Seeing that Garurumon and Greymon's fire attacks didn't work on Meramon—in fact only fed his flames and made him stronger—and that the many Rookie-level attacks weren't doing anything either, the situation turned critical. Garurumon and Greymon did their best to stall him so the Yokomon could get away.
Worst off was Gomamon, whose attack range was too short, forcing him to rush close and unleash his move: "Marching Fishes!"
He'd gotten too close. Disaster struck.
"—Aaah!" Meramon swatted Gomamon out of the air, his cry trailing as he flew.
"Gomamon!" Joe shouted as he watched his partner get blown back, memories of every moment together flashing through his head. "Gomamon!"
As if answering Joe, his Digivice flared with light. At the same time, a golden glow burst from Gomamon's body.
"Gomamon digivolve to… Ikkakumon!"
A beast cloaked in thick fur with a solid, cold-defying body hit the ground—a massive sea-lion Digimon. A sharp horn jutted from his head, forged from rare "mythril," able to regenerate and fire again as a "Harpoon Torpedo."
"Ikkakumon… Gomamon evolved," Joe murmured.
Tai finally exhaled. Ikkakumon's horn-fired Harpoon Torpedoes hit hard, and they could regenerate—basically a walking artillery platform.
"Okay—everyone together!" Greymon called.
Greymon and Garurumon charged in to tie Meramon up. "Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon launched his attack and struck Meramon squarely.
"Aaah—!" Meramon howled. A Black Gear burst out of his body, shot upward, shattered midair, and vanished in a puff of smoke. The Digimon who'd been mindlessly burning everything he saw came back to his senses at last. The body that had swelled after absorbing Greymon and Garurumon's flames shrank back down.
Light flashed over Greymon, Garurumon, and Ikkakumon, and they devolved to Rookie.
"You okay?" The three kids sprinted to their partners.
"We're fine."
With Meramon restored, the springs flowed again.
"Meramon, are you awake?" a Yokomon asked.
"Meramon, why did you attack us?" another asked the question everyone wanted answered.
"A Black Gear fell from the sky… after that, I don't remember," Meramon replied.
"Another Black Gear…"
"Maybe it's the one we saw," Joe said, recalling the trek and the thing they'd spotted.
Izzy propped his chin in his hand. "Something's off. Why do Black Gears control good Digimon and make them vicious?"
"Rather than 'changing' them, it's more like amplifying their feral side. And I think someone is pulling the strings. It might be tied to why we were brought here," Tai said—offering the kids just enough to brace themselves.
Hearing that, the mood dipped.
"That's just your guess. Don't scare everyone," Matt cut in, catching T.K. looking nervous—protective brother mode engaged.
"I'm reminding everyone to stay sharp. We should keep our guard up in a world like this, right? How is that 'scaring' them? Stop picking fights with me."
"Who's picking a fight?"
"Please don't, you two," T.K. pleaded.
Everyone hurried to break it up. Tai almost had to laugh—how did he end up bickering like a kid? Then again, too much had spun out of his control lately. Even the plot points he'd been leaning on as a crutch had started to shift, and it grated on him.
The Yokomon escorted the now-clearheaded Meramon to the edge of the village. "Please keep protecting Mt. Miharashi," they said.
Meramon offered the Yokomon and the children a solemn apology and promised to guard the mountain's water source. Then he headed back.
With Meramon gone, the Yokomon invited them to eat again, much to the kids' delight. They didn't expect that "Digimon food" wasn't quite what they imagined.
The meal the Yokomon laid out was heaven for Digimon—but pretty hard for humans to swallow: raw-looking yellow kernels that might as well have been uncooked millet. However you looked at it, it wasn't something humans could take to easily.
But they were starving, and most of what they'd brought from the real world was gone. In the end, they washed the "food" down with the village's crisp spring water.
By the time they finished, night had fallen. They slept at the Yokomon village—outside, since the houses were too small. Still, it beat the last few nights: no standing watch, no fear of hostile Digimon roaming in. They could actually rest.
Night came. No city lights—only gentle stars. Tai lay there and stared up into a sky with no constellations he knew. He turned the day over in his mind. Biyomon should have evolved into Birdramon to save Sora today, deepening their bond. Tai and Sora had known each other a long time—both loved soccer and kicked the ball around together. Their friendship had been solid, but since coming to the Digital World too much had happened, and they hadn't really talked. The chain of dangers weighed on him. And now, because Ikkakumon appeared, Biyomon hadn't evolved. It unsettled him; the "story" was no longer reliable. Then again, he himself was a variable. The plot had already changed—this was just the first obvious sign. He just hadn't wanted to admit it.
Tai clenched his fist. If I had real power, why would I care about the plot? However strong the enemy is, I'd just beat them. No need to tiptoe. Survival of the fittest doesn't change, no matter the world.
As for Devimon—he rubbed his temple. That enemy was a trial. Get past him, and the sky would open; he could act on his plans. Using Angemon against Devimon would take a miracle. He wasn't the type to pin hopes on miracles. Fate had to sit in his own hands. As for Biyomon—before the showdown with Devimon, he'd find the chance for her to evolve.
For now, the priority was having a way to protect themselves in the fight with Devimon. Greymon alone wouldn't cut it, no matter how hard they trained. Devimon was one of the strongest Champions. Without Crests, pushing Greymon to Ultimate wasn't realistic. They'd have to rely on several Champions working together.
The steel factory gave Tai real hope. Besides the chance of recruiting Andromon as an ally, there was a program in there that could push a Rookie to Champion. In the original, it took Tentomon to Kabuterimon. After failing to evolve Patamon, Izzy's laptop fizzled, and the other unevolved partners never got a turn. Tai believed a program ought to have general use, and the reason Patamon didn't evolve was that his conditions were too strict. T.K.'s Crest was Hope. As a Champion, Angemon beat Devimon; for a time he even held a draw against the Ultimate Myotismon; he could trade blows with the Mega Piedmon; and as an Ultimate himself he completely overwhelmed Piedmon. With that kind of potential, of course he wouldn't evolve "just because." For the others, though, the program should work. And mastering it? Tai felt no pressure at all. If Izzy could half-handle it in the original, Tai—who'd studied programming for years—certainly could. On top of that, the factory's materials to strengthen Agumon were a beacon of hope. Even without those, a bit of battle coaching from Andromon should raise Agumon's power by a fair margin. As for poor Devimon—he schemed and schemed, and in the end, when T.K. was in danger, Patamon still evolved to Angemon. Devimon lost by a single step—but Tai figured that had a lot to do with his earlier mistakes.
Tai rolled onto his side. Enough. When the cart reaches the mountain, there'll be a road. And if there isn't, we'll climb over. Gazing at the star-salted sky, he slipped into sleep. The kids drifted off with fresh hunger for tomorrow's unknown adventures.
At dawn, after enjoying a meal that was a delicacy to Digimon (and birdseed to the kids), they set out again.