Digimon Dark Worlds 02: Crests of the Sins

It had been atleast a couple days now since Hoshi and Kudamon split from their group, now traveling on their own, as Hoshi searched for his tag and crest, to finally unlock his ultimate Digivolution. So far yet though, the search hasn’t been very successful, but they’re still trying their best to look, the two now climbing a high-up mountain in the middle of nowhere, bright and early in the morning. Despite Hoshi’s asthma getting worse and worse now the more he walked, he still refused to stop, as he wheezed and coughed pretty heavily.

“Hoshi, please...You should really just let me Digivolve so I can carry you.” Kudamon pleads. “I can’t stand to see you like this.”

“No Kudamon...It’s fine, I...Cough, cough...I don’t want you...to waste your energy...” Hoshi says weakly, Kudamon sighing as they suddenly stopped walking.

“Alright, but...I’m not walking anymore until you stop and rest as well.” Kudamon responds. Hoshi pauses, turning back to Kudamon before finally sitting down on the ground next to him, taking a few puffs of his inhaler, taking a bit before his wheezing finally stopped.

“Hoshi...Why do you keep pushing yourself like this?” Kudamon asks.

“I’m sorry for worrying you so much Kudamon, I...” Hoshi sighed. “I honestly just wanted to do something on my own for once...Even before I became a Digidestined, I always felt like I got in the way of everything, with my health problems...Always felt like a burden to people...I guess I just wanna prove to people that I’m more then that. That I can accomplish things on my own.”

“Hoshi, come on, you’re not a burden to anyone, and I don’t ever want you to think that low of yourself.” Kudamon states. “We all exist for a reason, and I know the farther we travel out here on our own...The more you’ll find out about yourself...You just really gotta rest a bit more along the way.” They state, Hoshi smiling a bit.

“Pfft, you sound like my mom right now.” Hoshi says, chuckling a bit. “But thanks...I really appreciate it.”

Rustle, rustle... Suddenly then, the two hear a rustling noise from a nearby bush, suddenly jumping up in shock as they turn to face the bush.

“Thats like...The 3rd time this happened today.” Hoshi whispers. “Is someone following us?!”

“Hey!! If you’re following us, you better come out and show yourself now!!” Kudamon shouts, the bush parting as a smaller Digimon crawls out...

“Whoa...What kind of Digimon are you supposed to be?” Hoshi asks, kneeling down to his level.

“It’s Bitzimon, and um, I’m sorry if I’m bothering you two by following you!” Bitzimon whimpers. “I just, if you don’t mind me asking...Are you a human?”

“Uh, yeah...My names Hoshi, and I’m a Digidestined. Kudamon’s here’s my partner.” He says, Bitzimon nodding as he looks at the two in awe.

“Whoa, you really are a Digidestined...That’s amazing!” Bitzimon smiles. “Um, to tell the truth...I’m actually a Digidestined too! Or...Atleast, I think I am? I got attacked a while ago by the Demondestined’s goons, and I reverted back to a Digi-egg...I finally hatched again, but now I have a problem...I forgot who my partner is! I know it’s been a while since I’ve seen them, and my memories are now super fuzzy, due to my data being reset...I just got really excited seeing another human out here, and thought you might know who my partner is!” Bitzimon happily stated, Kudamon and Hoshi gasping quietly as they exchanged glances.

“Whoa...That’s so cool. By any chance do you know your partner’s name?” Hoshi asks.

“No, ugh, I don’t remember anything...I don’t remember her, his, or their name...Ugh, I can’t even remember their pronouns! Ugh, I feel like such a failure of a partner...” Bitzimon whimpers, sadly looking down at the ground.

“Hey, it’s alright Bitzimon, it’s not your fault if you can’t remember anything...” Kudamon comforts. “How long has it been since you’ve been seen your partner?”

“A long time...Years, in fact. My partner and I lost our Digivolution powers years ago, so I doubt they’re in the Digital World right now, but...I still miss them! I just wish I could remember their name is all...” Bitzimon whimpers, Hoshi and Kudamon exchanging glances, before nodding at each other.

“Hey, Bitzimon...We’re also out here searching for something too...” Hoshi says. “Maybe...You wanna travel with us for a bit? Maybe we can try and help each other out...Find what we’re looking for together.” Bitzimon looks up at Hoshi, a smile appearing on his face as he hopped up and down excitedly.

