Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digimon Trinity

Chapter: 50/ The Arch of the Primary Colors

Takato and Henry skidded to a halt at the location Terriermon claimed to have seen Growlmon, gasping for breath. They quickly scanned the area, finding nothing but children, some of whom were crying and shouting angrily as an adult tried to calm them down. A bit unusual, but not exactly out of the ordinary.

Not unlike it would be if there was a giant, red, fire-breathing dinosaur in the area, of which one was absent.

"Where is he?" Takato rasped, running up to the railing and looking around desperately. Following after him at a slower pace, Henry took a more measured glance, frowning slightly.

"Are you sure you saw him here, Terriermon?" he asked.

Confused, the long-eared dog-bunny hopped down from Henry's arms and raised a tiny paw to his mouth, unable to understand what was going on. Looking down at him, Henry's face became serious.

"Terriermon… Is this some sort of game?"

"It's not a game! He was here!" Terriermon pleaded as Takato broke away from them and started running off to do a more thorough search.

"Growlmon!" Takato called, his heart pounding in his chest as he forced his lungs to resume their earlier labors. A cramp knotted in his side just below his ribs, forcing him to clutch at it and slow to a vestige of a run. "G-Growlmon!" he cried out again, his voice deflating a bit as he forced himself to keep going. This wasn't fair! It was as if every time he turned around, Growlmon was disappearing.

What was the digital world thinking when it chose me to receive a digivice? I can't keep track of Growlmon even on my good days and…

"Takato…" came Growlmon's pitiful voice from out of nowhere. "Over here."

…and he's invisible?

Eyes widening in surprise, Takato ground to a stop and quickly traced his partner's voice to its owner, spying the familiar, red dino-head poking out from behind some brush.

"Growlmon!" Takato exclaimed happily, quickly running over to him, his cramp instantly forgotten. "What are you doing in the bushes?"

"See?" Terriermon laughed, bouncing after the goggle-wearing boy, Henry quickly following after him. "I told you it wasn't a game!"

"First time for everything," Henry chuckled, drawing up behind their friend as he began to scold his partner.

"Growlmon, what were you thinking? I told you not to leave the tunnel."

"I know," the large digimon replied sadly, dropping his head back down into the brush in shame. "But I couldn't help it."

"Couldn't help it?!" Takato was flabbergasted. "It seems like not leaving the tunnel is pretty easy to do!"

"It is!" Growlmon countered, his golden eyes seeking understanding from his Tamer. "When Impmon isn't throwing fireballs at you. He woke me up, then bada-boomed me right out of the tunnel!"

Takato watched as his partner shuddered in recollection of the memory, and he felt a great deal of pity for him. He remembered Growlmon and Terriermon telling him about Impmon's mischief in the park. He still felt bad about being so quick to pin the blame on his partner when he hadn't given him a chance to explain himself. This time, he would listen. He owed his partner that much.

So he listened to Growlmon's story; how Impmon woke him up and then, fed up with being ignored by the sleeping dino, chased him out with repeated attacks until Growlmon finally got fed up and shot a fireball at him, sending a very clear and concise message that Impmon took seriously. He listened when Growlmon explained that, in his exhaustion, he fell asleep out in the open, believing he would only be there for 'just a minute'. Takato found himself nodding, understanding his partner's dilemma.

"And when I woke up," Growlmon finished, "a bunch of kids were playing on me! I'm sorry, Takato. I didn't mean to break my promise!"

Terriermon looked over at Takato with a sympathetic expression on his face. "Forgive him already," he pleaded.

"It's okay, Growlmon," Takato said, offering his partner a reassuring smile.

"It would have been better without all the burning," Growlmon chuckled, returning it.

Turning to Henry in concern, he tapped his chin thoughtfully. "So…Henry. Where do you think we could hide Growlmon? I don't want to send him back to the tunnel if he's just going to get harassed by Impmon again."

"Hmmm…" Henry turned up to Growlmon to consider the possibilities as Takato continued.

"There's got to be someplace he can't be seen."

Can't be seen… he mused, thinking hard. How were they supposed to hide a house-sized dinosaur from public view was going to be…

A smile bloomed across Henry's face as an idea came to him. "That's it! Camouflage!"

"That sounds painful…" Growlmon moaned, trying to bury himself in the bushes once more. Takato laughed.

"We're just going to paint you, like putting on makeup."

"That sounds even more painful!" Growlmon protested, not sounding the least bit convinced. He didn't know what makeup was, but it didn't sound good.

Takato however was enthusiastic. Finally, a solution that would work! But where to get the paint…? Oh!

"You know what?" Takato beamed excitedly. "There's paint left over from when my parents painted the store!"

Growlmon poked his head out of the bushes and tilted it questioningly. "But…who'd want to put makeup on a store?"

Takato, Henry and Terriermon all laughed.

"It's only like makeup," Takato laughed. "It's not really makeup. It's… You know what? Never mind. We'll be right back, Growlmon. Don't go anywhere!"

"He says after chasing after him across the city…what? Three…Four times last night?" Terriermon asked sarcastically, irking the two boys.

"Terriermon…" began Henry.

"What?" the long-eared, rabbit-dog protested. "I'm just pointing out a fact! Sheesh! It's not my fault the universe seems to have it in for him!"

"It's okay, Takato," Growlmon placated. "I'll do my best to stay here. I won't move a muscle. I promise."

"I trust you, boy," Takato smiled before shooting Terriermon a sharp look. "We'll be right back, so don't worry."

"Okay."

With that, the three took off at a brisk pace. Henry turned to Takato, smiling at him. It was good to see someone try to find a solution to a problem that didn't involve fighting or blowing things up.

He wondered if that would be a trend.

Don't count on it, he told himself pessimistically. After all, Rika has no problems looking for a fight whenever it suits her…

"Oh!" Takato began as they turned down the park path and toward the city. "We should probably let Kari know that we found Growlmon. I bet she'll be relieved!"

"Yeah," Henry agreed, taking out his cell phone and tapping it. He frowned when it didn't respond. Huh… That's weird…

"What's up, Henry?" Takato asked, seeing his hesitation. Henry blushed in embarrassment as he realized what the problem was.

"Oh… I just…forgot to charge my phone up before leaving the house. It…ah…It's out of power."

Takato gave him a blank look before finally shrugging.

"Well… We'll worry about that later. We can plug you in when we get to my house."

###

Kari arrived at Guilmon's home and brought a hand to rest on its iron bar door, breathing heavily.

"They're…not here…" she panted, wiping an arm over her forehead, leaving a sheen of sweat on her sweater's sleeve. Grimacing at it, she pulled out her cell phone and checked for messages, once more finding nothing from Henry since she sent him a text message regarding the situation at Ken's agency.

This is bad… Very bad…

"Get a grip, Kari," she whispered, tightening her grip on a bar before letting go. She turned down to look at her partner, whose whiskers were twitching at the state of the concrete bunker. "Gatomon," she began. "Can you go find them on your own?"

"I don't want to leave you alone, Kari," Gatomon said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not with that IceDevimon out on the loose."

Kari opened her mouth to argue, but stopped when she saw the defiant look in her eyes. A look that was also haunted by memories of the past. What Gatomon left unspoken when she said she wouldn't leave Kari alone was the word again.

"All right," Kari replied finally, starting to go through her address book and stopping on Sora's. She hit the call button.

"Please be there…" she whispered, shifting from one foot to the next anxiously. Finally, after what felt like an aching eternity, the other end clicked as it was answered.

"Hey, Kari. What's…?"

"Sora, listen!" she interrupted. "Davis and Ken are missing and their agency has… An ice-version of Devimon might have attacked it! I've been trying to get a hold of Henry and Takato, but Henry's not answering his phone. I'm doing everything I can to find them, but I'm going to need…"

"…help," Sora finished. "Understood. I'm on my way. Where do you want to meet?"

"Where are you now?"

"I'm currently at work, but Biyomon can get me to wherever you are quickly."

"I'm at Guilmon's home."

"Okay. I'll spread the word and see what I can come up with before meeting with you."

Kari nodded in agreement. "I'll call Takato's house. Maybe his parents have seen him and I'm freaking out over nothing." She ran a hand through her hair. "Stay safe, Sora."

"See you soon."

With that, Sora hung up and Kari immediately began dialing the number to Takato's home. It wasn't in her address book, but she had called it from the school so often she knew it by heart. The phone rang once, and then twice, followed by a third and fourth time before finally being picked up.

"Hello, Matsuki Bakery, how may I help you?"

