A Twist of Fate
I don't own Digimon, I'm just sort of playing around with it.
Before we begin this story I feel the need to give a preface so that you as the reader know exactly what you're in for when we start. As you can probably tell from the summary I provided for this fanfic it is an alternate Tamers universe with some of the Digimon partners switched around. By some, I mean the main three and Impmon.
Now what does this mean for the plot of Tamers? Surprisingly less than one might think. A lot of the season's plot is really outside of our heroes' hands. What partners our main trio have isn't really going to affect what Yamaki and HYPNOS do, or what Digimon appear and when and where they do. If you're expecting the canon plot to go out the window this isn't your kind of fic.
That's not to to say that changes won't occur, because they will. It's just that the overarching plot of the season will remain intact. What will change are the characters themselves. Not in the sense that the canon characters won't be there or won't act like themselves, but that their interactions and character development will change and that of course will change the story in quite a few interesting ways.
You see the relationship between a human and their Digimon partner is symbiotic (especially in Tamers which has some of the most fleshed out Digimon partners of the the franchise). The pair learn and grow from one another and their outlook on the world changes due to said interaction. So if you mix the partners up the lessons learned and the outlooks formed change, therefore how the new partnerships interact with everyone else changes as well. That's what we'll really be exploring here. Are these changes good or bad? Let's find out together.
Chapter 1: Nails in the Wrong Shoes
Rika Nonaka tossed the medal she'd just won into the corner of her room. It meant nothing to her. Her victories in the Digimon card game tournaments were getting to be too easy now. She was the best, the Digimon Queen. No, that wasn't quite true, at least not in her mind. She was only second best, there was still someone Rika felt she needed to defeat before she could truly be called the best.
Ryo Akiyama, the only person to ever best her in the Digimon card game. The one they called the Digimon King. Rika still hadn't gotten over the stinging loss he'd handed her over a year ago. She desperately wanted another shot at him, a chance to prove once and for all that she was better than him. Unfortunately he'd disappeared shortly after the tournament he'd beat her in, that was how she'd attained her title. There was no one else who compared with Ryo in terms of skill.
As much as Rika loathed to admit it, even to herself, without the motivation to put Ryo Akiyama in his place once and for all the card game had just become boring to her. Every match she was in was a complete walkover in her favor. The game just didn't present any challenge to her anymore.
That realization was bitterly humorous. Digimon was her thing. It was her escape from a life where her father had abandoned them and had another family and her mother the famous fashion model was barely ever around. Even when her mother was around she wasn't much comfort. She didn't understand Rika at all and just wanted to turn her into her own little mini-me. Digimon was the thing she excelled at and now ironically she was too good at it to enjoy it.
She still loved Digimon. Sometimes she wished they were real, a real battle, now that would be a challenge. She'd put considerable thought into what kind of Digimon partner she would have. Eventually she decided that no normal Digimon would do. She didn't want just any partner, she wanted the perfect partner. So she'd decided to design her own Digimon.
It was dorky, she knew that. Designing their own Digimon, that was something losers and geeks did. So why did she do it? Honestly she had no idea, it just felt right to her. Imagining the look on Ryo's face when she showed up with her own custom-made living breathing Digimon brought a smirk of satisfaction to her face. If she could tame a real Digimon then no one would ever claim that Ryo Akiyama was better than her again.
It was never going to happen though. Rika knew that. Digimon was just fiction. A card game, an anime, video games. None of it was real and it never would be. Still she pulled the small notebook that had all the specifications for her perfect Digimon out of the back pocket of her jeans to admire them one more time.
On these pages were rather crude drawings of a red and black dinosaur-like Digimon. A Virus-type, Rookie level, after all where was the challenge in just making a Mega level Digimon? She'd dubbed him Guilmon. While she had made her ideal partner a Rookie level she'd made him strong for that level at the very least. The Digimon Queen shouldn't have a weak Digimon after all. His Pyro Sphere attack would be devastating to his foes.
Rika made her way over to the table in her room and put down the box that contained her Digimon cards and card reader but since she was doing so one-handed she managed to lose her grip on the box and its contents spilled all over the floor.
Rika cursed slightly as she moved to clean the mess up. She put her notebook on the table so she could use both hands and began to scoop her cards back into the box. That was when she saw it, the card that would change her life forever. It was an almost solid blue, with a holographic stylized yellow D with some sort of darker blue monster coming out of it on the back. That gave Rika pause, and with good reason, she knew she didn't own a card like this. Had some wise guy slipped it into her box at the tournament?
Curiosity got the better of her and she swiped it through her card reader. Immediately the screen went haywire showing random numbers in rapid succession. Not only that but the device begun to violently spark. Rika dropped it like a hot potato and watched in awe as her card reader changed shape before her eyes. What it became was a mostly white device that still had a card reader slot ,a couple of blue buttons at the bottom, a small screen surrounded by a black square and then a blue ring. There was a blue strap at the top with a black clip that would make it easier to carry.
Somehow Rika knew what this thing was. It was impossible, it couldn't be real. She had to be dreaming. Yet when she reached out to touch it felt solid and real. It was a Digivice. It was her Digivice. Had the universe heard her wish and made the game a reality for her? No, not quite, she still didn't have her own Digimon. How was she going to get one of those?
Rika immediately regretted asking herself that question. She became surrounded by silhouettes of Digimon all creeping closer to her. She stumbled backward leaving her Digivice on the table. The Digimon began to speak.
"There she is, the one the call the Digimon Queen." One said.
"The strongest of them all." Another chimed in.
"Make me stronger!"
"Make me Digivolve!" A dozen Digimon were calling out to her, begging her to tame them. The shadows crept ever closer, threatening to claim her. She kept moving away finally hitting wall of her room. With no visible escape there was only one thing she could do: Plead with the monsters.
"Get back! I can't tame all of you, I only want one strong Digimon!" The shadows kept moving closer. She had to do something. She needed help on impulse Rika called out the first name that came to mind.
"Guilmon!" After all the strange things that had happened in the last few minutes Rika shouldn't have been as surprised as she was when she saw her designs for Guilmon tear themselves from her notebook and scan themselves through her Digivice's card reader but she was. After all, paper didn't move on its own, of course Digimon weren't supposed to be real either.
The Digimon retreated from her, leaving Rika alone in her room once more. She took some deep breaths to steel herself and walked back over to the table. With trembling hands she reached out for her Digivice and picked it up. Looking at the screen she couldn't help but smile as she saw a Digi-egg. Guilmon's Digi-egg.
Judging from what she'd just seen this wouldn't be some virtual pet game. Digimon were real. If those Digimon could come to her than Guilmon certainly could. She was even willing to bet that some wild Digimon had crossed over into the real world. It was time for the Digimon Queen to take her game to the next level. Rika Nonaka was going to have her own Digimon, not just any Digimon though, her perfect Digimon for her. The one she designed herself. She was going to have Guilmon.
With a smirk on her lips Rika made a statement that, if they had heard it would've chilled the blood of most Digimon. "Game on."
Takato Matsuki was a pretty normal kid. He went to school, he got decent grades and liked to goof off with his friends. He had his hobbies, chief among them art and Digimon. Takato was a decently talented artist and a self-professed Digimon fanboy. If he wasn't watching Digimon or playing the card game he was drawing pictures of Digimon, or rather one particular Digimon.
The walls of Takato's room were lined with hand drawn pictures of a yellow bipedal fox with purple gloves. Renamon. Renamon was Takato's favorite Digimon of all. He'd often thought of making his own Digimon when he first started watching the show, but then he got a Renamon card and the rest was history.
Something about Renamon captivated him in a way no other Digimon could. When he pictured himself with a Digimon partner he always pictured himself with a Renamon. Then came that day six months ago when his wish came true.
He'd found a mysterious Blue Card in his collection and scanned it through his card reader. The card reader turned into a Digivice. Thinking he got a wish he wished that Renamon was his. Just like that she appeared in front of him and they'd been a team ever since. Fighting Digimon to make Renamon stronger.
It was what Renamon wanted, she wanted to be stronger, to Digivolve. So when wild Digimon appeared Takato and Renamon would go fight them. Sometimes they had to retreat because the Digimon were just too strong for Renamon but she'd still been able to download a decent amount of data and get stronger.
