Takato was proud to claim his bakery the first in the Dejitarusekai.

The sign out front said so itself.

The brunet human heard the oven ping, excusing himself from talking with an Agumon and asking Gillmon to take over the counter. The red dinosaur did so willingly, for when the oven pinged, it meant more bread for the customers and even closer to the end of the day when he could eat the day-old rolls.

Takato wiped his hands on his apron, grabbing an oven mitt from the top of the kitchen counter and opening the oven door. Terriermon was nearby, ears pinned up so they didn't get into the dough he was mixing together, flashing him a cheeky smile as Takato set the new bread down onto the kitchen bench and popped a new batch in, sliding the fresh rolls onto a cooler.

Jenrya was at his daily job helping the Datamon gather and store information from the digital data rolling around the landscape in the fuzzy balls of pink and purple they had seen on their first night here, three years ago. It was only right for a teenager of his computer genius – having grown up with a programmer as a father – and Takato stayed home with his partners making a living in the bakery.

It had taken some time, but the two boys had finally pulled something together. The denizens of the Digimon village they lived in were weary of them at first, which was understandable since they were human, but they were regular faces now in the shop that Takato talked with to find out the latest buzz going around the village, since he didn't get out very often with running the bakery. The Datamon had been willing to let someone experienced deal with uploading the data day in and out, which led Jenrya to generally being late home.

Takato heaved a sigh as he slipped a glass of water under the tap and filled it half way, tilting his head back to drink the cool water with ease, wiping sweat from his forehead when he was done with his free hand. Now he knew why his mother had complained so much after a hard day's work…

His eyes turned wistful at the thought of his mother. It was true that he thought of his parents every now and then, about how worried they must have been about him. Unless of course the others had told them he was dead, which was fine with him. Even though he was their only son, he didn't want Mie and Takehiro to worry about him. He knew that Jenrya felt the same way about his own family.

There was a sudden explosion outside, such a tremor that it made Terriermon slide off the bench with a yell and a crash and the fresh bread tumbled to the floor. Takato held his balance by holding onto the sink, his glass slipping out of his fingers and crashing to the floor with a clatter. A few bits of plaster fell from the roof of the kitchen, and the shattering of glass as the windows broke apart.

'What on earth…?'

"Takato!" Gillmon's voice called from the front of the shop, and he instantly recognized the tone without having to see his friend's eyes.

There was an enemy outside.

He knelt down and freed Terriermon's ears with ease that came from practice. "Go find Jen!"

"No need to tell me twice!" The rabbit-like Digimon was out of the window in a shot, his ears catching an upheaval of wind, leaving Takato to throw off his apron and join the red dinosaurian monster outside on the street.

Yep…their quiet village life was ruined.

Digimon of all sorts and types were running away from where he faced, their screams echoing in his ears and forever dancing in his memory. However, he managed to get hold of a Floramon, asking her what was going on. She looked back at him with haunted eyes and answered in such a shaky tone that Takato had been forced to let her go, asking a Tailmon to take care of her as he and Gillmon charged through the surging crowd.

The name the Floramon had said would forever run through his mind with the image of her eyes…

'Kagemon is here…'

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The Dark Guardians
Chapter II
Written by Takato Metallium
Disclaimer: I disclaim all rights to Digimon Tamers. It belongs to Akiyoshi Hongo and other such people. I only own the fic, the idea, some Digimon you haven't seen before and not much else.
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"We call upon the powers of the Catalyst.

Grant us the power of Shining Evolution!"

A brightly dark light engulfed the area before honing in on the two humans and their partners, forming four black-purple columns of light around them as the middle-school students, their Digimon, Beelzebumon, Lopmon, Shuichon, Ai and Makoto watched with wide eyes. The demon lord de-evolved back to his Child form, feeling as though the two of them could handle it – he had seen years ago what they were capable of and Lopmon nodded in agreement, stepping back as their Tamers glanced at each other.

"ChaosDukemon!"

"FateGargomon!"

Where the four had once stood was now a dark knight, black and purple armor gleaming in the dim sunlight as his partner took his place at his side, the familiar clicking sound indicating his gun-arms were loaded. Almost as one, the students pulled out their D-Arcs, whining in frustration when they didn't receive any data, but Impmon looked over towards Lopmon, who it seemed had stopped breathing for a moment before she whispered something barely audible.

"The legend does exist," she breathed, eyes wide as she turned to look at the purple demon, their humans looking down in question. "The legend of the fallen Tamers and dark guardians, passed down through the Dejitarusekai for hundreds on thousands of years. It states that in the darkest hours they would come, one a dark knight of chaos and the other a creature of destruction. They protect the Catalyst – a force of evolution – from its enemies, from those who would wish to use its powers for evil. It's all true." Lopmon shook her head gently, turning her attention back to the trio. "I learned of the legend when I became a Daeva, but I never believed it to be true."

"We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way," ChaosDukemon spoke, shield to his chest and lance to his side, back to back with his larger partner. "Take your pick, Mihiramon. Either way you're going down."

There was a low growl in Mihiramon's throat, eyes switching from biomerge to biomerge before he leapt forward, tail arched over his back to indicate he was going to attack, only to be swatted away effortlessly by FateGargomon, sending the Holy Beast crashing into the side of the school and the students scattering, signaling the start of the battle.

A van suddenly decided to pull up at that moment and out of it clambered the original Tamers and their partners, making their way over to where Shuichon, Ai and Makoto stood with their own while sending their Digimon in to help. Ruki seemed a bit taken aback by the glare in ChaosDukemon's eyes, a snarl in a vaguely familiar voice telling her and the others to 'stay out of it'. Ryo looked at the younger Tamers, an explanation wanted while Impmon smirked, leaning against Ai's leg.

"You're gonna get yer ass kicked if ya interfere. Trust me on this and stay out of it."

Hirokazu reluctantly called his partner back, deciding to take faith in Impmon's words as it seemed the two unfamiliar Digimon were doing fairly good on their own and the others decided to step back as well, wanting to know who the strangers were.

Mihiramon found himself being blown back by a Forlorn Cannonade, data flickering around parts of his body before he managed to struggle up, only to be pressed mercilessly to the ground by FateGargomon's left gun-arm. ChaosDukemon seemed to be calm about everything, lanced tossed over his shoulder as he regarded the Daeva one last time.

"This is your last chance, Mihiramon. Either you tell us what you want with Shuichon and Lopmon or you're data again." The dark knight shrugged, shield hand to his hip. "It doesn't matter either way, since you'll be deleted. It's only a matter of time before we learn what Kagemon wants, but I think you'd want to save your colleagues the breath and tell us right now."

There was a coldness to the Omega-level's voice that shocked the Tamers, and a familiarity that made Hirokazu and Kenta shiver, glancing to each other. Croaking laughter was all that came from Mihiramon before he found a lance imbedded in his chest, golden eyes meeting ChaosDukemon's before they, too, dissipated into the air. FateGargomon stood from where he was kneeling, regarding his smaller companion with a glance as they de-evolved, giving the Tamers the shock of their lives.

Takato ran a hand through his chestnut hair, looking down at his partner before turning his gaze to his boyfriend. "That's another one we didn't get an answer from." He seemed to sigh in disappointment, raising his arms to cross them behind his head and lean back slightly. "What a waste of time. Why don't they ever just listen to me?" He eased out of his relaxed pose, looking at the bluenet again. "I guess this means we'll have to keep a closer eye on them, ne?" Jenrya nodded in agreement, hands in his pockets as BlackTerriermon took his usual perch on his shoulder.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to show their faces again!" The two boys turned to come face to face with Ruki, the young woman making her way over with an angry expression on her face and Renamon backing her up. Ryo, Hirokazu, Kenta and the younger Tamers, however, chose to look on even though Ruki had become somewhat of a substitute leader after they ditched Takato. Silver-crimson eyes narrowed as he turned calmly, raising his gaze to meet Renamon's.

"I gather you haven't told them who lead you back to the Real World, or are you too ashamed to admit that you needed help from us?" Renamon seemed to hesitate in her step, noticing the furious look from Ruki before vanishing.

"Renamon!" the redhead snarled, turning with a raised fist. "What do you think you're doing! Get back here!"

"I'm sorry, Ruki," came her voice in a whisper. "But I'm afraid we are in their debt."

"What are you going to do now, Makino?" Takato looked smug, crossing his arms over his chest as he regarded the female Tamer. "Without your precious Renamon to protect you?" He leaned forward until he could whisper into her ear, his voice a low purr. "I'd stay out of our way if I were you. We have business here in the Real World that doesn't concern you Tamers." Takato swerved to dodge her fist, sending the girl sprawling to the ground. "You're too sloppy. I would have figured you'd have gained something from fighting all those Digimon. I only side-stepped out of the way slowly."

"Stop teasing her, Takato," Jenrya spoke softly. A smile was on the bluenet's face as he gazed coolly down at her. "We need to get in touch with the Sovereigns to tell them another of Kagemon's crew have been deleted."

"Mou, I guess you're right." The other fallen Tamer sighed a little ruefully, watching Ruki get back on her feet with a dark smirk. "And here I was looking forward to an easy battle for a change. It's a pain in the ass being hand-picked to save both worlds, ne Jen?" A small niche of recognition passed through Shuichon's eyes at the name but nothing else as the two walked over to her, leaving Ruki in their wake.

"HEY! I'm not done with you yet, Matsuda!"

"Our fight was over the moment I turned my back to you, Makino," he called back, not even glancing over his shoulder at her. "Or should I say when you turned your back on me?" His silver-red eyes fell on Jen's little sister, his voice turning soft. "Shuichon-chan, we'll be escorting you and your partner home. Just in case the Daevas decide to send another."

"We were sent by the Sovereigns to guard you," Jenrya added quietly, half expecting her to throw herself at him yelling "oniisan" like she used to, but either she thought he was dead or…she had no memory of him. "Both yourself and Lopmon are in grave danger in the upcoming battle."

"So why did they send you?" Ryo bit in, fists clenched at his sides. Both fallen Tamers looked at him as though he was a mere annoyance, and he hated that.

"We're their best agents of course," Takato answered smoothly, the smirk returning to his lips. "We're the only ones who can achieve Omega evolution, therefore we are the best ones for this job."

"You see, ever since you left us to rot in the Dejitarusekai, we've been training. Quinglonmon-sama offered us the job of destroying those who would wish to harm both the Dejitarusekai and Real World," Jenrya offered, hands in his pockets, dark green eyes cold. "Those ones who succeeded in coming over to your side of the playing field were just pathetic lackeys we let escape."

"What exactly is Omega evolution?" Kenta asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. "There's no record of an Omega evolution in Hypnos' database or any of the Monster Maker files."

"Simple. Think of the fusion of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. Times the power of the fusion by ten thousand." The brunet guardian's lips quirked upwards, bearing his teeth in a smug grin. "Add that Calumon offered us his powers of Shining Evolution. We're easily the strongest Tamers here, but that's only because we're fallen, no thanks to you. A dark Tamer has far more power than a normal one, like you and everyone else with a partner here."

"I never…even dreamed…" Lopmon breathed, her eyes shining with what could be passed as happiness. Jenrya and Takato looked down at her, their expressions changing. "I never dreamed that what happened six years ago would bring the dark guardians to life."

"We get that a lot."

"'Tis the price of being famous in the Dejitarusekai." Jenrya shrugged, looking at his partner before turning back to her. "I want to thank you for keeping Shuichon safe all this time, Lopmon. Zhuqiamon-sama said to tell you he forgives you for your actions back then. He understands the bond now, after putting up with us." The two fallen ones poked their tongues out childishly at each other, giving a short-lived laugh.

"Please, tell my Sovereign that I am grateful!" Lopmon beamed up at him, bowing as best as she could. "Quinglonmon-sama truly picked the best warriors to keep both worlds safe."

"Shuichon-chan, we'll pick you up as soon as school lets out." The half-Chinese girl only nodded, the past conversation swimming around in her head as Takato turned to Jenrya again. "Well, guess now's as good a time as ever to tell the Sovereigns. Baihumon should be pleased."

"What about?" Hirokazu looked puzzled; it was all too confusing for him.

"Baihumon-sama and Mihiramon are both tiger-like Digimon, distantly related," Jenrya answered, looking towards the brunet. "Baihumon-sama couldn't stand him, as tolerant of him as Zhuqiamon-sama was of humans."

"Why couldn't he get rid of him himself, then?" Makoto asked, scratching his head.

"Mihiramon wasn't in his territory. No matter how much he pleaded Quinglonmon-sama, the Sovereigns have an agreement that they cannot take the life of a Digimon in another Sovereign's territory. Sad to say that poor Ebonwomon-sama had to put up with him." Takato and Jenrya shared another short laugh, smiling at each other before turning to go.

"Wait…" Ai looked confused, glancing between the two of them. "…You said 'humans' when you talked about Zhuqiamon. Aren't you human too?"

"We've spent too much time in the Dejitarusekai." Takato's voice sounded almost sad, his head bowed and looking down towards BlackGillmon at his side. "We are no longer…entirely human."

"Mere data, with a few scraps of human DNA flowing around the DataStream of our bodies. And the power of Calumon and the Gnomes keeps us together." Jenrya's voice was also distantly soft, staring straight ahead. "The Digimon have sacrificed a lot to keep us alive. That's why we take great pride in our position; we need to repay our debt somehow, and this is the only way. To keep the Dejitarusekai from falling into Kagemon's filthy hands."

"After the final battle…who knows what will become of us." The brunet managed a shaky laugh, looking over his shoulder at the younger Tamers with a smile that bared all his teeth in a friendly grin with a wave. "Never stop living. Someday, maybe something good will come of it. Until that day comes, stay alive and enjoy ever moment to its fullest. Life's too short to worry about petty things, so when something gets you down, stand up and smile about it, ne?"

Nothing more was said and the dark guardians vanished in a flash of white data along with their partners, leaving the congregate of Tamers staring after them as silence drifted over the crowd and cold autumn wind blew across the courtyard.

"Man, now I feel really guilty," Hirokazu whispered, hands in the pockets of his jacket as he looked at Kenta. "Gillmon was one thing but if I'd have known this was going to happen…"

"You're too loyal for your own good, 'Kazu. And loud-mouthed." Kenta was looking at his feet, also ashamed as MarineAngemon tried to comfort him. "I should have done something to stop it, too, but I…I was too afraid…"

"They deserved what they got! What he did was unforgivable!" Ruki spat angrily, fists clenched in the air as she glared at the spot they'd vanished from.

"What you did was unforgivable!" Impmon growled lowly, flames appearing to flicker at his fingertips as Lopmon crouched into a fighting stance next to him. "Takato and Jenrya didn't deserve to have that happen to them, regardless of what happened!"

"You were there, you saw how he created Megidramon with his anger!" Ryo was taking Ruki's side in the fight, as always, Cyberdramon snarling beside his Tamer. "In fact, you were the cause of the situation if I remember correctly!"

"That was low, Akiyama," Hirokazu hissed, noticing Impmon's falter, "even for you!" He lashed out at the other teen, catching Ryo by surprise and causing him to be sprawled on the ground on his backside. Guardromon and Cyberdramon looked ready to go head to head on command. He turned to his best friend. "Come on, Kenta. We should probably tell their parents where they've gone. We can hang around Takato's until he gets back." The bespectacled boy nodded in agreement, giving Ruki and Ryo his own glare as the duo and their Digimon left the school. Hirokazu turned around at the gates, regarding Lopmon and Impmon with an inclined head. "Try not to beat them up too much, you guys. I'm sure they want a piece too."

The two smaller Digimon complied with a nod.

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"You've done well, both of you." Quinglonmon sounded pleased, regarding the two fallen ones. "I'm positive Shuichon-san will be in the best of hands."

"We won't let anything happen to her," Takato promised, looking up at the dragon-like Sovereign. At his side, BlackGillmon nodded in agreement, temporarily distracted by a digital butterfly as it landed on his nose. "Kagemon will rue the day he sought to destroy both the worlds." Jenrya had stayed silent during the whole conversation, BlackTerriermon adding in his ten yen whenever he had the chance.

"That I do not doubt." The mega-level seemed to smile with his eyes. "I wish you both good luck."

End of chapter two