Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters. Please support the official release.


"Least Favorite Character"

Ryo didn't need any time to consider his course of action once the D-Reaper made itself known. This only real question was how he would get back to Shinjuku to lend a hand, but after a couple false starts, he opted for flying there via Cyberdramon. For a while, things seemed to be going smoothly.

Then they got eyes on the massive red blob consuming everything in its path. Upon seeing it, Cyberdramon immediately changed course, landing on the nearest rooftop. Before Ryo could start to ask what was wrong, the Digimon dropped him at his feet.

"What's going on?" Ryo asked as he stood back up. "The fight's that way."

"No," Cyberdramon replied, with more conviction than he ever had before.

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'no'?"

Cyberdramon crossed his arms. "I mean I'm not going any further."

"And why not?" Ryo had come to expect erratic behavior when it came to their partnership, but this was something he hadn't seen before.

Cyberdramon snorted, before turning his head as though looking over his shoulder. "Because there's no point."

Ryo grabbed hold of his DigiVice, almost without thinking. "The point is getting in there so we can help people."

"Why?"

"B-Because..." Ryo paused, not knowing how to respond other than by repeating himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Where is this even coming from? Normally I have to fight you to stay away from combat."

"This isn't combat." Cyberdramon looked straight down at Ryo. "This is suicide."

Ryo scrutinized his partner, trying to find anything that could betray what was going on in his head. Of course, this was made difficult by the gray mask he had in place of a face, and while in his Ultimate form, it was rare that he showed any kind of emotion that wasn't rage or data lust.

"Are you afraid?"

It was brief, but Cyberdramon hesitated.

"I'm using common sense," he replied, conviction still in his voice. "In the Digital World, combat is about becoming stronger with each battle so you can survive the next one. Here, there's no data to be loaded, no strength to be gained. Win or lose, we gain nothing here."

Cyberdramon snarled, and then turned on his heel, walking in the exact opposite direction of the D-Reaper.

"And what about all the people counting on us to stop this?" Ryo called after him, only to be ignored. "Cyberdramon, I order you to stop!"

Cyberdramon flexed his wings as he prepared to take off. On instinct, Ryo activated his DigiVice's electric leash, a feature he resorted to too often for his own liking. This time, however, instead of yelling in pain or submitting to Ryo's orders, Cyberdramon caught the leash on its first swing. Ryo attempted to yank it free, but try as he might, it was caught firmly in his partner's claws.

"You really think that toy can stop me?" Cyberdramon growled.

Ryo pressed the button that deactivated the device. "Then why keep letting me use it for all this time?"

Cyberdramon closed most of the distance between them. "Because, Tamer, together we were the strongest pair to walk the Digital World."

"We still are," Ryo replied after a slight hesitation, fully aware of the lack of confidence in his statement.

"No, our strength has plateaued, and the others have surpassed us."

Ryo didn't need the response elaborated on. Takato, Henry, and then Rika had all not only been able to help their partners reach their Mega forms, but had also all done so by transcending what the Tamer-Digimon dynamic was thought capable of, literally becoming one. In the time he had spent wandering the Digital World with his own partner, Ryo had never come close to achieving anything of the sort.

Ryo clenched his fists together, having no one to blame but himself. For all his reputation as the "Legendary Tamer" or whatever other nicknames he had been labeled with, he had never been able to connect with Cyberdramon on that level. For all he knew about battle tactics and card combinations, there was something that alluded them in their travels. When defeating evil Digimon didn't unlock this something, Ryo tried focusing his efforts on helping the innocent ones caught in the middle of the Digital World's turmoil, but still nothing. Looking at Cyberdramon now, he wondered if the way to being the best Tamer wasn't a simpler journey than he originally thought.

"I'm sorry," Ryo said finally, the first of many apologies he would be making to his partner if given the chance.

"Don't be," Cyberdramon replied solemnly. "It's over now."

"No, it's not!" Ryo clutched his DigiVice tighter. "You and I are not done. I know things haven't been great between us recently, but I want and intend to do better. I just need you to give me one more chance to make it right."

Ryo looked away from his partner and back towards the D-Reaper. He paused momentarily as something in the distance caught his eye. Some kind of light streaked across the sky, splitting into a red and a blue line of data.

"Please," Ryo continued. "Fight by my side."

"Fine, Partner."

Ryo turned right back around. While Cyberdramon still looked down at him without any readable emotions, he seemed calm, calmer than he had in a long time. With that calm came a light from his DigiVice, the likes of which Ryo had never seen, as well as a message across its screen that gave him a renewed sense of hope and confidence:

BIOMERGE DIGIVOLUTION