"KOTEMON!" Kouichi yelled after the closed door, in shock. Izumi dropped to her knees and sobbed, hugging the egg to her. Kouji watched the door apprehensively, unsure of how much time to give the other two children. As the pounding became louder, signaling that the door was going to break down, he decisively put his right hand on Kouichi's shoulder, holding his egg with the left.
"We need to get to the transporter!" He enjoined urgently. Kouichi looked at his brother, still bewildered by the turn of events, but nevertheless had enough sense to nod slowly. He kneeled and wrapped his arms around Izumi's shoulders, whispering in her ears. Izumi, tears streaming down her cheeks, nodded and stood up. They ran as fast as they could toward the transporter, which was still buried in a pond 100 meters from the backdoor they'd used to enter the palace, well into the forest. It wasn't until Kouji had reached the forest clearing that he heard Kouichi shouting for him.
"Something's up with Izumi's egg!" Kouichi informed him. Kouji turned to discover Izumi struggling to keep the cracking egg together.
"You two go ahead! I'll take care of him." Izumi told them, but her voice betrayed her nervousness.
"It'll be okay!" Kouichi tried to reassure her.
"Try letting it go." Kouji suggested, walking back in her direction. She looked outraged at the notion, looking for all the world like a mother bear.
"Are you kidding?"
"No! Keep this up and they'll catch us! It's trying to hatch and you're not doing it any favors!"
She couldn't hold on if she'd tried. The egg dissolved and exploded into a microscopic golden supernova. It was then Kouji noticed that his own egg was cracking. A puppy-like digimon emerged from Kouji's egg.
"Kouji, it's been a long time." Plotmon said warmly. Kouji nodded toward her.
"Kouji! Mine's hatching!" Kouichi shouted. A purple flash later, Lopmon, in the flesh, stood facing Kouichi.
"Hello, Kouichi, we meet again." Lopmon smiled brightly. Buzzing was heard behind them.
"Oh no!" Izumi gasped in horror as a Flymon emerged from the trees, aiming straight for her. She put up her arms as though to brace herself and closed her eyes, waiting for certain death.
"IZUMI!" Both boys shouted her name at the same time. She screamed, curling into a ball on the grass.
"AIR SHOT!" Something detonated above her into Flymon's head, who screeched in pain and backed away.
"Patamon!" Kouji said breathlessly, and Kouichi smiled in relief. Patamon grinned back, clearly glad to see them.
"Let me take care of that guy!" He said cheerfully. "AIR SHOT!" Flymon howled wrathfully and attempted to pin down the child level digimon. Patamon ducked clumsily, slamming into the ground in the process.
"Patamon!" Izumi called in panic. As Flymon prepared to impale the tiny digimon, she jumped in front of him, prepared to shield him with her body. In that moment, a tiny glob of light descended between them, blinding the Flymon. The twins' eyes were wide as saucers as they watched the scene unfold before them. The light materialized into a small, silver device with orange rim, buttons and strap. As Izumi marveled at it, Flymon had apparently recovered and prepared to strike once again.
"Izumi! Watch out!" Kouichi yelled to her in warning.
"Leave it to me! Petit Twister!" A mighty tornado from behind them slammed into the Flymon's back, crippling his wings. As the wind died down, a diminutive horned creature with long, green-striped ears landed on the ground, reading to strike again. He looked like Lopmon, Kouji thought. The three teenagers instinctively looked back towards the hill and to their collective astonishment, saw her.
On the top of the hill stood a girl cloaked in ivory, her long, straight red hair flowing free to the middle of her back. Underneath her trench coat, she wore a schoolgirl's navy sailor fuku and a white kerchief around her collar. Slung across her back was a long, black trapezoidal case.
"Who... is that?" Kouji asked suspiciously.
"That's..." Izumi inhaled sharply, clutching the tiny device in her right hand, watching the girl with what seemed like recognition.
"I didn't know there were other kids here." Kouichi said.
The girl ignored them and walked down the hill in a measured pace. She held a silver device identical to Izumi's except in a blue scheme.
"Flymon, Adult, Insect type." She said quietly, reading the holographic display hovering above the screen. "Terriermon, concentrate your attack on the thorax." The white creature known as Terriermon nodded.
"Blazing fire!" He said, shooting green energy blasts from his mouth right at the immobilized insect. However, the majority of his attack slammed into the insect's face, and an eardrum-splitting screech resounded throughout the clearing.
"I said the thorax!" The girl hissed furiously.
"I know. I know." This time his aim was true, and Flymon predictably disintegrated into red data bits. "I was just having a bit of fun!" Terriermon turned to the girl, crossing his arms, and grinned toothily, clearly satisfied with himself.
"This isn't a game!" Came the reprimand.
"Hey hey hey, Ruki, moumentai. He's dead, isn't he?" Terriermon's black, beady eyes were insolent. Ruki did not deign to respond to an obviously rhetorical question. He lost interest in the conversation and surveyed his surroundings. "Oh heeeeelloooooo Lopmon!" He greeted confidently.
"Erm." Lopmon was taken aback by his brashness, blushing dark red.
"Good evening, Kou-i-chi! You've been to Jenrya's house, remember?"
Kouichi nonplussed expression at being addressed morphed into recognition. "I know you! You're the stuffed toy Lee-kun carries on his back!"
"Oy, oy. I'm no toy. You humans..." Terriermon slapped his forehead in frustration.
"Hey , I'm sorry!" Kouichi laughed merrily, patting Terriermon on the head, who promptly grinned again, jumping on Kouichi's shoulders. "I'm just really used to you as a stuffed toy, especially because all the guys stopped talking to Lee-kun when he started bringing you to school."
"Excuse me?" Izumi's voice cut in tentatively. "Your name is Ruki? Makino Ruki?"
"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Ruki asked coolly. Kouji wanted to ask the same thing. And if Izumi knew Makino Ruki, why didn't she tell them?
"My name is Orimoto Izumi and my uncle... My uncle, he's..." Izumi hesitated for some reason, her words froze on her tongue.
"Your uncle is irrelevant. Answer my question." Ruki's tone was hard.
"I... I heard about you in the news. They showed a picture of you." Izumi said quickly. No, they didn't, Kouji recalled. A lie, then. But why? Izumi's behavior was becoming increasingly inexplicable. Ruki nodded curtly.
"And you." She addressed Kouji directly, unflinchingly initiating eye contact. Something about her attitude irked Kouji. Is that what he always projected to other people?
"Not your business." He said equally cuttingly, challenging her with his dark eyes. Ruki shrugged nonchalantly, her violet eyes placid.
"Hey, be nice!" Izumi pleaded with the both of them. Neither acknowledged her.
"Suit yourself." Ruki began to walked away. Her brusque dismissal angered him even more.
"More of them!" Kouichi warned. The tell-tale buzzing flared up again. Ruki turned to look at Izumi.
"You're a tamer, aren't you?"
"Um..."
"Let me see that." Izumi held out the orange device, and Ruki held out her own. "You have a D-Ark. Get ready, tamer." Three more Flymon approached, stingers ready. "Card slash!" Ruki ordered. Izumi looked lost.
"Here, use this! Put it through the slot!" Ruki reached into the leather case clipped on her skirt and pulled out a card. Izumi took the card.
"Card Slash! Super Evolution Plug-In S!" As the card slid across the slot in the D-Ark, a golden haze wrapped around Patamon. The light of evolution.
"Patamon evolve to Angemon!" The haze dissipated and a handsome young man with six feathered wings rose out of the light, golden hair blowing in the wind. He was holding a gleaming staff and his aura pulsated with blinding white energy. Izumi looked starstruck and Kouichi was stupefied. Plotmon and Lopmon regarded Angemon with admiration. Kouji took a step forward to reassure himself it really happened. Help them evolve, Kotemon had said. So that's what he meant.
Angemon dove headfirst toward the Flymon, breaking their formation. With a swing of his staff, Angemon struck one of them and it fell to the side, whining wretchedly.
"You take care of him, Terriermon!" He then went after the other two. Ruki cross her arms.
"Double typhoon to the thorax, Terriermon, Lopmon!" Ruki commanded forcefully.
"Roger, roger! Come on, Lopmon, let's do this." He exhorted.
"Huh?" Lopmon, having recently been born, looked at him in confusion.
"There, there. It's easy. Do what I do." Terriermon began spinning in place. Lopmon tried to imitate him but tripped and fell on his side. Across from them, the Flymon had regained his composure and went on the assault.
"Poison Powder!" Flymon unleashed a purple cloud towards them. It smelled of putrefaction. Terriermon, who was standing in front, began to cough.
"Terriermon!" Lopmon said, horrified. "Terriermon, are you okay?" Still struggling with the poison in his body, Terriermon coughed some more but nodded.
"Moumentai..." Cough. "Let's take down this bully together!" Lopmon nodded vehemently.
"DOUBLE TYPHOON!" Twin twisters shot toward the insect, dispersing the toxic fog and impacted him in the thorax. A critical hit. With a baleful scream, Flymon imploded.
"God Typhoon!" Shouted Angemon, spinning his staff and creating a gale with such force that it dazed one of the Flymon completely. He rounded on the second Flymon.
"Halo Attack!" Angemon drew a halo above its head, rendering it unable to move. Before Kouji's eyes, Flymon was sliced in half and its data rose into the air.
"Heaven's Knuckles!" Angemon punched towards the fallen Flymon and a burst of orange energy shot towards the hapless creature, destroying it. Their troubles were apparently over.
"Okuwamon..." Plotmon whimpered frightfully, as the sky darkened with a diabolical shadow.
"Damn! They just keep coming!" Kouji cursed. Izumi's D-Ark suddenly reacted and a holographic screen beamed from the display. She looked at it curiously and read outloud:
"Okuwamon, Perfect, Insect Type." Angemon flew into action.
"Heaven's Knuck-" But Okuwamon was quicker.
"Scissor Arms Omega!" He extended his scissor-like claws and hit Angemon across the waist with one, catching him in another as though to slice the angel apart. Angemon glowed white, shrunk, and Patamon plummeted out of the sky, unconscious. Izumi gasped, running blindly toward Patamon and his impact knocked her onto the grass. She gathered him into her arms and called his name desperately.
"And now, you're finished." Okuwamon said to the pair, his voice thick with malice.
"You're quite a big talker for a pathetic little bug." Came an arrogant voice from above. "Death Slinger!" An enormous blast of magenta energy caught Okuwamon full in the face, and when it had faded, there was no trace of the giant insect. A fallen angel digimon with baleful dark wings hovered in the sky. Clad all in leather, he wore a half-mask with three slits for his triple green eyes.
"Heh." He chuckled superciliously, blowing a wisp of smoke from the overheated blaster extending out of his arm. Izumi's D-Ark beeped again. Beelzebumon Blast Mode, Ultimate, Virus, Demon Lord. She barely glanced at it.
"Show-off." Ruki looked miffed.
"Jealous, girlie?" He descended and smiled taunting at Ruki, baring his long, sharp canines.
"I told you to stay behind that hill. And don't you ever call me 'girlie' again!"
"And you would've had your royal ass handed to you, your royal highness." Another pet name she loathed. He degenerated into a wickedly mischievous child digimon in the form of an imp.
Cradling the wounded Patamon, Izumi stood up tiredly. "Come on, guys, let's get to the transporter before more of them get here." She suggested, all energy gone from her voice.
Kouji and Kouichi nodded their assent.
Note: This certainly wasn't my favorite chapter to date, and wasn't much fun to write. I tend not to do well with action-packed scenes and was about to put it off, but I'd have to face it eventually. I hope it wasn't too contrived. On the other hand, a lot happened and we start to see some leadership qualities in Izumi, so I hope you liked that part.