Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, nor do I own When the World's Not Ending, by Smartalec121 or any of their associated works.

Off the Beaten Path

Chapter: 29/ Fire Storm

Tally sighed beneath her visor. She wished Riley were here, but the situation being what it was, she couldn't make it a reality. Riley was needed for Yamaki's Sleipnir project as she had worked on the project alongside their departed superior. Her current fellow operator wasn't bad, but he couldn't be Riley. He lacked her skill and conversational talents and, of course, years of association and friendship. She wondered how her friend was doing, dealing with her loss. She didn't talk much about it, though it looked clear to Tally that she missed him deeply and felt the pain of his absence every time she went home to their apartment.

"That's another one gone," the man – Daigo Nishijima, if Tally remembered his name correctly – said. He sounded bored and annoyed, like he would rather be anywhere else but here. "Shall I record that one as well?"

"Yes," Tally replied. Her seat swiveled about, directing her to a red signal that lit up on one of the screens. She scowled as it ran into another signal – this one color-coded green – and both vanished. Just as expected.

"Just what are you?" she wondered aloud.

"Ma'am?"

"Nothing." Tally's hands moved across her keyboard, trying to identify the anomaly. For two days now, there had been a sudden increase in wild digimon attempting to bio-emerge into the digital world. Almost a flood of them in fact. Fortunately, they were all low-level ones that rarely went above Rookie. The sheer number of them was alarming by itself, but something – the signal – lay in wait for them in the dimensional warp and destroyed them before they could even breach into the material world. By what, neither she nor her companion could tell. The signal hid itself from Hypnos' sensors, registering only as a blip just before engaging a target and then disappearing almost as quickly. Too short to get a proper scan beyond a recognition of its signature from previous encounters.

There's a predator on the loose and all those low level digimon are a shooting gallery for it. Tally pressed her lips together, thinking of Calumon. How many of those digimon were like him? She didn't care to think about that. Nor did she like not knowing what it was that was killing them.

Yamaki hated unknowns like this. Could it be that alternate D-Reaper from before? Or another one like it warned us about?

She still had her doubts about the 'Jeri' that crossed over and gave them an advanced warning system for detecting other D-Reaper intrusions. How could they be sure she was on the level with them and not setting up some kind of trojan system for a later invasion?

Of course, that was Janyu's assignment now, which had its own problems thanks to a combination of Sleipnir and Himiko Hata.

Tally sighed and shook her head.

Don't get distracted, Tally. You've got to figure out this weird signal so you can actually have something to bring to Hata. Let's see, what can I do to get a faster reaction time on the sensors?

A series of new green signals appeared on one of the screens and Tally sat up in alarm.

What the hell?! How many are…?"

"Multiple wild types!" Daigo exclaimed. "They're making a run for the dimensional barrier! I won't be able to stop them in time!"

On cue, the mysterious blip appeared and disappeared, and the green signals began to vanish in time with each reappearance. It was like a shooting gallery for the intruder. Tally's hands flew across her panel, trying to gather as much information as she could.

###

Rika found Kayoko making her way down the street, carrying a long, thin bag that went from the top of her head down to her knees. Rika arched an eyebrow at its presence. She picked up her pace, first matching Kayoko's swift, angry pace before exceeding it long enough to slip in beside her friend as quietly as a ninja. However, despite her stealth, Kayoko registered no surprise at Rika's presence when she announced herself.

"Haven't seen you lugging that around in a while. Something happen?"

Kayoko shrugged, but she looked sullen.

"Had a fight with my boyfriend last night. I was hoping I could vent later at your place."

Rika considered it for a moment before nodding.

"Sure. My family will be thrilled. I'm training with the Tamers there after school. They'll like your slice of normal being there. What did you guys fight about?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Kayoko grumbled. "How's your thing with your gogglehead going?"

A faint blush rose on Rika's cheeks, but she allowed Kayoko her brief evasion. "No real change. I kind of wish he would get angry and actually cut loose for once." She furrowed her brow. "I'm starting to wonder if I should pick a fight with him just so he could do just that. At least then he'd be getting it out of his system."

"I wouldn't recommend it." Kayoko shook her head and then ground her teeth. "You get someone mad enough they might do something they can't take back with an "I'm sorry." And I don't like feeling this way. Especially after…" She let out an anguished cry and then abruptly stomped on the ground. "How dare the jerk! I ought to have punched his face in!"

"That bad, huh?"

