Heheh, hi readers.

I seriously thought I would get around to actually finishing this entire story before summer's out, but that doesn't seem to be much of an option now. Summertime is turning out to be just as busy as any other time =/ Oh well. At least I got to spend Odaiba Day up camping in the mountains. No snow though. No Aurora Borealis. No digivices falling out of the sky...

Whatever, it was fun, but it's good to be back to writing this story. I still love the Tamers.

Read on! finally...

Stranger

He was sitting in a small clearing, without a single sign of life in sight, and yet he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He could just sense something there, though he couldn't tell just how close. Perhaps it was another digimon somewhere, waiting for a chance to attack. Or perhaps there was one nearby that was simply hiding from him.

Henry knew there were digimon out there that wouldn't attack him. Ones like Meramon, whom the Tamers had met on their first trip to the Digital World, that would relinquish and be sociable and agreeable once it was established who was the stronger. Hopefully he would find at least one who can discern and understand just how uncontrollably powerful GreyXaldramon is. Henry remembered Guilmon in the park back home, suddenly. Takato's partner had been set on killing him. He could see it in the digimon's eyes: the urge had been too strong for Guilmon. If even a tamed digimon reacted so, it would take a very strong will for a wild one to resist.

The real question at hand, though, was how to dedigivolve. Henry hardly remembered what happened after defeating Aquarimon. One minute he was absorbing the enemy digimon's data, and the next, he was staring at the faces of the others gathered around them. Sometime in between, he had dedigivolved. He just couldn't remember how. It had something to do with the green card, he knew that much, but nothing more. Unless...

Henry thought about the other cards they as Tamers had used. The blue card. The red card. One evolved the digimon, the other altered the digimon. Both operated off of the children's wishes. Henry remembered the times he used each. The times when he wished Gargomon could have the strength to fight for his life, or when he finally found himself truly willing to fight along with the others for what he cared about.

Henry slowly lifted an arm and held his hand in front of him, palm open. It was all a child's wish, wasn't it? He stared at the tough-looking, charcoal-coloured, Digizoid-plated gauntlet for a short moment. Did the green card work in the same way? Henry doubted it. Shibumi was the one who wrote the red and blue cards, while the author of the green card... Henry admitted to himself that he didn't really know. He had assumed that it was Aquarimon or even Corvusmon himself. The boy closed his eyes, a sigh of desperation escaping his lungs.

He just wanted out of this digimon form. He was tired of being the target of every wild digimon he encountered; he was tired of all the pain this power had given him and the other Tamers. Henry longed for the peaceful days, those times where the biggest thing he had to worry about was whether or not he should let Suzie tag along on one of his long walks through the city. Or how to get her home when she tired out, if she did come with him, as was often the case. Henry almost smiled to himself as he thought of his sister. She was so dear to him, his only younger sibling. He thought about how she would handle everything that had happened to him. Corvusmon himself had originally targeted her, after all. She would have been forced to fight her friends and family. Henry's chest burned in anger at those unwelcome images. He had to find out how to tame the power of GreyXaldramon, and dedigivolve. That would be his first step in learning how to overcome what Corvusmon had done.

He clenched his fist, only to find his fingers press along a stiff edge of an object in his hand. Henry opened his eyes to see the green card. He blinked a couple of times, wondering when and how it had appeared. And then Henry noticed his hands. He stretched his arms out before him. White wristbands. He looked the rest of himself over. Dark clothes. Grey and yellow shoes. His orange vest was still missing, but Henry still smiled in relief. He was back; he had dedigivolved. And all the scratches and wounds from the battle with Petaldramon had been healed. It was true then. Even the green card operated off of belief and wishes. It was still a strange concept to him, even though he had constantly mastered it. Like digivolving his partner with the blue card. Or breathing underwater and swimming without getting wet. This didn't appear to be much different. Henry gazed at the green card in his hand. He wouldn't be using it again anytime soon if he could help it. GreyXaldramon had seen enough action for one day already.

Something caught his eye, hardly noticeable underneath his wristband. There was a mark on his skin. Curious, Henry reached with a single finger and slowly drew the white band aside for a better view. His eyes narrowed. The mark was at least two inches long, running the length of his wrist. It was just short enough to be concealed by the wristband. Henry hurriedly checked his other arm, and found a similar mark. He frowned. They were clearly scars, but he couldn't remember ever having anything happen to him that would leave such wounds.

But then digivolving came to mind. Henry remembered when he was first transformed. How the light came from his wrists. And his shoulders. And knees… Alarm filled him. Did he have more of these scars that were just as noticeable? Henry hastily rolled up a sleeve of his t-shirt, but couldn't get it high enough to see anything abnormal. When he failed, he took off his shirt entirely for a better look.

The marks were there, and were very apparent, though he had a hard time looking down at them without a mirror. Four inch scars ran along each shoulder, just below the collarbone.

Henry then rolled up a pant leg, not failing to notice the tip of another mark that probably ran down his ankle, concealed by his shoe. When he finally revealed his knee, Henry inhaled sharply. Yet another scar, no less than five inches long, streaked along his leg, up and over the knee cap. He let his breath out slowly in an attempt to keep calm.

What had they done to him?

He must have been in too much of a shock beforehand, when they had returned home, to notice anything out of the ordinary. But now, Henry realized that he would bear these scars permanently; a constant reminder of this terrible time.

The boy looked around at his surroundings. That earlier feeling of some presence being nearby hadn't diminished. Henry wondered if whatever it was would show itself now that he had returned to human form. He waited patiently for several moments, putting his shirt back on meanwhile. There wasn't anything else to do, being that he had no idea where he was or how far he had been separated from the others. There was no way of telling just how close Corvusmon was either.

The woods were quiet, and Henry soon tired of them. He and the other kids had been around a lot of trees already during their trip. He began walking, even if it was just to escape the cover of the forest. He only hoped not to get lost in some random desert. He'd seen enough of that situation already, too. Henry caught sight of the Real World high overhead, between the foliage, and began walking in that general direction. His way was easy; there were no stray digimon lying in wait to attack him.

It was an eerie kind of loneliness that soon settled over Henry. He didn't mind it; yet, it didn't feel right. He stopped to look around and check his surroundings. Henry instantly knew he wasn't alone, even though he couldn't seem to spot what was there with him. And then there was the snap of a branch from above. He jerked his attention up, backing a few steps away for a better angle.

A Kabuterimon was up there, hiding in a panic behind a tree that was nowhere near big enough to conceal it. It peered fearfully down at Henry, its whole body shivering with fright. Neither moved, but the boy ventured to speak.

"What?" He barked, his voice sterner than he intended. The Kabuterimon flinched at the mere word.

It managed to speak, however, even though it stumbled over its own words. "Mercy... H-have mercy, K-King of the Dramon!"

Henry frowned. "What did you call me?"

"O-only what your minions have named you." Kabuterimon said, slowly overcoming its fear. "'Beware the child in dark armour,' says C-Cannondramon. 'In him is both the power to rule us and destroy us,' he says. Are you r-really the one who evolves into the silver-armored Dramon?"

Henry hung his head, and saw the green card still in his hand. "I guess so," he murmured. Henry realized how uncertain his voice now sounded. Perhaps it was time he truly took ownership of this card. Perhaps that was another step to take in taming GreyXaldramon. He turned his head up and called to the skittish Kabuterimon, "Yes, I am."

The green card grew slightly warmer in his hand somehow, as if reacting to some sort of friction with his words. He chose to ignore it for now, as Kabuterimon gave another outburst.

"Then have mercy! Please do not use your power on us, the insect digimon. We do not want to fight you. GrandisKuwagamon says so himself, as our lord."

"I only want to fight Corvusmon," Henry stated firmly, trying to reassure the frightened champion.

"I don't want to stop you, but you'll have to make war against all the birds if you want to get to him," Kabuterimon said skeptically.

Henry sighed, and began to move on. "If I have to, I will."

He left Kabuterimon, still shaken, behind in the trees as he walked out of the woods. He stopped as he came upon a grassy meadow, with only hills obscuring the horizon. It was good to be out in the open again. The meadow felt clean, too, as opposed to the dustiness of the wide desert that greeted the group into the Digital World. Henry gazed up into the digital sky, and tried to imagine what a day like this might be like back home. It was hard to picture the blue skies of the real world, however. Being in the Digital World didn't help the picture, especially as a large, pink Biyomon flew casually by, gliding in a wide circle in the air.

Henry stared at the digimon, simply lost in thought. That bird seemed to not have a care in the world. There was no purpose in its flight. It wasn't in a rush; it didn't seem to be looking for anything. It just flew. It flew because it could. Henry thought about himself. He could fly now, couldn't he? GreyXaldramon was apparently related to the dragon-species of digimon. Had he flown since receiving the digimon's power? He vaguely remembered the short battle with Aquarimon. That was flying, wasn't it? He'd had wings, and he used them. Yet, his only purpose had been for battle and destruction. He hadn't flown just to fly.

The boy lifted the green card once again, but had no sooner laid eyes on it when a sudden ruckus sounded in the tree canopy behind him. Out of the cover of the trees zipped a second bird digimon, and its voice was raised high in alarm.

"Biyomon! Run! Get out of here!"

Henry watched the red bird flap forward frantically and ram into the pink one. The latter looked at its comrade, a Hawkmon, confusedly, beyond words.

"Come on!" The Hawkmon exclaimed, "I'll explain later, and you will not believe what that human really is."

"What?" Biyomon finally managed to say as they made their escape. Henry merely looked on.

"That is the King of the Dramon! He's going to make war single-handedly against all of our kind, ending with Corvusmon."

Biyomon began to say something, but by then, the two were out of earshot. Henry watched their dwindling figures with a forlorn expression as he realized just what picture had been painted of him across the Digital World. Rumour apparently spread fast around here, and didn't seem to remain very close to the truth. He didn't want a full-scale war. He just wanted to put an end to Corvusmon's reign and be done with it. He hadn't thought about those that were willing to fight beside the impossibly powerful digimon. What new enemies would he have to face now that word was spreading of his animosity towards the bird digimon?

"What is your plan, boy?" A new voice, coming from above, interrupted Henry's thoughts. The child looked up to see a humanoid digimon falling gracefully out of the sky and landing softly, its feet padding lightly on the grass of the meadow.

Henry didn't respond, studying the stranger instead. It looked to be at least an ultimate level digimon, telling by its armour development. He noticed the eagle-like wings, and that was what really set him on edge. He watched the newcomer closely, even though it didn't show any hint of malicious intent.

The digimon smiled and waved as it introduced itself, "Ravemon, at your service."

Ravemon paused to wait for the boy's response, but despite the show of courtesy, Henry held his tongue, staring the new digimon down.

"Listen, kid," Ravemon eventually said with a sigh. "I know you don't trust me. You have every reason not to, but we're going to be seeing a lot of each other from here on out, so you might as well spit it out. What's your name?"

"Why?" Was Henry's reply. "I'm willing to bet you already know it."

"If you're referring to your digimon spirit's name, yes, I do. Everyone does. But I know something that not many digimon alive now know. You, as a human, have your own name from the Real World. It's different than the digimon we all know as GreyXaldramon. Would you mind telling me what it is?"

The boy relinquished. "Henry."

Ravemon twisted his face into an expression that stood somewhere between amusement and disgust. Henry frowned in return.

"What?"

The digimon shrugged. "Whatever, I guess it works. So. Henry. I've already heard the gossip. The great GreyXaldramon seems to be preparing for battle against Corvusmon, and he's doing it alone. I'm assuming a brilliant plan like that can only come from you."

Henry didn't reply, sensing the sarcasm in that last sentence.

The humanoid bird tilted his head impatiently. "You're seriously thinking you can do it?"

"I want to at least try," Henry finally said.

"Do you now?" Ravemon replied incredulously. "Have you even fought this Corvusmon before?"

Henry nodded, a deep frown on his face.

"Tell me then," the digimon continued, folding his arms. "How did it go?"

The memory played through Henry's mind as clear as if he was reliving it. Seeing the other Tamers in their defeated and ravaged state. Fighting the short battle with Corvusmon. Being blasted by his own attack...

Ravemon noticed the change in the boy's expression as he reminisced, and shook his head sadly. "And you think you can march right back in and defeat him?"

"Do you have any better ideas?" Henry snapped, now aggravated by Ravemon.

"Yes," the digimon replied confidently. "Train. Learn how to use your digimon spirit."

"I've already used it," Henry countered, not yet ready to trust this stranger.

"On who?"

Saberdramon and Birdramon came to mind, but they didn't seem worth mentioning. Henry was certain by now that Ravemon was a mega. Champions were no sweat for him.

"Chaosdramon," Henry said.

Ravemon waved that off. "Even I could take out one of those guys single-handedly."

"Aquarimon, then."

"If he was any real use in fighting, Corvusmon would have sent Aquarimon to your world instead of going himself. I'm sure even Chaosdramon could defeat him with some effort."

Ravemon's remarks were discouraging, but Henry tried to give himself hope in thinking that the digimon was just being over-confident.

"Listen, kid," the mega went on. "There's no harm in taking time to do this. It will save you a lot of headache later on."

"What about Corvusmon? Taking our time will give him an opportunity to get to the others."

"Others?" Ravemon questioned, looking around. "Last time I checked, you were all alone in this. Your poor Tamer friends won't be much of a help anymore."

With that, Henry was immediately infuriated. The thought of being alone had lingered in his mind for a while now, but he wasn't ready to believe it. He didn't need Ravemon telling him he shouldn't worry about the others. He would make that decision on his own. But Henry also thought he detected some sort of threat in Ravemon's words. Had the digimon done something to the other kids?

Ravemon saw how the boy glowered at him, and grinned tauntingly. "Oops. Are you mad now?"

The digivice was instantly in Henry's hand, and he scanned the card.

"Digi-modify! Spirit evolution activate!"

"Oh, ho!" Ravemon exclaimed as the boy was enveloped in light. He took a casual step back as he watched, that stupid smile still plastered on his face. "Give it your best shot."

"GreyXaldramon!" The new digimon roared as he sprinted forward once he was mobile, not even taking the time to unsheathe his sword. His fist was pulled back as far as it would go, and he released it in a furious strike at where Ravemon stood.

Or, at least, where he had been standing.

Henry stumbled forward clumsily, knocked off balance from the failure to connect with his target. He got his footing back as fast as possible, and looked around frantically to find his opponent.

Ravemon's voice came from above. "Ohhh, Henry! Prepare yourself, kid!"

The mega dove straight out of the air, his sword drawn and extended. "Celestial Blade!"

GreyXaldramon ducked out of the range of the sword's arc, and had his own blade finally readied. "Thunder Slash!"

Ravemon was still too fast, and was out of the way quicker than the blink of an eye. GreyXaldramon's sword clove deep into the ground. He caught a glace of Ravemon, airborne once again. With his first weapon still stuck in the earth, GreyXaldramon raised his other fist. Light shone from the cannon as it charged up.

"Star Bolt!" Cried the silver digimon as he released the missile. Ravemon dropped out if the sky, letting the bullet soar over him.

"A pretty blue flare…" commented the humanoid bird as he watched GreyXaldramon's missile streak over the horizon.

Finally yanking his sword out of the ground, GreyXaldramon charged again, and this time, Ravemon sprinted forward to meet him. Henry raised his arm, readying his sword in a clash of blades, but where Ravemon once was, there was nothing. Again, the silver digimon skidded to a stop, confused.

And then a force rammed into him from behind, shoving him forward onto his face. He turned onto his back just in time to see Ravemon jump upon him. The bird-like digimon wasn't heavy enough to pin GreyXaldramon down, but the sharp blade that was now pressed up against his neck between the pieces of armour was enough for him to keep still. Henry froze as he felt the pressure applied to GreyXaldramon's throat. He wasn't sure how much damage the sword could actually do, but he didn't want to find out at the moment.

Ravemon spoke with a snicker, his voice low, "See? You have no idea how to really use this digimon's spirit. Up 'til now, you've just had the element of surprise, along with a good amount of luck."

Henry had no response. He grudgingly listened to Ravemon's words as he lay helpless.

"Now hear me out. I know what you want, and honestly I want to help. You have to let me, kid. It's the only way to keep your situation from getting worse."

The boy stiffened further at how the digimon's words mirrored his own thoughts. All of a sudden, he was very curious as to just how much this stranger knew.

We'll see how long it takes to get the next chapter out...