Digimon Tamers Zero Two

by MasterCaedus

Tasuke, or Taj, was raised by his 'Uncle' Henry Wong, ever since his parents left when he was very young. In that time, Taj has come to hate his parents and anything related to them. Especially Digimon, the fictional creatures his parents had loved when they were around. But when he gets a real Digimon, Taj must fight Digi-agents of other countries for a chance to find his parents.

33. End of the World(As We Know It!)

AN: Hey, guys. Happy April, and I'm back a little sooner than I expected. I had a couple slower weeks for classwork and the puppy is starting to be good more than bad.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Time for responses:

To grabdog: I'm glad you like the world building. It's all pretty fun to write! I hope this update leaves you wanting more, again!

To Guest: Well, the story technically takes place in like the 2040s if you break the timeline down. A 2030s with a different, but mostly publicly similar, 21st century. Flip phones are already rare, but then? It would be crazy to see one. (I meant 2030s, not 2040s. Sorry!)

To jacquelinemueller53: I heard about Pusurimon! I'm excited for whenever they release the dub of the reboot. Between BlitzGreymon, Mode Change Ultimates, and more it looks like it'll be a fun show. Even if I wish they'd do more with the Tamers squad instead. Like I like Tai, but we've been getting Adventure Squad stories for years now. I'd even take some Davis and the 02 gang on their own adventure!

To carlos aelred: Here it is! Gimme a minute to write it, you know?

To Old style: Yeah, well, Lucemon is supposed to be the Digimon based on the Devil. Temptation is kind of his game, so I'm glad that I wrote the temptations pretty... tempting, I guess. I am excited to write Terriermon and Momentai. Especially since Terriermon will have to balance his favorite word with a dog always responding to it.

Episode 33: The End of the World(as We Know It!)

I glared at the empty house the Clockmon had repaired, running my fingers over the rebuilt wood of the banister leading upstairs. BG walked around slowly and glared over at the couch with a frown. He was missing Henry; they'd become... well, they bonded over how much they worried about me, at least. "Come on. We have a lot to do," I told him after a second.

We made our way upstairs quietly, the creaks of the house that I'd been so used to no longer there. Whatever the Clockmon had done, it made the house more new than it had been before. I missed the sounds I'd stopped noticing, I realized as I pushed open my door without a creak. The entire house was... a lie. I shook my head and marched over to my bed, crouching and pulling the box out from under it.

"Are you okay?" BG wondered from beside me.

I shook my head and continued digging through, collecting cards we might have a use for in the Digital World. Speed, Strength, a Goliath Card. Weird Digimon cards that we could use to get out of weird positions: Snimon for climbing, Locomon boarding coins, Cookmon pans – though, I wasn't sure if AppliMon cards would work. I swiped the card through my Digivice and turned to BG. Nothing. I sighed and tossed the card away. "Wait!" I rummaged around and pulled out another card with a grin. "Digitamamon's Diner. Wonder if this thing can net us some food. It's useless as a card, after all."

"If it can make me food, then swipe it."

"... Maybe outside," I replied as I slipped it into one of the 'Useful-Weird' decks I was making for each of us. Given how much everything else was like the TV show, we were bound to get separated from each other at least once. I continued digging through the box, passing over strong cards we wouldn't get any use out of – as far as I remember, Dorumon couldn't exactly use a 'DigiEgg of Destiny' for anything.

After a while, I sighed and put the three mini-decks into boxes. "Okay, that should deal with underground, falling from the sky, or needing a boat."

"And a kitchen!"

"And... a kitchen," I agreed, pocketing the Diner card for myself. "You know, I really wish you'd been to the Digital World before. We could use the information."

"Hey, I can't help I was born under attack in a Nursery, can I?" BG grumbled.

"Weren't you the guy attacking?" I pointed out. I pushed my door open and began walking down the stairs, absently looking around for Henry and Momentai even though I knew they weren't there.

"I Loaded their data," he pointed out in the same voice as a kid saying he'd finished his whole meal.

I froze at the stairs to the basement and shook my head. "That's really not the point I was trying to make."

"Death is different for Digimon, Taj," BG explained. He rushed past me and down the stairs. "I don't think I'd do it again, but it isn't like they're gone forever. The ones I didn't Load are probably in the nursery now, and the ones I did are part of me. They'll show up in some place like that 'Primary Village' from your show when I do, too."

I slowed a bit. BG... an egg again. The idea of him dying had never even crossed my mind, even though in the show the Digimon were dying and being reborn left and right. But it just hit me... it could happen to any of us. The Digital World wasn't a safe place.

BG stopped and turned around, almost like he'd heard me. "Of course, I don't think that'll happen for a long time, right?" he supplied. He bounded up the stairs to me and jumped into my chest, forcing me to catch him and knocking the air from my lungs. "Reapmon couldn't kill me when I was Fresh, you think anything out there can handle me when I'm Ultimate?"

I chuckled. "Yeah. You're right," I acknowledged, rubbing behind his ears. "Thanks, BG."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, turning slightly red. "Now, how about we keep going?" He wriggled around in my arms, uncomfortable, and leaped out to charge to the basement.

I smiled at how much the little guy had changed, reassuring me like that. "Yeah, let's," I agreed, following him close.

When we got downstairs, I stumbled, faltering at the untouched workspace that looked like he had just run upstairs for a minute. I placed my fists on Henry's desk and fought off a lump growing in my chest that urged me to slam my fists into the table a few times. It'd be useless, it'd be destructive. It'd feel good.

