Digimon Empire Chapter 2

Digimon Empire

Chapter 2

Michael was growing increasingly apprehensive as several minutes passed by. He should have awoken from the stasis pod already yet he hadn't so his mind racing about the possibilities regarding his situation. He was painfully aware of being naked so he started gathering some material to make himself some makeshift clothing. It was mainly large soft leaves but it did the job in covering him up and protecting him from the chilly wind. The wind cutting across made him think it was late evening yet when he looked around he realized it was almost exactly noon based on the position of the softly glowing sun. Though he knew if he was stuck here he'd need to find some shelter soon.

Michael left the clearing moving slowly around the pond he'd spotted the Seadramon in. He needed to avoid it seeing him when he couldn't defend himself. Seadramon were inherently predators yet minimally intelligent, however given his current state he thought it better avoided than not. His progress was painfully slow as he walked barefooted through the lightly wooded area he'd started from. As he neared the edge of the woods he came to an abrupt stop. A grassy field area was ahead of him and marching in exact formation was Guardmon, a Digimon he'd designed as general soldier type to patrol towns and cities in later years. Guardmon were essentially living suits of armor. Silver shining steel covered them from head to toe, the humanoid Digimon looked almost enchanted due to their appearance. Their eyes were the only physical aspect of their bodies visible outside their armor. Even so their eyes were shrouded in shadow with only a faint twinkle coming from within their helmets. The result is that Guardmon have restricted peripherals despite being designed with stronger than average line of sight vision. Something was definitely wrong. Guardmon were not designated to spawn into the Digital world until the year 1000 when they'd simulated the "medieval" era began. He understood that something had glitched between him entering the pod and arriving in the Digital World. He needed time to think and determine what he was going to do given this development however as he began to back into the woods some of the Guardmon spotted him and all at once they were moving in his direction.

Michael ran into the woods to try and evade the Guardmon and found he wasn't gaining any ground over the pursuing troop. His bare feet were already bleeding as he slid down the wooded hillside to only further injure them. As he reached the bottom he was in a full sprint and started his way up the next hill. As he made the first step beyond the crest of the next hill armored hands gripped his arms and tore him back. Within minutes they were back in the grassy field and making progress quickly to the east. He was surprised at their speed, he'd had a good lead on them yet they caught up to him in no time at all. He wondered as they neared the first of many large hills in the area if the Guardmon he was in company with were a specialty class or just standard Guardmon. Specialty class Digimon were Digimon he'd designed as special variations of a standard Digivolution. So these could have been SwiftGuardmon or ScoutGuardmon or something similar which would give them the advanced speed they so quickly subdued him with. As they broached the crest of a hill he saw they were approaching a city. Not a village, or a town, but a city. All thoughts of speciality and subclassing was instantly gone from his mind. Something was definitely wrong with the time, as he was supposed to start at 00;00:00 in the Digital World, there shouldn't have been Guardmon and definitely not cities.

As Michael passed through the city gates he saw visible wear on the stones making the wall. Cracks and abrasions, even small claw marks. He was surprised at the growth of moss and weathering the rocks which were used for the walls had already endured. Then there was obvious wear on the stones for the main walkways. It was clear that these stones used for the pavement received extremely heavy traffic, they were worn down to where there were wear tracks in the pathways. He looked around in awe at the site of the buildings, stone with wooden roofing, wooden doors, and glass paned windows. Inside the windows he saw the faces of Digimon and as he looked around the city as he was being marched in he saw more and more Digimon. There were Digimon of all species within the walls of the city and they were visibly scared. He didn't know if they were scared because of him or because of the presence of the Guardmon. Then he started to see where he was being led as they progressed further into the city. At the center of the city was a long house and the Guardmon led him directly to the ornate gates at the front entrance for it. Battlemon, the Digivolved form of Guardmon, stood posted outside the door and after some hushed conversing with one of the Guardmon they opened the door and Michael was led inside. The Battlemon were much more intimidating in person than they were in concept. Towering 7' tall heavy armored Digimon brandishing battle maces instead of swords. Their peerless eyes looking almost hungry at him as he was led past them. As he was brought inside he was taken to the center of the room where their leader, possibly the Digimon running this entire city was standing at a table overflowing with food, It was a MetalBattlemon, one of the possible Digivolved forms of Battlemon. Unlike normal Battlemon, this ultimate level form could manipulate his metal armor forming weapons on a situational basis. It could be brandishing a sword one minute and a lance the next. It would do this by manipulating the metal in its armor. The heavy armored MetalBattlemon was even larger than the Champion level Battlemon, standing in at a solid 8' tall and broader at the shoulders. The mere presence of it in the room drew attention, it was a powerful Digimon.

"Guardmon, report why you've abandoned your patrol." The metallic grinding voice echoed in the large room. The Guardmon that had spoken with the Battlemon at the door stepped forward,

"Sir, we captured this creature fleeing into the Talthos Forest after curfew. We do not know what nature of Digimon this is and so we brought it directly to you." The MetalBattlemon motioned for Michael to come closer and one of the Guardmon harshly obliged by shoving him to his knees in front of the group.

"What nature of Digimon are you?" The metallic voice sneered with a clanky aire.

"I am no Digimon," Michael retorted while rising to his feet, "I am a human."

"A human?" The MetalBattlemon stood more erect and apprised Michael more fully. There was little doubt in Michael's mind that the MetalBattlemon either didn't understand what that meant or he didn't believe him.

"Yes I am a human. Not a Digimon."

"I do not know what that means but our laws are very standard in such matters. You shall be tried in the Southern Pangean capital of Soulgrande and the council shall decide what to do with you." The MetalBattlemon motion dismissively and Michael was quickly led down a staircase. After being roughly thrown into a large cell the Guardmon disappeared. Michael looked around for a way out but realized that it was probably fruitless since it should be able to contain Digimon that can attack it and he lacked those abilities. The window for his cell was centered on the ceiling and it didn't take him long to realize that the grate looking out was in the middle of the street. There were other Digimon in the cell with him but they were sleeping. He saw a soft glow coming from one of the bunks where the Digimon laying there eyed him. Michael slumped in the corner of the cell and fell lightly into sleep.

He awoke a while later and felt his head hazy. He vaguely remembered being in a cell and he looked around without shifting position. The bars were made of iron if not steel itself, the stones of the cell were solid and the cement that held them together smooth. He noticed scratch marks on the walls and wear on the wall behind the toilet. Digimon must often stand on it to get a better look out the small grating in the ceiling. As he let his eyes wander to the grating he was surprised by the amount of traffic still passing overhead. It was clearly the middle of the night yet there was a steady flow of foot movement overhead. His eyes wandered back to the bunks where the Digimon lay and saw the soft glowing of its eyes on him. This unsettled him, and so he rolled over and drifted uneasily back to sleep.

What felt like seconds later Michael awoke with a start. There was shouting and the ground rumbled occasionally.

"We're under attack. The rebels are attacking the wall. Prepare the anti-siege weapons!" Voices shouted over head only to be drowned out but loud piercing shots, like small missiles striking, and mini quakes the shook everything.

"Hmm..." a deep rumbling voice came from the bunk with the pair of eyes that were fixed on Michael when he'd entered the cell, "This could be bad. If you are what you claimed you were they will kill you if they get to you."

"Kill me? Why?" Michael asked in surprise.

"Because you're human."