A Twist of Fate
I don't own Digimon, I'm just sort of playing around with it.
Chapter 2: Speak of the Devil
Takato idly stroked Youkomon's head as he listened to Henry talk. The three of them and Henry's partner Impmon had decided to gather their thoughts in a concrete shelter in the nearby Shinjuku Central Park. Takato had suggested it because not a lot of people came to this particular area. As it turned out Henry also lived in this area and even went to the same school as Takato, just in a different class.
Henry for his part seem oddly perturbed. He was pacing furiously in the little shelter and giving off an aura that reminded Takato of a pot that was only stopped from boiling over because it had a lid on it. Impmon didn't seem all that surprised but was keeping a safe distance from his Tamer.
"What is wrong with that girl? How could someone be some willing to murder another person's Digimon partner like that? This isn't a game, these are living breathing creatures." Henry growled.
"I know that and you know that, but she might not know that, at least not yet," Takato played devil's advocate despite the fact that he had more reason to be angry at the girl than Henry did. It was his partner that she'd tried to kill after all, "For most people Digimon is a game. Her partner just crossed over from the Digital World. She probably hasn't realized yet that the consequences of her actions are all too real."
"And how many Digimon is she going to kill before she figures that out? Murder is still murder whether she realizes it or not." Henry said.
"Relax, I agree with you, but what exactly are we going to do about it? If we try to stop her, well she's willing to kill other peoples' partners. Are you willing to kill hers if it comes to that?" Takato asked.
"No," Henry snapped, "The last thing we should do is try to fight her, that would make us no better than she is. We need to reason with her and get her to see the error of her ways. Digimon don't exist only to fight. They came here to the Real World to find something they couldn't get in the digital one."
"I came here to get stronger," Youkomon joined the conversation for the first time and all eyes turned to the purple fox Digimon, "Digimon in the Digital World have stagnated. We've found ourselves for some unknown reason unable to reach the next level. Unable to Digivolve and so those of us that can make the trip come to the Real World hoping to find what is missing. So we try to find a worthy human partner to tame us in the hopes that their skill will help us reach the next stage."
"That's what I keep telling him Foxface, but does he listen to me? No, I had to end up with a spineless Tamer who keeps trying to tell me I don't need to fight when that's what Digimon do." Impmon said. Youkomon glared at him, clearly unhappy about being referred to as "Foxface".
"Shut up!" Henry snapped at his partner, "I refuse to take part in the murder of another sentient being. Violence is not the answer to our problems."
"What about all those wild Digimon that are crossing over? What do we do about them? We can't just let them wander the streets Henry. It would cause a panic. People would attack them and the Digimon would defend themselves. Do you know what kind of damage that would cause? I don't like killing Digimon either, but we have to think about all the people in this city, in this world, who can't defend themselves from wild Digimon. Killing the Digimon may be the only way to keep the peace and it lets our partners get stronger like they want."
"Why can't we just find them a Tamer Takato? After all it worked for our Digimon." Henry said. Takato had to admit Henry had a point on that one, finding the Digimon Tamers to look after them would be far more ideal than deleting them, but at the same time he couldn't agree completely with the other boy's argument.
"It's not that simple. The last Digimon Youkomon and I fought before that girl's... Guilmon I think it was, was a Lynxmon, Say I wanted to find that Lynxmon a partner instead of deleting it. Who am I going to find to take in a flaming wild cat? Where would they keep it? Where would I keep it until I found it a partner? If it were something like Impmon you could pull it off but for most Digimon it just wouldn't work."
"I know it won't be easy but it's a better way to do things. It's what we should try to do, otherwise we're on a slippery slope where one day we'll be willing to kill people's partners like that girl was, sure we'll say it was because they were dangerous, but anything can be justified." Henry retorted.
"You can decide to not kill Digimon if you want, but I have to do what I feel is right. Although I have to ask what you're going to do if that girl finds you and tries to delete and load your partner?" Takato asked.
"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I'll try to talk her out of it."
"And if that doesn't work?" Takato asked. Henry pinched his nose in frustration.
"I don't know Takato, I just don't know. Look, I need to go home. Come on Impmon." Henry said before he started to walk away. Impmon didn't move to follow his Tamer immediately, instead turning toward Youkomon.
"So do I get a kiss for saving you from being deleted by that dino Foxface?" He asked with a wink.
"No!" Takato snapped. He felt his cheeks heat and regretted speaking the word. Yes he didn't want anyone else kissing his Digimon, but he didn't want people to know that and his knee-jerk reaction would be suspicious. Besides in the end it was Youkomon's choice not his.
For her part Youkomon just turned away from Impmon. "Your Tamer is waiting for you. No self-respecting Digimon would keep their partner waiting." Takato felt his heat leap upon hearing Youkomon reject Impmon.
"Alright, I get when I'm not wanted, still I hope to see you around. It was nice to be around another Digimon for a change, especially one as pretty as you." With that said Impmon followed Henry and Takato watched the pair depart.
Once the two were out of sight Takato leaned against the well of the shelter and sighed. Then he removed his goggles and wiped his brow on his sleeve. It had become quite sweaty with all the excitement from the fight. This had been a long and stressful day.
"What's wrong Takato?" Youkomon asked. Takato turned toward his partner and gave her a weak smile.
"I'm alright, I'm just tired. I found two other Tamers and one wants to kill every Digimon she comes across and the other refuses to fight even to protect his own partner. I was hoping we would be able to find some friends and allies to help fight the wild Digimon. Instead I've found an enemy and someone who, while not an enemy, doesn't seem to like me very much."
"We have each other, we're partners. We'll figure out how to handle whatever comes our way." She assured him. Takato just sighed again.
"Am I a good partner Youkomon?" His partner gave him a confused look.
"Of course you are Takato. What brought this on?"
"It's just you came to me to get stronger. I've been wondering how effective I've been at helping you achieve that goal for a while now. Then there was what that girl said when we were fighting, about how a well-trained Renamon would Digivolve into Kyuubimon and not Youkomon like you did. I guess my confidence is just a little shaken."
"I see," Youkomon said with an almost motherly wisdom, "Takato it's true I came to you to become stronger and we have achieved that goal. After all, you were able to make me Digivolve."
"Yeah but into Youkomon and not Kyuubimon like you should have."
"A Digimon's evolutionary path has many branches. Who gets to decide which one is better?"
"I suppose you're right," Takato said putting his goggles back on, "Hey can you still do that shimmer trick to hide yourself?"
"Yes I can."
"Good, then let's go home Youkomon."
Rika was surprised how little trouble she had getting Guilmon back to her house. You'd think a red dinosaur would at least warrant some attention, but then again this was Japan and people in very realistic cosplay was far from unheard of. The real problem was making sure that Guilmon kept moving in the right direction. It was almost like her Digimon had ADHD. Rika could understand why of course, he was in a new and strange place, but that didn't stop her from getting a bit frustrated.
"I should've made Guilmon a little smaller." She thought as she drug her Digimon into the garden like yard of her home. Guilmon was heavy, and Rika's arm felt like it was going to fall off from dragging him this far. She stopped short of the door to her room puffing like she'd run a marathon.
It took her a few minutes to catch her breath, a task made no easier by having to keep hold of a struggling Guilmon. After a few more minutes of work she managed to open the siding door into her house and lead Guilmon to her room. Once that was done Rika finally let go of her Digimon partner and breathed a sigh of relief because she no longer had to exert herself.
Unfortunately for her Guilmon was still feeling a bit rambunctious and began to wander around her room and began knocking things off the table, most notably her collection of Digimon cards, at least the ones she didn't keep in her deck holster went crashing to the floor and just making a mess off the place. Another victim of Guilmon was a desk lamp that thankfully didn't break when it hit the ground.
"Guilmon you can't just go charging around and knocking things over. My mom or grandma will hear and come to see what's going on and I can't let them see you. Who knows how they'd react when they saw I'd brought a dinosaur home. My mom would probably have a heart attack and start panicking and ranting about how unladylike having a fire-breathing Digimon as a pet is and they to make me get rid of you."
Guilmon just stared at her blankly. "I Guilmon?" He said gesturing to himself with a claw. Rika sighed, it appeared they'd have to start with the basics.
"That's right, you're Guilmon, and I'm your Tamer, Rika."
"Rikamon." Guilmon said slowly pronouncing each syllable as if it were a word on its own.
"I'm not a Digimon, I'm a human being. My name is Rika Nonaka and I am your Tamer. Do you understand what I'm saying Guilmon?" The blank look on her Digimon's face told Rika everything she needed to know. As far as Guilmon was concerned she might as well be speaking Greek.
"Why me?" Rika thought as she started to clean up the mess that Guilmon had made. The other two Digimon she'd seen had been intelligent like in the show, well, if you could call choosing those two idiots as Tamers intelligent. Guilmon though, Guilmon was like a baby, or more accurately an untrained puppy. Rika just didn't know how to deal with this sort of thing.
She was beginning to think that wishing to be a Tamer was sort of like a monkey's paw. She got what she wished for but it was far from how she'd pictured it. She'd had a fantasy of what being a Tamer would be like and reality had just had a laugh at her expense. Well it wouldn't have the last laugh, she'd train Guilmon and mold him into her perfect partner.
"Rika is that you? Do you have a friend over, I thought I heard voices." Rika could hear her grandmother coming to check in on her. She had to hide Guilmon now. Quickly she threw the closet door open and began to push her Digimon partner toward it. Unfortunately it didn't seem like Guilmon wanted to move at the moment as he'd just gone limp and become a lump of dead weight.
Why? Why did this stuff have to happen to her? She just had to get the most uncooperative Digimon in the history of the universe. "Get in the closet Guilmon!" She hissed. Thankfully she was able to force Guilmon into the closet and mostly shut the door before her grandmother came in the room.
"Is everything alright Rika? I heard strange voices and some crashing noises."
"Yeah grandma, I was just getting something out of the closet and made a bit of a mess, I'll finish cleaning it up I promise." Rika said. She had to lean back heard against the closet to keep Guilmon from escaping.
"Oh, that's too bad I was kind of hoping you'd brought a friend over. I worry about you you know."
"I'm fine Grandma."
"Hi." Guilmon said from within the closet.
"What was that?" Rika's grandmother asked.
"It was my stomach, I'm really hungry." Rika said a bit too quickly. The lie sounded weak, even to her but thankfully it seemed like her grandmother bought it.
"Well you're in luck, I'm about to start dinner." Once she was gone Rika breathed a sigh of relief and finished closing the closet. She just couldn't deal with more Guilmon right now. It didn't take long for dinner to be ready. Thankfully her mother and grandmother let her eat in her room so she could feed Guilmon without too many questions.
That is until she had to take a fourth helping. It seemed, rather unfortunately that the TV show had not exaggerated about a Digimon's appetite, so in order to feed herself and Guilmon she'd had to take a lot of food much to the shock of the adults in the house as Rika had never been a big eater. She had to smirk a bit when she overheard her mother's reaction to how much food she had taken.
"If she keeps eating like that Rika's going to become fat," She said in horror as if being overweight was a heinous crime. Then again for a model like her it was, "I just don't understand that girl is this some new kind of rebellion?"
"Maybe having Guilmon around won't be such a headache after all. Maybe it'll actually get Mom to stop trying to make me into a model."
With dinner eaten it was time to go to sleep. So Rika readied her bedroll for the night before remembering that she now had Guilmon to consider. Just where was he going to sleep? Rika cursed herself for her lack of foresight about these things.
"Get back in the closet Guilmon, it's time to go to sleep," Rika said, trying her best to sound authoritative, she did a rather good job of it if she were one to judge. Guilmon whimpered like he'd just been hit, "What is it, what's wrong?"
"It's dark and scary in there, I want to stay out here with you Rikamon." Rika groaned, both at being called Rikamon again and at how strangely her Digimon was behaving. Guilmon wasn't afraid to charge into battle, but he was afraid of the dark? That was certainly a new one as far as she knew.
"Fine Guilmon, but you have to be quiet, I don't want my mom or grandma to get suspicious about strange noises and pop in on us."
"I'll be quiet Rikamon, I promise." Guilmon said with his approximation of a nod.
"I told you, my name is Rika, not Rikamon!" The Digimon Queen had to resist the urge to bang her head against the wall. She just wasn't made to deal with this kind of thing, "You know what, never mind, it doesn't matter right now. Let's just get some sleep and we can work on your vocabulary tomorrow."
With that said Rika got ready for bed and laid on her futon with Guilmon curling up beside and slightly on top of her. Once he stopped moving Guilmon crashed, Rika however wasn't so lucky. Guilmon snored like a buzzsaw so it was impossible for her to get any real sleep. So she just laid there in the dark beginning to wonder if wishing for Guilmon was a good idea after all.
That is until Guilmon's eyes snapped open and he ran to the door and began growling. Rika wasn't sure what was going on so she approached her Digimon slowly. "What's wrong Guilmon, do you have to pee or something?"
"I smell a Digimon." Guilmon growled. She was surprised that he could recognize the scent of another Digimon and discern it was different from that of a human already. She figured it must be some sort of instinctual thing. A sort of inborn danger sense.
"A Digimon, just give me a minute to get dressed." Rika hurriedly changed into her normal street clothes, put on a card holding belt, slipped her Digimon deck in the pocket and clipped her Digivice to her jeans, "Lead the way Guilmon." She said while grabbing her violet sunglasses.
Guilmon was fast, faster than she had originally thought. So much so that the Digimon Queen had trouble keeping up with her Digimon. She wasn't sure how far they walked or ow long it took them but eventually they did come upon one of those odd fog banks. Rika put on her sunglasses and followed after Guilmon as he entered.
When the fog opened up enough that a silhouette was visible Rika pulled out her Digivice so she could see what Guilmon could see. She'd seen that gogleheaded boy with the Renamon do this when they fought and knew it activated a Digimon Analyzer. What she saw was a green humanoid Digimon in brown clothes, sporting and orange mohawk and carrying a club.
"Goblimon," she read out loud, "Rookie level, Virus type. Well this won't be much of a change for us. Walk all over him Guilmon." Guilmon needed no more encouragement and began to just pound on the Goblimon with everything he had. To the little green guy's credit he kept getting up no matter how hard Guilmon knocked him down.
Then something odd happened. Goblimon began to change shape and when all was said and done he looked like a red Ogremon in tiger print shorts. Rika knew who this Digimmon was, this was a Fugamon.
"He Digivolved, but he shouldn't be able to." Only a Tamer's Digimon should be able to Digivolve on the spot like that. At least that's what the TV show had always told her. Fugamon swung his club and cracked Guilmon across the face with it, sending the red dinosaur flying.
Guilmon got up shakily, clearly dazed from the impact of the hit. It seemed that this Digimon was a far more formidable opponent than the boy's Renamon. Rika knew she'd have to help Guilmon here if they wanted to have any chance and winning. She quickly searched through her cards and found the perfect one for this situation.
"Digi-Modify: Hyper Chip activate!" Guilmon glowed with golden energy as his power increased. It seemed he'd shaken off the damage he'd taken pretty well, but then again, Rika had designed him as such.
"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon called as he let loose with a boosted fireball. The attack hit its mark enveloping Fugamon and destroying him. Millions of little red bits of data began floating around the area, what Rika presumed to be Fugamon's remains. Guilmon stepped forward and began to take the data into himself, the bits turning from red to blue as he did so.
At first Rika was confused by this turn of events, but she quickly figured it out. Digimon lived by classic Darwinism. Survival of the fittest, it was a dog eat dog world, or Digimon eat Digimon in this case. Digimon were data. When they fought like this the winner would absorb the loser's data and become stronger. In other words to the victor goes the spoils.
The Digimon Queen smirked as all that pacifistic crap she'd heard from the blue hared boy with the Impmon was so soundly disproved with this one action. As she'd thought, this was just what Digimon did, so much so that the instincts came naturally to even a newborn like Guilmon. Now that their work was done the Tamer and her Digimon headed back home so they could get some decent sleep.
Henry sighed as he watched Impmon's muscles tense, it was easy to see, even from the back. That meant a new Digimon had appeared, but much to Henry's surprise his partner didn't move. "Not going to bolt for the door this time?" He asked.
"What's the point," Impmon retorted, "You're not going to let me do anything so why waste the energy?"
"Will you look at that, someone is finally learning how things work around here." Henry made no effort to keep the satisfaction out of his voice. Impmon growled and turned toward his Tamer.
"What's your problem anyway, why won't you let me fight? Takato and Foxface destroyed your arguments and all you did was run off in a huff. There is something seriously wrong with you Henry, you can't admit when you're wrong even when some hit you over the head with the truth. Digimon are meant to fight and that's all there is to it."
"That's the thing, I'm not wrong Impmon. Takato is just doing things wrong. What am I to you?" Henry asked, he knew how his Digimon would answer and he would use that to drive home his point.
"You're my Tamer." Impmon said. Henry smirked, everything was going just as he had hoped.
"That's right I'm your Tamer, and do you know what tame means? To tame something or to domesticate it to use a slightly forward term, means to make it less wild and dangerous so it can live with humans safely. I'm your Tamer, that means it's my job to domesticate you. Wild Digimon charge around and destroy things. A Digimon with a Tamer should not fight because to tame means to domesticate and domesticated animals are pets, not warriors. By choosing to have a Tamer you basically said you didn't want to fight anymore Impmon."
"I'm not a dog Henry! It's real nice that you know how to use a dictionary and all, but what about Youkomon? She blows a huge hole in your argument. She wanted a Tamer too, but she wanted one so she could become stronger and Digivolve. Did you ever think that maybe taming a Digimon is different than taming an animal? We have minds of our own, hopes and dreams. You can't just impose your will on me."
"Yes I can, that's what being a Tamer means, if Takato wants to completely miss the point of it then that's his business, but you're not fighting!"
"Why won't you let me fight? What are you so afraid of? I bet you're afraid you'll lose, that you can't hang with the big boys, is that it?" Impmon snapped. Henry froze, so it had come to this. Impmon was going to push the fear button and try to goad him. Well alright then, he would give his Digimon the honest and brutal answer, whether he liked it or not.
"No, I'm afraid I'll win. Don't you remember how we became partners?"
"Of course I do, I was in that game fighting Gorillamon, I Digivolved into Devimon and beat the tar out of him. Them you begged me to stop and he got away. I turned back into Impmon and the next day Gorillamon came back for revenge and I was no match. The next thing I knew, I was with you."
"Seeing you hurt like that... hurting other Digimon like that, I just can't bear to do it again. Plus, when you were Devimon you were so vicious, so wild..." Impmon's eyes widened.
"You're afraid that if I fight, I'll Digivolve again, and that if I Digivolve you won't be able to control me," Henry nodded, "But like you said, you're my Tamer, it's your job to make me controllable. If you can't do that then that just means your a bad Tamer. All you're doing right now is stunting my growth so that I'll be easier for you to handle." Henry didn't say a word in reply to that because deep down he was afraid that Impmon was right.
Takato scanned the street around him looking for the reason he was here. Renamon, who had quickly reverted to her Rookie state, had told him that a Digimon had crossed over into this world, only the two of them had arrived and there was no Digimon in sight. "I don't understand Renamon, you've never been wrong before, where's the Digimon?" Takato asked.
The yellow fox appeared out of thin air with a worried expression on her face. "It's not here anymore. The Digimon is gone Takato." She said.
"Gone, you mean it's loose in the city, or did it go back to the Digital World?" Renamon shook her head.
"If it had just left this area, I could still track it. As for it going back to the Digital World, I'm not even sure that's possible. No, I can only think of one explanation and that is that this Digimon was deleted." Takato's eyes widened he knew what that meant. He only knew of two other Tamers in the city, Henry and that girl with the created Digimon Guilmon. Henry wouldn't do something like this, so that only left the girl on the list of possible suspects for who had deleted this Digimon.
"That's not good, if that girl is fighting Digimon then it means Guilmon is absorbing data. Which means he's getting stronger. You barely made it out of that last fight alive. If Henry and Impmon hadn't shown up..." Takato didn't dare take that train of thought to its inevitable conclusion. If he did he'd have nightmares for months.
"So what do you propose we do," Renamon asked, "They already know we exist and will no doubt want to conclude the battle we had at some point in the future."
"I know and the longer we wait, the more data they can collect. Now that I know I can use Digimon cards with my Digivice to give you new powers we may be able to match them card for card, but when it comes to pure strength we're still out-muscled unless you Digivolve into Youkomon." Takato said.
"Perhaps the cards are the answer. With the right combination we may be able to turn the battle in our favor." Renamon suggested. Takato shook his head.
"It's no good, she has cards too and there's no telling how good she is with them until it's too late. On top of that we don't know a thing about Guilmon because that girl created him, and she can pull up all the information she needs on you from her Digivice. We're fighting totally blind here, and we can't even ask Henry for help because he just won't fight," The brown haired boy sighed in defeat, "Still I don't see what choice we have. We're going to have to fight them eventually so we might as well do it now while we still have some chance to win. We need to hunt them down and take out Guilmon before it's too late."
"That's a risky plan. Are you sure that it's wise to go seek a fight with Guilmon and his Tamer?" Renamon asked.
"No, in fact I'm pretty sure challenging them is a bad idea. It's just that it's the best hope we have. Fighting them on our terms is better than fighting on theirs."
"I understand, your logic is sound and I have faith in you Takato." Renamon said.
"Let's hope that faith isn't misplaced. Well, there's no point in saying around here, let's go home."
At school the next day Takato was still lost in thought about his problem of having to deal with the girl and her Guilmon. It was hard to pay attention to school when you had a matter of life and death on your hands. During a lull in the day his friends Kazu and Kenta sat next him and began chatting about the only thing they ever talked about: Digimon, not that Takato was paying much attention.
"Hello, Earth to Takato, come in chumley," Kazu's voice snapped Takato out of his stupor and he jumped slightly as a result, "What is up with you today, it's like your mind is on another planet."
"Oh, I'm sorry guys, it's just that some crazy stuff has been happening to me lately. I have a big problem I need to deal with. So what were you saying?" He had to be vague about this because not even Kazu and Kenta knew about Renamon. Who knows what they'd try to do if they knew Digimon were real, and he wasn't about to put his best friends in undue peril.
"I was just saying that I feel like I'm a natural to win the tournament this year." Kazu said. He was obviously referring to the annual Digimon Grand Prix card tournament, which served as Japan's national championship for the game.
"Well, you'll have to beat me to do it!" Takato said boldly. Despite now taking part in real Digimon battles Takato still played the card game, just to remind himself that Digimon could still be fun.
"The only shot you'll ever have at beating me Takato, is if you finally ditch the cruddy Renamon deck you use. I never understood what you saw in such a girly Digimon anyway." Kazu said.
"You take that back right now Kazu," Takato shouted as he stood up and slammed his hands against his desk, "My Renamon deck could bet you and win the tournament any day of the week and you know it!" Takato let Kazu get away with a lot of things, but insulting Renamon, even in card form wasn't one of them.
"Please, you two wouldn't last two minutes against top players." Kenta interjected. With the tension broken Takato sat back down.
"Listen chumley, a girl won it last year, so it can't be that hard." Kazu countered.
"That was no ordinary girl. That was the Digimon Queen. She's only ever lost one match and that was to the legendary Ryo Akiyama, yeah she won the championship last year because he mysteriously disappeared but she was able to give even him a good run for his money. I'm sorry Kazu, but you're just nowhere near as good as Ryo." Kenta said.
"I see your point." Kazu said in defeat. A thought occurred to Takato, a girl who was really good at Digimon... No, he couldn't be that unlucky, could he?
"This girl, what did she look like?" He asked, fearing that he already knew the answer.
"Why do you want to know, are you looking for a girlfriend Takato?" Kazu teased.
"No, nothing like that, I just think I might've run into her is all." Takato said.
"Well she had violet eyes, and was kind of pale. She had sort of brownish-red hair in a ponytail that looked like the top of a pineapple. Her name was Rika Nonaka, I think." Kenta said. Takato suddenly felt sick to his stomach, his worst fears had been realized. He'd made an enemy of the Digimon Queen.
"Why me?" He asked the universe as he banged his head against his desk, he repeated the words and action as a sort of mantra for about a minute.
"Are you okay Takato, you look kind of green." Kenta said.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine, I just have the worst luck in the universe!" Takato's sarcasm was not lost on his friends.
"Dude, seriously, you don't look good, maybe you should go to the infirmary."
"I'm fine, just feeling really stupid right now." Takato left it at that, there was no way he could come up with a convincing cover story that wouldn't embarrass him thoroughly. As he was walking home after school Renamon spoke to him mentally, one of the many bizarre powers he possessed.
"I sense a Digimon in that parking garage, it's Guilmon." She said.
"So she's found us already. Well that's just great, we're about to go pick a fight with the Digimon Queen. There's no point in trying to hide, if you can sense Guilmon then he can sense you too. They're probably in the garage because Rika doesn't want the fight to be public. Let's not put this of any longer shall we Renamon? It's do or die time, and I'm afraid it will probably be die time." He replied.
"Have faith Takato," Renamon chided, "As at team we are far more powerful than you give us credit for." Takato just nodded in response and made his way toward the parking garage. It wasn't hard to find Rika, she was on one of the upper levels, just standing there nonchalantly with Guilmon. Renamon fazed back into view next to Takato and the two pairs just stared at each other for a moment.
"I'm surprised you had the guts to actually come in here after last time." Rika said.
"You probably would've just chased me down anyway so I didn't see much point in running. So what do you say we just get this over with Rika?" Takato smirked as he saw her eyes widen at the mention of her name. Good, he wanted to set her off balance, maybe it would throw her off her game so to speak.
"How do you know my name?" She snapped.
"I have my sources." Takato was doing his best to be enigmatic, the more time Rika spent puzzling over how it was he knew her name the better it was for him and Renamon.
"Well I guess I'll just have to beat the truth out of you, and while I'm at it I'll make you spill your guts about why you showed up in my dreams!" Now it was Takato's turn to be put off balance by something that was said. Judging by Rika's expression she hadn't even meant to say it.
"Dreams? What are you talking about?" Takato asked with a faint blush. Surely she couldn't be talking about that kind of dream. He only had eyes for Renamon anyway, not that he was about to tell Rika that.
"Don't act like you don't know, someone had to cause that weird dream and you and your Digimon were the ones in it who could've done it. Whatever, I'll get my answers after Guilmon finishes taking you little fox's data," She then turn toward her partner, "Walk all over her Guilmon."
"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon didn't waste any time and spat a fireball at Renamon who dodged it gracefully, though the attack ended up colliding with a car, which then exploded. Takato had the sinking feeling that this fight was going to cause a lot of collateral damage. Guilmon and Renamon had begun a game of cat and mouse around the garage.
"Time to go on the offensive," Takato said pulling out his Digivice and cards, "Digi-Modify: Power activate!"
"Diamond Storm!" Renamon called as she fired her attack right at the red dinosaur who was chasing her. The attack hit its mark and Guilmon cried out in pain.
"Bulls-eye baby!" Takato cheered at his triumph.
"So, someone leaned how to use Modify cards how cute," Rika said in a mock congratulatory tone, "Too bad it won't do you any good." At first he was confused by what she meant but as the smoke cleared from Renamon's attack Takato was shocked to find that Guilmon was nowhere to be seen.
"Pyro Sphere!" The call for this attack came from behind Renamon and as it was completely unexpected the fireball hit Renamon squarely in the back and sent her flying several feet before she skidded to a stop on the floor between Takato and Rika.
"What just happened?" Takato asked.
"That would be the Alias! card, it creates a copy of Guilmon to take your attack at the cost of a little energy," Rika said with a smirk, "When it comes to Digimon games I never leave home without it." Takato growled a bit in frustration as Renamon got up off of the floor. Perhaps they really had bitten off more than they could chew here. Of course what else had he expected when his opponent was the Digimon Queen? There was no way Rika was going to let them get away this time, so unless some sort of miracle happened he was going to lose Renamon here... Suddenly the door to the part of the garage they were in swung open.
"What's going on in here?" Henry asked as he surveyed a parking garage that looked like a tornado had hit it. Of course that question was entirely rhetorical. He knew exactly what was going on in here. Takato and that girl had gotten into another Digimon battle.
"Henry," Takato seemed rather elated to see him and Impmon, "what are you doing here?"
"Against my better judgment I can to see what all the explosions were about. Though I had a pretty good idea, and it turned out to be right. People are going to notice this and call the police, do you guys really want to deal with that? Why are you even fighting her Takato?" Henry asked.
"I'm fighting because you wouldn't. She was going to come after us sooner or later I had to do something before Guilmon absorbed too much data and became unbeatable."
"Well your plan didn't work now did it," Rika asked, "As for the police well, I'll just have to finish off both your Digimon and leave before they get here won't I?" Henry was already sick of this girl, just who did she think she was?
"I don't want to fight you," Henry said, "In fact none of us should be fighting. Let's just all go home." The girl rolled her eyes.
"Not that again. I already told you, Digimon are made to fight and I'll prove it right here. Guilmon attack Impmon!" The red dinosaur charged right at Henry and his partner with what appeared to be great relish, only to be stopped when Renamon kicked him in the head and sent Guilmon sprawling to the floor.
"Henry this is your chance to get out of here, take Impmon and go!" Takato said, but Henry shook his head. This girl had shown that she didn't care what he said and that she was willing to attack him. Maybe in this one case Takato was right and they needed to fight.
"No Takato, everyone keeps telling me how Digimon are meant to fight, so fine, I'll fight, just this once," He snapped. Maybe once this girl was dealt with he could finally live in peace away from all the fighting and wild Digimon.
"Henry you don't understand. She's Rika Nonaka, the Digimon Queen. Even together I'm not sure we could beat her." The goggleheaded boy protested.
"I don't care who she is Takato, all I know is that our Digimon won't be safe until she gets taken down, as much as I hate to admit that. That's all I need to know so I'm going to fight by your side. Are you ready Impmon?"
"Are you kidding, I was born ready Henry," Impmon said as he and his Tamer entered the garage, "So what do I get for coming to your rescue twice Foxface?"
"Still nothing." Renamon replied as she stood back up, clearly injured.
"Sheesh, you'd think your Tamer would've at least taught you manners. Can't you at least say think you," The two Digimon flanked Guilmon who still looked as though he'd been untouched, "Bada Boom!" Impmon threw a small fireball at Guilmon who jumped backward to dodge it.
"Diamond Storm!" Renamon called, attacking their enemy from behind. Then something happened that neither Henry nor Takato expected, thought they probably should have.
"Digi-Modify: Hyper Speed activate!" Rika called as she slashed a card through her Digivice. The next thing Henry knew Guilmon was behind Takato and Impmon was right in the path of Renamon's attack.
"Impmon get out of the way!" Renamon shouted, her eyes widening in shock and fear. However anyone could see it was too late. There was no possible way for Impmon ti dodge this.
"Impmon!" Henry dashed for his partner as fast as he could, time seemed to slow as his Digivice lit up...
"Digivolution." It chimed.
"No!" Henry breathed as he blood turned to ice. This had to be a nightmare, this couldn't be happening.
"Impmon Digivolve to... Devimon!"
Rika looked on as Renamon's Diamond Storm attack hit Devimon full on and did absolutely nothing. Unfortunately for Renamon that now meant that she had Devimon's full attention and he flew at her pinning her against a wall. Fallen Angel types like Devimon were said to be exceedingly powerful for there level, perhaps she'd finally found an opponent worthy of her skill.
"Still, is every Digimon I fight going to Digivolve?" She thought sourly. That was something to worry about later, right now she had more important things to worry about.
"Guilmon!" She snapped, pointing over at Devimon. Her partner seemed to under stand her meaning as he charged over and leaped off of a car toward Devimon.
"Rock Breaker!" Guilmon called as he brought his hand down hard on Devimon's head, causing him to drop Renamon.
"Thanks for the help Rika." Takato said.
"I didn't do it for you, I only saved your stupid little fox because I didn't want Devimon to absorb her data and get even stronger." She said with a scowl.
"Whatever, right now let's just focus on dealing with Devimon." Takato said with a sigh.
"Like I need your help." Rika replied.
"Yes, yes! I'm finally free! Free to fight and destroy!" Devimon shouted as he cackled evilly, Death Hand!" Devimon unleashed black energy from his hands blasting both Renamon and Guilmon backwards.
"Henry you've go to control him!" Takato screamed at the blue haired boy, but Henry's mind had clearly taken a lunch break.
"Digi-Modify: Power activate!" Rika called. This was obviously a fight that was going to take some extra muscle.
"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon called, though the attack was larger than normal due to the effect of Rika's Modify card.
"Diamond Storm!" Renamon added her razor sharp leaves to the attack on Devimon. The two attacks hit their mark and pushed Devimon back, but he shielded his body with his wings, so when the smoke cleared Devimon emerged more ore less unscathed.
"Well that didn't work." Said Takato, who had gone over to try and snap Henry out of his stupor.
"What was your first clue genius?" Rika snarked. Though truth be told, now that she'd seen how strong Devimon's defenses were she knew what she had to do.
"Death Hand!" Devimon called. Once again he blasted Renamon and Guilmon. At this point both Digimon were looking worse for wear.
"This isn't good, Henry you have to do something or I'll lose Renamon," Henry remained in his catatonic state, "If only I could get Renamon to Digivolve into Youkomon again." Takato mused.
"Please we don't need that thing to stop Devimon. We just need the right attack, now watch and see how a pro does things gogglehead," With supreme confidence Rika pulled the perfect card for this situation out of her holster, "Digi-Modify: Angemon's Hand of Faith activate!"
Guilmon stood back up and snarled at Devimon and then extended his right arm, "Hand of Faith!" He called. The white beam of holy energy lanced out at Devimon, hitting him square in the chest. Between Guilmon's raw natural power, the boost he'd gotten from Rika's Power card, and the enhanced effectiveness of this particular attack on evil Digimon Devimon was laid out flat and screaming in agony.
Hearing his Digimon in pain seemed to bring Henry back to reality as he rushed over to Devimon and supported him on his shoulder. "You want to know why I don't fight Takato? This is why, so things like Devimon don't happen. So from now on don't expect me to come save you okay? I'll be taking my partner and going."
"Excuse me but I'm not about to let you go anywhere. I'm taking Devimon's data right here and now." Rika declared. Just as Guilmon began to move in to finish the job Renamon appeared in front of him, arms spread as if to draw a line in the sand.
"You'll have to go through us first Rika." Takato said.
"Don't tempt me," Rika warned, but truth be told she wasn't sure if she could back up that bravado, Guilmon had been damaged pretty badly by Devimon and now that Takato knew how to use Modify cards that could complicate and prolong the battle. Plus there was always the chance that Renamon could Digivolve into Youkomon again... "Fine you can go. You idiots are lucky, I've let you go twice. Just hope for your sake we never meet again. After all, you know what they say: The third time's the charm."