AN: Hey everyone, sorry it's been a little while. I've been designing the backstory and DM notes for my next D&D campaign, and building a religion and history from scratch takes way more time than I thought. I definitely wasn't thinking when I thought it would be quick. But at least I'm mostly done now!

Anyways, I hope everyone has had a good March.

Now, for responses:

To smartalec121: Don't worry, there will come a time when BlackGuilmon won't be completely one-note. Even if he is a newborn with the instincts of a hungry velociraptor, he is a Digidestined Digimon. He already has a food fixation with cinnamon rolls, so that's step one. And of course Taj is his human – it's like some siblings saying that only they are allowed to bully their siblings. They care, they just don't like to show it. In case you don't want to check May's merge rate again, it's about 25% right now, and you'll see what that means in this chapter. She would certainly have an easier fight against Huckmon and Davis, but a trained government agent with an Ultimate Digimon is out of her league no matter what she does. I agree about Terriermon and Momentai. If/When Terriermon meets the dog, he'd give Henry a hard time even if he knew Henry didn't replace him, because that's just who the rabbit-dog is. As for reading into the goggles... well, no comment.

Now then, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Episode 7: Orientation Day: Joining D-CARD!

Henry sat at the table, staring at his phone as ten o'clock rolled around, his only company a snoring dog and a half-full beer on the table beside him. He had been sure to leave the lights outside the house on for when Tasuke got back. It was important that he know Henry was still awake, waiting for him; no one liked coming home to a dark house. And so that he wouldn't try to just sneak upstairs again. Henry sighed and picked up his phone, unlocking it and staring at the last text Tasuke had sent. Henry sighed and put it back on the table as he rubbed his neck. "How long does it take to find a dog?" he muttered, annoyed. He was sure that his sister and her husband were wondering the same thing. He had checked in with her a little while after getting Tasuke's text and, thankfully, it seemed he had been telling the truth. She apparently liked to sneak her dog into her school. A terrible idea from such a smart girl, but one Henry really couldn't mock. He used to sneak Digimon into school, after all.

He briefly wondered if May's dog was a Digimon, then. After all, sneaking it in to school was eerily similar to what he had done as a kid. He wracked his brain, going through every Digimon he had ever heard of. While it had been a while since he'd obsessed over a list like that, he couldn't remember any that were ugly purple dogs. He shook his head and laughed the thought away; he would know if his niece had a Digimon. She'd be getting hurt, running off without explanation all the time, and he was sure he knew most of her tells. And on top of that, he was sure he would recognize a Digimon's behavior if he was around one long enough. Besides, Dory had been to his house a few times, and he'd never noticed the D-Power turn on or do anything weird when she was around.

Just then, Henry heard a truck pull up and idle in the driveway for a moment. The engine shook, then died. A door opened and slammed shut, and a few moments later a key slid into the lock. Tasuke yawned as he walked through the door, scratching his cheek as he went. "God, it's late," he muttered moving bleary eyed through the hall until he noticed Henry. "Hey."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "Hey?" he asked.

Tasuke nodded. "Oh, right." He walked towards Henry, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. He placed it on the table. "Night."

Henry blinked in surprise and grabbed Tasuke's arm, pulling his attention back. The kid was exhausted, eyelids drooping and dark circles under his eyes. "Did you find Dory?" he asked as he let go of his ward's arm. "I bet Mayumi was worried. She loves that ugly thing."

Tasuke laughed and nodded. "Don't know why. I'd be happy to get her a dog that didn't scare everyone around it," he replied. Tasuke shut his eyes and yawned. "Yeah, we found her. You'll never guess where she was."

Henry put his hand on his chin for a while, then shrugged. "Sleeping in a park?"

"Sleeping in her car," Tasuke replied with a laugh. "Stupid dog just jumped out when she was having a breakdown and whined until she was happy again. Pretty pointless trip, huh?"

Henry laughed as he heard that. "Sounds like an adventure," he said. "Those are never pointless. Believe me, you'll look back on all of them one day and you won't be able to stop smiling."

Tasuke raised a tired eyebrow. "Well, if you say so," he finally said, way too tired to argue. He yawned again. "I'm going to head to sleep, Uncle Henry. I've got to finish some work tomorrow morning, so I'll actually get to wake up early and get to school on time."

Henry laughed softly. "That would be a nice change," he agreed with a grin. He reached forward and hugged Tasuke. "Night, Tasuke."

"Night, Henry," Tasuke replied, hugging Henry back before he made his way upstairs.

Henry watched the young man go up the stairs, a soft smile on his face. He'd dropped everything to help Mayumi, and he'd texted Henry before it happened. He took a deep breath of relief for another reason as well: if Tasuke, who basically knew every Digimon ever, didn't think Mayumi had a Digimon, then why should Henry worry?

He pushed himself up to his feet, grabbing Tasuke's phone and plugging it in. Momentai lifted his head and yawned, glancing around as he smelled Tasuke. He stared at Henry for a moment, then whined and returned his face to his bed. "Yeah, he can have it back," Henry agreed before putting the phone down. He stared at the design on the back of the phone. The Hazard; his best friend's symbol. It was nice that Tasuke chose it. Henry thought it meant that the kid did think his parents would come back, or at least he chose to believe that. "I'll make sure he'll have you guys back, too."

X X X

I sat at the head of my bed, the goggles resting on my lap. I just stared at them, feeling... Honestly, I'm still not sure. My entire life, I had thought my parents had abandoned me with Uncle Henry. He never had, but I knew better. What other explanation was there? I slowly grabbed the goggles and rubbed the plastic with my thumb, trying to convince myself that any of this was real. So far, it looked like it was. I'd been doing that whenever I could since Gethen –er, Director Gethen had given them to me. Had to remember the title now that I worked for him.

My parents had been to the Digital World. They were there now, or at least my da – my father was. I'd rather think they were together, though. The idea that one of them was stranded in a world surrounded by monsters like BlackJerkmon was... less than appealing. At least if they were together, they had someone. But if they were there, then there was something big that I hadn't ever considered, because... well, it was insane.

At least one of my parents was a Digidestined. If the show was anything like real life, only Digidestined can go to the Digital World,or people they drag along. That meant that I was... well, was the reason I had been partnered with BlackGuilmon to save my parents? And what the hell was it that they had done when they were my age that they had been chosen as Digidestined? Questions about who my parents really were, what they had done, and what their Digimon could have been swirled through my head. And Henry, he was my dad's best friend. He must have known that they had a Digimon, right? And he must know about the Digital World, if that's the case... so... then...

He really did know they were trying to come back. He knew they were in the Digital World.

I suddenly felt very guilty. He'd been telling me the truth, that they'd never abandoned me when I was a kid, and I'd yelled at him that he was acting naive, that he was an idiot. My parents had left me, that was true. Even if it was Digimon, they'd decided something was more important than me. I... I didn't know if I could forgive that. But Henry hadn't just been right, he'd been telling the truth. They were trying to come back... it just happened to be from a parallel dimension filled with monsters that could blow up skyscrapers. They may have left me, but I wasn't going to leave them to die. I'd bring them back, for me and for Henry. I'd keep it from Henry, though. If my parents vanished because of Digimon, there's no way he'd let me deal with them.

Which made me wonder, what was I going to tell Henry about these goggles? He'd recognize my dad's old goggles in a heartbeat, so... the card box. I'd gotten it out of the attic a while ago. I'd thrown most of my parents' old stuff in that box forever ago with the cards. The goggles were in the box. I lifted them to my head and slipped them on, then stood up and walked over to a mirror inside of my closet door. My blue black hair looked weird all pushed down by the goggles, so I pulled my hair out and let my messy bangs cover them slightly. I turned to the side and pushed the back of my hair up to cover the black strap, then looked at myself. My bangs covered the nose part of the goggles, with a few messy strands across the glass. I looked good in these, though that may have been "I guess that makes me the gogglehead of all this," I muttered as I fiddled with the strap to make it fit better. "I guess May was wrong. There is a Data Squad, she's doing it with me, and I am Tai." I pulled the goggles off and rubbed the plastic one last time before walking back and placing them back in their box. I'd wait to debut them until we met with Davis again, really make May laugh. Or annoyed.

X X X

Henry had been in the basement by the time I woke up to leave on Saturday, two days later. He'd given me my phone back because I'd been responsible and told him the truth before I looked for Dory, and was letting me head out. That made me feel kind of shitty, getting called 'responsible' for lying through my teeth. Still, in for a penny in for a pound: I'd written a quick note to say I would be hanging out with May so he shouldn't worry, then bolted in my car. For once, I was running early for an appointment, and I wasn't going to lose that.

And, for once, I didn't. I got there way before she did, which I hoped BlackGuilmon would be happy about. I was willing to bet that the opportunity to be out and about after being held down and captured the entire night before would make him a little more friendly. Glad I couldn't actually put money on that, because I would have lost big. I put on my father's goggles, then took a deep breath and entered the warehouse. The moment I entered the building, I got a less than friendly greeting, in the form of an insult from my 'partner.' "Finally. If you were any later, I was going to decide you really are worthless!"

"Always a charmer, BG," Huckmon said from beside the Digimon who was strapped down to a cart. The mere mention of that nickname made BlackGuilmon bare his teeth in a growl. If he was free, he probably would have been trying and failing to attack the other Digidestined Digimon.

"Be nice, Huckmon. He was basically handcuffed all night," Davis said as he watched Huckmon poke the other Digimon's nose. "That can't be good for his already bad personality."

That of course, only made him growl more. "At least he didn't kidnap anyone," I said, announcing my presence. Davis' head snapped towards me, but Huckmon didn't seem surprised. Digimon noses. The human of the pair glanced at the ground for a moment, hair obscuring his face. I didn't buy his whole 'want to be friends' act for a second, but man was he milking it. "So I guess that makes two of us."

Huckmon glanced at Davis, then over at me. He frowned, then jumped forward. "So, I like the goggles. They look like they were made for you," he said, turning his frown upside down. "I still can't believe your father is in the Digital World!"

"I am also surprised," Davis said evenly, his face rising to present a military calm. "The Director didn't mention it to me; I would have found you much faster if it had been in my files."

"Why is that?" I wondered as I wandered over to BlackGuilmon and patted his head. He growled again, but I kept doing it anyways.

Huckmon moved to speak again, but Davis cut him off. "I'd prefer to say all of this only once." He pulled out his 3D and checked the time. "Where is she? I thought you were the chronically late one."

"I don't know. You didn't plant a tracker on her when you kidnapped her?" He shot me a look when I asked that, but I just gave him a smirk in return. The room got real quiet after that, other than Huckmon trying to annoy BlackGuilmon, and BlackGuilmon giving the white Digimon exactly what he was looking for.

Finally, the telltale whine of May's jeep came up near the building. It shut off, and a moment later May came in, clutching an annoyed, small Digimon to her chest. She glanced over at me, a face I didn't recognize across her features. She came to a stop near Davis and me. "If those weren't your dad's, I'd be making fun of you for wanting to cosplay as Tai everyday," she said, letting a smile come. She put Dorimon down and came over to give me a side hug.

"I was worried I was going to be alone here," I told her, returning the hug.

She laughed and shook her head. "Come on. Saving your dad from the Digital World? What kind of friend wouldn't help?" she asked.

"And maybe your parents can help you figure all this out, Dummy!" Dorimon shouted as she bounded over to my feet.

I glared at her. "You are the same size and shape as a soccer ball, you know that, right?" I inquired. She just stuck her tongue out at me, calling my bluff. "Stupid ugly dog."

"Well, now we can finally get to business," Davis said, clapping his hands once to draw our attention. "Follow me." He walked behind BlackGuilmon, still strapped to a Home Depot cart, and began to push; Huckmon jumped on top of BlackGuilmon's back, much to the Virus Digimon's growing annoyance. May, Dorimon, and I followed anxiously, waiting for that whole situation to blow up.

It didn't take long for Davis to lead us where we were going, bringing us through large double doors into a room with a computer on a podium and projector hanging from the ceiling. There were two doors, one in either corner on the wall opposite the door we had just entered. Davis brought BlackGuilmon's cart to a stop, then walked over to podium and began typing. After a moment, the projector came on and the wall was adorned with large letters that said 'D-CARD.' "The Digimon Center of American Real-world Defense. D-CARD is the United States' government's Digital defense and spy network. We've been operating for the past thirty or so years in direct response to the Shinjuku Digimon incident, but we've only become a major player in the conflict in the last fifteen or so years when Director Gethen took over."

"Wait, the Shinjuku Incident really was Digimon?" I asked, stunned. "I was right!?"

Davis nodded, then looked down at the computer again. The projector screen froze and he typed for a few moments. "According to the redacted file I found, it appears your father – this Takato – was one of the Digidestined responsible for stopping some kind of Digital Creature." I was right! My dad is a Digidestined! He shut the window and unfroze the projector. "The footage of Mega Level Digimon in action created a new arms race; one mega level Digimon is worth far more than almost any weapon humanity has developed."

"But if Digimon were so readily visible, why does no one think they're real?" May asked, while I wondered what my dad's Digimon was.

I snapped out of it. "Huh, that's... that's right!" I shouted as my brain comprehended what she was saying. "You said there was footage, so how come no one has seen it?"

"It really isn't that hard to convince people of things, especially for the government," Davis explained simply with a shrug. "People didn't want to have their entire universe shifted, so not long after the event all the governments got together and said that it was a mass hallucination caused by military testing. People would rather believe it was a mistake than believe super powered god-dinosaurs from the internet were real. So they decided to believe the mistake. Besides, Digimon didn't really appear all that often back then. More than now, but not all that much. With a little international effort and people's own fear of the unknown, the entire world was willing to settle into the reality that it was a mass hallucination and the footage was doctored."

"It can't be that easy!" I protested. I gestured at the growling, black Digimon to my left. "People wouldn't just ignore what actually happened!"

"We believed it," May pointed out slowly. She sighed. "And Henry knew about Digimon. He obviously thought it was safer if we didn't know."

"Pretty pointless if you ask me," Dorimon said from the ground. She laughed. "You both were destined to do this!"

"That's actually why I'm surprised that the Director didn't tell me your father was a Digidestined before now," Davis interjected. He leaned against the podium. "Unlike Tamers, there aren't many Digidestined, but there are a few patterns they've found. For one, the odds of someone becoming a Digidestined increases if they have a direct familial connection to Digimon. For instance, your connection to Henry and your Grandfather, May."

"What do you mean?" May asked.

Davis nodded. "Right. I forgot you didn't know – it's so widely known in this world," Davis explained, nodding. "Your grandfather, he helped create Digimon. He was part of an A.I. development crew operating out of Stanford with funding from the Japanese government. They accidentally created the Digimon. Your uncle, Dr. Wong, helps to maintain different firewalls we use to protect our Digital demi-fields. That made us certain you were a Digidestined."

"So Henry is really involved in all this," I muttered with a frown. I looked up at May. "He can't know. He'd never let us do this."

"Yeah, G-Man thought the same thing," Huckmon interjected, leaping on top of the podium. The wood creaked dangerously.

"Yeah, your uncle is a bit of a weird worry wart," Dorimon agreed, glancing up at May. "And if he finds out I'll never be big again!"

"Always turning it to what's important," I muttered, drawing an annoyed look from Dorimon.

BlackGuilmon scoffed. "Digivolution is all that is important," he growled from his cart.

"You would think that," Huckmon said, rolling his eyes. Smoke began to rise from BlackGuilmon's nostrils as he glared at the white Digimon.

"Moving on," Davis said, pressing a button on the computer. The screen changed to an image of the 3D with a number of functions labeled beside it. "You already know that the 3D can track your Digimon through the secondary app, which has the suffix '444d.' It has multiple other functions, though. The most important one is labeled as 'Defense Alert.' This engages automatically when you are fighting wild Digimon in the real world. It generates a dense fog made up of Digital particulate that allows Digimon to load data upon killing another Digimon. It also hides our battles from the public eye when we engage the enemy. However, you need to activate it when you're fighting an enemy agent."

"Wait, we're going to be fighting other people?" May asked. She shook her head. "I don't know how I feel about that."

"They're all spies that have killed people before. That we're children won't mean anything to them – it's policy to kill or capture any enemy Digidestined. They're too valuable for someone else to have, even with a dead Digimon."

My blood froze. "Wait, someone is... people are going to try and kill us?"

"Yes. But that's why you're here. With training, and me keeping an eye on you, you'll survive," Davis said, trying to reassure us. It didn't really work.

"Are we going to have to kill people!?" May asked worriedly, not liking this idea at all.

"No way, May!" Dorimon shouted.

"If they get in our way," BlackGuilmon said darkly.

"Only if it's necessary. Usually it's preferable to capture them for questioning," Davis explained with a shrug. "Especially if they're Digidestined, but they're usually kept in their home country. Like I said, too valuable."

"... Why are we so valuable?" I asked, deciding to table the whole 'killing people' thing for now. Jesus, that feels like a weird way to put that; if I had a therapist, they'd have a field day with that one.

Davis nodded and pointed at the next function. "Key."

"The unreadable data?" May asked in confusion. Her eyes sparked with excitement as she understood that we were about to learn exactly what it was.

"Yes. The rumor is that there were three Digidestined about twenty years ago in Japan," Davis began. He looked over at me. "Given what the Director promised you, I'm assuming your dad was one of them." He crossed his arms and leaned against the podium again. "Apparently, they used their Digivices to open a portal to the Digital World, then put up a wall after getting a bunch of Digimon out of our world. Then they put up the Firewall."

"What Firewall?" BlackGuilmon asked, confused.

"It separates the real world from the Digital World. Completely. Nothing can get in or out. We were able to make Demi-planes like the Nurseries, and some Digimon slip in there. Other Digimon are born there," Huckmon explained. He jumped down and poked BlackGuilmon's nose again. "Like you, me, and Dorimon!"

"The eggheads think that the 3D's were designed to undo that, but only for Digidestined. From what we've found on mine, hitting Ultimate unlocks another section of hidden data. It looks like mine holds a third of the data."

May's grin widened. "So if the three of us hit Ultimate, we'll have the entire Key data!" she shouted excitedly.

I nodded. "And we can enter the Digital World to save my dad," I muttered, a smile growing across my face, too.

"And give D-CARD the biggest advantage that can exist in this war – control over the Digital World itself," Davis explained. "Which is why we have to get your Merge rates up so you can Digivolve to Ultimate."

"So, how do we do that?" May asked. "And how do we know how far we can Digivolve?"

Huckmon took this one. "You Digivolve by being good friends. Merge rate is pretty much just how good of friends you are," he explained from on top of BlackGuilmon, who looked about ready to murder all of us here. "It's not exact, but we hit Champion at like twenty percent, and Ultimate at eighty."

"Twenty! We hit that!" May shouted, picking up Dorimon and staring her in the eyes.

"I can get even bigger than Dorumon!?" the soccer ball screamed excitedly.

BlackGuilmon growled at the high pitched noise, and Huckmon reached down to cover his ears. My Digimon glanced up, unsure whether to be angry or thankful. He decided on postponing the decision. "We haven't even hit five," I muttered, tossing a glare at BlackGuilmon. "How am I going to fix that?"

"If your goals align, it helps," Davis explained simply. "He wants to Digivolve, and so do you. That should do something."

I didn't want to thank the kidnapper, so I just didn't respond. Besides, I knew that wasn't enough. That was already a goal we shared, and we still sat ugly at zero. That meant something else had to change, and I knew BlackGuilmon wouldn't be the one to do it. That meant I had to make one of his goals my goal, or I'd never find my parents.

"Regardless, we'll be training you from now on every day after school, and all day on Saturday. You need to learn how to fight with your Digimon, and more importantly to fight. The biggest target when in a Digimon fight is always the human – we're weak and defenseless," Davis continued after a moment. "So you'll be learning how to survive, no matter what. Weapons training, martial arts, and cardio."

"Ugh," I groaned.

"Oh, that'll be easy for me," May said with a smirk towards me. "Unlike him, I run."

"It won't be easy for either of you," Davis corrected, and it was my turn to smirk at May. "Unless you can sprint for 10 miles, you'll both be vomiting early on." May and I both paled at that.

"You're exaggerating, right?" May asked. Davis didn't respond. "Right!?"

"Make no mistake, you'll be killing Digimon. Maybe people," Davis said, and we got even more pale. "But only ever murderers. People who don't feel bad trying to kill kids younger than us; I was twelve the first time someone tried to kill me." He walked over to BlackGuilmon's cart and began to unbind him. "For now, we'll focus on how you fight with Wild Digimon. Each of you have an opponent in there." He gestured at the two doors on the other wall.

BlackGuilmon stood up as the last binding was undone and he whirled to glare at Davis. The government agent just glared into the reptilian eyes calmly, completely unafraid. The Digimon turned and marched towards one door. "Are you coming, Tasuke?"

I glanced at May. "See you on the other side?" she supplied nervously.

"I mean, I'm not worried about you. Dorimon may be ugly, but she at least listens," I replied as I reached BlackGuilmon. "Unlike some people."

BlackGuilmon didn't even look away from the door as he said, "I'd listen if you had anything worthwhile to say in combat."

"Someone's not looking at his own issues," Huckmon whispered. That earned a glare from BlackGuilmon.

"He is a nasty little troll," May agreed, meeting the glare that turned on her. "He tried to kill Dorimon and eat her the moment they met... Maybe troll is being too nice, now that I think about it." Dorimon nodded and stuck her tongue out, not caring even the slightest for the growing rage of the other Digimon. I shoved BlackGuilmon forward before the green flames glowing in his mouth could launch at my best friend, forcing us through the doors and into a small arena.

We were surrounded by some kind of reinforced glass or plastic, letting us see across the room and into a similar arena where May was standing beside Dorimon, who was currently breaking out of a Digivolution egg as Dorumon. And standing on the other side of them – "Tasuke," BlackGuilmon growled, and I turned to see the same creature on the opposite end of the room. It was a rookie sized robot Digimon that looked like a red, silver, and blue stag beetle with human hands, a large speaker in its chest, and glowing yellow eyes. "Ballistamon!" I shouted as I recognized it, not even bothering to glance at my 3D. I excitedly slapped BlackGuilmon's shoulder and his growling turned into an astonished noise."BlackGuilmon, that's one of the few NoneType Digimon!"

"Could you be more of a nerd?" BlackGuilmon growled mockingly. "Your precious TV show doesn't mean anything in the real world."

I decided to bite back a comment about the whole 'friendship = Digivolution' thing, that he couldn't Digivolve without me, and that I'd been right about every other Digimon so far. I hoped that helped the Merge rate increase... but I doubted it. "All that matters is it's Data to load!" BlackGuilmon continued before rushing the Ballistamon.

"A brute pet for these brute humans. I suppose I'll have to Load you, then," the Ballistamon snarled as he lowered his head and set his feet.

"Wait, you have to remember to dodge its -"

"Ram Slammer!" BlackGuilmon was tossed into the air by the horn before he landed unceremoniously at my feet in an injured heap.

"Will you listen for once?" I snapped as I took out my 3D and cards. I swiped an Energy card and BlackGuilmon's eyes shot open. "Maybe if you did, you wouldn't keep getting knocked back on the first attack!" I glanced up and yelped. I grabbed hold of BlackGuilmon, who had stumbled to his feet, and tore him to the side. A burst of sonic energy coming from the Ballistamon hit the ground where I'd been a moment earlier, pulverizing the stone. BlackGuilmon and I stumbled out of the way and turned towards the Ballistamon. "Listen, I have a few ideas that can help. Just let me help."

"And what, you let my hard earned data leave before I can load it?" BlackGuilmon asked spitefully. "You're too soft to be useful! I'll never Digivolve with you around!"

I wanted to snap back, but we were forced to dodge another attack. I bet that the kidnapper was getting a kick out of it, watching us flounder because we don't like each other. But BlackJerkmon was right. I was thinking like a kid watching a TV show, not like someone that had almost been killed by Digimon, who'd been kidnapped and blackmailed by the government, who had to save his dad from an alien world. I had to do whatever it took to save him, and that meant seeing eye to eye with BlackJer – BlackGuilmon. "Then load his data. Load all the data you want," I said, standing up straight. "I'll help you load the data of every Digimon that attacks us, wild or Digidestined, and then we'll go to the Digital World and we'll load enough to Digivolve past Mega. Just listen to me or we won't make it past this training!"

BlackGuilmon glanced at me, studying to see if I was telling the truth. That a 'Gogglehead' was willing to do what needed to be done. "If you help me protect May and find my dad, I'll let you load any enemy's data," I reaffirmed. I placed my hand over my chest, as if that would bind the oath. "We won't make it to the Digital World if we're dead, and they can't kill us if they are."

He clenched his jaw, then turned back to the Ballistamon. "Then what do we do?" he growled begrudgingly.

I resisted the urge to sigh in relief. "It's big and made of metal, and its legs don't have that many joints. Simple mechanics says it won't be easy for it to move or turn around. So get behind it and..."

"Then I can tear it apart," BlackGuilmon finished, his face splitting into an, honestly, terrifying grin. "Have anything to help with that?"

"Digi-Modify! Hypersonic activate!" I shouted before swiping another card through. "Hyperwings activate!" BlackGuilmon turned into a blur as white wings shot from his back and he rocketed forward, zigzagging across the field above the Ballistamon to avoid the blasts of sonic energy the Digimon was launching at it. The reinforced glass creaked and shuddered from the repeated hits, but held firm. I was safe now, too; it didn't even notice me.

"Won't you just stand still!?" the Ballistamon snapped as he launched another sonic blast.

BlackGuilmon simply laughed cruelly and turned on a dime, rocketing behind the Ballistamon before it could turn around. "Rock Crusher!" BlackGuilmon's claws began to glow a bright white as he charged the Ballistamon again, slamming into it at full speed. The digital metal making up the Digimon's body cracked under the pressure and shattered, the blade like claws piercing into the inner body. BlackGuilmon tore his claws back and opened his jaw wide. "Pyro Grenade!" The green sphere flew right into the Ballistamon's back, through the gaping hole in the armor, and it exploded violently. The Ballistamon shrieked in pain as it toppled over, the explosion destroying its already perilous balance and making it slam face first onto the ground. BlackGuilmon laughed excitedly and flew onto the Ballistamon's back, a wild look in his eyes.

"P-please! No!" the injured Digimon begged, glancing up at me as his data glitched out from the damage.

I stared at the pleading eyes of the Digimon, who had done nothing wrong but get captured by D-CARD. Then I forced myself to think of how it had attacked me, too, and how creatures like that were surrounding my father, maybe right then. So I looked over at BlackGuilmon. "Do it."

BlackGuilmon's face split into a pleased grin before his eyes returned to the wounded Digimon on the ground. "You don't have to tell me twice," he said, green flames glowing behind his teeth once more. "I was hungry anyways. Pyro Grenade!"

The explosion vaporized the Ballistamon under his feet, and BlackGuilmon's feet hit the ground. He was surrounded by a cloud of black and red data flowing into his body, his eyes shut and a calm, content smile on his face for a moment before it ended and the wild agitation returned. His eyes opened and he looked at me, slowly blinking his reptilian eyes. "I'm glad to see you aren't completely hopeless," he told me, plodding over slowly. He bit the inside of his cheek, then tacked on as an afterthought: "Partner."

"Good job, all of you," Davis said, voice ringing out from some kind of intercom. "You seem to have a good rudimentary grasp on how the cards work and how to analyze enemy Digimon. You are free to go. Except BlackGuilmon – you will be staying here until a sufficient cover is set up." The walls of the arena slid into the floor, letting the angrily de-Digivolving Dorimon and May walk towards us. May was watching us with what looked like a frown, but she hid it before I could be sure. BlackGuilmon growled in annoyance at the fact he wasn't allowed to leave. "The rest of you, remember – don't tell anyone, even Dr. Wong. We'll discuss our cover tomorrow."

"I swear, if he makes our cover 'friends,' I'm going to kill him," I muttered as May got close.

"I wouldn't bet against it," May replied with a laugh.

Dorimon groaned and said, "Great, now we've got Dummy to hang out with and a sad kidnapper?" She sighed. "At least we don't have to hang out with Jerkmon."

"I can hear you, you morsel," BlackGuilmon growled at the tiny Digimon.

Dorimon glanced up, bored. "So? You won't touch me. Dummy told you not to!"

"I'm thinking about it," I said, earning an angry look and slap on the shoulder from May. "What? I'm joking! Mostly joking! Probably joking!" That earned me another hit, this one in the gut with a fist. "100% joking! Jeez, are you holding a roll of quarters or something?"

"Now that I think about it, staying here is preferable to staying with any of you," BlackGuilmon remarked as I gasped for air. He glared directly at May. "You already infect your Digimon with weakness, so I'd be worried about my own power around you."

"Miserable troll," May snapped.

BlackGuilmon just grinned at getting a rise out of her.

Oh, this was going to be a thing, I could already tell. Great. Just great.

Oh, jeez, I don't like this. It's not okay to Load the data of a Digimon if you're Digidestined. Unless their Digivices are different, it won't help anyone Digivolve, and it just ends up killing a Digimon! The strength it gives a Digimon isn't that much compared to the friends you can make either. I wouldn't want anyone to Load a Digimon's data, not even to save me. And if it's my own kid, that's even worse! I hope May and Dorimon can get him back on track, or that BlackGuilmon and Taj will figure it out on their own. Still, I'm getting a bad feeling about this.

Hopefully I feel better after the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!