EPISODE 28 - MIND IN THE GUTTER
Miguel was lost at sea.
There was really no way around it. He was stuck in the middle of the ocean with no idea of where he was or how he’d gotten there or what he should do or where he could go. The sky was gray and studded with hazy clouds; the waves around him were dark, almost ink-black, and the dullness of the scenery was not helped by the lack of sun. It didn’t even seem to be hiding behind any of the clouds; it was like it had disappeared entirely and left behind an empty ocean in its wake.
And Miguel was lost in it.
There was nothing around him but an endless expanse of water. No signs of life, no land in sight for as far as his eyes could see. He could barely tell left from right, and when he dipped under the ocean when a wave crashed over him, he couldn’t tell up from down. He resurfaced and looked around. There was nothing around him but an endless expanse of water. Didn’t he just say that? Was it out loud? Or did he think it? Where was he? He didn’t even know how he’d gotten here.
He felt panic rising in his chest and did his best to breathe deeply, inhaling the smell of salt and brine and some other things he couldn’t recognize. The sky was still gray, fading into an off-white the higher up he looked and deepening to a darker shade the closer to the ocean it got. The waves were wild and uncontrollable, seeming almost as if they had no form nor destination in mind.
Where am I?
He should know, shouldn’t he? Just a few minutes ago, he was with his group - his friends. They were walking together. Weren’t they? Where? They were on land, he knew that. They couldn’t have been walking anywhere else. But where? What land? Which continent? What world was he in? Who was Miguel?
Something brushed against his shoulder and he turned to face whatever it was. Somehow, he was able to tread the water effortlessly, almost as if he had no weight or wasn’t affected by gravity. He blinked saltwater out of his eyes and saw… Flip. His partner. He didn’t even know he was here. But why wouldn’t he be? They were always together. They were practically inseparable.
“Where are we?” he asked his partner. His voice didn’t sound like his own, for some strange reason. He couldn’t place it exactly.
Flip furrowed his brow, his eyes darting about. “…I think I should know,” he said, but he didn’t sound very sure. “I keep… forgetting.”
Forgetting what? Miguel said, or maybe he thought it. The water against his skin was ice-cold with a strong bite, sinking its fangs into him and refusing to let go. He tried again. “Forgetting what?”
“Where we are,” Flip said. He flicked an ear and looked up at the sky. “I know that I know where we are, but I can’t remember it.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.”
Okay. Miguel shook his head out. “What do you know about this place? Anything? Other than its name or where we are?”
“It’s the Forgotten Sea,” Flip said, as if it were clear as day. He blinked, and then stared down at the water. “That’s right. I remember now. We’re in the Forgotten Sea.”
That wasn’t helping. A lot of what he was saying wasn’t helping. How was Miguel supposed to know what the Forgotten Sea was? Did Flip even know? “What’s that?” Miguel asked instead.
“It’s a section of… one of the oceans,” Flip said. “I can’t remember which one.” He seemed to be having a lot of trouble remembering things.
To be fair, Miguel was too. But… he was also remembering things. Now that he thought about it, he was remembering a lot of things. Things he shouldn’t be remembering.
The Forgotten Sea was where deleted data ended up to be prepared for reformatting. Miguel remembered that now, but at the same time, he didn’t remember it. He’d never heard of that in his life. He knew that he’d never heard of anything called the Forgotten Sea until Flip had said its name barely thirty seconds ago, but the fact of the matter was that there was a memory tugging at his brain, a memory of… the Forgotten Sea. Not of hearing about it, or being in it, or anything else. It was just a memory of the sea.
But it wasn’t his memory - he had no memories of the sea. He had never heard of it. He wasn’t even from this world. And yet, at the same time, it was undoubtedly his memory.
He wondered if Flip was remembering it as well.
“Anyone who ends up here,” Flip said, and Miguel got the feeling that he was remembering it, “forgets everything and everyone they’ve ever known. Their own memories are lost and jumbled around simply by being in the sea.”
If they could get out of the sea, everything would return to normal. Miguel remembered this now. But did he? How could he have a memory of something he’d never known? It was his own memory, he knew, but… but it wasn’t supposed to be. It was supposed to be… he didn’t know. Someone else’s, he knew. He thought. He hoped.
“My head hurts,” he said, placing a hand on his forehead, and Flip smiled.
“We should be able to reverse the effects by leaving the sea,” Flip said, and Miguel nodded. He knew that. “But…” Flip trailed off, looking puzzled and confused.
Miguel knew what he was going to say, because he knew it too. “It’ll be too difficult with how messed up our memories are,” he said. “That’s why most who end up in the sea end up… getting lost.” Flip’s shoulders loosened in relief, and he dipped his head toward Miguel. “But…” And now these were his own thoughts, not those of the sea’s. “But if we stay together, we should be fine, right? We remember each other. Is it because we’re here together?”
“Maybe,” Flip said. He didn’t sound very sure. “I remember you. You’re Miguel. You’re my partner - my best friend.”
“And you’re Flip,” Miguel said, to remind both himself and his partner. “We’re partners.”
“Partners,” Flip echoed, and he smiled. “We should try to find some land. Anywhere we can get out of the sea. I think I should be able to evolve and carry you.”
“Right,” Miguel said, nodding, and then his eyes went wide. His digivice! Was it back with the others? (What others?)
And then he felt something in his pocket, something he’d sort of felt throughout all of this but hadn’t paid much mind to until now. He reached down and pulled out his digivice, his body instantly flooding with equal parts relief and dread. He had his digivice - that was good, it meant that Flip should be able to evolve.
But also, he was in the middle of the ocean, with water everywhere, and water and electronics typically did not mix. Hesitantly, he pressed the middle button of the D-pad, the one to turn it on, and to his surprise, the digivice flickered to life.
It provided as much help as it usually did in emergencies - that is to say, less than it did outside of emergencies. The communication menu opened when Miguel selected it, but was entirely blank - he had no service. He looked up and around him. He supposed it made sense. There wasn't anything around them that could transmit a signal.
Additionally, the map didn’t seem to have any more of an idea where they were than they did. When Miguel tried to zoom out to see where they were, the entire screen went fuzzy with static.
At the very least, though, it was waterproof, and neither the radar nor communications were necessary for evolution.
I wonder why it’s waterproof, though.
Regardless, Flip evolved to his champion stage with the typical ease and flash of green light. Miguel clambered onto his back, not even bothering to try to shake the saltwater out of his hair or clothes.
As soon as he was out of the ocean, he felt like… like some huge weight had been lifted off of him. Like he had been carrying something that he couldn’t put down, and now that he wasn’t in the sea, it was gone. It wasn’t that he’d set it down; it had simply disappeared.
The memories of the Forgotten Sea were also gone. He still remembered them - he had said them out loud, and remembered saying them - but the memories themselves had disappeared.
He felt like something was missing in his mind, though.
“You ready?” Flip asked, peeking over his shoulder the best he could at Miguel. Miguel nodded and Flip returned the gesture, then set off.
They didn’t know what direction they were heading in. There was no sun to orient themselves by, no landmass even in the far distance to head towards. They had to come across something eventually, of course, but who knew how long that would take?
Hopefully not too long.
They traveled for what could have been hours. All sense of time seemed to have been knocked out of both Miguel and Flip; neither of them could remember what time it had been when they’d first noticed they were in the sea, and neither of them had any sort of internal clock to go off of. They didn’t even know how long they’d been here in the sea. It could have been days.
Miguel didn’t like that thought.
Flip stuck to as straight a course as he could, not wanting to wander off track too far, but it’s not like it would have mattered anyway. There wasn’t much of anything to see around them except for the pitch dark water and gray skies. There was nothing to indicate where File Island might be.
That was right. Miguel remembered it now. They’d been on File Island with the others, looking for the Catalyst. It had been… two days since leaving Midnight Isle, he thought. They’d been walking through the northeastern part of Panoramic View; they were due to reach Below Zero within a few days.
