T.K. held Gatomon's egg in shock and horror. This was the second time he had witnessed a partnered Digimon die in front of him and he had been helpless to save them. The fact that Digimon, even apparently partnered digimon in the real world, could come back as eggs didn't change the fact that Gatomon had died. For a few seconds, everyone in the U-haul joined T.K. in staring at the digiegg in the boy's arm. T.K.'s brain then seemed to reboot and he promptly put the egg under his shirt to make sure that the egg stayed warm. He turned to his bother and mother rapidly saying. "We need to get all of the digidestined together! Kari needs to be told first about Gatomon. We also need to get some towels to keep Gatomon's egg safe and warm."
Yamato spring into action and pulled out his cell phone. He started going through his contact list and said, "I'll start calling everyone." He then hopped out of the truck just as he found the desired contact. The older digidestined could be heard speaking, "Yagami residence? This is Yamato Ishida. Mrs. Yagami I need to speak to Taichi and Kairi now. Okay, I can wait a moment."
Nancy started opening one of the nearby boxes and pulled out a laundry basket and some towels. She started to make a bed for the digiegg while wondering what this all could mean for the future. Part of Nancy was terrified that this was the start of another series of threats that her boys would have to be placed into mortal peril to stop. The fact that one of the other kid's protectors had been turned into an egg in front of her eyes only heightened Nancy's fears. Another part of her wanted to ease the pain that her little boy was feeling right now.
Once the impromptu bed was ready, Nancy gently set it down by T.K. who then gently removed the digiegg from under his shirt and placed it in the new nest. Patamon got off of T.K. and glided over to the nest holding Gatomon's digiegg and carefully landed on it. The rookie looked like a beanie baby gargoyle with his ears out as he kept up a constant scan for any threats to his dear friend. He had failed once to save Gatomon, he wouldn't fail again.
Nancy carefully walked around the repurposed laundry basket and wrapped T.K. in her arms. She pulled her son close and whispered softly into his ear. "Don't worry T.K. Everything will be alright eventually."
T.K. didn't lean into his mother's hug like he usually did if something upset him and he needed his mother's loving comfort. His attention was focused on his digimon partner and the digiegg of their mutual friend. One of T.K.'s hands gripped into a fist and he muttered, "Things will be alright. I'll make them right."
Yamato got Taichi on the line as his mother and bother stood vigil over Gatomon's egg. "Taichi, this is Yamato. We've got a big problem and it involves the digimon. Get Kari and head over to T.K.'s new apartment." Yamato listened to Taichi's questions over the phone and was able to find a point to cut his friend off. "You'll find out what's going on when you and Kari get here Taichi. Now let me give you the address so that you and your sister can get over here while I call everyone else!"
The blond digidestined gave Taichi the address for T.K.'s new apartment and ended the call. Sora was the next on Yamato's call list. Once she was informed, Yamato moved on to calling Koushiro and Joe. Thankfully, they were at home so he didn't have to leave a message with their folks or try to peck out a message on the D-Terminal. Mimi was the last on Yamato's list to call because it was frankly hard to get her off her cell phone once she was on it. It took Yamato almost twenty minutes to get Mimi off of the phone and when he did he could hear the sounds of her getting on the subway.
Taichi and Hikari, who still usually went by Kari, Yagami came running into view just as Yamato flipped over his cell phone to put it in his pocket. Taichi ran over to his friend while Hikari felt a pull to the U-haul truck knowing in her heart that something dreadful had happened. Without the slightest bit of a hello, the usually polite girl ran for the boarding ramp. Taichi stopped in front of his pal and asked, "Why did you call us here?"
Kari's cry of horror and disbelief cut off any response Yamato was about to make. Both older brothers shifted so that they could see inside the U-haul where Kari had fallen to her knees in front of the digiegg's nest that Patamon was still guarding. T.K. broke free of his mother's grip and dashed over to the young girl to give her a much needed.
Sobs could be heard coming from the preteen as she buried her head into T.K.'s chest. "Why?" Kari mumbled between the sobs. "Why did this have to happen to Gatomon?"
