Growlmon couldn't even land without stumbling. Something was different about this battle. The courageous vibe he normally received from his tamer was absolutely shattered. Whatever Takato was feeling, Growlmon felt it. His body felt heavy and sluggish. He felt almost useless. It wasn't fair to him. Anger at his tamer surged through, but quickly subsided. Takato had been nothing but nice to him since creating him. It was even less fair to be mad at him the one time Takato was in doubt.
"Growlmon, move!" the Digimon heard Henry yell.
Mihiramon struck Growlmon with a strong samurai tiger tail. Takato was flung off of his Digimon and skidded across the roof. He lied on his back and watched the scene in front of him. The tamer felt powerless as the scene in front of him took place. There was nothing he could do. Nothing, useless, out of control, was the words that floated around in Takato's mind. Was he describing Growlmon or himself? Everything blurred together now. Whatever Takato was, Growlmon also became.
Growlmon took the hit straight to the stomach. He stumbled a few steps back, but managed to stay on the roof. The Digimon lost his breath and wasn't able to form a fireball before Mihiramon attacked again. Mihiramon pinned Growlmon on his back and smirked. The battle was all too easy for him.
"Takato, you have to help him!" Henry shouted at the tamer. His friend was on the ground just watching Growlmon lose. He tried to pick up Takato, but the tamer was absolutely frozen and watching the scene unfold. Henry groaned in agitation and yelled at Mihiramon, "Hey, you big ugly cat!"
Mihiramon broke his attention from Growlmon for a split second. That was enough time for Growlmon to push off from the ground. He gripped one of Mihiramon's wings and snapped it. It wasn't much, but it was a start in the right direction. Mihiramon yipped, but turned his weakness into anger. The ultimate bit down on Growlmon's side hard.
Growlmon was losing ability to hold on to himself. His data was hard to keep together. He turned his head to Takato and reached for his tamer. If there was any time Takato was going to snap out of his daze, it had better be now. Growlmon's voice was barely heard, "Takatomon…"
Takato held his side when Mihiramon chomped down on Growlmon. At first, he honestly believed he was bitten too. The pain was unreal and made him lightheaded. If he could feel Growlmon's pain, could Growlmon feel what Takato felt? When Growlmon called out his name, Takato felt guiltier than ever. It was his fault that Growlmon was losing. It was his fault that they were all going to die. He buried his face in his hands.
"Frozen claw!" called out IceDevimon. The devil clawed at Mihiramon and sent him staggering back. He couldn't believe he had helped the dinosaur, but it might be the only way they'd ever defeat Mihiramon.
Growlmon fell down to the ground and laid still. He reached for his tamer, but Takato was just out of reach. The Digimon was losing grip of reality. Soon, he would be nothing but floating data that would be either absorbed by IceDevimon or Mihiramon. Tears formed in his eyes and he stretched farther for Takato. If he was going to die, he wanted to be with his best friend.
"Oh, Growlmon," Takato started as he watched the Digimon. He wrapped his hands around one of Growlmon's giant claws. His heart was breaking before him as Growlmon struggled to hang on to life. "What have I done to you? This is my fault. I'm the worst tamer to ever exist."
"No," Growlmon corrected him. Takato was surprised at the Digimon's response. He started to retort, but Growlmon cut him off. "I couldn't have asked for a better friend. We were put together because we're the perfect pair. The Digivice came to you just like it did Henry and Rika, did it not? Then you are worthy."
Growlmon's words rang in Takato's mind. He stared down at the D-Power in his hand. Something about him had to be special in order for him to be chosen for a journey of a lifetime. Guilmon was the best journey he could have ever imagined. Guilmon helped him meet one of his greatest friends and grow even closer to another. His grip tightened around the D-Power as he stood up with conviction. He shouted to Growlmon, "You're right. I'm not ready to give up if you aren't."
Takato pulled out a power card, but to his surprise it was the same blue card that had came in the pack of cards Claire gave him. Without even thinking, he swiped the card. If the card could do wonders once, it could surely do it again.
Matrix digivolution.
WarGrowlmon was more than Takato could ever imagine. He was armored and fierce. Takato remembered being afraid when Guilmon first evolved into Growlmon. It was terrifying because of how brutal the Digimon was, but nothing about WarGrowlmon scared him. Takato now trusted his partner to always do the right thing.
"Stupid, Digimon. You could have digivolved without your partner. Look how strong you are. You don't need them," Mihiramon tried to convince WarGrowlmon. The ultimate Digimon left IceDevimon's battle and began to circle around his new enemy. "If you joined up with me, we could rule this place. It's as easy as one, two, kill the humans."
"Takato, the tail. Have him attack the tail!" Henry told Takato. He had been watching Mihiramon long enough to figure out a weakness.
IceDevimon heard Henry. The devil grabbed onto the tail and yanked as hard as he could. Mihiramon was dragged backwards. The tiger dug its claws into the roof in a sad attempt to not be pulled.
WarGrowlmon was face to face with Mihiramon. Takato took steps with WarGrowlmon as if they were one. Takato moved his hands where WarGrowlmon would have his around Mihiramon's face. The dinosaur shook his head as he said, "No. Takato makes me better. Takato is my friend. I will never let a Digimon like you hurt him."
"Atomic blaster!" Takato and WarGrowlmon shouted in unison.
There was a bright, red flash of light. Takato was almost blinded by the sight and deafened by the sound. He pulled his goggles down onto his face in a sad attempt to protect his eyes. Henry and Takato grabbed a hold of each other to not only ground themselves, but make sure the other was not blown away during the attack.
The racket soon ceased to silence. Either that, or Takato officially was deaf. He opened his eyes and slowly lifted the goggles off his face. Half of the roof was in ruins. Debris was still breaking off and falling to the ground. That wasn't what was important. He searched around for WarGrowlmon, but the Digimon was nowhere in sight.
"WarGrowlmon?! Buddy…?" Takato called out, but didn't receive any form of response. His stomach dropped at the silence. Was the atomic blaster strong enough to kill his friend? Even worse, it might not have taken out Mihiramon. But the tiger wasn't in sight either.
"Up there," Henry told him and pointed toward the funnel in the sky.
WarGrowlmon had flown into the air after IceDevimon. The devil Digimon was making an escape with Rika in his arms. IceDevimon's form was slowly being pulled into the retreating funnel. The queen glared at the two tamers as she too was fading into the funnel.
"Remind me again why we're running away like cowards to the Digital World. You stole Mihiramon's data before WarGrowlmon could get to it. Aren't you strong enough or am I wasting my time with you?" the queen questioned her partner. The twits down below should be weaker than her. They should bow down to her and beg for IceDevimon to be their partner instead.
"Save me! Don't let them take me!" Rika screamed from inside the queen. Her own voice echoed through her body, but was never truly vocalized. She struggled to take control, but the harder she fought, the more tired she became. All she wanted to do was sleep, but even when the queen slept, Rika could not. What would happen if she did suddenly sleep? Rika knew the answer before she even thought the question. The queen would squash what bit of Rika still existed and Rika would be no more.
"We are going to find the Devas and the sovereign," IceDevimon stated like it was a matter of fact. He wanted a response, but the queen didn't speak. "Mihiramon was talking about world domination of the human world. We're going to join up with them. We'll become stronger and wiser. Then, when all the other humans are gone, you will be the true Digimon queen."
No, Rika thought, but the queen had other plans. She laughed with pleasure at that idea. Her form was almost turned into data and could barely see the two tamers. The queen flicked off the tamers before traveling to the Digital World.
"WarGrowlmon, let them go," Takato sighed. His partner heard his words and stopped in mid-air. Takato could see Rika and IceDevimon disappear into the tunnel. "Let them go. You can't go after them alone."
"As you wish… Tamer," WarGrowlmon said and lowered himself back onto the roof. The Digimon hated the thought of Rika being stolen away, but Takato was right. WarGrowlmon could either chase blindly after them into the Digital World or wait for Takato and the others to devise a plan.
