Last Week: Gennai finally showed up to provide some answers to Izzy, Joe, and Cody. He's hard at work to uncover the true evil that's fast becoming a major threat. He took Armadillomon to assist him in the Digital World while Izzy rushed over to Odaiba University to inform Takato and Henry while returning their things. All seemed to be well with Rika, until she got an unexpected phone call…FROM RYO! There was a rift between Tai and TK, who were both fighting over Catherine. And in an attempt to impress and feel younger at the same time, Tai got himself a motorcycle…much to the chagrin of his sister and best friend.


Digimon: The College Years

Episode 13- Yin and Yang


For the last several weeks, the Digital World has been buzzing about what's been going on. Digimon had been disappearing left and right and word was that the Black Gears had made an unwelcome return. And in the last week, more Digimon had disappeared. And rumor had it that a human was behind these abductions. However, no one had gotten close enough to see who was behind this without getting shanghaied.

This wasn't the type of news that Agumon liked to hear. He could tell that all wasn't well in the Digital World. There was a major difference with this particular plight. Agumon could feel that nobody sensed the urgency. The DigiDestined were all still in the real world, unaware of these dire events. And some of his friends were in the real world, too.

Biyomon and Palmon were staying with Sora and Mimi in their dorm room. They said something about helping the two girls with their fashion designs. Gomamon and Tentomon were getting attached to observing the college life, so they hardly ever came back. They liked staying with Joe and Izzy. Veemon, Wormmon, Patamon, and Gatomon were all with their partners, accompanying them for their freshman year.

The only one still around was Gabumon. In fact, Agumon and Gabumon were both walking through one of the forests of the Digital World. They had heard an unconfirmed rumor of that human at work once again.

"What did you hear, Agumon?" Gabumon asked.

"I heard it from a Gazimon," Agumon explained. "He saw a human brutally whipping a Digimon before tossing what he said was a Black Gear. Then the Digimon walked away with the human somewhere."

"What did the Digimon look like?"

"The Gazimon said that it looked huge and metallic. But what I'm concerned about is that a human really IS out here abducting Digimon. And if nobody else is going to stand up for the Digimon, then I'll do it."

"You know I won't let you do that by yourself," Gabumon pointed out. "That's why I'm coming with you, you know."

"I know. Thanks a lot, Gabumon. Having you at my side makes this a lot easier…"

Agumon suddenly stopped in his tracks. He held up a hand to motion Gabumon to stop. There was a rustling coming from the bushes around them. The two brave rookies then turned around to see that something was stirring within the bushes. Feeling ready for anything, Agumon got ready for a battle.

It turned out to be unnecessary. Because a familiar figure came out of the bushes. It was an old friend.

"Hello, Agumon, Gabumon. I'm glad I found you two."

Gabumon's eyes widened. "Gennai!"

It had been a long time, but indeed it was young Gennai coming out of the bushes. And he wasn't alone. Behind him were the only other two DigiDestined Digimon who weren't in the real world. Behind him were Hawkmon and Armadillomon.

"I've been looking all over for you two," Gennai smiled. "I brought Armadillomon from the real world and I found Hawkmon later on. Once I found them, I knew I only needed to recruit two more Digimon with hearts of gold. And those two are you."

"Recruit us?" Gabumon repeated. "Do you need help, Gennai?"

"I'm sure you've heard about what's been happening in the Digital World," Gennai explained. "I believe that the recent abductions are linked to a much greater evil. I've informed the DigiDestined and their allies about what I know so far, but until I'm 100 percent sure what we're up against, I don't want to drag them away from their studies. After all, college is a difficult task in itself. That's why I'll need your help."

"What do you want us to do?" Agumon asked.

"As a full-fledged team of four, I'll need you to wander around the Digital World digging up any information that you can about this recent threat, including the one using Black Gears to corrupt Digimon. In the meantime, I must meet up with the four Digimon Sovereigns, who are also concerned about this evil on the horizon. I believe they may have something that can help us all out."

"We don't have a problem doing some dirty work, Gennai," Armadillomon said. "But what if we meet up with this human or one of the Digimon under control of the Black Gears?"

"I believe I know what Armadillomon is about to say," Hawkmon added. "Should we find ourselves in a perilous situation, we wouldn't be able to Digivolve without our partners."

"I've taken that into account," Gennai answered. He took out a small blue box. "Agumon?"

Agumon stepped forward and took the blue box in his hand. "What's this?"

