Digital Demons IV - Part 2
by Nopporn Wongrassamee
Summary - A Digimon Tamers/Jackie Chan Adventures/ Gatekeepers
crossover. A new hero appears and lots of shouting ensues.
Disclaimer - None of these characters are mine, nor am I making a
profit here.
"Alright. youse losers," Impmon shouted at his bedraggled team. "That
is the sorriest excuse for teamwork I ever saw! You almost let that
Monochromon get the better of you all. You think the Tamers are gonna
be that easy? Heck no! Ya gotta use teamwork for them. Just walkin' up
to 'em and blasting away ain't gonna cut it!"
"Well, I didn't see you getting into the fight," objected an insectile
Digimon.
"Hey, I'm the Commander here," Impmon told him, rapping the other
Digimon on the head with a stick he had aquired somewhere. "I give
commands. Youse all gotta learn to listen! For example..."
"IMPMON."
"Gah!" Impmon exclaimed, startled. Whirling around, he found himself
face to face with AstroTsoLanMon. It was just his face, an image
projected from somewhere else. "Great Master! Ya startled me."
Impmon's team tried to make themselves as unnoticeable as possible.
"ONLY STARTLED? THEN PERHAPS WE NEED TO WORK ON OUR...
RELATIONSHIP," AstroTsoLanMon said pointedly. "BUT THAT IS FOR
LATER. WE HAVE A TASK FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM, IMPMON."
"Anything you say, Great Master," Impmon replied nervously.
"FIVE HUMANS HAVE INTRUDED UPON THE DIGITAL WORLD," the
Great Master informed him. "TAKE YOUR TEAM AND DESTROY THEM."
"Wh...what? Humans? TAMERS?" Impmon exclaimed. "Great Master,
my team isn't ready to take on one let alone FIVE Tamers!"
"SO WE HAVE OBSERVED," AstroTsoLanMon said unconcerned. "THESE
HUMANS HAVE NO DIGIMON WITH THEM, HOWEVER. THEY SHOULD
BE EASY ENOUGH FOR YOUR TEAM. CONSIDER THIS A... TEST."
"Uh, okay." Impmon paused a moment, then decided to risk a few more
questions. "Where are they? How do we find them?"
"TRANSPORTATION HAS BEEN PROVIDED." Out of the corner of his eye,
Impmon spotted a data stream. The giant, pinkish column of light was
headed right towards him and his team.
"Bloody wonderful," he muttered
***
"Impressive trick, brother," TidalBaiSaMon complimented.
"THANKYOU, SISTER," AstroTsoLanMon replied. He coughed and
cleared his throat. "Speaking like that certainly impresses the peons.
Could you spare a drink?"
***
"Aw, no, kitty's stuck in the tree again?" Phoebe asked rhetorically,
looking up at her cat. The cat was indeed up a tree planted in the
sidewalk in front of her house.
"GREETINGS, CITIZEN!" someone boomed behind her. "IS THERE
SOMETHING I CAN HELP YOU WITH?"
Startled, the woman spun around and found herself face to chest with
someone. Taking a step back, Phoebe gasped at what she saw. There
was a man dressed up like a comic book superhero. He must have
been over six feet tall, and very well defined as evidenced by the
skin-tight costume he wore that showed off every muscle but almost
no skin. The only skin visible was around the mouth in a gap under
the cowl. The costume itself was mostly white and so shiny she could
see her reflection in it. He also wore a purple cowl, chest plate, cape,
gloves, and boots. A red triangle bracketed on all three sides by
smaller, black triangles was monogrammed on his chest and forehead.
White, four pointed winglets with purple highlights were mounted
swept back on the sides of his head. He had nice lavender eyes,
"Uh, my cat's stuck in that tree..." Pheobe stammered.
"EASILY SOLVED, MA'AM!" the weirdo replied, his voice not lowering in
volume at all. He pranced over to the tree, grabbed the trunk with both
hands, and then proceeded to completely uproot the tree. Dirt went
flying and the concrete sidewalk buckled. Lowering the treetop, the
man presented Phoebe with the branch where her cat was hanging on
for dear life. "HERE YOU GO!"
With a little prying, Phoebe managed to extract her cat from the tree.
"Um, thank you," she squeaked.
