Me: I don't own Digimon-surprisingly. I also didn't think I'd be able to get another chapter ready, but after watching "The Battle Within" and "No Mon is an Island," I feel like doing almost anything right now!

Takato:(excited) Wasn't it great when Guilmon and I biomerged to form Gallantmon?

Henry: And when Terriermon and I biomerged to become MegaGargomon?

Me: Definitely! And, I've made some slight modifications to one of the previous chapters-like adding in Gallantmon's attacks from the English dub-but other than that, this chapter's gonna give you what the new Digimon episode gave us-the battle between Gallantmon and Beelzemon Even MegaGargomon's gonna get a piece of the action!

Rika: Are we gonna be able to find the others after this?

Me: Well, I'd tell you, but that would ruin it for everyone else. Onward to the story!







Digimon Tamers: Takato V.S. Takato

Chapter VIII-Two against One







"You can't lose! I won't allow it! I order you to Digivolve!" -Takato Matsuki, Lionheart









At least Takato and Rika got a few seconds of alone time when they were sucked up into that data stream, but it wasn't much. They were attacked by the SnowAgumon, who insisted that the two lovebirds had invaded their territory. To leave peacefully, Growlmon and Kyubimon had to battle SnowGreymon, but that ended up on ice. So, Takato had to suffer the ultimate punishment-the loss of his legs! The Rookie Digimon were just having some fun, so after freeing him from his icy prison, Takato, Rika and the Digimon got to leave safely. Just don't try to invade any more territories, you two!







"Hup, two, three, four! We gotta find the exit door! Five, six, seven, eight! Once we get home, that'll be great!" Terriermon chanted while leading Lopmon and Susie forward the following day in their search to find Takato and Rika.

"And I thought he didn't like being called 'Mrs. Pretty Pants!'" Henry cracked to Jeri.

"Some things just grow on you, I guess."

"Jeri?" With a confused look on her face, Jeri stopped and turned to eye her partner.

"Yes, Leomon?"

"What were you feeling while I was...gone?"

Jeri shivered as she was forced to relive what had happened once again-Leomon being struck in the chest by Beelzemon in order to save Takato's life, his deletion and her remorse.

"I felt like it was my fault you'd died. Like I wasn't a good enough Tamer for you. Even now that you're back, you wouldn't have gone if it wasn't for me..." Jeri started crying softly and Henry felt bad for her. He pulled her close and hugged her, motioning for the others to stop.

"It's okay, Jeri. He's fine now, and once we find Takato, Rika and the rest, we can all go home."

"Remember what I said to you the day we left-you have a lion's heart." Leomon added. Jeri wiped away her tears and smiled at Leomon and Henry.

"Thank you-both of you!" Henry nodded in agreement but was left dumbstruck as Jeri leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Uh...sure. No problem." Terriermon looked back over at his partner and had to hide his giggles after seeing Henry's cheeks flare a reddish color.

"Looks like someone likes someone."

"Terriermon!"







"We've been walking for at least over half a day, and there's no sign of civilization at all!" Takato ranted irritably to Rika, who struggled with the urge to just slap him right then and there.

"That could be because we're walking through the desert, where no one-human or Digimon-would be in their right minds to live at. Now, trust me on this-the sun's above our heads, which means it's about noon back home."

"And that means what? We don't know where to go looking for the others at in the first place." Takato noted. Rika knew he was right, and she couldn't respond like she normally would.

"You've got a point there. In that case, we'll have to figure out some way to signal the others from right here."

"With what?!"

Rika was seconds away from losing her temper, but since it was Takato, she restrained herself.

"Obviously those ice beams did damage to your brain as well as your legs. With some of the supplies the SnowAgumon gave us."

Takato turned to look at the bag, then laughed nervously at what he saw.

"Uh-what supplies?"

"Are you really that dense today, Gogglehead? I mean-" Rika looked over Takato's shoulder, and that's when she saw Guilmon and Calumon snacking on the other food items!

