Chapter 6: Hazard
The car turned sharply on the corner and quickly sped off as several police cars were in hot pursuit after it. The woman in the car smiled as she drove straight into ongoing traffic, losing some of the police cars by having them hit into other vehicles. She made a clean getaway from it but she still had some police cars still after her. She cursed under her breath as the car started to slow down and she realized it was only running on a few drops of gas that had been left in the vehicle.
The wind swept back Mako's hair as he watched the scene below him from the rooftop of a building. Standing next to him was Beelzemon as he also watched the ongoing chase between the cars. The orange glow of the setting sun set on both of their faces as they watched the car starting to slow down, which they realized it must have been running out of gas. Mako reached into his black jacket's pocket and pulled out an interesting device. It looked like one of those new Gameboy Advance SPs that everyone seemed to like but it wasn't something to play games on. It was a silver color and on the back of it was a small box that was connected to it. Mako looked at it and he was still unsure of his orders.
"Here Mako," said the man in the black car.
He handed Mako the device as Beelzemon stood nearby watching the scene. Mako examined it as a confused look came upon his face.
"What? You want me to play video games?" he asked with some sarcasm in his voice.
"No. This may look like that, but it is a very useful device. You could say we 'borrowed' the design of that model of a Gameboy but at least no one will suspect a thing. This is used to collect data and inside of it is a scanner which will tell you everything about the digimon."
"Such as?"
"Well, it will tell you different things. How many digimon they uploaded, their maximum power, and a lot of other things."
Mako looked at him and said, "Then what was the point of having the other device? It's basically useless since I got all of the information off of those other tamers."
"You can use that other device for battle purposes but this will help you figure out weakness and other things of that specific digimon. Once you are done with the data, give it to me for my own purposes."
"So basically this thing uploads a digimon's data, huh? Can you bring the uploaded digimon back to life?"
"No. It was not designed for that."
Mako pocketed the device in his black jacket, sighed, and said with sarcasm, "Darn. If Beelzemon was destroyed then I could upload his data to bring him back to life. But since it doesn't work that way, then I guess I understand."
Beelzemon looked at Mako and, trying to sound hurt, said, "What's that supposed to mean? What happened to having some faith in me?"
Mako looked back at Beelzemon and said, "Come on, you know I was kidding. I have complete faith in you, Beelzemon. I just wonder sometimes…"
Beelzemon shrugged and said nothing more. Mako turned back to the man in the black vehicle.
"So, you want me to upload data of every digimon I defeat?"
"Yes. Study the data and learn from it."
Mako smirked and said, "Well there's the quote of the day. Didn't think you could be so wise."
The man sighed and said, "Your lucky you're getting paid for this."
Mako looked at him and said, "Oh, so I'm getting paid huh?"
"Well, I have to give you something for your troubles. I'll give you however much I think you earn by the end of each week from the amount of digimon's data you uploaded. Since this is your first notification, I'll give you until next Friday to turn it in."
"That sounds good."
"But I'm going to pay you for one today because I'm sending you out on a mission. Won't be much mind you, but enough. Right now as we speak, a digimon that looks human is on a high-speed chase with the police. You need to track it down and upload the data so I can see if you really are qualified for the job."
Mako turned around and started to walk away from the car as he said, "A digimon in their human form, huh? Don't worry, I'll get on it."
"I'll be watching you Mako."
Mako watched as the car drove off and he stood there as he heard the sounds of sirens coming closer.
They both watched as the car came to a halt near a bunch of alleyways and saw the human digimon run out of it just as the police cars came to the stopped vehicle. Mako watched as she tried to lose the police officers.
"Time to go, Beelzemon."
Beelzemon nodded as he picked up Mako and headed over to the alleyways.
The human digimon slipped into the shadows as a bunch of police officers ran past her, not even bothering to stop and look for any sign of her. She smiled as she quickly ran down the alleyway and soon came to a dead end. She listened carefully and knew her escape was successful because she couldn't hear any of the police officers.
"Humans are so foolish," she said out loud to herself.
"Yes, they are aren't they?" said a voice behind her.
She quickly spun around as she saw a boy and a tall digimon in leather standing behind her. Mako examined the human digimon. She had long white hair with it being covered by her purple and red striped hat; she wore a red shirt with a short cape behind it and red pants; purple gloves with spider web designs on them, purple shoes, and dark purple sunglasses covered her eyes. Mako knew about digimon who could have human forms as well as digimon forms. You couldn't scan them in their human form so you had to wait for their digimon form to appear. But he already had a hunch on who she was.
"I'm not as foolish as other humans and you have no choice but to surrender," he said stepping forward.
She growled and said, "I won't surrender to a human nor will I be defeated by one."
Mako sighed and said, "I was hoping that you would surrender but I guess things must come the hard way. You're lucky that I don't allow my partner here to torture you and make you beg for death. Instead he'll make this as quick and painless as possible."
She smiled evilly and said, "Fine then. But I won't be as generous as you are."
"Don't expect you to be."
The woman laughed as she bent double and started to change her form. She grew eight legs and horns and had a bigger body. Once she was done changing, she basically looked like a red and purple striped spider with horns, bandage straps on her eight legs, two white arms with designs on them, messy white hair and red eyes where the sunglasses used to be.
"Arukenimon. Virus Type. Ultimate Level. Attacks are Spider Thread and Acid Mist," Mako said as he scanned her. "I think I preferred your human form. At least you had good looks."
Arukenimon snarled and said, "I may not have the best looks but I will make sure you die beautifully."
"We'll see. Squash the bug Beelzemon."
"With pleasure," he said as he rushed forward.
Takato walked down the sidewalk back towards the bakery where Guilmon was waiting for him. Takato had some errands to do for his mom and he promised his partner once he got back they would play. He suddenly heard the explosions of a battle in progress as he ran toward where it came from. He ran down the street and then suddenly saw the battle going on between Beelzemon and Arukenimon. They didn't see him because he was behind the battle but he watched without making himself known.
"I won't be defeated. Spider Thread!" she said as strings of web came from her hands.
Beelzemon easily jumped over it and pulled out one of his guns while in the air.
"Double Impact!"
The shots fired fast so Arukenimon didn't have time to dodge them as Beelzemon shot her with bullet after bullet. After a few shots were taken, Beelzemon landed onto the pavement as Arukenimon slumped over with bullet holes in her body. She said nothing more as she dispersed into fragments of data. What surprised Takato was that Mako pulled out a device from his pocket and held it out toward the data.
"Data Download Initiate!" Mako said as the data went into the black box of the device.
Takato watched with amazement and at the same time with disgust as Mako loaded the data into the device. After it was finished, he pocketed it again and started to walk out of the alleyway with Beelzemon. Takato quietly followed behind and then quickly hid behind a corner when he saw a black car pull up to them. He listened intently to their conversation as the window of the driver's side rolled down.
"Nice work," the man said as he took the device from Mako.
He took out the black box from the back and placed it in a silver container. He then took out another black box and attached it to the back of the device and handed it back to Mako along with a ten and a five-dollar bill.
"This was a test but now it's the real thing. That black box can hold up to 50 digimon's data and no more. I don't expect you to go up that high every week but don't over work yourself. Good luck."
"You can count on me," he said.
The car drove away as Mako pocketed the device and the money. He started to walk away when Takato ran from his hiding place and stopped him.
"Mako!" he yelled at him.
Mako stopped and turned around facing Takato.
"Oh it's you. What do you want this time?"
"What was that? What did you do to that digimon's data?" Takato said with anger in his voice.
"It's not any of your business but if you must know it was just a job."
"A job?"
"Yeah. Destroy the digimon that threatens human life, load the data in a convenient little device, hand it over to my boss, and get a good amount of pay. That basically sums it up," he said with a smirk.
"That's not right. Digimon are living creatures, not things to be killed and bought for."
"Unlike your friend Rika, I know the value of each life, even digital life. But as we all know there are digimon who want to destroy us so we destroy them before they start killing us off. That's a tamer's job. Someone just wanted me to help get more information on these digimon and is willing to pay me. It's not a crime but if it is then you are doing it as well."
"It's still not right," Takato mumbled.
"Whatever. So, have you gotten rid of your partner yet?"
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not going to get rid of Guilmon. He's my friend and I won't let him be destroyed," said Takato as his anger rose.
"Look, I can't make you get rid of him. But right now you have but two options. Either you get rid of him or you start to control your emotions better. It's up to you."
"I can control my emotions just fine," he said trying to hide his anger.
Mako narrowed his eyes at Takato and said, "No you can't. You're a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. Unfortunately when you do explode, it will affect your partner, which is why he's dangerous. Your emotions affect him twice as much as it effects you."
"I won't do anything that will hurt Guilmon."
"Then control your anger…"
"I can control it."
"No you can't. You have more of a short temper than Rika does. If you know what's best for you…"
Takato didn't want to hear it. That's all he heard from Mako is lectures, as if he didn't get enough from his parents. His actions were unconsciously chosen as he suddenly swung his fist, which made impact with Mako's face. Mako fell to the ground with a surprised look on his face. Beelzemon growled at Takato who had a wild look in his eyes.
"You leave Mako alone," he said as he stepped forward.
"Beelzemon, stop. He's not worth it."
Mako stood up and spat out some spit and blood that had formed in his mouth. He stared at the wild look in Takato's eyes and then turned to walk away, ignoring the stinging pain in his cheek.
"Like I was saying, if you know what's best for you and your partner, you'll learn to control your emotions especially your anger. If you can't, then get rid of Guilmon but if you can't do that either than I suggest you stop being a tamer. If anyone's partners are destroyed, then I hope it's not because of Guilmon. Because if it is, the person it will effect the most won't be your friends whose partners Guilmon destroyed, but you. Just remember that."
Before Takato could say anything more, Mako walked away with Beelzemon giving one last death glare at Takato before following his tamer. Takato stood there for a second with anger still fuming inside of him but he finally moved on back toward his home. He was still mad when he got home but the wild looks in his eyes were gone now. He went to his room where Guilmon was waiting.
"Hey Takatomon! You're back," he said happily.
"Hey Guilmon," Takato said, trying not to sound aggravated.
He lay on his bed and sighed heavily as Guilmon rested his head beside him like a loyal dog. Takato petted his friend's head as he thought about Mako's words but quickly shoved them aside as his mom called him and Guilmon for dinner.
The next day, Takato was walking with Guilmon through the park and a couple of times they stopped because some little kids would want to pet him. Guilmon noticed his tamer's mood and wondered why he looked like that when it was such a nice day out.
"What's wrong, Takato?" he asked innocently.
"Nothing Guilmon. Just thinking about stuff," he said almost in a whisper.
As they walked, Takato spotted Henry and Terriermon up ahead. He started to smile as he walked towards the two.
'If anyone can brighten up my mood, it's my friends.'
"Hey guys!" Takato said, trying to sound cheerful.
"Hi Takato! Hi Guilmon!" said Henry as they approached them.
"What's up?" Takato asked.
"Oh the usual. No bioemerges, no excitement…" said Terriermon in a dull tone.
"No one telling me there was a meeting," said another voice.
"There wasn't a meeting but it's glad to see you, Rika," said Takato as he faced the girl.
Rika smiled as she walked up to them without Renamon in sight.
"So where's Renamon?" Henry asked.
She shrugged and said, "Who knows? She'll come when I want her to, though."
They walked together through the park, talking about nothing and everything. Around 1:00 in the afternoon, the hunger began.
"Can we get something to eat? I'm hungry," said Guilmon as he laid on the ground acting like he was in pain, which made Takato sweat drop.
"Don't answer this, but do you ever think about anything else than food?" Terriermon asked.
Guilmon sat up and said, "Sure lots of times..."
Takato breathed a sigh of relief to Guilmon's answer.
Guilmon suddenly raised his head and said, "But not when I'm this hungry!"
Everyone almost fell over and Takato said, "Guuuiiilmooon!"
"Let's get something to eat before Guilmon keels over," said Rika.
They all walked off to a fast food restaurant and ordered some cheeseburgers and fries with some drinks. As they sat and ate their food, they talked about what had been happening recently. Before they got to finish though, another bioemergence appeared.
"Looks like another digimon's here. Let's go," said Henry.
"Yea! Finally some action!" said Terriermon.
They all went into the digital field and were soon joined by the other tamers, not including Mako. As the fog cleared up some, a giant metallic bird came into view. It had a green body with a metal plate on its chest, metal claws, red wings, and a ghost's tail.
"Metamormon. Virus Type. Mega Level. This mutant's attacks are Laser Translation and Transcierave," said Ryo.
"Let's show this guy whose boss. Renamon," said Rika as Renamon appeared beside her.
Rika, Takato, Henry, Suzie, and Kazu all slashed a digivolution card in their D-Arc.
"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution Activate!"
MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION
"Guilmon matrix digivolve to…WarGrowlmon!"
"Renamon matrix digivolve to…Taomon!"
"Terriermon matrix digivolve to…Rapidmon!"
"Gaurdromon matrix digivolve to…Andromon!"
"Lopmon matrix digivolve to…Antylamon!"
"All right you bird brain. I have something for you! Rapid Fire!" said Rapidmon as he fired his missiles at him.
"Atomic Blasters!"
"Talisman of Light!"
"Bunny Blades!"
"Fist of the Beast King!"
"Gatling Attack!"
"Kahuna Waves!"
"Desolation Claw!"
The attacks all hit Metamormon with full force but he soon attacked back at the digimon.
"Laser Translation!" he said as a bunch of beams went from his body and randomly attacked the digimon.
The digimon groaned from the damage done to them but were still able to fight as they attacked Metamormon again. He took the full damage, which wasn't much as only a few scratches were seen on his metal body. As he was about to attack again, someone else joined in on the fun.
"Double Impact!"
The mutant bird shrieked as the bullets hit him and dented his metal body in some areas. The tamers turned around to see Mako coming into the digital field with his black jacket on.
"Thought you didn't want to help us," said Rika, smirking.
"I'm not here to help you. I'm only here for the data," he said.
"Data? We've never seen Beelzemon load any digimon's data before so why now?" asked Henry.
Before Mako could respond, Takato said, "That's not what he means."
"What? What are you saying Takato?" asked Jeri.
Takato could feel the anger rising in him again as he said, "I'm saying that this guy isn't having his digimon load the data of digimon, but rather he's using a device that loads a digimon's data. He then takes it and gives it to his 'boss', which he then gets paid for giving him the data."
"What kind of person are you?" asked Rika.
Mako glared at them and said, "It's a job. I can't tell you why I'm doing it and I can't tell you who's asking me to do it. Now then, I'm going to help you but not because I want to. I have to work for my prize."
Takato's anger kept rising as he said, "Why don't you fight some other battle where we don't have to see you doing such a disgusting thing? We don't need your help and we've never needed it."
"Why don't you just let me handle it and go learn to control yourself? You'd be better off doing that than fighting."
"You be quiet!" Takato yelled at Mako.
Everyone stared at Takato as the wild look in his eyes came back. Takato looked at Mako with the anger inside of him at its peak.
"We don't need you and we'll prove it!" shouted Takato as he turned to WarGrowlmon, holding up his D-Arc. "Let's show them WarGrowlmon! Let's show them what we're made of!"
WarGrowlmon's eyes suddenly had the same wild look in them as Takato's eyes had. Takato's D-Arc glowed a red and black light as the same energy circled around WarGrowlmon. Static of electricity shot out of the orb surrounding WarGrowlmon as the ground began to shake.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Beelzemon said as he could feel the hairs on his neck stand up.
Inside of the orb WarGrowlmon changed form and then the orb was suddenly swept aside as a new digimon stood in WarGrowlmon's place. Everyone gasped at this new creature that WarGrowlmon had become. He was a huge demonic dragon with red wings, a monster head with sharp teeth and foaming mouth, large black claws, and a serpent's tail. The only thing that seemed the same about all of his other evolutions was the hazard sign that stayed on his chest. This new digimon roared, which made everyone feel uneasy about the whole situation.
"Megidramon. Mega Level. Virus Type. His attacks are Megido Flame and Hell Howling," said Henry as he read off of the scanner.
Mako quickly pulled out the power-level reading gadget and placed it on his head. His eyes widened as he saw how much power Megidramon had.
"No! This is exactly what I didn't want to happen! He's too strong for us!" said Mako as he started to sweat.
"What? Are you serious?" asked Rika.
Mako nodded and said, "The ultimates are only ranging from 2000 to 3000."
"Well what if we digivolve to mega?" said Henry.
Mako sighed and said, "Unfortunately it won't help much. I already scanned your mega level forms. Henry's mega level is only 3500, Rika and Ryo's is 4000, Suzie's is 4500, and Beelzemon's is only 5000."
"How much is Megidramon's?" Kazu asked, knowing he would regret it.
Mako shakily said, "6000."
"What? Are you serious?" Rika asked, partially yelling at Mako.
"I wish I wasn't. That's why I was trying to help Takato, to tell him the dangers of his partner. But he chose not to listen, so now we are all going to regret it."
Megidramon looked at his foe and let out another terrifying roar, which shook everyone up. Takato looked at this new evolution and couldn't believe his eyes.
"That can't be Guilmon. Not the digimon I created. It just can't be," he said.
He dropped his red D-Arc as it fell to the pavement, cracked, and then finally dispersed into thin air.