Taichi was about to move in to try and comfort his sister when Nancy motioned for him to back off a bit. Nancy thought that too many well-wishers too soon would cause the young girl additional stress. Taichi was standing so that he was only a step and a hop away from Kari if she needed him. Both of the teen's fists were clenched to the point where they were drawing blood and an enraged snarl was on his face. A glance into Taichi's eyes and the storm of utter furry brewing in them was terrifying to the freelance writer.
T.K. spoke once Kari's cries started to calm down. "I don't know what happened yet. Seeing to Gatomon's digiegg was more important. Once everyone gets here we'll find out what happened and then we'll make whoever did this to Gatomon pay."
Everyone who had ever met Kari could tell you that she was a very sweet and loving girl who anyone would be happy to know and proud to call a friend. Her caring nature and her budding good looks had caused her to catch the attention of several boys at the middle school who were each trying to work up the nerve to ask her out this year. However, those who truly knew Kari could tell you that she had a spine of steel when needed and a temper that burned just as hotly as her brothers' if it was aroused. Threatening any of her friends in general, and Gatomon in particular, was the best way to rouse Kari's temper.
Kari muttered in a low and scary voice that only T.K. was able to clearly hear. "I want whoever did this to pay. I want them to pay dearly for hurting Gatomon."
The digiport in the Furinkan High School computer lab activated with a brilliant show of light. This light faded in a few seconds to reveal Ranma and Flamemon standing in the lab. There was a dark and worried look on Ranma's face as he glanced at his partner. Ranma really didn't want to make the Nerima Knuckleheads aware of the Digital World. Letting them know that there was an entire world out there that he could go to for training or relaxation that they couldn't get to would cause a massive headache. Flamemon's presence and the past he represented would do doubt cause tons of yelling and a few crazy accusations when they got to the Tendos. This would no doubt be repeated as the regulars found out, reacted to Flamemon's presence, and reacted to others reacting to Flamemon.
But, at least Ranma could help and protect Flamemon here in Nerima. Ranma had been planning on simply leaving Flamemon in the Digital World and visiting him every day to deal with the Digimon Emperor. That all changed when the boss informed him that one of the other Chosen's digimon had been reverted to a digiegg by the Emperor's forces. Ranma would rather deal with complete insanity and hell in Nerima over risking Flamemon being forced to revert to a digiegg.
Ranma's mystical background and experience gave him unique insight into Digimon and the connection Digidestined had with their partners. The connection was a bond that went both ways and affected both human and digimon. It transcended dimensions and connected the duo in a bond closer than most romantics used to describe soul mates. The bond could be subtle and unnoticeable if one was not highly aware of their personal energies. Ranma knew that the Digital Sovereigns were rather tight lipped about some details of the connection and that he didn't have the words or possibly even the ability to properly describe what he had felt during his meditations.
However, one thing Ranma and Flamemon were aware of was that shock to the bond could have massive effects on both the digidestined and the partner. Something like a digimon reverting to a digiegg would be a major shock to the bond. This was especially true if the partner digimon didn't have at least a few seconds to prepare themselves in order to dampen the effects their reformatting would have on the bond. Both Ranma and Flamemon hoped that the chosen child and their partner digimon would get through the reformatting without too much trauma.
A quick look around the computer lab confirmed that there was no one else besides the duo in the room. Ranma turned off the computer with the digiport and then sighed. "Well buddy; I guess it's time to introduce you to some of the inmates at the Nerima Nuthouse. Hopefully, we'll get a week or so before you have to meet some of the real crazies we've got here." Concern and fear for Flamemon's life after he heard about the other chosen's partner reformatting was setting Ranma on edge.
Flamemon gave his partner a cocky grin to mask his own worries about all the changes this day had brought. "Don't worry Ranma, I'm better trained than most rookie or champion level digimon and you said that very few people here even have the strength to approach the champion level."
That did not set Ranma at ease. "Playing cocky with an opponent is one thing Flamemon. Having confidence in your abilities in a fight is one thing. However, actually being cocky is a whole different issue and will have you writing checks your ass can't cash. You know this just as much as I do Flamemon."
The digimon looked up at his friend and rolled his eyes. "Of course I know that Ranma. I'm just trying to let off some steam. You're not the only one worked up about everything the Boss told us today. I mean, one of us turning to the dark side, the headaches caused by Armor Digivolution, and now a partnered digimon getting reformatted? I just hope it wasn't Wormmon and that he's safe from this Imperial Idiot."
Ranma gave his partner a smile and said, "Don't worry about Wormmon. He was able to be stealthy far more than either of us ever could. If any partnered digimon can safely survive in the Digital World now I'm sure it's him. Now, let's go face the gauntlet of introducing you to everyone." Ranma then lead Flamemon out of Furinkan and onto the city rooftops. In any other ward this would have caused a lot of attention to be focused on Flamemon. However, the people of Nerima had trained themselves to not pay too close of attention to anyone on the roofs. This was even more so when the person on the roof looked different from normal.
Human and digimon made good time getting to the Tendo Dojo even with the zigzag pattern Ranma took to hit the other roofs for gutter cleaning that he hadn't gotten before. The duo stopped at the front gate of the Tendo Dojo and Ranma rang the doorbell. Kasumi opened the door a few seconds later and said, "Welcome to the Tendo, wait Ranma, why did you ring the doorbell?" Kasumi stopped talking completely when she registered who was at the door and his companion. There was a slightly dumbfounded look on Kasumi's face as her eyes focused on Flamemon. She had seen some strange people before, but the Digimon took home the gold in that category.
Ranma smiled at Kasumi and said, "Hi Kasumi. This is Flamemon, the friend that I said I was going to visit today. It turns out that his home dimension is being taken over by a corrupted kid with delusions of grandeur so he needs a place to stay for the time being. Mind if he crashes here until the two of us can beat down the dork and free Flamemon's homeland?" Ranma paused to look over Kasumi's shoulder and said, "If it helps Mr. Tendo, Flamemon is a practitioner of Anything Goes."
Everyone else living at the Tendo Dojo was standing behind Kasumi looking at Ranma and Flamemon with curious or surprised eyes. Genma was the first to speak up among the assembled crowd. "Boy, just who is this? I don't recall ever meeting someone like this during our training trip."
Flamemon snorted and said, "Of course you never met me. Ranma was summoned to my world four years ago by the head Sovereign of my realm. I suppose a more relatable term for you people to call the one who summoned Ranma would be god. There was a time different between our worlds at the time so Ranma got to spend months with me in my world while you spent some hours drunk at a bar. You all might have seen my world. Do any of you recall seeing a strange seeming landscape floating upside down in the sky about four years ago?"
Something clicked in Nabiki's mind and she said, "That was your world? Why was it up in the sky like that and why is it that all posted information on that event seems to disappear in a few hours?" Nabiki liked mysteries and puzzles; they were a hobby that occasionally created a monetary reward if you solved the right one at the right time. Those bizarre events four years ago and the lack of any answers to them were one of if not the biggest puzzle Nabiki hadn't solved yet. In hind sight, the fact that Ranma would be involved somewhere in the first truly bizarre situation of her life should have been expected. Everything strange in Nerima seemed to be connected to Ranma in some way, shape, or form.
Ranma fielded these questions from Furinkan's information broker by holding out his hand. "5000 yen please," was said in a dull tone. However, Ranma's eyes showed just how amused he was to turn the tables on Nabiki for once. A look of utter shock and surprise emerged on middle Tendo sister's face at her usual role and catch phrase being turned against her.
Soun decided to add his two yen by asking a question. "Ranma, how does Flamemon know Anything Goes if neither your father nor I ever taught him?" Inside his mind, the Tendo patriarch was praying that Flamemon wasn't taught by the Master. Having the Master in his house was bad enough. Having an unknown, and therefore possibly corrupted, student of the Master was even worse.
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "I taught Flamemon the Saotome style of Anything Goes. Even when I was twelve I knew enough to qualify as a Master in the school. I just never knocked Pops out for the title because I figured that most people wouldn't take a teen master of martial arts seriously. Flamemon keeps up his training when I'm not around and when I'm around I show him some new techniques. With his current skill, I'd say he'd give you a hard challenge in his rookie form Pops."
