Digimon Beginnings

by NoRatCat

Long before the events of Digimon Adventure, the Digital World is in danger. Five ordinary children are chosen to save it and face their destiny. The tale of the original digidestined.

25. Chapter 25

At the far corner of the island, was a place of metal and machinery. Unlike the rest of the island, robot digimon inhabited this realm. Different from the organic mon's, yet they had emotions just as they. Here they worked and lived, but they mainly worked. Even though they were not drones, some form of automated routine had been programmed into their digital circuitry.

Then the fog rolled in surrounding the island and everything changed.

"Soon" a voice said deep within the city. "Soon the foolish weak organics will know the might of the machines."

--

"Come on Sho-chan. I'm beating you!" Shaomon shouted happily. The small puppy digimon ran happily across the land. Sho jogged behind her, trying to keep up.

"Where exactly are we racing to?" Sho called back.

"Nowhere! Just running for fun!" Shaomon said, disappearing into the distance.

Sho continued his jogging, hoping to catch up with his digimon. Ever since she had devolved, she had become a bundle of life. Before she acted like a puppy even in her Champion and Ultimate forms. Now she was an energetic puppy.

He had run a considerable distance, small but considerable. Shaomon was nowhere to be seen. Sho wondered where his digimon could have gone.

Again, he was going to run when he heard a sound. Sho looked around to find the source of the sound. His eyes fell upon a large rock. Listening closely, Sho could make out the sound. It sounded like suppressed giggles. A smile formed on his face as he crept up behind the rock.

"Well there you are." Said Sho.

Behind the rock, front paws over her muzzle, trying her best to hold in her giggles was Shaomon.

Hearing the one voice she loved, she dropped her paws and faced her partner. Shaomon immediately leapt onto Sho's chest knocking him down. Even as a rookie, she still had a great deal of strength when it came to glomping Sho.

"You found me!" Shaomon yipped joyfully. The canine trotted up to Sho's face and licked it continuously.

"Come on, knock it off!" Sho shouted, laughing.

Shaomon hopped off her partner, letting him get up. Sho looked down to find Shaomon rubbing up against his leg.

"Oh Sho-Chan, playing with you is so fun. I could do it all day." Shaomon sighed dreamily. A familiar growl interrupted her.

"Actually, I'll have to eat. I'm hungry." Said Shaomon.

Sho chuckled. "We should keep moving if you want food."

Shaomon's smile widened and they continued to walk. Quickly it became another game of chase with Shaomon leading. That was how it had been ever since that dark portal led them out of Persiamon's château. Mt. Miharashi was a mere dot in the distance when they first escaped and now it was gone. Gears no longer dotted the landscape, but the telephone poles were all just the same. Only now, they were pinpointed like trees.

"Sho-chan, look!" Shaomon shouted.

Since they had started out, they made out something in the distance. As they walked, it grew close until Sho could make out what it was. Large gray towers or rather buildings it appeared. A large metal wall surrounded it.

"I think we may have found some civilization." Said Sho.

"Yippee! That means food." Shaomon happily ran around in circles then she darted forward.

"Come on, slow poke!" Shaomon called back.

Sho shook his head and followed his digimon. Nothing worried Sho at this moment in time. Gone was Sho the worrywart. In his place was Sho the optimist. Hanging around Kazuya must have rubbed off on him. He was happy and he felt that nothing could ruin the moment.

--

Far from Sho and Shaomon another pair was on a similar journey. Jun and Tsunomon had left the Sukamon kingdom and they could not be happier. Save for the odor that still lingered on their bodies.

"Ick! I could sure use a shower." Jun said, sniffing herself. Holding her nose up in disgust, she wondered if bathing would cleanse her.

Tsunomon hopped by his partner's side. He kept a few feet of a distance due to the smell of course.

"It's not that bad, Jun." Tsunomon said, trying to cheer Jun up.

Jun looked down at Tsunomon with a raised eyebrow. "Then come closer." She muttered.

Tsunomon hesitantly hopped closer, yet he could not hide his displeasure.

"Yeah, that's just what I thought." Said Jun.

Ahead, the two of them could see their destination. They knew not what it was, but they concluded going there would be their goal. Their goal was a series of large metal towers with a gate surrounding them.

"We better hurry up. Don't want it to get dark." Said Jun, quickening her pace.

Tsunomon stepped up his hopping, staying close to Jun and trying to mind the odor that continued to linger.

"Um Jun, where exactly are we going?" Tsunomon asked.

Jun shrugged. "Beats me. Just feel like we have to go there."

A driving urge told the girl to go there. She was not sure what it was, yet she obeyed it. Frankly, it was starting to creep her out.

"This digidestined crap better be worth it or someone's going to get it." Jun said, clenching her fist.

Tsunomon could feel his partner's feelings. Even though he was no longer Parrotmon, some sort of empathy remained. He too felt the call. It scared him. Then again, almost everything scared him. Jun needed him and no mater what feelings or reservations he felt, he would stick by her.

--

Sakura looked around with a squeamish look on her face. Her current situation was not very favorable.

"Kazuya, why are we in a sewer again?" She asked.

Leaving Toy Town, Monsaemon had spoken of a sewer lien that connected to a city of some sort. Kazuya's course of action was for everyone to follow it.

"Because, I figure this way we won't be attacked in the open." Kazuya replied.

Sakura was not convinced. "What's to say we couldn't be attacked here?" She asked.

"Uh." Kazuya began rubbing the back of his head. "Okay, I just wanted to explore a sewer, happy now?" Said Kazuya.

Sakura groaned lightly. "That's not very leader-like. Going someplace just because you want to."

"Oh come to think of it, we need to broaden our horizons, see new sights that sort of thing." Said Kazuya.

Gazimon popped up from beside him. "Yeah we're on an adventure and traveling is what we do." Kazuya and Gazimon looked at each other with affirmative nods. The Rookie digimon had recovered from his bellyache. Kazuya had to talk him out of eating more candy, much to Gazimon's displeasure. Apparently, Gazimon didn't care if he received pain in his pursuit of pleasure.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sakura sighed. She still did not think that was a reasonable response, but she did not want to argue.

"I suppose we should keep moving." A voice to Sakura's side said, followed by a yawn. Fairydramon had awoken from her sugar down, but the grogginess had not abdicated her body.

"That's the last time I have any sort of sugar." Said Fairydramon.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad. You were actually kind of cute when you were that hyper." Gazimon said, coyly.

Fairydramon crossed her arms with a snort and a huff. "No, I've made my mind up." Was Fairydramon's response.

"You say that now, but I know you're going to have more." Said Gazimon with a smug look.

"Never! Even if they were rather tasty and delectable. Melting in my mouth with sugary goodness." Fairydramon said, licking her lips. A bit of droll dripped down splattering on the ground.

Fairydramon noticed this and quickly wiped her mouth. Gazimon snickered as she did. Fairydramon growled in his general direction making him quickly silence. Sakura stood between the two, afraid her digimon might start something.

"Let's keep moving, shall we?" Sakura suggested.

Kazuya smiled. "That's the spirit." Said Kazuya.

The goggle-headed boy lead the way eager for some new challenges. He felt positive about today. That was how much of an optimist he was.

--

Sho and Shaomon had been walking for quite some time now. How long they did not know. Shaomon didn't care, so long as she was with her Sho-Chan, than she was happy. The set of gray-towered buildings were now closer. Sho's assumptions were correct; it had to be a city of sorts.

"Hopefully we'll find someone." Said Sho.

From where they were standing it was a clear shot so onward they went. Shortly, they arrived at the city gates. There was no doorway, just a large opening. It was almost inviting.

"Guess we should go in." Said Sho. Since it was open they might as well.

"I'll stand in front of you in case something happens." Said Shaomon wagging her little tail.

Sho smiled slightly. "You don't have to." He said.

Her eyes focused intensely on him. The black orbs narrowed, her eyelids drooping downwards.

"But I want to." Shaomon began walking slowly towards Sho. Her muzzle formed into a small smile.

Sho backed away, starting to feel a bit embarrassed. Yet he couldn't help but find this whole display cute.

"Protecting you is everything that matters." Said Shaomon. "Kay?" Shaomon dropped the flirtatious act and went back to her original happy manner.

Sho nodded slowly and followed his digimon inside. Still, his face was flushed red. "At least she's not a stalker." Said Sho.

Little did either of them know, was that they were not the first pair to enter the city.

--

Tall, metal and gray, that's what Jun first said when she entered the town, or city rather. Jun wasn't sure whether to call it either but that was not really important. The whole place looked like something out of a science fiction movie. The buildings were large, some with pointed spires, while others resembled skyscrapers. Dark alleyways formed perfect splits in the sides of the construction.

All of this would be rather impressive but one thing was missing and Tsunomon was the first to point it out.

"No one is here." Said Tsunomon.

Jun looked around. "Deserted maybe?" She hypothesized.

"Maybe. But it's kind of lonely and scary." Tsunomon noted with a shiver.

Jun agreed. Without any sign of life this place appeared more like a giant metal tomb. Her fingers traced against the screen of her digivice, unclipping it from her pants. She wanted to try something. Perhaps to take away the sense of isolation she and her digimon were feeling.

A push of a button followed by some beeps began. The screen displayed an image of their surroundings as black outlines. The only other color displayed was an orange dot that was moving closer. Jun smiled, knowing who it was.

"This is going to be fun." Said Jun.

Tsunomon looked up nervously, noticing his partner's mischievous expression.

