Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: 30 Years After The V-Tamer!

A young boy walked onto a playground.

Kids played all around it. 

All of them were wearing watch-like bracelets on their wrists.

Digital monsters rested on the other side of the bracelets.

The young boy stopped in front of all of the children. They turned to him expectantly.

“What is a Digimon to you?”

All of the children thought for a few seconds.

“A pet! A fighter! A toy!” All of the kids, but two, spouted similar answers.

The boy nodded at the answers. He turned to the only other two children who hadn’t answered.

“A friend!” They both answered.

The boy narrowed his eyes at the two.

The boy turned around and began to walk off.

“Hey!” The boy looked over his shoulder. The two kids stood behind him. “What’s your name?”

The boy thought for a second.

“V-Tamer.” The boy answered without emotion.

“V-Tamer?” One of the children raised an eyebrow.

“Must be his username.” The other guessed.

With that, the boy walked off.

=+=

A boy watched the tv while biting down on some bread.

“I’m going to capture the Dot Matrix!” The protagonist of the show said triumphantly.

“Oh, this is gonna be so cool!” The boy said with bread in his mouth.

“Takato Matsuki!” The boy jumped. He turned to his mother. “What have I said about speaking with your mouth full?”

Takato swallowed. “Sorry, mom.”

“H-He moved so fast.” One of the hero’s friends gasped. “I couldn’t even see!”

“Aw! I missed it.” Takato whined.

His mom shook her head. “It doesn’t matter how many years pass, cartoons will always be brain-numbingly shallow.” She scoffed.

“Hey! This show teaches you a lot!” Takato argued. “Even you could learn from Tai and the others!”

“Oh really? What can I learn from your magical ‘V-Tamer’ show?” His mom humored him.

“Well, from Sigma we learn about friendship and being true to yourself. From Mari we learn that what’s inside matters. And Hideto teaches us to never give up and that kindness is a strong trait!” Takato listed.

His mom opened her mouth. “Fair enough.” She grumbled. Takato grinned smugly.

Takato finished his breakfast, finished the episode-“Combination V”-and got ready to head out.

Takato finished getting dressed before grabbing the two cosmetic items that meant the most to him: Large yellow goggles and his Digimon bracelet.

He turned on the bracelet, being welcomed by a red dinosaur/dragon creature on the other side.

“Guilmon X! Are you ready for today, pal?” Takato smiled.

Guilmon nodded vigorously on the other side.

“Alright! Let’s go to the arcade then!” Takato ran to the front door of his parents' bakery.

“Uh, kid?” Takato skidded to a halt. He turned around. “Were you going to say bye?” His father and mother stared at him.

“Oh…right.” Takato rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

=+=

Another boy in a different part of Odaiba ran out of his house.

“See ya, mom, dad!” The boy called out. His parents gave him their farewells before the boy dashed down the street.

He weaved around the crowds of people walking around, refusing to slow down. Excitement clearly had a death grip on him.

“Come on! I gotta make it to the arcade!” The boy murmured as he sidestepped around people.

He looked down at his wrist. An orange dinosaur wearing red training bracers looked back at him.

“Agumon! I hope you’re ready pal!” The boy grinned at his partner. He raised his head, realizing that he was about to run into someone. “Watch out-”

“Huh?” The adult stumbled back as the boy rammed into him. The boy fell over, while the adult sighed.

“Let me help you up.” The adult put his hand out. The boy accepted the help.

“Thanks. Sorry about that, I’m a little excited.” The boy looked up at the adult’s face. He jumped back.

The police officer didn’t look amused. “I know, Tsurugi Tatsuno. You always seem a little excited. And you always seem to run into me because of it.”

“Y-Yeah. Sorry.” Tsurugi shrugged meekly.

“Just be more careful. I don’t want you to damage your Digimon bracelet. Not only are they expensive, but your Digimon shouldn’t be separated from his Tamer just because the latter was being reckless.” The officer pointed at his bracelet.

“Alright, I promise to be more careful.” Tsurugi nodded. He began to dash down the street again. “See ya, old man!”

“Old man?!” The officer shook his fist at Tsurugi’s back. He sighed. “Tsurugi’s going to have to become more attentive if he wants to become a good Tamer…”

He saw Tsurugi run into another person further down the street.

“So says I. The old man.” The officer returned to his business.

---

Two adults walked into a large building. The front desk lady typed away at her computer.

She looked up from it, her eyes lighting up as she saw them. “Oh! Mr.Yujin. Mr.Izumi. Hello!”

“Hi.” Tadashi Yujin and Izzy Izumi waved.

They walked over to an elevator. They pressed the button for the top floor.

“Hey, Izzy?” Tadashi looked over to Izzy.

“Yeah, Tadashi?” Izzy replied.

“Did you think we’d ever end up here?” Tadashi asked.

“You mean rich, loved by children all across Japan, and known across the world for making quite possibly the most complex program ever made?” Izzy raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Tadashi responded.

“No, I didn’t really expect it.” Izzy and Tadashi stepped out of the elevator. “But I’m not against it.”

They both walked into their humble office. Izzy turned on one of the two computers at the front of it.

“Alright! Today is the day we launch story mode.” Izzy began to maneuver around the computer quickly.

“Yup. Let’s start it up, give the Tamers a quick message of encouragement, and send them on their day to defeat Daemon.” Tadashi walked over.

A panel popped onto the computer screen asking for two passwords. Izzy typed his out first. “K-A-I-S-E-R-K-A-B-U-T-E-R-I-M-O-N.” He moved to the side.

Tadashi moved over to the keyboard. “G-I-G-A-S-E-A-D-R-A-M-O-N.” He inputted.

Izzy and Tadashi watched as the password screens went away. The camera on the computer lit up and scanned their faces.

“Hello, Mr.Yujin and Mr.Izumi. I hope you have a nice day today!” The computer said joyfully.

A screen to manage everything related to Net Battle came up. Tadashi and Izzy grinned at each other.

“Perfect.” Izzy got up from the computer. “You can do the honors, Tadashi.” He nodded.

“Thank you very much.” Tadashi got into the seat. “Let’s launch story mode!”

"This is going to be great!" Izzy said ecstatically.

Tadashi tampered with the computer for a few minutes before nodding. “Everything is ready. We just need to press one last button.” He pointed at the screen.

“Alright…” Izzy and Tadashi’s fingers hovered over the mouse.

They both pressed down on it.

---

Takato waved at two boys outside of an arcade. “Hey! Kazu, Kenta!” He stopped in front of them.

“About time you get here, Takato! Story mode ain’t gonna play itself.” Kazu shook his head.

“Sorry. Combination V was on today and I had to watch it!” Takato shrugged.

“It is a good episode, Kazu.” Kenta argued.

“Oh come on guys! Let’s get moving!” Kazu marched into the arcade. Takato and Kenta followed him. 

They walked through before coming upon the Net Battle machine. All three of them grinned at it.

It was a large chair with three monitors right in front of it. A headset waited for somebody to sit down on the chair.

“Oh man! This is gonna be awesome!” Takato, Kenta, and Kazu all tried to hop onto the chair at the same time.

They bumped into each other once. All three of them tried again, and then again, and one more time.

Kenta facepalmed. “Only one of us can go, guys.” He told them.

“Rock paper scissors?” Kazu looked at the other two. They nodded.

“Rock-”

“-Paper-”

“-Scissors!” Takato threw paper forwards. Kazu and Kenta threw out rock.

“AW!” Kazu and Kenta groaned. Takato smiled smugly.

“Woohoo! Don’t worry guys! You can just watch for now.” Takato snickered.

“Fine.” They both harrumphed.

Takato got into the seat. He placed his Digivice against a slot on the machine.

The headset snapped over his eyes.

---

Tsurugi waved at two people waiting outside an arcade. “Ami, Yuu! Wassup!”

“There you are, Tsurugi!” Ami crossed her arms.

“Sorry. I literally ran into a few people on the way here.” Tsurugi rubbed the back of his head.

“Story mode for Net Battle is launching today. We shouldn’t be late for it.” Yuu frowned.

“Yup! Come on!” Tsurugi led the two in.

They walked over to the Net Battle machine inside the arcade.

“Oh, this is gonna be awesome! I’m gonna pound Daemon’s face in!” Tsurugi punched his palm.

“You boys and your fighting. Don’t you think about anything else?” Ami sighed.

“Tsurugi only likes fighting as much as he does because his Agumon really likes to fight.” Yuu argued.

“You got that right! Agumon’s just as excited as I am. Right, pal?” Tsurugi looked at his Digimon bracelet. Agumon released some flames from his mouth on the other side.

“Well, whatever. As long as you make sure to patch up Agumon once you’re done fighting.” Ami shrugged.

“I always will! Digimon are our friends, after all.” Tsurugi and the others stopped in front of the machine.

“We’ll be watching, Tsurugi.” Yuu nodded.

“Alright!” Tsurugi hopped onto the chair. He placed his Digivice against a slot in the machine.

The headset snapped over his eyes.

---

Takato’s vision fluttered.

He rubbed his eyes before taking a clearer look at the land around him.

Takato gasped as he found hundreds of kids and teenagers around him, all of which were wearing Digivices.

All of them were in a big, but humble, town. Full of houses and random Digimon to live within said houses.

“Woah!” Takato felt a big smile coming on. “This is awesome!”

Takato looked around the other Tamers, trying to see if he could recognize any of them.

Meanwhile, Tsurugi did the same.

“Oh man! So many Tamers! It’s not gonna be easy to beat all of them to Daemon.” Tsurugi looked at his device. “But I guess nothing good is easy!”

All of the murmuring going on around them slowly came to a halt as they heard feedback from a microphone.

“Hello, Tamers.” Something said with a deep, impartial voice.

Everybody listened closely.

---

Tadashi tapped the computer for a few seconds. “Alright! We should be ready to talk to everybody!”

“Perfect.” Izzy moved next to him.

“And our mic is on in 3…2…1…” Tadashi stared at the screen expectantly.

“ACCESS DENIED.” His computer said to him.

“What?!” Tadashi and Izzy jumped. “Access can’t be denied! We created this game!”

“Something must be wrong…Let me see what’s going on.” Izzy messed around with the keyboard for a few seconds.

“ACCESS DENIED.” The computer said again.

“What is happening…Did somebody hack into the program?” Tadashi wondered.

“There’s no way they could have! Its defenses should be unassailable!” Izzy tried one more time.

The computer fell silent.

“Access denied, Izzy Izumi, Tadashi ‘Sigma’ Yujin.” The computer told them calmly.

Izzy and Tadashi caught their breaths.

To be continued. 1873 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Digimon Adventure! Chaos In Net Battle!

“Hello, Tamers.” A deep, impartial voice said.

“Hi!” Several responded. A few other Tamers grumbled, many of them just wanting to start.

“You all came here because you want to defeat the great devil of the Digital World, Daemon.” The voice stated. “With your Digimon’s strength, your skills, and the bond you share, you can defeat him. Anything less will end in failure.”

“I think we know that much by now.” Tsurugi crossed his arms.

“However.” The voice stopped for a moment. “I don’t believe any of you will succeed.”

“What?” A few of the Tamers murmured to each other.

“This isn’t very inviting.” Takato muttered.

“I have decided to temporarily take over this game and change its rules.” The voice informed them. “I will tell you all the rules now. Listen carefully.”

Takato and Tsurugi looked around the crowd as they began to grow restless.

“This is one sick joke…h-hopefully.” Tsurugi frowned.

“You cannot log out. Though you are capable of doing so, you will not want to. Anybody who logs out will be struck by an incurable disease.” The voice revealed.

“Um…what’s today’s date?” Takato asked a girl with orange hair.

“Why do you want to know, gogglehead?” The girl asked back.

“Just wanted to make sure today wasn’t April Fools…” Takato muttered.

“Next. You will be forcibly logged out if your Digimon is defeated. Whether it be in battle against wild Digimon or Tamers.” The voice continued. “There are no rules regarding battles. No genuine truces or honor code.”

“No honor code?” Tsurugi furrowed his eyebrows. “All Tamers fight with honor! No way anyone is going to abuse that rule.”

“Speak for yourself.” A silver-haired teenager smirked.

“Your bodies in the real world will be taken care of. But any damage caused here will be reflected upon your human bodies. You will be forcefully logged out before you can die, however.” The voice continued.

Everybody gave up on questioning what was happening.

“The only way to leave this reality you have found yourselves in is to reach Daemon’s castle, and to defeat him. In order to do so, you will need all five Tamer tags. Tamer tags can be shared between a group of Tamers, but they cannot be stolen. Anyone who attempts to steal a Tamer tag from another Tamer will be immediately logged out!” The voice warned angrily.

“What the heck does this guy want?” Tsurugi mumbled.

“He’s trapping us in a game, but he also wants us to play nicely?” Takato rubbed his goggles nervously. “Are we just toys for him or something?”

“I am left with no more rules to tell you all.” The voice cleared its throat. “The game will start in one minute. Defeat Daemon, or die trying. Not to discourage you, but I doubt any of you will be victorious.”

“We’ll see!” Takato and Tsurugi shouted at the sky determinedly.

“I guess we will. I will be watching everybody’s every movement, after all.” The voice began to fade. “Goodbye, Tamers. Victory awaits.”

With that, the voice completely went away, leaving hundreds of Tamers gobsmacked.

“He said one minute…right?” Takato asked the girl next to him.

She simply smirked at her Digimon bracelet menacingly.

“This has to be some type of joke, right?” Tsurugi looked around.

Everybody stood around anxiously. The barrier around the city slowly began to dissipate.

The second the barrier fully went away, hundreds of Digimon appeared next to their Tamers.

=+=

Tadashi and Izzy listened to the voice on their computer, which had just finished explaining the rules to the Tamers in Net Battle.

“Tadashi, Izzy, I have one more rule for you.” The voice directed its attention to them.

“Who are you?!” Tadashi and Izzy shouted.

“Under no circumstance should you turn off the program. Doing so could very well lead to every single one of the Tamers being inflicted with a permanent illness. Not even I could help at that point.” The voice warned.

“Stop this nonsense! You are going to get into a lot of trouble for not only hacking this program, but also kidnapping several hundred children! Stop this charade immediately!” Tadashi demanded.

“I will not. Those children’s efforts will decide the fate of your world.” The voice stated. “Do not turn off the program or disconnect anyone from their Net Battle machines. It will only harm them…goodbye.”

The voice disconnected itself from the computer. 

Izzy fell onto his chair limply. Tadashi ran a hand through his blonde hair.

“CRAP!” They both screamed.

“We’re going to get sued!” Izzy cried.

=+=

Yuu and Ami stood stunned in front of the Net Battle machine. They and a bunch of other listeners had heard everything that the voice had told Tsurugi.

“W-What just happened?!” Ami rubbed her head.

“What should we do?” Yuu looked between Tsurugi and the screen.

“Let’s go get that officer Tsurugi runs into every day! Maybe he can help!” Ami and Yuu ran out of the arcade.

They saw the officer directing someone. They both ran up behind him.

“Hey! We need help!” Ami and Yuu ran over to him.

“Huh?” The officer turned to them. “What do you need?”

“Our friend! S-Something happened to him!” Ami said vaguely.

“Bring me to him then.” The officer nodded.

They all ran back into the arcade. They lead the officer over to Tsurugi.

“Our friend was just trying to play story mode in Net Battle, but something weird happened!” Ami explained quickly.

“A voice said that our friend is stuck in the game, and if we disconnect him, he’ll get hurt!” Yuu pointed at the screen.

All three of them saw only a single thing on the screen. A lifebar for both Tsurugi and his Digimon.

“What in the world?” The officer furrowed his eyebrows. “This definitely isn’t right. Tell me more about what happened.”

Ami and Yuu explained everything the voice had told them. The officer’s face slowly began to grow into a grimace.

“Alright. Alright…” The officer sighed. “You two stay here with your friend. Tell me if anything happens to him.” He pulled his phone out. “I’ll be back. I know some people who might be able to help.”

“Okay…” Ami and Yuu turned to the screen, seeing that Agumon was actually losing health.

The officer quickly walked out and began to call someone. The person on the other side picked up quickly.

“Izzy. Something’s wrong with Net Battle.” The officer said.

=+=

Hundreds of Digimon and Tamers scrambled around the small town they were in. Nobody there was actually above Champion level, which was strange to anyone who noticed, but that didn’t lessen chaos one bit.

Within only a minute, dozens of Tamers had already been knocked out. Other Tamers were running for their lives, while some were actively trying to weed out the weak.

And some very unfortunate (or stupid, depending on who you ask) Tamers had panicked and attempted to leave the game, clearly forgetting the rules set for them.

Tsurugi ran towards the outskirts of the town. His Agumon ran alongside him.

“Boss! We have to fight back!” Agumon argued.

“No, Agumon! Everybody here is just confused and scared! It would be wrong to fight any of them!” Tsurugi shook his head sternly.

They both skidded to a halt as a Tamer appeared in front of them. “Where do you think you’re going? If you’re just gonna run, then there’s no reason for you to stay in this world! I’ll defeat Daemon!”

“Man, shut up! Get out of the way!” Tsurugi ordered.

“Say that to my friend!” The Tamer moved to the side. A Sangomon moved over to him. “Now watch as he evolves to Shellmon!” The kid pressed on his device.

Tsurugi and Agumon watched as the kid struggled with his device for a few seconds.

“Uh…how do you evolve?” The kid asked Tsurugi.

“Pepper Breath.” Tsurugi ordered.

Agumon fired a large fireball at Sangomon, knocking it over. The kid gasped. “Sangomon!” He ran over to his Digimon.

“Watch your back, pal.” Tsurugi and Agumon ran past him.

“Hey! Get back here!” The kid ordered angrily.

Somebody appeared in front of him. He turned to them.

“Porcupamon. Get rid of him.” The person pointed at the kid. His Digimon, a Porcupamon, stomped towards Sangomon.

Tsurugi and Agumon continued to run, eventually escaping the town and the chaos within it.

Meanwhile Takato and his Guilmon peeled around a corner.

“Takatomon! Why don’t we fight back?” Guilmon asked.

“Because we can’t beat that girl!” Takato spouted quickly.

Some flames punched into a building near them. A Kyubimon hopped onto the building before jumping towards the two.

The orange haired girl followed behind her Kyubimon. She gave another order, making Kyubimon shoot more fireballs at Guilmon and Takato.

“Pyro Sphere!” Guilmon blew away all of the fireballs with his own sphere of flames. 

“Aw man.” Takato turned around to face the threat.

“Finally decided to fight, gogglehead?” The girl taunted.

“Who are you and why do you want to hurt us?” Takato raised his fists.

“Don’t recognise me?” The girl narrowed her eyes at Takato. “I think you should, seeing as how I nearly got your Digimon!”

“Nearly got my…” Takato looked at Guilmon X. “Y-You’re the girl that came second place during that big Digimon trivia contest a little while ago, aren’t you?”

“My name is Rika! Rika Nonaka! And that Digimon of yours should rightfully be mine!” Rika growled.

“Hey, I won that trivia night fair and square! And I won Guilmon X too!” Takato crossed his arms.

“Whatever! If I can’t have him, I’ll just get rid of you now. Kyubimon, Dragon Wheel!” Rika ordered.

“Guilmon, Pyro Sphere!” Takato countered.

The two Digimon shot their attacks. Again, they only managed to match each other, failing to damage the other.

“Takatomon, should we keep running or fight?” Guilmon looked over his shoulder.

“There’s no way we can beat her! Rika is one of the top three Champion-level Tamers in Odaiba! And we are nowhere near the level of Tsurugi Tatsuno or Ryouma Mogami!” Takato shook his head.

“Believe me, gogglehead. Between the three of us, I’m the best Tamer.” Rika threatened. “Kyubimon, full power Dragon Wheel!”

“Oh boy.” Takato sighed.

Kyubimon launched a rain of fireballs at the two. Takato covered his head while Guilmon prepared another fireball in his mouth.

“Pit Bomb!” A large explosion went off between the two Digimon. Thick smoke hung around the air.

“What?!” Rika and Kyubimon grunted.

Somebody tapped on Takato’s shoulder. He whirled around, finding a hooded figure. “Come with me if you want to live!” The person said with a high-pitched voice.

“Uh…no?” Takato and Guilmon blinked at them.

“We don’t have time for arguments!” The figure surrounded Takato and Guilmon with a pink sphere. He dragged them both away as the smoke from the explosion went away.

“Gogglehead, you coward!” Rika and Kyubimon coughed while waving away the smoke. “You let them get away, Kyubimon!” 

“I’m sorry, Rika.” Kyubimon walked back to her.

“You better be.” Rika crossed her arms. “But I won’t let this be the last time we meet.” She spat.

=+=

The hooded figure dropped Takato and Guilmon as they entered a small hut. Takato and Guilmon immediately entered defensive stances.

“What do you want from us?” Takato quickly inquired.

“Takatomon. He smells like a Digimon.” Guilmon stomped in front of him.

“Because I am a Digimon!” The hooded figure whistled a triumphant tune as he took off his cloak. “Ta-da! I’m Piximon!” The pink ball announced.

“Piximon! But, why did you help me?” Takato raised an eyebrow.

“Because I heard the rules set for you humans, and I figured I should help.” The Piximon moved closer to Takato and Guilmon.

“You mean, you’re going to help us?” Takato jumped.

“Of course I am! After all, I think you two are destined to defeat Daemon!” Piximon stated excitedly.

“Destined?” Takato and Guilmon repeated.

To be continued. 1985 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: An Explanation Of Victory! The Journey Begins!

Izzy and Tadashi waited in their office. Both of them were still trying to solve the issue, but the voice’s warning made each step dangerous.

“I can’t believe someone could manage to get into our program! It should be nearly flawless! Impenetrable!” Tadashi slammed his fist on the table.

“But somebody did manage to get in and we need to get control of the program back as soon as possible!” Izzy shook his head. 

“But I don’t know how we can or if we should.” Tadashi rubbed his head.

“Well, whether or not we should, we have to. Hundreds of kids are at risk…” Izzy grinded his teeth nervously. “And so are our bank accounts…”

“Well, every one of the Digidestined that can come should arrive soon. But I don’t know how the heck they will help.” Tadashi leaned back in his chair.

“It’s good they at least know about what’s going on. Especially if something in the Digital World is related.” Izzy sighed.

Someone knocked on the door. “May I come in?” A woman asked.

“Come in!” Izzy and Tadashi answered.

A woman walked in, her straight orange hair making Izzy’s heart flutter.

“Hello Sora.” Tadashi returned to his computer.

“Sora!” Izzy got up from his seat.

The two quickly embraced closely. They pulled away from each other.

Sora had a big frown. “So, what exactly is wrong with Net Battle?” She asked.

“I don’t know. Someone took over and we’re trying to get rid of them, but things are gradually getting more complicated.” Izzy grumbled as he stumbled back to his chair.

“Do you think you can fix things before it gets worse?” Sora clasped her hands.

“Hopefully, but I think we’re just getting into the chaos.” Izzy plopped into his chair.

“Then let’s hope most of the others can come here.” Sora sat down on one of the office sofas.

“Who knows how many of them will show up? Everybody’s busy with something or other, so we can’t surely say all of them will show up.” Tadashi noted.

“Fair enough.” Sora muttered.

Izzy and Tadashi continued their work. Sora would occasionally give them some snacks or water per their request.

The door opened up and someone walked in. “Sorry for barging in, but we have things to do.” They all turned to the doorway.

The very same police officer that had talked to Ami and Yuu, and the one Tsurugi liked to run into, waved at them.

“Taichi!” Sora, Izzy, and Tadashi waved back. Sora walked over to him.

Tai and Sora embraced warmly. “You’re looking great, Sora! Too bad we all seem somewhat screwed.” He looked over to Izzy.

“Yeah, we’re looking into it. But nothing makes sense.” Izzy raised his head from the computer screen.

“We haven’t found any viruses; the program doesn’t seem to have been tampered with at all…there’s genuinely nothing that shows that the game is being hacked.” Tadashi informed them.

“Maybe there’s something wrong with the Net Battle machines themselves?” Sora proposed.

“We’ve already dispatched some workers to every Net Battle machine in arcades. Anyone who bought a personal Net Battle machine for their own home isn't going to be easy to work with… Nevertheless, it will take a while to get information from each one.” Izzy grumbled.

Tai crossed his arms. “Well, how are the kids doing in the game?” 

“We can’t see any of their perspectives, but we can track their success in the Digital World. We can also see how many Tamers are still in the game, which…is disturbing now that I’m looking at it.” Izzy squinted at the screen.

“There were exactly 750 Tamers in the game at first-something that’s already concerning-but it seems that there are only 520 now.” Tadashi revealed. Tai and Sora gasped.

“Didn’t that voice mention that the people who die will get sick or something?” Tai brought up.

“He said they’ll be forced into some incurable sickness. The only way to fix them is for someone to complete the game…” Izzy and Tadashi’s eyes grew wide. “A-And 230 kids have already been knocked out of the game…”

Izzy and Tadashi dropped their heads onto their keyboards. Tai and Sora exchanged glances.

The door was flung open. “HEY EVERYBODY, WASSUP?” Mari shouted.

Everybody jumped in surprise.

=+=

Piximon looked outside, checking for other Tamers. Takato and Guilmon ate some of the food given to them.

“Hey, Piximon?” Takato swallowed. “You said that we were ‘destined’ to succeed. Is there anyone else, or are we on our own?”

“Hmm…there is perhaps another.” Piximon said unsurely. “I searched the hearts of every Tamer when you were all together. Many of their hearts were either too weak-willed or weren’t pure enough. But there was one other person whose heart was similar to yours.”

“Really? Who was it?” Takato looked interested.

“I dunno know.” Piximon shrugged. “There were hundreds of you! How am I supposed to filter who has which heart?”

Takato drooped. Guilmon let out a light laugh. “So we’re heroes? That sounds cool, Takatomon!”

“I guess so. But I don’t really know if we’re up to the task.” Takato admitted. “Rika is a strong Tamer. I would have thought that someone like her would be destined to ‘save the world’ and everything.”

“Nuh uh. That girl’s heart was dark black. There is no love in her.” Piximon waved his spear around. “She might think she’s strong, but as time goes on and she faces stronger threats, her fierce demeanor will not save her.”

“So it’s our hearts that make us special?” Takato and Guilmon looked at each other. “That’s corny.” Takato muttered.

“Yup yup! Your guys’ hearts are bursting with good feelings! Everything a Digimon needs to grow strong- truly strong.” Piximon nodded. “And you’ll need to be strong to get the five Tamer Tags and defeat Daemon.”

“Well Piximon, if we’re the only ones who can do it, then I guess we’ll try.” Takato leaned forward in his seat. “Where should I start?”

“There are five Ultimate Digimon protecting the V-Tamer Tags. You need to be careful with each one if you want to win.” Piximon floated over to them.

“The five Digimon protecting the tags…” Takato rubbed his chin. “They were…Kyukimon, SkullScorpionmon, Majiramon, MasterTyrannomon, and CannonBeemon. Right?”

“Very right! Those five won’t be easy to beat, so starting with fights that give you an advantage would be best.” Piximon advised.

“CannonBeemon is definitely out of the question. Guilmon and Growlmon can’t fly.” Takato noted. “Growlmon is tough, but both Majiramon and MasterTyrannomon might be too tough for a Champion.” He muttered.

“Then you should either fight Kyukimon or SkullScorpionmon. What’s your choice?” Piximon landed in front of him.

Takato thought for a few seconds. “What do you want to do, Guilmon?” He asked his partner.

“Kyukimon isn’t very big. I think I can beat them!” Guilmon nodded.

“Well, Growlmon should be fast enough to keep up with a Kyukimon, and definitely tough enough to take her fast hits…” Takato smiled. “I guess I’ll go after Kyukimon first!”

“Alright! I like that idea.” Piximon hopped off the table. “That tag won’t get itself, and the world certainly won’t save itself either! Go and get em, champ!”

“Right now?” Takato and Guilmon blinked.

“What do you mean ‘right now’?! Who knows how much time you have! You need to go immediately!” Piximon ordered.

“Fair enough.” Takato and Guilmon got up. A grin appeared on the former’s face. “I hope this ends up being as cool as it sounds! We’re gonna be just like Taichi and Zero, Guilmon!” 

“Alright, Takatomon!” Guilmon cheered.

“I’m not a Digimon, Guilmon.” Takato sighed.

Piximon snickered to himself. “These two share a close bond. I think they’ll do fine.” He thought confidently.

=+=

Takato and Guilmon walked towards the first tag. They both looked over their shoulders.

“Good luck, Takato, Guilmon! I know you can do it!” Piximon reassured them.

“Thanks for the help, Piximon! We’ll save this world just like you want us to!” Takato gave him a thumbs up.

“Let’s hope.” Piximon whispered as he waved at them.

Takato and Guilmon waved back.

=+=

Izzy looked at everyone gathered in the room.

Tai, Sora, Mari, Kari, and Cody. Izzy let out a quiet sigh.

“I was hoping more of us would come, because now we’ll have to explain the situation several more times.” Izzy crossed his arms. “Alright. Here’s everything we know so far.” He looked over to Tadashi.

“That voice that took over is using some type of strange program that cannot be read by our computer, and we have no idea of how to get rid of it.” Tadashi waved his hand across the air.

“Every single Tamer allowed into the game only had Champion Digimon. Along with that, only 750 Tamers were allowed in, which is incredibly strange seeing as how thousands upon thousands of Tamers should have entered story mode.” Izzy added.

“Are you sure you’re not just overhyping yourself?” Mari argued.

“Even if we were, isn’t it strange that exactly 750 Tamers were let in? All of which with Champion Digimon?” Tadashi pointed out.

“Whatever took over the game deliberately controlled who was let in.” Kari realized.

“Bingo. It’s fair to theorize that whatever is doing this is seeking something greater than hacking the game. They want to prove something.” Izzy narrowed his eyes on everyone.

“Prove something…” Cody rubbed his chin. “You said the only way out is to defeat Daemon, right? It might have something to do with that.”

Izzy and Tadashi thought for a few seconds. Their eyes lit up. “Maybe…maybe a Digimon really is the cause for all of this?”

Everybody murmured for a few seconds. Izzy and Tadashi whispered to each other.

“Well, nothing can be said decisively for now. And even if we found who was hacking us, stopping them might not stop the problems with Net Battle. Our main focus should be on saving the kids within it.” Tadashi stated conclusively.

“Yeah. Still, I’ll ask Armadillomon and the others to look for anyone suspicious in the Digital World.” Cody nodded.

“Good. For now, that’s it. We’ll inform you guys and the others about any updates we get.” Izzy bowed his head lightly.

“Alright. Then I’m heading back out.” Tai flipped his officer hat back on. “See ya everybody. And good luck, Izzy, Tadashi.”

Tai walked out as everyone waved. Slowly, Mari, Kari, and Cody followed.

“Thanks for telling the Digimon, Cody!” Tadashi called out to his back. Cody gave him a thumbs up over his shoulder.

Sora walked over to Izzy and Tadashi. “So…you’re going to get sued, right?”

“Hundreds of kids were kidnapped and now hundreds more are ill. I don’t personally think it’s fair that we’re gonna get sued when some random hacker did all of this, but yeah.” Izzy sighed harshly. “I think we’re screwed.”

“That’s really bad.” Sora rubbed her head. “We should definitely worry about that later though. Saving all of those kids is top priority.”

“For sure. But we don’t know how hard it will be to save them yet.” Izzy admitted.

“Let’s just hope that things are a little better than we think then.” Tadashi smiled halfheartedly.

“Hope’s been a staple of the group for a long time now. So I think that’s a good idea.” Sora nodded.

Izzy and Tadashi said goodbye to Sora before she left. They both looked at each other.

“I think things are going to go just as poorly as we think.” Izzy muttered honestly.

“Let’s just hope Governor Fujimoto doesn’t hear about this anytime soon.” Tadashi ran a hand through his hair.

They both continued to type away at their computers. Izzy looked over a list of hundreds of names.

In the very middle of those names were Takato Matsuki and Tsurugi Tatsuno.

To be continued. 1965 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Tatsuno And The Digivice! Greymon 2010!

Tsurugi and Agumon stopped in a large, mostly shallow lake. They had been moving for a long while now, wanting as much distance from the starting village as possible.