"Mrs. Matsuki," Kari began, composing herself so as to not cause the boy's mother to be worried. "I…uh… Is Takato there? I've been meaning to give him some notes that would help him with his studies, but since everything's been closed…"

"Oh, I'm sorry Ms. Kamiya, but you just missed him. He was with his friend, Henry, and they took a bunch of old paint with them to the park."

Kari breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mrs. Matsuki."

With that she hung up and set herself down on the step, shaking.

"Is everything all right?" Gatomon asked, approaching her worriedly.

"So far," Kari nodded, "Takato and Henry are fine. I just missed them. They were…getting buckets of paint."

"Paint?" Gatomon tilted her head in confusion. "What would they need paint for?"

"I don't know, but I suspect it has something to do with Growlmon. They must have found him."

"So either they forgot to call or text, or something happened to Henry's phone?" she asked. "Great. And here we are, sitting on our butts until Sora and Biyomon get here."

"Correction," Kari smiled, tapping out a quick text message to Sora.

"What are you doing?"

"Telling Sora to keep an eye on her digivice, because we're going to be on the move for find Takato and Henry. They should be nearby after all. Finding them shouldn't take long and I don't like the idea of just sitting around and wasting time."

Gatomon nodded, smiled. "Now you're speaking my language," she said in agreement.

###

Rika strode through the park, hands in her pockets and oblivious to the world around her as she lost herself in her music. A conversation between two women joking about a man wearing a toupee on his chest didn't catch her interest in the slightest. Instead, she was doing everything she could to forget the unsettling sensation of cold…and that she was being watched.

What is the deal with that Calumon… Or any digimon for that matter? I thought digimon were all about fighting… That documentary last year said that digimon were programmed to fight, and digimon are just data…

And yet…

She narrowed her eyes, thinking back on Growlmon, and how vicious he was during last night's battle…and how uncontrollable he was in numerous battles. Yet as soon as the battle was over he…changed. Became more passive and upset that he scared anyone.

He's a Hazard digimon! she thought, tightening her hands into fists. Why should he care about upsetting anyone? Lucemon didn't…

It seemed impossible. She knew everything there was to know about digimon, and everything she learned was that Hazard digimon were, by default, dangerous to be around. Too dangerous.

So why is it that whenever I look into his stupid eyes, all I see is some goofy, food eating doofus? Just like… Just like… He's like a bigger version of Calumon or something. And Renamon…

She bit her lip against saying it out loud. In her mind's eye, she saw Renamon, and she saw Biyomon standing alongside her. Biyomon…

When she had been a child, Biyomon had been like something of a big sister to her. Back when she didn't understand what digimon really were – zeroes and ones programmed to fight and destroy.

I saw though… I saw what they're capable of!

In her mind's eye, she saw the video footage of Lucemon, laughing like a lunatic as he burned an entire city to the ground, the hazard glowing brightly on his hand. Lucemon… A digimon that looked like a mere kid had the power to turn the entire country into dust…

As she followed through the memory, she saw Lucemon's face change…his eyes changing from blue to red, and the golden color of his hair taking on a light brown…

She stopped dead in her tracks as now it was Takato – the idiotic Gogglehead – who was now the danger.

He created him after all… she thought.

Yet…try as she might…she felt strangely foolish thinking of Takato that way. All he did was the exact opposite of what Lucemon did on the videos. And that look he got when she killed the Vilemon…or when he shouted at her for saying that Guilmon's life wasn't worth rescuing from that bizarre digital field in the tunnel…

Looks can be deceiving, she thought to herself, starting up again and kicking a pebble off to the side. My mom taught me that much. I'm sure even someone as stupid as Gogglehead is more than another 'pretty face…'

###

Renamon materialized atop a tree branch as she followed her partner, unable to shake off the sense of growing concern in her heart. Rika was…agitated to say the least and wouldn't say why. Her run-in with Calumon appeared to have shaken her somehow, although for some reason Renamon suspected there was something more going on. She could feel it, like a shadow upon her heart. But what…?

She felt something tug at her senses… Something behind her! Rearing up into a combat stance, she spun around and…found Impmon, lounging around on the branch as though he had not a care in the world.

"Ugh," she grunted.

"Hey, fine and foxy," Impmon taunted. "So we meet again!"

"Oh, it's just you." Relaxing, she began to walk away along the branch and soon dropped down out of the tree. Annoyed by this casual disregard for the complete and utter coolness of his being, Impmon followed after her and shook a fist at her.

"What do you mean, Just me?! Come back here!"

When Renamon didn't respond to him, he drew his gloved hand to his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. Of course Renamon hadn't changed one bit since he knew her during his time with the Nightmare Soldiers. Renamon tended to be dismissive towards anyone she didn't view as 'strong'.

"Ohhh… Check out Ms. High and Mighty," he said to himself. "Maybe a good fight will knock her off her perch." Cupping a glove around his mouth, he yelled after her, "Hey! I heard Terriermon call you a fat-tailed bully! If I were you, I'd teach that egg-shaped loudmouth a lesson!"

Renamon paused in her stride and made a dismissive huh sound.

"What?!" Impmon exclaimed, recognizing her reaction for what it was. "You're just going to let him get away with that?!"

"Terriermon won't fight," Renamon said, turning toward him. Impmon's mouth fell open.

W-Wha…?

"Why not?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"His Tamer has forbidden it," Renamon replied. With nothing more to be said, Renamon turned around and resumed following after her partner, fading into thin air and leaving a flummoxed Impmon behind to ponder this bit of news.

"What kind of digimon doesn't fight?" he asked in disbelief. "Those rotten humans. They've made a pet! A digi-poodle!"

However, in everything that crossed Impmon's dark mind, there was always a silver lining. Where he saw disgust at Terriermon's apparent weakness, he saw an opportunity to be taken, and an evil grin spread across his face.

"But if Terriermon can't fight back then I could whoop his doughy patootie or steal his lunch and get away without a scratch!" He planted his hands on his hips as he turned his eyes skyward, already seeing victory on the horizon. "Think of the possibilities!"

###

Renamon chuckled, hearing the last vestiges of Impmon's premature self-congratulations – a common fault of his that often landed him in a heap of trouble. Oh, she could imagine the possibilities far more clearly than he could. Terriermon may have been forbidden to fight, but the diminutive dog-bunny had something of a knack for causing a stir.

Better to ask for forgiveness than for permission, was a phrase that seemed to fit him the best.

Returning to following Rika, she went back to puzzling out her current emotional state and the source behind it. She didn't understand the changes in her partner since her digivolution. She swung wildly from one extreme to another, as though she were grappling with herself over something.

None of the other Tamers seem to have this kind of difficulty, she thought. At least none that I have seen. Perhaps…

An ear twitched as she caught wind of something…someone speaking a short ways off. No…someone's, and they were all familiar.

"Rika… I believe we have company," she said through their mental link.

###

"Hold still, Growlmon," Takato chuckled, slathering dark green paint across Growlmon's scales.

"It'll be over soon," soothed, swiping a brush along Growlmon's shoulder, who simply groaned in response.

Whether it would be over soon or not, the time getting to the end would be fraught with complications as Terriermon slapped a brush against the bottom of Growlmon's foot and began spreading the paint out. The Champion began to jerk and laugh in response – finding himself unexpectedly ticklish. He twitched and then a great spasm rocked his body, knocking Henry and Takato off of him and causing them to spill the contents of their buckets all along his face. Laughing uncontrollably himself now at how things were turning out, Terriermon fell back on his rear, only to accidently knock over his own paint can, causing it to cover his entire face and ears. Getting up, the long-eared digimon looked down at himself with a pained expression.

Henry and Takato exchanged looks before laughing at the little Rookie digimon.

"Karma," Henry pointed out, wiping a tear from his eye. For the first time that day, all their troubles were forgotten. Growlmon being stuck as a Champion, the lack of safe places to hide Growlmon, Davis and Ken and Kari, and of course, his cell phone… All of it was gone for the time being. Henry felt great… Wonderful even. It was good to forget the world and its stresses once in a while, especially since they were actively dealing with a problem.

Soon enough they finished and Growlmon stood up for his appraisal. From top to bottom, he was covered in varying hues of green and brown. Dusting off his paint-encrusted hands, Henry folded them over his chest.

"All done, Growlmon."

"Man, you look great!" Takato beamed while Terriermon frowned slightly.

"That must be one ugly store," he muttered aloud, but the others ignored him. This was their victory, and by kami they were going to enjoy it.

"Okay now," Takato said, turning around. "Let's test it out. Go hide, Growlmon."

"Okay…" Growlmon sighed as Henry and Terriermon did likewise. There was a sound of bushes rustling as Takato waited, and upon its quieting, he turned around.

"Ready or not, here we come!" he called. "You ready? Growlmon?"

No answer came from the digital dinosaur as he and Henry scanned the park surroundings.

"Hmmm…" Takato hummed. "Wow, he takes this hiding thing seriously. Where are you, Growlmon?"

"I can't just tell you," came Growlmon's muffled response from somewhere in that tangle of green brush. "You'll have to find me!"

Terriermon planted his tiny paws on his hips and looked at the two humans. "Well if I have to look for him, you have to look for him too!"

Both boys stepped forward, looking closely at the brush. Takato narrowed his eyes, but as yet he saw…

Wait! Is that…?

"Hmmm… Is that him?" he asked, pointing at something odd looking that he couldn't quite make out. Terriermon rolled his eyes.

"That's a stick."

"Oh…yeah…" Takato blushed in embarrassment before continuing. "But see that knot? If you look at it from a certain angle…"

"It still looks like a stick," Terriermon interrupted. "Maybe he just left!"

Henry pumped his fist into the air triumphantly. "No one will be able to find him!" he declared, causing Takato to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Great…"

"Pathetic."

"Huh?"

Turning around at the dismissive voice, they spied Rika standing a short ways behind them, her eyes cast in a cold expression as she surveyed the two boys. Takato shuddered at them, feeling as though he were under a microscope and she were looking at some kind of bug.

"A person might not be able to see him," she continued, "but any digimon who wanted to could find him in a heartbeat."

Henry bristled at Rika's comment and scowled at her. "Prove it."

"Renamon?" she called in answer to his challenge. The vulpine digimon materialized next to her, causing Takato to gape at her in surprise.

"Where…do you come from all the time?" he asked, taking a quick gander around to see if he could find some hidden gateway that would explain her appear-and-disappearing behavior. "Do you just wait around to scare us?"

Narrowing her eyes at the boy, she folded her arms over her chest. "Renamon?"

"Yes, Rika?" the kitsune asked, turning toward her.

"Find him and teach him a lesson."

"My pleasure, Rika. I'll find him."

Her eyes flashing with bright light and she pointed in a direction directly off to Henry's left.

"There."

"Wait!" Panicking, Takato raced over to where she pointed, placing himself between the two, spreading his arms out as if that would somehow prevent Renamon from getting to his partner.

"You guys aren't Tamers," Rika scolded in disgust. "You're a joke. I can't believe I'm supposed to teach you two anything. Digimon aren't supposed to hide, they're supposed to fight!"
Takato began to shiver at Rika's words. She sounded angry, like she was looking for a reason to go after Growlmon.

It never ends… he thought. I don't get it. Why does she hate me and Growlmon so much? We never did anything to her…

"You better just back off, Rika!" Henry growled, raising his digivice. He didn't care for fighting, but this was starting to look like it was going to go too far. Rika had it in for Takato and Growlmon since day one and never seemed to let up on him. Just what was her deal?

"Or what?" Rika scoffed. "You'll run off and hide on me? Oooh… I'm so scared!"

This boy disgusted her as well. Not as much as the Gogglehead, but his pacifist ways were nothing short of annoying to her. What? Did he think he could avoid fighting forever just because of his ideals?

How stupid is that?

Thunder cracked above them, as if the sky were anticipating their clash. Looking back and forth between them helplessly, Takato gathered his courage and spoke. His voice quavered though and he felt as though he had failed before he even began.

"Come on you guys, there's really no reason for us to fight over Growlmon, is there? Can't we be friends?"

In response, thunder crashed again above them and now rain began to pour from the heavens. Dumbfounded, Takato looked up at the sky.

"Huh? Hey, it wasn't supposed to rain today."

"Since when has the weatherman ever been right?" Terriermon chided, hoping to bring some much needed humor to the situation. "Hello? Someone want to answer me?"

When no one did, he crossed his tiny arms together and pouted. "Fine!"

They stood there in silence for a moment, glaring at each other as the rain began to pour in earnest. Takato's eyes met Rika's and in the flash of lightning that preceded the next crack of thunder, Takato saw nothing but unbridled disgust and intense dislike for him. He felt his spirit start to falter under her gaze and his shoulders sagged.

"Um… Takato," came Growlmon's voice, as if to rub salt in the wound. "I think we're going to have a problem."

"Problem? Why?" Turning, he finally spotted Growlmon, and then quickly realized why he found him so fast. His eyes widened first in shock and then in despair.

"Oh no…" he heard Henry begin, quickly realizing it as well as they all saw Growlmon sitting in the brush, red scales starting to peak through the paint as it was being washed away. "The rain's making the paint run!"

"Ah, so he'll be brown instead of grey and green," piped up Terriermon. "What's the big deal?"

"No, it's making the paint run off!"

"Oh…" Terriermon's face fell as Growlmon began to moan pitifully. Rika could only look on in complete and utter disappointment and disgust.

"You guys used water based paint?! You're even more pathetic than I thought." She looked at Takato. Though she couldn't see his face, she recognized the slump of his shoulders and the way he was shaking as a clear sign of what was happening to him. He was breaking.

Not willing to watch this cowardly display from the Tamer – for all the title was worth with regards to Takato – she turned around and began to walk away.

"See yu later, losers. Renamon?"

With a grunt, Renamon leapt up into the air and was gone.

Takato's face scrunched up as thunder crashed once more and the rain came pounding down all the harder. With a cry, Takato ran over to his partner and crushed his massive arm to himself in a tight hug.

"What are we going to do, Growlmon?" he sobbed desperately, having run completely out of ideas. "I can't afford oil-based paint! Why does everything I do always go so wrong?! If only you could turn back into Guilmon!"

Henry and Terriermon watched the boy, not sure at all what to do to help him. They were fresh out of ideas as well, and although Henry was more well off, he knew he didn't exactly have the funds for oil-based paints either.

"Please don't cry Takatomon… My arms are starting to run."

"It'll be okay, Takato," Henry said, hoping to soothe the boy as the rain began to lighten now. It sounded like a lie on his part. He had no way of knowing for certain if anything would be okay, but…he had to say something!

Anything!

"Yeah, if worse comes to worse, we can always move to Antarctica," Terriermon said, trying to be helpful.

"Terriermon!" Henry whispered harshly. That wasn't quite what he had thought of by 'anything'.

"What?" Terriermon protested. "Well we could!"

The rain stopped completely and sunlight began to peak through the clouds, casting light upon the small group. Sniffing, Takato pulled away.

"Thanks guys… Sorry for the…water works." He laid a hand back on Growlmon's arm. "I just… I don't know what to do, but…" His breath hitched in his throat and he nearly broke down once more. "We just…have to try again I guess and figure something out."

"Yeah…" Henry nodded, smiling to see that the boy was back on his feet. Looking up, Terriermon gasped as he noticed the sky was clearing up.

"Hey! It stopped raining!" he exclaimed before spying an arch of sparkling colors forming in the sky. "Takato, look! Sheesh, would you look already?"

"A rainbow," Henry breathed. "Wow…"

"Ooh, it's pretty whatever it is."

It's sparkling… Henry noticed in amazement as Takato and Growlmon both stared at it. Growlmon especially was in awe of the rainbow as it arched across the sky. Why is it sparkling? It's almost like…like…

Turning toward Growlmon, he saw data rising from off his body.

"Now those are the colors we should've painted Growlmon," Terriermon said, distracting the boy from his thoughts.

"Terriermon, we wanted him to blend in, not stick out like a sore thumb."

"Well he'd blend in fine if he were in the sky, wouldn't he? Ugh, I've gotta explain everything to you."

Light engulfed Growlmon just then, causing Henry and Terriermon to look at him in surprise.

"Huh? What's happening to Growlmon, Henry?"

"Of course!" Henry gasped in realization. "Those flecks of light must be digital matter! Growlmon's finally shedding off the excess data! But…how?" Running a hand across his mouth, he pondered it as Growlmon began to shrink. "I don't know, it's weird."

"Not as weird as what I found between Growlmon's toes when we were painting him."

"True…"

"Growlmon! I mean Guilmon!" Takato exclaimed as the light surrounding his partner faded, revealing him as having returned to his Rookie form. Guilmon looked down at himself in pleasant surprise. "Whoever you are!" Laughing, he crushed his partner to him in a powerful hug. "You're back to being Guilmon!"

Nearly breaking into a sob once more, he pulled back and smiled. "Things are finally normal again."

"Yeah," Guilmon laughed happily, nuzzling his partner, grateful for having turned back to being his old self again so that Takato didn't have to worry about him anymore.

"Well…" Takato chuckled, patting his partner on the head as they both looked back up at the rainbow, shimmering brightly in the sky. "As normal as they get around here anyway."

10