"NO THANKS NECESSARY, MA'AM!" the man said, tossing the tree
carelessly into the street. There was a squeal of tires followed by a
crash. As he leapt into the air and literally flew away, he added, "ALL
IN A DAY'S WORK FOR... ULTIMON!!!"
Phoebe stared wide eyed as Ultimon disappeared into the sky for
several seconds. The she ran inside her house, yelling for her sister.
"Piper, you won't believe this..."
***
"The A-Team!"
"Um, I think that was an American TV show."
"The Tees and Gees?"
"Huh?"
"Y'know, as in Tamers and Gatekeepers," Jade explained.
"That doesn't include you, Jade," Takato pointed out.
"Sure it does," Jade said blithely. She held up a Talisman. "T can also
be for Talisman."
"What is it with you and letters?" Takato asked, mystified.
"Hi, guys," Jeri greeted, bouncing into a seat next to Takato. "Whatcha
doing?"
"We're trying to come up with a name for our team," Takato told her.
"All the good ones seem to be taken," Guilmon whined.
"Hey, I came up with a few original names," Jade protested.
"All your names have been this or that letter followed by 'Team' or
something," Takato replied. "What we need is a single, simple name
that'll still get across how awesome we are."
Jeri thought back to her restroom encounter. "How about Ultimate?"
she suggested. "Or better, THE Ultimates?"
"Trademarked," Takato said simply, picking up one of the comic books
to show her.
"Um, Champions?" Jeri tried again.
Jade reached over and showed Jeri one of Henry's books. It was a
superhero RPG.
"Megas!"
"You're trying Digimon levels, aren't you?" Takato sighed.
"Yes," Jeri admitted glumly.
"Anybody see Calumon?" Jade asked suddenly. "He hasn't wandered
off again, has he?"
"Oh, don't worry," Jeri said quickly. "I've got an eye on him."
***
"HELLO, LEO-GIRL!" Ultimon boomed as he flew away from his latest
good deed. He had helped a man retrieve his keys that had been
accidently locked in his car. The car door hadn't been locked when
Ultimon tried it, however. The door had come right off.
A translucent orange humaonoid formed up with Ultimon. The
humanoid resembled somekind of cat/girl hybrid with wings and a
ponytail on the side of her head. From the waist down, there was
nothing but a wispy contrail similar to a cartoon genie's.
"Um, Ultimon, what happened back there?" Leo-girl asked.
"WHY, JUST DOING A GOOD DEED, LEO-GIRL!" Ultimon boomed back.
"Right, okay, but you might want to use a little less force," Leo-girl told
him.
"FORCE?" Ultimon asked, bewildered. "WHAT FORCE?"
"I mean, try doing less..." Leo-girl began.
"LOOK! THOSE MEN ARE ROBBING THAT BANK!"
"Wait! Those are..." Leo-girl began to exclaim, seeing what had caught
Ultimon's attention.
It was too late. Ultimon was already zooming groundward. He struck the
vehicle being loaded with bags of money like a meteor, smashing the
armored car and scattering hither and yon a great cloud of cash.
"STOP VILLAINS!"
"...security guards," Leo-girl finished belatedly.
***
"Alice, honey, you don't have to do this," Rob "Dolphin" McCoy begged
his daughter, taking her in a hug and hanging on tightly.
"Oomph! Daddy, it's fine," Alice placated. "I'll just go in, get the kids,
and come right back. If I run into any trouble, I'll just Gate away. Um,
can you loosen your grip? It's getting hard to breathe."
"What? Oh, sorry." Dolphin relaxed his grip, but didn't - quite - let go.
"I just don't like the thought of you going alone."
"I'll go with her." Everybody turned to Shibumi. He was just finishing up
tossing stuff into a briefcase. He closed it and picked it up.
"Shibumi? Are you sure?" Janyu asked.
The man shrugged. "Hey, I've wandered the Digital World in spirit for
years," he told them. "I know it as well as anyone. Besides," He twirled a
CD in his free hand, "I have a few programs that might be useful in
case we do have to fight."
"Okay, I can accept that," Janyu said. "Get going people. Lives may
depend on it."
"But..." Dolphin began as Alice extracted herself from his grip.
"Love you, Daddy," Alice told her father as she took Shibumi by the
arm and glanced at the photo Janyu had given her.
