Disclaimer: Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

Author's Note: Update two! Delivered as promised. A big thanks to everyone who read the previous chapter and a thank you to those who left a review. Now for something I haven't done in a long time: respond to reviews.

kazikamikaze24: I'm glad you enjoyed reading and hope you enjoy future installments.

Guest: If he is, he'll have been there for a long time.

And so, I present Chapter 2 of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure.

The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure

Chapter 2: The Champion Level

The six children and their digimon friends walked for what about an hour. The cliff sloped downwards steadily until they were side by side with the river rushing beside them. As they walked, the kids took the time to get to know their new partners and their partners took the time to learn more about them. Izzy was particularly inquisitive and asked various questions, "So where do digimon come from? You said it stands for digital monster, but does that mean you're made entirely of data? If so, does this mean that world we are in is also made of data?"

"Yes, all digimon are," Tentomon answered, "As for where we came from? I can't answer that. I don't think anyone can."

"Is it because of the lack of a formal education system?"

"He's using those big space man words again," Gomamon commented, waddling along beside the others.

"Gomamon, stop it," Joe chastised his little partner.

"I can't help it if I don't understand a word he's saying," Gomamon frowned.

"I don't understand a word he's saying either," Mimi commented on their conversation, "But I'd like to know if you have hair stylists. I'd love to know who does your hair Palmon."

"It's all natural. I wake up like this," Palmon boasted, running her vine hand through her petals, "It looks good, doesn't it."

"I love it!" Mimi fawned over it.

"Yuck, girl stuff," TK stuck his tongue out.

"TK, what's girl stuff?" Patamon asked innocently.

"Girls sometimes talk about boring stuff like make up and dresses and dolls," TK offered his explanation, "It's where they get their cooties."

"Cooties? What are cooties?" Gabumon looked to the older brother. Matt glanced briefly at both Sora and Mimi - both with fire in their eyes. He decided to keep quiet and say nothing, narrowly avoiding the girls' ire. Sora pouted and crossed her arms, "Ugh, boys!"

"I don't understand humans sometimes," Biyomon observed of her partner.

"What makes you say that?"

"You two are friends but you're mad at him. Did he do something wrong?" Biyomon asked, cocking her head to the side.

"I'm not mad at him!" Sora defended herself.

"Then why do you look mad?"

"It's nothing," Sora's answer was flat. She hurried her pace to pull ahead of the rest of the group.

"Sora, where are you going?" Biyomon asked, running after her partner.

"To see if there's someone who can help us," Sora grumbled.

"We should really stick together!" Joe called after her, "We don't know what else could be out there. Sora! You're still walking away! Sora! SORA!"

"I don't think she's listening," Gomamon frowned, "We'd better catch up to her."

They chased after Sora and eventually found themselves exiting the forest and facing a large expanse of water. Sora and Biyomon stood there gaping in awe at the sight before them, "It's the ocean!"

"Warm sandy beaches? A beautiful ocean and a nice summer day? This trip was so worth it!" Mimi cheered, "Plus we can have fish for lunch!"

"We could if we had some fishing rods, or maybe some bait," Izzy shrugged.

"Don't worry! Leave the fish to me!" Gomamon smiled. He dove into the ocean and disappeared beneath its waves. The others waited in anticipation, watching the still surface of the water for any sign of Gomamon. After minutes of nothing, Mimi asked, "So is he going to-"

"Shh!" TK shushed her, "I want to see where this is going."

More silence.

"I don't think he's coming back out," Matt thought aloud

"You don't think he was eaten do you?" Gabumon considered.

"Who knows what could've been in that water?" Tentomon took flight and went over the ocean, staying just high enough above the water to avoid any surprises. But not high enough to avoid the large splash of water that came out at him, followed by the school of fish that popped out - salmon, tuna, carp, mahimahi, and more all erupted from the water. They landed on the sandy beach and flopped around helplessly, while Gomamon poked his head of the water, "And lunch is served!"