But that didn’t explain how they had gotten to the sea.
“Flip,” Miguel said, the first thing either of them had said in quite a while. They didn’t have a lot to talk about. His partner rumbled low in his chest, and Miguel patted his side consolingly. “Do you remember how we got here? Or anything else that you didn’t remember before?”
“I don’t,” he said, voice deep and quiet. “I think… we were by the beach, maybe. That would make sense. Maybe we got pulled out by a current?”
But why wouldn’t the others have come and tried to save us? Miguel thought. He didn’t say it out loud. He didn’t want to worry Flip.
It sort of felt like the gravity of the situation hadn’t sunk in fully for him. He and his partner were lost in the middle of an ocean that messed with their memories. They didn’t know where in the Digital World they were or how long it would be until they reached land or what that land would be. They didn’t know if their group was looking for them or if they’d just forgotten about them entirely.
They would have tried something, he reasoned with himself. If they noticed that we got stuck, or lost, or whatever, they would have tried to save us. Maybe they weren’t able to. Maybe they got lost too.
Or maybe they didn’t care.
He didn’t like that thought, either.
Though Miguel was out of the water and the sea’s memories were out of his head, he still couldn’t remember how they’d ended up here. He knew Flip and he knew his group and he knew File Island but he didn’t know where they were or why they were here. He felt like… there was something else he should be remembering, too, but he couldn’t remember what it was. Couldn’t pinpoint what was missing from his mind.
Somehow, the water had already dried from his clothes. Maybe that was just how the sea worked. He still felt a little waterlogged, like he’d spent all day swimming and had just emerged from the water for the first time. He shook his head out and a few droplets sprayed from his hair.
Flip’s fur was soft and warm underneath him. He bundled his fingers deeper into his coat, relishing the escape from the monotony around them. The entire world was gray and white and black. Flip’s fur was white as well, and his horn as dark as the waves all around them, but his eyes when he turned around to check on Miguel were gentle, pale orange like the sky at sunrise.
Miguel laid his head against his partner’s neck. The sky was drab as ever. He could hear the lapping of waves around them and his own heartbeat and Flip’s deep breaths.
He closed his eyes and drifted off.
Miguel woke up some time later to Flip calling his name.
“Miguel,” he was saying, and the Miguel in question blinked sleep out of his eyes. His nap hadn’t been very restful, but he didn’t feel entirely like death. He’d have to take it.
“What is it?” he said, stifling a yawn and sitting up properly.
Flip inclined his head slightly to the right. “I see land. It doesn’t seem too far away. I’m going to alter course.”
Miguel followed his partner’s gaze and looked out to the distance - and, sure enough, he could just barely make out the silhouette of a landmass, only slightly darker than the gray sky around it. There was no way to tell how far away or how big it was, the haze and distance obscuring any useful information, but it was something. It was all they had at the moment.
Flip seemed to pick up the pace (or the paddle) as they drew ever-slowly closer to the island. The waves around them grew choppier as they went, as if they were angry that there was finally something to break them up. Above them, the sky darkened slightly.
The island turned out to be much larger than they’d expected. It was nowhere near as big as File Island, by any means, and certainly didn’t seem to be a continent, but soon enough they couldn’t see the end of either edge of the land ahead of them. It was sandy and rocky and devoid of trees, but wasn’t mountainous so much as it was craggy. The very few areas that rose high enough to reach the sky were much further inland, and sloped gently enough that they didn’t seem like too much of a hassle to climb.
They washed ashore the beach of the island, soft sand stretching as far as they could see in either direction, broken up only here and there by patches of rough grass or small rock formations. Miguel disembarked from Flip’s back the second his flippers touched down, and Flip in turn devolved as soon as Miguel was off of him, green light reflecting off the waves lapping at their feet.
Miguel took a deep, labored breath in, and dropped to his knees to stare out at the sea.
His mind was practically swirling. They were out of the ocean, and there was something to be said for that, but they didn’t know where they were. Miguel looked down at his digivice, opening the map once more. It wasn’t staticky anymore, thankfully, but it didn’t give him any useful information, showing only his current location - he couldn’t see File Island. Of the area that had been unlocked on the digivice, it seemed mostly flat. They wouldn’t have any mountain hikes ahead of them.
The two of them looked at the ocean for a while longer, watching the waves wash ashore and recede back into the water. The darkening of the sky seemed to have been a one-time thing, perhaps due to them getting closer to land; it had remained the same since it had last changed, the same color and with the same amount of clouds.
It made Miguel sick to look at after a while, though, and he turned around to face inland - and there was a Digimon staring at the two of them.
Miguel blinked, somewhat startled, but the Digimon made no move. It simply met Miguel’s gaze evenly, its eyes flicking to Flip. Miguel tapped his partner on the shoulder to turn him around and nodded at the Digimon, and Flip made a surprised noise.
It wasn’t making to attack, or run, or yell. Its eyes weren’t white. It couldn’t be higher leveled than a rookie, if its size was anything to go off of.
It was just looking at them.
Miguel pushed himself to his feet, brushing his hands across his jeans and vest to wipe the sand off. Flip got up as well, looking up at Miguel for confirmation, and they exchanged a glance before Miguel started toward the Digimon.
It was a bipedal turtle, wearing a dark blue camo-patterned army helmet (strange choice of accessory, for sure), from under which its dark gray eyes peeked out. Its stomach was orange and had a yellow trackball where its belly button would be, almost like a computer mouse.
It blinked up at them slowly as they approached and stopped in front of it, but did not say anything. Miguel shuffled his feet nervously and cleared his throat.
“Hello,” he said, and the turtle Digimon looked up at him. “Um. What’s your name?”
“Kamemon,” it said, equally as slowly as it liked to blink. “And you?”
Oh, we should have introduced ourselves first. “I’m Miguel,” Miguel said. “This is my partner, Flip.” Flip raised a flipper to wave at Kamemon, who returned it, slow as ever. Miguel got the impression that Kamemon lived life at half speed.
“You came from the sea,” Kamemon said, lifting a stubby-clawed hand to point out at the ocean. Miguel looked over his shoulder to follow where he was pointing, entirely without thinking, and then turned back to Kamemon as he realized he already knew they’d come from the sea, because they had.
Kamemon continued, unfettered. “Everyone here comes from the sea. No one ever returns to it.”
Miguel frowned and clenched his fists, trying to still the shake of his hands. What could he possibly mean by that? “Yeah, we got lost and separated from our group. We don’t know how to get back…” He looked down at Flip, who returned his stare, and then the two of them turned to Kamemon. “…Where are we?”
“No surprise you haven’t heard of it.” Kamemon chuckled, giving them a weary smile. “Welcome to Malware Harbor. Enjoy your stay. You won’t be leaving anytime soon.”
…What?
“Sorry?” Flip tilted his head at Kamemon. “Why can’t we leave?”
“Nobody can,” Kamemon said, as if that explained anything. He turned and started to head inland, up a well-worn path that Miguel had failed to notice until now. “You’ll get used to it. Everyone does eventually.”
Miguel frowned, and followed Kamemon, Flip only shortly behind him. Kamemon didn’t say anything, even as he clearly noticed the two following him, but Miguel didn’t speak up either. He didn’t know where they were going or if Kamemon was even meaning to lead them somewhere, but it was better than staying on the beach and staring at the ocean.
Miguel felt something kind of heavy settle in his gut.
Kamemon’s exaggerating, he told himself, fidgeting with his hands. He doesn’t actually mean that nobody can leave. He doesn’t mean that we’ll be stuck here. We’ll get out. Even if we have to go back through the sea.
But even the thought of those fake memories entering his mind again was enough to make him sick to his stomach. He didn’t want to go through it again, but… they might not have any other choice. If the only way out of - what had Kamemon called it? - Malware Harbor was to go back through the Forgotten Sea, then… they’d have to do it. They had to get back to File Island somehow, and hopefully soon.