Tsurugi plopped onto a rock. “Wooh…I doubt anyone’s chasing us now.”

“I hope not. All that running has me tired, boss.” Agumon stomped into the waters. “At least his water feels nice” He let out a pleased breath.

“I hope that kid we fought back at the village is okay. I can’t believe so many Tamers would want to hurt each other!” Tsurugi shook his head.

“That’s just how the Digital World works, boss. Eat or be eaten. Unless you’re a herbivore. Then you’re just screwed.” Agumon explained.

“Well, if we don’t want to be eaten, I should probably figure out how to use this device.” Tsurugi inspected his Digimon bracelet.

He flipped around the menus. The tiny bracelet held food, clothing, and other convenient trinkets in it. It also had tons of information on his Agumon, along with information and general advice on other Digimon.

“Jeez. This thing has almost everything the D-1 had in the anime.” Tsurugi squinted at his device. He pointed his wrist at Agumon.

“Uh, boss? You okay? Does your wrist hurt or something?” Agumon tilted his head.

“No…just having my dreams of being like the V-Tamer broken.” Tsurugi sighed. “Doesn’t look like I can send orders with this thing.”

“You know, boss, you seem really okay with the fact that you’re stuck in this world for who knows how long.” Agumon waddled over to him. “And really okay with the fact that you can even communicate with me.”

Tsurugi opened his mouth. His eyes grew wide. “Y-You’re right! Digimon can’t talk in Net Battle normally!” He rubbed his head. “I must have forgotten because of how chaotic the town was.”

“Oh well. It’s pretty cool to finally be able to speak to you, boss!” Agumon grinned.

“I think it's pretty awesome too, Agumon! But why do you keep calling me boss?” Tsurugi asked.

“I dunno know. I think all 2006 Agumon are like me.” Agumon scratched his head.

“You mean the only thing that separates you and a normal Agumon are your red training bracers and you calling me ‘boss’?” Tsurugi crossed his arms. “No wonder they’ve never tried to remake Agumon again since 2006.”

“Are you making fun of me?” Agumon pointed at him.

“I’m just saying.” Tsurugi held his hands up.

“I ought to wallop ya, boss!” Agumon bared his claws.

“I’m sorry, alright. I think you’re way cooler than Agumon! And so is your Greymon form!” Tsurugi complimented.

“Oh…fine.” Agumon grumbled. “Come on, boss! Where should we go first?”

“Well, the only way out of this mess is to get the V-Tamer Tags. I say we head out right away!” Tsurugi clapped his hands together.

“Yeah! Let’s go take down some Ultimates!” Agumon fist pumped. He blinked a few times. “Are you sure I can beat an Ultimate?”

“Sure you can. You're one of the strongest Champions in Odaiba! And with my orders, you’ll do great!” Tsurugi reassured him.

“Yeah! You’re right! We’ll take down Daemon and save everyone, boss!” Agumon cheered loudly.

A deeper part of the lake began to stir. Tsurugi and Agumon turned to it.

The water erupted into a fountain, a creature revealing itself to them.

“Who invades Depthmon’s land?!” Depthmon pointed at them while bobbing in the water.

“Woah, a Depthmon!” Tsurugi pointed at him. “Cool.” He commented casually.

“Get off of my land!” Depthmon hissed.

“Your land? Oh, if this pool is yours, then we’ll just get going. Sorry.” Tsurugi and Agumon began to pace backwards.

“You dare mock me after invading my land?! You’ll die for your arrogance!” Depthmon clicked his claws together.

“Mock you? We didn’t do anything!” Tsurugi argued.

“I think he’s just looking for an excuse to fight, boss.” Agumon jumped in front of Tsurugi. “And if he wants a fight, I’ll give him one!”

“Alright, Agumon! Get ready to battle then!” Tsurugi jumped back.

“You’ll die here!” Depthmon lunged at Agumon.

Agumon dodged the lunge. He shot a fireball at Depthmon, who countered with a large bubble bomb.

The fireball and bubble collided, exploding into smoke. Depthmon jumped through the smoke and sliced Agumon across the face.

“Aw, you jerk! Boss, I need to Digivolve!” Agumon and Depthmon continued their dangerous dance.

“On it, Agumon!” Tsurugi raised his device. “Except...How *do* I do that?” He began to sweat.

Agumon dropkicked Depthmon away. Depthmon jumped back to him and grabbed his neck.

Depthmon slammed Agumon into the ground. Agumon coughed. “Boss! Really waiting on that evolution!”

“Just hold tight, Agumon! I got this!” Tsurugi scrolled through all of his menus. Digimon, Items, Rulebook, General Info, Map-nothing to help Agumon with. “Who made this freaking device?! Digivolving should be the easiest thing to do!”

Depthmon floated across the shallow water, dragging Agumon’s snout against the ground. He made it back to the deep part of the water and began to drown Agumon.

As Agumon’s head popped out of the water, he gasped for air. “Boss!” He whined.

“I’m sorry, Agumon! But I don’t know how to do it!” Tsurugi began to move through each menu with extreme urgency.

Agumon was lifted out of the water again. “JUST DO THE FIRST THING YOU THINK WILL WORK!” He screamed.

Tsurugi lowered his arm and cupped his mouth. “AGUMON! EVOLVE!” He shouted triumphantly. “There’s no way that’s going to work…” He thought as his device subtly lit up.

Depthmon tried to plunge Agumon’s head into the water again. But right as he tried, Agumon began to grow in his hand.

“What?!” Depthmon gasped as Agumon began to grow huge, lifting Depthmon onto his head.

Agumon roared as his body turned dark blue. A black helmet with a large spike on the nose, horns on the side, and a metal cover going across the head like earmuffs appeared. The end of his tail formed into a muzzle with a bayonet.

“GREYMON 2010!” Greymon flung Depthmon off his head. Depthmon readjusted himself in the water before gazing at Greymon.

“U-Uh…mi casa es su casa?” Depthmon held his hands up in surrender.

“Mega Flame!” Greymon released a stream of flames. Depthmon cried in pain as the flames nipped at him.

=+=

Tsurugi and Agumon stood at the border of the pool. A scuffed Depthmon waded within it.

“I think I may have been a little brash.” Depthmon admitted sheepishly.

“It’s fine. We shouldn’t have walked onto your land.” Tsurugi and Agumon shrugged.

“I’ve been on edge ever since that announcement. Chilled me to my digital bones.” Depthmon shivered.

“You also heard that voice that talked to us? Huh…” Tsurugi furrowed his eyebrows. “How long have you been here?”

Depthmon tilted his head in thought. “About…2 hours or so?”

“2 hours? You’ve only been here a little longer than the game has even been open.” Tsurugi rubbed his chin. “Pah! I don’t get any of this! What the heck does that voice want from us?”

“I don’t know, but if you’re going after Daemon, then you’ll need those V-Tamer Tags.” Depthmon reminded.

“Right. Do you know if any of the tags are nearby?” Tsurugi looked around.

“I think SkullScorpionmon is the closest right now.” Depthmon pointed in a direction. “He’s in a big desert arena that he can travel around easily, so I’d be careful.”

“We’ll take him down for sure!” Tsurugi and Agumon punched their palms. “We’ll defeat him, the other Ultimates, and we’ll take down Daemon!” He shouted victoriously.

“Eh, sure.” Depthmon replied. “Good luck, you two. Stay safe.” Depthmon fell back into the deeper parts of the lake.

“Thanks, Depthmon!” Tsurugi and Agumon waved at the water. They turned to each other. “Come on, Agumon! Let’s go fight SkullScorpionmon!”

“Alright, boss! I’m with you!” Agumon nodded vigorously.

“Then let’s go!” Tsurugi and Agumon began their adventure towards SkullScorpionmon.

To be continued. 1320 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Takato And The Temple! Growlmon X!

A day had passed, and Takato and Guilmon continued their way towards Kyukimon’s forest.

“Hey Takatomon?” Guilmon stomped over to his side.

“I’m still not a Digimon, Guilmon.” Takato facepalmed.

“That girl and her Kyubimon, who were they? They were really mean to us.” Guilmon frowned.

“That was Rika Nonaka…a really strong Tamer. A couple of weeks ago, there was this big Digimon trivia game, and I ended up winning the Odaiba prize-A Guilmon X. She came in second place and won something else, but it looks like she was kinda salty about that.” Takato elucidated.

“Salty? Does that mean we can eat her?” Guilmon’s eyes lit up.

“N-No, salty means something else.” Takato sighed. “It’s the year 2029, Guilmon! I guess kids just kinda sound weird.”

Guilmon blinked a few times. “So we can eat her?” He tilted his head.

“Nevermind Guilmon.” Takato looked into the distance. “Lucky for us, Guilmon, you’re a really strong Digimon because of that ‘X-Antibody’ that you have. We should be able to beat those Ultimates!”

“I believe you, Takatomon!” Guilmon smiled.

“I’m still not a Digimon, Guilmon.” Takato drooped.

He opened up the map menu on his Digivice. He found that the area was being added to the map as he passed through it.

More importantly, the dot on the map-Kyukimon’s location, as marked by Piximon-was getting ever closer.

“I hope we don’t run into any Tamers on the way there.” Takato lowered his device.

=+=

A familiar doctor stared at a row of young people. All of them had been found in a comatose state near Net Battle machines.

“What the hell are those two ‘geniuses’ up to?” Neo rubbed his eyes.

“Neo.” Neo looked to the side. Ken stood next to him.

“You.” Neo narrowed his eyes at him. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard about everything going on with Net Battle. I wanted to check up on the children.” Ken stared at the row of beds.

“Another person worrying about the children. My field of work isn’t even related to what these children are going through, and yet I’m stuck looking after them.” Neo grumbled. 

“Sure…Anyways, how are the children?” Ken asked.

“They’re currently in a coma-like state. We haven’t managed to find anything wrong with them though. Medically, they’re just as well off as any other person.” Neo admitted.

“Strange.” Ken sighed. “Can you guys think of any way to help them?”

“Yeah. Completing that damn story mode.” Neo growled.

“Figured as much.” Ken glanced at a watch on his arm. “Hmm. I have to go. Thanks for the information, Neo.” He began to walk off.

“It’s my job…you.” Neo squinted at Ken’s back.

Ken turned around. “You…know my name, right?”

“Of course I do!” Neo scoffed. Ken stared at him. “Uh…Tk? Cody? Kari? Yolei? Not Davis, I know that much…”

“It starts with a K.” Ken muttered.

“Kenneth!”

“Ken. Goodbye, Neo.” Ken sighed before continuing on his way.

“I knew that.” Neo crossed his arms. He stared at the children. “None of the others can know…I really hope these kids get better soon.”

=+=

Takato and Guilmon stopped to a crawl. They were both getting tired of walking after an hour.

“Takatomon, can we take a break? I’m hungry.” Guilmon rubbed his belly.

“Sure.” Takato saw a fairly large temple-looking building a little bit away. “Let’s take a break there.”

The both of them walked for a little longer before coming upon the temple. Takato found a place to sit down while Guilmon sniffed the air.

“Anyone around us, boy? Don’t want one of Daemon’s assassin's sneaking up on us.” Takato shivered.

“I don’t smell any Digimon nearby.” Guilmon reported.

“That’s good. We’ve been lucky to only run into passive Digimon this whole time. I really don’t want to fight anyone.” Takato searched around his device. “Especially because I don’t know how to evolve.”

“Takatomon? Who’s Damemon?” Guilmon stomped over to him.

“His name’s ‘Daemon’, Guilmon. A dangerous demon Digimon that wants to destroy all of the good Digimon with a deadly virus. So, the Digital World called on Tamers and their Digimon in the real world to help. With the five V-Tamer Tags, you can enter Daemon’s castle and defeat him!” Takato punched the air.

“That sounds exciting, Takatomon!” Guilmon smiled widely.

“Yeah, it does. But honestly…” Takato rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not actually sure if that’s still the story we’re following here. That voice might be setting up a different play for us.”

“Oh. Well, I’ll protect you, Takatomon!” Guilmon reassured him.

“Thanks, Guilmon. Here, have some chow.” Takato opened the Items menu on his device. He tapped on an icon, spawning food in front of Guilmon.

Guilmon chomped down on the food. Takato summoned a much smaller portion size for himself and began to much on it.

“This food is great!” Guilmon said with his mouth full.

Takato frowned. “I hope mom and dad aren’t too worried.”

“More!” Guilmon ordered.

“Guilmon, our food is limited pal.” Guilmon looked at Takato with puppy dog eyes. “Oh…fine.” Takato summoned some more food in front of him.

“Yay!” Guilmon got ready to leap on the food.

Takato and Guilmon jumped as the food was blasted apart by a hot cannon beam.

“What the heck was that?!” Takato quickly moved behind Guilmon. Guilmon snarled at the new threat.

A Centarumon slowly walked away from the temple and towards them. “This temple is sacred ground! Leave immediately.”

“Woah man. Sorry about that.” Takato held his hands up.

“Why did you destroy the food?” Guilmon sniffed the burnt pile on the ground.

“No food is allowed on these grounds! You aren’t either!” Centarumon’s eye lit up. “LEAVE, NOW!”

“We’re going!” Takato and Guilmon began to back away.

“NOT FAST ENOUGH!” Centarumon raised his cannon. “Solar Ray!” He shot a beam again.

Guilmon’s eyes narrowed into slits as he snarled. “Pyro Sphere!” He caused an explosion between the two.

“Leave!” Centarumon rushed at Guilmon. Guilmon lunged at him.

“Guilmon! We need to run!” Takato beckoned him.

“Leave my temple!” Centarumon rammed into Guilmon. Guilmon slid back, managing to stay on his feet.

“I’ll protect Takatomon!” Guilmon growled.

“I guess we have to fight then…” Takato grumbled. “Pyro Sphere, Guilmon!”

Guilmon released a fireball straight into Centarumon’s chest, making him reel.

“Now move in with Rock Breaker!” Takato threw his hand forward.

“Solar Ray!” Centarumon quickly blasted Guilmon in the face, making him fall over.

“Guilmon!” Takato screamed.

“I need to get stronger, Takatomon!” Guilmon tried to get back up. Centarumon slammed his front hooves onto Guilmon’s chest, bringing him to the ground.

“I need to evolve him! How do I evolve him?!” Takato scrolled through every menu on his device quickly.

“Ta…ka…to…mon!” Guilmon coughed out.

“LEAVE THESE GROUNDS!” Centarumon demanded once more.

“I don't know how to do it, Guilmon! I don’t know how to evolve you-I’m sorry!” Takato closed his eyes.

“It's okay…Takatomon…” Guilmon closed one eye from pain.

“What do I do? What do I do?!” Takato panicked internally. “Please Guilmon! Digivolve!” He shouted.

Guilmon’s eyes lit up. He began to grow.

“Do it without me, Guilmon! You have to-” Takato raised his head up, finding Guilmon growing large. “O-Oh…yeah, like that!”

Guilmon grew much larger. More of his chest grew white and similarly colored hair popped out the back of his head. The tips of his claws grew black. 

“Growlmon X!” He roared into Centarumon’s face.

“Solar Ray!” Centarumon jumped back and fired at Growlmon. Growlmon literally slapped the beam away.

“Alright, Growlmon! Use Boulder Bash!” Takato ordered.

“Okay, Takato!” Growlmon said with a deep voice. He rushed straight at Centarumon at a much faster speed than before.

Centarumon raised his hooves to stomp Growlmon. Growlmon caught them with one hand and lifted Centarumon up, forcing him to reveal his belly to him.

“Boulder Bash!” Growlmon socked him straight in the stomach, launching Centarumon all the way back to his precious temple.

Centarumon slammed into a wall, spreading cracks across it. He slowly slid down it before plopping onto the floor.

Growlmon roared victoriously. Takato fist pumped. “Nice job, Growlmon!”

=+=

Centarumon’s eye fluttered. He found Takato giving some food to Guilmon. “What happened?” He wondered.

“Huh?” Takato turned to him. “H-Hey! You’re awake. We just wanted to make sure you were okay before we left. We didn’t mean to intrude.”

“Thank you.” Centarumon got up. “My apologies for attacking. It felt like a force took over my body.”

“That’s weird. Have you been getting a lot of sleep?” Guilmon asked while munching on some bread.

“Clearly not enough.” Centarumon walked over. “Nonetheless, this sacred temple is welcoming of all guests. Do you wish to see what is within it?”

“Sure.” Takato shrugged.

“Do you have food?” Guilmon walked over to Centarumon.

“A true Digimon you are. Of course. Come along.” Centarumon lead the two inside.

Takato and Guilmon ogled at the well-made stone carvings all across the walls.

It took Takato a little bit, but he realized that the carvings were actually showing scenes from the V-Tamer Manga.

“Woah…the developers must have put this stuff in as an easter-egg!” Takato touched a carving.

“I don’t know what a developer is, but they have incredible artistic skills.” Centarumon led them into a larger room.

“Woah!” Takato and Guilmon gasped at the sight.

At the front of the room was a large stone image showing a dragon knight. All around it were carvings of Tai and Zeromaru’s greatest moments.

“UlforceVeedramon! This is awesome!” Takato had stars in his eyes.

“There is more to this than you may think.” Centarumon walked over to the UlforceVeedramon image. He pressed down on it.

The UlforceVeedramon split in half, revealing two new images.

Both looked very similar to UlforceVeedramon. One of them was nearly identical except for very subtle changes, while the other was wearing very thick armor and had a much larger V on its chest.

“I think that one is UlforceVeedramon Future Mode, but who’s the second one?” Takato squinted at the images.

“I do not know. All I know is that I am to protect this temple.” Centarumon crossed his arms. “It holds images of the great heroes of the Digital World, after all.”

“Yeah. This was awesome, Centarumon! Thanks!” Takato and Guilmon smiled at him.

“Of course. Whatever I can do to make up for hurting you two.” Centarumon nodded. “Feel free to take some food along with you.”

“Thanks!” Takato and Guilmon ran out of the room.

Centarumon looked at the many carvings around himself. “Heroes surround me. I must wonder if that boy and his Digimon will be added?”

“Guilmon, don’t touch that!” Centarumon heard a loud crash in another room.

“I must wonder indeed.” Centarumon shook his head.

=+=

Takato and Guilmon began to walk towards Kyukimon once again.

“Good luck, you two! If you ever need an area to retreat to, I will always accept you.” Centarumon waved.

“Thanks, Centarumon!” Takato and Guilmon waved back.

“And be careful out there.” Centarumon looked at his cannon. “There may be other Digimon who cannot control themselves…” He whispered.

Centarumon slowly galloped back into his temple.

To be continued. 1856 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Peaceful Oasis Betrayed! Aggression Under The Hot Sun!

Two days after Takato’s battle with Centarumon, Tsurugi walked into a desert.

“Well, it hasn’t been easy to get here, but I don’t think the worst of it has even begun.” Tsurugi wiped some sweat off his forehead.

“A few Digimon fights here and there aren’t so bad.” Agumon shrugged. “Gives me some good training before fighting an Ultimate.”

“We’ll definitely want to be careful wasting energy here though. This place is hot as heck, and we don’t really have much water left.” Tsurugi checked his device. 

His food and water supply were running low at this point. Though, he couldn’t really complain seeing as how most of it was given to him at the very start for free…

“Well, staying here won’t make this desert any less hot, boss. Let’s get going!” Agumon began to waddle into the desert.

“Yup.” Tsurugi followed behind his partner.

The two walked for only a minute before a huge sandstorm started spontaneously.

“Ah! It’s in my eyes, boss!” Agumon covered his peepers.

“Should have expected as much.” Tsurugi snapped his goggles on. “Come on, Agumon! This sandstorm isn’t going to stop us!”

“Yeah!” Agumon trudged through the sand with him.

=+=

Yolei cycled through the channels on the tv. She held a baby in her hands, with her other two children sitting next to her.

She stopped on the news channel. Yolei lowered the remote as a familiar face shuffled some papers. “Welcome back to the news. I’m newswoman Himewaka, and we’re interviewing two of the most well-known faces in Tokyo.”

“With us today are Tadashi Yujin and Izzy Izumi, the creators of the hit program ‘Net Battle’. A game that has recently come under heavy fire from people all over Japan because of a strange virus that has taken it over.” Nishijima and Himekawa turned to Izzy and Tadashi.

“Oh boy. This isn’t going to go well.” Yolei muttered. Her kids looked interested.

“So, Tadashi, Izzy. This is not the first time you two have been involved in certain controversies. After all your program has been the center of discussion for those wary of technology for years now.” Himekawa noted. “How do you think this will damage your reputations and Digimon Inc’s image?”

Tadashi cleared his throat. “I don’t believe this will negatively harm our images or any of our business partner’s images. The truth is that we had every single security system in place to stop this from happening.” He argued.

“This event cannot be blamed on anyone’s incompetence. Thus, I don’t believe it’s fair for anyone or our program to come under fire when no one, but the hacker who took over Net Battle, should be blamed.” Izzy added.

“You say that, but if Net Battle simply hadn’t been made, then hundreds of children wouldn’t currently be in comas.” Nishijima countered. Izzy and Tadashi both narrowed their eyes at him.

“This is about to get very heated.” Yolei frowned.

“Isn’t that Izzy? Your friend?” Yolei’s daughter pointed at the screen.

“Yes. Yes it is.” Yolei closed her eyes.

“You can’t blame us for what’s happening! Net Battle was being defended by the most complex systems on this planet!” Tadashi shouted.

“And yet someone *still managed* to hack into the game!-” Yolei switched the channel.

“Hey, I was watching that…” Yolei’s son mumbled.

“Good luck, Izzy, Tadashi.” Yolei muttered.

=+=

Tsurugi and Agumon continued to trudge through the sands. Tsurugi narrowed his eyes, his vision somewhat clear because of his goggles.

“Hey…wait.” Tsurugi saw a tall tree come into focus. “There’s something close by! Come on!” 

“Really? Wait for me!” Agumon ran after him.

The two slowly wandered upon an oasis, which had a huge pool of delicious looking water.

Tsurugi narrowed his eyes at it. “I don’t know. It might just be a mirage.” He crossed his arms.

“I don’t care!” Agumon ran straight at it. “I’m thirsty, dang it!’

“I am too-wait for me, Agumon!” Tsurugi chased behind him.

The two came to a halt away from the large lake. A horde of Digimon stared at them.

“Uh…hi there!” Tsurugi waved. “Could we get some water?”

A Sunflowmon slowly meandered over to them. “If you want some water, then feel free to have some. Just watch your manners around the other Digimon.” She smiled.

“Alright! Thanks!” Tsurugi and Agumon ran over to the lake.

They both began to lap up some of the water. Sunflowmon turned to the side as someone walked over to her.

“Sunflowmon, who are those people?” A Baromon asked.

“Sir Baromon, they are just some wanderers who were looking for water.” Sunflowmon informed him.

“I see. Well, nothing to worry about then.” Baromon began to walk off.

Baromon stopped in place. His fists slowly clenched.

“Wooh! That hits the spot, huh Agumon?” Tsurugi grinned at his partner.

“Uh huh! I wonder if they have any food around here?” Agumon rubbed his belly.

“I don’t know. How about we ask Sunflowmon?” Tsurugi and Agumon turned around.

They both saw a large meteor flying at them. They both gasped.

“Watch out, boss!” Agumon jumped in front of the meteor, taking it to the chest. He was thrown back into Tsurugi before they both toppled into the pool.

They both stood up, with Agumon shaking the water off himself. Tsurugi watched water drip from his large hair. “Okay, who did that?!” He asked angrily.

“I did.” Baromon held his hands out, another meteor floating near him. “You think you can come onto our land and take our water? I know you Tamers aren’t native to this world, but that is no excuse to be a brute! Especially you, Agumon!”

“We’re the brutes?! You just attacked us without warning!” Tsurugi clenched his fists.

“Yeah! And Sunflowmon said we could have the water!” Agumon pointed at her.

“Sir Baromon, you’ve never denied anyone else who wanted water. What is it about these visitors that troubles you?” Sunflowmon inquired worriedly.

“They’re brash! Arrogant!” Baromon stepped towards them. “And I won’t allow them to take our water without a fight!”

“If a fight is what you want, then it’s what you’ll get! Come on, Agumon!” Tsurugi pointed forward.

“Yeah!” Agumon rushed at Baromon.

“Pyrokinesis!” Baromon tossed some fireballs at him.

“Pepper Breath!” Agumon blew the fireballs away. “Get over here!”

“No reason to wait.” Tsurugi raised his Digivice. “Agumon! Digivolve!”

“Alright!” Agumon quickly turned into his Champion form before roaring. “Greymon!” 

“Storming Knives!” Baromon shot razor-sharp hairs at Greymon. Greymon blocked each one, letting them sink into his arms.

“Counter with Atomic Tail!” Tsurugi ordered.

“Eat lead, Baromon!” Greymon aimed his tail at Baromon. His muzzle flashed before firing, a large bullet coming out.

“What?-Ah!” Baromon took it straight to the chest, making him fall over limply.

“Sir Baromon!” Sunflowmon and many of the other Digimon ran over to him.

“Are you okay?” Tsurugi and Greymon walked over.

“What…what happened?” Baromon sat up, gripping his chest. “Y-Yes, I’m fine. Though, that attack hurt very much. Greymon must be a very powerful Champion.”

“Thanks. But why did you attack me and the boss?” Greymon leaned his head down.

“I don’t know…I felt strange before I attacked you. Like something was controlling me.” Baromon got up and brushed himself off.

“Do you think it has anything to do with SkullScorpionmon being nearby?” Tsurugi raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, perhaps.” Baromon nodded. “The guardians of the V-Tamer Tags do control a great amount of control over darkness. Being near them might be influencing us negatively.”

“Hey, we were actually going to go fight SkullScorpionmon! Though, I don’t know how far away he is now.” Tsurugi drooped.

“SkullScorpiomon is close, but with the sandstorm and the hot sun beating down on you two, I don’t believe fighting him would be wise.” Baromon shook his head.

“What do you think we should do then?” Greymon tilted his large head.

“Well, if you two want to, you could stay here until nightfall. SkullScorpionmon could be reached in a few hours, so you could leave during the night, fight him early in the morning, and return by the time the sun gets hot again.” Baromon advised.

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” Tsurugi and Greymon exchanged glances. “Alright! If you’ll let us stay, then sure!”

“Of course you can stay. As an apology for attacking you.” Baromon and Sunflowmon bowed.

“Thanks!” Tsurugi and Greymon grinned.

“This place seems peaceful too, so I doubt we have much to worry about while we stay here.” Greymon figured.

Suddenly, a large fireball plowed into the pool, throwing water all over the place.

“What the heck?!” Tsurugi and Greymon jumped back in surprise.

“What did that?!” Baromon and Sunflowmon looked into the sandstorm.

Slowly, a huge figure began to emerge. His flames sparked under the hot sun.

“Baromon! Surrender your oasis to Lord SkullScorpionmon!” A very large Meramon demanded.

“Meramon!” Tsurugi identified.

“So much for things being peaceful…” Greymon grumbled.

“We will not give up our land, Meramon! Leave immediately!” Baromon commanded.

“I will not! You shall fall in Lord SkullScorpionmon’s name!” Meramon spawned a fireball. He threw it straight at Baromon.

“No you don’t!” Greymon jumped in front of Baromon and swatted away the fireball.

“Hmm? Lord SkullScorpionmon didn’t tell me this village had a Greymon in it.” Meramon narrowed his eyes on him.

“That’s because he’s with me!” Tsurugi pointed at himself. “Meramon! Go back to SkullScorpionmon, and tell him that a Tamer and his Digimon is coming to defeat him!”

“A Tamer?” Meramon repeated. “Tch. SkullScorpionmon has no time to waste on petulant jokes such as yourself!”

“Jokes, huh?” Tsurugi and Greymon grinned. “I hope you’re ready for these jokes to put out your fire!”

“Hmph. Die!” Meramon jumped at them.

Greymon jumped back before Meramon could punch him. Meramon slammed his fist into the ground where Greymon stood.

“You might be big, but you’re about as slow too!” Greymon jumped up and punched Meramon in the chest. Meramon stumbled back.

“You can’t beat me! Fireball!” Meramon released a hail of fire from all over his body. Digimon fled as the fireballs nipped at them.

“Mega Flame!” Greymon fired a large fireball through any coming near him. His fireball melded with Meramon’s body the second it connected. “Huh? Aw crap, he’s made out of fire!”

“Of course that didn’t work.” Tsurugi facepalmed. “Move in with Horn Strike then!”

“On it, boss!” Greymon rushed forward. 

Meramon caught him by the head before lifting him up. “What sound does a hollow head make when it’s crushed, I wonder?” He began to squeeze Greymon’s head.

“AH!” Greymon flailed desperately.

“Dancing Meteor! Sunshine Beam!” A large rock and a ray of light struck Meramon, making him drop Greymon.

“Tsurugi!” Baromon walked over to him urgently. “Meramon is too powerful to meet head on. You need to weaken him before you move in for a finishing blow!”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Tsurugi scratched his head. “How to weaken him though…” He rubbed his chin.

Meramon and Greymon continued their battle as Tsurugi thought. Meramon continued to punch the ground harmlessly, always one step behind Greymon.

“You can’t catch me!” Greymon teased.

“Greymon’s definitely faster than him. But attacking him blindly won’t work…” Tsurugi’s eyes lit up. “It’s like when Zero fought Okuwamon! Tai had to use his surroundings to his advantage!”

“Hey boss?” Greymon leapt out of the way of another attack. “Got a plan yet?”

“Yup!” Tsurugi grinned. “We’re gonna literally put this guy’s fire out!” 

“Sounds fun.” Greymon jumped to his side.

“Greymon, focus on knocking him into the lake. Get ready to use Horn Strike when I need you to, alright?” Tsurugi ordered.

“Sounds good, boss!” Greymon rushed towards Meramon.

“Baromon! The second Meramon is in the lake, I need you and the others to kick sand all over him! We need to put out as much of his fire as possible!” Tsurugi told him.

“Very well. We’re ready.” Baromon nodded.

Greymon dodged each one of Meramon’s heavy blows. He weaved under Meramon’s legs before whirling around. “Take this, jerk!” Greymon dropkicked Meramon in the back.

Meramon fell over into the water. He let out a loud scream of pain. “No! My flames!” Meramon cried.

“Now!” Baromon shouted. Sunflowmon and all of the other Digimon there began to throw large portions of sand onto Meramon.

“No! No…” Meramon struggled in the water as sand smothered his body. “S-Stop…my fire…” His entire body began to shrink.

Meramon shrunk to be the same size as Baromon. Tsurugi’s eyes lit up. “Now, Greymon! Horn Strike!”

“Here we go!” Greymon plowed towards Meramon with his head pulled back.

“I won’t let you beat me!” Meramon raised his fist. A rock suddenly pounded him in the back.

“SkullScorpionmon and Daemon will not have their way!” Baromon yelled determinedly.

“Thanks, Baromon!” Greymon slammed into Meramon. Meramon was thrown back, quickly bursting into data.

“Nice!” Tsurugi celebrated.

“Such a powerful duo. They may very well be able to defeat SkullScorpionmon.” Baromon thought as Tsurugi and Greymon danced with each other.

=+=

Tadashi and Izzy were being driven to their office by their chauffeur.

Izzy poured a glass of something for himself. “That could have gone better.”

“Perhaps.” Tadashi rubbed his eyes. “What the hell do we do, Izzy?” He blurted. “Do we just wait and let things gradually get worse?”

“Of course not!” Izzy shook his head. “It’s only been a few days. We’ll figure this out as long as we keep trying.”

“Yeah, yeah. But how should we even start? Everything we’ve tried has just led to things getting stranger.” Tadashi grumbled.

Izzy’s phone rang. He answered the call and lifted the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”

He blinked as the person talked to him.

“Uh huh. Alright.” Izzy and Tadashi looked at each other. “Come to our office tomorrow whenever you can then. Thank you.”

Izzy hung up. Tadashi furrowed his eyebrows. “Who was it?”

“A detective. The father of a friend of a person who’s stuck in Net Battle. He wants to talk to us about possibly saving his child’s friend.” Izzy revealed.

“Really? Which friend do they want to help?” Tadashi leaned forward in his seat.

“A kid named Tsurugi Tatsuno.” Izzy told him.

To be continued. 2370 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Assassin Of The Desert! A V-Tamer's First Steps!