"Hey, this is a pretty good haul. I think I can cook something up with this," Matt said while inspecting the fish. He retrieved a knife from his pocket and started gutting the fish, carefully removing the scales and organs. The others looked at him surprised, "Matt, you can cook?"

"Well yeah. I live with my dad and he doesn't make the best food. If I wanted to eat something that wasn't gonna make me sick, I had to learn," Matt explained, "You guys go make a fire. And find some sticks that we can use to grill."

The others went out into the woods gathering logs, branches, sticks, and twigs to use for tinder. When they returned, Matt instructed them to dig a pit for the fire and to clean the smaller twigs to be used as skewers. It only took a little prep work, but soon they had a fire going and were waiting excitedly as Matt grilled the fish over the open fire. The aroma filling the air disgusted them at first, but it also reminded them that they hadn't eaten in a while. Their anticipation turned to excitement when Matt returned to present the first few skewered fish, "Food's ready with more on the way."

The kids and the digimon each grabbed a skewer and started eating, biting into the crunchy skin and savory meat. TK was quick to compliment his brother, "This is really good, Matt!"

Mimi said something between bites of food that could've been a compliment but was lost in the all the fish in her mouth. Joe told her to not to talk with her mouth full, a point that was completely lost on her when she tried to apologize. While they ate, Sora noticed her partner Biyomon gaping awestruck into the forest.

"What's wrong Biyomon?"

"I thought I saw something in the forest just now," Biyomon said.

"It wasn't Kuwagamon, was it?" Izzy stopped himself from taking another bite and scanned the tree line.

"No, it wasn't nearly as big," Biyomon frowned. The others kids were now silently watching the forest for some sign of trouble. Their worries changed to hope when they heard the obtrusive sounds of a phone ringing. A phone in the middle of nowhere on another world.

"You guys hear that too?" Joe asked no one in particular.

"Yeah!"

"It's coming from over there!" Matt pointed further down the beach. They all dropped their food and started off at a sprint towards the ringing. They eventually came across a line of phone booths set up on the beach. The closest phone booth rang the loudest and they all scrambled for it. Despite her demeanor, Mimi managed to outrun them all.p and answered the phone first, "Hello? Can you hear me? If you can, we need help!"

The others leaned in close to better hear the person on the other side. They could vaguely make out a voice distorted by static on the other side. The voice of what sounded like someone their age, perhaps younger. And the voice sobbed, "...is ta...ost on anot...ant to go home!...een days...iss my mo...ster! Plea...lp me! I don't want to die!"

The voice was cut out by static and the line went dead. The kids all paused to look at each other in silence. TK was visibly shaken by what he heard. The silence was eventually broken by Mimi, "That was creepy."

"No kidding," Joe added.

"Who was it?" Gomamon crept his way behind the kids.

"I don't know, but they sounded like they were in trouble," Sora frowned.

"So will we help them?" Biyomon asked.

"That call could've come from anywhere. Who knows where that kid is," Matt reasoned with them, "Izzy, do you think you could find out where it came from?"

"How would I do that?" Izzy looked at him accusingly.

"You know, you're the smart one," Mimi nudged him encouragingly.

"So that means I can trace a phone call?" Izzy's voice sounded offended.

"I've known Izzy for all of half a day, and I could've told you that was a dumb idea," Tentomon chimed in, trying to defend his partner. Izzy reached into his pocket and retrieved a phone card. He started dialing on the phone while saying, "Look, I'll just dial back."

He punched a few numbers into the phone and listened intently. They all huddled in carefully to listen, hearing it ring a few times before someone on the other end picked up. The voice on the other side spoke clearly, "At the tone, the time will be forty-five thousand miles per hour. Also, duck."

"What?" Biyomon said.

"Seriously duck," the voice on the phone repeated.

"What duck?" Joe scanned along the beach.

"Really! Duck! Now! Guys, duck!"

They realized the meaning and instantly dropped to the ground, seconds before a large rock crashed into the phone booth and landed into the forest behind them. The kids all stared in awe at the size of the rock that just barely missed them. Izzy looked at the phone still in his hand, the cord severed clean from the rest of the machine which was scattered around them. He dropped the phone on the sand, "At least that one was helpful."

"Where did that come from?" Gomamon asked. They could see their would be killer emerging from the ocean. A large pink reptile like digimon whose lower half disappeared into a large spiral shell that it carried on its back. It growled and hissed at them, gaping its cavernous mouth at them the entire time.

"Who's that digimon?" Mimi pointed at the new pink creature wading towards them across the ocean.

"That's Shellmon, he's a very territorial digimon with a big appetite. I bet he smelled the fish we were cooking earlier and didn't like that we were on his turf," Palmon explained.

"Is he friendlier than that bug? Kuwagamon?" Joe asked. A jet of high pressure water shot out of his mouth; it cut clean through sand and stone, leaving them cowering in awe. It growled again and Gomamon asked, "Define friendly."

"Do you think you guys can beat him?" TK asked their digimon partners.

"Well I can swim out there," Gomamon raised an arm to volunteer himself, "Tentomon, Biyomon, and Patamon can help out since they can fly."

"Right, and I can use my electricity to shock him!" Tentomon added excitedly. Gomamon mulled over Tentomon's addition and swiftly put his hand down, "I just changed my mind."

"Palmon, could you use for vines to pull Shellmon in?" Mimi asked the little cactus creature. Palmon checked how far Shellmon was and answered, "I don't think I can reach him."

"Well, that means we have just one option left," Matt crossed his arms definitively.

"Oh, what's that Matt?" Gabumon asked.

"Easy," Matt turned on the spot towards the forest, "RUN!"

Before Matt even finished, the others had hurried ahead of him and were running into the forest. Realizing they left him behind, he ran after them and soon caught up with them. Behind them came the sounds of stomping and crashing. Izzy took a second to look back and said, "He's gaining on us."

"Palmon! I thought you said he was territorial! Why is he chasing us when we're not on the beach anymore?" Biyomon half screamed, half asked while they fled from the giant creature.

"I don't know, maybe you should stop and ask," Palmon answered. They ran deeper into the forest with Shellmon still hot on their tail, knocking aside trees with ease and gaining on them slowly. Amidst all their running, they found themselves at a large clearing and a lake. A street car sat in the middle of the lake, lying on the surface of the water without sinking below. Seeing that street car on the water reminded Sora that they had a strategic advantage over the giant Shellmon behind them. They were now on dry land and would be able to use their numbers against him as long as he didn't get back into the water.

Sora stopped in her tracks, picked a rock off the ground and threw it at the giant creature. Shellmon roared when it bounced off his head and brought a giant hand down on top of Sora. Biyomon jumped in and grabbed Sora, both fell to the ground with a thud.

"Sora, what were you thinking?" Biyomon asked.

"We have the advantage on land," Sora said, "There are more of us. If we can stop him from getting into the water, we can beat him!"

"Okay, it's a plan," Biyomon started slowly, "But don't put yourself in danger like that!"

"Blue Blaster!" blue fire shot out of Gabumon's mouth and drew Shellmon's attention elsewhere.

"Hey guys! Can you talk after you're not under Shellmon?" Matt shouted at them. Biyomon and Sora realized that Shellmon was still hovering dangerously over them, his attention drawn away by the other digimon, but still one step away from crushing them. They rolled out from under him and ran behind the lumbering creature swinging away at their friends. TK hid behind Matt, who picked up another stick to use as a club. The others were scattered around with their respective partners taking turns striking Shellmon with their abilities.

Sora picked up another nearby rock and threw it at Shellmon. Shellmon turned its head away before the rock hit and bounce off a black disc embedded where his neck met the back of his head. Sora pointed the disc out to her partner, "Biyomon! What is that? A weak point?"

"Let me get a better look," Biyomon took the air and circled around the giant creature. Shellmon swiped and grabbed at her while she weaved through his arms and returned to Sora's side, "It looks like a gear stuck itself in his head."

"Is it supposed to be there?" Sora asked.

