Aster, The Road Less Traveled Ch.11
DIGIVICES These are small, handheld devices which hold tremendous power. They appear to be gifted to certain humans once they've bonded with a Digimon. This allows Digimon to Digivolve into more powerful forms. The process which creates a Digivice is unknown. It appears that a bond is needed. But the nature of that bond is always different. For some it is friendship. For others it is a common goal. And for others...it appears when love blossoms. Equally mysterious are the inner workings of the device, such as how it is able to cause Digimon to Digivolve. Various attempts have been made to replicate it. But it seems like growth and data absorbtion is required to evolve without one. Then there is the topic of whether a Digimon could use a Digivice without a human partner...Encyclopedia Digimonica, RK Aster and Terra slumbered peacefully through the night together, the Renamon completely unaware that the innocent young Agumon had snuggled up to her side for comfort. The morning light gradually crept its way through the window, illuminating the room in a warm glow that caused the Renamon to stir. Feeling a warm body pressed again her fur, Aster opened her blurry eyes hoping to see that it was Silas resting beside her, that the last year or so had been nothing but a dream.But when Aster’s eyes sharpened and she saw that it was young Terra beside her, the sting of reality and what had been lost came back to her. Biting her lip in annoyance, Aster started to nudge Terra out of her bed with her thigh before using her foot to push him over the edge.The orange lizard flopped onto the floor, taking Aster’s blanket with him before thrashing about for a moment in confusion. “I-I’m up I’m up!” he shouted, as he struggled with the blanket that enveloped him before his head popped out from amidst the fabric with an embarrassed guilty expression. Aster unflinchingly stared at the young Agumon for a moment before a smirk broke her cold demeanor along with a small chuckle. “Serves you right for not listening to me! What were you doing in my bed anyways?” she inquired with a small tilt of her head before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. “S-sorry,” apologized the orange dinosaur meekly, his eyes meeting Aster’s for a moment before returning to the floor. “I was having trouble sleeping and you’ve made me feel so safe so I climbed into bed with you,” admitted Terra with a small nod before he untangled himself from his blanket. “Just don’t do it again, all right?” sighed Aster in reply, giving Terra a small smile to let him know that no hard had been done. The tall vixen then headed to the bathroom to commence her morning hygiene routine, brushing her teeth, grooming her fur, and other small maintenance activities. Once she was finished, she returned to the bedroom area where Terra was doing his best to remake the beds, even if the sheets were a bit wrinkled. After a quick communal breakfast with some of the other Digimon who were lodging at the inn, Aster and Terra traveled to the Brave Guard spire where Morrow and Rem were waiting for them in their office. Even though the morning was still young, Morrow’s inbox was already slightly overflowing with files, reports, and forms. And the young man’s face was all the worse for wear because of it. “Good to see you again Morrow, Rem. Are you two always this busy?” inquired Aster with a bit of concern as she entered the office, Terra trailing a few steps behind her. “I’m afraid so, Aster,” spoke up Rem from his smaller desk right next to Morrow’s, the Gazimon giving them a friendly smile as his paws continued to type on his miniaturized computer. “Ever since Capacitor City became a hub for refugees, we’ve been buried in paperwork from all the complaints and increase in crime. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming the refugees or the residents, but Digimon weren’t made to live this long in such close proximity to each other. The Brave Guard has been able to keep the peace so far, but we’re stretched pretty thin as it is and more people keep arriving every day,” informed Rem with a weak smile, his words making Aster realize that the situation was worse than she had thought it was. “Is there anything Terra and I can do to help lighten the load? I had no idea things were that bad,” offered Aster before shifting her glance to Morrow who returned her gaze. Morrow gave his head a quick dismissive shake before speaking, “As much as we could use the extra help, Aster, what we really need is for things to return to normal so people can return to their homes and rebuild. Even with the largest and best trained police force in Folder, there’s only so much we can do when the food and water runs out,” sighed Morrow before resting his forehead against his knuckles. “That’s why we need as much information about what is going on with Cerberus Forces and with Coal. Frankly Aster, the information you are uncovering while tracking down Terra’s tamer is more valuable than having another officer patrolling the streets. That’s another reason we need you to check out the Digivice scholar out in Gnarl Vine Village, any information he could provide could potentially give us a fighting advantage in addition to helping you figure out your new Digivolution abilities.” “But we’re going to rescue Roy before we visit the forest place right? We need to rescue him as soon as we can!” protested Terra in earnest, his attention rapidly shifting back and forth between Aster and Morrow. Taking a deep breath as she weighed her options, Aster returned her attention back to Terra who was tugging on her cloth gauntlets before replying. “I promised that I would help you save Roy as soon as possible and I intend to keep that promise. That being said, I also know that neither of us is nearly strong enough if we run into problems like that Devidramon. Even with my armor evolution that fight was way too close for comfort. And the odds are that the Cerberus Forces have even stronger Digimon than that Devidramon working for them," reasoned Aster audibly, her words making sense to Terra even if he didn’t like them. “We need to be smart about this.” “I know this isn’t easy for you Terra and that you’re concerned about your friend, but Aster is right,” comforted Rem with a friendly smile, getting up from his desk before giving the young Agumon a hug which the orange lizard happily accepted. “Don’t worry Terra, Roy is going to be alright.” “O-okay, if you say so Rem,” sniffled back Terra in reply, feeling more secure that everything would work out fine in the end. As Rem continued to comfort Terra, Morrow handed Aster a small flash drive to connect to her Digivice. “Here, this should have the coordinates for Gnarl Vines Village along with my personal number in case you need to reach me. We also managed to attach a sidecar to your motorcycle so Terra can ride with you easier and you can carry more supplies. It's not very pretty, but it should serve you well.” “Thanks Morrow, I appreciate all the help you’re giving despite the difficulty. You’re a true friend,” smiled Aster warmly, getting up from the small folding office chair so she could give her old companion a hug. “Take care of yourself, alright?” “Thanks fluff ball, I’ll do my best. You do the same now you hear? Try and keep out of trouble,” replied the young man as he exchanged a casual embrace with the soft vixen which reminded them both of better times. “Hey now, it’s not like I’m actively looking for trouble. It just keeps finding me!” laughed Aster in playful protest, giving her old friend one last smile before heading to the door.The two duos then said their goodbyes before Aster and Terra headed out towards the courtyard where her motorcycle was waiting for them. Sure enough, a simple aged sidecar had been attached to the right side of her motorcycle along with a few extra storage boxes. “Morrow wasn’t lying when he said it's not pretty,” she sighed, the drab brown sidecar obtrusively standing out from the shiny chrome of her sleek motorcycle. “All right Terra, hop in,” she instructed before inserting the flash drive into her Digivice and double-checking the coordinates. As the Digivice pulled up a holographic map, Aster slowly scrolled towards the new area. And a new way marker appeared showing the way to Gnarl Vine village. “What’s that dot over there for?” asked Terra, his voice full of curiosity as he attempted to maneuver himself to a comfortable position in the sidecar, finding his tail to be a bit of an annoyance. “That doesn’t look like the village to me.” “O-oh that? It's not important. Right now we need to get to Gnarl Vine village and find that scholar so we can rescue Roy and put a stop to Cerberus Forces,” redirected Aster, not wanting to break her focus by discussing a sensitive matter. Instead, she ignored the old way point, creating a new one at the village before deftly slinging a digigrade leg over the seat of her bike. Terra remained silent as Aster ran though her mental checklist for her motorcycle, making sure that everything was working properly and that the sidecar wouldn’t break off half way through the next leg of their journey. Once she was satisfied, Aster started her bike before carefully navigating the busy courtyard and streets to the city gates. Unlike the busy lines for entrance into Capacitor City, the exit lines were almost empty of travelers and extremely understaffed. As they exited from the looming walls and the security of the city, an ocean of sand and jutting stones greeted them along with the scorching breath of the desert wind. Dimming her visor, Aster turned her bike towards the village waypoint before accelerating as Terra ducked behind the small glass shield of the sidecar for cover. But the further they got from Capacitor city the more the terrain mellowed out, with sand giving way to dirt as shrubs morphed slowly into stumpy and eventually much larger greenery. As they got closer to their destination, they entered into an expansive forest with a canopy that filtered light onto the dirt path which they traveled. The duo eventually reached the small hamlet of Gnarl Vine village, the architecture seemed carved out of the forest itself as trees, ginormous roots, and even some larger branches had windows and doors constructed into them. There also seemed to be levels within the village that mirrored the canopy of the forest itself, with plant-like Digimon dwelling close to the bottom and avian-like Digimon dwelling higher up. “Quaint,” thought Aster to herself as they casually coasted through the town, her metallic bike seeming very out of place with both the architecture and the Digimon around her. Similar to the small towns they had passed through previously, the Renamon and Agumon stood out like a sore thumb, even more so now thanks to the disproportionate vehicle they were riding. Aster putted through town for a few minutes and getting a lay of the land. She looked over the shops and other useful tidbits of information that occasionally became important. But as they made their way around a second time, Terra noticed some movement between several tall hallowed out trees, prompting him to grab Aster’s attention. “Over there! It looks like someone’s being attacked!” he squeaked out in concern, directing the Renamon’s attention with a curved claw. Sure enough, an Ogremon and a Fugamon were picking on a Wizardmon behind the cover of the trees, shoving the smaller Digimon around as he desperately clung onto a large book buried in the security of his arms. But rather than waiting for Aster to stop the motorcycle, Terra leapt out of the sidecar and headed directly towards the small clearing behind the trees, letting off several small pepper breath attacks as he went. “H-hey! Damn it Terra, what do you think you’re doing!” shouted Aster, bringing the bike to a safe stop as quickly as she could while Terra’s orange figure disappeared into the trees and foliage. “Of course he had to pick a fight with two champion level Digimon,” she thought to herself, turning off the ignition before pulling the key out. “I just hope no one steals our supplies while I’m rescuing his ass,” grunted Aster before rapidly dismounting from her bike and sprinting towards the gap between the trees. Just as she expected, Terra was growling and holding his ground between the Wizardmon and his attackers, only concerned with doing what he felt was right rather than worrying about his own safety. But despite Terra’s aggressive confidence, the Ogremon and the brownish-red Fugamon seemed un-phased as they continued to close in. “We won’t stand a chance in a straight up fight, I need to draw them back to my bike so I can fuse with it,” planned Aster as she paused for a moment, sizing up the situation before the Ogremon and Fugamon noticed her. Deciding it wise to keep her distance, Aster made her presence known by unleashing a flurry of sharp crystals using her Diamond Storm attack. Even though the attack did little to weaken her new targets, it certainly drew their attention.Utilizing Aster’s distraction, Terra grabbed the Wizardmon by the arm, half leading and half dragging him back to the dirt roadway as the twin attackers went after the daring Renamon without a second thought. Not letting up, Aster continued the pressure as she retreated through the woods, occasionally flinging shards to keep her targets interested. But with her attention focused behind her, Aster failed to see the low hanging branch in her path before it was too late. With a loud “SMACK!” Aster’s head impacted with the unexpected obstacle, which promptly sent her tumbling to the ground in a stunned daze. Her vision swirled before her as feelings of nausea and an incapacitating ringing noise assaulted her senses. Her entire body feeling dazed, Aster barely had enough consciousness to roll out of the way as the Ogremon slammed his club into the ground where her body had been. Staggering back to her feet, Aster could feel fear creeping into her heart, making each pounding beat throb in her ears. She needed to make it back to her motorcycle. Willing herself forward, Aster broke out in a dead sprint as her pursuers gave chase. She could hear them behind her, each thump of their large bare feet and each labored breath which caused her ruffled fur to stand on end. Rounding the corner, Aster broke through the tree line and sprang herself towards her motorcycle. However, instead of following behind had Terra led his new Wizardmon companion on a more direct route to Aster’s motorcycle, cutting directly through the undergrowth of the forest. Bursting out of the foliage, the two witnessed a bright light as the daring Renamon started to Digivolve with her motorcycle. Awestruck with amazement, the Wizardmon’s eyes went wide as he witnessed Aster fuse not only with her motorcycle but the attached sidecar as well. In addition to her motorcycle morphing into a shiny set of protective armor, the sidecar had transformed into a large ovular shield complete with its original drab brown hue. As the blue energy dissipated from her armor-Digivolve, Aster landed on the dark soil with a heavy thump before defiantly planting the butt of her shield into the dirt. “Come on you thugs, bring it on!” she challenged. Everyone who looked at Aster did so in awe and amazement, especially the Wizardmon who dropped his book in excitement. “It’s happening, it’s actually happening! I’ve heard the legends but I never thought I would actually get to witness this firsthand!” he exclaimed in wonder, his eyes as big as saucers beneath the wide brim of his hat. He watched in dumbfounded awe as Aster skillfully blocked a powerful blow with her shield from the Fugamon’s crude bone club. “This is absolutely astonishing I-I need to take notes!” he stuttered before frantically attempting to pull out several pens and a pad of paper which awkwardly dropped to the ground in his hurry. Even though both the Orgemon and the Fugamon were champion level Digimon, they clearly were untrained fighters and their sloppy attacks greatly reflected that. Despite having never used her newfound shield before, Aster easily adapted it to her fighting style, using it both for defense as well as offense. Roaring with renewed strength, the armored Renamon braced herself with her shield before retaliating by ramming the overly aggressive Ogremon into a towering tree. The green Digimon grunted upon his violent impact, his head lurching forward before slamming against the bark which prompted his entire body to go limp and flop to the ground. Seeing that his companion was incapacitated, the Fugamon froze in his tracks, his eyes enlarging with fear. “A-all right! I give, I give!” he shouted in terror, quickly dropping his bone club to the ground in surrender as his arms went high. “Just don’t hurt me anymore all right? It’s already going to be painful to walk for the rest of the week as things are.” Aster’s sharp eyes peered into the frightened crimson Digimon, scanning him to see if he was trying to pull a fast one over her. Not sensing any treachery, Aster relaxed her combat stance, though her guard remained up as she watched the Fugamon attend to his fallen friend. “What were you two doing? Why were you attaching that Wizardmon?” questioned Aster as Terra and the befuddled scholar slowly approached from behind her. “M-my name is Horace, oh mighty warrior maiden,” corrected the Wizardmon meekly, his voice cracking like a schoolboy trying to talk to a crush for the first time. Giving the awkward Wizardmon a quick glance, Aster returned her attention to the two defeated Digimon before repeating her question. “All right, why were you two attacking Horace?” “We weren’t trying to hurt him, just ruff him up a bit, that’s all! It’s the job the village elders entrusted to us! We were supposed to guard the shrine and burial grounds and keep people from desecrating the graves by looting them like this Wizardmon was doing!” protested the Fugamon as his companion slowly started to awaken from his injury. “I wasn’t desecrating the graves, I was merely digging up the ancient Digivices so I could study them and uncover the secrets of Digivolution! I was going to rebury the bodies once I was finished you know!” shouted back Horace with assurance while still making sure that Aster was squarely between him and his earlier attackers. “Wait a moment, did you have permission from the village elders to conduct your research?” questioned Aster as she turned her attention towards Horace, starting to feel as if she may have been on the wrong side of the confrontation. “Well er…I’ve tried to get permission several times in the past, but each time they turn me down! I had to dig up those graves, imagine the advancements that could be made by researching the ancient Digivices and uncovering their secrets! It could change Digivolving and human Digimon relations forever!” “That still doesn’t give you the right to desecrate the resting places and relics of the heroes of old!” growled the Ogremon as he took an aggressive step forward only to be held back by his Fugamon companion. “You should have just left well enough alone!” “It’s not like the ancient heroes were going to use their Digivices any mo-” continued Horace before Aster cut the argument short with a loud shout. “That’s enough Horace! Shut your mouth before you make things worse,” interrupted the mechanized vixen, her voice rich with anger towards the overeager scholar. She then grabbed the befuddled Wizardmon by the arm before half leading and half dragging him towards the large hollowed out trunk in the city center which functioned as Gnarl Vine’s town hall. Sensing the tension, Terra’s scaly tail twitched nervously as he chased after the determined Renamon, hoping that things wouldn’t get any messier than they already were.
ThornWolf33
Add Media
Style