Genma narrowed his eyes on the strange being his son was friends with. On the one hand, he was annoyed that Ranma had taken on his own students without being certified as a master of the school. His school of martial arts was one of the few things Genma took seriously. Anything Goes, especially the Saotome Branch of Anything Goes, didn't have defined ranking system besides master and student. The Tendo Branch had tentatively created a Dan system. However, none of Soun's former students had progressed that far before his wife died leaving Soun unable to teach. This was something that the duo was planning on getting Ranma and Akane to introduce when they started to teach Anything Goes in the dojo after the wedding.
Having Ranma teach someone Anything Goes with him being recognized as being qualified to teach was a major problem. Thanks to the Master, Anything Goes had a poor reputation as a school among the martial arts community. It was feared as the power that it was, but it was also looked down upon as an unsavory school. Even Genma and Soun, fine pillars of martial arts as they were, were tarred with a similar brush as their Master. Ranma was the duo's hope for getting Anything Goes the respect and glory that the style truly deserved among the martial arts community. Teaching someone martial arts without being recognized as having the authority to teach martial arts could lower Ranma in the eyes of the other martial arts masters. That would endanger Ranma's ability to get the school the respect and glory it needed.
On the other hand, Genma and Soun could both read that Flamemon was well trained in the Saotome Branch of Anything Goes. They could also feel the power emanating from Flamemon and knew that he was not a pushover by any stretch of the imagination. There was also the fact that a divine power was involved in this latest debacle. Genma and Soun were well aware thanks to some interesting experiences over the course of their training trip under the Master that messing with any form of divinity was to be done in a delicate manner. Both masters took a few steps back and had an impromptu huddle. Nabiki tried to listen in, but the duo scooted back out of hearing range as the whispered to each other.
Both men made up their minds and nodded their heads. Soun put his hands behind his back and said, "I do not have any problems with a student of Anything Goes staying here while your issues at your home are going on Flamemon. However, both Genma and I have some concerns with your education our school of martial arts. Specifically, we are concerned about the quality of your education since Ranma has never been certified to teach. We are therefore going to put you through an evaluation of your training in Anything Goes. If you pass our evaluation as not having any major flaws then we will grant Ranma a probationary training license. Furthermore, if your skills are sufficient enough we will extend Ranma's probationary training license to cover anyone else needed to help free your homeland."
Soun's face frowned as he tried to appear as a solemn and wise sensei. He then continued, "There will be no major issues for you if you fail the test Flamemon. Genma has agreed to take you on a second student to correct Ranma's mistakes in your training if we find them. However," Soun paused to look Ranma in the eyes, "There will be consequences in this situation for you young man for teaching without proper authority. Teaching Flamemon correctly without a license in order to help fulfill a divine request is a forgivable transgression. Messing up only compounds your error. If Flamemon fails the test, you will be barred from applying for a training license for 5 years and forbidden to challenge any master of Anything Goes for the title of master for a decade. Am I clear Ranma?"
With a casual nod of his head, Ranma answered Soun. "I understand you Mr. Tendo. I just have one question; do you want to test Flamemon in his rookie form or his champion form? As a partnered digimon he can change into different forms that have different levels of power."
The two masters looked at each other in confusion for a second. Neither of them had expected something like this when they cooked up this plan. Genma then shrugged leaving it in Soun's hands. Soun turned back to Ranma and said, "Flamemon may use the form he most feels comfortable in for the test."
Chosen child and partnered digimon turned to look at each other and grinned. Nabiki blinked her eyes as she felt a shiver run down her back. She felt like she had just watched someone get conned and wasn't in for a cut.
Over in Odaiba, the main group of digidestined in Japan was gathered in T.K.'s partially unpacked apartment around the nest with Gatomon's egg. Kari was sitting on the floor in a rather unladylike manner so that her legs were cradling the nest. The only reason she didn't have the digiegg resting in her lap was that she was too nervous about possibly damaging the egg. Patamon was pacing back and forth on the carpet in front of Kari and the nest like a guardsman out on patrol. Sora, Mimi, and Koushiro were sitting on a sofa with Koushiro balancing his laptop on the armrest. Joe and Yamato were leaning against the wall on either side of the couch. Taichi was standing next to his sister while T.K. sat backwards in a folding chair across from the Yagami siblings.
Kari looked up at T.K. and saw understanding in his eyes. None of the others could truly understand what it was like for a digidestined to have their partner turn into an egg until it happened to them. That wasn't something she would wish on her worst enemy. A question formed in her mind, but she was too afraid to ask it.
T.K. saw the question in her eyes knowing that he had asked the same one four years ago. He sighed and said, "If you keep Gatomon's egg close it should hatch in three days. Normally, it takes a digiegg three months before its ready to hatch. Elecmon told me that the connection we have with our digimon speeds up the development of their egg and fresh stages. Once the egg hatches, it should take Gatomon a week to get back to her in-training level."
Taichi looked down at Patamon and asked, "What happened to you all in the Digital World Patamon? How did you get here without using a digiportal?"
Patamon's right ear twitched and he turned around to face Taichi as he spoke, "I don't know how Gatomon and I got here Tai. One second we were about to be hit by several powerful attacks and the next there was a golden light that sent us to T.K. As for what happened," Patamon paused for a second to collect himself. He then said, "Gatomon, Agumon, Gabumon, and I were hanging out having some fun when a whole bunch of dark rings started to fly in the sky. The rings caught several digimon and these digimon started to attack others."
Koushiro looked up from his computer and said, "That sounds suspiciously like the Black Gears we dealt with when we first got to the Digital World."
The tiny rookie digimon nodded his head and replied, "Gabumon thought the same thing Izzy." Patamon completely missed Koushiro's minor irritation at the use of his old nickname. "We tried to send an email out to inform you all about the dark rings and the attacking digimon. However, I wasn't able to write a message as the stupid monitor was doing updates. Gatomon defended me before we realized we wouldn't be able to get a message out and tried to retreat. She got hit by a sneak attack and was attacked by multiple champions. I tried to get Gatomon away from the attacks and then there was the golden light I mentioned earlier."
Yamato spoke up, "I just hope Gabumon is alright."
Taichi nodded his head adding his two yen, "Agumon as well."
Patamon turned to face the duo and said, "Don't wory Matt and Tai. Gabumon and Agumon were in the thicket providing cover fire for Gatomon and me. I'm sure that they were able to make it to safety. That light should have definitely given them a chance to break away and they had the advantage of being hidden."
Joe spoke up, "Agumon and Gabumon know how to hide when the need to do so. I'm sure they'll be fine and that they'll send a message to us to let us know what's going on when it's safe to do so. We all agreed to do so if we ever get caught in a situation like this again." The idea of sending warning emails to everyone in case something dangerous happened in the Digital World was something Joe had gotten the whole group to agree to years ago to try and assure everyone's safety. Emails were preferred since it was the only means of communication that could reach all digimon and digidestined.
Sora then asked, "Is there a digiport that we can use to go help our friends?" All she could think about in the back of her mind was the thought of Biyomon being attacked. Sora really didn't want the fighting to start up again. However, she was willing to put up with any hardship to see her partner safe and sound.
Koushiro shook his head and said, "I'm afraid not guys. According to the digiport scanner program I've been working on another digiportal won't open up until the first day of school for us."
Mimi let out a small cry of surprise. "What, you mean to tell me that we won't be able to go to the Digital World again until school starts up in two weeks? I was so looking forward to showing Palmon my new school wardrobe lineup. Now I can't see her and she's in danger."
Taichi let out a small chuckle, "Never thought I'd be annoyed that our school district is the last to go back after summer break." That comment caused brief flickers of smiles to appear on everyone's faces for a few second before they disappeared. Taichi looked at Koushiro and asked, "Are there any digiports available besides the one in the middle school computer lab?"
The red haired genius looked up from his computer and said, "Please keep in mind that my digiport scanner is barely out of Alpha testing. I don't have much scanning range with it. However, the only digiport location I've found in the past several days within several blocks of any of our homes is the digiport in the middle school. As I said earlier, that one won't open up again until school starts."