"In case you meet up with danger, open this box. This is a little gift from the Digimon Sovereigns. But ONLY use this in case of extreme emergency. This should only be used as a last resort."

The four Digimon all gathered around the box. There seemed to be a light shining from within. Agumon couldn't help but be a little curious, but he also recognized the seriousness in Gennai's tone. This was a last resort.

Gennai started heading out through the bushes. "Good luck, my friends. I'll stay in touch."

"But what do we do if we find something?" Hawkmon asked.

"I'll know where to find you," Gennai grinned. "Trust me, I always seem to be around when I'm really needed. Call it good timing. Good luck."

Gennai leaped through the bushes and was gone, leaving this ragtag foursome on their own. They stayed still momentarily, letting what happened sink in. Then they stared at the box, watching its inner glow. Finally, Agumon stepped forward.

"Where do we start looking, Agumon?" Gabumon asked.

Agumon sighed. "Anywhere but here."

Two weeks had passed and the third week of college was about to begin. Things already weren't going Kari's way. She had homework coming out of her ears and this week wouldn't prove to be any easier. And things never got easier, especially with the continuing drama that was her life.

One of the things that ailed her was making noise at that very second. Once again, she heard the revving of Tai's motorcycle outside by the parking lot. Even from the sanctuary of her dorm room, she could still hear the loud 234cc engine and so did her two roommates and so did the Digimon tenants.

Jeri looked out the window. "Well…it's been two weeks and Tai still has his motorcycle."

Renamon turned to Gatomon and smirked. "Told you so."

Gatomon shrugged. "It seemed like a sure bet. Ok, I owe you a Coke."

Kari groaned. "I thought Tai would have gotten rid of that thing by now! Every time he rides that thing, I feel like he'll split his head open on the sidewalk! Why does he still have it? Catherine doesn't like him any more with it than without it."

"It's a male thing," Jeri answered. "It probably makes him feel macho or something."

"I'm glad Davis isn't like that," Kari noted.

"Is that why I saw Davis sitting on the seat this morning?" Gatomon pointed out. "He was going 'VROOM, VROOM'!"

Kari shook her head again. "Ok, but at least he doesn't actually ride it. He has more sense than that."

That caught Gatomon off-guard. "Davis? Sense?"

Kari sweatdropped. "You know what I mean."

"So who IS Catherine going out with?" Jeri asked.

"Well…she's going back and forth between Tai and TK," Kari answered. "She's not leaning towards anybody. She's supposed to have lunch with TK later."

"I think TK told me about that," Jeri muttered. "It's sounding like he's really interested in her."

"I noticed that, too," Kari said sadly. "Every time he's around her, I see his eyes practically pop out. And every time she talks in that French accent of hers, it's like he's in a trance. I never had that effect on him. He never looked at me that way. I just can't believe it, Jeri. After all those years and all it took was one French girl for him to forget about me."

That got the attention of the third roomie. "All right, that's it!"

Rika took her eyes off her homework and got out of her chair. It looked like she was bothered by something. She angrily walked over towards Kari. Taking a hint, Jeri scooted over and away, leaving the other two roommates with their space.

Rika started off with a low chuckle. "You know, when we first moved in here, I knew there was something I didn't like about you. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something about you that just…irritated me. At first, it was your whole 'Ms. Nice Girl' attitude, always trying so hard to be my friend. Then it was your whole 'Miss Perfect' vibe that you just gave off. You looked like you could never be wrong, no matter what you did and that just frustrated me.

"But lately, I've been able to look past that. Of course, lately I've found a new reason not to like you."

"Um…why's that?" Kari asked timidly.

"Because you're a weak little crybaby and a poor, pathetic excuse for a woman!"

Kari was in shock. No one had ever called her that before and no one had ever been so harsh with her. Before she could even respond, Rika elaborated further.

"Every single day for the last two weeks, I hear you whine and cry about how TK's already dating. About how he's dating again so soon. And about how much he likes this new girl. About how he never looked at you that way. Every day, you just whine and wallow in your self-pity…despite the fact that you, yourself, are already going out with someone else! And I don't know if you've noticed or not, but you have a guy out there who really likes you!

"Any normal woman would see that and be happy for what she has! But not you! You have to spend all your time worrying about what TK does! TK this and TK that! STOP worrying about TK! I've never seen a girl so whipped over her EX-BOYFRIEND! Why don't you stand on your own two feet for once?! Suck it up and stop being so frail!"

Kari's eyes widened. "FRAIL?!"

"Yes, FRAIL! Emotionally frail! One thing goes wrong and you go off the deep end. Need I remind you of how you reacted when you first heard about TK and Catherine?"

Kari wanted to protest right away. But she stopped herself and decided to look at this through Rika's point of view. She thought about how she did react when hearing about TK's first date with Catherine. She remembered going off the deep end and immediately going out to yell at TK. She even remembered kissing Davis in front of him out of spite. Rika made a good point. Kari realized that she was being emotionally frail.

Kari hung her head down. "You're right. I have been emotionally frail lately. I just…haven't been faced with anything like this before. I don't know how to handle it."

Rika nodded knowingly. "I'll tell you what. Let's go out and have lunch off campus. And while we're there, we can talk about how you can handle this."

"How would you know how to handle this?" Kari asked curiously.

Jeri gasped. "Rika…are you…?"

Rika held her hand out. "Don't…even say it. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." She paused briefly. "Come with us, Jeri. You're good at this sort of thing, too."

"Well…I AM pretty hungry…"

Before Jeri could agree to tag along, her pager started to go off. She rolled her eyes and reached over to get it. And once she saw it, she groaned.

"Great…bad timing strikes again. I can't make it."

"Then we'll go without you. Come on, Kari. Let's go."

"Wait a minute! Who'll watch Renamon and Gatomon?"

Rika answered Kari's question by shifting her gaze towards Impmon and Calumon. They both had their eyes on the TV screen, but they both noticed they were being watched. They turned around and returned Rika's gaze.

"What?" Impmon asked obliviously.

One advantage of being a computer science student was that Izzy had access to the computer lab in the basement of Engineering building, which was reserved for students pursuing such majors. Izzy had a lot to catch up on, especially regarding some of the things he had seen recently.

Over the last two weeks, Izzy had been introduced to the Digimon Tamers and was revisited by old ally and friend, Gennai. But things just wouldn't end there for Izzy. He had to continue a major project for his class and still balance that with occasionally researching the Digital World.

It wasn't easy to balance that, since he had an appointment in about ten minutes. He had to rush over to the freshman dorms since Takato had agreed to let him study Guilmon. Izzy was more than curious about that Digimon since Takato says he made him out of a drawing.

It was time to go. So Izzy grabbed his bag and put it over his shoulder. Then he picked up Tentomon and started to walk out in a rush. But in his haste, he crashed into someone, dropping Tentomon and spilling some things out of his bag.

Izzy scrambled to pick his supplies up. "Oh, I'm really sorry. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Izzy. Very interesting little gadget you have here."

Izzy looked up and saw he had bumped into Professor Onodera. And she had picked up Izzy's Digivice from the ground and had her eye on it. It was almost as if she recognized it.

Professor Onodera slowly handed Izzy his Digivice. Once she did, she pointed at Tentomon.

"Stuffed animal?"

Izzy sweatdropped. "Oh…you bet! He's…more of a good luck charm. I hardly go anywhere without it."

Professor Onodera raised an eyebrow. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Izzy. How are those freshman programs looking?"

"Looking good. Nothing lower than a C, so far. I'd better get going. I'll see you later, Professor."

Izzy picked up his bag and Tentomon and started heading out. He wasn't usually that clumsy and that run-in just led him to believe that he was having a bad day.

Maybe things would pick up once he got to Takato's room.

Talley Onodera kept her eye on Izzy as he walked out. To say this was an unexpected discovery would be an understatement. But on this day, Talley had found something very interesting about her Teacher's Aide.

That device looked very familiar to her and she recognized it almost immediately. While it looked different than the ones the Tamers used, she couldn't deny that what she saw was a Digivice. How he got one of those, Talley had no idea. But she had a vague idea.

The gender of the mole had yet to be specified to any of them. It was very possible that the mole in question was Izzy.

Knowing what she had to do, Talley reached for her cell phone and punched her speed dial.

"Sir? It's Talley. I think we have our first breakthrough…"

There was no better way to talk about personal problems than over a latte and a croissant. At least that was how Kari felt. And apparently, Rika felt the same way, because both girls ventured down to the coffee shop together. After getting her latte and croissant, Rika and Kari sat by the window. Things went silent. Kari didn't know where to even begin.

So the outspoken Rika kicked things off. "Why do you do it, Kari? Why do you keep hanging on to something that isn't there? Why can't you just let TK go?"

Kari sighed and took a sip of her latte. "We've just been through so much in our lives. And everything we've gone through, we've been through it together. It's been that way since we were eight years old and going through the Digital World for the first time." She let out a smile. "He was looking out for me, even back then. I remember when we were running from Piedmon. I was so scared, but TK was really brave and just wouldn't quit."