"Hey! What are you guys doing with the food?! That's supposed to last us until we find everyone else!" Rika yelled out.

"We were hungry, and you two were too busy earlier trying to eat each other to get us anything to eat." Calumon explained.

Takato sweatdropped while holding an infuriated Rika back, far away from his partner and Calumon!

"Takato, let me go! I can't take it anymore! I won't kill either one of them-I'll just give them something to remember if they don't ask for permission next time!"

"Rika, don't! This is how Digimon function, remember? Well, not all Digimon, if you're adding Renamon to that list, but still-"

"Double Impact!!" Once again, the two Tamers dodged the deadly bullets that had come dangerously close to wiping them out! Guilmon and Calumon were lucky Renamon had made herself visible-after scouting the terrain-and pushed them both, head first, into the sand.

"How'd you find us anyway?" Takato demanded heatedly, reaching for his improved D-Power.

"That's easy, Pineapple head-I just followed your stench from those Snow-like Digimon!"

Takato and Rika held back their cries of shock, but they were amazed, nonetheless.

"You didn't...did you?" Takato barely asked.

"Wiped them out? Of course! Those guys weren't even worth the trouble to beat." laughed Beelzemon.

"They were only Rookies and one Champion! They didn't stand a chance against you!" Rika growled, finally finding someone she could take her anger out on. "What did they ever do to you?"

"They tried to stop me from finding you two. Two pathetic humans with their Digimon, you guys always made me sick to my stomach, but now that you're 'in love,' it makes me wanna retch! Let's see your love survive a taste of my Double Impact!!"

Takato and Rika both narrowed their eyes while yanking out two Blue Modify cards and swiping them instantly.

"Digimodify! Matrix Digivolution, activate!"

"Guilmon Matrix Digivolve to..."

"Renamon Matrix Digivolve to..."

"WARGROWLMON!!!"/ "TAOMON!!!"

The two Ultimate Digimon raced forward with Calumon holding on tight to WarGrowlmon's shoulder. Taomon created a shield that protected Takato and Rika from the attack indefinitely!

"Try that with me! Atomic Blaster!!"

Beelzemon smirked while dodging the massive attack, then leaped forward. "Is that all you got? Darkness Claw!!"

"Whoaaaaa!" Calumon quickly fell in front of the others as WarGrowlmon tried to avoid Beelzemon's claws that came really close to hitting him!

"Hang tough, WarGrowlmon! You can do it!" Takato yelled out.

"Taomon-we'll be okay. Get out there and help WarGrowlmon beat this guy." Rika advised, her anger abated.

"There isn't anyone else to watch out for you, and a stray shot may hit either of you, so until we get some reinforcements, I'm needed here."

"Hmm..." Takato sat down and started to think. There had to be a way to contact the others, somehow.

"I could use the comlink, but that would only get me back through to the Real World. I've gotta figure out some way to-ahh! That's it! Taomon, I've got an idea, but you'll have to deactivate the shield for a few seconds." Takato suggested.

"Only a few seconds?"

"Trust me on this."

Eyeing her partner, Rika nodded in agreement, seeing a plan of some sort form in Takato's head.

"All right. Good luck."

Takato hid his awe as the shield came down and Calumon ran over toward Rika. He quickly ran over to where WarGrowlmon was battling against Beelzemon.

"As a Mega, you had power! But you just couldn't remain linked to your pal over there anymore, huh? Well, it's time to say goodbye!"

"Move, Guilmon!" Takato screamed. The Ultimate Digimon moved away, but was still struck by the attack, which forced him to deDigivolve back into Guilmon.

"Watch and learn, Beelzemon-you're about to see what a true Tamer and his Digimon partner can do! Biomerge, activate!" Takato held up his glowing D-Power seconds after he said that.

Biomerge Digivolution!

Immediately, Takato was transformed into data once again and merged with Guilmon.

"Guilmon Biomerge to...GALLANTMON!!!"

For the second time, Rika was in awe of Takato's skills. But a part of her was worried about the outcome of this battle-she wouldn't ever admit it to anyone, except for possibly Renamon, maybe even Takato, but no one else.

With the dual voices of Takato and Guilmon, Gallantmon declared, "Beelzemon, you've destroyed many innocent lives in your pursuit for power, some of whom were our friends! Death shall be your ultimate punishment. Shield of the Just!!"

The shield of Courage glowed brightly before firing a powerful blast aimed directly at Beelzemon, causing him massive damage and forcing him back down to the ground.

"Shoot the symbol of Courage up, Guilmon!" Takato's voice advised. A moment later, the symbol of Courage was fired up into the sky, lighting it up even though it was still daytime.







"Guys, what's that?" Kenta asked while eating lunch.

"What are you talking about? That's just a big, gigantic star-" Kazu began, but stopped.

"A gigantic star that looks like the symbol of Courage. Takato's over there, and that means Rika is, too! Let's go!" Henry yelled out.

"Henwy-what about lunch?" Susie called out.

"Yeah-you wouldn't want all this delicious food to be left for other Digimon to eat, would you?" Terriermon piped up.

"Besides, Takato and Rika probably haven't eaten ever since before they vanished on us." Jeri added.

"Okay, grab the food. But after that, we're going in. Ryo, are you coming with us-?" Henry turned toward Ryo's direction, but he and Cyberdramon were gone!







"You may have the power, but soon that'll be my power when I'm through with you! Darkness Claw!!"

"Your attacks can't possibly harm me! And you don't even have your bike or the help of the clones anymore. You're all alone now, Beelzemon, and you always will be." Gallantmon replied smugly.

Rika felt like laughing, since she recognized Takato's smug attitude and bravado even if he was biomerged with Guilmon, but she chose against it for now.

"I may be alone, but what's gonna happen to that little redhead if anything happened to her warrior? Maybe something like this-Double Impact!!"

WHAM!! The powerful Mega attack slammed against the shield protecting Rika and Calumon, sending the three of them spiraling to the ground!

"RIKA!" Takato screamed helplessly from inside Gallantmon. He sighed in relief as Rika forced herself to her feet, helping Calumon and Taomon back up.

"Rika can take care of herself!" Gallantmon snapped. "She doesn't need me to back her up all the time."

"Although it wouldn't hurt to have you back me up sometimes." Rika thought, allowing at least a couple of tears to trickle down her cheeks before wiping them away.

"Lightning Joust!!" The powerful sword attack collided with Beelzemon's chest, forcing him back to the ground.

"Get 'em, Takato!" Jeri cheered as the others finally came in.

"Hey-you guys made it!" Gallantmon replied.

"We saw your little Bat-like signal, Chumly, and we couldn't just ignore that, could we?" Kazu cracked.

"More like gigantic, but no one was hurt." Guardromon retorted.

"Until now." Beelzemon was truly angry, and he fired round after round at the other Tamers! Holding onto Rika and Calumon, Taomon reactivated her shield, protecting the entire team from the barrage in time.

"Your battle's with me, Beelzemon-not them! Leave them out of it!" Gallantmon growled.

"If you insist. Double Impact!!"

Gallantmon roared in pain as his opponent continously fired round after round again at his face! The Mega Digimon toppled over to the ground in defeat, his sword vanishing and being replaced with his right arm once again.

"Takato, no!" Rika yelled out.

"Hold on!" Henry pleaded.

"It's happening again, just like with the data stream." Henry thought sadly. "Takato's in trouble, and I can't do a single thing about it! How can I call myself his friend when I can't even help him get through this?"

"Say goodbye, Pineapple head!"







"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Henry forced Taomon to break the shield, and with Terriermon in tow, raced up to the battleground, grasping onto his Digivice.

