AnT:
Hmmm, my copy seems to work fine in that situation. It might be just your copy or maybe your PS is too old? My story is only loosely based on the game, but I'm sure you'll recognize some of the characters.





Disclaimer:
Toei and Bandai own Digimon. Bandai owns Digimon World 2 and Digimon World 3. This story was not written for profit.





Guard Tamer: Associates of Anarchy
By: RB3





Chapter 3: Arcadian Affairs





Akira's Digibeetle Browser beeped and he punched in a few buttons. A screen came up, giving him his new orders for the day. Attached to the orders was a report from a fellow Guard Tamer, Commander Brian Wiseman, which Akira read. The report stated that Wiseman had been accidentally sucked into one of the pink energy streams in the desert, which turned out to be a Data Stream. Wiseman ended up in a strange new location in the Digital World, which was dubbed "Arcadia" for being a tranquil, beautiful forest.

Commander Wiseman refused to explore the place on his own, wanting to avoid being isolated should he encounter enemies. He recorded the co-ordinates of his location, and then ran a few scans of the area before returning to the Kernel Zone base. Apparently, the area had an abundant supply of Digital Tumbleweeds, which looked like basketball-sized spheres of pink light. Wiseman's scans determined that these tumbleweeds were a great source of data. Akira's orders were to explore the area, clear out any hostiles if any, and then report back.

Akira called for the members of his squad, and it wasn't long before they were teleported into the middle of a beautiful, verdant forest. The squad searched around, finding nothing but vegetation and Digital Tumbleweeds lying on the ground. Akira and company soon encountered a strange, flying, groundhog-like creature enveloped by a white glow. It had odd violet markings across its chest, and was giggling, as though it was a frolicking child of fairy.

"What is that thing?" wondered Akira, as he activated the Digimon Analyzer. It gave no information on the creature. "It doesn't register on our Digimon Analyzer."

"It's probably not a Digimon then," suggested Esmeralda.

The creatures immediately flew away, but not before being recorded by the Digibeetle's camera. Akira wrote a message in his Browser to remind himself to submit the footage. Intelligence will determine what that creature was. The squad continued on until they came upon a lake in the middle of the forest. Its waters were a beautiful, glimmering azure blue. On the other side, a group of small, frog-like Digimon were singing on a rock. Each had a small brass horn entwined around its neck. They were led by a conductor carrying a wooden cane.

====================Digimon Analyzer====================
Name: Gekomon
Type: Virus
Level: Champion
Element: Water

Gekomon are timid by nature, and rarely attack others. They prefer to live a peaceful life, singing the days away.

Attacks:
Symphony Crusher - Gekomon can use their off key singing as a dangerous sonic weapon. The sound waves are visible as rainbow coloured musical symbols.

Tongue Attack - Gekomon can lash their tongues like a whip, and grab distant objects.


"Gekomon," mumbled Akira. "Well, maybe we should ask them about those groundhog creatures. Okay Digimon, your turn!"

Darkfryer, Lillith, and Amar materialized by the lake in nimbuses of blue light, and began a conversation with the conductor. "Hi!" began Lillith.

Lillith kept calling to the conductor, but he seemed too preoccupied by the singing of the Gekomon to hear her. "Let me try," offered Darkfryer, approaching the conductor's side. "HEY YOU!"

The conductor reflexively closed his ears, and felt as though his ear drums were going to burst. "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SO LOUD!"

"Sorry, but I have some important things to discuss with you," insisted Darkfryer.

"Okay," agreed the conductor. "Guys, take a break, I'm going to talk with these Digimon for awhile." The Gekomon choir left to preoccupy themselves. "What do you want?"

"We saw some strange creatures that looked flying groundhogs. Do you know what they are?" asked Lillith.

"You live here and don't know about the Digignomes?" asked the conductor incredulously.

"So that's what they're called..." mumbled Akira over the radio.

"Not really. We're not actually from this place. We're Digimon from another world and belong to a group called the Guard Tamers. We're here to capture some humans who've been bringing Digimon over to our world as soldiers," stated Amar professionally.

"Have you seen anything suspicious around here lately?" asked Darkfryer.

"Other than you three, not really," replied the conductor.

"Is there anything more you can tell us about the Digignomes?"

"They're harmless so they're not going to attack you or anything. That's all I know."

Lillith discussed this with the Guard Tamers and other Digimon. "Okay thanks, you've helped us a bit."

The conductor took his leave, and called the choir back to sing. Just as the Guard Tamer Digimon approached their Digibeetle, something fell into the lake! It splashed water everywhere, drenching the Gekomon, and the Guard Tamer Digimon. When everyone calmed down, they determined the identity of the fallen object; a Digimon. The fallen Digimon had a facial expression filled with malice and greed as it looked upon the Gekomon.

The Gekomon were terrified of the hostile Digimon. It was a massive dinosaur with dark blue skin and a white underbelly. Its left hand consisted of the skull of a dinosaur-like creature. Its right hand was the cybernetic, metallic head of a serpentine creature of some kind. The Digimon moved out of the water in pursuit of the fleeing Gekomon. The squad couldn't just stand by and let this happen, and thus chose to intervene.

====================Digimon Analyzer====================
Name: Deltamon
Type: Virus
Level: Champion
Element: Darkness

Deltamon is one of the largest and most powerful Champion level Digimon. Its dark power makes it run amok, and destroy whatever gets in its way.

Attacks:
Triplex Force - Deltamon's three heads light up and shoot balls of ethereal green flame.

Serpent Bite - Deltamon's serpentine head is retractable, and can shoot out to snatch distant targets.


"We are Guard Tamers! Leave them alone or we will open fire!" cried Akira.

In an act of great disrespect and defiance, Deltamon blasted one of the Gekomon with a trio of green fireballs. Deltamon greedily loaded his victim's data, and let out a fiendish chuckle. Deltamon spotted a terrified Gekomon to his left, and promptly gave chase. Akira had seen enough, and took action.

He released the Digimon. "That's it! Take this bastard down! I'll give you cover fire, you guys get your auras ready and close in!"

"Yes sir!" replied the Digimon.

"Esmeralda, prepare to evade the enemy's return fire!"

"Yes sir!" she replied.

Certain Guard Tamer Digimon were able to learn and use abilities beyond that of the typical Digimon. These Digimon are always the partners of a Guard Tamer, and tend to be related to the Digimon's Element. Auras gave a slight bonus to the Digimon that generated the aura, and possibly nearby allies. Darkfryer activated his aura, the Temporal Aura, and everyone could feel their speed and reaction time improve. Lillith turned on her Vampiric Aura, enabling her allies to absorb small quantities of energy with each physical attack. Now it was time to move in.

Amar's flames burned with heightened intensity in preparation for battle. The Digibeetle cannon's banged as several rounds of energy pelted Deltamon's back, diverting his attention to the Guard Tamers. The three Digimon moved in, surrounding Deltamon from the front and sides. Amar approached from directly in front, and initiated the attack with a fiery Hand of Asura punch. Deltamon blocked, but recoiled in pain once Amar's flames burned Deltamon's skull head. In addition, Deltamon could feel his energy being drained and absorbed by Amar.

"Dread Fire!" called Darkfryer, as a wave of black flames swooshed from his front claws.

Deltamon, being a Digimon of the Darkness Element, suffered only minor wounds from the attack. Darkfryer followed up with a Snipe Fang, slashing Deltamon in the ribs with his glowing white claw. Deltamon stumbled briefly, before swatting Darkfryer onto his right side. Akira shouted words of encouragement, and Darkfryer hopped back onto his feet. Lillith snuck up and bounced up Deltamon's body to sock him hard in the chin with a Lightning Paw. As she jumped off, Lillith scored a hit on the cheek with a beam of dark energy from her eyes.

Deltamon was enraged. "Triplex Force!" The Composition Dinosaur's fireball clipped Lillith in midair, sending her crashing down to the ground with a thud.

"This guy's a tough one!" commented Akira.

"He's too big and powerful! We need to get him off his feet!" noted Esmeralda. "Everybody, aim for his legs!"

The Digimon complied with Darkfryer leading the attack. He slashed Deltamon's left knee with his Snipe Fang attack, making his foe stumble backwards. Before Darkfryer could react, Deltamon slammed his skull hand into Darkfryer's chest, and flung him into the lake. Lillith charged, driving Deltamon onto one knee with a Lightning Paw. Amar grabbed the Composition Dinosaur's right leg and attempted to yank them from under Deltamon.

"Lillith, I've got him! Aim for the back of his head!" directed Amar.

Lillith bounced up to the back of Deltamon's head. "Lightning Paw!" After that haymaker, Amar pulled Deltamon's leg from under him, and sent him flat onto his face.

"Okay guys, let's finish him off!" called Akira.

"Hand of Asura!" Jets of flames erupted from each of Amar's hands and enveloped his victim.

Darkfryer, now of out the lake, took a firing position. "Dread Fire!" The flames of Darkness engulfed Deltamon, rasping away his life energy.

Lillith and the Digibeetle pelted Deltamon's prone body with energy shots. The Composition Dinosaur's body soon broke down, leaving nothing but black spheres of data floating in the air. Within moments, the spheres vanished into thin air. The Guard Tamers celebrated their victory, as the Digimon called the Gekomon back to the lake. Each one had an expression of relief on his or her face as they left hiding.

The conductor approached. "Thank you! If you weren't here, we'd all be goners!"

"No problem!" said Lillith. "We must go to continue our mission now, take care!"



****************************************



Unknown to the Guard Tamers, a fox-like Digimon watched the entire incident from behind the foliage of a tree. Using her heightened senses, Renamon was able to hear the words being spoken from her location in the leaves. Her Tamer and her friends would be very interested in hearing this near information. Renamon promptly leapt off the tree, and vanished into thin air, to reappear at a location some distance away. Rika and each of the other Tamers and Digimon were gathered there, eagerly awaiting Renamon's news.

"What did you see?" asked Rika.

Renamon began her report. "I saw those Digimon we were following. One of them is an Asuramon, another is a Black Gatomon, and the last is a Dark Lizamon. These Digimon belong to group called the 'Guard Tamers.'"

"Sounds like they're Tamers like us!" noted Kenta.

"Imagine that! I always thought we were the only Tamers!" commented Kazu. "Yep, I guess it's because we're all so special..." Kazu leaned back on a tree in smug satisfaction.

"I wonder who they are?" pondered Henry as he stroked his chin. "Could they be Tamers from somewhere else in Japan?"

"Maybe they're Tamers from another country, like those Digidestined from the World Tour on the TV show!" suggested Takato.

"That could explain it," said Henry. "Digimon isn't just in Japan; kids in other countries watch the TV show and play the card game too. Did you see anything else, Renamon?"

"Their Tamers were riding inside of a tank. They never walked outside, so I couldn't see their faces," replied Renamon. "A Deltamon attacked the Gekomon we helped. They stopped him before he could do too much harm."

Terriermon chuckled. "Looks like they're taking a game of 'army' too seriously."

"They seem like nice people to me," said Jeri.

"Yeah, but that could be just an act," scolded Rika.

"Rika's right," agreed Renamon. "They helped the Gekomon, but that doesn't mean we should trust them."

"What do we do now?" asked Guilmon.

"I guess we could try talking to them," suggested Takato.

"That sounds dangerous," said Jeri. "What if they attack us?"

"Let me talk to them," offered Renamon. "I'll pose as a random Digimon. If they're enemies, I can run away if I have to."

Everybody agreed with the plan, though Rika was somewhat hesitant at first. The main problem now was how to find the Guard Tamers. As luck would have it, the Tamers discovered a construction site in Arcadia a few days later. The Tamers were walking in the woods at the time, when they came upon the sound of trees being cut down. They investigated, spotting several human and Digimon lumberjacks clearing trees. Their work was quite organized, and since several humans were there, it was obvious they were Guard Tamers.

"Looks like we know how to find a Guard Tamer now," said Rika.

Henry remarked the workers' organization and their uniforms. "They really are an army..."

"Let's wait here until someone leaves. Someone has to leave to go on patrol," promised Renamon.

"You are surrounded! Come out with your hands up!" called an unknown voice over a microphone. Everyone looked around to find several powerful Digimon, tanks, and armed humans blocking their escape routes.

"They found us! There's nowhere to run!" exclaimed Takato.

"This isn't good," commented Impmon.

Jeri began to panic. "What do we do?"

"Surrender," recommended Henry. "They have several Digimon and we're in the middle of their crossfire. If we run to the base, they'll get us for sure!"

Rika refused to give up. "There must be a way out!"

Renamon disagreed. "If we fight, there's a chance the Tamers that can't Biomerge might get hit. Those Digimon are Ultimates and Megas. Even if we Biomerge, we can't possibly take on this many at a time."

Rika let out a frustrated growl. "I feel so powerless!"

"Better to feel powerless than to be dead..." replied Renamon bluntly.

The Tamers and their Digimon decided discretion was the better part of valour, and so raised their hands in surrender. The soldiers promptly handcuffed and blindfolded the Tamers. Other soldiers held out several small blue cubes. In a ray of blue light, the cubes trapped the Tamers' Digimon within, and one could see them struggling from within to break out. The ride was short and they were eventually brought to a brig somewhere unknown. The soldiers removed the Tamers' blindfolds and locked them into their cells.

The cells had drab, grey, metal walls that seemed to be cleaned on a regular basis. There were two beds in each cell, and each bed came with a pillow and white sheets. The entrance of the cells were sealed by ethereal walls of blue energy. Outside was a hallway where the occasional guard would wander by on patrol. Rika and Jeri were confined together in the same cell. They reached for their Digivices and cards, only to realize they had been confiscated by their captors. Rika touched the wall of energy, and it felt as hard any ordinary wall.

"If I get out, you're all going to get it you here me?" cried Rika, as she banged on the energy wall. Nobody answered and she eventually gave up.

"What do we do now, Rika?" asked Jeri. "I don't want to be kept in jail forever..."

Hours went by, but it seemed like an eternity. Every time an hour passed, Rika could see the other Tamers being brought out of the cell, only to be returned. Whenever such an event happened, the Tamer seemed to be under a hallucinatory euphoria. The guards drew closer and closer to Rika's cell, until it was Rika's turn. Rika was tied onto a chair with restraints, and promptly given an injection. She could feel an overwhelming sensation of pleasure overtaking her body. All of her inhibitions seemed to melt away like butter.



****************************************



An hour later, Rika was returned to her cell. "Are you alright, Rika?" asked Jeri.

Rika had a huge, happy grin on her face that was very inappropriate for the situation they were in. "Never better!"

"What did they do to you?"

"My new friends?" asked Rika. "We had a nice long talk. They're such nice people!"

Jeri came to the conclusion that Rika had been drugged and was in a highly suggestible state. Rika was also hallucinating, and seeing things that weren't really there. The guards dumped Rika on her bed, and closed the cell back up so no one could escape. Rika put her around Jeri's shoulders affectionately, and began nuzzling her affectionately. Jeri was quite uncomfortable with Rika's act of "affection."

"Uh Rika, what're you doing?" asked Jeri shyly.

Rika giggled girlishly. "Now Takato! How's that anyway to treat your 'dream girl?'"

Jeri was surprised. "You like Takato?"

"Of course! I think he's a great guy!" Rika began to squeeze more tightly.

As luck would have it, the guards came back. For once, Jeri was glad to see the guard. Anything was better than getting Rika's "affection." Fortunately, no one saw what was happening except for the guards. Jeri made a mental note to keep everything a secret. Another hour went by, and the guards brought her back to the brig. As she was brought back, she passed by the cell holding Takato and Henry. The two Tamers looked at her with concern.

"Jeri, are you ok?" called Takato. "What did they do to you?"

"I'm just peachy!" replied Jeri happily. "I had a nice talk with my friends here. They're really nice once you get to know them!"

"They put truth serum in all of us. She should be fine after a few minutes," said Henry.

"Wow, Takato! That's so cool! I never knew you could change your skin colour!" chirped Jeri. Takato gave Jeri strange looks.

The guards returned Jeri to her cell, and after several minutes, a guard came in bearing good news. "Okay guys, the higher ups want to have a word with you all. Be courteous when talking to them or there will be big trouble..."

Each of the Tamers were freed and boarded a large APC painted with sandy camouflage. It wasn't long before the vehicle started, and they were brought to an unknown location. Once the Tamers disembarked, they found themselves outside a massive structure made of stone. It seemed to be a temple of some kind and had a jagged shape. It resembled Zhuqiaomon's temple before its destruction, but was cool blue in colour instead of red. There were a pair of tanks parked outside.

The Tamers were led into an audience room with a massive sapphire fountain at the centre. The head of a gigantic dragon protruded from the water. Its body was made of water, and its head was covered by a deep blue helmet with holes for four eyes, and a pattern resembling lightning. The helmet's horn resembled a metal lightning bolt. The dragon's long, grey moustache drooped downwards until it touched the ground. Its front claws were surrounded by a trio of blue orbs each. The dragon was all too familiar to the Tamers, as he was Azulongmon, Sovereign of the East Sector.

====================Digimon Analyzer====================
Name: Azulongmon
Type: Data
Level: Mega
Element: Water/Lightning

Attacks:
Aurora Force - Azulongmon can form a ring with his serpentine body, and create a flash of destructive azure energy.

Lightning Whip - Azulongmon can control lightning, using it like a whip or to electrocute victims.


To Azulongmon's right was a pair of kids no older than the Tamers themselves. The boy was half Japanese and half Caucasian. He looked somewhat athletic in his blazer and shorts, and his eyes indicated someone who had seen a lot in his lifetime. He seemed slightly muscular and wore goggles just like Takato did. The girl was Caucasian, and looked like a typical American girl. She looked lovely in a white summer dress. Like the boy, her eyes showed the fire of having experienced the dangers and wonders of the world.

To Azulongmon's left was a middle aged man with violet hair and beard. His black uniform indicated his militaristic background. He seemed quite distinguished and commanding in his uniform. He had a tanned complexion and a thoughtful expression on his face. He looked up from a handheld device and ordered the guards to release the Tamers' handcuffs and free their Digimon from the cubes. This man, Commander Chris Conner, ordered them to gather around himself and Azulongmon.

"Tamers, it was we Sovereign Digimon who had you released," said Azulongmon. "We have a mission we need for you to accomplish. This man will tell you the details."

The man saluted the Tamers. "I am Commander Chris Conner of the Black Sword Guard Team. To start off, I apologize for what we put you through, but we had to make sure you were not spies."

Conner proceeded to tell the Tamers about their contact with the Sovereigns. The Guard Tamers promised the release of the Tamers and their Digimon in exchange for the Sovereigns' cooperation. Both sides agreed to the deal happily, however, they suspected possible enemy activity in the Real World as well. The Guard Tamers decided that entering the Real World would attract too much attention.

"Thus, we want you, the Tamers, to monitor the Real World for any activity by these enemies," stated Azulongmon.

"Who are these 'enemies?'" asked Henry.

"They are the former followers of a dead AI named Overlord GAIA," replied Conner. "GAIA was not originally from the world we came from. He was created in another world, the same world we are now trying to liberate. In short, we are from another Digital World, and are here to save a different Real World."

"What are they doing and why here?"

"They're getting Digimon from this world to fill out their army. It's certain they want Data Loaders so they absorb data to become stronger. By the way, 'Data Loader' is how we refer to Digimon that can load data."

"Don't worry about the Digital World, for we Sovereigns will cover that end with the Guard Tamers," continued Azulongmon. "To help you, these two Guard Tamers and their Digimon will come with you back to the Real World."

"Tamers, meet Commander Akira Violet, and Elite Tamer Esmeralda Rose," introduced Conner.

Akira waved to the Tamers. "Hi everybody!"

"Hi!" greeted Esmeralda.

"Akira will be in charge of this mission," said Conner. "We also know about your contact, Yamaki. See if you can enlist his help."

"How will we get back home?" asked Jeri.

"We've got that covered, don't worry," assured Conner.



****************************************



Everyone returned to the Kernel Zone to prepare for the trip back to the Real World. The Tamers received their confiscated Digivices and cards back from the Guard Tamers. A few of the Digimon Tamers were talking with some random Guard Tamers about any topic that came to mind. Others were looking around the Kernel Zone, in awe of the strange, barren world which extended as far as the eye could see. Others were talking to their allies for the mission, Akira and Esmeralda.

Ryo was complementing Esmeralda on how well she looked in her dress. "That's a nice dress! You look gorgeous!"

"Thank you!" replied a flattered Esmeralda.

In another group, Jeri was looking at the Kernel Zone landscape in bewilderment. "What is this place?"

"This is the Kernel Zone. It's a moon-sized space station that generates vast amounts of power. I'm the owner of this place," replied Akira.

"You own this place?" asked Jeri incredulously.

"Yep, I won it after defeating Overlord GAIA. Overlord GAIA was an AI, just like I am..."

"Just like you?"

"Yep. In truth, I'm actually an AI named True GAIA. This is just my human form."

"True GAIA, Overlord GAIA, are you two related in some way?" asked Jeri.

"Yeah, both of us were based on the same core code," said Akira.

Takato wrote a message to Yamaki then handed his comm device to Akira. "Here Akira, we use this device to communicate with Yamaki. He's waiting to hear from you."

Akira sent a lengthy message detailing his mission. "Okay, I've told Yamaki about the plan, so he understands his role. Is everybody ready to leave?"

Everyone answered in the affirmative. However, Kazu, Kenta, and Terriermon had something to ask. "Wait a minute, Akira!" called Kenta. "I talked to the other Guard Tamers."

"Yeah, and..." said Akira nonchalantly.

"They said no one ever ages back home!"

"We want to know; are you older than us?" asked Kazu.

Akira was a bit embarrassed. "Uh, well..."

"Come on, you can tell us! I wanna know!" said Kenta. "If you're really older than us, we shouldn't be treating you like a kid."

"Really guys, it's no big deal..." dismissed Akira.

"...But we still wanna know! How old are you, Akira?" asked Terriermon.

Akira was reluctant to answer. "Well... That's classified information!" Everyone chuckled, leaving Kazu, Kenta, and Terriermon feeling defeated.