"No. It would explain why he's in such a bad mood," Biyomon proposed. Sora nodded her understanding and shouted this new information to the others, "Guys! There's a black gear on its head! Maybe if we destroy it, it'll stop attacking!"

"How do we do that?" TK asked.

"Maybe Matt can convince Kuwagamon to give him a lift," Joe joked, earning him an elbow in the chest from Matt.

"Well, he's a giant sea monster," Izzy pointed out to the others, "Tentomon!"

"Way ahead of you! Super Shocker!" Tentomon screamed at the top of his lungs, electricity firing from his back at Shellmon. Shellmon froze for a moment, paralyzed by the jolt of electricity. Palmon rushed forward and used her vines to drag Shellmon to the ground, exposing the gear on the back of its head. The six digimon ran in to destroy it and were thrown away by Shellmon before they could get close. Gomamon was thrown the furthest landing into the lake behind them. The splash caught Shellmon's attention and he charged straight for the body of water.

"GOMAMON!" Joe shouted, running for his partner with complete disregard for the rampaging giant also going the same direction.

"Joe! Look out!" Mimi screamed. Joe realized the towering Shellmon was stampeding towards him and froze in fear. This would have been his end, but Palmon used her vines to grab him and pulled him out of harm's way. Shellmon continued into the water and moved towards the center of the lake, using its depth to his advantage - and their one aquatic digimon was somewhere beneath the water with him.

Shellmon stopped short of the center of the lake and started backing away, still growling and roaring. The surface of the water rumbled and crashed, before a large blue serpent with a gold armored head emerged from the the water's depth. Hanging on for dear life on its head was Gomamon, who was swung back and forth with every motion the serpent made.

"Oh no, now there's another one!" TK wailed, "Patamon! What is that?"

"That's Seadramon!" Patamon explained, "A sea dragon! He's as mean as they come but he's just as dense. If we're careful, he won't even notice we're here. We can just let them fight it out and sneak away."

"What about Gomamon?" Sora asked. Gomamon screamed while he was shaken around by the giant sea dragon while it roared and flailed. Eventually, it swung its head with enough force to throw Gomamon back towards the rest of the group where he slid to a halt beside them. Shellmon and Seadramon squared off against each other. For a moment, it seemed they would begin to fight one another. When Seadramon turned on them and Shellmon followed after, they realized the two had no intention of fighting each other.

"I thought you said they would fight it out?" Mimi said.

"They should! Those two don't like each other anyway. Fighting us doesn't make sense!" Palmon explained. Another stream of high pressure water shot out at them, sending the kids scattering in all variety of directions.

"One was bad enough, how do we beat two?" Mimi asked no one particular.

"Well, we still have the weak point on Shellmon's head-" Izzy started to speak but was cut off by Gabumon, "Which we're not sure is a weak point,"

"And they're in the water," Izzy finished, "Tentomon!"

"I understand! Super Shocker!" More blasts of electricity shot out of Tentomon's back, striking the water around Seadramon and Shellmon. The two creatures convulsed in agony for a few seconds then leered at the kids with more anger than before.

"I think that just made them mad," Sora commented.

"The water probably dissipated the shock," Izzy posited.

"I think we should probably go back to running," Patamon suggested.

"Last time, that just led you to Seadramon. Do you really want to risk a third digimon showing up?"

"That's a good point Matt," Joe agreed.

"I didn't say it, I thought you did Izzy," Matt corrected. Izzy shook his head and the group found themselves asking a question. Who's voice did they hear?

"Look, on his tail!" Patamon pointed to the sea dragon, reminding them of the present danger. At the far end of his long serpentine body was a large red flipper that resembled a leaf. And jutting from the base where it met his body was another black disc. A gear.

"Well I guess now we know why they're not fighting each other," Sora said. The serpentine creature did something they didn't think it could do. It wrapped it large body around Shellmon and moved like a whip, cracking the air to send Shellmon flying behind them. The impact shook the ground around them, and the group found themselves caught between the two giant creatures. Seadramon ensured they wouldn't flee by closing in on the shoreline. He rested his long tail on one side of the shore and moved his head to the other side, effectively sealing them in.

