Last time on Digimon: Digital Monsters.
On the night of her eighteenth birthday Kari was attacked by Asuramon who seemed intent on taking her with him. Kari showed off some weird new powers but they weren't enough to stop him. Things looked bad but Kari got some unexpected help from Waruseadramon and the newest Digidestined, Rumiko and her partner Larvamon. Larvamon digivolved into Kunemon and then Dynamon to help stop Asuramon. Bu the big surprise was when Rumiko absorbed Kunemon's powers. How did she do that? Asuramon was destroyed and Waruseadramon disappeared. Looks like the start of something big.
Di Di Di...
Di Di Di...
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Change into digital champions to save the digital world!
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Digivolve into champions! Power merge!
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon!
Tyler Madison hated Japan. Well, maybe he didn't hate it, but he certainly didn't like it very much. When he stopped to think about it rationally, which wasn't often, he realized that it was more culture shock than anything else. He had only been living there for a month after all. To his mother it was like coming home again. She had been born and raised in Japan. There had been a period of adjustment, but she had more or less slipped right back in. Tyler, on the other hand, had never been outside of his home town of Cleveland, Ohio except for a class field trip to Washington DC. To suddenly find himself in a new country was a bit more than his ability to adapt could handle. Oh, there were enough similarities that he didn't feel completely alienated. There were fast food restaurants and pizza parlors and his mother had invested in cable that received American stations, but it was still not the same. The hamburgers just didn't taste the same. The pizza sauce wasn't right. And there were still far more channels featuring obscure Japanese television shows and movies than reruns of familiar sitcoms. And those were just the superficial things. Tyler had attended a catholic school and had been able to count on one hand the number of kids in his class who weren't of the same nationality and race as him. Now he was the outsider in a place full of people who were nothing like him, or so he believed. Everywhere he looked there were constant reminders that he didn't belong. He had made an attempt to learn Japanese, but his grasp of the language had only reached the point where he could talk to his mother in the most basic of conversations and only when she spoke slowly and clearly. He found that he could read billboards and the names of stores, but there was a world of fine print that seemed like alien writing to him. Unlike some of his friends back home, Tyler had never been into Godzilla or Pokemon or any of the other overseas fads. He was completely uninterested in anything dealing with giant robots, monsters or people with large eyes. Some days he would have done anything for an old episode of Scooby-Doo.
So far he had made one friend, although his mother promised him that would change when he started school in the fall. Tyler doubted it. Anna lived in the apartment across the hall from his. Her mother was American and her father was Japanese. As such she had spoken English all of her life and she was well versed in American culture. Anna was a tiny thing. She was Tyler's age but she was almost a foot shorter than him. She had blonde hair, inherited from her mother, which she wore in a braid which reached slightly past her neck. Anna had been the first person his own age whom Tyler had met. She had been shy at first, but they had eventually hit it off. Anna shared his lack of passion for anime and monster movies. They had spent many an afternoon watching Tyler's collection of videos from home and reading the comics he had inherited from his father.
Considering his situation, Tyler was glad to have any friend. Still, there were things about Anna which made him shake his head some times. For one thing, the girl was the most timid creature he had ever met. If her parents hadn't forced her to introduce herself, they may never have even met. Anna had a passionate fear of anyone she didn't know. She had a few close friends and seemed to have no ambition to make any more. By her own admission she avoided most of the other kids at school. She avoided crowds whenever possible. Anything that involved any type of contact with strangers, including riding the subway, walking the street alone, or even making an order in a restaurant, she shied away from. This was all coupled with a wide variety of other phobias. Anna seemed to have a fear of just about everything. She screamed at the sight of bugs of any type, rats, mice, other various small creatures, wild animals of any kind, darkness, and storms. She also had a mortal fear of getting hurt. She had to screw up her courage when crossing a street. She tried to avoid handling electrical plugs. She feared needles and knives. She refused to partake of any kind of sports or go near any body of water larger than a puddle.
