Regless:No genious witty smartallec remarks, hust the story this time.

Digital Hearts – World 02 – Card Captor Rika

Sakura's POV: PenguinPark5:30pm

The impact of the black tiger's Fireball was just as dangerous as I expected, and there were more coming as the black creature launched a series of blasts. But it wasn't strong enough to overpower my Shield Card anytime soon. Henry was still trying to shield Suzy. He looked at me, stunned into stillness by what was happening.

Oh no. Why is that spirit acting so violently? Not even the emptiness card was like this… Wait a moment… what is this feeling? It doesn't match anything like the Clow Cards or even that woman… Is it really a spirit?

"Thunder!"

A force of sheer light slammed into the side of the darkened creature, flinging it out of the way. It rolled and flipped on the pavement before crashing into the penguin slide.

"Bolt throwing children and giant tigers…" Kenta adjusted his glasses The 'Demi-Heartless' attack had bowled him over and he was leaning on his arm on the pavement. "So much for a normal world."

I was finally able to let my barrier down so I could help the two behind me. I turned to them quickly. Henry was already helping Suzy, focused on getting her onto his back so he could run away with her.

"I'll get Suzy and my group out of here, can you take care of that thing?"

I was a little taken aback by how easily he was taking things. "Uh-err-"

"Good enough. Kazu, Kenta, Jeri, we gotta split!"

I glanced to the side to see the one with the visor already bolting out of the way. "Dude, no need to tell me twice! But what about Takato?"

Li advanced a bit with Meilin. The tiger was shrugging off the dizziness caused by the boys attack. "If we see him, we'll send him your way."

"Sounds good to me." Kazu replied, halfway out of the park already. Not running frantically but half turned and waving. He didn't seem to be quite as intimidated by the beast as I expected… these people were weird.

Jeri stood silently, staring at the monster. "A Heartless… I wonder if Takato ran into one also."

"Jeri, let's go." Henry shouted grabbing the girl by the hand. "Suzy."

"Don't think you're getting away." The Tiger threatened, black flame already forming in his mouth. He would've fired directly at the panic-sticken Kenta, until Meilin drop kicked him in the side of his middle, forcing the blast more towards the ground in front of him. The shockwave caused the martial artist to lose her balance when she tried to land. The tiger pinned her with one large paw easily shrugging off the blow.

"Meilin!" Li called out while I reached for the Earth Card.

"Don't move or I'll destroy her." And then I stopped reaching for the Earth Card. "Hmph, the fundamental flaw of mortals. They have hearts."

"Uff! OWWW! What gives?" I turned halfway around to the sound of Kazu's voice. He had a pose like he just hit a glass wall, which was confirmed when Kenta ran into him from behind and neither moved forward.

"What's wrong?"

Kazu shoved the other off him while Henry and Jerry looked on curiously. Suzy giggled. "Its some kind of barrier thing. Oh man if I had Guardromon..."

"Erherm!" Henry broke into Kazu's statement.

"What? I wasn't gonna say it." The blue haired boy slapped his forehead.

"Just great. What am I suppose to do now?" Henry glanced precariously at the tiger. "I sincerely doubt my martial arts skills will have much effect against that."

Rika's POV

My liking of this town had increased slightly. I thought, and hoped, that I would have to leave Ryo in confinement for a while but Madison made one call to her mother, put the guard on the phone, and that was it. However the trip to Penguin park was leaving me quite vexed. It's not that he was doing anything to me or anything. Actually, it was almost the opposite. Madison had utterly refused to stop talking about Ryo's little costume. And of course the Legendary Tamer was virtually powerless against his own ego.

"Hmmm, I think a beret might go well with that. Actually I want to try a take-off of Li's ceremonial robes."

"Uh, err, this is good as it is, thanks. If you want I bet I could think of a couple other people that might need costumes."

Maybe I'll tie him up with the swings when we get there.

"Oh really? You mean those friends of yours. Ho ho ho." I sweatdropped as Madison's laugh sent a chill up my spine.

"Yeah. Not sure if they'd ever wear them but I think it would be fun. All those other costumes were just for your brown haired friend, right?"

The girl nodded. "Sakura. Actually I made one for Li too, and I've done some costumes for school plays, but yes most were just for her."

Ryo nodded. "Hmmm, yeah. Jeri would probably wear whatever you made for her. Kazu would if I told him it looked cool, same with Kenta. Takato would if he saw Jeri, and the dynamic duo wearing them. Suzy, Ai, and Mako would just think of it as an early Halloween. I figure the hardest sells are Henry and Rika."

"Got that right." I replied.

"But Rika hates skirts so if you made anything with a pant leg I don't think she'd mind."

I resisted the mild urge to slap my forehead and trip the brown haired Tamer. Did he really think I wanted to look like a sideshow? I glanced down at the skirt. Then again, I guess it's already a little late for that. Maybe if Madison was as good as Ryo suggested, but I sincerely doubted she was.

"Are we there yet? It feels like we've been walking forever." I asked impatiently.

"Ho ho ho. Don't worry. Remember we had to go in the opposite direction to help your boyfriend out."

I stopped moving. "…" Madison took two more steps, as did Ryo. The difference was Ryo was stepping backwards. Hmph, I guess even he has his smart moments.

"Did I say something wrong?" Madison asked innocently enough. But when I turned around the smile on her face told me she knew exactly what she was doing.

"…Hmph. Don't be stupid! Ryo's just someone I'm always having to clean up after." Rika was clenching her fists.

The robed boy smirked. "I thought it was the other way around. Remember your birthday?"

"You just showed up at the end to take your share of the credit so just be quiet. Everyone else was working hard way before you showed up." I turned back and continued walking.

Ryo sighed behind me. "Well that couldn't have gone worse."

Madison placed her hand on his showed tenderly. "Don't give up. I'm sure I could help you."

"Eh? I wasn't going to give up, believe me. I've had harder times. But I am a little surprised you're trying to play match maker. What's up with that?"

"Ho ho ho." I wish she would stop laughing like that. "I just happen to think you two make a cute couple."

"Well, as much as I'd appreciate it. We probably won't be here long, and if you do anything drastic I might have to move to… Canada maybe."

At least one of them has the right idea. Surprised to say it's Ryo though.

"Oh, I almost forgot. What was that game you two played? I've never seen it in this town before."

I frowned a bit. Was it really a good idea to tell her about Digimon? Even if she only knew it as card game I had a bad feeling about it. Ryo, apparently, didn't share my concern. "It's called Digimon." He started casually. "It came from overseas and isn't too popular yet, so I doubt you'll see it for a while."

"Oh, and does Rika beat you often?"

Ryo didn't answer immediately to that. Probably making sure he was a safe distance away first. "Uh, well the score so far is thirty to three… for me. She kinda caught me off guard with those Guilmon and System crash cards."

Hmph, I simply forgot to give Takato back his cards. It not that big a deal.

"My, then you must be very skillful. Ho ho ho."

Hmmm… Something about that laugh… makes me think she's planning something.

"Anyway…" Madison continued. "…we're about halfway there. It's just little further.."

Takato's POV

"Wow. This place is bigger than I thought." I exclaimed. Yue was holding onto me with one hand… I'm glad he's a spirit… thingy. Which reminds me… "Oh yeah. I still don't understand that whole guardian thing. What are you suppose to be guarding again?"

Yue replied seamlessly keeping focused on his destination. "The Clow Cards."

I paused... Yeah, that was reeeaaal helpful. "And what are those again?"

"Spirit sealed into Cards made by Clow Reed."

"…And who's he again?"

"It will be easier to explain once we meet with the others." Yue replied, ending the conversation. He looked really cool, but his personality could use a bit of work. "Hmm, seems there some commotion in Penguin Park."

"Eh? Hey that's where I was supposed to meet my friends."

Yue sped up and began to descend. "I know, let us hurry."

The angel guy reached our destination in seconds. It looked like everyone was there except the twins, Rika, and Ryo. Meilin was pinned under some kind of massive tiger though. And Li… has a sword. Uh… why does he have a sword? And Sakura has a wand, well that was slightly understandable. It must've been some kind of toy from her dad or brother. Closer to me was where Henry and the others were standing, and by others I mean Jeri. I ran towards her to make sure she was alright.

"Jeri…"

She turned and smiled when she saw me. "Takato…"

WHAM!

"…Watch out, there's a barrier."

I frowned. "Thanks, uhhuh" then slid to the ground like a bug on a windshield.

"Yeah it's the angwy boy!" Suzy cheered, causing the rest of us to sweatdrop.

"Well you certainly took your time." Kazu stated sarcastically, obviously not pleased about being stuck where he was. "Did you get lost?"

"Nope." I replied smugly. "I found Guilmon." I took out the card and showed it to everyone as they ooo'ed and awww'ed. "I dunno why, but he became a card for some reason. Check your decks, it might've happened to your partner too."

"Henwy it's Lopmon!"

"So that's it…"

The blue haired Tamer nodded to his sister, having already found his partner. He turned back to me. "It's great to have you back Takato. But, uh, do you mind introducing us to your new friend?" Henry altered the direction of his gaze to the angel.

"I am Yue. Sakura! All you alright?"

"She's fine." Meilin shouted. "I'm the one that's stuck!"

"…Well he's a barrel of laughs." Kazu mentioned.

"Henwy, can I have a costume like that?"

Henry sighed. "Maybe later Suzy."

"Mmmm." Suzy folded her arms and turned away.

"So… umm, what's the deal with these cards?"

I scratched my head. "Uh, apparently our Digimon are some kind of spirits." I paused. "Umm, I have no idea how these things work."

Yue reached down and took out of off my hand, inspecting it casually. "It's unsigned. The spirit can come out whenever it wants. Although someone with no magical abilities may find it hard to communicate with such a spirit."

No sooner had Yue finished speaking that the card began to glow. A liquid like substance poured out of it, and then took Guilmon's form becoming solid. For second I thought somehow Guilmon had been able to detect my need for him, but the saurian quickly put that to rest when he tilted his head, and innocently asked:

"Are we there yet?"

Ryo's POV: Near Penguin Park: 6:00pm

I rolled my eyes to the top of my head and closed my eyelids in a desperate attempt to see if I could sleep walk the rest of the way to the park. No luck. Rika's punch had left a throbbing mark that would make it impossible to sleep tonight. Which reminded me…

How come I've never had these problems before?

I frowned as I felt my deck of cards.

I've had more hostile encounters with Rika in the last two days than I had in the weeks before. Why is this happening?

In actuality the reason was quite simple. No other Digimon could alter time, so I never had to worry about my partner being able to exert any kind of control over me, and two, my partner is usually present only as a memory. A card is a lot harder to hide, and it's not as if I could just toss it into some trashcan I went by… I have to face facts. I might have to tell the others about him soon. The real question was when. I haven't had friends this nice since my second adventure, and I don't want to lose them just because my second partner has a bad habit of trying to destroy everything in it's wake.

Hmmm… Maybe I should test the response I get by just telling one of the Tamers… But then the question was who.

Kazu: He's nice, especially whenever I need an ego boost which doesn't happen too often. But the only time I ever see his real personality is when he's talking to Takato or Kenta.

Kenta: Also a nice guy. But he's kind of nervous and shy. I wouldn't want him to suddenly become afraid of me.

Suzy: A little young to understand I think.

Ai and Mako: If anything they are even younger than Suzy.

Jeri: Perhaps the sweetest person I've met. And she knows about the darker side of life too. What it is to lose something... I can tell her… maybe.

Rika: Just being with her is awesome. And I know she wouldn't be afraid if I told her. Heck she'd probably try and beat him… Uh… on second thought maybe that's not such a good idea.

Takato: He's gotta be naturally the nicest and most cheerful person I know. Even on par with Jeri, bless her little sock puppet. But… what does he know about evil Digimon. The worst I've ever seen his Guilmon is not asking anybody else if they want seconds.

Henry: Nice, level headed. And I gotta give him credit for how he handled it when the Digimon left after the D-Reaper. No words of malice or dirty looks. He took the situation with the maturity of someone ten times his age. He's probably the best choice.

And that settled it. I would tell Henry when I got the chance. It wouldn't be that hard to get him away from everyone else. I just had to wait for the right moment.

"Hey Akiyama!"

Rika snapped me out of my thoughts as I almost bumped into Madison. She narrowed her eyes at me slightly, not out of anger though, more like she was trying to see what was going on inside my head. "Hmm? What's up Wild Cat?"

She ignored my comment. Looks like all the time we've been spending together recently was beginning to pay off. "We're almost there..."

I nodded and smiled casually. "Is that all "

"No, you've been staring at the back of Camera girls head for the last fifteen minutes. I thought you were sleep-walking."

"Maybe Ryo simply couldn't help himself. Ho ho ho." Madison turned back slightly.

"Don't worry Rika. That's definitely not the reason."

The red haired girl turned forward again. "Hmph. Why would I care?"

Ouch.

We were just exiting a wide stone walkway that led into the park. I was glad that most of our friends were there, but the situation seemed... rather bizarre. The brown haired girl from this world, Sakura was standing with some sort of toy. Henry was standing near Kazu and Kenta and focusing on the situation while his sister was staring at a strange card that looked remarkably like mine. Takato was there with Guilmon, standing on the sidelines next to someone that looked remarkably like an angel. In contrast Guilmon was actually quite normal looking which is probably why no one was paying him too much attention. And of course, the giant black snarling winged tiger that had Meilin pinned was hard to miss.

Guilmon's active... This is good news.

I took one hand from behind my head and waved it in the general direction of everyone. "Yo!"

Madison was running towards her friend. "Sakura! What's happening?" She sounded panicked but I couldn't let her endanger herself so recklessly. I grabbed her arm and held her back.

"I think you should leave this to the professionals."

I know, I know. Big talk from someone who has no idea what's happened to his partner.

Rika started moving towards the fight too, but unlike Madison, I didn't hold her back. Hell, we both know I couldn't even if I wanted to. I followed behind her, still a little unsure of what was going to happen, but that never stopped me before so... why let it now. The female Tamer in front stopped for a moment next to our leader. Guilmon made an exaggerated wave to us.

"Hiiiiiii"

"Why aren't you helping Gogglehead? Your the only one here with a Digimon and we can't leave something like this to just a bunch of kids."

"Uh well..." Takato motioned to Sakura and Rika's gaze followed.

I took a moment to see how Kazu and Kenta were doing. They were yelling at the Tiger about how it's luck just ran out now that I was here. Sakura still had that toy of her and hadn't moved yet, but something was wrong.... The ground all around herself, Henry, and Suzie had been singed in a perfect circle. Rika recognized it too, and so she should since one of her abilities was remarkably similar.

"A barrier...?" The girl mouthed to herself.

"Yeah!" The mop-headed boy exclaimed. "And this is Yue. I don't think this world is really what we thought it was. It's full of ghosts!"

"Ahem" Yue intruded forcefully. "We are spirits. Not ghosts." He said, seeming a little annoyed.

Takato sweatdropped and rubbed the back of his head. "Err sorry. But, well yeah." He turned back to us. "This world is full of Magic. And Sakura and Li are magicians."

I eyed the goggleboy carefully. "...Takato... Did you take a blow to the head or something? There's no such thing as magic. And why AREN'T you helping anyway?"

Guilmon's ears drooped. "We're stuck."

Well put.

"Because that tiger thing seems to have set up a barrier. No one can get in or out."

"Wasn't me you little brats. The barrier showed up after I got here."

"Hmmm." Li frowned. "This is feeling more and more like another test. Sakura!"

The brunette shook her head. "I think you're right, but I can't feel him anywhere. He must be using his magic to block my senses."

I glanced at Madison. "Who are they talking about?"

"Oh ho ho ho, just another little friend of ours."

...I just can't help but think it's bad news whenever she laughs like that...

Eli's POV: Adjacent Rooftop: 6:12pm

"Are we going to actually do anything?" Ruby whined once more.

It's patience was thinning, not that I could blame it. We had been watching the fight for a while, but apart from instilling a barrier, we remained as observers. It was tedious, but necessary, not only for measuring Sakura's battle skills against these mutilated Heartless, but also to show this new girl, Rika her role in this world. Now that the girl was here, one of the prerequisites had been completed, but I still needed to know how much Sakura had grown since our last encounter.

"Patience, Ruby. We're almost ready."

The spirit nodded in casual grace. "Hmmm. Eli, are you sure your magic is working?"

I was a little perturbed by the question, but the slight annoyance was gone before my body even had time to react. "I am... why?"

"It's that red lizard creature. He's staring straight at us."

She was right. I could feel his eyes on me even before I turned to him. But he blinked in confusion all the same. At once I understood, my magic was working fine. Eyesight and magic senses were being blocked as I intended, but this creature...

"Pyro smell us. I hadn't blocked that since he wasn't there when the fight started, and in all honesty, I didn't think that could happen anyway. My, these outworlders were interesting. The brown haired boy was yelling at his little friend as the fireball closed in on us. The dino stared back in all innocence, obviously not understanding why his partner was angry.

Spinel looked up lazily from his position lying across the rooftop. "Well sire, since you're going to use your magic anyway, perhaps it would be wise to see how Sakura works with this new girl."

I nodded. "Yes, that should be most interesting... Very well."

Lifting my staff, I tapped it on the ground activating my shift magic. I had to respect Ryo's privacy after all so I shifted the card of his second partner into my hand. Sakura whirled around spying for anything out of the ordinary. She had felt my magic. I tapped the staff again, as she once again activated her shield card. Time stopped everywhere except for two spots. One of course was where I was, and the other was around Sakura.

She was not only able to sense my magic, but was actually able to tell which card I was about to use... My, she has gotten stronger.

Using my magic to teleport down to the ground and away from the fireball looming near to us, we approached Rika casually. By now Sakura had seen us, though our presence must have been confusing for her.

"Eli..."

I smiled warmly in her direction. "It's good to see you again Sakura. Though, I really do wish it was under better circumstances. How are you and Li doing?"

"Uh, well..." She blushed and shied away her eyes. "Err, that time before, with the emptiness card... I was able to tell Li that... I Ioved him."

"So you actually managed to say it, that's wonderful news. I had figured that there was someone special in your life since you never lost your True Feeling."

"Hey Sakura." Ruby exclaimed, perky as ever. "How's Tori doing?"

"He's fine."

It looked like Spinel was about to ask something too but I had to cut him off. "I hope you don't mind if we save the rest of the introductions for later."

I tapped the new girl, Rika, lightly on the shoulder The discolorization showing that my time magic had affected her peeled away. She lost her balance but managed to not fall over somehow. She must be good at physical activity which is a good sign. Sakura was making her way over to us to find out what was going on.

"Hello Rika. We meet at last."

"Huh?" The pony-tailed girl spun around and eyed me carefully. Sakura was usually quite curious about these things, but Rika was more on guard. "And just who are you suppose to be? A Wisemon reject?"

...She's pleasant. This should be fun.

"Not quite." Spinel stepped forward eying Rika with almost haunting eyes. Oddly she still seemed more annoyed than scared. "You are addressing our master, Eli Moon, the magician. And since he's here to help you, you might try having a little respect."

"..." She glanced at me once more. "Hold on." her eyes narrowed. "You look almost like a kid version of that geezer from my dream."

"Clow Reed, yes, I am his reincarnation." I smiled. "As you no doubt have noticed things work very different in this world than they do in your own. Granted I don't know what exactly goes on in your world but something about it transformed when you came to this one. You have the gift of Magic here, and you are a Magician, like Sakura, and Li, and myself."

I paused a moment to give Rika the chance to process what I had said. Fortunately she seemed to understand remarkably quickly. The real question was whether she would choose to believe it. She glanced at Sakura and her wand, then at the time frozen world around, then back at me.

"Go on."

"Your magic is not the same as Sakura's but it seems to use the same principles. Spirits are trapped in cards. You must use your magic to unlock them and use them to fight.

Rika's eye twitched a little. She wasn't liking this. "And how am I supposed to do that again?"

"You should have an item on you that you can transform. It will most likely resemble something from your own world. Maybe a-"

"This thing." Rika had reached into her shirt and pulled out a necklace with the head of a Buddhist staff as the main part. "This was the weapon Renamon and I used in the old world. Now tell me how to transform it so I can club that stupid tiger thing into a coma."

Spinel flinched. Almost impossible for anyone to notice. Apparently he didn't like Rika's choice of world. Meanwhile my time magic was beginning to wear on me. It was time to end this conversation.

"Unfortunately I don't know. It has nothing to do with my magic, but I can give you some of my power for you to transform your wand."

Rika nodded "Alright."

I touched her necklace and a pole extended from the bottom. Rika clasped it and held it in a battle stance. No twirling involved and not nearly as flashy as how Sakura used hers. But effective. She seemed to be admiring it for a second.

"Nice..."

"I turned around and started to walk away with Ruby and Spinel close behind. "One more thing. Your staff can release your world's spirits like your Guilmon. Just touch it to a card and that should do it."

"Leaving already?" She asked in an almost condescending tone.

I tilted my head slightly. "Of course. You need the battle experience... and I'm eager to see how well you work together. Good luck."

As I faded into the shadows the effects of my time magic disappeared. My barrier was still up to contain the damage, but I was confident Rika had the strength to pass through it. The look on the children's faces from Rika's new accessory and Sakura's new position was priceless. The red-haired girl jogged ahead so she was level with Sakura. Her entrance into the battle zone left a cut-out of her sillouette in the barrier. But it quickly faded away.

"She's strong but I must admit I have doubts about her control." Spinel exclaimed, only half paying attention to the fight.

"Ummm, what's going on here?" Henry asked staring at Rika.

"Alright the barrier's down!" Takato cheered and charge forward gung-ho to help the trapped Meilin.

Ruby turned away. "This is not going to be pretty."

WHAM! "...Maybe not..."

"...Gogglehead." Rika snorted while Henry, Jeri, and Ryo checked on him. Kazu and Kenta were complimenting him on an injury well done. I smiled... we were fortunate to have such kind souls visit our world.

"Alright kitty. I've taken down bigger things than you before so I'm going to give you to the count of three to let Meilin go." Rika secretly palmed her Renamon card as she spoke. No one else saw it but my group.

"1..."

Curious... I wonder if Renamon's abilities are as intriguing as Guilmon's

"Who do you think you are dealing with child? You will all be destroyed here... and now."

"2..."

Sakura turned urgently and whispered. "What are you doing?"

Rika's kept staring forward, but not at the Demi-Heartless. "Just make sure you have a card ready to help. And make sure it's a good one. 3! Renamon!"

Appearing out of nowhere a sun colored humanoid fox phased into view plowing it's fists into the creatures stomach and dislodging it from Meilin's back. Ruby leaned over in surprise at the new creature's entrance while Meilin rolled out of the way. And it was no surprise either. To be able to get past her senses this creature must have had a certain degree of skill.

Sakura wasted no time in supporting her new accomplice. Drawing out a card with a wicked looking whale drawn on it. "Release your power confined. Freeze Card! Neutralize the Heartless!"

After exiting the card Freeze immediately understood what Sakura wanted it to do. It lunged at the tiger encasing it in ice. The brown haired girl, her boyfriend, Madison and Meilin all seemed pleased. Rika on the other hand, was less than amused with her arms folded and glaring at the senior magician. Renamon glared at the Hartless from just beyond the ice.

"Why didn't you finish it?"

"Huh? Sakura was taken aback. "Why would I do that?"

"Erherm..." Takato whispered to himself.

"It's a Heartless, what else would you do with it?" Renamon demanded.

Henry was quick to assume the role of peace maker. "Come on now Rika. These people obviously do things different than us. Even with Sakura's magic cards it doesn't look like there's ever been a need for violence in this world."

"Erherm!" The brunette cleared his throat again, louder this time.

"Lucky you."

"It hasn't all been fun and games you know." Yue said firmly. "We've had difficulties, like the Emptiness card. But you can't see the effects because Sakura's magic has overpowered it."

"ERHERM!" Takato tried one more time finally getting the desired result and then some.

"What!?"

The goggle-wearing boy looked nervous that everyone was focusing on him now. Or maybe it was just the combined stare of Yue and Rika. Thankfully Guilmon didn't seem to notice. To be honest, I'm not sure if he even realized anyone else except Takato was there. "The big kitty's gonna break free." He informed and pointed with one big claw.

Of course, from my perspective I could see that coming a mile away. But I noticed Sakura seemed to miss it. It's hardly surprising though. Sakura's magic comes from the earth, the Heartless, most certainly do not. The tiger unleashed another ball of black fire at the girls. Sakura drew another card and grabbed Rika.

"Release your power confined, Jump!"

"Wha-"

The girls lunged upward just at the fireball hit, and landed a few meters back. Henry was quick to give his aid in the form of a card. "Rika, use this."

The red head snatched the card out of the air. "...Terriermon? Don't you have something better? This one is annoying."

"Rika!"

"But I wuv Tewwiewmon!"

Meanwhile the Demi-Heartless was getting angry as it futilely tried to claw Renamon. "I get the feeling you brats aren't taking me seriously."

Ryo smirked. "Don't worry. We're not."

"You will be the first to-..."

"...-Blah blah blah." Ryo waved the monster off. "Hey Rika, what's taking you so long? You don't normally let your opponents last this long."

"First of all: Shut up Ryo! And secondly... wizard girl, how'd you manage to jump so high?"

Sakura smiled back. "It's the Jump spirit. He was real tough to catch."

"So then the card can do more than summon spirits to fight... Hmmm, I wonder..."

"Could you wonder a little faster?" Kazu yelled out, then sweadropped when Rika glared at him. "Uh, please?"

Rika went back to focusing on her cards. She pulled two out that didn't have the same style as Sakura's card. In fact they looked more like cards for some sort of game. She threw them in the air in front of her and tapped each with her staff, similar to how she'd seen Sakura do it.

"Alright, time to finish this." Rika said narrowing her violet eyes. Renamon back flipped from her opponent next to Rika and assumed a battle stance. She glanced at her Tamer wondering what cards she used.

"Ready Renamon?"

"As always."

With one more smile, Rika lunged at the tiger in a blur. Retaliating quickly, the creature swiped its paw at Rika, who caught it... Then flipped the monster over her shoulder, which allowed Renamon to use a punch combo while it was sailing through the air.

"Way to go Rika!" Jeri cheered. Takato just scratched his head and Henry smiled a bit. Kazu and Kenta were just as confused as Takato.

"Interesting, apparently the Strength and Speed Plugins affect her..." Henry murmured to himself. Nobody else heard him though.

Li was a bit surprised. He'd seen the effects of a strength card before but... Well Sakura had never used it quite like that. "Hey Rika!"

"Yeah?"

"Some of the card will become weapons or items or have other kinds of effects."

"Right, thanks!"

Rika sorted through her cards again before charging the beast one more. By this time it had recovered though and launched a fireball. Rika and Sakura drew a card.

"Let's try this Aegis!"

"Realease your power confined, Wind, throw the Heartless into the air."

While Rika blocked the fireball with a massive shield a sudden gust forced the tiger into the air. It stretched it's wings out to fly but the redhead wasn't going to let up. She used yet another card and immediately six wings of light appeared on her back. Sakura followed with her Fly card, sprouting two, more impressive, angel wings.

"Don't think you can run from me."

While the tomboy tried to uppercut the beast, Sakura one again readied a card. Rika was hit out of the way with the monster's tail, but it didn't even see the next attack coming.

"Release your power confined. Thunder!"

The Demi-Heartless was grounded in a second, literally from the bolt of lightning that struck him. It was struggling to its feet in a feeble attempt to keep fighting. Renamon jumped on flattening it again, and just above, Rika had disengaged her wings. Rika's blow was the final one, cracking the darkness like thin ice. The beast disintegrated in mid-air until all that was left was a little shadowy creature with big round eyes, maybe a foot tall.

Spinel glanced at me. "Is that what I think it is?"

"...Yes, that's a true Heartless... I think I'm beginning to understand now."

I took down my barrier just as Renamon stepped on the little thing, then exchanged a cool glance with her partner. "Well that wasn't so difficult."

I stood up. "Yes, and allow me to congratulate you. You two have done exceedingly well."

All eyes turned to me. Though most of the children from the other world. (Including Rika still) were on guard. The Cardcaptors and their friends (Minus Meilin) seemed to take quite well to my presence.

"Oh sure, now you show up, after we did all the hard stuff." Meilin growled out.

"Uh, Dude, your outfit..." Kazu stared blankly at me.

"And your friends..." Kenta was looking more at Spinel and Ruby."

Jeri smiled. "Is Eli a Magician too?"

"Yes, I am the reincarnation of Clow Reed, the maker of the Clow Cards. Now if you would like to head back to Li's house, we can start with the explanations."

"Thanks for the nice entrance Eli, this video will be excellent. Ho ho ho." Madison made a haunting laugh.

I smiled at Madison while everyone else around her seemed to get uncomfortable. "Well, shall we go back to Li's home to discuss the new darkness that has arisen, as well as Rika's new found powers?"

Sakura backed away a bit. "Umm, sure that sounds good. But, can you wait till I get Kero first? I'll meet you guys there."

Takato blinked dumbly. "Kero?"

WARNING: ANIME OBSESSED FANS PROOFREADING STOPS HERE (Oh yeah and he's been kinda rushed 'cause of school stuff so this might not be up to usual quality)

…like I care…

Notes

Alright this chapter had a couple parts that I hated, namely the fight scene which was poorly thought out. Though I've been reading some good stories lately and slowly my inspiration has started to come back… Then I ran out cause I read more than I work sooo… yeah.

Oh yeah. I have limited time to do the review cause I have to work tomorrow and I'm pretty sure I'm gunna be hung over… It been a bad week for brain power, but a helluva a lot of fun.

Reviews

Anime Obsessed Fan –

Heh well sorry to disappoint you but I got another slight Ryuki moment coming up. And yeah I figured the minor characters at least deserved an appearance.

Alright I did this like a video game but ya know how some games have Luck as a stat. Well that one of the strongest trait of Kuri-Kuri's body. The luck is only good 50% of the time though, but it's always powerful. So yeah, Zach gave him random directions, but he got lucky and ended up finding exactly what he was looking for anyway.

Ryo's partner makes him essentially bitchen. So there's no way I'm going to underscore that. GO MILLENIUMON.

And yes the CCS world is just to kinda show how things will work. Next world will be the main town where everything revolves. But that's probably a couple chapters away still.

Newbi –

Heh yeah. Ryo never had to worry about anyone finding out about his other partner in the Digimon World. These new worlds aregoing to present some serious problems for him and he's going to have to find a much more user friendly way of dealing with them.

And the necklace thing should be answered in this chapter. Chiao.

Nightdragon0 –

Oy, Card Captors is quiet possibly the greatest Romance/action anime in history. I advise seeing it the first chance you get. Thanks for the review.

Rufus008 –

Thanks for the review. Although Jeri's role will take a bit longer than expected. Bassically it's not this chapter but I've already wrote it in in the next. See ya.

Azeroth –

Heh heh heh. You ask all the question I'm not suppose to answer. Oh well I'll tell you a bit. The skeletal thing was another Heartless Lord, still sealed though. Have fun with that thought, and thanks for the review.

OmnicromXR –

Oy long time no see. I think I've covered most of this already, still haven't read those two fics though on the count of I'm a lazy cow. I've been tossing some ideas around ing my head for the revival of Viral State… I think I got some good ones but only time will tell. See ya around man.

Kayono –

I really don't think I do. I'm not a writing specialist, hell I skip out on homework any chance I get. I'm good with situations, but my actual writing skill could be miles ahead given my age. Thanks for the review anyway.

AnT –

Boy that was a shortlived back… Oh, bonus. I've recently found out what the hell a Chaotix was. Geez your fic makes a hell uf a lot more sense now. (I've been re-reading on the count of I'm an idiot. Thanks for the site, IT RULES. And yes FLCL will have a minor part in this.

3rd Review – I think I sent you the pics by now. This was a while ago. Lemme know what ya think if you haven't already.

QuestionDeca –

Really, I'm as lazy as ever. Hell I just got back from vaction, and I got bruises in parts I didn't even know existed on me. Well good luck and take care.

Larka –

Thanks for the review

Pokemon-35055 –

Thanks for the review.

Shadowwind –

First off Takato is from Season 3. And Yeah I have noticed that actually. Mainly stuff like XenoSaga and that kinda nifty stuff. BoF2 is another good example. Thanks for the review.

Aj-sama –

Heh, yeah I know what you mean, though I'm not gonna hold my breath for KHII. I got enough to do in the mean time until it comes out. Thanks for the review.

Ryumasa the Ryuhaitou –

…I hate… DBZ… let's face it. By the time of freeza it was like an accidental breathe could destroy the world. And they drag everything on so long. JUST HIT THE ER. I mean, Sephiroth would whoop their asses.

Vegeta "UuuuuUUUUAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH"

Sephiroth "Harvest Angel Desend"

Vegeta "What? Where did all my power go"

-slash- Vegeta lies dead on the ground…

But, thanks for the review. I'm still considering if I should use one of them as a minor character, like Chi Chi. Now that chick knows a thing or two about action.

Lonewalker –

Go noble Terriermon. And raid that blasphamous fridge. And then the writer himself. Ah sorry for the major delays. It's going to be a while before I get any kinda schedual going and I suspect AOF is the same, bless him. But thank for the review. Bye.

BloodyKitsune –

Thanks for the review.

Axel-Wildfire000 –

Not sure if your even interested in that anymore, but he is in fact an author. Sorry but Perfect Hazard is no longer a trilogy. Though I might make some minor one shots in that continuity, I'm think when I revive Viral State it'll be mainly Impmon and his lackeys. And right and the Ryo/Madison thing. Meh, there's plenty to do without actually hooking anyone up. That's what I'm thinking, after all, I don't wanna seriously link any of the characters to someone outside their world. Thaniks for the review.

2nd Review

Really, I thought it would look more like this: First Job/Support(s)

Takato: Lancer/Knight (Gallantmon fights with a lance and actually is a dragon knight. Plus lancers are fricken strong.)

Rika: Fighter/Black Mage/White Mage (No doubt Rika is vicious. Her Mega was based on magic, so I figger it doesn't matter what it is as long as it can do damage and has a Barrier Spell)

Henry: Monk/Fighter (You runeseeker made sence but Henry already is a martial Artist, so the monk suits him better. If theres a job involve guns, I would make that his support because of his partner)

Ryo: Warrior/Time Mage (Ryo's best at hand to hand/close combat in his mega form. I gave him Time support cuz GO MILLENIUMON! HELL YA!)

Jeri: Summoner (You'll see why next chapter.)

Kazu: Runeseeker (Something about Kazu and explosions just seems to go well together in my mind)

Kenta: White Mage (MarineAngemon, it's an easy call)

As for the summons, I wouldn't use the Digimon, they would be inherit in the skill of each Tamer. The Summons will be explained next chapter as I said.

Digital-Dragon-Master844 –

Sorry, haven't read the sotry. Hell I forgot this review even existed I'm been so busy running my other fic into the ground and then deleting it. You might wanna rememder me in your next review too cuz I'm not sure I'm gonna remember any of this.

Wolfen Man –

YA! WAY TO SLACK OFF ON YOUR HOMEWORK! YOU'RE MY IDOL NOW! Or some such crap. Heh, yes the black heart thing is it, though it's function is going to go unkown for a VERY LONG TIME. Good luck with the homework and thanks for the review.

Jamie –

Yep. I always considered the FLCL fighting like DBZ only with actually good animation and now of that usless grunting and groaning. I mean hell, that chick blocked like about a headred bullets with a razor blade, and almost made an impact crater when she smashed that baseball missile thing. GO BEE-CHICK!

Zerodragon –

Hope hasn't been hamed and that little tricket thing is the 'weapon' although it doesn't work like you think it would, heh. Thanks for the review.

Loki Nishizaki –

Thanks for the comment, but they really were a lot of crap from Empress Sakuyamon, that stupid prophecy and shameless author inserts. But I learned my lesson, the next time it will definitely be better.