Their digimon partners attacked with all their strength but only Tentomon's electrical attack was able to elicit any kind of reaction from them, and it seemed to annoy them more than hurt them. TK panicked and made a dash for the tail, thinking that facing it would be better than Seadramon's teeth. Matt saw this right away and chased after his little brother, "TK! Don't! It's not safe!"

Seadramon saw the little boy fleeing and went to grab him but instead caught the older brother. Once again, Matt was at the mercy of another large and powerful creature. It's cavernous mouth was wide open and bore razor sharp teeth dripping with saliva, ready to tear him apart. They all screamed out in terror, but none louder than little brother TK, "MATT!"

They were so distracted by his capture, that they failed to noticed Shellmon directly bring one of his massive arms down directly behind them with enough force to shake them all to the ground. Before they could get back up, Shellmon swiped at the ground, throwing the group and scattering them. The kids crawled on the ground, trying to pick themselves up while their digimon partners tried to stand in their defense.

Sora and Biyomon landed closest to Shellmon, which cackled as it came their way. It flicked Biyomon with the tiniest effort and she slammed into the ground.

"BIYOMON!" Sora watched her partner try to push herself back up. She had little time to worry. Shellmon had already grabbed Sora between its gigantic fingers and held her in its monstrous hand. It squeezed her so tight that she could barely scream, let alone breathe. She looked into the monster's eye and saw its intentions looking back at her. It was going to break her in its hand.

Whether it was bravery or stupidity that compelled them, neither Gabumon nor Biyomon could say. Gabumon ran at Seadramon to save Matt and Biyomon at Shellmon to protect Sora. Gabumon could feel it. All of Matt's fear, his anger, Matt's frustration. All of it for his little brother. Matt was afraid of what would happen to his little brother, he was angry that he couldn't be there for him, and he was frustrated that there was nothing he could do. And Sora's own fear and regret. Fear that she'd never see her family again. Regret that she hadn't been a better person.

All of this resonated within Gabumon and Biyomon, and they felt a warmth they'd never felt before. The digivices on Matt's belt and Sora's pocket glowed a bright light. A whistling noise filled the air.

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

Their group gaped in awe at the two new creatures before them. Biyomon transformed into a large fiery bird hovering just above them, while Gabumon transformed into large wolf with a tiger striped coat. Shellmon tracked Birdramon as she flew across the sky, circling around behind the giant monster. Sora could feel Shellmon's grip weakening and she felt herself slipping through his hand. Soon, she was falling to the ground screaming. Palmon saw her falling and used her vines to catch Sora before she slammed into the ground. She gently lowered Sora to the grass and she limped over to the digimon, "Thank you Palmon!"

The giant fire bird took this chance to tackle Shellmon, using its razor sharp claws to pierce and scratch away. With a flap of its wings, it threw its feathers at Shellmon with enough force to knock Shellmon aside, "Meteor Wing!"

Shellmon yelped and fell back into the forest, falling unconscious.

Meanwhile, the large wolf sank its sharp teeth into Seadramon. Seadramon roared and loosened its grip on Matt who fell into the water below. Gomamon was already in the water, dragging Matt to shore and away from the two giant monsters. Garurumon's teeth dug deep into Seadramon and is claws started ripping away at Seadramon's scales. Seadramon roared and and dove into the water, dragging Garurumon under with him. The water's surface rippled where they sank, then exploded when Garurumon resurfaced in the middle of the lake. Birdramon dove towards Garurumon and tried to pull him to shore, but was ensnared by Seadramon's tail.

Seadramon tried to drag Birdramon under but couldn't overpower the bird digimon's powerful wings. Eventually, Birdramon tired and it seemed Seadramon's strength would prevail until Garurumon turned on Seadramon and opened his mouth, "Howling Blaster!"

Cold, blue fire erupted from his mouth and hit Seadramon. It squealed in agony and released Birdramon so it could flee back beneath the water, only for Birdramon to grab him with her claws. With a few flaps, Birdramon picked up Seadramon and threw the serpent onto the sandy beach. Seadramon writhed on the ground, until Garurumon pounced upon him and shredded the gear on his tail. At the same time Birdramon returned to Shellmon and clawed off the gear on the back of its head. Both gears turned to dust and vanished.