When listing her fears, Anna came across as the type of person who would spent her entire life locked in her room with the lights on and the windows shut. In truth, she usually only displayed these things when placed in situations she was unfamiliar with. In her apartment, or Tyler's she was fine. Her more cautious tendencies showed themselves but not enough to seem overly strange. She had no problem walking to and from school, except to avoid other people on the street. Among family and friends, which was the only time Tyler saw her anyway, she was pretty much normal. But whenever an unexpected variable presented itself she withdrew. Despite all this, Tyler liked Anna. She was, after all, the only other person he could really talk to. And he was eternally grateful when he learned they would be in the same class at school. And in a way, Tyler sometimes enjoyed her timid nature. It made him feel as though he could stick up for her and protect her. He liked the idea of being a hero to someone. And she was kind of cute to boot.
Aside from Anna, there wasn't much that Tyler liked about Japan. He knew that his mother was right when she said he just needed time. In a few years time, he wouldn't even remember why he had felt uncomfortable here. That didn't keep him from wishing every day that he could just go home. He wanted to forget his experiences in Japan like a bad dream. He wanted to just go back to the way things were. Even his friendship with Anna wasn't enough to give him any real desire to do anything but hop on the first flight back to the states if the opportunity presented itself. Somewhere inside, he knew that this was impossible. His couldn't go back without his mother. She had just started a new job, the reason they had moved in the first place, and could hardly up and leave. And even, if by some miracle, his mother wanted to go back, and the means to do so presented itself, one thing would never be the same. His father. The day his father died marked the end of Tyler's life as he knew it. No matter what happened, even if he could somehow make everything exactly as it was, there would always be one gaping hole that would never be filled. It was this thought which filled Tyler's mind as he drifted to sleep one night. He had no idea as sleep overtook him, as his mind filled with dreams of his old life, that tomorrow his life would change in yet another drastic way.
Digimon: Digital Monsters
NEW FRIENDS AND ENEMIES
Tyler woke up the next morning with the sensation that his feet were uncomfortably warm. Still half asleep, he clumsily kicked away the covers and turned over. It took him a moment to realize that his feet were still too warn. He opened his eyes slightly and was greeted by the sight of flames at the foot of his bed.
"Waaaagh!" With a scream he rolled of the bed. "Bed's on fire!", he yelled. Looking around frantically, his eyes caught the glass of water on his bedside table. In one motion he grabbed the glass and hurled it's contents on the flame. The flame however jumped deftly out of the way of the potential deluge.
"Relax Tyler. Your bed isn't on fire, I am. But that's okay really."
Tyler blinked at the sound of the voice. "Who...?"
"Right here Tyler." Tyler's eyes moved to his bed and he noticed for the first time that the flame on his bed was actually suspended several inches over his bed. He also noticed that the flame had large blue eyes, a mouth that appeared to be stitched shut, and a pair of tiny arms and hands. Upon this realization, Tyler screamed again and scuttled backwards across the floor away from his bed.
Sighing, the little ball of flame hopped off of his bed and floated several feet closer. "It's okay Tyler. I'm not going to hurt you."
"What are you?", Tyler gasped.
"My name is Demimeramon. I'm a digimon.", the sputtering ball of fire replied matter-of-factly.
"You're...a digimon?"
"Yep."
Tyler shook his head, still keeping his distance. "And what exactly is a digimon?"
Demimeramon silently floated closer. "Well, I'm a digimon. And so are a whole bunch of others."
"I see.", Tyler said slowly, not really understanding at all.
"I come from the digital world. And I was sent to be your partner."
"My partner? Exactly what does that mean?", Tyler asked cautiously.
Demimeramon grinned and suddenly hopped forward so he landed in Tyler's lap. "It means that you and I are going to be the best of friends!"
Tyler gasped and then calmed as he realized that Demimeramon wasn't burning him. The little thing was warm all right, but not enough to hurt him in any way. He tentatively stretched out a hand.
"Go ahead.", Demimeramon encouraged.
Tyler's hand brushed the top of Demimeramon's body and then slowly settled down on top of it. It was the strangest sensation. If fire were something solid that you could touch without being burned, then that's what Demimeramon's body was made of.
"Cool.", Tyler said.