She hadn't been able to Digivolve though. Takato was beginning to wonder if he was doing something wrong. Everything was so simple on the TV show. Renamon had come to him so he could make her stronger. She was getting stronger, but was it fast enough for her? Was he a good enough Tamer for her? Takato was snapped out of his thoughts when appeared in front of him in a shimmer.
Takato was glad it was dark so the blush on his face was hidden. He tried not to stare at the beautiful creature in front of him, he probably didn't succeed. His gaze wandered up to Renamon's piercing blue eyes and lingered there.
"A new Digimon has appeared." She said curtly. Takato had only been paying partial attention but he got the message and got of of bed quickly and changed out if his pajamas and into his street clothes and goggles. Back when he'd first become Renamon's Tamer these late night fighting sessions had been hard on him but now he was a practiced hand at getting ready as fast as possible. He was less than thrilled about having to go out tonight, he could hear rain and thunder. Going out in a storm meant having to make sure his parents didn't notice the wet clothes, but he just couldn't say no to Renamon.
"Alright, lead the way." He said. The pair of them were deathly silent as they crept downstairs, a skill Renamon had had to help Takato develop after the first few attempts had ended in disaster. His parents had caught him trying to sneak out of the house to fight Digimon early in his partnership with Renamon. He had only just recently gained back their trust, one false move and he might as well kiss Digimon taming goodbye.
Takato gave himself a brief pat on the back for managing to not wake his parents up as he closed the door to their home and bakery. Wordlessly he climbed on his bike and followed Renamon as she took off in the direction of the digital field that would house the newly emerging Digimon. He tried desperately to focus on the coming battle and not how radiant his partner looked in the moonlight but his heart just wasn't in it.
In all honesty he wasn't even sure what his job as a Digimon Tamer actually was. Renamon assured him that their partnership was important, that Takato would be able to make her stronger. He just sort of stood there and watched her fight, and while that was fun he couldn't help but feel like he wasn't really needed and Renamon was just trying to make him feel better.
So Takato's mind went back on autopilot and he returned to admiring his partner's graceful movements. Takato shook his head to clear it, these strange thoughts about Renamon needed to stop. "You're a human, she's a Digimon. You can't..." Can't what, he stopped that thought in its tracks. Takato didn't dare follow that train of thought to its conclusion. He was afraid of what he might find at the end of the tracks.
He had his suspicions of where that train of thought would lead deep down, but he couldn't risk following it. He didn't dare admit or contemplate what he thought these feelings might be. There was nothing good down that road. Besides who knew what Renamon would think... Takato sighed in relief as telltale fog bank of a Digimon crossing over into the real world appeared in his vision. Now there would be a distraction from his odd thoughts, at least for a little while. Now it was time to fight.
Takato moved his goggles to their proper place around his eyes, instead of on his forehead where he usually kept them and left his bike on the side of the street. Renamon had already entered the digital field so he followed his partner into battle. Takato shivered as he walked, it had already been cold due to the thunderstorm, though the rain was being slowed by the field, and for some reason he didn't understand it was always slightly colder inside digital fields.
It usually was anyway. This one was odd in that respect, the deeper he got into the field the warmer the temperature became. Maybe it had something to do with whatever Digimon had come through. He'd know soon enough, the fog was beginning to clear slightly which meant he was getting close to the center of the field and the new Digimon. He found Renamon there waiting for him.
"Any idea what we're dealing with Renamon?" He asked the fox Digimon as he put his goggles back on his forehead; this deep into the digital field he no longer needed the protection they afforded him. He saw his partner narrow her sapphire orbs at the still silhouetted Digimon in front of them. Takato knew that Renamon had better eyesight than he did, Digimon generally had better eyesight than humans.
The Digimon analyzer function of his Digivice which was tied into Renamon's eyes activated. Takato saw a flaming feline form appear in the picture. He gripped the red device and brought it closer to his face so he could read the data on their new pray easier.
What he read he then spoke aloud, "Lynxmon, a Vaccine attribute Animal Digimon. Armor level, which is equivalent to a Champion. It's a rival to Garurumon and its attacks are Howling Buster and Wild Nail Claws. It looks like this one may be tough Renamon."
"Don't worry Takato, I can handle it." Renamon's voice had a cool, almost soothing tone as she stalked forward. Takato knew that his partner was trying to put him at ease. He wanted to believe that Renamon could handle Lynxmon, it wasn't that he didn't have faith in her, it was just that with every battle he feared he might lose her. That was a thought he truly could not bear. He wished he knew how to help her, how to make her Digivolve, but for now all he could do was just stand on the sidelines and hope for the best. He hated this part of being Renamon's Tamer.
Renamon stalked forward slowly, catching the attention of the snarling Lynxmon, Takato began to back up, knowing how dangerous these confrontations could be. He'd done so just in time too. Lynxmon lunged forward attacking Renamon, causing an explosion on impact. If he had to guess he'd say that had been Lynxmon's Wild Nail Claw attack. Takato shielded his eyes an turned away from the battle for a moment in order to recover from the explosion. When the smoke cleared Takato saw that Lynxmon was on top of Renamon and had his partner pinned down.
Takato's heart was in his throat, afraid that Lynxmon was about to go in for the killing blow. Afraid that this would be the end of Renamon and their partnership. Those fears proved unfounded however as Renamon kicked her fiery opponent off of her. Takato had to resist the urge to cheer, lest he grab Lynxmon's attention and make his partner's job harder by making her have to worry about his safety instead of just focusing purely on the fight at hand.
Lynxmon landed on its feet as cats were so famed for doing. Renamon was back in a battle ready position, muscles tense.
"Howling Buster!" Lynxmon called. Red flames erupted from its mouth. Renamon jumped into the air to dodge the attack, her powerful leg muscles carrying her several feet into the air. She then crossed her arms over her chest and a white energy began to gather. Takato smiled knowing exactly what was going to happen next.
"Diamond Storm!" Renamon called as she moved her arms back into more normal positions and unleashing several dozen razor sharp white leaves at Lynxmon. The attack made contact and shredded Lynxmon into millions of tiny bits of data that Renamon absorbed.
The digital field immediately dissipated bringing with it the return of the storm. Renamon land next to Takato who smiled at her and spoke, "Good job Renamon, let's go home. I'll sneak you some bread as a reward for a job well done."
"Thank you Takato, that sounds nice." Renamon replied. With that said the pair departed the scene of the battle and made their way back to the Matsuki bakery.
Henry Wong sighed in relief as his partner finally stopped struggling to get to the door of his room. This same thing happened every time a new Digimon appeared in the real world. His Digimon partner, if one could call their strained relationship a partnership wanted to fight any and every Digimon that came from the other side. Henry, a staunch pacifist for reasons that still stung to remember couldn't disagree more, he felt that Digimon were coming to Earth for something that they couldn't get in the Digital World, not just a new venue to fight in.
"Are you happy now, the Digimon is gone, I missed another fight, someone else has probably downloaded its data and gotten stringer while I was stuck here fighting with you." Henry let his partner, Impmon go and glared at the purple Digimon.
"I'd be happier if I didn't have to fight you every time a new Digimon appeared." Henry said.
"You wouldn't have to fight me if you would just let me fight." Impmon met Henry's gray glare unflinchingly with a green one of his own.
"You know how I feel about fighting Impmon, that may have been your life in the Digital World but I won't have it here. As long as you're my partner you're going to play by my rules. Do you understand me?"
"Yeah, I understand, I understand that you're a wimp! Why did I have to end up with such a wuss as a partner? Maybe I'll just go find one who actually has enough spine to fight." Impmon threatened. Henry felt his blood starting to boil, his Digimon could always do that to him.
Henry to slow deep breaths to reign himself in before speaking again, "You and I both know that's an empty threat Impmon, if you were going to leave you would have done it already. Whether you like my philosophy or not, you obviously feel some attachment to me and won't leave. So just let it go, I'm not going to kill living creatures just because you want to."
"Henry, I'm a Digimon, fighting is what I do." Impmon's voice while still angry now had a more pleading tone. The half Chinese Tamer took note of the fact that his partner hadn't disputed the accusation that he wouldn't leave and tried not to feel too smug about that.
"Not anymore, we've been over this a thousand times Impmon. I'm not killing Digimon, which means no fighting other Digimon. You're just going to have to deal with that. Now go back to sleep. Impmon grumbled but complied with the order from his Tamer.
Henry sighed in relief and turned the light back off. Impmon could be so frustrating, some days Henry sincerely wished he'd picked something a little easier to handle in that fateful video game. Like, say a Terriermon or something. At the very least he's probably have less migraines with a Terriermon as his partner.
Henry glanced over at the snoring purple form of his Digimon. "I'm sorry Impmon but not fighting is for your own good. If you fight you might Digivolve and if you Digivolve you might lose control again and I can't let that happen again." Memories of a Devimon rampaging through the game sent a shiver down his spine. Seeing that once had been more than enough for Henry.
Rika woke with a start from the strange dream she'd just had. She'd dreamed of Digimon fighting, a Lynxmon and a Renamon. There had been a boy there too, with a Digivice like hers, only his had been red instead of blue. It was possible that the whole thing was just a dream, that after what had happened yesterday her mind was still reeling and she'd had that dream as a result, but Rika doubted that was the case.
It all just felt too real somehow. Too real to just be a dream, too detailed, and to top off the strangeness her hair was wet. It had rained in her dream last night, this whole thing was getting just a bit too weird for Rika's taste. Not that she had a particularly high tolerance for weird stuff. Shoving the oddities from her mind Rika got ready for the day.
Almost as an afterthought Rika put her Digivice in her schoolbag. She didn't want to miss Guilmon's hatching if she could help it after all. School itself was a boring affair as usual. She checked on Guilmon's egg whenever she could, but it hadn't hatched yet. So Rika headed home still waiting for the big moment to arrive.
It finally did shortly after she got home. Her Digivice beeped so she checked it to find that the egg had hatched but Guilmon was nowhere to be seen. She frantically pressed the buttons on the Digivice, trying to find some way to locate her Digimon. Finally she found what appeared to be a compass.
"So it's going to be a hunt is it? Fine by me." She thought. Rika was thankful that she'd at least had time to change out of her school uniform before this happened, her street clothes were much easier. Rika moved like lightning strapping on her card holder and putting her deck inside as well as grabbing her violet hued sunglasses. If that strangely realistic dream she'd had last night was any indication she'd need them.
She'd need the sunglasses in order to see in the strange fog that came with a Digimon, and the cards to fight off any other Tamers that would show up and attempt to defeat Guilmon and load his data. The Digimon Queen wasn't about to go into a possible battle situation unprepared. With only the quickest possible word to her grandmother so she wouldn't get in trouble Rika took off running, Guilmon was waiting for her.
Henry absentmindedly tapped away on his keyboard. His homework wasn't all that difficult, requiring only the barest amount of concentration. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched his little sister Suzie playing with Impmon and smiled. Suzie, like everyone else, thought that Impmon was a stuffed animal so he couldn't protest to the treatment the little girl was giving him.
Impmon detested the things Suzie put him through, but knew better than to speak up, that would cause more questions and headaches that he and Henry wanted to deal with. Truth be told Henry was quite glad for his sister's strange fascination with his impish Digimon partner. When Suzie was around Impmon couldn't get into trouble because he had to keep up the masquerade.
"Henry, look at the pretty light." His sister's childish voice caught his attention and he looked out the window to see a rather large digital field forming. He looked back toward Impmon who obviously wanted to go fight whatever new Digimon had appeared.
Henry gave his partner a look as if to reinforce the conclusion to the argument they'd had last night. They weren't going to be fighting any Digimon. Something in Impmon's eyes gave Henry pause, there was something more there then just the usual eagerness to fight something. There was confusion, and was that concern? Okay now Henry had to know what was going on.
"Suzie, could you step out for a minute, I need some quiet. Leave Impmon here please." He said.
"Okay Henry." She said but she clearly wasn't happy about it. Once he was sure she was out of earshot he spoke, "We're not fighting it Impmon. You know that, but I'm curious as to why this new Digimon seems to have you so spooked."
"There's something different about this one, Henry." Impmon said.
"Different how?" The Tamer asked.
"I'm not really sure, I'm just getting a weird feeling from this one okay?" Henry paused for a moment.
"This isn't just you trying to trick me so you can go pick a fight is it?" Impmon scoffed at him.
"Henry, I am insulted that you think I would sink to such low tactics just to get into a fight. Do you really think I would lie to you?"
"Yes actually, I do. Still on the off chance this isn't you just trying to pick a fight this may be worth checking out."
"Gee thanks for that show of faith in me. A Tamer that doesn't even trust his own Digimon, I'll tell ya, I got a real gem here I did. By the way if you don't do something about your sister and her Princess Pretty-pants treatment I swear one day I'm going to snap and Bada Boom her." It was clear that Impmon wasn't joking. Henry glared at his unruly Digimon.
"If you so much as try that and you really will be looking for a new Tamer," Like Impmon there was no humor in his tone when he said that, "Now let's go see that Digimon that has you so freaked out."
Rika was starting to wonder if Guilmon was worth it now. She'd had to go quite a distance with nothing but her Digivice's compass to guide her and she was fast approaching a construction site. In order to find her Digimon she now had to crawl through a grimy tunnel. She wasn't afraid of getting a little dirty or anything but this was making a mess of her favorite shirt.
Rika cursed softly as she put her hand down and felt something furry under it. The agitated squeak of a rat told her what it was, It and several of its friends went scurrying down the tunnel ahead of her. "You hand better be worth it Guilmon." She muttered.
As she came to the end of the tunnel she saw a fog bank like the one from her dream the night before and put on her sunglasses so that she'd be able to see better. She cold see a silhouette that seemed to be about the right size and shape for Guilmon as she'd designed him. Now upright again she piked up speed, running toward the shape.
The moment of truth was here. Had the game become real for Rika Nonaka the Digimon Queen? As she finally got close enough to make out the details of whatever was at the center of this fog she smiled. As expected the red and black dinosaur named Guilmon was there, just as she'd designed him.
Rika approached Guilmon slowly, not wanting to startle her Digimon. For his part he seemed to have taken an interest in the rats around the construction site, sniffing them. This caused Guilmon to sneeze and unleash his Pyro Sphere attack, melting a perfectly circular hole in a concrete wall, no doubt killing some of the rats in the process.
Rika was rather impressed with the power that Guilmon held. With his power and her skill she had no doubt that they would be an unbeatable team. "Guilmon." She called softly as she approached. Guilmon turned toward her and she finally got a good look at his front. Was that a Hazard sign on his chest? That wasn't in her design, oh well, if she knew her Digimon lore and she did, that would only make him more powerful if she could figure out how to harness it.
Suddenly Guilmon's pupils shrunk and he let out a guttural growl. He started to turn toward whatever had set him off but that question was answered when a Renamon kicked him in the face. Guilmon went flying to the other side of the construction site but got up seemingly unharmed.
"You should really get away from that thing, it's dangerous." A voice said. A voice that sounded vaguely familiar to Rika, she turned to find its source and her eyes widened in shock.
"You!" She breathed. It was that boy from her dream. What was he doing here? How was he even real? No, that didn't matter right now. They'd attacked Guilmon and they'd have to pay for it.
"Do I know you?" The boy asked in confusion. Rika didn't bother to answer that question, she just pulled out her Digivice and opened her card holder.
"You're about to see how dangerous my partner can be, Guilmon attack!"
"Whoa, it's your partner, sorry this is all a big misunderstand-" He was cut off by Guilmon attacking Renamon with Pyro Sphere. Renamon was able to dodge it, barely. Rika saw the fox Digimon's expression harden.
"Who is this guy?" She asked, staring at Guilmon. Rika caught the Renamon's Tamer looking at this Digivice.
"No data? How can there be no data on this guy? That doesn't make any sense!"
"Of course there's no data on Guilmon," Rika said with a smirk, "He's one of a kind, I created him."
Takato stared at the girl in front of him. Trying desperately to process what she had just said. She created her Digimon? Who did she think she was, the Digimon Emperor? "Look," he pleaded, "This is all a big misunderstanding. We thought that your partner was a wild Digimon. We thought you were in danger. Now that we know he's yours we don't want to fight."
"Well that's too bad because I do what to fight, it's what Digimon are for after all." The girl said with no hint remorse. Takato turned his attention back to the battle. Renamon was trying to keep her distance from the other Digimon, this Guilmon and was only narrowly avoiding his attacks. Takato didn't know what to do at this point.
"Diamond Storm!" Renamon called the attack while still retreating. It hit its mark but Guilmon came barreling out of the smoke seemingly unharmed. Just what was thing made of, Chrome Digizoid? Renamon jumped obviously hoping to land on top of a crane and get the high ground.
The girl that was Guilmon's Tamer pulled out a Digimon card. What exactly was she planning to do with that? "Digi-Modify: Hyper wing activate!" He heard her say as she swiped the card through her Digivice. Out of nowhere the red dinosaur Digimon spout white energy wings and flew after Takato's partner, catching her in mid-jump. The pair of Digimon crashed to the ground throwing up plumes of dust.
The two rolled around for a bit but eventually Guilmon had Renamon pinned down, though the strange wings had disappeared. The other Tamer looked like she was ready to gloat of her her victory. Takato panicked and threw a loose brick at Guilmon. It just shattered harmlessly against his head.
He watched in helpless horror as the energy for another fireball collected in the back of Guilmon's throat. He was going to lose Renamon if he didn't do something, but there was nothing he could do. Takato squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could, trying to block out the reality of losing his partner.
"Renamon!" He screamed until his lungs burned. A new bright light stung his eyes and a mechanical voice spoke.
"Digivolution."
"Renamon Digivolve to... Youkomon!" Takato opened his eyes to see that Renamon had transformed. In her place now stood a purple quadruped fox, with red flames covering its and the tips of its nine tails.
"Renamon, you Digivolved!" He said excitedly. The other Tamer laughed at him.
"Yeah, she Digivolved but the form she took only proves how weak of a Tamer you are. A well-trained Renamon would Digivolve into Kyuubimon, not Youkomon. Oh well, maybe now she'll at least put up a decent fight."
Takato glared at the girl, not at all appreciative of how he was being mocked. "Let's show her how wrong she is Youkomon!" His newly evolved Digimon nodded.
"Fireball!" Youkomon called. The flames on her tails blended together and shot a fireball at her opponent.
"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon countered with his own attack. The two attacks met halfway between the Digimon and exploded. The smoke cleared quickly to show that neither Digimon had been harmed in the clash. Takato saw his fellow Tamer pull out another card and got the sinking feeling that even with Renamon Digivolving into Youkomon they weren't going to defeat this opponent and they wouldn't be able to escape either.
"Bada Boom!" A new voice entered the fray and a small red fireball impacted the ground between the two Digimon combatants. All eyes turned in the direction it had come from and found a gray eyed boy and a purple Digimon standing there.
Takato pulled out his Digivice and scanned the new Digimon. "Impmon, Virus attribute. A Mini Devil type Digimon. We've already seen his Bada Boom attack."
"What are you guys fighting about anyway?" The boy, who Takato guessed was this Impmon's Tamer asked.
"I thought her Digimon was wild and was going to hurt her. We didn't realize she was it's Tamer. It was all a misunderstanding and instead of accepting our apology they've been trying to kill Youkomon." Takato explained. The gray eyed boy looked at the girl obviously trying to get her side of the story.
"What do you expect, fighting is what Digimon are made for." She said with a shrug.
"It's true that on the net Digimon only exist to fight, but it shouldn't have to be that way here." The boy replied.
"I don't care about your philosophizing, just stay out of my way!" The violet eyed girl growled back.
"I don't like to fight but if you're going to try and kill someone else's Digimon then I have no choice." The blue haired boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a green Digivice and cards. The girl looked at the boy and his Impmon then at Takato and Youkomon, obviously weighing her chances of taking on both of them at once.
"Fine, you win this time, but you haven't seen the last of us, come on Guilmon." With that said she drug her Digimon away and departed for parts unknown. Once the coast was clear Takato approached the boy who had saved his partner.
"I'm Takato Matsuki, thanks for bailing me out of that one, I owe you." He said extending a hand.
"Henry Wong, and don't mention it. We can talk more once we're out of this place." Henry said.
"Yeah, good idea." Takato agreed.