Kamemon led them over the gently sloping rocky hills that they’d seen when they’d arrived, and on the other side was a relatively small but decently sized town, hidden entirely by both the hills themselves and the fact it sat in a sort of shallow valley, decorated only by patches of beach grass, jutting rocks, and a murky river coming in from the sea that wound around the leftmost side of the town.
Most of the buildings seemed to be built of driftwood, though a few had grayish bricks and stones for walls and foundations - and yet all of them looked like they’d been falling apart for decades, rundown and beaten up as they were. Only a few of them looked truly damaged, but all of them had at least some wear and tear. Cracks in windows, dents in roofs, small holes in walls, crooked door frames… it seemed as though they’d been in this state for many years.
“What’s up with the buildings?” Flip asked as Kamemon led them down the main road. He glanced around with his brow knit together, as if he expected something to happen. “Is everything okay?”
“Everyone builds their own houses,” Kamemon said. “We don’t have a lot of materials to work with. All leftover materials are reserved for whenever someone else washes up and needs to make their own place. Repairs are never a high priority.”
“Surely you could fix some of the holes, though,” Flip said, pointing at a small house that was missing almost half of its roof. “What happens when it rains?”
Kamemon shook his head. “It doesn’t rain here.” He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Miguel and Flip properly. “You’ll have better luck finding what you need from some of the other townsfolk. I’ve got a job to get to. I’ll see you around.”
Without another word, he turned and started down the road again, heading in a straight line for the hill in the distance.
Miguel frowned and looked down at Flip, who was watching Kamemon leave with a sort of confused expression on his face. Flip sighed and looked up at Miguel. “Nice guy, huh?”
“I’m sure he’s just busy,” Miguel said, but he couldn’t deny that Kamemon’s evasiveness had been nothing short of strange. Surely he could have at least told them why they couldn’t leave the town…? Was it because of the sea? If so, why hadn’t he just said as much? They came from the sea, they knew what it was, so why was Kamemon acting as if it was some big deal?
…He wouldn’t worry about it too much.
“Might as well ask around,” Miguel said, and Flip nodded.
Seems to be the only way we’ll get some useful information.
I just hope someone will know how to get out of here.
Nobody did.
They asked far and wide, traveling the entire town once, twice, three times. On each pass through they came across more Digimon that they hadn’t seen before, milling about the town almost aimlessly, as if they didn’t have anything else to be doing. Some Otamamon and Gizamon, a small green amphibian called Betamon, a pink-shelled mollusk known as Syakomon. None of them were particularly talkative, and most of them turned the two away when they asked questions, but a few were somewhat more willing to answer them, and they managed to piece together the bare minimum of information about the town:
The island itself was known as Malware Harbor and the town was officially “Town Malware”, though everyone simply called it the name of the island. There were a few small settlements on other parts of the island, but the town was the only thing of any real note, according to its residents. Malware Harbor itself sat in the middle of a sea that no one could escape from, as it implanted new memories and stole old ones in such a strange way that nearly everyone who tried to brave it was driven mad. Everyone living on the island had ended up there after being lost at sea and drifting for days or even weeks. All the Digimon who tried to leave the island either came back after weeks at sea, dazed and confused, or disappeared forever and were presumed dead.
“Are you sure that the ones who disappear didn’t just find the land they were looking for?” Miguel asked, holding his chin in his hand.
The Sangomon to which he was speaking shook her head. “Not possible. Everyone who leaves promises that if they make it out alive, they’ll come back and help everyone get off the island.”
“That’s stupid,” Flip said, and Miguel and Sangomon both glared at him. “Who in their right mind would want to come back here if they manage to escape?”
Sangomon huffed and crossed her arms(?), scowling at Flip. “You newcomers,” she grumbled, turning to walk away from them. “Never respect our customs.” She kept griping to herself as she left, looking back at them only once to shoot Flip a dirty look.
Miguel shifted on his feet anxiously and gently nudged Flip with one. “Maybe be nicer next time,” he said quietly, and Flip gave him an exasperated look but did not comment.
They continued on their quest for information, but it seemed as if they’d found out everything they could. None of the other Digimon they talked to divulged anything they hadn’t already heard. Things were starting to look bleak. They had some information, yes, but…
What if they really couldn’t leave?
“Surely we can just… start swimming and head in a random direction?” Miguel said. He and Flip had sat down on a large rock on the outskirts of the town. Miguel sighed and placed his chin in his hands, propping his elbows up on his knees. “If we just keep going in a straight line, we’ll get out of the sea eventually, right?”
Flip didn’t answer, and Miguel glanced over at him. He was laying with his head on his arms, ears drooping and eyelids heavy. He caught Miguel’s gaze and tilted his head to the side, but didn’t lift it.
“…I don’t know,” he said, and Miguel felt like a rock had been dropped down his throat. “I mean… you weren’t actually in the water for that long. I was the one who had to take us here. I swam the whole way. I was still in the sea. And the whole time, those… thoughts and memories kept… invading my brain. It was really hard to stay focused.” He shrugged, looking back down at the ground below. “And I don’t even know how big the sea is. It could take us days to get through it. And I… I can’t deal with that if that’s the case.”
Miguel’s shoulders sank and he shifted his legs to a criss-cross position. He’s right, I really wasn’t in the water for long. I didn’t really realize that he was…
“We might not have any other choice,” he said slowly, and Flip closed his eyes.
“I know. But… it’ll have to be our last resort. Even if I could evolve to ultimate again, I don’t think it would make the trip go any faster.”
“Are we going to be stuck here forever?”
He didn’t mean to say it out loud, but he couldn’t help himself. Flip looked over at him again, his gaze softening even as Miguel tried to train his face into a neutral expression. He didn’t need to cry now, not when there was still a chance. We’ll be fine. Everything will be okay. We’ll figure something out and we’ll get back to File Island and we can come back and rescue everyone. We’ll get out of here.
“Forever is a long time,” Flip said, and Miguel managed a joyless smile. “I’m sure we’ll get out of here eventually. Sooner or later there’ll be a flying Digimon who washes up here who can save everyone. Maybe a Xiquemon. They tend to travel around a lot.”
“But…” Miguel sighed. “We have to get back to the others. We have to find the Catalyst and save the world. What if us getting lost means the others can’t do it? And everything goes wrong and the world ends and it’s all because we got lost?”
He trailed off, staring down at his hands and refusing to meet Flip’s eyes. It wasn’t a pleasant thought - far from it, really - but even though he knew it should be scarier to him, he couldn’t muster any energy to truly worry about it. He just felt numb all over, like he was still back in the sea and these were just thoughts that the sea had given him.
We’ll be fine, he told himself again, but he couldn’t quite convince himself as well this time. We’ll be okay. We’ll get out of here.
“Wanna have another go around?” Flip said. “See if there’s anyone else willing to talk?” His voice was hopeful, obviously trying to cheer him up. Miguel put on a weak smile. They might as well. It wasn’t like they had anything else to do except mope around about their situation.
They set out again. The town was as dead as it had been when they’d first arrived, and the sky was finally darkening again; no doubt they were approaching evening, though it was hard to tell for certain with no sun in sight. At the very least, there were a couple more Digimon along the streets than there had been the last time they’d swung around, though Miguel didn’t know why they’d be out and about like this if it was getting darker…
…To be fair, they’d seen much weirder in their time in this world - Midnight City, for one, which had been so recently that Miguel practically felt like it was yesterday. It probably wasn’t, but what would he know?
But despite seeing new Digimon, new information was not forthcoming. It seemed as if they’d exhausted all of the knowledge they would ever get; the Crabmon and Tobiumon and Armadillomon they came across had nothing to offer that they hadn’t already heard. Getting off the island was impossible, everyone who ventured back out into the sea either died or came back eventually, and it wasn’t worth it to try anyways even if you really felt like you could make it.
Another go around, huh.
Miguel exhaled through his nose and sat down in the dirt along the edge of the road. He wanted to give up and lay down and fall asleep forever. But they didn’t have that luxury - but they also didn’t have anything else they could do. It really did seem like there was no way off the island. Even the Swanmon they’d talked to, as capable of flying as they were of swimming (or so they said) hadn’t had any luck with even trying to fly out over the ocean, which put an arrow straight through Flip’s idea of waiting for a Xiquemon to come pick them up. It was too long a flight.
Things were looking bad.
There wasn’t even some sort of plan they could make for their very immediate future. They could try to get back to File Island, just start swimming and keep going for as long as they could, but they wouldn’t have any way of knowing if they were heading in the right direction - and to say nothing of if they would even get out of the sea, or if they’d just end up back here in the harbor, or maybe some other area of the Digital World. Or maybe they’d be lost at sea forever.
…There was no way the others would be able to come find them.
Miguel blinked quickly and wiped at his eyes. We’ll be okay. Surely there’s something else we haven’t found. Surely there’s some way out of here. We’ll be fine.
How long are we going to be here, though?
Is this just our life now?
“We’ve only been here for a few hours,” Flip said gently, but Miguel couldn’t bear to look over at him. He heard him tap his claws against the ground thoughtfully. “I think it’s too early to give up hope.”
“I’m not giving up,” Miguel mumbled, ignoring the pit forming in his stomach. “But… we’ve talked to everyone. Nobody knows how to get out. And we can’t just - start swimming in a random direction. You told me. You can’t handle that.”
“I know,” Flip said. “I probably can’t. But if it’s our only way out of here, I’ll have to do it.”
Miguel shook his head. He didn’t want it to come to that. Flip’s been through enough. With everything we’ve been through before. I know it might be our only option, but… but if something happens to him while we’re out there and then I’m all on my own…
He sighed and propped his cheek up with a palm, finally looking up - and into the eyes of a Digimon staring right at them. Miguel blinked, dropping his hand into his lap, and the Digimon smiled and waved.
“Howdy,” she said, a lilting giggle in her voice. “You look like you could use a pick-me-up.”
She was a small humanoid, shorter probably than Miguel himself, her skin a pale teal color and her eyes bright red and frog-like. Her clothes (which were more like a bathing suit with gloves, leggings, and a helmet) were sky-blue, decorated with darker blue accents and red gems similar to her eyes. Fins protruded from the back of her head and hips, and they twitched as she looked down at Miguel and then Flip in turn.
She stuck a hand down toward Miguel, her grin widening to reveal sharp shark teeth. “I’m Ranamon. I haven’t seen you around before. New here?”
Hesitantly, Miguel took her hand, and she helped pull him onto his feet. (She was, indeed, shorter than him.) She placed her hands on her hips and nodded curtly, looking down at Flip. “Didn’t ever expect to see a human here. I assume there’s some story behind this.”
“It’s a long one,” Miguel said, rubbing his arm. Ranamon tilted her head at him.
“Are you gonna introduce yourself, or do I gotta come up with a name for you?” she said, voice teasing.
Miguel’s eyes went wide and he flushed. “Sorry!” he said, clasping his hands together. “I’m Miguel. This is my partner Flip.” Flip blinked up at Ranamon, his nose wrinkling, but he seemed more curious than suspicious.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Ranamon said. “You looked pretty despondent sitting down there like that. What’s on your mind?”
Where to even start with that? Shouldn’t she know why we seem upset? Miguel wondered. Everyone else here seems pretty upset all the time, too, and for good reason. But maybe she thinks there might be something else…
Flip took the reins while Miguel was lost in his mind. “We just got here today,” he said, and Ranamon nodded again. “We got separated from our group back on File Island. We really need to get back to them, but everyone’s saying there’s no way out…” He trailed off, looking down at his claws.
Ranamon stuck her lip out in a sympathetic pout. “Heard that before,” she said with a sigh. “Lucky for you, I know how to get out of here.”
Miguel’s breath caught in his throat as he stared at Ranamon. She shrugged, looking between the two of them with only the faintest of smiles upon her lips.
“You what?” Flip said.
“It’s true,” she said, lifting both her hands. “Please, hold your applause. No need to praise me.”
“How do we get out?” Miguel asked. There was a nonzero chance she was making it up just to get a rise out of them, but… she didn’t seem malicious. She hadn’t done anything to make them not trust her yet, after all, and even if she was lying, it wasn’t like they had anything better to do…
Ranamon wagged a finger at him. “Not so fast,” she sang. “It’s getting kinda dark. Why don’t we discuss this over dinner? I’m sure you’re hungry, aren’t you?”
As she said it, Miguel felt his stomach rumble. He hadn’t been paying attention to it until now, so preoccupied with literally everything else as he was, and he couldn’t deny that he was pretty hungry. He couldn’t even remember when the last meal he’d had was, even without the effects of the sea.
Ranamon didn’t wait for an answer from either of them before she spun on her heel and headed down the street. “My treat!” she called out, not bothering to look back over her shoulder. “Not like it would matter anyway, since we don’t do money here, but it’s the thought that counts, right?”
Miguel and Flip shared a look, shrugged in sync, and then followed after her. What would be the point of saying no? Even if she was lying - and Miguel didn’t think she was - they still had to eat. Honestly, he could really go for some fish tacos right about now…
“Nothing better to do” was the phrase of the day, it seemed.
“Are you sure you know a way out?”
Ranamon scrunched her face up in the middle of raising a piece of sushi to her mouth. “Of course I do. There’s a narrow pathway through the ocean where the Sea doesn’t touch. It’s hard to find, though, and even harder to stay on when you’re swimming. I’m the only one who knows it.”
The three of them were currently seated in a small diner on the outskirts of the town, eating at a booth seat in the corner of the room. Flip, who’d asked the question, cocked his head at Ranamon as she practically swallowed her maki whole.
She’d told them, while they were waiting for their food, that she needed them to do a “favor” for her before she could tell them how to get out. They’d asked why she hadn’t helped anyone else off the island if she knew how to leave, and she said it was because no one else had ever managed to complete her favor.
“I just think it’s weird that you need us to do something for you in order for you to get us out,” Flip said, pausing to take a bite of his grilled salmon. “Seems weirdly transactional. Why wouldn’t you just help everyone anyways?”
“Again,” Ranamon said, “they haven’t helped me with what I need from them. None of them have even been interested. You’re the first ones who’ve gone along with it.”
“We haven’t gone along with anything yet,” Miguel said. He’d finished one of his fish tacos already, and was eyeing his second, unsure if he was actually still hungry or if he was full. He looked up at Ranamon. “We’ll help you. But only if you agree to come back and help everyone else off the island.”
Ranamon blinked. “Like, I come back here after I take you to File Island?” Miguel nodded, and she tapped her chin with the clean end of her chopsticks. “I don’t see why not. Not like I’m gonna stay on File anyways.”
Then she grinned, setting her chopsticks down and folding her hands under her chin as she leaned forward. “But you don’t even know what I’m asking of you yet.”
“Yeah, because you haven’t told us,” Flip said under his breath, but Ranamon either didn’t hear him or didn’t care.
Ranamon popped another piece of sushi into her mouth, not even bothering to use her chopsticks. “There’s a Digimon that’s been terrorizing the inhabitants here. It rises from the sea at night and fights anyone who dares stand against it. It appears once every eight nights, and tonight is one of those nights. If you can take it down, I’ll help you get back to File Island.”
“That shouldn’t be a big deal,” Flip started to say, but Miguel frowned and set down his second taco (which he had almost taken a bite of).
She wants us to fight a Digimon? That seems like a bit much…
And then a thought struck him. “Hang on,” he said, and Ranamon raised her eyebrows. “What makes you think we can fight?”
She shouldn’t have any way of knowing about the digivice or Flip being able to evolve, Miguel thought. It might be a trap. What if she’s manic like Nohemon? Or maybe the Digimon is manic? Or both of them?
“All Digimon can fight,” Ranamon said, as if he’d asked something as dumb as “is the sky blue?” “You might not stand a good chance against it, seeing as you’re a rookie,” she said to Flip, “but you’ll be better off than your human partner here.”
“I can evolve,” Flip said, and Miguel had to bite his lip to keep from crying out in anguish. He really didn’t have to say that… he gave it away… sure, if Ranamon really is manic, she probably already knows he can evolve, but if she’s not, then we just gave away our biggest advantage.
But Ranamon simply lit up, smiling at Flip. “See? Just like you said. Shouldn’t be a big deal. I think you can handle it.”
“What kind of Digimon is it?” Miguel asked. They had to get some kind of information about it other than “appears once a week to harass the islanders”. “Is it an ultimate level? Has it ever hurt anyone? How big of a threat is it?”
Flip looked up at Miguel, gaze concerned. Ranamon shrugged and leaned back.
“I don’t know what kind of Digimon it is,” she said, starting to count on her fingers. “No one’s ever been able to recognize it, and it’s never said its name. I think it’s an ultimate level, based on its size and power, but I can’t tell for certain.” She looked down at her hands for a moment, then clenched them. “It’s hurt people before. Done some property damage here and there. I’m sure you’ve seen the buildings. It’s never killed anyone, though.”
Well, that was a bit of a relief. Still, though. They didn’t know what they were up against. It could be manic. Ranamon could be manic. Maybe neither of them were manic, but if the look of the buildings around them had been enough indication, they were in for a tough fight.
Or maybe not. Maybe everything would go smoothly and it would be like swatting a fly. Maybe Flip wouldn’t even have to evolve to ultimate. Would he even be able to, if it came down to it? He’d only made it that far once before, weeks ago at this point.
Any number of things could go wrong; anything terrible could happen. But what other choice did they have? It was the only lead they had to go off of, and though it wasn’t much, they couldn’t keep sitting around doing nothing.
Miguel looked at Flip, and their eyes met. Flip nodded subtly.
He could handle himself. They’d faced off against ultimate levels before. They’d always gotten things under control.
We can do this.
“Okay,” Miguel said, and Ranamon smiled. “We’ll do it.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” she said.
As the sky above them darkened, Miguel and Flip arrived at the beach.
They stopped where the grass turned to sand and looked out at the ocean. The world was still dark gray and dismal, the sky both starless and moonless even as it crept ever-closer to night. The sea was as intense as ever, the waves crashing up onto the shore and retreating just as quickly as they had come. No light reflected off the water, leaving it black and ominous. Even if they hadn’t already been in it, the simple sight of it was enough for Miguel to never want to set foot in it again.
Down by his feet, Flip looked up at him.
Ranamon had told them that the Digimon would appear when the sky had reached its darkest point. They didn’t have any way of knowing when that was; all they could do was sit and wait, and so they did.
She’d stayed behind in the town after they had set off. She didn’t want to get caught up in the fight and get injured, or act as a third target for the Digimon. Miguel hadn’t liked the sound of that, but Flip had told him that the Digimon probably wouldn’t be focused on him if he didn’t attack it. She said that if they won the fight, she’d lead them back to File Island come morning.
She’d also said that if they lied about winning, she would know.
“How much longer do you think it’ll be until it shows up?”
Flip shifted in his seat beside Miguel and shrugged. “I hope not long. I don’t like this waiting game. I just want to get it over with.”
Miguel sighed. “I don’t know how you can be so confident about this. We don’t know anything about it. What if it’s like MarineDevimon? We couldn’t beat it for days, and when we finally did, we still couldn’t do it alone.”
“Miguel.” Flip reached a flipper over to place on Miguel’s leg, drawing his eyes toward him. “I’m confident about it because I have you with me. It doesn’t matter how long it took to beat MarineDevimon. We still did it in the end.”
“We can’t fight this Digimon for days on end,” Miguel started, but Flip shook his head.
“No. We can’t. But we’re not going to need to.” He withdrew his flipper and stared down at the ground in front of him, finally tearing his gaze away from Miguel’s. “I know I haven’t evolved to ultimate since then. I wish I had. It would make this so much easier. But it doesn’t matter. Because even if I can’t evolve again, I think I can do this.” He smiled faintly. “I’ve gotten stronger since I met you. The fact we were able to even just hold out against MarineDevimon is proof enough of that. I think that even if I can only evolve to champion, I’ll be able to win.”
“How can you be so sure of that,” Miguel mumbled. He pulled on a stray piece of grass growing from the sand between his legs. “Are you even sure of it? Or are you just trying to reassure me?”
When he’d talked to Flip early in the day they’d fought MarineDevimon, he’d said he wasn’t always as confident as he seemed. That he tended to hide it to not worry anyone around him. I don’t want to doubt him. I trust him. But…
But this was something that they couldn’t afford to overestimate themselves on. This was their one way out of here. If they couldn’t defeat this Digimon - if Flip got too cocky, or if Miguel himself was too worried - they would have ruined everything they’d worked toward.
And when he looked down at his partner, Miguel couldn’t tell what he was thinking
Flip shrugged again, drawing lines in the sand beneath him with his claws. “I am sure of it. And I can’t exactly explain why or how. But I think part of it is just that you’re with me.” He finally looked back up at Miguel, his eyes practically glowing even without any light to reflect off them. “You’ve always been with me. Every step of the way. And every step of the way, we’ve managed to win. Maybe it’s taken a lot of time and a lot of courage, but things always work out in the end. I don’t see why this would be any different.”
…He was right. Normally, Miguel’s mind would be scrambling to find rebuttals, anything to rationalize the anxiety he felt in his chest and his throat - but his thoughts, for once, were quiet.
Things could still go bad. The fight would still be difficult, for sure, if Ranamon’s word was to be trusted (and Miguel did trust her). Flip might still have trouble evolving to ultimate; he might not even evolve at all.
But if he was sure of himself, then Miguel believed in him too.
The two of them sat in silence for a while longer, lost in their own thoughts as they watched the sea and waited. Miguel’s brain was still calm, and even though he felt his anxiety should be worsening the longer they waited, it did not.
For the first time in a very long time, he was calm, and ready for whatever was to come.
And yet it did not last long. Sooner than Miguel had expected or wanted, the water just past the shoreline began to ripple and distort. It wouldn’t have been noticeable, but the rhythm of the waves had faded to background scenery, and the shimmering of the sea being the only other movement was enough to draw their attention toward it.
Miguel ignored the way his heart seemed to drop in his chest as he and Flip stood up and the Digimon rose from the water.
It seemed humanoid at first, with ghostly blue skin and long pink hair flowing from underneath its metal helmet - but where legs should have appeared, breaking out of the water, were instead eight long tentacles and eight red eyes set into the top (or bottom?) of a giant squid’s mantle.
The Digimon leered down at Miguel and Flip, standing at the edge of the water, and flexed its silver-clawed gloves.
Miguel took a step back, fumbling to pull his digivice out of his pocket and aim it at the Digimon.
“Calamaramon. Ultimate level aquatic Digimon. Its tentacles are used to either attack the enemy by rapidly spinning them, or guard its body by gathering them together to form a wall, and if it is unable to win a fight, it will retract its body into its mantle.”
So it’s an ultimate after all.
It wasn’t manic - all of the eyes on its mantle and face were piercing red, as if they could stare right through Miguel and see everything he was keeping inside and refusing to let out. His fear. His despair. The small inkling of doubt building inside his chest, staining his insides pure black like the sea he stood just in front of.
He took another step back.
Calamaramon didn’t wait for anything else to happen before she attacked. The ends of the two longest tentacles, sprouting from both sides of where her abdomen connected to her mantle, erupted in black energy, swirling like ink or ocean waves. “
The former went up in a bright green light to meet them head-on, knocking one away with his horn and preparing to make his own attack. The latter backed up as far as he could, the attack smashing into the ground in front of him and sending globs of sand flying through the air. Miguel spit out a few granules that managed to get in his mouth and brushed more out of his hair, eyeing Calamaramon warily as Flip engaged her.
“
Flip’s torpedo rocketed directly into Calamaramon’s chest, and she hissed, her tentacles coming up to brush against the impact area. One of them reached down to slap Flip to the side, sending him rolling down the beach. Miguel bit his lip but stood his ground, clutching his digivice tight to his chest.
He raised one hand to cup around his mouth, resisting a wince as Calamaramon hit Flip away again. “Are you going to be able to -?” He cut himself off, not wanting to risk speaking it out of existence, but Flip got the gist anyway.
“Give me some time,” he rumbled, then reared back onto his hind legs. “
Calamaramon wasn’t ready to be outdone, though. “
“
“
She aimed both spheres at Flip this time, and though his attack shot directly between them to hit Calamaramon in the chest again, they did not falter, and both struck true. He stumbled, one foot slipping out from under him, but righted himself quickly enough, and Miguel breathed out slowly.
Once more, Calamaramon backed up, almost submerged entirely at this point; the bases of her tentacles just barely broke the surface, and she bobbed up and down slightly as if she were treading water. Flip took a step toward her, but paused as a wave washed over his paw. He looked down at the water, then over his shoulder at Miguel.
“She’s trying to lead me out into the water,” he called, and Calamaramon grinned wickedly. “But I can’t. The sea - I can’t go into it.”
Right. If Flip got in the water to attack Calamaramon, the sea’s memory loss effects would leave him an easy target. She was backing up to try to get him to come to her - to get him into the sea.
I wonder how she’s immune, Miguel wondered. Or maybe she’s not immune. Maybe that’s why she’s attacking.
But talking to her wouldn’t help even if that’s the case.
All we can do is fight.
Miguel squeezed his eyes shut, channeling all of his worry and fear and dread into them, and then took a single, shaking breath. He opened his eyes slowly, watching as Calamaramon readied her tentacles for another attack, and clenched his fists.
“Don’t fall for it!” he shouted. “Keep using Harpoon Torpedo! You’ll wear her down eventually!”
Flip nodded sharply, rounding on Calamaramon. “
“
Her tentacles struck his torpedo, effortlessly batting it away, but she was too far away to attack Flip himself. He grinned a joyless grin as his horn began to glow once more.
“
They continued their back and forth for a short while, Flip launching more torpedoes and Calamaramon alternating between slapping them away and throwing energy blobs at him. Flip was holding on valiantly, Miguel had to give him that, but he wasn’t making any headway - and none of his attacks seemed to have any sort of effect on Calamaramon. For every attack he launched, she retaliated with two more; he was quick on the draw, but she was too. He couldn’t get any closer to her, and though Calamaramon likewise could only hit him with her own ranged attacks, the fact she was able to deflect his made it clear who was winning.
But Flip wasn’t giving up - and he seemed to realize that he needed to switch tactics.
“
This time, it hit one of the eyes on Calamaramon’s mantle. She wailed, practically tipping backward for a moment before steadying herself and glowering down at Flip. She didn’t say anything - she hadn’t said anything the entire time, now that Miguel thought about it - as her tentacles began to gather their dark energy again, and Flip wasn’t able to get out of the way in time. “
Both struck Flip in the side, and he reared back, gnashing his teeth in pain. Miguel ran toward him, not even caring that he was running directly toward Calamaramon as well, and came to a stop once he’d reached his side.
“I’m fine,” Flip said gruffly, and Miguel shook his head.
“You’re not,” he said, fidgeting with his digivice still held in his hands. Calamaramon launched two more globs of ink down at them, and they scattered as they crashed into the sand, but quickly reconvened. Miguel wiped the sand and seawater off his chest as he looked to Flip again.
He tried to ignore the tears bubbling in the corners of his eyes.
“I’m scared. I’m scared you’re going to get hurt. I’m… scared that I’ll lose you.”
He didn’t specify whether he meant losing him to the sea, or losing him to Calamaramon. Maybe he meant both. He didn’t want to think too hard about it. But the fact of the matter was that he was scared. He was terrified.
Calamaramon wasn’t manic, but she was still attacking them - and she was stronger than Flip as he was right now.
If he couldn’t evolve - if they couldn’t beat her - it would be over. They would have lost. They would have failed Ranamon and the village and their group and themselves. They would be stuck here forever.
That would be it. It would be over.
And he was so scared of that.
Flip heaved a heavy sigh, moving to block another of Calamaramon’s attacks. “…I know you are,” he said when the dust and sand cleared. “And that’s fine.”
Miguel blinked.
“This whole time,” Flip said, looking over his shoulder, “I’ve been trying to stop you from being scared. I’ve been trying to tell you that there’s nothing to be scared of. But you know what? I was wrong.”
“
He wasn’t finished talking. “It’s ok to be scared. Anyone in their right mind should be. And that’s okay. You’ve been through things almost no other human has. It’s only natural that you’re afraid.”
Calamaramon smashed one of her tentacles into the sand, sending sand and water flying everywhere. Miguel raised his arms to shield his face, but most of the muck was taken by Flip, acting almost as a shield.
Flip turned to look at Miguel, not even bothering to attack Calamaramon again. “And it’s ok to be afraid.”
Miguel’s eyes widened and he shook his head. His hands were shaking, his legs barely holding him upright. He had no idea how he was even managing to stay this close to Calamaramon, much less while she was actively attacking them.
But Flip’s words were scarier to him than anything Calamaramon had done so far.
“What do you mean it’s ok to be afraid?” he cried. “Shouldn’t I try to be braver?”
That’s the only thing I’ve ever tried to be. Because it’s the only thing I’m not.
He’d seen the others run headfirst into fights. He’d seen them take hits that he himself had never felt and never wanted to feel. He’d seen how they took charge when no one else would. How they never let anything get them down even when the whole world was against them and everything was screaming at them to give up.
He didn’t know how none of them had ever just given up.
(But… they’ve wanted to give up… they just haven’t…)
And Flip wasn’t having any of it. He never did.
“Miguel, you are brave!” he cried, rolling to dodge another swipe from Calamaramon. “The fact that you’re going through with this and giving it your all despite your fear is one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen! You don’t need to worry about being brave. You already are.”
I… am?
…It hadn’t been that long since fighting MarineDevimon, since Flip had evolved to ultimate - since he had evolved because Miguel didn’t give up. He’d wanted to - oh, how he’d wanted to turn around and run inland and never look at the ocean or MarineDevimon or those searing white eyes again.
But he hadn’t given up, because he couldn’t. Because he didn’t want to. Because he never had before.
I didn’t give up then, he said to himself, repeating it almost like a chant. I didn’t give up then, and I didn’t give up any time before then. We always see things through to the end.
This world was terrifying and dangerous and so, so beautiful and wonderful. He’d been scared of everything he’d come across. There was a lot to be scared of.
And yet, despite everything, he’d kept going.
That’s how he’d ended up here, right?
Miguel steeled himself, looking up at Calamaramon. She met his eyes, her own bright red and almost unblinking, and - almost imperceptibly in the darkness of the night - she smiled.
Miguel took a deep breath in and closed his eyes.
“I’m brave,” he said, quietly, more to himself than anything, but Flip heard him.
“Yes!” he shouted, firing another attack at Calamaramon. “You are! Say it again!”
“I’m brave,” Miguel said again, louder this time. And then again. “I’m brave. I’m brave. I’m brave! I’m going to do this because I’m brave! I can do this because I’m BRAVE!”
He screamed the last two words louder than he’d ever screamed anything before - louder than he’d ever screamed out of fear, despair, horror, anything. He screamed them again and again, over and over, until he was screaming them not because Flip had told him to but because they were true.
His eyes snapped open and he swept an arm out at Calamaramon, staring Flip down and feeling a fire burning in his chest. “You can do this!” he yelled, practically feeling his throat tear apart. “Go kick her FUCKING ASS!”
“That’s what I like to hear!” Flip rumbled, laughing, and then he began to glow bright white.
When the light cleared, Zudomon had taken Ikkakumon’s place. He rounded on Calamaramon, raising his hammer high above his head. “
He slammed the hammer into Calamaramon’s chest, forcing her back just as the lightning sparking from it jumped toward her. She hissed as it wracked her body, then stretched her tentacles out toward him.
“
“
The frost and ice swirling around his horn shot straight for Calamaramon, hitting her directly below one of the eyes on her mantle, freezing the area for a split second before it dissolved. The damage had already been done, though - Calamaramon hissed and retreated further into the water, raising her tentacles to ward off any more attacks but not making any of her own.
Flip tightened his claws around his hammer, glaring at Calamaramon as if daring her to attack - and then he turned slightly, dipping down toward Miguel and lowering a hand toward him. It practically dwarfed him; Miguel had never really realized just how big Zudomon was. (He’d only seen him once before, after all.)
He looked up into his partner’s pale orange eyes.
“Climb on,” he said, voice deep and mighty. “If we hold onto each other, the sea won’t get to us.”
Miguel nodded and wasted no time, scrambling onto Flip’s hand as he raised him up to his shoulder. Miguel stood, steadying his feet and grabbing hold of the belt wrapping from his shoulder to his torso. He didn’t think he’d ever been so high up before without anything to truly keep him in place, and something caught in his throat when he looked down at the water below. He shook his head out and looked at Flip, then Calamaramon, refusing to stare down any longer. If I don’t pay attention to it, I’ll be fine. Flip won’t let me fall.
Flip took a few cautious steps into the water, testing each foot as the waves washed over them. He nodded, satisfied, and lunged for Calamaramon, slowly enough that Miguel wasn’t entirely unprepared, but he tightened his hold and locked his knees anyway.
“
“
“
“
Once more, Flip shot for Calamaramon, tackling her deeper into the water and holding her down with his hammer before he rammed his horn directly into her abdomen. She shrieked again and wrested herself away, raising her tentacles.
“
The flurry of strikes she sent Flip’s way did not go unreturned for long. Flip held one arm up in front of his face, managing to sink his claws into one of the tentacles and causing Calamaramon to whip it away, and almost before she’d finished her attack, he was preparing his own.
“
The lightning that surrounded the hammer this time was more intense than before, shining almost impossibly bright against the almost black sky. He brought it down on Calamaramon’s face, toppling her over backward, and she fell into the water, paralyzed for a moment by the electricity coursing through the waves around her.
Flip smiled a humorless smile and reached down to pick Calamaramon up. He lifted her with ease, dangling her in the air a few feet above the water as she and her tentacles writhed wildly to try to escape his grip.
He tightened his claws around her torso and she hissed.
“You will not harm this town or its people anymore,” he growled, ignoring Calamaramon’s desperate attempts to free herself. “They have done nothing to you. Your reign of havoc is over.”
He raised his hammer into the air, lightning arcing around it, and Calamaramon’s eyes widened.
“
“Wait wait wait no! Hang on!”
Miguel blinked, and Flip hesitated, the lightning fizzling out for a second. Calamaramon shook her head wildly, holding her arms out, and then -
And then she began to glow. Not in the way that other Digimon did, ever so faintly, just as they were about to begin pixelating. The glow consumed her, starting in her hands and spreading over her body, and then it began to shrink and distort.
It shifted into a very familiar shape, and as Flip turned his paw over to catch it as it began to fall, the disbelief and shock on his face mirrored the exact expression Miguel knew he had on his own.
Ranamon blinked up at the two of them, then hopped to her feet, waving her hands at them as if to immediately dismiss any of the thousands of questions either of them so desperately wanted and needed to ask.
“Hang on,” she said, beginning to pace around on Flip’s still-outstretched palm. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“It was you?” Miguel cried, forgoing all of his anxiety in favor of climbing and sliding down Flip’s arm to reach Ranamon. She cringed away from him, peering at him with one half-open eye, and then held her arms up halfway.
She’s the one who was behind it all along? Miguel couldn’t believe his eyes or his ears or anything. She’s the one attacking the town? The one hurting the villagers? Is that why she didn’t say anything the whole time? So we wouldn’t recognize her?
Miguel couldn’t keep the astonishment and outrage out of his voice. “You’re the one who’s been attacking the island!” he said, clenching his fists at his sides. “That’s why nobody has been able to defeat you! Because you can just devolve!”
But… if she just devolves when they fight back… wouldn’t the villagers have recognized her? And nobody in the town or the restaurant or anywhere seemed to notice…
And why would she have wanted us to beat her?
Miguel groaned and clapped a hand to his forehead, massaging his temples.
“I didn’t attack the town,” Ranamon said, and Miguel looked over at her. She was still holding her hands out, a slightly guilty yet sincere smile on her face. “I never attacked anyone. I lied to you.”
“Why?” Flip asked. “You lied to us about you causing damage so that we would fight you? Why did you want us to fight you?”
Ranamon shrugged, lowering her hands slightly as she looked up at him. “Because if it was framed as a friendly spar, you might’ve gone easy on me. I never attacked the town. I’ve never hurt anyone. Nobody here even knows I can evolve.”
“That doesn’t explain why you wanted us to fight you,” Flip said. “Especially in a true battle, rather than a… ‘friendly spar’.”
“And do you even know the way out of here after all?” Miguel asked. “If there’s no evil Digimon, then nobody would have tried to do your favor, and you wouldn’t have… Why didn’t you just tell the other villagers how to get out if you…” He trailed off, raising a hand to his chin and staring down at his feet. She was certainly a strange Digimon.
Ranamon tilted her head at him. “I do know a way out. I’ve tried to offer to the other villagers, but none of them want to leave. Practically none of them, at least.” She smiled again, this time with no guilt to be found. “You know how the villagers said that anyone who ever ventures back into the sea never returns? It’s because I lead them back home, and tell them not to come back, because I’ll go back instead.” She sighed, wringing her hands out, and it was her turn to look down at her feet. “But nobody wants to leave. The longer people stay here, the more depressed and lost they feel. I try to get them to leave. They don’t want to.”
“What about us,” Miguel said. “We want to leave. We need to leave. We need to get back to our friends. Why didn’t you just take us home?”
Ranamon shrugged. “I had to make sure you actually meant it. For a long time I’ve been waiting for someone to come along who actually remembers who they are. Everyone who washes up here has no memories of who they were beforehand. Absolutely zero. But you?” She looked at Miguel, then up at Flip, then down at Miguel again. “You’re the only ones who have ever known where they came from and who they are.”
She tapped Miguel’s chest with a finger. “I knew there had to be something special about you two. So I put you to a test. To prove to me how you remembered yourselves. To prove that you really want to go home. To show me just how special you really are.” She grinned, her teeth glinting in a nonexistent light. “And you did. More than I expected you to, really.”
Miguel took a deep breath in, holding his hands up to stare at them. They were still, the polar opposite of the thrashing waves below them. He closed his eyes and let everything flow out of him, imagining it congregating in his two open hands.
He closed them into fists and looked up at Flip.
“At least you evolved again,” he said, and Flip huffed a low laugh. “I was kinda worried you wouldn’t.” Because of me. Because I wouldn’t be brave enough, or strong enough, or just enough in general.
But he had. He had evolved again, and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from Miguel’s shoulders. It hadn’t been a fluke.
“I don’t think I can hold onto it much longer, though,” Flip said, and as he said it, the very tips of his ears began to glow green.
Ranamon blinked up at him, then pointed down to the beach behind them. “Set us down first. I don’t wanna fall into the ocean from this high up. Not in this form.”
Flip nodded and turned, lowering his hand to set Miguel and Ranamon down. The moment they set foot on the sand, he was fully consumed by the green light, and shrunk down to his rookie form a second later. He shook himself out, touching his head with a claw, then looked up at Miguel, smiling wearily.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being that big,” he mumbled, and Miguel stifled a laugh. He turned to Ranamon, and Miguel followed his gaze. “You gonna get us out of here tomorrow?”
Ranamon nodded, placing a hand on her chest. “Soon as morning comes. Or later, if you like to sleep in. And I haven’t forgotten your side of the bargain,” she added, inclining her head toward Miguel.
He blinked, confused, and she smiled when she noticed. “About me coming back and helping others get out? I’m still gonna do that. We haven’t gotten many newcomers in the past few months, but next time someone new shows up, I’ll get them out of here before they get all depressed and mopey. I promise.” She paused, searching for words, and eventually she exhaled slowly. “It would be good for me to have some sort of passion for helping others. Like you two do.”
“We just wanted to leave,” Miguel started, but Ranamon shook her head.
“Sure. But you actually agreed to my request. You didn’t know anything about this Digimon. You didn’t even know if you’d be able to evolve.” She looked at Flip here. “But you did it anyway. Not because you wanted to get out, but because you wanted to help people. Help the villagers from a nonexistent violent Digimon. And help them get out of here. That’s what you asked of me, right?”
“…I guess so,” Miguel said. Flip nudged him in the leg and he shut his mouth to avoid sticking his foot in it any further.
“I still don’t know how exactly you ended up in our world,” Ranamon said to Miguel, “or why you’re here, or who your other friends are. But whatever it is you need to do here, I think you’ll manage just fine. I have faith in you.”
“Ah,” Miguel said, feeling his face heat up. “Thank you.” She doesn’t know anything about it - has she ever even seen a manic Digimon? I don’t think any of them have ever been here…
But… it’s nice to have someone believe in us.
Ranamon coughed quietly, her own face blushing pale red as she kicked her feet in the sand. “Um… I have one more favor to ask you.”
Miguel’s shoulders dropped. “Oh, please no -”
“It’s nothing bad, I promise!” Ranamon exclaimed, holding her hands out again. “I, um… I wanted to see if you could… give me a name? Like you did for Flip… something to make me me.”
Miguel blinked, and shared a look with Flip. Ranamon didn’t meet either of their gazes, keeping her eyes on the sand at her feet.
“Of course,” he said, and Ranamon lit up. She clasped her hands together and leaned forward expectantly; Miguel scrunched his face up as he thought to himself.
“…How about Ramona?”
It was a name that his parents had considered for his younger sister Andrea before she’d been born. It had always stuck with him, even when they’d very quickly decided it wouldn’t fit her (he still didn’t understand how they’d come to that conclusion before they’d even seen her).
It fit Ranamon well, he thought, and she seemed to agree.
“Ramona,” she echoed, turning it over in her mouth. “Ramona. Ramona. I’m Ramona.” She grinned, sticking a hand out for Miguel to shake, and he did. “Nice to meet you! My name’s Ramona.”
“I’m Miguel,” he said, smiling. “It’s nice to meet you too, Ramona.”
Ramona offered to let the two of them stay at her house for the night; she had an empty guest room that had never been used. Miguel asked why she had built it if she didn’t live with anybody else, and she had simply shrugged and said she was saving it for someone who needed it.
Though it was late, and though it had been a very long day, neither Miguel nor Flip were ready to sleep just yet.
“We’ve been here for all of one day,” Miguel said, spread out on the small shoddy guest bed, one of the only furnishings in the room. “And we’re already going to go home tomorrow. I don’t think most people here can even imagine that.” He paused, looking out the dusty window on the opposite side of the room. “Hopefully now they can.”
“They will,” Flip said quietly. He was laying with his head on his paw-flippers, looking at Miguel out of the corner of his eye. “I trust Ramona. Plus, she’s able to evolve, so even if in the future an actual dangerous Digimon shows up, she can protect the island.” He grinned. “Sort of like Bibi and Yoki. Guardian of Malware Harbor. It suits her.”
Miguel sat up, leaning against the headboard of the bed. “I’m glad you were able to win against her. I don’t want to know what she would’ve done if you hadn’t…” He sighed and trailed off.
“I didn’t ever doubt I’d be able to do it,” Flip said, and Miguel frowned, looking down at his partner.
“I didn’t doubt you,” he said. “I was just… worried, I guess. I mean, I guess we could’ve just fought her again, but… I don’t know. I’m just glad we did it on the first try.”
Flip reached a flipper over to place on Miguel’s leg as he blinked up at him. “I was able to do it because of you. It’s like what you said. You’re brave. And every time you remember that, I evolve.” He smiled. “I evolve because of you, I think. I play a part in it too, of course - I have to want to evolve - but…” He looked down at his claws, one of his ears twitching. “I think there’s a lot to partnership that none of us understand yet. And I don’t know if we ever will. But that’s okay.”
He shook himself out, looking back up at Miguel with a fanged smile. “When you were up on my shoulder, next to me, I felt… some sort of weird confidence that I’ve never felt before. Like you simply being near me was enough to just make me stronger.”
Something warm welled up in Miguel’s chest. He’d felt pretty good about being up there, too. Something about… taking charge, and not just standing idly by. Once he’d gotten the hang of it, it felt like… like it was where he was meant to be.
He got the feeling he’d be up there a lot more in the future.
“I don’t know, I was pretty scared about slipping and falling,” he said, only half-joking, and Flip laughed.
“I wouldn’t have let you fall.”
“I know.”
When morning broke, Ramona led Flip and Miguel out of Malware Harbor, into the passage of water that she had told them about when they’d first sat down to talk. The Forgotten Sea was on either side of them, but in the thin strip of water they swam through, it did not affect them. Flip - who had evolved to carry Miguel, as he had the day before - was able to cut through the sea with ease, and remembered everything clear as day the entire time. Miguel even shifted his position on Flip’s back to dangle his feet in the ocean below them, watching the ripples and tiny waves they created as they passed.
They had to watch themselves every inch of the way - one wrong move and they could end up straying off course and ending up in the Forgotten Sea. Even if they had slipped up, though, Miguel was certain they’d be able to correct themselves and get back on track. They had each other, after all.
It didn’t take long to reach File Island, no more than a few hours. As they drew closer to the island, the map on Miguel’s digivice cleared up, the static disappearing and being replaced by a faint blue overlay signifying the water, with only the green dot in the center breaking up the emptiness.
But soon enough, the faint outline of a shore emerged from the edges of the digivice’s screen. Miguel looked up, shading his eyes with a hand as the sun finally appeared in the sky and the distant shape of a large mountain appeared along the skyline. Ramona shifted course and Flip was quick to follow, matching her movements one-for-one. They were out of the Forgotten Sea by now, evident enough by the presence of the sun, but Flip and Ramona were turning their journey into a sort of performance, with Ramona dipping below the surface for a few short moments and Flip moving to swim over where she floated below the water beneath him.
When they reached the edge of File Island, Flip practically leapt onto the beach, sending water and salt and sand flying everywhere. Miguel climbed off, and Flip shook himself out, before going up in green light and devolving.
They turned to face Ramona, still in the water, everything below her shoulders submerged. She lifted a hand to wave at them, and they returned it.
“Thank you!” Miguel and Flip both cried, beginning to jump up and down and wave their arms around more excitedly. Ramona laughed and dove under, then reappeared as she breached the water in an elegant jump, before dipping back into the ocean.
She poked her head out of the water and grinned at the two of them.
“I should really be thanking you,” she called out, then turned and dove back under the surface to return to Malware Harbor.