"But..." Dolphin began again as Alice opened her Gate. She and
Shibumi vanished into it.
***
"Alright, done!" Henry announced. He reached over and shook
Terriermon. "Hey, you can wake up now."
"Wha? Whuzzat?" Terriermon snorted awake. He stood up on the table unsteadily. "Whoa! I feel...greeeaaaat. Whash ya do ta me, Henry?" The
Digimon swayed on his feet like a drunk.
"Uh, maybe I loaded a few to many programs," Henry said feebly at the
others' stare. He dashed forward to catch Terriermon as his partner
staggered off the edge of the table.
"Well, I'm done and Renamon's fine," Rika sniffed as she shuffled her
notes into a neat stack. Her partner nodded silently.
"Great! Who wants to go first?" Takato asked.
"Go first?" Rika asked, confused.
"Yeah, let's see these new armored forms you guys came up with,"
Takato clarified.
"Well, um, ah," Rika hesitated, suffering from a sudden attack of
modesty. "Hey, Henry, why don't you go first?"
"Uh, can you hold up a moment?" Henry replied, his hands full of an
intoxicated Terriermon. He set the Digimon on the floor. Terriermon
proceeded to stagger around in a sad attempt at dancing.
"I'm too sexy for this dance! Too sexy..." Terriermon began singing off
key.
Quickly grabbing his digivice, Henry swiped his newly made Armor
Digivolve card through it. The singing was blessedly cut off.
"TERRIERMON! Armor Digivolve to..." Terriermon shouted crisply and
clearly as he was engulfed in light. He rose into the air, his outline
growing slightly. As the light cleared, it looked as if Terriermon had
just donned some new clothes. On his head was green, pointed hat
with a wide brim and a kink about halfway up the cone. Around his
neck was a wide, emerald green, armored collar from which hung an
offwhite cloak, obscuring the rest of his body. A wand with a little six
point star on the tip poked out from between the folds of the cloak.
"...OZMON!"
"Ozmon?" Jade repeated questioningly.
"Oh, you know. As in 'Wizard of'," Henry explained as Ozmon floated up
into the air and onto the table. He didn't actually land so much as just
hovered in place. "He's a sort of a jack of all trades Digimon," Henry
continued. "Y'know, when we need to do something other than blow
something up."
"Hey, I can think again!" Ozmon exclaimed.
"Hah, is that all? Wait'll you see Renamon's new form," Rika smirked.
"Renamon?"
"Ready," Renamon returned.
"DIGIMODIFY!" Rika shouted, swiping her Armor Digivolve card through
her own digivice.
Nothing happened.
"DIGIMODIFY!" Rika tried again.
Still nothing happened.
"Darn it!" Rika said frustrated, slamming the digivice onto the table
next to her neatly stacked notes. "What's wrong with this thing?"
***
"Ah, young lady! How are you doing?"
"Oh, hello, Uncle," Ruriko greeted as the older man fell into step beside
her. "What can I do for you?"
"I come to see how Jade is doing," Uncle told her. "Not that Uncle
approves of this superhero business."
"Oh, Jade's fine," Ruriko assured him. "Although I think I may owe her
an apology. I was rather... abrupt with her earlier."
"Jade is strong girl," Uncle told her. "She will be fine. One more thing! I
also came to see how you are doing. No lingering affects?"
"Me? I'm fine, Uncle," Ruriko began.
"One more thing!" Uncle interupted. "Where are we going?"
"Oh, um, there's this observation balcony that overlooks the main bay
of Section 13," Ruriko explained. "Someone turned it into a spare
store room. Apparently, it's never been used for its intended peupose. I
come up here sometimes to think. Ah, here we are!"
"Yes, sometimes a person need time for self," Uncle agreed sagely as
they entered balcony. They were not alone. Someone else was already
there. "Eh, who is this?"
It appeared to be a girl in a white kimono. A lotus blossom decorated
her hair. She turned away from observing the main bay to see the new
visitors.
"Yukino?" Ruriko identified. "It is you. I heard you were around."
"Yukino?" Uncle murmured, staring hard at the girl.
Yukino just stared back without saying a word.
"It's good to see you again," Ruriko told Yukino, kneeling down so that
they were eye level with each other. "Even if you haven't aged a day in
thirty years."
"The future rushes into the past, carrying all that is into was," Yukino
whispered, looking down. "But the past comes to haunt the present
and what was may be again."
"Um, did I mention that it's good to see you?" Ruriko replied, baffled
by Yukino's words.
"Ah, you mean the Demon Sorcerers, yes?" Uncle said suddenly, being
quicker on the uptake.
Yukino nodded. "But to break the cycle of time, must we sacrifice that
which makes us unique to become one with the opposition?"
Ruriko looked at Uncle. He shrugged helplessly.
Abruptly, Yukino wrapped her arms around Ruriko. "The future rushes
into the past, and the past may haunt," she said quietly as she hugged
her friend, "but you have not yet been carried away by time. It is good
to see you again, too."
"Um, thankyou, Yukino," Ruriko told the ageless girl, returning the hug.
She was startled that Yukino was so direct, or that she packed such
affection in a single phrase. "Hey, I have an idea," Ruriko added. "Why
don't I take you to meet the others?"
Yukino drew back from Ruriko. "Time presses and thoughts beckon,"
Yukino refused gently. "Futures must be weighed and judgement must
be rendered. What is the best path for us to take? Farewell." With that,
Yukino vanished.
"That was... interesting," Ruriko commented to herself. She looked out
over the main bay. Right away, she spotted the kids. She saw that her
granddaughter was disconsolate about something, and that the others
were trying to cheer her up.
"I have... seen that girl before," Uncle said slowly. He was apparently
refering to Yukino.
"Oh? Have you met Yukino before, Uncle?" Ruriko asked, turning away
from the sight below.
"No, I believe she was in a book," Uncle replied. He turned away.
"Pardon me. Uncle must go do research."
***
"It's chaos in San Francisco today, as the city appears to have become
home to it's very first superhero," the anchorman reported to his
audience. "For several hours now, people have been reporting a flying
man in and around the San Francisco area. Oppinions vary on whether
this 'hero' is a good guy or a bad guy."
The picture changed to show a black kid with glasses. "Ultiman's the
coolest!" he told the camera enthusiastically. "He stopped those
gangbangers without even trying hard. Look what happened when they
tried to clobber him from behind!" The kid held up an aluminum bat.
It was bent at an almost ninety degree angle.
The picture changed to a middle aged man. Behind him was the
wreckage of a storefront. "He's a menace, I tell you!" the man exclaimed
vehemently. "Look what he did to my store. Sure, 'Ultiman' stopped
that crook. But the crook would have only stolen a couple hundred at
worst. This Ultiman did several thousand in property damage just by
showing up!"
The picture switched back to the anchorman. "We also have this video
taken by a citizen downtown." The picture switched to a blurry, jerky
figure flying through the air with no visible means of support. "Our
analysts have..."
Yamaki hit the mute button. "Captain Black," he called calmly. "I have
a job for the team."
***
"GUARDROMON!"
"LOPMON!"
"IMPMON!"
"WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?"
"Um, Kazu, I don't think shouting at the top of our lungs is gonna help
much," Kenta observed. "In fact, it's probably just gonna draw hostile
Digimon down on our heads."
They were in the middle of a rocky debris field. Boulders and rock
fragments were stackup in conical piles at random. Here and there
broken rock spires poked up above the debris.
"Aw, you worry too much, dude," Kazu brushed him off. "We haven't
seen any Digimon at all since we got here."
"Then shouting's not gonna help that way either, huh?" Kenta prodded.
"Well, I...hey! Look!" Kazu pointed to a Digimon that rounded a rubble
pile. It was a familiar looking Digimon. "It's Agumon! Hey, Agumon! Over
here!" The boy ran towards the Digimon.
Agumon looked at Kazu oddly then..."PEPPER BREATH!"
Dim as he was, there was nothing wrong with Kazu's reflexes. He dived
and the fireball passed harmlessly overhead.
"Hey, watch it!" Kazu scolded Agumon. "What would Tai say?"
Agumon blinked in confusion. "Who's Tai?" he asked. "I serve the
Demon Sorcerers!"
"Aw, nuts!" Kazu muttered scrambling backwards. This wasn't the
Agumon from the TV show, he realized. It was another Agumon entirely.
And then a Gabumon rounded another rock pile.
by Nopporn Wongrassamee
Summary - A Digimon Tamers/Jackie Chan Adventures/ Gatekeepers
crossover. A new hero appears and lots of shouting ensues.
Disclaimer - None of these characters are mine, nor am I making a
profit here.
"Alright. youse losers," Impmon shouted at his bedraggled team. "That
is the sorriest excuse for teamwork I ever saw! You almost let that
Monochromon get the better of you all. You think the Tamers are gonna
be that easy? Heck no! Ya gotta use teamwork for them. Just walkin' up
to 'em and blasting away ain't gonna cut it!"
"Well, I didn't see you getting into the fight," objected an insectile
Digimon.
"Hey, I'm the Commander here," Impmon told him, rapping the other
Digimon on the head with a stick he had aquired somewhere. "I give
commands. Youse all gotta learn to listen! For example..."
"IMPMON."
"Gah!" Impmon exclaimed, startled. Whirling around, he found himself
face to face with AstroTsoLanMon. It was just his face, an image
projected from somewhere else. "Great Master! Ya startled me."
Impmon's team tried to make themselves as unnoticeable as possible.
"ONLY STARTLED? THEN PERHAPS WE NEED TO WORK ON OUR...
RELATIONSHIP," AstroTsoLanMon said pointedly. "BUT THAT IS FOR
LATER. WE HAVE A TASK FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM, IMPMON."
"Anything you say, Great Master," Impmon replied nervously.
"FIVE HUMANS HAVE INTRUDED UPON THE DIGITAL WORLD," the
Great Master informed him. "TAKE YOUR TEAM AND DESTROY THEM."
"Wh...what? Humans? TAMERS?" Impmon exclaimed. "Great Master,
my team isn't ready to take on one let alone FIVE Tamers!"
"SO WE HAVE OBSERVED," AstroTsoLanMon said unconcerned. "THESE
HUMANS HAVE NO DIGIMON WITH THEM, HOWEVER. THEY SHOULD
BE EASY ENOUGH FOR YOUR TEAM. CONSIDER THIS A... TEST."
"Uh, okay." Impmon paused a moment, then decided to risk a few more
questions. "Where are they? How do we find them?"
"TRANSPORTATION HAS BEEN PROVIDED." Out of the corner of his eye,
Impmon spotted a data stream. The giant, pinkish column of light was
headed right towards him and his team.
"Bloody wonderful," he muttered
***
"Impressive trick, brother," TidalBaiSaMon complimented.
"THANKYOU, SISTER," AstroTsoLanMon replied. He coughed and
cleared his throat. "Speaking like that certainly impresses the peons.
Could you spare a drink?"
***
"Aw, no, kitty's stuck in the tree again?" Phoebe asked rhetorically,
looking up at her cat. The cat was indeed up a tree planted in the
sidewalk in front of her house.
"GREETINGS, CITIZEN!" someone boomed behind her. "IS THERE
SOMETHING I CAN HELP YOU WITH?"
Startled, the woman spun around and found herself face to chest with
someone. Taking a step back, Phoebe gasped at what she saw. There
was a man dressed up like a comic book superhero. He must have
been over six feet tall, and very well defined as evidenced by the
skin-tight costume he wore that showed off every muscle but almost
no skin. The only skin visible was around the mouth in a gap under
the cowl. The costume itself was mostly white and so shiny she could
see her reflection in it. He also wore a purple cowl, chest plate, cape,
gloves, and boots. A red triangle bracketed on all three sides by
smaller, black triangles was monogrammed on his chest and forehead.
White, four pointed winglets with purple highlights were mounted
swept back on the sides of his head. He had nice lavender eyes,
"Uh, my cat's stuck in that tree..." Pheobe stammered.
"EASILY SOLVED, MA'AM!" the weirdo replied, his voice not lowering in
volume at all. He pranced over to the tree, grabbed the trunk with both
hands, and then proceeded to completely uproot the tree. Dirt went
flying and the concrete sidewalk buckled. Lowering the treetop, the
man presented Phoebe with the branch where her cat was hanging on
for dear life. "HERE YOU GO!"
With a little prying, Phoebe managed to extract her cat from the tree.
"Um, thank you," she squeaked.
"NO THANKS NECESSARY, MA'AM!" the man said, tossing the tree
carelessly into the street. There was a squeal of tires followed by a
crash. As he leapt into the air and literally flew away, he added, "ALL
IN A DAY'S WORK FOR... ULTIMON!!!"
Phoebe stared wide eyed as Ultimon disappeared into the sky for
several seconds. The she ran inside her house, yelling for her sister.
"Piper, you won't believe this..."
***
"The A-Team!"
"Um, I think that was an American TV show."
"The Tees and Gees?"
"Huh?"
"Y'know, as in Tamers and Gatekeepers," Jade explained.
"That doesn't include you, Jade," Takato pointed out.
"Sure it does," Jade said blithely. She held up a Talisman. "T can also
be for Talisman."
"What is it with you and letters?" Takato asked, mystified.
"Hi, guys," Jeri greeted, bouncing into a seat next to Takato. "Whatcha
doing?"
"We're trying to come up with a name for our team," Takato told her.
"All the good ones seem to be taken," Guilmon whined.
"Hey, I came up with a few original names," Jade protested.
"All your names have been this or that letter followed by 'Team' or
something," Takato replied. "What we need is a single, simple name
that'll still get across how awesome we are."
Jeri thought back to her restroom encounter. "How about Ultimate?"
she suggested. "Or better, THE Ultimates?"
"Trademarked," Takato said simply, picking up one of the comic books
to show her.
"Um, Champions?" Jeri tried again.
Jade reached over and showed Jeri one of Henry's books. It was a
superhero RPG.
"Megas!"
"You're trying Digimon levels, aren't you?" Takato sighed.
"Yes," Jeri admitted glumly.
"Anybody see Calumon?" Jade asked suddenly. "He hasn't wandered
off again, has he?"
"Oh, don't worry," Jeri said quickly. "I've got an eye on him."
***
"HELLO, LEO-GIRL!" Ultimon boomed as he flew away from his latest
good deed. He had helped a man retrieve his keys that had been
accidently locked in his car. The car door hadn't been locked when
Ultimon tried it, however. The door had come right off.
A translucent orange humaonoid formed up with Ultimon. The
humanoid resembled somekind of cat/girl hybrid with wings and a
ponytail on the side of her head. From the waist down, there was
nothing but a wispy contrail similar to a cartoon genie's.
"Um, Ultimon, what happened back there?" Leo-girl asked.
"WHY, JUST DOING A GOOD DEED, LEO-GIRL!" Ultimon boomed back.
"Right, okay, but you might want to use a little less force," Leo-girl told
him.
"FORCE?" Ultimon asked, bewildered. "WHAT FORCE?"
"I mean, try doing less..." Leo-girl began.
"LOOK! THOSE MEN ARE ROBBING THAT BANK!"
"Wait! Those are..." Leo-girl began to exclaim, seeing what had caught
Ultimon's attention.
It was too late. Ultimon was already zooming groundward. He struck the
vehicle being loaded with bags of money like a meteor, smashing the
armored car and scattering hither and yon a great cloud of cash.
"STOP VILLAINS!"
"...security guards," Leo-girl finished belatedly.
***
"Alice, honey, you don't have to do this," Rob "Dolphin" McCoy begged
his daughter, taking her in a hug and hanging on tightly.
"Oomph! Daddy, it's fine," Alice placated. "I'll just go in, get the kids,
and come right back. If I run into any trouble, I'll just Gate away. Um,
can you loosen your grip? It's getting hard to breathe."
"What? Oh, sorry." Dolphin relaxed his grip, but didn't - quite - let go.
"I just don't like the thought of you going alone."
"I'll go with her." Everybody turned to Shibumi. He was just finishing up
tossing stuff into a briefcase. He closed it and picked it up.
"Shibumi? Are you sure?" Janyu asked.
The man shrugged. "Hey, I've wandered the Digital World in spirit for
years," he told them. "I know it as well as anyone. Besides," He twirled a
CD in his free hand, "I have a few programs that might be useful in
case we do have to fight."
"Okay, I can accept that," Janyu said. "Get going people. Lives may
depend on it."
"But..." Dolphin began as Alice extracted herself from his grip.
"Love you, Daddy," Alice told her father as she took Shibumi by the
arm and glanced at the photo Janyu had given her.
