A/N: This chapter offers some insight into Digivolution.

Chapters updated: Prologue, Chapter 1.

Tokyo was a sight to see.

Skyscrapers towered above them while hundreds of people walked around them. There were shops of various kinds every direction, from restaurants to electronics stores. It was clear that Gabumon and Biyomon were entranced by the sights Tokyo offered, as they often trailed behind to look at something that caught their eye. The two Digimon wandered off a total of thirty times in a little over an hour, leading Shizuka to grab the duo to drag them back to her brother and her parents.

The original plan had been to go stay with the twins' grandparents in the countryside, but it just so happened that said couple had left on their own trip to celebrate their anniversary. Tadashi had suggested Tokyo. With a little convincing from the twins, the family had gone to the city.

At that moment the family was relaxing at an outdoor café, waiting for their food. After exploring the city nonstop, all of them were ready for a rest and a meal. The twins had ordered extra food for their partners. Of the two Digimon, Gabumon was still looking around in wonderment.

"I never thought human cities would be this big!" Gabumon said, eyes wide with curiosity.

"This isn't even the largest city in our world," Tadashi told him. "There a few twice this size."

A look of surprise flashed across Biyomon's face. "Twice as big as this place? Sounds like they'd be bigger than Ragnarok City."

"Probably. Though Ragnarok City was pretty big… Us humans have a bad habit of making things that are already big even larger," Shizuka stated with a snort. "We take up a lot of space that we don't need to."

"Humanity has always been obsessed with conquest in all its forms," Tadashi pointed out with a slight shrug. "Though it is unfortunate, greed is an inherent trait in the nature of the human race."

"Alright, smartass, take it down a notch."

Tadashi hummed and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "I was looking at a list of events going on today and picked out a few things that seemed interesting. I thought you'd like to take a look."

"Sure. Hand it here."

He gave it to her and took a sip from his glass of water as she looked it over. Biyomon leaned over to read it. Most of the list seemed uninteresting, but the one that caught her attention was some sort of tournament. While she had never seen a tournament herself, Biyomon had heard stories of the ones that had been held in the years before Laylamon rose to power.

"Well, the Tokyo Robotics Tournament is today," Shizuka grunted. "That's the only thing here that sounds fun, besides the arcade. Dunno about you, but I don't feel like playing games today."

"Actually, I was thinking the same thing. I wanted to see what you thought before suggesting it. After we eat I'll tell mom and dad."

"Sounds like a plan."

"…Robotics tournament?" Gabumon asked, confused. "What's that?"

"It's a competition to showcase the abilities of the teams who construct the robots. The winners are awarded money and offered various kinds of manufacturing jobs. It used to be a private event, but they opened it up. The teams can demonstrate their skills to an entire audience now. Hence why it's now a tournament."

Biyomon tilted her head to the side. "That seems like an odd thing to do."

"Eh, I could see why you'd think that, but it gives people a chance to get a job and now people can have fun watching it. You won't find me complaining. I'm just hoping it's a good show," Shizuka said. "Here comes our food."

The group quieted when the waitress walked up to their table. She set the plates down onto the table, smiling widely as she did so. "Sorry for being rude, but I just want to say that your bird is adorable! What's her name?"

She hadn't expected the question, leading Shizuka to blurt out, "Biyo."

"What an adorable name! Oh, gotta go. Enjoy your food!"

When the waitress was gone, Shizuka let out a quiet breath. Tadashi glanced at her with an eyebrow raised and Gabumon laughed loud enough for her to hear. Biyomon tried her best to appear amused by her partner's discomfort, making Shizuka glower.

"Very original," the bird told her.

"Like you could come up with something on the fly," Shizuka muttered sourly. When more laughter followed, she scowled. "Eat your stupid food."

"Food can be stupid?"

"Shut up."

The next twenty minutes were spent joking, laughing, and eating. Despite trying her best to join in with the trio, Biyomon's mind was elsewhere. There they were, pretending everything was normal when it wasn't. She and her fellow Digimon were in a world they knew nothing about. Not to mention what they had to go through to get there. Her friends could try all they wanted to act like they were fine; Biyomon knew better. None of them were okay. She didn't think they would be for a long time.

You always insisted that you didn't care, but you always tried to protect us. And even though you might've been a jerk, you were still there for us.

She lowered her head slightly, staring at the bits of food in front of her.

"Biyomon, are you okay?"

The pink bird, startled by the question, turned to look at her partner. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine!"

Shizuka furrowed her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yes! I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"What…we're going to do today?" Biyomon offered in hopes that Shizuka would leave her alone.

Instead, the teenager leaned closer to her, clearly concerned. "If you need to talk about something, I'm willing to listen. We are partners, you know."

"I know. It's nothing, really."

Judging from the look on her face, Shizuka didn't believe Biyomon. Even so, she let out a sigh of resignation and turned away. "Alright. Whatever you say. I'm sure you'll tell me what's bothering you sooner or later."

Biyomon exhaled softly, glad the discussion was over. Their attention was turned to the twins' parents, who walked over to their table.

"Finished?" Lauren asked, earning a few nods in reply. "Alright. Where were you wanting to go?"

The twins stood up, pushing in their chairs. Biyomon perched on the top of the chair beside Shizuka to wait.

"The Tokyo Robotics Tournament," Tadashi said.

"Sounds good. We'll go as soon as I pay the bill."

Their father walked off, leaving them with their mother. The woman smiled widely and clapped her hands together. "I'm so glad you're enjoying yourselves! Ever since you came back you've all been down in the dumps. Seeing you having some fun is great."

"We had fun at the mall," Tadashi pointed out.

"Yes, but you were with all your friends. You two hardly ever enjoy our family trips."

"Because we're usually dragged to places we don't like," Shizuka muttered under her breath.

"I'm just going to pretend that you didn't say that."

Lauren joined them soon after, scratching the back of his head. "Let's go. Hopefully we get good seats."

"Should we go back and get the car?"

"No. It'll be easier to go in a couple of taxis."

They did just that, waving down two taxis. The drive to the stadium the tournament was being held in was long and uncomfortable for Biyomon, but she sat patiently for the entire time.

The stadium was bigger than the bird imagined, both inside and out.

As luck would have it, they arrived in time to get what Lauren deemed as "decent seats". Neither Biyomon nor Gabumon understood the point in getting specific seats. The only explanation they were provided was that where your seats were determined how well of a view you could get. Biyomon didn't bother to understand why it mattered and instead nestled herself into her partner's lap. Gabumon had a seat to himself and was partially curled up as he waited for the matches to begin.

The buzz of feedback from the stadium speakers made her jump. Shizuka grinned down at her, making her huff. The man Tadashi identified as the announcer began rambling on about the tournament, showing the line-up of robots who would be fighting. Biyomon had thought they would be rather large, but they barely larger than the average human.

"Who're you rooting for?" Shizuka asked her brother.

"Hmm…see the fifth on from the left? I have a feeling that is the best built."

"Really? But that one on the far end has saws instead of hands."

"That doesn't mean it's going to win."

"What? Come on, it has a good chance!"

"Just because it has saws…" He trailed off and shook his head. "Sometimes your thought process amazes me."

Shizuka frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"He means that you're not really thinking about it," Gabumon said as he sat up.

Tadashi glanced at his partner with a betrayed look before turning to see Shizuka staring at him. He held up his hands, smiling sheepishly.

"I'll let you off this time," she warned. "And how did you know what he meant, Gabumon? I'm his twin yet I can hardly understand him half the time."

"He talks a lot like Renamon," Biyomon said. "Leomon, too. That's probably why. We've pretty much gotten used to it."

Shizuka made an unconvinced noise in her throat, but conceded.

"Not to mention you don't make an effort to fully understand him."

The comment earned Biyomon a tap on the head. "Shush. If you had to deal with him every day you'd block him out, too." At this she nudged her brother, winking at him.

"I suppose that is true for me as well, since I have little interest in her obsession with boxing."

Her mouth dropped open, and she prepared a retort only to be cut off when a bell marked the beginning of the first match. She looked forward, though spared a brief glance at her brother.

"This isn't over," she whispered.

He smirked.

"I still say saw-for-hands is gonna win," she added.

"If you say so."

The first match didn't catch Biyomon's attention, but the second got her interested by the end. Following that, she watched each fight and found herself cheering alongside Shizuka. It was a surprise to her that she was having so much fun. She was glad, though, since it gave her a chance to distract herself. Even the twins' parents were getting rather invested in the matches. It was several matches in that Shizuka's favorite robot was taken down. She pouted, which made Biyomon giggle. As the tournament continued, the bird found her spirits greatly raised.

When the last match was over and Tadashi's preferred robot won, the teenager grinned victoriously. Shizuka wrapped her arm around his neck and dug her knuckles into his head. He cried out for help. His partner was worried, but Biyomon found it hilarious. Lauren, with a sigh, pulled a laughing Shizuka off of Tadashi.

"Calm down, you two."

"I didn't do anything," Tadashi groaned while rubbing his head.

"Shouldn't be so proud of yourself, bro," Shizuka teased.

"That is most definitely not a reasonable excuse to hurt me."

"Sure it is! I'm trying to teach you humility."

"Seems as if you need to learn humility more than I do."

"What was that?"

The smile on Shizuka's face made Tadashi nervous. Biyomon could understand, since it meant trouble. She lightly punched her brother's arm and began walking towards the exit. Lauren looked exasperated; Biyomon felt sorry for him since he had to deal with the antics of the twins so often. If there was one thing she had learned about the two while traveling with them, it was that they tended to get on each other's nerves, both accidentally and purposefully. With Tadashi's brains versus Shizuka's brawn, it was only a matter of time before they started arguing. When that happened, they were definitely a handful.

The group was outside within a few minutes. While Lauren and his wife discussed whether they were going to take another taxi, and Shizuka and Tadashi tried to decide what to do next, Biyomon was fidgeting. A thought had crossed her mind the moment they had walked outside that something was wrong. A quick glance at Gabumon confirmed that she wasn't the only one who was worried, though none of the humans seemed to have a problem. Gabumon fully turned to her, his eyes widening, and both realized what they were sensing.

The second their partners turned around to look at them, the two Digimon raised their heads and gaped.

"Oh no," Gabumon whispered.

This prompted the two humans to look up, followed by a loud curse from Shizuka. Lauren spun around to berate her when he noticed what they were staring at. Other people had started to point at the sky.

"Are. You. Kidding. ME?!" Shizuka shouted. "Really? Really?"

"Shizuka, please calm down—that doesn't look good."

From the portal, two shapes dropped out a few seconds apart, landing just in front of the stadium. One was a sheep-like and wielded a massive crossbow, and the other was a winged tiger that licked his lips as he eyed the DigiDestined. The next moment he was bounding forward. Gabumon Digivolved and rammed into the tiger, cutting him off. Soon enough Birdramon was diving towards the sheep. People all around them were screaming in fear, running like there was no tomorrow.

"Mihiramon and Pajiramon. Both are Ultimates? Fan-freaking-tastic!"

"Shizuka, Tadashi—"

"Not now dad," Tadashi said. "You need leave with mom. We'll take care of this."

Their mom dashed over to kiss the two on the forehead. "Be careful, both of you. I believe in you."

The twins watched the woman grab her husband's hand and drag him away despite his protest. Shizuka turned back just in time to watch Mihiramon wrestle Garurumon to the ground, standing on top of him, and Pajiramon shoot Birdramon through the wing. The bird landed harshly on the ground, holding the injured wing out.

"Let me explain this to you," Mihiramon growled. "You have two choices: Surrender, or be killed. If you surrender, we may let you live."

"Right. So basically, you're probably going to kill us either way," Shizuka said. "Do you really think we're just gonna lay down and let you kill us?"

"I suppose if you wish for a prolonged death," Pajiramon replied, leveling her crossbow at the human. "That can be arranged."

Birdramon, scowling, moved to position herself between her partner and Pajiramon. The sheep looked amused, and readied a shot as she aimed at the bird's head. Undeterred, Birdramon puffed her chest out. This made the smirk on Pajiramon's face fall into a frown, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Why are you so willing to sacrifice yourself for a measly human?"

"Don't have any friends you would protect?" Birdramon replied. The sheep continued to glare. "Guess not."

"Oh, please," Mihiramon said. "Your loyalty to one another is disgusting."

"As if you aren't loyal to Laylamon—" Garurumon grumbled.

Mihiramon stomped down on the wolf, growling out a quiet warning.

"You have one last warning. Surrender now or we'll make sure you die a slow, painful death."

From the corner of her eye, Birdramon could see Garurumon looking at her. She turned to look at him as he glared up at Mihiramon, baring his teeth. Both of them knew that giving up wasn't an option.

"Go to hell."

Snarling, Mihiramon slammed his paw into Garurumon's chest and bit down on the wolf's neck. Howling in pain, Garurumon thrashed and kicked at the tiger in an attempt to break free. Behind her, Birdramon could hear Tadashi yelling frantically, and moved to help her friend. She froze when she felt a sharp pain in her side, and looked down to see an arrow made of light embedded below her wing. Stumbling, she turned to Pajiramon, only for two more hit her in the chest and her already injured wing. She swayed and barely caught her footing in time to avoid toppling over.

Mihiramon threw Garurumon through the air. The wolf landed with a thud and slid to a stop near his partner, who attempted to rush over to him. The boy came to a stop and backpedaled as Mihiramon jumped in front of him.

"We did warn you. Now you have to face the consequences," Pajiramon stated calmly, trotting closer.

"Have some comfort; we'll be sure to talk about how sickeningly noble you were," Mihiramon said with a toothy grin. "Not to mention your sheer stubbornness. I'm sure Lady Laylamon will find it amusing."

"It is disappointing that you didn't last longer. We had heard how many of our allies you had destroyed, so we were expecting more of a fight."

"Oh, well, we're so sorry your highness," Shizuka snapped. "Thought you said something about killing us."

Tadashi hissed his sister's name in disbelief.

Pajiramon laughed and pointed her crossbow at the human. "If you're so eager…"

Birdramon threw herself into the sheep, knocking Pajiramon to the ground. Mihiramon, in turn, tackled the bird and sliced through one of her wings with his claws. She cried out and attempted to smack him with her other wing, only for Pajiramon to land harshly on it. The pain coursing through the appendages made her vision black out for a moment, and when it returned, Pajiramon had her weapon shoved in the bird's face. Birdramon tried to even her breathing, though the pain made it difficult, and mustered up the best glare she could manage.

It only served to make Pajiramon angrier.

"You'll be the first to go. And we'll make sure your lousy human friends suffer too. Now, should I take it slow and shoot you through the eye first or make it quick and hit your core?"

"Do whatever you want. I'm prepared to die for my friends."

Sneering, Pajiramon pointed the crossbow directly between Birdramon's eyes. The moment the sheep prepared to pull the trigger, a chorus of cries rang out. Anger surged through Birdramon alongside a stinging sensation, and she realized that she was feeling Shizuka's anger. Then it shifted to an urge to fight coupled with her own need to protect her partner. Flames suddenly surrounded her, startling the two Digimon on her and forcing them off. She rose to her feet, soon towering over the duo.

"You think this changes anything? We'll still kill you!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

Mihiramon's head snapped upwards in time for him to see a bipedal wolf drop down from the sky. WereGarurumon slammed his fist into the tiger's back, earning a yowl of pain. Garudamon kicked Pajiramon, sending the sheep clear over the twins. Yelping, Tadashi bent down and covered his head while Shizuka laughed. The bird took to the sky and landed just in front of Pajiramon.

"You'd think Digimon like you would stop underestimating us," Garudamon said.

She took a step forward. Pajiramon, startled, moved back.

"I guess you'll just have to pay for that mistake."

Pajiramon hefted up the crossbow and fired off a shot as quick as she could. Garudamon raised her arm to protect her face; the arrow hit her in the arm just moments after. She lowered her arm to find Pajiramon had disappeared from sight. She glanced around for a moment and then turned to look behind her. She caught a glimpse of Pajiramon the same instate the sheep fired several arrows into the bird's back. The pain made her grimace, and she stuck her foot out to catch her balance.

Angry, Garudamon whipped around to grab the sheep only for Pajiramon to skirt to the side of the bird's fist. She tried again and failed, missing by a few seconds. Though her new form offered her quite a bit of power, the sheer size of her body was proving to be cumbersome and was making things unnecessarily difficult. Each attempt proved futile due to Pajiramon's speed.

But with each missed strike, she noticed a pattern: Pajiramon alternated dodging by going one way and then the other the next time she moved.

Garudamon found herself anticipating where Pajiramon would move next and swung her fist. The punch successfully hit Pajiramon and sent the sheep flying back into a nearby building. That same moment she heard what she thought was a siren, accompanied by Shizuka yelling at her for letting the other Digimon hit a building. Garudamon turned to look at her partner before a squealing noise made her wince.

"The authorities are here. Great," Tadashi groaned. "I suppose I should've seen that coming."

"Yeah, well—wait!" Shizuka shouted. "Don't shoot the big bird!"

Garudamon stared at the weapons that were raised toward her and was ready to defend herself when an arrow nearly skewered one of the humans.

"Fire Hurricane!"

Pajiramon, startled, stared with wide eyes as a massive vortex of flames erupted around her. She made to jump out.

Garudamon wasn't going to let her.

"Wing Blade!"

A massive vacuum blade soared through the air, visible only as a silhouette shaped like a black bird. The blade cut Pajiramon clear in two, causing the Digimon to explode into bits of data. Closing her eyes, Garudamon let the data flow into her before turning toward the shaken human.

"Are you okay?"

The man nodded hesitantly, eyes still wide. Pleased, Garudamon turned away and looked to where WereGarurumon and Mihiramon were still battling.

Mihiramon came diving down, forcing WereGarurumon to leap out of the way to avoid him. The wolf watched as Mihiramon circled around and lined himself up with WereGarurumon. Roaring, the tiger lunged, speeding downwards. One of his hind feet slid back so WereGarurumon could brace himself. He ducked down and reached up, grabbing hold of Mihiramon's leg. With his other paw, the bipedal wolf hit the Deva in the stomach with a powerful punch. With his enemy stunned, WereGarurumon moved his paw to get a better grasp on Mihiramon. He pivoted on his heel and spun around, gaining speed until he was a blur.

He came to a sudden stop and used the momentum to throw Mihiramon into the stadium.

Metal and concrete broke and fell, piling on top of the tiger. Growling, he shifted and attempted to push the rubble aside.

WereGarurumon leapt on top of the tiger, raising a paw. Pinned, there was nothing Mihiramon could do to stop WereGarurumon from ripping his throat out and ripping into him. After the Deva disintegrated, WereGarurumon reverted to Gabumon, exhausted.

"That took forever," Shizuka moaned. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm alive," Garudamon grunted, lumbering up to her partner. "Though I have to admit the wounds from those arrows sting."

Gabumon sauntered over, panting softly. "Are you two okay?"

"We're fine."

Someone cleared their throat, making the group turn their attention to the police officers gathered. Shizuka, for a reason that Garudamon couldn't discern, suddenly looked anxious about their presence. Tadashi didn't seem pleased by it either.

"We're going to need you to come with us."

"Er…why?" Shizuka asked.

The man motioned around them to the damage that had been done. "I would say it's rather obvious. When strange creatures appear and end up destroying property, it's reason for suspicion. You'll need to give us an explanation."

The twins exchanged glances. It was almost as if a silent message passed between them. Shizuka turned to the officer and nodded while sliding her hand into her pocket.

"Can I call our parents to let them know?"

Frowning, the officer let out a huff. "Fine. Be quick."

"Alright, Thanks."

Confused, Garudamon watched Shizuka move near her and make a show of dialing. At the same time, she motioned for the bird to lean over. Her curiosity getting the best of her, Garudamon did just that.

"How much energy do you have left?" Shizuka whispered, placing the phone to her ear.

"A bit."

"Good. Then can you fly us out of here?"

"But that man—"

"We know what the man said," Tadashi interrupted quietly.

"If you're sure. I don't know how far I can take you."

"It doesn't matter. Just fly as far as you can."

Shizuka pretended to hang up and turned around. Garudamon lowered her hand and her three friends hurriedly climb onto her palm, surprising the officers. Once they were settled, Garudamon took off. Angry shouts came from below, but the wind rushing past her and Shizuka's laughter drowned it out for the most part. She looked down at her partner, who was grinning at her brother.

"I can't believe we actually did that," Tadashi mumbled.

"You agreed to it!"

"Well, yeah, but…" He stopped himself and sighed. "We're going to pay for this later, aren't we?"

"Probably. But who cares? I don't know about you, but I didn't want to be stuck in a police station right after a fight."

"Fair point."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I won't be able to keep this form much longer."

"There's a forest that way. There should be a clearing large enough for you to land in."

The bird steered herself in the direction Shizuka pointed and spotted the forest. Once over the clearing, she swooped down and landed. Knowing she was going to de-Digivolve soon, Garudamon ushered her passengers off. The moment they were off, she shrank and collapsed onto the ground with a heavy sigh.

"Now to call dad for real," Shizuka said as she scrolled through her contact list. "I bet you ten bucks he's going to yell when I tell him what happened."

"No need to bet because that is what he will do."

"Yeah, I know. Hey dad! We're gonna need you to pick us up."

"…Why?"

"Well, a bunch of officers wanted us to go with them. We sort of…didn't."

"What? Do you realize what kind of trouble you're going to be in? Where are you?!"

"One of the forests outside of Tokyo. Don't worry, we're gonna head over to grandpa's house. You can pick us up there."

"You two…fine. I'll drive over there right now. We are going to have a serious talk. Understood?"

"Loud and clear, pop! Bye!"

"We're dead," Tadashi summarized.

"Pretty much."