"He called you a digimon freakazoid for being a tamer and that I should stop being friends with you! Stop being friends?! Who the hell does he think he is?! I ought to…!" She halted suddenly and then shot a glare at Rika. "Sneaky."

"It's my specialty," Rika shrugged. "And I'm not saying sorry for that one. You needed to vent. Freakazoid, huh? I've heard worse."

"It was less that and more the whole "Stop being friends with Nonaka" that pissed in my miso. I know he's never really liked you, but this was a whole new level." Growling angrily, Kayoko gripped her bag strap tightly like she wanted to swing it at something. "You're one of my best friends! No way in hell am I putting up with that!"

"Sorry for ruining your relationship."

"Don't know if I'd say it's ruined." Kayoko sniffed. "Definitely some rocky waves for his ship. He gets one more shot." She glanced at Rika. "That was sneaky what you did. Why don't you try that on Gogglehead?"

"Because he's clammed up and won't bite." She glared at her friend. "And don't make any smart remarks about biting."

"Wouldn't dream of it right now. I'll just think it and casually drop it into conversation at a later date."

"Anyway." Rika adjusted her bag. "I get the feeling something happened and it makes him scared to lose his temper. Maybe some dark digivolution thing happened. The show mentions that our emotions can really influence our partners."

"Like how much?"

"One character turned his dinosaur partner into a rampaging rage monster with a nuclear missile strapped to his spinal column that went nuts on all his friends and nearly killed them." Rika adjusted her bag again. "And I saw what happened when Titamon's attack influenced him. That wasn't pretty either. Not as bad, but not pretty."

She thought about the dark knight that Takato and Guilmon had become; a sharp contrast compared to the radiant, angelic warrior they had been prior to that fight. How much of that was influencing Takato's thinking, she could only guess at.

He's keeping so much bottled up inside. I don't know how to help him. Maybe Kenta or Suzie can clue me in here.

She wondered about Suzie. Her antagonism toward Takato aside, she had been strangely isolated from the others of late.

I should probably check in on her too. She clutched her bag strap tightly. I shouldn't be playing favorites.

The sound of running footsteps interrupted her thoughts. Turning, she saw Toshiko sprinting full-tilt toward them.

"Whoa! What's going on?" Rika asked, alarmed. Her hand strayed instinctively to her digivice and Kayoko turned to add her own questioning eyebrow in support of the Digimon Queen's curiosity.

"I don't know. Too much sugar this morning?"

In answer, Toshiko leapt the final three feet and crash-landed in her friends' bewildered arms, earning her exclamations of surprise. In spite of this, Toshiko giggled madly the entire time and hugged them both tightly. Between the giggling and the crushing wall of arms, it took Rika and Kayoko a full minute to discover that she was blushing brightly.

"K-Kenta!" Toshiko laughed, finally collecting herself enough to break away and give her friends room to breathe. "H-He wants to see a movie this weekend! With me! He wants to go somewhere with me!"

Kayoko and Rika exchanged looks of concern and amusement.

"Well," Kayoko began, "it's a step up from just messaging us about it in her usual crazy way."

Toshiko's eyes suddenly went wide at Kayoko's lengthy bag and Rika could see the sparkling light within her irises. "Ohhh! You brought Mr. Bokken with you! Is Mr. Bokken going to come out and play today? Poor Mr. Bokken! You've been in the closet for so long. Bad Kayoko! Mr. Bokken is very, very displeased with you!"

"I think I prefer the text messages," Rika sighed, though a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, glad for her friend's happiness.

The clicking sounds of her digivice ruined the mood. Taking it out of her bag, she found the compass function drifting wildly about its screen before finally settling on a direction.

Chuo Park. Or what's left of it anyway.

"Got to go?" Kayoko asked. "Better get running then. We'll cover for you."

"Mr. Bokken will have a fit for you if the class rep complains!" Toshiko cheered. "Go save the world, Rika!"

"I'll catch you guys later," Rika said. Whirling about, she broke into a run.

"Renamon!" she thought, reaching out through the mental connection she shared with her partner. "Looks like it's time to go to work!"

###

Kenta wasn't quite sure how to feel beyond nervous. MarineAngemon was of the opinion that he should be happy. After all, he asked out Toshiko, which took considerable courage on his part to accomplish, making it a milestone for him. Plus, she appeared to be interested in him, which was something of a rarity in itself.

He couldn't help but feel nervous anyway. His being a tamer came with certain risks after all, one of which being social.

She doesn't seem to mind though, and one of her best friends is a tamer now too. His mood brightened, remembering Rika had now become one of them. That hopefully would make things a little easier. The more, the better.

I just wish Takato would see it that way. I wish a lot of things about Takato right now in fact.

Speaking of whom, he found his friend approaching the main entrance to their school. His gait was slumped and without energy, as if his body was a sack of potatoes he reluctantly lugged about. Rika's message to him, asking about how Takato was doing, came to mind and with it a hint of worry. He didn't need to be a scientist to know she was worried about him and his lack of communication with people right now.

Maybe he'll snap out of it like he did last time?

He wanted to believe that, but Takato took things harder than most, and Yamaki's death was a particularly terrible blow. Kenta knew something had to be done to bring him out of his dark cloud, but he also knew that was easier said than done.

Might as well start with small steps, just like before.

Kenta raised a hand to call out to Takato, but before he could even get a word out, a tall boy with reddish-brown hair stepped in front of the knight. Kenta's heart sank as he immediately recognized Masaru Daimon, their school's resident delinquent. He said something Kenta couldn't quite make out, but whatever the case may be, Takato drew to a halt. Sweating, Kenta broke into a run.

"MarineAngemon, stay out of this," he said hurriedly. He didn't get very far before Masaru grabbed hold of Takato by his collar. He continued to yell angrily at Takato. Whatever the goggleheaded leader of the Tamers said in reply, Masaru plainly didn't like it and drew his fist back. A second later, it collided with Takato's face. The boy took it limply, not even responding or reacting beyond a pained cry. This lack of response only seemed to anger Masaru even further and he punched Takato again, who jerked like a ragdoll.

"S-Stop it!" Kenta shouted. Hurling himself at Masaru, he tackled the taller boy without thinking. Masaru's reaction was immediate, honed by years of street fighting. Kenta almost didn't feel his nose break and he fell backward in a spray of blood. Gasping, Kenta clasped his hands over it to stop the flow. He felt the crawl of red heat flowing between the gaps of his fingers.

"Stay out of this," Masaru growled in warning at Kenta. "This is for his own good."

Seeing Kenta's bleeding nose, a light went on in Masaru's eyes just then. Stalking over to him, he hauled the bespectacled boy to his feet.

"Pih!" MarineAngemon shouted in alarm and immediately flew in front of his partner. He spread his wings out protectively and glared defiantly at Masaru. "Puhpuh! Pih!"

"Fuck off," Masaru replied. But he didn't strike the tiny fairy digimon, nor did he attempt to do so with Kenta. Instead, he grabbed hold of Kenta's nose and covered it with his free hand to prevent further bleeding. He then glowered over at Takato, who now rose back to his feet. Takato's eyes were vacant, seeing, but at the same time not quite seeing anything. Kenta could see that his bodily responses were more like habitual motions. He felt a cold dread form in the pit of his stomach at the deadness in his face. They were so completely unlike Takato that Masaru's angry glare might as well be like daggers piercing unfeeling clay. Masaru made a disgusted sound.

"You're not even going to protect your friend?"

"Let him go," Takato said, his voice flat and strained, as if he were fighting to get it out. Masaru looked over at Kenta and adjusted his grip on his nose. A second later, Kenta screamed as Masaru pulled his broken nose along his face. Takato jerked at the sound and gave a harsh gasp. Sweat broke out across his face and he began to violently tremble.

"Stop… Stop!"

Masaru released Kenta's nose and looked back at Takato.

"Make me. Come on… Make me!"

"Kahuna Waves!"

A pink heart shot out and forcefully pushed Masaru away from Kenta. The taller boy pinwheeled and his back slammed into the wall of the school's gate. The heart popped harmlessly and Masaru stood there, breathing heavily, eyes locked with MarineAngemon.

"Puh!" MarineAngemon shouted at him. His fists tightening, Masaru pushed away from the wall and fell into a fighting stance.

"Looks like it's fighting time aga-!"

"What's going on here?!"

Ayaka's voice broke the tension like a hot knife through butter and at once Masaru's fists relaxed. The copper-haired girl stormed up to the taller boy and immediately kicked at his shins.

"Masaru! Get to class!"

"Knock it off, Ayaka," Masaru snorted, taking the strike to his leg without so much as a flinch. This only increased the girl's ire and she kicked with even more force. This time, Masaru winced.

"Get to class!" Ayaka growled, not letting up with her kicks. "What the heck do you think you're doing, starting fights again? You – Kenta!" She looked down at the bleeding boy with a horrified expression. It quickly devolved into volcanic anger and she whirled back upon Masaru, who bore it with only a faint blush.

"Don't worry. I reset his nose."

"You… What?! Damn it, Masaru…! Get to class! I'll take him to the nurse's office! You… You and your stupid fists! What are you still doing here?! Get going!"

"Fine, fine. I get it." He cast a look at Kenta. "You'd better have a talk with him though. Seeing him like this… It's making me sick. I thought he was better than this."

"Masaru…"

"All right! I'm going!"

"Stupid, muscle-headed dork," Ayaka muttered under her breath as Masaru began to hurry off in an irritated huff. "Always thinking he can fix a problem by punching it. He can forget about our date this weekend." Turning to Kenta, she knelt down next to him.

"Here," she said. Pulling out a handkerchief, she pressed it against Kenta's nose. "Looks like the bleeding has stopped. That's good."

"Pih?" MarineAngemon asked, floating over to Kenta. The boy waved him off gently.

"I-I'm fine," he said, his voice thick and distorted. "Just a little clogged."

"He got you good," Ayaka acknowledged before turning to Takato. "So, what happened? Masaru's always been good about not treating you like garbage, but this is different. It's not like him."

Takato stared at his shaking hands. Closing his eyes, he saw flashes of his hands covered in blood.

"Humans and digimon exist only to destroy or be destroyed," came the memory of the D-Reaper's voice. "Humans desire total annihilation, therefore their existence is pointless."

That's right. It's all pointless. Just…pointless.

That thought felt alien to him, yet he couldn't stop it from filtering down into his mind and heart. Opening his eyes, he looked up at Kenta. He remembered the flash of anger that had surprisingly broken through the cold in his heart when he saw Masaru strike his friend. His body had almost moved in response to it, but a terror had clamped down on him almost immediately. With the terror, came memories of so many past battles that, once filled with purpose now felt empty.

And worse. That anger. That dark anger that nearly drove him to attack Masaru. Clenching his eyes shut, Takato desperately sought the cold that had shielded him before.

I can't feel this way. I can't! If Guilmon is affected by it…

He shivered, remembering the roar of Megidramon beneath a blood-soaked sky.

"Hey! Takato! I'm talking to you!" Ayaka looked at Kenta, her expression starting to become worried. "What's with him?"

At once, both of their digivices began to click and beep, a signal that a wild digimon was about to bio-emerge. Ayaka and Kenta watched as Takato looked at his digivice in despair. Their fight was far from over.

Breaking away from Ayaka, Kenta shakily went over to Takato and tried to help Takato to his feet. Instead, Takato slapped away his hand and forced himself up.

"Get to the nurse's office," he said harshly. His voice quavered, but it remained steady. Without waiting to see if Kenta would obey, Takato broke into a run, following the compass on his digivice to the bio-emergence's source.

"MarineAngemon," Kenta said, his voice muffled behind Ayaka's handkerchief. "Follow him and keep him safe."

"Pih!" MarineAngemon nodded before darting after the other Tamer.

###

"There's never a dull day around here," Suzie snarled as she pounded down the pavement. "Why can't there ever be a dull day around here?"

From atop Suzie's head, Lopmon sympathized with her partner's frustrations. The last week and a half had not been kind, and the knowledge that Sleipnir contained her brother's memories – at least until they were removed – had not slept well with her. And now, the digital world was piling on even more problems.

Presently, the number of those problems was, evidently, three. One involved a small, doglike digimon that Suzie recognized as a Gazimon. He hid behind a lamppost, doing his best to pretend to be just a regular part of the landscape. The other two involved large, thickly-armored dinosaur digimon with an armored hide, a closely-fitting crest that protected its neck, and a single, great horn protruding from its snout. Suzie recognized them as Monochromon, and they were making a beeline toward the cowering Gazimon. Snarling, one of them skewered a car and with a shake of its head, sent it sailing at the Gazimon's direction. The smaller digimon, panicking, broke cover and made a run for it. The Monochromon, both grinning, reared up and proceeded to fire a volley of fireballs from their mouths at the hapless Rookie.

"Great," Suzie said, drawing out her digivice. "Time to suit up, Lopmon. Digi-modify! Matrix digivolution activate!"

Lopmon leapt off her partner's head just as a bright glow enveloped her. Words involuntarily came to her mouth as her body lengthened.

"Lopmon, Matrix digivolve tooo… Antylamon!"

The warrior-rabbit emerged from the light, and her now long arms swiftly transformed themselves into a pair of axes. Spinning in midair, she surged toward the fireballs and cut them down effortlessly.

"That's enough of that," Antylamon said immediately upon landing. "I'm giving you two a chance to surrender. If you do, I will escort you to a nearby portal and you may leave without harm. If you do not…" Antylamon shifted her axe-hands and their edges gleamed beneath the sunlight.

The Monochromon exchanged glances before snarling defiantly. One broke into a head-on charge while the other fired a slew of molten balls of volcanic lava. Sighing with disappointment, Antylamon dashed forward. Her axes swung, cleaving through the fireball and the charging Monochromon with frightening ease. The dinosaur choked with shock as his head sheared off from the rest of his body and then evaporated.

"Figured it'd come down to this," Suzie said with disappointment. Her eyes turned to follow the Gazimon, who was making a break for it. "Hey! Wait!" she called after him.

The Gazimon would not wait however and continued to race off. However, a now familiar, golden-furred kitsune materialized before him, and the canine ground to a halt.

"H-Hey!" he stammered out. "What's the big idea?! I'm not hurting anyone!"

"She asked for you to wait," Renamon said simply.

"Thanks for the assist," Suzie acknowledged, running on up. Behind her, the second Monochromon died in a flash of light as Antyalmon bisected them down the middle. "Those guys looked like they were chasing you. What's your story?"

Gazimon flinched, clearly as afraid of them as he had been his earlier assailants.

"A bunch of key players are brawling on the other side," he hastily explained. "It's been a madhouse for days. Everyone's either getting out while the getting's good, or taking what they want while the Sovereigns' attention's off elsewhere."

"The Sovereign is fighting someone?" Renamon asked. "Who?"

"Each other!" Gazimon exclaimed, his stress bubbling over. "Weren't you listening? They're fighting each other!"

"I guess that explains why birdy hasn't sent a revenge party," Suzie said. She looked over at Renamon. Her eyes were wide and her posture had become unsettled. Clearly, she didn't take this news well.

"Where's Model-Girl?" Suzie asked, looking around. Seeing Renamon narrow her eyes at her, Suzie quickly amended, "Rika, I mean. Where's your partner?"

"She's on her way," Renamon replied stiffly. "She requested that I get a lay of the landscape so she can determine the best tactics upon arrival."

"We're going to have this cleaned up before she even gets here." Suzie glanced at Gazimon. "You can deliver this guy to Hypnos for safe keeping."

"W-What are you going to do to me?" the Rookie said, backing away ever so slightly.

"Send you back to the digital world, duh. What did you think we were going to do?"

"You could look the other way and let me go about my business."

Renamon shook her head. "I am sorry, but we cannot do that. We have no way of guaranteeing that you won't get in trouble in this world. The best thing we can do for you is show you the way back to the digital world."

"You know, with the way things are right now, that's not much better than killing me." Gazimon's shoulders fell in despair. "Something… Something was killing us on the other side and loading our data. I don't know what, but it just showed up and started picking us off, one by one. Only a few of us made it to this side."

Renamon and Suzie exchanged looks. Suzie could see the uncertainty in the kitsune's eyes. She wasn't used to dealing with situations like this, and so deferred to her in this matter.

I'm not sure what to do either. If his story checks out, we might actually be sending him off to get killed. She clenched her teeth tightly. "Just…get him to Hypnos. We'll sort things out later."

"N-No!" Gazimon said, raising his claws. "I'm not going back! Not with that monster waiting for me!"

"We're not sending you back until…"

Gazimon ceased listening.

"Electric Stun Blast!" he shouted, and a bolt of lightning shot out from his mouth and at Suzie. However fast he attacked though, Renamon was even faster, and she swiftly tackled Suzie out of the way. Rolling back to her feet, she crossed her arms together and an orb of white light formed in front of her.

"Diamond Storm!" she shouted. Slashing her arms outward, the orb broke and innumerable crystalline shards shot forth, impaling Gazimon's body. He screamed in horrible pain as his body dissolved into data. Renamon moved to absorb it instinctively, only to freeze before she could begin the process.

Do partner digimon absorb their foes? she suddenly wondered.

While she debated, the data flew away and up toward the sky, taking the decision out of her hands. Renamon relaxed, finding herself grateful that she didn't have to choose. She turned toward Suzie.

"Are you injured?"

"I'm fine. Just a skinned knee." She scowled at the vulpine as Antylamon landed behind her. "You didn't have to delete him, you know."

"Apologies. I am not used to holding back against an opponent. I will remember that in the future."

Suzie swallowed, watching as the last remnant of Gazimon's data floated out of her vision. Her digivice clicked and beeped, signaling to her that there were still other wild digimon in play.

"Better go find Model-er, Rika," she said, climbing into Antylamon's hand. "Jobs not finished yet."

Renamon bowed and faded from sight.

###

He watched as Guilmon raced toward the Tyrannomon, drawn to its rampage by his viral instincts. Claws twitched, aching to enter the material world and slay the hazard digimon. Yet, he stayed his hand. The time was not yet to force the matter, and as strong as he had become in the years since first arriving in this world – power achieved from absorbing the many foes defeated at the hands of the Tamers, from the lowly Musyamon to the mighty Devas – he still did not feel confident yet in confronting these foes, even when vulnerable. Too often he had observed them change the tides of battle in their favor. Too often had fortune stolen victory from the strong.

Patient. I need to be patient and wait for my opening. It's almost there. Just a little bit more.

So, he watched. He waited. And in the meantime, he would grow even stronger.

###

Tyrannomon whipped his tail about as the sights and sounds of the city assaulted his senses. Fear ruled his mind, as did the pain of his battered body. Memories wove webs of nightmares in his thoughts, calling forth images of blood-red eyes and claws and the shattering sound of weapons fire as digimon screamed all about him. Not even the lone Ultimate that had been with them stood a chance against this foe and before too long it had been all they could do just to get here in the hope of finding some safety.

There was none to be found however. A gunshot from a nearby police officer brought forth the nightmare and he lashed out, tearing a swath of carnage among the motor vehicles. Overturned cars blared horns and alarms in some kind of obscene death cry and humans screamed. Screamed! Why did they sound terrified? Weren't humans responsible for defeating the Chaos? Tyrannomon whirled about frantically. Perhaps the demon was stronger than even that horror and had followed him here!

He was startled to find instead a single, red-scaled digimon with a hazard sign emblazoned on his white chest. It waved companionably at him.

"Hi. Would you like some help? You look scared."

Tyrannomon's senses reached out and tasted the virus-type in the creature. Just like the demon.

"Fire Blast!" he shouted.

Guilmon's ears rose up in alarm.

"Oh, boy…" he said and then dove to the side.

###

Takato ran.

He ran so he didn't have to think. Thinking meant he might hesitate; that he might stop in place and keep from helping his partner. Whatever his problems were that left him feeling so dead inside, there remained a small part of him that refused to give up on that part of his life.

He couldn't quite stop his imagination though. With each step that brought him closer to the battle and the explosions, he saw flashes of each of his past battles. Guilmon, crushed against a wall by a Devidramon; the Deva invasions. Beelzemon impaling Leomon and Jeri's horrified scream. Megidramon's animalistic roar that mirrored his own.

He could feel a scream welling up in his throat at the sight of smoke billowing into the sky. He forced himself to swallow it down and press onward.

"Guilmon…" he said in a hushed breath.

"Pih?" came MarineAngemon's questioning voice as he floated up after Takato. He felt something tremble inside him. MarineAngemon's question wasn't clear in words, but the meaning was. He wanted to know if he was all right, inviting him to share what was plain for all to see.

I'm not all right. Nothing is. Can't you see? How can anything be all right when things like this happen all the time?

He closed his eyes against the flash of distant fire. The cold wasn't enough anymore. Not against the fire building within him.

"Takato!"

His eyes snapped over to the voice that hailed him and found Rika breathlessly running toward him. He almost froze in place at the sight of her, but instead he found himself running all the harder. It felt as if he was trying to get away from her now.

Get away from her. Get away before she dies too.

Rika drew abreast to him and matched his pace. MarineAngemon happily giggled with relief and let out a series of excited pihs and puhs in greeting. Rika nodded to him before focusing on Takato.

"H-Hey. W-What's…What's the plan?" she asked, straining to draw in breath. Her frown indicated she was concentrating deeply on this, and as she waited for his answer, he could hear her counting hurriedly.

"One. Two. One. One. Two. One."

There is no plan, Takato thought, pressing himself all the harder. You shouldn't be here. Why are you helping me?

"T-Takato! Are you…listening? What's…the plan?"

Still, he didn't answer. Lowering his head like a bull on the charge, he somehow managed to find even more speed. Unfortunately, Rika snagged hold of him by his wrist and, jerking him back, nearly brought them both crashing to the ground.

"Takato! Stop!" she said, grunting as she wheeled about on one foot to regain her balance. "What is wrong with…you?"

Rika cocked her head and at once he saw worry flood her eyes. It was just then that Takato realized he was crying.

"Takato…" she said, her voice becoming soft. Reaching out, she brushed at his face and her fingers traced a line from his eyes and down to the bruises welling up on his cheekbone.

"It's nothing," he said, turning away. MarineAngemon, frowning, let out an angry and disbelieving puh.

"The heck it's not," Rika said, agreeing with Kenta's partner. "Even the little guy says so. Takato, it looks like someone decked you! What…?"

"There's no time!" he exploded. Deep inside, he felt something black and acrid boiling up inside of him. Another explosion and Takato felt his legs buckle as pain lanced through him. He let out a sharp gasp and clutched his shoulder. "Guilmon!"

Renamon phased into view. "Rika. Guilmon needs help. Digivolve me quickly."

Rika looked back and forth between the others before nodding. Whatever was going on with Takato, it needed to be resolved at a separate time after the fight was over and Renamon was faster than MarineAngemon. Drawing out her digivice and a digivolution card, she slashed it through the slot on the side, just as she had been taught.

"Digi-modify!" she shouted, sparks flashing from the card slot. "Digivolution activate!"

Renamon leapt skyward as a shell of data formed about her. Data stripped off from her body, baring the wireframe that lay underneath and began to alter. One tail became nine, and hand-like claws became feet. Her face become longer and narrower and a ribbon formed about her neck, tipped with bells. Data poured over her, reconstructing her fur. The shell of data shattered, revealing her Champion level form for the world to see.

"Renamon, digivolve tooo… Kyubimon!"

She sailed through the air, rejoicing in the feel of digivolution once more. The light she had sought, she found with the girl, Rika Nonaka, and though she was presently lesser in power than before, she did not feel diminished by this. Digivolution! Her second time as a Champion since partnering with Rika, and the first time in battle. Upon landing on a nearby roof, she immediately began bounding from one to the next until she arrived onto the scene of battle. There, she found Tyrannomon standing over a fallen Guilmon. The smaller dinosaur was burnt and lay in a smoking crater. As she helplessly watched, Tyrannomon lifted a foot and brought it down onto Guilmon hard.

###

Takato nearly vomited as more pain erupted through the link between himself and his partner. For a fraction of an instant, he saw Tyrannomon's foot descend and then bone-crushing blackness surrounded him. He didn't remember himself screaming, but for Rika it was the most chilling thing she ever remembered hearing.

Then, light erupted from Takato's digivice, and once more, Guilmon transformed.

###

"Dragon Wheel!" Kyubimon shouted. Coiling up into a ball, blue flames surrounded her body. Spinning in place, a long, serpentine flow of fire roared out and attacked Tyrannomon. The giant dinosaur fell back, startled, and as he did so, Guilmon's figure, bathed in light, began to rise up from the smoldering crater. He grew, becoming a larger, more muscular version of his previous self, and a white mane of hair fell about his shoulders just as twin horns erupted from his skull.

But there was a crucial difference however. Where his scales had been red, now they were black, and his golden eyes held a look of feral violence to them. Snorting flames through its nostrils, it zeroed in on Tyrannomon. A crimson glow began to burn in the back of his throat as he growled dangerously.

"Guilmon?" Kyubimon asked, feeling her digicore tremble at the sight of the normally childish digimon becoming this way. What happened here? Is Titamon still affecting his partner?

BlackGrowlmon reared back and fired a torrent of flame at Tyrannomon. The dinosaur let out a terrified roar as the fire struck his body, burning away his data until nothing remained save for sparkling light rising skyward.

BlackGrowlmon didn't absorb the data however. Merely watched it depart, growling angrily. Once the shining cloud was gone, it turned toward Kyubimon. Flames licked the corners of his mouth and his eyes dilated. Kyubimon tensed, waiting for the inevitable.

BlackGrowlmon let out a titanic roar that echoed throughout the city.

Watching from above, a dark heart smiled triumphantly.

"Finally," its owner said to itself. "The crack widens."

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