"Jun?" He asked.

Looking down at her partner, the smile never left her face. "Come on Tsunomon." Jun directed him towards an alleyway.

Jun and Tsunomon ducked into one of the many alleyways located in the city, keeping close to the opening, but far enough away to remain hidden.

--

Sho and Shaomon glanced around at their surroundings. Shaomon was particularly surprised.

"Wow! Everything is so big." She exclaimed, mouth agape.

Agreeing with his digimon, even Sho opened his mouth wide in awe. The surprises in this world never seemed to cease. When he first arrived, he had envisioned the remainder of the Digital World to be a harsh frontier. Never did he imagine there would be cities such as this.

Buildings flanked them on each side. Alleyways were the only opening. Sho admitted he felt a little nervous. If the previous nervous wreck Sho were here, he would have been certain that something would reach out and grab him. The new confident Sho held no qualms and walked past one. For a moment, nothing happened and the nervousness vanished. Then he felt something on his shoulder.

"AAHH!" Sho yelled, turning back in defense.

Shaomon turned around, growling at whatever had frightened her partner. She was ready to defend him from whatever digimon would dare try to hurt her Sho. Both of them noticed that there was not one but two things in front of them. A small digimon that neither of them recognized and a human that they knew all too well.

"Jun?" Both Sho and Shaomon said in unison.

Jun snickered loudly. "Oh man, the looks on your faces. "You were like, "Aghh!" Man that was nice." Said Jun.

Sho breathed a sigh both relieved and afraid at the same time. Shaomon continued to growl. Jun was not her favorite person.

"Jun, w-what are y-you doing here?" Sho stammered.

Jun snickered again only a little bit. Striding over to Sho, she put her hand on his shoulder, hard.

"Relax Sanbara, you look tense." Said Jun.

Sho tried to relax but it was rather hard when his long time tormentor was standing in front of him.

"You know you really should check these things more often. I could see you coming." Jun said, pointing to her digivice.

Sho looked at his digivice. If only he had checked it earlier than he could have avoided this place.

"Hey, you almost scared Sho-chan half to death." Shaomon scolded.

Jun looked down at Shaomon. The small digimon continued to growl at the girl.

"Still a mutt I see." Jun said, inciting another growl from Shaomon. "Let me guess, reached Ultimate level?" Jun asked.

Sho nodded his head.

"Same here." Jun said, pointing down to Tsunomon.

Sho was surprised at how friendly Jun was acting. Maybe it was a trick? He thought. Sho felt suspicious but he decided to be friendly in return.

"Apparently we each had our own adventure." Said Sho. "You want to talk about it."

Jun held up her hand. "To make a long story short I was nearly married to a bunch of living piles of poop." Said Jun.

"Oh." Sho responded. "That would explain the smell" He thought to himself.

While the two humans conversed, Tsunomon hopped up to Shaomon. "Glad to see you again." Tsunomon greeted to his fellow digimon.

Shaomon ignored him. All of her attention focused on Jun. Her black eyes narrowed and her body turned red with anger. Her growls grew louder behind her clenched grinding teeth. The human she hated the most talking casually with the human she loved. That would make anyone angry.

Tsunomon looked at his friend nervously. "Are you okay?" He asked. Tsunomon backed away in fear as Shaomon turned towards him with her angry look.

"Nevermind." Said Tsunomon, fully backing away.

--

The room was shrouded in darkness. The outlines of various equipment could be seen amidst the shadowy veil. Just then, a light broke through illuminating not so much, but enough. It was a computer screen. Due to the light, various screens of the outside could be seen. It flashed by various pictures of the metal realm before stopping on a certain group.

"Organic filth! Here?" A voice processed through the computer. A mechanized growl accompanied the voice followed by a chuckle.

"I guess its time for a little cleansing." The voice said. "Attention all Guardromon units! We have intruders, organic ones. The time to show our superiority is now!"

Throughout Factorial Town, sentinels of metal were moving. Their orders were given and they would execute them. The computer processed these orders making sure every purely mechanical digimon would obey.

"Now they will know their place." It spoke again. The screen went dark. Its orders were given and for now it would wait.

--

Sakura's reservations about the sewer were all too justified. It seems the more they explored, the smellier it became. A river of sewage divided the two paths. One of them being the path the humans and their digimon were walking on.

"Okay, don't say anything, I get it." Said Kazuya, wrinkling his nose.

The goggle headed leader was starting to share his best friend's dislike for this place. Now he was regretting broadening his horizons. However, he decided that they had gone too far to turn back. Might as well bear it Kazuya decided.

"I don't mind this place, kind of braces ya." Gazimon said, breathing in. Gazimon did his very best to seem "manly" yet he too found this place rather unpleasurable.

Fairydramon gave a sound of disgust. "Of course you would like it here. You are filthy enough as it is."

Gazimon sniffed himself, but then realized what Fairydramon meant. Instead of being offended, Gazimon laughed.

"Not only beautiful, but funny." Gazimon complemented. "I'm not dirty though, I'm just a romantic." He quickly defended himself.

Fairydramon snorted seeing that Gazimon would never admit his perverted woman chasing habits.

They moved deeper into the sewers. The smell grew ever more horrible.

"Ugh! This place is disgusting." Sakura expressed, holding her nose.

She looked down towards the water. Although it was slightly green, Sakura could not believe that the smell was made from the water itself. Deep beneath the water, she thought she saw something move. As quickly as she saw it, it soon disappeared.

"Sakura, is something wrong?" Kazuya asked.

Sakura looked at the water for a bit before turning to Kazuya. "No, it's nothing." She replied.

They continued to walk, doing their best to bear the smell. Submerged under the flowing sewage, something kept a close eye on the small quartet.

--

Jun could not hold in her laughter. The story Sho told her was just too funny. Sho stood there flushing in embarrassment.

"Sanbara I have got to hand it to you, you really have a way with the ladies." Jun laughed.

Sho's face turned an even brighter shade of red. "It wasn't my fault she hypnotized me. I could barely tell what was going on." Sho replied in his defense.

The teenage girl's laughter subsided into a fit of giggles. "Sorry, it's just the only girls interested in you so far are not even human."

Sho looked down at the ground, feeling even more embarrassed and a tad bit depressed. To him there must have been some sort of irony to his romance track.

"Hey, leave Sho-chan alone, you big poopy head!" Shaomon demanded.

Jun looked down at the miniature digimon at Sho's feet. Shaomon had heard enough of Jun's ridicule of her partner.

"Sho-chan is the most handsome boy in the entire world…no, in both worlds. Any girl would be lucky to fall in love with him." Shaomon directed that last comment towards Sho, batting her eyes playfully at him.

Another fit of laughter this time even louder came from Jun. Sho hung his head down even more. Shaomon growled loudly. Yet that did not stop Jun from finding any humor.

"Shut up, you stupid smelly mean hussy!" Shaomon yelled at the top of her voice.

Jun's laughter stopped and now she looked serious. "What did you say?" Jun asked. Her voice was tight and the muscles tightened in her neck.

Shaomon turned her nose up, closing her eyes. "You heard me. You are mean for picking on my Sho-chan. You are a hussy who needs to be quiet. And you are stiiiiiiinky!" Shaomon put a paw on her nose.

Jun was officially ticked off. "Hey, you try waking up in a dump and not smelling like crap!" Shouted Jun.

A sly look of pleasure crossed Shaomon's furry puppy face. "I guess that's where you belong."

The two girls continued to argue. One insult delivered to each other back and forth. Tsunomon felt uncomfortable being between the entire display. He wanted to find a way to resolve this, but at the same time he didn't want to get in the middle of anything. While the others were engrossed in their own business or conditions, Tsunomon heard a small thumping in the distance.

"Everyone listen!" Tsunomon called loudly enough to get everyone's attention.

The laughter, shouting and embarrassment disappeared as all eyes and ears focused on the noise.

Loud thumping sounded out ahead of them. Initially it was small but soon it grew louder and louder. The louder it became the more audible and clearer it became. The thumping now sounded like the banging of metal.

Curious, everyone walked (or hopped in some cases) to see what was making the banging.

"What are those things?" Sho said, coming to a stop.

Something was now taking shape. The closer the group moved, the more they could see what was approaching. Bulky brown creatures marched forward, eyes focused ahead. A sextet of metal men is what they were. Their arms swayed forward and behind with each motion. To the humans they were clearly robots. Odd-looking ones at that. They lacked the traditional look that robots had in those low budget science fiction flicks. Round instead of box shaped, clear eyes sitting within a dark space of the head. In the center was a valve shut tightly. Copper colored pipes extruded form their side connecting to their backs.

Digimon: Guardromon

Level: Champion

Attribute: Virus

Type: Machine

Attacks: Guardian Barrage, Warning Laser, Red Alert

"They look friendly." Said Sho.

The Guardromon came to a stop near them. Shaomon and Tsunomon readied themselves to protect their partners if something went wrong.

A Guardromon stepped out of the perfectly aligned row. "First request. State business." The Guardromon said in a monotonous mechanical voice.

Sho and Jun looked at each other. The Guardromon stood there like a statue. Shrugging they answered.

"Actually we were just passing through." Said Jun.

"Yeah, we are trying to find some friends of ours and we were wondering if there were any other humans and non robot digimon around?" Sho asked.

The Guardromon came to attention processing the response it was given. "Second request. State business." The Guardromon said.

Sho and Jun were confused, looking at each other with faces matching their emotion.

"We just told you that." Said Sho.