Instead, I turned towards his computer and absently turned it on, booting up to a lock screen that flashed, waiting for input. I sank into his chair and my fingers hovered for a few seconds. I pulled back after a second, unsure what the password could be.

Out of options, I turned to -

"Where's his Digivice?" I asked.

BG leaped up onto the table and glanced around. "Weird..." He muttered. BG turned to me. "Did Reapmon take it, too?"

"... Maybe..." I mumbled. I drummed my fingers on the table, trying to think about what Henry might have done if he'd been down here when it all started. With a flash of inspiration, I turned to a familiar drawer and pulled it open. I pulled out the instructions for how to contact my parents, a few tools, and a half-eaten bag of almonds that I put on the table top. The almonds were gone in two seconds. I dragged my hands around the drawer, trying to see if I was missing anything. I double checked the book with the instructions. Nothing.

I turned back to the drawer and scratched my cheek. Something felt... off. I pulled back and crossed my arms, staring at the drawer and frowned. What was the problem here..? It was almost like it didn't fit. I let a smile creep onto my face. It didn't fit.

I reached back in and pushed down hard on the drawer bottom, and the false face flipped up. I pulled the metal sheet out and tossed it onto the table. "Wow... how'd you know that was there?" BG wondered.

"I've got a bit of an eye for shapes," I muttered before reaching in and pulling out what Henry had hidden. One: his Digivice, the plastic covering reassembled and latched together. I put it down and looked at the other thing in there instead.

It was an old picture. Me and Henry, not long after we'd come to America, on a roller coaster. We were both screaming with huge grins on our faces as we blasted by the built in camera. I smiled at the photo and turned it over. "First Smile – T4" was scrawled on the back and I snorted. Yeah, that checked. First smile after my parents ditch – left. And... A clue.

I placed the message up on the desk and slid over to the computer. "You figure something else out?" BG wondered, strings of almond skin hitting the table.

"Only what Henry left me," I muttered. I stared at the screen and tapped a few keys. "T-4-5-U-K-3." The screen turned to a swirling loading screen, and I smiled. "Love you, too, Dad."

The computer finished logging in and I opened the file explorer, looking for something that Henry had to have left behind for me. "He's been to the Digital World, right?" BG asked. "Does he have anything on it in there?"

"I don't know," I admitted as I scanned through the folders. I bit my cheek, hoping that something might pop to me. "I – wait."

I moved up to the top left and activated the hidden folders. "Son."

"Hm... Maybe that's got something he's left for you!" BG exclaimed.

With anyone else that might have sounded like sarcasm. He actually meant it. "Yeah." I opened the folder and went through some of the files inside. It was... not like the show, to say the least. Breathing underwater, ignoring gravity, something called a DigiGnome. Lists of the Devas Henry and my parents had defeated, and even notes on where the missing Sovereigns might be. "Yeah, this is it."

"What did Henry leave you?" BG wondered, jumping up and staring at the words. "What's a... 'Deva?'"

"You know I called Lopmon that already!" I growled, but BG just laughed at me. "You... remember, don't you?"

"That's what you get for thinking I'm stupid. But, actually, what's a Sovereign?"

I glared at him. "Wait, you're serious now?"

"Yes."

"You really didn't pay attention when we watched the show with Dan," I mumbled. I sighed and shook my head. "Doesn't matter. There's a lot to go over, but the important thing for us is the list of Digimon we can trust, and how physics doesn't matter except when it does. Because screw me and everything I love." I copied the files and e-mailed them to May, Davis, and myself to look over more. This would be... really useful. And weird.

I pulled back and grabbed Henry's Digivice, hand brushing against the instructions for contacting my parents. I glared at it for a while, but realized I needed them. "BG, can you run up to my room and be careful? I need a card from my room – that DigiEgg of Destiny one. Henry can use it on Terriermon and we'll need every advantage we can get." Every advantage.

BG cocked his head to the side. "Okay..." he agreed after a second. He jumped down from the table and gave me another look before rushing upstairs.

I sighed and stared down at the Digivice, at Henry's Digivice, and smiled sadly. "Time to get started," I whispered. I put the Digivice into its stand and popped it open. I rummaged about until I could find the tools, then raised them and leaned forward and went down the instructions piece by piece.

After a few minutes, I finally had each step down and could go through the entire list. The screen popped up, and I looked at the instructions. Twenty five words in a letter.

I grabbed the paper and a pen, then began writing down a message, scratching it out and starting over a half dozen times. After a while, I finally had something... workable. "It's Tasuke. Henry's been captured. Digital World will be opened soon, they're taking him there. I have his Digivice. I'm - " And then the doorbell rang. "Ach! Who's there!? No, wait!"

"Message sent."

I glared at the screen, eye twitching. "Son of a..." I groaned and hurried to reattach the casing before rushing upstairs. "Who could be here?"

"Taj, it smells familiar!" BG said. I think. With the card in his mouth it was a lot less clear.

I shrugged and opened the door, hoping it was... I don't even know. I just know that I really didn't want it to be Katou. "Oh, uh..." She frowned and crossed her arms. Her brown blazer and skirt looked cold in the winter air.

I sighed. "Come on in," I told her, backing up and moving over to BG to take the card from him. I put it in its own box and tied it to Henry's Digivice strap. "It's warmer in here."

Katou sighed behind me and walked in, closing the door behind her. "Thank you," she said. She paused for a moment. "Um... where's Henry? We left things... difficult between us, but I wanted to at least say goodbye."

I frowned but turned around and revealed his Digivice. Her eyes widened and she pulled up a hand to hide her gasp. "Henry..."

