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.

27. City Under Fire: Preview of a DigiWar?

AN: Hey y'all. How's it going? A little faster turnaround than last time, which is nice. It's a fun chapter, I think. I'm really excited for next chapter, especially. You'll see why at the end of the chapter, but the next few chapters are ones I've been excited to write since coming up with the story's concept way back when. And this chapter is going to have some after effects everyone will be dealing with for a while before we reach the Digital World. Friendships will be tested, battles will be fought, and Digimon will eat way too much food. Not necessarily in that order.

Responses!

To Old style: Henry's important to Tasuke. He's a big part of this chapter. Yes, Hiku was with Namaiki earlier at the hospital to make sure she woke up. Reapmon's Leak Information is an important part of his partnership with Taj, but we'll learn about that in this chapter. I'm sorry about making you feel restless, I'll try not to, but... well, this chapter and the next lead into more events enough that a semi-cliffhanger is coming. You'll see why at the end of the chapter, but I've been promising this for a while now.

Well, I hope you guys all enjoy.

Episode 27: City Under Fire: Preview of a DigiWar?

"You see, coding new programs into a Digivice is actually incredibly difficult," Henry explained as he and May looked over the code they had written over the course of a mostly sleepless night with more than a dozen ruined stress balls strewn about the basement. He couldn't help but feel proud of his accomplishment. "We're lucky I've been working on this for years. Program library is huge. I am... pretty good at this."

"And the only reason we were able to connect this new function to the compass is because of my new function," May responded, just as proud of herself as her uncle was.

He reached over and ruffled her hair. "And you're pretty good, too," he agreed. He yawned wide and rubbed his neck. "But you really need to start looking at your line ends. Kids don't think about the small things."

"It – It wasn't that bad!" May exclaimed.

Henry glared over at her. "We spent three hours thinking there was an issue, when it turns out you just forgot to include a few semi-colons."

May turned bright pink. "I... I..."

He chuckled. "Ah, I used to do the same thing," he supplied after watcher her get embarrassed again. "Everyone does." He groaned and looked over at the screen. "Let's start it up." He hit a button and began downloading the data into his second computer, translating it into base Digi-Code that the Digivice could handle, then into the D-Power. He glanced over at the device, watching as the ones and zeroes streamed across the small screen. Eventually, the stream was overlaid by a a blank area in the shape of a small creature roaring out of a 'D' shape.

"What are we going to say to him?"

Henry turned to May, who was staring down at her Digivice in her hand looking somber on top of exhausted. She sniffled and rubbed at her face. "There – there has to be something happening. What those guys said..." She turned her eyes up to him, tears flowing. "He wouldn't hurt someone that bad!"

Henry's mouth shrank into a thin line, growing pale from pressure. "May, Tasuke comes from... His parents, they were my best friends. Some of the best people I have ever met," he explained. He looked up at the ceiling and shut his eyes, flashing back to all their times together. "But they were not perfect."

"Why are you telling me this?" May wondered as she sniffled again, fighting off crying.

He stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. "Tasuke is the child of two people with very high tempers. His mother alone... had problems. Her father left her when she was very young, and it stuck with her. I think that the same happened to Tasuke. She was very angry and closed off, which I was so happy he had you." He smiled softly at her. "He needed a good friend."

He grew somber. "But Tasuke's father, he grew up with stability. Loving parents and well adjusted. Happy. But he also had a... deep reservoir of rage. It nearly – He had to learn how to overcome it. And he did." Henry shook his head and turned away. "I'm worried that he inherited some of the wrong things from his parents." It made sense, after all. He grew up with the situation that inspired his mother's anger. If he had inherited that same deep rage of his father, the results could be explosive.

May looked sadly at her uncle's back. "He got a lot from you, too." Henry turned back, eyes wide. "If anyone has a chance, it's you."

He smiled at her, then turned rapidly as his Digivice beeped. He and May moved towards it and watched as the screen flashed twice, then created a hologram of a red compass. It spun for a few moments before finally settling and pointing west. "We found him."

X X X

"We need to hurry," Henry growled as he sprinted along, ignoring his instincts to apologize to everyone he was running into as he and the kids charged through the semi-crowded streets of Downtown Denver, or the weird looks that BlackJyarimon was getting in May's arms.

"We better be getting close," May replied. She glanced down at BlackJyarimon in her arms, catching sight of his entire body turning into static before reforming. His eyes were shut and he let out the occasional shiver. "I don't know if he can take more."

Davis' brow furrowed as he cast a glance at the Digimon. He was surprised that the little guy had managed to hang on this long. No one knew what happened if a Digidestined's Digimon was separated from them permanently. When the human died, it tended to only happen after the Digimon was Loaded completely. If Taj was connected to a new Digimon, could his connection with his partner be repaired? Or was it already too late for BlackJyarimon? Davis' mood grew even darker. He hoped it could be fixed.

"Crap," Davis grumbled as Henry wheeled around a corner, leading into an area with demonstrably thinner crowds.

"What is it?" Henry asked, tossing a glance over his shoulder.

"Fewer people means we're a target. Especially since -"

The air filled with static around them in a sudden burst. People around them began to cry out in surprise, the sudden, localized change drawing fear. It was going to get worse, Davis noted as he slid to a stop. Some of them began to run, the natural fear of the unknown spurring them on. But others just stood their, confused and just waiting to die. Davis and the others couldn't change that. He could just fight back and hope nothing too bad happened. "Digi-Modify! Matrix-Warp Digivolution, Activate!"

SaviorHuckmon exploded out of thin air, spinning his blade covered body in front of a half dozen surprised bystanders in the darkness. "Davis, what's going on!?" May shouted, just before a large metal claw shot at SaviorHuckmon, crashing into his guard and sending out a shockwave of force that shattered glass. The remaining people screamed in fear and scattered, but by then a MetalGreymon had already followed his claw and slammed his foot down on where SaviorHuckmon had been a second earlier. May growled and reached down to her own Digivice. She had to help.

"No!" Davis said, holding his hand out without turning. "We need to save Taj. This one's to keep me busy, but Watanabe will be chasing him, too, so you have to get to him first!"

"But Davis -"

"Go!" he snapped at her. "I've got this."

Henry placed his hand on May's shoulder and turned her to follow him. "Do you trust him?"

May turned to watch him for a second. "You... You better not die before we can have a second date, got it!?"

Davis chuckled. "KayKay."

She grinned, then turned with Henry and charged off, leaving Davis behind to handle things here. "He'll be fine," she said, and was surprised when she didn't just believe it. She knew it. "Now let's make sure Taj will be, too."

Davis glared up at the MetalGreymon, only scanning the information on his Digivice to refresh his memory. "A Cyborg Ultimate level Digimon. A Greymon that has successfully drawn out a stronger power after defeating many formidable opponents. His offensive power is similar to a low level nuclear warhead, and has armor forged from Chrome Digizoid. His Giga Destroyer attack launches organic missiles that vaporize almost any Digimon that it hits, and uses the Trident Arm attack to launch his metallic arm to impale any enemy that survives. A Partner Digimon."

"You're... Hiku, right?" Davis shouted, spying the determined and angry man sliding down MetalGreymon's back and down to the ground. Davis prepared his BlackWarGreymon card in his pocket, then readied his fists for a fight. SaviorHuckmon reappeared in a blur behind him, having managed to dodge the larger and slower Digimon's stomp that had now left a Godzilla like mark in the street and a caved in first floor on some of the buildings nearby. "This is pretty out in the open."

"I didn't want to do this, okay? But your friend came after us, and we warned you to stay away," Hiku said, somehow managing to sound like he was apologizing even as he raised his Digivice threateningly. "Digi-Modify. Hyper-Sonic activate!"

Well, crap. Good thing Davis was quick on the draw. "Digi-Modify! At, Rene, Pol Activate!"

Just as the massive MetalGreymon turned into a blur that carved a jagged trench through a building, a trio of glowing, fiery creatures stitched together out of brown Digital Lines became real, and SaviorHuckmon leaped forward. "Weltgeist!" He snapped, and the creatures raised their blade like arms. They began to swirl around SaviorHuckmon like a cloak, burning eyes shifting around constantly. Davis forced himself to ignore the screams of terror. It didn't look like anyone was dead yet, but he wasn't going to keep it that way if he wasn't focused on the fight.

"Why would you risk revealing all this?" Davis asked just before MetalGreymon slammed into SaviorHuckmon. He brought his metal claw down on Davis' partner, who dodged the brunt of the blow and sent At out to carve through MetalGreymon's wings. Both Digimon roared in pain, with MetalGreymon stumbling and slamming his organic arm out and into a building to steady himself. Rubble began to fall, and more screams streamed from within the building. Some fell conspicuously silent. "NO!"

Davis turned on Hiku, fists shaking. "Why are you doing this? These are innocent people!"

Hiku looked up at the building. "I have – er... It's less than what will happen if you bring down the firewall. If I have to do this, I will."

"We aren't trying to anymore!" Davis snapped. He pulled out his Digivice and the BlackWarGreymon card. "We're just trying to get our friend back."

"And that's why we don't believe you," Hiku replied resolutely. "MetalGreymon, take them down!"

"You got it," the massive monster agreed, raising his chest and charging energy.

Giga Blaster – This would vaporize blocks of the city, even if they weren't unleashed at full power. "I didn't want to do anything I couldn't take back. But it's like you said: if I have to, I will. Digi-Modify!" Davis snapped,dragging the card through his Digivice. "Ice-Devimon, Activate!"

MetalGreymon gasped and tried to run and make himself harder to hit. SaviorHuckmon growled and looked around, then chuckled and leaped into the air, spinning and crashing his blades into the ground. "Zero Freeze!" He exclaimed. Ice exploded all over the ground, a massive sheet of the stuff covering the entire ground and spreading beneath a massive blur of gray and orange. MetalGreymon, without his wings to help, slid and flipped right onto his back, tumbling towards a building and crashing to a stop. SaviorHuckmon grinned, flipping and slamming his sword-like feet through the ice and finding purchase in the street beneath it.

Davis steeled his nerves and raised his next card. "Digi-Modify! BlackWarGreymon, Activate!"

Rene and Pol swirled around SaviorHuckmon, who roared loudly and threw his bladed arms out to the side. Brown lines began to knit together around his arms, quickly overlapping until they solidified into the massive, black Dramon Killers of a BlackWarGreymon. Rene and Pol seemed to melt into the weapons and their rounded surfaces became sharp and jagged, the blades lengthening significantly. Davis blinked once in surprise before his partner's roar deepened and SaviorHuckmon shot towards MetalGreymon. Flames began to burst out of the modified Dramon Killers and he got close. "Dramon Killer X!"

"Digi-Modify! Alias, Activate!" Hiku shouted just before the blades crossed into an 'X' and carved through MetalGreymon. A small, orange creature yelped and tumbled out of the larger body, through which SaviorHuckmon and his attacks easily passed. Agumon bounced across the ground, groaning and clutching at himself while. SaviorHuckmon, on the other hand, flipped midair and hit the side of the building while watching MetalGreymon fall apart. He leaped through the destroyed copy and hit the ground beyond, his own bladed arms at the ready as he loomed over the defeated Agumon and Hiku. This was over.

"No." SaviorHuckmon turned his head to Davis. "We beat them. For now, we have to find the others. Do you know where they are?"

SaviorHuckmon turned away from Hiku and Agumon completely, acknowledging his partner was right: they weren't the problem anymore. "I think so. But... it's going to take a while to get there. I can't fly up buildings, and we need me a few stories smaller, right?"

Davis grimaced and nodded. He let Huckmon de-Digivolve and ran after his partner, leaving a defeated Hiku confused, injured, but alive. The fog began to clear around him, with the noise of sirens coming closer. Hiku's head snapped towards the noise. "Come on. We need to run," Hiku told his partner, lifting the child sized Digimon up. "Let's go."

X X X

"There he is!" DoruGreymon shouted, arching her neck towards a lone figure on top of a large building. The two humans and the small Digimon riding on her back traded worried glances before DoruGreymon began her descent towards the open area. DoruGreymon grumbled as she tried to find a place that she could land with some space left over before finally managing to curl up to let the humans slide off of her back. After a couple steps that almost flattened them, she grumbled and flapped her wings, climbing upward and perching on the edge of a building, the Digital Field May's Digivice had created around them settling wide and around a few buildings' upper floors, obscuring them from everyone below. Sure a fast moving, low flying cloud was weird. But know what was weirder? May thought. A Dragon.

May and Henry rushed towards Tasuke, who was simply standing at one corner of the building, looking out at the western horizon. Though, with the view now blocked by a Digital Field, it became clear he was just ignoring them. "Taj!" May shouted, rushing ahead with youthful speed. She slid to a stop behind him, raising the flickering form of BlackJyarimon out to him. "We've been looking everywhere for you. What's-"

"May!" DoruGreymon and BlackJyarimon snapped at the same time. "Move!"

She felt a hand yank her back – Henry had pulled her away at the Digimon's insistence, just before a claw crashed into the roof where she had been.

"Hm. I missed." A very tall, human shaped Digimon appeared out of the mist, cloak of talismans fluttering behind him. He pushed himself up and pulled a red whip from within a very long right sleeve.

"Tasuke..." Henry said, voice low and anxious.

May narrowed her eyes and shoved BlackJyarimon into Henry's arms so she could pull out her Digivice. "Reapmon. Demon man Digimon known as the 'Sublime Lord' and a servant of the Demon Lord Digimon. He uses the Dashenbian whip in his Kamiuchi attack to carve Holy Digimon apart, then transforms the amulets in his coat into various attacks with his Guiltish ability to take care of anything else. He'll snatch away a soul with his Leak Information attack, brainwashing humans and Digimon alike with secrets they didn't ask for. Tempor – Temporary partner?"

Tasuke turned back to them, Digivice in hand and a storm in his eyes. She frowned as she got a better look at the device – sticking out of the side was an unnatural addition. "Can Digivices be repurposed? Like for a different Digimon?" she whispered to her uncle.

He grimaced. He... wasn't sure. "Tasuke!" Henry shouted instead of responding.

BlackJyarimon opened his tired eyes. "Taj..." he mumbled weakly. "Taj, hey, come on!"

But his angry gaze just hardened. "Oh, he doesn't need you anymore," Reapmon told BlackJyarimon. Now he has a partner who can Digivolve to Ultimate! He can open the door to the Digital World with his friends now! And a Digimon who wouldn't stick by him? Well, that's not something anyone needs around."

"Shut up!" BlackJyarimon snapped, refusing to be cowed by the much more powerful Digimon's evil chuckle.

"We're not going to drop the Firewall," May said resolutely. She glared up at Reapmon, refusing to be afraid of the monster. "Now give my friend back, or else."

Reapmon chuckled again, but took a step back to give Taj a clear path to leave. May smiled and held her hand out. "Come on. Taj, let's go."

He didn't budge. "Well, it seems he doesn't want to be friends with someone who has betrayed everything he has ever wanted."

"And what would you know!?" BlackJyarimon snapped up at him. Henry pulled the tiny Digimon, holding him back from trying to take on an Ultimate while exhausted half to death and in the body of an In-Training Digimon.

"Did you listen to the girl's description? I know everyone's secrets," Reapmon replied. He twirled the red whip in his left hand. "Now, I believe it is time for you to leave."

May edged in front of Henry and BlackJyarimon, and Henry felt his Heart drop. The children were protecting him, now. He had to tell his father he was sorry and he knew how the old man felt before they left for Florida again. "No. Digi-Modify! Hyperspeed, activate!" May snapped in response. And in a blur, DoruGreymon crashed into Reapmon, grabbing onto him and spiraling upward. "Bloody Tower!" DoruGreymon snapped, slamming her spiked tail forward and trying to skewer Reapmon as they flew upward.

The lithe Digimon swung around her attack and lashed out with his whip. "Kamiuchi!" He snapped, wrapping it around her neck and yanking hard. May clutched at her throat, crying out as DoruGreymon gurgled and was torn to the side. Henry rushed to his niece's side.

"Feedback..." he muttered worriedly. She was getting hurt by this.

"Gotta... keep going..." May grumbled. She readied her Digivice again.

DoruGreymon lashed out again at Redapmon, slashing violently though the figure kept avoiding her attacks right up until he led her to crash right into the side of a nearby building. People shrieked as a red dragon and a demon plowed through their building, sending debris and people scattering in every direction as they screamed for help. She slid to a stop in a larger atrium with another set of stairs and large, glass windows.

DoruGreymon finally managed to lash out and bite into Reapmon's shoulder, clamping hard and pulling a chunk of Digital flesh from his arm. Reapmon cried out and pulled back, the whip loosening off of DoruGreymon's neck enough for her to kick him off and roll to her feet.

Reapmon glared at her, then grinned and threw up his arm. "Guiltish!" He snapped, sending talismans into the air above him that folded into the shape of bullets.

DoruGreymon gasped and leaped in front of the attacks, taking them to her side and saving a group of people running for the stairs. DoruGreymon grimaced in pain, but when she heard May's cries again she managed to turn on her opponent. She charged forward, crashing into Reapmon before he could respond, and flew him out of the building. She kicked him upward and took a deep breath. "Metal Meteor!" She screamed, then launched the massive sphere upward and away from any buildings nearby.

Reapmon glowered at the incoming attack. "Guiltish!" He snapped again and the talismans carried him away from the meteor, taking the form of a hang glider as he sped around the attack and towards DoruGreymon again. The hang glider vanished and he flipped mid-air, spinning to slam a foot into her face. She reeled back, avoiding much of the kick's force, and began flapping her wings hard to avoid crashing into the building and the people screaming within. She shook him off and took another bite, then threw him at a nearby roof before charging after him

"Digi-Modify! May shouted as she caught sight of her partner charging after Reapmon again. "Puppetmons Strings, Activate!" This was it, she had that monster! She got lucky and now they had the monster. They could find out why he'd kidnapped Taj, and how he'd brainwashed him like this. And, maybe, how to get her best friend back.

"Digi-Modify. Phantomon, Activate." Everyone's heads whipped towards Tasuke as he calmly swiped a card. Without looking he swiped another. And another. "Hyper-Wing, Activate. Apollomon, Activate."

The strings flew straight through Reapmon. Wings sprouted from his back. A blast of sickly light exploded from him, forming a dark sun in the center of the city. DoruGreymon screamed in pain and surprise, careening out of control as her vision went dark and her eyes burned. The whip wrapped around her throat again and Reapmon flew back towards them, spinning in the air and slamming her down on the roof. DoruGreymon shrieked and the roof gave a little, just before her Digivolution became unstable and her data began to behave erattically. She shrank down, first into Dorugamon, then Dorumon, and finally back into Dorimon. Reapmon grinned down at her, but pulled back his whip and landed softly beside Tasuke.

May shrieked in pain and clutched at her chest, falling to her knees. It was like her bones were shaking and hurt by the intense attack her Digimon had taken. She grimaced and pushed herself up, shakily making her way over to her partner the moment she knew she wouldn't get impaled for it, sliding to a stop and picking her up. "Dorimon, are you okay?" she asked, worried and checking over her partner.

Dorimon cracked an eye. "Tch. Take more than – gr – that to keep me down."

May laughed in relief, which hurt her just as much as it let out relief. She let tears of pain and relief mix in her eyes. She sniffled for a moment,t hen wiped off her tears and glared over at Reapmon. "You're controlling Taj somehow! That... Leak whatever attack, right? You've brainwashed him into doing things he'd never do! He – Taj wouldn't attack us or..." She trailed off. She was about to say just attack and kill one of the HYPNOS Digimon. That one did sound like him, actually. But he usually listened when she said not to do stupid things!

Henry flinched when Reapmon began to laugh, a deep, dark noise that filled the silence. He pointed condescendingly at the girl. "No. You see, your friend here has a very strong will. He is the product of the Three Tamers, after all. Born of two, raised by the other. I couldn't hold him if I was doing something of which he did not approve. He's deciding to do all of this. He's just more agreeable than usual."

Henry moved towards his niece, checking her Digimon over for a moment, then turned and glared at Tasuke. That Digimon had given him the answer, right there. He ignored the large, Demonic Digimon and set his jaw, eyes turning to steel. If he was going to snap Tasuke out of this, he needed to make Tasuke want to snap out of it. "Your parents would be so disappointed," he said with a heavy, firm voice.

He waited for Tasuke to take a step forward, to wake up and apologize. Then Henry felt his heart plummet to his shoes. "W-why didn't that work?" he asked, voice barely more than a whisper.

"That's easy, Loyal Fortress," Reapmon replied. He walked behind Tasuke, placing one hand on the boy's arm. "The Crimson Knight and the Warrior Priestess – You know what, I'm not doing this. Henry, who could this boy possibly blame the most? Who could he hate the most, of anyone that he has ever met."

Henry's eyes drifted slowly down, realization soaking into his bones like a freezing rain. "No..."

"Yes. They left him. A child, all alone. You all thought – he even thought – that Tasuke wanted to reach the Digital World to save Takato and Rika. To recreate a family he lost, and perhaps reclaim a lost childhood in the process. Very poetic."

Reapmon paused for dramatic effect and gestured at Tasuke. "And a lie he told himself in the dark. What Tasuke wants, what he really wants is to go to the Digital World only so he can tell them he never wants to see them again. To abandon them as they abandoned him. I believe the term you humans use would be... 'an eye for an eye.'"

"No... He -" May bit her cheek. That also sounded like him, even if she didn't want to admit it.

Reapmon held his hand out on the ground to Tasuke. "Well, I suppose we should leave. I wanted to see if he would go with you, but it seems our alliance is real. Goodbye, until you decide to help us lower the Firewall." Tasuke moved to step on the open palm.

"Tasuke!" He stopped at Henry's cry.

"Henry?" May whispered.

He swallowed his fear and sadness. Tasuke hated his parents. Tasuke hated his parents. Henry felt like he had ailed. He knew it wasn't his fault. It was just how someone would grow up if their parents left. It happened to Rika. And he supposed that children were doomed to repeat their parents' mistakes. Rika had left her only child. Takato had tried to pick a future for his son. Henry had lied to Tasuke about Digimon.

"Say it," BlackJyarimon whispered.

"Tasuke, I – " Henry's voice gave out and he took a shuddering breath. Henry wondered why this was so hard. Why didn't he just say it. But he knew. It almost felt like betraying Takato and Rika.

But only Tasuke mattered now. He cleared his throat and glared at Tasuke. "I am disappointed in you."

Tasuke froze, one foot on Reapmon's hand and the other still on the roof. "I may not be your father, Tasuke. But I'm here. I've raised you. And Suzie would say this whole confession is a horrible cliché, but a cliché exists for a reason dammit! Tasuke, I'm your dad. And I'm disappointed you'd forget how much I love you."

Tasuke's other foot dipped down. "What in Lucemon..?" Reapmon growled as he watched Tasuke begin to break free of his own darker impulses.

BlackJyarimon took a worried breath. "And... And I'm sorry!" BlackJyarimon shouted. He shook and let out a pained gasp as his data began to crackle and break down again. "Y-you're my best friend, and I was a jerk. I told you to get m-mad. Urgh... and now – you're – Ugh..."

Tasuke reached up to his head and groaned. "Wha... Urgh..."

Reapmon began to sneer at the group. "Fine. If that's close to working, I might as well make sure this problem ends! Guiltish!"

Bullets formed in the air.

Tasuke screamed in pain, and his feet moved without him thinking. "No!" He screamed. The device attached to his Digivice sparked with a blast of black and red electricity and fell apart. "Henry! May! BG!"

The bullets flew towards them. "NO!" Tasuke leaped headfirst into the path of the bullets. He had to reach them. He had to get to his family!

"BlackJyarimon, Warp Digivolve to..."

X X X

"BlackGrowlmon!"

I looked up as bullets crashed into the massive egg above us, exploding uselessly against the barrier before my partner exploded out with flames spreading from his throat. "Exhaust Flame!" He shouted, and the green flames flew towards Reapmon, burning up a few free talismans in the air.

Reapmon scoffed and threw his arm to the side, his cloak killing the flames with a gust of powerful winds. BlackGrowlmon hit the roof in front of me. "Now we're -"

Of course, apparently some damage had already been done to the building's structural integrity. I did some quick estimates and – Oh. Oh, no. "Hold on to BlackGrowlmon tight," I told everyone, leaping towards him and grabbing his tail. Henry and May glanced at each other, then leaped forward as well. Just in time, apparently, because the roof gave out under his weight just a couple seconds later as he was taunting Reapmon about how invincible he was. Warp-Digivolving to Champion from newly hatched will do that to a Digimon, I guess.

Falling from 500 feet in the air with no wings will really quickly destroy that kind of invincibility. "TASUKE, WHAT DO WE DO!?" He shouted as we began to tumble through the air, surrounded by people falling, caved in metal, and a bird in a cage.

"I second that question!" May screamed.

"W-working on it!" I shouted back. I pulled up my Digivice and opened the cards library. I grimaced at the falling people. This... this was my fault. I tapped one of the cards on the screen. "Save the people falling, and we can worry about landing later! Digi-Modify! Hyper-Wing, activate!"

Glowing wings sprouted from BlackGrowlmon's back and I nearly lost my Digivice from the jolt. I stuffed it into my pocket before I could and pointed. "Hurry up!"

"On it, Taj!" BlackGrowlmon replied, turning down and charging the falling people.

"Not happening!" We were thrown off our path by a foot slamming into BlackGrowlmon's shoulder, Reapmon flying in on the wings I had given him. He smirked at us and raised his whip. "We're not done yet."

"I think you are, Ugly!" A ShadowWereGarurumon flew in on – jeez, did everyone have Hyper-Wing? – with a man on his shoulder. "Full Moon Kick!" He swung his leg up into Reapmon's chest, and the resulting explosion sent him soaring over a building and out of site, with the shockwave of the impact creating shattered glass all around. The ShadowWereGarurumon turned towards us. "We'll get those ones. You get the rest."

Me and BlackGrowlmon glanced at each other. "Do it!" Henry shouted. And like that, we were off, picking up a few kids, parents, and the bird. We swooped towards a nearby building and dropped them off.

One of the kids had super wide eyes as he stared up at BlackGrowlmon, beyond excited at the prospect of a giant monster. "Uh... Hi."

The kid's eyes widened even further at BlackGrowlmon's greeting. Right up until we got a Full Moon Kick for our troubles and BlackGrowlmon was keeping us safe from dying by taking the entire brunt of the impact to the ground. Still hurt like hell, and I felt like sleeping off an ache on every bone. I pushed myself up slowly. "May... Dorimon... Henry... Are you..."

"No..." May groaned, popping up out of BlackGrowlmon's hair.

Henry groaned and held his back as he slid down off of BlackGrowlmon. "I'll survive," he groaned, then winced when he tried to stand up straight. "Need a deep tissue massage, but I'll survive."

Dorimon popped up. "That was pretty fun!"

"How are you not hurt at all!?" I shouted as she clambered off of BlackGrowlmon.

She laughed. "Luck, Dummy?" She opened her mouth to say more, then growled and turned on our new opponent. "Captain HYPNOS! What do you want!?"

ShadowWereGarurumon floated to the ground and let his partner jump off of his shoulder as the Digital Field settled around us. "I've come for justice."

I clutched my arm and winced at the ache in my shoulder. "... For me."

The gray haired man nodded. "You hurt one of my people. You killed another."

"That wasn't him," May growled, coming up beside me. She fell to one knee and made a nasty noise.

"Feedback? Going Ultimate is dangerous," Watanabe told her. He shook his head. "Until your friend can get past Hiku and Kura, we're all alone, and you can't Digivolve with that much Feedback breaking you down, Mayumi. So step back or take the punishment, too."

"Go. It's my fault," I told her.

She glared up at me. "Shut the hell up, Dummy."

I shook my head, even as Henry came up beside me. "Seconded," he said quietly, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Thirded! Is that a thing? Uh, me too!" Dorimon shouted, charging up.

There was a loud groan and the ground shook. BlackGrowlmon slowly pushed himself up and came slowly, painfully behind me. He bared his teeth. "Make that four," he growled, smoke rising all around his face.

"But it's my fault." My voice cracked. "Guys, I – I hurt them. I did."

"They knew what they were getting into. They've done worse. They're just complaining it was done to them, now," Henry said knowingly. "Where's their justice, Watanabe?"

Watanabe's fists clenched. "I will kill you all," he said simply.

I took a step forward. "I wish I could say that it wasn't me. That – that thing was controlling." I shook my head. "But it was, at least half. I'm sorry. I – I know that won't bring Wormmon back. I know. Maybe it was wrong." I steeled my gaze and took another, far more confident step forward. "But don't threaten my family."

Watanabe glared at me. He looked like he might consider what I'd said. Maybe he'd leave. Maybe we could settle this later. I wouldn't go down easy. Instead he turned away. "Do it."

"No..." I whispered, defeated. I'd been so close! ShadowWereGarurumon was charging us. His fist slammed into the ground, sending May and Dorimon tumbling backwards before they could respond. He advanced on me, claws glinting. He was hurting the people I loved. He was going to kill me. BlackGrowlmon leaped over me, crashing vainly into the smaller but much stronger Digimon. ShadowWereGarurumon snarled and twisted, slamming my partner into the ground. He was going to kill my best friend. His claws rose and glinted again.

"NO!" I screamed, reaching into my pocket and pulling out all of my cards. One had to help. One had to! I had to find the one that would save him! I wished, so hard, just to save him!

Merge-Rate 80% reached. One of the cards in my hand glowed as this message flashed on my Digivice's screen. A crimson red settled over one of my Energy cards, the face changing all at once. The face became a simple red, with a black Digital Hazard overlaid onto it. Without thinking, I swiped the card.

"Digi-Modify!" I screamed, channeling all of my hopes, my anger, and my self loathing for my part in this into the card. "Anti-Matrix Digivolution, Activate!"

BlackGrowlmon roared, an echoing and Godzilla like roar that threw ShadowWereGarurumon off of him. An unbelievably massive egg appeared around him and he floated upright, clearly visible through the surface. "BlackGrowlmon, Anti-Matrix Digivolve to..!" Every Digivice in the area screamed, and I could see Henry's, Watanabe's, and May's Digivices streaming a bright red color. The Digital Hazard. My Digivice's insignia.

My partner's skin stripped off to the red wireframe, leaving him a skinless dinosaur. Then his shape began to change. He surged to multiple times his height, easily passing thirty feet. Massive armor appeared around his chest, followed by vernier rocket engines that erupted from his shoulders. A segmented stinger came out from his neck. The metal surrounded his jaw and turned into massive, gnashing teeth. His arms extended and warped, turning into massive, deadly looking blades that continued past his now machine-type claws. He opened his mouth and let out a huge roar as the skin began to reapply over him. His metallic chest became a cold, pale silver with a red Hazard on the center between two, massive blasters. His black scales gained golden lines around his thighs, and the tip and base of his tail. His hair turned the same golden shade, and so did the zero units on his feet. His claws were now tipped with a metallic, black substance. He exploded out of the egg with a roar, the rocket thrusters on his back carrying him towards ShadowWereGarurumon. "Double Blades!" He roared, and the blades on his arms began to glow bright before he brought them down on his enemy. The ground exploded upward, and massive cracks in the street and sidewalk shot out in every direction from the impact crater. A fire hydrant began to spray water straight up, its heights coming nowhere near BG's shoulders, but raining down on the rest of us.

My Digivice beeped and I raised it towards my partner. "BlackWarGrowlmon. An Ultimate Android Digimon whose Virus natures are expressed by his darker appearance. He has been called the 'Black Destroyer Dragon' for his intense battle instincts and thirst for destruction. His upper body has been coated with Chrome Digizoid, giving him massive defense capabilities and flight. The cable on his back can be used to impale enemies like a stinger, though this is only in interest of setting up his incredibly destructive attacks. With Double Blades, BlackWarGrowlmon is able to carve through even the strongest Digital Defenses, leaving marks on Digimon themselves clad in Chrome Digizoid. But more dangerous is his Atomic Blaster, a powerful blast of energy that rips apart his targets even on the atomic level. Adorned with the Digital Hazard, this Digimon has the potential to become a threat that can annihilate the entire world. Your Digimon Partner."

I smiled down at the last three words. My Partner. And I wasn't going to be stupid enough to let that go again. I fought off my tears and sorries. Henry and the others... they could hear them later. Right now, we had a big bad wolf to get rid of. "I'm giving you one chance, Watanabe!" I roared. He took a half step back when BlackWarGrowlmon let out his own roar, this one shaking the glass around us. "Run!"

He growled and looked over at my partner. He looked like he recognized the danger he was in. Good. "We will settle this later," he warned as ShadowWereGarurumon flew over, looking much worse for the wear after our surprise Digivolution. He picked Watanabe up and glared over at us. "This is not over."

I glared back. "I'm sorry," I told him again. "What I did was wrong. But if you come after me and my friends again... I'll fight with everything I have."

"I know." He motioned with his head and ShadowWereGarurumon shot off, wings flickering as they beat a hasty retreat.

At which point, May promptly passed out. "May!" I shouted, rushing over and suddenly getting hit with a wave of exhaustion. This is what Digivolving to Ultimate felt like? And May had done it twice with no sleep... Man, I really owed her.

X X X

"Sir, there's a Lieutenant Bael here to see you."

Gethen smiled. "Send him in," he told his secretary. He leaned back and activated his office's privacy function. It was nice to visit Denver again. Even if the noise outside was almost unbearable. Someone was going to have a day of terrible paperwork. Well, what were secretaries for, he supposed. Besides, all the people would simply believe the official explanation. He tried to remember the current party line, and believed it had to do with drone warfare and terrorist attacks.

His door opened, and a sharply dressed soldier passed through, closing and locking it behind him just as the privacy mode finished activating. "Master," Lieutenant Bael said, marching up. He raised his hand to his hat, and suddenly there was a tall, Ultimate level Digimon hunched over where the man had been a moment earlier. Reapmon chuckled and bowed his head to Gethen. "Everything went exactly according to plan. Their alliance is stronger than ever, and the Hazard has reached Ultimate."

"So, all that's left is to create a need for them to remove the Firewall." Gethen smirked and tented his hands in front of his face. "And what better choice than the very thing we used to bring them back together? Agent Estevez thought he could hide his betrayals from me. They all did. It's time for them to see... the people they love have always been my pieces in this game. From Henry Wong, all the way down to Daniel Anderson."

X X X

Henry glanced over at me on New Years Eve, just a couple days after... everything. His face was serious as we approached the convention center. He stuffed his hands in his overcoat's pockets to keep them warm. "You're okay with this?" he asked me, yet again.

And, yet again, I answered, "I can manage," I admitted. I didn't want to, but Henry had already been clear that he didn't have all the answers we were after. Only one person had the story that he wanted us to hear. It just happened that she was working for HYPNOS and had helped them drive a wedge between me and everyone else. I turned away and saw construction trucks rushing by, heading towards... what I'd caused. No, blaming her wasn't right. She just made the wedge bigger. Still, I didn't feel like forgiving her for her part in it, either. "You said you want us to know everything now. I don't know how much it will make me care about why they left, but... whatever. It's important to you."

Henry smiled morosely at me, then turned and led us towards the convention center, passing past a large, sculpture of a bear and into the building, where we were quickly stopped by guards – obviously hired and set up after the 'terror attack' that had happened. I hadn't wanted to believe that Gethen or the world powers would be able to hide Digimon this easily, but he'd been right. People didn't want to believe in a robotic godzilla fighting a werewolf and a demon. They wanted to believe in nice, normal Horrible-Things. Dozens had died because of me. And no one would ever know the truth.I saw their faces on the TV the other day. Everyone else kept trying to tell me that it wasn't me, or that I wasn't myself. But I knew that I had to make up for this. Somehow. Eventually, the guards let us through and began patting down the next group of people to enter.

We walked around for a few moments, ambling towards a cafe for a couple drinks and asking if anyone had seen her. We were pointed her way pretty fast, and found who we were looking for talking with a few of her peers. Henry paused, trying to let her finish her conversations before interrupting. But I just wanted this over.

"Hey, Dr. Katou!" I shouted. Everyone's eyes turned on us, including hers. She palled, but turned to her peers and made her way to us with some quick apologies.

"What are you doing here?" she wondered, voice strained underneath a facade of kindness. Her voice lowered. "Was what happened the other day because of you?"

"And your friends," I retorted angrily.

She flinched at that and I couldn't help but feel some satisfaction. It wasn't only my fault, after all. Henry took over for me, already knowing I didn't want to talk to her more than I had to and probably disappointed with how I'd reacted so far. He sighed out, "I wasn't there, Jeri." He crossed his arms and his grip tightened around his biceps. "I can't tell the kids a real account. But you can."

"You owe it to us," I growled quietly.

Dr. Katou looked between us, her face tightening. "I'm sorry," she finally told me. "But I -"

"Then do this," Henry told her.

I narrowed my eyes on her. "I'd be just as glad if you didn't. Even if Henry wants us to know, I don't know if I want you telling us."

She glared at me, but it looked like she had already given in. "Fine. Tonight. We'll do it tonight." She glanced over her shoulder at the other speakers at this convention. "I'll tell you how your parents came to be lost in the Digital World."

X X X

Everything according to plan, hm? I'm not sure I appreciate that the children compare me to this Director Gethen individual. He seems more obsessed with his own little games than protecting our world from the threats in the Digital World. Of course, that assumes that he has he has any interest in his assigned mission.

Instead, I would think he behaves more like those... bureaucrats that I report to. Except that gives them too much credit. He's clever, and he understands Digimon. Perhaps better than I do. And that alone worries me more than any Digimon. At least these children are all together now, and with all three at the Ultimate level, they'll be able to handle most threats that come their way. The only ones that worry me now are HYPNOS... and Gethen's allies.

However, I'm most intrigued by what we will find out about Matsuki's and Nonaka's disappearance next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters.