DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

Chapter Six: Discipline

Thursday 23rd September - 11:35am

Outside Guilmon's Den, Kirkfield Park

"So, what do you think?" Takato asked eagerly as Henry picked up the notepad labelled 'Growlmon'.

"Wow, Takato…these are pretty good!" the blue-haired boy exclaimed as he looked over the hand-drawn pictures of Guilmon's Champion form.

Considering they had been drawn by a twelve-year-old, the pictures were excellent. The first two sheets showed multiple angles of a black-striped red dinosaur with a white mane about the same size as the crudely-drawn house included for reference. The third sheet was a list of the Digimon's statistics and attacks with a brief description of each ability.

"Heh, thanks," the goggle-wearing Tamer grinned, taking back the notepad.

"So, when are you gonna scan the pictures?"

"I was thinking of doing it now, actually. I just wanted to get somebody to look over the stats to check if I'd missed anything."

"Well, I didn't notice anything missing, but you might want to get Rika to take a look at it. She knows the card game better than either of us."

Takato shrugged and looked a little sheepish. "I didn't want to bother her with this. Besides, her advice would be a little biased - you know how she prefers agility over toughness."

"Yeah, you have a point," Henry chuckled. "By the time she was done with Growlmon, she'd have him leaping around like a chipmunk on caffeine."

The brown-haired boy laughed at the mental image conjured by his friend's joke. "I'd pay good money to see that! Ah, what the hell! I'll scan the drawings now, what harm can it do? Hey, Guilmon!"

The childlike Digimon poked his head out of some nearby bushes and shushed his Tamer. "Shh, Takatomon. I'm playing Hide and Seek with Terriermon, and I'm it!"

"Then why are you hiding?" Henry asked with a confused frown.

"Silly Henry! Why do you think it's called Hide and Seek?" the red dinosaur giggled playfully.

"Anyway…can you come over here for a minute, boy? I want to try scanning in your Champion form."

"Yay!" Guilmon yelped and ran to his Tamer's side.

"Okay, let's do this…" Takato mumbled, jamming his notebook into the card reader slot on his D-Arc.

The red and white device beeped softly, then began to somehow pull the pages through the card slot one at a time. When the last page had been scanned, the device beeped again and the words "DIGIVOLUTION TREE UPDATED" flashed up on the screen.

"Oooh…Takatomon, I feel funny…" Guilmon groaned as he glowed white for a few seconds before returning to normal.

"I think it worked!" the brown-haired boy exclaimed happily and hugged his partner.

"We could do with testing it. Hmmm…I wonder how we could get him to digivolve…" Henry mumbled, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Rika told me the first time a Digimon digivolves, it needs to be triggered by either wanting to protect someone really badly or by their Tamer's life being put in danger," Takato said and grinned. "Not really something we can test except in a fight…"

A pair of high-pitched alarms suddenly rang out and Guilmon let out a low growl, cutting off the blue-haired Tamer's reply. Both boys looked at their D-Arcs to see a Bio-emergence alert.

"Now that is good timing!" the goggle-wearing Tamer chuckled as he set off into the surrounding forest at a run, following his D-Arc's holographic compass.

The two Tamers and their partners followed their D-Arcs to a grassy field at the edge of the forest. At the centre of the field was a Digital Field about thirty metres across. Guilmon growled quietly, sniffing the air hungrily.

"What do you smell, boy?" Takato asked, pulling his goggles over his eyes.

"It's a Champion, Takatomon!" the red dinosaur replied.

"Hey, maybe we'll get a chance to try out Growlmon!" the boy said hopefully as the group of humans and Digimon walked carefully into the fog.

"Uh, is it just me that can hear that buzzing?" Terriermon asked and looked around nervously.

"No, I can he-DUCK!" Henry yelled and leapt to the ground, Takato doing the same beside him.

Guilmon was a little slower to react, and something large and yellow slammed into him at high speed. The saurian Digimon was sent flying through the air by the high-speed impact, landing with a pained yelp at the far side of the Digital Field. The yellow shape wheeled around and hovered over the prone dinosaur, revealing itself to be a horrendously oversized wasp with purple wings and a pair of long red stingers. Takato scanned the wasp Digimon with his D-Arc as a brown cloud gathered around its wings.

Name: Flymon

Level: Champion

Attribute: Virus

Special Attacks:

Brown Stingers

Poison Powder

Flying Arm/Fly Attack

"Poison Powder!" Flymon shouted as the cloud of brown spores began to rain down on the red dinosaur.

"Guilmon!" Takato shouted in horror as his partner yelped in pain and ceased his efforts to stand up. "Gotta find a health card…"

The goggle-wearing Tamer cheered triumphantly as he found the card he was looking for, only to yelp in fear a second later as Flymon flew straight at him. The boy leapt aside desperately, dropping his D-Arc and cards as he landed.

"Hey, pick on someone your own size! Bunny Blast!" Terriermon shouted, firing a small ball of green energy at the insect Digimon, hitting it on one of his left wings.

"Gah! You'll pay for that, little rabbit. Brown Stingers!"

"I didn't mean me, you know!" the dog-rabbit Digimon protested as he dodged the flurry of poisonous barbs.

"In that case, your Tamer will do nicely! Brown Stingers!"

Henry yelped and leapt to the side, landing flat on his backside. Flymon flew towards the blue-haired Tamer, gathering another cloud of brown spores around his wings.

"Henry!" Terriermon shouted in fear as a bright white light began shining from his Tamer's D-Arc.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Terriermon, Digivolve to…"

The little Digimon was encased in a glowing green digi-egg, which soon shattered to reveal a seven-foot tall green-and-white rabbit wearing a pair of blue jeans. The rabbit's arms ended in a pair of multi-barrelled cannons, and he had a bandolier of ammunition slung across his otherwise-bare chest.

"…Gargomon!"

"Poison P-"

"Gargo Lasers!" Gargomon interrupted, levelling his cannon-arms at the massive wasp.

Flymon screamed in agony as a volley of green energy bolts struck him between his wings, sending him crashing to the ground. Gargomon didn't let up, keeping his arms pointed at his foe and unleashing an endless torrent of fire. Flymon thrashed on the ground as the barrage reduced his body to something resembling Swiss cheese before he disintegrated into free-floating data. Henry breathed a sigh of relief as the Digital Field dissipated, then frowned in confusion when he realised that his partner was still firing.

"Uh, Gargomon? I think you got him…"

The rabbit's only reply was a psychotic giggle as he span round on the spot, firing at anything and everything in sight. After reducing a decent-sized tree to splinters, Gargomon tracked his arms around, walking the streams of fire towards a small rock formation.

"TAKATO!" Henry yelled as he realised what the two hunched shapes next to the rock formation were.

Takato looked up from tending to Guilmon as he heard Henry's desperate cry and froze as he saw Gargomon swinging his arm-cannons around to point in his direction. The brown-haired Tamer froze with fear as the dust cloud kicked up by the energy bolts impacting the ground moved quickly towards him.

OhmygodI'-"OOF!" he grunted as his panicked train of thought was interrupted by something slamming into his side, knocking him out of the way of Gargomon's lasers.

"Renamon, take him down!" Rika's voice called out as Takato hit the ground face first, something heavy landing on top of him.

The boy rolled over to see that the 'something heavy' was Rika. There was a smouldering hole in her jeans and the girl was clutching her left thigh.

"Rika? Are you okay?" Takato asked, panicking at the girl's obvious pain.

"I'm fine Gogglehead, he barely scratched me," she replied through gritted teeth as she stood up shakily, still holding her leg.

"Power Paw!" Renamon's voice called out, and Takato turned to see the kitsune phase into existence, drop Guilmon and take a flying leap at Gargomon's back, her paws wreathed with blue fire.

Gargomon grunted in pain as the attack struck him in the kidneys, sending him crashing to the ground. The rabbit's arm-cannons continued firing, however, forcing the vulpine Digimon to quickly leap aside. Takato heard a low growl, and turned to see Guilmon back on his feet and running at the trigger-happy Digimon. The red dinosaur grabbed Gargomon's right arm, bending it at the elbow and pointing the cannon at the ground. Renamon quickly did the same to the rabbit's left arm, preventing him from harming anyone with his awesome firepower.

"Do something!" the kitsune gasped as she struggled to restrain the larger Digimon. "I cannot…hold him…for long…"

"Digi-Modify! Rock Armour activate!" Henry's voice called out, and Renamon and Guilmon quickly leapt aside as Gargomon was encased in stone.

"Q-quick thinking Henry," Takato stammered as he climbed to his feet.

"Oh man, I'm really sorry guys, I don't know what…oh, God - Rika! Are you okay?" the blue-haired boy gasped, running to the redhead's side as he saw her clutching her thigh in agony.

"Brainiac, you have ten seconds to explain exactly why your partner just shot me," she growled, glaring at the boy with rage-filled eyes.

"I…I don't know!" Henry yelped and stepped back. "I was about to get shredded by a Flymon, then Terriermon digivolved and took it out! After that, he just went crazy and started shooting things!"

"So I'm supposed to believe that Rabbitmon just tried to kill Gogglehead for no reason?"

"Rika, he's telling the truth," Takato chipped in, ignoring the glare he received from the girl. "He just flipped out and started blowing stuff up and laughing like a madman!"

"Rika, maybe we should get that looked at…" Henry said, reaching out to move the redhead's hands from the burn on her thigh.

"Don't touch me!" she growled and slammed her fist into the blue-haired boy's stomach, winding him. "You call yourself a Tamer? You can't even stop your own partner from going on a rampage! Try talking to me when you've got that damn rabbit under control."

With that, the girl limped slowly away in the direction of her house. Renamon stood there for a few more seconds and shot an icy glare at Henry before disappearing into thin air. A burst of light and a loud cracking sound caught the boy's attention, and he turned to see a dazed Terriermon sat in the middle of Gargomon's shattered Rock Armour.

"Oh, my aching head…" the rabbit grumbled as he looked around in confusion. "Ummm, Henry? What just happened?"

"You Digivolved to Gargomon, deleted Flymon, went crazy, nearly killed Takato and shot Rika in the leg."

Terriermon winced and looked sheepish. "Wow, now I know what a hangover feels like…"

Wong Residence, Kirkfield - 9:30pm

Henry sighed as he slumped face-first onto his bed, drawing a concerned look from his partner. The green-and-white Digimon leapt onto the bed beside his Tamer, covered up his worry with a grin and issued his catchphrase cheerfully.

"Momentai, Henry! A burden shared…"

"Terriermon…" the boy sighed again and sat up. "What happened today…it got me thinking. Why do we bother?"

"Why do we bother what?" the dog-bunny asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Why do we bother fighting?" Henry mumbled and buried his face in his hands. "I never really wanted to fight in the first place - I only did it because I knew Takato couldn't cope on his own. Now that Rika's here, too, and Takato's learning to stand on his own two feet, is there any point in us carrying on? Do they really need me at all?"

Terriermon winced, knowing what had brought on his Tamer's moment of self-doubt. "Henry…what happened today was…yeah, it was pretty bad, but I think it was a one-off thing. You can't let it screw up your head like this."

"How could it not screw up my head? Two people nearly died today because of us!"

"Whaddya mean 'us'? If anything it was my fault - you had nothing to do with it! Lots of Digimon have a little trouble when they first Digivolve to a new form. I just had a little more than most…"

"Terriermon…you might be right, but that's a risk we can't afford to take. What happens if next time there's nobody there to stop you, or even worse, if somebody tries to stop you and gets hurt? I couldn't live with myself if that happened!"

"Henr-"

"No 'buts', Terriermon!" Henry snapped, struggling to stop himself from shouting. "We're not going to be doing any more fighting! Rika and Takato are perfectly capable of handling things on their own."

Terriermon growled angrily but otherwise kept quiet. It was unusual for Henry to lose his temper, and when he did there was no point arguing with him. They would just have to continue this in the morning.

When Terriermon tried to resume his debate with Henry the next morning, he was angry to find that a good night's sleep had done little to change the boy's mood. The blue-haired Tamer was still adamant about giving up fighting, and refused to listen to any of his partner's arguments to the contrary. The debate quickly deteriorated into a full-blown argument, and ended with Henry storming out of the house, leaving Terriermon to the tender mercies of his seven-year-old sister Suzie.

The blue-haired boy knew that he would have to tell his two fellow Tamers about his decision sooner or later, and decided to make it sooner. He asked both Takato and Rika to meet him in the library at lunchtime so that he could 'talk to them about something really important'.

Friday, 24th September - 12:25pm

Redcliff Mount High School, Library

"I knew it," Rika spat as soon as Henry had finished handing in his metaphorical letter of resignation. "I knew you didn't have what it took to be a Tamer. You hit one little hiccup and you're giving up? You're pathetic."

"Rika, that's not fair…" Takato mumbled, but trailed off as the girl stomped angrily out of the library.

The two boys stood there in silence for a little while, until Takato finally spoke up. "Look, as much as I disagree with Rika, she does have a bit of a point, Henry. You do seem to be letting this whole Gargomon thing get to you a little too much."

"He nearly killed both of you!" Henry exclaimed. "I'd say that this is a pretty fair reaction."

"Well, that's the thing - it was only nearly. Neither of us was seriously hurt - I got a few scrapes and Rika got a little laser burn, but that was all!"

"I know, but what if it happens again? I might not be so lucky!"

"Look, from what you told us Terriermon seems to think it won't happen again. I say we give it a try later - all you have to do is swipe a Digivolution card and see what happens. Guilmon will be there in case things go wrong, you can have a Rock Armour card ready to swipe, and I'm sure Rika and Renamon will help out if we ask them."

"I…I don't know, Takato…" Henry mumbled uncertainly. "What if the whole crazy thing only happens in battle? We could get lulled into a false sense of securi-"

"Oh, come on Henry! You worry too much!" Takato interrupted with a grin. "Just trust me, and trust Terriermon, and everything will be fine. Wow, there's a sentence I never expected to say…"

The blue-haired Tamer laughed at his friend's semi-sarcastic comment. "Okay, just as long as there's no sharp objects involved."

"Great! Oh, damn it, just remembered I've got a detention this afternoon…what do you say we meet in the park at Gorilla Clearing around 4 o'clock and we'll give it a try?"

Gorilla Clearing was the name Takato had given the clearing where Guilmon had defeated BlackGorillamon. Henry rolled his eyes at the nickname and grinned.

"We'll be there."

Gorilla Clearing, Kirkfield Park - 3:25pm

Henry had decided to head over to Gorilla Clearing early to get some thinking done, and had been pleasantly surprised when he had run into Steph en route. The boy had gladly accepted her offer of company and spent a good fifteen minutes talking through his theories and fears about Terriermon's moment of madness with her.

"Wow…that's pretty messed up," the girl said, breaking the long silence that had descended upon the pair. "So, you think that Terriermon's loss of control was partly due to the extreme difference in power between his two forms, partly due to his extreme emotions at the time of his Digivolution and partly due to your dislike of fighting?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Huh. I don't get how your pacifism could make Terriermon go kill-crazy. I mean, they're completely opposite emotions and you're two separate people, right?"

"Of course we are!" Terriermon giggled. "I can hardly stand just living with Henry - if we were the same person, he'd nag me to death!"

"Terriermon…"

"You're just proving my point here…"

"Anyway…" Henry sighed, moving back to the topic at hand. "We know that partners can have very strong mental links, like Rika and Renamon's telepathy. My theory is that emotions can be transmitted with an in-"

The boy was cut off by a loud beeping coming from his D-Arc. He stared at the screen in confusion for a second before looking at Steph with panic-filled eyes.

"Steph, get out of here! NOW!"

The Tamer's warning came too late as a massive cloud of fog descended on the clearing, obscuring the surrounding forest from view. Steph clutched Henry's arm in fear as a painfully bright light suddenly flared at the centre of the Digital Field and an evil, manic laugh rang through the clearing.

"H-Henry?" she whimpered as a massive black shape appeared in front of them. It was about fifteen feet tall and abnormally thin, with ragged bat-like wings, glowing red eyes and a lizard-like head.

Henry scanned the new arrival with his D-Arc, gulping in fear at what he saw.

Name: Devidramon

Level: Champion

Attribute: Virus

Special Attacks:

Crimson Nail

Red Eyes

"This isn't good…" the boy muttered and glanced at Terriermon. "Looks like we're gonna be running the test sooner than we thought! You up for it?"

"Do ya even have to ask?" the dog-bunny replied as his Tamer drew the necessary card.

"Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"

Henry's D-Arc let out a low double-beep, glowed for a split second and then went dark. The words "DIGIVOLUTION FAILURE - GUARDIAN SPIRIT LOST" briefly appeared on the small device's screen. Terriermon glanced at the boy nervously, then looked back at Devidramon.

"Henry, any time now…"

"Working on it…" the boy replied, slashing the card again, but to no avail. "I don't get it! This should be working!"

"Well, let's just momentai and make the best of it. Now modify me already!"

"Digi-Modify! Power activate!"

"Bunny Blast!"

Terriermon fired a green ball of energy at Devidramon, striking him in the stomach. The massive devil-dragon roared in annoyance and leapt at the smaller Digimon, claws glowing red.

"Crimson Nail!"

Terriermon dodged to the side, his opponent's attack tearing a chunk out of the ground where he had been stood seconds earlier. The dog-rabbit unleashed another "Bunny Blast!", hitting behind the dragon's right kneecap and forcing him down onto one knee. With an angry snarl, Devidramon span around and tried to swat Terriermon like an insect, only for the smaller Digimon to dodge between his legs, launching into a "Terrier Tornado!" that struck him in the left leg, knocking the dragon flat on his back.

"Oh yeah! Who da mon? Who da mo-URK!" Terriermon yelped, his boasting cut off by a blow from his opponent's tail.

The smaller Digimon was sent sailing through the air, smashing painfully into a small pile of rocks. Devidramon roared in triumph and pounced on the smaller Digimon, holding him down with one claw as he crouched down, preparing to bite his head off. Henry began rummaging desperately through his cards, looking for a way to save his partner. Steph, however, decided on a more "hands-on" approach.

"Leave him alone you big bully!" she shouted as she ran at the draconic Digimon, grabbing a nearby stick and jamming it into Devidramon's right eye.

The dragon roared in agony and yanked his head into the air, taking Steph with him. The blonde-haired girl landed in a small shrub a few metres away, unharmed except for a few cuts and bruises. She quivered in fear as Devidramon turned his furious gaze in her direction and began stomping slowly towards her.

"You are going to pay for that, little human."

"Steph, no!" Henry cried, not noticing the text flickering across his D-Arc's screen.

GUARDIAN SPIRIT RE-ACQUIRED

DIGIVOLUTION UNLOCKED

DIGIVOLUTION

"Terriermon, digivolve to…"

Terriermon was once again encased in a glowing green data sphere, which exploded to reveal the gun-toting form of Gargomon.

"…Gargomon!"

Devidramon paused and turned, glaring hungrily at his new opponent. With an angry snarl he turned and leapt at the oversized rabbit, jaws open wide to tear off his head.

"Bunny Pummel!" Gargomon shouted, swinging his right arm at his opponent's face.

The blow connected with bone-shattering force, sending the dragon flying into a nearby tree. Devidramon pulled himself to his feet and quickly took to the skies on his massive wings.

"You just don't know when you're beaten, do you little rabbit?" he growled as he circled above his foe.

"I ain't so little anymore! Gargo Lasers!" the rabbit replied, sending a volley of energy bolts tearing through the demon-dragon's wings.

Devidramon struck the ground with a roar of pain, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Climbing to his feet once again, he leapt at Gargomon, pinning him to the ground by his arms. The dragon lunged forwards, trying to tear his opponent's head off with his teeth. The rabbit quickly jerked his head to the side, dodging several attacks from the snapping jaws before he called out to his Tamer.

"Henry, use a Strength card and a Power card on me - I have a plan!"

"Gargomon, I…"

"Henry, I can handle the power. I'm not gonna go berserk again, so hit me already!"

"Oh man…Digi-Modify! Strength activate! Power activate!"

Gargomon's left arm cannon began glowing green, and the rabbit quickly wrenched it free of Devidramon's grip. As the dragon made another attempt to bite his head off, the smaller Digimon jammed his cannon into the dragon's mouth, teeth breaking on the hard metal.

"Gargo Lasers!"

A deafening explosion rang out through the Digital Field as Devidramon's head exploded in a massive burst of green light. Gargomon climbed to his feet, absorbed the free-floating data of his opponent and shot his Tamer a grin.

"Who da MON?"

"Gargomon…good work, buddy!"

"Wow, Brainiac - it looks like you finally managed to grow a spine," Rika's voice called from behind the blue-haired boy. "Not a bad job."

Henry turned to see the redhead climbing off of Kyubimon's back with a smirk on her face. "Well, I had a good teacher…"

"Damn right you did! Steph, you still in one piece?"

"I…yeah, I'm okay," the blonde-haired girl replied, standing up a little shakily. "Henry, Gargomon, you guys…you saved my life."

"Momentai! You did the same thing for me, remember?" Gargomon laughed as he de-digivolved to Terriermon in a burst of white light.

"Yeah, I know, but still…"

"Hold on a second - Goldilocks saved Rabbitmon's life?" Rika exclaimed in confusion.

"It's a long story…" the girl mumbled, looking embarrassed.

"Not really," Henry said with a grateful smile. "Terriermon was about to get eaten alive, so she stabbed Devidramon in the eye with a stick."

"My, my…and I thought Rika was the hot-headed one…" Kyubimon chuckled, drawing a warning glare from her Tamer.

"Kyubimon…" the redhead growled.

"Whoa…" Terriermon muttered and scratched his head. "For a second there it was like looking in a mirror or something."

"WHAT?" Rika and Kyubimon shouted at the same time, both girl and Digimon taking a menacing step towards the diminutive rabbit.

"Uh, momentai?"