"Henwy, come back!" Susie cried out.

"Don't do it, Henry-you'll get hurt!" Jeri added.

"What's this? A rabbit convention? Guess I could use an appetizer before the main course."

"Not today! Biomerge, activate!"

Biomerge Digivolution!

Like with Takato and Guilmon, Henry was transformed into data and merged with Terriermon.

"Terriermon Biomerge to...MEGAGARGOMON!!!"

Gallantmon chose this time to lash out at a shocked Beelzemon, giving him the opportunity to get up and stand alongside MegaGargomon.

"Whoa! MegaGargomon, a Mega-type Digimon, of course. His ultimate attack is Gargo Missiles."

Henry was just as impressed as Takato had been the first time he'd Biomerged.

"Whoa! Takato, was this how you felt the first time you Biomerged?"

"Something like that? How 'bout it, Henry-help us take down Beelzemon for good?"

"Okay!"

MegaGargomon glared at a recovering Beelzemon before speaking in the dual voices of Terriermon and Henry. "Beelzemon, you've tried to destroy our friends in countless battles, even succeeding in killing one of them! Only through a miracle were we able to restore him back, and now you've tried to kill my good friend! You won't survive this day-not with two Mega Digimon aiming for your data! Power Pummel!!"

"Lightning Joust!!"

"Double Impact!!" The three attacks all collided before exploding in a heavy blast that rained fire and brimstone down below. With the shield deactivated, the Tamers had to make do with what they had.

"Susie, come over here." Jeri suggested, pulling Henry's sister and Lopmon near her and Leomon. "You'll be safe here with us."

"Is that-Tewwiermon and Henwy?"

"Yes, it is." Jeri freely showed her tears, pleased with Henry's accomplishment.

"You don't want to see our full power combined, Beelzemon! I suggest you give up now!" Gallantmon growled.

"Surrender to you ingrates? Never!"

Eyeing each other, Gallantmon and MegaGargomon replied, "So be it."

"Gargo Missiles!!"

"Shield of the Just!!"

The two combined attacks struck Beelzemon, sending him back toward the ground once again and near the point of deletion!

"Not again! Last time I felt like this was with Indramon...I can't lose!"

"Face it-you have, and you will pay for your actions!" Gallantmon hissed, raising his sword and preparing to strike.

A beam of pure energy from a far distance hit Gallantmon, forcing him to stumble back and collide with MegaGargomon, sending them back to the ground! The beam suddenly grew wider, hitting both Mega Digimon and forcing them to deDigivolve back into Takato, Guilmon, Henry and Terriermon! Rika, Jeri and the others ran in.

"What happened to you guys?" Kazu asked in shock.

"You had him-what went wrong?" Rika said.

Takato managed to stand back up and pointed into the distance. "Look." Takato's eyes narrowed with hidden anger as he and the others clearly recognized the intruder.

"Ryo?!"

Ryo and Cyberdramon eyed the Tamers-Ryo with regret and hidden sadness in his eyes-before turning and leaving.

"Until next time-and I'll be sure to win and absorb your data!" Beelzemon vanished in the blink of an eye.

Takato grimaced with unrepressed anger, only being held back by Guilmon, Calumon and Rika.

"It's okay, Takatomon. Ryo was just trying to help and he missed, probably."

"Yeah-there's no way he'd side with Impmon." Calumon added.

"Did you two eat all of our reserves or what? You saw the look on his face-he meant to help out Beelzemon, not us!" Takato turned and glared angrily at his girlfriend before adding, "Don't even try and defend him, Rika-you saw it just as well as I did! YOU'LL PAY FOR BETRAYING US, RYO! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Takato unleashed his anger once again before picking up his bag and storming off toward Ryo's direction, Rika and the other Tamers behind him.

Aw, man! It looks like Ryo's betrayed the Tamer team! What's Takato gonna do when he catches up to the Tamer who beat Rika in battle? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!