"See. I told you I couldn't hurt you." Demimeramon was quiet for a moment and then he jumped away from Tyler and hopped back onto the bed. "I almost forgot!", he cried. He rummaged under the covers for a moment and then came up with a silver ball in his hands. He tossed it to Tyler who caught and examined the object.
"What is this?"
Demimeramon floated back to Tyler's side. "That is your digivice."
Tyler looked over the silver ball laced with circuit patterns. Bits of red light zipped through the circuitry. A screen on top was surrounded by four small buttons. "Okay. So what does it so?"
Demimeramon took a position by Tyler's shoulder. "It does all kinds of stuff. Try that button."
Tyler pressed the button Demimeramon indicated and the screen lit up.
D-SPHERE ONLINE.
ANALYZER ACTIVE.
DEMIMERAMON.
LEVEL: IN TRAINING
ATTACK: BUBBLE BLOW
ANALYZER DEACTIVATED.
"That's you huh?", Tyler asked the digimon.
"Yep. You'd better hold on to that. You'll be needing it."
Tyler looked critically at Demimeramon. "So what was that level and attack stuff?"
"Well, the attack part is easy. All digimon have special abilities that they can use to defend themselves. Mine is Bubble Blow." Demimeramon turned so that he was facing away from Tyler. "Check this out! Bubble Blow!"
A stream of pink bubbles flew from Demimeramon's mouth. The shot forward a few feet and then began to float in random directions
Tyler snickered. "You blow bubbles? Not much of an attack is it?"
Demimeramon acted offended. "Hey, those things will sting if they get you in the eye. And I'm just an in training digimon. We all have that attack at this level. The stronger we get the more powerful our attacks become.
"So what exactly does in training mean?", Tyler asked.
"We digimon have the ability to evolve ourselves. When we evolve, or digivolve as we call it, we reach a higher level and become stronger. All digimon start as eggs. When we hatch we're babies."
"I follow you so far.", Tyler replied.
"The next time we digivolve we reach the level I'm at, in training. After that comes Rookie, then Champion, then Ultimate, and if we're lucky Mega. Each new level gives us new powers and physical appearances."
Tyler took all of this in. "So how come I've never heard of you digimon before?"
Demimeramon took a moment before answering. "Most of us live in the digital world, a place that humans can't really get to. And we try to keep to ourselves. But, even if you've never heard of digimon, you must have seen at least one of us before. That's one of the reasons you were chosen to be a digidestined."
Tyler shook his head in confusion. "A what?"
"A digidestined. That's what you are now. You're a digidestined and I'm your digimon."
"So who chose me?"
"I don't really know. A lot of this is new to me too."
Tyler sighed and finally got to his feet. "Okay. So I'm a digidestined and you're my digimon and we're partners. What do we do now?"
Demimeramon smiled. "I was thinking we could eat breakfast."
Tyler rolled his eyes. "Of course."
Tyler walked into the apartment's kitchen and Demimeramon floated up to rest on the counter. Tyler opened the refrigerator and peered inside.
"So, what do you eat?"
Demimeramon shrugged. "This is my first day in the human world. What do you eat?"
Tyler looked in the fridge again. "How does toast and scrambled eggs sound?"
"Sure.", Demimeramon replied.
Tyler scrambled four eggs and made four pieces of toast. He set a plate down in front of Demimeramon and went back to the fridge. "You want some milk?" Tyler looked over at Demimeramon to see that his plate was already empty.
"Sure!", Demimeramon said. Tyler poured a glass full of milk and set in down in front of the digimon, who looked at it confusedly.
"Oh!" Tyler dropped a straw into the glass, realizing that Demimeramon's arms weren't long enough to pick up the glass or lift it to his mouth. The digimon gratefully took the straw in his mouth and drained the glass in one gulp. Tyler watched in awe. Demimeramon smacked his lips and looked at Tyler with a hopeful smile on his face.
"Still hungry?"
"Kinda."
Six slices of toast, four eggs, two apples, and two more glasses of milk later, Demimeramon finally sighed and rolled onto his back in contentment. "I think I'm going to like the human world.", he grinned.
Tyler laughed and took the plates to the sink. "So. Now what?"
Demimeramon's reply was interrupted as the phone rang. Tyler picked up the receiver. "Hello? Anna! Hi! How are you... What? Anna, what...? Okay. I'll be right over." Tyler hung up the phone and looked at Demimeramon who gave him a questioning look.
"That was my friend Anna next door. She wants me to come over. Something's wrong."
"Want me to come?", Demimeramon asked.
A look of alarm crossed Tyler's face. "No! Don't take this the wrong way, but Anna has a heart attack whenever she sees a spider. Seeing you might be a bit too much for her."
"Okay." Demimeramon was already occupied with experimentally sticking his hand into an open peanut butter jar.
Tyler left his apartment and crossed the hall. He didn't know what this was about, but he doubted it was anything serious. Anna had called him over a few weeks ago when she had been cornered in her bedroom by a bee on the wall. She had refused to walk past it to get to the door, so Tyler had been called in to shoo it away. He knocked on her apartment door. At this time of day, Anna's parents would be at work just as his mother was.
"Anna? It's Tyler." There was no response. Tyler tried the door and found it unlocked. He slowly pushed it open and looked in. He immediately saw Anna sitting on the couch across the room. "Hey Anna. What's wrong?" Tyler peered at her and recognized the look on her face. Her expression was one of frozen horror. "Anna, what...?" He noticed that her gaze was locked on something on the floor. Tyler followed her eyes and saw something small and blue sitting on the floor several feet away from Anna'a position. As Tyler watched, it slowly turned around at looked at him with wide black eyes.
Tyler peered at it and realized that it resembled a very big drop of water. It reminded Tyler of a giant gel tablet. Beneath a shining surface, its insides were fluid. A small mouth formed into a smile as it looked at Tyler. "Hello. Please do not be afraid."
Tyler groaned. "Let me guess. You're a digimon?"
Obviously pleased, the small creature smiled again. "Exactly. Are you a friend of Anna's?"
"Yeah. I guess I am."
The digimon nodded. "Perhaps you could explain to her that I only wish to be her friend. She seems rather terrified of me. Any time I go near her she screams."
"I'll see what I can do." Tyler walked over to Anna and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Anna? I know this must seem very strange. But, trust me when I say that this little guy is completely harmless. In fact, I'll bet he's pretty nice."
Anna looked at him for a moment. "Wh-what is it?"
Tyler looked over his shoulder at the digimon who seemed to be giving Anna its most non-threatening smile.
"Well, I think it's something called a digimon."
"My name is Hydromon.", it offered helpfully.
"There you go. Its name is Hydromon."
"Not its, her, actually.", Hydromon piped up.
"Her name is Hydromon.", Tyler corrected himself. Anna looked fearfully past him. Taking this as a good sign, Hydromon hopped forward slightly, and Anna flinched back. Hydromon froze, and looking dejected, hopped back several paces.
Tyler looked back at Hydromon and shrugged. He turned back to Anna. "Anna, I'm your friend. Please trust me. She doesn't want to hurt you. Why don't you give her a chance."
Anna didn't say anything, but she did look at Hydromon again.
"Only one way to do this.", Tyler though to himself. "Hey Hydromon. Why don't you come over here?" The digimon looked at him questioningly and he nodded reassuringly.
Slowly she hopped across the floor until she was standing right behind Tyler. He bent over and gently picked her up. Tyler held her up so that she was face to face with Anna, but still several feet away. Anna cowered back, but did look at Hydromon curiously.
"C'mon Anna. Say hi.", Tyler encouraged.
It took a minute but Anna finally managed to whisper, "Hi."
Hydromon broke into a grin. "Hello Anna."
After this brief exchange, the two were silent. Anna just sat there staring at Hydromon. Although, Tyler noted, her expression was now more one of curiosity than fear. For her part, Hydromon stared right back, with almost as much curiosity as Anna.
Finally Tyler got tired of holding the little ball of fluid up and plopped down on the couch next to Anna with Hydromon in his lap. Anna involuntarily scooted over, but she didn't jump up and run from the room as Tyler had feared she might.
"Are you ready to talk now Anna?", Hydromon asked gently.
What followed was very similar to Tyler's initial conversation to Demimeramon. Of course, Anna's questions were more tentative with longer pauses in between. And, Tyler noted, her responses lacked the innate sarcasm that his own had. In the end Hydromon sat directly next to Anna, and she had stroked her back once or twice, apparently out of a desire to know what she felt like. She still wasn't entirely comfortable in the digimon's presence, but she seemed more shy than afraid. Eventually things turned to Anna's digivice, which Hydromon seemingly produced out of nowhere. It was nearly identical to Tyler's with the exception that the little traces of light which darted through its circuitry were blue instead of red. Although she had shrieked and nearly dropped it, when it had lit up in her hands, Anna didn't show any particular fear towards the device. At Hydromon's prodding, she had activated the analyzer feature.
D-SHERE ONLINE.
ANALYZER ACTIVE.
HYDROMON.
LEVEL: IN TRAINING
ATTACK: BUBBLE BLOW
ANALYZER DEACTIVATED.
Tyler suddenly realized that he had left Demimeramon back in his apartment over an hour ago. He excused himself and informed the other two that he would return momentarily. Anna seemed somewhat nervous at the prospect of being alone with Hydromon again, but she didn't ask not to be left alone.
Back in his own apartment Tyler called out to Demimeramon. His only answer was a groan from the kitchen. Tyler cautiously walked into the kitchen and nearly laughed out loud at the sight which met his eyes. Demimeramon lay belly-up on the counter. His eyes were glazed and his midsection was bloated. Near him lay the peanut butter jar, empty. Tyler also noted that there were also an empty marmalade jar as well as the peels from a dozen bananas.
"Snacking?", Tyler asked, repressing a grin.
Demimeramon groaned again and attempted to roll over.
"Shall I get you anything else?"
The little ball of flame feebly shook his head.
Tyler picked Demimeramon up and noticed that he was now several pounds heavier than before. Trying to carry him gently in case balls of living fire were capable of throwing up, Tyler carried Demimeron across the hall to Anna's apartment.
He found Anna and Hyromon in the kitchen. Hydromon was eating a peanut-butter sandwich and Anna was watching in fascination as the little creature ate.
When she noticed what Tyler was carrying, Anna blanched.
"Don't worry Anna. This little guy is just like Hydromon. Well, except for the fact that he's on fire and is apparently suffering from a severe case of indigestion."
Anna walked over slowly and looked at Demimeramon cautiously.
"Go ahead and touch him. It's kind of cool.", Tyler urged. Anna chose to refrain for the moment.
"Does he want a peanut butter sandwich?", Anna asked.
At the mention of peanut butter, Demimeramon whimpered. "I think he's fine for now.", Tyler said.
They walked back to the kitchen and Tyler set Demimeramon on the counter near Hydromon who was finishing her sandwich. When Anna looked nervous, Tyler assured her that Demimeramon couldn't set the counter on fire.
Hydromon looked suspiciously at Demimeramon's distended form. "What happened to you?", she asked.
The only reply was a moan which sounded vaguely like, "No more peanut-butter."
After Hydromon had finished her meal, and Demimeramon had recovered somewhat, the four of them went to Anna's room. Anna sat cross legged on the bed with Hydromon beside her. Tyler perched on the edge of Anna's desk and Demimeramon floated beside him at shoulder height.
"So Anna and I are both digidestined. What are we supposed to do now?", Tyler asked.
Hydromon and Demimeramon looked at each other. Hydromon responded. "To be honest, we're not really sure. There are digidestined all over the world. Whenever a new group is chosen it's because There's a great threat to our home, the digital world or something from the digital world is threatening earth."
Demimeramon cut in. "But we don't really know what kind of threat you guys are supposed to be facing. All we know is that when it comes, you'll know it."
Anna paled at this turn in the conversation. "Does that mean we'll have to fight?", she asked timidly.
Hydromon frowned sadly and nodded. "Unfortunately, it seems that violence is often the only way to settle these things."
"But you won't be alone!", Demimeramon said. "There are lots of other digidestined right here in this city. And there at three more new digidestined who were chosen at the same time as you two."
"So who are they? And where do we find them?", Tyler asked.
"I wish we had more answers for you guys, but we don't know that either.", Demimeramon replied. "But, one of the functions of your D-Sphere is that it can track the location of any other digimon or digivices in the city. So finding your allies shouldn't be too difficult."
"And then what? We just wait for some big monster to attack the city or something so we can beat it up?"
"Not exactly. Once you and the other new digidestined are together, the best place to get started will be in the digital world. Whatever you've been chosen to deal with, it will probably start there.", Hydromon answered.
"Where is the digital world?", Anna asked.
"It's hard to explain.", Demimeramon said. "The digital world is like another dimension that exists along side this one. It was originally created from all the discarded data from your world's computer systems. There are portals that lead to the digital world all over the place but most of them are sealed to prevent anything from either world from crossing over. The ones who chose Hydromon and I to be your partners sent us to you through one of those portals. As digidestined, you're one of the few living creatures who can open just about any portal."
"You can use the portals to travel to different locations in the digital world.", Hydromon added.
"This is all a lot to handle.", Tyler sighed. "But I guess if we're gonna do this, the first thing we need to do is find some of these other digidestined and find out what's up. So how does this tracking mode work?"
"Just press that button on your digivice.", Demimeramon said, pointing to the button above the screen of Tyler's D-Sphere.
Tyler pressed the button and the screen flared up displaying a grid with a number of red and blue dots distributed across it."
D-SPHERE ONLINE.
TRACKING MODE ACTIVE.
"If I'm looking a this thing right, one of these blips is right near here.". Tyler said.
Demimeramon leaned in to examine the small screen. Near the bottom of the screen which marked Tyler's position was a cluster of red dots. "You're right Tyler. That's less than a mile from here. But those represent digimon and there are no digivices near them."
"So what?", Tyler questioned.
"So you don't usually see digimon in your world unless they're accompanied by a digidestined with a digivice. I don't know why those digimon are here, but we should check it out."
Anna turned several shades of white. "I don't think I want to go out there.", She said with a trembling voice.
Hydromon smiled at Anna reassuringly. "It's okay Anna. I'll protect you. This is something you'll get used to."
"I don't want to get used to anything.", she cried. "I don't want to fight or look for monsters. Whoever picked me to be a digi-something made a mistake."
Tyler went over to the bed and sat down next to Anna. "C'mon Anna. I can't say I know what's going on here exactly, but I think we're being given the chance to be heroes. You have to give it a try."
Anna turned away from him. "No I don't! I don't want to get involved in this! I don't care what it is! I'm not a hero and I don't want to be one!"
Tyler sighed. Hydromon looked sad and Demimeramon had an annoyed expression on his face. "Look Anna, I know you didn't choose this, but you were picked for a reason.", he said slowly. "This is your destiny. You can't just turn your back on it. There are a lot of people out there who are counting on you. So get it together and stop being such a crybaby!"
At the last remark, Tyler spun and glared and Demimeramon. "Hey! Leave her alone, okay! She doesn't have to do anything!", he cried angrily.
Hydromon also looked angry. "She needs time. For now, let her be."
Demimeramon was about to respond but then he just turned away. "Fine.", he grumbled. "Tyler, we really should check this out. You coming?"
Tyler looked uncertainly between Anna and Demimeramon. He finally lowered his head and turned to leave the room. "I'm coming." He turned back to Anna. "I'll be back. Just stay here and take it easy."
As he left Anna looked up. "Please be careful.", she whispered.
Tyler nodded and smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." With that, Tyler and Demimeramon left.
Once they were outside the apartment, Tyler glared at Demimeramon. "Why'd you upset her like that?"
Demimeramon scowled. "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm proud of being one of the chosen. I don't understand why she isn't."
Tyler's expression relaxed. "Anna is just...She's kind of fragile. I don't know if she's cut out for this."
Demimeramon looked at Tyler for a moment. "I didn't mean to be rude. But I wasn't kidding when I said that she can't walk away from this. Whether she accepts it or not, she is a digidestined. If she won't confront the forces of darkness, they'll come to her. This isn't really something you can say no to."
Tyler looked at Demimeramon suspiciously. "Exactly what are these forces of evil? What are we up against."
"I already told you I don't know. Bu whatever it is, it's big. You and the others wouldn't have been chosen if this were something the older digidestined could take care of on their own."
"Great.", Tyler replied. "Just great."
Once they left the building, Demimeramon concealed himself in the pocket of Tyler's jacket. Using the digivice as a guide, Tyler followed the signal for several blocks. The people he passed on the sidewalk gave him a few odd looks but he ignored them. Finally, he stopped and consulted the digivice. "I think what we're following is across the street in that park."
Demimeramon's voice was muffled through Tyler's pocket. "You're right. I can sense the presence of other digimon. Be careful."
Tyler crossed the street and entered the public park. It was early in the day and there were only a few children playing on the open lawn. In the center of the park was a round man-made lake. It was only a few feet deep. Two girls sat on the concrete ledge around the water playing with their dolls. Tyler looked at the digivice again. "It's here. But this thing can't give me a more specific location." He looked around. Aside from a few scattered trees, the park was just a big square lawn. "I don't see any place for them to hide."
A scream from the girls by the lake drew both their attention. "There's one mystery solved.", Tyler sighed.
The two girls ran away as several creatures emerged from the water. They had short, stout bodies and walked on all fours. Their short legs ended in webbed feet. They were covered in matted gray hair and had a row of spiked down their back. Tyler pointed his digivice at the things as they crawled over the edge of the lake.
ANALYZER ACTIVE.
GIZAMON.
LEVEL: ROOKIE.
ATTACK: SPIRAL SAW
ANALYZER DEACTIVATED.
Demimeramon stared at the three Gizamon as they approached. "This is weird. Gizamon usually have orange hair."
"Maybe they forgot to dye it this week.", Tyler responded impatiently. "Are they dangerous?"
Demimeramon nodded. "Gizamon are nasty little buggers. We'd better be careful."
The Gizamon stared at their surroundings. One by one their black eyes focused on Tyler and Demimeramon. "Master wants digidestined. We obey.", one of them hissed. They bared their razor sharp teeth and advanced on the human and digimon.
"Okay. What do we do?". Tyler asked, backing away.
"We fight!", Demimeramon shouted, jumping forward. "Bubble Blow!"
The stream of pink bubbles crossed the distance between Demimeramon and the Gizamon and splashed against their faces. They growled and shook their heads but kept coming.
"Good job. I think that took care of it.", Tyler said sarcastically.
Demimeramon frowned. "I don't think this is going to work."
"We take digidestined to master.", the Gizamon snarled.
"I don't think so!", Demimeramon growled. "Watch this Tyler!"
Tyler's digivice shot a beam of red light at Demimeramon. Tyler stumbled back in surprise. "Whoa!"
D-SPHERE ONLINE.
INITIATING DIGIVOLUTION.
A sphere of red light formed around Demimeramon. "Demimeramon digivolve to...!" The red sphere shattered to reveal Demimeramon's new form. His body looked like a large candle in a golden dandle stick. His waxy white body appeared soft and malleable. He had large red eyes and a mouth full of small teeth. Atop his head burned a small flame with its own grinning face. "Candlemon!"
'Damn!", Tyler shouted. "How did you do that?"
D-SPHERE ONLINE.
ANALYZER ACTIVE.
CANDLEMON
LEVEL: ROOKIE
ATTACK: FLAME BOMBER
NOTES: BODY IS MADE OF A SOFT SUBSTANCE WHICH CAN ABSORB ATTACKS USED AGAINST IT.
ANALYZER DEACTIVATE.
Candlemon grinned. "You thought that was cool? Check this out! Flame Bomber!"
A ball of fire spewed from Candlemon's mouth. It struck the ground in front of the Gizamon and exploded. The force of the blast threw the three digimon back. They hit the ground and scrambled forward.
"Spiral Saw!", they cried together. Their bodies spinning like spiked wheels, the Gizamon surged forward.
Candlemon hopped backwards slightly. "Uh-oh. Flame Bomber!" The ball of fire struck one of the charging Gizamon and sent it flying away. But the other two kept coming. Before Candlemon could attack again, the two Gizamon barreled into him. Their razor sharp spikes tore into Candlemon's soft body. The impact knocked him away. His waxy body already reforming, Candlemon struggled to get up but one of the Gizamon charged into him again. Gasping in pain, he flew back and hit the ground hard.
Stopping their spin, the Gizamon came to a rest in front of Candlemon. "Kill digimon. Take digidestined to master.", they said.
A rock bounced off one of the Gizamon's heads. It turned with a growl. "Stay away from him!", Tyler yelled, already hefting another stone.
"Master wants digidestined. Hurt Digidestined!", the creature hissed. His courage failing, Tyler backed up. He hurled the stone in his hand but in his panic it missed.
The Gizamon grinned with a mouth full of pointed teeth. "Cut Digidestined! Tear Digidestined!"
Candlemon groaned. "No... Tyler, use your digivice.", he said weakly.
Tyler looked at the device in his hand with confusion. "How?" He stared at the buttons surrounding the screen. Without thinking, his finger moved over one of the buttons, the one below the screen. His finger depressed the button and the digivice erupted in light.
D-SPHERE ONLINE.
POWER MERGE.
A bolt of red light flew from Candlemon's body. The two startled Gizamon jumped away in surprise as the light flew past them. Tyler cried out as the light struck him. For a moment he felt disoriented and then he felt something new. A sense of power he had never experienced. His body felt hot. But the heat wasn't uncomfortable. Quite the contrary, he felt better than he ever had. Before his amazed eyes, his arms burst into flame. But he felt no pain. Tyler turned to the confused Gizamon facing him.
"Hurt Digidestined?", it said feebly.
Tyler smiled. "Uh-uh."
He stretched out his hand a ball of flame shot from it and engulfed the enemy digimon. The creature was instantly consumed and its body disintegrated. Tyler stared at his flaming hand in amazement.
"Now that was cool."
For a moment, the remaining Gizamon looked at Tyler uncertainly. Then, coming to a mutual decision they sprinted back towards the lake they had come from.
"Oh no you don't.", Tyler said raising a blazing hand.
"Let them go. They're no more threat to us.", Candlemon said weakly. The digimon had recovered from his wounds but he seemed drained.
Tyler looked at his partner skeptically and then lowered his hand. The flames around his arms extinguished and a bolt of red light flew from Tyler back into Candlemon who seemed instantly strengthened.
Candlemon glowed faintly and then reverted to Demimeramon. Tyler looked at him. "You got small again."
Demimeramon nodded. "Digivolving requires a lot of energy. There's a limit to how long I can stay like that."
"So what was that thing I did. It was like I got your powers for a minute there.", Tyler asked.
"I'm not sure exactly.", Demimeramon responded. "I just knew it would work."
"Well it was totally cool! I vaporized that thing and the rest of them took of running! I rule!"
Demimeramon seemed less enthusiastic. "Yeah. But we don't know why those things were after you. Whoever or whatever sent those Gizamon will probably send something else. This was only the beginning."
As if to emphasize Demimeramon's point, the lake in the center of the park exploded. Tyler turned in shock as a creature out of his nightmares rose from the rubble. It was the living skeleton of a monster. It's huge arms ended in clawed hands. The eye sockets of its skull burned with a red light. The bones of its rib cage ended in vicious points. Along its spiked back bone a series of bony protrusions formed into something similar to a cannon. The thing towered high over the human and other digimon. It growled and flexed its claws. The towering monster turned towards them. Its jaws opened wide and it roared.
What the hell is that!?", Tyler yelled.
Beside him, Demimeramon trembled in fear. "Skullgreymon.", he whispered.
Yikes! Looks like Tyler's in serious trouble. Will Anna be able to get over her fears in time to help him? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters.