Digimon Tamers Zero Two

by MasterCaedus

Tasuke, or Taj, was raised by his 'Uncle' Henry Wong, ever since his parents left when he was very young. In that time, Taj has come to hate his parents and anything related to them. Especially Digimon, the fictional creatures his parents had loved when they were around. But when he gets a real Digimon, Taj must fight Digi-agents of other countries for a chance to find his parents.

10. It's All Ogre: Tamer vs Digidestined!

AN: Hey, I got two chapters of one story out in one month! I haven't done that in a little while. I like doing that. Anyways, I hope you're all doing well.

Okay, so for responses

To smartalec121: Yes, Jen and Commandramon's involvement in the story is going to get more important. It was supposed to be a bit more of a slow burn on that, though, so I get not being crazy about them for a while. Until now it kind of seemed like they were just... there, I bet.

Well, I hope you guys all enjoy this chapter, and our first glance at a few old faces you haven't seen yet. Not the last old faces you'll see, but I thought it was time to check in on them.

Episode 10: It's all Ogre: Tamer vs Digidestined!

"Pummel Whack!" A snarling, Ogremon shaped beam of green energy launched from the Champion Digimon's fist, flying towards the two Rookie Digimon in front of him. BlackGuilmon snarled and charged the attack, ducking beneath it so the energy skirted along his back and left a minor but annoying burn so he could get in close. Dorumon had jumped to the side, losing her chance to attack as BlackGuilmon blocked her line of attack.

"Rock Crusher!" BlackGuilmon shouted, summoning a glowing energy around his claws that he dragged through the cement while he approached the larger Digimon. He snarled and leaped up at Ogremon. "DIE!"

"Ha! What a moron!" Ogremon said as he saw this, bringing his bone club around and slamming it into the claws arcing up at him. "Bone Club!" The club glowed with its own energy and slammed into BlackGuilmon's attack. The energy of the two attacks exploded against each other and BlackGuilmon was sent tumbling backwards, more scorch marks covering his reptilian body.

"You're not wrong," Dorumon agreed. She set her feet. "Metal Cannon!" She brought her head back, then threw it forward to launch a steel ball at Ogremon. The green Digimon simply sidestepped and swung his club, the bone making a loud 'crack' noise as the metal ball was sent flying back at sender like a baseball. Dorumon, still stuck in place from unleashing her attack, could only watch as the ball came close.

"Rock Crusher!" A set of glowing claws arced down in front of her, slamming the ball into the ground and shattering concrete. BlackGuilmon panted as he stood in front of her glaring at Ogremon.

"Th-thanks!" Dorumon breathed anxiously.

BlackGuilmon didn't turn to her. "Maybe you'd be more comfortable as a Dorimon," BlackGuilmon growled at the Digimon behind him. "Because you're basically useless as a Dorumon."

Dorumon growled, looking like she was fighting the urge to attack him instead of going after Ogremon again. If it had been reversed, BlackGuilmon might have attacked her, but Dorumon was a bit more... uh, better than that. Not great though. "Well, why don't you get out of my way and I'll show you who's useless!" she snapped, shoving BlackGuilmon out from in front of her. He stumbled a step back and glared after her before charging, too.

"Pyro Grenade!"

"Metal Shoot!"

"Guess you two'll never learn, huh Morons?" Ogremon asked them, his face twisting into whatever a smile managed to be on his face.

Meanwhile, we weren't doing to well in our fight. This agent guy was the only one with a weapon, and the gun was doing wonders to scare both May and me, and keep us from getting too close. Any time we'd tried to move, the guy would just fire a bullet at our feet. The noise and ricochet were more than enough to get us to freeze. This, of course, gave him more than enough time to Digi-Modify his ugly partner. "Mercurymon, activate!"

"That's more like it!" Ogremon shouted as green lines began to form in front of him, solidifying into a massive shield-like mirror in front of him. The two attacks slammed into the shield, and passed through the surface, disappearing like stones into water. A moment later, they shot out, the metal sphere slamming into BlackGuilmon and the green flame into Dorumon.

"Dorumon!" May shouted, taking a half step before another bullet landed in front of her.

"You morons aren't too good at this, are ya?" the man asked us. We turned to glare at him, his Digital enhanced gun still smoking slightly and aimed at May's feet.

"You're American. We... we work for D-CARD, too. Why are you doing this?" I finally asked, clenching my fists hard enough for my nails to dig into my palms, forcing me to focus.

The man scoffed at that. "Yeah, because that matters." He shook his head. "Who cares who you work for? I'm here for money, and anyone will pay top dollar for two Digidestined and their partners. Even if they are useless."

I clutched my 3D tight, trying to figure this out. I looked around the warehouse, looking for something, anything to help. We were in a pretty wide open room, where Ogremon's size wouldn't be an issue and he could easily maneuver. On top of that, the agent guy had more than enough space to make his gun useful. We had two Digimon that hated each other and no weapons, and no way to Digi-Modify without getting shot. At. Shot at.

This guy didn't want to kill us. He probably knew we couldn't Digivolve, given the fact he only brought one Champion to deal with us. On the other hand, he didn't know how close we were to Digivolving, and it sure seemed like the show got more right than it got wrong. That meant he wouldn't shoot us: hurting a Digidestined is the quickest way to get their Digimon to jump a level. After all, no matter how much we moved, he only shot the ground in front of us. On the other hand, he was pointing a gun at us. If I was wrong, we'd know pretty fast once we had a bullet in our bodies.

On the other, other hand, BlackGuilmon and Dorumon weren't going to beat an Ogremon backed up by Digimon cards, especially when they hated each other so much. Knowing that, I wanted to tell my feet to move, to get me close to do something, but I was frozen. I... I didn't want to die.

Ogremon laughed darkly as he walked up to our injured Digimon, twirling his club in his right hand. "Nighty night, Morons," He mocked, raising the club over his head as Dorumon and BlackGuilmon struggled to get up.

"Dory!" May brought her Digivice up, tapping a card and ignoring the bullet hitting the ground near her feet. "Digi-Modify! WarGreymon's Brave Shield, activate!" The purple lines sprung into being.

"Gah, dumb move, girl!" the man shouted, moving his gun towards her completely.

And that was when I was no longer scared of getting shot. "You don't get to hurt May or our Digimon!" I shouted, rushing forward. He froze in surprise as I rushed him, slamming my shoulder into his gut. He grunted in surprise more than pain and he brought his elbow down onto my back. My body seized up at the blow and I hit the ground my knees.

"Digi-Modify! Energy, activate!" Dorumon glowed and stood up, the shield disappearing in front of her.

"Hyper dash Metal!" Dorumon snapped, rushing forward and slamming her forehead into Ogremon's gut. The green Digimon gasped and was thrown backwards, giving Dorumon and BlackGuilmon space.

"That's enough," the agent growled above me, moving his hand with the gun towards May. So I sprung up and bit his hand as hard as I could. "Grah!" The gun hit the ground and I kicked it away, the metal scraping against the cement ground but getting far enough away that he wouldn't be getting it any time soon.

The man, nursing his bleeding hand by his face snarled at me and his hand lashed out, grabbing hold of my hair. "That," he said, voice getting low and angry. "Was a very bad idea." He slammed his fist into my gut, and it felt like I couldn't breathe anymore, his blood and my spit flying out of my mouth with all the air in my body. I flinched on the air as he raised his fist again, already knowing I wasn't excited for what was coming.

"Leave him alone!" May ran up and brought her foot up and around at his head, and I was dropped to the ground, forgotten with my aching scalp and gut. The agent leaned back and slapped her foot away so she spun all the way around, which she turned into a back kick.

"Help me!" BlackGuilmon snapped as I watched the fight. My head snapped towards him, his data shifting as he struggled to his feet while Dorumon lost a fight nearby.

I wheezed and pushed away from May's fistfight with the agent, knowing that I had to help with this. Once I was a good distance away, I pulled out my cards and swiped a couple through the reader. An energy card healed BlackGuilmon up, and an Agumon Expert card swapped his type to Vaccine. Blackguilmon, glowing slightly red for a moment as the cards finished their change, nodded at me. "Good, Tasuke." Then he turned and sprinted towards the fight with Ogremon. "Virus Breath!" A continuous stream of green-black flames shot from his maw, the now Vaccine type attack bathing Ogremon in burning flames. The Champion Digimon screamed and lashed out with his club.

"Dodge!" I screamed at BlackGuilmon, though it probably came out a little more strangled given I had just started breathing again. The flames stopped immediately and BlackGuilmon ducked down, the club passing harmlessly over his head.

Satisfied BlackGuilmon wasn't going to get killed, and even more that he listened to me, I turned my attention to May's fight with the agent. He had thrown her away and was preparing to Digimodify at his waist, which would help Ogremon take our Digimon out. Scrambling, I did the first thing that came to mind: I threw my shoe at him. It slammed into his hand and his Digivice went flying. Lucky. I'd been aiming for his face. His eyes turned one me and he snarled again. "You are damn lucky you're worth so much money!" he snapped. He still ran at me, and it looked like he was going to at least break a few bones.

I slid my feet apart, getting into the stance that Davis had taught us. This guy was bigger than me, and certainly more experienced in a fight. We'd gotten by so far on luck and being underestimated. He brought his fist around to my face and I blocked it, only to have my fears confirmed that he was done toying with us when he swept my legs out from under me. Remember when I said that it hurt getting thrown on the pad? Yeah, I didn't really know what hurt was until I hit solid concrete like that. Still, getting thrown had been good practice, given the fact I was able to keep my wits enough to roll away from his foot slamming into where my head would have been.

That was when May ran up behind him and lashed out, slamming her foot into his left kidney. The agent grunted in pain and stumbled to the side, clutching at his left side. "Do I always have to save you?" May asked, throwing another punch at the agent. He turned and deflected her punch, then slammed his knee into her gut. May let out a pained gurgle.

"May!" I lashed out with my foot, knowing this was somewhere between a very good and very bad idea, my kick catching between the agent's legs. He immediately doubled over and screamed in pain, hitting the ground. I pushed myself up to my feet and grabbed the man's hair, bringing his head back and slamming it once into the ground. I was holding back, but there was still a dull thud and his eyes flickered shut. I stared at him for a moment, then drew another card. "Do I always have to save you?"

"Why don't we finish this?" May groaned, hoarse. She pulled out her own 3D and we glanced towards the fight where Ogremon was currently at a stalemate with our partners, slamming his club into whatever attacks our Digimon threw at him.

"KayKay," I said, drawing a smile from her.

"BG, get ready!" I shouted while I prepared to Digi-Modify him again. "Attack him hard!"

"Don't call me that!" he shouted, but he ran forward. "Rock Crusher!" His claws slammed into the bone and he bounced back. "Virus Breath!"

"Dorumon, ready?" May asked before raising her 3D in front of her. "Digi-Modify: Puppetmon's Strings!" Dorumon opened her mouth and red strings flew out towards Ogremon, who was busy dealing with the relentless but less moronic attacks of my own partner.

"Move!" I commanded, and BlackGuilmon – for once – listened without a word. He jumped backwards, launching a Virus Breath attack as he did to keep Ogremon from following him, and slid to a stop a short distance away. The red strings looped around Ogeremon, strapping his arms to his sides and forcing his club from his hands.

"Hey! What the heck is this?" he shouted. He struggled as hard as he could against the strings, slowly fraying them.

But it wouldn't be enough. "Digi-Modify!" I shouted, bringing the 3D above my head and drawing the card through it. "Magnamon activate!"

BlackGuilmon grinned as a red and black lines began to form in front of his face. "Magna Blast!" he snapped, the lines solidifying and turning into a bright gold rocket. The rocket flew away from BlackGuilmon, leaving a trail of white smoke spiraling behind until it slammed into Ogremon. A huge explosion echoed out, sending enough cement and smoke out that May and I had to shield our eyes.

A tiny Goblimon flew out of the explosion, tumbling through the air and crashing into the wall. He groaned and fell to the ground with a quiet thud, and everything but Goblimon's shifting data was still. "Der—Derek?" the Goblimon asked, glancing up at us. We looked down at where the man had been and froze. He was gone. The Goblimon was stunned for a moment before he began to laugh. "Well, I would've done the same thing, you cowardly human."

BlackGuilmon came up slowly and placed his leg on top of the Goblimon, eliciting a pained grunt from the tiny Digimon. Finally, BlackGuilmon turned towards me. May grabbed my arm as we both realized what was happening. "No..." she warned. Dorumon walked up beside her, glancing between us and BlackGuilmon, as if unsure what to do.

I shut my eyes. To get to my parents I needed BlackGuilmon to Digivolve. To Digivolve, we needed to be friends, or allies at least. To get there, one of us needed to change first, and it wasn't going to be him. I opened my eyes. "Load him."

May and Dorumon gasped while BlackGuilmon grinned a predatory smile. "Gladly." He turned his head down towards the Goblimon, mouth wide open.

"Always thought I'd go down getting killed by a Leomon," Goblimon muttered, slightly surprised by the whole thing.

"Pyro Grenade!"

May gasped again and turned away, hugging Dorumon tight while BlackGuilmon hungrily Loaded the Data and I just felt hollow deep in my gut.

X X X

"Sorry, Goblimon," Verrater said as he drove away down the street. He clutched the back of his head and brought it around to glare at the blood. "But don't worry, I'll get those kids eventually." He turned into an alley and shut off the truck. Groaning, he leaned back. "What a fricking bust. Here I thought I'd get to retire." He picked up his 3D and felt an odd pang in his heart. "And I did think you'd be there." He sighed and pocketed the 3D. Maybe he'd be able to get some money out of handing over the American model, at least. With another sigh, he pushed open the door and got out of the car.

When a lion sized monster of white appeared out of thin air and fog began to cloud the alleyway, Verrater knew he wasn't going to be escaping. "You didn't honestly think you'd get away, right?" Davis asked as he climbed down from BaoHuckmon's back and glared at the traitor. He sighed and pulled a stealth model of the Digitally enhanced gun from his pocket, the device absorbing data from the Field and rearranging from a thin tablet and into a gun. They had limited ammo and could only work in a Digital Field, but Verrater knew it was enough to get rid of him. Especially with the Digimon behind Davis. "How did you get an Ultimate Digimon to Bio-emerge here? What country did you agree to sell those kids to?"

"'Those kids?'" Verrater asked with a scoff. "Forgetting our own age, are we?" A bullet flew from the gun and pierced his knee. The traitor screamed and hit the ground, clutching at the wound. "Damn, what the hell, kid!?"

"Who performed the Bio-emergence?" Davis asked again. His Digimon shifted behind him, uncomfortable with the entire situation.

"D-CARD, what the hell!?" Verrater snapped. He shook his head. "I got D-CARD to do it. The idiot didn't take me off the accepted list, probably to keep me from finding out he knew I was a traitor."

Davis frowned, confused. "No, that doesn't make sense. It's more like..."

Verrater glared at the D-CARD agent for a while, then laughed as he understood. "Oh... I'm an idiot. I should've cut and run." He struggled to sit up slightly. "He wanted you out of the way enough to Bio-emerge a SkullGreymon in the middle of the city."

Davis shook his head. "That's..." He wanted to say his right. He had the authority to allow it, after all. But it wasn't right. He shook his head. "I don't believe you."

"Maybe, maybe not," Verrater said, reaching towards his own holster. "Doesn't matter for you!" He raised the gun, and there was an explosion of noise.

Davis had pulled the trigger first, and now his gun was smoking in his hand. There was a hole in Verrater's chest, now, that went right through his heart. The shot of someone experienced with all this, Verrater thought. The traitor again and didn't blink, keeping his gaze locked on Davis'. "You're a... a moron." Then the light faded from his eyes, and his head drifted to the ground.

BaoHuckmon carefully moved towards his partner, gingerly placing his large claw on Davis' shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Davis frowned at the dead body and deactivated the gun, pocketing it as the data returned to the Digital Field. "What if he wasn't lying?" Davis asked quietly, gaze never leaving the dead man's glossy eyes. "What if Director Gethen really did sign off on the Bio-emergence?"

Huckmon wasn't sure what to say to that. Davis had never really asked a question like that before, so the Digimon wasn't quite sure what it meant that Davis had even asked it. "What do you think it would mean?"

Davis thought of his mother and of Huckmon. All they had gained because he worked for D-CARD was a gilded cage: they were basically hostages, where freedom and security could be taken away if he ever disobeyed the Director. "He was right. Doesn't matter." He walked up to the body and grabbed the gun, then towards the truck to take the 3D. "We should go see Tasuke and May. The Director would want me to check on them."

X X X

I didn't really want to go home yet. May had headed home a little while ago with Dorimon. She'd said goodbye, but... I could tell that she wasn't a fan of what had happened. Of what I'd told BlackGuilmon to do. So I stayed behind, even after Davis had left. It was just me and BlackGuilmon, alone together. He seemed annoyed by how I was acting, but he hadn't called me on my moping yet. A first for the aggressive Digimon.

Right now we were in the closest thing the warehouse had to a rest area, with a fridge filled with some snacks, a table, a couch, and some chairs. I was on the couch, and BlackGuilmon was resting on the ground near my feet. "Did I do the right thing?" I pondered as I stared at my dad's goggles in my hands. I rubbed the lens before dropping them next to me on the couch. And leaning back to stare at the ceiling. I had no one to talk to about this. Henry wouldn't be happy I had a Digimon, so I definitely couldn't talk to him. May? She didn't understand. The Kidnapper... no. Just, no.

"What is it you're moping about, Tasuke?" I glanced down at BlackGuilmon, who had cracked the eye closest to me open and was glaring at me from where he laid. The reptilian slits of his pupils softened somewhat into a rounder shape as he studied me. His voice, however, was as angry as ever. "I thought we were finished with this. You didn't get all depressed when I Loaded that Ballistamon, so why now?"

I bit my cheek, wondering the same thing for a moment. Finally: "That was a partner Digimon, BlackGuilmon. Wild Digimon so far have had this desire to just break or destroy, to hurt people. But a partner Digimon -"

"Should know better?" BlackGuilmon scoffed in disbelief. He rolled slightly and turned his whole head to me. "Which of your fellow humans know better, Tasuke? What was that man going to do to us?"

"Kill us. Or worse, sell us," I said, starting to see what he was getting at.

BlackGuilmon frowned. "What's selling?"

I blanched. "Er... He was going to give us to someone else in exchange for... money. It's like the opposite of buying."

BlackGuilmon frowned and muttered something before shaking his head. "Anyways, it does not matter, Tasuke. For Digimon – true Digimon unlike that annoying, purple fuzzball – understand this is normal. From what my data tells me, the Digital World is just Digimon fighting and Loading. It's not all that different here, though. We kill the humans and Digimon coming after us, or they kill us." I felt unsure, still, and he noticed. "And then they kill the female, and probably kidnap this 'Henry.'"

"I know it's kill or die in these fights, BlackGuilmon," I explained, annoyed he'd suggest I was that stupid. "And to get to my parents and keep the Wongs safe, I'll do that. But does Loading them make us stronger? I mean, if a Digimon's data can be reborn -"

BlackGuilmon stood up and plodded over, nudging my leg. "What does the Digivice say? Are we closer to our goals?"

I shut my mouth and glared at him for interrupting me, but pulled out the 3D and opened the Merge Rate anyways. It had been steadily gaining for a while now, nearing eleven a day or so earlier. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw what it said now. "T-twenty?"

BlackGuilmon grinned and smoke began to rise from his nostrils. "See, Tasuke? The results speak for themselves!" he pointed out while I stared in surprise. With a jump like that? Just from one fight where we could have really died, one Loading of a partner Digimon... We were almost to the point where we could get BlackGuilmon to Digivolve to the Champion level. A step towards finding my parents.

I looked over at the dinosaur. "I guess a Digimon would know best," I sighed, not entirely feeling better about all of this, but willing to shove that aside for what I wanted. I placed my hand on top of his head and pet him, eliciting a surprised look on his face before he shut his eyes and leaned his head down on the couch beside me, appreciating it. "How about I go get you a Cinnabon?"

His head shot up and he shoved his snout claustrophobically close to my face just so he could whisper in the most terrifying voice yet, "Yesss..." Drool dropped from his face and landed on my jeans. Great, that wasn't going to look weird. Wait, was I even sure Digi-drool could wash out? Dammit.

X X X

Director Gethen was happy. Everything had gone exactly according to plan with the two new Digidestined. True, there had been the possibility for greater gains, but it already was better than he had expected. The two had defeated their first opponent without help, after all. He honestly had not expected that Davis wouldn't try to intervene in the fight if he had been there, which is why Verrater's request for an Ultimate Bio-emergence was a gift. It forced the agent away. Further, it was unlikely that Davis would ever question Gethen himself about it. He had too much to lose to risk angering his boss, and so was firmly in the Director's control. Besides, he earnestly believed in D-CARD's role as a deterrent against all out Digital Warfare that had, so far, done exactly that. Its place in the delicate balance between the many nations of the world was too integral to humanity as a whole for it to fall.

But to focus on what was important: the Hazard had made a huge jump in power. By aligning their beliefs and goals, Tasuke had managed to nearly double his Merge Rate with his Digimon partner. Twenty. Twenty percent! That was what the boy had said after the fight. That was nearly to the point where Champion level Digivolution could occur. That alone was a significant step forward in his plans, and more than enough to justify the risk he had taken regarding the two Digidestined. True, there seemed to be some kind of issue arising between Tasuke and Mayumi, but children were resilient. With enough time and prodding, they would repair their connection, and she would accept that Loading Digimon was a necessary sacrifice for her friend to grow stronger.

Of course, what kind of boss would Gethen be if he didn't help them both along? He opened up a set of files on his computer, scanning through it. "Let's see who has Champion agents that would make for a good challenge?" he muttered as he narrowed down the list by that criterion. "Not too strong, not too weak. Hm... Well, certainly not Japan. Not yet, at least. If they heard there was a Digidestined they would just send their strongest to kidnap or kill them. In due time, as a... final test, perhaps. Ah... these will all do quite nicely." He selected a few nations and the expected agents they would send out. While many had an Ultimate level agent, nobody other than Hypnos had any to spare risking them outside of their own nation. As long as he leaked there was a Digidestined in America rather than two, very few would send anything stronger than a well trained Champion to collect or kill.

And once those children had enough experience with their Digimons' Champion forms, he could really step things up. Perhaps his associates could even pay them a visit if need be. He needed those children very strong if he were to gain control over the Digital World.

X X X

Rika Matsuki woke up rather easily these days. She'd never really been a light sleeper, per se, but it wasn't easy to survive in the Digital World if you didn't learn how to wake up at the slightest noise. She stood up and brushed her clothes off, frowning slightly. When she was younger, she'd always been a tomboy. Dresses, styling her hair? Ugh. No thanks. And her mom kept trying to stuff her in the ugliest stuff! Or, that was what she thought as a ten year old. Growing up had brought changes, and she'd eventually learned to appreciate fashion. Besides, the fact that her Gogglehead had started to break down in the most hilarious ways when she wore dresses had helped. So, while Rika still enjoyed wearing jeans and a t-shirt, she did wish she had any clothes to change into after twelve years. Still, being stuck with a green bomber jacket with black jeans and combat boots was probably better than wearing a dress in this digital desert. She even had a nice black shirt with a design on it made by Takato of a swirling Kitsune and Dragon.

"Renamon," she said, waiting for the yellow fox Digimon to appear out of thin air beside her. "What's that noise?"

The Digimon cocked her head to the side. "I believe..."

She was interrupted by a trio of very loud snores coming from close by. Rika sighed, annoyed, and turned to look at the ground where her husband, Guilmon, and a tiny puffball known as Calumon still weren't awake. Well, at the very least she could say that all these years hadn't changed him for the worst, if they had even changed him at all. And Dinobreath or the cream puff beside him definitely hadn't changed. Those two ere still basically five year olds with stomachs the size of a runaway Locomon. The three of them would have died in their sleep a long time ago without her.

Rika crouched down and stared at her husband, barely bothering to look at the clothes she had memorized years ago. He had worn a blue sweatshirt when they'd left all those years ago, probably thinking back to when they were kids. He also had a pair of jeans and black shoes. If it weren't for their graying hair and the wrinkles at the edges of their eyes that they'd gotten after all this time, they still both looked like they were twenty five in these outfits. But then Takato had lost the goggles she'd bought him for his birthday after they'd started dating and some of his more obvious boyish charm was gone. Oh, he had been in the doghouse for a while for that one, especially since he lost them in the Digital World! They'd probably never find them again because of his Gogglehead move!

When the three snored in time again, blocking the noise of static that had woken her up, she sighed. "Oh, Gogglehead," she said with an annoyed smile. She flicked his nose and he yelped, waking up and sending Calumon flying into the air with a started cry of his own.

"Takatomon, I was sleeping..." Guilmon whined, looking up and rubbing his eyes. "Oh, Rika. I see." He shut his eyes and fell quickly to sleep again.

"Boy..." Takato laughed slightly. "He could sleep through anything." He looked up at his wife and blanched at her annoyed glare. "Uh... what?"

"You're one to talk, Gogglehead," she explained. She stood up with a slight groan. Sleeping on the ground wasn't easy, anymore. She wondered for a moment if beds had gotten better since they'd come to the Digital World. "Now, Renamon. What's that noise?"

The Digimon was smiling at the two humans before shaking her head and returning her attention to the issue at hand. "As I was saying to Rika earlier, your Digivices are... behaving oddly." Renamon turned a claw towards the gold and blue D-Powers resting near where the two had been sleeping. Takato and Rika followed her finger and were surprised when she was right. The screens of their Digivices were filled with static, and the quiet crackling noise had been coming from them.

"Again?" Takato asked, scrambling over to grab his from the ground. "But there's no way to send a message this time. Does that mean Henry didn't get it? Gah, I wish Henry were here to help with this..."

Rika chuckled and shook her head. "This is probably because of him doing something, Takato."

Takato looked up and chuckled nervously. "Uh, right. Of course."

She smiled at him and sat down beside him running a hand through his hair. "Besides, if he were here we'd have to have left Tasuke with our parents. He's safer from Hypnos with Henry." She felt sad mentioning their son like that. Being apart from him for so long wasn't easy on either of them

"If only Yamaki hadn't been replaced. Maybe we'd still be with him." Takato sighed before leaning into her touch and asking, "But are you okay?"

"No," she admitted to the only person she'd admit that to. Well, the only human, she thought with a glance at Renamon. She returned her gaze to her husband and leaned her head down on top of his. "Not really."

"Takato? Rika! It's you!" The two looked down at Takato's Digivice, eyes wide. Henry laughed. "Guys, I – Tasuke. He's okay. Are y-" The screen shut off before he could finish.

"Henry? Henry!" Rika shouted. She shouted at the Digivice before surging to her feet and kicking the dirt. "Dammit!" She fumed and crossed her arms, thinking of ways to kill the ground beneath her feet. She'd start with some kind of powerful attack using Sakuyamon, she decided. That would show the ground... being in her way.

Takato looked up at her before standing up. "Yeah, this sucks," he agreed. He glanced at the black screen and shook his head. "But.. Tasuke's okay! That's good news, right Dream Girl?"

Renamon chuckled as Rika turned back to him, the woman hiding her slight appreciation for the nickname behind a layer of annoyance.

"Oh, Tasukemon! Is he still a tiny baby!?" Calumon shouted as he flew up on top of Takato's head, his tiny eyes wide. "Oh, his adorable little hands and feet!"

"Uh, humans don't really work that way, Calumon," Takato explained for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Oh..." Calumon muttered before grinning again. "So he Digivolved?"

"Digimon really never change, do they?" Rika said, walking over and pulling Calumon off of her husband's head. She bent down slightly to give Takato a kiss on the cheek and leaned her head against his. "Thanks, Gogglehead."

Takato grinned and wrapped his arms around his wife – he still loved those two words. "Nah, thank you, Rika. I'd have lost it a long time ago without you here, so me calming you down is nothing."

"I know," she said with a smile, shutting her eyes and imagining being there with their son, in the human world. It made her feel better, even if it did make her a little sad it wasn't happening. Probably because her Gogglehead's boundless optimism had rubbed off on her a little: she was optimistic enough to believe it would happen one day now, too."But still."

"Takatomooon." The pair turned towards the slowly awakening Guilmon. "When are we gonna eat?"

"And on that note, we should probably get moving to find something," Takato said with a sigh. "Don't want him to try eating our shoes again."

"Shoes?" Guilmon asked, drooling. "You have extra?"

Renamon grimaced. "I suppose it is nearly time for us to move anyways," she said. "I will scout for threats and Data Streams while you pack up camp. I will see you soon." And with that, the fox Digimon vanished.

"You know, it's fitting you have Renamon as a Digimon," Takato said as they began cleaning up camp. Guilmon and Calumon were laughing and playing around nearby, chasing one another around the rock they'd used to hide themselves. "You're pretty foxy."

Rika rolled her eyes. "Then it's fitting you have Guilmon. You're both complete Goggleheads."

"And you love it," Takato pointed out, grinning.

Rika sighed and grinned back. "For some reason, I do. I even hope Tasuke has that Goggleheadness you do. Oh, but not your lack of brains. Don't want him to be completely hopeless."

"Hey!" Takato laughed.

X X X

So... that wasn't a joke. I really do end up with that... that... Gogglehead. I mean, Takato! Ew, I can't believe it's like a pet name to them! I won't be able to call him that ever again!

Okay, Rika, just breathe. Focus on... anything else but this Gogglehead nonsense – dammit, again?

Okay, well, at least Tasuke is making progress, even if he's making the same mistakes I did. Loading Digimon doesn't make either of them stronger, not really. But then why did his Merge Rate go up? You know, I think he and that BlackGuilmon are both a little Gogglehead like. I bet they even care more about each other than they'd like to admit.

What? No, not like me and Takato, Renamon! Don't even joke, you sound like my grandmother! Renamon!

Look, I'm tired of this. We'll just deal with it on the next episode of Digimon: Digital Monsters!