Author's Note: Hey guys, I know, I suck! July was the last update from me but life has been hectic right now.
Dedications: Chapter dedicated to the following: Emperorgreymon, TsukiBop, May845, Animelover KAT, Lightus of the light, Fellow Digitamer, Sayonara Yasashii Akumu and Anieljesu-gonzalez for adding this story and/or me to their alerts. Appreciate it.
I don't own Digimon. But I do own any original characters that are of my own design.
Title: Expect the Unexpected
Summary: Kimiko is the estranged daughter of Mitsuo Yamaki. For her fifteenth birthday she acquires the Digimon: Labramon and becomes the fourth Digimon Tamer.
Chapter Nine: To Be Oh So Cold
Kimiko heaved a sigh as she stared up the giant computer above her head.
It was a Friday evening and she would've liked to have been out with her friends not stuck at Hypnos with her father and his team. But Mitsuo had been waiting for her at home when she returned from school a few hours ago, he had been angry that she had disobeyed his last request for her to come to Hypnos and wanted to make sure that she didn't pull a fast one on him again.
From where she was sitting, books strewn around her on the hard floor, Kimiko could see Daisy tracing a bright yellow and red tracker across the screen, while her father and Riley worked on a side monitor across the way.
"It's a wild one. But I've never seen anything like it," Riley said, her voice slightly hushed because of the distance between herself and Kimiko. But the young tamer could hear her clear as day.
Frowning, Kimiko looked down from the tracker that was racing across the ceiling and set her gaze on her father and Riley. "It is trying to bio-emerge," she heard her father say and immediately knew that they were talking about Digimon.
Reaching behind her, Kimiko pulled her backpack across the floor and reached into the side pocket for her D-Power; she stared at the screen, but it didn't like up to warn her about any possible Digital fields.
Tucking the device back into her backpack, Kimiko set her books down on the floor and stood up. Her legs were cramping from sitting in the same position for more than a few hours, and her neck muscles where strained from being hunched over all of the time. Still clutching her pen, however, Kimiko made her way closer to her father and Riley.
"What's a wild one?" she asked, feigning innocence.
Mitsuo and Riley jumped, each glancing over their shoulders at her.
"It's nothing you need to worry about," Yamaki said. "Why don't you go back to your work?"
"If you insist on keeping me locked up in here," Kimiko said. "Then you could at least tell me what it is you do. What is Hypnos, anyway?"
"We're an electronic communications organization," Yamaki answered. "It is our purpose to monitor half of the Earth as a SIGINT system for the Japanese government."
"Basically you're violating legal issues and privacy." Kimiko shook her head and turned her back on her face. "When can I go home?" she asked, turning back to face him. "I'm bored, and I want to check on Labramon, she's never been left for long periods of time."
Yamaki once again turned away from the monitor to face his daughter. "Have you finished your homework?" he asked.
"Almost."
"You may leave once it's complete," Yamaki said. "I don't want you running off with those boys and leaving your responsibilities slide."
Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because I do that often," she scoffed. She shook her head and walked back to her homework book. She sat back down just as the tracker above her burst into teeny tiny pieces of data.
Hypnos was more than just an illegal organization, and Kimiko knew that her father was hiding something from her, he wouldn't have brought her up here if he was just recording illegal data, she was sure of it.
~*Expect the Unexpected*~
The next morning was a Saturday, which meant that school was out for the weekend and most kids - if not all kids - were out hanging with their friends. Kimiko, who hadn't left Hypnos until late last night, was still in bed. Her phone buzzed noisily on the bedside table but the young girl slept through it.
Labramon raised her head as the buzzing continued. She looked to her tamer and then back at the phone. The screen lit up brightly and the device edged closer and closer to the side edge of the table; it teetered dangerous on the side before slipping off and landed into the floor. It continued to buzz.
Curiously, Labramon jumped down off the bed and approached the phone. She stared at the screen as the name 'Takato' flashed across the main menu. Not entirely sure what she was doing, Labramon barked at the phone and nudged it with her paw.
"Hello? Hello, Kimiko?"
"What'd you say, Labramon?" Kimiko asked, tiredly. She didn't sit up or even look down; she merely rolled over and covered her head with the blankets.
"Kimiko, you there?"
"Takato?" Labramon asked.
"Labramon! Why, why are you answering the phone? How are you answering the phone? Whatever. Is Kimiko there?"
"She's sleeping."
"Sleeping? It's nearly noon!"
"She had a late night."
Takato sighed. "OK. Well, Henry and I are heading to the park," he said. "Tell Kimiko to come find us when she wakes up. OK?"
"Yup," Labramon barked.
"Okay. See you." There was a click and the phone went dead. Labramon stared at it for a while, before nudging it with her nose. When it didn't move again the dog turned away from it and jumped back up onto the bed. She was getting herself comfy when she sensed a presence. Looking around, Labramon narrowed her eyes at the window as the curtains moved slightly. She jumped back down from the bed and padded over to the double glazed sliding doors there was no one there, but Impmon was running away across the telephone poles.
Rolling her eyes, Labramon pulled the curtains closed with her teeth and walked back to the bed. She jumped up onto it and snuggled in close to Kimiko. Subconsciously the human reached out, threaded her fingers through Labramon's fur and pulled herself closer. Labramon smiled, rested her head in her paws, and fell back to sleep alongside her tamer.
Meanwhile, on the street below and walking alone was Rika. She was oblivious to everything around her and listening intently to the music pumping through her headphones. Her mind was consumed with thoughts, all of them derived from one thing: Digivolution. She was trying to figure out how soccer tease, goggle head and Princess were able to digivolve their Digimon, while Renamon continued to fail.
"Digivolving," she murmured. "I don't understand it."
"GUILMON!"
"Guilmon, Digivolve too... Growlmon!"
"I've seen hamsters with more battle experience that Guilmon, but still he could Digivolve, and so could that weeny little rabbit."
"No!"
"Terriermon, Digivolve too... Gargomon!"
"And princess has no clue about Digimon, yet she was able to get Labramon to digivolve with just shedding a few tears."
"Please... go..."
"LABRAMON!"
"Labramon, Digivolve too... Seasramon!"
"So what is they are doing that I'm not?" Rika asked herself as she stopped at the intersection. All she could remember from each different Digivolution was that Henry, Takato and Kimiko had each called out or shown concern for their digital pets before their Digivolution. If she showed Renamon concern, would that work?
Rika scoffed and banished the thought from her head. Digimon were nothing more than data, they didn't have feelings and were made for fighting, nothing more and nothing less.
"But still..." Rika murmured, unable to quench the feeling that she was missing something. She froze as a cold wind swept through her, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, almost like someone was watching her. Clenching her hands into fists, Rika turned around to find that she was alone on the street, the limited number of citizens that were around paid her little attention.
Rika frowned. She was sure that she had felt something. Shaking her head, Rika turned back to the path ahead of her and jumped a little as Calumon appeared at her feet. She sighed, walked around him and carried on; but he followed her.
"I don't have any food," Rika said harshly. "So why are you following me?"
"Wanna play?" Calumon asked. His ears were extended and his eyes were wide. He grinned and jumped up into her arms, squishing his nose up against her own.
"Urgh! What are you doing?!" Rika asked, frustrated.
"Eskimo kisses!" Calumon cried delightfully.
"Rika!"
Rika gave a start and looked around as her mother hurried down the street towards her. She took a step back in alarm. "Mom, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"What a day," her mother answered. "We had a photo-shoot, but before we could get started all these people showed up wanting my autograph, asking the secret to my youthful good looks, they just wouldn't leave me alone, we couldn't get anything done all day. Being famous and popular can be a pain in the neck. You are so lucky that you don't know how that feels."
"Yeah. Lucky me, well, gotta go" Rika said, taking several hesitant steps away from her mother. She turned away but her mother stopped her again.
"Rika, I think your toy is just adorable."
Rika groaned and looked down at Calumon. "You had to be cute, didn't you?" she asked, grumpily.
Calumon merely grinned back at the red-head.
~*Expect the Unexpected*~
After escaping her mother, Rika raced into the Kiyosumi Teien gardens and set Calumon down on the floor. "Listen here, you little squirt," she said, squatting down in front of the tiny Digimon. "I'm immune to your utsy cutsy act so scram."
Calumon whined and turned away, running off along the path.
"Keep going, shorty!" Rika called, before she froze as the same feeling from earlier returned. "Renamon," she breathed, spinning around to find that there was nothing behind her.
"You called?" Renamon asked, appearing.
"Where have you been?!" Rika demanded.
"Watching you from over there," Renamon answered. "You don't look well. Rika is there something troubling you."
"Nothing," Rika said, shaking her head and walking away. "I'm fine."
Renamon watched her go before bristling at the sound of cracking pebbles. She braced herself for a fight and then turned to find Impmon standing behind her. "Urgh," she groaned, realising the threat was minimal.
"Hey, fine and foxy, so we meet again," Impmon said.
"Oh, it's just you," Renamon said. She held her head high and walked away.
Impmon gawked after her. "What do you mean 'just me'?" he demanded. "Get back here!" Renamon didn't rise to the bait or even turn in his direction. "Uh, check out miss high and mighty," Impmon said, smirking. "Maybe a good fight will knock her off her perch - Hey! I heard Terriermon called you a fat-tailed bully. If I were you, I'd teach that egg-shaped loud mouth a lesson."
"Ha!" Renamon laughed. "Terriermon won't fight."
"Why not?" Impmon asked.
"His tamer has forbidden it," Renamon answered.
"Uh? What kind of Digimon doesn't fight?" Impmon asked as Renamon disappeared after Rika. "Those rotten humans they've made him a pet... a Digi-poodle. But if Terriermon can't fight back then I can steal his lunch and get away without a scratch. Think of the possibilities."
Impmon grinned to himself and then took off in search of the other tamers.
~*Expect the Unexpected*~
When Kimiko did finally awaken it was late afternoon. She yawned and sat up, frowning as she found her cellphone on the floor. "What?" she asked, looking at the device and then at the table, she was sure that she had set it on the side before collapsing into bed.
"Did you enjoy your sleep?" Labramon asked.
"Mm-hmm," Kimiko nodded, resetting her phone on the side after checking the call log. She saw she had received a call from Takato, but she couldn't remember answering much less what they had talked about. "Did my phone ring when I was asleep?" she asked Labramon.
Labramon nodded. "Takato wanted me to tell you that he and Henry are at the park," she said. "He wanted to know if you wanted to join them, but I didn't want to wake you."
"Aw, you're sweet," Kimiko said, petting her digimon's head. She stretched her arms above her head, and slipped out from beneath her blankets. She quickly stripped off her pajamas and redressed into her usual black pants and graphic t-shirt, she pulled her hair back into a high-ponytail using a ribbon and grabbed her D-power. "Shall we go find the others?"
Labramon nodded again and followed Kimiko out into the main part of the apartment. She approached the door and pushed herself up onto her hind legs to open it as Kimiko slipped on her trainers and grabbed a jacket from the cupboard. Once she was ready, Kimiko followed her Digimon out of the door, and locked it behind her. Her father must not have come home from work last night, or he must've left early that morning while she had been asleep. Either way, it still seemed work was more important to him than his responsibilities as a father.
Kimiko sighed and eyed her phone.
"Everything OK?" Labramon asked.
"I miss Mum," Kimiko said. "She hasn't called me since she left, and it's been nearly a week and a half since she told Dad she'd be staying longer. Sometimes I just wish time would fly and she'd come home already. I know my grandparents need her help, but why can't I go and help too?"
"Because she wants you to finish school?" Labramon asked, remembering what her partner's mother had said before she had left. "Your education is important to your parents, Kimiko."
"I know," Kimiko sighed. They had reached the park and were walking along the path towards Guilmon's hideout when something small and purple flew through the trees towards them. Kimiko squeaked and held out her arms, dropping the object when she saw it was Impmon. "Oh, it's just you."
"Hey!" Impmon yelled, insulted.
Kimiko rolled her eyes and stepped around the little Digimon. "Come on, Labramon," she said. "I highly doubt Impmon's decided to take up flying lessons, that must mean Henry and Takato are close by."
Impmon glared up at the blonde human as Labramon flicked her tail and followed after her tamer. "Hey!" he yelled again. "I was talking to you."
Both tamer and Digimon ignored him again as they carried on walking. Finally they reached Guilmon's shelter and were pleased to find the others inside. "Hey, guys," Kimiko said, slipping into the cool shade.
"Hey, you're awake," Takato grinned.
"Late night?" Henry asked.
"You could say that," Kimiko said.
"Where were you yesterday?" Takato asked.
"My dad was waiting for me when I got home. He wasn't happy that I had disobeyed him the other night and insisted that I spend the night at his work, where he could keep an eye on me. I finally got home around 11pm; I was too tired to do much else at that time, and I hadn't seen Labramon pretty much all day. So I just crashed," Kimiko explained.
"Your father sounds harsh," Takato said.
Kimiko shrugged. "He means well, I guess," she said. "It's just work has always been important to him, and he thinks that if it is important to him then it should be important to everyone else as well. He likes getting good results."
"Still harsh," Takato said.
Kimiko smiled and nodded. "That's dad," she said. "So... what have you guys been up to?" she added, breaking the silence that had fallen.
~*Expect the Unexpected*~
After having escaped her mother (and the pink frilly dresses) for the second time that day, Rika had found herself on the underground. She couldn't stop thinking about the fight she had had with Renamon before running off into the night, she had felt a presence following her all day, but Renamon was so sure that nothing had been at the house before she had run off. But Rika had been certain, she had felt it, and she wasn't crazy.
Sensing the presence again, Rika had turned and snapped at a couple of older gentleman, startling them. She had then caught a fleeting glance of someone - or something - taking off up the stairs leading to the room. Barging past the two men, Rika followed the figure and stopped dead at the badly vandalized wall to catch her breath.
There was no one there.
She was not crazy.
That's when the presence had returned. A hand cupped her mouth and dragged her backwards through the wall... now she was standing in the middle of nowhere, freezing cold. It was almost like someone had turned off the heating and left the freezer on. Snow and ice covered every inch of the room and it was dark, almost pitch black.
"It's so cold..." Rika said, shivering. He gasped as she felt arms around her, pulling her into a hard body. Wings wrapped around her and she was lifted off of her feet.
"Welcome to my humble abode," a voice said.
"Are you... a Digimon?" Rika asked.
"Yes."
"So this is a digital field?"
"Exactly. Beautiful, isn't it? It suits you perfectly."
"It suits me?"
"How you treat people. How you think you're cold as ice. You have no time for warm weak relationships."
"Yes," Rika sighed.
"You always expect perfection from yourself and others. You demand it."
Rika nodded.
"I am the only one who understands you, Rika that is why we are destined to become partners."
"Partners?" Rika repeated. "No. I can't. I already have a partner. Renamon... what have I done?" she touched her D-Power. The Digimon also lowered his and touched hers.
"I want to show you something," he said.
"What is it?"
"To prove I am worthy enough to be your partner, I have set up a little show and tell," the Digimon said. His wings lifted to the ceiling and lights beamed to life. There were icicles hanging from the ceiling, encased in each one was a different Digimon. "For years I have hunted hundreds of Digimon and have absorbed their data. They were friends of some, maybe even partners."
"No!" Rika breathed.
"But as you once said," the Digimon continued. "They're merely stepping stones."
"I never said that," Rika said.
"Ah, but you did. I fight to digivolve; you make your Digimon do the exact same thing."
"No, I couldn't see it before but there is more to Digimon than fighting," Rika said, shaking her head. "I'd eat dirt before I ever let Renamon become what you are... a monster."
"Better a powerful monster than a weak nobody. Is that what you really want? To be a nobody?"
Rika shook herself free of the digimon's grasp and glared up at him. "I'll tell you what I don't want to be," she snapped. "The partner of some freak show Digimon! You think you know everything about who I really am, well you don't, so just spit it out, cornhead, what do you want?!"
"Ah! You have no idea how exquisite you are when you're angry," the Digimon smiled. "I've been searching so long for someone like you. With a heart of ice and a will of stone, and now my search is over. I want you to be my Tamer."
"In your dreams, pal!" Rika snapped.
The Digimon hissed and reached out to grab Rika's arm. The two struggled back and forth before the Ice Digimon let go as a powerful spiral hit the wall above him, covering him in debris. He growled and turned to see three other Tamers standing before him, their Digimon ready to fight.
"Princess?" Rika murmured as she spotted Kimiko.
"And I thought you didn't have any friends?" the Ice Digimon asked looking back at Rika.
"Who is that?" Takato asked, eyeing the Digimon.
"IceDevimon," Henry answered, holding up his D-Power. "He's a champion fallen angel Digimon."
"Let her go!" Kimiko shouted, her voice echoing around the room.
"My tamer and I were just getting acquainted," IceDevimon said, holding Rika closer to him.
"She's not your tamer," Kimiko said. "Rika has Renamon."
"I think it is time for a little upgrade, don't you?"
"Let me go you frozen freak!" Rika spat.
"What do we do?" Takato asked.
"This is not going to be easy," Henry said.
Listening carefully to what her friends were saying, Kimiko turned her gaze skywards and gasped, almost tripping over her own two feet as she stumbled backwards in alarm.
"Whoa, what's the matter?" Takato asked, stopping her from fall.
Kimiko pointed to the icicles hanging down. "Are those... Digimon?" she squeaked.
"What did he do to them?" Takato asked, just as surprised and freaked out as Kimiko.
"They look like trophies," Henry said.
"Oh," Kimiko said, her eyes watering slightly as she looked up at the terrified faces of the destroyed Digimon above. She then lowered her gaze to Labramon and back over at IceDevimon. Would that happen to her best friend if she let her fight?
As if reading her tamer's thoughts, Labramon nudged Kimiko's hand with her head and offered her a lopsided grin. "I'll be OK," she promised. "We have to help Red, remember?"
"Yeah," Kimiko said, nodding. "Go get him, girl!"
Labramon nodded once and took off across the ice towards IceDevimon.
"Guilmon..." Takato said, turning to the great big dinosaur beside him.
"Ready, set and go," Guilmon said, chasing after Labramon.
"Here's your chance, Terriermon," Henry said, looking down at his own Digimon.
"It's about time," Terriermon said, following after his two friends.
"Well, well, time to fight," IceDevimon said his eyes on the approaching three Digimon. In the time it had taken the three pathetic humans to work out his plan and find his trophies, he had sent out an echo call for Renamon, leading her straight to his trap. When she arrived, he'd destroy her, load her data and then claim Rika as his new partner.
Labramon gasped as shards of ice and snow covered every inch of her fur. Thankfully she was a long-haired dog and didn't feel much of the cold, but her paws locked into place and, despite her mind still running, her body was frozen.
"No!" Takato and Kimiko yelled simultaneously.
"Labramon!" Kimiko yelled. She tugged herself free of Takato's grasp and rushed towards the frozen statue that was her Digimon. "What did he do?!" she asked Henry and Takato as they joined her.
"I dunno," Takato said. "But we've got to get them out." He grabbed a metal anchor from the corner of the room and started to hammer at the ice; it chipped in places but didn't crack.
"Kimiko, watch yourself," Henry said. He took her by the arm and pulled her aside as he helped Takato try and break the ice. But their attempts were futile. Nothing was working, the ice wasn't even cracking.
IceDevimon laughed cruelly. "I hear one becomes quite warm just before freezing," he sneered.
"You're so twisted it's scary," Henry said. He reached into his cards and pulled out his desired attack. It wasn't an offensive one, at least not one that would cause damage to IceDevimon. "Digi-modify," he called. "Heat activate."
Inside the chasm of ice, Terriermon burned a bright orange. But, despite the heat, the ice refused to melt.
"I don't get it," Kimiko said, looking around at Rika. "Where's Renamon?"
Rika turned away from the blonde. "Renamon's gone," she mumbled. "Even if I called her, she wouldn't come."
"I wouldn't be so sure, Rika," Kimiko said, softly. "Even if you don't see it, or if you choose to ignore it, Renamon still cares about you."
Rika shook her head.
"Come on, Rika, fess up," IceDevimon said, maintaining a firm hold on the human. "Did you two have a fight? That just proves she's too weak to handle a special tamer like you."
"Rika, don't listen to him," Kimiko said. "Friends fight all the time; it doesn't make you any less friends. Renamon's out there looking for you right now."
"How do you know?"
"I just do!" Kimiko insisted.
Finally breaking free of IceDevimon's grip, Rika took her first step towards Kimiko. She wanted to believe that Renamon was searching for her; she wanted to believe that despite everything she at least had one friend, be it human or Digimon she didn't care.
"Let me go!" Rika yelled as IceDevimon caught her again and pulled her back towards him.
"You need a partner who understands you," IceDevimon said. "A partner appreciates you and who craves you cold strength. Embrace the future I offer you," he said, pointing to the trophies above his head.
Rika closed her eyes against the fear building inside her. "Renamon," she called again.
Kimiko jumped and covered herself as rocks fell from the ceiling. IceDevimon released Rika and she stumbled over towards Kimiko. Looking up she was surprised to find a hole in the ceiling, a hole that was filled with the silhouette of Renamon.
"I don't believe it!" Rika breathed in surprise.
"I told you," Kimiko said.
"Ah, the infamous Renamon," IceDevimon smirked. "I'd love to sit and chat but I have to destroy you."
"No!" Rika pleaded.
"Diamond -" Renamon gasped as IceDevimon collided with her, wrapping his hands around her waist and tossing her aside like a rag doll. He roared as she flew towards her, inches away from Kimiko and Rika were standing. Jumping back to her feet, Renamon tried her attack again but was once more cut off by IceDevimon's special attack.
She groaned as she was rendered to her knees and keeled over onto her side.
"Rika she has to Digivolve!" Takato shouted from the top of the three ice statues.
"I can't let her digivolve," Rika said, shaking her head.
"Why not?" Kimiko asked.
"What if she ends up like IceDevimon?"
"She won't," Kimiko said. "Remember what I said the last time we had this argument? If you care about Renamon then she'll digivolve into your desired champion form, she won't become a monster."
Rika, still hesitating, gasped as she felt Kimiko take her hand and squeeze it.
"You can do it, Rika," Kimiko murmured. "Showing compassion for another individual doesn't make you weak, if anything it makes you stronger."
Rika stiffened and then looked up at Renamon.
"Why do you look at her like that?" IceDevimon asked. "A Digimon is only useful if it can fight. Tell me, why do you care for this pathetic creature."
Rika swallowed and glanced at Kimiko. The blonde nodded, smiling encouragingly. "She's my friend," she said, her voice hard. "I care before Renamon's my friend!"
A bright light burst forth from Rika's D-power and Renamon rose back to her feet. She embraced the light the surrounded her and Kimiko smiled as she clutched Rika's arm tighter.
"Renamon... digivolve too... Kyubimon."
"You did it, Rika!" Kimiko said, excitedly.
"I... did?" Rika breathed her eyes wide as her new digivolved Digimon stood before her. "But... why?"
IceDevimon snarled at Kyubimon.
"Foxtail inferno," Kyubimon said, firing up her nine-tails and throwing them at the Ice Digimon. He took to the skies to avoid being hit. "Where are you going, Frosty?" Kyubimon called, following him. "Dragon wheel!" she spun in a circle, transforming into a blazing wheel of blue flame and collided with the ice Digimon.
"Tundra Freeze!" IceDevimon shouted. His eyes burned blue and he froze the dragon wheel before it could hit him. It shattered and disappeared. "Avalanche claw," he added, releasing a barrage of icicles from his wings.
Rika gasped, her own hands gripping Kimiko's in fear as Kyubimon was caught in the blast.
"We... gotta... do... something..." Takato said, between breaths as he continued to try and break the ice surrounding Labramon, Terriermon and Guilmon.
Kimiko swallowed hard and glanced fearfully over at Henry.
"Wait, that's it," Henry said, reaching into his cards. He pulled out another attack card and swiped it across his D-Power. "Digi-modify! Expansion activate!"
Terriermon started to expand inside the ice causing it to crack and disappear. Labramon breathed a sigh of relief and tore across the ice towards Kimiko. Elevated by the release of her best friend, Kimiko laughed as the Labrador-Digimon knocked her over and started to lick at her face.
"I'm glad you're OK too, Labramon," Kimiko said between chuckles. She wrapped her arms around the dog's neck and hugged her, before looking up as Guilmon sped past him.
"Can I get a hug too?" Terriermon asked, jumping up onto Labramon's back and wrapping an ear around Kimiko, hoisting himself up onto her head. Kimiko laughed and pulled him down, hugging him like a stuffed animal. He was just as cold as Labramon had been.
Whilst Terriermon snuggled deeper into Kimiko's arms, Takato took a stand in front of her. In the short amount of time he had gotten to know Kimiko, she had become almost like a sister to him. He felt protective of her and after seeing IceDevimon come close to attacking her and Rika in his tirade to get at Renamon, he had been worried about her safety.
"Ready, Guilmon?" Takato called, reaching for one of his cards. He swiped it through his D-Power and yelled, "Digi-modify! Speed activate!"
Guilmon growled as she sped up, dodging IceDevimon's hands as they reached out to grab him. "Pyro sphere!" the red dinosaur shouted, blasting a fireball at the fallen angel Digimon. IceDevimon ducked to the side and reached out again to grab the dinosaur, Guilmon retaliated by grabbing onto his claws and holding him back.
"Takato, do something!" Kimiko pleaded.
Takato nodded and reached for another card. "Digi-modify! Hyper wing activate!" he called.
"That's it," Henry said, pleased that Takato had managed to pick up on the combo attacks so quickly.
Bright white wings appeared on Guilmon's back and he took to the air. His claws wrapped around IceDevimon's waist and he crashed him into the ceiling. The fallen Angel Digimon roared in annoyance as he became wedged in the stone, before he disappeared into a million tiny data particles for Guilmon to absorb.
Kimiko turned away and hid her face in Labramon's flank as IceDevimon's disembodied hand as it fell to floor, breaking down into particles before it landed. She was sure that she was going to get nightmares after this.
~*Expect the Unexpected*~
With IceDevimon defeated the digital field disappeared leaving the four tamers and their Digimon on the roof of the underground. Kimiko was still hugging Terriermon and hiding her face in Labramon's flank when Henry touched her shoulder and softly told her that it was over.
Kimiko smiled and stood up, offering Terriermon back to Henry. He shook his head as the long-eared rabbit wrapped his ears around Kimiko and rested comfortably against her chest. Kimiko giggled as she remembered Henry calling her a Digimon magnet not that long ago.
"Rika, are you OK?" Henry asked, turning his attention away from Kimiko and onto Rika. The red head had yet to say anything about what had happened in the digital field, and her face was blank of all emotions.
"I hate 'em," Rika said, earning everyone's attention.
"Well, he's gone now," Takato said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Not him," Rika said, clenching her fists. "I hate Digimon! All of them!" she shouted.
"Huh?" Kimiko asked, looking around in surprise. "But, Rika..."
"This isn't about love and compassion, Princess," Rika snapped, although she instantly regretted it as Kimiko's face fell. "Digimon are dangerous data! IceDevimon proved that." She sighed, shook her head and walked away.
"Rika, wait, you don't mean that," Takato called.
"Kyubimon, wait a minute, where are you going?" Henry asked as the champion-level fox also got up and walked away. She was so sure that Rika had finally accepted her as a friend, but she had been wrong.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Takato asked. "Aren't you guys supposed to be friends?"
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So, I finally got this chapter finished. It was difficult to write, I'll admit, and then my obsession with Power Rangers spiked when I started to create a new story, and then I had other things to do on top of all of it. Life had not been kind since I left University.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave us a review and tell us what you think.
Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx
Chapter updated 22nd September, 2014 at 04:26am