“Ooh, yay! That’d be amazing! Thanks, you two! But, uh...” Bitzimon pauses, looking down at the lower half of his body that resembled a slug. “I’m not exactly...The fastest. Ugh, I wish I had wings or something!”

“Hey, don’t worry about that...” Hoshi unzips the top half of his backpack, lifting up Bitzimon and putting him in the bag, where he fit pretty snugly.

“Ooh, yay! Now it’s like I’m in a ride, hee hee!” Bitzimon giggles happily, pointing in a random direction. “Now onward, new friends! To better heights!” Everyone laughed and smiled, as they started walking...

Rustle, rustle... But suddenly heard more rustling in the bushes, all exchanging confused looks. “Um, about that...You know how I’ve been following you guys around?” Bitzimon says. “Um, I’ve had someone following me around too...A funny coincidence, isn’t it?”

“BOO!!”

“AAAHHH!!” As a Digimon suddenly pops out of the bushes, scaring everyone as Hoshi nearly falls back.

“Heh, heh...Gotcha.” The Digimon chuckles.

“Geez Keramon, stop doing that! Friends don’t do that to each other!” Bitzimon huffs. Keramon keeps giggling, suddenly stopping with a surprised expression as he stares at Hoshi and Kudamon.

“Whoa, Digidestined...Do you know who my...Old friends are?” Keramon asks, Hoshi and Kudamon giving confused glances. “Antylamon...And Mummymon...Digidestined...I miss my old friends...” Keramon says.

“Antylamon...And Mummymon? Isn’t Antylamon the ultimate form of Lopmon?” Hoshi asks.

“Ah! So you do know my friends...That’s great! Any friend of Antylamon is a friend of mine...” Keramon says. “You are my friends...Right?” Keramon stares at everyone silently, with a wide eyed, wide smile expression that made everyone a bit uncomfortable, all exchanging glances.

“Er, yeah...” Hoshi responds, sounding unsure, but Keramon didn’t notice, as he clapped happily.

“Yay! Come on then, friends...Onwards, to new adventures!”

Meanwhile...

“You...Seriously wanna travel out there? On your own?” Alec cocked his head at Russell, who just stated something that genuinely surprised him.

“Yeah...I mean, think about it. Splitting up means we could probably look for the others faster...Right?” Russell states. “And besides...I think I need a bit of time to myself anyways, so I can hopefully activate my ultimate Digivolution...You get that, right?” Alec was silent, looking away for a moment before responding. “Pfft, I guess...Guess you do have some catching up to me, right? I don’t blame you then!” Alec smirks. 

“Er yeah, I guess so...” Russell says, rubbing the back of his neck. Alec then gives a warm smile to Russell, reaching a hand out. “Well...Good luck then, friend. And stay safe.” Alec says, Russell shaking his hand. “Yeah...You too.” The two then walk away from each other, Russell and Syakomon walking in silence for a while.

“Umm...Russell? What exactly are we gonna...Do now?” Syakomon asks. Russell stopped walking, silent for a moment, as he sighed.

“Ugh...I wish I knew.” Russell mumbled, sitting down on the ground. “I feel like I’ve been...Slowing down lately. Like everyone else is running so far ahead of me, but I have no idea how to catch up.”

“Hmm...” Syakomon looked away, thinking. “I mean...All you really need to is activate your crest, right? What’s the symbol called again?” Russell grabbed his tag and crest, carefully looking at the symbol.

“Envy. That’s like, jealousy over others...Which describes me pretty accurately right now.” Russell sighs.

“Come on, we can talk about it...Who are you jealous of?” Syakomon asks.

“I mean...Everyone. Especially the other Demondestined...” Russell responds, sighing. “I’ve always felt like I can never get as much done as they could... Maybe because I’m not as malicious as them? Urgh...” Russell looked down at the ground silently, as a felt a rage burning within him, clenching his fist angrily.

“...You know what? No more mr nice guy...” Russell grumbled, standing up. “I can be just as malicious as they are...”

“Ooh, what are we gonna do?” Syakomon asks, as they continue walking.

“Cause some destruction.” He responds sternly. “I’ll show the others what I can really do...There’s gotta be a village around here we can cause some chaos in.”

“Woah... Sounds like fun!” Syakomon says, happily agreeing. Syakomon looked up at Russell’s crest, which Russell didn’t notice, but the crest started to glow. ‘Yes...We’ve got this, Russell.’

Sometime later...

Hoshi and his group kept making their way down many paths, that kept twisting and turning in many directions...Until they crossed through some bushes...Finding a village, with a sign at the front that read: Village of Peace. The village had multiple small, wooden huts, built onto the side of the mountains, that also sat on the cliff, looking over the vast sky and clouds around them.

“Hello!” 

“AGHH!!” A smaller Digimon popped up out of nowhere, spooking Hoshi.

“Whoa...You’re a human, aren’t you? You must be a Digidestined then!” The Digimon says, smiling with excitement. “Hi, my names Sheepmon! But I’m just one of the many Sheepmon that live here, heh...Ooh, what’s your name?”

“Um, it’s-“

“HEY!!”

Another Digimon stomps in front of everyone, also scaring them yet again. “Sheepmon, what are you doing out here? Talking to a...Human?” The Digimon pauses, freezing as he also stares at Hoshi. 

“Moosemon, don’t worry! This humans nice! Or...Atleast I think he is?” Sheepmon says.

“Uh, yeah I am...Uh, I don’t mean to bother you guys...” Hoshi responds shyly. “We’ve just been traveling out here for a while, looking for something...” Moosemon and Sheepmon exchange glances, thinking for a moment.

“Hmm...Well, you look pretty harmless, so... You’re all free to stay here to rest.” Moosemon states, as Bitzimon cheers. “Yay! I’m starving!”

“Thank goodness...I’ve been waiting to rest my feet!” Keramon says, popping out from behind Hoshi, as Moosemon and Sheepmon gasp, backing away a bit. “K-Keramon?! I thought we told you to stay away from this village?!” Moosemon says.

“Huh...? Has Keramon done something to you all...?” Hoshi asks, confused.

“I mean, Keramons a bit of a weird guy, but he hasn’t done anything bad to us!” Bitzimon says.

“Yeah, heh... I won’t hurt anyone here, don’t worry...” Keramon says, with a freaky smile, as Moosemon and Sheepmon exchange nervous glances, nodding to each other. “I mean, if the Digidestined trusts him, I think it’s fine...” Moosemon says.

“Yay! Come on guys, you’re just in time for our feast, you can join us if you’d like!” Sheepmon says, motioning for the group to follow her. Everyone then followed the two, until they reached a bigger building, entering it to find a big table, where multiple other Sheepmon and Moosemon were also eating. The group sat down on the table, as they were handed some bowls of food. “Aw, yeah! Time to dig in!” Bitzimon says, as he starts chowing down at lightning fast speed.

“Thanks so much for the food, you guys...” Hoshi smiles, as he starts to eat as well.

“Hey, kid, what’s your name...?” Moosemon asks. “And uh, no offense, but...What are you all doing all the way out here? We almost never get visitors in our village...”

“Oh um, I’m Hoshi. And uh, it’s kind’ve hard to explain, but I just separated from my friends, cause I was looking for something...”

“Ooh, there’s other Digidestined?! Can I meet them?!” Sheepmon says excitedly, cutting off Hoshi.

“Sheepmon, hush for a moment.” Moosemon says. “Hoshi, what was it that you were looking for?”

“Oh, um, I don’t know if you guys know exactly what they are, but...I’m looking for a tag and crest.” Hoshi states. “I wanted to find my own, and activate it.” Moosemon and  Sheepmon’s eyes widened at this statement. “A...Tag and crest?” Moosemon says.

“Yeah...Um, d-did I say something weird?” Hoshi asks nervously.

“No, not at all!” Sheepmon responds. “It’s just that...There’s a tag and crest right here in the village.” Hoshi and Kudamon gasp quietly with this statement, exchanging shocked glances.

“Yes, and it bears the crest of Peace...” Moosemon adds. “We can...Go show you where it is right now, if you’d like.”

“Woah...” Suddenly then, Bitzimon’s body starts to glow...

...As he quickly Digivolves. “Whoa...I Digivolved back to Batamon! Awesome...” Batamon admires himself. “Guess all I needed was a good meal! Hey...We’re you guys talking about a tag and crest?! Hold on a minute...Ooh! I think my partner owned one of those too! Oh my gosh, can I go see it too?!” Batamon quickly hops down from his chair, already running out, as Moosemon, Sheepmon and the others start to follow.