"But..." Dolphin began again as Alice opened her Gate. She and
Shibumi vanished into it.
***
"Alright, done!" Henry announced. He reached over and shook
Terriermon. "Hey, you can wake up now."
"Wha? Whuzzat?" Terriermon snorted awake. He stood up on the table unsteadily. "Whoa! I feel...greeeaaaat. Whash ya do ta me, Henry?" The
Digimon swayed on his feet like a drunk.
"Uh, maybe I loaded a few to many programs," Henry said feebly at the
others' stare. He dashed forward to catch Terriermon as his partner
staggered off the edge of the table.
"Well, I'm done and Renamon's fine," Rika sniffed as she shuffled her
notes into a neat stack. Her partner nodded silently.
"Great! Who wants to go first?" Takato asked.
"Go first?" Rika asked, confused.
"Yeah, let's see these new armored forms you guys came up with,"
Takato clarified.
"Well, um, ah," Rika hesitated, suffering from a sudden attack of
modesty. "Hey, Henry, why don't you go first?"
"Uh, can you hold up a moment?" Henry replied, his hands full of an
intoxicated Terriermon. He set the Digimon on the floor. Terriermon
proceeded to stagger around in a sad attempt at dancing.
"I'm too sexy for this dance! Too sexy..." Terriermon began singing off
key.
Quickly grabbing his digivice, Henry swiped his newly made Armor
Digivolve card through it. The singing was blessedly cut off.
"TERRIERMON! Armor Digivolve to..." Terriermon shouted crisply and
clearly as he was engulfed in light. He rose into the air, his outline
growing slightly. As the light cleared, it looked as if Terriermon had
just donned some new clothes. On his head was green, pointed hat
with a wide brim and a kink about halfway up the cone. Around his
neck was a wide, emerald green, armored collar from which hung an
offwhite cloak, obscuring the rest of his body. A wand with a little six
point star on the tip poked out from between the folds of the cloak.
"...OZMON!"
"Ozmon?" Jade repeated questioningly.
"Oh, you know. As in 'Wizard of'," Henry explained as Ozmon floated up
into the air and onto the table. He didn't actually land so much as just
hovered in place. "He's a sort of a jack of all trades Digimon," Henry
continued. "Y'know, when we need to do something other than blow
something up."
"Hey, I can think again!" Ozmon exclaimed.
"Hah, is that all? Wait'll you see Renamon's new form," Rika smirked.
"Renamon?"
"Ready," Renamon returned.
"DIGIMODIFY!" Rika shouted, swiping her Armor Digivolve card through
her own digivice.
Nothing happened.
"DIGIMODIFY!" Rika tried again.
Still nothing happened.
"Darn it!" Rika said frustrated, slamming the digivice onto the table
next to her neatly stacked notes. "What's wrong with this thing?"
***
"Ah, young lady! How are you doing?"
"Oh, hello, Uncle," Ruriko greeted as the older man fell into step beside
her. "What can I do for you?"
"I come to see how Jade is doing," Uncle told her. "Not that Uncle
approves of this superhero business."
"Oh, Jade's fine," Ruriko assured him. "Although I think I may owe her
an apology. I was rather... abrupt with her earlier."
"Jade is strong girl," Uncle told her. "She will be fine. One more thing! I
also came to see how you are doing. No lingering affects?"
"Me? I'm fine, Uncle," Ruriko began.
"One more thing!" Uncle interupted. "Where are we going?"
"Oh, um, there's this observation balcony that overlooks the main bay
of Section 13," Ruriko explained. "Someone turned it into a spare
store room. Apparently, it's never been used for its intended peupose. I
come up here sometimes to think. Ah, here we are!"
"Yes, sometimes a person need time for self," Uncle agreed sagely as
they entered balcony. They were not alone. Someone else was already
there. "Eh, who is this?"
It appeared to be a girl in a white kimono. A lotus blossom decorated
her hair. She turned away from observing the main bay to see the new
visitors.
"Yukino?" Ruriko identified. "It is you. I heard you were around."
"Yukino?" Uncle murmured, staring hard at the girl.
Yukino just stared back without saying a word.
"It's good to see you again," Ruriko told Yukino, kneeling down so that
they were eye level with each other. "Even if you haven't aged a day in
thirty years."
"The future rushes into the past, carrying all that is into was," Yukino
whispered, looking down. "But the past comes to haunt the present
and what was may be again."
"Um, did I mention that it's good to see you?" Ruriko replied, baffled
by Yukino's words.
"Ah, you mean the Demon Sorcerers, yes?" Uncle said suddenly, being
quicker on the uptake.
Yukino nodded. "But to break the cycle of time, must we sacrifice that
which makes us unique to become one with the opposition?"
Ruriko looked at Uncle. He shrugged helplessly.
Abruptly, Yukino wrapped her arms around Ruriko. "The future rushes
into the past, and the past may haunt," she said quietly as she hugged
her friend, "but you have not yet been carried away by time. It is good
to see you again, too."
"Um, thankyou, Yukino," Ruriko told the ageless girl, returning the hug.
She was startled that Yukino was so direct, or that she packed such
affection in a single phrase. "Hey, I have an idea," Ruriko added. "Why
don't I take you to meet the others?"
Yukino drew back from Ruriko. "Time presses and thoughts beckon,"
Yukino refused gently. "Futures must be weighed and judgement must
be rendered. What is the best path for us to take? Farewell." With that,
Yukino vanished.
"That was... interesting," Ruriko commented to herself. She looked out
over the main bay. Right away, she spotted the kids. She saw that her
granddaughter was disconsolate about something, and that the others
were trying to cheer her up.
"I have... seen that girl before," Uncle said slowly. He was apparently
refering to Yukino.
"Oh? Have you met Yukino before, Uncle?" Ruriko asked, turning away
from the sight below.
"No, I believe she was in a book," Uncle replied. He turned away.
"Pardon me. Uncle must go do research."
***
"It's chaos in San Francisco today, as the city appears to have become
home to it's very first superhero," the anchorman reported to his
audience. "For several hours now, people have been reporting a flying
man in and around the San Francisco area. Oppinions vary on whether
this 'hero' is a good guy or a bad guy."
The picture changed to show a black kid with glasses. "Ultiman's the
coolest!" he told the camera enthusiastically. "He stopped those
gangbangers without even trying hard. Look what happened when they
tried to clobber him from behind!" The kid held up an aluminum bat.
It was bent at an almost ninety degree angle.
The picture changed to a middle aged man. Behind him was the
wreckage of a storefront. "He's a menace, I tell you!" the man exclaimed
vehemently. "Look what he did to my store. Sure, 'Ultiman' stopped
that crook. But the crook would have only stolen a couple hundred at
worst. This Ultiman did several thousand in property damage just by
showing up!"
The picture switched back to the anchorman. "We also have this video
taken by a citizen downtown." The picture switched to a blurry, jerky
figure flying through the air with no visible means of support. "Our
analysts have..."
Yamaki hit the mute button. "Captain Black," he called calmly. "I have
a job for the team."
***
"GUARDROMON!"
"LOPMON!"
"IMPMON!"
"WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?"
"Um, Kazu, I don't think shouting at the top of our lungs is gonna help
much," Kenta observed. "In fact, it's probably just gonna draw hostile
Digimon down on our heads."
They were in the middle of a rocky debris field. Boulders and rock
fragments were stackup in conical piles at random. Here and there
broken rock spires poked up above the debris.
"Aw, you worry too much, dude," Kazu brushed him off. "We haven't
seen any Digimon at all since we got here."
"Then shouting's not gonna help that way either, huh?" Kenta prodded.
"Well, I...hey! Look!" Kazu pointed to a Digimon that rounded a rubble
pile. It was a familiar looking Digimon. "It's Agumon! Hey, Agumon! Over
here!" The boy ran towards the Digimon.
Agumon looked at Kazu oddly then..."PEPPER BREATH!"
Dim as he was, there was nothing wrong with Kazu's reflexes. He dived
and the fireball passed harmlessly overhead.
"Hey, watch it!" Kazu scolded Agumon. "What would Tai say?"
Agumon blinked in confusion. "Who's Tai?" he asked. "I serve the
Demon Sorcerers!"
"Aw, nuts!" Kazu muttered scrambling backwards. This wasn't the
Agumon from the TV show, he realized. It was another Agumon entirely.
And then a Gabumon rounded another rock pile.