WarGrowlmon picked Takato up and allowed Henry ride on his lower back. It was time to return to the ground.
Takato was barely able to place his feet on the ground before being tackled. Claire wrapped her arms around him and squeezed harder than he knew she was capable of. He returned the hug, but didn't hug as tightly. The tamer laughed, "Hey, I'm fine. I'll always be fine, alright?"
"I just saw the giant explosion and thought the worst. Then the funnel in the sky disappeared and…" Claire's voice trailed off. She let go of Takato and backed away. The blonde glanced over her best friend to make sure he was in one piece. When she saw nothing was bleeding or bruised on his body, she let out the breath she was holding. Takato had come back to her like he promised.
"You need to stop being so protective of me. I think I can handle this now," Takato continued to laugh and smile. He pointed to WarGrowlmon over his shoulder. Takato still couldn't believe he had the power to digivolve Growlmon like he had. There was more to the taming business than he realized and he needed to work at it.
Henry slid off the back of WarGrowlmon and stood next to Takato. He expected the same greeting that Takato received, but he couldn't have been more wrong. Claire punched him in the shoulder instead of a friendly hug. Tears were in her eyes and face had become red. Henry had never dealt with a crying girl other than his sister, Suzie, and wasn't sure how he should handle it. The blue haired boy listened to the words Claire had to say.
"You! I hate you!" she started with a loud shout. She punched him again in the shoulder before some tears rolled down her face. Claire didn't know how to tell him, but she threw her emotions out there the best she could. "I thought you were dead! Terriermon fell down here and I thought the worst. Do you know how much of a damn wreck I was down here wondering what had happened to you?"
Henry was then given a hug almost as strong as Takato's. He didn't defend his actions with logic like he normally would have. Normally, he would have told her that he had to fight in that moment because who knew what would happen if Gargomon hadn't entered the battle when he did. Maybe Mihiramon would have left the tower and ravaged the city. Maybe Mihiramon would have killed IceDevimon and Rika. Maybe everything would have gone better if he had waited for Takato like she asked. Maybe Henry wouldn't have scared her as much as he had.
Henry then thought of his family. They would have been just as worried and scared for him. All he thought about earlier was himself and Gargomon instead of the people it would affect if something had happened to him. Henry Wong, you are not alone. Don't act like you are, Claire's words from earlier that morning rang in his head. His actions had an impact on others just as well as himself. Finally understanding, Henry accepted her embraced and rewarded her with silence. Silence, the one thing she probably hated more than him in that moment.
"Momentai," Terriermon said in his sleep. The Digimon had quite the battle earlier and Henry couldn't think of a better way to reward his partner but to let him rest. He picked up the bunny and held him in his arms.
"Rika, Takatomon," WarGrowlmon reminded his tamer. WarGrowlmon let the poor girl be pulled into the Digital World. He wasn't going to feel right until he corrected his mistake.
Takato lowered his head. The funnel to the Digital World had closed after IceDevimon travelled through it. Unless they found another way, Rika was trapped in the mysterious world. He felt sick at the thought and announced, "We need to find a way to the Digital World. No one deserves what she's going through and I could only hope everyone here would do the same for me if it was me."
"How exactly would we do that?" Claire asked. She was no longer an emotional wreck and no longer crying.
"Find a portal to the Digital World. There's plenty out there, just gotta know where to look!" Calumon sang and floated around. The Digimon was just out of reach of the teens and purposely stayed away from WarGrowlmon. "It's like hide and seek, but the portals are the best hiders."
"Hello?" Henry suddenly said. His phone had ringed and he barely answered it before it would have gone to voicemail. His face distorted into a face of horror the more the person calling him talked. He hung up quickly and groaned. "My dad found out I skipped school. I have to go home now."
"Fine, we begin our search tomorrow since it'll be Saturday," Takato assumed the others would agree. His two friends nodded and slowly went their separate ways. Rika would have to hold out for the night while they took a breather. It didn't feel right, but it was what had to be done. As he walked WarGrowlmon to the underground tunnels, he sighed, "We'll be there soon, Rika. Just… Stay strong."