“Hey...Want me to come with too?” Keramon asks.

“Uh, it’s fine Keramon, you should just stay here and continue eating your food.” Hoshi says, turning back to Keramon, who’s smile faltered.

“Really...? You don’t want me...To come with?” Keramon mutters.

“We’ll only be gone for a few minutes Keramon, don’t worry.” Hoshi says, leaving before Keramon could respond. Moosemon and Sheepmon then lead everyone to a path slightly outside of the village, bringing them to an underground tunnel, where they kept walking, until they entered a smaller side room, with a pedestal in the middle...But the pedestal was empty.

“What...? It’s gone? How is that...Possible?” Moosemon says, staring at the pedestal with widened eyes.

“No flipping way! Let me see...” Sheepmon nudges everyone out of the way, gasping with the same shocked reaction. “Wait...What?!”

“Did...Somebody steal the tag and crest?” Kudamon asks.

“It’s possible, but...Everyone in the village knows not to mess around with it.” Moosemon says. “Who could’ve...Taken it?”

“...SCREEEEE!!” Suddenly then, everyone hears a horrific, high pitched scream from down the tunnel, hearing and seeing a smaller Digimon run into the room.

“EWW!! W-What the heck is that thing?!” Batamon says, Moosemon protectively standing in front of everyone. “That’s an Arcadiamon! Get back!” Moosemon says, as the Arcadiamon charges forward, slamming Moosemon against the wall.

“Moosemon! Don’t worry, I’ll-WHOA!!” Sheepmon tries to attack, but also gets slammed to the wall by another Arcadiamon.

“Kudamon, you gotta Digivolve!” Hoshi says, Kudamon nodding. “Right. I-“

“DATA CRUSHER!!” But before they can Digivolve, a long tentacle suddenly stabs through one of the Arcadiamon, poofing it to dust. Everyone looks to see where the attack came from...

To see a smaller Digimon, who looks towards the next Arcadiamon... “DATA CRUSHER!!” Attacking yet again, poofing the other to dust.

“AGHH!! W-Who the heck are you?!” Batamon shrieks.

“D-don’t worry, it’s me, Keramon! Or...I guess I’m Chrysalimon now.” He says, sternly. “I Digivolved to save you guys! Like my new form?”

“Woah, it’s pretty cool...Thanks for saving us, Chrysalimon!” Sheepmon says.

“Thank you...And now that I’m stronger, Hoshi...I’ll stay by your side, forever...So you don’t get hurt...” Chrysalimon says quietly, floating uncomfortingly close to Hoshi. “Uh, yeah...Thanks...”

“You two, are those Arcadiamon common around here?” Kudamon asks.

“Sadly yes, we get attacked by those things pretty regularly...” Moosemon responds. 

“Ugh, but the attacks are getting more and more frequent...I’ve never seen two attack us at a time like that!” Sheepmon adds.

“They have a nest nearby that’s further down the tunnel...” Moosemon says. “We can...Show you all if you want.”

“Yeah, could you please show us?” Hoshi asks.

“Sure, just...Be careful.” Moosemon says. “And keep your voices down when we arrive.” Moosemon and Sheepmon lead them out of the room, as they continue walking down the tunnel.

“Hey, I have a question...” Batamon says. “Why the heck do you guys live all the way out here anyways? No offense, but like...It’s out in the middle of nowhere!”

“It sure is, but that’s how we like it.” Moosemon sternly responds. “The main thing we strive for in this village is peace...It’s why we named it the village of peace.”

“Yeah! It may prevent us from getting visitors...” Sheepmon adds. “But it also prevents us from running into any evil Digimon! After all, there’s no reason for their kind to crawl around all the way up here...”

“That’s actually...Pretty cool.” Hoshi says. “I’ve always felt the same way about my life as well...Always just wanted to live a life of peace and security. Where I could feel safe and happy.”

“That describes how we feel pretty accurately.” Moosemon says. “Hoshi, I think the crest of Peace will fit you pretty nicely.”

“Yeah! If only we knew where to find it...” Sheepmon sighs. Everyone continued walking, until they finally stopped, reaching a dead end. “We’re here! Look...” Sheepmon whispers, pointing to a small, dark hole at the dead end. Hoshi and everyone carefully looked through the hole, which was pretty dark, but they could still see inside... It was a gigantic room, with hundreds of Arcadiamon inside...Most of them were sleeping, but a few others were crawling around on the walls.

“Whoa, amazing...It’s like they’ve built a nest in here.” Hoshi whispers.

“Hoshi! B-be careful!” Chrysalimon suddenly grabs Hoshi with his tentacles, pulling him roughly enough for him to fall to the ground, making a loud, echoing thud, that also causes some of the sleeping Arcadiamon to wiggle around a bit.

“Hey! P-please be quiet! You’ll wake them up!” Sheepmon pleads.

“Chrysalimon, why’d you do that?!” Hoshi snapped. “I was fine...” Chrysalimon looked embarrassed, awkwardly floating away from the group a bit. “Oh...I’m sorry...” He mumbled awkwardly.

“Hey, why are all these Arcadiamon here anyways?” Batamon asks.

“I don’t know exactly where they came from, but...” Moosemon states. “One day, we found a smaller one that crawled into our village a few years ago...I think it used to work for the demon lords. Anyways, it tried to attack our villagers, but we scared it off, so it eventually burrowed underground and built this nest, somehow multiplying itself. We had no idea this even happened though, until a few months ago, where we found this nest.”

“Whoa... How come you guys don’t just try and seal it up?” Kudamon asks.

“We have, but the Arcadiamon just keep knocking it down!” Sheepmon says. “If only there was a way to just...Bury this whole tunnel permanently...”

Rrrrrrumble... Suddenly then, everyone felt a rumbling noise in the tunnel, as they heard the screams of the villagers above them. “Wha-What the heck was that?!” Batamon asks. Then, the tunnel started shaking even more, as rubble started falling.

“EVERYONE, RUN!!” Moosemon shouted, everyone running towards the end of the tunnel, dodging the falling rubble. Everyone exited out into the daylight, just in time as the tunnel completely collapsed. “How did that...Even happen?!” Sheepmon questions. Everyone looks towards the village, all freezing and gasping in shock at what they saw... Gesomon was rampaging on the village, destroying houses and attacking the villagers, all while Russell watched from a close distance.

“Russell?! W-what’s he doing here?!” Hoshi freaks out.

“Oh god, you know him?!” Sheepmon asks.

“HEY, STOP THIS AT ONCE!! HORN BLADE!!” Moosemon attacks Gesomon, but quickly gets slapped by one of his tentacles, getting sent flying and collapsing into some rocks, as Sheepmon runs up to Moosemon.

“Russell, what are you doing?! Stop this!!” Hoshi yells, Russell only turning to him for a second, unresponsive as he completely ignores him.

“Urgh...Kudamon, we can’t let him get away with this...” Hoshi grumbles, Kudamon nodding.

“KUDAMON DIGIVOLVE TO... REPPAMON!!”

“RAZOR WIND!!” Reppamon attacks the ground nearby Russell, catching him off guard. “Did that get your attention...?” Reppamon huffs sarcastically, Russell scoffing at them.

“Ugh...Leave me alone, I have important business going on here!” Russell snaps.

“No! I refuse to let you hurt these innocent Digimon!” Hoshi yells.

“Hey, wait a minute...Was he the one that stole the tag and crest?” Batamon asks, Russell sighing with annoyance as he pulls something out of his pocket.

“What, this thing?” Russell says, everyone gasping.

“The crest of peace...That’s mine Russell, give it back to me!” Hoshi shouts.

“And if I don’t...What are you gonna do about it?” Russell mocks. Hoshi’s fists clenched in anger, as he tried charging towards Russell...

“DEADLY SHADE!!” But Gesomon blasts near Hoshi, a big blob of ink separating the two.

“I’ve always been in the shadows of everyone else, but now anymore...” Russell muttered. “...GESOMON!! DIGIVOLVE AND DESTROY THIS WHOLE VILLAGE!!” Then, Russell’s tag and crest, alongside his Digivice glow brightly.

“GESOMON DIGIVOLVE TO...”

“...MARINEDEVIMON!!”

MarineDevimon was so much bigger now, him and Russell smirking, as MarineDevimon prepared an attack...

“NO!! RAZOR WIND!!” But Reppamon attacked MarineDevimon, stopping him in his tracks. “Urgh, you little pest...” MarineDevimon growled. “DARK DELUGE!!” MarineDevimon attacked, Reppamon dodging as they ran away in circles, distracting MarineDevimon as he chased after them. Hoshi looked around, unsure of what to do, when he saw that Batamon and Chrysalimon were now gone. He looked around for them, his eyes looking back at Russell...

“GIVE IT BACK!! HYAH!!” When he suddenly saw Batamon tackle Russell from behind, causing the tag and crest to go flying into the air. “Hoshi! Catch it!!” Batamon yells. Hoshi jumps up, grabbing the crest midair, as it glows brightly...

“REPPAMON DIGIVOLVE TO...”

“...

...CHIRINMON!!”

“Whoa...” Hoshi stared in awe at Chirinmon, who was now twice the size, flapping their wings as power surged through their body. “I actually...Did it...”

“WIND CUTTER SWORD!!” Chirinmon charges at MarineDevimon, stabbing him roughly with their horn, doing a lot of damage.

“Urgh, you...DARK DELUGE!!” MarineDevimon fired ink at Chirinmon, blinding them as they struggle to get the ink off their face. “Face your end, Chirinmon...” MarineDevimon growls, raising a claw...

“NO, DON’T YOU DARE!! HORN BLADE!!” Moosemon suddenly charges at MarineDevimon, stabbing him with his horns.

“WOOL GRENADE!!” Sheepmon also attacks, firing rockets at MarineDevimon. The attacks don’t do much to him, only angering MarineDevimon as he turns to the two. “You annoying little pests...” He growled, stomping towards him. He was too distracted by the two, that he didn’t notice that Chirinmon wiped all the ink off their eyes, approaching him from behind...

“WIND CUTTER SWORD!!” As they stabbed roughly through MarineDevimon, as he collapsed to the ground...Reverting back to Syakomon.

“What...No...This can’t be happening!!” Russell yells, wide eyed.

“Your done here, Russell...” Hoshi hisses. “You better leave now or you’ll really be sorry.” Russell backs away nervously, as Hoshi, Chirinmon, Chrysalimon, Batamon, and all the Sheepmon and Moosemon surround him...Russell then sighs in defeat, as he picks up Syakomon. “Not again...God...” He mumbles softly to himself...Running away from the village, out of sight.

“Chirinmon, you...You did amazing!!” Hoshi smiles, running up to his partner as he gives them a hug, Chirinmon reverting all the way back to Kyaromon.

“Only thanks to you, Hoshi! You were the reason I became stronger in the first place...” Kyaromon responds, snuggling into Hoshi. “Thank you...” Hoshi then looks back up at the village, his mood quickly dropping when he saw the destruction. “Guys, I...I’m so sorry about what happened...” Hoshi mumbled apologetically.

“Hey, it’s not your fault!” Sheepmon says. “Uh...Who was that crazy kid supposed to be though?”

“One of the Demondestined...Do you guys know who they are?” Hoshi asks.

“Nope. We don’t know about anything that goes on all the way up here.” Moosemon responds.

“Right, well... It’s a long story, but me and my friends are trying to get rid of them. That’s why we’re all here fighting in the first place.” Hoshi responds.

“You better hurry along then. In case those Demondestined try and cause more trouble.” Moosemon states.

“Really? Right now? I feel like I should be helping you guys fix the village or something...” Hoshi says.

“Don’t worry about it! We can fix up this village again, no problem! We’re all pretty resourceful here...” Sheepmon happily responds. “Besides, that Demondestined kid’s rampage finally sealed up the Arcadiamon tunnel, so that’ll help us out a lot!”

“Ooh, Hoshi, can I stay with you? I think I’m starting to remember more about my partner the longer I hang out with you...” Batamon says.

“Yeah, can I stay too? I can protect you...Until Kyaromon is ready to fight again...” Chrysalimon says, Hoshi looking back at the two with happiness in his eyes, before looking back at the Moosemon and Sheepmon.

“Go, Hoshi. Use the powers of the crest...No, your powers to help your friends. To save the Digital World.” Moosemon states, Hoshi smiling as he quickly hugged Moosemon and Sheepmon, getting teary eyed.

“Thank you, everyone...I won’t let you down.”