowth.
The group stared into the forest for a few seconds, utterly unmoving, and then Impmon took a step forward.
“I know it looks scary,” he said, turning around and splaying his arms out. “But it’s not dangerous! Surely you’ve been in forests before?”
“I find it hard to believe that a human would be hiding in a dark forest like this,” Alex mumbled from next to Moxie.
“We hid in a dark forest on our first day here,” Ezra said.
“That was very different.”
“C’mon, what are you waiting for?” Impmon called out, already halfway in the forest. He turned around, placing his hands on his hips and tapping a foot as he frowned at the group. “It’s not that much farther!”
He didn’t wait for anyone to follow him before bounding into the forest on his own, not even so much as sparing a glance back over his shoulder. He disappeared within the darkness and foliage, and the group was once more left in silence in his wake.
A few moments passed, and then:
“This forest better not be anything like Plugin,” Harmony grumbled, and then she headed off after Impmon, Ren shortly behind her.
The rest of the group followed her in, some more apprehensive than others, but the moment they stepped under the trees they realized they had really been exaggerating. The forest wasn’t quite as dark as it had appeared from the outside; it was still hard to see, and there weren’t any beams of light breaking down through the leaves above, but it wasn’t as bad as they’d thought it would be.
That was a relief, at the very least.
As they walked, they had to slow down to avoid tripping over unseen branches and rocks. Impmon, still at the front of the pack, was obviously a bit frustrated with their decrease in speed, but he managed to keep any comments about the situation to himself, even if he got a little huffy.
“You know,” Moxie said, about fifteen minutes into their walk, commenting sidelong to Pop, “call it a hunch, but I’m not really expecting to find anything here.”
“He’s probably leading us through the forest to the other side,” Harmony said, though she sounded a little hesitant. Moxie blinked; she hadn’t realized Harmony had been walking beside her. “I’m sure it won’t be much farther.”
“It won’t,” Impmon said from in front of them, waving a hand around. “Just a little bit longer.”
“Does the human have a Digimon with them?” Pop asked Impmon, leaning forward on Moxie’s shoulder.
He shrugged. “Dunno. I haven’t seen ‘em with one.”
That was strange. It was possible that they truly didn’t have a partner, but if that was true, what sort of help would they be to the group? How would a partnerless human have any more idea of what was going on than the group did?
If only Piximon had known more about them.
But that would’ve been too simple, wouldn’t it? Nothing came easy in this world, and certainly not on this journey.
The leaf cover above did not give up as they headed deeper into the forest; if anything, it thickened, leaving less and less strands of sunlight able to make their way down to the forest floor and provide even a smidge of light to see their way by. Moxie considered turning her phone flashlight on, but she could still see Impmon just a few feet ahead of her, and they really just had to follow him.
“You know this forest?” she asked him. “It seems like you know your way around pretty well.”
“You could say that,” he said offhandedly. “At the very least I know how to navigate it safely.”
“Safely?” Ren cut in, tail flicking behind her. “Is it unsafe?”
“Nah,” he said, twisting his head around to smile at her. “Just figured I’d elaborate, else maybe you’d think I only knew how to navigate it dangerously.”
“Weirdo,” Ren said under her breath, but Impmon didn’t hear her, even when Harmony reached over to smack her arm to get her to shut up.
After a few more minutes, Moxie cleared her throat. “How much farther is it?”
He hummed to himself, scratching his cheek with a claw. “Shouldn’t be too long now,” he said, much quieter than she’d expected him to. She frowned down at him.
“I don’t trust him,” Ren whispered, just loud enough for Harmony, Moxie, and Pop to hear. “As much as I hate to admit it, Alex was right. I don’t see why a human would choose to wait in this forest for us.”
“Do they know we’re coming, though?” Harmony whispered back. “Maybe they got attacked and came in here to hide?”
“Or maybe there’s something in here that’s going to attack us,” Ren mumbled. “Maybe he really is trying to help, but even so, something about him doesn’t sit right with me. He’s hard to get a read on.”
“Hey,” Pop said, and the other three pairs of eyes turned to her. She pointed off to the side with a claw.
Deep within the trees, heading their way, was a rolling mass of mist, gray and almost staticky. Moxie frowned, stopping in her tracks; Ren and Harmony had the same idea.
“Fog?” Harmony said, turning to face it properly. “That’s weird. It’s a perfectly sunny day.”
Ren tentatively reached a paw out to it, then pulled it back. Some of the fog came away attached to her paw, wisping away as she moved it with a faint scattering of pixels. Ren rubbed her fingers together curiously.
Ahead of them, Impmon had also halted, and was looking at them with… something almost like amazement.
“That was quicker than I thought,” he said, grinning, and it hit Moxie like a runaway train.
“Fuck,” she said, stepping away from Impmon cautiously. Pop hopped off her shoulder to land on the ground, bristling as she faced off against Impmon. Out of the corners of her eyes, Moxie saw the fog advance, approaching ever-quicker.
This was his plan all along.
“What’s wrong?” Harmony asked, curling her fingers against her chest.
“This is the Corroded Woodlands,” Moxie said, almost unable to believe what she was saying. She turned on Impmon, blood boiling in her veins. “You knew that. You led us here on purpose.”
He held his hands up in mock guilt, still smiling. “I just wanted to have a bit of fun! I’m honestly surprised ya fell for it, what with how stingy you were bein’ at first!” He pointed over at the fog, now barely more than a few feet away. “You should probably get out while ya still can. It won’t be much longer.”
“Moxie,” Pop said, tugging at her pant leg, but Moxie took a step towards Impmon, hands balled into fists and heart on fire.
“You think this is some sort of game?” she said, staring down at him. “Digimon have died here! Everyone knows to avoid it, and you led us straight into it!”
“If you knew to avoid it,” he said, “why’d ya follow me in?”
“Because we trusted you!” she shouted, spreading her arms out. “You wanted to help us, so we gave you a chance, and you turned around and betrayed us! You know how dangerous this place is and you decided to turn it into a joke!”
She knew it was just the fear and panic setting in making her angry. She knew they should just turn around and leave while they still could, while they had the chance to. She knew that they couldn’t stay here. That it wasn’t worth getting angry at.
But she couldn’t think straight. Her mind was a mess of all the warnings she’d ever heard from her friends and neighbors in File City. Don’t go to the Corroded Woodlands. Stay as far away from it as possible. Never trust anyone who tells you it’s safe.
Anyone who ends up there is as good as dead.
She didn’t think she’d ever been this panicked before.
“Moxie,” Harmony said, placing a hand on her shoulder, and Moxie whirled around to face her. “Calm down.”
Moxie stared at her, mouth agape, for a split second. “Calm down? Do you know what’s going on? What he’s done to us?”
“I’m sure he didn’t mean it,” Harmony said, fiddling with her hands. “He just wanted to have fun, right? I’m sure we can -”
“This isn’t a joke,” Moxie said, chest practically burning. “He knew what he was doing. I don’t know why he did it, or what he wants to accomplish, or -”
The fog had fully set in by this point, wrapping around them and obscuring any view of the forest around them. Moxie waved it away with a hand, shaking her head out.
“How are you not upset?” she said.
“I don’t think doing one bad thing makes him a bad person,” Harmony said, frowning.
Moxie laughed. “There’s a huge difference between making a mistake and intentionally endangering someone!”
“I don’t even know what he did that was so bad!” Harmony shot back. Next to her, Ren turned a scornful gaze upon her, but remained silent.
Moxie didn’t understand it. How was Harmony not panicking? How did she not understand the gravity of the situation? How was she completely unaware of what was going on and yet still trying to insist Impmon didn’t have any bad intentions? “You don’t even know where we are and you’re jumping to his defense?”
“I’m trying to see things from his perspective, not defend him!”
Pop took a step towards the two girls, brow furrowed. “I think Harmony’s right.”
Moxie stared down at her partner, entire body going cold. “Not you too,” she murmured. “You know what this place is.”
“Impmon did this purposefully.” Ren’s voice came as a surprise, and Moxie blinked over at her, confused. Ren met her gaze evenly, then glared at her own partner. “He knew what he was doing. He intentionally endangered us for his own amusement.”
“He attacked us when he first saw us and nobody had an issue with that!” Harmony cried.
That was so much different. That was nothing compared to this.
Ren seemed to agree with Moxie. “His attacks barely hit us,” she said, taking a step towards Harmony, “and the one that did didn’t even hurt. This is something much different.”
Harmony snapped her jaw shut, rubbing an arm gently. “How do you know what’s going on?”
“Because I had a friend who knew this place,” Ren said.
“So do I!” Harmony shouted, pointing directly at Moxie. Her eyes glimmered and she wiped a hand across her face. “But right now, she’s not acting like much of one!”
Oh.
If it were any other day, any other time, in any other location, that would’ve been enough to stop Moxie entirely, calm her down, shut her up completely. She would be done. She’d give up.
But the fog wound around her legs and into her mind and she just couldn’t give up.
It’s not my fault.
She doesn’t get it. She’s not understanding me. She doesn’t believe me.
Why does nobody ever believe me?
It was these thoughts that Moxie clung to. They were easier to hold onto than any of the others threatening to push forward.
“Are you serious,” she said quietly, instead of anything else that she so desperately wanted to say.
“Why aren’t you telling me what’s going on?” Harmony said. “You’re just ganging up on me and getting angry for no reason!”
“I’m not angry,” Ren said smoothly, and Harmony shook her head.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” she said, turning her eyes to Moxie once more.
Moxie swallowed the growing lump in her throat. “I am not angry.”
“Then what the hell is all of this?” Harmony spread her arms out, turning around in a small circle and gesturing at the fog, the trees, the smothering darkness around them. “You seem pretty damn angry to me!”
“I’m not angry at you!” Moxie snapped. “I am panicking!” She was. She understood that, now. This was panic. Fear. “You don’t know my anger!”
“But I know you,” Harmony said.
Moxie met her gaze, not daring to blink. “Do you?”
Harmony hesitated for a second - a split second - too long, longer than she should have, longer than Moxie wanted her to, needed her to. “I want to,” she mumbled. “But you’re making it difficult for me.”
“I’m not trying to.” She meant it. She didn’t want to make it hard for Harmony, she wanted it to be easy, but they couldn’t do that right now, not when - “We’re in danger here,” she said forcefully. “We’re going to be stuck here forever if we don’t leave.”
“Then let’s fucking leave!” Harmony shouted. “Instead of standing around and yelling at each other!”
Moxie glowered at her, gritting her teeth. “I didn’t start this! I’ve been trying to tell you it’s dangerous here and you’re not listening to me!”
Harmony groaned and ran her hands through her hair. “You’re not telling me WHY it’s dangerous! You keep saying we’re in danger, but you’re not telling me why!”
“It’s the fog,” Pop said quietly, and instantly all eyes were on her. She stood resolute against them. “There’s something strange about it. It disorients you to the point you can’t find the way out. You get lost here, walking in circles for eternity until you either die or go mad.”
For not the first time that day, fear and worry dawned on Harmony’s face, her eyes going wide. “What?” She looked over to Ren, then back to Pop, and then to Moxie.
Moxie folded her arms across her chest, breaking the stare. “I have known about this place ever since I first came to this world. Anyone who ends up here is as good as dead. This is the one place I have always avoided, but now, because of him -”
She turned around to point at Impmon, but he was gone.
Moxie blinked, looking around. He was just there. Where did he run off to? Was he hiding somewhere out of sight? Waiting for them to finish their argument?
He wasn’t.
And neither was the rest of the group.
We’re lost.