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 13: Rendezvous at Xuanwu






After breaking Megadeath out of jail hours ago, Rika had some free time for herself. As she laid on her bed, she reminisced about her experiences with the other Tamers, especially Takato. In this boy she saw a greenhorn of a Tamer; a Rookie to her Mega. Here was Rika, the Digimon Queen; the girl who won the D-1 card tournament with utmost ease. Yet, despite her knowledge and skill, it took her far longer to learn the most important lesson in dealing with a Digimon.

That lesson was to care about her Digimon partner. Rika and Renamon had battled many Digimon together and Renamon loaded great amounts of data. Nothing else mattered except battles to make Renamon more powerful. Yet despite all of this combat, Renamon still was unable to Digivolve beyond Rookie. Rika was quick to put the blame on Renamon when it was Rika herself that needed to change how she viewed and treated her partner.

It wasn't an easy reform to make at all. She had never even considered making such a change until she met Takato for the first time. Their first encounter would not be the last. Each time Takato would spout off some sentimental rhetoric about how Digimon had feelings and should be treated with love and respect. She mocked his methods, thinking her way was the one true way to be a Tamer. Later on Renamon got into a fight with a Dokugumon that nearly cost her life. This was the first time Rika had ever truly feared for Renamon's life.

After her adventure in Byakko, she began to care about Takato more than ever. She began to love him and couldn't understand why. Though she didn't realize it before, Takato was quite attractive and a sweet, sensitive boy. He was the one who taught her how to care about others and to love. It was him that awakened something that she thought was buried away forever. It was a side of her that she hid away after her father left her mother in divorce.

Though it hurt her mother greatly, it hurt Rika far more than anyone ever knew. It hurt so much that Rika eventually retreated into the Digimon card game and Digimon Taming to ease her pain. Secretly, Rika put the fault for her parents' divorce on her mother, blaming it on her femininity. To Rika, it was her mother's femininity was an inexcusable weakness. She vowed to never to be weak like her mother. She closed her heart and became the tomboy that everyone knew of today.

After everything that happened with the D-Reaper and at Byakko, her tomboy exterior began to crack. It was such a change that finally tore down the barriers that impeded Renamon's advancement. Now she truly understood the secrets behind a Tamer-Digimon relationship. Now that she has unearthed emotions that were so new to her, she ran into a new problem. She still didn't know how to let Takato know how she felt about him.

Rika had made a fool of herself in the Guard Tamer prison. While on drugs, she had hugged Jeri thinking she was Takato. Naturally, Jeri took this to mean Rika had feelings that went beyond friendship for Takato. Jeri even confronted her with this and Rika denied the claims. That night, Rika had a strange dream that confronted her once again with the question of whether she really loved Takato. After the dinner at her home, she could no longer deny it. Rika loved Takato.

As she laid in bed, Rika's turned beet red as she fantasized about all the things they could do together. She eventually began to think about ways of getting Takato to notice her. She couldn't think of any way and so decided to find and consult her grandmother. "Grandma..."

"Yes Rika?" asked Seiko.

A brief moment of silence passed before Rika finally worked up the nerve to speak. "How did you and grandpa meet?"

"Well, we met back in high school. I was running to class and tripped over him. He helped me up and we started dating as time went on."

"When did you know you were in love with grandpa and how did you tell him?"

Grandma sighed romantically. "It was when we were studying together one night. Your grandpa helped me to learn and understand Miyamoto Musashi's writings. I thought he was so smart. It was then that I knew I loved him."

"...And how did you let him know you loved him?"

"Well, I made him a dinner and told him. It wasn't easy at first. I wasn't sure how he would react. When I finally worked up the courage to tell him, he told me he felt the same way too! We were married soon after high school. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason, just curious I guess. Thanks grandma!"

"Anytime dear."

After hearing her grandmother's advice, Rika decided that she would do the same to tell Takato about her feelings for him. However, Rika had no idea how to cook anything. The only time she had ever cooked was when the Tamers holed up in Takato's bakery during the D-Reaper incident. They had used his parents' equipment to bake some bread for consumption. Rika still believed having a dinner with Takato was the way to go.

She had an idea and happened upon Akira. "Hey, Akira!"

"Hmmm?" asked Akira.

"Do you know any good places to eat in town?"

"No actually... Why don't you ask Nassor? He might know of some place. I just saw him in the lounge."

Rika thanked Akira for his help and found Nassor talking to other rebels in the lounge. "Uh, hi Nassor, I wanted to know if there were any good places to eat in town."

"Sure, there's Chez LeBeau at Black Street," replied Nassor.

"That sounds a little pricey. Is there anywhere else that's cheaper?"

"Well, how about Mario's Pizzeria? It's on Warrior Street just south of here. I've eaten there and I can't recommend that place enough. The pizza there is great and it's not expensive either."

"Thanks, I think I'll go there."

With the place of her date set, all Rika needed to do was to get Takato to go with her. She eventually found him returning from a training session. Rika pitched her idea to him, disguising it as a simple lunch between friends. Since he had worked up an appetite, Takato agreed and the two went out for pizza at Mario's Pizzeria. Although it specialized in pizzas, Mario's also served other forms of Italian food. It was a quaint, dimly lit restaurant with a comfortable air.

The two Tamers munched down on their Hawaiian pizza. "So this is what they eat over in America. This is great!" commented Takato between bites.

"Um, we've been Tamers for a long time now," began Rika. "We've faced many adventures together as Tamers. When we've been friends as long as we have, some people say it can grow into something more..."

Though Takato listened, he didn't quite understand what Rika was trying to say. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that we should be more than just friends..."

Takato began to put the pieces of the puzzle together and began to chuckle heartily. "Oh, I get it! I never knew you were such a kidder, Rika. You almost had me going there... For a moment, I thought you were trying to say you were in love with me!"

Takato continued to chuckled at Rika's "attempt" at humour, but she grew annoyed and got caught up in the heat of the moment. "Listen Gogglehead, I'm serious! I love you and I want us to be together!" After a brief, silent pause, Rika became embarrassed upon realizing what she had just said.

Takato looked at her with the glimmer of realization. "You're not kidding, are you?"

"No..." replied Rika meekly.

Takato turned beet red. "I don't know what to say. I've never had a girl come out and tell me she loved me... How long have you felt this way?"

"Since before dinner in my house, maybe even earlier," replied Rika.

"Earlier? Like when?"

"...Like after we fought the D-Reaper, but I didn't know for until the dinner."

Takato was caught off guard completely. "I don't know what to say. This is all so sudden."

"Then tell me you feel the same!" demanded Rika.

"I don't know what I feel. I need time to think about it." Though the Tamers finished their meal, the air was thick with tension after Rika's admission of love. They would not forget this moment every time they met in the future.







The Megadeath Faction continued their guerrilla operations in Xuanwu City, gathering supplies and disrupting enemy infrastructure. Megadeath's leadership and familiarity with AoA operations was the best weapon the Faction could ever hope to wield. It wasn't long before the Faction had acquired enough supplies for their ultimate goal; to capture Xuanwu's Central Office. The Faction began its coup by softening up the AoA's forces with several sneak attacks and ambushes.

An AoA humvee convoy travelled down a fairly calm road on afternoon. Within the vehicles, the soldiers scanned the crowd of people for attackers and members of the Faction. One of the humvees rolled over a manhole cover and suddenly, an explosion rocked the streets. The humvee burst into the flames and the soldiers inside were killed instantly. The trailing humvees jammed on the brakes to avoid hitting the wreckage.

Suddenly, several the sounds of several gunshots filled the air and the people ran for cover. The convoy had come under attack by the Faction. The soldiers began to manoeuvre their humvees away from the shots, accidentally running over some of the fleeing civilians. The AoA returned fire on the Faction guerrillas shooting at them from the nearby buildings. Akira turned out to be one of the attackers and returned fire from his position behind cover.

From the floor above, Darkfryer threw a sphere of concentrated negative energy at the humvee. It disintegrated its rotating gun and the soldier manning it. The humvee began to swerve and turn the over way to avoid Akira's line of fire. Lilith shot volleys of negative energy claws at the humvee which struck and disintegrated several holes into it rear door. A second humvee pelted Akira's position forcing him to take cover.

Akira was pinned down. "Hey guys, a little help here!" he cried into his radio.

"No problem!" replied Esmeralda on the other end. "Keep them busy and I'll get you out!"

The damaged humvee passed by Esmeralda and she shot out its tires with her gun. The humvee hobbled down the street slowly with its busted tire. Amar walked out of Emeralda's building and latched onto the rear of the humvee, preventing it from fleeing. With a mighty burst of strength, he lifted it over his head and tossed it into the nearest vehicle. It struck the second crushed the soldiers inside with the discordant sounds of clanging and twisting metal.

This act turned the convoy into a four vehicle pileup that clogged the streets of Xuanwu. The surviving soldiers desperately wiggled their out of the windows and made a run for it. "Nice pileup!" commented Akira as he gazed at the humvee wrecks.

Elsewhere, the battle was just beginning. The members of the Megadeath Faction waited silently outside of an AoA base for their opportunity to strike. Several soldiers scrambled for their vehicles and sped out of the base. Akira's diversion worked like a charm and had drawn the AoA away from their base. Only a small skeleton crew had remained leaving the base with minimal defence. Once the vehicles moved far enough away from the base, Ryo ordered the attack.

At once, Jeri's Palmon Digivolved to Togemon and Impmon Warp Digivolved to Beelzemon. Beelzemon flew on ahead with Cyberdramon to begin bombing the base. Halfway there, several enemy Digimon appeared before them in a flash of blue light. The battle lines drew themselves with the Faction's Digimon confronting each enemy one on one. Beelzemon confronted a Skull Mammothmon, a giant skeletal elephant wearing a golden armour on its head and trunk.


====================Digimon Analyzer====================
Name: Skull Mammothmon
Attributes: Vaccine, Mega Level, Dark Element

This undead mammoth is proof that not all Vaccines are good and just. He is a zealot who hunts Virus Digimon, often persecuting ones that have done nothing wrong.

Special Abilities/Traits:
Undead

Spiral Bone Crusher - Skull Mammothmon can fire his tusks like a pair of missiles. As they fly at their target, the tusks spin so as to drill a hole through the victim.


Beelzemon pulled out his handguns and unloaded several roads into the body of the undead mastodon. The shots ricocheted off Skull Mammothmon's bones and he grunted in pain. Once Beelzemon stopped firing, the undead mastodon fired his tusks as retaliation. The demon lord banked left and right to evade but the final tusk nicked his wing painfully. The undead mammoth continued the barrage and Beelzemon retreated back for some breathing room.

"You bag of bones! Don't think I'm through with you yet!" cried Beelzemon.

Beelzemon make a "V" gesture with his fingers and pointed to Skull Mammothmon. His Corona Blaster cannon magically appeared and Beelzemon pulled the trigger. With a massive bang, a sphere of rose energy burst out of the cannon and struck the undead mammoth. A great explosion consumed the area, leaving a smouldering crater and a thick cloud of smoke behind. It seemed that the Corona Blaster did the trick. Suddenly, Skull Mammothmon burst out of the smoke and rammed Beelzemon into the ground!

"Don't give up Beelzemon!" called Ai.

"Why don't we use one of the cards Ryo gave us?" asked Mako.

"Good idea, but which one?" asked Ai as she pulled out and looked at her cards.

Ryo overheard Ai and Mako's dilemma. "Use Seraphimon's Seven Heavens! Skull Mammothmon is a Dark element Digimon. He's weak against holy attacks."

Ai decided to take Ryo's advice. "Digimodify! Seraphimon's Seven Heavens activate!"

"Alright Ai; good pick!" commented Beelzemon as the holy power of the great angel of Hope filled his being.

Beelzemon dematerialized his Corona Blaster and cupped his hands to gather power. The energy coalesced into six golden spheres that surrounded a central seventh one in a circle. With a thrust of his hands, Beelzemon shot the Seven Heavens at his opponent. The attack struck with the force of a tactical nuclear strike and the resulting explosion consumed Skull Mammothmon. The undead mastodon crumbled into data and vanished into thin air. Beelzemon was victorious and his Tamers celebrated his triumph.

At the same time, Cyberdramon went to work, wrecking the AoA military base and its facilities. Togemon fired a volley of Needle Spray which cut off soldiers and Digimon as they tried to interrupt him. Cyberdramon approached a nearby unoccupied tank and struggled to lift it over his head. Ryo slashed a strength enhancing card through his D-Power, causing new strength to surge within his Digimon. Cyberdramon tossed the tank, which punched a massive hole into the building.

However, the cybernetic dinosaur was not done yet. Cyberdramon began pounding the building with blasts of negative energy. His Desolation Claw attack punched several massive holes into the base, making it look like Swiss cheese made of cement and steel. One of the blasts struck the tank's fuel tank, causing it to explode in a massive conflagration. The fires spread through the building rapidly, consuming it and rendering it useless for AoA activities.







The Faction's attack was progressing according to plan. Akira and Esmeralda's campaign of ambushes and sneak attacks had kept the AoA's forces preoccupied and weakened. All the while, Ryo, Ai, and Mako razed AoA bases so they would have no where to return for resupplying. All that remained was the coup de grace; an assault on the Central Office itself. Megadeath led this assault as it was the most important portion of the attack.

War Growlmon, Taomon, and Rapidmon advanced down the streets of Xuanwu on their way to the Central Office. Three Digimon appeared before them in a flash of blue light and barred their way forward. The first was the reanimated skeleton of some demonic creature. After scanning his opponents, the skeleton cackled maniacally and entered into a fighting stance. Takato recognized this Digimon as Skull Satamon from the Digimon TV show.


====================Digimon Analyzer====================
Name: Skull Satamon
Attributes: Virus, Ultimate Level, Dark/Lightning Element

Skull Satamon is the remains of a dead demon reanimated by dark magic. He is surprisingly fast for an undead creature and strikes at his foes with unholy lightning.

Special Abilities/Traits:
Flying, undead

Nail Bone - Skull Satamon's staff is a powerful weapon that lashes out with unholy lightning.

Skull Hammer - Skull Satamon can pound the ground with his staff. This causes an image of a skull to appear and creates a devastating earthquake.


The second was a figure cloaked in a set of brown wizard's robes and a yellow hood. Upon spotting the Tamers' Digimon, the wizard cast a spell which materialized a trio of orbs that began to orbit his body. The red orb flared with vibrant flames. The blue orb constantly emitted a frosty gas into the air. Finally, the yellow orb seemed to sparkle with arcing electricity. This wizard Digimon, Wisemon, was not here to play games.


====================Digimon Analyzer====================
Name: Wisemon
Attributes: Virus, Ultimate Level, No Element

Wisemon is among the greatest wizards of Digimon kind. As a master of dozens of spells, he has a spell for every occasion. He is not one to shy away from blasting his opponent into oblivion.

Special Abilities/Traits:
Hovering, magic using

Eternal Nirvana - Wisemon can create orbs that attack with elemental blasts. Each orb has a specific colour which corresponds to its elemental property; blue is ice, red is fire, and yellow is lightning.

Pandora Dialog - Wisemon's spell book is known as the "Pandora Dialog." He can use it to summon evil spirits to attack his opponent.


The last creature was the largest of them all being a massive skeletal dinosaur. He was more fearsome than Skull Satamon and made even more so due to his large size. His eyes glowed with a pale blue light that originated from the ethereal energies that animated his body. The Digimon roared and immediately charged at War Growlmon at top speed. Takato recognized this Digimon as a Skull Greymon, a corrupt Ultimate form for the Greymon species from the TV show.


====================Digimon Analyzer====================
Name: Skull Greymon
Attributes: Virus, Ultimate Level, Dark Element

Skull Greymon is a dark Digivolutionary form for the Greymon species of Digimon. This Digimon has an aggressive, vicious temperament and tends to go berserk in the middle of battle. He is one of the hardest Digimon to control because of this.

Special Abilities/Traits:
Undead

Dark Shot - Skull Greymon's grotesque heart can produce organic missiles. These missiles are loaded onto his back and launched at the unfortunate victim.


War Growlmon immediately charged towards Skull Greymon as well and the two Digimon met halfway. The two grappled with each other and began jockeying for position. Skull Greymon managed to get up close and bite his opponent's neck, causing War Growlmon to yelp in pain. Skull Greymon picked up the cybernetic dinosaur and tossed him into a group of nearby buildings. War Growlmon landed with a crunch as he crushed each of the buildings under his large girth.

As War Growlmon prepared to get up, Skull Greymon set his hands ablaze with black fire for one of Digimon Online's techniques, Dark Fear. Once he gathered the needed energy, Skull Greymon threw the flames at his foe, dazing him momentarily. For good measure, the undead dinosaur fired a Dark Shot which tagged War Growlmon's chest and knocked him onto the ground once again. Takato slashed a speed enhancement card and suddenly, War Growlmon bolted upright and tackled Skull Greymon into a nearby clothing store.

Taomon's battle with Wisemon was possibly the flashiest of all when compared to those of the others. Both Digimon were magicians and so had a wide variety of tricks they could draw upon to unbalance the other. Wisemon called upon his orbs, the Eternal Nirvana, to pelt Taomon with elemental blasts. Taomon simply raised a magical barrier in defence and weathered the attack without suffering any harm.

Wisemon invoked the dark magic of the Pandora Dialog to call forth a swarm of evil spirits to attack Taomon. In response, she began shooting paper talismans at the ghosts which banished them back to the netherworld. Taomon continued to shoot talismans but this time her aim was at Wisemon. However, Wisemon held out his hand and the talismans began to slow and then stop, as though they were frozen in mid air. Wisemon released his magic and the paper projectiles fell to the ground and disintegrated.

Rapidmon's battle with Skull Satamon was a great game of cat and mouse. Rapidmon fired a volley of missiles which Skull Satamon evaded by banking leftwards. Skull Satamon retaliated by arcing lighting from his staff to Rapidmon. However, the cybernetic man-dog hybrid leaned out of the way and the lightning soared past him and blew up a hapless phone booth. Rapidmon once again fired missiles only to have Skull Satamon bat them away with his staff.

Rapidmon decided to changed tactics and move closer for his next attack. Skull Satamon immediately tried to smack his opponent with his staff. However, Rapidmon flew over the swipe and kicked the undead demon in the skull as hard as he could. Rapidmon threw Skull Satamon into a daze and backed away. He fired a Tri-Beam at point-blank range which shot Skull Satamon through the roof and into the middle of a convenience store.

While the three Tamers kept the AoA forces pinned down, the Faction's entry teams hammered the Central Office. Several streaks of light zinged back and forth and bangs ripped through the sky as the two sides exchanged fire. A rocket propelled grenade swooshed from a window of the Central Office and exploded in a building next door. The blast had killed a Faction rebel on the third floor and wounded his two comrades.

A Faction gunman fired several shots into a window and struck an enemy soldier fatally in the head. A Gargomon replaced the fallen soldier and pelted the gunman, who retreated behind cover for safety. The dog's bullets pitter-pattered against the side of the gunman's building. The bullets hit the glass window and shattered it into countless pieces. Once the Gargomon stopped firing, the gunman peeked out and returned fire, but the Gargomon retreated just like the gunman did.

Elsewhere, an AoA helicopter gunship hovered over a battlefield and began to pound the rebels with machinegun fire. The barrage of energy mowed down three rebels as they tried to escape for cover. Though their comrades reached refuge in a nearby building, the helicopter fired a salvo of missiles which caved in the floor above them. All of a sudden, a fireball struck the helicopter's rotor from its left. The Hagurumon pilots abandoned their chopper before it crashed into and exploded on the ground below.

Beneath the streets of Xuanwu was the sound of drills opening holes into the earth. Several Drimogemon were burrowing through the ground to reach the Central Office on the sly. They forced wall of earth open and found themselves inside storage room in the Central Office's basement. Several rebels stormed in and began to sweep through the rest of the building. One of the squads encountered an AoA guard and promptly gunned him down.

An alarm Klaxon began to blare loudly once the AoA realized the office was being invaded. The warning lights flooded the halls in a crimson glow. The AoA soldiers scrambled for more weapons as their Digimon rushed to meet the invaders head on. A Faction Mekanorimon travelled down the halls. It met with the AoA's forces and unleashed an unrelenting hail of energy shots that lit up the hallways with blue light.







Back at the Tamers' battle, War Growlmon picked up his opponent, Skull Greymon, and tossed him into the ground. The skeletal dinosaur landed with a thud as he crushed a series of parked cars under his body. Skull Greymon got up and threw a punch at War Growlmon's head. Takato's partner reeled in pain and Skull Greymon tackled him into the ground. The skeletal dinosaur stomped onto War Growlmon's head in an attempt to crush it under his heel.

Suddenly, War Growlmon grabbed the skeletal Greymon's foot and pulled him off his footing. War Growlmon got up and leapt into the air to stab his opponent in the heart. However, Skull Greymon rolled out of the way and his blades got caught in the street. Skull Greymon took advantage and fired a Dark Shot into War Growlmon's exposed side, freeing him and knocking him off his feet. The battle had degenerated into a slugfest and Takato needed to gain the advantage as soon as possible.

Takato looked over his cards and got a brilliant idea. He told War Growlmon to grab Skull Greymon and leap into the air. At that time, he would slash a card that would finish Skull Greymon off. War Growlmon followed along with Takato's strategy made a swipe at his opponent with his arm blade. Skull Greymon dodged and made a right hook for War Growlmon's chin. However, Takato's partner evaded and made a hard jab to Skull Greymon's heart.

War Growlmon caught his foe as he keeled over and slung him over his shoulder. The cybernetic dinosaur leapt as high into the air as he could with his opponent in tow. Takato slashed Phoenixmon's card through his D-Power, giving his partner a single use of that Digimon's Starlight Explosion attack. War Growlmon immediately burst in a flash of golden positive energy. The attack blew Skull Greymon into a massive hole in the ground before he crumbled into bits of data.

Taomon and Wisemon exchanged magical blasts back and forth. Taomon drew a mystical character with her brush that glowed with magical power. The character shot out at Wisemon, who blocked the attack with a barrier of raw magic. The mysterious wizard called upon the powers of the Pandora Dialog to send evil spirits forth. Taomon swatted them away with her brush and attempted to move closer.

Wisemon retaliated by firing elemental blasts from the orbs that orbited his body. However, Taomon shielded herself and ploughed through the blasts to Wisemon's surprise. Taomon wiped the expression off his face by slapping it with her brush, then firing a Thousand Spells at point blank range. Wisemon fell onto the ground on one knee and was reeling. Taomon drew a Talisman of Light which struck her vulnerable opponent and killed him.

Rapidmon tackled Skull Satamon into the fifth floor of an office building. The two Digimon burst through the wall, causing rubble to tumble onto the street below. Rapidmon backed off and launched a Rapid Fire volley into the hole which caved the building in on his foe. As the mechanical rabbit watched the rubble, Skull Satamon burst out and connected with a bolt of lightning. Henry's partner dropped to the ground like a bomb as his enemy cackled maniacally.

As Skull Satamon came in to smash Rapidmon with his staff, Henry slashed a card through his D-Power. "Digimodify, Speed Activate!"

As Skull Satamon's staff came down, Rapidmon slid away like a blur. The staff struck the ground instead, creating an earthquake. "Whoa!" muttered Henry as he wobbled around trying to keep balance. Unfortunately, he fell anyways and landed on his butt. "Ow! That didn't work the way I had planned."

"Look at the bright side, Henry, at least you landed on the part of your body that had an inbuilt cushion!" joked Rapidmon. "Anyhow, it's time we send this doggy chew toy back to the hole he crawled out of."

Henry recovered from his fall. "I'm with you Rapidmon. Digimodify, Magna Angemon's Gate of Destiny activate!"

Rapidmon drew a circle with his gun arms and it turned into a golden gate adorned by Digital World scripture. The Gate of Destiny opened and began to drag Skull Satamon in like a vacuum cleaner. As the demon skeleton's legs entered the hole, Skull Satamon had managed to grab the edges of the gate. Only his torso still remained outside of the gate as he struggled hard to fight the currents of air that threatened to pull him in.

"Going in?" asked Rapidmon as fired a Tri-Beam. The attack broke Skull Satamon's grip, sending him into the Gate of Destiny. After the gate closed, it vanished, taking Skull Satamon along with it.

The Faction rebels swept the Central Office and purged it of any and all AoA. The enemy fell in battle one by one to the Faction's forces until none were left. Soldiers on the Central Office's roof rushed a white flag bearing a likeness of Megadeath's face. Unlike his real face, the flag's face had a prominent black "M" marked on its forehead. The men proudly hoisted the flag high into the air to announce their victory over the AoA. Xuanwu was now Faction territory.