Digimon: New World
Chapter 1
Ryder White, Adrenaline Junkie!
"I'm off, Ryder!"
Those were the last words Ryder remembered his father saying to him before he had left on his mission. All his dad has said was that the agency he worked for had given him a very important task; one that would require him to go to the digital world for some time.
From a young age, Ryder had always remembered his father being a member of the DEA, the Digital Enforcement Agency, the organisation that oversaw relationships between humans and Digimon. For as long as he could remember, Digimon and Humans had lived alongside each other in the city of Valhalla, but his father had often told him of a time before Digimon had come. In his father's lifetime, a gate to another world had been discovered, the digital world, and out of that gate had come the Digimon. His father told him many stories of how things had gone in the early days, but he himself had only ever known a life in a world where Digimon and Humans lived alongside each other.
That was why his father had felt content to leave him and off on his mission, he supposed, because he wouldn't be alone. He would have his Digimon beside him, always.
A flash of the past appeared in his dreams. An image of his father stood in front of him as powerful flames roared from in front of them. His father was looking back at him. He could make out so much detail from just the memory. His father's short beard, the white top and baggy blue jeans he always wore, always trying to look younger than he was. No one had ever minded. Everyone had always liked him.
"Don't forget this lesson, kiddo!"
His father's words woke him up. His eyes opened to a view of his apartment's blank white ceiling. He felt the sun coming from the window to his right and shielded his eyes with an arm. Why did those words in particular keep coming back to him? Why was that the strongest memory he had of his father? It had been 10 years and yet that was still the most memorable moment he had spent with him.
"You had the dream again?" Said a voice on his left. He looked there to see a Digimon on the bed, a green caterpillar-like Digimon indigo claws on the end of it's many stubbly legs, an purple insect-like mouth that opened up vertically, and a symbol on its forehead meant to represent kindness, underneath two antenna-like ears. This was his first partner, Wormmon.
"Yeah...the exact same one…" Ryder put a hand to his head as he tried to shake off his sleepiness, forcing the dream out of his mind. He glanced at the clock. Already almost eight. "Where's Demiveemon?"
"Raiding the kitchen...I can't keep up with him…" Wormmon admitted in a sad tone, as if sure his partner would be disappointed in him. Ryder just smiled and got up out of bed.
"Let's go get him." Ryder said, heading towards the kitchen in his pajamas. As soon as he left his bedroom, he could see Demiveemon in the kitchen. He was standing atop a stool, trying to work up the strength to make the leap over to the counter. "Demiveemon!" Ryder greeted right as he was about to jump. He was startled by the greeting and stopped just before launching himself off the stool, but promptly lost his balance and comically fell off onto the tiles below. "I'll admit I admire your persistence, but you can't make it where I keep the food." Ryder said as he came over.
Now he had a good look at Demiveemon, who was sitting there sheepishly and rubbing his head where he had hit it. Demiveemon was a tiny blue Digimon barely the size of a cat, his belly white down the middle. His arms were stubby and his legs weren't much better, but his tail and ears were much longer. "If I keep at it, I'll make the jump one day! Maybe when I Digivolve I'll be able to reach it!"
Ryder grinned. "Yeah, if that's the motivation you need to Digivolve, then that's fine by me! Just don't eat too much, ya hear?!" Demiveemon pulled its ears down over its face and giggled.
"You shouldn't be so obsessed with digivolving...we're not supposed to try to...it's against the rules to Digivolve on purpose…" Wormmon came crawling around the corner of the counter, incredibly slow thanks to his many stubby legs, already exhausted. "Besides, it's not all it's cracked up to be...look at me...I'm still just a pushover…can't even cross the apartment…"
"You should count yourself lucky, Wormmon. Even if it was ruled as an accidental Digivolution, it means you might be able to be an agent one day!" Ryder replied with enthusiasm, not getting the message. "If Demiveemon Digivolves soon, we'll be able to sign up to become a DEA agent just like dad was and help fight bad Digimon!"
"No, it's too dangerous! How many times do I have to tell you? Besides, we were lucky that they ruled my Digivolution to rookie as accidental! Even if I did it to protect you, we could've gotten in trouble for fighting!" Wormmon went on, his brow furrowing as he grew more irritated.
"Ah, they rule in-training to rookie digivolutions as accidental all the time. They can't fault Digimon for wanting to protect their partners!" Ryder brushed it off. "The real issue they're looking out for is Digimon who manage to Digivolve to the Champion level. With the restrictions placed in digivices these days, it's a real problem when Champion or higher Digimon pop up."
"Besides Wormmon, you may not want to fight, but I do! I wanna be like Biyomon!" Demiveemon enthused, jumping forward and striking a pose.
"W-work! You're going to be late for work!" Wormmon frantically changed the subject. "It's already-
"Don't worry, I ain't gonna be late." Ryder replied, heading towards the bathroom. "Just you two be ready to go when I am. As he closed the bathroom door, Demiveemon boxed the air with his stubby little arms and Wormmon let out an exasperated sigh.
About an hour later, they were out on the town. Ryder lived in a suburban district in the west side of town, but worked deep in the town centre, so he always had quite a walk to get in. He counted himself lucky that his boss understood this and didn't expect him to be in at the crack of dawn. The city was bustling with people and Digimon, as per usual. As he walked through the streets with Wormmon on his shoulder and Demiveemon hopping along by his side, he saw many different kinds of Digimon. A lot of them were in-training level, fluffy, marshmallow-like balls of various colours, but every so often he would see a rookie level like Wormmon. Every time he did, he knew that Digimon had gotten into a fight and digivolved to protect their partner, just like Wormmon had for him.
He always made a point to pass the DEA Hub on his way to work. It was located in the north point of the city, a massive office building with a skyscraper in the centre, atop a marble plaza. To one side of it however was the Gate. The Gate was how all Digimon crossed over to the real world, either being carried in egg form or coming through on a pilgrimage. Most Digimon coming into the Digimon world came in search of partners and a Digiegg was often bestowed upon each newborn child. There were however, occasional outliers. Sometimes DEA agents went into the Digital World on important missions, like his father had. Sometimes Digimon came the other way for similar reasons. He had heard that the Digimon had some sort of government on the other side too, but humans rarely passed through the Gate without direct permission from the DEA.
He had passed by the building on his way to work so many times that he recognised most of the guards posted throughout the week. Their Digimon were constantly at Champion level, taking shifts to de-Digivolve at rest at regular intervals. Today he saw Leomon and Meramon standing by the entrance with their human partners. Leomon was a Lion on two legs with an incredibly muscular body, tight black trousers and a sword on the back of his waist. Meramon was a humanoid being of pure flame. He had noticed they often worked together.
On this day however, he noticed someone he hadn't seen before leaving the building through the main entrance. He wore a smart suit with the buttons done up halfway. His hair was black and slicked back neatly. He was the splitting image of professionalism. Behind him walked a tall fox like Digimon on two legs, with yellow fur and a white belly. Her forearms were encased in two light, purple gauntlets and she had a bushy yellow and white tail behind her.
"Nothing again today…" The man mumbled to himself, typing something in his smartphone as he walked.
"Don't give up hope, Yamato. He is out there somewhere, I'm sure." His Digimon responded reassuringly. "With the checkpoint guards asking every Digimon that comes through, someone is bound to have seen him eventually."
"I'm not giving up, Renamon…but it is strange...he's been there for ten years and no one has heard of him?" Yamato replied, looking over some other notes on his phone. "Something ain't right…"
Yamato stopped when Renamon put her arm out in front of him. He suddenly noticed that someone with two Digimon had walked up to them, a beaming smile on their face. The lad couldn't have been older than his early twenties. "Can I help you?"
"I haven't seen you around before, I'm Ryder! This is Wormmon and Demiveemon!" Wormmon crawled down Ryder's back and hid, whilst Demiveemon waved with a stubby arm. "All the guys around here know me well, so I thought I'd introduce myself. You new?"
Yamato was a little taken aback at first. He hadn't expected such a normal conversation. "No, I just don't come down here that often…" He looked over at the guards. "You know those guys?"
"Yeah, I come by here every morning! That's Devin and Samantha!" Ryder grinned as if waiting to see Yamato look impressed, but the DEA agent was simply confused by what the lad had approached him for.
"You...have two Digimon partners..?" Yamato finally realised what was really strange about the lad. No one he had met before had more than one Digimon partner, but he could see two digivices on the lad's belt, clear as day.
"Ah, well...I was given a choice as to which one I wanted when I was a kid...I didn't get one right at birth, my dad thought it'd be better if we waited a few years…" Ryder started to explain, acting sheepish. "These two were just babies then, but neither of them would leave alone. When the agents tried to take one away, two digivices in their stockpile reacted as well."
Yamato understood well enough, even if it was unheard of. Digivices were constructed as tools to bond humans and Digimon. When a partnership was created, usually thought to be down to natural connections between the human and Digimon, the Digivice would react and permanently link itself to the two. So that meant both of the Digimon were truly meant to be his partners. Yamato couldn't help but think there had to be more to it, but he at least understood how it had happened.
"So, what do you think? Could I be a DEA agent?" Ryder asked with the same grin still on his face. Yamato's mouth opened for a second, but no words came out, as if he wasn't sure what to say. "The other guys around here think I could do it one day, as soon as Demiveemon digivolves!"
Yamato took a moment to collect himself. Sure, these had two Digimon and there was certainly something special about that, but there were rules and regulations about these things. "Just having both of your partners be at rookie level ain't enough to be one of us. Don't get ahead of yourself." He replied sternly, walking past Ryder, intent on continuing on his way. Renamon started moving as he did.
"But I want to be like my dad! I want to be a hero that people count on! I want to fight to maintain peace between humans and Digimon!" Ryder shouted, turning to face Yamato with his face scrawled up in frustration.
Yamato stopped and turned around once more. Not only had the lad so quickly turned to anger, but he had let an intriguing detail slip. His father had been a DEA agent? Yamato held his tongue for a moment and let it slip. It wasn't the place. He turned away and just before leaving, said "When you think you have done something worth my attention, come find me again." He walked off without another word, leaving Ryder to kick the ground and sulk in the background.
"That was awfully harsh." Renamon said as they walked, in an almost mocking tone.
Yamato's upper lip curled in an almost pout. "I don't particularly care what that lad thinks of me. I have bigger things to worry about...speaking of…"
Yamato looked down at his digivice as it began to shake, the screen glowing blue. He took it off his belt and held it in front of himself, it's circular shape and yellow accenting drawing attention to the words in the middle of the glowing screen. 'Incoming Transmission' He pressed his thumb to a button on the side of the digivice and answered it. A female voice spoke. "Yamato? It's Ria. We've got a hit in your area. A Digimon walking around without a partner, might be unregistered. It probably came over from the digital world, but I don't have any immigration records matching it's description."
"Thanks for the tip." Yamato said before hastily hanging up the call. He glanced at Renamon, their thinking aligned. "We have a lead." He said.
Ryder continued on his way to work after his interaction with Yamato, but kicked pebbles and poured the whole way. Both his Digimon were silent too, sending his frustration. He looked at the ground the entire way. "What does he know..? The other guards say I could do it if I tried…" He muttered as they approached his place of work. Demiveemon and Wormmon perked up slightly upon hearing him speak, but said nothing in response.
"Thank you! Come again!" Came a voice from a shop up in front of them, on the right. A short greenish Digimon with a flower atop it's head had come jogging out of the shop with a potted plant in its hands, which ended in claws of ivy, and handed the plant over to a customer with a smile. Palmon turned and waved when she saw Ryder and his Digimon coming, then headed back inside the shop. Ryder headed towards the entrance himself, past the large display of flowers of greenery outside. As he went in, another worker stared at him in the middle of taking a customer's money. A young man with a black ponytail and smart trousers, a green apron over his top. Next to him flew a football sized black Digimon with bat-like wings and a devilish face. They both glared at the back of Ryder's head as he went into work, Demiveemon turning and sticking his tongue out at them just before heading inside himself.
"Good morning, you three!" Greeted a cheery, feminine voice. Standing behind the cash register was a middle aged woman in another green apron, with long pinkish hair. "Oh my, you look sour? Davis didn't give you trouble on the way in again, did he?"
"No, it's something else. I don't wanna talk about it." Ryder walked in, keeping his gaze towards the floor as he headed for the door to the back office. He could feel gazes on him, however, so he forced himself to look up and smile. "Don't worry about me, Rosie, I'll snap out of it and serve customers just as normal!"
Ryder didn't waste any time getting into the back room after that, not noticing Rosie and Palmon exchanging concerned looks. He just wanted to focus on his work for the time being, so he put his apron on and got to it.
The shop itself was decorated with so many plants and flowers it felt like a miniature forest. It was fairly popular too. Rosie knew well how to care for plants and kept them all in pristine condition. Ryder had to admit that it wasn't exactly his dream job, but he had still always thrown himself full force into the customer service side of things. He was more often than not stationed inside on the cash point, Rosie and Palmon helping people around the store to decide on what they would like. There was one other employee too; Davis. He and his Digimon, Demidevimon, saw to selling just outside the shop and specialised in attracting potential customers.
Ryder tried not to think about what had happened earlier, he just got on with his work. Later on in the day however, Palmon jumped up on the counter and made a point to stare at him, as if she knew something was up. "You sure Davis didn't start something again? You really do look like someone has ticked you off." She questioned, twiddling her claws behind her back.
Ryder turned his head away and avoided her gaze. "No, it's nothing to do with him. Someone else said something that got on my nerves is all."
"Well, as long as you keep it out of our shop. We don't need you and Davis getting into a fight again." Palmon spoke in a sweet tone, but she was serious about what she was saying. "Honestly, you made a lot of trouble for Rosie that day. Please don't go doing that again."
"I told you that you don't need to worry. I'm staying out of his way." Ryder said, trying not to sound irritated. He glanced at Wormmon, who curled up and looked ashamed. He reached out and rubbed his head reassuringly.
After a long shift, Ryder finally said his goodbyes to Rosie and Palmon and headed out the door with Wormmon and Demiveemon on his shoulders, both of them yawning occasionally. On the way out of the door, he bumped into someone's shoulder. Looking up, he saw Davis staring back at him, glaring in fact. Demidevimon was flying in the air just behind him, a mischievous smile on his face. "Sorry." Ryder simply apologised and carried on his way. He could feel Davis' eyes on the back of his head for a few seconds, but he ignored it. He didn't want to make a scene. As he walked, his mind kept straying back to the conversation from earlier. "When you think you've done something worth my attention, come find me." That was what the DEA Agent he had met had said.
"I'm definitely gonna do it." He said aloud, Demiveemon and Wormmon looking at him. He brought his head up and showed off a large smile. He had been thinking about it all day and had finally made up his mind. "I'm gonna prove I'm worth his time! I'll be like dad, for sure!" Demiveemon reacted with a tired smile, whereas Wormmon, also too tired to say much, simply looked concerned.
Elsewhere in the city, a Digimon jumped down from a roof into an alleyway. Gazimon was a grey mammal like digimon with scraggly fur and a pair of wicked yellow eyes. He whipped his tail for balance as he landed on all fours, then stood up on his hind legs, brandishing his claws as he looked in all directions for any unwelcome attention. Once satisfied that he was alone, he started off down the alleyway, but was quickly stopped by a voice behind him.
"Gazimon. Stop right there." Gazimon looked over his shoulder to see a DEA agent standing there at the entrance to the alley, Renamon next to him. Just what he needed. "I'm gonna have to ask you some questions. You're not on our system." Yamato declared, arms crossed, his digivice tucked in between them, just out of sight. "Don't run." He warned as the Gazimon turned it's head away and took a step forward. "Just come with me. I need to ask you-
Yamato was immediately interrupted by a flash of yellow energy. Renamon grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back, tossing him across the alley and taking the brunt of the electrical attack head on. When Yamato rose, Renamon's arms were signed and smelt of
burnt fur, but she was still standing. "He's running!" She exclaimed, Yamato looking past her and seeing the Gazimon round the corner.
"After him!"
Ryder stared straight down at the screen of his phone as he walked home, texting absentmindedly. Wormmon was on his shoulder again and looked up from reading the text to see they were in a back alley courtyard of some sort. "You're not walking past the DEA Hub?"
"Don't feel like it tonight." Came Ryder's half-hearted response. His Digimon hadn't forgotten his blazen declaration from earlier that night, but they couldn't stand to see him so downtrodden. It was obvious that the agent's words had gotten to him, even if he wouldn't admit it.
Footsteps from in front of them. Loud, fast, pattering against the concrete. Demiveemon hopped in front of Ryder, who stopped just before running into him, and realised something was up. He looked in the direction of the noise, Wormmon shaking on his shoulder. As they watched, a Gazimon came sprinting around the corner, looking behind itself as it ran before turning his head back and seeing Ryder stood there. It didn't stop running, arms swinging by its sides. "Another human?" Gazimon scowled slightly, but then saw the weak looking Demiveemon standing in front. "He's not a DEA agent at least, I'll just squeeze past."
The Gazimon picked up speed, running head on towards Ryder, who braved himself. He thought maybe an attack was coming, Demiveemon ready to defend and Wormmon cowering in fear. Gazimon and Ryder locked eyes as he closed in, staring right into each other's pupils. Gazimon's foot pushed off the floor. He jumped..!
Gazimon flipped through the air like an acrobat, jumping right past Demiveemon and sailing past Ryder's head. Their eyes were locked the entire time, as if they could understand each other in that moment, as Gazimon flew upside over Ryder's shoulder. Ryder could see something there in Gazimon, a certain determination, the brazen valour that compelled him, whatever his objective was. Gazimon could immediately tell what kind of person Ryder was. He hadn't flinched during the run up or the jump and he was still staring right back into Gazimon's eyes. He wasn't any normal human. That look reminded him of something…
Before Gazimon could think on it any longer, his feet hit the ground. He immediately started running again, not looking back. Ryder stared over his shoulder for a moment as Demiveemon moved around him to get in between his partner and the potential threat again. "What a weird Digimon…" Ryder mumbled to himself. Something was different about that Gazimon. He could tell something was off but couldn't put his finger on it.
He was about to let it go, forget about it and get back to his own business, but then a second figure came skidding around the corner from which Gazimon had first emerged. The yellow fox Digimon from earlier, Renamon, the one who had been with the DEA agent. "Stop running!" She yelled, pushing forward off her feet to continue her pursuit.
Ryder felt as if time was moving slowly all of a sudden. He was putting two and two together. One Digimon was running, one was in pursuit. He knew Renamon was a DEA agent. That could only mean the Gazimon was a target or a criminal of some sort. This was his chance. He began to turn around.
"Shit! Damn Renamon!" Gazimon thought to himself as he noticed Ryder beginning to turn around. Not only had Renamon been fast enough to keep up with him, but she had now seemingly recruited this other human to her cause. He was still sure that he wasn't a DEA agent, not with an in-training Digimon by his side, but he still seemed willing to help. This was a problem. He couldn't afford to be caught. If he had to, he would-
Music: https/youtu.be/Ddx1kDNIEDM [Fairy Tail OST- Third Generation Dragon Slayer]
"Wormmon!" Ryder yelled as he spun around. Wormmon, who was now clinging to his shoulder as tightly as possible with his many little legs, opened his vertical mouth and shot out a string of a white, webby substance. The web like rope attached to Gazimon's ankle and tripped him up. He pulled at it with a claw, but they almost got tangled up in the sticky thread. When he looked up, Ryder was standing with his fists clenched, Wormmon looking a mix of determined and terrified. "Nice aim!" He praised Wormmon with fervour.
"W-what are we doing?! I did it because you wanted me too, but what in the world are we getting involved in?!" Wormmon stuttered in a shaky voice, struggling to keep Gazimon in place as he tried to pull himself out of the string's grip.
"It's our chance! I'm not letting it go to waste!" Ryder replied, punching the air in Gazimon's direction with a grin on his face. He felt the rush of Adrenalin through his body. There was nothing like it. "Demiveemon!"
"Right!" Demiveemon didn't hesitate. He ran forward as quickly as his chubby little body would allow him too, intent on getting a hit on Gazimon before he broke out of the silk thread. Renamon saw this from afar and broke into an even faster run, spurred into action, desperate to get there before something happened. She could see Gazimon lifting up an arm behind him…
"Electric Stun Blast!" Gazimon yelled as Demiveemon closed in. Gazimon's raised claw was alive with yellow electricity and, as it came down, the electricity shot out like a thunderbolt right towards the helpless Demiveemon. Renamon got there just in time. She went down low and kicked out with a leg, knocking Demiveemon to one side. The electric blast barely missed her as she rushed to get back up and backflip away, standing between Demiveemon and Gazimon, who was still stuck to the thread. Apparently having had enough of it, he aimed his next electric blast straight at Ryder. It moved too quickly for Renamon to help, so Ryder simply turned around and shielded Wormmon in his arms, letting the blast hit him in the back. He fell to the ground on top of Wormmon, who hurriedly crawled out from underneath him with a look of extreme worry.
"Ryder! What are you doing? Did that hurt?" Wormmon panicked, not noticing that his thread had been snapped in the attack.
"I'm fine...what matters is that you didn't get hit...agh!" Ryder stopped mid sentence as he tried to push himself to his knees, shaking as he felt the singeing sensation on his back. Wormmon scrambled to crawl up and comfort him, his eyes watering.
"Let me through! I'll help you out!" Demiveemon cried back over where Renamon was standing, whose legs kept moving to block him from running into battle.
"Cut it out, you can't fight this-
Renamon was cut off by the sound of an incoming electric attack, having to quickly kick Demiveemon back and then jump away to avoid being hit. Poor Demiveemon rolled backwards until he hit a wall, opening his eyes to see Renamon dodging more bolts of electricity. "If I can't run, I'll fight! I can't let them get in my way!" Gazimon thought to himself, throwing attack after attack as Renamon continued to dodge. "I'll keep up the attack until I have a chance to run away, then-
Music: https/youtu.be/mF14KT7CwQk [Digimon 2020 OST- Main Theme]
Gazimon stopped when he heard another set of footsteps running down the alleyway into the courtyard. He had been slower to arrive, but Yamato was finally there, holding out his digivice as a yellow light circled around the edges. "Renamon! Incapacitate him!" He called out his order in a commanding but respectful tone.
Renamon dashed in towards Gazimon in an instant, pulling back an arm and lunging forward with a clawed paw. Gazimon jumped back slightly to avoid being grabbed, then jumped again to avoid a low kick. "She's fast!" Gazimon couldn't help but be a little intimidated.
As he continued to avoid her continuously aggressive punches and kicks, Yamato ran up to where Ryder was hunched over on the ground to get a look at him. "What are the chances…" He muttered before leaning over Ryder to look at his back. His jacket was badly burnt, but he didn't think much damage had gone through to the skin. The pain was probably worse than the injury itself. "You'll be fine. Get out of here as soon as you can get up." Yamato looked up to check on Renamon. She was pushing Gazimon back, but they needed to capture him. "Renamon, don't worry about hurting him! Just don't kill him!" He called over. Wormmon and Ryder looked up and Yamato, surprised that was okay with telling his partner to resort to violence so quickly, but they could somehow tell it wasn't out of maliciousness. As Yamato stood there, towering above them like some sort of god, he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He was completely calm and composed, giving off an air of someone who was completely confident in their abilities.
When Renamon heard that command, she knew exactly what her next step would be. Knowing she had Gazimon on the ropes, she jumped back and up into the air. She crossed her arms over her chest and tucked her knees up, a shining web of green light forming in front of her in the air. As Demiveemon watched in awe, a few dozen tiny white crystals formed in the web, suspended in mid air and pointed towards their target. "Diamond Storm!" She yelled as the tiny crystals shot out with a sound like a hundred tiny lasers being fired.
Gazimon hurried to duck to the left and avoid the onslaught of crystals, only to be caught in the middle of them anyway. He ducked and dodged and weaved through the first wave of them, some scraping past his face, arms and legs. He could see what she was doing. The crystals were spread out just enough that they wouldn't all hit him directly and destroy him outright no matter what, but if he stood too still, they would still hit his limbs and body enough to knock him down to the ground. She wasn't trying to destroy him, simply incapicitate him. Seemed they really did have questions for him. They wanted him alive. With that being the case, he didn't have the choice. He couldn't afford to be captured and questioned. He'd be better off dying and not giving them the information they wanted. That meant either he had to let them kill him, or win the fight no matter what it took. He wasn't one to surrender when times were tough, so the choice was clear.
Once the hail of crystals ended, Gazimon immediately fired off another couple of electric blasts, forcing Renamon to fall back. As she jumped into the air and prepared for another round of Diamond Storm, Gazimon saw his chance and made a run for it, straight towards Demiveemon, who could barely hop away even once he realised what was happening. Renamon dropped to the ground without firing off her attack and rushed after Gazimon, desperate to protect the helpless baby Digimon he was targeting…
[Stop Music]
But it had all been a rouse. Gazimon spun around and shot a bolt of electricity straight at Renamon just before she grabbed him. It hit her straight in the chest, sending her flying backwards until she hit the ground. For a second she didn't move, then she groaned and stiffly began to try to push herself up, only to collapse again. "Renamon! Get up!" Yamato called out, Ryder and Wormmon also watching with concern as the fox Digimon failed to get to her feet.
"Hmph. That's what you get. Don't underestimate my power." Gazimon puffed out his chest as if proud and stood still, his defences completely down. "I aimed right for the heart. The electricity shocked you into a minor cardiac arrest. You'll be fine so long as you don't try to get up. On top of that, you hit your back pretty hard. I'm pretty smart, I knew exactly what I was-
Gazimon stopped and looked down. Demiveemon has thrown a pathetic punch with his chubby little arm. Gazimon barely felt it, but something about it really ticked him off. Was that baby Digimon really going to try to fight him? After he'd just taken down a DEA agent? "Get off me!" Gazimon swiped a hand and knocked Demiveemon away, he tumbling backwards like before. Just as he looked away however, his gaze turned back to see that Demiveemon was getting back up. There was a fire in his eyes, a determination that no baby Digimon should have had.
"Demiveemon…" Ryder mumbled under his breath as he rolled over to get a look at what was going on, his back still giving him trouble. Wormmon crept forward cautiously, terrified, but hoping he could find a chance to web up Gazimon again. Ryder's eyes met Demiveemon's. His hand instinctively went to the digivice on his belt. Gazimon looked between the two of them. They shared the same fire in both of their expressions. Ryder nodded. "Get him!"
Music: https/youtu.be/mF14KT7CwQk [Digimon 2020 OST- Main Theme]
Demiveemon lunged forward. Gazimon looked back and dashed in as well, seeing that he didn't have a choice. He pulled back a clawed arm and coated it in electricity, aiming to finish it in one strike. He had much longer reach than Demiveemon did with his stubby little arms. He would strike first.
But then, out of nowhere, Demiveemon began to glow. A white light that emanated from all over the surface of his body, like a thin veil of mist. Ryder clenched his digivice tightly as a blue light circled around the edge, growing faster and faster until it formed a full circle and made a beeping sound. Demiveemon's body became completely shrouded by the white light. It began to change, grow larger. Before Gazimon could move, a fist had grown out of the white light and punched him in the face, solidifying into a blue skinned arm before knocking him back a ways. A moment later, the light disappeared in an instant, revealing the new form. Demiveemon was now twice as tall, though still only the size of a small child, with a more muscular body than before. His arms and legs were no longer stubs, but toned and lengthy. His face spotted a sharp horn above the nose and a yellow V on his forehead. "Now, I'm Veemon!" He declares with gusto.
Gazimon stared at him for a second. "He digivolved..?" His confusion was quickly replaced with anger. He lunged forward without thinking, only for Veemon to headbutt him in the chest while he was wide open.
"V-Headbutt!" Was all he heard before he was flung back, barely being able to stay on his feet after the attack. He told himself he had to calm down. He was letting this Veemon's gusto get to him. All he needed to do was find a chance to escape. He looked at Veemon again. He had put his fists up like a boxer. "Put 'em up." He taunted. Gazimon couldn't help but scowl.
[Stop Music]
"Go get him, Veemon!" Ryder encouraged, coughing a little as he cheered from the ground.
"No, no, no, don't get into a fight! This isn't going to be good!" Wormmon protested, but he daren't get close enough to stop the two from fighting.
"He digivolved, huh?" Yamato commented, mostly talking to himself at first, but he wholly let Ryder hear the second part. "Really showing me up, aren't you?"
Ryder let himself have a confident grin. The Adrenalin was in his system again. He felt the rush just like before. He raised a fist into the air, resting on the elbow of his other arm. "Give it to him, Veemon!" His digivice continued to make noise, the circle of light spinning around the edge of the device again.
"You bet! I'm on it!" Veemon also raised a fist into the air in a show of solidarity, then went back to his boxer like stance, as if daring Gazimon to come at him.
"Cocky, aren't you?" Gazimon snarled, gritting his teeth. "Well, I can't waste anymore time here. I wasn't expecting this kind of resistance, but at the very least I can report back and tell my lord to send more troops for the next scouting mission."
"Scouting mission..? Who sent you?" Yamato questioned, shouting across the courtyard while he looked at Renamon's wounds.
"Wouldn't you like to know!" Gazimon snapped back over his shoulder, then concentrated on Veemon once again and planted his feet firmly in the ground. He went down onto all fours, looking as if he was planning something. "Now then...I'll show you a digivolution..!"
After that declaration, Gazimon seemed to suddenly become surrounded in a strong energy. His body became coated in a red mist as it grew and changed shape, his feet cracking the concrete underneath him. Soon enough, his entire form had become a swirling mass of red violent red energy. As Yamato and Ryder watched, two large clawed arms started to take shape, as well as a beastly jaw. As the light faced and it's form solidified, it became clear that the new Digimon's body was made out of pure flame. It had strong hind legs and long arms with three steel claws protruding from the flames, as well as a long whip-like tail of fire. It's head sported a large open jaw of flame, underneath a metal helmet around its eyes and nose. Even the creature's tongue was made of flame. Once it was fully realised, the new Digimon let out a roar, raising its head high and towering over everyone else in the courtyard. "FLARERIZAMON!" It bellowed, finalising it's Digivolution.
"It digivolved..? Now it digivolved too..?" Yamato muttered to himself, though Ryder overheard him and looked over with some panic in his eyes.
"You say that like this isn't normal…"
"The digivices aren't meant to just restrict normal people from having their Digimon reach higher digivolution levels...I've also never heard of a Digimon digivolving without a digivice before…" Yamato was clearly stunned by what he had seen, but suddenly snapped out of it and yelled, "Veemon, get away from it!"
Ryder quickly realised it too. In all the excitement of it, he had forgotten that Veemon was still standing right there. He wanted to run and grab him, but his back was still hurting bad. Even so, he tried to crawl forward, only to have Wormmon grab onto his leg. He looked back to shout at his Digimon to let go, but his words caught in his throat when he saw the tears in Wormmon's eyes. He was deathly worried for Veemon as well, but he didn't want Ryder to get caught in the middle of it as well.
"Now, I'll get you outta my way for good! My mission is too important!" Flarerizamon declared as it turned it's gaze back towards Veemon, glaring at him with a terrifying look in his eyes. He closed his mouth for a moment, then slightly opened it as a wad of fire began to build up inside, swirling like a tornado of flame. Veemon wanted to move, but his legs were frozen. He couldn't run. Ryder reached out a hand helplessly. "BLAZE BUSTER!" Came Flarerizamon's cry as he shot the fire out of his mouth in a straight, spiralling stream.
Ryder almost shut his eyes at the last moment, but he saw the flash of yellow just before he did and kept them open. Next thing he knew, Renamon was in the air. She kicked Flarerizamon in the mouth, knocking off his aim. The blast of fire hit the ground to Veemon's left, barely missing him. Renamon landed and got between the two of them, taking steps backwards to force Veemon to get some distance.
"You can stand..?" Flarerizamon said in a surprised tone, staring at Renamon. Her breathing was heavier than usual and she was holding a paw to her chest. "Barely." He scoffed. "Well, like I said, my mission is absolute. I can not afford to be taken captive!" He let out another roar and reared back his head, towering over Renamon as the flames charged up in his mouth again.
Music: https/youtu.be/p4e4F6ocIQg [Digimon 2020 OST- Be The Winners]
"Renamon!" Yamato called out from the other side of the courtyard, now standing straight up. When Ryder looked over to see what he was doing, he went into his back pocket and pulled out a light blue card of some sort, with an image of a pixelated digimon on the front. Ryder recognised it immediately; it was a DEA issued Digivolution Card, a card that released the limiters on an agents digivice and allowed them to trigger a Digivolution. As Ryder watched, Yamato held the card up against the screen of his digivice, which began to glow with a bright white light as the yellow circle around the edge spun around faster until finally becoming one full circle of light. Renamon promptly began to glow with white light and then Ryder knew he was about to see, for the first time in years, a DEA agent's Digimon digivolving.
[Renamon Digivolution Sequence]
[The digivice shines a light on Renamon's back as she hangs suspended in a realm of data. Shows transparent images over her of Reremon and Viximon, then the silhouette of Kyubimon]
"Renamon digivolve to…"
[Renamon goes down on all fours as her body begins to glow with light and change in shape. She grows larger. Her tail stands up straight, the tip becoming ignited with a white-bluish flame, then it splits into nine tails. Cuts to the bells around her neck forming and ringing, then moves up to a close shot of her face before zooming out as he spins around and strikes a pose]
"...Kyubimon!"
As Kyubimon's four paws hit the concrete, the bluish flame on her paws creating a brilliant aura on the ground around her, Ryder couldn't help but stare in awe. Not only had it been years since he had seen a DEA agent's Digimon Digivolve, he was also getting to see one fight. He could help but stare wide eyed at the action.
Without any cue from Yamato, Kyubimon started running forward, picking up speed until she was sprinting directly at Flarerizamon, who reacted by thrusting it's claws forward. Kyubimon jumped and flipped gracefully over his head, charging in as soon as she landed. Flarerizamon was able to turn surprisingly quickly for his size and grab Kyubimon's head to stop her charge, but she smiled just as he did. Her nine tails spread out behind her, each giving birth to a whitish-blue flame. Flarerizamon saw the attack coming and let go of her head, backing off, but he couldn't do anything to stop it. "Foxtail Inferno!" Kyubimon shouted as the nine balls of flame shot forward, as Flarerizamon tried to maneuver it's large body. The first few flames hit the ground, but the next batch hit Flarerizamon directly in the chest, throwing up a cloud of smoke and dust. Kyubimon took it as a chance to run forward, only to be struck in the side of the head when a claw came bursting out of the smoke. Flarerizamon poked his head out as the smoke started to dissipate and struck out with a claw again, but Kyubimon had already jumped straight up into the air. Looking up to see her in mid-air, Flarerizamon opened his mouth and began charging up another burst of flame. Kyubimon saw it coming a mile away. She began flipping forward and spinning like a wheel in mid-air, coating herself in blue flame until she was a circular inferno. As the flames reached their climax, a dragon head made of the blue fire reached out towards Flarerizamon. "Dragon Wheel!" Kyubimon yelled as the dragon head reached out.
[Stop Music]
In one quick movement, the blue fire dragon head clamped down on Flarerizamon's jaw, snapping it shut just before he fired off his own attack. By the time he realised what she was trying to do, it was too late. His own burst of fire exploded in his mouth, sending a rippling shockwave all down his body that sent the flames that made him up scattering all across the courtyard and the alleyway beyond. Ryder covered his face but still inhaled some ash, coughing and spluttering for a second before the dust settled and he could see the outcome. Gazimon was back to his original form, out cold on the ground. Kyubimon was standing by him, making sure he was down for the count. She seemed to be full of pride.
"Are you feeling better?" Came Yamato's voice. Ryder looked to the side and saw him squatting down there with a hand held out.
Ryder moved his shoulders around to check and found that the pain in his back had diminished considerably. He slowly got up to his feet without Yamato's help. He almost got lost in thought for a second, but then heard someone else calling his name. When he looked up, he saw Veemon running towards him with arms outstretched. Ryder went down on one knee and let Veemon climb into his arms before picking him up and grasping him warmly. "Nice job, digivolving, bud! Now we're a step closer to becoming a DEA agent!"
"No, no, no! Didn't you learn anything from all of this?" Wormmon frantically begged, tugging on Ryder's trouser leg. He and Veemon just laughed it off. In the meantime Yamato had picked up Gazimon and was placing him on Kyubimon's back. "What will you do with him?" Ryder asked, ignoring his Digimon tugging on his clothes for a second.
"I still have questions for him. I was chasing him because we don't have any information on him or how he got here, which is suspicious." Yamato answered as he clambered up onto Kyubimon's back. "There must be some secret considering that he fought so hard to not get caught, so I'll take him to the Hub and interrogate him a little."
"Right! I'll...uh…" Ryder trailed off. He was suddenly reminded of what Yamato had said to him earlier. He continued in a somewhat bashful tone, avoiding Yamato's gaze. "Did you change your mind..?"
Yamato didn't know what he was referring to at first, but he got there after a moment or two. "No." He bluntly replied. Ryder pouted and grumbled a little, but Yamato wasn't done yet. "But you mentioned your father was a DEA agent, right?" Ryder looked back up at him. "What happened to him?"
"He...uh...went on a high level mission to the digital world. He's still there, doing whatever important mission he went on…" Ryder said. It was clear from his tone that it had been a long time since he had seen his father.
Yamato looked away and gazed up at the skyline nearby, trying to keep his expression neutral. He didn't want to reveal too much about himself, but the story of Ryder's father piqued his interest. "When you think you've proven yourself, come find me." He said, Ryder looking up at him with hope coming back into his expression. Yamato turned back and looked at him. "Get stronger and then come back and ask me again."
[Ending Music: https/youtu.be/N6AaSfL4yVk Sakurasou OP 1]
As Ryder gradually realised what that meant, a smile spread across his face. The anxiety he had felt ever since being told he couldn't be a DEA agent lifted and was replaced with a brilliant excitement. "Yeah, just you wait!" He responded with a clenched fist.
Yamato rode off on Kyubimon after that, giving Ryder a wordless wave goodbye as his back turned. Ryder gave a much more hearty wave and grinned as he thought to himself about the possibilities that awaited him.
If only he had known how deep the rabbit hole he had taken his first step into would turn out to be.