Tsurugi and Agumon watched the sun slowly rise on the horizon.

“SkullScorpionmon should be close now, Agumon. I hope you’re ready.” Tsurugi looked at his partner.

“My belly is full and I’m well hydrated! I’m ready, boss!” Agumon punched his palm.

“Nice! We’ll take down SkullScorpionmon and get that V-Tamer Tag for sure!” Tsurugi cheered.

The two continued to walk for a good while before coming upon large stone ruins encircling a small patch of sand. They exchanged glances.

“Looks like this is it.” Tsurugi looked towards the sun. “The sun still hasn't risen completely yet. So don’t be afraid of getting hot during the fight.”

“Oh believe me boss, I’m gonna erupt with flames of determination!” Agumon rubbed his hands together.

“Alright, Agumon! Let’s go beat this guy!” Tsurugi and Agumon jumped over the ruins.

The second they landed, the sand began to move, shifting up and down like ocean waves. Tsurugi and Agumon exchanged glances.

A huge creature erupted out of the sand. It was a gigantic white scorpion with absolutely no flesh. Its long tail ended with a sharp spike.

“Who dares to come to SkullScorpionmon’s domain?” SkullScorpionmon hissed.

“We do! Tsurugi Tatsuno and his partner-”

“-Agumon 2006!” Agumon and Tsurugi raised their fists.

“A Tamer. Far from the first I’ve buried in these last few days.” SkullScorpionmon scoffed. “Though, I admire that you waded through the desert. The other Tamers had flying Digimon that did all the work for them. Lazy bums.”

“You’ll find that we’re a lot tougher than the average Tamer, SkullScorpionmon!  We’re here for that V-Tamer Tag, and we’ll get it no matter what!” Tsurugi pointed at him.

“Just try.” SkullScorpionmon let out a roar causing a flurry of sand.

“Agumon!” Tsurugi shouted.

“I’m ready, boss!” Agumon narrowed his eyes at SkullScorpionmon.

“DIGIVOLVE!” Tsurugi ordered.

Agumon began to grow large.

=+=

Izzy, Tadashi, and a man with two children sat around the office.

“So detective, what did you want to discuss?” Izzy leaned forward in his seat.

The detective directed their attention to the children. “Yu and Ami here told me that their friend Tsurugi is locked in Net Battle. Now I’m wondering, how do you two plan on fixing this?”

“Well, there’s no simple answer there.” Tadashi admitted. “From what we can tell, the only way out for everyone is to beat the game.”

“If that’s what you’re going with, how can I help them?” The detective patted Yu on the shoulder.

“I don’t know. No one can get into the game or out of it-at least, the latter can’t be accomplished without ending up ill.” Izzy reminded them.

“Sending someone on our side in would be useful…assuming they were a Tamer themselves.” Tadashi coughed.

“Honestly, detective, children, we’ll keep working to help all of the children, but the best thing you can do for your friend is pray for their safety.” Izzy nodded.

“I see…” The detective sighed.

“Can we at least check on Tsurugi somehow?” Ami and Yu walked over to Izzy.

“Uh…well, we can see how he and his Digimon are doing.” Izzy quickly brought up a menu. He scanned a list of hundreds of kids before finding Tsurugi’s name.

He clicked on it, bringing up the pitch-black screen that only had Tsurugi and Agumon’s healthbars.

“Hey-they’re losing health!” Yu pointed at the screen. Everyone else gathered around him.

=+=

Greymon slid through the sand. He let out a noise of frustration.

“Can’t keep up?” SkullScorpionmon dove into the sand again, his tail chasing behind him.

“Keep running, Greymon! Don’t let him get the drop on you!” Tsurugi ordered from atop a stable rock.

“I know, boss! But I can’t hit him! He keeps hiding!” Greymon stomped through the sand, clearly being slowed down by the terrain.

“I’ll think of something, just keep dodging and hitting him when you can!” Tsurugi shouted. Greymon nodded.

“I hope your Tamer is a quick thinker…” Greymon turned to the voice. “Because you’re not going to survive otherwise!” SkullScorpionmon appeared behind Greymon.

“Greymon, watch out-”

“Pinch Of Pain!” SkullScorpionmon jabbed Greymon in the chest.

“Ah-Mega Flame!” Greymon popped a fireball into his face. SkullScorpionmon flinched, but he was mostly unaffected.

“I have nothing to burn, fool!” SkullScorpionmon fell back into the sand.

“Dang it…” Tsurugi wiped some sweat off his head. “SkullScorpionmon hits rarely, but each hit hurts Greymon and we can’t retaliate. We’ll lose at this rate!”

“Get out here you coward!” Greymon snarled. 

“Very well!” SkullScorpionmon came out of the sand and whipped Greymon across the face quickly. Greymon shot another fireball, missing SkullScorpionmon as he fled.

“Aw man. That stupid tail hits too quickly!” Greymon whined. “If he didn’t have it, I could totally beat him!”

Tsurugi’s eyes jumped. “SkullScorpionmon is too fast for us because of the sand. But if we could just force a confrontation, then Greymon might have a chance. But SkullScorpionmon’s tail is too fast for Greymon, so we’d also have to remove it before then.”

“Ready to surrender?” SkullScorpiomon popped out of the sand. He threw a pincher forward, which Greymon actually managed to catch in time.

“Greymon is fast enough to fight SkullScorpionmon once SkullScorpionmon loses his advantage.” Tsurugi noted internally. “It’s just like Tai’s fight with MarineDevimon!” He realized.

“I won’t give up! Mega Flame!” Greymon shot a stream of fire straight into SkullScorpionmon’s face. SkullScorpionmon let out a small whine of pain.

“Then I hope you’re at least ready to die!” SkullScorpionmon quickly smacked Greymon with his tail and ran again.

“Greymon!” Tsurugi called out.

“Yeah, boss?” Greymon glanced at him while running around the arena.

“Block an attack and grab his tail! You need to rip it off as quickly as possible!” Tsurugi pretended to pull something out of the air.

“Huh?” Greymon looked at him with questioning eyes.

“After that, keep the pressure up on him and make sure he can’t retreat into the sand!” Tsurugi nodded.

“Alright, boss! I’ll do my best!” Greymon nodded back.

“Here I come!” SkullScorpionmon shot out of the sands. He swung his tail straight at Greymon, who managed to block with his hard helmet in time.

“You’re not running this time, jerk!” Greymon grabbed the tail as it tried to return to its resting position.

Tagiru Chikara by Psychic Lover

“Hey! Let go!” SkullScorpionmon began to struggle.

“Not this time! Now, you’re gonna fight fair!” Greymon kicked SkullScorpionmon in the face while holding onto his tail. As SkullScorpionmon reeled, Greymon very forcefully tugged on the tail, managing to flip SkullScorpionmon onto his back.

“Alright! Go for it, Greymon!” Tsurugi cheered.

“On it, boss!” Greymon planted one foot on the tail as he pulled the tip of it.

“Hold on! Hold on!” SkullScorpionmon flailed.

“This is where the fight starts!” Greymon ripped the tail in two. SkullScorpionmon squealed in pain as he jumped back to his feet.

“Now, Greymon! Move in with everything you got!” Tsurugi threw his hand forward.

“Here I go!” Greymon shot a fireball into SkullScorpionmon’s face to disorientate him. As flames nipped at SkullScorpionmon’s vision, he flailed his pincers around in an attempt to protect himself.

Greymon dodged each wild swipe before uppercutting SkullScorpionmon. SkullScorpionmon narrowed his eyes on Greymon.

“Pinch of Pain!” SkullScorpionmon struck Greymon in the side, making him slide across the sand.

“Atomic Tail, Greymon!” Tsurugi quickly ordered.

“Bam!” Greymon shot SkullScorpionmon in the face. He regained his footing and jumped at SkullScorpionmon. He punched him straight in the face, causing a few cracks to appear on the scorpion’s skull.

“Ow!” SkullScorpiomon swung at Greymon again. Greymon moved back, getting grazed by the attack, which still hurt a good bit.

Both of the Digimon panted at each other.

“Now, Greymon! Finish this with Horn Strike! Go all in!” Tsurugi yelled.

“Alright, boss!” Greymon rushed at SkullScorpionmon. “Horn Strike!” He pulled his head back.

“I won’t go down easily!” SkullScorpionmon leapt at him. “Pinch of Pain!”

SkullScorpionmon met Greymon’s helmet with his pincer. A shockwave flew out from the confrontation.

The two stood still for a few seconds before a quiet cracking noise was heard.

“Hmm…” SkullScorpionmon took a step back. “Not bad, Tamer.” He commented.

His arm shattered into tiny pieces. SkullScorpionmon fell over, his data beginning to waste away.

“Nice job, Greymon!” Tsurugi clapped.

“I only won because you were helping, boss!” Greymon smiled at his Tamer.

“Both of you…” SkullScorpionmon muttered. “With my death…the other Ultimates grow stronger…and it will continue like that until the fifth Ultimate is defeated…”

“We’ll be ready!” Tsurugi and Greymon said at the same time.

“We’ll see…” SkullScorpionmon closed his three eyes. “Well fought…”

SkullScorpionmon burst into data. The data halted midair and came together in a bright flash of light.

OST End…

Right in front of Tsurugi and Greymon’s eyes formed a V-Tamer Tag. The sand stopped moving around them.

“Alright!” Tsurugi walked forward and grabbed it. “This one is the Tag of the…Desert? That wasn’t in the manga.”

“Nice tag, boss!” Greymon complimented as he began to shrink. Soon enough, he turned back into Agumon.

“Yeah. But…” Tsurugi stared at it. “Am I the only one who will have this tag? I beat SkullScorpionmon, so no one else can get it like that. Nobody can rob me, so the only other option would be to team up with me.”

“Do you think we’re gonna end up with some pals then, boss?” Agumon asked hopefully.

“That would be nice. And this tag gives us some protection from being attacked, I think.” Tsurugi grinned.

They both jumped as the sand began to move up and down like ocean waves.

“What the?!” Tsurugi and Agumon jumped away from the arena.

SkullScorpionmon popped out of the sand again. “Who dares to invade SkullScorpionmon’s land?”

“What the heck? We beat you already!” Tsurugi pointed at him.

“Huh?” SkullScorpionmon looked at Tsurugi. “No. I’ve defeated other Tamers, but I haven’t even fought you yet.”

“But what about this then?” Tsurugi showed the V-Tamer Tag.

SkullScorpionmon halted for a second. “You have already defeated SkullScorpionmon in combat before and have his tag. Do you wish to battle SkullScorpionmon again?” He asked robotically.

“Uh…” Tsurugi and Agumon looked at each other. “I guess SkullScorpionmon respawns so other people can get his tag. Aww, then we’re not that cool.”

“Hey, as far as we know, we were the first ones to beat him, boss!” Agumon patted him on the arm.

“Yeah. Come on, Agumon! Let’s get back to Baromon and the others!” Tsurugi and Agumon ran away from the arena.

SkullScorpionmon watched the two run off. He shrugged before retreating into his sand pit.

=+=

Izzy and the others watched Tsurugi’s Agumon’s health bar slowly regenerate.

“Agumon lost a lot of health during that fight.” Yuu frowned.

“Boys and their fighting.” Ami sighing.

“Hold on a second! Look at Tsurugi!” Tadashi pointed at the screen.

Around Tsurugi’s neck was a necklace. And connected to that necklace, was a V-Tamer Tag.

“He got one of the tags!” Izzy realized.

“Let me check something.” Tadashi quickly typed some things on his computer. He quit as a panel came up.

On it were several Tamers. Many of them had big 0s next to their faces, but Tsurugi and a few others had 1s.

“This screen shows game progression. It looks like Tsurugi and a few others have already managed to get a tag!” Tadashi let everyone look at it.

“Alright, Tsurugi!” Yuu cheered.

“Huh. I guess he and Agumon were at least fighting for something good.” Ami sighed.

“Well, I’m sure one of those kids is bound to win.” The detective crossed his arms. “Alright. I guess there really isn’t much that can be done on our part.”

“Sorry detective Inui. We promise that we’ll solve this as soon as possible.” Izzy reassured him.

“I hope Tsurugi gets out of this okay…” Ami mumbled.

“Yeah. All he wanted to do was play story mode.” Yu shook his head.

“I promise we’ll help him, Yu, Ami.” The detective patted Yu on the shoulder. “I might have a friend who can help, but they’re very busy nowadays. Still, I’ll call if I find anything that might be useful.”

“That would be helpful…” Izzy coughed.

Tadashi cleared his throat. “Nevertheless, thank you for taking time out of your schedule to come here. We’ll continue working to save everyone in the game. We promise.”

“Thank you.” The detective nodded.

The detective left with Yu and Ami. Tadashi and Izzy returned to looking at the game progression screen.

“So many kids are losing health out there.” Izzy shook his head.

“As long as one of them can succeed, the rest will be saved.” Tadashi commented.

“Let’s hope they know how to work together then.” Izzy sighed.

“I wonder who will win?” Izzy and Tadashi mumbled.

To be continued. 2127 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Tricky Forest! The Nature Spirits

Takato and Guilmon slowly meandered through a forest. It had taken another day of travel-a day since Tsurugi had gotten his tag-but they were closing in on Kyukimon now.

“Do you think we can beat Kyukimon, Takatomon?” Guilmon tilted his head.

“Yeah, I think so. Kyukimon is a strong Ultimate though…” Takato rubbed his chin. “But you’re stronger than the average Champion because of your ‘x-antibody’. I think as long as we work together, we’ll win!”

“Alright, Takatomon!” Guilmon nodded. “...Can I have some food now?”

“Sure. Let’s see, where to stop…” Takato squinted at the forest around him. He saw a large log leading to a small patch of grass in front of them. “Come on. Let’s stop over there!”

Takato and Guilmon quickly walked through the log, finding that the small patch of grass was actually flanked by several more large logs. Very similar looking areas waited on the other side of each log.

“Huh…that’s weird.” Takato and Guilmon sat down on some stumps.

The two began to chow down on some food. They heard some ambient noises around them, but they doubted any Digimon would attack.

“You know Guilmon, I like being with you, but I kinda hope we get some friends.” Takato sighed.

“Friends are nice! But those Tamers at the town weren’t as nice.” Guilmon frowned.

“Yeah. I guess all of us were scared then, but I doubt that many people are still being friendly.” Takato shook his head. “I’m just happy we haven’t run into any other Tamers by now-”

Takato was cut off by an incredibly loud squawk from a crow. The crow began to chirp repeatedly, each chirp hurting Takato and Guilmon’s ears.

“Man! That crow is loud!” Takato complained.

“What?” Guilmon asked over the ruckus.

“Wait a minute…” Takato began to think as the crow continued with his ruckus. “A crow? How many crow Digimon are there?”

The crow stopped squawking. Takato and Guilmon looked around.

They both turned around as they heard something walking through the foliage. They found a small green monkey with a slingshot on his back.

“Hello?” Takato slowly moved behind Guilmon. “Is that a Monmon?”

Monmon simply walked towards Takato.

“Better be careful. That crow might have been alerting everyone in the forest to my position…” Takato stepped back.

Monmon walked all the way up to Takato. He tilted his head in interest.

Guilmon growled at the Monmon. “Don’t get so close to Takato!”

Takato placed his hand in front of Guilmon to hold him back. “Did you need something?” He narrowed his eyes at Monmon.

Monmon raised his hand.

Within a swift second, he straight up stole the Digivice on Takato’s wrist and bailed through a log.

“Woah-Hey! Get back here!” Takato and Guilmon chased after him.

They ran through one of the logs and looked around for Monmon. Unfortunately, Monmon had already escaped through one of the many- many logs around them.

“Aw man! I can’t believe I let that happen!” Takato facepalmed.

“Takatomon! I can smell him!” Guilmon sniffed the air.

“Really? Come on, we have to get my device back!” Takato patted Guilmon on the back.

“Alright!” Guilmon nodded.

Guilmon led Takato through a log. Then another one. And another one. And a couple more.

Eventually, the two stopped while panting. 

Guilmon sniffed the air again. “I smell him this way!” He began to move again.

“Hold on, Guilmon.” Takato held his hand out. “I think we’re just running in circles.”

“Are you sure? I think we’re close now.” Guilmon walked back to him.

“This place is a maze. It feels infinite!” Takato whined. “How am I gonna get my device back?”

Guilmon and Takato stopped as Monmon showed up again. Guilmon’s mouth lit up with flames.

“Woah, hold on!” Monmon held his hands up.

“Give him a second to talk, Guilmon.” Takato ordered. “But get ready to attack.” He whispered.

“My friend Monmon took your device, right? Well, he did that because Kyukimon told us to!” Monmon explained. “She doesn’t want anyone invading her forest and taking her V-Tamer Tag, so we help to protect her.”

“But Kyukimon is evil! She’s helping Daemon!” Takato argued.

“And we’re not evil?” Monmon snickered.

“Oh…fair enough.” Takato drooped.

“But we honestly just want to have some fun! So, if you help us, we’ll let you through the forest and to Kyukimon!” Monmon smiled.

“Really? What do we have to do?” Takato asked.

“Me and my friends love to ask questions! So, if you can answer all of our questions, you’ll be led out of here. Alright? Deal?” Monmon put his hand out. Takato shook his hand hesitantly.

“Sure…but don’t try to doublecross us.” Takato and Guilmon advised.

“Hehe.” Monmon cleared his throat. “First question!”

“I know everything there is to know about Digimon! I might not be the best strategist, but I have this down!” Takato rubbed his hands together.

“What was the first Digimon ever created?” Monmon asked.

Takato opened his mouth. “Oh boy…maybe this won’t be so easy.” He began to sweat.

=+=

Izzy and Tadashi continued to work. A few more people had managed to get their hands on one V-Tamer Tag, but no one had gotten two yet.

But, less than a hundred had even one. Seeing as how there were now 328 Tamers still in the game, that was very concerning.

“Tamers are dropping like flies. Who in their right mind is going around taking out other Tamers?!” Izzy furrowed his eyebrows.

“Daemon’s soldiers were programmed to hunt Tamers down. There are also random Digimon attacking people…and maybe some kids aren’t taking the voice seriously. They might still think it’s just a game.” Tadashi replied. 

“Well, they better figure it out soon. Because if they all take each other out, nobody will be a winner.” Izzy shook his head.

Someone knocked on the door. Tadashi and Izzy exchanged glances. “Come in!” They shouted.

The door slid open, revealing Davis, Tk, and three figures wearing oversized clothing-two small ones and one very tall one.

“Yo, yo!” Davis saluted the two.

“Hope we’re not intruding.” Tk and the others walked in.

“No, you’re fine.” Tadashi and Izzy stared at the tall figure. “Is that you, BlackWarGreymon?”

“Can I take this stupid thing off?” BlackWarGreymon grumbled under his trench coat.

“Hey, I think you look cool in it!” One of the small figures pointed at BlackWarGreymon, speaking with a lisp.

“Yeah, BlackWarGreymon!” The other figure flew up into the air. All of his clothing fell off, revealing Patamon.

“We don’t have time for this nonsense.” BlackWarGreymon tore his trenchcoat off. “You two. Have you figured anything out about the mess you’re in?”

“We could ask you three the same.” Tadashi countered. “Have you guys found anything strange in the Digital World?”

“That’s why we brought them here.” Davis and Tk shrugged.

“Give me a second…” The small figure took off his very ‘stealthy’ clothing. “Haha! We’ve infiltrated the human world!”

“Veemon, focus.” BlackWarGreymon ordered.

“Why are you always so grumpy?” Patamon landed on BlackWarGreymon’s head. BlackWarGreymon grumbled.

“Anyways, we haven’t found squat.” Veemon reported.

“Uh huh. The Digital World is completely normal.” Patamon nodded.

“They’re not lying. We haven’t found anything strange in the Digital World. The other Digimon haven’t either, and Elecmon told us that the amount of eggs at Primary Village hasn’t changed at all.” BlackWarGreymon informed them. “There is nothing wrong in the Digital World.

“I guess the Digital World is a dead lead.” Davis and Tk sat down.

“Either that or the threat is hiding really well.” Tk added.

“Fantastic…” Tadashi rubbed his eyes. “None of this makes any sense. We can’t find anything wrong with the program, none of the sick children have any signs of illness, and the Digital World is completely normal. What is going on?!”

“I don’t know.” Davis, Veemon, and Patamon answered.

“Fair enough.” Tadashi dropped his head onto his keyboard.

“Well, whatever it is, we need to be on high alert. We’ll keep searching the Digital World and we’ll be ready to fight anything that shows up.” BlackWarGreymon looked over to Davis and Tk. “Assuming the Digimon’s Tamers are around, anyway.”

“Oh yeah, about that.” Davis snapped his fingers. “There’s gonna be this big space exhibition in America. I was gonna take Yolei and the rest of the family there after this mess with Net Battle is solved. Probably gonna hang out in America for like, a month or so. Just take note of that.”

“Cool.” Tk and Davis nodded at each other.

“You humans are too flippant with your time.” BlackWarGreymon rolled his eyes.

“But don’t you take the Fresh and In-Training Digimon on field trips?” Patamon asked BlackWarGreymon.

BlackWarGreymon hid his face. The others let out some small laughs.

BlackWarGreymon’s eyes grew wide. Veemon and Patamon also snapped to attention.

All three of them ran to the large window behind Izzy and Tadashi. They stared out into the distance, but they couldn’t see anything.

“Someone was watching us.” BlackWarGreymon told the others.

“Yeah…” Patamon and Veemon stared down at the street.

“Well, whatever. We’ll head back to the Digital World.” Veemon yawned. “We haven’t found anything yet, but there’s bound to be a clue somewhere.”

“Indeed. We’re out of here.” BlackWarGreymon, Veemon, and Patamon walked over to the door.

“I guess we’ll head out too. We only really came here because we had to escort these three.” Tk and Davis got up.

“Good luck, you two. I’m sure you figured it out by now, but you guys are kinda public enemy #1 in…well, in all of Japan really.” Davis rubbed the back of his head.

“We’ll figure this out promptly. Thanks everybody.” Tadashi and Izzy waved.

Everybody else waved back before leaving.

“Nothing in the Digital World?” Izzy thought about it.

“Maybe…somebody like Menoa has appeared in the Digital World?” Tadashi theorized.

“Let’s hope not. That’ll only make things more complicated.” Izzy grumbled.

=+=

Takato and Guilmon walked into another log. A Monmon with a wide smirk waited for them.

“Here’s your last question, Tamer!” Monmon clapped his hands. “No one has ever gotten this far!”

“Seriously? Am I the first Tamer to get here then?” Takato raised an eyebrow.

“The final question is!” Monmon cleared his throat. “What Digimon has the body of a scarecrow, but is actually being controlled by the crow on its body?” 

Takato snapped his fingers a few times. “Sounds really familiar…Noahmon? No…Nohe…Nohemon! It’s Nohemon!” He answered.

“Correct! You did it!” Monmon backflipped joyfully.

“Alright!” Takato and Guilmon cheered. “Can I have my device back now?”

“Sure! Just go through that last log!” Monmon pointed behind himself.

“Thanks! I guess.” Takato and Guilmon ran over to it. Behind them, every Monmon gathered around the other one.

Takato and Guilmon ended up back in the normal forest. They both smiled at each other, proud of their escape.

“So you managed to pass the Monmon’s quiz. Impressive.” Takato and Guilmon heard someone say to them.

“Y-Yeah? Can I have my device back?” Takato requested sheepishly. He was answered by a crow squawking loudly.

“The Monmon like to have fun, but at the end of the day…” Takato and Guilmon watched as a scarecrow was slowly dragged down from the tree tops. “We’re villains.” The scarecrow nearly fell over before a crow landed on its arm.

“You’re a Nohemon!” Takato identified.

“And you’re going to die here. For Lord Kyukimon!” Nohemon raised his bow.

“Watch out, Takatomon!” Guilmon stepped in front of him.

“Get him, get him!” Takato turned around, seeing all of the Monmon cheering behind him.

“Pull. Aim. Fire!” Nohemon shot at Guilmon. Guilmon blocked with his thick arm.

“Go, Guilmon! Take him down!” Takato ordered.

“Alright, Takatomon!” Guilmon rushed at Nohemon. Nohemon and Guilmon danced around with each other, the latter unable to touch the surprisingly swift scarecrow.

“Evolving would be really useful right now. But I don’t think I can do it without my device.” Takato looked at his wrist. He heard snickering behind himself, seeing the Monmon huddled around the one that had stolen his device in the first place. “Hey! Give that back!”

“Huh? No way!” The Monmon hid it behind his back. “I stole it fair and square!”

“I bought it in the first place!” Takato argued. “Well, my parents bought it, anyway.”

“Fine! How about you give us something as a trade then?” All of the Monmon smiled smugly.

“That works! Let me think for a second…” Takato patted his pockets. He tapped his goggles, but there was no way he would give those away. 

“We’re waiting!” All of the Monmon said impatiently.

“Give me a second…” Takato searched his pockets. He pulled out a random seed and an idea came to his head. “Hey! I know-I’ll give you guys food!”

“Food?” The Monmon all repeated.

“Yeah! My device has lots of food in it! Just give it back and I’ll let you guys have some!” Takato nodded.

The Monmon murmured with each other for a second. In the background, Guilmon chased Nohemon, several arrows sticking into the former’s tough skin.

“Alright, Tamer! That sounds good.” The Monmon handed Takato his device.

“Thanks!” Takato wrapped it around his wrist. “And here’s your food-GUILMON, DIGIVOLVE!” Takato said very quickly.

As Guilmon chased Nohemon, he began to grow. Soon enough, he turned into a huge dinosaur. 

“AH!” The Monmon and Nohemon gasped.

“Growlmon X!” Growlmon roared. Nohemon fired another arrow at him, the projectile bouncing off his new enemy.

“Which idiot gave the Tamer his device back?!-” Nohemon was swiftly punched through a tree.

The Monmon ran over to Nohemon and ran away with his body. Nohemon’s crow squawked angrily before following them.

“Great job, Growlmon!” Takato cheered.

“Thanks, Takatomon!” Growlmon stomped over to him.

“What a weird group those Digimon were. I guess we should watch out for the other Ultimate Digimon’s servants.” Takato suggested.

“Whatever you say, Takato! I’ll protect you no matter what!” Growlmon smiled.

“Thanks, Guilmon.” Takato gave his partner some chin scratches. “Kyukimon should be close now. Let’s go fight her and get out of here!” Takato nodded.

“Yeah!” Growlmon jumped excitedly.

The two walked towards the next log. Finally, they would fight an Ultimate for their first V-Tamer Tag.

“I can’t really be the first person to have come here, right?” Takato furrowed his eyebrows. “How many others have come here?”

To be continued. 2392 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Bewitching Beast! Another Tamer Rises!

Takato and Growlmon walked towards Kyukimon’s battlefield.

“Kyukimon is really fast, Growlmon. She doesn’t hit too hard, but she might also be hard to land a hit on.” Takato informed him.

“I’ll do my best, Takato.” Growlmon nodded.

“Thanks. Let’s see how this goes…” Takato and Growlmon walked into a lush flower field surrounded by trees.

They heard something growl at them. “This is Kyukimon’s land…only a fool would come here!” The voice hissed.

“We’re here for the V-Tamer Tag! We came here to fight!” Takato raised his fists. Growlmon roared.

“You’ll find that I’m not so easily beaten, Tamer!” Something zipped into the middle of the field.

It was a pink fox-like creature with a long blue tail. Its arms were bright silver scythes.

“You are not the first Tamer to try, and you will certainly not be the first Tamer to die!” Kyukimon rubbed her two scythes together.

“Not the first? But your Monmon helpers said I was!” Takato pointed out.

“Huh? Well, they aren’t the brightest.” Kyukimon admitted. “...Anyways! If you have come here to fight, then you better be ready to die! En garde!”

“You can do this, Growlmon!” Takato reassured his partner.

“Alright, Takato!” Growlmon stomped towards Kyukimon.

“You will fall at my hands.” Kyukimon threatened.

Growlmon raised his arm over Kyukimon. Kyukimon, strangely, didn’t move.

“Boulder Bash!” Growlmon shot his fist at Kyukimon. With an extreme amount of speed, Kyukimon dodged back and sliced Growlmon’s arm repeatedly. “OW!” Growlmon whined.

“Slow brute.” Kyukimon scoffed.

“Hey!” Takato narrowed his eyes on Kyukimon. “Watch out, Growlmon! She’s faster than I thought!”

“Alright, Takato!” Growlmon kept swinging at Kyukimon. Kyukimon dodged each one with ease, countering with swift blows.

“Too easy.” Kyukimon slid back. “Sanrensei!” She shot a beam out of the little crest on her forehead. It singed Growlmon.

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon shot a huge fireball at her. Kyukimon dodged again. Behind her, flames began to tear across the forest.

“Much too slow!” Kyukimon kicked Growlmon in the chest and chin in one swift motion. As Growlmon reeled, Kyukimon leapt onto his head and kicked off of it, landing behind him.

Growlmon roared angrily. He turned to Kyukimon and fired another shot. Kyukimon dodged, more fire burning the shrubbery around them.

“Don’t get frustrated, Growlmon! We can do this!” Takato shouted.

“Okay, Takato!” Growlmon nodded. He continued to chase after Kyukimon.

“Except, I don’t how’ll we do this…” Takato sighed internally. “Kyukimon is way too fast for Growlmon.”

Growlmon swung at Kyukimon again. Kyukimon dodged under his arm and grabbed it. She managed to trip the entire dragon over before dashing away.

“Growlmon! Use Exhaust Flame now!” Takato shouted.

Growlmon shot a fireball at Kyukimon. She barely managed to dodge in time, getting one of her arms seared lightly.

“Nice job!” Takato cheered. He covered his eyes as some flames sparked close to him. “Woah! I better move!” He backed away from the fire.

Growlmon leapt at Kyukimon. He punched the ground, uprooting more flowers but still missing her. Growlmon growled. “Exhaust Flame!” He popped another fireball at her.

“Blade Twister!” Kyukimon swung her scythes, shooting out beams. The beams and the fireball collided, causing sparks to fly all around the forest.

Takato jumped back as fires started all around him. “Be more careful, Growlmon! All this fire has me running around like I have a squirrel in my pants!”

“Sorry, Takato!” Growlmon yelled over the sounds of fire. Kyukimon kicked him in the side of the face.

“Stupid dinosaur! You’re burning down my forest!” Kyukimon ran away before some flames could surround her.

“I hate to agree with her, but she’s right!” Takato backed away from more flames. “Wait a minute!” He began to think.

He watched as Kyukimon was forced to maneuver around the flames, while Growlmon could easily just walk through them.

“I get it! Kyukimon’s trying to run away from the flames! Which means that we can direct her with Growlmon’s fire!” Takato’s eyes lit up. “Growlmon! Get ready for some orders!”

“I’m listening!” Growlmon looked over his shoulder.

“You won’t be once I chop your ears off!” Kyukimon tried to move just for fire to roar in front of her.

One Vision by Tanimoto Takayoshi

“Growlmon! Use Exhaust Flame around her! Make her stay in place!” Takato commanded.

“Alright, Takato!” Growlmon’s mouth lit up with hot flames. His eyes narrowed. “Exhaust Flames!” He began to spew fire all across the flower field and forest.

“Bastard!” Kyukimon was forced to rush through the fire as more and more surrounded her. Her fur slowly began to be burnt.

“Keep going, Growlmon!” Takato cheered.

Growlmon released more fire, lighting up everything around him. Takato snapped his goggles on to see through the flames clearly.

“Dammit it all!” Kyukimon stopped moving as she was circled by the fire on all sides.

“Growlmon! Move in now with Boulder Bash!” Takato pointed at Kyukimon.

“Here I go!” Growlmon plowed through the fire. He raised his claw high.

“Where did that blasted dinosaur go?!-” Kyukimon saw Growlmon at the last second. She could do nothing but let out a quiet curse before being uppercutted straight in the stomach.

She was thrown into the air, still reeling from the pain.

“Now finish it with a full power Exhaust Flame!” Takato fist pumped.

“Exhaust-” Growlmon raised his head towards the sky as fire flared all around him, “-Flame!” He shot one last fireball.

The fireball punched into Kyukimon’s chest. It exploded right afterwards, covering her entire body in flames.

“Damn you, Tamer!” Kyukimon screamed. Her data fizzled rapidly.

Takato and Growlmon cheered as she blew apart into data. The data slowly fell towards the ground.

OST end…

“Awesome, Growlmon! Great job!” Takato clapped. Growlmon lifted him onto his shoulders.

“Thanks, Takato! I’m really tired though…” Growlmon huffed.

“Don’t worry. Kyukimon’s been defeated.” Takato patted him on the head.

Kyukimon’s data collapsed into one item. All of the flames in the area were quelled in a second, leaving Takato and Growlmon in a burnt forest.

The item slowly fell towards Takato while surrounded in light. The light fled away, revealing a tag.

“Alright! The V-Tamer Tag!” Takato snatched it out of the air. “The Tag of the Forest-which I don’t think was in the V-Tamer Manga but that doesn’t matter right now because we did it, Growlmon!”

“Yeah!” Growlmon danced around. A glow surrounded him and Takato fell off his rapidly shrinking partner.

Takato rubbed his head. “If I’m really the first guy to get this tag, then that means no one else can get this!” He got up with the tag in hand.

“We’re special, Takatomon!” Guilmon laughed.

“Yeah! All because of your strength Guilmon! Thanks!” Takato and Guilmon gave each other a strong hug.

“...Can I have some food now?” Guilmon asked.

“Of course, pal.” Takato and Guilmon pulled away from each other.

Takato got ready to summon some food when the forest around them began to restore itself. Takato and Guilmon backed away as the flowers returned to their beautiful original state.

“What the heck?” Takato raised an eyebrow.

Then, without warning, light collapsed into a figure. The light went away, revealing Kyukimon.

“This is my land-Kyukimon’s land! How dare you trespass!” Kyukimon pointed her scythe at them.

“W-What?! But we beat you!” Takato pointed at her.

“What? I haven’t seen you two yet though.” Kyukimon argued.

“But I just beat you a minute ago! Look at this!” Takato showed his V-Tamer Tag.

Kyukimon’s body straightened out. “You have already defeated Kyukimon in combat before and already have her tag. Do you wish to battle Kyukimon again?” She asked robotically.

“Oh, she respawned so other people can get the tag. Aww…” Takato drooped. “Well, whatever. Come on, Guilmon. Let’s get out of here before Kyukimon attacks!”

“Alright, Takatomon! But I’m still hungry!” Guilmon and Takato ran off.

Kyukimon watched the two run off. She shrugged before hiding in some nearby shrubbery.

=+=

Kazu, Kenta, and some other kids huddling around Takato’s machine cheered.

“Alright, Takato!” Kazu clapped.

“I can’t believe he really did it.” Kenta commented.

The other children around him murmured. A police officer was watching the whole thing.

“Hmm…that’s one tag.” Tai commented. “But Takato is going to need another four. And things are only going to get harder…”

The kids continued to talk to each other without a care in the world. Tai shrugged before walking out of the arcade.

He looked up and down the street. “I guess I’ll go and check the next Net Battle machine. So much walking…” Tai grumbled.

He saw someone walking down the street. The boy had brown, bushy hair.

“Hey…wait, that kid kinda looks like me.” Tai narrowed his eyes at them.

The child stopped moving. He looked over his shoulder very slightly, showing a small part of his face.

Tai gasped as he saw the boy wearing his goggles. Not just random goggles or goggles made to look like his-kinda like Sora had managed to market-no, they were his goggles. The very same ones his grandpa had given him!

“What the-Hey, hold on!” Tai ran through the group of people on the street. The boy slowly meandered away, getting lost in the crowd.

Tai continued to run down the street. The child saw him pass by in an alleyway.

The boy walked out of the alleyway and meandered down the street, Tai running away from him.

To be continued. 1568 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: The City Of Tamers! Tamer Vs Tamer!

Tsurugi walked towards his next destination, none other than Majiramon’s arena. They had walked a whole day since Takato had gotten his tag, which only made Tsurugi realize how far away Majiramon was.

“Do you think we can beat Majiramon, boss?” Agumon asked.

“This time, I’m not so sure. SkullScorpionmon said that the Ultimates guarding the V-Tamer Tags will only get stronger. And SkullScorpionmon was already tough enough.” Tsurugi furrowed his eyebrows.

“Well, we shouldn’t worry too much. After all boss, I’m one of the strongest Champions around!” Agumon flexed.

“You got that right, Agumon!” Tsurugi grinned.

The two continued to walk for a little bit. Slowly, they came upon a very clean looking town.

“Ooh! Can we take a break there?” Agumon pointed at it.

“I don’t know. Might be dangerous if the town’s full of hostile Digimon.” Tsurugi crossed his arms.

“Like I said, boss! I’ll beat ‘em if I need to!” Agumon punched his palm. “OW!” He flailed his hands around in pain, having stabbed himself with his nails.

“Looks like you can’t even handle your own strength, you're so strong.” Tsurugi chuckled. “Come on, let’s go check out town!” He and Agumon ran towards the town.

More and more of the town came into view as they ran towards it. The town even had watchtowers set up.

Tsurugi and Agumon quickly came to a halt as they noticed creatures atop those watchtowers.

Not Digimon, but humans. Actual humans!

“Holy crap!” Agumon blurted.

“People?” Tsurugi muttered in surprise.

“Halt!” A boy in one watchtower ordered.

“What are you and your Digimon doing here?” A girl in the other watchtower questioned.

Tsurugi and Agumon held their hands up. “We just wanted to rest here…B-But, who are you guys? What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean ‘what are we doing here’? We’re the guards of this town!” The boy flashed his device at Tsurugi.

“We’re supposed to protect the town from suspicious people like you and your Digimon!” The girl pointed at Tsurugi.

“Suspicious? We haven’t done anything!” Tsurugi stomped his foot.

“Just give me the order and I’ll toast them, boss!” Agumon growled.

“Not helping, Agumon.” Tsurugi facepalmed.

“We heard that!” The boy shouted. His Gabumon revealed itself.

“And we’re more than willing to fight if you want to!” The girl’s Lalamon floated into view.

“We meet humans again for the first time in a couple of days, and we immediately have to fight them.” Tsurugi sighed as he raised his device. “Freakin’ awesome.”

“Digivolve!-”

“Everybody, calm down!” They all heard.

Everybody looked towards the front of the town, finding a slim teenager with silver hair. He gave Tsurugi a short wave.

“Mayor! You shouldn’t be out here right now!” The boy advised.

“It’s fine. This Tamer here should actually be a celebrated ally!” The teen walked towards Tsurugi. “You are Tsurugi Tatsuno, right?”

“Y-Yeah? You recognise me?” Tsurugi and Agumon calmed their bodies. The guards also loosened up.

“Of course I do! For I am the ever-intelligent mayor of Tamortopia!” The teen announced triumphantly.

“Tamer…topia?” Tsurugi raised an eyebrow. “That’s lazy and sounds stupid…but I guess I probably shouldn’t tell them that if I want to get through this alive.”

“Tamertopia indeed. The town made by Tamers for Tamers.” The teen nodded.

Tsurugi and Agumon blinked. “You’re the mayor of this place, right? What’s your name?”

“Kiyoshiro Higashimitarai!” Kiyoshiro patted his chest.

“It’s great to meet you, Kenshiro Igashimitiara!” Tsurugi grinned. “Did I say it right?” He whispered to Agumon.

“Yeah, I think so. I don’t know though, his name’s a mouthful!” Agumon replied quietly.

“Hey!” Kiyoshiro whined. “You can just call me Kiyoshiro if that’s more convenient.” He sighed.

“Kiyoshiro, would you mind if we stayed here for a little bit? We just finished getting a tag a few days ago and Agumon’s still pretty tired.” Tsurugi patted his partner on the back.

“Of course you can stay! Tamertopia is open to anybody who’s willing to work towards the good of all Tamers.” Kiyoshiro led them in. The two guards saluted him as they passed by.

“Thanks for saving us back there. But how did you know we were good guys?” Tsurugi asked as they continued into the town. Already, he could see several Tamers walking around with their Digimon casually.

“I know all about the most important Tamers out there. And you’re one of the best Champion-level Tamers in all of Odaiba!” Kiyoshiro rubbed his chin. “Unlike the other two though, Rika and Ryouma, you’re known for fighting honorably and being a good sport.”

“Well, you could say that.” Tsurugi smiled smugly.

“Don’t let your head get too big, boss.” Agumon rolled his eyes.

Tsurugi grumbled. “Anyways, what exactly is this place?-no, how was it made?-no, how did you become mayor?-no, forget all those questions. Does anyone here have a V-Tamer Tag?” He asked in a hurry.

“Let me answer all those questions!” Kiyoshiro dusted himself off. “Again, this is Tamertopia. After the Tamers fled from the original area, some decided to come together to make a sophisticated society. And I, being a pacifist, helped those Tamers to build this town from the ground up.” He answered.

They heard snickering. Kiyoshiro sighed. “Pacifist? I think coward is the better word.” A Digimon who looked like a cross between a jellyfish and a young girl floated over.

“Hello, Jellymon.” Kiyoshiro looked away. Tsurugi and Agumon blinked a few times.

“You wanted to know why this guy is mayor, right?” Jellymon floated over Kiyoshiro’s head. “Because he is great with words! Very convincing. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to fight one bit.”

“Thank you for the information, Jellymon.” Kiyoshiro rubbed his head. “And as for the last question, no one here has a V-Tamer Tag. We’ve all decided to be pacifists who only fight for each other if a threat comes for us. Like the proud Haudenosaunee of North America.”

“The heck are you on about?” Tsurugi ran a hand through his hair.

“Nevermind.” Kiyoshiro drooped.

“One last question!” Tsurugi grinned sheepishly. “Can we have some food?”

“About time you ask.” Agumon rubbed his belly.

“There’s a lot of different vendors around here. Just talk to them and I’m sure they’d be willing to give a Tamer like you some free stuff. After all, you guys are the ones fighting to free us.” Kiyoshiro shrugged.

“Because everyone else here is a coward~” Jellymon snickered.

“Y-Yeah…Thanks, Kiyoshiro. And uh, thanks Jellymon?” Tsurugi and Agumon nodded at Kiyoshiro before walking off.

“Jellymon, why don’t you ever say anything nice about me?” Kiyoshiro turned to her.

“Because there’s not much nice to say.” Jellymon smirked.

“Just keep being welcoming of our guests. Tamertopia will only work as long as everyone stays friendly with each other.” Kiyoshiro watched Tsurugi and Agumon talking with someone in the distance.

Jellymon also watched them with interest.

=+=

Tadashi and Izzy were actually taking a break in their office. They were both lying in the soft sofas, practically melting onto the floor from stress.

“Nothing. We’ve been working for days and still nothing.” Tadashi mumbled.

“The Digital World has nothing suspicious going on. The sick kids are giving us no leads. And the program is just about as perfect as it has always been.” Izzy rubbed his eyes.

“To top it all off…” Tadashi glanced at their large window. “Someone might be watching us.”

Izzy furrowed his eyebrows. “Someone is trying to play god with those children. Why? How?” He thought out loud.

“Hell if I know…” Tadashi felt his phone buzz. He pulled it out and checked the caller id. “O-Oh shit…” He nearly dropped his phone.

“Who is it?” Izzy leaned over. He saw the caller ID ‘Governor’ on the phone. “Hideto! But he’s not calling us with his personal phone.”

“Nope. Looks like he has business with us. Governor business…” Tadashi cleared his throat. He answered the call and raised the phone to his ear. “Hello-”

“What the hell did you two cause?!” Hideto shouted on the other side.

“At least we managed to dodge this for a few days…” Tadashi turned on the speaker. “I wish I could tell you, Hideto. We’re trying to fix it though.”

“Dozens of kids are being admitted to hospitals! Those hospitals can’t handle so many comatosed kids who need constant attention! Not only that, I have parents breathing down my neck with threats to sue me and you two!” Hideto informed them.

“Why would they sue you?” Izzy inquired.

“You guys know that the Net Battle machines are too advanced to just be put into arcades without a second question. People have been arguing against those things since day one-but I fought for them! Now, they’re saying my incompetence caused this mess!” Hideto said with a tone of annoyance.

“God dammit. No one should be blamed for this chaos! No one but the person who hacked the game!” Tadashi facepalmed.

“Look, I didn’t call to just tell you guys I’m angry. I’m ready to give you all the resources you could possibly need. Just ask if you need something.” Hideto told them. “Be quick though, I can only hold you two from getting in trouble for so long.”

“Thanks Hideto. We’ll call you if we need anything then.” Tadashi replied.

“Good luck you two. For the sake of those kids, me, you, and Odaiba, I hope you figure things out.” Hideto hung up.

“Fantastic. Now the governor is pressuring us to solve everything.” Tadashi let his phone slip to the floor.

“Forget being sued. Net Battle is going to influence elections and laws. If things get worse, we might get arrested!” Izzy patted his chest.

“No reason to fret.” Tadashi reassured him. “We’re rich and well-known. I don’t think we can really get in much trouble.”

“Probably.” Izzy sighed. “Let’s get back to work.”

Tadashi and Izzy cracked their knuckles and moved back to their computers. Izzy would occasionally glance at the progression screen, seeing that still no one had snagged a second tag.

“Curse us for making that world so damn expansive.” Izzy grumbled.

=+=

Tsurugi and Agumon sat down at a very nice table to eat some food. Luckily for them, a Tamer there was a legitimate cook, meaning that Tsurugi could enjoy some genuine human food.

“Wow, Tsurugi.” Agumon ripped apart his lunch. “Is this what you eat everyday?”

“Maybe not everyday, but this is definitely some top-tier human chow.” Tsurugi let out a delighted noise.

“Hey!” Tsurugi and Agumon jumped in surprise. They both turned around, finding Jellymon behind them. “Are you two busy?”

“Not really. Why?” Tsurugi asked as Agumon continued eating.

“Kiyoshiro is really lame. If he keeps being so weak, the village will get torn apart by any random Digimon that attacks.” Jellymon explained. “So, I want you to get into a fight with him!”

“Uh huh? I guess we could train him if you want us to.” Tsurugi and Agumon exchanged glances.

“Good! He’s in the main plaza of Tamertopia right now. Get him flustered, because he really won’t fight otherwise. But try not to scare him-it’s a lot easier than you might think.” Jellymon floated off.

“Alright.” Tsurugi and Agumon returned to their food.

They both swiftly finished. They returned to the task at hand.

“How should we do this?” Tsurugi rubbed his chin.

“I say you run up and punch him in the face!” Agumon swung his fist.

“Uh…maybe we shouldn’t do that.” Tsurugi squinted at Agumon. “She said to fluster him, and the guy sure doesn’t seem very confident, so…” A grin slowly appeared on his face.

“I’m ready for anything boss!” Agumon hopped off his seat.

“Alright. Just follow my lead.” Tsurugi and Agumon ran towards the plaza.

They arrived quickly and looked around for Kiyoshiro. They found him talking to some random Tamers, who seemed genuinely captivated by his words.

“Yo, Kiyoshiro!” Tsurugi walked up behind him.

“Huh? Tsurugi!” Kiyoshiro identified. “Feel free to make that expansion to the town. Just be careful.” He nodded at the people he was talking to.

“Hey, Kiyoshiro, I needed to talk to you about something.” Tsurugi walked up to him. He saw Jellymon floating around in the background subtly.

“Yes?” Kiyoshiro raised an eyebrow. Agumon also looked interested in Tsurugi’s plan.

Tsurugi cleared his throat. “I’m officially challenging you for your position as Mayor of Tamertopia!” He announced loudly. The Tamers in the area began to gather around them.

“W-What?!” Kiyoshiro backed away.

“You heard me! I’m challenging you, and if I win, I’m gonna be the mayor!” Tsurugi reiterated.

“So you better fight us!” Agumon added fiercely.

“W-Why now? I thought you were a better Tamer than this!” Kiyoshiro began to sweat.

“Blame your own Digimon.” Tsurugi coughed. “This town needs a strong leader! If you can’t beat me, then it would be best for you to just get out of here!”

The Tamers around them whispered to each other. Kiyoshiro swiveled his eyes around.

Kiyoshiro clenched his fists. “F-Fine! I’ll fight for my title!” He declared with little confidence.

“Then get ready to fight!” Tsurugi and Agumon jumped back.

“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!” Jellymon cheered. Many of the other Tamers joined.

Kiyoshiro gulped. “J-Jellymon! Get over here!” He requested.

“What?!” Jellymon flinched. “I don’t want to fight!”

“Huh?” It was Tsurugi’s turn to flinch. “Well I’m not backing down now! Get ready to fight!” He shook his fist at Jellymon.

“I just had to work for the better of someone else.” Jellymon floated over to Kiyoshiro. “Okay, okay. Let’s do this.”

“T-Thanks.” Kiyoshiro raised his device.

“Come on, Agumon. This might not be a real fight, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it 100%!” Tsurugi nodded at his partner.

“Jellymon/Agumon! Digivolve!” The two Tamers ordered.

Greymon quickly appeared in front of everyone. Jellymon basically just grew taller and became a little more fancy.

“TeslaJellymon/Greymon!” The two bellowed.

The two Champions stared each other down. Their Tamers did the same, Kiyoshiro clearly struggling to maintain eye contact.

“Greymon! Let’s open up with Mega Flame!” Tsurugi ordered. Flames appeared in Greymon’s mouth.

TeslaJellymon looked back at Kiyoshiro. “Hello? I need an order.”

“Y-Yeah. I forgot what your attacks are, give me a second.” Kiyoshiro flipped through the menus on his device.

“You’re so lame, Kiyoshiro-AH!” TeslaJellymon flailed as fire burned her. “Oh! I’ll just do it myself! Punishock!” She shot several bolts of electricity at Greymon.

“Move in, Greymon!” Tsurugi clapped.

Greymon stomped at TeslaJellymon. He swatted the bolts to the side and pulled his head back. “Horn Strike!” He thrusted it at TeslaJellymon.

She was grazed by the attack, making her grunt. “Kiyoshiro!” She looked back at him.

“Use Fizzle Fist the next time he tries to hit you!” Kiyoshiro ordered.

“About time-woah!” TeslaJellymon dodged several more swipes from Greymon. He swung again, missing by a hair. “Fizzle Fist!” TeslaJellymon  bopped him on the head.

“Atomic Tail!” Greymon whipped his tail at her. TeslaJellymon let out a noise of disappointment before being smacked across the face.

“TeslaJellymon! Uh, u-use Volt Sprite!” Kiyoshiro shouted.

“Good order!” TeslaJellymon landed on her feet and spun right back into Greymon, shocking his body with her own.

“Gah! That one hurt!” Greymon shook his head.

“While you’re still close, hit her with Horn Strike!” Tsurugi advised.

“Alright, boss!” Greymon rammed his entire head into TeslaJellymon’s body. She was thrown to the floor and she slid across the ground for a little bit.

“O-Ow…” TeslaJellymon muttered

“TeslaJellymon!” Kiyoshiro screamed.

“Move in with the finisher, Greymon!” Tsurugi called out. “But don’t go too hard on her. I think she might have overestimated her strength.” He whispered.

“I’m going, boss!” Greymon rushed at TeslaJellymon.

“TeslaJellymon! Get up!” Kiyoshiro flailed his arms at her.

“I’m trying…give me a second.” TeslaJellymon saw a shadow fall over. She looked up, finding Greymon with flames in his mouth. “I feel like this is some type of karma for always insulting people…”

“Mega Flame!” Greymon released a, somewhat weakened, stream of flames. TeslaJellymon cried in pain.

Greymon stopped his attack. TeslaJellymon laid on the ground in a daze.

“TeslaJellymon!” Kiyoshiro ran over to her.

“Fantastic, Greymon!” Tsurugi grinned. Greymon quickly regressed to Agumon before he and his Tamer walked over to Kiyoshiro.

“Are you okay, TeslaJellymon?” Kiyoshiro helped her sit up.

“Y-Yeah…” TeslaJellymon swayed. “I’m starting to see why you don’t like fighting. I guess I’m not as strong as I had thought…”

“No, TeslaJellymon. I’ve barely given you any training. Once you reached Champion level, I stopped fighting because I was afraid I’d lose you.” Kiyoshiro shook his head. He looked at the crowd of Tamers around him. “But I see that’s a poor way of thinking.”

“What do you mean?” Tsurugi crossed his arms.

“This town is full of people who don’t want to fight, and that’s good. To be able to come together and help each other, it’s the idea that civilization is based on.” Kiyoshiro rubbed his chin. “And that’s why, as the mayor, I need to be tougher. I’m so afraid of fighting, that if someone did attack, I probably wouldn’t do anything. And what kind of mayor would I be then?”

“I like where this is going.” Tsurugi smiled. “Unless he’s about to give the title of mayor to me. Which would be very awkward…”

“Tsurugi Tatsuno, give me another chance to be mayor! Another chance to be stronger! I believe in Tamertopia and its beauty! And I know that with a strong-willed mayor, it can be even better!” Kiyoshiro declared triumphantly.

“Yeah! Mayor Kiyoshiro!” Many of the Tamers cheered. A few Tamers actually moved forward to attack Tsurugi if needed.

“Crowd’s starting to turn against me. That’s not fun.” Tsurugi noticed. “D-Do you promise to always stay strong for the people who depend on you?” He asked.

“I promise!” Kiyoshiro nodded determinedly.

Tsurugi let out a small laugh. “Welp, I can’t argue with that mayor. It’s not like I actually wanted your title anyways.”

“W-What? You didn’t?” Kiyoshiro flinched.

“Naw. Your partner set this whole thing up to give you some confidence. And combat training.” Tsurugi shrugged.

Kiyoshiro slowly turned around to face TeslaJellymon. TeslaJellymon held her hands up. “It worked, didn’t it?”

“Jellymon!” Kiyoshiro shouted angrily.

“Gotta go!” Jellymon quickly floated off. Kiyoshiro chased her around as the other Tamers watched.

“Our mayor…” One Tamer muttered.

“Kiyoshiro Higashimitarai.” Everybody else said.

“Still a mouthful.” Tsurugi and Agumon laughed.

=+=

Tsurugi and Agumon lay down in some nice beds. They were mostly made out of leaves, but after sleeping in the rigid sleeping bags given to them by the game for several days, they couldn’t complain.

“Really nice of Kiyoshiro to give us a place to sleep for the night.” Tsurugi stretched.

“Yeah! Tamertopia is a nice place!” Agumon replied.

“Yeah…but there are so many Tamers here. And it really doesn’t look like anyone here wants to fight Daemon.” Tsurugi furrowed his eyebrows. “I wonder how many Tamers are actually trying to complete the game? As nice as this place is, they’re doing basically nothing to fix things.”

“Well, they gave us beds. And we’re trying to stop Daemon. So, they’re technically helping.” Agumon argued.

“I guess. We’ll just have to hope that we run into someone else who wants to kick Daemon’s butt. Who knows if we can do it on our own?” Tsurugi rubbed his eyes.

“No matter who we meet, boss, I’ll protect you!” Agumon reassured him.

“Thanks, Agumon.” Tsurugi chuckled. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ll continue our way to Majiramon tomorrow.”

The two gave each other goodnight wishes. They both quickly fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Takato and Guilmon set up for the night. Both of them heading towards Majiramon.

To be continued. 3287 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: The Great Quarry! Tamer To The Rescue!

Takato and Guilmon traveled across a large area with nothing but dirt and rocks. They were still traveling towards their next target, Majiramon.

“I still can’t believe we got this tag.” Takato looked at his V-Tamer Tag. “Now, Majiramon’s gonna go down next!”

“Yeah!” Guilmon cheered. “...Can I have some-”

“Let’s take a break and eat, Guilmon.” Takato sighed.

They both found some rocks to sit on. Takato summoned food for both of them.

“Still no other Tamers. Nice that we haven’t had to fight anyone, but it also means that we haven’t made any friends.” Takato grumbled.

“Maybe we should find that orange-haired girl.” Guilmon suggested between chewing. “She might be a friend.”

“Rika? Probably not.” Takato shook his head.

“Why not? She only attacked us. A lot of other Digimon have done that!” Guilmon pointed out.

“She ordered a Digimon to attack us. She didn’t do it to defend herself, she did it just because she dislikes us!” Takato argued.

“But maybe we can make her our friend!” Guilmon suggested.

“Maybe I can get a fireball punched into my face.” Takato grumbled.

“Help…” Takato and Guilmon jumped in surprise. “My friends…”

“Who is that?” Takato asked as Guilmon sniffed around the air.

Guilmon got up from his food and walked around. He found a small orange ball covered in dirt.

“Hello? Are you an orange?” Guilmon sniffed it.

“What is that, Guilmon?” Takato ran over. He lifted it up and brushed the dirt off of it. “This…this is a Tsunomon!” He gasped as he laid his eyes onto its chipped horn.

“My friends…need help…” Tsunomon mumbled.

“Hold on, Tsunomon. You’re in bad shape. Let’s heal you up first.” Takato brought him back to their resting area.

=+=

Tsunomon and Guilmon ate some food. Takato watched them.

“Are you feeling better now, Tsunomon?” Takato summoned some more chow for them.

Tsunomon swallowed some food. “Yeah! Thanks. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten so well.” He let out a breath of delight.

“Speaking of which, what happened to you?” Takato raised an eyebrow.

“Oh…” Tsunomon frowned. “My friends and I live in this place. We love digging in the dirt, but recently, some robotic Digimon found us. They forced us to work at their quarry.”

“A quarry? What are you guys trying to dig up?” Takato got up.

“Uh…” Tsunomon squinted in thought. “I don’t know, actually. We never found anything. Just some rocks that looked kinda shiny, but not really valuable.”

“Huh…whoever captured you guys is up to something.” Takato looked off to the side.

“And they sound really mean.” Guilmon growled.

“They are mean! I only managed to escape because they were too busy beating my friends…” Tsunomon sniffled. 

“What?! We can’t let them do that!” Takato clenched his fists. “Where’s the quarry, Tsunomon? We’ll save your friends!”

“Oh, thank you!” Tsunomon smiled. “I’ll lead you guys there!”

“Come on, Guilmon! Let’s help Tsunomon and his friends escape!” Takato nodded.

“Okay, Takatomon! I want to help Tsunomon too!” Guilmon walked over to him.

Takato, Guilmon, and Tsunomon walked further into the wasteland.

=+=

Tadashi and Izzy continued to work. Still, they had zero breakthroughs to speak of.

“Any plans for the weekend?” Tadashi inquired.

“Sora and I were going to take our kid out for a nice dinner…you know, I’m surprised by how respectful our daughter is.” Izzy answered. 

“Well, she’s your and Sora’s kid, so I don’t think it’s that surprising.” Tadashi coughed.

Izzy narrowed his eyes at Tadashi. “What do you mean by that?”

“I’m just saying that both you and Sora are-” Tadashi glanced at the progression screen on Izzy’s computer, “-HOLY CRAP! Someone got a second tag!” He pointed at the screen.

“Huh?” Izzy turned back to his screen. He looked at the top of the progression screen, finding someone now had two tags. “Hey! You’re right! Someone really did it!”

“What’s their name?” Tadashi leaned closer to the screen. 

“Ryouma Mogami…but look at this! Two people got Majiramon’s tag at the exact same time!” Izzy pointed at two other names.

“Ren Tobari and Airu Suzaki. Looks like the three of them teamed up…” Sigma surmised. “I’ve heard of those three before, why?”

“Let me check their history real quick.” Izzy brought up another screen. He tapped around for a few seconds before leaning back. “There you go.”

“Tamer history. Ren’s tricked and scammed several different Tamers before. Airu has cheated on several occasions and lied to people to get them to surrender before fights…often using her ‘effeminate charms’...” Tadashi sighed. “And Ryouma, despite being one of the best Champion-Tamers, has a long history of being a jerk. More than that, all three of them have gotten in trouble for being very aggressive towards other Tamers outside of Net Battle sanctioned fights.”

“Indeed. It’s only natural that those three would team up.” Izzy figured. “Well, they have a bad history, but they also have 2 Tamer Tags.”

“I guess good luck to them then.” Tadashi shrugged.

“...Anyways, what were you saying about Sora and I?” Izzy asked again.

“It’s nothing bad! Don’t worry about it!” Tadashi threw his hands up.

“I want to know what you were going to say!” Izzy pointed at him accusingly.

=+=

Takato, Guilmon, and their new friend, Tsunomon, all snuck up on a quarry. Hagurumon waited around the edges of it as guards.

“Hagurumon. I doubt they’re the biggest threat here.” Takato whispered.

“Should I get rid of them?” Guilmon narrowed his eyes at the Hagurumon.

“No. There’s too many Digimon for us to handle alone.” Takato let out a noise of thought. “We should free the other Digimon first. After that, we should probably try to escape without alerting anyone.”

“Sorry, Takato, but there’s way too many Digimon in that quarry for us to get away unseen. We either fight our way in or out, or we just can’t rescue everyone.” Tsunomon informed him.

“Aw dang.” Takato rubbed his goggles. “What would Taichi do here?”

Takato, Guilmon, and Tsunomon thought for a few seconds. From their vantage point, Tsunomon could see some of his friends being dragged through the quarry

“I have an idea!” Tsunomon jumped up.

“Yeah?” Takato and Guilmon looked at him.

“How about we…” Tsunomon began to whisper to them.

Slowly, sly grins appeared on all three of their faces.

=+=

A Kenkimon marched over to a group of Hagurumon. “Tsunomon is missing! Did any of you see him?”

“No. We didn’t know anyone got out!” One Hagurumon answered.

Kenkimon let out an annoyed noise. “Don’t bother looking for him. One of you fill in for Tsunomon!” He ordered.

“Okay, boss.” A Hagurumon sighed.

“Hold on.” Everybody looked forward.

Tsunomon, Takato, and Guilmon stood in front of them. Several Hagurumon stood in a circle around them.

“What is the meaning of this? Who are these intruders and where did they find Tsunomon?” Kenkimon pointed at Takato.

“I tried to escape, but I couldn’t get far. I know now that it’s better to stay here and work. At least I’m getting food.” Tsunomon sighed.

“And who are these two?” Kenkimon asked.

Takato tapped his foot on the floor angrily. “Tsunomon told us that he wanted to help his friends escape, but he apparently only wanted us to come here to get captured!” He explained angrily.

“Tsunomon lied!” Guilmon complained.

“Heh. Alright, bring these three in.” Kenkimon ordered. The Hagurumon began to shove the three new workers.

The Hagurumon led the group all the way down the quarry. Takato tallied up how many Digimon were being held captive in his head.

“With help from all of the captured Digimon, we should be able to beat Kenkimon and his goons…” Takato gulped. “But I’m not sure how good at fighting these Digimon are. And they might be tired at this point.”

“You three. Go and mine that area over there. Go, go!” Hagurumon shooed them away.

“Alright, alright.” Takato grumbled. “Hold on, I don’t have anything to mine the rocks with!” He pointed out.

“Use your hands! That’s how everyone else does it.” Hagurumon floated off.

Takato drooped as he and the others walked to a part of the quarry. Tsunomon rubbed his fin against the rock wall to cut it open.

“This is kinda fun!” Guilmon plowed his claws into the wall, tearing it open with each blow.

“I’d disagree.” Takato tried to scratch the rock wall, only hurting his hands.

“Well, we managed to get in. How do we save everyone?” Tsunomon whispered.

“Uh…” Takato blinked a few times. “If I shouted ‘RIOT’, do you think your friends would attack the guards?”

“I don’t think so. A lot of us are really scared.” Tsunomon admitted.

“Hmm…” Takato closed his eyes in thought. “Well, I know where to start at least.” He raised his device.

Secretly, Takato aimed his device at all of the Digimon nearby. Small lasers shot out, immediately filling up the Digimon with food.

The imprisoned Digimon looked confused, but they certainly had no issue with being fed.

“Good. Everyone should be full now.” Takato smiled. “Now we just need a plan to get out of here with all of them…”

“Takatomon, I have an idea!” Guilmon said loudly.

“Hey! Focus on working over here!” Kenkimon drove over.

“Guilmon, shh.” Takato held a finger up to his mouth.

“But Takatomon, I have a plan!” Guilmon turned to Kenkimon.

“What do you want, dinosaur?” Kenkimon swung his shovel arm at him confrontationally.

“Please don’t do something we’ll regret.” Takato frowned.

“Pyro Sphere!” Guilmon popped a fireball straight into Kenkimon. 

“What the hell-” Kenkimon was pushed over by the surprise attack.

“Ah! Guilmon! What was that for?!” Takato grabbed the sides of his head.

“What was your plan?!” Tsunomon stared at Kenkimon with wide eyes.

“Attack Kenkimon, then escape.” Guilmon shrugged.

“But how are we going to get out with this many guards nearby?!” Takato grimaced.

“Kenkimon!” A bunch of Hagurumon floated over to him.

“Kill that dinosaur, the Tamer, and Tsunomon!” Kenkimon ordered while struggling to stand. Some Hagurumon tried to help him up while the others rushed at Guilmon.

“I guess we don’t have a choice now.” Takato furrowed his eyebrows. “We’ll fight out way our…I mean, we’ll fight our way out!” He shook his head. “I think I’m trying too hard to sound cool…”

“Rock Breaker!” Guilmon socked each Hagurumon in the face as they came at him. He spiked another one into the ground. “Come on! Who else wants to fight?” He looked around at the captured Digimon.

A Prariemon stepped forward. “Are those two insane? There’s too many guards for them to overpower alone…” The other Digimon around him murmured in agreement.

Kenkimon finally got back up. He growled at Guilmon before rushing at him. “I’ll flatten you!”

“Guilmon! Digivolve!” Takato punched the air.

“Alright, Takatomon!” Guilmon began to grow.

Kenkimon crashed straight into him, but was held back by Growlmon as he appeared. The two pushed against each other.

“Boulder Bash!” Growlmon pushed Kenkimon back before punching him straight in the chest, sending Kenkimon flying.

“Nice one, Growlmon!” Takato cheered.

“Yeah, yeah!” Tsunomon hopped happily. A bunch of Hagurumon flew at him.

“Tsunomon, watch out!” Some of his pals called out.

“Huh?” Tsunomon jumped as the Hagurumon grinned at him.

“Cog Crusher!” They all raised their gear hands.

“Don’t hurt him!” Priariemon ran in. He struck one Hagurumon into the others, toppling all of them.

“Prairiemon! Thank you!” Tsunomon let out a breath of relief.

“Enough working for these robots!” Prairiemon declared. “We dig for fun! Not to benefit these villains! If we don’t fight now, we may never get our freedom! So let’s FIGHT!”

The other Digimon exchanged glances. They all nodded at each other reassuringly.

“Fight for our freedom!” The Digimon rushed at their Hagurumon captors. The Hagurumon gasped as they were trampled by the horde of angry Digimon.

“No! No! Things are falling apart!” Kenkimon whined. Growlmon punched him again.

“Take him down, Growlmon! He won’t get away with capturing these innocent Digimon!” Takato pointed at Kenkimon.

“Our plans won’t be stopped by you!” Kenkimon regained his footing. “Hyper Bulldozer!” He swung his shovel arm at Growlmon.

Growlmon blocked it with one arm. “Owie…” Flames boiled in his mouth. “Exhaust Flame!” He shot a gigantic fireball into Kenkimon.

Kenkimon was blown back once more, landing on a pile of boxes. One of the boxes popped open, revealing dynamite.

“H-Hold on.” Kenkimon held his hands up. “I promise I’ll give the workers…one hour off from now on!”

“Will you give them proper treatment?” Takato crossed his arms.

“Of course not!” Kenkimon spouted. “...I don’t think that was the right answer.”

“Everybody, get away from Kenkimon! Use Exhaust Flame one more time, Growlmon!” Takato ordered.

“Yeah!” Growlmon shot some more flames, lighting several sticks of dynamite. 

“Aw man…” Kenkimon sighed.

Several explosions went off. Everybody saw Kenkimon’s head fly out from the explosions and into the air.

“Ah! Sorry! Sorry! We’ll leave!” The Hagurumon all fled away. The previously captured Digimon cheered.

“Huh. Good job, Growlmon! I didn’t think going into this so wildly would work, but I can’t argue with the results.” Takato watched as Kenkimon’s head fell back onto the floor.

The smoke around Kenkimon slowly went away, revealing that the ground had been torn apart. Interestingly, a large golden platform rested in the ground.

“What is that?” Takato walked over to it. Meanwhile, the other Digimon surrounded Growlmon and Tsunomon while shouting their thanks.

Takato inspected the golden platform. He dug around it for a second, finding that there was actually something under it.

“Is this what they were trying to find? Or…were they building something out of what they found?” Takato rubbed his chin.

“You…figured it…out…” Kenkimon’s head hopped onto the platform. “But you were too late, Tamer!”

“Kenkimon! You’re still alive?!” Takato jumped.

“Yes! And now, I shall reveal my glorious creation!” Kenkimon was accepted into the platform, or whatever it was at this point-Takato had no clue.

The ground began to shake. Takato quickly ran back to Growlmon’s side as every Digimon was alerted to Kenkimon’s actions.

A huge figure began to grow out from the ground. Its four legs slowly popped out, finding unsteady footing in the canyon.

Before long, the gigantic creature was looking down at Takato and the others.

“B-Bulbmon! You guys were building a Bulbmon!” Takato realized. “And those ‘shiny rocks’ you found were pieces of Chrome Digizoid!”

“Yes!” Bulbmon roared with Kenkimon’s voice. “We created a Bulbmon! Now, with its strength, I’ll destroy you!”

“W-What should we do?” Prairiemon asked Takato.

“Let me check…” Takato pointed at Bulbmon.

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon shot a fireball at it. The fireball dissipated on Bulbmon’s hard armor.

“So that won’t work.” Takato nodded. “Running might be a good idea!” He suggested.

“Nuh uh! No one’s running!” Bulbmon raised one of his huge legs.

“And I think running right now would be a really good idea!” Takato picked up Tsunomon and quickly bailed. The other Digimon ran away from Bulbmon’s leg before it fell onto the floor, leaving a large imprint.

“Takato! How do we stop it?” Growlmon asked while holding several Digimon.

Takato looked at its huge figure. “Now! What would Taichi do…”

“Megas sure do have a high destructive power…But that doesn’t mean anything if he can’t hit us!” Tai thought as Ghoulmon chased him and AeroVeedramon.

“Aha!” Takato snapped his fingers. “This thing’s way too big! And the bigger they are, the harder they fall!”

“Huh?” Growlmon blinked.

“Prairiemon, you and your friends get more of the dynamite. Growlmon and I will distract Bulbmon.” Takato explained. “Once he tries to scale the quarry, use the explosives to tip him over!”

“Alright, Tamer!” Prairiemon nodded. He and the others quickly ran off.

“Come on, Growlmon! We need to give them as much time as we can!” Takato and Growlmon ran towards the winding stone walkway that led out of the quarry.

“You two will die first!” Bulbmon’s eyes lit up. “Valve Extreme!” He fired two beams at them.

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon shot a fireball at the beams, causing an explosion in between him and Bulbmon.

“Why do you make things so difficult?!” Bulbmon huffed.

“Na na na na na na!” Takato waved his hands at Bulbmon. “Wanna try again, lightbulb?” He stuck his tongue out at him.

“Oh! Get back here!” Bulbmon lifted one foot onto the walkway.

Takato looked down at Prairiemon, seeing that he and the others were still working. “Come on, Bulbmon! You won’t catch me if you don’t move quicker!” He kept moving towards the surface.

“I’ve never seen two people so excited to die!” Bulbmon placed another foot onto the walkway to get to them.

“You’re too slow!” Growlmon teased.

“Speed up! I might fall asleep here, and I doubt you’d catch up by the time I woke up.” Takato rolled his eyes.

“Oh! You’re going down! I swear!” Bulbmon lifted a third foot onto the walkway.

“NOW!” Prairiemon shouted. Takato and Growlmon stopped moving.

“Who just talked?” Bulbmon’s head swiveled around to find Prairiemon standing next to his last foot. Dynamite surrounded it.

“Bye, Bulbmon.” Prairiemon caused a tiny spark, lighting up one of the dynamite sticks. “Come on!” He and the other Digimon fled.

“AH! No! No, wait hold on! Not again, not again!” Bulbmon cried.

The dynamite went off, quickly burying Bulbmon’s foot. The entire body fell over slowly.

Everybody whistled as Bulbmon slammed into the ground. Several Digimon were pushed over, leaving only Takato and Growlmon to stare at Bulbmon.

He flailed for a second before realizing that he couldn’t get up. “Um…” Bulbmon sighed. “Could someone help me up?”

Prairiemon walked over to the gold hat on Bulbmon’s head. He opened up the area Kenkimon was hiding in.

“Get over here.” Prairiemon pulled Kenkimon’s head out of Bulbmon. He dropped it in between everybody.

Takato and Growlmon walked over. “So now what?” Takato asked.

“Let me go! Bulbmon is my creation! I will destroy all of you!” Kenkimon threatened.

Takato rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. “Kenkimon, I think apologizing is the best way of getting out of this-”

Takato was cut off by the formerly captured Digimon all jumping at Kenkimon’s head at the same time. They heard screams from Kenkimon before he fell quiet.

“Alright.” Prairiemon and the others turned to Takato. “Thank you, Tamer! We’re only free now because you helped!”

Takato had a look of horror on his face. “U-Uh…yeah.” He took a step back. “No worries.”

“I don’t know what we’ll do with this thing, but keeping it together is definitely not an idea worth exploring.” Prairiemon tapped Bulbmon’s head.

“So much hard work just for Kenkimon.” Tsunomon grumbled. “At least it's over now.”

“All because you got to us in the first place, Tsunomon.” Takato bent down to him. “Good job!”

The others gave Tsunomon their praise.

“Aww, stop. You’ll make me blush.” Tsunomon laughed.

=+=

Takato and Guilmon waved bye to their new friends.

“Stay safe out there!” Tsunomon shouted.

“Back to you guys!” Takato two finger saluted them.

“I like them.” Guilmon commented.

“I do too, Guilmon.” Takato looked forward. “That’s why we have to defeat Daemon! To save all of the good Digimon in the Digital World!...And to go home too.”

“I’ll be with you until then, Takatomon!” Guilmon smiled.

“Thanks, Guilmon! Come on, let’s go beat Majiramon and get our second tag!” Takato rubbed his hands together.

“Yeah!” Guilmon X cheered.

Meanwhile, Tsurugi and Agumon set off on their trip to Majiramon.

To be continued. 3259 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: Tamers Cross Paths! Matsuki And Tatsuno!

Tai walked around the city. He wasn’t doing anything urgent, but something was biting at his thoughts.

“Those were my goggles. They had to be!” Tai closed his eyes. “And that kid…I didn’t get a good look at his face or clothing because of everyone around him, but just thinking about him…”

Tai clenched his fists.

“Gives me a bad feeling…I need to stop thinking about it.” Tai sighed. He waited for a few seconds before pulling out his phone. He called someone and lifted his phone to his ear.

“Yo, Tai! Did you need something?” Davis asked on the other side.

“Davis. Where are my goggles?” Tai inquired.

“Your goggles? Uh…let me think…” Davis fell quiet for a few seconds. “I gave them to my daughter, but I don’t know where she put them. Why?”

“I need to know if you still have them. I swear on Zero’s name, I saw someone with my goggles!” Tai explained.

“What the heck…well, alright Taichi! I’ll look for them right away!” Davis told him.

“Thanks, Davis. No rush, pal.” Tai hung up. “I hope he finds them. Because I don’t want to think about the alternative.”

=+=

Both Takato and Tsurugi traveled towards Majiramon. It had been a day since Takato met Tsunomon and his friends, and two days since Tsurugi had met Kiyoshiro at Tamertopia.

They were both traveling towards Majiramon’s base-‘Thunder Mountain’-and would be there soon enough.

“Majiramon…an Ultimate dragon Digimon. Though he’s normally a righteous Vaccine Digimon, Daemon’s influence turned him into a powerful servant of darkness…” Takato crossed his arms. “That’s how the game manual describes him, anyways.”

“Wow. He sounds dangerous.” Guilmon tapped his chin.

“He is. After beating Kyukimon, Majiramon’s gonna be stronger. We need to be careful.” Takato furrowed his eyebrows. “Honestly, with only a Champion, I don’t know if we can beat him. Having a friend would be really useful.”

“I’m sorry I’m not an Ultimate Digimon, Takatomon.” Guilmon frowned.

“It’s not your fault. I didn’t participate in enough battles before now.” Takato sighed. “But I never expected to get stuck in a video game world either…”

“We’ll make it out, Takatomon!” Guilmon reassured him.

“Right.” Takato smiled. “Though, rushing headfirst at a powerful Ultimate Digimon might make that goal a little harder than it should be.”

=+=

Tsurugi and Agumon sat down in a peaceful field. They had been walking for a long while, so a quick bite was in order.

“Here you go, Agumon.” Tsurugi summoned some food for themselves.

“Thanks, boss!” Agumon chowed down on his lunch.

“I think we’ll reach Thunder Mountain in a day or so. Man, this world being so big would be cooler if we didn’t have to travel across it in real time!” Tsurugi whined.

“You’ll appreciate the things you have at home more once you get back.” Agumon argued.

“Maybe. But I’m afraid that when we get back, my parents are gonna sue Digimon.Inc’s socks off.” Tsurugi rubbed his head. “And I’m sure a lot of parents are gonna do the same if they aren’t already.”

“Sue? What’s a sue?” Agumon tilted his head.

“Nevermind, Agumon. That’s something to think about later.” Tsurugi crossed his arms. “What we should be thinking about is defeating Majiramon.”

“Oh yeah. He’s gonna be tough, huh boss?” Agumon punched his nails together.

“Very. But I’m sure we can beat him with some… really good planning.” Tsurugi ruffled his hair. “Some Taichi level strategizing. Anything less than that and we’ll be screwed.”

“I guess having a partner would probably help.” Agumon pointed out.

“Yeah, but no one in Tamertopia wanted to help!” Tsurugi groaned. “I don’t want to call them cowards, but there has to be one other Tamer out there who wants to help!”

“We’ll find them soon enough, boss. But we should probably focus on beating Majiramon for now.” Agumon suggested.

“Right! Let’s get to planning!” Tsurugi clapped his hands together.

The two stared at each other.

“Once we’re done eating!” They both declared.

=+=

Takato and Guilmon ended up in a nice field of grass.

“Can we have a break, Takatomon? I’m hungry.” Guilmon rubbed his belly.

“Yeah, sure. This place looks peaceful enough.” Takato surveyed the area. “I guess I should check from a hill. I could see more then.” 

Takato and Guilmon walked onto a small hill. Guilmon sniffed the air.

His eyes contracted. “There’s a Digimon nearby.” Guilmon snarled.

“Really? Which way?” Takato whispered.

Guilmon slowly walked towards the Digimon. Takato followed him.

The two snuck over another hill. They looked towards the bottom of it, Takato having to stifle a gasp.

At the bottom of the hill were a Tamer and his Agumon.

Takato’s eyes grew wide. “A-A Tamer!” He covered his mouth.

“What should we do, Takato?” Guilmon whispered.

Takato watched the Tamer and his Agumon speak to each other. The Tamer raised up something in his hand proudly.

“T-That’s a V-Tamer Tag!” Takato squinted at it. “G-Guilmon. Get ready to attack if you need to, but don’t do anything unless I say you can, alright?”

“Alright, Takatomon.” Guilmon nodded.

Takato and Guilmon stood straight up on the hill. Takato cleared his throat.

“Hey fellow Tamer!” Takato waved.

The Tamer and his Agumon tensed up. They both turned around, already in defensive stances.

“Hi. What did you want?” The Tamer and his Agumon narrowed their eyes at Takato.

“W-Woah, hold on-we don’t want to fight!” Takato held his hands up.

He and the Tamer stared at each other for a few seconds. Takato’s eyes jumped.

“H-Holy crap! I know you! Y-You’re Tsurugi Tatsuno!” Takato gasped.

“Huh?!” Tsurugi jumped. “You know my name? Have we met before…Tamer with the Guilmon X-woah! Hey, I know you too! You’re Takato Matsuki, right?” He pointed at Takato.

They both blinked at each other for a second. “How do you know me?” They both asked.

“Well, of course I know you!” Takato smiled harmlessly. “You’re Tsurugi Tatsuno-one of the top three Champion-level Tamers in Odaiba! You’re awesome, man!”

“Aw, you’ll make me blush.” Tsurugi grinned smugly. “Anyways, of course I know you! You’re the guy who won that big Digimon trivia game and got Guilmon X! Man, you beat Rika Nonaka-Digimon Queen!” 

“Y-Yeah. For all the good that’s done me.” Takato grumbled. “At least I won a new Digimon! Right, Guilmon?” He turned to his partner.

Guilmon snarled at Tsurugi. Takato looked at him with a surprised face.

“Is something wrong, Guilmon?” Takato held his hands out.

“B-Boss.” Agumon growled. “This Digimon is threatening us, boss!”

“Calm down, Agumon. Takato didn’t come here to fight us, right?” Tsurugi raised an eyebrow.

“Of course not! I’d lose if I fought you, anyways.” Takato shrugged. “Come on, Guilmon. Calm down.”

“I don’t like him!” Guilmon ran past Takato.

“Hey, Guilmon! Get back here!” Takato ordered.

“You won’t hurt the boss, you jerk!” Agumon ran at Guilmon.

“Agumon! Stop!” Tsurugi tried to catch him.

Guilmon and Agumon punched each other straight in the face, both of them stumbling back. They growled at each other before Guilmon lunged at Agumon.

The two rolled around the ground. Takato and Tsurugi stuttered a few times.

“G-Guilmon! Stop!” Takato shouted.

“Come on, Agumon! Quit it!” Tsurugi yelled.

Agumon kicked Guilmon off. “Pepper Breath!”

“Pyro Sphere!” Guilmon countered. The two fireballs collided in the middle.

Guilmon quickly ran in and slammed into Agumon. Agumon rolled onto the ground before Guilmon punched him again.

Agumon landed on his feet. He swept Guilmon off his feet and popped a fireball into Guilmon’s chest.

Guilmon hopped back up. The two slammed into each other.

“Guilmon/Agumon!” Takato and Tsurugi grabbed their partners and pulled them back.

“Let me go!” Guilmon and Agumon demanded.

“LISTEN TO ME!” Takato and Tsurugi screamed.

Guilmon and Agumon’s eyes calmed down. They both stopped squirming in their Tamer’s grip.

“Sorry, Takatomon.” Guilmon frowned.

“I don’t know what came over me, boss.” Agumon rubbed his head.

“I know you get a little heated when you fight, but that was something else.” Takato rubbed Guilmon’s head.

“Yeah, Agumon. Could you even hear me during your scuffle?” Tsurugi patted his partner on the shoulder.

Agumon and Guilmon thought for a few seconds. “No?” They both answered.

“Huh?” Tsurugi and Takato’s eyes jumped.

“I don’t know why I attacked him, boss. When I saw Takato, I just got really angry. I wanted to attack him for some reason.” Agumon revealed.

“Uh huh. Tsurugimon made me really mad, but I don’t know why." Guilmon tilted his head. “I don’t dislike Tsurugimon.”

“I’m not a Digimon.” Tsurugi coughed.

“You know, the same thing happened with Centarumon. He just got really angry for no reason.” Takato remembered.

“H-Hey, wait. A Baromon I ran into felt the same when he saw me.” Tsurugi brought up.

The two sat around thinking. “Weird…” Takato mumbled.

“Anyways! With our fight out of the way, it’s great to meet you, Takato!” Tsurugi put his hand out.

“Ditto, Tsurugi.” Takato shook his hand.

“Now that I think about it, where are you headed?” Tsurugi inquired somewhat hopefully.

“Huh? Thunder Mountain. I planned on fighting Majiramon for his tag.” Takato answered.

“Really?! I was going there too!” Tsurugi smiled widely.

“Oh yeah! I saw that you had a tag earlier. Which Ultimate did you beat?” Takato fished around his pockets for a second.

“I beat SkullScorpionmon. That wasn’t easy, but Agumon and I showed him who’s boss.” Tsurugi raised his tag.

“Yeah. I beat Kyukimon. Definitely not easy, but Guilmon and I squeaked out a victory.” Takato showed his tag.

“Nice!” Tsurugi put his tag away. “...Wait a minute! That voice said a while back that we can make teams, right? And if we joined together, we wouldn’t have to waste time getting the other’s tag!”

“A-Are you saying you want to team up?” Takato’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah, man! Together, we can take down Majiramon, CannonBeemon, and MasterTyrannomon! And we won’t need to defeat the ones we already have together!” Tsurugi clapped his hands together.

“Alright! That sounds great!” Takato cheered.

“Yeah! It’s about time I make a friend in this world!” Tsurugi and Takato gave each other a fist bump.

“I’m Guilmon X.” Guilmon walked over to Agumon.

“And I’m Agumon twenty-o-six! Sorry for attacking ya, and it’s great to meet ya!” Agumon and Guilmon gave each other a casual handshake.

“Well, let’s go straight for Thunder Mountain!” Tsurugi pointed forward triumphantly.

“Wait…I thought Thunder Mountain was that way?” Takato pointed in a different direction.

“Huh? No way! It was in this direction!” Tsurugi stretched his hand further out.

“Hold on…” Takato tapped his Digivice for a second. He summoned a manual. “Here we go! This thing should have the location of each Ultimate guardian marked.”

“I’m telling you, I’m right!” Tsurugi tapped his foot on the floor impatiently as Takato read the manual. “Fine! I’ll read the manual too!” He quickly summoned his own.

Both of them read over the text in the manual. They looked all over, but nothing was particularly helpful.

“Aha! The map!” Takato found a certain page. Tsurugi looked over Takato’s shoulder before flipping to the same page.

“Man, this thing is too full! I can’t find Majiramon’s place!” Tsurugi complained.

“Yeah…where is it?” Takato squinted.

Guilmon and Agumon watched. They thought they saw something moving through the grass in the field.

“Takatomon?” Guilmon spoke up.

“Hey, boss? I think there’s something in the grass.” Agumon waved at him.

“I’m gonna find it first!” Takato said determinedly.

“No way!” Tsurugi shot back.

Just as Takato and Tsurugi thought they saw Majiramon’s name on the map, two black flowers with red petals popped out of the ground.

They snatched the manuals out of the Tamer’s hand and ripped them apart with their razor sharp teeth.

“What the heck was that for?!” Takato and Tsurugi flailed at them.

The flowers wrapped around their legs in response. Takato and Tsurugi were hoisted into the air.

“Takatomon/Boss!” Guilmon and Agumon growled. “Drop him!” They ordered.

“Not happening.” Something emerged from the grass.

It was a large plant with purple petals. Its body was made out of stems with thorns all over. The smaller flowers were directly connected to its body.

“Blossomon!” Takato and Tsurugi identified.

“I didn’t expect to run into such interesting prey in this field of mine.” Blossomon snickered devilishly. “I’ll enjoy eating you two. And don’t worry, your Digimon will come soon after.”

“Pepper Breath! Pyro Sphere!” The two Digimon popped fireballs at Blossomon. He used Takato and Tsurugi to block the attacks.

“Ow!” They both cried. “Ow ow ow ow ow!” They squirmed in Blossomon’s grip.

“Sorry!” The two Digimon shouted.

“If you want to cook your Tamers for me, then be my guest! Otherwise, die!” Blossomon shot his other appendages at the two Digimon.

“Guilmon!” Takato called out.

“Agumon!” Tsurugi shouted.

“Digivolve!” They both ordered.

Guilmon and Agumon began to grow right in front of their eyes. They both let out loud roars as the light of evolution peeled away from them.

“Growlmon!” Growlmon rushed at Blossomon. He sliced apart the roots coming towards him.

“Greymon!” Greymon joined him. He bit down on the roots and ripped them to shreds.

“Hopeless geckos! Leaf Darts!” Blossomon shot a wave of needles at them.

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon burned them out of the air.

“Let them go!” Greymon moved to ram into Blossomon. Blossomon, again, used Takato and Tsurugi to block. Greymon stopped his attack before hitting them. “Dammit! Sorry, boss! What should I do?!”

“Uh…” Tsurugi furrowed his eyebrows. “Hard to think when blood’s rushing to your head.”

“Takato! I need help!” Growlmon and Greymon ran around as needles nipped at them.

“I’m trying to think! Just hang in there!” Takato replied. “Not literally though. It’s not a very fun experience.” 

“I’ll kill all of you!” Blossomon cackled.

Tsurugi and Takato looked at each other. They saw themselves in each other’s goggles.

“What would Taichi do?!” They asked themselves.

“Why are his arms so long?!” Greymon whined before getting tripped by one.

Takato and Tsurugi’s eyes lit up. “Cyclonemon!” They said to each other. “And the Hospitown defenders!”

“Greymon!” Tsurugi caught his attention as he stood up. Tsurugi directed Greymon behind Blossomon subtly.

“Growlmon!” Takato waved at him. He beckoned him.

Growlmon and Greymon exchanged glances. They nodded at each other.

Zero ~Hajimari no Basho~ by Ayumi Miyazaki

“I’ll save you, Takato!” Growlmon rushed at Blossomon again.

“You’ll die trying!” Blossomon lifted a few of his arms. “Spiral Flower!” He threw the tops of his arms at him like shurikens.

“Boulder Bash!” Growlmon punched each one out of the air.

“Hehehe! Keep blocking, Growlmon! You’ll only exhaust yourself!” Blossomon threw more and more shuriken flowers at him.

“We’ll save Takato and Tsurugi!” Growlmon grunted as some flowers landed in his thick skin.

“No you won’t! You’ll die here! You and…Grey…mon?” Blossomon looked around his field of view. “Where did Greymon go-”

“Mega Flame!” Greymon spewed flames into Blossomon’s back.

“AH! When did you get behind me?!” Blossomon screeched. He accidentally dropped Tsurugi and Takato, who both quickly bailed.

“Alright, Greymon! Good job, pal!” Tsurugi cheered.

“You too, Growlmon!” Takato nodded at his partner.

Blossomon shook the flames off himself. He stared down the two Tamers and their Digimon.

Takato and Tsurugi pointed forward. “Take him down!”

“Alright!” Greymon and Growlmon rushed at Blossomon once again.

“Boulder Bash!” Growlmon raised his claws.

“Get away from me! Leaf Darts!” Blossomon shot more darts at him. Growlmon tanked each one before ending up right in front of Blossomon.

Growlmon punched Blossomon dead in the face over and over again. He thrusted his fist straight into Blossomon’s face, making the large flower stumble back.

“Finish this, Greymon!” Tsurugi clapped.

“Horn Strike!” Greymon plowed into Blossomon horn-first with all his weight.

“N-No!” Blossomon was thrown onto his back.

“Don’t lay a hand on our Tamers, flower!” Greymon advised.

“Because we’ll beat anyone who does!” Growlmon snarled.

Blossomon fizzled for a few seconds before bursting into data.

OST end…

“Yeah!” Takato, Tsurugi, Growlmon, and Greymon celebrated.

=+=

Agumon and Guilmon chowed down on some food. They both reached for a large piece of meat.

“Hey! Tsurugi gave me that!” Agumon tried to take it.

“Nuh uh! That’s Takatomon’s!” Guilmon pulled it away from Agumon.

“Give me that back!” Agumon and Guilmon entered a scuffle. Tsurugi and Takato watched.

Takato sighed. “Well, without the booklet, I’m not sure of where Majiramon is.”

“I swear he’s that way, but if I’m wrong, then we will waste a lot of time.” Tsurugi grumbled.

“Maybe we should just ask someone for help then? It would save us time as long as they’re close enough.” Takato proposed.

“Have anyone in mind?” Tsurugi inquired.

“I met a Piximon a while back. He’s close to the town we started at, which I think is a day away from here.” Takato pointed towards the starting town. “He’ll definitely know where Majiramon is.”

“Sounds good. If that doesn’t work out, I got some friends in this big Tamer town who might want to help.” Tsurugi nodded.

“Tamer friends?” Takato blinked a few times. “Huh. Well, let’s go to Piximon’s place!” Takato rubbed his hands together.

“Together!” Tsurugi punched the air.

Agumon and Guilmon rolled by.

“Yeah…Together.” Takato and Tsurugi sighed.

=+=

Tai sat at home watching the tv. He had been waiting for Davis to call back for too long now.

His phone finally rang and he picked it up. “Davis?” Tai quickly answered.

“Yo, Tai! I found out where your goggles are!” Davis informed him.

“Really? Who had them?” Tai leaned forward in his seat.

“Well, apparently my daughter handed them to Tk’s kid, and then Tk’s kid gave them to Cody’s kid, and then Cody’s kid gave them to my daughter, and then she accidentally dropped them under her bed!” Davis explained.

“S-So, you have them, right?” Tai asked worriedly.

“Yeah! They’re fine. Why?” Davis wondered.

“I don’t know. Just thinking about them was giving me a headache. Guess I just wanted to make sure they were okay.” Tai sighed. “Thanks for the help, Davis.”

“Anything you need, Taichi! G'night!” Davis replied.

“Goodnight, Davis. See ya.” Taichi hung up. He leaned back in his seat. “I need to find that kid again…or maybe I’m just being paranoid…”

Tai looked over to a picture frame. It was a picture of all of the Digidestined kids that had been taken dozens of years ago.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve faced a threat…” Tai furrowed his eyebrows. “But that changes nothing. If anyone wants to hurt my friends and I, then I’ll come after them.”

Tai returned to watching the tv, his face in an angry scowl.

His daughter had overheard everything from another room.

To be continued. 3127 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: Daemon's Army! Ultimate Flash!

Takato and Tsurugi ate breakfast together. Their Digimon fought fiercely over some more meat as the two shared some personal information.

“Aside from Digimon, I love playing soccer!” Tsurugi told Takato. “The first year I joined the soccer club, I got so caught up in it that I…might have forgotten to pay attention to my Digimon.” He admitted.

“Huh. I’ve always really loved drawing. I remember one of the Digimon shows wanted kids to submit drawings, and I sent one in.” Takato laughed. “I remember how surprised I was when Jokermon appeared on screen!”

“Jokermon?! You drew Jokermon?” Tsurugi jumped. “I love that Digimon!”

“He’s just a bad Piedmon.” Takato rubbed the back of his head bashfully.

“A bad version of good stuff still holds up, I think.” Tsurugi reassured him.

“Yeah. The bigger problem is that I got so into drawing Digimon that I forgot to take care of my Digimon.” Takato facepalmed.

“My Digimon died in the end.” Tsurugi and Takato sighed. “And so did a few more afterwards.” They both coughed.

“That meat is gonna be mine!” Agumon chased after Guilmon.

“I’ve had Guilmon for a while now though. We were pretty close before we got forced into this game, and I want to think we’ve gotten closer since the beginning.” Takato watched Guilmon run around.

“Same with me and Agumon. We fought and won a lot of battles together. Being able to talk to him though, I think that’s what made our relationship stronger.” Tsurugi saw Agumon tackle Guilmon.

“Hey, about that. How come your Greymon isn’t an Ultimate yet?” Takato noticed.

“I think I’ve actually been training him too hard. Remember when Zero didn’t want to evolve because he was comfortable as Veedramon? I think it’s like that.” Tsurugi ran a hand through his hair. “He’s been fighting as a Champion for so long, I don’t think his body want’s to become an Ultimate.”

“Huh. Guilmon hasn’t reached his Ultimate form just because we haven’t gotten into enough fights.” Takato shrugged.

“Pepper Breath/Pyro Sphere!” Agumon and Guilmon shot fireballs into each other’s faces. They both fell over.

“Guys!” Tsurugi and Takato shook their heads.

“Well, I think they’re done eating.” Takato stretched. “Piximon’s house is pretty close. Let’s go!”

“Yeah!” Tsurugi nodded.

=+=

A bunch of kids, ranging from nine to eleven years old, played on a playground.

“Seinaru!” A boy ran over to her. She was hanging upside down on some monkey bars.

“Hi, Momo.” Seinaru Kamiya, Tai and Rei’s daughter, waved. Many people would tell you that she looked oddly similar to Kari when she was eleven.

“Has your dad done anything cool recently? Has he shot anybody yet?” Momo, one of Davis and Yolei’s kids-and basically just a clone of Davis’ eleven year old self-asked excitedly.

“Of course he hasn’t shot anybody! Only ‘bad guys’ get shot, and my dad hasn’t met any ‘bad guys’…I think?” Seinaru scratched her head.

“You think?” Another kid walked over.

“Yeah, he was talking to Davis about his goggles. He said something afterwards…” Seinaru furrowed her eyebrows. The other kids gathered around her. "He said ‘If anyone wants to hurt my friends and I, then I’ll come after them’, or something.”

“Wow…scary.” The kids exchanged glances.

“Do you guys…do you guys ever think our parents are hiding something?” Seinaru wondered. She yelped as she fell off the monkey bars. Momo helped her up as the kids all thought.

“I’ve always thought my dad was selling information to the Russians.” Tadashi’s kid, Seki-who of course had his puffy blonde hair covering his eyes-spoke up. Everybody looked at him with confused faces.

“I’ve always thought that my dad writes books when he’s not busy.” Tk’s kid, Taiyou, rubbed his chin. He also very much looked like Tk when he was younger.

“And I’ve always thought…” Everybody turned to Izzy and Sora’s kid, Edith. “I’ve always thought that our parents saved the world when they were younger from monsters, demons, and gods. And if not for their efforts, we would all be either dead or forced to fight each other because our emotions were being influenced by the powers of a demon that could contort our very DNA and cells to what they wanted.” She brushed her light red hair back.

Everybody blinked a few times.

“Nah.” Everybody said confidently.

“But still. I wonder if there’s more to them.” Seinaru crossed her arms.

“Hmm…” Momo and the others fell silent. “Anyways! You guys wanna play tag?”

“Alright!” They all cheered.

Seinaru furrowed her eyebrows as they all gathered around each other. She touched the butterfly pin in her hair, one that her father and mother suspiciously never touch…

=+=

Takato, Tsurugi, Guilmon, and Agumon fell upon the town their journey had started in. 

They walked through it, running into some completely harmless Digimon.

“Here lies a whole lot of Tamers.” Tsurugi mumbled.

“The only reason I got away is because of Piximon. He saved me from getting toasted by Rika and her Kyubimon.” Takato admitted.

“You’ve met Rika?! Do you think I can beat her?” Tsurugi asked with a great amount of interest.

“I don’t know. I didn’t really fight her. I kinda just…ran until she left me alone.” Takato looked away.

“Fair enough.” Tsurugi drooped.

“Anyways, Piximon’s place is coming up soon!” Takato rubbed his hands together.

“Cool!” Tsurugi grinned.

The two walked for a little longer. They found a humble hut.

“That’s Piximon’s home!” Guilmon pointed at it.

“You’d think he was living a little better. He is an Ultimate after all.” Agumon commented.

The group walked up to the front door and Takato knocked on it. They heard wings fluttering on the other side before Piximon opened the door.

“Hello?” Piximon’s eyes quickly moved between Takato and Tsurugi. “Oh! Takato, hello! And you brought a friend!”

“Yup! We kinda need some help, Piximon.” Takato tapped his fingers together sheepishly.

“Come in!” Piximon moved to the side. Everybody entered. “What did you need?”

“Well, we’re trying to get to Majiramon to get our next tag, but we don’t actually know where he is...” Takato cleared his throat. “Could you tell us?”

“What?! You came back to me for directions?!” Piximon bonked Takato and Guilmon on the head with his spear. “You have manuals!”

“A Blossomon tore our manuals apart before we could figure out where Majiramon was.” Tsurugi shrugged.

“Who even are you?” Piximon pointed his spear at him. He waved his spear around. “Oh! You're that other kid with a good heart! That’s good.”

“Huh?” Tsurugi looked over to Takato.

“Piximon helped me because I apparently have a ‘good heart’. He said that only one other person in the starting town had a similar heart.” Takato explained.

“It’s very good that you two have joined forces! Surely now, you can defeat Daemon!” Piximon nodded.

“We’re gonna have to defeat Majiramon and the others to get to Daemon. So…could you tell us where Majiramon is?” Takato smiled innocently.

“Yeah, yeah. Show me your device, I’ll mark it on your map.” Piximon flew over to him.

Takato held his wrist out. Piximon got ready to touch it when he stopped his hand.

He looked around the room. “Hmm…I’m needed at the village temporarily. I’ll be back soon!” Piximon quickly flew off.

“Hey! Can’t you mark my map first?” Takato sighed.

“I wonder what’s going on at the village?” Tsurugi and Agumon exchanged glances.

“I smell food.” Guilmon sniffed the air.

“Wait for me!” Agumon ran over to him and they both searched around the small hut.

“Oh well. Piximon’s an Ultimate. He’ll probably be fine if something dangerous is happening.” Takato reassured Tsurugi.

“Right.” Tsurugi nodded.

=+=

Tsurugi napped on a chair. Takato looked out a window. The Digimon were busy eating Piximon’s personal stash of food.

“Piximon hasn’t come back yet…it’s been like, fifteen minutes!” Takato narrowed his eyes.

Tsurugi jumped in his seat. “Huh? I w-wasn’t sleeping-what is it?” He looked around.

“Tsurugi, do you think Piximon’s in trouble?” Takato turned to him with a worried face.

“Maybe. Wanna go check?” Tsurugi proposed.

“Yeah. The only thing we’ll lose from checking is getting smacked by Piximon’s spear.” Takato rubbed his head.

“Right. Agumon! Come on!” Tsurugi clapped.

“I’m coming!” Agumon moseyed over. “I’m full and ready to roll, boss!”

“Yeah, Takatomon! Piximon had a lot of food!” Guilmon smiled.

“Does he have any food left?” Guilmon shook his head and Takato sighed. “He won’t be happy about that either…come on! Let’s go to the town!”

Takato, Tsurugi, Guilmon, and Agumon ran towards the town.

=+=

Piximon fell to the ground. A huge foot with sharp talons fell onto his small body.

“You were given a chance to run.” A Griffomon crushed Piximon.

“Ah…ow…you were going to hurt these villagers! I couldn’t allow that!” Piximon grunted.

“A Digimon should fight for themself or for those stronger than themselves. Otherwise, they’ll be crushed.” Griffomon applied more pressure.

“AH!” Piximon cried.

Takato, Tsurugi, and their Digimon ran into the town. They heard Piximon’s wail and sped up.

They looked all around the town, seeing Digimon hiding in houses and a few places that were thoroughly destroyed.

“What the heck happened here?!” Tsurugi furrowed his eyebrows.

“The town must have been attacked by something! No wonder Piximon was in such a hurry!” Takato let out a worried noise.

“Dang bandits! We’ll show him who’s boss, right boss?” Agumon raised his claws.

“And I’ll help too, Takatomon!” Guilmon grated his claws together.

“Thanks guys!” Takato and Tsurugi nodded at their Digimon.

All four of them came to a halt as they found Piximon and Griffomon.

And not only did they find those two, they also found an army of Devimon and Ogremon.

“Hello, Tamers. What are you two doing here?” Griffomon turned to face them, still crushing Piximon.

“Hey! Quit that!” Takato pointed at Griffomon.

“Pyro Sphere!” Guilmon shot a fireball. The fireball broke on Griffomon’s body harmlessly.

“You want this thing back?” Griffomon looked down at Piximon. “Very well.”

Griffomon jumped off Piximon. He grabbed the pink ball with his snake tail, bit down hard with his tail’s sharp teeth, and chucked Piximon over to the boys.

Tsurugi caught Piximon. “P-Piximon! Are you okay?”

“T-That…really…hurt…” Piximon mumbled.

“Hang in there, Piximon! We’ll stop him!” Tsurugi promised.

“Y-You can’t…you aren’t strong…enough…” Piximon warned.

“He is correct.” Griffomon puffed his chest out proudly. “I am the commander of Lord Daemon’s army. I was given orders to raze this town by our superior, Etemon.”

“That’s insane! There’s no way we’ll let you do that!” Tsurugi narrowed his eyes at Griffomon.

“You two and your Digimon do not possess nearly enough strength to defeat me.” Griffomon shook his head. “With that said, I will still offer you a chance to save this meager town. Lavorvomon!” He called out.

A black dragon-like creature stomped through the army. “Yes, Commander Griffomon?” Lavorvomon bowed his head.

“Fight those two. If they can defeat you, then I will allow this town to continue its existence. Not that it hinders Lord Daemon in any way, whether it stands or is destroyed.” Griffomon nudged his head at the boys.

“I will do as you ask, Commander Griffomon.” Lavorvomon lumbered towards Takato and Tsurugi.

“If we beat this guy, you’ll leave? Do you promise?” Tsurugi and Takato raised their Digivices.

“Of course. The commander of Lord Daemon’s army must act with an extreme amount of honor. Otherwise, I may stain Lord Daemon’s name with my thoughtless actions.” Griffomon nodded. “For you see! Lord Daemon is-” He began to give an impassioned speech.

“He talks a lot.” Takato whispered to Tsurugi.

“Too much if you ask me.” Tsurugi replied.

“Be careful…” Piximon advised. Tsurugi laid Piximon against a house. Some Digimon slinked out of the house and quickly pulled Piximon in.

“Alright, Griffomon! We’re ready!” Takato and Tsurugi pointed at him. Guilmon and Agumon moved in front of their Tamers.

“Lavorvomon. Do not fail me.” Griffomon stated.

“I will not dishonor Lord Daemon’s name with failure!” Lavorvomon rushed at Guilmon and Agumon.

“Guilmon/Agumon!” Their Tamers called out. “Digivolve!”

“Alright!” Guilmon and Agumon began to grow.

“Mighty Flame!” Lavorvomon shot a huge fireball at the two.

“Exhaust Flame! Mega Flame!” Growlmon and Greymon shot their own fireballs.

All of the fireballs met in the middle, exploding into a rain of sparks.

“Boulder Bash!” Growlmon jumped at Lavorvomon. He threw his fist out quickly, but Lavorvomon dodged much faster.

Lavorvomon landed on a nearby house’s wall before kicking off of it. He slammed into Growlmon’s side, throwing him into a different house.

“Horn Strike!” Greymon stomped towards Lavorvomon. Lavorvomon wheeled around and shot another fireball without warning. Greymon was forced to block.

“Earth Stamp!” Lavorvomon threw his entire body forwards. He slammed into Greymon’s chest, knocking him over.

“Growlmon! Greymon!” Takato and Tsurugi called out.

“I’m okay, Takato.” Growlmon shook some rubble off himself. “Exhaust Flame!” He released more fire.

“Pitiful.” Lavorvomon did little to stop the fire, letting it surround his body. “My body is made of molten rock. You cannot burn me!”

“Fire isn’t the only way we have to hurt someone! Get him, Greymon!” Tsurugi whooped.

“Atomic Tail!” Greymon fired a bullet at Lavorvomon.

“This battle will not end well if this is all you can do.” Lavorvomon got ready to move when something quickly grabbed onto his tail.

Growlmon lifted Lavorvomon up, forcing him to take the bullet to his face. Lavorvomon grunted as it bounced off his head.

“Swing him around, Growlmon!” Takato ordered.

“Here we go!” Growlmon began to spin Lavorvomon around. The poor black dragon slammed into buildings and was grinded across the ground.

Growlmon began to spin him at an angle before tossing him into the air. Both Growlmon and Greymon charged up some flames.

“Exhaust/Mega Flame!” They both released a stream of flames. They actually managed a wail of pain from Lavorvomon as he fell towards the ground.

Lavorvomon slammed into the ground while fire toasted him. He slowly got up and shook off the pain. “Impressive.” He muttered.

“Get him while he’s down!” Takato and Tsurugi shouted quickly.

“Come on!” Growlmon and Greymon jumped at Lavorvomon.

“Earth Stamp!” Lavorvomon slammed the ground, causing two large pillars of stone to ram into both of the Digimon.

Growlmon and Greymon were thrown back to their Tamer’s sides. Takato and Tsurugi ran over to their Digimon quickly.

“Growlmon! Greymon! Are you okay?” Their Tamers asked quickly.

“Y-Yeah, Takato…” Growlmon tried to get back up. He fell over, panting heavily.

“I can still fight, Tsurugi.” Greymon took a step forward. “I’ll beat him, I promise!” He rushed at Lavorvomon once more.

“Enough of this, Lavorvomon. We act on Lord Daemon’s time. It is unwise to waste such a precious resource.” Griffomon shook his head.

“Then the battle ends here.” Lavorvomon leapt onto a wall once again.

He bounced all around the town, leaving cracks in walls. Greymon stumbled around, trying to keep track of him.

“Dang it…he’s moving too fast!” Tsurugi’s eyes shifted around. “How could Tai keep up with AeroVeedramon if I can’t even keep up with a big rock?!”

“There you are! Mega Flame!” Greymon shot a stream of flames towards Lavorvomon’s last position.

“Fool!” Lavorvomon dodged. “Earth Stamp!” He plowed into Greymon’s back, launching him into a nearby house.

Greymon slammed into the wall before falling over. Light surrounded him before he returned to being Agumon.

“Agumon!” Tsurugi ran over to him.

“Do not waste Lord Daemon’s time.” Lavorvomon scoffed at Takato and Growlmon.

“G-Growlmon, we can beat him. He has to be tired at this point!” Takato patted his partner on the back.

“I’ll try, Takato.” Growlmon straightened out.

Takato looked around, seeing the destroyed areas, scared Digimon, and Griffomon’s uncaring army.

“Come on, Growlmon! Let’s save this village!” Takato yelled.

One Vision by Tanimoto Takayoshi

“Yeah!” Growlmon roared.

“You can do it, Growlmon!” Tsurugi and Agumon cheered.

Growlmon’s roar grew louder. It began to shake the town as it continued.

“Go, Growlmon! You can do it!” Villagers watching the fight cheered.

Then, out of nowhere, Growlmon began to glow. The light surrounded him in the shape of a larger figure, one wielding large blades on its wrists.

“Woah! What the heck is that?!” Tsurugi gasped.

“It looks like…WarGrowlmon?” Takato realized.

“Don’t waste my time!” Lavorvomon leapt at Growlmon.

Growlmon pulled his arm back. His eyes flashed before he threw his arm forward. “Double Edge!” He roared.

The energy protruding from Growlmon’s arm ripped apart Lavorvomon as he passed by. He fell behind Growlmon, cut clean in half.

“W-What?!” Takato, Tsurugi, and Agumon jumped.

The energy around Growlmon swiftly dissipated. He fell over before regressing to Guilmon.

OST End…

“Hmm…” Griffomon watched Lavorvomon’s body burst into data. “I’ve seen enough. Come, we’re leaving.” He walked off. His army followed behind him.

“You better get out of here!” Tsurugi shook his fist at him.

“This won’t be the last time we see each other, Tamers. As long as you resist Daemon, we will meet again.” Griffomon warned.

Griffomon and his army marched away.

“Are you okay, Guilmon?” Takato helped Guilmon.

“Y-Yeah, Takatomon. I’m really tired though.” Guilmon frowned. “And hungry.”

“What about you, Agumon?” Tsurugi asked as they walked over to Takato.

“About the same.” Agumon drooped.

“That was incredible, Takato! I think Growlmon nearly reached his Ultimate form!” Tsurugi swung his arm excitedly.

“Yeah…Ultimate form…” Takato’s eyes grew wide. “Piximon!”

The Digimon who hid Piximon earlier came back out. One of them held Piximon out to Takato and Tsurugi.

“T-Takato…Tsurugi…” Piximon mumbled. He winced and panted.

“Piximon! You can’t die!” Takato held his hands out.

Piximon bonked Takato on the head. “I’m not going to die! Griffomon just bit me! It hurt, but I’ll live.” He flew out of the Digimon’s hands. “That was impressive, you two. Lavorvomon was a powerful Digimon indeed, but you still managed to defeat him!”

“Only because Growlmon did…whatever he did.” Takato rubbed his chin.

“Growlmon did exactly what you thought! He nearly went Ultimate, but he just didn’t have enough of an emotional outburst. Still, he came very close! I wouldn’t be surprised if he evolved soon!” Piximon’s wings fluttered.

“Seriously? That’s awesome, Takato, Guilmon!” Tsurugi and Agumon smiled at the two.

“Wow…” Takato and Guilmon exchanged glances.

=+=

The group met inside of Piximon’s house. He took a second to scold Guilmon and Agumon for eating all of his food.

“It’s fine…After all, had you not eaten that food, who knows if you would have had the energy needed to defeat Lavorvomon?” Piximon sighed. “Show me your maps. I’ll mark Majiramon and the other Ultimates’ locations.”

“Thanks!” Takato and Tsurugi put their wrists out. Piximon tapped around their screen for a second.

“There you go!” Piximon pulled away.

Takato and Tsurugi checked their maps. “We were both wrong…” They mumbled.

“Be careful. With both of you having defeated an Ultimate, teaming up against Majiramon will make him maybe twice as strong if not stronger!” Piximon warned.

“We’ll find a way to beat him!” Takato and Tsurugi promised.

“I’m sure you will. Do not give up on the flames in your hearts! They will fuel your evolutions and victories!” Piximon nodded.

“Right!” Takato, Tsurugi, Guilmon, and Agumon smiled.

With one last goodbye, the group set off towards Majiramon’s Thunder Mountain.

“Good luck, you four. We’re counting on you.” Piximon smiled.

To be continued. 3230 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 14: Tamers Come Together! The Sharp-Toothed Raid!

Takato and Tsurugi had been walking for an entire day towards Thunder Mountain. By their estimate, it would take another day to get there.

“If only Blossomon hadn’t torn up our manuals…we would have gotten to Thunder Mountain by now!” Tsurugi whined.

“The Digital World giveth.” Takato sighed. “And the Digital World takes just as much.”

“Uh huh.” Agumon nodded.

The group stopped as their devices beeped. They lifted them up and checked a new message they had gotten.

“A huge collection of data is collecting at these coordinates!” A string of numbers lay after the message. “Find some friendly Tamers and defeat this raid boss for incredible awards!”

“Raid boss?” Takato raised an eyebrow.

“A raid battle! Now that sounds fun!” Tsurugi grinned.

“Should we be wasting time fighting random Digimon when we’re this close to Majiramon?” Takato raised an eyebrow.

“A little bit of training never hurt anyone, right boss?” Agumon nudged Tsurugi.

“Yeah! And with Growlmon being close to evolution, this might be just what he needs!” Tsurugi argued.

“I don’t know…a raid boss could be really dangerous.” Takato looked over to his partner. “What do you think, Guilmon?”

“If we beat the special Digimon, we might get a lot of food, Takatomon!” Guilmon had stars in his eyes.

“Should have expected as much.” Takato let out a small laugh. “I guess Guilmon’s close to evolving. A fight against a tough enemy might be what he needs to evolve…Let’s go fight that raid boss!”

“Yeah! He’s this way!” Tsurugi and the others ran towards the coordinates’ location.

=+=

Tadashi and Izzy got an alert on their computers. They both looked at the message.

“A raid battle? I didn’t even know those were still functioning.” Izzy rubbed his chin.

“But…I mean, no one’s going to be stupid enough to participate in one now, right?” Tadashi and Izzy exchanged glances.

“Call it a gut feeling, but…” Izzy brought up the screen with everyone’s health bars.

“Let’s see how this goes.” Tadashi ran a hand through his hair.

Izzy thought for a second. “Wait, if raid battles still work, do you think anyone will run into the secret final boss by accident?”

“Nah. We never added them in, remember? We could never figure out a way to make getting to the secret boss cool enough.” Tadashi reminded him.

“Oh, right.” Izzy nodded. “Anyways, back to this.”

They both stared at the healthbars.

=+=

Takato and Tsurugi moseyed over to the coordinates. They gasped as they saw data swirling into a ball.

But more shocking than that, were all of the Tamers gathered around the ball of data.

“H-Hey! Other Tamers!” Tsurugi gasped.

“Uh oh…Are you sure we should go down there? What if they attack us?” Takato furrowed his eyebrows.

“I don’t know, boss. I don’t really like this either…” Agumon said nervously.

“Yeah…Hmm…” Tsurugi, Takato, and Agumon watched the Tamers closely.

“Food!” Guilmon ran straight at the Tamers.

“Guilmon!” The other three chased after him.

Many of the Tamers turned to face the four new people in the group. Most of them looked unamused by Takato having to wrestle with Guilmon to calm him down.

“H-Hey there, everybody! You guys all here for the raid battle?” Tsurugi and Agumon waved. Nobody replied. “Lively crowd we got here…” They drooped.

“Yeah.” A blond kid walked over. “We’ve all agreed to not attack each other for as long as the raid’s going on. I know I’ll keep the promise, but I don’t know about everyone else around here…” A Betamon hopped to the kid’s side.

“Good to see someone else around here fights with honor. What’s your name, pal?” Tsurugi put his hand out.

“Michael. I’m from America. Family came over to Japan for a little bit and I figured I should try out the Net Battle machines here. Didn’t expect to get stuck.” Michael gave him a completely non-hostile handshake.

“Name’s Tsurugi. Nice to meet you, Michael.” Tsurugi nodded.

Everybody snapped to attention as the ball of data began to shake. The light of evolution surrounded it.

“It looks like it’s going to start!” Takato and Guilmon ran over.

“Then let’s Digi-”

“DIGIVOLVE!” The crowd of Tamers all shouted. Lights flew all around the place as Digimon of differing sizes appeared all over. A Seadramon appeared next to Michael.

“Y-Yeah. Let’s Digivolve, Agumon!” Tsurugi flashed the okay symbol at him.

“You too, Guilmon! Digivolve!” Takato ordered.

Agumon and Guilmon quickly grew into large dinosaurs. “Greymon! Growlmon!” They roared.

All of the Champion Digimon-and yes, there were only Champion Digimon there-gathered around the ball of data.

The light flew away from the ball, revealing that the data had finally taken a shape. The shape of a large lion-like creature made of golden and silver plates. It had a mace at the end of its wire-like tail.

“LoaderLiomon!” The Ultimate roared.

“An Ultimate…” Takato gulped. Growlmon narrowed his eyes on the lion.

“With him being a raid boss, he’s probably going to be a lot tougher than SkullScorpionmon…” Tsurugi figured. Greymon nodded.

“Tsurugi. We need to be careful-”

“Attack!” The Tamers ordered. LoaderLiomon was immediately pounded by a wave of diverse attacks.

“Boring Storm!” LoaderLiomon’s mane began to twirl around, releasing heavy winds. Tamers and their Digimon were thrown back.

“Go, Unimon!” Someone ordered. Their Unimon flew straight at LoaderLiomon’s back.

“Woah, wait! No, don’t do that!” Takato shouted.

“Loading Morningstar!” Without even looking back, LoaderLiomon slammed his tail into Unimon, eliminating him immediately. His Tamer wasted away in an instant.

“Woah!” Several Tamers jumped.

LoaderLiomon leapt at some other Digimon. He thrashed at the crowd, knocking over several with ease.

“Exhaust Flame! Mega Flame! Ice Blast!” Growlmon, Greymon, and Seadramon fired at LoaderLiomon. LoaderLiomon jumped off a Gorillamon he was pummeling and towards the three dragons.

“Take point, Greymon!” Tsurugi ordered.

“On it!” Greymon and LoaderLiomon slammed into each other. They slid back before crashing into each other again.

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon and Seadramon popped more projectiles into LoaderLiomon’s sides. LoaderLiomon barely flinched.

He socked Greymon across the face, throwing him off and disorienting him. He twirled his tail around quickly, getting ready to eliminate Greymon.

“Crap-Greymon, get away from him!” Tsurugi ordered. Greymon let out some dazed murmurs in response.

“Ice Blast!” Ice stuck LoaderLiomon’s front paws to the ground before he could swing. Greymon shook out his daze and jumped back right as LoaderLiomon broke the ice off himself.

“You ought to be more careful, Tsurugi.” Michael advised. Seadramon nodded.

“Y-Yeah. Thanks, Michael.” Tsurugi gave him a thumbs up.

 “I’m getting back in there! LoaderLiomon won’t beat me!” Greymon roared before rushing at LoaderLiomon again.

“Sorry, Michael. But there’s no slowing down Greymon.” Tsurugi ginned. “Take him down, Greymon!” Greymon 2010 and a fellow original Greymon slammed into LoaderLiomon.

They both began to pummel him in sync before LoaderLiomon threw them both off. Growlmon tackled LoaderLiomon just to be headbutted away.

“Coconut Punch!” Togemon ran in and conked LoaderLiomon on the head repeatedly. LoaderLiomon stumbled back before catching himself.

He waited until Togemon threw another punch before throwing her over himself. His mace made quick work of her, knocking her and her Tamer out of the game.

“O-One hit was all he needed!” Takato gasped worriedly. Growlmon snarled angrily at the loss of another Tamer.

“Damn! LoaderLiomon’s already taken out so many Tamers! We need to stop him!” Tsurugi cursed.

“Tsurugi!” Michael ran over to him. Seadramon, the two Greymons, and Growlmon harassed LoaderLiomon as more projectiles punched into him.

“Yeah, Michael?” Tsurugi turned to him. 

“We need to find LoaderLiomon’s weakness! Our attacks aren’t doing anything to his gold plating!” Michael noted.

“He’s made out of Chrome Digizoid! What parts of his body aren’t covered?” Takato squinted at LoaderLiomon.

Tsurugi and Takato snapped. “His mouth! Like Triceramon!” They said triumphantly.

“Well, I was thinking about his eyes, but his mouth too!” Michael nodded.

LoaderLiomon tossed a few Digimon off. He swung his tail into another Digimon, killing them.

“Let’s blind him quickly! Once that’s done, Greymon or Growlmon will force his mouth open and we can pop him open from the inside!” Tsurugi decided.

“Right! Seadramon can hold him down!” Michael looked over to his partner.

“Growlmon will hold his mouth open when the time comes!” Takato gave Tsurugi a thumbs up.

“Greymon/Growlmon/Seadramon!” Their Tamers shouted.

“We know!” They rushed at LoaderLiomon, who just got finished with taking out another Digimon.

Seadramon coiled himself around LoaderLiomon again, holding his limbs as he struggled. Greymon and Growlmon pulled their arms back as they ran up to him.

“Seadramon’s putting himself in really uncomfortable position.” Tsurugi began to sweat. “You ought to be more careful yourself, Michael.”

“You’re not wrong, but we all came here to win.” Michael and Tsurugi grinned at each other.

“Boulder Bash!” Growlmon swung at LoaderLiomon’s right eye.

“Yeah!” Greymon launched his claws forward at LoaderLiomon’s left eye.

Both of their attacks landed their mark, making LoaderLiomon reel in pain. He roared angrily as his eyes became bruised, making it very difficult to open them even slightly.

“Nice job, Greymon/Growlmon!” Tsurugi/Takato cheered.

“You can get off LoaderLiomon now, Seadramon-”

Without warning, LoaderLiomon caught a part of Seadramon and tossed him to the ground in front of himself. He held Seadramon down as he writhed in a futile attempt to escape.

Michael’s eyes contracted.

“Shit-Greymon, help Seadramon!” Tsurugi held his hand out. Greymon and Growlmon rushed at LoaderLiomon.

“Boring Storm!” LoaderLiomon twirled his mane around once more, throwing the two dragons back. More Digimon rushed at his back, but they were dissuaded by LoaderLiomon’s mace swinging around wildly.

“You cowards-help him!” Tsurugi demanded. Everyone simply responded with miffed looks after being insulted.

“S-Seadramon!” Michael took a step forward. “Seadramon, run-”

LoaderLiomon roared before digging his claws into Seadramon’s body. Seadramon roared in pain before LoaderLiomon rammed his other set of claws into him.

“NO!” Tsurugi screamed.

LoaderLiomon ripped his claws out. Seadramon fizzled on the ground.

“Michael-”

Seadramon bursted into data. Michael quickly disappeared from the area.

Tsurugi, Takato, Greymon, and Growlmon gawked quietly.

“M-Michael!” Takato, Greymon, and Growlmon gasped.

“MICHAEL!” Tsurugi screamed.

“No! M-Michael can’t…he…” Takato closed his eyes.

Tsurugi’s eyes grew hollow. “We finally met another friendly Tamer. After days and days of being in this place, surrounded by enemies, we finally met one more person who might be willing to help us…and he’s gone…” He teared up.

LoaderLiomon snarled as Digimon tried to move in. He jumped around wildly in a bid to scare them off, managing to keep the already wounded Digimon at bay.

“Greymon!” Tsurugi shouted.  “Let’s continue with the plan! Take him down!”

“Tsurugi, don’t be reckless!” Takato laid a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll beat LoaderLiomon!” Tsurugi promised determinedly. “Greymon! Come on, you can do it!” He wiped his tears away.

“He’s determined to beat LoaderLiomon.” Takato sighed. “Help him out, Growlmon!” He called out.

“Let’s go!” Greymon and Growlmon ran at LoaderLiomon.

Tagiru Chikara by Psychic Lover

“You guys! Bombard him!” Tsurugi told the other Tamers.

“You can’t order us around-”

“JUST DO IT!” Tsurugi stomped his foot. The Tamers reluctantly told their Digimon to fire at LoaderLiomon.

LoaderLiomon stumbled around as more shots hit him. Without his eyesight, he couldn’t tell where the attacks were coming from.

But he could hear two things running straight at him.

Everybody quit attacking LoaderLiomon as Growlmon ran in. He very forcefully grabbed LoaderLiomon’s snout and forced the top of his mouth open. He got behind LoaderLiomon, allowing Greymon to move in.

“Mega Flame!” Greymon and Tsurugi yelled.

Greymon released a stream of fire straight into LoaderLiomon’s mouth. LoaderLiomon flailed, but Growlmon refused to let go.

“Keep it up! Keep going!” Tsurugi ordered.

LoaderLiomon’s body began to glow hot red as it was heated from within. He stopped struggling, only being held up by Growlmon.

“He’s weakened! Finish this!” Takato yelled.

Growlmon threw LoaderLiomon back. The lion rolled on the floor before coming to a halt.

“This is our chance! Take him down now!” Tsurugi and Takato pointed forward. The other Tamers gave their own orders.

“Mega Flame! Exhaust Flame!” Greymon and Growlmon shot huge fireballs. The other Digimon in the group released their own attacks.

LoaderLiomon was pummeled incessantly in every direction. He roared angrily, but he couldn't do much as his body was dented.

Finally, with one last barrage of attacks, LoaderLiomon’s data began to fizzle.

“Go, Greymon!” Tsurugi punched the air.

“Horn Strike!” Greymon rammed straight into LoaderLiomon, throwing him onto his back.

LoaderLiomon slammed into the ground. He let out a weak whine of pain.

“Get the hell out of here!” Greymon demanded.

LoaderLiomon burst into data without further argument.

OST End…

“Yeah!” The Tamers all cheered. Takato, Tsurugi, Growlmon, and Greymon didn’t celebrate though.

LoaderLiomon’s data was surrounded in light. Each light flew over to the Tamers, forming into unique objects for each Tamer.

“What is this?” Takato’s light formed into a crown of flowers.

“A reward for winning the raid.” Tsurugi took his prize, a pair of comically large sunglasses. “So many Tamers…just for some stupid cosmetics!” He threw the glasses to the floor.

Tamers slowly dispersed from the area. After only a minute, only Takato, Tsurugi, and their now Rookie-form Digimon were left.

Tsurugi and Takato left their prizes in the middle of the field. They and their Digimon bowed their heads.

“Michael…we’ll defeat Daemon and save you, pal.” Tsurugi shook his head. “It’s up to us, Agumon, Takato, Guilmon.”

“Yeah. We’re close to Majiramon now, Tsurugi. We should go.” Takato patted his shoulder.

“Right.” Tsurugi nodded. “We’ll keep fighting, guys. We’ll defeat Daemon and save everyone. I promise.” He looked at the two cosmetics lying on the ground.

“Let’s go beat Majiramon, Tsurugi.” Takato and Guilmon began to walk towards Thunder Mountain.

“Right.” Tsurugi and Agumon followed behind him.

Somebody and their Digimon watched the two.

“Interesting, those two.” They said to themselves. “Unfortunate that LoaderLiomon didn’t get more of them though.”

The two continued to watch Takato and Tsurugi leave silently.

To be continued. 2309 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 15: Tamer Rematch! The Deep-Crimson Dragon!

Takato and Tsurugi rested in a forest. The trees were dense, offering them both protection and poor awareness of their surroundings.

“Man, eating the same food over and over again is getting so tiring.” Tsurugi sighed. He bit into a large piece of meat.

“I just miss eating bread every day.” Takato grumbled.

“Bread? I want bread!” Guilmon ran over.

“I don’t have any, boy.” Guilmon frowned. “I know. I’m sad about it too.” Takato patted him on the head.

“What about you, boss? What do you like?” Agumon tilted his head.

“I’m a simple man, Agumon. A burger works for me.” Tsurugi licked his lips.

“A burger?” Agumon and Guilmon repeated. “I want a burger!”

“I don’t think we can find a burger around here too easily…” Takato mumbled.

“Actually, someone at Tampertopia might be able to make one…” Tsurugi rubbed his chin.

“Then let’s go to Tamertopia!” Agumon and Guilmon got ready to run. Their Tamers caught them before they went anywhere.

“After we beat Majiramon, we can go to Tamertopia.” Takato sighed. “We should really focus on beating Majiramon though.”

“If we beat Majiramon, then we can get burgers?” Agumon asked.

“For sure.” Tsurugi nodded.

“Then let’s go beat Majiramon!” Guilmon and Agumon punched their nails together.

“Yeah!” Takato and Tsurugi nodded.

“But I also want bread…Takatomon bread!” Guilmon frowned.

“I don’t know how to make bread. Only my parents do and…and…” Takato blinked a few times. “...Well, I don’t know if you guys can come home with us.”

Tsurugi’s eyes jumped. “Oh yeah. All of this has felt so real, I kinda forgot that we’re still in a game. Digimon can’t come to the real world…” He sighed.

“We’re with you now, boss!” Agumon raised his claws. “And we won’t leave your side until this game’s won!” Tsurugi patted him on the shoulder with a long grin.

“Yeah. Any food is good as long as I’m with you, Takatomon!” Guilmon smiled.

“Thanks, Guilmon.” Takato laughed.

=+=

Somebody sat in a room. They were harmlessly reading a book.

“Hey, mom?” Seinaru peeked into the room.

“Yes, Seinaru?” Rei Saiba, or Rei Kamiya now, looked up from her book.

“Um…If you and dad were hiding something from me…I mean, you wouldn’t right?” Seinaru raised an eyebrow.

Rei smiled. “We all have secrets, Seinaru. But we wouldn’t hide anything from you if we thought you needed to know.” She told her reassuringly.

“Okay…” Seinaru grabbed the butterfly pin out of her hair. “Mom? Can you touch this for me?”

“O-Oh…” Rei’s smile quickly began to waver. “Why?”

“You and dad never touch it for some reason. I just wanted to see what happens if you do touch it.” Seinaru held it further out.

“She’s definitely as sharp as her father.” Rei began to sweat. “It’s just a hairpin, Seinaru. Nothing will happen if I touch it.”

“Then touch it.” Seinaru placed it even further out.

“Whatever makes you happy, Seinaru.” Rei subtly slipped her sweater’s sleeve over her hand. She grabbed the hairpin and lifted it up. “See? There’s nothing weird about it.”

“Oh…I thought something would have happened. Oh well.” Seinaru took the pin back and put it into her hair. “Where did you get this pin, by the way?”

“For the love of…she’s just as stubborn as her father too!” Rei looked away. “A…friend of ours gave us that pin. It meant a lot to her, and means a lot to your father. That’s why he wants you to take very good care of it.”

“What was their name?” Seinaru asked.

“Umm…Morph…eh, Menoa. Her name was Menoa.” Rei cleared her throat.

“Oh okay.” Seinaru nodded.

“Any other questions, Seinaru? I’ll answer anything you have to ask.” Rei smiled.

Seinaru rubbed her chin. “Where do babies come from?-”

“Alright, nevermind.” Rei sighed.

=+=

Takato drank some water. He lowered the bottle.

“Hey, uh…I gotta go…you know.” Takato cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Go ahead. Just do it further into the forest. I don’t want to see anything.” Tsurugi nodded.

“I’ll be back.” Takato walked off. Guilmon followed behind him.

Tsurugi and Agumon returned to their food without a care in the world.

=+=

“Guilmon, you shouldn’t be following me right now. It’s kinda personal, you know?” Takato frowned.

“But you might get attacked by a Digimon! I don’t want that to happen.” Guilmon shook his head.

“Fair enough. Just turn around when I do it.” Takato sighed.

As Takato did what he had to do, Guilmon looked around the forest. He sniffed the air, his eyes narrowing.

“Takatomon? I smell a Digimon.” Guilmon took a step forward.

“Are you sure it’s not Agumon?” Takato walked over to him.

“No…it smells like…fire?” Guilmon blinked.

“Fire?” Takato turned around.

Guilmon was  suddenly punched by several blue fireballs. He was thrown onto his back as Takato jumped in surprise.

“What?! Who’s there?” Takato looked into the forest.

“How did someone as oblivious as you end up with such a special Digimon?” A familiar girl’s voice asked from within the forest.

“You have to be kidding me…” Takato helped Guilmon up.

Rika and her Kyubimon emerged from the forest.

“Rika! How did you even find me?!” Takato held his hands up.

“Kyubimon’s got a good nose. Better than that gecko of yours.” Rika scoffed. “I decided to come after you once I was ready and had some time to waste.” 

“Once you were ready?” Takato tensed up.

Rika showed off two V-Tamer Tags. “Impressive, huh? Better than you’ll ever do.”

“Two tags!” Takato gasped. A determined look came onto his face. “Rika! You should help us! Together, we could get the tags much faster and then we could escape this game!”

“Help you?” Rika let out a snide laugh. “I don’t need your help. A matter of fact, I came here to get rid of you!”

“Come on, Rika! We’re all in this together! What if you can’t do it on your own? We’re all doomed if we can’t help each other!” Takato argued.

“Enough! Kyubimon, use Dragon Wheel!” Rika pointed forward.

“Guilmon, let’s run! We need to get back to Tsurugi!” Takato furrowed his eyebrows. “We might be able to convince her to join with his help.” He whispered.

“Alright, Takatomon!” Guilmon and Takato dashed into the forest. Kyubimon’s fireballs punched several trees apart.

“What a powerful Champion!” Takato commented in his head.

“You’re not getting away, gogglehead!” Rika and Kyubimon chased them.

“Guilmon, destroy some trees! We need to slow her down!” Takato ordered.

“Rock Breaker!” Guilmon punched some trees over while running behind Takato. Kyubimon and Rika easily navigated the new obstacles, getting ever closer to Takato.

“He’s not just fleeing, he’s trying to get to someone.” Rika realized. “Kyubimon.” She turned to her partner.

Takato heard Rika mumble something as he continued to run. “We’re close! We’re almost to Tsurugi!” He cheered in his head.

A large talisman flew in front of him and Guilmon. It burned into dust, causing a ripple to fly out of it.

“What the heck?!” Takato tried to move forward. He found that there was an invisible wall in front of him.

“Takatomon, why are you pretending to be a mime?-oof!” Guilmon bumped into the invisible wall.

“Caught you, gogglehead.” Takato and Guilmon turned around. The former gasped.

Next to Rika stood a Taomon. Rika had a smug smirk.

“T-Taomon! You have an Ultimate?!” Takato gulped.

“Any competent Tamer would have an Ultimate by now.” Rika rolled her eyes. “Figures that you’re stuck with just a Rookie.”

“She’s really mean, Takatomon.” Guilmon growled.

“Doesn’t look like we’re getting out of this without a fight, Guilmon. Get ready.” Takato rolled his wrist.

“Just try to last a minute, gogglehead.” Rika crossed her arms.

“Guilmon, Digivolve!” Takato shouted. His device and Guilmon lit up.

Tsurugi and Agumon looked up from what they were doing. “Did you hear something?” Tsurugi raised an eyebrow.

“Just the sound of my stomach rumbling, boss.” Agumon tore into some more meat.

“Huh…I wonder where Takato is?” Tsurugi scratched his head.

=+=

Izzy and Tadashi stared at the progression screen. To their amazement, Ryouma was up to three tags, while Ren and Airu were up to two.

“Yes! Those three might actually do it!” Tadashi and Izzy high fived.

“Who else is doing well?” Izzy looked back at the menu. He saw the person at the top of those who had two tags, Rika Nonaka. “Hey, this girl’s name is familiar!”

“Rika…Rika…” Tadashi quickly pulled up her information. “One of the best Champion-level Tamers in Odaiba. Known for being fierce during battles, but otherwise taciturn and generally rude. Labeled as the ‘Digimon Queen’ by some of her fans.”

“Huh. She might have a good chance of being the one to win the whole game then.” Izzy rubbed his chin.

“Let’s hope, because people are getting impatient.” Tadashi and Izzy looked out their office window. People were circling around outside with picket signs.

“Let’s get back to work, Tadashi. Those people will lose their patience soon enough.” Izzy frowned.

=+=

Growlmon popped some fireballs at Taomon. The shaman gracefully dodged each attack.

“Talisman Star!” Taomon shot some talismans at Growlmon like knives. Growlmon blocked a few with his arms, but the others sunk into his body.

“Boulder Bash!” Growlmon jumped at Taomon. He punched the ground she had just been standing on, missing again.

“Brute.” Taomon kicked Growlmon through several trees.

“Is this the best you can do, gogglehead? Even with a special Digimon, you can’t offer any type of challenge.” Rika scoffed.

“Taomon is too fast and she’s just as strong as Growlmon.” Takato didn’t bother to reply. “Using the same strategy I used against Kyubimon can’t be done either, because this weird forest illusion isn’t flammable for some reason!”

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon tried to catch Taomon with a stream of flames. Taomon sidestepped it repeatedly.

“Thousand Spells!” Taomon released more talismans. They wrapped around Growlmon like snakes, limiting his movement.

“Oh, I'll figure something out! But we need to put up a fight until then!” Takato clenched his fists. “Growlmon!” Takato directed Growlmon to just bum-rush Taomon.

“Taomon. Stop playing.” Rika ordered boredly.

“Of course, Rika.” Taomon stopped moving. All of Growlmon’s talismans began to light up.

“Get over here!” Growlmon suddenly jumped at Taomon.

“W-What?!” Taomon tried to back away.

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon shot a fireball behind her, forcing Taomon to stay in place. “Rahhh!” Growlmon tackled Taomon right as the talismans went off in an explosion.

“Growlmon!” Takato called out worriedly. Rika looked somewhat surprised, but more disappointed in her Digimon than anything else.

The smoke cleared, revealing a scuffed Growlmon and a burnt Taomon. Taomon kicked Growlmon off and jumped back.

“Bastard!” Taomon growled.

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon responded with another fireball. Taomon summoned a magic shield to guard herself.

“Aww.” Takato sighed. “At least that attack went well…”

“You landed a hit. I’m almost proud of you, gogglehead. But unfortunately, I think it was just Taomon’s incompetence.-”

“Hey! Don’t disconnect yourself from your Digimon!” Takato pointed at Rika.

Growlmon and Taomon passed by their vision.

“What are you on about?” Rika narrowed her eyes at him.

“You didn’t even attempt to help your Digimon when Growlmon attacked!” Takato pointed out. “And then you blame her? You’re a Tamer, Rika! You should care more about your Digimon!”

“I have the Ultimate! You can’t even attempt to ridicule me!” Rika shot back.

Growlmon and Taomon rolled around on the ground, trying to overpower each other.

“Strength isn’t everything, Rika!” Takato clenched his teeth. “Growlmon! Keep going, pal!” He shouted.

“Don’t disappoint me, Taomon!” Rika yelled.

Growlmon pinned Taomon against the ground. He spawned more flames in his mouth. Taomon slipped a talisman into her hand.

Takato noticed the talisman. “Growlmon! Boulder Bash!” He ordered.

Growlmon lifted his arm high up, dodging the surprise attack from Taomon, and struck her dead in the face. Taomon let out a cry of pain as her yellow mask cracked.

“Get off of me!” Taomon grabbed Growlmon’s other arm and tossed him away. She hopped back onto her feet and shot a storm of sharp talismans.

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon held off the talismans. Taomon jumped over his flames and into the bushy roof of the forest.

“Dang it. Where did she go?” Takato and Growlmon tried to find her.

“Taomon. Just finish this already!” Rika snapped her fingers impatiently.

The illusional trees around Growlmon disappeared, revealing Taomon in the sky.

“Talisman of Light!” Taomon unveiled a large brush from her outfit. She drew a huge symbol in the sky before it began to fall towards Growlmon.

“Oh we are not dodging THAT.” Takato furrowed his eyebrows. “Use Exhaust Flame, Growlmon! Hold it off!”

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon spewed more fire in an attempt to hold off the symbol. It trudged through Growlmon’s attack, continuing to lower itself towards him.

“And the dino goes boom.” Rika quickly hid behind a tree.

“Aw man.” Takato gulped.

“Get out of the way, Takato!” Growlmon shoved him behind some trees quickly.

The symbol fell onto Growlmon, causing a huge explosion. Growlmon let out a cry of pain as he fell over.

Taomon landed in front of him. “This battle is over.” She declared.

Growlmon whined on the ground. He tried to lift himself up just to fall over.

“Growlmon!” Takato ran over to him. “Hang in there, Growlmon! You’ll be okay!”

“Hi, Takato.” Growlmon managed a small smile. “I’m sorry I couldn’t win.”

“It’s okay. I’ll figure something out.” Takato reassured him.

“No you won’t.” Rika walked to Taomon’s side. “I knew from day one that you weren’t deserving of that Guilmon. If I had him, he would have been much stronger.”

“I don’t care what you think, Rika.” Takato outright stated.

Rika let out an annoyed noise. “Did you finally grow a backbone?” She clenched her fists.

“What are you going to accomplish by hurting us, Rika? We aren’t the villains here-Daemon and his goons are! There are hundreds of kids who are sick right now-others that are scared of getting stuck in this world or getting killed! Why is someone as capable as you wasting time fighting me?!” Takato clenched his fists.

“It’s like you say, gogglehead. I’ll beat Daemon no matter what, so I lose nothing from taking the occasional side trip.” Rika dusted herself off.

“This isn’t a game, Rika. Any of us could be taken down at any time.” Takato warned.

“And you’re going down right now.” Rika threatened. “Taomon, get rid of his Digimon.”

“Right away, Rika.” Taomon slipped some more talismans into her hands.

Takato stepped in front of Growlmon and held his hands out. “I won’t let you!”

“Oh come on. Growlmon’s too large for you to possible body block him.” Rika threw her arms up in frustration.

“Um…what should I do, Rika?” Taomon faced her Tamer.

“You could easily hit Growlmon, even with the doofus in the way, but I say you just go through him. Saves some effort that shouldn’t be wasted on these two.” Rika shooed away Takato and Growlmon.

“Uh, understood, Rika.” Taomon got ready to attack.

“Takato…you should move.” Growlmon muttered.

“Don’t worry, boy. I’ll be fine.” Takato shifted nervously. “I won’t let them hurt you.”

Taomon lowered her arms. “Could…could you please move, human child?” She requested sheepishly.

“What?” Rika and Takato blurted.

“I am to fight Digimon in your name, Rika. But, this child poses no threat. I can’t hurt him. It would only serve to damage your image.” Taomon told her.

“Who cares if I attacked another Tamer! Who hasn’t at this point?” Rika grinded her teeth. “Just hurry up and attack that good-for-nothing Tamer!”

“Rika, I…alright.” Taomon focused on Takato again. Her hands shook.

“T-Taomon…” Takato whispered.

“Just attack him! He’s a worthless Tamer, Taomon! He’s weak willed and inept! We lose nothing from getting rid of him!” Rika stomped her foot.

“Stop…” Growlmon slowly began to get up.

“G-Growlmon?” Takato turned to him.

“Takato isn’t a bad Tamer.” Growlmon mumbled. “He feeds me. And he pets me. And he’s always really nice…”

“H-He got back up?!” Taomon flinched. “But that attack should have been more than enough to keep him down!”

“Takato’s a good Tamer! He’s my friend!” Growlmon stepped in front of Takato.

“A friend and a Tamer are different things.” Rika replied coldly.

“Holy crap, she sounds exactly like Neo.” Takato realized. “And if Neo could piss Zero off…” He looked at Growlmon

“No, Rika!” Growlmon snarled. “Takato’s a good Tamer! And a good friend! I’ll defeat you for him!” He rushed at Taomon.

“Growlmon! You shouldn’t fight anymore, you’re already wounded-”

Growlmon looked back at Takato with determined eyes.

“I get it now.” Jijimon said as Zero was surrounded by a huge dragon of light. “He knew that Zero would use Dragon Impulse even if he told him not to. He at least wanted his partner to know that he was behind him.”

Takato closed his eyes. “Go, Growlmon! You can do it!” He yelled encouragingly.

“I’ll fight for you, Takato!” Growlmon roared. His whole body lit up with the light.

“What?!” Rika and Taomon jumped back.

“Growlmon!” Takato gasped. “No! There’s no time to hesitate!” He shook his head to refocus himself. “Go, Growlmon! I believe in you!”

“Thanks, Takato!” Growlmon was completely surrounded in the blinding light.

“Rika! He’s getting stronger!” Taomon warned her.

“That light…it’s the light of evolution!” Rika realized.

One Vision by Tanimoto Takayoshi

A new creature took form within the light. The light swirled around it before peeling away, letting everyone see the creature.

It was a hulking dragon wearing thick red and black armor on its chest, arms, and head. Huge blades rested on its arms-its arms now being cannons. His chest was literally just a big gun.

“WarGrowlmon X!” The Ultimate roared, shaking the forest around him. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes.

Takato felt his device rumble. “Your Digimon has evolved to Ultimate level-WarGrowlmon X! The Deep-crimson Heavy Tank!-do you wish to keep this evolution, or return your Digimon to their previous form?”

“N-No, he can stay as WarGrowlmon.” Takato pressed a button on his device.

“I wasn’t expecting this…” Rika gulped. “Taomon! Talisman of Light! Full power!”

“Talisman of Light!” Taomon took out her brush. She quickly swirled it around and launched another symbol at WarGrowlmon.

“End this, WarGrowlmon! You can do it!” Takato punched the air.

“Rika! Take this!” WarGrowlmon pointed each cannon at Taomon. “Atomic Blaster!” All of them lit up with blue lights before firing a triplex beam.

The beam easily shot through Taomon’s attack and continued on to Taomon.

“What?!” Taomon summoned her shield. The beams punched through it without hesitation. 

Taomon let out a scream of pain as the beams enveloped her.

“What?!” Rika gasped.

“Alright, WarGrowlmon!” Takato cheered.

WarGrowlmon stopped his barrage and the beams dispersed. A bruised and burned Taomon fell over.

OST End…

“Oh…ah…” Taomon turned back into Renamon. “I-I’m sorry, Rika…”

“Renamon!” Rika ran over to her. She looked over to Takato. “U-Um…I’m sorry about what I said before?”

“Don’t worry, Rika. I won’t hurt you two.” Takato and WarGrowlmon moved over to them. “Rika, a Digimon isn’t just a fighter or a toy. They’re our friends.”

“Yeah. Takato is my friend.” WarGrowlmon had to tilt his entire body to look at her. “And I wanted to protect my friend.”

“Friend?” Rika frowned. “I…understand. I’ve been treating Renamon like a way to enjoy myself and prove my own strength, but…I’m not the one fighting.”

“I’m not the one you should apologize to.” Takato smiled. “But I still appreciate it, right WarGrowlmon?”

“Uh huh!” WarGrowlmon nodded.

“Thanks, you two.” Rika sighed. “Come on, Renamon. Let’s get you patched up.”

“Thanks, Rika.” Renamon accepted some help up.

“H-Hold on, Rika.” Takato held his hand out. “Would you consider joining me and Tsurugi?” He asked hopefully.

“Tsurugi? As in, Tsurugi Tatsuno?” Rika’s eyes jumped. “Well…maybe in a little bit. I’d rather spend some time with Renamon before doing anything else.”

“I understand. We’re gonna go fight Majiramon then head to Tamertopia, so if you want to help us, just head to Tamertopia and we’ll link up there.” Takato gave her a thumbs up.

“Tamertopia? Bleh. I never wanted to go back there.” Rika sighed. “But I’ll consider it.” She nodded. “Beating Daemon is a goal we all share, after all.”

“Thanks, Rika. See ya soon then!” Takato waved. WarGrowlmon waved too, cutting a branch off a tree on accident.

“Bye, Takato.” Rika and Renamon walked off.

Takato and WarGrowlmon watched the two sift through the dense forest, before they finally disappeared.

“That was really close. We’re lucky that Taomon hesitated, because she could have easily beaten us…” Takato admitted.

“Takato?” WarGrowlmon turned to him.

“Yeah, pal?” Takato did the same.

“I’m really tired.” A light surrounded WarGrowlmon. Guilmon quickly fell to the floor.

“And hungry if I had to guess. Let’s get back to Tsurugi, boy!” Takato helped him up.

“Yay…food…” Guilmon muttered.

Takato and Guilmon walked back towards Tsurugi, a new evolution under their belt.

“Takato must have drunk a lot of water.” Tsurugi commented.

“Apparently.” Agumon shrugged.

=+=

As the sun slowly set, Rika and Renamon looked into the distance.

“I promise I’ll be a better Tamer from now, Renamon. I won’t force you into so many fights, and I’ll take better care of you.” Rika pledged.

“That means a lot to me, Rika. Thank you.” Renamon nodded thankfully.

“Digimon are our friends, not just weapons for our own personal use…” Rika sighed. “I wish I had realized that sooner, Renamon.”

Renamon patted her on the back sympathetically. The two waited in silence.

“You wish you had learned that simple lesson sooner?” A voice asked from behind her.

Rika and Renamon looked back, not seeing anyone. They faced forward again, jumping as someone appeared in front of them.

“What type of creature needs to learn sympathy? How can a Tamer be trusted if they can’t even fulfill the most basic duties assigned to them?!” The person in front of them shouted angrily.

“Who are you?” Rika and Renamon jumped back. Rika squinted at the figure, but the sun hit their back just right, hiding their identity in shadow and glare.

“You are a worthless Tamer-and a worse organism. Life deserts you now.” The person threatened.

“I’m not going to be threatened by some random kid! Come on, Renamon!” Rika raised her device. She got no response. “Renamon?” Rika looked to her side.

Her eyes grew wide as she found a certain Digimon holding Renamon up by her neck.

“This is mercy, Rika Nonaka. For only your Digimon.” The person snapped their fingers.

The Digimon threw Renamon to the side like a ragdoll. He walked towards Rika slowly.

“H-Hold on! H-H-How did you get that Digimon?! He’s not in the game!” Rika fell over as she stumbled back.

“The ideals required for such a Digimon, they aren’t held in your heart.” The person raised their arm.

The person nodded at their Digimon. The Digimon raised their sword.

“Leave.” The person said impartially.

“W-Wait, I’m sorry! I’ll be better! Just don’t hurt me-”

The Digimon rammed its sword through Rika’s chest. Rika’s eyes grew hollow before she and Renamon quickly disappeared.

“Hmph. She died begging for her own life.” The person shook their head. “If only I could actually get rid of her. But I guess an incurable coma is good enough.”

Their Digimon moved to their side.

“Few Tamers are capable of defeating Daemon now. Takato and Tsurugi will be watched closely.” The person moved over to their Digimon’s side.

The sun fell, covering the world in darkness.

To be continued. 3929 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16: Gold Rush! Rags To Riches On Thunder Mountain!

Tadashi poured some coffee for himself. Izzy tapped around the computer. Both of them were fairly tired.

“How many days have passed?” Izzy asked.

“Too many.” Tadashi sipped his coffee.

“And how much progress have we made?” Izzy asked.

“Not enough.” Tadashi sipped his coffee.

“Are there still protestors outside?” Izzy asked.

“Yup.” Tadashi sipped his coffee.

The two let out heavy sighs.

“Good to know not much has changed.” Tadashi walked over to his computer. “Hundreds of people are working to solve this issue, and no one has any clue. Digimon.Inc is on us, there are protesters outside harassing the office everyday, and even the Governor of Tokyo is on our case.”

“A fine summary.” Izzy brought up the progression screen. He and Tadashi quickly looked over it.

“Hold on…” Tadashi quickly typed something on the keyboard. He looked up Rika’s name. “Nothing…nothing?”

The two blinked at the screen.

“Did Rika get knocked out of the game yesterday?!” Izzy jumped.

“For the love of all that is holy! Can’t something good happen for us?!” Tadashi complained.

=+=

Takato and Tsurugi stood in front of Thunder Mountain’s pathway. At the end of the pathway was Majiramon’s arena, presumably.

“Heh. This should be easy now that you have your Ultimate form!” Tsurugi grinned.

“Lucky for us. Best of all, Rika might join our team!” Takato said excitedly.

“It’ll be nice to have three Digimon who can fight. But…none of us can fly, so how are we going to beat CannonBeemon?” Tsurugi rubbed his chin.

“We’ll figure it out when we have to, boss!” Agumon reassured him.

“Yeah. Let’s go fight Majiramon, Takatomon!” Guilmon rubbed his claws together.

“Right, let’s go!” Takato and Tsurugi pointed forward.

They began to march up the pathway without a care in the world. Thunder flashed at the top of the mountain.

=+=

The group all slumped onto the top of the mountain.

“That was a long walk…” Takato panted.

“Maybe we should have taken a break halfway up.” Tsurugi rolled onto his back.

“Oh well, no moving time back, boss!” Agumon argued while helping Tsurugi up.

“I still have a lot of energy. I ate a lot of food.” Guilmon pulled Takato back onto his feet.

“Anyways, we’re here…” The group walked further onto the top of the mountain. “Where’s Majiramon?”

More lightning struck the top of the mountain. Takato and Tsurugi covered their eyes.

“Who calls for our lord?” A bird squawked.

“Theymusthaveagoodreason!” Another Digimon said very quickly.

Takato and Tsurugi looked up at the Digimon, finding a Thundermon and a Thunderbirdmon. “Who the-Hello? Do you two work for Majiramon?” Takato inquired.

“Yes! Time is money, and he doesn’t want to waste time with foolish Tamers!” Thunderbirdmon explained.

“Soeitherpayforameetingorleave. Ordie.” Thundermon shrugged.

“What did he say?” Takato and Tsurugi blinked.

“If you wish to meet Majiramon, then you must offer him recompense for the time he will devote to your conversation. So, what do you have to offer?” Thunderbirdmon and Thundermon moved down to the ground.

“Uh…” Takato and Tsurugi checked their pockets. “We have food if he wants some.” They shrugged.

“Disgraceful!” Thunderbirdmon shook his head. 

“You’llhavetooffersomethingbetterifyouwanttotalktoMajiramon!” Thundermon stomped his foot.

“And if we can’t give him anything?” Tsurugi questioned.

“Then he will not meet with you. Leave.” Thunderbirdmon shooed them away.

Takato and Tsurugi blinked at him a few times.

“What? You think this is a joke?” Thunderbirdmon scoffed. “LEAVE!” He flapped his wings angrily.

“But…but we have to fight him for his tag!” Takato argued. “Majiramon can’t hide behind a paywall!”

“Sorrybutthatshowitworks.” Thundermon crossed his arms.

Takato and Tsurugi drooped. “All that walking and we get nothing.” They sighed.

“Hold on…” Thunderbirdmon and Thundermon looked towards the sky, seeing that clouds were beginning to gather. “Hmph. Seems like it’s your lucky day.”

“Huh?” Takato and Tsurugi raised an eyebrow.

Something heavy fell onto Takato’s head, making him wince. “Ow! What was that?!” He rubbed his head.

“Takato, look!” Tsurugi pointed upwards.

Everybody gasped as gold coins began to fall towards the ground like raindrops. Not only gold coins, but even gold bars and sparkling jewelry.

“What the heck?!” Takato, Tsurugi, and Agumon commented in bewilderment.

“Ooh, shiny.” Guilmon commented casually.

“A value rain. You don’t see these anywhere but Thunder Mountain.” Thunderbirdmon let out a noise of thought. “Very well! If you collect enough of this gold, then Majiramon will accept your offer!”

“Really? How much do we need?” Tsurugi quickly asked.

“5,400,000 yen! Majiramon needs that much money!” Thunderbirdmon declared.

“5,400,000?!” Takato jumped. “We need to start gathering that money!” He told Tsurugi.

The two got ready to pick up nearby coins when Thunderbirdmon screeched. “We will not make collecting so much currency so easy! Come, Thundermon!”

“Yeah!” Thundermon and Thunderbirdmon rushed at the two Tamers. 

“Woah!” Takato and Tsurugi gasped.

“Pepper Breath/Pyro Sphere!” Agumon and Guilmon shot fireballs at their two enemies. “We’ll keep 'em back, boss! You just worry about getting all the money!” Agumon nodded at Tsurugi.

“Thanks!” Tsurugi cleared his throat. “Agumon-”

“-Guilmon!-”

“-Digivolve!” The two Tamers shouted.

“Pests!” Thunderbirdmon and Thundermon rushed at the now Champion-level Digimon.

“Greymon! Growlmon!” The two dinosaurs met Thunderbirdmon and Thundermon in the middle.

Takato and Tsurugi snatched up some coins off the floor. Takato placed them into his blue sweater’s pocket while Tsurugi stuffed his jacket pockets.

“Spark Wing!” Thunderbirdmon swooped at Growlmon. He swung his wing, shooting several electrified feathers at him.

“Boulder Bash!” Growlmon punched them out of the way. He tried to hit Thunderbirdmon, but he pulled up before being touched. “Exhaust Flame!” He shot some fireballs at him.

Thunderbirdmon weaved through each one. “It’s despicable that someone of your strength wants to waste Majiramon’s time!” He scoffed.

Greymon tried to track Thundermon, but the small blue ball was as fast as thunder. “Stay still, you spaz!” He shot some fireballs.

“Thunder Ball!” Thundermon ran behind him. He shot a ball of thunder into Greymon’s back, making him grunt.

“My skin’s not conductive, you dope!” Greymon swung his tail at him. Thundermon hopped over it.

“Powerful Punch!” Thundermon struck him in the face as he passed by. Greymon stumbled for a second.

“Get back here!” Greymon demanded.

Tsurugi and Takato watched their partner’s brawl. “Between Thunderbirdmon’s wings and Thundermon’s speed, those two are getting mauled!” Tsurugi clenched his fists.

“Yeah…they’re not gonna win on their own!” Tsurugi furrowed his eyebrows.

“I’ll keep collecting coins, Tsurugi. You should help both of them.” Takato suggested.

“Alright. I’ll try to help when I can then.” Tsurugi ran over to the two Digimon.

“Good luck.” Takato wished as another gold coin bopped his head. “Gold is very heavy…” He rubbed his head.

“Thunder Storm!” The bolts at the end of Thunderbirdmon’s wings fired electricity at Growlmon. Growlmon swatted them away, not noticing as Thunderbirdmon swooped at him.

“Growlmon, use Exhaust Flame on Thunderbirdmon!” Tsurugi shouted.

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon quickly shot a fireball at Thunderbirdmon. Thunderbirdmon let out a surprised squeak before falling to the ground. “Thanks, Tsurugi!” He jumped at Thunderbirdmon.

“Wait, hold on-” Thunderbirdmon screamed in pain as Growlmon rammed into him.

Tsurugi looked over to Greymon and Thundermon’s battle. Thundermon circled around Greymon before jump punching him swiftly.

“Dang, Thundermon is fast.” Tsurugi squinted to track him.

“Mega Flame!” Greymon missed another shot.

Thundermon appeared behind him. “Thunder Ball!” He charged up his attack.

“But he stands still during that attack!” Tsurugi snapped. “Behind you, Greymon! Use your tail!”

“On it! Atomic Tail!” Greymon looked over his shoulder and raised his tail. He fired a bullet through Thundermon’s electric ball and straight into his face.

“Owowowowowow!” Thundermon whined.

“Nice!” Tsurugi cheered.

Thundermon and Thunderbirdmon moved to each other’s sides. “They’re getting wise. Be careful.” Thunderbirdmon muttered.

“Wellbeatthem!” Thundermon replied confidently.

Takato slowly moseyed over to other gold coins and picked them up. “My pockets…are getting filled…” He complained tiredly. “And gold is…really heavy!” He grabbed some more coins. “I don’t even know much we have at this point!”

Takato grabbed a gold bar. Thunderbirdmon stopped an attack prematurely.

“I can smell it…” Thunderbirdmon sniffed the air. “You two have acquired the money required!” He announced.

“Rightasthevaluerainwasendingtoo!” Thundermon looked at the sky, seeing that the shower of valuables was coming to an end.

“Yeah!” Tsurugi and Takato cheered. “Are we done fighting then?”

Thunderbirdmon and Thundermon laughed. “Of course not!” Thunderbirdmon growled.

“WereevilDigimonremember?” Thundermon cackled.

“Oh right.” Tsurugi drooped.

“I’ll help, Tsurugi! Let’s beat these two!” Takato and Tsurugi raised their devices. Growlmon and Greymon snarled at their opponents.

All of the Digimon launched at each other as thunder cracked in the sky.

Zero ~Hajimari no Basho~ by Ayumi Miyazaki

“Thunderbirdmon’s wings are a nuisance. How do I work against them?” Takato rubbed his chin as Growlmon and Thunderbirdmon tussled.

“Spark Wing!” Thunderbirdmon shot some more feathers out. Growlmon blocked them again, one landing in his face.

“Ouch!” Growlmon yelped as sparks came out of it. He instinctively closed his eyes to keep them from being harmed.

“Aha!” Takato grinned. “Zero versus Omnimon! I have to use the elements to my advantage!” He looked towards the sky, seeing some sparks skipping across the clouds.

“This is where it ends!” Thunderbirdmon swooped at Growlmon.

Takato snapped his goggles over his eyes. “Block your eyes, Growlmon! Quickly!” He ordered.

“Okay, Takato!” Growlmon threw his arms over his eyes.

“Fool!” Thunderbirdmon squawked.

A thunderbolt struck the ground right in front of Thunderbirdmon, blinding and startling him. He began to flail his wings as he fell towards Growlmon.

“This is your chance, Growlmon! Take him down!” Takato cheered.

Growlmon ran forward and grabbed Thunderbirdmon’s long tail. He began to slam him on the ground repeatedly.

Back with Tsurugi and Greymon, they were both trying to catch Thundermon.

“Ha! Youguysaretooslowtostopme!” Thundermon zipped around Greymon.

“We can’t beat him as long as he’s running around. We need an easy hit! Just one!” Tsurugi grinded his teeth.

“Byepuppy!” Thundermon flew at Greymon’s head.

Tsurugi’s eyes lit up. “Zero versus Kuwagamon! I got it!”

“Come get some!” Greymon pulled his arm back.

“Greymon!” Greymon turned to his partner. Tsurugi motioned him to take the hit. “Hmph. Alright!” 

“Powerful Punch!” Thundermon punched Greymon over. “Nowtofinishit!” He flew at Greymon.

Thundermon flew right in front of Greymon’s face. Tsurugi grinned. “Now, Greymon! Use Mega Flame!”

“Here we go!” Greymon released a stream of flames straight into Thundermon’s face.

“Wuh-AH!” Thundermon flailed as he fell towards Greymon.

“Let’s finish these two, Growlmon!” Greymon caught Thundermon in his hand.

Greymon and Growlmon turned to each other. “Ready! Aim-”

“-Pitch!” Takato and Tsurugi threw their arms forward.

Greymon threw Thundermon straight at Growlmon. Growlmon threw Thunderbirdmon straight at Greymon.

The two thunder loving Digimon slammed into each other.

“Exhaust Flame! Mega Flame!” Growlmon and Greymon released huge fireballs.

The fireballs burnt Thundermon and Thunderbirdmon into nothing but data. The data quickly dissipated, leaving Takato, Tsurugi, and their Digimon.

OST End…

“Yeah!” They all cheered. As Takato jumped up in celebration, some gold fell from his pockets.

“Oh right! We came here to fight Majiramon!” Tsurugi remembered.

“How do we bring him out?” Takato fished some more gold out of his pockets.

“Uh…” Tsurugi scratched his head. “Hey, Majiramon! We got some money for you if you fight us!” He held a gold watch up.

The four stood around for a few seconds.

Then, the mountain began to rumble.

“Time is money.” A creature stated with a crackly, but deep voice. “So do not waste my time.”

Takato and Tsurugi gasped as a huge shadow fell over them.

The shadow of a dragon.

To be continued. 1932 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 17: Roar Of The Great Dragon Ultimate! Mountaintop Showdown!

Takato and Tsurugi looked at the huge creature in front of them. Growlmon and Greymon growled at it.

It was a gigantic dragon-literally half the size of the mountain-staring down at them. Its skin was green and yellow, its eyes deep red. It wore a purple tunic and leather tasset.

“I am Majiramon.” Majiramon stated. “You have given me a proper offering. So I must wonder, what business do you have here?” He pointed one of his large claws at them.

“U-Uh…we came here to fight you.” Takato took a step back. “Starting to second guess that idea though…”

“Holy crap, you’re huge!” Tsurugi blurted.

“Hmph. What can I say? Wealth makes you larger than life.” Majiramon growled.

“Apparently…” Takato gulped. “Well, we’re still here to beat you!”

“Yeah! You’re going down!” Tsurugi pointed at him.

“Heh. I’ve met other Tamers who said the same.” Majiramon shook his huge head. “But none of them could get past my ‘Bao Shi’! This is where you die!” He roared.

Takato, Tsurugi, Growlmon, and Greymon slid back from the roar. They all planted their feet forward.

“We’ll beat you, Majiramon!” They all declared. 

“Exhaust Flame! Mega Flame!” Growlmon and Greymon popped some fireballs at him. The fireballs broke on Majiramon’s body harmlessly.

“1,000 yen! I value both of your attacks combined at that amount!” Majiramon lifted one of his hands up. All of the gold on Takato and Tsurugi’s persons flew into his hand.

“Oh crap.” Takato and Tsurugi commented.

“And this attack-Bao Shi-is worth 5000 yen!” Majiramon spawned a huge arrow of shining gold.

He threw it at the group. Everybody dodged back, letting the arrow strike the floor. A shockwave flew out of it upon contact, throwing each person onto their back.

“Oof…a couple of those and we’re done for.” Greymon and Growlmon helped their Tamers up.

The arrow dispersed into light as Majiramon laughed. “Empty your pockets and hand over all of your valuables. Maybe I’ll consider sparing you then.”

“No way! We’ll find a way to beat you!” Tsurugi shot back.

“Yeah! You’ve been beaten before, I’m sure of it!” Takato added.

“They say the poor are always ignorant.” Majiramon spawned another bolt of gold. “Bao Shi!” He threw another bolt at them.

The group dodged again. The arrow split into light like before, but the light actually began to take a new shape.

A rhino and a butterfly-like Digimon, both covered in golden armor, spawned in front of the group. Takato and Tsurugi gasped.

“Rhinomon and Butterflymon! His attack turned into Digimon?!” Tsurugi jumped. 

Rhinomon rushed at the group while Butterflymon flew into the air. Takato refocused himself. “Let’s focus on getting rid of those two. We can think of a plan to beat Majiramon while we do it!”

“Right! Greymon!” Tsurugi nodded.

“I’m ready, boss!” Greymon rushed at Rhinomon.

“Flying Digimon sure are annoying…” Takato sighed internally. “Alright, Growlmon!”

“Here I go, Takato!” Growlmon tried to grab Butterflymon out of the air.

“Nothing but bugs to crush!” Majiramon spawned another bolt. “Bao Shi!” He threw his next bolt.

It spawned more Rhinmon and Butteflymon. They entered the fray with the two Champions.

“Oh come on.” Tsurugi sighed. “Take those Rhinomon down, Greymon!”

“Yeah! Mega Flame!” Greymon shot a fireball at one of the Rhinomon. The Rhinomon broke it with his horn, his armor easily tanking the attack.

“Atomic Burst!” The two Rhinomon rushed at Greymon. Greymon dodged the first one and grabbed his tail before throwing him into the second one.

“These guys’ armor is way too strong! I can’t do anything to them!” Greymon scratched one with his claws, not discouraging it at all.

“Uh…what should we do-watch out!” Tsurugi quickly shouted.

“Huh?” Greymon saw Majiramon tossing another bolt straight at him. “Woah!” He jumped back as a Rhinomon rushed at him.

The bolt plowed through the Rhinomon, killing it. Greymon was also thrown over by the attack. “Hmph. Stay out of the way next time.” Majiramon scoffed.

“Hey! His attacks can easily kill these Digimon!” Takato noted. “Let’s direct him.” He whispered to Tsurugi.

“Good idea.” Tsurugi cleared his throat. “Greymon! Get Majiramon to destroy his own Digimon!”

“Alright!” Greymon stopped the other Rhinomon as it tried to run into him. The Rhinomon lit up with a gold glow, scalding Greymon’s hands.

“Hold him there.” Majiramon threw another bolt at them and Greymon quickly flipped the Rhinomon into its way. Rhinomon was destroyed, though the force of the collision made Greymon stumble back.

“Such a strong attack…” Greymon and Tsurugi muttered,

“Growlmon! You do the same!” Takato ordered.

“Alright, Takato!” Growlmon shot some fireballs at the Butterflymon. They easily dodged each fireball, accidentally lining themselves up in front of Majiramon.

“Bao Shi!” Majiramon tossed another bolt. It plowed through the Butteflymon and struck the ground. More Rhinomon and Butterflymon spawned. “Run, worms! One hit is all I need!”

“Shut it, big mouth! Atomic Tail!” Greymon shot him in the face. Majiramon didn’t flinch.

“700 yen. That attack is worth little!” Majiramon scoffed. “Bao Shi!” He got another bolt ready.

“Growlmon! Distract him!” Takato yelled.

“Exhaust Flame!” Growlmon popped a fireball into Majiramon’s face.

“900 yen. Here is my counter!” Majiramon tossed a bolt at him. Takato’s ears fluttered for a second.

Growlmon rolled out of the way, letting the bolt shoot through a misfortunate Rhinomon. Another Rhinomon spawned from the light and rammed into Growlmon’s side, making him grunt.

“So many Digimon! Is this guy going to run out of power anytime soon?!” Tsurugi stomped his foot.

“Wait…” Takato inspected Majiramon. Majiramon spawned another bolt in his hand.

“What are you looking at?!” Majiramon threw his bolt at him. 

“Ah!” Takato scrambled back. The bolt exploded into more Rhinomon and Butterflymon.

“Watch out, Takato!” Growlmon body slammed a Rhinomon before a Butterflymon punched him in the back. He continued to battle as Takato came to a realization.

“T-Tsurugi! Whenever he throws one of those arrows, he shrinks!” Takato realized.

“What?” Tsurugi looked at Majiramon. His eyes grew wide as he realized Majiramon was indeed smaller now than before. “You’re right! This guy is literally growing weaker when he wastes money!”

“Man, these boss gimmicks are weird…” Takato grumbled. “Growlmon! Keep dodging attacks and get rid of those other Digimon!”

“Same with you, Greymon!” Tsurugi clapped.

Greymon and Growlmon fell back to back. “Alright!” They responded.

Zero ~Hajimari no Basho~ by Ayumi Miyazaki

Two Butterflymon and a Rhinomon rushed at Growlmon. The same combination attacked Greymon.

“Good luck surviving this! Mega Flame-see ya.” Greymon and Growlmon jumped out of the way. Their assailants tried to follow just for several of them to get wrecked by some bolts.

“Keep running! If even one of these lands, it’s over for you!” Majiramon spawned two more and threw them out. Greymon and Growlmon maneuvered around carefully, making more of Majiramon’s minions fall to their master.

“You’re doing great, guys!” Takato and Tsurugi cheered.

“Thanks!” Greymon and Growlmon dove out of the way of some more attacks, getting more of their enemies slain.

“For the love of-stay out of the way!” Majiramon roared angrily. He was looking considerably smaller, but still pretty huge.

“Exhaust Flame! Mega Flame!” Growlmon and Greymon fired at Majiramon again. He grunted as the fireballs hit him.

“2500 yen! Almost worth not making fun of!” Majiramon tilted his head.

“2500 yen now…he’s getting weaker!” Takato realized. “A little more and we might be able to really start hurting him!” 

“You will never wound me!” Majiramon roared angrily. He spawned another bolt and shot it at Greymon.

“Watch out!” Growlmon tackled Greymon, getting grazed by the bolt. Another Rhinomon spawned behind the two.

The Rhinomon rushed at Growlmon and Greymon pushed him aside. “Behind you!” Greymon took the Rhinomon’s horn to his chest. “Jerk!” He uppercutted him.

“Thanks!” Growlmon shot a fireball at a Butterflymon in the air.

“Majiramon’s preparing another bolt!” Takato called out.

“Throw those Digimon at it!” Tsurugi ordered.

Greymon grabbed Rhinomon and threw him at Butterflymon. Growlmon struck Rhinomon’s underbelly with a fireball, knocking him into Butterflymon.

“Die!” Majiramon threw his bolt through Butterflymon and Rhinomon, aiming at Greymon. Greymon barely managed to jump back, him and Growlmon being thrown onto their backs by the ensuing shockwave.

Both Digimon panted as they got back up. Their Tamers moved over to them.

“You’re doing great, pal.” Takato patted Growlmon on the back.

“This guy doesn’t stand a chance, Greymon.” Tsurugi reassured him.

“Yeah…” Growlmon and Greymon raised their claws.

OST End…

“Enough of this charade!” Majiramon declared. “My time has been sufficiently wasted! I’m ending this now!” He brought his arms close.

“What is he going to do?” Tsurugi wondered as Greymon and Growlmon tussled with the few living Rhinomon and Butterflymon.

“Watch as I decimate all of you!” Majiramon threw his arms forward.

The sky was filled with golden arrows-exactly 108. They all trained their sights on the group.

“Oh…” Takato and Tsurugi looked around the air. “Oh…no…” Growlmon and Greymon stumbled back.

“540,000 yen! That is what I value this attack at!” Majiramon clapped his hands together. “Vedhaka!”

All of the arrows fell down onto the group.

“Oh crap!” Takato and Tsurugi hid behind their Digimon.

“Use the Rhinomon as shields!” Tsurugi ordered cleverly.

“On it, boss!” Greymon caught a Rhinomon by the horn and lifted it up. Growlmon did the same.

They flailed the bodies of the Rhinomon around, catching each arrow that was trying to impale them. Takato and Tsurugi slowly lowered themselves to the ground and covered their heads as the bombardment continued.

“You cannot stop my attack! It is worth half a million yen! It’s simply impossible to survive!” Majiramon cackled. “Especially because if you survive, I’ll lose a lot of money…” He mumbled.

Majiramon heard two bodies hit the ground. He smiled, believing he had just won, before looking at the origin of the noise.

The two Rhinomon that had been used as shields dissipated into data. Growlmon and Greymon were panting with minor wounds on themselves, but Takato and Tsurugi had been spared from any damage.

“What?!” Majiramon gasped. “You…you survived?! I…didn’t expect this…” Takato and Tsurugi watched as Majiramon began to shrink very quickly. 

“Looks like he shouldn’t have invested so much into that attack.” Tsurugi tittered.

Majiramon quickly jumped onto the mountaintop as he ended up being twice as tall as Growlmon.

“No! This wasn’t supposed to happen!” Majiramon looked at his much smaller body. “That attack has never failed before!”

“Probably has.” Takato coughed.

“It doesn’t matter! I’ll end you right now!” Majiramon roared.

“You won’t hurt Takato!” Growlmon began to glow.

“Alright, Takato! This is it! The real fight!” Tsurugi nodded.

One Vision by Tanimoto Takayoshi

“Then let’s go all out!” Takato raised his device. “Growlmon! Digivolve!”

Growlmon let out a loud roar as his body began to grow.

“No you don’t! I may be smaller now, but I won’t lose!” Majiramon skittered towards the group with his four legs.

“Horn Strike!” Greymon charged at Majiramon. Majiramon caught his head and held him back.

“You cannot overpower an Ultimate so easily!” Majiramon pushed Greymon back with one hand. He raised his other hand, spawning a bolt in it. “Your attack is worth 3000 yen! This is worth-”

“Shut up!” Greymon gut punched Majiramon. He slammed into him with his horn afterwards, making Majiramon stumble back.

“Okay…that was worth a little more than I thought…” Majiramon gripped his chest.

“And this will hurt a lot more!” WarGrowlmon stomped forward. “Atomic Blaster!” All of his cannons lit up.

“You won’t be the first to beat me!” Majiramon spawned two more arrows in his hands, making him as big as WarGrowlmon. “BAO SHI!”

“Give it all you got, WarGrowlmon!” Takato, Tsurugi, and Greymon cheered.

WarGrowlmon released his triplex lasers. Majiramon threw his arrows.

The lasers plowed through the arrows. They shot straight into Majiramon’s body and out the other side.

“AH! This attack!” Majiramon screamed in pain. “This attack is worth 20,000 yen!” Parts of his body were torn off.

“He’s still talking about money…” Takato sighed.

“Stay true to what you love, I guess.” Tsurugi and Greymon facepalmed.

“Finish this, WarGrowlmon!” Takato yelled.

“Get in there too, Greymon!” Tsurugi nodded.

“Double Edge! Horn Strike!” WarGrowlmon and Greymon rushed forward.

WarGrowlmon sliced Majiramon across the chest before moving to the side. Greymon rammed his horn into Majiramon’s chest, making him scream in pain.

WarGrowlmon finished the combo by drawing his long arm blade down Majiramon’s body vertically. Majiramon wailed as data poured out of his long wound.

“Yeah!” Takato and Tsurugi cheered. WarGrowlmon and Greymon jumped back.

“Curse you…robbers!” Majiramon cried before bursting into a shower of data.

The data flashed and crashed into one position. The collected data formed into a V-Tamer Tag.

“Yeah!” They all cheered.

WarGrowlmon and Greymon let out roars before a light surrounded them. They came out of the light as Guilmon and Agumon.

OST End…

“Nice job, guys! That was awesome!” Takato and Tsurugi ran over to their partners.

“Yeah! Majiramon was strong, but he didn’t even stand a chance!” Tsurugi spun around with Agumon.

“Can I have some food now?” Guilmon rubbed his belly.

“Sure, boy. Let’s just grab this tag first.” Takato and Tsurugi walked over to the tag.

They both grabbed it and lifted it up.

“We got the Tag of Thunder!” They declared. Agumon and Guilmon clapped.

“Now let’s get out of here before Majiramon respawns!” They all fled.

=+=

Tadashi and Izzy celebrated in their seats.

“It looks like Takato and Tsurugi both got a tag at the same time!” Izzy reported.

“Which means those two are working together! Another Tamer team that’s doing well!” Tadashi clapped triumphantly.

“Let’s see…Takato and Tsurugi only need two more tags. Ryouma’s group is the same. Doesn’t look like anyone else has three tags yet.” Izzy quickly scrolled through the progression screen.

“Aw, it’s fine! As long as one of the two groups succeeds, everything will work out!” Tadashi placed his hands behind his head confidently.

“Yup. Let’s hope Takato and Tsurugi are up to the challenge. If Ryouma’s group succeeds, their heads are only going to get bigger.” Izzy shook his head.

“Eat or be eaten, Izzy. That’s how the Digital World works.” Tadashi leaned forward in his seat. “The strong will come out on top.”

“I guess we’ll see who wins soon enough.” Izzy and Tadashi stared at the progression screen. “Good luck, everybody!”

To be continued. 2410 words.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18: Mon Maze! Stories Of A Different Time! 

Takato and Tsurugi walked with Guilmon and Agumon. They were making good time on their arrival to Tamertopia, and they would probably be there in a day.

“Kiyoshiro’s a cool guy. His Digimon was a little weird, but their heart is in the right place.” Tsurugi informed Takato.

“A town full of peaceful Tamers. Honestly, I can’t blame them for not even wanting to try.” Takato sighed.

“Who even knows how many Tamers are left in the game now though.” Tsurugi crossed his arms. “I haven’t seen another one since we fought LoaderLiomon.”

“Rika was the last Tamer I saw. This world’s pretty big though, so I guess it’s reasonable that we aren’t running into Tamers left and right.” Takato argued.

“Yeah…still, it would be nice to have a whole party of Tamers who wanted to take down Daemon.” Tsurugi shook his head.

“I’m sure our group will grow soon enough.” Takato reassured him.

“Yeah!” Agumon and Guilmon nodded.

=+=

Tadashi and Izzy continued to type away. Of course, they hadn’t made any progress, but that was to be expected.

“Neo told me that none of the Tamers in the hospital were doing any better. It doesn’t look like they’ve gotten worse though.” Tadashi revealed.

“It’s good that they aren’t getting worse, but if no one can beat Daemon, those kids are as good as dead.” Izzy grumbled.

“We need to find a way to help them. Typing on these computers hasn’t accomplished anything!” Tadashi slammed his fist down on the desk.

“But no one can go into the game! And even if we could send someone in, we’d have to figure out who they should help and how to find them-” Izzy was cut off by his phone ringing.

He took it out and answered. He put the phone to his ear and listened. 

“W-What? Really?” Izzy’s eyes lit up with interest. “Yes, that sounds good. If you can, bring them to our office as soon as possible. This might be what we need!”

Izzy listened for a few more seconds. He gave the person on the other side one more thank you and bid farewell to them.

“Who was it?” Sigma asked as Izzy lowered his phone.

“Detective Inui. He said he might have found someone who can help us.” Izzy stated hopefully. “But for them to be of any use, we need to decide what Tamers to help.”

“Either Ryouma or Tsurugi. We just need to find one of the two.” Tadashi nodded.

“Right. Let’s get to work!” Izzy and Tadashi began to type with renewed vigor.

=+=

Takato and Tsurugi continued their travels. They had decided to take a different route than Tsurugi had taken to Thunder Mountain originally, hoping to see new things to explore.

“This place would have been awesome to explore if we weren’t stuck in it.” Takato whined.

“Yeah. And we probably wouldn’t feel as tired as we are if this was just a game.” Tsurugi sighed.

“Takatomon? Tsurugimon?” Guilmon walked behind them with Agumon on his shoulders.

“I’m still not a Digimon.” Tsurugi coughed.

“Yeah?” Takato turned to Guilmon.

“I can see something up ahead, boss! A big old building!” Agumon reported.

“Really?” Tsurugi and Takato exchanged glances.

“Let’s check it out!” Takato proposed. The others nodded.

They all walked towards the building. Its large figure slowly came into view.

“Hey! It looks a lot like Centarumon’s temple!” Takato noticed.

“Do you think there’s anything in there?” Tsurugi inquired.

“Maybe some cool art to look at. I say we go in!” Takato and Guilmon looked excited.

“Sure. It looks like a nice place to stop and eat some grub.” Tsurugi shrugged.

“I’m always happy to chow down, boss!” Agumon waved from atop Guilmon.

The group reached the temple and found some places to sit down. Guilmon and Agumon sniffed the air.

“I don’t smell any Digimon.” Guilmon looked around.

“Probably because everything smells like old, moldy grass. Blehh.” Agumon flinched.

“That explains why Centarumon got the jump on us last time.” Takato realized.

“Maybe we should check the temple a little more thoroughly then?” Tsurugi and Takato got up from their seats.

All of them walked into the temple. They looked around the very empty inside.

“Well, this isn’t as exciting as I was hoping.” Takato pouted.

“But it doesn’t look like there are any Digimon around here at least.” Tsurugi and Guilmon walked to one side. 

“I guess we should just go back outside and eat then.” Takato and Agumon walked to the other side.

“Yup. Come on-” They heard the sound of several levers clicking. “...What was that?”

Panels under Takato and Agumon, and Tsurugi and Guilmon opened up. They all exchanged glances before falling.

=+=

“Ow…ow…” Takato’s eyes fluttered. “Guilmon? Tsurugi? Agumon?”

“That you, boss?” Agumon muttered.

Takato and Agumon raised their heads. They stared at each other for a few seconds.

“Guilmon/Tsurugi!” They both hopped up. “Where are they?!”

“Aw man, where did Tsurugi go?” Agumon grabbed the sides of his head.

“And why did the floor just fall open like that?” Takato rubbed his head.

“We gotta find them, Takato!” Agumon ran over to him.

“Right! Come on!” Takato and Agumon ran down a hallway.

After a few seconds, they ended up right where they were before.

“I think we’re in a maze.” Takato drooped.

“Dang it! We need to find them!” Agumon dashed off again. Takato got ready to follow him before he heard Agumon scream.

“Agumon! Are you okay?” Takato called out.

“Don’t go in that direction!” Agumon dashed back over to Takato, grabbed his hand, and bolted down a different hallway.

Takato looked over his shoulder, seeing a Minotarumon chasing after them.

“Ah!” Takato and Agumon picked up their pace.

=+=

Tsurugi and Guilmon walked down one of the hallways. Tsurugi sighed. “Definitely a maze. And a big one at that.” He told Guilmon.

“Tsurugimon, we need to find Takatomon!” Guilmon frowned.

“He can’t be far from here! Come on!” Tsurugi and Guilmon got ready to run again.

Guilmon sniffed the air. “There’s a Digimon nearby.” He said casually.

“Really? Which direction-” Tsurugi was cut off by a large arrow grazing his hair. “Nevermind.” He turned to face the threat.

A Sagittarimon got another arrow ready. He pointed it straight at Tsurugi.

“We should probably go now.” Tsurugi and Guilmon gunned it down a random hallway. More arrows flew after them.

=+=

Takato and Agumon peeked around a corner. “Looks like we lost him. We need to find a way out of here ASAP!” Takato gulped.

“Uh huh. Without Tsurugi, I can’t beat that guy!” Agumon drooped.

“And I can’t do much without Guilmon.” Takato sighed. “How do we get out of this place?” He faced forward.

Takato jumped back as he found a single podium in front of himself. It had something written into its stone body. In front of them lay three hallways, each possessing a different image over them.

“What the heck?” Agumon scratched his head.

“Must be a quiz to get out of here! Don’t worry. If I could get past the Monmon, I can get past this!” Takato and Agumon walked up to the first podium.

Agumon cleared his throat. “Decades before, there were fourteen heroes of the Digital World. You assuredly know of one, possibly more, but who was the last to join?”

“Uh…fourteen heroes? There’s Tai, Rei, Sigma, Mari, Hideto, and Neo. That’s only six.” Takato counted his fingers. “Maybe…HolyAngemon, Leo, Gabo, Starmon, Pal, Pul? But that’s only twelve…”

“How about you add in Gekovitch and Jijimon?” Agumon suggested.

“Yeah, yeah. Good idea…If that’s what we’re going off of, then Neo joined them last.” Takato snapped his fingers. “...wait, have you read the V-Tamer Manga?”

“Tsurugi read it out loud and I heard everything. Plus he always had my device nearby whenever we watched the show.” Agumon shrugged. “Anyways, which hall do we choose then?” Helooked at the images over the hallways. 

One was the crest of kindness, one was a very worn out image of the Digimental, and the final one was some goggles.

“Well, I can’t tell what that second one is, and the goggles have to be Tai’s…the first one looks like the crest of kindness, and Neo’s described as being kind before he was evil, so…” Takato nodded confidently. “Come on!”

Takato and Agumon ran through the crest of kindness hallway. They both found another podium that simply said “Ken! Correct!”

“Who the heck is Ken?” Takato scratched his head.

“I don’t know, but I don't think he's gonna save us from Minotarumon!” Agumon shoved Takato down the hallway as he heard loud footsteps coming at them.

“Onto the next question!” Takato and Agumon continued to run.

=+=

Tsurugi and Guilmon ran down a hallway. They both stopped as they entered a large room filled with images.

“Woah…what the heck is this stuff?” Tsurugi gawked at the drawings.

“This place looks pretty.” Guilmon commented.

“This is…” Tsurugi squinted at one of the carvings. “A whip? Next to a Wormmon and a Kimeramon…” He followed the carvings as they progressed.

They told a story of some kid wearing a long cape and a smug grin. Slowly, other kids succeeded against the first kid, ending with a battle between Kimeramon and a bunch of Champions. At the end of the carvings was an image showing the crest of kindness.

“What is this place?” Tsurugi muttered. An arrow flew by behind him.

“I don’t know, but we should keep moving. Sagittarimon might hit us eventually.” Guilmon looked over his shoulder.

“Right. Come on!” Tsurugi and Guilmon dashed down the hallway in front of them.

=+=

Takato and Agumon came to a halt in the next room. It was a large room, filled with carvings and stone images, but no way forward.

“This place gets weirder and weirder.” Takato sighed. “What are these carvings?” He looked at the wall.

He followed the story told by the images. It was started with simple spires, but the next images showed the spires coming together to create a creature.

Takato quickly identified the creature to be WarGreymon, though the stone that was used to make his figure was considerably darker than the other images. At the end of the story, WarGreymon turned into a special version of himself, wearing jetpacks and long claws.

At the end of the wall were several Digicode letters.

“Ooh, Digicode…” Takato squinted at it. “It says ‘Hades’. What does that have to do with WarGreymon?” Takato asked out loud.

“You got me, Takato.” Agumon walked over.

“...Agumon?!” Takato and Agumon jumped.

“That voice! Is that you, Tsurugi?” Takato called out.

“Takatomon!” Guilmon responded.

“You guys are okay! And you can hear us!” Takato and Agumon cheered.

“About that, we’re stuck over here! There’s this little podium that has a question, but I don't know what the answer is!” Tsurugi told Takato.

“Really? We’re also stuck, but the room just has a bunch of drawings.” Takato replied.

“Huh…we also ended up in a room like that, but the entrance was open!” Tsurugi remembered.

“Hmm…” Takato furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s the question on the podium?” He asked.

“Not a normal Digimon, a villain turned good, this black-skinned warrior represents the opposite of heaven. Which is?” Tsurugi read out. “And then the answers we can choose are Gehenna, Hell, and Hades.”

“Oh, HellWarGreymon is an awesome name!” Agumon commented on the other side.

“Yeah…GehennaGreymon’s kinda cool too though.” Tsurugi rubbed his chin.

“The answer is Hades, Tsurugi! It says so on this wall!” Takato shouted.

“Hades? Alright!” Tsurugi and Agumon ran over to the Hades hallway.

A door shut behind them as a podium came into view in front of them. It simply said “Hades! Correct!”

“Yeah!” Tsurugi and Guilmon celebrated. “You were right, Takato!...Takato?”

Takato and Agumon listened on the other side of the wall. “Guilmon? Tsurugi? Are you still there?” They got no response.

A door opened up in the room. Takato and Agumon exchanged glances before running through it.

Both groups ran down their respective hallways. The stomps of their pursuers slowly grew closer as they sped up.

They both skidded to a halt as both groups ended up in a large room. Both of their rooms were covered in images. They also had three hallways to go down, with answers above the doors like before.

Their questions this time were: Teamwork is an incredible skill to have, though the way creatures work together can be very different. Together, what power is achieved by two certain creatures?

“Guilmon! Tsurugi! Can you hear us?” Takato called out.

“...Yeah! Let’s figure out what answer is right!” Tsurugi yelled.

“Stay safe, boss!” Agumon patted the wall.

Takato, Agumon, Tsurugi, and Guilmon quickly began to look over the walls.

“This story is about…” Takato squinted. Agumon sniffed the air behind him.

“Ah! Minotarumon coming in hot!” Agumon looked towards the doorway.

Minotarumon burst into the room. He roared at the two before rushing at them.

“Keep going, Takato!” Agumon jumped at Minotarumon and entered a struggle with him.

Tsurugi and Guilmon could hear battle on the other side of the wall. “Are you guys okay?” Tsurugi called out.

“I think they’re fighting a Digimon.” Guilmon hypothesized. “Also, I smell Sagittarimon.” He said as an arrow flew over his head.

Sagittarimon galloped into the room. He got another arrow ready.

“I’ll protect you, Tsurugimon!” Guilmon rushed at Sagittarimon. He tackled him before he could shoot, causing the arrow to miss.

Takato and Tsurugi began to scan the walls quickly. Agumon and Guilmon were being easily beaten by their assailants.

Takato’s story was about the many fusions that he had seen in the V-Tamer Manga. SkullSatamon, Ghoulmon, and Omnimon. But after that, it also showed other Jogresses that he had only known about because of Net Battle and a couple other Digimon Games.

Finally, his story ended with a carving of Hawkmon.