Most of the teens in the group were annoyed to hear that. Having the only digiport they knew of in the middle school was fine when they were in middle school. Now that they were in high school it was a pain in the neck. All of them would have gotten caught trying to sneak to the digiport if they hadn't developed good skills at hiding and sneaking.
Unlike most of the older kids, Taichi had his eyes closed as he considered the situation. He then opened them and said, "I have a plan everyone." The other digidestineds' attention turned to face their leader. Taichi looked at everyone and said, "Until the digiport opens we're going to have to wait. However, that doesn't mean we're useless until summer break is over. All of us need to be on the lookout for reports of something strange happening. Remember, before our adventure there was a lot of weird weather and occasionally a digimon would briefly appear in our world during our adventure. Hopefully, things do get that bad. But, we should be on the lookout just the same."
That got a round of head nods from all the other digidestined in the room. Taichi then continued to give his plan. "Getting back into the digital world is our next step. Kari and T.K. are going to have to go since the digiportal is in their school. T.K. you and Patamon are going to have to play a vital role since you two will be our only major protection until we meet with our partners again." The duo nodded their heads in understanding as they looked at Taichi who continued on talking. "Yamato and I are going to be joining you two. As your older siblings, no one will really question it if we show up to check on how you're doing for your first day of school. We should be able to get one more of us into the school by saying that the person is working on a project or something with either Yamato or I who wanted to check on their sibling first. Having both of us accompanied by someone is possible, but I personally think we're risking drawing questions with too many coincidences."
Joe spoke up, "I think that Taichi's right about only having one other person join him and Yamato in going to the school. This likely isn't something that can be solved in one day. Just having one pair show up day after day shouldn't cause any questions. If any adults ask we can just say that Taichi's or Yamato's parents asked him to look after Kari or T.K. for a bit after school. A school project would be a good cover, but that excludes me since I'm in a different grade level from everyone else."
Yamato nodded his head and said, "One regular person sounds about right. We might be able to sneak additional people in from time to time if the need is desperate. However, I think Taichi should be the partner in this school project. My band occasionally has practice shortly after classes. If I'm the partner in the project or whatever our cover is we'll be down two digidestined instead of just one when that happens."
Taichi nodded his head, "Makes sense to me. Now which of you three are going to be with me on this term project or whatever we call our excuse?" He said this while looking to the couch where the girls and Koushiro were sitting. Joe's reasoning as to why he was a poor choice cover wise made sense to Taichi. Besides, it would be better for the group with the limited numbers they could send to the Digital World to have Joe safe to deliver first aid if something happened.
Sora and Mimi looked at each other, looked at Koushiro who was focused on his computer, looked back at each other, and nodded their heads. Mimi then spoke up, "Koushiro should be the one to go with you Taichi. We can say that the project involves computers and I'm sure that the teachers still remember that Koushiro is a wiz when it comes to computers. Besides, if something comes up that requires brains to solve he's the one to do it."
Koushiro slumped slightly and nodded his head in agreement. He would be able to help the team with his brains if two megas and two ultimate angel type digimons couldn't solve the problem with shear firepower. His computer skills and reputation from when he was at the middle school would help explain why he was messing with any computers in the computer lab.
Taichi smiled and said, "Alright everyone. We've got a game plan on what we'll do until school starts and the digiport opens. We've also got our team picked out once the digiport opens. Can anyone think of anything else we need to discuss at the moment?"
Nancy walked into the room and piped in. "Okay you guys and girls who wants to stay here for dinner? I'm getting ready to order pizza so I need to know how many pizzas to get and what to put on them." That announcement quickly got the complete attention of the six teens, two preteens, and one digimon in the room. Nancy started taking notes and was pleased to see that the kids were able to be regular young adults. She knew that things were going to get risky for the digidestined in the future.
All of the parents were going to do their best to help their children deal with this latest challenge once Nancy got the word out. Why it had to be their children was something none of the group's parents could figure out. However, all of the parents had agreed after their children's last adventure that they would all do what they could to help the kids if they were called again. Everyone had wished that this wouldn't happen, but wishes don't always come true.
