"Thank you for this," Yoko said.
The relief in her voice was clear as day to Cutemon. The pink rabbit-like Digimon simply smiled understandingly at the girl, feeling sympathy towards her and her friends for their current situation. Yoko twiddled her thumbs and glanced at Leomon with worry etched on her face. The lion was sound asleep on the bed in the corner of the room. Cutemon had healed the worst of his injuries to the best of her abilities. The teenager had no doubt that he would pull through just fine, but just thinking about it put her on edge. She hoped he would make a full recover with Cutemon's help. Not only did they need his help, he was their friend, and she never wanted to lose a friend even if she had barely known them.
Able to guess what Yoko was thinking about, Cutemon said, "He'll be fine. I've known him for years, Yoko. He's not going down from that, I assure you."
Yoko nodded. "I-I know. I just worry."
Cutemon smiled again. "You're a good friend, child."
The redhead blushed, covering her face with her hands. "T-thank you."
There was a knock on the door. It opened slightly. Familiar lilac hair appeared before Shizuka poked her entire head in. Shizuka glanced at the Digimon sleeping, then to Yoko and Cutemon. She swung the door open more and motioned to them. Cutemon nodded as she headed out the door. Yoko followed with a brief glance at Leomon. Once in the hallway, Shizuka closed the door and turned towards where the entrance room was.
"You've got a visitor," she stated.
Cutemon sighed, quickly making her way down the hallway. Shizuka promptly turned to Yoko, a look of concern on her face.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Y-yes," Yoko mumbled in a quiet voice. "Just…worried is all."
Shizuka raised a hand to ruffle the younger girl's hair. "Yeah, I am too. We all are. He'll be fine, though. Promise."
"Right," Yoko said with a nod.
Shizuka looped her arm through Yoko's and pulled her forward, leading her to the front room. Cutemon was talking with another Digimon nearly her height. The bunny was brown, marked with light pink stripes, and had long ears that touched the floor. As the duo entered, the two Digimon glanced at them. Cutemon turned, holding her hand out to the two Humans with a small smile.
"These are two of the DigiDestined," she stated. "Shizuka and Yoko. Their friends are elsewhere right now, and I hear there are two more."
The bunny Digimon bowed in a show of respect. "My name is Lopmon. It's a pleasure."
"Nice to meet you," Shizuka said as she turned to Cutemon. "I'm going to go find Tadashi and Judai. Shout if you need us, okay? Come on, Yoko!"
Yoko's eyes widened in surprise. "W-What?"
Shizuka grinned, dragging the startled teenager out the door forcibly. Lopmon tilted her head to the side in obvious confusion and glanced at Cutemon from the corner of her eye. The healer simply let out a laugh, shaking her head, and turned to the puzzled Digimon with a smile.
"Is she always like that?" Lopmon asked.
"In the short time I've known her to be, yes," Cutemon replied as she closed her eyes. "Concerning your current situation, I believe you have no need to worry."
Lopmon blinked. "Huh?"
"I will explain. You see, there are six DigiDestined. You say you and your friends got separated in the forest, yes? I have no doubt that they will run into Shizuka's friends and get help from them." Cutemon sat down in one of the chairs. "For now, relax. Are you hungry?"
Meanwhile, Yoko glanced around the small village, looking at the wooden huts with curiosity. Shizuka continued to pull her towards the center of the village. Surrounded by several oddly shaped rocks was a sizeable pool of water. There was a space between the rocks were there was enough room for several people to sit down. Tadashi and Judai were there, soaking their feet in the liquid and leaning back, their shoes haphazardly tossed to the side. The older of the girls forced the redhead to sit nearby and situated herself beside her brother with a yawn. She slipped off her shoes, followed by Yoko, and the two stuck their feet in the water.
"Wonder when they're going to show up," Tadashi said with a sigh.
"Wish I knew," Shizuka grumbled.
"Give them some time," Judai said.
"Mikami and Daiki have never let us down before," Yoko stated, smiling. "They're not going to now, especially when we're in another world."
Shizuka chuckled. "Yeah…I guess so."
They sat there in silence for some time, enjoying the quiet and the feel of the water. After a while, Shizuka stretched and pulled her shoes close to her.
"Alright, I need some food, and I want to check up on lion boy," she said.
Using her hands to push herself up, she stood. She did her best to dry her feet off before slipping her shoes on, and walked towards the healer's house. The others followed slowly, getting up one by one and jamming their shoes on. Yoko trailed behind for a moment, glancing towards the forest before she shook her head and dashed after her three friends.
Shizuka had already entered Cutemon's home by the time she caught up. She was last to enter, silently closing the door behind her. Lopmon jumped up and sat on the nearby table, looking up at the oldest female with pleading eyes.
"May I ask you something?" she requested.
Shizuka waved her hand at the Digimon. "Go ahead."
"Did you by any chance see two Digimon during your time I the forest?" Lopmon asked. "A Guilmon and a Terriermon?"
Tadashi shook his head, stating, "I'm sorry, but we did not see them. Are they your friends?"
"Yes, they are." She lowered her gaze to the floor. "We got separated a while ago and I haven't been able to find them…"
"Mikami and Daiki probably found them," Judai muttered, yawning.
Yoko pressed her lips into a tight line. "They do have a habit of running into people. I'm sure they're safe with our friends, Lopmon."
"Still…," the bunny mumbled.
~0~
Mikami let out a long, drawn out sigh. "How far is this village again?"
Impmon had said that they get to the village within an hour when they first set out. However, that estimation had been far off the mark. She wasn't sure how long they had been walking by then. It had to have been at least a few hours judging from how far the sun had moved. Either they had been farther than Impmon originally thought or he had gotten them lost by mixing up his directions; the second guess wouldn't be a surprise to Mikami one bit. Daiki seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he shot an annoyed look at the short Digimon now and again. Guilmon and Terriermon were oblivious to it all, joking with each other about things they had done before arriving in the forest.
"Shaddup," Impmon snapped. "We're not going as fast as I thought we would, okay?"
"That doesn't answer my question," she said flatly. "Renamon, are we almost there?"
"Yes," the fox replied.
"Huh," Daiki grunted. "That's what Impmon said two hours ago."
"So what?!" The imp growled. "I'm used to how fast I traveled with the others, not humans."
"Boys, shut up," Mikami said, "or I'll close your mouths for you. Let's just hurry so we can get back to our friends, okay?"
The two males glanced at each other, looked to Mikami, and then promptly turned away in silence. Terriermon snickered at the brief argument as Guilmon laughed.
"There, look." Renamon motioned forward with a wave of her paw. "I can see the village now."
Mikami smiled in relief and scooped Impmon up into her arms. He objected until the group began to run towards the nearest building. Renamon disappeared ahead to check on the situation of the village. Guilmon, with Terriermon riding on his head, ended up passing by the humans. Daiki let out a frustrated grunt when he watched Guilmon go past and tilted his head to look at Mikami.
"Oh, calm down," she said. "It's not that bad."
Within moments they were out of the forest and in the boundaries of the village. Renamon faded into existence in front of them, standing next to the troublesome duo that had accompanied them. The two waved and walked off in search of their friend. The fox turned to look at a large wooden home. A small sign near the door said, "Healer's Home". Without saying another, she began walking towards it. Mikami placed Impmon back onto the ground. He grumbled in annoyance as he kicked at the dirt. Arms folded, Impmon trailed behind her as they followed Renamon.
"Think the others are here?" he asked.
"Most likely," Renamon replied.
Mikami's expression brightened somewhat upon hearing that. "Then Shizuka will be here with everyone, too. Good. I've been dying to see them again."
"Yeah, no kidding," Daiki grumbled. "It's felt like forever already. Two days or so now, right?"
"Unfortunately," Mikami answered. "Hope they're okay."
"As long as Leomon was with them, they'll be fine," Impmon said with a smirk.
Mikami looked at him curiously. "Who exactly is Leomon? You guys haven't told us."
"He's the one that first started to find the Digimon who would be partners to you DigiDestined," Renamon stated. "If he is here, you will be able to meet him."
As they were nearing the healer's house, a large pink bird appeared within view. Renamon and Impmon turned to look. Neither expected the bird to barrel into Impmon full force with excited and joyful cries. Three other Digimon came to investigate what was going on. Soon Renamon and Impmon were being hugged and tackled by the trio. The dog Digimon raised her head towards the two humans and ran up to them with a grateful expression.
"You brought Impmon and Renamon back!" she shouted happily. "Thank you so much!"
"They didn't bring me back, I brought them!" Impmon replied.
"You're ruining the moment," Renamon scolded.
Mikami crouched in front of the small Digimon and smiled. "You must be their friends. Are you partner Digimon like them, too?"
The Digimon nodded. "I'm Salamon, and I'm Yoko's partner. You must be Mikami and Daiki."
"That we are," Daiki said. "Let me guess…Yoko talked about us a lot?"
Salamon giggled. "That she did. Oh! Let me introduce you to the others.
She turned around and trotted over to the tangled mess of Digimon. The pink bird peeled herself away from an annoyed Impmon, followed by the one with purple furred who shook. The fur-draped lizard was the last to move, grinning sheepishly at the two humans. Salamon stopped in front of them and turned to face Mikami and Daiki.
"These are my friends Biyomon, Dorumon, and Gabumon. It's nice to meet you," she said. "Let's hurry to Cutemon's house. Yoko will be so happy to see you!"
She spun and dashed away alongside the other three. Impmon picked himself off the ground with a groan. Renamon, unfazed, merely brushed the dirt off her fur. Mikami glanced at Daiki with a chuckle.
"Ladies first," Daiki said. "Come on."
Mikami nodded and walked towards where the group was waiting in front of the house. Impmon, still grumpy about having been tackled, dragged his feet while walking. Biyomon opened the door for them when they reached the steps. The moment it was completely open, four pairs of eyes turned to the. There was silence until the fiery haired girl dashed forward to fling her arms around Mikami. As she wrapped her arms around Mikami, Yoko buried her face in the older girl's shoulder. Mikami chuckled while rubbing Yoko's head affectionately.
"Finally reunited," Tadashi commented. "I'm glad to see you two are safe."
"Took you long enough, though!" Shizuka shouted. "Jeez, we've been here for a day now."
"Blame our navigator," Mikami said, glancing down at Impmon.
He blushed furiously. "Shut up."
"Anything happen while we were gone?" Daiki asked.
Yoko peeled herself away from Mikami, glancing down at the floor. Judai looked away, sitting down in a chair. Tadashi shifted and coughed uncomfortably. Shizuka, sighing, looking at Impmon and Renamon with a serious face.
"You might want to come with me," she said, gaze going to Mikami and Daiki. "It's a long story."
The two eldest glanced at each other. A silent message passed between them; something bad had happened. Renamon folded her arms as Impmon frowned, a hint of concern in his eyes. After a moment, the two humans nodded and followed Shizuka down the hallway. She stopped in front of one of the doors, grabbing the handle tightly. She was quick to open it, obviously not wanting to draw it out. As soon as she stepped foot into the room, Shizuka stepped aside to let everyone in. Impmon, jaw dropping, scurried up to the bed. Renamon calmly approached it, though there was an unmistakable look of anger on her face as her eyes landed on Leomon.
"Who…?" Mikami didn't finish, closing her mouth.
Impmon whipped around to aim an accusatory glare at Shizuka. "What happened?"
"That stupid Greymon is what happened," she said. "We couldn't keep running, so Leomon decided to fight him, but that asshole dinosaur was too strong for him to beat."
"How did you defeat him?" Renamon asked, still facing away from the humans.
Shizuka placed her hands on her hips. "Biyomon Digivolved. By that time, though, Leomon was injured. I should have done something sooner."
The fox looked off to the side. "You can't force Digivolution."
Daiki, closing his eyes, leaned against the doorway.
Mikami slammed her fist against the door in anger. "Of course this shit happens when we aren't around!"
"He'll be fine," Shizuka said. She let out a quiet sigh. "Cutemon healed him. She told us he just needed rest."
Impmon snorted. "Good. I hope you deleted that sorry excuse for a lizard!"
Laughing at him, she looked at Mikami with a smirk. "I take it he's always like this," she guessed. "But, yeah, Biyomon deleted him and absorbed his data."
"It is good to hear that Leomon will make a full recovery," Renamon grunted, spinning on her heel. "I am going to converse with the others."
She promptly marched out of the room. With a loud huff, Daiki shifted and followed his partner out of the room. Mikami sat down in the chair at the foot of the bed and looked at Shizuka. The younger teenager settled on the edge of the bed and crossed her legs. Impmon made his way over to Mikami and hopped onto the armrest, leaning against the brunette.
"So," Shizuka said, "what happened with you guys?"
Mikami scoffed. "Well, we fell through the sky and ended up in a lake. I almost drowned. After we met Impmon and Renamon, we got attacked by a mob of Digimon."
"We whooped 'em," Impmon stated.
"If it hadn't been for Terriermon and Guilmon, they would've whooped you," Mikami muttered.
"What?" Shizuka asked, surprised. "Did you say Terriermon and Guilmon?"
Perplexed, Mikami slowly said, "Yes…Why?"
"Their friend is here looking for them," Shizuka explained as she stood. "They came into town with you, right?" She earned a nod in response. "Let's go find them, then, so we can get them reunited with Lopmon."
"You okay with that?" Mikami asked, looking at Impmon.
"Well, yeah, duh," Impmon replied.
Mikami rolled her eyes at him while following Shizuka as the two hurried out of the room. Upon entering the living room, the others gave them questioning looks, though neither of them bothered to explain what they were doing. Instead, they quickly exited the house. Biyomon followed behind just before Mikami shut the door and settled herself on Shizuka's shoulder, pulling her wings in and looking at Impmon with a tilted head.
"Biyomon," Shizuka said, "do me a favor and fly around the village. We're looking for Guilmon and Terriermon."
Biyomon nodded and hopped off her partner's shoulder. "Ye ma'am!"
The pink bird flew off, disappearing behind a house. Mikami turned to Shizuka, placing her hands on her hips.
"Ladies first," she said.
Finding the joke to be less than funny, Shizuka frowned and narrowed her eyes while Mikami smirked. Shizuka exhaled through her nose and hurried down the steps. As soon as her feet touched ground, she kicked off into a jog. Mikami followed with Impmon close beside her, jumping down the small set of stairs. The imp chuckled, elbowing his partner in the leg while grinning. Deciding not to pay the small purple Digimon any mind, Mikami turned and headed off in the opposite direction as Shizuka.
"Impmon, let's split up," Mikami said, looking at him.
"Alright."
~0~
Shizuka slid across the ground as she rounded a corner. Pausing to let out a deep breath, she glanced back and forth. One would think it would be easy to find a red dinosaur and a green rabbit in a tiny village, but she hadn't even found a sign of them. If it hadn't been for the fact that Lopmon literally begged them for help before Mikami and Daiki showed up, she wouldn't have bothered with searching. Hell, it was hard for her to believe that she was even helping someone besides her friends.
Next time, I'm saying no, she thought, taking off again. This is way too much trouble! I shouldn't be running around the village like a chicken—
Her rant filled thoughts were cut short. She spun to change direction and found herself unable to stop in time as the form of a large, red Digimon appeared in her vision. A curse came from her mouth as she slammed into the dinosaur and was sent crashing to the ground. Muttering a few choice words, she rubbed her face. She shifted to rubbing her nose, which now ached, while she sat up. A million thoughts were running in her mind of how she could deal with the offender as she stood. She had opened her mouth to speak and pointed at the perpetrator when she stopped.
"Sorry!" the dinosaur exclaimed. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to run into you!"
Shizuka's hand slowly lowered. Disbelief, annoyance, and partial anger quickly took over her thoughts. She had been running around looking for the idiotic duo when she just ended up running into them? Gripping her hands tightly into fists and trying not to curse at the two, she let out a deep, forced sigh.
"You're Guilmon and Terriermon, right?" she asked, struggling to keep her tone calm.
"Yep, that's us," the bunny said. "Heard of us, huh? I'm not surprised, as I am a lady's man."
The sound of his voice and his words caused her eye to twitch in irritation. Breathing deeply to calm herself, she looked at the dinosaur and ignored the annoying bunny.
"Your friend stopped by and was looking for you," she told them. "Digimon by the name of Lopmon."
"Lopmon?" Guilmon whispered. "Where is she? We've been searching for her for days now! Is she around here?"
"Calm down, bud," Terriermon said, chuckling. "He's hyper. You'll have to excuse him."
"Just…come with me," she growled. "She'll be at the healer's house by now."
"Yay!" Guilmon shouted, jumping up and down.
Shizuka slapped her palm against her face with a groan.
~0~
"I couldn't find them," Mikami said when she rejoined Impmon. She absentmindedly kicked a rock around. "I ran around for about ten minutes with no sign of them."
"Me neither," Impmon grumbled. "Where could they have gone off to?"
The duo glared at each other before Mikami let herself drop onto the front steps of the house. Impmon paced back and forth, mumbling in anger concerning their failure. His partner closed her eyes, leaned back, and let out a heavy sigh. When she opened her eyes again, she stared at the clouds and tapped her foot against the ground.
"Can't believe we couldn't find them."
"Mikami!"
Sitting up quickly at the sound of her name, she raised her head to see Shizuka saunter towards them. Behind her trailed Guilmon with Terriermon still on his head. Letting out a relieved breath, Mikami jumped to her feet and tapped Impmon on the shoulder, earning a grin.
"Good job!" Mikami shouted. She gave her friend a thumbs up.
Shizuka stopped in front of her, waving her hand. "I just ran into them. Literally. Let's just get inside."
"You've got good timing," Mikami said, smiling. "Lopmon came back just a few minutes ago."
Shizuka gave Mikami a nod as she headed for the door. Guilmon hopped up the stairs after her. Mikami looked at Impmon with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged, not knowing what to say, and instead dashed up the stairs. Rubbing the back of her neck, Mikami sat back down as the sounds of excited shouting and laughing drifted from the house. She couldn't help but smile as she listened, though she didn't want to get in the middle of the reunion at the moment. She was content in just sitting and listening.
Glad we were able to help them, she thought, closing her eyes and leaning back. Though, they could try not shouting so much.
Daiki had moved to the doorway to get away from the group and glanced down at Mikami. He looked back to see Lopmon and Terriermon dancing on Guilmon's back. He sighed and exited the building, closing the door behind him. Hearing the noise, Mikami craned her neck back to watch him trudge down the steps. When he reached the bottom, he sat down beside her and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Don't like the party?" she teased.
He let out a huff that confirmed her observation. "Not my thing."
She smiled and elbowed him in the side. He moved his arms to place one around her shoulders and leaned against her. The two sat in near silence, enjoying the moment. After several days of travel, running from Digimon and dealing with fights, they deserved it. At least in Mikami's opinion, anyway. Especially now, seeing as they had finally found their friends. If anything, all of them could use about a week of rest after the hardships they had faced in their first few days in the Digital World.
In fact, she planned on resting for about that long, because she was downright exhausted.
That, however, wouldn't go as planned. She should have known better.
"Help!"
She and Daiki jumped to their feet. The shout drew the attention those inside the house, as the celebration suddenly ended and Shizuka was by the duo's side. Within mere moments, the others were there too, all their partners with them. Digimon came running past them, screaming as the sounds of destruction followed. Gritting her teeth, Mikami spun to see who was attacking and found her jaw dropping open.
One of the attacking Digimon was a Raremon. The moving lump of liquid garbage and waste was grabbing Digimon and practically drowning the poor defenseless monsters.
The second was a Shellmon. The massive pink monster swung its forelimbs, striking the villagers all while it laughed. The few that tried to strike back were met with it retreating into the shell on its back and hitting the rock hard shell.
Lastly, but not least, was a Monochromon. The grey and black dinosaur charged into buildings, causing them to collapse in on themselves. The few unfortunate Digimon who were in its path were met with a terrible fate as it trampled them.
Shizuka was already pulling out her Digivice, holding it up as she shouted an order at Biyomon. The pink bird nodded, taking off into the air and hovering above the trio of intruders. Light burst out from the device and engulfed Biyomon. Soon enough, the bird had Digivolved to Birdramon and was diving at the trio with a screech.
"She can't take all of them on alone!" Mikami growled, looking at Shizuka.
Shizuka gritted her teeth. "She'll be fine."
"Mikami's right, Shizuka," Tadashi warned, only to receive a glare.
Birdramon streaked downwards, her claws slamming into Shellmon's massive shell. The attack barely left a scratch, making the shelled Digimon lean to one side for only a moment before he righted himself. The flame bird circled around again for another attack aimed at Monochromon. As she was about to hit him, Raremon shot sludge of his mouth. The purple goop clung to her face, covering her eyes. Monochromon took the opportunity to slam his head into her stomach.
The tackle sent them both rolling across the ground. The dinosaur slammed his horn into her, causing her to squawk in pain. Retaliating, she dug her claws into his stomach and shoved him off, sending him crashing to the ground. As she rolled onto her stomach and stood, Shellmon charged. Birdramon, with a cry of pain, was sent crashing into one of the buildings.
With wide eyes, Shizuka shouted, "Birdramon!"
The bird struggled to get back up, but Monochromon jumped on top of her, almost crushing her. Yoko stared in horror, clutching her Digivice to her chest. Mikami was furious, as was Impmon, but as her eyes rested on Daiki, she realized that she wasn't the only one. The oldest of the group was literally shaking, gripping his Digivice so tightly she was sure he would end up breaking it. Renamon, who stood near her partner, had her paws formed into fists and was glaring with anger that Mikami had never seen.
As Monochromon moved off of Birdramon, who was barely moving, Raremon opened his mouth. Green gas spewed from him, surrounding the immobile bird. Almost immediately, as she tried to breath, she inhaled the gas and began to cough and choke. Soon, she shrank back to Biyomon, and laid there unmoving.
"Is she…?" Judai didn't finish as Shizuka dropped her Digivice.
"Enough is enough!" Daiki roared, his Digivice glowing, just as Yoko cried out, "No!"
Light surrounded Renamon and Salamon as they ran forward. The others watched, mouths agape, as their forms shifted and changed. Soon enough, a quadruped fox and bipedal cat appeared, charging the trio. Kyubimon spread out her nine tails, eyes blazing, and tackled Shellmon with enough force to send him flying backwards. Blue flames in a spherical form winked into existence in front of her tails. Shellmon pushed himself back into a standing position, grumbling angrily.
"Fox Tail Inferno!"
The fireballs sailed forward, striking Shellmon and exploding. The Digimon stumbled backwards, smoke rising from him. As he recovered, Kyubimon rushed forward, electricity surrounding her head. She slammed her head into his head, the contact causing the electricity to shock him.
Meanwhile, Gatomon had lunged at Monochromon, claws out. With a cry of "Lightning Claws!" she slashed at the dinosaur, leaving six long claw marks down his side. Monochromon cried out in pain, moving as Gatomon landed on her feet. The dinosaur charged at her, growling loudly. Glowering, she jumped into the air, flipping, and stuck her leg out.
"Neko Kick!" she shouted.
Her hind paw slammed into his head, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. As he attempted to stand, she leapt onto him, swinging her tail down.
"Cat Tail!"
The golden ring around her tail connected sharply with the side of Monochromon's head, driving him into the dirt and causing a cloud of dust to appear. Gatomon appeared out of it just as Raremon reached her. Glancing over her shoulder, she rolled out of the way as a sludge bomb came down and splattered against the ground where she had stood. The moving mound of waste swung at her, forcing her to jump to the side to avoid it.
"Gatomon, be careful!" Yoko shouted, concerned.
The cat looked at her, smiling, and dodged another attack.
"Kyubimon!" Daiki called, motioning towards the cat.
The fox spun, racing towards Gatomon and Raremon. She jumped into the air and began to spin, blue fired surrounding her. From the flames rose a blue, fiery dragon that roared and headed for the sludge Digimon. It engulfed Raremon, setting him aflame and letting out a painful yell. Kyubimon landed, more fireballs firing from her tails and exploding as they made contact. Gatomon nodded to the fox, dashing at Shellmon as the armored Digimon charged at the duo. The cat jumped into the air, flipping, and slammed her hind paw into his face.
Shizuka, watching the battle carefully, sprinted over to where her partner was. Mikami followed, forcing Impmon to dash after her. The lilac-haired girl dropped to her knees, picking up Biyomon with a grimace on her face. Mikami stopped beside her as Impmon looked at his friend with a mixture of panic and anger. Biyomon winced, opening her eyes and looking at Shizuka.
"I'm sorry," Shizuka muttered, looking down. "I shouldn't have forced you to fight alone."
"I'll be okay," Biyomon replied quietly, hugging Shizuka as the girl pulled her close.
"Guys…we got a problem!" Impmon announced.
Mikami turned to see Monochromon standing over them, one foot raised to stomp on them. Standing up, the brunette positioned herself in front of Shizuka and Biyomon, and was joined by Impmon, who had already prepared several fireballs. Gatomon appeared, kicking the dinosaur in the side. He crashed to the ground, sending dust and dirt flying into the air. She lunged, scratching at him with her claws repeatedly. Mikami pulled Shizuka to her feet, looking at the angered teenager with a stern look. Carrying Biyomon in her arms, Shizuka nodded, and the group hurried back to where the others were waiting. Tadashi grabbed Shizuka by the shoulders, holding her despite the half-hearted glare he was giving her. Judai, standing beside Yoko, shouted at Gatomon to beat the dinosaur.
As Mikami eyed the battled, Kyubimon finished Raremon with another Dragon Wheel, causing the disgusting Digimon to burst into pixels. The fox turned her attention to Shellmon, lunging. As her tackle connected, the two fell to the ground and Kyubimon bit down on Shellmon's neck with a growl. Gatomon was delivering kick after kick to Monochromon, who was beginning to slow in his movements. The dinosaur was launched through the air by another kick from Gatomon, who jumped upwards and struck out with her claws, which began to glow a bright white.
"Angel Claw!"
Her claws dug into him. As the group watched, she went straight through the dinosaur, who fading into particles. Gatomon landed, absorbing the data from the defeated Digimon.
She focused her attention on Shellmon and was soon by Kyubimon's side, scratching the shelled monster in the face. As she moved away, the fox used another Fox Tail Inferno attack, causing Shellmon to stumble backwards. Gatomon lunged, punching him in the jaw. His head jerked upwards from the force of the hit. She jumped up and kicked him in the head several times as Kyubimon readied a third Dragon Wheel. As soon as the cat Digimon was on the ground, Kyubimon jumped into the air, a dragon engulfing Shellmon whole and destroying him.
The duo shifted back to their Rookie forms, looking at each other and then heading back towards the group. Yoko ran forward, scooping Salamon up into her arms and spinning around with a wide smile. Daiki met Renamon halfway, bumping fists with her as they smirked at one another. The others let out heavy sighs, Judai relieved, and Tadashi glad. Yoko hurried back to rejoin Mikami, with Daiki trailing behind her.
"That's over," Judai grunted. "Nice job, Salamon!"
"Thanks," Salamon mumbled, blushing.
Yoko giggled, rubbing the pup on the head. "That was amazing!"
Shizuka looked down at Biyomon, who forced a smile, and huffed. "Let's get you fixed up."