The sound of a mechanical shift prevented any more words from being spoken from the humans. Every Guardromon held out their arms.

"Security breach, security breach." One then all the Guardromon said in unity.

Only a single word would be spoken that would correctly surmise the situation.

"Run." Said Jun.

The group broke off into a full sprint toward the town exit. A loud whistle alerted them. Curiosity getting the best of him, Sho looked behind. Panels opened up on the Guardromon's arms. Several latterly whistling missiles rocketed toward the hapless kids. Whistles were actually crafted onto them. Strangely enough, the missiles even had eyes!

Sho knew more weirdness would be associated with this world. He didn't have time to wonder as he was currently running for his life.

The barrage of seemingly living projectiles continued on their path. Closer, they grew intent on blowing up their targets. Shaomon and Tsunomon drew close on their partner's heels.

"They're getting closer!" Tsunomon cried.

Shaomon was not going to let her partner be blown to smithereens. A risky thought popped in her head, but she knew she had to take it.

"Tsunomon on my mark, attack those things." Said Shaomon.

"What!?" Tsunomon cried in surprise.

He didn't have time to protest since Shaomon was already counting.

"One." Tsunomon's eyes darted back and forth. Surely, his fellow digimon would not be crazy enough to try this.

"Two." Shaomon was crazy to try this. Tsunomon felt very uncomfortable. Then again, Jun's safety came first. He gulped preparing himself to potentially kill himself.

"Three!" Both digimon turned around. The "Guardian Barrages" were nearly on them.

"Tsuumo!" Shaomon yipped out a small frequency of sound. It was similer to her "Retrieve Bark" attack as Labramon.

"Bubble Blow!" Tsunomon belched out a stream of bubbles, the common attack of many In-Training digimon.

Both attacks hit the missiles. A disruption apparently had been caused. The missiles spiraled out of control and careened right in front of the two digimon.

A loud explosion boomed throughout the area. The human and digimon group flew backwards with bits of the newly formed medium sized crater that the "Guardian Barrages" had left.

"Are you two crazy!?" Jun shouted angrily.

Shaomon looked very insulted. "You should thank us. We saved you. Then again, thanking someone isn't really you." Shaomon said snottily.

"Less talking, more running!" Both Sho and Tsunomon said in unison.

Jun turned towards the both of them. "Why I'm pretty sure we can outrun those tin cans."

Sho pointed in the direction of the Guardromon. The mechanized digimon were quick to continue their pursuit. Only instead of marching, they were flying! A pair of jets attached to their backs propelled them forward. Jun did not have to say anything. She and the others were quick to rise to their feet and run.

Adrenaline pumped through their bodies, quickening their pace. The exit was close, they could tell, yet their hope swiftly was crushed. The open field did not greet them and instead a large gate of metal did. Jun and Sho ran up to it, trying everything they could to get it open. Alas, it was to no avail.

"Damn it! We are so screwed!" Jun exclaimed angrily.

Sho began to breathe heavily. Panic returned to his thoughts and feelings. Shaomon and Tsunomon were equally dismayed. They were In-Training while the Guardromon were Champions. Under-leveled and underpowered, they may have been, but they would defend their humans until their dying breaths. They just wished they could actually put up a fight.

The Guardromon drew in fast and descended a couple of meters away. As their targets were of little distance from themselves, they calculated that flying would be an irrelevant option at this point.

Everyone watched as the Guardromon marched forward. The situation looked grim. They would have to think fast to get out of this predicament.

"We have to make a run for it." Jun spoke suddenly.

"What?" Everyone asked.

"Look, these guys are big, so they're probably clunky. We could outrun them." Jun reasoned.

Jun motioned her eyes towards two alleyway openings on opposite sides of the Guardromon.

Sho considered that for a moment. It sounded crazy, yet what other choices did they have? It was either stay here and be killed or attempt to escape with a fifty-fifty chance of being killed. Sho looked Shaomon in the eyes and Jun looked into Tsunomon's.

The Guardromon raised their arms. Panels on the arms opened up. A loud whistling signaled the start of an attack.

Choices had to be made and one was chosen. Everyone ran, heading straight towards the missiles. The Guardromon stood by. Their mission would soon be complete.

"Duck!" Jun commanded.

All four of them dove. The humans crawled on their hands and knees and the digimon stepped up their pace. The missiles whistled forward, colliding with the metal door, leaving a large hole in the middle.

The plan had apparently worked, almost worked. Shaomon and Tsunomon knew what their partners wanted them to do but they didn't know which alley to take. Both sides stood on different sides of each other. The Guardromon were quick to act and turned. Three to the humans and three to the digimon.

"Shaomon, Tsunomon!" Sho and Jun called at once.

"Sho-chan, Jun!" Shaomon and Tsunomon called back.

A wall of living circuitry and metal prevented both sides from being with each other. Nothing could be done except escape. Reluctantly, they parted.

"Priority, prevent escape." One Guardromon said.

Another Guardromon looked at the alleyways. "Current location is unacceptable for pursuit." It said.

Rocketing away with their jets, the Guardromon would find another path to cut off the group. They relayed their plans to the other Guardromon on patrol. This was a search and destroy mission and they would complete it.

--

The sewer system stretched further on. The foursome guessed they had been walking for ten, maybe twenty minutes. However, that was simply an exaggerated estimate because of the blandness of their location. Everything looked the same. The same stone walls and the same river of sewage in the middle.

Occasionally the smell grew worse, but only for brief intervals. No one questioned it yet Sakura found it rather strange. Kazuya on the other hand simply chalked it up to being the smell of some possibly passing muck in the water. It was the only guess they had at the moment.

"This place goes on and on." Gazimon moaned. Initially the scruffy rabbit was excited about the prospect of a new adventure. As time went on he quickly grew bored.

"You said it." Said Kazuya. Even Kazuya was growing weary.

Fairydramon kept her thoughts to herself. The only way to know how she felt was to read her thoughts. Sakura had her mind on other things. She couldn't help but feel like they were being followed. The disgusting smell that appeared every so often truly made it unbearable. Sakura and everyone else were grateful that it was brief. It made her suspicious. It could not just be passing refuse, could it?

Ahead, something different abolished the normality of the sewer line. A cut or turn in the path added a new scenery. Needless to say, everyone was happy for a change of pace. Continuing to walk, they found their hopes and suspicions were correct. The path in front of them turned to the left and instead of finding the original stone walkway, they found a bridge. The right side of the sewer turned as well and it too had a bridge in place. A third bridge connected the two paths together in the upper portion. The water formed an intersection, flowing in all four directions.

"At least it's different." Said Gazimon.

Kazuya looked at the bridges. "I guess we cross here." Said Kazuya.

Everyone followed the goggle boy and the rabbit over the stone bridge. Perhaps now they could find a way out of here. The bridges were proof enough that this area was used as a traverse.

Sakura suddenly held her fingers to her nose, pinching it. "There's that smell again." She said in disgust.

"Man, this place must have a lot of junk or something." Said Kazuya.

Sakura was not convinced. "I don't think so. The same smell keeps showing up." She said. "It can't be a coincidence."

Gazimon and Fairydramon felt something that only their digimon senses could.

"There's something in the water!" Fairydramon shouted, pointing a clawed finger.

In the center of the intersection, a dark shape was starting to form. It was small at first, but soon grew larger and larger.

A loud splash of water made a few droplets splash on everyone present. Sakura had been right about the smell. Now they were meeting the source. A large gray blobby digimon wadded in the water. Bits of junk sank in its skin, as it rose with each breath the digimon took. Despite the non solidity of the creature, a set of claws stuck in its "arms". A set of misshapen teeth sat in an open mouth. Red pupils peeked out under metal plates.

Digimon: Raremon

Level: Champion

Attribute: Virus

Type: Ghost

Attacks: Acid Sludge, Breath of Decay

Raremon looked over the human and digimon duos. A raspy growl echoed out from its throat.

--

Jun and Sho sprinted through the alleyway. Sirens sounded out in a cacophonous symphony.

"I think things are about to get a little hectic." Said Jun.

Sho knew she was right. After that little run in with the Guardromon, more were bound to come after them. He was more worried about the digimon than his own life, particularly Shaomon. Sho stopped for a moment. Jun suddenly only heard her own feet running and stopped as well.

"Why are you doing?" She asked.

"I can't leave Shaomon behind." Sho replied.

Jun looked Sho right in the eyes. A serious reflection shone in her irises. "Right now we have to worry about ourselves." Said Jun.

Sho was taken aback. His original opinion of Jun began to return. "I can't believe you!" Sho exclaimed. "Tsunomon's your partner! How can you leave him behind like that!?"

Jun maintained her serious composure. "Look, those two are capable of taking care of themselves. Right now, we have to keep ourselves alive." Said Jun.

"But Shaomon…she's not strong enough to fight those guys. I'm worried about her." Sho argued.

Jun sighed in exasperation, but then she almost looked sympathetic. "I understand how you feel, but getting yourself killed won't help the mutt."

He was listening, but Sho could not even consider leaving his digimon behind. Shaomon had done so much for him. Still, had he not entirely forgiven himself for that incident with Persiamon. Brashness had not overcome his rationality. Retrieving Shaomon would unfortunately be put on hold.

"Fine." Sho said, regret evidently in his voice.

Jun could tell and thought she could help in the least. "Hey, if you could rely on me to kick your butt everyday, then you can rely on me to get us out of here."

"Gee thanks for cheering me up." Sho said unenthusiastically.

A stream of jet engines alerted them to the sky above them. A Guardromon was flying above them. The way its eyes were focused gave reason for the two to run. Nearing the end of the alley, they kept going. One wrong move could be their last.

"Targets acquired!" A Guardromon stood at the side of the alleyway. It raised its arms, preparing to attack. Sho and Jun dashed out of its way expecting a large explosion. Instead of the whistling death, a sound that resembled "BLIP!" rang out instead.

A red laser beam licked at their heels. Sho jumped a few feet with a yelp.

"Shit, they have lasers?!" Jun said, shocked.

More red beams of death blasted causing both teens to almost dance. Luckily, they managed to dodge every beam that was shot. It would not be much of a hero's journey if the digidestined were fried.

This waltz of imminent death continued until another Guardromon entered their path. Sho and Jun immediately ran in the opposite direction, but stopped when they saw and remembered why they were running in the first place.

The two Guardromon stood ready to eliminate their targets. Their arms raised and the whistling of their "Guardian Barrages" sounded out.

Sho and Jun quickly dropped, as the missiles sailed past them. They could only lay there as an explosion sent a few flying pieces of metal zooming past. A large hole lay where the closed entrance once was.

"If there is a kami-sama, he must love us." Said Sho.

Jun said nothing and merely grabbed Sho, taking him into the open building.

Inside was a factory of sorts. Dimly lit and a thin curtain of dust covered conveyor belts and control panels. Sho and Jun did not have time to look around, they had to run and fast. Clouds of dust and dust bunnies kicked up with each step they took. The stomping of the Guardromon could be heard behind them.

They ran deeper into the factory, not caring where they were going. Whatever door they came across, they opened. Time went on and their arms started to grow tired from forcing the metal constructs open.

"I can't go anymore." Sho said, breathing heavily.

"Don't wimp out, think of this as a workout." Said Jun.

Sho collapsed to his knees. His arm muscles felt tight and hardened. Normally he stayed away from exercise such as heavy lifting. The only major workout he ever got was running away.

Jun on the other hand seemed to relish this. Her experience obviously consisted of fighting and beating up others, namely him.

"Get up. We've got to keep moving." Jun commanded. She grabbed hold of one of Sho's arms and brought him to his feet. Forcing another door open, they stepped inside. Inside, various pieces of equipment mainly used for construction stood about.

"Sanbara, over here!" Jun said in surprise.

Amidst the tools, there was a set of hooked chains. Encased and wrapped around them was a humanoid figure. Its body was mostly metallic, almost armor. Because it was lying down, they could not get a good in depth look at its armored features. The only part of this creature that wasn't made of metal was its mouth and the pieces of skin naked from underneath the armor.

Hesitantly, Jun took a few steps forward.

"Be careful." Sho cautioned.

Jun looked over the encased being. Its eyes were wide open, but they seemed lifeless. Curious, she pulled out her digimon analyzer.

Digimon: Andromon

Level: Ultimate

Attribute: Vaccine

Type: Machine

Attacks: Lightning Blade, Gatling Attack

"So this is a digimon and an Ultimate too." Jun said, smiling.

Sho looked back, worried that the Guardromon might be coming. "Okay, it's a digimon, so let's keep going."

"Hold on." Jun said. "If we had this guy on our side, those freaks outside wouldn't stand a chance."

Sho was taken aback. "What are you saying?" He asked.

Looking back at her companion, she smirked. "We're going to wake him up.

--

Shaomon poked her head out from behind the alley wall. Looking around, she quickly ducked, noticing a Guardromon marching past. It soon passed. Shaomon looked again and turned back to Tsunomon.

"Okay, the coast is clear." She said.

The two digimon quickly retreated to another open alleyway. Thankfully, the place was so big that it had many hiding places.

"Can we rest for a moment?" Tsunomon asked, as soon as they reached their current spot.

Sniffing the air, Shaomon nodded, sensing no imminent danger. A short rest was what they needed, but only briefly. Both sighed for the concerns of their partners. If it had been up to them, they would be together.

"My poor Sho-chan. I hope he is alright." Shaomon lamented.

"I know. I'm worried about Jun." Said Tsunomon.

Shaomon gave a small scoff. "With her around, I have to worry about Sho-chan." Shaomon said snottily. "She's probably putting him thorough all kinds of torture."

"I don't think so. She's not that mean." Said Tsunomon.

Shaomon was surprised at what she had just heard. "How can you say that?" Shaomon asked.

Tsunomon fidgeted nervously for a moment at the attention he was receiving. "It's just…well, she's not that kind of person deep down."

"Tsunomon, all she is is a meany, poopy, doodoo head!" Shaomon exclaimed.

Tsunomon took on a serious look. He did not like what was being said about his partner.

"All she has ever done was been mean to the rest of us, and frankly she is probably the worst human to ever have lived!" The puppy grit and ground her teeth in anger again. "Oh, just thinking about her makes me want to-"

"That's enough!" Tsunomon shouted.

Shaomon ceased, surprised by Tsunomon's outburst. She had never seen her friend act this way before. Normally he was so timid. In his eyes, Shaomon could see a spark.

"I know Jun has not been the nicest, but when she helped me evolve our hearts were linked. Right then, I could tell she only acts that way to hide herself." Tsunomon tried his very best to explain.

Tsunomon was having trouble conveying the rest of his feelings. Shaomon could understand where he was coming from. When she first evolved into Cerberusmon, she and Sho seemed to entwine. The feelings experienced at that moment couldn't be put entirely into words. If emotions could be made viable then an understanding could be established. For now, Shaomon would have to trust Tsunomon's words (only a tiny little bit).

"Okay, I'm sorry." Shaomon apologized.

"It's okay." Tsunomon replied.

The In-Training sniffed the air. Her nose wrinkled up, as danger wafted through her nasal passages.

"Rest time is over." She said.

Looking ahead, Shaomon's face turned dead serious. "Hold on, Sho-chan! Your darling digimon is coming to save you!"

She took off, with Tsunomon trailing behind her.

--

Raremon was quick to attack the newcomers. A swipe of his sludge-formed arm demolished the bridge. The humans and the digimon were quick to escape though, which only further increased his wrath. The waste digimon had this urge…no, rather an instinct to attack any that came through his path.

"What's this guy's problem!?" Gazimon yelled.

"If you have noticed none of the wild digimon we meet ever need a reason to attack." Said Fairydramon.

"Good point." Said Gazimon.

Raremon turned towards the group, ready to attack once again. Kazuya held up his digivice, pointing it at Gazimon.

"You ready?" Kazuya asked.

Gazimon nodded in reply. He didn't need to be asked.

"Gazimon evolve! Genkimon!" The light of evolution parted, revealing the Champion underneath.

Fairydramon prepared herself to evolve, yet she felt nothing. Confused, she looked up at Sakura. The white digivice remained in her hand.

"Well?" Fairydramon asked.

Sakura looked down at her scaly partner. "I don't think this place is big enough for Tiamon."

Fairydramon crossed her arms huffily. She despised having to be left out of the fight like some kind of cheerleader.

Genkimon was quick to act as he charged up a "Genki Rush". Raremon heaved back. A thick miasma spewed forth from the sludge creature's mouth enveloping Genkimon. Genkimon held his arms to his face in hopes of shielding himself. His attempts held no success, as he could see his armor start to corrode away. He faltered, as a sudden state of weakness came over him like a bad cold.

With a splash, he fell into the water. When he emerged, he spat out a mouthful of sewer water. Genkimon shook his head in disgust.

"Oh man, my armor's ruined and my fur stinks." Genkimon lamented.

"Don't worry about your looks, watch out!" Kazuya screamed.

Genkimon looked up and yelled as Raremon dove down on him into the murky water.

--

Loud metal pangs rang out in the factory corridors. The source was Jun who was busily kicking the inactive Andromon.

"Jun, stop it!" Sho pleaded.

The girl did not and continued. She had been doing this for a good while. She tried her hands at first, but stopped when she learned that metal plus flesh equals pain. Now she was reduced to merely kicking the immobile statue.

"Why…won't…this….thing…wake….up!?" Jun said in between kicks.

Andromon remained motionless, despite the abuse he was taking. There was not even a dent in his armor.

Far off behind them, Sho could hear the distant yet audible sound of marching metal feet. Sho knew what that meant.

"Okay, we have to get out of here!" Sho said urgently.

Jun was looking for something in the corners of the room. Kneeling down Sho could not see she had picked up something.

"Just one more thing." She said, pulling out a long, sturdy metal pipe.

"Wait you're not going to-" Sho began.

Jun swung the pipe, connecting it to Andromon's head. Andromon toppled over, making a racket. Sho motioned for Jun to be quiet.

"Keep it down! I'm sure they heard us now!" Sho whispered.

A loud hum, like the sound of an engine starting, interrupted Sho's complaints. Andromon's eyes lit up with an electrical crackle. Slowly, he rose to his feet to the shock of Sho and Jun. The features of his body were now fully displayed. The body was diffidently like a full body armor suit. The chest was held together by two panels. Something about the way they looked implied they could open up. His armor around his wrists looked like bulky arm guards with thin needles for fingers. One hand was gloved while the other was full metal.

Andromon looked at the two, slowly turning his head. It was as if he was scanning them. Jun was starting to wonder if waking him up had been a good idea.

"Scanning." Andromon said. A slight mechanical tone was evident in his voice. "Subjects human. One male, one female."

Andromon turned his attention to Sho. "Male…estimated age…fourteen years. Race…one-half Japanese…one-half Egyptian."

Jun turned to Sho looking surprised. "You're half Egyptian?"

"My mother is from Egypt. You bullied me for years and you didn't know that?" Sho asked.

"Hey, I don't get into the personal lives of the people I bully." Replied Jun.

Andromon turned form Sho and switched to Jun. "Female…estimated age…fifteen years. Race…one-half Japanese…one-half British."

Like Jun did before, Sho turned to her with surprise. Jun looked back with equal surprise.

"I never really knew my father." Said Jun.

Behind, the metal clanging was louder then it had ever been. The Guardromon were closing in fast.

"Um, excuse me, but there are some freaks chasing us and we could really use your help." Jun pleaded.

Without a word, Andromon walked past the two and into the hallway. Jun and Sho followed, both out of curiosity and comfort for having a guardian.

The Guardromon noticed their fellow metalman, but nonetheless complied with their orders.

Andromon held his right arm out. With a mechanical whir, the hand morphed into a bladed drill. Electricity flowed and surged through it.

"Lightning Blade!" Andromon swept it forward, realeasing an arc of electricity. It struck the Guardromon before they could even attack. Instead of deleting, they collapsed to the ground lifelessly.

"I short circuited them. It will take a while for their systems to reboot." Said Andromon.

Jun could care less what happened to the Guardromon. She was more concerned with Andromon's strength.

"That was so awesome! Man, I'm glad I woke this guy up."

Andromon retracted his blade and changed his attention to the two kids.

"You awoke me?" Andromon asked.

"Yep." Jun replied.

Andromon felt around his head. He could have sworn he felt a small dent, yet he dismissed it.

"I thank you, but what are humans doing here?" He asked.

"We got separated from our friends a while back and we ended up here with our digimon." Said Sho.

"Digimon?" Andromon asked.

Sho nodded. "Yeah, a Shaomon and a Tsunomon.

Andromon turned his head. His mouth lowered as if he had a grave look.

"If the Guardromon are active they must be searching for any organic digimon." Said Andromon.

Curiosity peaked inside Jun. She was thankful that Andromon had not turned on them, but she wondered. "Hey, how come you're the only one that isn't trying to kill us?" She asked.

The cyborg digimon looked up, recalling his memories. "They were not always like this. Everything changed when the fog surrounded File Island. Communications ceased with the other areas of the Digital World."

Hearing that, Sho remembered something. He almost interrupted, but remembering his manners, he remained silent.

"Soon the computer of this town, GIRO, turned hostile and declared that all organic digimon were the enemy. It reprogrammed and forced every mechanical digimon to evolve. I managed to resist GIRO's desires, yet in the end I was overwhelmed and deactivated." Andromon finished.

"A rouge computer huh? That's very original." Jun added that last part with sarcasm.

Sho silently agreed with her. They know knew who their antagonist was. It was here Sho pondered what Kazuya would do. Things felt a little odd without their leader. Nevertheless, there was one thing they had to do.

"Andromon we're willing to help free this city." Said Sho

"You will?" Andromon asked.

"We will?" Jun asked.

Sho nodded in response. Confidence swelled within him. The mantle of leadership passed on to him, so it seemed. Nothing broke his composure, except for Jun who quickly grabbed him by the collar. She dragged him far away from Andromon.

"Have you lost your mind?" Jun asked.

Sho felt nervous. The only moments when he and Jun were this close, she was pounding him. "No I'm serious. We have to help." He said, regaining that leadership composure.

"Sanbara, I know we have fought alot of evil digimon, but not an entire freaking army run by a deranged computer!" Jun spat.

Looking down, a look of disappointment crossed Sho's face. Straightening his expression, Sho looked up.

"Guess you aren't so reliable after all." Said Sho.

Jun raised a questionable eyebrow. "What?" She asked.

"You said that you would get us out of here and it seems that the only way to get out of here and rescue our digimon is to stop GIRO." Said Sho.

"It's a computer. It controls the entire city." Jun argued.

"Exactly. It probably shut the gates and the only way to open them is to shut down GIRO." Sho pointed out.

Sho wriggled himself out of Jun's grasp and walked back toward Andromon who had remained standing the whole time.

"If you care about your digimon, come with me. Or you can just stay there." Said Sho.

Jun was flabbergasted. She could have sworn Sho had stood up to her. A point came across in his small speech and she did say she would get them out of here.

"Hey, I'm reliable!" Jun said, quickly going to Sho and Andromon's side.

"You are commendable, but as you are, you won't be able to stand a chance against the Guardromon." Noted Andromon. "However, I know something that might help. Follow me."

The two of them followed Andromon, stepping past the still inactive Guardromon. Even though they were being controlled, Sho and Jun could see that Andromon still had a great sense of brotherhood towards his fellow machines.

"Andromon?" Sho asked.

"Yes, uh…" Andromon started but trailed off. "I don't believe I know your names."

A small gasp of surprise escaped him. He had forgotten his manners "Oh, I'm Sho and this is Jun." He introduced.

"Yes, Sho and Jun?" Andromon recited again, this time not trialing off.

"What is this factory for?" Asked Sho.

Andromon processed that question for an interval. "I don't know. This factory and Factorial Town were here as far as my databanks recall."

Sho looked down, expecting a more in-depth answer.

"Oh." He muttered.

--

Kazuya waited for Genkimon to emerge from the depths. Bubbles rose to the water's surface causing his hope to soar. That hope fell like a stone when Raremon emerged from the waters. The liquid sank into its mucky body, making it glisten.

"Wheres Genkimon?" Kazuya asked in dismay and worry.

Raremon turned his attention to the remainder of the group. Another raspy growled coupled with a putrid halitosis blew in their direction.

Fairydramon growled, a small wisp of smoke escaped from her maw. She hated standing around doing nothing. In her heart, she felt a thin line of worry for Genkimon. She had to do something

"Sakura, he needs help!" She said urgently.

Sakura held up her digivice hesitantly. The area surely was too small for Tiamon, but what choice did they have?"

"All right, but please be careful." Said Sakura.

Fairydramon nodded as her body glowed with the light of evolution.

"Fairydramon evolve!" She leapt off the pathway, heading straight for the monstrous blob. Raremon opened its mouth preparing another "Breath of Decay".

A cry of "Tiamon!" interrupted the attack. The large dragoness slammed into Raremon, creating a large wet splash.

Everyone's assumptions were half-correct. Tiamon was large, in fact her tail was still hanging slightly against the pathway Kazuya and Sakura were standing on. They had to move out of the way in order to not get swept off. The draconic Champion did not take up the entire space, however, and soon her tail accompanied her.

Tiamon roared and slashed at the Raremon. That proved rather useless as Raremon's body absorbed the slashes and regenerated every wound.

She was starting to grow annoyed. A puff of smoke from her nostrils rose up, signifying that. With a loud roar, she dug her claw into its middle. Her eyes widened when she felt metal underneath. Digging further she also felt fur.

"Fur and metal?" She said before it hit her. "Genkimon!"

Raremon reared back and flung herself forward. Globs of gray waste splattered onto Tiamon's eyes.

Tiamon cried out and fell backwards. A column of water rose up and splashed near Kazuya and Sakura.

"This is why I didn't want to make her evolve." Sakura said flatly.

"Agreed." Kazuya said, cleaning the water droplets off his goggles.

Tiamon was not one to give up. She wiped the sludge off her eyes. They stung a bit, but it was nothing she could not stand. Genkimon was still alive, merely trapped within. Raremon began to heave back as if it were taking a breath. Tiamon would not risk using her Tiamat Flame for fear of harming Genkimon. Raremon breathed another "Breath of Decay" into the dragon's face.

Tiamon coughed heavily. Her body felt hot and she could feel her scales crisp. Around their edges, they were starting to turn black. Between coughs, she locked her gaze on Raremon.

Wadding onward she dove head first into the body. Raremon stopped momentarily as it tried to force out the scaly head that was sticking inside it.

Tiamon pulled her head out, only now a certain rabbit digimon was sticking halfway out of her slightly ajar maw.

"Genkimon!" Kazuya said in excitement and relief.

Tiamon dropped him into the water. He devolved back into Gazimon but strangely, he didn't wake up.

Tiamon was curious but turned her attention to her opponent when she heard it make another drawing breath. Now nothing was holding her back. The "Breath of Decay" blew forward.

"Tiamat Flame!" The fire mixed with the noxious gas and the result was Raremon being engulfed in flame. When the smoke and flame cleared, a smoked black muck remained in the space that Raremon's head once sat.

"That was rather easy, don't you think?" Sakura asked.

"We're the good guys, we have to win." Kazuya said cockily.

The remainder of Raremon's body deleted away and the two destined digimon devolved right on cue. Where the body once sat, a small creature lay splashing in the water.

Curious, Fairydramon swam forward. In front of her writhed a black shrieking tadpole. From its shrieks, it sounded like it was in pain. Its yellow eyes darted around before it deleted. Fairydramon floated there trying to recall where exactly she had seen those eyes before.

"Gazimon!" Fairydramon turned to Gazimon's still floating body. Everyone had noticed that he had not awoken yet. Kazuya prepared himself to jump in. He had his jacket halfway off when Fairydramon swam to her fellow Gazimon. The moment she was close, she grabbed him. Flapping her wings, she flew to Kazuya and Sakura laying Gazimon down. His eyes did not open, nor was he breathing.

"He needs some air!" Sakura said urgently.

Wasting no time, Fairydramon put her lips to Gazimon's and started to breath some good air into him. In and out, she breathed, pressing against his chest in the hope that any excess water would spurt out. So focused was she that she failed to see Gazimon's eyes blink open slowly. At first, the digimon thought he was dreaming, but he quickly realized that was not the case. Fairydramon, the love of his life, was actually kissing him! He knew it was not an imposter. This was the genuine deal. Chuckling mentally, he took advantage of the situation.

Kazuya and Sakura went wide-eyed as Gazimon wrapped his arms around his Fairydramon and locked her in a kiss.

Fairydramon's eyes grew so large that her eyelids completely disappeared back into her head.

A loud smack followed by screams, and the sound of a beating echoed throughout the sewer. The walls danced with shadows as the fires of rage burned.

--

GIRO sensed something stirring within the network. As it ran the entire town, it had somewhat of a link between the mechanized citizens. This was how it was able to gain control over the Guardromon and lesser digimon. After a lengthy process of entering their databanks, they easily fell under its influence. All accept one that is. Yes, one that GIRO tried countless times to control but could not. It wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he was an Ultimate or maybe his programming had blocks. Whatever the case, he was awake now.

Fury, or a processed replica of the feeling, surged through GIRO, turning all the monitors red. GIRO would not stand for this.

"I should have scrapped Andromon when I had the chance." GIRO grumbled.

Though he was not able to control him, he could at least pinpoint his location.

"Attention all Guardromon units! Move towards the east sector at once!" GIRO ordered, sending the proper coordinates to its minions.

However, GIRO doubted the competence of the Guardromon only so slightly.

"Just in case, I will deal with them personally if the opportunity arises." Said GIRO.

Beeps sounded from the monitor and flashing red colored light shot forth.

"Physical avatar program launch." GIRO spoke. The light scanned from down to up, forming an image as it went. Finishing, the light disappeared back into the monitor. The room went dim, leaving the outline of a round shape with two arms in the dark.

--

Sho and Jun followed Andromon through the hallway. It was not that long of a walk as ten minutes had only passed, but this was only because Andromon had calculated every interval that had passed.

Before them was a door, but unlike the ones that had to be opened manually, this door was sliding.

"So, where are we?" Jun asked.

Andromon kept his head forward still leading them. "A storage room." He said.

"Storage for what?" Sho asked.

Andromon did not answer, still leading the way. The room was dimly lit like the rest of the factory yet they could still make out what was in front of them. Assembled in several rows were robots.

Jun and Sho nearly ran away, but they quickly observed that the robots did not move. The robots were a shining grey with square bodies kept upright with circular iron cylinders for legs. To their sides were long clawed arms hanging down limply. In the center of the bodies was a red eye jewel-like in appearance. A normal eye sat above to the upper left sinking within an orangish flesh. Those features implied life but a set of grill openings betrayed that notion. Furthermore, a glass dome crowned its top.

"What are those things?" Asked Sho.

"The only digimon besides myself that are not under GIRO's control." Answered Andromon.

"Those things are digimon?" Sho asked. He pulled out his digimon analyzer.

Digimon: Mekanorimon

Level: Champion

Attribute: Virus

Type: Machine

Attacks: Twin Beam, 4-Disk Break

The analyzer and Andromon were correct. These creatures were digimon.

"GIRO attempted to control them yet since they lacked any form of conscience; it found it cumbersome to control all of these manually." Andromon explained.

Jun was surprised. "Okay, so these things are basically hollow shells?" She asked. Andromon nodded in response.

Jun blinked then proceeded to pinch the bridge of her nose. For a few seconds she did not respond, but then she breathed a sigh of perplexed annoyance

"Okay, that makes no sense at all." Said Jun.

"Pardon?" Andromon asked.

Jun put her arms down making several motions with her hands as if she was trying to comprehend something.

"If this computer is so great and powerful then why the heck would it leave these things here?" She asked

Andromon help up his finger but could not think of an answer.

"All the bad guys we faced always had some sort of flaw in their plan, and this one…damn!" Jun continued, exasperation evident in her voice.

"Jun, calm down." Sho said.

Jun did not, continuing her rant. "If I were the villain, I would have made sure to tie up any loose ends."

Sho saw she was going to go on and on with this. "Well, maybe even machines have pride. GIRO probably kept these things as a backup plan or something."

That answer was acceptable for the time being. Jun calmed herself taking a few short breaths.

"Okay, okay I'm fine now." Said Jun.

She turned back to Andromon. "Sorry, as you were saying."

Pointing back to the Mekanorimon, Andromon continued his explanation. "You humans can pilot these Mekanorimon. With them, you could have a probable chance against the Guardromon."

"Probable?" Sho asked.

"By now GIRO has been alerted to my reactivation. The Guardromon will likely become more hostile." Said Andromon.

"So our options are either stay here and die or get in one of those rust buckets and have only a fifty-fifty chance of dying." Said Jun, considering their options.

The girl shrugged. Her mind made up on her choice. "Why not? It's not everyday you get to drive a robot or a metal suit in this case." Jun corrected herself.

Sho was apprehensive about this all of a sudden. He wanted to help Andromon but he didn't know he would actually have to do the fighting himself. Fighting seemed like the only thing they did in this world to survive. Relenting, he joined Jun as she scanned over the Mekanorimon. Sure, they could pilot any old one. However, when matters are pressing one can be a bit indecisive.

The teen's eyes looked at the assembled rows. So many to choose from, but they stopped on two at the very front center. The Mekanorimon before them looked like the rest of the lot. Yet something was different about them. Neither of them could understand what it was, but there was a calling of sorts. Both felt it in their souls.

"Guess you're the one." Jun said, placing her hand on one of the Mekanorimon.

Sho did the same almost hesitantly.

"What's wrong Sanbara? Not feeling up to it?" Jun asked slyly.

Turning to her with a look of determination, Sho responded, "No, I'm sticking to this."

Jun smiled. "You got guts. Let's just see if they last."

Heaving herself up, Jun managed to scale the immobile suit. Reaching the top, she opened the cockpit and slid inside.

Gulping, Sho did the same, although almost slipping and falling. Surprisingly his descent into the cockpit was cushioned by a seat. In front of him were various buttons and joysticks. Placing his hand on them, he moved it. The Mekanorimon lurched. Sho jostled inside, trying to maintain balance.

"Hey, watch it!" Jun barked from outside.

Inside, Sho stood up. His head peeked through the glass cockpit to see Jun staring indignantly out her cockpit.

"Sorry." Said Sho, trying to bow but hitting the glass.

Jun rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her own controls. It was easy to get a feel for them. She placed her hands on the two joysticks and moved one forward. The right leg stood out then down as Jun pulled the joystick back. She started the same with the other stick and soon started a motion.

"Hey, I think I am getting the hang of it." Jun said, confidently.

Sho was growing slightly better. His Mekanorimon moved with a slight lurch.

Andromon watched with curiosity. He had been acquainted with organic digimon in his lifetime. Humans he had never seen in person, but watching these two human children interested him. No matter how many mistakes they made, their determination to control the vehicular digimon never ceased.

"Humans Sho, Jun we must leave now." Said Andromon. "We will have to use this entrance." Andromon pointed to the currently closed hangar door.

The Mekanorimon came to a stop and turned to the door. Jun moved hers forward and stopped just in front of the door.

"Hey, don't worry. I'll take care of it." She said. She began to push the buttons that lined the console.

"Now which button-?" Jun didn't finish her sentence. Whatever she had pressed, two beams forming into a helix emerged form the red eye in the center of the Mekanorimon. The twin beam of energy left a gaping perfect hole in the middle.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Sho.

The sound of turning gears and an electric hum came from the hangar door. Andromon had simply pressed a button on the wall to open it.

"Apparently not, but it was cool." Jun replied.

The two human-piloted Mekanorimon followed Andromon outside. Anticipations of a huge army of Guardromon were expected. To their surprise (and relief in Sho's case), there were none.

"What gives? I get this awesome suit and I don't get to use it!" Jun complained.

The familiar clanking chorus of feet made Jun cheer up a bit. Gripping the joystick handles on her console, she relished the thought of battle. Sho did the same albeit his was more halfheartedly. Andromon neither relished nor appeared halfhearted; he merely drew his drill blade, prepared for battle.

The clanking continued then just as it began, it stopped. Everyone glanced to their right and then to their left. Nothing came and that softened their senses.

"Above us!" Andromon alerted.

Far above, flying in formation, were the Guardromon. There was barely enough time to look as the Guardromon fired their "Guardian Barrages." Jun and Sho pulled their Mekanorimon back as far as they could. In panic, Sho pushed as many buttons as he could. His Mekanorimon rocketed upwards knocking into the group of Guardromon. Sho looked around him to comprehend what had just happened.

"Huh wha?" Sho stammered.

"Good thinking Sanbara!" Jun complemented. Like Sho, Jun pushed a random assortment of buttons. Her Mekanorimon rocketed in a fashion similar to the one before it. The only difference was that Jun managed to maintain more finesse.

"How come you're so good?" Sho asked.

Inside her cockpit, Jun shrugged. "Guess I just have talent."

The Guardromon quickly retaliated. Jun on the other hand was quicker. She fired another energy beam which merely grazed the Guardromon's armor but it was enough to short circuit them. A few of them clattered down with a crash.

Jun was prepared to fire another laser when Sho stopped her. "Jun, no. They're just victims!" Sho protested.

Jun sighed in annoyance. She hated to admit it, but Sho had a point. So in compliance she resorted to fending off the Guardromon with the Mekanorimon's claws. Like before, she quickly adapted to these new tactics.

Sho felt rather jealous. He had to make himself useful. He began to press random buttons in the hope he would be able to initiate an attack. Instead, he merely activated the rocket boosters and thus sped off.

Sho screamed as his Mekanorimon flew off in the opposite direction. Jun sighed and flew off after him. The Guardromon turned to pursue their targets.

"Gatling Attack!" The Guardromon turned to see two fish shaped missiles heading toward them. They attempted to evade and they were successful. Suddenly the missiles exploded, sending them clattering to the ground like the last batch.

Andromon felt a processed guilt in attacking them. He would try to refrain from deleting them if he could. Though if the situation called for it he would do what he would have to do. He looked down in reflection for moment then looked up when the approaching Guardromon alerted him. Now that the aerial squadron was defeated, the ground assault force moved in. Andromon prepped his drill blade and charged up a "Lightning Blade" attack.

--

Shaomon and Tsunomon were growing tired. Guardromon had chased them at every turn and of course those explosions coupled along.

"I don't think I can hop anymore." Said Tsunomon.

Shaomon slumped down despondently. "I know, me neither."

The puppy looked up to the sky. "Oh, my Sho-chan, where can you be?"

A whoosh flew by, knocking Shaomon to her feet. Two machine digimon she had never seen before were flying through the air. One of the machines held a smell that only her nose could trace.

"Sho-chan!" Shaomon cried happily.

Immediately, with great haste, Shaomon followed the two flying metal creatures. She was sure her partner was one of them and her nose had never steered her wrong before.

"Hey, wait up!" Tsunomon cried, hopping after Shaomon. He didn't have a good feeling about this, but he really had no choice in the matter.

--

Sho shifted and shook within his digimon craft. Frantically pressing any button he could get his fingers on, he hoped he would be able to stop. Luckily he pushed the right combination as he came to a stop, but shut off the engines in the process. Before he knew it, he was plummeting downwards.

He could see the ground below him. He awaited death when he suddenly felt his metal tomb come to a stop. Sho looked up to see another Mekanorimon holding his own.

"Jun?" Sho said, slightly dismayed.

"Any other thoughts on me not being reliable?" Jun asked.

Sho slowly shook his head. Now that he wasn't going to die, Sho began to randomly pres buttons only more slowly. His Mekanorimon rocketed upwards, the sudden downward shift nearly making Sho heave.

"Hey Sanbara, get a hold of that thing!" Jun shouted.

"Easy for you to say!" Sho yelled back.

Jun took a guess at what was going on. "Don't just push the buttons at random, try the two in the middle!" Jun suggested.

Seeing no other option, he did as Jun suggested. The Mekanorimon shook for a moment, before coming to a stop.

Jun had been right. Now, Sho's Mekanorimon was kept afloat by the rockets.

"Okay, now just move the joysticks or levers back and forth, just like when we were on the ground." Jun continued.

Again, Sho tried that and he flew towards Jun.

"Stop, stop!" Jun yelled.

Sho pulled both joysticks to a centered position. He stopped from crashing into Jun just in time.

"Thanks." Said Sho.

Jun flashed a thumbs up from behind her cockpit. "No prob." She responded.

A whistling sound distracted them, as below several Guardromon fired their missiles toward the two teens. Both of them retaliated by firing their lasers, exploding the projectiles. Without a word, Jun made her Mekanorimon descend to the ground. At once, she began to smack the Guardromon around clearly holding her own. Not wanting to seem like a wimp, Sho joined her, this time pressing the keys carefully. He joined Jun in fighting off the opposing metal menaces. Clumsy at first, Sho picked up battling very quickly.

Far from the battlefield, but at a distance suitable for viewing, Shaomon and Tsunomon were watching. Due to her suburb sense of smell, Shaomon could tell that her partner was in one of those metal suits. She figured Jun was in the other one, but she could really care less about what happened to Jun. She didn't mention her feelings to Tsunomon, whom she knew held his partner in high regard.

"Yeah, that's it Sho-chan, kick its butt!" Shaomon shouted, jumping up and down with excitement.

Tsunomon merely watched attentively. He was worried for Jun, but he knew she had things handled. As much as he and Shaomon wanted to join their partners in battle, they realized there was not much they could do at this point being as they are. They decided to sit back, watch, and congratulate their humans when the fighting finished.

The fighting continued with neither side backing down. Although protected by their mechanical shells, Sho and Jun were tiring. They themselves were not personally fighting yet the strain of keeping up with the programmed actions of their opponents was wearing on them.

"Lightning Blade!" The Guardromon that remained instantly shut down as electricity coursed through them. Their systems overloaded and they fell into lifeless heaps.

Andromon withdrew his blade, morphing it back into his hand.

"What took you so long?" Jun asked.

Andromon opened his mouth to answer when a sharp "ping!" bounced off his armor, knocking him off balance. A small object bounced off the cyborg repeatedly. Too fast was its movements for anyone to clearly see. The assailant ceased, allowing Sho and Jun to attend to their compatriot.

"Are you okay?" Sho asked with concern.

Before Andromon could even utter a syllable, a round ball stepped or rather floated between them.

"I strongly suggest against moving, organic filth." It replied in a sophisticated masculine tone.

The ball turned around facing the two human piloted machines. The creature before them was best accurately described as a metal ball with two arms, mischievous eyes with an equally matching smile. Two horns protruded form its head much akin to a devils.

Andromon rose, slowly raising himself up.

"It has been a long while since we last chatted Andromon." The ball creature said. "Yet I am most disappointed that you would insult our kind further by allying yourself with these…..humans."

Andromon recognized that voice. "GIRO!" He said, shocked.

A chuckle came from the ball now identified as GIRO. "Actually it would be more appropriate to call me Giromon."

Giromon

Level: Ultimate

Attribute: Virus

Type: Machine

Attacks: Big Bang Boom, Giro Chainsaw

"Hold on a minute, you're GIRO?" Jun said, perplexed.

"Giromon." GIRO or Giromon corrected.

"Whatever." Jun shot back. "Aren't you supposed to be a computer?"

Andromon had risen up, recovering. His armor had a few dents. "So, you actually completed that avatar program." Andromon stated.

Giromon looked over its hands in admiration. "Yes, it appears to be a complete success." Giromon mused. It (or he due to the masculine tone) looked at both the Ultimate digimon and the controlled Champions.

"Oh Andromon, why didn't you just join me?" Giromon asked, almost sounding genuinely sad.

"Because of what you wanted to do." Andromon replied. "What happened to you GIRO? You once sought to help free this world, not dominate it."

Giromon produced what sounded like a scoff. "My, what a narrow view you have." Giromon began. "Don't you see how superfluous organic digimon are to the Digital World? Machines are flawless. It is only natural that we be the true rulers of this world."

"Flawless? If you're so perfect how come ya didn't scrap him and these?" Jun asked.

Giromon turned to her then crossed his arms. "Pride, I'm afraid. I was planning to find suitable pilots for those. Really, I should not have forced the Rookies to evolve into Guardromon. Strong as they are they lack certain… destructive quality." Giromon said, trying to find the right term.

"As for Andromon, I wanted to store him away so I could later "convince" him to join my cause.

Sho moved his Mekanorimon forward. "He's not joining any cause because were going to stop you!" He said, trying to sound brave.

Giromon clenched his fists angrily at Sho's words.

"You humans only prove my point." Giromon continued. "Don't thin I am not aware of what you have done to your own world. In a few years time your kind will probably destroy each other. Machines however, are precise and unified."

In a flash of pixilated light, a chainsaw materialized in Giromon's right hand. "Now it ends. Giro Chainsaw!" Giromon rushed towards Sho, revving up his chainsaw.

Sho held up the Mekanorimon's arms in defense. The motorized blades struck the metallic alloy, producing sparks. Sho looked very afraid behind his cockpit. Jun knocked Giromon away and attended to Sho. "You alright?" She asked.

Sho nodded, sweat dripping down his face.

"I didn't know this guy had a chainsaw." Jun said in disbelief.

Giromon chuckled darkly. "Oh, I have much more than that, my little human." Like the chainsaw before it, a spiked bomb materialized in the same pixilated light in Giromon's other hand.

"Big Bang Boom!" Giromon lobbed the bombs at Jun.

Quickly, Jun held up her hands in defense, but she doubted even that would stop a bomb.

"Look out!" Sho shouted. He activated his rockets boosters, knocking Jun out of the way. The bomb collided with his Mekanorimon in a loud explosion.

"Sanbara!" Jun screamed.

"Sho-chan!" Shaomon's scream mixed with Jun's. She could no longer contain herself.

"Tsuumo!" Shaomon leapt up, releasing her weak sonic attack. Giromon turned around, curios at this new specimen growling at him. Hesitantly, Tsunomon hopped a few feet towards Shaomon.

"You leave my Sho-chan alone, you big stupid meany!" Shaomon growled her usual insult.

Giromon paid no attention to the puppy, instead he looked at the destroyed remains of the human identified as Sho. Or at least, that was what he was expecting to find. Instead, the Mekanorimon merely had some exposed wiring and blasted metal. The human still could be seen, looking rather perplexed behind the cockpit.

"But how?" Giromon wondered aloud. His attack should have destroyed that Mekanorimon. Before he could question any further, the hum of electricity alerted him. He turned to see Andromon bearing his drill blade down on him. Giromon swiftly drew his chainsaw. Soon the two clashed in a sword fight or a good interpretation of one.

Sho could not believe he was still alive. The moment he saw that bomb collide with him he was sure he was a goner. His Mekanorimon retained some damage, yet it could still move.

"Must be pretty durable metal." Sho murmured.

"I'll say." Jun added.

Shaomon plodded happily up to her partner, yipping excitedly. Tsunomon closely followed her.

Sho and Jun looked down at their digimon, glad to see they were alright. They would have jumped out to join them, but remained inside regarding the circumstances.

"Oh Sho-chan, I'm so glad you're okay. I guess you too, Jun." Said Shaomon.

"Gee thanks." Jun muttered. She could sense the insincerity of Shaomon regarding her safety.

"I'm glad to see you both safe." Tsunomon said honestly. Jun was happy that at least one digimon was glad she was alive.

While the humans and their digimon reunited, Andromon and Giromon continued their duel. Electric hums and chainsaw revs clashed and clanged.

Andromon had the advantage in strength, yet Giromon had the advantage in size. So small and fast was he that Andromon had trouble striking the corrupt avatar. Giromon took any opportunity to dodge and strike. A few more pings and dents imbedded themselves into the silver body.

"I am getting sick and tired of this creep." Said Jun.

She marched her Mekanorimon forward, claws outstretched. Sho would have said something, but he did not want to give away Jun. Jun raised the claw high then lowered to strike. Giromon turned around a split second sensing something behind him. He drew his chainsaw but the claw knocked it out of reach.

"Sorry, not getting it." Jun mocked.

Giromon flew out of reach. He would have to recalculate and plan his moves carefully. A red flash flew by, nicking one of is horns. The horn cracked and then split off. Looking down, he could see that the damaged Mekanorimon piloted by Sho had been the culprit due to the dimming crystal in its center.

Giromon's calm mind began to replace itself with rage. He would not let humans outsmart him. A smart move would have been to bomb the already damaged Mekanorimon. However, Giromon was too clouded with anger to think straight. So, he did the only thing he could think of, he charged headfirst.

"Sanbara, get out of the way!" Jun shouted.

Sho stayed put, he was waiting for the right moment. He was not sure if his damaged vessel could perform any functions, but he decided to take a risk.

"Come on…a bit closer." Sho muttered.

Giromon drew closer. Sho knew the moment was right.

"Now!" Sho drew the arm up, grabbing Giromon.

Giromon was shocked and struggled in its grasp. But, the Mekanorimon had a fastened grip. The cockpit opened up and out jumped Sho.

"Okay, now's your chance!" He shouted to Jun and Andromon.

Jun looked to Andromon. "You want to do the honors?" She asked the cyborg digimon.

Andromon stepped forward, nodding his head. He opened his chest cavities revealing two openings. Looking at the struggling Giromon, he sighed. Giromon obviously could not be reasoned with. Locking on target, his chest made a loading sound.

"Gatling Attack." He said it solemnly. Two fish-shaped missiles rocketed out. Giromon could not even turn around as the missiles hit him. A loud explosion lit up the area. Andromon had made the correct calculations and prepared the right level of power for his missiles. The Mekanorimon fell lifelessly (it is basically a suit) Its claw had been blown clean off. Andromon had reservations about harming another machine digimon, sentient or not, but he had told himself before he would do what he had to do. Near it, lay the broken remains of Giromon. His ball shape had been split clean in half. Bits of wiring exposed itself, sparking and giving off tiny little explosions as everything shut down. A loud shrieking shocked everyone. A small black tadpole with yellow eyes crawled out. It gave off another shriek before deleting along with Giromon.

"That was a little freaky." Jun said, exiting her Mekanorimon.

Sho wiped some sweat off his forehead. Finally, it was over. Hopefully, no more robots would be trying to kill him.

"Sho-chan!" Shaomon immediately leapt up to her partner, licking his face not minding the sweat.

Tsunomon hopped up to his partner. "Jun, are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She waved her partner off.

It was then that Jun noticed that Sho's Mekanorimon was still intact. Walking over to it, she further inspected it. It had more damage, yet not as serious as one would expect.

"Damn, these things must be really durable or something." Said Jun.

A bright red flash erupted form the damaged Mekanorimon. Sho turned toward it. There was that feeling again. He had felt it when he picked his Mekanorimon. Strangely, he had felt it before. Once, when he was heading toward the city and another time when he first received his digicore. The Mekanorimon glowed a bright shade of red. It washed over the damaged digimon. Everywhere the light touched, damaged repaired itself. Soon the Mekanorimon looked as good as new. That was the least of the surprises, however. Out of the jewel in the center, a round red object emerged. It floated in the air, coming to a stop right in front of Sho.

Sho put Shaomon down on the ground as he gazed at the object. In its center, he could make out the sign of a heart. Like before, the digicore made its way into the chest of its intended wielder. The light subsided and all was normal.

"Only he gets one?" Jun asked, feeling left out.

Another light emerged from Jun's Mekanorimon, this time a drab sheen of grey. A round object emerged from the center jewel and floated its way toward Jun. In its center, Jun could see the symbol of a cross. The digicore slowly made its way into Jun's chest.

When that was done, the two teens walked over to each other.

"I never get used to that." Said Sho, rubbing his chest.

"So, what did you get?" Jun asked.

Sho shuffled his feet in embarrassment. "Love." He answered.

Jun held back a laugh. Sho's face flushed.

"Aw, don't take it so personal. I say that trait suits you." Jun commented.

"Really?" Sho asked.

"Absolutely, you showed that when you saved my but back there." Jun complimented.

"Thanks." Sho said, flushing again but this time not in embarrassment.

"What's yours?" Sho asked

Jun smiled proudly. "Reliability, I'd say it suits me."

A moment of silence followed that exchange of words. Never had these two talked at such a great length or spend that amount of time with each other. Sho was the first to break the silence.

"Anyway, I'd like to thank you Jun." He said, holding out his hand.

Jun held out hers and the two locked in a handshake.

"I can't believe I would ever be doing this." Sho commented.

Jun nodded her head in agreement. "Who would of thought…a few months ago with me shoving your head in a toilet."

Sho smiled at this turn of events. "You know, I really saw a new side to you and I have to say I'm impressed."

Jun raised her eyebrow and smiled slyly. "Oh Sanbara, do you mean what I think you mean?" She asked.

"Huh?" Sho muttered.

Jun knelt in close to Sho. "Now I can see why you got love as a trait."

Sho backed away, looking nervous. Jun gave a small laugh.

Shaomon looked at the two in disbelief. "You love Jun!" Shaomon suddenly exclaimed.

"Huh!?" Sho said again, this time in pure shock.

Shaomon growled. "Did you know about this!?" She demanded from Tsunomon.

Tsunomon merely shook, showing he didn't know anything. Shaomon turned to the humans. Her jealous rage was gone and her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Sho-chan, I thought we had something! But you were with her behind my back?" Shaomon wimpered.

"No, it's not like that!" Sho screamed.

Jun snickered. Even though she no longer held any thoughts of bullying him, it was still fun to get a rile out of Sho.

Andromon watched the display the whole time with curiosity. With Giromon gone, the Guardromon should have returned to normal by now. He did wonder what that thing that came out of Giromon was, but it deleted before he could properly examine it. His sensors did pick up one thing. The readings showed it had the same reading as the fog surrounding the island.

--

In another part of Factorial Town there lay an opening. An open path to the sewers was what it was. The only purpose it served was for waste disposal. From the open mouth of the pathway, four figures stepped out.

"Glad to be out of there." Sakura said, happily. She was glad to breathe some fresh air.

"You've got to admit it was a good journey." Kazuya replied.

Gazimon and Fairydramon trailed close to their partners. Fairydramon held a look of extreme irritation upon her scaly visage. Gazimon looked the same save for the red mark on his cheek and his black eye.

"Look, I said I was sorry!" Gazimon apologized

"I don't care! You had me worried sick when you pretended to drown!" Fairydramon shot back.

"For the last time, I was not pretending, I really- wait you said you were worried?" Gazimon asked.

Instantly, Gazimon embraced Fairydramon. "Oh, my sweet honey, I knew you felt the same way."

Fairydramon shoved Gazimon off. "Don't get any ideas, rabbit. I was just worried about a fellow digimon."

Gazimon smirked, lowering his eyes. "Why are you blushing?"

A small tinge of pink was on Fairydramon's face. She turned around crossing her arms in a huff. "N-No reason." She stammered.

"Mmhmm you can hide it all you want, but I know how you really feel." Said Gazimon.

Fairydramon breathed a small flame turning her head further away from Gazimon's direction.

Not wanting there to be another argument, Kazuya decided it was best they move on. He held up his digivce, following two colored blips.

"The others should be around here somewhere." He said, positively.

It would seem that the digidestined would soon be reunited. That is to say, almost all of them. One was still missing.

To be continued…

Finally I have returned. I would have updated soon but some depressing events in my life. It seems the company I was working for was starting to flounder so they had to make some layoffs. So you can guess who one of the unlucky picks was. As of now I am job hunting. I have been applying like crazy but I am feeling optimistic. Anyway I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and I would like to thank all those who have read and reviewed it. Kudos to anyone who guess which movie I as referencing with the Guardromon. I won't say much on what the next chapter is about but you can probably guess which character the next one will focus on. Until next time.