The next morning.
Rubbing his eyes and yawning, Joe walked out of the break room. "Thud—gah!" He sprawled out on the floor, arms and legs outstretched. Fuming, he tried to see what had tripped him—then froze in shock at the answer.
"Aaah—aaah—aaah—!"
His shout boomed down the dim corridor, the piercing echo waking the other kids from a dead sleep. They sprang up in a panic, half-thinking they were under attack—until they remembered they were in a steel factory, not out in the wilds, and realized it was just Joe yelling.
"What are you doing, Joe? You're so loud." Izzy shuffled out rubbing his eyes, yawning nonstop and clearly annoyed at being woken up.
He took a proper look at Joe: face-down on the floor, one hand braced against it, the other arm extended straight ahead, index finger pointing. Izzy followed the line of that finger—and his eyes went wide. A whole row of bicycles stood lined up at the bend in the hallway. In the human world that would be totally normal, but… this was the Digital World. Izzy gulped, at a loss for words.
The others came out and saw the same not-from-the-Digital-World sight. They were all dumbfounded.
Just then Tai arrived with Agumon, who had slept the night in the central control room. The scene made Tai blink. "Okay, what's going on here?"
Tai's question broke the silence.
"I knew it—there have to be other humans here. The bikes prove it. Someone from the human world must've come by yesterday." Of course the one saying that was Joe, who'd been insisting all along there were other humans around.
The kids wanted to argue, but the biggest piece of evidence was right there. After all, Digimon don't ride bicycles… right?
"Don't overthink it, Joe. I made them yesterday—bikes for us—using materials from the steel factory. They're for getting around so we don't have to hoof it. You're reading too much into it." Tai cleared it up.
Everyone cheered at not having to trek everywhere—everyone except Joe, who sagged, disappointed that there weren't any other humans after all.
They said goodbye to Andromon and set out again. Tai had half-hoped to convince Andromon to come with them, but, as expected, Andromon refused—he had to protect the steel factory. It was a letdown, but not a surprise, and it passed quickly. The good news: with bicycles, they didn't have to slog through the sewers to deal with those disgusting Numemon.
A group of kids pedaling across open fields, chatting and laughing—back home they'd look like children out for a weekend ride. Well, except for the partners on the rear racks and in the baskets, and the kid with a creature perched on his head—things you don't see in the human world.
While the others rode in high spirits, glad to be spared long marches, Tai frowned, thinking about what came next. Other than Patamon, everyone's partner had already Digivolved. They still couldn't evolve on their own and needed the Digivice to trigger it, but even that put them ahead of the original story. Even so, they were still nowhere near Devimon. After absorbing Black Gears, Devimon had become terrifying—his mountain-like bulk alone could crush hope.
They had gained something precious from the underground city the Metal Empire left behind: a network link that could let the kids contact their families through the Network. But given the way time flowed—one minute in the human world equaled a whole day in the Digital World (they only synced after Apocalymon appeared)—right now contact was basically impossible. Tai remembered in the original how he and Izzy tried to talk; the lag made an actual conversation impossible. So that priceless link was kind of a chicken rib: too valuable to toss, too awkward to use.
The underground city would also take a long time to restore. What Tai needed most was time. With enough time, they could even beat Myotismon—or the Dark Masters. But time was exactly what they lacked. Once Devimon figured out their situation, he'd move. No one could predict when he'd show up in front of them. That feeling sucked.
Before long a city came into view—big, at least twenty thousand square meters. At its center rose a massive, Disney-style castle. Rows of storybook houses fanned out in every direction like a small town. Red and blue spires peeked through the thick forest, a little paradise hidden from the world.
"This is Toy Town," Tentomon supplied, as the group's best-read guide.
They parked the bikes and walked the streets. Oddly, not a single Digimon appeared. The moment Tai saw that, he knew—Monzaemon had probably fallen under Devimon's Black Gear control.
Suddenly, a huge teddy bear waddled into view. "Welcome to Toy Town, children. Sorry to keep you waiting!" It came toward them smiling, holding two bunches of balloons, red eyes glinting like glass marbles—only these "marbles" were blood-red.
"That's Monzaemon—a gentle, kind Digimon. He's the mayor of Toy Town."
But Tai, who knew the original, wasn't about to be fooled. Coming from a teddy-bear doll, those words weren't a friendly invitation—they sounded like a declaration of war. The moment it finished talking, red beams blasted from its eyes. "Heart Laser!"
Tai and the others dove aside. Where the beams struck, the floor caved in, leaving a crater. The kids stared. "If that hit us, we'd be toast…"
"Why would a cute Toy Town have such a terrifying mayor? Tentomon, what is this?" Mimi could hardly process what she was seeing.
"I–I don't know either. Monzaemon's supposed to be a good Digimon," Tentomon answered, ducking another shot as he tried to reply to Mimi.
"If Tentomon's right and Monzaemon is gentle, then this one's under a Black Gear. Get ready—take it down first, talk later," Tai said.
"Mimi, have Palmon digivolve. Everyone else, support."
"Why me?" Mimi asked, puzzled.
"So the Digimon can build real combat experience."
"Okay. Palmon, I'm counting on you."
"Mm!"
Light flared—and a giant cactus with two boxing gloves landed in front of them.
Under Togemon's barrage of punches, Monzaemon fell back step by step. One heavy blow finally knocked him flat. A Black Gear whipped out of Monzaemon's body, shot into the sky, and crumbled to powder.
"Monzaemon's an Ultimate-level Digimon, and yet… that power wasn't impressive. Is it his nature—or did the Black Gear keep him from fighting at full strength?" Tai looked at the fallen bear, mind spinning with questions.
"When toys get boring, they're smashed or tossed aside. I couldn't allow that. As Toy Town's mayor, I decided to raise toys' status," Monzaemon confessed, embarrassed, describing the thoughts that had ruled him under the Gear's control.
"I'm truly sorry for the trouble."
"Forget it. With a Black Gear driving you, nothing's surprising," Tai smoothed things over. "Monzaemon, do you know where those Gears come from?"
"I think I heard someone say they're made by Devimon," Monzaemon said, scratching his head as he tried to remember.
"Devimon is a very evil Digimon," Tentomon briefed the others.
After the fight came pure fun—Monzaemon's way of apologizing—followed by a feast. Tai didn't care much for toys, but he was very happy about dinner. After days of ration biscuits, even Tai had had enough. A table piled with meat and fruit did wonders for the seven kids and their partners' appetites.
They ate, slept soundly in Toy Town, and—compared to the original—had it pretty good.
"Devimon's about to make his first probe, probably with two temporary underlings. When it happens, I'll see if we can draw Devimon out and trade blows, test our strength. If the gap isn't huge, we force Patamon to evolve into Angemon and crush our first stepping stone in the Digital World. If it's too big, we pull back. He hasn't absorbed that many Black Gears yet, so he shouldn't be too broken—for now. That's the plan."