Rika thought about that. "Piedmon? Mega Digimon with a bad taste for storytelling."

"You've heard of him?"

"I've heard of just about every Digimon there is. Back in West Shinjuku, I used to be known as the Digimon Queen."

Kari giggled. "I've been called a queen before." Then she shuddered as she thought of when that happened. "On second thought, I'd rather not talk about it."

"So I guess you and TK were really close."

"About as close as a couple could ever get. You know, it's sad. TK was my first boyfriend and really the only boy I ever let get that close to me. Sure, I've always had guys like Davis, Matt, Cody, Izzy, and Joe around. But TK was the only one I considered as anything more than a friend. I was even thinking of…going even further with him one day."

"Ok, there's one thing I have to know," Rika said. "What attracted you…to Davis?"

That proved to be a surprisingly easy answer for Kari. "Out of everybody I've known in my life, Davis has the biggest heart. Sure, he can occasionally be obnoxious, cocky, clumsy, or whatever else. But I never questioned his heart. And he's the best friend anybody could ever have.

"He's got a certain innocence that you just can't help but love. He tries so hard and even if he doesn't always succeed, which he rarely does, he never lets it get him down. I've never met anyone with such spirit. And you want to talk about courage? You need look no further than Davis.

"I remember seven years ago when we faced off with an evil Digimon called MaloMyotismon. He had completely obliterated two ultimate-level Digimon effortlessly and looked to be completely invincible. I had never been so scared in my life and I'd never seen TK that afraid, either. Ken, Yolei, and Cody were all scared to death. But Davis never flinched for a second. He knew he didn't stand a chance. We all knew he didn't stand a chance. But he didn't care. He chose to stand up to MaloMyotismon, because he knew somebody had to stop him from taking over both worlds. He was never afraid."

Rika shook her head. "That's what baffles me, Kari. He sounds like a great catch. Why keep dwelling on your past? Why dwell on TK?"

"Getting over the breakup's a lot harder than I thought," Kari answered sadly.

Rika closed her eyes and hung her head down. "I can't believe I'm about to say this. Kari…I know how you feel."

That caught Kari by surprise. "You do?"

Rika scowled. "I'm going to share something with you, Kari. Now I'm only doing it to make a point. But after today, we never mention it again, GOT IT?!"

"Got it. What is it?"

Rika closed her eyes again. "A year ago…someone I knew…a friend…a guy…moved away. His name was Ryo Akiyama."

Kari thought about that. "Ryo Akiyama…Ryo Akiyama…why does that name sound familiar?"

"Can I finish?"

"Sorry."

"I knew Ryo for a long time. We met when I went into the Digital World for the first time. You should have seen Kazu and Kenta. They looked like total fanboys, like they had just met their hero. They even called him a legend. And…ok…maybe I'll admit…he was pretty good. I still don't think he's better than me, though.

"I can't explain why I fell for him. There was something different about him that I didn't see in Takato or Henry or any of them. People might say it was because he saved my life a couple of times. But I think it was because Ryo was…a warrior…like me."

"Did you ever tell him how you felt?" Kari asked.

"Oh please! If there's one thing I'm not and one thing I never will be, it's a romantic! I couldn't just come out and tell him. But that didn't mean I wasn't leaving out subtle hints. I shared my cards with him, bought him lunch, helped him out whenever I could. And I never went anywhere without asking him to come with me. That should have been enough."

"So what happened?"

For the first time since Kari had met her, Rika's tough-girl façade was breaking down. "Last year, he told me he was moving to Hong Kong. His parents moved away and they dragged him along, too. I thought that would be the moment where we'd put aside all the games and tell each other how we felt. But it didn't work out that way, because one day…Ryo just left without saying goodbye.

"I had to find out from Takato and Henry. When they told me that Ryo left, well…you could imagine how that made me feel. That night, I got a call from Ryo in Hong Kong. He thought everything was just great between us and what really got to me was that he was just going on like he didn't realize what he had done. He just talked like he did nothing wrong. Feeling frustrated, I just hung up."

Kari was left almost speechless. "Rika…I had no idea."

"NOW do you see why I never wanted to talk about it?"

To Kari, it all started to make sense. That was the reason why Rika would get so bent out of shape every time someone vaguely hinted at even mentioning his name. It brought back too many bad memories for her.

