==Places unknown

"Where to, kid?" The digimon looked up. She, and the digimon clearly was a

she, was badly injured. Privately, the Trailmon, named Twilight, was surprised

that there wasn't a digicode ring coming out of her by now.

"Help. I need...help" The digimon staggered, nearly falling over.

If the Trailmon could have shrugged, it would have. "Get on." A door in one

of the cars opened, and the digimon boarded, collapsing unconscious on the

floor. "Smarter than the first one." Silently, the black train pulled out,

carrying its lone passenger. "Shadow's gonna be jealous."

==

Digicross Frontier episode 7

'The Frontier beckons'

==

==New Bark Town

It was a calm Saturday morning. Ryoko got up, showered, dressed, and went

downstairs. Just as she entered the kitchen to get herself some breakfast,

Sneasel intercepted her. "Ryoko, you're pining again."

"I am not." Ryoko replied, but without much force.

Kyoko, Gatomon with her, wandered over. "You've been miserable for the last

week now. Is something wrong?"

Ryoko shook her head. "It's nothing, really."

"You're lying." Kyoko replied.

"That's Hitomi's line." her twin answered back.

"Wouldn't be a certain boy, would it?" Ryoko didn't answer, settling for a

harsh glare that Kyoko took with a smile. "I knew it. Come on, Mom's made

pancakes."

Ryoko sighed, and went in. She sat at the table in her usual spot, waiting

for her mother to set breakfast out. Idly, she looked at the TV that Kyoko had

turned on, waiting for the start of the "Angel Defense Force Flash!" animated

series(1).

Kari looked up from the stove. "Must you watch that, Kyoko? I hate how they

drew me for that. I...don't have that body type."

"Well, you shouldn't have let Davis handle the licensing deal, should you?"

Kyoko replied. "Anyway, they're debuting that new Magnet Line that dad helped

do the programming for, and I want to see it."

Izzy walked in, kissed Kari, and sat at the table. "I'd like to see it too."

he said. "The Magnet Train, that is." he quickly added, feeling Kari's glare

on his back. "Ryoko, are you alright?" he asked, noticing that Ryoko wasn't

really paying attention.

"Fine." Izzy and Kari shared a look. "I just-huh?" Ryoko looked down at her

belt. Her digivice was silently flashing. Sneasel saw it too, and had tensed

up, expecting trouble.

Kyoko turned up the TV volume a bit, so the whole family could hear. "-and

we'd just like to say that this new Magnet system uses an improved power

transfer process that is markedly safer and more efficient than the prior

version, and does not require an external power plant to power the whole line.

And the inaugural train should be...wait, I'm told that there's a problem with

the line, and the." the sound cut as there was a flash from the far end of the

station, as a wall of energy appeared. "There's some sort of field of energy,

maybe a random digital portal forming here at the station, we're just being

told to evacuate and HOLY SMOKE!" There was a loud shriek as a large black

train charged through the portal, came to a stop, and promptly locked itself

down.

Ryoko stood up, stunned. "A Trailmon!" She left the kitchen, running for the

nearest computer.

"Ryoko, no!" Kari yelled, going after her.

==Goldenrod City

"Please, let me through!" Hiroki asked the guard at the station.

"Sorry, kid, no one gets through unless they're on the staff. We've shut the

whole place down until we know exactly what that thing is."

"It's a digimon named Trailmon." Hiroki answered patiently. "Please, there

might be people I know on it."

The guard sighed. "Look, I don't care if President Crossman is on that thing,

you're not getting through. So take tiny here," he indicated Armadillomon,

"and back off." Armadillomon bristled, but Hiroki restrained his partner

digimon. There was more footsteps approaching, causing the guard to look up.

"Great, another one. Look, I'll tell you the same thing I told this tyke here,

no one except station personnel can come through."

"It's alright." A voice behind her said. "She's with me." Another girl, this

one identical to the first girl, led two adults with her.

"Look, I...Mr. Kamiya! I'm sorry, I had no idea-"

Standing beside Izzy, Kari fixed the guard with a cold look. "I'll be sure I

tell your superior that, along with all the nice things you said to my daughter

and her friend." Without another word, Kari led the rest of the digidestined

through.

"You saw the news too?" Ryoko asked Hiroki.

Hiroki nodded. "Yeah. Maybe this means that they've saved the digital world

there."

Ryoko looked at the train as they approached, not so sure. "All the windows

look sealed. I'll see if I can talk to the engine." Ryoko ran up to the

engine. She noticed that it had no mouth, just a small red light on the front.

"Hey, anyone home in there?"

"About time you got here." the Trailmon replied. "Getting here without being

noticed wasn't easy." The doors opened. Ryoko ran back, looking in each of

the passenger cars. About halfway down, she stopped. "Hiroki!" she called.

Hiroki, Kari, and Izzy came over.

Inside the car was a female digimon. Humanoid, with birdlike wings on her

back, with a smaller set of wings coming out of her head, seeming to have been

formed from her hair. She had three sharp talons for fingers, birdlike claws

for feet. Hiroki gasped, pointing to the small symbol on the back of one of

the digimon's hands. "That's Izumi's symbol!"

The digimon came to, slowly. "Ryoko...Hiroki...I made it..." she turned

black, a ring of digicode appearing around her. When it faded, Oritomo Izumi

was left, still wounded, and unconscious again.

Izzy leaned out of the door. "We need a medic!" he yelled.

==New Bark Town Hospital

Izumi came to again, wondering if the last few weeks of her life had been some

sort of long, convoluted dream. Then she felt a familiar object in her hand.

"My digivice. So I wasn't dreaming. Where am I? I-" she saw two other

children in the room, both seated by her bed. "Ryoko! Hiroki!"

"Don't forget us!" Armadillomon called from beside Hiroki's chair. Sneasel

nodded too, not saying anything.

"I made it. I...I..." Tears started falling. "Ryoko...Hiroki, they're all

gone!"

"It was just after we had made it to the Dark Continent." Izumi said, after

Ryoko had helped calm Izumi down. "Bokomon said it was a place where

Cherubimon ruled, but Takuya said we had to go in anyway..."

==Only days ago, Frontier digital world

Izumi came to in a small room. As she did, she spotted Bokomon, Neemon,

Patamon, Junpei, and Tomoki there with her. "What happened?"

"Duskmon happened. Just after he hit Garmmon, Duskmon let off this field of

darkness." Junpei replied. "I nearly passed out, but I managed to grab you and

Tomoki and drag you here. Bokomon, Neemon, and Patamon were far enough away

that they weren't affected by the attack."

"What about Takuya and Kouji?"

Tomoki shook his head. "We don't know. We took a look around, but we

couldn't find either of them. Or Duskmon, either." Tomoki started to shake,

trying not to cry. "They're...they're gone!"

"I don't believe that!" Junpei replied hotly. "Those two are too stubborn to

die like that. We probably got separated when that blackout hit."

Izumi got up. "We should be looking for them."

"I'd love to, but right now, Mercuremon, Petaldramon, and Ranamon are all out

there, ready to strike." Junpei replied.

"Are we ever!" a voice cried as a wall caved in. Ranamon strode through,

Petaldramon's giant head poking through the hole she left. "Well, well, two

down, three to go. And you're just the B-team, right?"

"Spirit Evolution...Blizzarmon!" Tomoki evolved to his Beast Form, charging

at Ranamon madly. "Where's Takuya!" he screamed, axes descending on Ranamon.

The attack was blocked by Mercuremon, who appeared in a flash of light. "That

is no way to treat a lady, methinks. Or Ranamon, for that matter." Mercuremon

said, ignoring Ranamon's glare. "Offset Reflector!" Mercuremon sent the force

of Blizzarmon's attack back at Blizzarmon, sending the hybrid flying.

"Tomoki!" Junpei yelled, running over.

"No!" Blizzarmon grunted. "Run! You have to get out of here! I'll hold them

as long as I can. Now get going!"

"We're not leaving you!" Izumi shouted. "Spirit-"

"RUN!" Blizzarmon screamed again, slamming one of his axes into the ground,

sending a piece of concrete flying at Mercuremon. "I said RUN! NOW!"

Junpei looked at the beast hybrid, nodded, and grabbed Izumi's shoulder.

"Izumi, come on!"

"But-" Izumi's protest was cut off by Blizzarmon's attack bringing part of

the ceiling down on himself, Mercuremon, and Ranamon. She led Bokomon and

Neemon out of the house. "Tomoki..."

The group got about a block away from the house before spotting Petaldramon.

Atop him was a dark figure. "Duskmon." Junpei growled. "Down here!" Junpei

kicked a manhole cover open, and led everyone else down into the sewers.

"I don't think they saw us." Bokomon said, looking up at the open hole. "But

we have to get out of here."

"How can we leave?" Junpei asked.

"You saw how powerful Duskmon was." Bokomon replied. "If we're to have any

hope of saving the other legendary warriors, then we will need to either

increase your powers, or to get help from the other digimon we've met along the

way."

"You're right." Izumi said quietly. "But how? By the time we get back, it'll

be..."

"Not for you." Junpei cut in. "You're faster than any of us. You can get

there and back here in no time."

Izumi stepped back, not liking where Junpei was going. "No, I'm not leaving

you here!"

"There's no other choice!" Junpei replied. "I'll draw Petaldramon and Duskmon

off, you get out of here, and take Bokomon and Neemon with you."

"Junpei..." Bokomon whispered.

"No!" Izumi yelled.

"There's no choice, I'd only slow you down! Bokomon and Neemon know where to

find other digimon to help, take them with you!"

Izumi said nothing for a minute. "If this is some sort of stupid stunt to

impress me..." she was silent again for a few seconds. "It worked."

Junpei grinned. "About time. How about a kiss for good luck."

"I'll consider it if you survive." Izumi replied, voice cracking. Junpei

nodded, climbing up the ladder. He took one last look at her, the left the

sewers.

Izumi, Bokomon, and Neemon ran through the sewers for what felt like hours.

"We're lost." she said finally.

"Perhaps I can help." a digimon said, walking up to the group. It was

humanoid, with blue and white skin, and red and brown pieces of armour on it.

"Fladramon!" Bokomon nearly shouted. "How did you get here?"

"A few digimon escaped Cherubimon's attacks. I can get you out of here, but

you'll have to hurry. I think some of the evil hybrids are in the tunnel."

Izumi made her decision. "Then take Bokomon and Neemon."

"Huh?" Neemon asked. "Aren't you coming with us?" As he spoke, the group

heard an explosion from one of the tunnels.

Izumi shook her head. "I have to find the others. Please, go, and get help."

As she spoke, she took out her digivice. "Spirit evolution...Shutumon!"

"Be careful!" Neemon yelled as Shutumon flew away.

Junpei, Tomoki, Kouji, Takuya, she thought to herself. I'm coming, one way or

the other. As she flew down the corridor, she picked out some digimon charging

her. She didn't recognize the names, using her Gilgamesh Slicer to cut a path

through them. A blast of air cleared the rest away. Shutumon landed, looking

around. In the distance, she heard footsteps. She turned around, and saw a

shadow coming out of the darkness, two wavy red blades extending from his arms.

"It ends here. Geist Abend!"

"Wind of Pain!"

==

Izumi leaned back in her bed, drained from recounting the tale. "The next

thing I knew, I was at a Trailmon station. All alone..." Izumi started crying

again, Ryoko leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Izumi. Tomoki looked

at Sneasel and Armadillomon, who both nodded.

Outside, Kari watched at Tomoki and Ryoko heard the story Izumi told.

"They're going back." she whispered. "They're going back, and we can't stop

them."

Izzy placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kari-"

"I saw the look on Ryoko's face. It was the same look you had when we went to

face the Dark Masters, after we beat Venom Myotismon. The same look we all

had..."

==

Noriko looked in Hiroki's room, and found her son sitting on his bed. It was

Sunday morning, and Noriko had just received a call from Ryoko that Izumi had

been let out of the hospital. "Hiroki? Is everything alright?"

Hiroki nodded. "I'm just worried about Tomoki."

Noriko narrowed her eyes. Hiroki had been unusually quiet through breakfast,

even for him. "You want to go looking for him." It was more of a statement

than a question.

"Yes." Hiroki admitted. "I think Ryoko wants to go too. But I don't know if

I should."

Noriko smiled. "Yes you do. You just don't know how to ask us, right?"

Hiroki's head sank. "Hiroki, Izumi and her friends were beaten by this thing.

If you go back, you'll be in the same danger they were. And I don't think even

Ankylomon would be strong enough." As she spoke, Noriko watched her son's

face. In his eyes, she could pick out the determined glint that was starting

to appear. "But if you do want to go, we won't stop you."

"M-Mom?"

"It's something that happens to digidestined, regardless of how old they are.

Or what their parents might think. Your father went to get some supplies for

you to take with you."

Hiroki's voice cracked, then went back to normal. "I won't go unless Ryoko

goes too, I promise."

Noriko nodded. "I think you should make a phone call before you go, Hiroki."

Hiroki was confused for a second, then realized what his mother was talking

about. Face reddening a bit, he nodded.

==

"I won't let you go, that's final!" Kari yelled.

"You mean we're just going to let Izumi go back there alone? Are you nuts?"

Ryoko shouted back.

"That's not what I'm saying! But I'm not letting you go back there!"

"Fine!" Ryoko yelled, storming off to her room. She slammed the door and sat

down on her bed, furious.

"That went well." Sneasel observed. No answer. "You know she's only worried

that-"

"She doesn't know what I'm getting into!" Ryoko interrupted.

"Actually, she does." Sneasel answered. "She's fought evil digimon before, so

she probably has a clearer idea of what you're asking to get into than you do."

"I don't care!" Ryoko replied. "I have to know what happened to them."

"By 'them', do you mean Kouji?"

"All of them. Yes, I'm worried about Kouji, but I'm worried about Junpei,

Takuya, and Tomoki. Not to mention Bokomon and Neemon. I just wanted..."

"To say goodbye?" Sneasel asked, indicating her window. "You've shimmied down

that tree several times before, grounded or not. When have you ever cared

about what other people said, when you thought you were doing the right thing?"

Ryoko stared at the tree. "No. If I'm going, it's going to be through the

front door. Besides, if I snuck out, Mom'd ground me and cut that tree down

when I got back."

"I'm glad you're thinking straight." Izzy said, opening her door and entering

her room. "Kari's a terror when it comes to discipline."

"We know, your room is next to ours." Sneasel joked.

"You've been talking to Tentomon again, haven't you? Ryoko, if you want to

go, we...we won't stop you." Izzy smiled at his daughter, sadly. "When have

we ever been able to? Besides, we can hardly punish you for doing the same

thing we did when we were your age."

==

"Come on!" Izumi yelled at the Trailmon. "Let me in, I have to get back."

"Not yet, kid. You asked for help, I brought you here."

"Well, you can bring me back! I-"

"Did you really plan on leaving without us?" Ryoko asked, standing at one end

of the platform. Beside her, Sneasel, Hiroki, and Armadillomon stood there.

Behind them were their parents and their partner digimon. Kyoko was there too,

Gatomon standing back with the older digimon. Izumi noticed that Ryoko and

Hiroki had backpacks on, and were dressed for travelling.

"It will be easier to find everyone if you have a few extra sets of eyes."

Hiroki added.

"No." Izumi replied. "Duskmon beat us with barely any effort. You won't

stand a chance."

"Our strength is greater than you might expect." Sneasel replied. "Besides,

if something gets in our way, we can always have Ankylomon knock it over. And

we can keep in touch with everyone here. Izzy can help us find the other

digidestined with the same program we used to track down Hitomi."

Izzy nodded. "I can use the data I got when I looked at your digivices the

last time you were here. It should be easier to find them; I only have one

world to search through, and those D-Scanners of yours are pretty distinctive."

"But what about Hitomi?" Izumi asked.

"We're not giving up on her." Kari answered. "But we should be able to bring

her back and find your friends at the same time." She smiled a bit, adding

"And, if things get really bad, we can open a portal and come charging through."

"Why not come now?" Izumi asked.

"Because," Mewtwo said, appearing behind Izumi, "if several mega-level digimon

appeared in your world, Cherubimon may act before you have found the other

children there. It would be more dangerous to have Imperialdramon randomly

crashing around without knowing where the others are, or what state they are

in."

Izumi stared at the pokemon. "M...Mewtwo? How..."

"Looks like you're famous." Cody said to Mewtwo.

"Indeed." Mewtwo replied, deadpan. "Or infamous, judging from her reaction.

The other digidestined cannot go with you, but the guardians can give Ryoko and

Hiroki something else that might help. Take out your digivices, please."

Ryoko and Hiroki did so, and Mewtwo started concentrating. "There are still

some digieggs that have not been claimed. It would be best for you to take

them with you." As he spoke, two points of light appeared, moving towards the

digivices. They merged, and the digivices glowed, changing their shapes.

"My digivice..." Ryoko whispered. The D-3 changed into a small teardrop

shaped device, a bright circular screen at the rounded end, some small buttons

along the narrow end, and a small antenna beside the screen. Two metallic

strips extended from the sides and curved inwards. To Ryoko's mind, it looked

a bit like a novelty watch. Experimentally, she placed it on her wrist, and

felt the two metallic strips lock down, clamping the digivice firmly to her

wrist. She noted that Hiroki's digivice looked like hers now, and that he had

also clamped his onto his wrist.

"Fascinating." Izzy muttered, looking over Ryoko's digivice. On the screen, a

small symbol appeared, followed by a second symbol.

"Light...and friendship." Ryoko said, recognizing them.

"Kindness and love." Hiroki said, looking at his digivice.

"Love for who, I wonder?" Kyoko whispered, getting an elbow from her mother.

Mewtwo nodded. "That is all we can do. To give your partners more power may

invite unwanted attention by Cherubimon, or even greater powers that we do not

know about. Though those digieggs do have abilities that were not present when

your parents used them. I cannot say what, you must find out what those

abilities are on your own."

"Then we're ready to go." Ryoko said. "Mom, I-"

"It's alright. Maybe I'm just a jealous old woman, wishing she were her

daughter's age again. You just be careful, alright?"

"I'll make sure they make it home." Izumi said.

"Thank you." Cody said, hand on Hiroki's head. "I'll tell the school you went

on a pokemon journey a bit early. Though I don't relish telling Mr. Anderson

this."

"You think you've got it bad?" Kari said to Cody. "I have to tell D'Andrea,

and he's a nightmare."

"Save the world, or cut school. Tough choice." Armadillomon muttered.

"At least they're being quasi-legal about it." Sneasel answered. Even if

Hiroki's still 9."

"Only for another month and a half." Hiroki said.

"The window's closing." the Trailmon rumbled. "If you're leaving, it'd better

be now."

Ryoko and Hiroki nodded. "Goodbye! We'll be back soon!"

"Here." Noriko said, running over to Izumi, handing her a backpack. "It's got

a few things you might need. First aid kit, towel, blanket, pokegear and a

charger, a water filter and water bottle, and a few other things. I'd have

gotten you a spare change of clothes, but there wasn't time."

"I probably would have worn something different if I had known what I was

getting into." Izumi answered, shouldering the pack. "Thank you."

"All aboard!" Trailmon yelled, and the three children and two monsters boarded.

"Bye mom! Bye dad!" Hiroki yelled. "I'll call as soon as we get there!"

Ryoko waved, but didn't say anything.

"Make sure you stay safe!" Kyoko called. "I'll know if you do something

stupid!" The train started to pull out. "And call if you need help! We'll be

waiting if you need us!"

"Heads in, everyone!" Twilight roared. "I'm opening the portal now!" There

was a bright surge of energy, and the train vanished.

==

(1) 'Angel Defense Force' is an animated series based loosely on the

adventures of the original digidestined, particularly Kari, Kyle, and TK.

'Angel Defense Force Flash' is an animated series based loosely (some would say

'Gainaxed') on the events of the earlier 'Angel Defense Force' series.

==

Next Episode

Having decided to go with Izumi, Ryoko and Hiroki are brought to Soyokaze

village, the place where Izumi found her first Spirit. While there, they learn

that, since her departure, Grottomon has reappeared, and has been destroying

this area of the digital world. But before they can search for the other

digidestined or battle Grottomon, they must first deal with an attack by the

evil Doumon. Will the digidestined defeat this foe, and what new digivolutions

will Sneasel and Armadillomon undergo? Next time, on Digicross Frontier,

episode 8

'Demon Hunter Raidramon'

"Are you sure about this?" Hiroki asked.

Kotemon nodded. "I am. Since this digivice appeared, I have felt that I must

leave for a while. Perhaps I have a partner waiting for me somewhere." As he

spoke, he fingered the small silvery square hanging around his neck.

Izzy nodded. "Well, if you're sure, we can't stop you. Are you sure you

don't want to go to the Real World? It's more likely your partner is waiting

there."

Kotemon shook his head. "No. I am sure that my path lies this way. Hiroki,

I am sure we will see each other again."

"Alright." Hiroki knelt down, and hugged Kotemon tightly. "Be careful out

there."

Digicross Tamers Extra

'Kotemon versus Houndour!'

It had been two days since Kotemon had left his home. Since then, he had made

his way from New Bark Town, where he had left, all the way down to Azalea town,

cutting through the Ruins of Alph, where Hitomi had vanished. As he traveled,

he met several pokemon along the way.

"So, the Unown are still agitated over their missing one. I cannot blame

them. At least we know where it is now." He was still troubled over what Izzy

had said about something being 'wrong' with the digital world there, though he

had not been able to find out any more. "Now if only I could find out where I

am going..."

A series of shouts got Kotemon's attention. Curious, he ran down a path. He

poked his head through to find two humans dressed in red hoods attacking what

looked like a Houndour. "Hand it over, freak, and we'll let you go!" a female

voice commanded.

"Bite me!" the Houndour responded. A talking Houndour, Kotemon observed

mentally. But who are those two? And what's that with it? Kotemon realized

it was an egg.

"Actually, we prefer to let our pokemon do the biting." a male voice answered.

"Feraligatr, chow time!" A large blue pokemon appeared, sharp teeth protruding

from its elongated jaws. It spent a second flexing its muscles, then got ready

to attack. "Feraligatr's gonna chew you up and spit you out!"

The female trainer nodded. "Especially when Feraligatr's backed up by

Magcargo!" A red pokemon was released, looking like a giant snail formed out

of molten lava. The ground crackled and turned black as the pokemon scorched

everything it touched. "Now hand over the egg."

"Stand away, foul ones!" Kotemon shouted, brandishing his shinai and stepping

out of the undergrowth.

"I can handle them myself." Houndour barked. She faced the two pokemon

attacking her, and launched an Ember attack. Feraligatr intercepted the

attack, flinching but not receiving any major damage. Magcargo circled around,

going for Kotemon.

"I don't have time for this." Kotemon snarled, taking up an attack stance as

Magcargo charged. "Hot Head!" The shinai glowed brightly, and slammed into

Magcargo's head. The pokemon dipped its head, but seemed unfazed.

"Nice try." the female trainer taunted. "Magcargo's a rock and fire type

pokemon; he can take any beating you can dish out."

"Rrr...who are you?" Kotemon demanded. The two humans snickered, then

started...singing?

"Prepare for trouble

And make it double!

To crush your dreams and turn them to ashes;

Burning with a battle spirit hotter than lava;

Announcing to the world our fiery skill;

And our strength that'd make even Entei quiver!

Bruce!

Leigh!

Team Magma, devastate the world with your volcanic strike!

Give up now, 'cause you'll surely lose the fight!"

A pokemon appeared, taking up a fighting stance in front of the two Team Magma

members. "Hitmonchan!"

Kotemon stepped back. "Weren't you the ones that tried to grab that Serebii

in New Bark Town?"

"That was Team Aqua, you idiot!" Leigh yelled. "Those morons couldn't catch a

cold! We, on the other hand, are much more skilled. Magcargo, forget that

wannabe samurai and get that egg! Hitmonchan, attack Kotemon!"

Kotemon snarled, wishing he could digivolve to Dino Humon. He'd tried a few

times since he had returned home, but found he couldn't. Izzy had theorized

that something about the digital world he was in had enabled him to digivolve

without a partner. Ah well, he thought to himself.

Houndour backed off, keeping herself between the egg and the two attacking

pokemon. "Alright, who's first?" she asked, daring one of the two to make an

attack. Snarling, Feraligatr lunged ahead, jaws opened.

Houndour darted around, and sunk her teeth into Feraligatr's tail. The

pokemon howled, waving its tail around, trying to dislodge Houndour. Magcargo

saw this, swiveled around, and tried to attack Houndour with red hot rocks it

picked up with its mouth.

"Magcargo!" Bruce yelled. "Forget the dog, get the egg!"

"You fool!" Kotemon yelled, ducking a swing from Hitmonchan. "If Magcargo

touches that egg, it'll kill whatever's inside!"

"Worry about yourself! Hitmonchan, kick it!" Hitmonchan ducked, and kicked

Kotemon in the gut. "We trained out Hitmonchan to use its feet as well as its

hands in a fight! What do you say to that?"

"I...I'd say that I evolved from a fighting type pokemon too! Thunder Kote!"

Kotemon's electric fist smashed into Hitmonchan, knocking it back and dazing

it. It quickly fell before Kotemon's shinai.

"Leigh, I don't think that digimon has a partner human! If we can bring it

back, Boss Cassidy will pay us big!" Bruce whispered.

Leigh nodded, and released another pokemon. "Scizor, take that digimon apart!

Quick attack!" Shouting a challenge, Scizor charged at Kotemon.

Sloppy, Kotemon thought to himself. The Scizor I know would never have left

himself open on the left like that. "Hot Head!" Kotemon's sword, wrapped in

flames, lashed out just as Scizor came within striking range.

What happened next took place within a few fractions of a second. Bruce and

Leigh blinked, and then saw Scizor kneeling down, a few feet past Kotemon, who

was also kneeling, sword still held out. One of Kotemon's sleeves was ripped

open, dancing gently in the breeze. Kotemon nodded once, and then Scizor

collapsed, unconscious.

"That must have been a flame attack!" Leigh growled, recalling the fallen bug

pokemon.

"Want to find out for yourself?" Kotemon challenged the two humans. "I

suggest you leave now."

"I SAID I don't need your help!" Houndour barked, grabbing Feraligatr's tail

and biting down. The water pokemon howled in pain, trying to get his tail out

of Houndour's bite. Houndour released the tail, bowed her head, and slammed

into Feraligatr's back, knocking the pokemon over. "Keep away from that egg!"

she yelled, launching a wave of smoke at Magcargo. The fire pokemon coughed as

it tried to breathe the fouled air. Houndour started concentrating, and a

black ball of energy formed in front of her.

Shadow Ball, Kotemon realized. But how did she learn a Ghost-type attack

without a trainer?

Howling, Houndour launched the attack, hitting Magcargo and knocking it out.

"Magcargo, return!" Leigh yelled, recalling her pokemon. "You haven't seen the

last of us!" she yelled as they escaped. Kotemon was about to pursue when he

saw Houndour kneel over and collapse.

Kotemon ran over to check on Houndour. Checking, he found that she was only

unconscious. It was then he noticed that the digivice around his neck was

glowing slightly. Looking closer, he found a thin collar around her neck, with

a similar digivice attached to it! And, he noticed that the egg was pulsing

slightly as well!

"Curious."

==That night

Houndour came to, the smell of slightly overcooked fish filling her nostrils.

"Wha...you!"

Kotemon, tending a small fire, nodded. "That last attack must have taken a

lot out of you. I decided to stay and offer my assistance."

"Well, aren't you a (censored) knight in (really censored) shining armour."

Kotemon smirked. "You're welcome. I assume the egg is why they were after

you?" Kotemon nodded to the egg, bundled up and lying beside Houndour.

"Yeah." Houndour admitted. "Don't know why, though. After I grabbed it,

those two humans were chasing me."

"Where did you find it?"

"Aren't we nosy?" Houndour replied sharply. Kotemon shrugged. Sighing, she

went on. "Near Mount Silver, by Angel Lake."

"That's where Kyle, Kari, and TK fought Valmarmon." Kotemon said, more to

himself.

Houndour blinked. "That whole 'Angel Defense Force' thing? I thought they

just made that up for the TV show."

"No, it was quite real. Where's the rest of your pack?"

"Kicked me out. Seems there isn't a big need for Houndour that can talk

human. Plus this thing around my neck...is a lot like yours..." she trailed

off, noticing the digivice around Kotemon's neck.

"It is a digivice. That means you must have a human partner somewhere."

"Yeah RIGHT!" Houndour suddenly shouted, repulsed by the idea. "I've been on

my own for the last two years and I've made out just fine. I am NOT getting

hooked up to some cutesy toddler with a princess fixation (like, foreshadow

much? -ed)! I walk alone!"

"Except for the digiegg." Kotemon replied.

"Except for...DIGIEGG?" Houndour glanced between Kotemon and the egg she had

been guarding for the last few weeks.

"It was glowing when I got near it, in time with my digivice."

"Yeah, mine too, but I thought all eggs did that...Wait, aren't digieggs

supposed to be in the Digital World?"

"Looks like someone forgot to tell this little one."

"You gotta be wrong! Digieggs don't just show up here."

"Yet this one is here. Why don't we go to a pokemon center? The truth can be

verified with the equipment there."

"Forget it." Houndour snarled. "No way I'm letting some human get his hands

on this. Do you have any idea how much a trainer would pay to get an unlinked

digimon egg? Until this thing hatches, no one gets near this egg."

"Then what about New Bark Town?" Kotemon suggested. "I can lead you back

there, and we can have Izzy give it a once over. And with so many digidestined

there, there'd be no way it could be stolen."

"Yeah right. And I suppose your name's Tentomon? Forget it. Thanks for

helping against those crooks, but I'm not going anywhere."

Kotemon resisted the urge to sigh. "I'm serious! If this is a digiegg, then

the New Bark Town labs are the best place to take it! We can take it back to

the digital world and it can hatch normally there." Houndour eyed Kotemon,

still not convinced. "And that digivice means you might have a partner waiting

for you somewhere. Maybe we can find out more about it!"

"I'll sleep on it." Houndour allowed, lying down.

==Next Day

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." Houndour complained.

"Relax, I know a few back trails so we won't be followed." Kotemon replied.

"I'm sure we won't see that Team Magma again."

"Guess again!" Team Magma called, crashing through the trees in a large all-

terrain vehicle.

"Nice going, nature boy." Houndour grumbled. She placed the egg on the ground

and moved in front of it, ready to fight. Beside her, Kotemon drew his shinai,

ready to strike.

"Just try it!" Leigh yelled. "This mech's been designed for capturing

Champion level digimon like Greymon! There's no way a couple of runts could

possibly wreck it!"

"Hot Head!" Kotemon shouted, swinging his shinai at the mech. However, the

attack was stopped just short of its target by a powerful force field.

"How...?"

"Boss Cassidy recovered this from some old plans used by Doctor Shiranui!"

Bruce answered. "It helped to catch a Raikou and it can certainly handle the

likes of you! Crusher arms, GO!" Two cable-arms shot out, aimed at the two

monsters.

The digivice around Kotemon's neck flared. "Kotemon, digivolve to...Dino

Humon!" The champion digimon looked at himself. "I did it!"

==Tamers Tokyo

Janyu Wong looked around, feeling a sudden shiver. "What's wrong, dad?"

Henry, his son, asked.

Janyu glanced at his son. "Nothing. Just...I felt like someone dropped an

ice cube down the back of my shirt."

"Well, Terriermon's with Suzie, so it couldn't have been him."

==Pokemon world

"These things can do THAT?" Houndour asked, startled by Kotemon's evolution.

"That'd have been handy."

"That's just the beginning!" growled Dino Humon. "MAGNUM BLADE!" He yelled,

pulling

out his oversized sword and striking the mecha. The forcefield flared to life,

blocking the attack, though Dino Humon did see the controls smoking a bit.

"One more shot should do it!"

"Well, you won't get it." Bruce snarled, releasing his pokemon. "Hitmonchan,

Magcargo, go!"

"Shadow ball!" Houndour called, firing an attack at the two pokemon. Magcargo

fell to the attack, but Hitmonchan dodged around and hammered Houndour with a

series of punches. Dino Humon turned to help, but was quickly wrapped up by a

series of tentacles from the mech.

"That was a LOT easier!" Leigh crowed. "We should just use the mech next

time! Think we can convince mom to let us use it full time?"

"You know what the boss said about overusing the mecha, sis!" Bruce replied.

Hitmonchan, finish it!"

"Poison Ivy!" Hitmonchan found himself bound up by vines.

"A Palmon?" Dino Humon looked up. "Yamato! Sakura!"

The two children looked up. "We were just on our way to visit Uncle Izzy when

we saw all this happening!" Sakura replied. "And you know what we do to people

who try to rough up our friends, right Yamato?"

"Yeah..." Yamato replied, a bit less enthusiastically.

"Oh, come on!" Sakura told her brother. "Beating these thugs shouldn't be a

problem for us!"

"Sakura." an older voice said warningly. "You know we don't like you going

off alone and fighting evil. Well, your mom doesn't, anyway."

"And neither do you, Tai." Tai and Sora Takenouchi stepped into view of the

others, another child with them.

"Tai, Sora. It has been a while. How is Koushiro?"

"Doing fine." Tai replied. "I see Hiroki wasn't kidding when he said you'd

changed. You're at the champion level now?"

"Just digivolved." Dino Humon replied. "Not too sure how it happened though."

"Do you MIND?" Leigh asked, getting annoyed at being ignored. Tai and Sora

said nothing, but just pointed to an area just behind Team Magma. Obligingly,

the two criminals looked behind them.

Greymon and Birdramon stood there, Greymon flexing his arms. "Now, what was

that about catching a Greymon?" he asked.

==

While the police hauled away the two Team Magma criminals (again.), Izzy

checked over the digiegg that Houndour had with her. Kyoko and Sakura were

chatting away, getting caught up on all the latest gossip, while Kari told

Kotemon about Hiroki's departure.

"It's too bad." Kotemon said after Kari had finished. "I would have liked to

have seen him again."

"You know," Kari said thoughtfully, "your digivolution problem sounds a lot

like one Leomon had when we were fighting the Dark Masters; he could digivolve

to Saber Leomon, but he had trouble controlling it. I remember he was talking

about it with Izzy the last time they were here."

"Hey, I heard that you got the video link working!" Tai called over. "How's

Hitomi doing?"

"Great." Izzy answered, still studying the egg. "She's staying with a

teacher, and she's found other digidestined there, as well. Plus, Eevee

managed to digivolve to Jolteon a short while ago."

"I heard!" Sora said. "Kyle and June must be so relieved."

"They are." Kari answered. "And Tai? One of the kids Hitomi met is a big

Agumon fan."

"I guess Agumon and I will have to meet him." Tai answered.

==

"And that's everything." Houndour finished. She'd been a bit hesitant to talk

to Yamato when he had approached the pokemon, but found himself opening up. "I

think I'll stay here until they're finished analyzing that digiegg."

"It's a bit odd finding a digiegg here." Yamato agreed. "Maybe a digimon left

it here? I think mom said that's how Diaboromon made it here."

"Don't remind me." Biyomon shuddered, remembering the battle. "I'm sure

they'll let you stay here. Just don't dig up Kari's flower garden."

"Yeah." Palmon agreed. "It's a great place to rest up after a long hike."

"We know, we keep finding your footprints all over the place." Biyomon replied.

"Sorry." Yamato mumbled.

"It's not your fault." Palmon said. "Kari just has nice soil, that's all."

"Well, I hope we'll see you again." Yamato said, getting up. "Mom and Dad are

visiting the Evanicks across town while they're here, then we'll be coming back

here for dinner."

"Tobias will be happy." Biyomon snickered.

"I'll be around." Houndour replied. "The humans seem nice here, and the

pokemon here don't seem to mind freaks like me."

"Freak?" Yamato asked, confused.

"Yeah. You know, the whole talking pokemon thing?"

"What about it?" Yamato asked.

==Next day

"Well, this is a fascinating egg. It looks like it's got a digital pokemon

inside. I haven't seen one of those in...ages."

"A what?" Houndour asked.

"It will probably hatch into a pokemon, but it can digivolve like a digimon."

Kotemon explained. "But you don't typically see eggs like this left around.

Do you know what type it is?"

"I think it's a grass type, but it's not a Bulbasaur. Looks like another

mystery." Izzy commented. "So, off on your journey again?" he asked Kotemon.

"No, I don't think so." Kotemon said, fingering the digivice around his neck.

"I think...I think my quest would be best served now if I just waited here.

Perhaps my only goal was to bring Houndour and the egg here."

"Stranger things have happened." Izzy replied. "Houndour, you're welcome to

stay as long as you like."

"Sure. Just don't expect me to play fetch."

==End.