Shellmon and Seadramon fell to the ground for a moment. They all breathed a sigh of relief as the two digimon were still. The kids tensed up when Shellmon began to stir. He glanced around him inapparent confusion before cracking a tired yawn and stomping away in the direction of the beach. Seadramon awoke next, made gasping noises, and hobbled his way back into the water before disappearing. They all stared at the sight before them before Sora commented, "I guess those black gears were weak points."

"Matt!" TK cried out while running to his older brother. Matt still lay where Gomanon dragged him to shore - unmoving. Gomamon was beside Matt, nudging him occasionally. Everyone had the same worried thought when they saw Matt and were quick to run to his side. TK shook his brother, "Matt! Wake up! Matt!"

Joe set TK aside and put an ear to Matt's chest, "His heart's still beating but I don't hear him breathing."

"Is there anything we can do?" Mimi peaked over Joe's shoulder.

"Yeah, I need some room. He needs some air to breathe," Joe motioned with his arm for them to gain some distance. Everyone including TK backed away while Joe put his hands together and started pressing into Matt's chest. After a few more presses, Joe put his ear against Matt's chest and started pressing into it again. It only took three pushes, but water shot out of Matt's mouth and he coughed and gagged.

"Matt!" TK went to go hug his brother but Joe held him back. Matt fell back to the ground, unconscious. Joe put his ear to Matt's chest one more time and explained, "His heart's still beating and he's breathing now. We'd better get some blankets and a fire going to warm him up."

"He'll be okay though, right?" TK asked.

"If we can keep him from getting hypothermia, he should be fine," Joe said.

It didn't take long for them to get a fire going, although it was already dark by the time they did. Joe produced a thermal blanket which he used to wrap around Matt, but Garurumon made a point of curling up beside Matt to share his own body heat. Birdramon regressed back to Biyomon and tended to the injured Sora. Joe proved an amazing medic for the group, having access to a number of supplies in his bag which he used to clean up their injuries.

As the night progressed, it was decided that they should all get some rest but that one should stay awake with their digimon to keep watch. In addition, they would swap out every hour so that everyone could get a full night's rest. Izzy and Tentomon agreed to take first watch while the others slept. TK and Patamon fell asleep beside the still unconscious Matt, while the others huddled up around the fire. Izzy pulled out his laptop and began working away on it while Tentomon looked on in fascination.

"What are you doing Izzy?" Tentomon asked.

"Making notes of all the strange things that happened today," Izzy explained, "Maybe there's a pattern we missed, or some kind of clue to everything that happened."

"Such as?" Tentomon asked.

"Seadramon and Shellmon both completely ignored us once the black gears were gone," Izzy started, "Which suggests that they were being manipulated by the gears. This raises the question: who made the black gears and why did it make those two attack us? Do the gears just naturally make digimon more aggressive or is this a result of manipulation? If it's the former, do digimon affected by black gears only attack those unaffected by black gears, or do they only attack us? If it's the latter, why are they attacking us?"

"Okay, those are good points," Tentomon affirmed, not entirely sure what his partner said.

"Then there's that strange phone call and that voice from before," Izzy answered, "Are they connected and who was that?"

"You mean the one that told us to duck and to not run away?" Tentomon asked.

"Right, who's voice was it and why were they so keen to help us?" Izzy asked, "And I'm surprised this hasn't come up yet but we saw seven of these digivices when we were in the Real World. So why are there only six of us and six you?"

"There's only ever been six of us."

"So what about the seventh?"

"So what do you think we should do?"

"For now. We just wait and observe. At this rate, we're bound to run into somebody who knows something," Izzy supposed. Tentomon nodded in agreement. Today had been an adventure for all of them. An adventure filled with danger, that left them with more questions than answers.

...

Author's Note: That's all for tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in one week on Friday, November 6th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism.