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 Twenty: Diversion
Monday 8th November - 3:18pm
Outside Redchapel Primary School, Kirkfield
"I don't get why their school has to finish so much later than ours," Cam grumbled and leaned back against the metal railings of Redchapel Primary School's fence. "I mean, there's thirty-five minutes between us and your sisters finishing school. What's the point?"
"Oh, stop whining," Henry replied, chuckling at his friend's irritation. "You and Steph both volunteered to come with us, remember? And you don't hear her complaining."
"Well, we didn't really have much of a choice, did we?" the black-haired boy protested. "I mean, there wouldn't be much point going back to our houses when we'd just be going round to yours about twenty minutes later."
"It would have saved me a headache," Rika muttered, drawing a mock glare from the moaning Tamer and a small giggle from Steph.
"Oh, lighten up Cam," the blonde-haired girl chuckled. "It's not like you have anything better to do."
"That's not true! I could have gone on a nice run through the park while we were waiting here!"
"Running? You? Ha!" the redhead snorted and shook her head as she looked at the slightly-tubby boy.
"Hey! I'll have you know that Gaomon has sorted out a daily exercise programme to get me in shape!"
"And you're actually doing it?" Steph asked sceptically.
"Well, yeah. Now that I'm a Tamer I gotta try and keep fit and healthy so I can help save lives better!"
"I think hell just froze over…" Henry mumbled with a grin, getting a smirk and a nod of agreement from Rika.
The group lapsed into silence for a few moments before Cam spoke up.
"Man, I feel sorry for Takato. Getting grounded for burning a batch of bread…"
"You should be sorry - it wasyour fault!" Rika replied with a chuckle. "If you hadn't kept him awake all Friday night with your stupid pranks, he'd never have fallen asleep in the kitchen…or in Maths…"
"He fell asleep in Maths? So that's what Mad Maddox was shouting about last period," Steph laughed.
"Hey, yeah - we could even hear that in my class, and we're way down the other end of the corridor!" Cam nodded, a sheepish grin on his face. "Heh, I was taking bets with Joe Carr over what made him flip out like that….so, what happened to Takato?"
"He got a detention for Thursday," Henry replied, suddenly looking back towards the school as a horde of shrieking children erupted from the main entrance. "Looks like school's out. Hey, there's Suzie and Sam!"
"Finally!" the black-haired boy sighed, frowning as he saw a group of about six rough-looking boys intercept the two girls. The gang was led by an oddly-familiar, tall, fat child who looked to be about a year older than the Tamers' sisters. "Hey, what's going on?"
Sam clenched her fists and stepped forwards, saying something to the gang leader. Whatever she said obviously amused the boy, as he immediately let out a loud burst of laughter and pushed the girl roughly to the ground, one of his friends doing the same to Suzie.
"HEY!" Rika roared as her sister hit the ground, setting off at a run towards the gang of thugs. Henry glanced quickly around at the surrounding area, noting the lack of any teachers nearby, before setting off after her.
"What the-GAH!" the fat boy shrieked as the older girl span grabbed him by the collar, lifting him off of the ground and slamming his back against a wall.
"If you ever go near my little sister again," the redhead growled and slammed the boy against the wall a second time, her voice dangerously quiet. "I swear, I will break every single bone in your body one by one. Got it?"
"Uh-huh!" the thug whimpered and nodded frantically, squealing in pain as he was dropped to the ground.
"Sam, are you okay?" the Tamer asked, helping her sister to her feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," the younger girl replied as she dusted off her navy blue jumper and black skirt.
Suzie, on the other hand, was not quite so resilient. The youngest member of the Wong family was currently sobbing into her brother's shoulder, struggling to string together a coherent sentence.
"Th-th-they…they j-just came up to u-u-us…and th-they…they were mean and pushed me over and I scwaped my knee!" she bawled, Henry's attempts at calming her having little effect.
"It's okay, Suzie. They won't hurt you now," he whispered, shooting a venomous glare at the boy who had pushed his sister over - a lean, weaselly-looking boy who also looked familiar. "What Rika said goes for you too. If you even go near Suzie again…"
The boy gulped as Cam and Steph blinked in surprise. They had never seen Henry this angry about anything before, and it was actually a little scary.
"Where the hell are the teachers?" the blonde-haired girl whispered cautiously. "When we used to come here they'd leap on anything like this in seconds."
"I think they may be busy," Cam replied, pointing to a group of teachers trying to break up a fight between two boys. "Hey Henry, Rika! We should probably get out of here before the teachers notice what happened. They don't like kids from Redcliff threatening students - even if it they are dicks like these guys."
"Agreed," the redhead replied, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder as Henry led his still-crying sister towards the gates by the hand.
"I'M GONNA GET YOU FOR THIS!" a voice shrieked from behind the group and they turned to see the fat boy glaring at them, his face red with rage. "I'LL GET MY BIG BROTHER TO BEAT YOU UP! HE'S CALLED LUKE AARON, AND HE'S THE TOUGHEST KID IN HIS YEAR!"
Rika fixed the boy with her seldom-used Number One Death Glare, shutting him up instantly and causing him to shake with sheer terror. "Luke Aaron?" she spat contemptuously. "I already kicked his ass once, along with his little gang of pet psychos. Just ask him about the second day of school."
Nonaka Residence - 3:33pm
"Rika…" Sam said hesitantly as the two girls came within sight of the long driveway leading to their home. "Please don't tell Grandma Seiko about what happened."
"I won't," the older girl promised, remembering the similar feelings she'd had when she had been bullied at Sam's age. "On one condition. If that asshole ever goes near you again, you'll tell me. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
As the two girls walked, Rika gave her younger sister a worried glance. Sam was settling in to her new school and home as well as could be expected, but she was far from being back to normal after her mother's death. She still cried every day, though less frequently than she had a week ago. The girl had even started making friends – she and the kind-hearted (though slightly insane) Suzie Wong had become practically inseparable.
"Grandma, we're home!" Rika called, shaking her head to bring herself back to reality as she opened the front door and stepped into the house.
"I'm in the kitchen!" Seiko replied and the girls wandered into the room to see the woman sat at the table with a steaming cup of tea, Miranda preparing the evening meal behind her.
"Hi grandma, hi Miranda," the redhead greeted them and sat down at the table opposite her grandmother. "Um, Henry and Suzie invited us over to their house on the way back from school. Can we go?"
"Do either of you have any homework?" the older woman asked, receiving two simultaneous head-shakes in response. "Then I don't see why not. Be back by six o'clock."
"Thanks, grandma!" the two sisters called and ran to their respective rooms to get changed into their normal clothes. As they thundered up the stairs, Miranda shook her head and flashed a quick smile.
"Oh, for the energy of youth…"
Wong Residence - 4:14pm
All was well in the Wong house. Rika and Henry were sat on boy's bedroom floor having a 2 vs. 2 deathmatch with Cam and Steph on Armored Core, while Suzie and Sam were busy doing whatever it is seven-year-old girls do in their free time. Henry and Rika were easily winning, with Steph's machine at 20% health and Cam boxed into an alley by long-range sniper fire from Henry's heavyweight, four-legged NEXT called 'Peacemaker'. The duo's cunning plan was brought to a halt by a desperate suicide attack from Steph against Henry, who was forced to swap targets and switch to his heavy gatling cannons to defend himself. 'DeviantSaint' was quickly brought down, but the distraction had given Cam an opportunity to circle around to Rika's rear and unleash a storm of close-range laser fire. The girl dodged most of the blasts and triggered her energy blade, levelling a nearby skyscraper and creating a convenient smokescreen that allowed her to take to the air and unleash a torrent of assault rifle and railcannon fire that reduced her silver and blue opponent to a smoking wreck.
"Damn it!" Steph complained as the defeat message appeared on her screen. "I was this close to killing you, Henry."
"So…" Cam grinned sheepishly. "Best out of seven?"
"Why don't we switch the teams around?" Henry suggested. "How about me and Cam against Rika and Steph?"
"Sounds good - maybe this way I'll actually have a chance of winning!" the blonde-haired girl chuckled.
The next few games resulted in close victories for the two girls. Under Rika's direction, Steph quickly learned how to use her NEXT's awesome firepower to pin down her opponents while her lightweight ally closed in to make the kill at point blank range. At some point during the third battle, Sam and Suzie wandered into the room and sat down, watching the action with a mix of boredom and confusion.
"I don't get why you wike aww that boy's stuff," Suzie complained as the two girls won yet again, her minor speech impediment making her words difficult to decipher. "Guns and wobots are so bowring. Don't you think so, Pwincess Pwetty Pants?"
Rika had to stifle a laugh as she turned to see Terriermon held in the little girl's arms dressed in a pink tutu. The rabbit was gazing at her with a pleading look, begging the Tamer to save him from the delusional child.
"Meh," Steph replied with a shrug. "Each to her own…"
The group sat there quietly for a few seconds as they waited for the next game to load. Eventually, Sam broke the silence by whispering to Suzie in an urgent voice.
"Ask her!"
"I dunno…" the half-Chinese girl mumbled, looking at Rika nervously. "Oh, okay…Wika? Your hair is vewy pwetty…"
"Um…thanks?" the redhead replied uncertainly.
"Can we pway with it?" Suzie asked, putting on her best 'puppy-dog' eyes and gazing at the older girl. "Pwease? Pwetty pwetty pwease?"
"Oh, no…not the eyes!" Steph grumbled quietly and looked away.
"Please?" Sam added quietly, matching her friend's expression perfectly.
"I…I…" the Tamer stammered, trying to look away from the twin hypnotic gazes. "I…fine…"
"YAY!" the younger girls squealed as one and leapt at Rika, quickly pulling out her hairband and letting her hair cascade down around her shoulders.
"Damn it…I think I'm going soft…" the redhead grumbled telepathically, eliciting a chuckle from her vulpine partner.
"If only Jeri could see you now…"
"I swear, if you say one word about this to anyone…"
"Whoa…" Steph gasped as she stared at the obviously-uncomfortable girl having her hair 'styled' by the two youngsters, then turned to Cam with a triumphant look. "HA! I told you it wasn't just me that worked on!"
"I…don't…believe it…" the black-haired boy stammered before breaking out into an enormous grin and reaching for his phone. "I have got to get a picture of this!"
"Cam…" the redhead growled as he activated the camera and launched into a series of extremely explicit threats in Japanese, relying on the Babel system on the D-Arcs to translate for her while sparing the ears of her younger, more innocent listeners.
The boy looked thoughtful for a second, then shrugged and took the picture anyway. "Totally worth it!" he laughed.
Suddenly, a trio of D-Arcs burst into life and started wailing a familiar alarm tone.
Freedom! Rika thought with elation and tried to stand back up, only to be forced back to the floor by a stern-looking Suzie.
"Ah, ah, ah! Where do you think you're going Pwincess Wika? I'm not done with you yet!" the little girl said in a maternal tone.
"Brainiac…" the Tamer growled, looking pleadingly at the blue-haired boy as Sam began tying her hair into a braid.
"You heard the lady," Henry chuckled in reply. "Time to say bye-bye to Terriermon, Suzie!"
"Bye-bye Pwincess Pwetty Pants," the girl cheerfully, too enthralled with her latest plaything to be bothered about losing her old favourite. "Give Pwincess Wika a kiss bye-bye!"
Terriermon grinned evilly as he was lifted into the air and held against Rika's cheek. "Now you know how I feel!" he chuckled quietly and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
"You. Are. Dead. Meat!" she replied through gritted teeth.
"Bye Princess Rika! Don't have too much fun while we're gone!" Cam called as he ran out of the room and thundered down the stairs, heading for the door.
"You know we're dead when she breaks free, right?" Henry noted breathlessly as the two boys ran towards the park, a now-defrocked Terriermon perched atop his Tamer's head.
"Again…TOTALLY worth it!"
Kirkfield Park - 4:39pm
"Oh, for the love of…" Terriermon sighed as he gazed at the colossal Digital Field that had swallowed up a huge chunk of Kirkfield Park. "What happened to the days when we'd just turn up to a battlefield, find a nice little Rookie-sized Digital Field and kick some ass? These days it's all 'Deva' this and 'Ultimate' that…"
"Terriermon…" the rabbit's Tamer growled and drew a Digivolution card.
"Could you at least try to be serious?" Gaomon asked with a frown as Cam drew his own Digivolution card.
"I did try once. Got a letter from some guy called Mr Satan blaming me for a cold snap in his area. Never tried it again since."
"Are we gonna get to it, or just sit here chatting all day?" Cam complained as he slashed his card. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"
"Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"
"Gaomon Digivolve to…Gaogamon!"
"Terriermon Digivolve to…Gargomon!"
As the blue and green data spheres shattered, the two Champion level Digimon and their Tamers began walking cautiously forward into the cloud of fog. The gun-toting rabbit kept his cannon-arms outstretched, tracking them round as he searched for their enemy. Gaogamon, on the other hand, crouched low to the ground and kept to the treeline, using his ally as bait in the hope of ambushing any Digimon foolish enough to attack.
"I see you, little wolf!" a female voice taunted from in front of the group before calling out an attack. "Treasure Bow!"
Gaogamon leapt to the side as a trio of golden arrows slashed towards him at incredible speed. The projectiles missed by a hair's breadth and embedded themselves in a tree trunk behind the canine before disappearing in a flare of light.
"Where are you? Show yourself!" he roared, glaring into the surrounding fog angrily.
"As you wish!" the voice replied as a silhouette charged out of the mist towards the blue-furred wolf, its hooves making a thunderous noise as they drummed against the earth. "Thunder Stomp!"
Gaogamon leapt aside once again, barely avoiding the attack as the silhouette slammed its front hooves into the ground with earth-shattering force. The Digimon was momentarily stunned by its failure and Cam took the opportunity to scan it with his D-Arc.
Name: Pajiramon
Level: Ultimate
Attribute: Virus
Note: One of the Twelve Devas
Special Attacks:
Treasure Bow
Thunder Stomp
Lullaby Bleat
Great, another Deva… the boy thought as he gazed at the newly-identified Digimon. It looked like the sheep version of a centaur, with a four-legged, sheep-like lower body and a wool-coated humanoid torso erupting from the sheep body's 'neck'. The Deva had two long, curling purple horns with a third, shorter horn set in the centre of its forehead just above its black-skinned face. Her torso and forearms were clad in gold-edged armour made out of purple metal, while a red sash and scarf graced its waist and shoulders.
"You're pretty fast…but not fast enough! Prepare to die, abomination!" Pajiramon roared and drew a black longbow from over her shoulder. "Treasure Bow!"
"Gargo Lasers!" Gargomon called out, tearing the volley of golden arrows to shreds with a burst of fire from his arm cannons.
"Insolent vermin! You're a traitor to Digi-kind!" the sheep roared and glared at the rabbit.
"Let me handle these worms," a voice dripping with arrogant confidence sighed from the fog. "Horn of Desolation!"
An unbearably loud foghorn-like noise rang out through the Field and a wave of pressure radiated from the far side of the fog cloud, cutting through the mists and knocking both Gargomon and Gaogamon to the ground. The two Tamers gritted their teeth and planted their feet firmly against the ground to avoid being blown away by the intense wind, gasping in horror as they saw their latest attacker.
It had the basic shape of a giant, purple horse with golden hooves, but the way it was stood was more reminiscent of an ape. The newcomer was hunched slightly forwards, taking some of its weight on its grotesquely over-muscled forelegs. A golden breastplate adorned its chest and a massive, spiked, golden shell was slung over its shoulders. Three conical red horns erupted from the top of its head and a long, white mane obscured most of its face. By far the most threatening part of the Digimon, however, was its size - Henry estimated that it would have stood head and shoulders above even WarGrowlmon. As the blue-haired Tamer pulled out his D-Arc and scanned the horse-like creature, he felt a shock of fear run through him.
Name: Indramon
Level: Ultimate
Attribute: Virus
Note: One of the Twelve Devas
Special Attacks:
Horn of Desolation
Bao Bei
"Two Devas?" Gargomon complained and levelled his gun-arms. "I knew I should have stolen Rinchei's Weetabix this morning…Gargo Lasers!"
The volley of energy bolts slammed into the colossal horse's armoured chest, not even scratching the metal. Gargomon fired a second volley, aiming for Indramon's unarmoured face, only for the shots to bounce off of his thick skin. Taking a single, thunderous step forwards, the Deva gave an infuriating smirk.
"You call that an attack? It felt more like a pleasant breeze to me," he sneered and reached for the shell slung over his back. "Let me show you how a real Digimon fights! Bao Bei!"
Gargomon leapt to the side, barely dodging the massive shell as his opponent swung it like a club, the spikes on the exotic weapon tearing a series of furrows in the ground. "Henry, modify me!" the rabbit pleaded as Indramon turned and prepared for another attack.
"Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate! Power activate!"
"Get ready to feel the burn…" Gargomon chuckled as he easily sidestepped the horse's next attack and fired a volley of hyper-powered lasers that did…absolutely nothing. "Ah, crap…" he sighed as the Deva grinned and raised his weapon again.
"Gaoga Hound!"
"Thunder Stomp!"
Gaogamon was knocked aside as his sheep-like opponent aimed a vicious kick at his face, hitting him in the snout and snapping his jaws closed with an audible CLACK. The wolf was faring little better than his ally, though while Gargomon was losing due to Indramon's ridiculous size advantage, Gaogamon was outmatched by Pajiramon's superior skill.
"This…is not going…too well…" the canine grumbled as he climbed to his feet.
"I'll see what I can do," his Tamer replied and drew a card. "Digi-Modify! Light Training Manual activate!"
Gaogamon flashed white for a second as he was temporarily modified to a 'Vaccine' type, giving him the type advantage over his opponent. With a snarl, the blue-furred Digimon leapt to his feet and raced towards his opponent.
"Spiral Blow!" he roared, firing a miniature tornado from his mouth. Pajiramon was forced to leap aside to avoid the attack, leaving her open to his next attack. "Dash Double Claw!"
The sheep shrieked in pain as Gaogamon's claws raked down her left flank, leaving a shallow but painful X-shaped wound. "You bastard!" she snarled and turned to face the wolf. "That's it, no more Mrs Nice Deva! Lullaby Bleat!"
Gaogamon flinched as Pajiramon let out a long, loud bleat that resonated deep within his skull. As the odd noise continued, he felt his vision begin to blur and an odd drowsiness started to wash over him.
Cam, no! he thought desperately as his Tamer began to run to his side, putting himself in range of the Deva's attack.
Not good… Cam thought as he felt an intense drowsiness come over him. I really should have thought this through beforehand…but now…I'm too tired…to think. Maybe if I just…take a little nap…
NO! the boy shouted mentally and shook his head, reaching unconsciously for his card holder. Got to stay awake! She's gotta run out of breath soon…I'm not gonna give up…we are going…to win!
"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"
This is hopeless… Henry groaned mentally as Gargomon fired off yet another ineffective volley of laser fire. Gargomon's lasers can't scratch him even with a Power card! And he can't keep dodging forever…
The boy's pessimistic prediction was proven correct mere seconds later when his partner sidestepped to the left, tripping over a tree root and landing flat on his back as Indramon's shell slammed into the ground mere inches away from him. As the horse grinned evilly and raised the shell again, the world seemed to grind into slow motion. Henry watched the Deva raising his weapon with agonising slowness, calmly noting that as he prepared for an attack, his view was obscured by the massive shell.
Gargomon's too slow to exploit that weakness, and I'm all out of Speed cards… the Tamer thought, reaching for his card holder and drawing a random card absent-mindedly. He'll be blind for a second on the downswing too, so if I act fast…
"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"
MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION
"Gargomon Digivolve to…"
Gargomon was encased in a glowing green data sphere, which quickly shattered to reveal the rabbit's robotic Ultimate form. The Cyborg Digimon was covered in armour - green on his head, chest, hips, hands and calves and silver everywhere else. His lower legs were clad in what looked like medieval plate boots and connected to an armoured, spherical pelvis unit. His chest and head were also formed from armoured spheres, with a single cone-shaped horn and a pair of long, wing-like ears extending from the head. The Digimon's shoulders were made of silver half-spheres, connecting to two arms that were little more than a pair of cylindrical missile launchers tipped with three short, red claws in an approximation of a hand. Slung over the rabbit-like robot's back were a pair of multi-tubed rocket launchers, which swung around to point at Indramon's back as the cyborg announced his name and leapt into the air, dodging the descending shell with amazing speed.
"…Rapidmon!"
"WHAT?" Indramon roared as his shell slammed into the ground. "Where did he go?"
"Right behind you!" Rapidmon chuckled. "Miracle Missiles!"
The Deva roared as dozens of rockets slammed into his back, denting his lustrous golden armour. He heaved his weapon into the air, spinning around and trying to swat his opponent out of the air like an insect.
"Too slow!" the android chuckled as he easily dodged the clumsy blow and levelled his arms at the horse. "Rapid Fire!"
"GAH!" Indramon yelped as the twin missiles slammed into his chest and knocked him to the ground, a spiderweb of cracks appearing across the front of his breastplate. He glared at his opponent and slowly raised his weapon to his lips. "I am going to make you pay for that…Horn of Deso-"
"Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon interrupted and fired a pair of missiles into the mouth of the hollow shell. The missiles slammed into the back of the weapon and detonated right at the mouthpiece, shattering it and rendering the Deva's weapon useless.
"You…you broke my Bao Bei?" the horse gasped incredulously. "I am going to make you suffer a thousand deaths for your insolence! I will rip off your ears and use them as tennis racquets! I'll make you eat your own missiles! I'll…"
"Wow, and Henry says I have a big mouth…" the robo-rabbit grumbled as his opponent continued his tirade obliviously, the threats becoming more and more bizarre as he went on. With a dry chuckle, Rapidmon spread his arms out to the side and pressed his legs together, forming a T-shape out of his body. A red light began to form at the tips of his arms and feet, a line of light jumping from each point to form a glowing red triangle in mid-air. "You talk too much. Tri-Beam!"
A red, triangular beam of energy leapt from Rapidmon's body and struck Indramon in his open mouth. The Deva let out a gurgling scream as the beam tore through the back of his skull, his body fizzling and then disintegrating into data a moment later. As he absorbed the last traces of his opponent's data, the cyborg turned to his Tamer and said in an appalling Australian accent:
"BOOM! HEADSHOT!"
"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"
"WHAT?" Pajiramon shrieked, breaking off her bleating as the black-haired boy overcame her sleep-inducing attack and slashed an odd blue card through his D-Arc.
MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION
"Gaogamon, Digivolve to…"
A pale blue data sphere encased the Digimon, shattering to reveal a ten-foot tall, bipedal wolf with the same blue fur as his previous forms. The wolf was wearing a strange black and white jumpsuit that left his arms and lower legs uncovered, revealing a host of robotic enhancements. His legs had been replaced with sleek, silver cybernetic versions ending in long claws, while his front paws had been replaced with a pair of oversized, bulky metal hands. What looked like a wrestler's championship belt was slung across his torso and a pair of jet engines extended from his back. The engines began firing, propelling the Ultimate-level Digimon into the air as he roared his name.
"…MachGaogamon!"
"This changes nothing!" Pajiramon snarled and glared at her adversary as she drew her bow. "Treasure Bow!"
"On the contrary, my dear Deva," MachGaogamon replied as he dodged the trio of arrows with impossible speed, his robotic arms transforming into a pair of cannons. "It changes everything! Howling Cannon!"
The sheep Deva shrieked in pain as her lupine opponent unleashed a pair of sonic blasts from his cannons, the sound waves slamming into her and sending her flying into a nearby tree. As she climbed unsteadily to her feet, she shook her head to try and clear it of the irritating ringing noise that was resounding through her skull.
"You pathetic fools…you should have let sleeping dogs lie!" Pajiramon shouted as she climbed to her feet. "Lullaby Bleat!"
MachGaogamon chuckled as the Deva began to bleat, her voice off-key by a long way. "Not so easy to sing when you can't hear, is it?"
"What have you done to me?" the deafened sheep gasped in horror, drawing her bow again. "I'm going to make you suffer for that! Treasure Bow!"
"Gaoga Tornado!" the werewolf roared in reply, flying towards his woolly foe with his fists clenched. At the last second, he jinked slightly to the side, then turned and started flying around the Deva in a tight circle.
"What…what's going on?" Pajiramon shrieked as her opponent increased his speed, kicking up a powerful wind as his engines screamed loud enough for even her near-deafened ears to hear them. Within seconds, a tornado had begun to form around the Deva and she was lifted into the air by the powerful winds. As MachGaogamon flew around her, he began punching and kicking at her, landing dozens of hits in rapid succession. The sheep was soon covered in blood and bruises and was thrown to the ground as the tornado died down, landing in a crumpled heap at her opponent's feet.
"Winning Knuckles!" the wolf roared, his right fist thundering towards the fallen Deva's head.
"Vaj…ra…m-" Pajiramon croaked as the metal fist slammed into her skull, crushing it like an eggshell and reducing her body to data. MachGaogamon absorbed the data and reverted to his Rookie form, falling to the ground in exhaustion a moment later.
"It appears that our dear brethren did not last as long as we had hoped. We shall have to move faster than planned…"
"Agreed."
"Two new Digivolutions in one battle," Henry chuckled as the odd quartet walked (or, in Terriermon's case, rode) home. "That's gotta be a new record!"
"Hell yeah! We're just that awesome!" Terriermon noted and did a quick victory dance atop his Tamer's head. "Man, Rika's gonna be pissed that she missed this fight…"
"Terriermon, language!" Henry said sternly, rapping his partner on the head with his knuckles.
"OW! Hey, don't ya know corporal punishment doesn't solve anything? Momen-"
A loud explosion coming from behind the group cut off the rabbit before he could finish his catchphrase. They turned around, seeing a pillar of smoke rising above the treeline.
"What the hell? Another Bio-emergence?" Cam exclaimed as his D-Arc started shrieking incessantly.
"Can't we have just one victory celebration without something going wrong?" Terriermon complained from his perch, drawing a quick glare from his companions. "What? I'm just saying…"
Minutes Earlier
Steph and Rika had, after what had seemed like an eternity, finally managed to convince Sam and Suzie to leave the redhead's hair alone and to let her put it back into its usual ponytail. Unfortunately, they had only managed to convince the younger girls by bribing them with an offer of sweets and chocolate, and so had been forced to take them to the local corner shop. Suzie, however, was not satisfied with just a few sweets, and demanded (with liberal use of her 'puppy-dog' eyes) that the older girls take them on a walk in the park. Rika, after subtly checking her D-Arc and seeing that the fight was over, reluctantly agreed on the unspoken condition that they stayed away from the area where the fight had happened, just in case they ran into the two boys and their Digimon on their way back from the battle.
"I don't get why they wanted to come out here," Steph grumbled, pulling her jacket tighter around herself. "It's freezing!"
"It's not that bad," Rika shrugged, drawing an incredulous glare from her friend. The Tamer's only concession to the cold was a dark purple hoody (which she was wearing unzipped, almost completely defeating the point of the extra layer).
"I hate winter," the blonde-haired girl muttered and shivered slightly.
"It's still autumn, Goldilocks. And it really isn't that cold," the redhead sighed, shaking her head in exasperation.
"Whatever. Let's just get this stupid walk over with so you can teach me how to beat Cam on Armored Core."
"That's gonna take a lot of teaching," the Tamer muttered and rolled her eyes. "Don't tell Cam I said this, but he's probably the best player I've ev-"
Rika was interrupted by her D-Arc letting out a loud alarm tone from her pocket. The girl quickly retrieved the offending device and glanced at the screen with a confused frown. Her confusion soon turned to outright fear as she saw a digital signal moving towards them at high speed.
"Steph, get Sam and Suzie out of here! NOW!" she barked, reaching out telepathically to Renamon and scanning the treeline as her blonde-haired friend ran towards the younger girls. "Come on…where are you?"
"Rika, look out!" Sam's voice screamed and the redhead turned to see an enormous serpentine green-scaled dragon flying towards her, the hairs of his whiskers and tail glowing gold.
"Bao Shi!" the dragon roared and over a dozen of the glowing hairs detached from his body, transforming into flaming arrows in mid-flight and arcing towards the lone girl at incredible speed.
"RIKA!"
When the arrows were mere feet away from the Tamer, she felt something large and heavy slam into her from the side, knocking her out of the path of the attack. Rika caught a glimpse of golden fur before the flaming projectiles struck the ground a few metres behind her, creating a powerful shockwave that sent both the girl and her saviour flying through the air. The redhead landed hard on the concrete path, skidding for several feet before rolling onto the softer grass.
"Excellent shot, Majiramon!" a high-pitched, though obviously male voice cackled maniacally.
"Thank you," the dragon replied, its deep and majestic voice a sharp contrast to its companion. "Shall I finish them off?"
"Not just yet - I'm having too much fun!"
Rika groaned as she climbed shakily to her feet, looking to her right and seeing her partner sprawled face down on the floor a few metres away. "Renamon!" she cried as she ran to the kitsune's side.
The girl began to worry when Renamon failed to reply, and she rolled the vulpine Digimon over to see that she had been knocked unconscious. A mad cackling drew her attention away from her partner and she looked up, noticing a monkey riding on the dragon's back.
"You people make me sick!" he snarled and clenched his right fist, a golden glow gathering around it. "Treating Digimon like pets…it's insulting, and I'm going to make you pay! Primal Orb!"
A flame-wreathed ball made of solid gold appeared in the monkey's hand and he drew back his arm, throwing it at the Tamer and Digimon with all his might. As the odd projectile soared towards them, Rika felt her fear overwhelm her and she buried her face in her partner's fur, a scream tearing itself from her lips. After a few seconds, realizing that she was still alive, she hesitantly pulled away from Renamon and looked around to discover that they had been encased in a transparent golden sphere about three metres in diameter.
"Oh, that was priceless!" the monkey laughed loudly. "The look on your face when you thought you were going to die! Oh, that was PERFECT!"
"Makuramon…" the dragon growled in a warning tone. "Need I remind you that we are pressed for time?"
"Oh, this will only take a second," he replied with an evil grin as a golden glow appeared around his fist again.
A flash of pink caught Rika's eye, and she turned to see Sam, Suzie and Steph all stood at the edge of a nearby patch of woodland. They were watching the one-sided battle with obvious horror and it didn't seem to have occurred to them that they should leave.
"GET OUT OF HERE!" the redhead yelled, shocking them out of their reverie. "RUN! GET HELP!"
"I don't think so…" Makuramon giggled as the three girls turned and began to run away from the battleground. "Primal Orb!"
"NO!" Rika screamed as the trio were encased in a golden orb similar to her own. The orb levitated into the air and began floating back towards the two Devas, Majiramon wrapping his long, serpentine tail around it as it came closer. "Leave them alone! They've done nothing to you - they aren't even Tamers!"
"But my dear," the monkey chuckled and fixed her with a psychotic stare. "They are the reason we are here!"
"W-what?" the Tamer stammered as the crazed Deva burst into laughter.
"Makuramon, we are running out of time!" the dragon snarled angrily. "Finish them or I will do it for you!"
"Oh, fine!" Makuramon sighed and held out his right hand, slowly closing it into a fist.
"Oh, crap!" Rika cursed as her glowing prison began to shrink. Very soon, the roof was low enough for her to touch and she stood up, placing her hands against it and pushing in a useless attempt to stop the shrinking of the sphere.
"RIKA!" a pair of male voices yelled from behind her as two more voices called out angrily.
"Winning Knuckles!"
"Rapid Fire!"
A massive blue-furred werewolf that Rika recognized as MachGaogamon slammed his fist into the golden sphere, shattering it as a pair of missiles roared past overhead, arcing towards the enormous dragon. Makuramon launched another Primal Orb from Majiramon's back, though this time the flaming ball detonated in mid-air and sent out a shockwave that shredded the missiles. As Rapidmon took aim for another attack, the dragon Deva twisted his body and held up the orb wrapped in his tail as a shield.
"I recommend that you tell your partner to hold his fire, human," he spat, glaring at Henry with undisguised hatred. "Unless you want to kill your precious sister…"
"Suzie!" the blue-haired Tamer gasped as he caught sight of the girl through the sphere's transparent walls. Both she and Sam were clutching on to Steph and weeping in terror. "Let them go you bastard! Or I swear, I'll…I'll…"
"Oh! Pathetic little human can't fight without killing his friends!" Makuramon cackled and clicked his fingers. "Come on, let's get out of here - the Sovereign shall be pleased with our work!"
"NO!" the Tamers and Digimon cried out as one as a Digital Field swirled into existence around the Devas, disappearing a moment later and leaving no trace of either the evil Digimon or their friends.
The group stood there in silence for over a minute, too shocked to even consider talking. Eventually, Rapidmon and MachGaogamon de-Digivolved and it was the blue-furred Rookie who spoke up first.
"What do we do?"
"We go after them," Rika replied, a dangerous edge in her voice. "We need to find a portal to the Digital World. When we've done that, we can go through a-"
"That may not be such a good idea," Henry interrupted reluctantly, his fists clenched at his sides.
"WHAT?" the redhead yelled and whirled to face the boy. "They have our sisters. Our sisters! And you just want to sit around and do nothing?"
"No! I just mean that we need time to prepare, and we'll need all the help we can get. Besides, if you hadn't noticed, you and Renamon aren't exactly in the best shape right now."
"What are you talking about? I'm fine!" the girl protested with a confused frown.
"Rika," Cam said in a soft, concerned voice. "Look at yourself."
Rika did as he said and was stunned by what she saw. Her jeans were completely shredded from the knee down, and her legs were dripping with blood from where she had scraped them during her rough landing after Majiramon's attack. Looking at her hands, she saw that her palms had fared little better, with blood running off of them in rivulets. A quick glance at Renamon revealed a pair of bloody handprints on the kitsune's otherwise-pristine white chest fur.
"What…I don't…" the girl mumbled and gasped in agony, the pain from her injuries hitting her all at once now that she had noticed them.
"Hey, easy there," Cam said gently as the wounded Tamer stumbled and he caught her by the arm. "We need to get you home."
"No, I'm fine!" Rika protested through gritted teeth, fighting to stop the tears of pain from escaping her eyes.
"No, you're not," the black-haired boy said firmly. "We need to clean you up or those wounds could get infected. There's nothing we can do right now."
"I…fine…" she conceded, shrugging Cam's hand off of her arm and taking a few shaky steps towards her still-unconscious partner.
"Leave that to us," Gaomon said gently and hoisted the much-larger Digimon over his shoulders, creating an image that would have been quite funny had the situation not been so serious. "Let's go."