"Look, I'm only doing this because you used to be Henry's friend," I told her. "I know this is going to bite us in the butt... but I think he'd want us to tell you, still." I looked down at the Digivice and the card with it. "Dad – Henry – he's been kidnapped. Gethen and Reapmon took him, and pretty much told us our choices are open the Digital World or he dies."

"Tasuke, that -"

I held my hand up. "No. you need to know that we all agreed. We're all doing it. We're opening the Digital World to go save him."

Katou's sympathetic face turned blank. "I'm... torn," she explained quietly. "I want Henry to be saved, I really do. I owe him... more than you could possibly imagine. Without him, I might not even be here. No, I just wouldn't be here." She clenched and unclenched her fists, then placed one hand on her hip. "But the Firewall can't go down. There's too much at risk, Tasuke."

She fell silent, but we kept matching glares. BG glanced between us. "I feel like this is the part where Digimon would fight each other..." he grumbled, bored and wishing it would just happen.

Instead of the bloody brawl, Katou just shook her head. "Then I'll return the favor. For Henry, for your parents, I'll let you know: I'm telling HYPNOS. I'm telling Watanabe." BG and I flinched and growled. "They'll stop you."

I snarled and shook my head. "And for Henry – They won't stop me."

Katou and I glared at each other for a while longer. "I know they'll stop you," she told me. "But if by some... insane chance they can't, or they're late..." Her gaze softened. "Then I hope you can save him. In that case, I'd... wish you good luck."

I froze and opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Finally: "Thanks."

She nodded at me, serious and resolute, then turned and left. BG and I watched her walk from the house with all the confidence of someone who'd already beat her own demons years ago. It almost made me falter, but instead I swallowed and clenched Henry's Digivice tighter. I turned away and pulled my own out of my pocket. Time to call her. She picked up after a few rings, groggy and exhausted.

"Prince? What are you doing? It's like..." She let out a big yawn that slurred her next words. "Six AM?"

Well, if Suze was tired, the best thing to do was shock her awake. I put the phone on speaker and put it on the table, sitting down with BG beside me. "Henry's been taken."

The other side of the line had an echoing scream that caused the sound to cut out for a few seconds. Then: "Suzie, get ahold of yourself! Please!" Lopmon begged. She sighed, and in the background I could hear Suze panicking. "Sorry Tasuke. She is freaking out a little. She started packing her bags already."

"Oh, well, that saves time for me," I replied.

"Hm?"

I shook my head. "Look, since Suze seems..." There was another scream and BG cringed at the speakerphone reverb. "Incapacitated? We need you guys to do something. We're going to save him. All three of us. But that means we're going to the Digital World."

"Then you'll need us! I know more about the Digital World than anyone else – I lived there for years as a Deva!" Lopmon explained, ignoring Suze's question about whether they should take a plane or use her form as Antylamon to get to us.

"No. We can handle whatever stuff we find there. I found Henry's notes," I countered.

BG cut in, "Which means that you get to deal with Davis' and May's parents finding out we snuck out tonight!"

Suze finally was on the phone: "What? No, no! You can't do that to Jaarin and Mikael! Do you know how scared they'll be?"

I scoffed, "I've read enough of Henry's notes to know you guys all did it."

"Hey, that was them! The Digital World kidnapped me at a park," Suze retorted. "Total accident."

"It doesn't matter. They'd try and stop us, and I don't feel like having May yell at me because I had to bite them," BG said simply.

"What he means," I growled with a glare at my partner, "is that Gethen is planning something big. We need to go, but we can't unless everyone is safe. I need to save Henry, Suze. I need to. And then we're going to stop whatever he has planned."

"So... the plan is just... save Henry, save the world, and come back like nothing happened?"

I went silent. "Uh... yeah. I think so."

"..." Suze let out a laugh. Then another. Then more and more. "Hahaha! Oh, wow! You really are Henry's son!"

"I think she's insulting you, but the words sound like a compliment," BG hissed.

"No, no! It's... You're just doing exactly what Henry did. And Takato and Rika and Kenta and Jeri and Kazu." She let out a sigh mixed with a laugh. Then: "Tasuke. Prince. Do you know what you're doing?"

I looked at BG, and he nodded at me. "Yeah. We do."

"Then we'll be there!" Lopmon exclaimed. "No one will get past us."

"Like they could even try!" Suze shouted, suddenly boisterous and proud. "We've been Partners since before some of these morons even knew Digimon existed. We're the best there are, bar none!"

I laughed for a bit, waiting for a lull in the noise. "Suze... thank you."

There was a soft chuckle on the other side. "Well... you'll owe me," she replied. "We may be able to take down any Digimon that comes our way, but even Lopmon is scared of having to handle Jaarin and Mikael."

"Oh, I plan on being a stuffed animal for that, Suzie!"

The line went quiet after that. I chuckled softly, "See ya, guys. Thanks." Then I hung up and stared at the door. There was... one more thing I had to do. One more person to talk to.

X X X

I pulled off my backpack and a duffel, running through everything inside one more time as I waited for May and Davis to get to the park. I had been able to get here a while before, pretending Henry had called me a while ago to sneak out of May's house earlier that night. I pocketed my hands as BlackGuilmon plodded up, stretching his body and tail. "It's been too long since I had a neck," he grumbled as he cracked his neck on both sides. "Couldn't we have gone out and gone even Champion once or twice?"

"We've been a little busy," I pointed out as I made sure that the fun snacks I'd packed in each bag weren't being crushed.

"Doesn't mean it wasn't boring," he grumbled, quieter this time.

"He's not wrong, Dummy," Dorumon agreed, chuckling. She, Huckmon, and their partners had arrived at the same time.

May gasped. "Jeez, Taj, what is all this stuff?"

"What do you think I was doing after I snuck out? Playing video games?" I joked. I shrugged. "Look, I spent a lot of time getting supplies we'd need in the Digital World. Henry might have said – er, written - we wouldn't need food, I wasn't risking our partners' appetites. I got three Costco sized boxes of protein and meal supplement bars in there, a bunch of waters, a few flashlights and batteries, first aid, and – duh - duffel bags to pack it all in."

"And where are the phone batteries, Batman?" Huckmon joked.

"Ha ha. Our Digivices don't really have 'battery issues,' so we don't need anything to charge them," I retorted. "But look, even with as much as I got, it won't last us that long when you factor in Digimon stomachs."

"Hey!" BG protested. He glared, then shrugged. "That's fair. I am hungry."

"Fed him two Cinnabons five minutes ago," I clarified dryly.

"Massive hunger and zero self control? Makes sense," Dorumon mocked, sticking out her tongue at my partner.

"I have... self..." He stopped snapping at her, pupils thinning to reptilian slits and his ears going straight up. Smoke and a low growl began to rumble out of his mouth. "HYPNOS!"

Davis, May, and I fought our instincts to look at each other and panic, instead reaching into our decks and pulling out the cards we needed, or in May's case just tapping the screen... "Digi-Modify!" we shouted.

"Anti-Matrix Digivolution, activate!" I snapped.

Meanwhile, May and Davis shouted, "Matrix Digivolution, activate!"

Massive eggs appeared around the three of us, blocking beams of energy that had been launched at us. The energy collided and exploded against the powerful shells, creating powerful winds that buffeted us and nearly knocked us down. But it was too late for HYPNOS by then. We were ready.

"BlackGuilmon, Anti-Matrix-Warp Digivolve to..." He increased in size to a massive, 30 foot tall robotic Dinosaur. He exploded out of the red and black egg, scythe arms swinging into the incoming claws of a MetalGreymon. "BlackWarGrowlmon!"

"Dorumon, Matrix-Warp Digivolve to..." A large red dragon with a coiled tail tipped with a large spike flew out of her violet and white egg, launching a huge, metallic sphere at a ShadowWereGarurumon making its way towards us. The werewolf flipped backwards, clutching his partner close as he landed. "DoruGreymon!"

"Huckmon, Matrix-Warp Digivolve to..." Five blades burst from the brown and white egg, slashing through a wave of Darkness that was coming our way with gleaming light. Blades dug into the ground and his cape fluttered in the wind. "SaviorHuckmon!"

MetalGreymon, ShadowWereGarurumon, and LadyDevimon slunk backwards, gathering together and readying for a fight even as our Digimon got ready in front of us, too. "How'd they know what we were doing?" Davis asked angrily as we all pulled on our glasses and goggles to keep our eyes safe from the electrical fog.

I grimaced but kept quiet. I didn't feel like telling them about me and Katou's conversation right there and then. "Look, we can talk this over!" I shouted. I wandered up beside BG's leg, placing one hand on it. "I'm – I'm sorry. Is she okay? Uhm, is Namaiki okay?"

"You're... apologizing?" Watanabe asked as he stepped up beside his own partner. He sneered and shook his head. "You have the gall to just... apologize, and think that it's going to fix everything?"

"No?" I supplied. I felt my stomach turn. "I just wanted to know. Tell me or don't – either way, we need to do what we came here to do. I need to save Henry."

"So it's true. You're going to drop the Firewall?" the LadyDevimon asked, chuckling. "Naughty kids. You have to know we won't let you."

I glanced at my friends. May nodded at me, and pumped her fist. I nodded back, then turned to the HYPNOS agents. "It's not a request," I said quietly. I furrowed my brow. "It's a warning."

ShadowWereGarurumon growled angrily and took a step forward. "A threat? I don't think you understand what's happening here." He sounded like he wanted to hurt me.

I pulled a card out. "No, I get it," I remarked.

"Just don't care," May shouted from behind me.

Davis glanced over. "I care! It won't stop me, but I am aware of how difficult this is going to be!"

"And he's still here," I said. "So either back off, or let's just get this over with."

ShadowWereGarurumon and Watanabe seemed pretty okay with that, given that the Digimon suddenly had glowing wings as he flew straight towards me. BG snarled and threw his leg out in front of me, getting low and ready to counter with his scythe arms. I prepared to slash my own card. I had to fight back.

But apparently not against Watanabe.

SaviorHuckmon dashed in front of us. "Digi-Modify! At, Rene, Pol!" Golden, flaming constructs shot out from SaviorHuckmon's back, spinning around him in a swarm of blades. ShadowWereGarurumon's brass knuckles crashed into one of the constructs, causing it to flame out into nothingness, but also sending him flying up and away into the air. Davis rushed up. "You handle Hiku and MetalGreymon. You two – "

"Too slow to handle him. I paid attention in your whole 'tactics' class, you know?" I shouted, turning with BG to rush MetalGreymon and Hiku while May sighed and turned to Kura and her LadyDevimon. "Think you can handle one of the stronger TV show Ultimates?"

"In my sleep," BG growled, his massive metallic grin widening as he activated the vernier jets on his back.

"Good. Then hold off on Atomic Blaster until you've got a guaranteed hit. We're not looking to burn down everything outside of the Digital Field."