Rika scoffed. "I don't know what I ever saw in him in the first place. Just because he was always so good and so handsome. It was always like he could do no wrong and he always succeeded at whatever he did. A total Mr. Perfect! I can't tell you how much I HATE…"

Rika stopped in her tracks and started glaring at Kari. Not picking up any of the subtle ironies, Kari just had a blank look on her face.

"Rika? What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Rika didn't lose that cold stare. "Uh…no reason. Kari, do you even see the point I'm trying to make?"

"Um……………………no."

"Ok, here's the point I want to make," Rika began. "Despite what happened with me and Ryo…did I ever cry about it?"

Kari hesitated. "No."

"Did I ever wallow in self-pity?"

"No."

"Despite knowing that Ryo may have very well found someone else out in Hong Kong, did I ever let it bring me down?"

Kari saw where this was going. "No."

"That's right, I didn't. Because despite my personal feelings, I know that I need to be strong and so should you. You have a lot to learn about being a strong woman. You lack a certain self-reliance. And I can help you find that."

"You can?"

"Absolutely. Stick with me, Kari. And before you know it, you'll be an independent woman who can stand on her own two feet."

And there was the offer. Rika was offering to share what she knew with Kari. On one hand, it was the closest Kari had ever gotten to her roommate since moving in. Maybe this would be a good experience. There was a certain something that she respected about Rika. Perhaps it was the whole independent woman vibe she gave off. It reminded her of Yolei in a lot of ways.

And on the other end of the spectrum, maybe Kari would be a good influence on Rika. She was thinking that some of her better qualities might rub off on her.

It didn't take long for Kari to agree. "I'd like that."

It was such a beautiful day outside and Guilmon could only look out the window. He wished he could be out there, but he knew he couldn't go outside. Not with so many of the students walking around.

In the meantime, Terriermon was busy entertaining the guests. The DigiDestined guys brought their Digimon so they could keep each other company. And Veemon, Patamon, and Wormmon were more than happy to be there. The four of them were playing poker and Terriermon was wearing a dealer's hat. In the middle of the four was a huge stack of red, white, and blue poker chips.

Terriermon laid down his hand. "Flush. All spades."

Veemon sighed. "I'm out."

Patamon shook his head. "Me too."

Wormmon hesitated. "Oh darn, I was so close."

"What'd you have, Wormmon?" Veemon asked.

Wormmon laid down his cards. "All I had were two pairs of Jacks."

Terriermon sweatdropped. He groaned and pushed the pile of poker chips forward. "Figures. I never COULD win at poker."

"I can't even win at Go Fish," Veemon grinned.

Guilmon sighed as he looked out the window. Finally, he made a decision. "I'll be right back, Terriermon."

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Terriermon demanded.

"I need some air," Guilmon answered.

"But Takato told you not to go anywhere! You could be signing your ticket back to West Shinjuku if you get caught!"

"I'll only be a few minutes. Maybe you can win back what you lost by the time I get back."

Terriermon smirked and adjusted his dealer's hat. "Ok, guys. One more time."

Guilmon climbed out the window. He headed out into the bushes to get a bird's-eye view of college life.

A couple of weeks had passed and things had gotten way too quiet for The Digimon Empress. But standing atop her usual post on the roof of one of Odaiba's buildings, she knew that it was time for things to get interesting again. Puppetmon had chosen this Digimon himself, even after The Digimon Empress went to all the trouble to search for others herself. But she didn't mind too much. After all, this was a very good choice.

Finally, she got the call on her communicator. It was time to bring him out. So she opened the Digital Field and out came the big man-bull, Minotarumon. He was big and red, muscles covering his body and wild hair over his head that had two long horns. The hair wasn't just there for decoration. It also covered the Black Gear. But the eye-opener was the big blaster on his arm. This was a dangerous Digimon…making him the perfect choice.

The Digimon Empress pointed down. "No failures! Either destroy or don't come back!"

Minotarumon jumped off the building and landed on his feet. With a loud roar, he started storming down the street.

Before she could even finish her croissant, Kari heard screaming. She peered outside to see that people were running from something. And it didn't take her long to see what it was.

"Rika, do you see what I see?"

Rika calmly stepped outside and saw what Kari was seeing. It was a huge Digimon and he looked to be very ill-tempered. Rika wasn't fazed at all. She just pointed her Digivice.

"Minotarumon, ultimate level. As mean as he is ugly, he pounds his opponents with his Bull Fighting Attack and Darkside Quake."

It didn't take long for Rika to reach for a cell phone. And Kari had a feeling she knew who she was about to call.

