Impmon smirked as raised his fists. Even though the battle wasn't exactly going in their favor, he was enjoying himself. It had been awhile since they had faced any Digimon their level. That meant they had an actual chance of winning the fight. Not to mention the fact that none of them were near as tough as he had first thought. Despite having him and Renamon outnumbered by a large amount, the group wasn't making any progress in overtaking.

Fireballs hovered over each of his fingers as he stretched them outwards.

With a shout of, "Bada Boom!" Impmon threw the fireballs forward. Two hit an Aruraumon, setting it on fire. The plant screamed and raced around, frantically smacking itself to try to stop it from burning. The other flames hit a duo of Tsukaimon, causing them to plummet to the ground and land on their suffering ally. The imp turned around as Renamon flashed past, slamming her foot into another Tsukaimon. His eye caught a trio of Aruraumon when their vines suddenly lashed out and grabbed him by the arms. Renamon skidded to a stop, spinning around while jumping into the air.

Flinging her arms out, she shouted, "Diamond Storm!"

The pain from the leaves cutting the vines forced the trio to release Impmon. Grinning widely, he raised both of his arms with his palms turned to the sky.

"Infernal Funnel!"

In front of him, two elementals materialized. One blazed like an inferno, wisps of fire curling off it. The other was made of ice, causing the air around it to steam. They charged forward, the flame taking the lead. As soon as it came within a foot of the fleeing trio, it let itself expand rapidly, causing them to burst into flames. The icy elemental floated upwards, sending a chilled blast that snuffed out the fire and instantly froze them. Impmon dashed forward and shattered them with a few punches.

"Impmon, behind you!"

At the sound of Mikami's voice, Impmon spun around, readying more fireballs as the elementals charged forward. A Tsukaimon, larger than most of the others, dived down and slammed into him before the elementals could stop it. He slammed into the ground, and then the momentum caused him to roll backwards. The moment he came to a stop, he felt more vines wrap around him. Wincing, he watched as the ice elemental froze the Tsukaimon solid. The flame rushed past him and set the vines on fire. Wrenching himself free, Impmon stood. He turned around, throwing several fireballs at the screaming Aruraumon.

Both elementals winked out of existence.

Renamon paused when her ears twitched. She glanced at Impmon to check on him. Assured that he was safe, she faced the group of two Aruraumon and three Tsukaimon in front of her. An Aruraumon lashed out, causing her to leap into the air. Her foot connected sharply with a Tsukaimon, sending it flipping into a tree. She spun, the heel of her other foot knocking another Tsukaimon into the third, leading them to crash to the ground. She landed onto the ground and dashed forward to punch both Aruraumon.

More took the place of their fallen allies. Gritting her teeth, Renamon flipped backwards to avoid a Tsukaimon. She swung her foot up to the side, knocking one of the purple Digimon away. Letting the momentum carry her, she cartwheeled, stopping once she was standing on her forepaws. Twisting around caused her to begin to spin, kicking several of the flying pests. She slowed herself and shoved against the ground to propel herself into the air. A downward kick sent one of the Tsukaimon crashing into an Aruraumon. She landed and ducked, avoiding the vines of one of the plants.

With only the two of them, Renamon was beginning to doubt they could win. The group of enemy Digimon numbered far more than she had originally estimated. At the rate they were going, they would become exhausted and be defeated. Impmon might have been enjoying himself at that moment, but she knew he would realize that they were in over their heads with this fight.

Nevertheless, they had to protect their partners—no matter what happened.

"Pyro Sphere!"

Renamon tensed at the unfamiliar voice. She turned around in time to watch a crimson fireball slam into a Tsukaimon. As it burned, it fell to the ground and screech. Three more followed, setting the group of Aruraumon that had been in front of her on fire and knocking two other Tsukaimon out of the sky. A red, dinosaur-like Digimon stormed towards her from her right, bowling the Virus types down. He came to a stop beside her, a lopsided grin on his face that made her blink.

"I came to help!" the Digimon stated. He turned his gaze away to look at their opponents. "I'm Guilmon."

"Renamon," she replied. "It's a pleasure. Shall we?"

She motioned to the group in front of her, earning a nod and a second grin. Guilmon let out a growl and charged forward. Head lowered, he bowled into Aruraumon. Renamon leaped to the side, roundhouse kicking a Tsukaimon, which sent it crashing through a nearby tree.

"Terrier Tornado!"

Impmon visibly jumped at the voice. He was preparing to throw a fireball when a small, green tornado whipped past him and sent several of the Digimon that had been antagonizing him flying. Just as the mini-twister disappeared, another Digimon landed beside him. The green bunny cracked his small fists, his long ears partially lifted as the stunned group stared at him.

"Yo, thought you could use the help," the bunny said, giving Impmon a side glance. "Terriermon's the name. Don't wear it out."

"Yeah, thanks," the imp replied with a frown. "Let's just fight."

"Fine by me!"

Impmon flicked his fingers, tossing fireballs forward that rained down on the enemies. Glancing behind him, he could see Renamon and another Digimon fighting the remains of the second group. He lunged forward alongside Terriermon and jumped into the air.

"Machine Gun Kick!"

His foot connected sharply with a Tsukaimon before he began a rapid onslaught of kicks. This caused the Digimon to slam into the rest of the group. He spun, watching as Terriermon blasted an Aruraumon away with an exclamation of, "Bunny Blast!"

"Pillars of Fire!"

Several fiery columns burst out from beneath the stunned Digimon, engulfing them in flames. He smirked as the fire died down, watching as many of his opponents burst into data that he quickly absorbed. Within moments, the green and white rabbit was back to pounding opponents, sending them flying into the air with his ears. Impmon kicked several of the plants in the face, grinning widely as he did so. Grabbing one by the vines, he spun it around, knocking back its kin and the flying purple Digimon gleefully. Once he was no longer surrounded, Impmon lit the Aruraumon on fire.

Terriermon glanced at him, causing the imp to nod. He made his way towards Renamon just as she punched a Tsukaimon. Gathering his strength, Impmon sent fireballs flying at the last group of plants, along with Guilmon, igniting them and finishing off the last of their annoyances.

Daiki and Mikami were quick to dash over, both holding their Digivices. Grinning, Mikami kneeled to wrap her arms around Impmon with a laugh.

"Hey, hey! Not so tight!" he protested. Putting his hands against her arm, he tried to push her away.

Renamon chuckled as Daiki shook his head. Pausing, she turned to Terriermon and Guilmon, the former of the two having jumped up to sit on the dinosaur's head.

"Excuse me, but why did you assist us?" she asked.

Waiting for an answer, she folded her arms. Mikami let go of Impmon, raising her head to look at the duo. Daiki sighed, pinching his nose. Impmon scowled, taking a few steps forward.

"Yeah, why did ya?"

Terriermon shrugged Guilmon paused and then gave them a lopsided grin.

"Eh, you looked like you could use a bit of help," Terriermon said.

"Anyway we could repay you?" Mikami asked, standing and dusting herself off. "We're heading to a nearby village, but if there's anything we could do…"

"We're looking for a friend, but she can take care of herself. Why don't we come with you to the village?" Terriermon offered.

"If you're sure," Daiki replied. He glanced at his partner.

Renamon nodded.

"Alright then, to the village," Mikami stated, before pausing. "We're still going to help you search, though."

~0~

The feeling of the wind on her face was relaxing, but every time she glanced down at Leomon, she felt the relaxation melt away to be replaced by fear and worry. The lion was still unconscious and hadn't moved for all the time they were in the air. Fidgeting with her fingers, Yoko let a quiet sigh escape from between her lips and stared down at the passing trees. Deep down, she knew the injuries weren't life-threatening, but they were still serious.

"We're nearing the village," Birdramon rumbled.

Blinking, Yoko looked up to see a clearing in the trees occupied by small huts, all built around what looked to be a spring. Salamon, sitting near her, popped her head up to take a glance. There was relief in her eyes.

"Good," Gabumon said.

"Fly faster!" Shizuka promptly complained from below. "Come on, Birdramon!"

"Alright," the bird muttered, annoyed at her partner's insistence. "Hold on tightly."

Yoko let out a shriek at the sudden acceleration, zipping forward as wind sailed past her, dragging her hair back out of her face. The frightened teenager continued to scream as Birdramon rushed through the air.