"Grr... Fine. Then... DOUBLE EDGE!" He rocketed forward, the scythes making up his arms glowing white with energy.

"Digi-Modify! Alteros, activate!" Hiku exclaimed.

MetalGreymon flapped his wings and shot upward, right arm exploding into data and its wireframe remolding into a massive, railgun-shaped laser. BG snarled and turned his jets, rocketing upward after MetalGreymon and slashing violently.

The newly formed Alteros cannon came down, blocking BG's scythes and locking the massive Digimon in place with their struggle. A shockwave spread out from their contact and both me and Hiku were sent tumbling across the ground, dirt and rocks tossed in our paths. I rolled to a stop and looked up at my partner, grimacing. My arms ached with pain, like a huge weight was pushing down on me. There was a burning, deep anger rising in my gut. "GRAAAGH!" BG roared, pushing back hard against MetalGreymon and letting the two separate. But I had also roared, moving in tandem with my partner. It threw me off to realize it and I stumbled, the connection fading as I fell to one knee. "What the..?"

Nearby, my friends were stuck in similar positions, ferociously dueling the rest of HYPNOS and feeling this... 'feedback.'

SaviorHuckmon flipped over ShadowWereGarurumon, blades glancing against the werewolf's brass knuckles. The two bounced off of one another, retreating before charging and clashing again. Blades dug into nails and the two struggled against one another. "What happened to backing off!?" Watanabe snapped, clutching his Digivice and pulling out a card. "Digi-Modify! RaijiLudomon, activate!"

A golden, hexagonal shield appeared in the air, sweeping around to deflect SaviorHuckmon's sword tail before it could impale ShadowWereGarurumon's left side. SaviorHuckmon bounced backwards, dodging a powerful kick that would have consumed Rene or Pol to keep him safe. The red blades in his arms twitched as he readied himself again, waiting for commands from his partner before the fight began again.

Davis stared at Watanabe for a moment as the fight lulled for a moment, considering his question. "Circumstances have changed," he replied simply. "Digi-Modify! BlackWarGreymon's Dramon Killer's, activate!"

"X-Shift!" SaviorHuckmon snapped, throwing his arms out to the sides. Rene and Pol coiled around his arms, fusing into the wireframes building around him and creating the jet-powered Dramon Killers of BlackWarGreymon X. He threw his new gauntlets forward, a glow shattering to reveal the massive, clawed blades. "Now let's see you dodge or block this with that puny shield, Fluffball!"

Jets in the Dramon Killers ignited, screaming heat and force into the air as SaviorHuckmon dug his sword-like feet into the ground to keep from moving. Watanabe gasped, realizing what was coming. "Digi-Modify! Strength, activate!" He snapped, channeling energy into his partner and the shield now twirling directly in SaviorHuckmon's path. "Digi-Modify! Hyper-Sonic, activate!"

"AFTERBURST!" SaviorHuckmon roared, and he shot forward with a sonic boom, Dramon Killers held before him. The claws crashed into the shield as ShadowWereGarurumon threw himself to the side, getting himself and his partner out of the way of a massive aftershock of wind that would have sent him flying out of the large Digital Field. Trees swayed in the shock, and the shield began to shudder and scream. "GAAAAAAH!" SaviorHuckmon pushed harder, flipping and slamming his tail into the shield before slamming the Dramon Killers into its face over and over, savagely slashing the shield until, finally, it let out a final shriek and exploded. Lightning rained down around SaviorHuckmon, crashing into him and burning off the excess data from the Dramon Killers.

"Don't let up, SaviorHuckmon! Digi-Modify! Swift Blue Wolf, Activate!" Multiple mirage clones of SaviorHuckmon appeared beside the Digimon, and all sprinted towards ShadowWereGarurumon.

"Can you keep going?" Watanabe asked.

"I can still win," ShadowWereGarurumon growled, flexing his claws and launching himself at SaviorHuckmon and the mirages.

Meanwhile, LadyDevimon laughed and lashed out with her Stun Whip, forcing DoruGreymon to dodge and weave without any chance to counter with her more powerful, slower attacks. The large, red dragon flapped her wings, turning on a dime around the crackling energy of LadyDevimon's whip attacks. "Missed me!" DoruGreymon taunted before stopping suddenly and letting the whip fly by her. "Missed me again!" The next one inched right by her head. "Ach! May, do you have a plan, yet!?"

"Working on it!" May shouted back. She pulled up a card on the Digivice and grinned. "I can get you a shot! Maybe two!"

"That's more than enough for me!" DoruGreymon laughed as she continued dodging.

"KayKay. Then let's do this! Digi-Modify! Bakemon, activate! Puppetmon's Strings, activate!" She shouted, tapping two cards in quick succession.

DoruGreymon turned towards LadyDevimon, flying headfirst into the whip this time. The energy passed harmlessly through before disappearing, at which point DoruGreymon opened her mouth, shooting strings that coiled around LadyDevimon. "Now take this! Bloody Tower!" The golden spear on her tail shot forward to impale LadyDevimon for a grapple attack.

"Digi-Modify! Meramon, activate!" Kura shouted in response, flames erupting all over LadyDevimon and burning the strings to a crisp.

LadyDevimon laughed as the strings turned to smoke around her. "Fire Fist!" She raised her hand and lashed out, the flames all condensing into her single fist, colliding with DoruGreymon's face. But it was still too late to avoid DoruGreymon's attack, and the golden spear impaled through LadyDevimon's shoulder instead of her midsection. DoruGreymon and LadyDevimon hit the ground and rolled, and the tail through LadyDevimon's shoulder began to shred her shoulder and tear tons of Data from her body.

"We need to end this!" I shouted up at BG as he chased after MetalGreymon. MetalGreymon flew a bit more dexterously, using his large wings to control his movement and make tight turns that BG's verniers couldn't quite catch up with. BG would be better on a straightaway, but that wouldn't be much of an option. A grounded MetalGreymon would be nice, too, but we still had issues in getting there. That left one old, gold option. "Digi-Modify! Hyper-Wing, activate!" Glowing, white wings exploded out of BG's back, and he used his new wings to more easily catch up to MetalGreymon, the two trading blows. Still not good enough.

"Shred his wings, BG! He won't be able to dodge after that!" I exclaimed, checking my cards to find something that could help. "Digi-Modify! Hypersonic, activate!"

"Digi-Modify, Hypersonic, activate!" Hiku shouted at the same time, removing whatever advantage I could have given BG right then. The two massive dinosaurs began to blur about in the sky, clashing and reappearing for a moment before turning to blurs again before the next impact.

"Dammit, I – That's it!" I reached into my other pocket and pulled out a small, shiny rectangle. "I hate Gethen, but I love non-lethal options!" I unfolded the updated crossbow and took aim at Hiku. "Sorry, but it'll only hurt!"

"Wha -"

And then, one trigger pull later, his shin was broken. Hiku cried out in pain and fell to his back, clutching at his broken tibia with both arms. MetalGreymon stopped midair and turned towards his injured partner. "Hiku, are you okay!?"

"Double Blades!" BG appeared behind MetalGreymon, scythe arms raised above his head and glowing white. The scythes slashed downward, colliding with MetalGreymon's wings and cleaving cleanly through them. MetalGreymon cried out in pain and fell, tumbling to the ground and hitting it hard. Trees and stone shattered under his massive weight and he fought to get to his back.

"MetalGreymon!" Hiku cried out. I rushed over and kicked his Digivice away before he could reach for it, holding him at – er, crossbowpoint?

"ATOMIC..." BG cried out from the air, crossing his arms over his chest and beginning to charge massive energy into his chest.

MetalGreymon snarled and aimed his arm cannon straight up, a last ditch effort at self defense. "POSITRON..."

The two cyborg dinosaurs roared and let loose at the same time. "BLASTER!"

BG let loose a blast of bright red energy from the gunports on his chest, the lasers spiraling into a single massive burst that flew towards his prone prey on the ground. Meanwhile, the Alterous Cannon on MetalGreymon's arm crackled with orange energy that shot out in a powerful stream of destruction. The beams collided halfway between the two, crackling and burning into a swirling vortex of white. The energy bubbled and the fights around us stopped for a moment as the crackling and screaming became audible, air boiling and digitizing around us. "Oh, shi -" I began as the vortex grew unstable.

And then it exploded. The world went white. And then, black.

I came to a few minutes later, face down in the dirt. I groaned and pushed myself up, ignoring the very persistent pain of a bad sunburn that was all over my face. "Ugh..." I groaned again before remembering I needed to find my Digivice. I scrabbled around for a few moments and found it, pocketing it and then grabbing my crossbow. I found the others already awake all around with their Digimon injured and forced back to In-Training forms on the ground. BG scrabbled up, ignoring Koromon bouncing towards Hiku.

"Up," BG demanded at my feet. I chuckled and did as he demanded, letting out a whine as my bones creaked.

"You nearly killed all of us," Watanabe noted while Kura went over to Hiku and began looking over and field treating his leg.

"Hey, I'm not a nuclear laser physicist, okay?" I grumbled. I shook my head. "But I should have guessed something stupid would happen. Ow..."

Watanabe glared at me, but I ignored him and moved over to Davis and May. "Sorry. You guys okay?"

"Don't get in a laser fight again, but I'll survive," May explained to make me laugh. Davis shrugged, but seemed mostly okay. Even Sakuttomon, Huckmon's In-Training form of a gold ball with swords for ears, seemed mostly okay.

I smiled at them, then turned back to Watanabe. "I told you to back off."

"So what happens now?" Davis asked.

Watanabe sighed and looked at his injured man. "It would appear we lost," he mumbled. He turned back to us and held Tsunomon tight in his arms. "Categorically. We can't stop you, and I doubt begging would change anything. You have lost all of your family, Matsuki. Nothing could stop you from saving them, now."

"No," I told him. "And it's... It's Joryawa."

Watanabe shook his head, disappointed. "That name is a lie. We both know it."

"And so is Matsuki," I retorted getting angry. I bit my cheek to calm down and took a deep breath. "This isn't about them. It's only about Henry. Gethen and Reapmon have him, and I – we aren't letting them keep him."

"Hm..." Watanabe grumbled. "I will not beg, but I will tell you this: any children you care about will be dragged into the war that's coming because of your decision. Can you accept that?"

"It won't!" Dorimon countered.

"How?" Tsunomon countered right back. He shook his – um, entire body, I guess. "You're thinking on blind faith."

"It's gotten us this far," Sakuttomon pointed out.

Tsunomon apparently didn't have a retort for that.

"Well, then I guess I have no choice." He reached behind him and pulled out a gun, aiming it at my head. He looked... sad, but resolute in his decision. "This is necessary, Tasuke. But it isn't what I wanted."

"Right back at you." There was a gunshot, and Watanabe cried out in surprise, gun hitting the ground and a bullet hole in his shoulder. He cried out in pain, clutching at the bleeding wound and falling to one knee. Tsunomon jumped in front of him, snarling aggressively despite his tiny, useless size.

Agent Smith walked up with Commandramon. The Digimon's gun was smoking slightly, and it was shouldered for another round. Smith crossed her arms. "Now you've lost."

"Who the hell are you!?" Kura snapped, reaching for a gun before freezing when Smith's gun was suddenly pointed at her face.

"Someone who's trusting these kids," Commandramon said. He glanced at Smith. "Against my better judgment."

"Get going. We talked it over, and if you guys are going to drop the Firewall and go to the Digital World, we'll trust you," Smith said. She shot us a thumbs up. "So hurry up before Commandramon decides to change his mind again."

"Why!?" Watanabe asked. "Do you know what this will mean!? Who will be hurt!?"

She shook her head. "No, but that's not the point here, Grizzly. Right now, right here, they have to save someone. And, if the kid's heart's stuck on it, then... I said I'd trust Davis. So I'll trust that he trusts Tasuke."

I clenched my fists and glared at her back. An ally, now. And now someone I owed. "I... won't forget that you tried to kill me. But thank you for coming when I asked you to," I told her. I narrowed my eyes. "Even if you hung back during the dangerous part."

"What's a Champion going to do in a fight with MetalGreymon, much less all three of those guys? We'd be getting in the way," Smith remarked. Hated that she was making sense. She held her hand out to me. "Good luck kid."

"... Thanks," I replied, taking her hand and shaking it.

"Can you just get going?" Commandramon growled. And he was right. Time to go.

I turned to my friends. "Let's get going," I agreed after a moment. They nodded, and we looked around to go grab the bags I'd brought filled with food. We each shouldered our bags and moved into a semicircle, staring at each other with our Digimon on our right sides.

"So, what? Do we shout, 'Digiport Open,' or something?" I asked as silence dragged on, eliciting a laugh from my friends.

"Dork," Davis remarked as we felt the tension leave our bodies for a moment. "I think we defer to the one who knows the most about the Digivices?" He nodded at May. And, I agreed.

"KayKay, activate the Key function in three, two – Now!" May exclaimed, raising her Digivice and aiming its top at the center between the three of us. We all activated the Key function at the same time. A crimson light flew from mine, colliding with a violet one May's had created and a bronze beam from Davis'. The three beams swirled around each other, then used their net momentum to fly off away from us a dozen feet in a white beam of light. Space folded in around the singularity the white beam drilled through the air. Space and reality folded and swirled into the singularity, and soon a black sphere the size of BlackGrowlmon floated in front of us. Within, green ones and zeroes flashed and moved through the emptiness.

I swallowed my fear and gave my friends another look. "'Once more unto the breach.'" I said, earning another eye-roll from May. But that was enough for me. I smiled at BG, and all six of us moved through the Digital Gateway. See you soon, Earth. With my dad. And maybe even Takato and Rika.

X X X

"I'm just saying, Takato, that we have no way of finding whoever took Henry!" Rika said, protesting their journey through the first level of the Digital World. Renamon nodded her head in agreement, but otherwise remained silent as ever.

"That's not true! I can find Henry with my nose!" Guilmon exclaimed excitedly.

"Boy, he's not in the Digital World. The Firewall hasn't fallen," Takato explained. He kept leading them through the Digital World, a resolute look on his face. "But we'll find them. If we believe it'll happen, it'll happen."

"Yeah, yeah, the whole 'wishing' thing," Rika said. "Takato. Takato!" She rushed ahead of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Takato! Stop!"

"Rika, we can't just sit around and do nothing!" he snapped back.

"I know. Which is why we should track down Datamon. He knows almost everything that goes down around here," Rika said. "And he's someone that Guilmon can actually smell. We're more likely to find him than some random Digimon we've never even seen!"

"Datamon? Ew, he's creepy," Calumon protested. He floated over. "He always sounds really scary when talking to me..."

"Probably because he wants to research the 'Catalyst,'" Terriermon pointed out. Calumon's eyes got wide and his ears small. "Ah, Momentai, you know we'd never let him do it!"

Renamon ignored the conversation, going nowhere as it had since Tasuke's message had arrived the day before. Instead, she turned her gaze towards the sky and tried to sense any Digimon that might be coming their way. Which is why she, and none of the others arguing, noticed what was happening. "Rika..." The arguing continued. "Rika! Look!"

"What is it... Rena...Mon..." Rika began turning and freezing as she and the others looked up at the sky. The sky was... fracturing. Red lines traveled through the blue, colliding with and deactivating Data Streams that were moving about the Digital World. The cracks spread further and further, spiraling up to the glowing Earth above. Red lines began to coil about Earth, strangling the walls surrounding it. "Is this..?" More and more cracks appeared, creating a spider web around the Earth.

And then everything shattered. Data began to fall as the sky itself began to fall from between the cracks. New Data Streams appeared, these ones bright blue and coming straight from the Earth instead of the network visibly surrounding it. And in those Data Streams, heading to the real world, to the human world, were Digimon. Whichever Digimon found themselves trapped in the path of these new Data Streams, they now found themselves trapped on Earth.

The Firewall, Rika realized, was down. "Okay. Now we can start looking for Henry," she agreed. "Because now he might be here..."

X X X

Lucas Gethen was in the command center, overseeing an operation into the South China Sea, when he received the call. The device in his inside jacket pocket rang and he quickly pulled it out, pulling it up to his ear for a private conversation. "Ah, Sagomon. It's down, you say? Good. Good. Then prepare for my arrival. I just have a few final things to take care of." He pocketed the device, turning to the door.

"Uh, Director? Where are you going? The operation -"

Gethen turned to the woman talking to him with bored, half lidded eyes. "Grand Cross."

The room behind him exploded, and alarms began to scream all around the facility. The room – and therefore Lucas Gethen – were dead. Now there was only Lucemon. He removed his suit jacket, tossing it to the side and cutting down human and Digimon that came to check on him. "What the hell is going -" One agent began before he was torn in half, his Gotsumon not far behind to have his Data Loaded by a Demon Lord.

Lucemon pulled his sleeves up to keep them from getting bloodier. "I just had this suit tailored," he grunted as he over the folded over parts of the man. He walked through the hallways, arms crossed and fingers tapping on his biceps. "Now then, where is the stairwell? I always forget – ah, here we are." He pulled open the door and allowed one of his pairs of wings to extend from his back, shredding his shirt. "Ah, dammit. Well, nothing to be done about it now." He jumped from the stairs, using his wings to slowly descend.

Eventually, he floated forward, crushing a door in his path with a burst of his energy, and began his path through the hallways. He passed a half dozen cells, firing attacks that vaporized the human prisoners within and the guards that saw him do so. "I think fish in barrels would put up a better fight," Lucemon muttered as another human vanished under his power.

He brushed off the thought and continued through the hallways, paying even less attention to his surroundings as he approached the cell. Upon arriving, he pulled the door open. He glanced between the two guards and the prisoner waiting between them. Then: "Reapmon, if you please."

One of the two guards within nodded and shifted, a whip appearing in his left arm as he grew to a large height and cutting down the other. He finished his transformation and fell to one knee. "Master," he remarked.

"NO!" the prisoner shouted, rushing over to the body of the man, clutching a screaming, scared bundle of white fur in his arms.

"I hope the inclusion of the small creature has helped our guest remain calm," Lucemon remarked, passing by the scene without a glance.

"Yes, Master," Reapmon repeated.

Lucemon finally looked at Henry and his dog. "Then I suppose your... odd decision has paid off thus far," he remarked dryly. "Your fascination with this creature confuses me."

"It was simply the correct decision, Master," Reapmon said quietly.

Henry turned and snapped, "You didn't have to kill him!"

"It won't make much difference soon." Lucemon turned from Henry. "Now, we should prepare to open a Digital Gate. Is everything in order."

Reapmon nodded and turned to speak with his master. "Of course. We can begin now if..."

Henry watched them for a moment, slowly looking between them. Was... was this his chance? Did they believe he wouldn't run? Or would they simply kill him if he tried? No... no, if they wanted him dead, they wouldn't go to such lengths to capture him instead of just getting rid of him. An Ultimate playing nice enough to not damage him, a mere human, was surprising enough on its own. So he realized he could use that to his advantage.

He ran. The dog in his arms went quiet, Momentai feeling the urgency and calm his owner exhuded and responding in kind. The air was dense with rage and pain as Henry exploded into the stairwell, rushing up the stairs. He had to escape, get some distance then try to hide. It was his only option. Perhaps he could find someone and keep them alive. He had to help, somehow.

Henry turned through a door, rushing past dead and dying, those sent to help and investigate. He told them all to run. None listened. When the doorway to the stairwell exploded into the hallway, colliding with a man and revealing the death of all the others, he was sure they wished they had listened. "Grand Cross." Light seared through the hallway and Henry dove into the first available room, scrabbling into a corner and holding his breath, even as pain shot in his lungs and fear filled his mind with the primal desire to scream. He clutched his jaw tight and looked around instead, staring at others who were hiding.

Henry stared at them, horrified. He wanted to escape but if he stayed here... if he didn't return to Lucemon. These men and women, they would be... Screams echoed from outside of the room, followed by explosions. Death. "You can't hide forever, Wong!" Gethen shouted, another explosion echoing out. The people in the room flinched and backed away into the wall, trying to run as much as they could. "I thought you Tamers were supposed to be heroes? Are you really going to let all these people die?"

Henry grit his teeth and looked over. The people in the room were giving him weird looks. And apparently Momentai agreed, because he began to growl at the people taking slow steps towards them. "You don't want to hand me over," Henry muttered quietly. He held up one hand. "He'll kill you anyways -"

"Get out there and he'll leave!" One man shouted.

"You're killing us!" Another woman exclaimed.

Henry took a step backwards. "You don't understand, he's not hu -"

The door was tugged open behind him. "Not human? No, I wouldn't be foolish enough to shout when hiding. Not that I would ever be hiding." Lucas Gethen stood there, grinning wide. "And unfortunately for all of you, you know that I'm not human. Sorry. Grand Cross."

"NO!" Henry screamed, but it was too late. Too late, all again. He felt his legs turn to jelly and he fell to his knees, shuddering and hollow.

"Finally," Gethen said, grinning. He clapped his hands and turned from the smoking, burnt wreckage. "Now, Dr. Wong, we have dimensional borders to violate. Come along, we are already behind schedule from your little outburst."

X X X

"I don't know what's going on, but it seems as if large monsters have begun to battle in -"

" – tiple explosions have rung out. The death tolls are difficult to say, but are estimated to be in the thou -"

" – a sea monster has appeared in the yellow sea. Officials in Beijing say that it is approaching Shanghai at remarkable speeds, but have declined -"

"A repeat of the worldwide disaster from thirty years ago that began in Shinjuku. Some of the more wild conspiracies say that these creatures are from the semi-popular children's property...

Digimon: Digital Monsters."