Renamon just shook her head again. She liked playing with Calumon and all, but she was starting to look bad at this point. It was getting to be pathetic.

"I can't believe it! I've beaten Ice Devimon, I've mashed Musyamon, and I've vanquished Vajiramon! I can't believe…"

She slammed down…five playing cards.

"…I can't beat a full house."

Gatomon scooped up all the chips. "And that's all your chips. Looks like I win!"

"Cheater!" Renamon pouted. "There's no way you could have had four aces in that last hand!"

"I'm a lucky kitty. I'm not a BLACK cat, you know."

Impmon turned to Calumon. "I'll bet you that Twinkie and three Ding Dongs that this leads to a fight."

Calumon nodded. "Ok!"

Before this argument could go any further, the phone rang. Everyone stood still. They knew that it wouldn't be a good idea for a Digimon to pick up the phone, but then again…it could have been an emergency. Finally, Renamon decided to just suck it up and answer.

"Yes?"

"Renamon? Where's Jeri?!"

"Jeri had to step out for a while. She didn't say where she was going. Rika, is something wrong?"

"Get down here, now! There's a Minatarumon on the loose! I need you here by the coffee shop!"

"I'll be right down!"

Renamon quickly hung up and headed for the window. But before she could get any further, someone tugged on her arm and stopped her. She groaned when she felt that pair of gloved hands grab her arm. She turned her head to see Gatomon.

"And where do you think YOU'RE going?" Gatomon demanded.

"A Minotarumon is on the loose. Rika needs my help. Let go of me, cat!"

"Ok, let's go!"

"NO! I'm going alone! Rika asked for ME, not you! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the coffee shop."

Gatomon smirked. "Do you even KNOW where Odaiba's coffee shop is?"

Renamon sweatdropped. "Uh…no…"

"Then you need me to show you where it is. Let's go!"

Renamon sighed, knowing she was defeated. "Fine! Let's go! But you'd better not get in the way! You let ME take care of everything!"

Gatomon rolled her eyes as she jumped out the window first. Renamon was about to follow, but before she did, she turned around.

"You two stay here."

After issuing that little instruction, the yellow fox jumped out the second-story window and landed behind the bushes, managing to keep from being seen. Carefully heading off campus, Renamon and Gatomon headed out into the city.

Guilmon liked getting this whiff of fresh air. He didn't want to go back into the confining dorm room, but he knew he would have to before Takato came back. But just as he was about to go back, he looked over and saw something behind the bushes in the distance.

It was Renamon and Gatomon. They looked like they were leaving. That made Guilmon more than curious. It was probably an emergency. Needing to know what was going on, the big red lizard stepped out of the bushes. But just as he stepped out, he accidentally bumped into two students. Guilmon gasped when he saw who he ran into.

They were two young ladies in sweaters and a skirt. It was a uniform. Guilmon realized that he ran into two cheerleaders. Much to his surprise, however, the girls didn't scream upon seeing him. Instead, they looked relieved. They took his hand and started leading him away.

"It's about time we found you!"

"Yeah, everybody's waiting for you!"

Guilmon blinked. "Huh? Waiting for me?"

"Yeah, that's right!"

"Let's go! We're already late!"

Guilmon had no idea what to make of any of this. But he just shrugged and decided to go with the flow. He just wondered where he was being taken.

Kari felt so helpless being forced to watch Minatarumon wreak havoc, knowing there was nothing she could do. She wished there was something she could do. But her wish soon came true, because help had arrived.

"Rika, look!"

Coming in at a blinding speed, Renamon leapt into the air and attacked Minatarumon. "Diamond Storm!"

Renamon attacked immediately, but the attack only served to get the big bull's attention. He turned around and swatted her away like a bug. Renamon slid down the pavement until she was at Gatomon's feet.

"Nice one, Foxy."

"Oh, shut up!"

Minotarumon continued on his mean streak, but now he had opposition. Kari watched as Rika stepped forward with her Digivice.

"The city won't last at this rate. I think we'd better move a step ahead quickly."

Rika took out one of her cards. Kari remembered seeing Takato fight this way, too. Rika swiped the card through her Digivice.

"DigiModify! Digivolution activate!"

Digivolution

**Renamon…Digivolve to…Kyubimon!**

Renamon had Digivolved into a bigger four-legged fox, with a bigger coat and nine tails. She looked ready to face off with Minatarumon, but before she did, she walked up to Gatomon.

"What do you think of me now, kitty?"

Gatomon shrugged. "Eh, I've seen better."

"Is that so? Well, watch and see what I can do!"

Kyubimon turned and made a beeline for Minatarumon. She leaped into the air again and got ready for another direct attack.

"Dragon Wheel!"

Surrounded with blue fire, Kyubimon rushed the big bull, but bounced off harmlessly. Gatomon walked up to the fallen fox and shook her head.

"Is that it?"

"No, that's not it!" Kyubimon growled. "It's not like you could do any better!"

"Maybe I can't, but at least I'm smart enough not to attack him directly. Watch and learn."

Gatomon walked over to one of the coffee shop's tables and pulled off the red tablecloth. She ran over in front of Minatarumon and started waving the tablecloth, matador-style.

"Toro! Toro! Come and get me!"

Being mocked in such a stereotypical fashion was enough to infuriate Minatarumon. He stopped what he was doing and started rushing Gatomon. Just before contact was made, Gatomon jumped straight into the air and draped the table cloth on the ultimate-level Digimon's head.

Gatomon waved to her partner. "I got him, Kari!"

Unfortunately, Minatarumon wasn't just some dumb bull. He pulled the tablecloth off his head and approached Gatomon while she was still waving at Kari. The bull then gave Gatomon a stiff kick and sent her flying until she landed right by Kyubimon.

"Oh, you really showed me," Kyubimon muttered sarcastically.

"That's not all I have up my sleeve," Gatomon shot back. She looked over at Kari. "Kari, time to Digivolve!"

Kari held her Digivice up. "You got it!"

**Gatomon…Digivolve to…Angewomon!**

Having Digivolved to ultimate-level, the playing field looked to be even. Angewomon took to the sky and flew in front of Minatarumon. There was a standoff.

Kyubimon tried to get up and get back in the fight. That's when she was approached by a few friends.

"Go get him, Kyubimon!"

Kyubimon blinked. She turned around to see…Calumon and Impmon.

"What are you two doing here? I told you to stay in the dorm!"

"And miss the excitement?" Impmon smirked. He lit a fireball on his fingertip. "You want me to make a steak out of this cow?"

"That won't be necessary," Kyubimon grumbled. "I'll admit the kitty LOOKS impressive, but looks aren't everything! I'm still stronger!"

Rika pointed her Digivice. "Angewomon, ultimate level. An angel Digimon who conquers evil with her Celestial Arrow and Heaven's Charm." She chuckled and pulled out another card. "She's quite a sight, Kari. But now I'll show you a REAL ultimate-level Digimon. Kyubimon, you ready?"

Kyubimon got up. "I thought you'd never ask."

Rika swiped her card. "DigiModify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

Matrix Digivolution

**Kyubimon…Digivolve to…Taomon!**

Kari gasped as she saw the four-legged Kyubimon Digivolve into the human-shaped Taomon. She couldn't help but feel good about this. After initially getting off to a rocky start with her roommate, here she was fighting by her side. And so were their Digimon, even after ill feelings they had towards each other.

Minotarumon found himself surrounded. So he focused on a nearby building.

"Darkside Quake!"

The building shook and started falling apart as Minatarumon shook it with his metallic hand. The big bull caught the pieces of debris and started tossing them at the two Digimon. Angewomon managed to dodge each shot and still aim her bow.

"Celestial Arrow!"

Angewomon shot her Celestial Arrow and hit Minatarumon between the eyes. The big bull was blinded and staggering around.

"Kari, now's our chance! Let's get him back to the Digital World!"

Kari ran out into the street knowing what she had to do. She needed to find another Internet café to open a Digiport. But she didn't see one anywhere. Of course…she wouldn't have the chance, either.

Because Rika had other ideas. "Taomon, finish him off!"

Taomon aimed a giant paintbrush. "Talisman of Light!"

Taomon shot a giant symbol of light at Minatarumon. After a direct hit, Minatarumon was deleted. Kari could only gasp in horror. She couldn't believe what she just saw.

Rika was taking it all indifferently. "Good job, Taomon. He won't be bothering us anymore."

Kari stood frozen for a moment. Words escaped her. Finally, after everything sank in, she stormed towards Rika. She firmly grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

"Y-Y-You…KILLED him!"

"And what's your point?" Rika asked with a stone-cold look.

"You didn't have to do that!"

"Excuse me? Maybe you didn't notice, but he was demolishing the city!"

"We could have sent him back!" Kari cried angrily. "You didn't have to kill him!"

"I don't think he was about to go quietly!" Rika shot back. "There was no time to send him back! He was on a rampage and putting innocent people in danger! This is a fight, Kari! And if innocent people are in danger, then there have to be sacrifices!"

"You're wrong!" Kari spat. "There's always time to do things the right way! I could have found a computer! I could have opened a Digiport!"

"And by the time that happened, half of Odaiba would be in shambles! Where's your head at?! He clearly made a choice and had to face the consequences of his decision! How could you even THINK about putting people in danger just to protect one bad Digimon?! What's the matter with you?!"

"How DARE you turn this around on me! You're the one who just killed a Digimon without any remorse! Don't you even care that a Digimon's death is on your head?!"

"NO! And you want to know why? Because if I hadn't acted, then there would likely would have been deaths of others that would be on my head…and YOURS! I'll let you think about that, Kari! Come on, Taomon! Let's go!"

Rika was about to walk off, but Taomon was a little busy. She was in the midst of an intense staredown with Angewomon. Both Digimon glared holes into one another.

"You never DID have any compassion," Angewomon muttered.

"I do what I must," Taomon shot back. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Maybe I do!"

Angewomon and Taomon started moving towards each other. Before they could get in each other's faces, Calumon stepped in between them.

"Hey! Cut it out! Impmon, help me!"

Impmon just waved his hand nonchalantly. "Uh…I don't know about this one, Calumon. I always did enjoy a good catfight. Maybe we should let them go."

"Taomon!" Rika snapped. "Let's go! We have no reason to fight these two. They'll just have to learn that this is how things need to be done."

Taomon turned around and started walking away, but not before looking back at Angewomon. "I'm still stronger."

Rika and Taomon walked away. Calumon looked back and forth and looked torn. But after a brief hesitation, he followed Rika and Taomon. Impmon casually followed along, but stopped just as he passed Angewomon.

He scoffed. "Angels."

Impmon casually followed his friends out and Kari found herself along with Angewomon.

Kari hung her head down. "Are we really wrong on this one?"

"No!" Angewomon answered without hesitation. "We did the right thing in taking the nonviolent approach. If anything, it's THEM who have a lot to learn."

Having said that, Angewomon reverted back to her champion level. Kari and Gatomon walked away down the street as the sun was starting to set. It had been a long day.

Guilmon was feeling out of place. He wasn't ever supposed to leave his dorm room. Yet here he was…inside Odaiba University's gymnasium, surrounded a dozen or so cheerleaders. And he didn't even know what he was doing there.

After what felt like an eternity, another one of the cheerleaders came in, dragging in an adult by the arm.

"We found him, Coach! Here's the new mascot for the Odaiba Dragons!"

Guilmon looked around. He was eager to see who the new mascot was. But his curiosity would have to wait, because the cheerleader and coach were walking up to him.

The coach pinched one of Guilmon's cheeks. "This one? He's kinda short, isn't he?"

"But look at how much trouble he went to," the cheerleader pointed out. "He went as far as to make his own costume. And it looks so real!"

That's when Guilmon realized that they were talking about him. The coach examined Guilmon and nodded.

"There's just one more test," he said. "Hold still, guy."

The coach reached into a nearby box and took out a white Odaiba Dragons sweater. He put it on Guilmon. It was little oversized, but it looked to be a good fit nonetheless.

"Perfect! You've got the look! Congratulations…uh…what's your name?"

Guilmon hesitated. "My name? Uh…I guess you can call me Guil…"

"Yes! Congratulations, Gil! You're the new official mascot of the Odaiba Dragons!"

Guilmon blinked. "I am?"

The coach chuckled. "I know, it's an honor. But we'll be looking forward to seeing you for the season opener. You'll be here before then, right?"

For lack of anything better to say, Guilmon just nodded. "When's that?"

"This Friday. Good to have you aboard, Gil!"

The coach shook Guilmon's hand. Guilmon didn't know exactly how to take this. But oddly enough…he felt happy about being the school's new mascot.

This was the kind of college life he could live with.


Next Week: We reach Odaiba's University's soccer season opener…with Guilmon as the team's new mascot. What'll happen when Takato finds out? Catherine can't wait to attend the game, either, but…who's she going with? Tai or TK? Meanwhile, Kari and Rika are still at each other's throats. Will it show as they get to the game? And what Black Gear influenced Digimon is looking to crash the party? It…isn't who you might think. @_@ But as if Rika didn't have enough to think about…a huge shocker's about to shake up her world. What is it? Find out on the next Digimon: The College Years!


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!