NOTE: No Digimon character in this story is/are real or is personally owned by me. I use the names for the purpose of creative writing and retain no legal obligation to any names or characters in this story. What characters that do not appear in or around any Digimon story line are of my work. The idea of the story is not completely original, based off of season 03 of Digimon. AGAIN characters and plot are not legally mine, any and all complaints should go to the/or proper authorities such as the server you downloaded my story from or your local government authorities. I have taken the liberty to create my own character(s) but I do not feel that it is necessary for copy rites on them. For fan/flam mails may be sent to my email address as listed below. I look forward to criticism and support.

Yours,

SILENCE

Pokemon_alone@hotmail.com

Fox Tails

Parents strongly cautioned- these programs are intended for mature audiences over the age of 18. These programs may contain some material that many parents would not find suitable for children and my Included intense violence, sexual situations, coarse language and suggestive dialog.

My name is Ryokumon, I think. Since this all started I haven’t been sure of a lot. Not even about my self. What I am sure about is that something happened that changed my life, both of them.

Well to start my story I can go from one set of memories or the other. Just for the sake of argument ill go with the ones I’m sure you’ll semi relate to…

I’m human, OK. That’s what my parents told me. My intolerably abusive parents anyway. I was an average kid on the outside: new cloths, expensive things and even a car! Well being 18 and all had something to do with that. I had a job and a social life. A few friends but mostly I kept to my self. One friend in particular though was training me to be some kind of minion of evil.

Since I was sixteen he had drug me out in the wee hours of the night to go do cool things. Like braking things and stealing stuff. Which up until now had ruined me. I had a criminal record and a wrap sheet a few blocks long, all petty though. My diffusionality was why I thought of my parents as such abusive basteds.

But they weren’t and I see that now. But back to me, my parents. Normal people with good jobs and a bad ass wana-be son. They had sent me to a few schools over the cores of my adolescents which I was kicked out of or failing miserably. When I was younger still in my early teens they put me threw karate, which was the only thing I seemed to excel at.

But is was for nothing. I did the training but I didn’t hear the lessons. A black belt bully who knew how to drop you several different ways, but barely knew how to spell his own name. Coming back to my parents they where also grate fighters. My dad, a fith degree black put me down when he needed to. Like after the police had caught me shoplifting and I ran back home with a shirt full of electronics.

My mother, she died when I was young, And it’s always haunted me. I can think about it today and miss a delicate nature I never had because I was to busy learning how to be a tough guy. From what I can remember of her she always made me rite. She was such a wonderful person that I never did anything wrong around her. We’d go to the park and I would ask before I did the slightest thing.

And then she left me and I found him. The friend I told you about. His name was Eddy. I’m not saying he’s a drug lord or anything but he sure wasn’t a nice guy. He was far bigger than I was. We meet in my Judo class. He was always fallowed around by a few men in blue. He was fifteen then, and busted for grand theft auto. Like he needed the class. Maybe for the disciple as much as I did. But neither of us picked up on it.

After the sensei had taught us for so long we left the dojo. He managed to find me again, being the second in the class I guess he needed some one as strong as him.  I started taking judo after my mother died. My father thought that if I focused on it; it would distract me from my pain, but all it did was bring me more.

A few months after Eddy had recruited me, we went out and did a lot of stuff that got me put in juvy for a few months. He got away and I served the time. My father tried to straiten me out with boarding school but I still knew Eddy. When I was there I managed to brake in to the science lab and smother the cafeteria in Auger. Then steal all the towels in the gym and use them for firewood when I went to bawn fires.

I was busted for a lot. But I still didn’t learn. Till finally after a few years of being with Eddy we where going to raid a warehouse for some new computers. That’s the night when it all changed, and where the story gets the most confusing to me.

So ill start it from there…

New Confusions

“Hurry up.” Eddy whispered. I was watching my back in full stance ready to put some one on the ground. “Yeah, Yeah.” I said quietly. We walked around swiftly like ninjas in the night. This section of town was near the railroad tracks, and in need of repair. Weeds shot up from the space in the concrete and crunched it you stepped on any.

We knew where we where going that night, and I knew what we where doing. I had brought up the idea. A computer warehouse one the south side packed with computers, Low security and a lot of hardware. My present PC sucked badly, Eddy had just gotten a new one him self from the same spot but managed to find one with out any software.

So there we where going to brake into a large warehouse. Going to steal something that ran for a few hundred bucks and if something messed up possibly land me prison.

Eddy walked up to the building, a large old looking chipped paint and little rusted metal sheets. All the doors where locked but that didn’t stop us. I had a pair of tin snips in my belt loop and would cut a hole in the wall big enough for two boxes. “SHHHH!” Eddy cringed as I crunched a small weed crouching down.  For the next ten minuets I pulled up the sheet of metal from the ground so I could cut it. The sound of the metal bending and popping sounded more like some one was quietly bashing in the side of a car. Eddy stood over me the entire time like it was the first time we had done it, swearing and cursing for me to be quiet.

He had been thinking about this for the past month, watching every detail of the area where the rent a cops drove their cars and when. But according to him we had a while till one even came close to us. I finally got the piece of metal up high enough to cut and made the hole and we both went in. Sloppy and sharp we made sure not to rip our shirts as we crawled threw the box sized hole.

When we made It inside there where piles and piles of boxes stacked almost to the ceiling about forty feet above a catwalk stretch a crossed the center of the warehouse slightly below the level of the boxes and far enough out for something like a fork lift to pull of a set of boxes. There also was a dark looking but slightly illuminated fog to one side of the building. I could see threw the fog just enough to see a fork lift loaded with boxes near on of the giant loading and unloading doors.

Eddy waved me to come behind him as we walked over to the fog. Not knowing what it was. The night was moist so we thought it was like the fog came inside or something, but we still went threw it. The fog thickened and on the inside also got brighter. Not blinding bright but looking at it was like staring into the sun. I looked around above me to see that all the lights where off. I was a little confused as to where the light was coming from. But we still hurried along looking for anyone to see us.

Eddy got to the boxes first and started to go threw the labels on them. Finding the perfect computer for what he wanted and started to pull it off. I came up beside him. From the fog it was starting to look like day light all around. He didn’t mind it not even really paying any attention to it and huffed the crate down.

I felt a wind start to swirl around me and something tug at my belt and looked around seeing nothing but the thickening fog. Now the light was so intense that I had to squint to see. “What the hell is this?” I whispered as the light made my vision go white. “Who cares! Lets hurry up before some one sees us.” he whispered back like my question was completely ignorant.

I just wanted to forget about what I was doing at the time and get the hell out of the building, but I stayed by Eddy till he managed to pull his heavy box off of the lift. The entire time I searched the fog squinting to see. I didn’t come a crossed anything not even the towering stacks of boxes that where in the warehouse. Then, all of a sudden the wind stopped swirling and made a quick blast to the fogs center. And a shadowy form started to become clear.

Eddy dropped his box before I started to charge at it. It was about ten feet behind where we where and just standing there. I reared back a punch not letting out a growl or a sound past the silent thumps of my feet a crossed the concrete. I made it close to the shadowy figure and still shrouded like a shadow I punched at it. Then threw it!

My hand went numb and sharp needles of pain ran threw my arm as I stumbled threw the shadow. It was so intense that I grunted before I hit the ground in shrill huffs and as I passed threw the shadow with my entire body the needles ran straight threw every fiber of my body. It was like I had just been shoot threw a generator. Like the kind of numbness after you where shocked within an inch of your life. I landed on the ground completely unable to move and on the way down I was so tensed that my body curled in to the fetal position and twitched for a few seconds till feeling returned.

The box that Eddy was holding crashed to the ground and with a horrible thud and crunch of glass plastic and Styrofoam. He ran over to me and leaned over. “Dude are you ok” my jaw was still tensed shut but I nodded my head as his words seemed to slow down as they left his lips. The fog had vanished and now the lights of the warehouse shot on from the thud of the box and a man ran a crossed the catwalk over head.

“HEY YOU! STAY THERE!” he said vainly as Eddy picked me up by the shoulder and dragged me to the hole. By that time I had a little movement back. But I still felt slow. Eddy was keeping the same pace like he was pacing me, but looked like he was running as fast as he could.

When we got to the hole I could hear a light thud of feet beating down a set of metal stairs. Eddy went threw first then grabbed my wrist and yanked me threw as I was listening to the sound.

“COME ON LETS GO!” he shouted still slow in my ears, and seemed to gently lean off to the side and jog away. I fallowed with out a word and caught up to him with a little effort. And made it to my car in a few seconds.

Eddy hopped in the passenger side of my jeep as I jumped in the window of the drivers side and started it up. The engine sounded like a stall and then made the sound of pistons thumping from the explosive force of its fuel. I kicked it into gear and pealed out. Seeming like I was going a lot slower than the speedometer said.

“What the hell happened to you?!” Eddy screamed slowly.” I started to talk and the words I was saying came out just as slow. “I don’t know. What ever it was, I feel really weird.” I looked down at the speedometer and saw I was going over a hundred and slowed down to mach the gage.

It felt like I was going ten miles an hour at thirty. And the only evidence that I was where a few parked cars blurred from the speed. It was like some weird high. The world was moving slower than my mind, and my body couldn’t catch up. When I made it home. My walking pace was more like a run. My father looked at me as I came in the house seeing me moving so fast and started to question.

“Ware where you?” he asked as his suit bounced while he placed his hands on his hips. “Out.” I said angrily. I was still walking up the stairs to my room when he asked another question “What’s the big rush?” to me I was walking. But to him I must have looked like I was in a strong sprint.

“I’m walking what are you on?” I said as I disappeared up the staircase. He shouted for me to come back but I was to busy walking to my room. I opened the door and flopped on my bed pushing the dirty cloths and electronics out of my way.

I put my hand on my head wondering what had just happened, and looked around my room. My clock was sliding by lazily like it was being run threw molasses, the second hand drifted around at least half as fast as it should have. I rolled over and looked at my computer and some small fidget toys I had till I fell asleep quickly.

The sounds of my house where all threw my head that night, every one. It was like I had a microphone in every room of the house attached directly to my brain. Still lowed it sounded like an old record player set to an agonizingly slow speed. It was a sleep less night I though. But when I got up the next morning I was extremely rested.

I sat up in my bed seeing that I was still fully dressed from my activities from last night and felt sore on my hip like I was laying on something. Not completely remembering what happened I clumsily made a twitch to my bed and over shot what I was looking for. It took about a minuet for me to see that I was still affected by what ever happened and in that I had flung my beddings a crossed my room.

I didn’t find anything on my bed. So it came to reason what ever it was would be stuck to me some how. Trying to gently tap my hip I ended up slamming the palm of my hand down on the sore spot. Making me draw in a sharp hiss from the slight pain. I tapped around a little more with fines starting to get used to the slow motion perspective and found a small white and brown plastic thing on a key chain attached to my belt.

I played a few kiddy card games but was more or less a collector; the little thing was something from a card game I played called a Digivice. They sold them in stores everywhere but this one was unique.  Its display was bigger and looked like it could be clearer. And the brown ring around the screen was very strange because the ones in the stores only came in a small frame of colors.

As I looked at it there on my hip a voice in my head quietly said hello. I looked around thinking it was me, and it said it again. In my head I pretended to be so many things and could think of a voice and play out a little imaginary scene, but this voice was mush more different from any voice I had every though of. Like some kind of noble personality locked away in a cloudy hall in my head.

I shook it off shooting to my feet still a little disoriented and tried to take simple slow steps down stairs. Yesterday was Friday night and that would make it Saturday morning. There was no school today and I had nothing to do. It was so early the sun wasn’t even up or my dad.

I went into the kitchen and looked threw all the food but nothing really appealed to me. I usually started my day off with a bowel of cereal but today it seemed alien. So I skipped breakfast. I looked around for a while longer hearing the hum of electricity and birds flapping out side. All of it sounding like it where inches from my ear. Even though I had a strange feeling, it also felt normal at the same time.

It came about that nothing in the house was fit enough for me to eat so I picked up my wallet from my room and went out side to my Jeep. I stared at it for a few seconds thinking how pointless it was to drive when a supermarket was rite down the street from my house. Even though I had my keys out ready to unlock the door. I tucked them back in my pocket and turned around looking into the sun. The same voice I herd earlier said run, your fast and I did with out a second thought. Looking at the world smear past in a dazzling blur.

I made it to the corner of my street in a matter of second. Where before ifi would have done something like that would have been out of breath, and a frame of about ten minuets would have past. I grinned profusely at my new found stamina and looked around  a cold chill developed when I started to look.

And as I turned around all of the people on my street where starring at me like I was some kind of track star. The puzzled looks burned rite threw me making me look coyly around for some place less populated. I looked a crossed the street at the parking lot of the supermarket to see about twenty cars scattered a crossed the lot. And in my mind something said, nope. Down the main road seeing lots of cars gong on their commute to work or home and again the voice went nope. I frowned at the lack of places to be and walked a crossed the street. Seeing but not really caring about the car that was in the road coming my way.

It came closer and closer but I didn’t even flinch till something glinted in my head making me spring from the ground. I don’t know how high I went but it was fast. I had jumped so fast backwards that I was ON a fence post perched like a nimble gymnast on its tip.

I sneered at the car as it slid to a stop slowly coming to a halt a few feet away. With out thinking I jumped again the voice in my head said fly, you can! And I pushed off of the post as hard as I could and zoomed a crossed the street. Now I was getting used to the perspective and the gradual slowness of the world. My eyes focused quickly as I leaped and settled on my landing spot.

My mind was blank threw this event but life suddenly struck me as I touched my feet on the hood of a car. It was like some thing took me over. From my mind to my body was all flying on autopilot! The position I was coming down in quickly collapsed its self as I fell backwards and slid a crossed the smooth surface of the hood.

I landed hard on the asphalt and rolled a few times and when I opened my eyes the world was back at pace with its self. The cars where moving rite. The birds where singing normally. Even the sound of cars driving past sounded normal.

A bead of sweat ran down my face not from exhaustion but from blunt fear and confusion. Something was weird, very weird. I knew it, and couldn’t place it. Am I going insane I thought. But the voice in my head said partner… and then faded from my ears for the rest of the day.

“Wow,” I said out loud, “I am going nuts.” I looked at the store and then back around. I felt normal again but still heard the sounds from vast distances. Could smell thing I usually couldn’t, and above all else there where the eyes of every thing all landed on me.

So I walked to the store not knowing what I was, barely who I was. Confused, lost and different…

Who I Am

The days past for the next weeks in that dazed confused, paranoid stare for a while; about a month I’d say. Then school seemed more interesting. Still boring but in the back of my head I was tuned to every word. My grades picked up dramatically and I had more time to fool around. I always had homework and usually couldn’t leave the house till it was done. Now I finished it in class. For a few days my dad would call the school and make sure the work I had done was all that was needed to be done.

Honestly I think the fact that I even did my work scared him, hell it scared me! People looked at me, the class clown, quietly jotting down notes on the most miniscule thing. Utterly silent till I looked up and went “What?” every eye sent a cold chill down my spine. And inside I wanted to run away every time some one looked in my direction, hide, something to avoid a stair.

Eddy had noticed my jump in productivity also. He forced me to spar him occasional and I never won a single match. Till this time. Flying kicks, chops, punches, ect. He didn’t even touch me, and I didn’t touch him. In the pit of my stomach, he felt like some thing small, some thing I could crush, and this new strength scared him. Again it scared me. That Digivice thing flashed a few times and beeped. I couldn’t figure out why. The screen flickered a few times telling me strange things. I just ignored them, but feeling extremely anxious for some reason. Every time it went off I pulled it from my desk and stared at it for a while, gritting my teeth till it stopped. in my head a voice went WHY!? And I couldn’t think till it calmed.

I was going crazy or so I thought. The voice in my head was so eerie and ominous that it almost ruled me. When I was out and around. I used to shop lift. It always made me pay. When I was with Eddy we would go around doing our usual rounds. It told me to stay home. I had to fight it of to eat. But it was rite and I knew it. I couldn’t stand it. I broke down in my room one day when the Digivice went off and clasped my hands over my ears, the voice gave a quiet scream WHAT ARE YOU WATEING FOR!! I fell to the floor and screamed “WHO ARE YOU!?!” and after a few seconds my mind flashed to the fog and the shadow. The voice, my perception all of it became clear.

Then the voice said one word. Ryokumon. A Digimon. And I knew it. Instantly it made sense! An off keel sense. Memories of some place flashed about in my head then I saw a form in my minds eye of something like a fox. But standing upright. Its cool yellow coat and a yen-yang symbol in glove like covers on its paws. Hand like, with only three fingers, emerged from a shadowy form exactly like the one in the warehouse. It was strangely embraced and the Digimon I had seen came boiling to the surface. To my form and my body. I changed, to it, I was it.

I stood up from the floor and looked around the slow perception of the world had returned. But now my body wasn’t slow. It reacted like time was normal, but I knew that I was faster, stronger, smarter. I knew why all of the strange things where happening now. A glint of pain flashed over me forcing me to one knee. And I was in control. It was what I needed to be in control to know what I was now. Neither a human nor a Digimon. Something new.

I stood back up and looked at the Digivice on my desk, I still didn’t know what it was but I pressed the buttons on the side till a little image almost holographic flew from the LED screen. I recognized the little thing in the hologram but ignored to read the name. Still wearing my cloths over my new body I stuffed the Digivice in my pocket and jolted out of the house.

My speed was amazing to me. Though it still seemed to be normal. I enjoyed the rushing air and blasted around corners like a gyro rocket turning on a dime almost running up walls. Till I found where I was going. Like a sixth sense, I found it.

Another mysterious fog. Just like the one in the warehouse. The word bio-merge rang in my mind with a joyful evil tone like music. I took one stride and perused it like a needle. In the center was a little red bug like thing. Flying on four wings beating extremely fast.

It was turned around. But when my feet landed on the ground it shout around like a hydraulic joint. It didn’t take it long to get over its shock, because it charged me like lightning. My newfound speed made me dodge out of its way and I quickly countered with a chop as it tried to buzz past. It slammed into the hard ground and bounced. For a brief instant its wings stopped moving then came back to motion with a furious pattern. It had a good grip on the ground where I didn’t, and started to kick up title winds that knocked me over. I raised one arm in front of my face while the wide blew in my eyes.

My muzzle sneered and let dust come in my mouth and when I opened my eyes the bug thing was rite in front of me. An out stretched arm less than a foot from my face. I rolled to the side then pushed off of the ground and flew into the air. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and shouted “DIMOND STORM!” and swung them out ward to level with my sides while small sharp crystals flew from a band of energy from the path of my arms.

The barrage of crystals made there marks ripping threw the bug shattering it into a powder like state and it dissipated like smoke. My body pushed me to suck it up but I wasn’t sure at the time how to. So as it faded so did the fog.

I looked around for a moment seeing that I was in a park. Probably the city park, way out into the farthest reaches of it. Noticing I was berthing a little hard I slumped down and sat cross legged for a moment. The many joints of my legs just seemed to collapse like it and in a moment, I was ready to move.

Sitting there was like meditating. And as I stood up I felt my face changing and my muzzle receded. I was back to being me and now the hard part was to find my way home. A calm logic was now in place where my erratic mind used to be. So thinking about the world for a moment I saw the sun was in front of me. It was early morning so I was facing east. I turned right and started to walk. Feeling the adrenalin pumping threw me made me a little happier. Putting a jump in my step as I walked threw the forest of trees and back to civilization.

It was a new feeling in the back of my head. It felt horrible for taking a life but it also felt rite. The new emotions I had adopted kept me clam, so I saw more on my venture. And as I walked a crossed the green grass, now seeing the street, I saw a young girl sprinting in the direction I had just came from. Looking concerned at something in her palm.

I smiled as I saw another streak of movement tin the trees above her. I chuckled at it and knew two things, one Tamer. Two that the Digimon in the trees was a Renamon. I had just taken their prize and slowly walked away…

It Happens

I was a new person, thing uh… Well you get it, after that. My world completely changed. And from what to what your going to find out. I was such a nuisance in my neighborhood. Always causing trouble. And now that I had this new life I wasn’t around. Every one thought I was up to something when I left, and in a flash I left. When I came back hours had past.

Every one looked at me as I walked down the street and my new nature made me avoid those looks like I had done something. Though I had done nothing, the disruptive thought still came to their minds. Eddy had completely stopped talking to me. He spared me a lot and still never landed a punch. And the harder he tried the more amusing it was. I felt invincible, I had destroyed fifteen Digimon in the past week, and none of them even touched me. Each time I walked away I saw the girl sprint to the area.

But back to my story. I came in late almost every night now this week. My father was getting extremely angry with me. He cursed at me and tried grounding me. But it didn’t stop me from leaving. Since my new found life came about. He hadn’t had a reason to challenge my form. But when some one framed me for something in the neighborhood. A few items where missing. All in the night after I went to sleep. I herd everything while I slept. Even though I didn’t comprehend it I herd it.

Something was rustling around the houses. And come morning the area was a mess. Toilet papered houses, broken car windows, spray paint, and the list goes on to theft, braking and entering and vandalism. When I woke up to the sound of my fathers feet thumping towards my room in a very heavy and furious beat.

“WHAT WHERE YOU DOING LAST NIGHT!?” he screamed. I was already sitting up in my bed looking at the door before he opened it. He started to repeat it when I gave a look of confusion. “What?” I said as he moved to grab me by the shoulder. I nimbly dodged his grip, which made him angry. Instead of giving him another shot I stood up and walked out the door. He walked fast to get ahead of me then repeated his rant “WHARE WHERE YOU LAST NIGHT!?” I raised my arm over my shoulder and pointed my thumb to my room and looked him straight in the eyes while I did it.

“Uh-huh. Then why is every one saying that their stuff is in our back yard?” I shook my head then started to recall the sound I heard in my sleep. “Don’t know, but some thing was going on last night I herd something going on out there.” My dad looked down at me for a second. “And you didn’t even call the cops?!” he said slightly more calm from my cooperation. I nodded and replied, “I didn’t think I needed to what ever it was stopped after a few minuets.” He looked me dead in the face and my nature made me cringe slightly from his accusing stair.

He reached for my shoulder again and I quickly drew back to avoid it. He gave off a heavy snort and tried it again. I dodged it again. “YOU DID ALL THAT!!” he screamed. As he tried to swing. His judo was good but now I was faster than him. Each swing he took I shifted to the side, below, turned, ducked and rolled out of his way till he was piping mad. The small hall was no place for him to start this as he hit a wall or some object around. After about two minuets of him randomly swinging I jumped over his head and landed on the guard rail of the stairs.

“I didn’t do anything.” I said comely. He let out an angry grunt and charged me. I stuck out my foot and pushed his head before he came to close. He fell backwards while I intentionally fell down the stairs. I landed on one foot and looked up at him as he picked him self up. There where a few people in the living room. The white carpet was flooded with feet. All of them watched me as I out classed my father on every move. Not touching him but avoiding every swing with a stride and a swift leap to a safe distance.

“Get him!” a few people yelled as five or so tried to catch me. I jumped and did a back flip, a blur as far as they where concerned and landed on the TV knocking a few knick-knacks over. The rest of the people stunned but still able turned and rushed for me.

All of their hands came up grasping air as I vanished from the room. I was in the kitchen poring a cup of coffee. The ecstatic state of the house didn’t even phase me. As they looked around I downed the cup and vanished.

What they didn’t see was me leaping over their heads, back up the stairs to my room. While I was there, I put a few things in my backpack: My Digivice, some cloths, and a laptop I had for god knows how long. The confusion down stairs only intensified as I walked out of the room. When I came down stairs they all where swarmed in the kitchen looking over the coffee cup on the counter baffled as to where I went. When they herd my steps come down the stairs they all swung around to stair at me leave.

None of them moved a muscle as I opened the door but their eyes on my made it hard for me not to disappear. The thought on my mind at that time was that some one had set me up. And as I looked over my street I knew why every one was so angry. The street was an absolute mess.

I put my backpack on fully since I had it over one shoulder. And did a back flip on to the second story roof of my house. As I held on to the edge of the roof. The front door opened and a flood of people came out. Searching the street for me walking away. None of them looked up which made things easer. I stood up from my leaning position and jumped from roof to roof backwards so I could see the people walk around completely dumbfounded as I leaped to my investigation.

A few hours past and I had successfully kept in the shadows for the day. True I was part Digimon and felt more comfortable in that form. But I didn’t know how to change. It only happened when instinct took over and something needed to be stopped.

The day wore on and I stayed near the neighborhood, side yards, roves and even under the cars. The only evidence of my presence was a swift breeze, as some one got close. People griped about me messing up their yards and such as they tended to their scuffed street. The more I watched the more it looked familiar. Eddy and I had done the same thing to other streets way off on the other side of town. Dumping a load of useless things is someone back yard and laughed when the person we’d targeted was arrested for our vandalism. One real give away was the blue spray paint on a car, which was Eddy’s favorite color. This fact clinched the decision I made. Either I was going to beat Eddy to a bloody pulp or I was going to beat a confession out of him.

This was the kind of stop I was talking about earlier. Because as soon as a smile crossed my lips my form changed to Ryokumon. My tail bunched up in my pants and my shirt puffed out from the fur on my chest. In my cloths I felt uncomfortable so I took them off in a safe spot and put them in my bag. I was in the buff now. All except for my backpack. It was a slight bother but I put it out of my mind.

I needed to track Eddy down. And instinct took that over. I leapt from building to building, my bag creating a little drag behind me as its contents bounced. But taking care not to rattle them too much I landed as gracefully as possible. The few local spots that Eddy and I used to hang out where vacant of his presence. So was his house, and all of his other friends I had been introduced to.

He also had a vehicle, a truck actually, and it was gone. Not at his house any stores or even in the city. I knew him very well and if he was around I was going to find him. I came to the more crowded parts of town looking for him. As I jumped around I landed on the top of semi-trucks and laid as flat as possible while I looked around. The streets he knew where all vacant. And by now I was at least an hours drive away from his and my house.

He was nowhere to be found. And I was getting impatient. The more I looked the less I saw. Then a stroke of brilliants, I’d call him. But doing so was easer said than done. The part of town I was in there where no pay phones in dark places. The city had seen to that. So I back pedaled to a quiet section of town and found a covenant store with a pay phone on the side. It was in direct view of the street so I had to make it fast; which was not a problem.

By now I assumed that the police where looking for me. Heck with the show I put on at my house, the news might have too. I hopped down from the roof of the building when no cars where out and picked up the receiver. I hopped back up to the roof as a line of cars settled at the stoplight. I tapped my furry sides remembering I had no pockets and turned to take off my bag. After sifting threw the tossed contents I came up with the correct change. A short time later the cars drove on and the phone was free.

I put in the changed and held the receiver to my ear while I pressed the familiar numbers with my paw and the phone rang for a minuet. My ears on the top of my head flinched and twitched from the noise. Things where so much louder now so I held the phone away from my head. After a few more rings some one picked up on the other end and asked a familiar greeting. “Hello?” the voice was Eddy’s mother, they where relatively poorer than my family, but that’s not important. When I was Ryokumon my voice was different. That was to be expected and it was honestly the first time I had herd it. “Is Eddy there?” I asked in a deeper more mature voice. “No, I’m sorry he’s out of state.” I hummed with a hint of curiosity and gave a fake but convincing thankyou and hung up.

Out of state eh? I thought as I ran my finger on my jaw.  Then who messed up my street? I didn’t know and could use a little more investigation, but when my ears twitched I vanished from in front of the phone back to the roof. Some one walked around the corner out of the store and picked up the phone I was just using. I looked over the edge as the person started talking and smiled. Being so stealthy was fun, but I had more to think about.

The day went on and then dusk settled over the streets. I was still looking around when I came a crossed another street totaled in the same way as mine. Being it was night I could walk around in the street and get a closer look. It was about nine o-clock and the sun was still barely up behind me. As I looked at the mild devastation. I realized it was new. Like it had just happened, all of it. From windows to paint, each streak was sprayed at a very quick speed. A door opened and some one walked out and stared out over his demolished car and the shambles of his yard. He gawked out a few words while I stood on his roof. I wasn’t looking at him but all around. There was a wind blowing and it ruffled my fur in the direction it went. I looked over the street in the same direction as the wind noticing that every thing was in the direction of the wind.

I looked down at the ground and saw the man looking up at me. His gawking words started to fall on me as I looked down at him with one eye. And before he could mouth out a single word I leaped away. Leaving a streak of my movement.

If all of the vandalism was done with the direction of the wind then all I had to do was fallow it, and that’s what I did. It would be my luck if it would have been the job of some kind of slop artist trying to liven up the world, but when my Digivice started to beep I knew what I was looking for. When I stopped on some ones roof to check it the screen projected the image of something called an Impmon. Reading the cards I had collected I knew that this moody little thing was nothing but trouble and a lot of talk. He was a weak little thing but as nimble as I was.

As I jumped from roof to roof I saw a little calking black dot ahead of me I smiled at it thinking of how much trouble he’d caused and what he’d get for it. He jumped and jumped for a few more blocks then stopped in a dressy and classy neighborhood a lot like mine and the one I’d just been in. he started to tag up the cars and chuck toilet paper rolls he had over tree branches catching them in mid air and then almost skillfully throwing them over the next tree.

While he was on the ground I herd the sound I heard the night before. The cackling he made sounded like an animal ramping or playing down the street. And also while he was there I had time to catch up with him. The strange little Digimon had a red bandana around his neck and an evil little smiley face on his chest. I saw this as I attempted to tackle him. “GAH!!” he screamed as he avoided my claws by mere centimeters.

“HEY WHATS THE DEAL!” he yelled with a New York Bronx accent. “You, my little friend, are a nuisance!” I said as I took another jump at him. He jumped to the side again. “What I do?” he said innocently as I again came a centimeter away from him. “You leave a big trail behind, and you don’t know what you’ve done. Pathetic.” He gave an annoyed look at me but his look wasn’t as bothering as the rest of the world. His little fangs protruded from the corners of his mouth as he frowned. “What this? I’m just have’n a little fun.” He smiled as he jumped on to a trashcan.

“I’m going to kick your little black ass! Because of you people think I trashed my own street!” a hit of my human voice came out in that sentence which surprised him enough for me to land a punch. He flew off of the trashcan and into the grass of the yard behind him. “What are you talk’en ‘bout?” he said as he rubbed the lump I just gave him.

“I’m not going to explain my self to you.” I growled as I gave a hard punch to the ground putting a small crater with the imprint of my knuckles in the dirt. “Look here buddy, you can’t touch me. So why not just be friends.” He smiled as he leapt up on to a roof. “You little worm, come back here!” I raised my fisted paw up at him and shook it while he gave a disappointed look. “Nope, sorry buddy, I gots better things ta do. See ya!” he shouted as he jumped off of the roof and over the next few streets.

I had a feeling that wasn’t the last I’d see of him so I turned around and looked at the damaged he caused with my paws on my hips. A porch light shot on and I jumped to the safety of a tree. The person walked out to see the battered yard I had just provided and huffed back inside. I looked around the skyline for a few seconds and saw Impmon bouncing off into the distance. I couldn’t chase him. Or he wouldn’t give me a chance to so I sat there for a few hours staring up at the stars in the sky. It was a beautiful night to be alive, but troubling at the same time. I couldn’t go home now. Another botch on my record courtesy of that little black stooge. So now I was Ryokumon, Almost for good.

And what to do next only came naturally, I slept in that tree. Over the night a police car had pulled up and asked a bunch of questions to the people and in about two hours he left. Then the street was quiet and serine. A night I’ll never forget. In a way I was happy to leave my human life behind. In another I would miss it, but looking up at the stars that night waded over the sorrows of my old life. Now I was free. Like Ryokumon was before he came to this world…

A Tamers Bow

Morning rolled around and I was still in the tree. But in the coarse of sleeping I had changed back to my human form. Something to look at in the morning when you go out to get your paper, because a person started to yell up at me, I didn’t realize I was naked until I looked down to see myself um flapping in the breeze. It was slightly embarrassing to jump away. I guess the person thought they where seeing things because as soon as I vanished I herd a gasp. I wasn’t that far away, on her roof actually. I herd here say a few things like, “Its early I was just seeing things.” Or, “I wonder if that streakier is in the peeper… I mean paper?” I just leaned against the rough tile of the roof and almost chuckled at the demented mind, and started to put my cloths back on.

After I did I sat there and looked out over the area. Flat as far as I could see. Even though this area was a dessert it was still beautiful. I tried to fall back a sleep but couldn’t, my mind still settled on Impmon trashing up streets and it being blamed on me. My disappearance wouldn’t help the matter any. But going back and accepting it wouldn’t either.

But at least being a rouge would keep me out of the way. I didn’t know what I was but from my own new memories I knew what part of me once was. Ryokumon was a Fox type, male version of Renamon. At least I didn’t get mixed up with a female, other wise I would have been seriously confused. Lying there for hours I came to the conclusion that I was supposed to be Ryokumon’s Tamer, but by a twist of fate. As he Bio-merged he merged with me. Now we where one and the same. This made me happy to think about. I wasn’t to familiar with Digimon before it happened, but now that it did. I guess that it turned out better being part of one. Instead of taming one.

I had no reason to move from that spot other than my human forms hunger. I fought off the urge to find something to eat for a few hours while I stared up at the fading stars. I sighed at the sky as the sun came up over the mountains and sat up and looked around. My stomach had grumbled at me again and wanted food now. So pushing threw my bag I found my wallet. I had a few bucks so I jumped down from the roof and found a fast food place and quietly sat down for breakfast.

I felt nervous in the place but tried to blend in as much as possible. The person behind the counter looked over at me curiously and then left the counter and the lobby of the restaurant to me. When he came back he had a fake smile on and stood weighting for customers. The only thing I did mind about him was him looking at me. I glinted at my self and tried not to look back but every time my eyes drifted over to the counter a cold chill went down my back as he smiled at me.

I was at a window seat so I could see the traffic as it went by and what pulled threw. Every now and then a car would pull up and come threw the drive threw. I almost finished my meal when a squad car came in. I looked back at the person behind the counter who gave a wince of confession while the two officers walked to the door. I set my food down and stood up the officers’ saw me do so and waited out side the door. I gave a convincing smile as I opened the door. One of them tried to grab me, but I vanished from his reach. I had my bag in my hand as I walked out the door. And now rested on the roof of the building. The smell of deep fried every thing came from a small pipe in the roof and pored out a thick white plume of smoke like a giant cigarette. The confused officers on the ground where walking around the store realizing they weren’t going to find me on the ground walked inside to talk to the cashier who had served me.

Impmon must have done a lot more than I thought, the little weasel. I thought as my face frowned. I put my bag on and jumped from the roof and the next and the next just for the sheer fun of seeing the city from the air. I came to a more populated section and went from flagpole to flagpole to reach the top of the highest building. The view was magnificent. I had seen things like this often in my life but the side of me that was Ryokumon wanted to see it for him self. I had no problem with it and just sat on the edge of the building while the wind whipped around me. I sat there and looked around like that from most of the after noon till my Digivice beeped and screamed. I pulled it from my bag and saw a funny little worm thing and put the plastic object back in my pocket.

The instinct took over again and as I closed my eyes I felt my fur return and my face grow out. The process isn’t painful just a little creepy. I looked down from the building to see in the distance, the fog which was where this Digimon was coming threw. My Digimon body felt cramped in my cloths. But seeing as how I couldn’t control my change punched a hole in the butt of my pants and pulled my tail threw. I would have to stay dressed if I didn’t want to wake up naked in a tree again. I slid off of the ledge I was on and being so close to the building I pushed away from it and landed a little hard on a lower building and continued to leap a crossed the roof tops till I came to my destination.

The fog was out in the industrial district of the city. And even with my speed it took a while to get there. A few high jumps to make sure I was going the rite way and a little miss direction between them and in five minuets I was standing on the roof of a tall warehouse. As I looked down I saw the girl running full tilt to the digital fog. I weighted a second and watched as she sprinted into it. A flash of familiar movement shot a hole straight threw to its center. I didn’t jump down for some reason but could sense what was happening, the small Digimon inside didn’t even have a chance from what I felt. The Power of the Renamon was a lot like what I felt with in me.

After a few cries and shouts from both sides the fog faded and the two triumphant tamer and Digimon looked at each other. I hunched down on to one knee to see the Renamon huffing from the small battle. She looked up at me and I didn’t move. Her tamer looked as well and I jumped away. A Digimon warring cloths that has to be something to see, I thought as I jumped from the roof the alleyway of the next building.

Since I had let that battle go I changed back to my human form and walked around the building. For some strange reason I wanted to meet another tamer. But by the time I had strolled around the two where gone. Next time, I grinned and walked away.

I looked up at the rooftops as I walked out of the area and saw a hint of movement now and again. I thought at the time that Renamon was fallowing me. But instead I found a headache waiting for me around the next corner. I walked around the corner with an eye above me but found the movement I was looking for on the ground. It was Impmon again. With a frown of dissatisfaction I called out. “Come out Impmon…” slowly and unsure the little black moron came from behind a dumpster.

“How’d ya know my name?” he said as he raised a finger igniting a fireball at its tip. “You don’t remember? Its me Ryokumon.” He blinked his eyes a few times in disbelief and dropped the fireball in his hand. It burned his little gloved hand and he swung it around for a second. “Yeah rite, You must be that good for nothens Tamer.” He laughed as he put his burned hand behind him. I wanted to prove the little cretin wrong but couldn’t; I was human and Ryokumon’s instinct didn’t want him enough to manifest its self.

“I am his tamer,” I said as I shifted to the wall, “technically.” Impmon looked at me annoyed again at my smug appearance and made a fireball in his other hand. “BA-DA-BOOM!” he shouted as he threw the small inferno. I dodged it easily and stood off to one side from where he threw. “Pathetic.” I grinned as he gave me a venomous look

“Keep your little pet out’ta my way human or I’ll cream ‘um” Impmon took a leap, and bounced up the walls of the close warehouses and then flew overhead out of sight on to the roof. If there was one thing that little ink blot couldn’t stand its some one not being afraid of it. So I couldn’t catch him, but I could mess with him. The thought made me smile and I jumped away. I jumped high enough to grab the edge of the thin pate of the tin roof and swung myself up. I looked out over the rooftops and saw Impmon going off in fits as he jumped away.

The roof of the building was hot but I sat there for a while cooling it off with my butt. The air smelled like oil and exhaust fumes. But was breathable. I looked out over the buildings in the distance and saw another form bouncing along on the rooftops trying not to be seen. It slowly came around me in low jumps the streak of movement was barley visible if my eyes weren’t tuned to it.

I watched from the corner of my eye as the yellow streak came to the warehouse beside me and stopped behind an air conditioner. “Renamon. How nice to see you.” I said with out thinking. Ryokumon’s memories told me he knew a Renamon once in the vastness of the digital world. The yellow fox stood up from behind the air conditioner and jumped over beside me.

“Who are you?” the female Digimon asked. “I’m not sure to say the truth.” She tipped her head and sat down with me looking at me as I starred out over the landscape off roves. “You could see me?” she asked as one ear flopped down in a curious looking posture. “Yes, I can see a lot. Training I guess.” She put the ear back up still not satisfied by the answer. “You where watching me fight a few minuets ago. Weren’t you?” I nodded as she sat there with me for a while looking out as far as we could see.

“If you know my name you must be a Tamer.” She said after a while. I thought about nodding but felt a response was better. “Something like that. I’ll just say I’ve been around.” Neither of us looking away she smiled and I could tell. “I’m sure you have. Do you have a partner?” she asked with the smile showing in her voice. “No.” I said bluntly. She was very confused with that answer and turned to me for a moment. “Then how do you know of me?” now I smiled as I turned to her. “Now’s not the time for answers.”

She accepted this with out argument and stood up too. I looked at her and she did the same. My eyes where set on her face, and the Digimon in me thought it was beautiful as the sun set and the stars and all the skies. I did too. She let herself fall backwards and off of the roof and down to the ground and sprinted away.

It was late and the sun started to sink, the second day in my new life and something special came along. Even though I was looking at the stars I thought about Renamon. The stars where like her a diamond flying in the night sky. As the sun crept away as I fell asleep listening to the sounds of the world surround me.

Introductions

The next morning came bright and early I was woken up by the sound of a forklift starting in the building below. Monday was a workday and a school day. It was Ryokumon that was paying attention in my classes and he wanted to learn more about my world. But since I wasn’t going to go back I just sat there on the roof till the sun came up in a few hours.

Again my stomach growled and I was almost out of money. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast yesterday and by now I was burning a hold in my self. Bright and early was the motto for the day and I jumped a crossed the roves to the city. Another restaurant is where I ate, and on seven fifty all I could get was a burger and a hash brown. It made my stomach clam a little but it still wanted some thing else.

From my last experience in a restaurant I decided to leave and eat. I walked around with my food for a while and found an ATM for my bank. I walked up to it, and pulled out my card and pulled out all I had. $2000 was now pocket money. It was getting saved for college by my dad but now it was what I was going to live on for a while. I managed to get over my fear of prying eyes that morning, As I walked down the street eating my food. I sat down for a while and watched as people and cars past. Even when I was human things seemed slow. But copping with it is the problem. I walked slow for my perception and sitting seemed almost normal. But all the same if I didn’t fear the eyes of others it was the police cursing around that gave me the most trouble. Though how little it was. Before they could take a second look at me I was usually gone.

Like the rest of my days I spent them on the rooftops admiring the world with new eyes. Seeing further and better than I once did. Changed as I was I felt the urge to be sentimental. What time I did spend on the ground I was around a little and small group of people, in an area on the outskirts of the city. I herd some talk of a wanted vandal. Chances where that it was me, but I didn’t care. I walked in side a gas station and dropped a large bill on the counter as I got a fountain drink from the soda fountain. The person behind the counter looked at the large bill and proceeded to check it for it authenticity, and then made change and set it down on the counter.

As I came back to the counter I saw some one I didn’t expect to see. The tamer I had seen with Renamon a few times before. After I filled my cup I got my change and walked out the door. She had already walked past as the automatic door slid open. She was walking down the street into a small pocket of houses when I saw her.

I steadily walked away from the store knowing that there was a camera watching my moves; and waited to get out of its view before I took to the roves. I sat in the shadows as I knew how to, and watched her look around in obvious places. Maybe she lived around here, I thought, but at the time I wasn’t sure.

I saw a blurb of movement every now in the shadows she looked at, smiling at her Digimon as it fallowed her around. Then finally she stopped at a house towards the center of the area and knocked on the door. Finding our that she obviously didn’t live around there I tried to listen to what she was saying as some one opened the door. It was hard to hear because there was an air conditioner beside me and it rattled pretty loud.

A boy opened the door and after a minuet of muted talking she went inside. Friends possibly, hopefully not as bad as mine where. I thought. After about an hour they came back out. I almost drifted off to sleep watching the door. When they both came out I went around to get away from the noisy box so I could hear. On the boys roof is where I stopped and could hear them much better.

“Renamon doesn’t lie.” The girl said annoyed at the boy. “I know but are you sure he’s a tamer? I mean we haven’t seen any one since we found David.” He whined and stepped away and they both started to walk. The streets where quiet but I still couldn’t get to the ground. “Maria why are you making such a big deal about this? Its just some guy on a roof. So what if he saw Renamon, maybe he was meditating or something. She did say something about ‘training’ didn’t she?” Renamon had told her tamer about me, which made things a little bit more confusing.

I saw Renamon on a roof in plain sight looking over at me. She was behind her tamer so she didn’t notice her stair in my direction. She held up on paw and gestured for me to fallow her. Before I moved I thought about listening in some more then thought I could probably learn more from her. In my human form my body may not be as fast as my Digimon form but it still moved like it, a little slower but just as effective. I stood up and looked down at the street then back up at Renamon. She had already started to move when I looked up. I took a shot run then a jump off of the roof and fallowed her for a few minuets out of the houses and into a patch of dessert about two minuets away.

She had made this short flight going slower for me, my human form is slower like I said, but when she stopped she was standing next to a radio tower on the top of a small knoll. “Hello.” She said with a slight smile in her eyes. “Hello again.” I returned. She could still see her tamer from our position a little dot from where we where but still in sight. Her nose twitched a little and she looked at me a little off, then turned to the sight of her tamer before she started to talk.

“You have a very familiar sent, something I knew back when..” she paused “in the Digital world?” I finished for her. Her off look retuned and she looked at me for a second then returned back to the street and tamer below. “How do you know of the digital world?” she asked. “Memories.” Is all I could say. She looked out again then took a jump to the top of the tower. I fallowed her to the windy heights standing on a transmitter disk that looked more like a large drum. “You move like a Digimon.” She said giving another glance. “Training.” I said again. She held a beam as she leaned out from the tower. Her fur was fluttering and a scent of sakura and cherry blossoms drifted my way.

“You smell like a Digimon.” She commented again. “Because I am.” She looked back at me with an unwavering curiosity. The words flowed from my other half and they where true. An urge boiled up to change but I didn’t at the time. “But you’re a tamer, a human?” a slight hint of concern struck her voice like something was wrong.

“Ryokumon, to answer another question.” It seemed to answer both questions at once. We stood there like that for a few minuets while she tried to grasp what she’d herd. Her tamer in the distance had walked up another road to a small park and then over to a drainage ditch for run off and to a pipe hole in its side. They had been in there for a few minuets and busted out in a hurry. I put my hand over my eyes and looked down as something chased them out. A little black something throwing balls.

“Not him again.” I said as I jumped down. Renamon was already off when I saw it and I fallowed her. A few cars where driving up the street and I softly landed on ones roof and repelled off of it a crossed the park and to the ditch. Renamon was standing in front of the little Digimon. He had a fireball above his finger hiding his burnt had behind his back. His little red glove still a little singed from it.

“Are you causing trouble again Impmon?” I said as I stood on the rim on the concrete ditch. They all looked back at me and Impmon dropped his flam again. He luckily missed his had this time though. “Get out’a here tamer this is my business.” Renamon looked at me the hardest not seeing the reason for showing myself.

“I still owe you a few Impmon, so I advise you leave.” He gave a small snarled and then kicked a rock almost looking like he was going to back down. Then turned quickly and shouted “BA-DA-BOOM” and threw a fireball at me. The little wad almost hit my shoulder but missed my only a few centimeters. The blast quickly singed off the shoulder strap of my bag and it fell to the ground. I glared at Impmon for a second or two, and coldly said, “THAT’S IT!” and charged at him. He gave a small scream and dashed off before I could push off the concrete. I slammed into the sharp ground with my fist and looked as Impmon zoomed away. I pulled my hand from the ground feeling pain as small bits of concrete stuck to my knuckles.

“YOU LITTLE RAT!” I shouted at he ran away. What I wouldn’t have given at that time to land a punch. I looked back to the children standing before me looking at me like superman. Then looking down in slight embarrassment seeing the small crack I made in the surface of the concrete. “How’d you do that?” the boy asked trying not to stutter.

It wasn’t a cold chill, but I felt my face heat up like a furnace. I wished I had my fur on so it wouldn’t show as much. “Long story kid.” I sad as I grinned. I fought off the urge to sprint away, And the harder I tried the less embarrassed I felt. Not even noticing it my shirt puffed out and my muzzle had grown. My little off look with my hand behind my head turned very strange when a tail and ears sprouted in front of the children.

The long story just got a little longer. I opened my eyes and saw that I was Ryokumon. Renamon was as drop jawed as the children and that tore it. The instinct to leave took over. I leaned back and jumped back to the ridge, and picked up my bag and then ran letting my tail waft around as I left. Of all the time to change, Rite in front of them! I was going to introduce myself. But noooo. I had to find out some thing at that key moment. I stayed as Ryokumon for the rest of the day. Even though I was a little edgy about talking to the children again. I still fallowed them around.

I usually could only change when a Digimon came threw to the real world or something needed Ryokumon’s level of control. But being him now completely defied that thought. As I was perched between jumps and observations of the children, I thought about it. First, it came that my embarrassment was the cause but didn’t make sense. When the night came the children went home and I was left to think about it more.

I had seen Renamon threw out the day as the children walked threw a few more crowded sections of the city but avoided her. She got a look at me as Ryokumon for the first time when I had changed in front of them. If I had let her catch up with me in the city there would be some pretty good questions to answer. One thing I just wasn’t looking forward to.

When night came I sat on the roof of a supermarket with my eyes closed. Embarrassment wasn’t helping me change. I still had a little shock from earlier that day. I huffed around the thought for an hour until my head hurt. The entire time blind to the world with my eyes closed. When I opened them I was human again, and surprised at it. Thinking so hard I hadn’t even noticed the change.

It was concentration that brought about my change. Not that I knew it rite away. But I laughed at how stupid I was not realizing it. It made perfect sense, when a Digimon came around I was so tuned to it not only in instinct, but I yearned for it so much that it was the only thing on my mind. It was such a funny thought I tried it threw out the night and laughed each time I went from form to form. Some one must have thought a mad man was on the roof because about twenty minuets later a police copper drifted overhead.

Luckily, I was in human form at the time when the spotlight hit me, and with little effort I leaped away with my belongings under arm. It was starting to get so even rooftops where public. For that night, I spent half of it avoiding searchlights and the other half hiding on the ground, trying to blend in a little bit. I found a public place to sit and rest. I may be fast, but stamina only goes so far.

Police where wandering around almost meandering. They looked at me, past me, around me. Feeling their eyes around was like being hunted. But they where looking for much bigger prey than I. When they looked for me initially I was a vandal, this kind of search over the city was a manhunt.

I hadn’t used many of my things since I left home but my wallet or my Digivice. Felling a little board I pulled out my laptop. No phone or power outlets where near the bench I was sitting on so I went inside. The large club though a little nosy for me, still had what I wanted. I found a dark corner near the bar and set my gear down, I set it all up in two minuets time. The juggle and lack of use on my computers part suffered a small trip in to secluded maintenance, ten minuets of scan disk and then my little ten gig got a quick defrag. The thing may be old but it was upgraded to the teeth. After I did all of the things I usually did on a regular basis, I unplugged a phone line from a phone on the corner of the bar and into the back of my computer. I still had my Internet service my dad bought (for about the next two years.) and logged on to check my mail. The box was full of useless thing messages from friends, chat buddies ect.

One email subjected things from another world gave a me a grin. I clicked it just for the reason it was there and it opened to read out a sepal about a few things:

Hypnos Intelligence Agency

Tokyo, Japan

We have reason to believe you have information about a few things we are researching. I am sending you this message on behalf of the Hypnos agency under the guidance of Mr. Yamki.

Certain creatures have been appearing all over the world in the past year and in your area we have had a lot of contact with them. I’m sure you have seen the reports in the news about these incidents. To the point of this, the creatures seemed to find and do one of two things:

1)      Find and ‘adopt’ children

2)      Find and stalk children, intending physical harm

This is not just a warning to the public and yourself, but we request any information you or some one you may know might have. If you know some one with any information please forward this email to them.  If you have any information, please reply to this message as soon as possible. Lives may be at risk.

Sincerely yours,

Dana Lukus DPT. of public affairs.

I think I qualified to it but it went in to the garbage can with extreme glee. After sifting threw my Spam ridden in-box. I surfed around a bit. First a few gaming sites I used to like to visit, but now where just a long yawn. Then I went to a news site. On the front page was a disturbing image.

Mine, and in big letters above the bad school picture was the words. Mesa Vandal Suspect in Murder Spree. I looked over the story not believing what I saw. The jest was, a few of the neighborhoods vandalized people went missing then where found dead, and since my neighborhood was one of the first to get hit, and my “magic disappearing act” and I quote. I was the key suspect. A few others where thought of and their pictures where posted. I was probably the only one that hadn’t had a Swastika carved some ware on them. I mean, shish Charley Manson was a businessman compared to the line up.

A few reports on localized fog and I had had it with the Internet for a while. I shut down my laptop and put it away. The single strap bag went on and I left. The nosy music started to give me a headache. I found a quiet tree after a while and slept for what was left of the night.

I just had a big day of screwing up and another big day was yet to come. Tomorrows always big, but I didn’t know how big it was going to be…

Cataloged Hunter

I woke up pretty late the next day, the sun had already come up and was eye level. And in my tree perch that definition was about 6 A.M. The tree I was in was facing the mountains and at that time, it was barely peeking out from over them. Even for me the sight was a first. With both parts of me seeing the sight, it truly made for a special moment. I looked up at the sky as the sun finished climbing the mountain. Seeing the sky go from an orange to blue blanketing the stars in a beautiful gradient of color.

I couldn’t think until the moment passed. I almost slipped out of the tree seeing it. When I finished watching the view I leaned out of the tree and swung off of a few branches till I reached the ground. The park was sparkly populated with morning joggers and a few cyclists. I walked out of the park greeting the cherry people as they past. The cyclists just nodded with a smile.

The agenda for the day was as it came. I had a few ideas of some thing to do. Seeing how my Digivice hadn’t gone off in a few days I had time to wander. One thing I thought I needed to do was talk to the tamers, but I wasn’t ready to explain my self yet. But the only other thing I wanted to do was clear my name, not being completely a good one would be a challenge. A few choppers buzzed around in the distance looking over a few main streets and some backwards neighborhoods. The news was every ware about the killing spree that day, and people who recognized my face would call out.

But I vanished from in front of them to a rooftop overhead like a mirage. Eating was out of the question today, or at least now. I stopped getting off of the roves for a while while I scoured the city for clues. From how the cops where circling they hadn’t found their star player in this little fiasco, and I wasn’t going to let them.

Impmon was all about picking fun at people and was the first on my list. Finding him wasn’t that hard. He jumped pretty high for a little guy, and as fate would have it he was on the same side of town as I was. The little bugger was bouncing off of mail boxes caving them in. the most he could do in the day time. Coming up quietly I could hear him cackling as he did made it easier to sneak up on him. I hid behind trees and shrubs, not that I really had to he didn’t even look back to see me. As I got with in striking distance  he noticed my presence and looked around. I managed to see him shift and went back to hiding.

He shrugged off the sense and went back to bashing in mailboxes. I wasn’t going to play it this way again, when I got with in the distance again I tapped him on the shoulder. He grunted a small “huh?” before he meet my elbow with his face, which sent him threw the next mailboxes post. It was supported by a thin but strong steal reinforcement bar, which was the only reason the mailbox stayed in an almost standing position.

He rubbed his head for a second and then screamed “WHAT YA DO THAT FOR?!” when he opened both eyes and tried to focus on me. I vanished from his sight and landed behind him. I took a long strided kick and sent him to a rooftop. “Cut it out!” he said as he tried to stand. I figured those hits would slow him down enough for me to ask some questions. “Got a few questions Impy” I said as I leaned over him, one hand on my hip looking down on him as he found the strength to stand.

“Oh, It’s you.” He said as he looked up, “Wade ya hit me for?” I put my hand on his head with a more aggressive tone and gave him a hard look, “I’m talking, your listening. Have you been doing anything I should know about?” he slapped my hand away and sneered up at me. “Wat are ya talk’n bout?”

“People are missing shortly after you start to screw up there houses. You wouldn’t have anything to do with that would you?” he gave a confused look at my question and started to step away. “Nope, nothen.” His smug look didn’t convince me. I looked down on the ground to see a man looking up on his roof.

I didn’t give him a chance to voice out in complaint so I grabbed Impmon by his bandana and dragged him off by his neck. The speed I jumped away and the lack of blood or whatever going threw him knocked him out. It took a few minuets for him to wake up but when he did he found he had nowhere to go.

He found himself in the bed of a pickup truck enclosed by a hood. The hot truck bed didn’t help my mood, and he didn’t wake up on his own. I took two hard slaps to either of his checks and he woke up with a growl. “Wha?” he groaned from his rude wake up call. “Lets try this again.” I coldly smiled showing my teeth. In my human form it’s not nearly as intimidating as my Digimon. “What is ya problem?!” he shouted angrily as he looked around.

I quickly slammed my hand over his mouth and put a finger to my lips to shush him. “ Public place. I talk, you listen.” He squirmed around a little trying to move out from below my hand then bit in to my palm. I pulled away and he started to laugh.

I gritted my teeth and concentrated on trying not to punch him threw the windshield of the truck.  As I did my anger at him and concentrating on not flogging him made me change.

My tail started to sprout in my pants and my face went yellow. “What the?!” he gasped shrilly as I turned to him now with an evil toothy smile. “You ARE Ryokumon!” I again put my hand to his face. Now a paw was less effective at muffling him. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead and he cringed back and kept very quiet.

“Man your a freak!” I reared back my arm not controlling my temper and almost hit him, when he shouted “ALRITE! ALRITE! Don’t hit me again.” He had his burnt hand over his face and his good hand out stretched to block a punch. “That’s better.” I said as I lowered my arm regaining my composure. “What do ya want?” he asked as he lowered his arms back down in to a fearful stance. He was ready to jump around me from his position, and a glare in his eye said if I gave him a chance I wouldn’t be able to catch him.

“People are missing after you trash their houses. I want answers, NOW!” I leaned towards him and glared in his eyes leering at a chance to strike him for no reason. “I ain’t got nothen ta do with it, back off!”  He said looking scared back at me inches from his face. I reared back for another punch and he cried out “REALLY, I DON’T KNOW! DON’T HIT ME!” his fear was real and I could see he wasn’t lieing so I punched beside his head.

“I don’t want to see your little black and white face thrashing mail boxes again, got it.” he gave a nod and I pulled my fist back from the dented steal of the bed. I turned around and opened the door and he slipped beside me and vanished away laughing at me.

I dropped my head and gave out a sigh. He was probably going off to ruin some more mailboxes but I needed to move on. I looked around the out side of the truck. The thing was left of a corner to be sold, and the location I was at people weren’t walking around but there was a lot of traffic. It was a few hundred yards to the nearest roof so I sprinted a crossed the dirt and pounced up to the heights.

First and only lead at that point proved to be a big nothing. I still had the rest of the day to think so I jumped around for a while. I couldn’t concentrate enough to change back to my human form so I thought in the shadows about who might have done such a thing.

Nothing came up in my mind, all of the places where getting fixed up so it would be hard to find where Impmon had been. I tried anyway finding a new neighborhood recently trashed and came up on a good example of one. Most of the people where sitting in their rooms near windows watching for anyone to come around, not that I could blame them. If a killer was walking around my neighborhood, and I knew it I’d want to watch for him.

This area was clean no one was even out side. People though a little spooked by the news flying around seemed to be a little happier and chipper. This place hadn’t been hit yet, and from what I read ALL of the trashed places had at least one death. All of the houses only had paranoid looks, and not mournful stairs. With how many places Impmon had been this neighborhood would get hit soon, but others where at risk.

If I moved away from here then chances where that the true killer would strike and I’d have to start again wondering where he would be. I sat in a few trees in that neighborhood for the rest of the day looking around seeing little movement other than the residents.  The morning crept on into the afternoon and still nothing. If I was hunting like memories told me, I would do it at night, and that was still a few hours off.

Observing the houses only made me anxious for some action but I steadfast long enough for the night to come. A few hours into it after I drew all my attention to the streets I was jarred by the sound of my Digivice beeping. I still had it in my pocket from the last time so I pulled it out and looked at what was emerging. Haguruman, a small rookie gear looking thing. Easy pray, I left my train of thought behind and jumped away. Only a few blocks away I saw the fog. The small field of digital fog was thin and the Digimon had already emerged when I arrived.

It had an innocent look on its metallic face when I came into view and when it saw me perched on a ledge over head it hid behind an old cardboard box. Timid little thing. I thought as I leapt down. It peered out from the box fearfully. “Come on out.” I said as I thought about him, it wasn’t worth my time really. “No, your going to take my data!” I turned around and let my tail sway from his presence. “Your not worth the effort, I wont hurt you but some other who know your hear might not think so.” He blinked his eyes at that and hovered in front of me. “Thank you! Thank you!” he pleaded as he floated away.

I grunted at the little thing as it drifted away with a smile. The little thing wanted to be in the real world, so a little compassion wouldn’t hurt. “Ah shit” I huffed as I hit my self on the forehead. I had completely forgotten about the street I was on in the rush. I jumped up to the roof overhead and looked out over the skyline. The little Hagurumon was looking behind him making sure I hadn’t changed my mind, when he saw me it went off as fast as he could. The little thing wasn’t nearly as fast as I was but it flew away with enthusieaium.

Remembering which way I came from I jolted off in the direction. In about ten minuets I made it there seeing the Tamers moving off on the streets as I went. I didn’t have time to look around and so I didn’t see much of them only that the girl, Maria, was with the other boy I saw. And a little frog thing was keeping pace beside them. Looking down at them for that split second almost made me trip up on a building. Barely controlling my decent I landed on the ledge and kept going.

When I made it back to the neighborhood it was very active. Only to two people though. In the street on the darkest end away from traffic and prying eyes a large man was struggling with a smaller frailer one. The larger man had a knife and was posing to stab. When I landed on the street I didn’t make a sound. “Hey! You!” I shouted sending the man around as fast as he could.

He looked puzzled at me, my yellow fur almost glowing in the dark. Even though I had my cloths on I still looked strange. He broke the smaller mans grip on his arms and punched him in the face putting him on the ground. I didn’t move for some reason watching him move. He whipped out something shiny from his back and pointed it in my direction. My mind flashed and my eyes grew wide and I dodged off to the side as a shot from a revolver rang out. The loud crack from the weapon echoed down the street and the man on the ground rolled over and tried to run.

The taller man turned around and shot twice at him missing once and then hitting him in the leg. He let out a scream as I charged at the tall one. “NOO!” I shouted as he dodged away. I struck his hand and sent his pistol flying. The man didn’t stop to pick it back up because he slashed at me with the knife he still had in his other hand. He was considerably slower than I was and the slashes only met air.

After three swings of his blade a porch light came on making us both turn to the house and look at the person standing in the door way. I turned back to the man who had started to run and saw his face. He was an older looking man about thirty or so bearded and scruffy in attire. He welded a sharp kitchen knife and held it like a combat knife with his thumb keeping the blade in the direction he wanted. I was a little startled from the light so my eyes wandered from the running man to the wounded one on the ground to the porch light and figure.

The man on the ground was looking up at me lie a fox fighting with another over a kill. I turned back to the running man and then dashed over to the wounded one. I leaned down and looked at his leg, it was bleeding a lot but when the paramedic would arrive he’d be fine. He had a panicked expression so I looked him in the eyes and tried to calm him. “Its ok, I’m not going to hurt you.” He seemed more panicked from the fact that those words came from me than me standing over him.

I looked back to the man running and saw him dart around a corner and then he was gone. I was still to shocked to comprehend what was happening fully. I could have gone after him but the person from the house came sprinting over to the wounded man. I jumped over to the pistol only out of momentary curiosity and picked it up.

I had never held a gun before, it was useless to me in this form though. My fingers didn’t even fit in the trigger guard. I looked back at the man and saw from the porch light that a woman was standing over him. “Call an ambulance.” I said trying to stay calm. She was sacred of me. I could tell. My tail was twitching and its fur was standing on end. As it wafted almost thrashed from side to side I was only lit by a street light on the next street.

Holding the gun I jumped away not looking for the man who assaulted the other. Only to get away from there. I found my self a few blocks away looking back as I herd the sirens of a few police cars and ambulances speeding to the scene. I wouldn’t find that man that night. I blew that thought when I let him run away.

I watched the night sky for choppers seeing one coming in from the far north. This area of the city was going to get a hard look over and I didn’t want to be here. I closed my eyes from that roof and jumped a crossed the sky, half looking for my prey. If he was smart he wasn’t going to be anywhere where he could be spotted. As for me I still held that revolver in my hand looking at it occasionally, not fully knowing what it was capable of.

I had saved that man from being killed and it was the highlight of my day, but letting my prey go seemed to out weigh it. Tomorrow I’d find him. I saw his face. Clear as a picture his face was lit up in my mind. Concentrating on it changed me from Ryokumon, which worked for me. And the night ended with me staring up at the sky, recalling the face of my prey…

Truth Be Told

I didn’t sleep that night, and I didn’t look for my prey. I was to busy listening to car radios for the news. The man wasn’t disclosed as the killer. Instead the reports came in that that man that was shot had Identified his shooter. And even though he wasn’t in custody people should watch out for him.

That work of news ignorant made me angry. I knew that some how he was the person responsible for all of those killings. And he wasn’t even suspected for it at the time. I was sure that I had seen his face in the line up of people on that web page. One of the more evil looking people I’ll tell you. Seeing my picture with them made me look more like a syco. When morning rolled around I was sitting on the rooftop of the hospital away from the chopper pad.

I felt a little concerned for the man who was shot and I started searching the windows on the outside of the building for him. In daylight I felt a little strange doing it, but I did. Not finding him I went off to the rest of the city. I hard scowl was on my face as I roamed the rooftops. Looking down I thought I might have seen the guy pushing a shopping cart on the street with how raggedy he looked.

Having a gun and being poor didn’t mix well, but I looked anyway. I didn’t find him anywhere. If he was any kind of person he was a night walker. Which if he was made my search a waste of time. Which it proved to be. All threw the morning I searched from the roves finding nothing till I lost interest. I’ll find him tonight. I thought. I was extremely hungry now and needed to eat some thing.

I jumped around for a while till I found a school. During classes it was a very barren place. There where a lot of vending machines and not much security or population for the time of day. While I was on the roof of the building, trying to stay away from windows of the second story I pulled out a few small bills and made a meal from the machines: seven cans of soda of various brands, chips, gum and a few rolls of pocket mints. A security guard was driving a golf cart along when I got my last bag from the machine and saw me stuffing it in my bag, and decided to check for my hall pass.

When the cart pulled up behind me. I turned and smiled. The large wrestler looking man was about to talk when I jumped to the overhang above. Amazed at me he leaned over to far and fell out of the cart. The space between the tin overhang was pretty thing but I managed to squeeze threw. I made a lot of sound doing so. I felt like a dog pushing threw a doggy door for a second. From the roof I opened a bag of chips and had my breakfast.

I sat there for about an hour while classes where going on. I stayed between one of the few. Smiling at all of the students walking around below me. I herd some of the gravel on the roof shift behind me, knowing that some one had herd me munching on my chips so I stood up.

A few workers for the school district where behind me all looking over the ledge of the building before they stepped off to the tin overhang. I gave a little smile and slowly for me; slid down the roof and jumped at the end to the next building. A few students on the ground saw me fly over their heads and looked up to see me stick out my tongue childishly. I must have really looked like a nut, jumping from roof to roof. Even better was jumping away.

Showing those workers up was an uplifting experience. To be under estimated is usually a good thing. A few laughs and some wandering around I got board really fast. Looking for my prey now seemed pointless and I had nothing to do. The day wore on and I was sure school had gotten out.

The other tamers would be out and about. I didn’t want to talk just yet but I was very curious about them. I mean I was a tamer in a way and I hadn’t met any others. Temporarily abandoning my search for the Villain of the night before I went to find the boys house I had seen the Female tamer walk to.

It was a ways away from where I was and it took a little time to find it again, but when I found it I wasn’t disappointed. The boy was in his backyard near his pool while the little frog thing I had seen before swam in the waters. Something from my Digimon memory I knew to be a Gizamon. From my deck of cards that was one of the Digimon I didn’t have so I drew a blank on what it was.

The little kid sat talking to the little frog as it splashed around. “Haven’t been many Digimon around lately has there Gizzy.” He smiled. The little thing came up to the surface and splashed around a bit and gave a smile back. The little thing seemed to be friendly, it looked around and I sank below the level of the roof so it didn’t see me. “Sure haven’t.” he said in a low croak.  He must have sensed me by how he said it.

And for the rest of their conversation I spent it on the blind side of the roof. “Where Maria and Renamon? I thought they where coming over today.” my eyes sank into a smug look from that sentence. I felt some eyes on me from the other side from the level of the roves. Busted… I thought as I rolled over. As I expected Renamon was perched over and air conditioner looking at me. She was the most agile Digimon of this little congregation of Digimon. She made sure that when she saw me no one saw her.

I didn’t really listen to the conversation from that point. Instead I waited for Renamon to hop over to me when the coast was clear. “Hello.” I pushed out felling a little uneasy. “Hello.” She returned with the same attitude. “I’m sure you have a lot to ask.” I said trying not to blush. She just smiled at me from the edge of the roof. “I’m sure you’d like to tell.” She joked as she crossed her arms. “Not really.” I decided to blush, changing again would be more embarrassing than blushing. When I changed last time I felt similar to losing all bladder control on a school bus.

“Give it time.” She said as she turned away trying not to stair. “I’m… Sorry for not saying anything,” I pushed it out still a little red faced. She looked back and smiled again, it made most of the embracement go away from her smile. “I’m sure you would have if you’d have known.” She looked down at the streets below slightly ducking down for a car as it past. “You should meet the Tamers, you have been quiet the topic lately.”

I crawled back up the roof to see the now three in the back yard. And looked back at Renamon. “Not yet. I have a lot of things to think about rite now.” She walked up beside me and the fragrant smell returned. “Their waiting for you,” I said looking as Maria searched the houses, “you should go, ill be fine.” She placed her paw near my head and pushed off the roof and sailed to the yard.

What can I say, I smiled as the scent remained in the air, what truths be told. I fell asleep there for a while. Renamon wouldn’t come back to talk I knew she felt that it was difficult for me to even talk about my self.

The night came and sounds ran threw my ears of what was happing. I was jarred a few times from my sleep by doors slamming around the neighborhood. I still slept till past sunset though. I woke up looking up seeing a non-existent moon looming in the sky like a dark sphere. I could see it crossing the path of stars showing its presences. I woke to the thought of Renamon standing beside me even thought her scent had long since faded.

Slowly I gained my bearings and remembered my agenda for the night and shot up from the roof. The section of the city Impmon was cluttering was a few miles. And I made my way there. Time for the hunt I though, shifting from one form to the other. I went from place to place looking down on slow moving cars, lights off searching the streets.

The police had put a search effort in place for that man. Having them searching would make him that much harder to find. I didn’t get a good wiff of him the last night but I knew what he smelled like fairly well, dirty and drunk isn’t hard to avoid. I hunted with my nose that night. Searching around bars and supermarkets till one of the two stopped selling booze, which narrowed down the field of my search I would be in.

I sniffed the air and the direction of the wind knowing which way the smell was coming from. I fallowed the trail to a slumish area, not really even houses, more like lean-tos set up in the bad side of town. The smell of alcohol was fairly pungent here and hygiene was fairly low. If he was around then he had good company to hide him.

Not like in all of the movies and television, there where only a few people joined together in this little sub community. A little fire did blaze in a barrel and a few people kept close to it for light. I stayed in the shadows trying not to let my fur catch to much light. Observing them was depressing but I kept to my mission. Looking over the people I saw the stake knife that the man had used. It was laying in a tin can, he or some one else was using it for a utensil to scrape the remnants of food from it, then left the blade behind.

It was intentionally left behind, and I knew it when I thought about it. He wasn’t here tonight. Wandering the night he would probably kill again. I had to find him before he did. I turned from the scene of poverty and went back into the more populated parts of town. If was going out to kill again then he would fallow his pattern Impmon had provided unknowingly.

I looked around till the morning came hours of searching and I came up dry. I needed another good smell at him, but chances where I wasn’t going to get it unless I found him again. This guy was almost professional at avoiding people. Come morning I found that he hadn’t been captured from car radios, Shooting suspect still at large… running story in the newspaper as well. Though there where no new killings that night he was still very dangerous. I didn’t have anything to do that day so I decided to go to sleep.

Like I said I was more comfortable as Ryokumon, so I stayed in that form. Also still not knowing how to control the change completely had something to do with it. I fell asleep around sunrise sitting on the roof of a flat shopping plaza. As the wind blew around it help drown out the sounds of the city.

When the night came I was ready for another round of hide and seek. I looked for a while with the same result as the last night till I realized I had something I could use to get his scent.

The revolver may have been too big for me to use as a weapon but it was perfect to track him. I took my bag off and sifted threw its contents till I found what I was looking for. From what I could see the small pistol would carry a large kick for its size, .38 cal.

Though the scent on the out side was gone the scent on the bullets where still ripe from his hands. More than likely the pistol had thrown me off slightly when I searched last night. But now that I knew what I was looking for it was going to be easy going.

Taking a good waif of the weapon and the bullets. Beside the smell of the gunpowder a clear scent came threw. If I had been human I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, or even smell anything. I knew that humans where such simple creatures. Our noses are so incredibly simple compared to my new one. I went from roof to roof again and looked down on the streets fallowing his scent to a few bars and then around in a long circle. Zagging around when it got to a neighborhood.

With one of the good bullets in my paw I searched the streets but found nothing. I searched around the area a little finding that the scent stopped there. He was there, hiding. To escape my eyes he was very good at it. I searched the shadows for a few hours, and came up with nothing. I saw human looking shadows but they never moved, closer investigation proved they where nothing more than the night bending shadows.

Very hidden, I didn’t find him before morning. I still stayed in that neighborhood staying to the heights of trees and roves. The only problem with it was I couldn’t see the entire street. Needless to say he escaped me in the light. I knew it after an hour when his scent faded from the street and all I had of him was the bullet I clasped in my paw.

I stayed awake as long as I could in to the morning. I still had a few bags of chips and a can of soda left so I ate my meal and watched the streets. I didn’t expect anything and nothing happened. Around noon I fell asleep. No sounds for my sleep, I actually dreamed.

Not a cozy relaxing dream, a violent dream that was what I would do when I found my prey.  The violent nature of my hunting instinct wanted to rip him limb from limb. I could feel myself trying to pull back and stop but my body acted on its own. I was helpless to watch as an animal tore the dirty man apart, it was horrible to watch, an experience I didn’t want to have. Seeing a person die in your dreams jars you from your sleep, but I didn’t, it brought me a lot of pleasure seeing it in my dreams. But when I woke up it started to scared me.

Like a cold wind blowing a crossed me, I shuttered. Even my fur stood on end like needles. I wondered if I could fight off the urge to stop my self if it happened. That night I didn’t venture on the hunt. Every time I caught myself starting to fallow the scent, I stopped and looked the other way. But my body turned back around and slowly fallowed the aroma of the kill. With out my mind it took longer but eventually I found where it stopped. And I couldn’t control it…

End of the Hunt

I had slept threw the day and woke in the night, I fallowed the scent against all reason. Only the feeling and satisfaction was there for that time. I couldn’t escape it I couldn’t fight it, even though I did. The instinct was overwhelming. When I wasn’t thinking about resisting the hunt I found myself fallowing the scent on the bullets. For hours till before the dawn.

I was in the neighborhood I was in the last night. I stood on the ridge of the roof looking down on the street. I didn’t think about the hunt only looking and sniffing. Sensing his presence looming in the moonlight. I didn’t think about it when I came to the neighborhood, but when I zeroed in on him. I regained my self and found myself looking into his eyes from the edge of the roof. Well blended he was in a bush. His dirty camouflage pants and his green shirt hid him very well.

I was sitting over him quietly he looked around but never up at me. I furiously fought the instinct to pounce on him. My fags seemed to sharpen from the thought.  My claws twitched and my tail swayed in anticipation. I changed from the resistance. Instead of the unrelenting instinct I was filled with fear, I felt like I had to take him down, to kill him. But I still leaned over him completely still.

Beads of sweat ran down my face and I felt like a furnace under the pressure. I let out a low grunt as I gritted my teeth. The bush shifted and my prey shot out at super human speeds. With out thinking I fell over the edge and pushed off of the roof. I tackled him going so fast I popped a few joints in his back.

I drifted slowly to the ground with him still burning in my hands. He started to grind a crossed the grass of a yard till we slammed in to the side of a house. I felt a pain in my straightened arms as they collapsed from the impact. The man was still able to move, only small twitches at first but he started to pull him self up.

He didn’t say a thing, he didn’t even cry out when he was slammed into the house. He gave the look of an animal looking straight into my eyes as I returned the same look. He managed to find the strength to dive at me and swung a very powerful blow on my face.

“Free shot.” I grinned after the blow made me flinch. A look came to his eye, my instinct knew that he was truly prey at this point. His eyes said he knew he was done for, he had put all of his energy into that swing and it had no effect. I pulled back my arm and punched down. He was still able to move even though he had just used a lot of himself.

He leaned to the side and I missed by a fraction grazing him and embedded my fist in the siding of the house. He started to get up as I pulled my hand from the wood, sending a few chucks flying as I furiously pulled away. He only managed to make it a foot before I stood up. He instead turned around and faced me, in his hands where another knife. The two sided blade fit well with his attire. I stood up slowly and faced him challenging his stance. Military in form one hand held behind as the blade was kept level with his shoulder.

I put up one hand in a devilish grin and waved him on. He grunted and faked with his opposite arm then swiftly, for a human, jutted the knife at my chest. I fallowed his moments and dodged away. He tried two more times and then flipped the knife to his palm and threw it at me. The spinning blade spun so fast it looked like a saw disk buzzing past me.

I leaned away from it letting it catch my shit making a small rip in the center. I looked at the path of the knife and watched it smash threw a window.  When I turned around the man was running again. I pushed off in a power walk for my full speed and caught up with him. I stayed at his side while he stopped to take another swing. He missed it as I sank into a front flip and then twisted around so I faced him as I landed.

He was huffing heavily now, and had nothing left, I was playing with him. Not knowing it I was. He crouched down trying to calm down and regain some of his energy. I walked over to him now seeing him weak like that and smiled. My head looking proud over him my smug overlord stance made him fall back. I didn’t strike him, but he saw me punch threw thick wood and metal.

My instinct still wanted to play so I pushed him back with my foot. He cringed and started to babble, “George Edwards Lieutenant, 600-94-3902” repeating it over and over. It didn’t matter to me. After I pushed him I let him say it again and kicked him lightly. He rolled a few times and started to cry out and take shrill breaths as he cradled his stomach. I chuckled at him and kicked him again. Rolling him back onto the lawn he was propelled to.

A cold laugh came out of my mouth and the noble voice of Ryokumon sneered, “You are my prey. And how dare you take hunt in my territory.” The voice was in human, cold like a winters wind. It was music, taunting him. I walked over to him and watched as he writhed in his own fear. He coughed a few times then started repeating his babble stuttering it out. It was time to finish it, I drew back my fist and straightened out my look. Deathly serious he looked up in terror and shouted “NOOOOOOO!” and my thoughts returned.

What am I doing!?! I screamed in my head. My hand was still raised and I still had the look on my face like the second before a kill. I froze there while he desperately searched my eyes for my intentions. I was sitting on that indecision for what felt like minuets. I finally came to grasps with a plan. My fist came down like a bolt of lightning.

An inch from his noses is where my fist stopped. I was going to break his skull but I stopped my self just in time. He didn’t see me move it was to fast for his eyes to see, but he knew that was mercy. He fainted from under the pressure. The full force of what I was about to do was settling in, and I couldn’t hit him while he was out. My human nature wouldn’t let me.

By now half of the neighborhood was watching me, after what I had just done the cold chill returned and the state was more than I could bear. I leaned down and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and tucked his limp body under my arm and jumped away.

What did I just do? Oh my god what have I done? I thought as I drug the mans unconscious body to a rooftop. I sat over him till the sun rose. Five in the morning and I just saved a few lives. But it wasn’t worth it in comparison to taking a human life. The man slowly woke up after a few hours. The swift transport of him drew a lot of blood to his head or away from it, but he still woke up groggily, “huh-huh-uh.” He groaned.

“About time…” I said as I looked away from him. I could feel him as he sat up and looked at his capture. I looked at the sun as it slowly rose and saw the gradient of color again. It was beautiful but I wasn’t thinking about it. I felt him start to limp away. My kick had hurt him more than I had thought. “I wouldn’t leave, we are at least three floors up.” He looked back up at me again and he knew I could sense his movements.

“Who are you?” he asked as he slumped back over, I must have broken a few of his ribs. I thought about it, felling a little remorse about pumbling the sense out of him he deserved an answer, but also knowing he had killed he didn’t need a full answer. “Ryoku. That’s what you can call me.” He cringed from his chest and looked at me. “You killed those people didn’t you?” I said as he tried to mouth out a few words and then just rolled over and faced away from the sun.

“If that’s as bad as I think it is your going to need a doctor soon. Tell me what I want to know and you’ll get help.” He grunted painfully and huffed with the scent of sweat. There was no smell of fear, it was a myth, I could feel his fear. He rolled over and started to talk again what he was babbling earlier was his name rank and social security number. He started giving his information again, I held up my hand and he didn’t stop. “Knock it off, your under house arrest, not a POW.” I turned slightly to look at him from the corner of my eye. He was holding his chest giving a confused look as he started to talk. “No I’m in Korea! This IS Korea!” his eyes widened and his voice got horse and he looked at me with a depressed look not believing what I was saying.

“That war has been over for a long time,” I said returning my stair to the street in front of me, “you home, in America now.” He stopped trying to stand up and leaned against an exhaust fan on the roof of the building. “Did you kill them?” I said serious again. “They where all Gooks, The enemy, you should know it what’s your rank!” I gritted my teeth at his delusion, post war reversion. He was killing like he was in the jungle. “I have no rank, I’m a civilian and you are too. NOW TELL ME!” he phased back again and looked at me coming back to grasps with reality.

“K-kill who?” he said as tears started to flow out. “I saw you assaulting a man and you shot him, you where going to KILL him.” I turned towards him trying to stay clam getting annoyed with him. “I-I did, I killed them all. My GOD I killed them.”

“Your not going to kill again,” I said with matching accusing looks and tone, “or next time I wont hold back. I’ll take you down. You will be my prey.” He nodded and fell over on his side. “I’m going to take you to the hospital, but if you don’t confess to the killings I’m going to hunt you down. I have an animal weighting to kill you, don’t give me a reason to let it lose.” He laughed out a fake cry and tried to smile. “Sure, I’ll tell. I can’t keep this inside anymore, its been to long.” He stopped his laugh and started to cry one hand was a crossed his chest and the other was pressed hard to his swollen eyes.

No feeling, not compassion, not remorse. Jut empty. I let him live and it felt wrong. I knew it was the rite thing to do, but I wanted to kill him. I had held myself back enough not to change in front of him, I’m sure that wouldn’t have helped. I gave him a tap on the shoulder and he looked up and tried to stop crying. I put his arm around my neck and held him up. I walked over to the ledge of the roof and looked down. My passenger gasped as he saw how high we where.

I stepped off and we rushed to the ground. With the extra weight I fell like a stone. I managed to land softly though keeping my balance. I stopped beside the building and looked around, no one was in sight. I stopped to look at my passenger, I hadn’t even asked his name. Not that it mattered but I was curious to know. I noticed a jingle when I landed, it wasn’t the change I had in my pockets. It was the sound of tin, from closer observation I found that it was his dog tags.

His name matched what he had told me. George Edwards, not that I had a reason to not believe in the truths of mad men. I just needed a confirmation. I didn’t go full speed, more like the power walk I had used to stay at stride with him when we fought. I made it to the hospital in a few minuets. It was pretty far away, and I didn’t want to damage my cargo. Sow that pace was as fast as I was going to go.

When I made it to the hospital I found the emergency entrance and a gurney. I wheeled the man inside. A few people looked at me dressed as I was and wheeling a man into the hospital. “I need a doctor and a cop here in the next five minuets. This guy has some rib problems.” A nurse ran up and looked him over seeing his tags on his chest and started asking questions like: “What do you need a police men for? What happened to this one? Who are you? Hey aren’t you---?” I just put up my hand and stopped her; that seemed to stop people from talking. “Not important, this guy is responsible for all those killings.”

With that one blunt sentence she stopped in here tracks. She stepped away and rushed for some one. I stayed for a few minuets till she came back with a police officer. The police officer took one look at me and started to point “Hey your that kid who killed all those people! Your under arrest!” he lunged for me and I ducked away. Thinking in the split second as he went for me I put my hands up in surrender.

He saw this and went for a pair of handcuffs. I shook my head my head and said “No cuffs.” He pulled them out anyway and tried to put them on my wrists. The metal was pretty strong, “First I have something to say.” I said as he started to try to push me to the door. He kept pushing me even though I stopped where I was standing. I had such good balance that even when he leaned into me to get me moving I didn’t budge. “I’m not going anywhere till I say something.” The cop being out of breath, decided to humor me and listen, “OK kiddo what’s the story?” he said as he leaned against my back like it was a wall.

“That guy is the killer, not me. I’ve been hunting him for the past two days.” The officer came up off of my back with a puzzled look and asked, “Hunting?” I nodded to the still not understanding man. “So how did you find him smart guy?” I turned around fully after looking at him from the corner of my eye. “I tracked him.” The guy was obviously fed up with what he considered to be nonsense. He tried to push me again but I vanished from in front of him. No effort getting away, and now that I had semi cleared my name. I could start to relax. I had no prey and nothing to do. I still had the cuffs on and the tight metal bracelets weren’t going to come off with out a little effort.

I came back to the door rite behind the officer, him being so confused about me moving off so fast. I watched as he was still picking himself up when I looked back. I laughed a little as I walked out the door…

Satisfaction On High

I jumped up to the hospital roof by repelling off of the window ceils. I still had the cuffs on, I hadn’t even tried to get them off yet. I found that a quick yank apart sent the links of the chain flying. That was an amazement to me, being so strong in my human form. It didn’t take me long to get over the angry feeling I had for letting my prey live. My Digivice went off twice that day and kept me fairly busy.

The battles where small and unimportant; the small rookies where nothing almost not worth mentioning. (I’ll say it here, many of my battles aren’t recorded. A lot of them where so small that I cant remember all of them) after I finished the battles I sat on the roof of a gas station rooftop, out in the middle of no-where, completely and joyfully exhausted.

The second I leaned back to start to rest, I fell a sleep. Straddled out still in the form of Ryokumon, I didn’t change back to my human form after my battles. I slept through the night hearing the sounds of the world magnified from my exhaustion.

I woke up smiling, I had never waken up by the caw of a rooster. And being so far out on the edge of town I was probably in a county island. People could own farm animals in them. Hearing a foster, even though it was a ways off from me, meant I was in the county. The strange little animals call was new, another first for me. Cant escape the wonders there always there. I didn’t weight for it to stop cawing but I stood up from my roof top bed and stretched a little. I missed my soft bed; sleeping on hard surfaces was putting my back threw its paces.

I wandered around in the early sun for a while and tried to find a car radio with the news. I found a news building in the center of the city with a monitor at the front of the building. There where a lot of people here and I was still Ryokumon so I stayed to the roof of a building a crossed the four lane street. It was still early and the morning news wasn’t on yet so I hung around listening to the TV station programs till around six when the news came on.

“Killer found, brought to hospital by the Street Thrasher.” The title of the story wasn’t to appealing but the story made me smile. “Yesterday morning while police where still investigating the stream of murders, the killer was brought to Valley Lutheran Hospital, with broken ribs and a story to tell, and here in his own word. Even though the story is believed to be driven by his war mental problems here he is to tell his story.” The voice quickly changed to the voice of the man, “I don’t know much, I just know I was the one who did all of it.” a reporter started to talk, “Where you the one who tore up the neighborhoods?” “No, I killed those people, that’s all I did. I don’t know who did that.” “Who was the person who brought you here?” “He was a kid who called himself Ryoku. I don’t know anything about him, except that he was better than I was. I’m pretty sure he fallowed me for two days.” Herring that I knew I had just made a name for myself. “Security cameras in the hospital show us that he is the suspect in question with all of those neighborhoods, do you think he was offended by your killings?”

There was a short time lapse so he could think but the station cut it out to save time. “When he hit me, he said something about ‘his territory’ maybe. I don’t know.” I hit myself in the face very quick and let out a moan; that was something stupid that ill regret. “You served in the military, correct?” “Yes the Big Red One, front line recon. I spent most of Nam behind the lines, spying.” The reporter interrupted, “Your training was in covert operations rite?” “Yes, I spent most of the war behind enemy lines I had to have it. I spent four weeks inside an enemy camp once.” “So with your training how do you think he found you?” “He’s a better spy than I am. That’s all I know.”

I pulled my paw from my face, a better spy huh, I thought. I knew it wasn’t really true, I tracked him, I didn’t fallow him in plain sight. But it was partly true, I was the sleekest thing around. I hide in the shadows all day. It was an interesting thought and a complement at the same time. The news went from the interview to the facts. “Lieutenant George Edwards earned a medal of honor in Vietnam, after the war he was discharged, since then he disappeared only to come back up killing in his own state. Police have taken his confession, and are almost sure he is the killer, but are still looking for their suspect in the Street Thrasher case…”

I didn’t need to hear the rest of the story. It was enough to know he had confessed. Killing him would have only brought more problems for me. Even though I felt bloated and inflated in the ego department, I still wanted the hunt. Now he was not my prey so some thing new was needed. I didn’t want to hunt people again, it was to hard to control my self. Never again! I thought as I jumped away, seemingly heading nowhere. I jumped off resting a bit after ten or so miles then getting back to the same deserted outskirts of the city I had seen the tamers. The boys house was empty and so where the roof tops.

I looked up at the sky and knew school had started. By the sky it was about ten in the morning. The sun beat down on my cloths and the heat was almost unbearable. My fur started to mat to my skin and I felt sluggish as I seemed to ooze a crossed the skyline. When I arrived at the housing development I had taken off my shirt. It was easier than changing into shorts. I made sure that no one saw me but if they had seen a fox sitting on the roof putting on cloths I’m sure some therapy would have been ordered.

I thought about staying naked but if I wanted to change for some reason. At least shorts would keep me from recalling the tree. I made a large rip in the seem in the back of my shorts and slipped them on pulling my bushy tail threw. It hurt a little when I pulled them up. The hole was a little low and it forced my tail down. I just screwed up one of my best pairs of shorts, but since they where already gone I made the rip comfortable. I waved my tail for a while testing how comfortable and was satisfied. I sat down on the roof cross legged again and didn’t think about anything. My fur eventually dried and it got a little cooler for my personal atmosphere. When I opened my eyes again I looked down at my feet. My feet where still in my shoes. I had noticed they where a little tight but it didn’t bother me. My fox feet where shorter than my human feet but wider. Much wider. I saw that they ripped the seems on the side of my shoe and became more like sandals. I twiddled my toes and saw that they weren’t even half way to the toe, by the three small lumps from my toes. The shoes where crap so It wasn’t a big lose, I took them off giving my paws some air for the first time in a few days.

I looked up to the sky and saw the sun had shifted above me and to my other side. Now it was about two. In a while the boy should be home. I wasn’t thinking just fallowing. I wanted to talk to the tamers but at that time, it wasn’t on my mind. I weighted and weighted till I got board and pulled out my Digivice. It hadn’t been very active lately, after the first few days of this experience it went wild; now in the past few days, nothing.

Not that I wasn’t complaining but it was strange to have such a blunt halt from it. Remembering what I over herd from the boy the tamers where having the same dilemma. I pressed a few of the buttons on the side and a few images of the Digimon I had defeated came up. I pressed a few times till I came a crossed an image of Ryokumon. I hadn’t seen myself from the outside, so I looked it over. I had a little yen yang symbol on my head, I felt for it for a second not coming up with anything besides fur. If it was there it was fur not solid. I saw three bands of fur on my right arm that looked like silver. I looked over to see that they where there. My fur was very shiny there it almost made the rest of my body look dirty. The picture had a gray belly and arm, leg and ear tip fur. From what I could see it was accurate. I pushed the buttons till my Digivice went off, I herd a school bus pulling up out side the houses, now I was alerted by the sound of children giggling and playing as the came home from school for the day.

I looked over the roof and saw as a few kids skipped down the street. The one I was looking for was the first one off the bus by his position in front of the rest. Most of the kids had imitation Digivices attached to their bags, but the tamer I saw had the real thing. The orange ring around the display shined in my eyes, most of the Digivice was plastic bur that one piece. I watched as he plainly walked down the street. He seemed more satisfied with his destination and not getting there.

He walked fast and to his door. I skipped from roof to roof watching him. He didn’t say anything on the way. He did look up to a roof I just jumped from once, but never saw me. When he got to his door he stayed out side for a moment. He looked around at ground level till all of the children had went inside, then started to search the roves again.

“Renamon?” he called out. I gritted my teeth and desperately tried to stand up. I got half way up and then shot back to the roof. Not that I was scared, but I didn’t know what to do. “Is that you Renamon? Come on down.” He did see me that time. Almost standing had given me away. I gave a huff and stood up. I was a little ways down the roof so my lower half was hidden.

“Hi Renamon!” he said as he waved to me. “Sorry kid.” I said as He stopped waving and took a step back out of surprise. “Hey who are you?” he called out as he pulled his Digivice from his bag. “No data? That’s not rite…” he said as I jumped down feeling a little more composed and looked at his Digivice. He didn’t notice it at first but when I stepped beside him he jumped back. “HEY! Don’t do that!”  His flinch made me jump a little. I appeared a few feet away in a hard judo stance. My face sank in to an ignorant look what the hell am I doing…I thought as I put my arms back to my side. “Sorry kid.” I sad as I started to walk over to him. On the way he looked me over a bit. I did the same to him with out thinking, felt like I was sizing him up for a few seconds but I shook my head when I realized it. He started to giggle a little and his face turned red. I dropped my ears in a defensive posture and sad “What’s so funny?” he turned away for a second still laughing and started to straighten up his expression. “Sorry,” he paused, “your that Digimon me and Maria saw.” I half nodded putting my ears back up and tried to smile, it never came. It was a serious moment. “Something like that.”

“Look I don’t want to talk about it here,” I said as I started to point to the knoll Renamon and I watched them from, “Call the other tamers and have them meet me there in about an hour.” I backed off and looked around. There was some activity coming in my direction and I didn’t want to be seen. He put his hands out as I jumped away, I didn’t go to fast so he could see me go in the direction I showed him. “Wait!” he shouted as I bounced a crossed the roves.

I made it to the knoll in a quick state of confusion. What a day, I thought , am I stupid! Jeez, what the hell did I do that for! I had just invited a hole lot of questions my way talking to him, and inviting him and the others was a stroke of brilliants too.

I tossed it up the Pro’s and Con’s for the hour, wondering if I should just stand them up or not. I would have if I were human, I was never very reliable. If a teacher said “stay after class, I have some thing to talk to you about…” I’d run as fast as I could. That started after my mother died and just ran into me being such a bad kid. I didn’t leave though, I sat on a rock waiting for who ever would come. I soon herd voices coming up the side of the steep knoll, the voice of the female, Maria, and the voice of the male who I had yet to ask his name.

I’m sure I’d soon find out. When my ears twitched I turned around to the sound. I saw their heads bouncing up as they hiked and chatted up the side of the steep knoll. “Richy are we even going the rite way?” the female said aggressively, “I don’t know; why are you asking me?” The moment of truth I though as I huffed. “Over here.” I said as I looked over to what they where doing. The male jumped up quickly to see me sitting on the rock, “Over here Maria.” A few seconds later they where both standing in front of me, looking almost as confused as when I had changed in front of them. Them major difference was that there mouths weren’t open.

Maria pulled her Digivice from her belt loop and pointed it at me. “That wont work I already tried. Its like he’d not a Digimon.” The male said. I leaned at them from my rock and looked them over again sizing them up without knowing it. The female stood more sure of her self, where the male was a little more timid looking. The female looked like she had a few more battles under her belt than the male did.

“Is this every one?” I said as I continued to look them over. “No we have one more friend but he’s on the other side of the city.” The female said as she put her Digivice next to a pouch that was hidden by her shirt. “Who are you?” she asked instantly. “Didn’t Renamon tell you? Ryokumon, but just call me Ryoku.” the boy looked at his friend who looked me over. “And?” she returned her gaze to my eyes. “I thought after you saw me last time you’d want some questions answered,” I looked away with a pause for a second not sure I should go threw with it, “so start asking.” The forward attitude was a grate icebreaker.

“Are you a Digimon?” the boy said as I turned back, the sound of his voice was of grate curiosity. Before I could answer the girl chimed in and made the proper greeting. “Well before we do that, I’m Maria. This is Richy,” she had a little uneasiness in here tone, as uneasy as I was for even doing it. from her posture and her voice I could tell she didn’t trust me. “And since you already introduce yourself… well?” she left it haning for her friends question.

“Yes, Kind of. Ryokumon is a Digimon,” I pulled off my bag with a pause and sifted for my Digivice, “But I’m human.” They looked in disbelief as my three-fingered grasp wrapped around my Digivice. “Human? What do you mean human?” Richy asked now drop jawed “Where’s your tamer? Digimon can’t tame them selves?” I clipped the Digivice to my belt loop and brought my tail around into my lap. “Your looken at him.” I said, my human voice and attitude came out in that sentence.

“It’s a long story, but to make it short, my Digimon and I are one. Not sure how, but it happened.” The boy was completely confused while the girl still managed to hang onto a little bit of sense. “Your telling us that you are part human?” I nodded as I sniffed the air smelling the scent of cherry blossoms fill the air. I looked around with out changing the position of my head. I couldn’t help but to let my ears twitch as I herd a small rock skip off the side of the tick basalt of the knoll. “Ask Renamon, she’s seen me in both my forms. More than you have at least.” As I finished saying that Renamon chimed in from a rock overhead of the tamers.

“He douse have human in him. I can smell it.” I didn’t look back but I sensed as the female looked over to her Digimon. “Are you sure? He looks like a Digimon to me.” She turned back to me and increased her tone to an angry snort. “Prove it!” I looked at Renamon for a second and hoped she would chime in.

“It seems that he can’t control it yet Maria. Give it time.” I gave a thankful sigh; that would have taken me a few minuets to explain if I had done it. “As for proof, I’m warring cloths, that’s about all I can say.” She put on a more aggressive position and glared at me. I sat back and tried to keep my ears from laying back. That cold chill came back and only from her stair. “Next,” I said, again with my human voice.

The female shifted her posture to the other leg and tried to think of something to say, meanwhile the boy was lost. “H-How… long have you…. been like that?” well it was a fairly easy question but the exact date was a little blurred. “About two, maybe three, months.” I put my hand threw the fur of my tail and started to pick out small pieces of grass that I had picked up, then flicked them to the wind.

The most important question was yet to come. Renamon hopped down from here ledge and started to advance to me. “What part of the Digital World, are you from?” I didn’t expect her to ask any questions and was caught a little off guard from it. I scanned my thoughts for a second really thinking about it. I hadn’t used my memories of Ryokumon other than to identify Digimon. That question was a little hard for me to answer, I wanted to answer it “I don’t know, I’ll have to think about that. I traveled a lot.” Her look sank a bit, like I had shot something down. But she regained her look and stepped to the side giving the tamers the floor.

“Are you a good guy?” the boy asked trying to stay in the conversation. “Yes, I’m not here to hurt anyone.” The boys look crossed a bit still scattered from finding the thought of me to be human, strange. Seeing as how it happened to me its not such a strange thing to think, but I could see why he was so confused. We all sat there in an eerie silence for a while till the female came up with another question. “How long have you been fallowing us? Renamon’s seen you a few times.” Well how long I’ve known of them and how long I’ve been fallowing them are two completely different things.

“Good question,” I said as I started to think about it, “I’ve known about you for about two months, but I didn’t start fallowing you till Renamon defeated that Wormmon at the warehouses.” She gave away here tough look from that answer, I was Ryokumon then but I was fully dressed. “That was you?” she said as she started to wave her finger, “but, it looked… human…” she trailed off realizing what she was saying. “So you have a person inside you,” she tuned up, “why should we trust you?”

“You shouldn’t,” I said quickly and without pause. “Trust is earned, I don’t disserve your trust rite now.” The words came out like poring water, like I had said it a lot in my life. At that point I couldn’t think of why, but it was what Ryokumon said to all of the friends he left behind. It brought a sad twinge that picked at my heart, but it passed.

I looked out over the landscape and saw the sun starting to sink below the horizon, Renamon was so close, only a few feet. But her thought was there while I sat and watched the sun. Dusk today was joyful, because the two children saw it and knew how late it was. “Ah, Maria, don’t you think we should be getting home. Its getting late. My mom’ll kill me if I’m late for dinner again.” She kept her eyes on me as she turned around, “Your rite lets go. Come on Renamon.” She turned completely and walked away slowly. I could have looked back at Renamon, something to keep her from going but I didn’t.

Instead I shouted “Some other time, some other time.” I had Renamon’s scent crisp in my nose for a while, while I watched the sun draw its blanket over the sky. Then it faded; both the light and her scent.

I leaned forward and gave a huff of satisfaction. Thank god that’s over I thought. I didn’t have a smile, but I was happy. They knew me a little better and I had a little more to go by with them too. That day was over but the night was full.

I was hungry and a little sad. I remembered what I had said “Trust is earned, I don’t disserve your trust rite now.” I said it once more thinking of the last Digimon I left behind as I said goodbye and walked away. The Digital World might not be part of the life I lived here it was still part of me. Every one that Ryokumon had left behind was a friend, and he had earned their trust. He felt that leaving betrayed that trust.

But over that depression was satisfaction, I had some one to talk to besides just Renamon, not that she wasn’t enough. Possibly friends now, but my trust was in them. And I had to earn theirs…

Trust is Earned

Well I didn’t sleep much that night. I tried, but I just kept waking up to the words Trust is earned. They rung in my ears and every it they did a new face appeared in my mind. Then a few memories of experiences. I was battle hardened even before Ryokumon had came to me, but my human form’s was nothing compared to what he had experienced.

It hurt to think about it. Seeing it was like it was just happening. All of it at once was almost to much for me. I started to cry a little, then stiffened up and hardened my face to a rage driven glare. After a while after each one my exhaustion got the better hand and I fell back asleep only to wake back up and repeat it again. Near morning and thirty episodes of his life, I had had enough. I didn’t move very far from the tower to sleep, I thought Renamon might come back. If she did she was hiding from me.

I finally was tired of the memories, how much I had lost. I reached up my paw and screamed at the stars “STOP IT!” in a long horse cry. I closed my eyes and sank to the ground trying to escape the sadness only to come up with more of his memories. I felt weird from the pain and started to hit the ground as I cried. I opened my eyes and looked up at the stars again seeing Renamons face in the stars, “Not again!” I said out of breath, I walked away from here that day, I can’t do it again. My wires where a bit crossed then. The thought screamed in my head, I wont leave her again!

The Renamon I had known in the Digital World was much more than just a friend, she was my mate. Leaving her was the hardest thing I ever did in that life. I would probably never see her again, but I told my self I would.

I changed when I screamed at the stars, after a few minuets of my wailing I calmed sown with a human face soaked with tears. My Digivice was what grabbed my attention. When I herd it rattle I looked around like I was being watched and then saw it beating at my waist as I shot around looking hard at my environment. I’m acting like a child, I though as I sank back to my knees, I’m a tamer! More than that I’m a warrior! Stop sniveling and FIGHT!

I punched the ground again with all my might. The hard rock shattered on the surface and what was directly below powdered and shot up like spraying concrete after a bullet ripped threw it. I looked up to the sky again and didn’t see her face again I only saw a challenge. I needed to prove my self, not only to myself but to every one. I’m for the good of the world, I’m not here to be pitted! I was here to fight!

I left my bag on the ground there. With all of my cloths, my computer and to say all of my money. I took a long jump and landed on the houses and another a crossed the development, another to the center of a field and another back to the start of civilization. For the rest of that night I patrolled around looking for anything from pickpockets to car-thieves. All of them unconscious and left strung up some where on a phone pole.

There was a lot of crime going down in the city and I had just taken at least half of it down by myself. There was a little property damage but venting my frustration seemed to help my mood a lot. A few car windows and some broken bones, a few weeks in either a body shop or a hospital should fix those problems rite up.

Morning came and I was tired I had just slammed thirty or forty criminals hard. If they where lucky some one would find them before noon. I was still ready for more but I had left my things on that knoll. It was probably gone by now but I went back to check. By the time I got to the knoll I saw a few people on top of it in a pickup truck. Sifting threw my bag.

From on the ground I could see them holding my laptop up and signing in triumph as they looted my bag. “HEY!” I shouted up at them four people came to the side of the knoll and looked down. They all shouted a few obscenities and then ran back to the truck just out of sight. I took a running jump and soared up to the tower. I almost flew past it pushing off so hard. I grabbed it, swung around, and dropped twenty feet to the hood of the truck. I sat there for a second staring into the eyes of the driver as he froze from the stair, cutting rite threw to his sole. “Get OUT.” I said coldly. He instead started to jam the keys in the ignition and turn. I slammed my fist threw the glass and grabbed him by the neck. Glass filled the trucks interior like smoke then fell to the floorboard.

He started to choke so I repeated my self, “Get OUT!” and I pulled him threw the broken window and threw him a few feet behind me. The passengers of the truck sat screaming in fear, a girl and two boys. “I want my stuff back.” I said as I looked them over. They stopped screaming from the cold tone and froze in place like the driver did. I let out a low growl and they started to scramble for anything they could find and jutted them towards me.

“I want my money too.” I said as I grabbed my laptop from the grip of one of the boys. The other started scrambling for his wallet then just threw it past me. “HERRE MAN! HERE JUST TAKE IT!” he fumbled out with a little effort. I set the computer down and looked in the wallet to find small bills. “Two thousand, FORK IT OVER!” the people had already started to scramble out the rear window by the time I looked up.

I let out another growl and did a front flip and landed in front of the rear window. I was facing the wrong was so I turned my head and looked at them. One of them made it out and started to run. A second before he ran past me I slammed my elbow in his neck and sent him in the opposite direction he was moving. The others cringed with the grunt he mouthed as he hit the ground. “I want my money! Where is it!” the remaining two pointed to the driver on the ground in front of the truck furiously.

I walked up to the back of the truck and punched a hole in the tailgate. “Don’t go anywhere.” I said coldly as I walked to the front of the vehicle. The driver was out cold. He hit the rock I was sitting on. His face was bleeding from the glass as it scattered around the cab. I picked him up by the scruff of his neck and shook him a bit till he started to move on his own, groaning in pain from his face. “Money, now!” I said as he tried to open his eyes. I opened my mouth and gave a loud roar like sound and said it again. “I WANT MY MONEY!” he covered his face from the angry voice and started fumbling in his pocket for the envelope I had my money in. He held it up in front of his face and cried softly “Its yours, just don’t hurt me. Please!” I was so angry I was squeezing his neck. I tried to keep from crushing it and stay a little composed. I took the money from his hand with a jerk and gave him a shove.

“Don’t take what’s not yours, other wise this might happen again.” I said as he crawled to his truck. His face was bloody and cut up no glass had cut his eyes but blood still ran in them. He wiped his face of it and started to get in. I tapped the truck as I picked up the other boy. I put him in the tailgate and looked at the passengers, also a little cut up.

“I don’t want to see you here again, got it!” the ones who where conscious nodded in complete cooperation. “Drive safe.” I said as I punched another dent into the side of the cap.

I went back around and grabbed my laptop and its cables from the hood. I flicked the small change in the wallet back into the cab of the truck and then they started to drive away. I looked back at them and then the truck started to slow and drive at a safer speed down the side of the knoll.

I snarled at them as I saw them on the road below. The sound I let out made the truck gather a sudden burst of speed. I started to pick up all the things they had tossed around and put them back in my bag. You think its funny! I thought as I crammed my cloths back in. They where all over the place, I had stuck my money in my pocket so I put my laptop in my bag.

I put all but my shirt and shoes back in I got dressed for the day and jumped away. I’m sure that by that time they had told the police, and if they had a chopper would be coming my way soon. I jumped to somewhere that would be less seen a few miles east on another knoll and looked up at the already risen sun. I started to calm down by the time I got there. That little tantrum was so stupid, that’s not me…I thought still stewing from my waking nightmares. It wasn’t either of me, it was a loss of all sanity. Now that I was more composed, I promised myself it would never happen again. Even though I made the same promise after clearing my name, I had to make it again.

I put my bag back on and leaned against a rock and looked around. The sun had already come up by the time I beat the living tar out of those would be thieves. Missing the sunrise wasn’t a big deal but missing the experience I had waken up to for the past few days made me a little more angry with the world.

I needed to relax, and one way I always did was to sit down and meditate. So I sat down a crossed my legs and cleared my mind. For a few minuets, all I could see was me ripping the driver from his seat and throwing him. It started to make me sick, but then it vanished and I was calm. The memories came back threw the meditation and I understood them after a while. They where my experiences now, and I had to live with them; the good ones and the bad. They still where depressing but I was willing to face them and not make the same mistakes. It was hours if not days till I opened my eyes. When I did I was exhausted from such intense thought.  A few minuets after I stood up from my meditation. Gravity clamed me and I sank back down to the ground to sleep. Peaceful from the area only birds and coyotes sounded.

It was a long uneventful sleep, not like the last time. I did wake up with the thought of another friend left behind but I smiled at it, for the few warm moments I had then and moved on.

Trust is earned, I don’t disserve it now. I thought as I woke up, even if I wasn’t in control what I did was unforgivable, even to the lowest of people. I just put a hell of a botch in my ego and I needed to make it up some how. But just waking up from a long sleep I was still groggy. It took me a while to think of anything.

First even if people where going to thank me I needed to take responsibility for what I did. Both the Robbers and car thief’s and the people I roughed up on the knoll. Second would be an apology to those who deserved it, I fought in a part of my mind, for protection. And all of the criminals I fought where doing something wrong. So that left the people in that truck.

I was human now I hadn’t changed back to Ryokumon even when I meditated, convenient for me. I wandered around the city for a while wondering where to start till I found the news station I was at earlier. I sat almost in the same spot looking over the edge of the roof and watched the TV till the station flashed the number of its news department.

I grinned at the clear image. I could understand it even that far away. I jumped away leaving the smile behind till I found a pay phone and put in the rite change and dialed the number. The phone dialed as I held it away from my face. It was still pretty loud for me, I weighted for a minuet trying to put up a straight tone practicing it out loud.

When the person picked up I just started talking with out thinking. “You better record this,” I started, “I am Ryoku and I have something I want to tell a few people.” The feminine voice on the other end stumbled around a few words then I herd a tape start to run. “OK go, its recording”

I took a deep breath and started from the beginning “My name is Ryoku, I brought in the true killer who was killing around the valley, I also stopped a lot of people who where braking the law. Even though you broke the law I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. I am making an apology to the people I hurt and hope that in some way you can forgive me. Next there are a few kids I’d like to apologize to, you where taking my belongings and I acted to rash for the moment, I hope that I did not force to much harm on you and would like to apologize for my action. I can’t Take them back but I can give a true and sincere apology. Again my name is Ryoku and I apologize for my actions…” the person on the other end let the tape roll for a few seconds before asking a question.

“Will you stay on the line for a reporter? It’ll just take a second.” I looked around and saw a police car drive past the phone and tried to end the call quickly “No, I’m sorry I have to go.” She pleaded for me to stay on, “It’ll just take a second, please just a second.” I put on a slanted frown and looked as the police car pulled up into the parking lot.

Just a second huh… I thought as the officer looked at me for a second then walked into the store. I sighed in relief, trying to stay a little curious I waited on the phone. The woman came back to the phone sounding very excited “OK just a second while I transfer you.” A click and I thought she hung up, but before I started to hang up the phone the next woman picked up. “Hello, Ryoku?” she was just as excited as the last person.

The name seemed to fit, but it wasn’t a superhero name. “Yes that’s me.”  She stuttered for a few second like this was the story of her life. “Would you answer some questions?” I looked around not seeing any reason why not “Sure.” I exhaled, I didn’t really want to do it but some how I did; Something about the fame in it. “Aren’t you---“ I cut here short “That’s not my name anymore. Ryoku.” I didn’t want to hear the name it was like being taunted. “OK, well. Where you the person responsible for all of the Neighborhood Thrashings?” I couldn’t say really, without sounding like a nut. I wanted to let Impmon take all the blame “No, but I know who did.” She ran rite into the next question. “Can you tell us who did?”

“No, I’m sorry I cant do that.” A tilted response she wasn’t looking for. “So you took down all of those criminals last night?” I cringed from her sincerity, she made it sound like I was doing good by hurting them “Yes, I didn’t mean to hurt them though.”

Still a little drawn to the questions she asked “How did you get them up so high? Do you use any equipment?” I now cringed at what I had done a little more clearly. “No, I jumped up and hung them by their shirts.” It came out by its self, even though it was true it didn’t sound rite. “You jumped?” she said puzzled at the answer. “Jumped, I’m very flexible.” Leaving that question hanging she jumped to the next. “We herd from police reports about the Truck full of kids, you did all that? They said you punched threw the windshield and the tailgate. How did you manage that?”

 These questions where getting a little to involved for me. “I, uh, just punched. They where taking my things. I had to do something.” It was an answer she had hoped for. “Did you know you broke one boys collar bone? The people in the truck said you where so fast and strong you over powered them. Are you some kind of super human?” I gritted my teeth from that. “I’m sorry for injuring them. That’s all I can give you I’m sorry, I have to go.”

She started scrambling and pleading for me to stay on the line but, fate dealt me a wining card. The police officer how went into the store started to walk around the corner and come towards me. I turned my head with the last question hearing the bell on the door as he came out and a heavy set of boots stepping towards me with the added jungle of his belt and equipment. By the time he had rounded the corner I had jumped to the roof and stayed clear of the sides. He jogged up to the hanging receiver and picked it up to hear the woman pleading for my voice. “Hello, hello maim. Please stop. Who where you talking to? WHO? Ryoku?” I could feel him searching the roof as he talked on the phone. The woman’s words where drown out by the sound of the reverb of her yelling. “Who ever he was he just disappeared, no seriously he vanished!” I’m sure that just grabbed me a spot on the news. I smiled for the publicity, but inside I frowned for the reason. “Maim, call the police station I want to hear what he told you here’s my bag number.” Before I could hear his name and number I stood up and jumped away.

No trust here, and I certainly haven’t earned any ones. If the tamers watch the news I’m sure they wouldn’t want to even look at me.  “Trust is earned.” I said like a moan. As the day wore on, on radios and a few TV’s I over heard. “Local Super Hero? Or vandal seeking forgiveness?” turned and twisted. Not that I expected anything else, being bias is what some news reporters where all about.

I herd my voice being played to a fresher set of questions. The same questions thank god. I sounded like crap on my phone interview, but at least my apology was herd. “Still an unbelieving reporter, until a passing police officer saw him vanish before his eyes. If this thrasher is a hero, he certainly has something to hide from the law…”

Almost the same line from station to station, word gets around quickly especially when some one faxes you a transcript of the conversation. I finally leaned against a roof top wall and fell in to sleep. I didn’t need it but I had nothing more to do. Since there was a shortage of Digimon my attention was being drawn to the streets for a sporting hunt. Less than satisfying and I hopped that some day soon I would have a chance to prove myself to the tamers in a battle worth fighting. An honorable one…

To a Champions Call

I stayed clear of the tamers for the next few days, them and their Digimon alike. Renamon had started to track me. I could feel it, when I wandered around the roves I crossed my path and got a whiff of her scent crossing mine. I could look out over the piles of roves and see her fallowing me every once in a while. I wanted to stay and let her catch up but it was to much like a game for her to fallow me. I stayed on my constant path dashing from roof to roof, not resting for long past what I needed to keep my pace.

I still eluded her, circling once, my pace was to fast and the circle was to large and we landed on the same roof, an eerie silence reigned for a few minuets. Then I disappeared and left her there, hoping the game would continue. Instead she went on her way and left me alone to the city skies.

I knew that there was some prior knowledge in the silence. Like my activities where some how misdirected. I wasn’t proud of it but that was on hell of a screw up. I bounced around for the rest of the day, slower from exerting my self in the game, till I found a nice party spot with a radio blaring. A few houses away I found a semi comfortable roof to lay on and settle down to sleep. I listened as the report came to me and my alleged butchering of neighborhoods and to my sudden decrease in the criminal population. It made me roll over, I was listening for the music, but the five minuets of news started to bother me.

Oh yeah they know, I thought as a clip of my voice was played, they REALLY know now. When the station came back to music I started to think some more. The sun sank and I watched from away from it as the moon brightened and hung in the sky in a first quarter phase. The night was cloudy and had no stars but the hazy moon was good enough to see alone. It was like my rash behavior. All clouded and with a corona of anger held off by the light of true will. If I, or Ryokumon where less of a person things like that would have happened more often.

Starring up at the moon made it clear how I felt, and how I would let my memories affect me. It was a lifting struggle to think of them and as I did I changed with less effort than putting my mind to a topic. Now Ryokumon sitting on the roof I looked at the moon not surprised by the change.

Instead I felt serine, and contented. I looked around seeing the party over a few houses, knowing that in this form I stuck out like a Christmas tree. I was neon yellow and didn’t want to be seen. I rolled over onto my stomach and pushed my self up. Not to my feet but into the air. From the angel of the roof I flew in an arch to a new roof a few houses away.

I looked back at the part now the music seemed to be noise, so I left the neighborhood behind and looked for another place to sleep for the night.

I looked for most of the night and couldn’t find a place quiet enough. Even in the middle of nowhere. So I’d stay up and observe the world some more, then maybe exhaustion would take over. I hopped and jumped from roof to roof shadow to shadow. Watching the people of the city from both of their perspectives all night till when the morning came I was feeling tired.

Birds sang and the sun rose. I didn’t get any sleep though. My Digivice beeped at me, a new tone for its chime. I wasn’t one to question now, a battle was a battle; but when I pulled it out the screen was blank. It just beeped and beeped. When the little hologram popped up it didn’t show a Digimon just static. This can’t be good I thought as I tapped around trying to stop the beeps. It sounded like an alarm clock or a car alarm. And I was in an ally. People where going to look soon so I jumped to the roof of the building I was next to and tried to stop it from there. After a few seconds it stopped on its own but still pointed in the direction of the Digimon.

It was a few hours after sunset, and still being part of the school week possibly I would have this battle to myself. But then again, I don’t think even the tamers would miss a battle for some thing like school or sleep. I could see the fog from about a distance of a mile. The large and violent swirling fog wasn’t like the rest. It was dark and seemed to suck light from around it. A pale yellow light came from its center and as I came closer I could see it turn red and take a form I couldn’t make out clearly.

Seeing the evil fog made me halt at it edge for a moment, I could sense the Digimon insides power, his strength was more than I could take on alone. It was a dark power that seemed amplified by a corrupted force. The power was devastatingly scary. Like a crush of hope manifested in to a living being. It was a hard decision, going in alone with something that strong almost meant certain death.

Before I could take a step I started to hear a sinister laugh below up that made my fur stand on end. My shirt seemed to tighten from the erect fur and my shorts where like lead. I fought the screaming fear to take the first step then the rest fallowed even slower than the first. I squinted against the haze of the fog as I entered, the fog however black seemed bright. Or the absents of light was drawing my energy, I did feel weaker. I thought it was because of how I was measured up to my opponent.

There was a sudden blast of wind heading towards the center of the fog and a bubble of clear air came as a dark form came clear, like clearing static on a television. Then two glowing red orbs came threw and the laugh returned. The hovering figure had a smile now. The smile curved into words in a voice I remembered,

“Dark Gargomon.” It finally said in a bitterly evil tone. And a burst of red that shattered into a thousand pieces reviled a vile looking Digimon. Standing ready for me to attack. It was a Gargomon all rite. Nothing like I had ever seen though, in either of my lives. This evil thing had chains running over its shoulders and connecting to a shoulder guard and then went around to a large drum on his back witch connected to a belts of ammunition that went to the Mini gun weapons fused to his arms. His mechanical hands welded three fingers sharpened at the tips to talons, he wore a chain crossed his chest like the ammo belt of a normal Gargomon with small pieces of what looked like fingers of other Digimon. They all where fading and the small bits of data where going into his chest like little tendrils. He was a black and green evil tinted thing with three red hashes pointing to his nose. The strangest thing about him was a white cross, burned into his head. The absense of fur there was only given to the white skin.

“What the hell are you?” I said as I leaned into a judo stance. “Darkness. Your DEATH!” his smile returned and I looked on in horror as the band of ammo going to his arms buzzed into his weapon and the cylinder on the outside with the barrels started to spin.

He held up both of his arms and pointed the death at me and his look vanished into a dead stair. When I blinked from my fear back to my stance I only had a few milliseconds to move before a stream of energy spewed from his arms like a laser. The red trail was doted and where bullets destroying anything in their way. No room for error I just ran around him. Slowly in my dead sprint the bullets started to move away. I tripped onto all four and put on an extra burst of speed. I jumped on to a building and off of it to the street. The bullets kept coming, while the sound of the bullets hitting only gave way to roar of his arms firing.

My speed had put me a foot ahead of his fire but it still wasn’t enough to make an attack. Running as fast as I was, was taking a lot out of me. If anything was going to happen it had to be soon. I did a back flip quickly and landed behind his stream of bullets. I started running the other way thinking he would stop firing to try to give me another lead. But he only turned the blast of bullets around nonstop firing. That drum looked like it held a lot more than he was using. And if I kept running I would get cut in half.

I did another back flip and danced around his bullets again and again getting closer. The closer I got the more I could feel the heat of the hot bullets screaming past my body singing my fur. I reached just barely inside striking distance and shouted “SHINING SLASH!” and brought all of my claws down in a crushing blow as hard as I could.

To fast for human eyes I could see him leaning back only to have me slap his arms down ripping the concrete up as they sank past his sides. He stumbled back not able to control him self from the recoil of his arms and started to fire blindly into the sky.

He gave a scream of anger at my resistance and stopped his arms, a volcanic stream of smoke shot from the barrels when they stopped and he un controllably fell to the ground. I couldn’t use it to my advantage because I was to busy ducking away from the stream and trying to catch my breath. When the barrels came to a stop with a halt his arm twitch and he pushed him self off of the ground.

“Lucky Digimon, I won’t let you do that again.” He started to chuckle as he put his hand on his hip. His street looking camouflage pants smoked from the touch. “What kind of Digimon are you?” I said as I made it back to my feet in a stance ready to run. “Corruption.” He laughed as he raised his arms again. The barrels spun again and I faked one way and flipped the other causing him to flinched the opposite direction. That little zing showed me how slow he was. With the force of those guns and the force of firing he didn’t have enough control to make tight precision corrections to his aim. As I bolted around him I thought, I might just have a chance after all. Trying it at this point was no good. I was very far away and I couldn’t get in tight until I put some distance from his aim. I ran faster than I knew I could for two seconds making the same progress.

Running short on energy quickly I jumped over his head with a steep lean almost touching him while he again leaned away sending him toppling over from the lack of balance. Now I had the energy to attack while I was in the air I twisted around and landed and pushed off. As I soared towards him he turned his head to me and saw me open my mouth in a scream “DIAMOND STORM!” and like a jet screaming over his head I unleashed a spray of crystals in my path. One hit him in the arm and burst into a flurry of energy another hit him in the arm doing the same. And another ripped threw an ammo belt going to his left arm setting it lose. He was still firing threw all of this and my tail brushed threw the stream of bullets and thankfully the stream stopped just as the last bullet hit the chamber.

I hit the ground on his opposite side and tried to land standing but slid a crossed the asphalt to a stop a few feet further than where I landed, grinding the bottom of my feet on the ground. his eyes where blazing from the hits, but they weren’t effective enough to do major damage. He landed and slid a foot then started to howl “YOU SCUM!! LOOK WHAT YOU DID” he said as his arms came to another sudden halt and he reached down to the limp band of ammo. He looked up with a growl and pried his stair into my face. “I’M GOING TO MAKE THIS SLOW NOW!” he said as he picked him self up again.

I was almost out of energy now. One more pass was all I had, if it didn’t work I was done for. I was huffing brutally and saliva dripped from my teeth as I returned the leer his way. The brake in his ammo seemed to limit his movement because his left arm didn’t move as he pushed him self up with only the rite arm. Weak point I thought as I saw it.

But before he got up he lifted his arm and spun his barrels. I didn’t even have time to react. His aim was so off that he missed me by two feet, giving me the chance to make one last dash at him. Straight at him flipping faster than he could see seeming to materialized of the other side of his badly aimed bullets. Till I reached him a half a foot inside striking distance. I drew my fist back and flashed it open with the light of the last bit of energy I had. He opened his mouth as I did. My scream was drown out my his “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” it climbed in intensity as I pressed my paw to his head and shot a crystal threw his head.

His eyes went black and his face went white, the burn in his head seemed to burn back to fur and he changed back to a normal Gargomon. He didn’t change completely because he started to disintegrate before he hit the ground.  The glow of data flooded to my arm and I felt a surge of energy fill my body. Hints of the darkness where in that energy before it was swallowed but they seemed to bounce off my fur like sparks. I hit the ground hard and rolled a few times. The fog didn’t lift like the all of the other times. Instead I herd another sinister laugh. “Well done Ryokumon.” It laughed as I tried to roll my self over. Deathly weak I cold barely move. My hart pounded as I listened. “A rookie like you managed to defeat one of my minions, HAHA HAHA! You are a very strong Digimon, but next time you wont be so lucky.” The voice faded leaving the thick dark fog to turn to the familiar white. I laid on the wall for a moment and watched as the fog dissipated to a white smoke. I stood up with the rest of my effort and jumped to the roof of the low building making it to the ledge, and struggled to pull my self over the edge. I hit the ground on the roof and rolled into a fetal position. I herd the voice of that Gargomon again, Corruption? I thought as I fell off to a painful sleep.

I woke up to a police officer standing above me with a light on me. I didn’t know what form I was in so I scrambled to all fours and glided away like the fox I was running from a hunting party. I stopped a few blocks away still out of breath from my battle and looked back.

The hole block was roped off, the buildings where distinguishably damaged the very blunt path of Gargomon’s bullets blew chunks of the walls off. I couldn’t stay awake another minuet. Looking back had drained what little I had regained from my pass out on the other roof. I fell asleep slumped one arm over the edge of the roof and slept there for hours completely cut off from the world in a silent sleep…

No Explanations

I woke up some time the next day completely sore, and human. No one had seen me on the roof, not even the choppers that where still buzzing overhead. Moving hurt, even rolling over and leaning on the small low wall.

I sat there for hours, breathing hurt a little less than moving. I wanted to scream, but couldn’t find the energy. I drifted in and out of consciousness for a while till I found enough strength to stand. I needed food soon or I was going to pass out again. So I jumped off of the roof and landed with a roll. My knees just couldn’t take it, so I fell over and tried to gather enough energy to stand again. It came in a few minuets and I stiffly walked out of the ally to the street leaning against store windows till I came to a restaurant.

I walked in and leaned against the counter and just ordered about half the menu. The person on the other side didn’t believe me till I almost came over the counter at him. He rang up a total of $154.38 and went off to make my banquet. I laid the money on the counter and left a big healthy tip. Then drug myself to a booth close to the counter.

I put my head back and stared at the ceiling till he came back in twenty minuets with my food, All forty-seven servings of it. I started eating and didn’t finish for over an hour of stuffing my face. I didn’t feel sick or even full even after I huffed down over forty combo meals. In fact I was still hungry. The person behind the counter looked on in amazement wondering where I put it all. The only thing he was more worried about was if I was going to clean it all up! I sat contented for a while after I finished while the person behind the counter started to stutter out “Sir, can you clean that up?” I put my head down feeling the sleep come back on me, and started to grab armfuls of paper. I walked them over to the trashcan and shoved them all in and then went back for the next load till I had problems standing.

“Are you ok? Do you need a doctor?” the person asked. I just waved at him and walked to the door. “Nope just a little sleep” I yawned as he still looked on in amazement at the pig he just saw eating. I now had more energy, it seemed latent and to far away for me to make full use of, but I still found enough to jump up to a roof. I was still painfully stiff, but moving after a meal like that seemed to be no problem. When I made it up to the roof I pulled off my bag and put it under my head like a pillow. Then fell rite to sleep.

No sound in the sleep just blissful rest that I really needed. I woke up late into the day from my long and justly earned sleep and stretched with a buzz of doziness, I didn’t remember all of what happened the last time I was fully awake just at that time that it was one hell of a battle. The sun was late in the sky and almost directly overhead casting a noonday’s shadow. I sat in the heat of the day for a while trying to think, slowly regaining the fight I had.

When the full memory came I started to think about what something like that was doing in the real world. Then I herd the voice again minions? I thought as the dark tone vanished like the black of the digital fog. It wasn’t an appealing thought to have something that strong roaming both in the digital world and the real one.

But the more I beat around it the more I came back to minions? What did it mean. That Dark Gargomon or what ever it was, wasn’t anything I had ever known. Was it being controlled? Or was it acting on its own. Hours past till the night came and I didn’t move from my spot on the roof, still wondering what the hell happened and why?

Most Digimon wanted to be in the real world, maybe even to get a tamer. But that thing was all about destruction. And one of its only mindless words was corruption like a name or something. A big question that I didn’t have time to answer without some better minds.

It was a scary thing to contemplate, and soon after dusk, I decided to stop scarring myself and go out and explore a bit more. I was a few miles from the battle ground and it was my first stop, the entire street was still roped off while police on the ground examined the lines of fire strafed threw the walls of the buildings. Looking at the large holes that just one round caused I was lucky none of them hit me. The hole each made defiantly punched rite threw the concrete walls. The size of the bullet was at least as big around as a dime and the shattered wall was as big around as my head.

I looked around at the buildings seeing that the chain of fire trailed off up and down the street in both directions, going straight threw the walls, some one could have gotten injured or worse. I hopped a crossed the roves to a section of the street that was filled with people but was overlooked where I could get to the ground. The crowd of people near the police barricade looked on up the street as the police searched over the buildings.

I pushed my way threw the people all looking angry and depressed to the barricade where twenty police officers where crowded around pushing people back over the black and yellow striped barricades. There where a few reporters a few feet behind the planks of wood asking questions to the officers but I couldn’t hear any of it over the people talking and screaming. When I made it up to the front of the crowd I was pushed from all sides almost over the wood.

“Hey what happened?” I screamed over the buzz of people. The cop I was standing in front of didn’t hear me and it took some repeating to get his attention. “Hey, Hey! What happened?” I shouted as I was tipped and pushed around. The cop lowered his riot shield and gave me a look of ignorance. “Where have you been! Someone shot up the street and killed ten people!” I sank in place for a moment letting the flow of people push me around, some had died in my battle besides that Gargomon. I pushed back up to the front with my strength and cleared a foot of people with one push, knocking them all over.

“How?” I said as I gave a serious look over the quieting crowd. The officer put his shield back up and looked at me in amazement from clearing those people with one simple push. “A-Ah machine gun. Ripped threw all the stores and cut up a bunch of people during the fog.” I looked around getting angry at letting my battle take place here, and turned and walked away. A few people who I pushed over parted my path and the rest moved with a separating push from my hand and bunched up on the ground piled up while the kicked around trying to stand up.

I didn’t have to go far before I herd a car tuned to a news broadcast, “Shooting in valley kills ten, police baffled and suspect and target still at large.” I stopped walking while I listened to the parked car. “The strange pockets of fog in the past few months have been the ground for a lot of property damage lately but the most recent pocket turned out to be deadly for ten valley residents; as some one with a powerful machine gun decimated a local busy street. Twenty more residents and employees of the business hit, suffered injuries dew to the shootings. The deaths include four children and five more are on the injury list in critical condition at Saint Johns memorial hospital. Police are as in the dark as we are in the report, the shooter left no trace of himself, not even bullet casings for the strange and powerful weapon he used. There are no leads in the shooting except for a person found on the roof of one building directly overhead of the shooting. Who had mysteriously disappeared and remains unidentified.” Well at least they didn’t identify me I thought as the new cast continued, “the officer who found the person, says it was a person in a ‘fox or coyote’ costume, wearing cloths over top of it. This person, not believed to be the shooter is still wanted for questioning by local authorities.” I was about to leave with a smile till I herd the next line of the story. “These incidents do not appear to be localized on to our states, it seems that similar fogs and damages have been reported all over the country in the past few months. This incident, though only seeming to be localized is the first in magnitude of such destruction…”

I almost fell over in shock, there are more? I thought then knew of coarse, what is there a single gate coming to the real world, no they have to come from somewhere. From that moment on I knew that it wasn’t a game. That was a Gargomon; champion level Digimon, very slow. I should have been able to take him down with out much effort. But he was different, powered up, faster but not smarter. And I couldn’t even picture a champion with that much firepower! I hoped he was the only one of his kind, if he wasn’t then I was going to need all the help I could get.

I put my personal problems aside and started to search for the tamers. They weren’t at home or as least the boy wasn’t. Renamons scent was fairly fresh in the air though so I fallowed it around for a few hours. Since it was still night I found her quickly. She was on the top of a church tower looking down at a house in the middle of a trailer park. She sensed me coming and looked about to see me leap up to the spire of the tower.

“Its you.” She said with a contemptuous tone. She looked over at me with an angry tint in her eyes, “What are you doing here?” she asked flatly. “I need to talk to the Tamers again, all of them. Its important.” She stood up from the slanted roof of the tower and looked back to the house. “What is it Ryoku, more questions. I’m sure Maria would love to hear them.” I bit my lip and looked down for a moment, I really screwed up taking down those criminals, and some how I knew that telling the news station about it wasn’t a big help either. “No, no questions. But I think this really needs their attention.”

She crossed her arms in an offensive posture and starred me down for a second, much like here tamer did. “What is it?” not knowing what it was I was going to say I just said it. “Champions, strong ones. I don’t think that any one of the tamers could match them alone.” She still held herself in that angry posture but knowing more about the tamer thing than I did she gave an angry reply. “Maria can handle any Digimon, with or with out her cards.”

“Cards?” I said confused at the sentence. “Digimon cards she uses to power me up. I thought something as changed as you would know that by now.” I was about feed up with the attitude she was giving “What happened, you didn’t have a bad thing to say about me the last time we met.” I knew the answer but I just had to hear her side.

“Hunting Humans isn’t enough of a reason? You’re a Digimon, you are so much stronger than any human you could kill them with out knowing it, and you want to know what the problem is.” I was rite thinking it, and now it was going to be a hard road to have her trust me again. I was sure her tamer wasn’t going to be a less of a joy to earn with. I turned around and thought of Renamon again and remembered the mate I left behind. I changed forms there and then looked back. “Fine then, just make sure they hear what I said. If not then there might not be anything any of us can do.”

The noble voice I had made her turn around and watch me jump away. It was then that I most regretted taking hunt on humans. Even though they where criminals, they where human, they where far weaker than I was. I had no rite to hunt them. “So much for trust.” I said as I left the church and jumped away. Renamon looked at me as I jumped away, she had her arms dropped as she watched. She didn’t hold her self angrily anymore; more sad than angry. I didn’t look back to see it but I felt she would some how. I didn’t even know for sure that she did.

I jumped away hoping Renamon would fallow. Having her tracking me was like a game. But she didn’t give me the satisfaction, and I found my self sitting in a tree in some neighborhood waiting for the sun to rise so I could fall asleep. Still a tangle of thoughts ran threw my head about both Renamon and that dark Digimon. A thought was if Renamon would even tell her tamer, the other is if she did would it matter. Another was that Dark Gargomon thing changed back to a normal Gargomon before I absorbed it. It wasn’t really in control of its self when it attacked me, I was sure that that voice had some thing to do with it, but again I couldn’t be sure.

Who was the voice, Corruption? What was that about? It was too vague at that time to understand. But answers where coming. Answers I wasn’t looking forward to knowing…

Coming Attractions

While I sat in the tree, less stiff now than when I started my day. I started to flex around. I looked at my self a bit admiring my new body; it wasn’t like I didn’t have time to before. But now was the first time I looked at myself to actually see myself. I started to see things that made more difference than fashion. I noticed first that my cloths where shot up. I had a few close call bullet holes in my shirt and shorts, charred at the edge of the holes from the searing bullet ripping threw my cloth. I tapped the holes to get a better look and found trailing burns on my skin below my fur. The red hot bullets did more than ruin my cloths they burned me. I saw a flash of my tail running threw the bullets and I went back to grab it.

There was a very distinguishable lack of fur cut almost down to the rod of my tail. The tips of my fur where singed off and gave a nasty odor. A new thought entered the jumble already in place. Energy I used went to both of my forms not just one, but damages stayed with one or the other. If I got wounded in one form, maybe I could survive in the other. I didn’t really want to think of either result, being human was the only way I got around in public and being a Digimon was the only way I battled. If I lost one my life would be such a hardship. I tried to forget it as the sun rose, falling a sleep was harder than I thought it would be.

Instead of sleeping I found myself counting lose change I had while I was sitting on a high branch. I let my tail sway from side to side brushing the leaves with the force of the wind guiding it. I started to count sheep to try to fall asleep but it only made me want to go out and hunt something. I huffed in frustration and just leaned back and looked up at the sky.

The thought of Champions killing humans wouldn’t leave my head no matter how hard I tried to forget it. The people who died paid for my weakness with their lives, and that was another load I had to bear. It kept me from sleeping on into the next day. Being in the high tree no one bothered me. So I was left to my thoughts.

From the tamers to Renamon, to the evil Digimon that could possibly harm more people. All around I thought till I just couldn’t think anymore and then from thoughts to sleep. I don’t remember even drifting off but I remember waking up. And to one thing I didn’t want to.

“Hello, any body in der.” Impmon said as he knocked his hand on my head. I opened my eyes and started to look up seeing his little legs standing on the branch in front of me. “Bought time.” He said as he took a small step back shaking the branch as he moved. “H-huh? Impmon, what do you want, you little terd.” He looked down at the street to his handy work. “Thought you might want to see this.” He said as he looked down. I leaned forward over a few branches to see one of the tamers looking around. “And, why should I care? I’m sure you have something to do with what ever he wants.”

The male tamer, Richy, was walking around the street looking around, then came a crossed Impmon standing out in the green leaves. “Impmon, So where is he?” Impmon looked back at me then back to the tamer. “He’s rite here. I’m sure fox-o here will be down in a sec.” He said as he pointed one hand over his shoulder. “What’s the deal Impmon?” I said as I started to stand. “Ah noth’en, he just wants ta say hi.” He laughed and jumped from the tree.

He knew that if he stayed around I was going to throw him from the tree so he left on his own. I looked down again threw the leaves to the child and saw him stair up in my direction. He looked up the street in both directions then back up at me quickly. “Ryoku, come on.” He said in a whisper. I thought of one of my friends again and changed back to my human form.

I slipped from branch to branch falling to the ground and then landed on my knees. I looked up to see him looking at me harshly with a sense of curiosity. “So you wanted to talk to us?” he said as he stuck his hands in his pockets. It took me a second to think but I remembered what he was talking about. “You know that shooting?” he nodded, “It was a Digimon.” He gave a look like he knew it somewhere and then asked, “Why didn’t you stop him?” I turned away, thinking of the people who where hurt. “I did, that’s what happened when we where fighting.”

“Your’ kidding, aren’t you?” he said as I turned back around looking up the street. “No, he was powerful, to powerful for his type.” He pulled his hand from his pocket and put it on his head. “What kind of Digimon was it?” he said letting his anger slide for the conversation. “Dark Gargomon, if that means anything to you.” He tilted his head, I was losing him again. “I know what a Gargomon can do, but I’ve never heard of a Dark Gargomon before. Are you sure?” I looked at him from the corner of my eye.

“Not really, all I have to go by is what he said. He defiantly wasn’t a normal Gargomon. I’ve seen Gargomons before and that one was almost if not an ultimate. I almost bought it a few times.” He looked at me not knowing what I could do fully. “What do you mean almost ultimate?” I swung around like he insulted me. “ I mean that Gargomon’s are slow and a lot weaker. Normal Gargomons use energy attacks this one had bullets, really BIG bullets, ten people in buildings all the way up that street where killed from it. All I could do was run around trying not to get shot!”  I turned around and looked for my tail even though it wasn’t there. He backed off for a second while I looked for proof.

I patted around for a second hearing the changed in my pocket then sticking my thumb in a hole in my shirt and lifting it up, “This is what it did to my shirt! Imagine what it did to those people!” I took a deep breath and let it out in a huff and calmed my self. “Look, I’m sorry I’ve been a little high strung lately.” He had pulled his other hand from his pocket when I ranted and started waving it at me “Uh- ha haha, its no problem, really I understand.” he forced out in a laugh.

Hearing him laugh reminded me of the first time I meet him face to face. “What where you laughing about, I mean when we first meet?” thrown by the strange change of topic he thought for a second. “You wont get made will you?” he said as he blushed a little. I nodded and he cleared his throat. “You just looked so funny, with cloths on. I’ve never seen a Digimon with cloths on before. It was just funny then. I promise it wont happen again.” I gave an off smile and turned away. “Don’t worry about it kid. I don’t mind.” I paused for a moment and returned to the topic. “So, uh. How’d you find out about this any way?” he looked up from his blush and started off. “Well Maria called me up after Renamon told her. She didn’t want to have anything to do with you, but I was a little worried about it when she said it was ‘extremely’ important.” He said as he held up two fingers on each hand for the quotes.

“How’d you find me,” I stopped short of the question thinking of how Impmon woke me up. “Impmon said he had a score to settle with you for something. He showed me where you where. I think the fact that some one caught him on camera busting up their neighborhood had something to do with it though.” I let out a chuckle and laughed, cocky little Impmon got busted by video surveillance. “Really? How do you know?” I said amused by it.

“Its been running on the news. Some guy who they blamed it all on has been cleared of the charges,” He stopped talking while he thought about it some more, “hey aren’t you…” I jumped away, running from the name. I hadn’t been called that in over a week and I didn’t want to be called it again. I was Ryoku if anyone asked.

Oh man, coming attraction, Impmon the street thrasher! I thought as I laughed out loud bouncing a crossed the roves. I didn’t hear about it from any radios all I herd was about the shooting. I’m sure that it had already been aired or the shooting story overcame it. hearing it where I wanted to hear about Impmon brought me back to the thought of the power of destruction that Digimon had. That seemed to be more of an attraction than Impmon did. I traveled along the rooftops to the scene again and looked over the still roped off street. I could see from the roof into a window a crossed the street, a clothing store, chalk lines where set up in the position the dead fell in, and stains of blood covered the floor.

I put my hand to my chin and tried not to cry. It was my fault that it happened the way it did. I was going to make sure that no one else was hurt while I fought off Digimon, I wasn’t going to be weak. Not anymore…

Gather Your Arms

I stayed on the roof till a police office looked up and saw me. He shouted out but I jumped over him to the clothing store and from there out of the zone of search, faster than he could see. I decided after a few minuets I needed to train, get stronger. But doing that with how strong I was, was very hard. I could probably lift up a small car. And if I was going to bench press a car there weren’t to many places I could do it.

I found a scrap yard a few miles away from the city and looked around for anything that might help me. So much metal here and all of it looked heavy. Old wrecks and a lot of salvage. I walked over to a small truck and gave it a look for a second. And then gave it a good stiff push. The truck went toppling over, the loud thump and a series of metallic crunches told me to find something else. I stood stunned from my strength for a moment. And then turned around to find a heaver car, the large whether beaten car looked like more than I could lift or even push but I gave it a try.

I walked a step closer and prepared for my nudge. I rubbed my hands and took a breath and then gave another good stiff push. It didn’t fall over but it almost rolled off of the car it was sitting on top of. Satisfied with the weight difference I gave it another push, much harder. This time the car went flying off its roost. Not enough weight I huffed as I looked over the crushed car to the one I just pushed away.

As it turns out almost nothing in that scrap yard had enough weight for me. I tried lifting up a school bus but its old rusted frame snapped and almost buried me. I pushed the bended metal away from me; that proved to be much more of a workout than actually lifting. It was pointless, I gathered that after sitting on one of the torn seats. The musty old bus was the only thing here that actually gave me a challenging lift. Where the frame snapped in the center of the bus had a large hole in the floor. I had to rip the metal away from me to get out. It wasn’t even hard.  After I removed the metal from me the bus sank back to the ground and bended in the middle.

I was a little let down by the lack of challenge and angry too. Instead of leaving calmly I punched a hole threw the back of the seat in front of me and waited for a while. The only sound around was the creek of the weaken metal. After a while more of the waiting some one came to the bus with a flashlight, stirred from the sound of the other cars falling over probably. He looked at the bent bus then back at me. The dirty windows didn’t let him see much so he opened the door on the back and crawled in to the broken bus.

“Hey, what are you do’en here boy. Its after hours.” His country accent bothered me so I stood up with one word. “Training.” I started to walk to the rear of the bus seeing that it was more damaged than I thought. There was a large rip of metal where I was standing on either side of the bus with shattered windows and glass sitting all over the place. I looked back to see my bag wasn’t on any more. So I stopped at my hole and reached down and patted for it.

There where a few things under the bus that held it up a little. Luckily all that the bus did was rip off the other strap. My laptop was probably in a million pieces now, but it wasn’t important. I walked out of the bus with my bag flung over my shoulder while the man fallowed me. Being as annoyed as I was I didn’t vanish when I stepped off. I just walked to the front gate while the man fallowed me. The man tried to stop me but I showed him how strong I was by tipping over a pile of cars, and he backed off in a very fearful state.

I walked to the front gate and down the road. Watching cars pass me every few minuets. By a few miles from the city I mean even out of the furthest house, the boondocks, down to one lane streets to and from the mountains. I walked for the night getting back to the city thinking about how I could train with out weights, I didn’t think I could get much faster, and with out weights getting stronger would be a good challenge.

Late into the morning after an entire night of walking I made it back to city streets. Nothing came to me till I came a crossed a little specialty shop. I looked into the barred windows to see swords guns and several other pieces of weapons and defensive gear. The store was closed but it almost made me drool at the sight of all of it.  I had always had been a big gun nut, and still incredibly stupid to them. Even though I had never held a gun past the .38 I had in my bag. I was still interested in them.

Looking at them made me feel like I had a chance to be stronger. I didn’t see how something like that a gun or a sword would, but they had a kind of energy that kept me from moving from that window till the store opened. The sun had risen by the time a man walked to the front door looking at me like some kind of hobo.

“Can I help you?” he asked trying to pull me away from the fogging glass. “Hey come on you smudging the window.” He said as I stepped away seeing his face in an annoyed look. “Oh, hehe sorry.” I said laughing at my self. “Can I help you?” he repeated again. “Do you work here?” he nodded “ I own the place,” He smiled, “You want to buy something.

I nodded like a child in long bouncing strides. “OK then, lets go inside and lets see what you like.” He said grinning at my enthusiasm. He walked over to the shops heavy door and unlocked four large and almost impenetrable locks. When he opened the door he flipped a sign around and waved me in. When I walked in I looked over all of the wall to see more weapons covering every inch of the walls. A truly excellent collection of weapons. “So what do you want to see?” I grinned at it all. “I’m gona buy something.”

My human nature looked on in aw at the walls of guns but I was drawn to the selection of swords. I looked from one display to the other seeing the metal crafted in the finest quality, looking at it was like gathering energy from the shiny metal. “OK, what kind of weapon do you want?” he said as he walked behind a display to a counter near the door.

“A sword, not to long but just rite for stabbing and slashing.” The words came out without thought. And a very strange look came over him like I was a serial killer. “You aren’t going to do anything illegal with it are you?” he said seriously. I knew what I said and how crazy I must have sounded and said “NO, no, no of coarse not.” I said as I started to blush. He shrugged a little and walked over to a wrack of sword hidden from the rest of the store and pulled a satin sheet from over a wrack of short katana. Recreations undoubtedly, but looked very very beautiful.

“How much are we talking about spending here? Ten, twenty bucks?” I shook my head “About two-thousand is my limit.” I again said without thinking. His eyes lit up and he put the small sword back and grabbed a more authentic looking one from the wrack.

“This is a recreation of a shogun samurai katana. The blade was crafted in the Middle East by professionals and its worth is in the area of about one thousand five.” Hearing the price just slapped me in the face. “That much?” I said as I sifted threw my pockets for my money. I came up with the envelope and counted out the rite amount. I looked up at him as he started to unsheathe the blade and was astounded by it. It looked real but it wasn’t real enough for my eyes to pay for. “Anything stronger?” I asked as I started to put the money away.

He quickly scrambled from behind the counter and to a display of artistic swords in the center of the store. “Almost the same sword but with different materials.” He said as he went for another katana sitting in a full metal sheathe. “The supplier of it said that he used titanium for the blade and copper for the guard.” He said as he tapped the colored square at the end of the swords sheathe. He popped a small band from the sword and pulled it out. The strong blade screamed for me. “How much?” I said pulling my money back out. “One-seven, the blade is top quality but the materials are much more expensive than the work put into it.”

I counted out the one thousand seven hundred and handed it to him. “Can I get a strap with that?” he looked at the sword and the sell he just made. “Sure kid, no charge. Have a look at what I have over here by the register.” I juggled with excitement from my new sword and looked over the register to see a large selection of sword straps in may different styles. Hip straps, chest straps, back, under arm and leg all looked good. I found one that would attach to my belt and pointed to it. “That’s the one.” Hr tallied up the weapon and set it on the counter and went for a large box to put it in.

The early morning had just started about tem minuets ago, so there wasn’t much traffic on the out side. But some one did walk into the store. A builded looking man tall and warring an over coat walked up and shoved me to the side. I let him move me only a step.

“Hey what’s your problem!” I said as I seized him up, he may have been bigger than I was but he looked weaker than the strength I had. He looked over at me and gave a wide eyed smirk “Shut up kid.” Then pulled a pistol from his over coat and pointed it at me. I smiled as he aimed it, his slower movements where easily seen. “Get on the ground!” the man behind the counter did so being in the wrong position to stop him he just hit the deck. I, on the other hand, looked at him hard with a smile. “I said get on the ground!”

I flipped up my hand and gave a taunting wave. I herd him twitch his finger on the trigger and snap off a round, I leaned to the side letting it zoom past my head. “You missed.” I said in Ryokumon’s noble voice. He corrected his aim to my new position and fired another round, also missing. I laughed at him as he watched me blur from one side to the other while he wasted the entire clip of the gun into the store. He backed away for a second then pulled out a longer clip, and reloaded the pistol as fast as he could, I let him.

By the time he had the slide back I reached for the sword and had it unsheathed standing in a judo stance with the sword in front of me almost touching the ground. “Lets go.” I said as I smiled. He flipped a switch with his thumb and pulled the trigger. I jumped backwards and brought the sword up to chest level, and started to swing it back and forth deflecting the bullets like spit wads. The automatic pistol was nothing like the blast of hell the Dark Gargomon had. The fairly slow moving bullets where almost visible to me.

He stopped firing and turned for the door, a useless maneuver. I did a front flip and landed in front of him and swung around holding the blade at the side of his throat. I would have finished the movement but I caught my self. He gasped at the fluid movement stopping less than a centimeter from his neck and dropped his weapon.

I glared at him evilly then pushed him down with my free hand. I walked closer to him as he started to crawl away. I came closer to him faster than he could crawl and put the point of the blade on he head. “Hey, tie this guy up.” I said, briefly looking away to the man behind the counter. I almost killed him twice, and now it was time to stop. The man behind the counter looked over the counter slowly seeing my steady grip in the blade listening as it hummed from small vibrations in my hand.

The owner of the shop stood up and started rummaging threw small pile of nylon cords till he came up with one long enough to tie the man on the floor with. He walked around the counter crunching a few scattered shells on the ground and started to tie the hands then feet of the man like a cow in a rodeo. I kept myself from thrusting the sword threw his skull a few times looking down seeing prey, and not a person. He didn’t resist the owner as he tied him up.

When he finished securing the ropes he looked up. “How can I thank you?” I looked away from another potential kill and tried to think about the sword instead. “Free sword would work.” The business man laughed. “75% off and a free strap, deal?” I looked back smiling and then caught a glimpse of the man on the floor. With out thinking I swung around and slashed down on him stopping at the flesh of his head splitting a hair in the center of his head. The man shook nervously and passed out. The owner looked at me like a freak and stood up.

“I’d like to get out of here before you call the police.” He nodded with no objection and walked around to the register. “Who are you?” he got around to saying as he made a receipt. I looked at the small dents in the blade “I guess used swords go for less huh.” I smiled as I picked up the sheathe and put my blade away with a click. The owner looked at me and started to force a laugh “Yeah yeah, sure. You wanted this one?” he said as he pointed to the strap I wanted. “Yup. How much it come to?” he looked at the receipt and said out loud “Lets see, four-twenty-five, and I’m letting you slide on the tax.” I smiled and walked to the counter, he started to put the strap in a bag but I pulled it out of his hands. “This ones to go.” He looked at me strange for carrying it out with out box or bag. I set the sword down and got back the rite total from the man, then walked to the door. I leaned down at the gun the tied man had used. Now I knew what it was, a Glock Pro, 9mm. Machine pistol. I almost grabbed it but left it there, the weapon had no purpose now that I had my sword. When I reached the door I turned to the owner. “My name is Ryoku.” then walked out before he could say a word.

When I walked out side the sun shined from down the street hanging over a building. I looked to the window of the shop seeing my bag on the ground where I left it. I waked over to get it and looked back into the store seeing the owner pick up the weapon and look back at me with a smile. But as soon as I had my bag in hand I jumped to the roof.

I looked at the sheathed blade and felt a power coming from it, coursing threw my hand and to the rest of my body, I felt stronger holding the metal. Not knowing what I could do with it, made all the difference. The sense of mysterious power could help me in a battle, in both forms I could use the weapon. So that’s what I would do…

Power of the Blade

I jumped from roof to roof getting back to the center of the city looking over my sword, fresh into a fight and it held up its own. Bullets can go threw many things but the 9mm. Rounds the robber fired barely scratched it. I sat down looking at my sword thinking of what a wonderful addition to myself it makes, like it was now a part of me. I stopped on a large flat roof somewhere and practiced my swordsman ship. My new speed made the blade sing as I danced around the roof. The new blade wasn’t that sharp, the only thing that really need to be tended to. It still swung lightly in my hand like a plastic baton. I tapped the blade in my palm and felt how sharp it was when it cut my hand. The tap made a small streak of blood run from my palm and hit the ground. I looked down and saw that as my blood splashed small pieces of data flew away.

Ryokumon was in every part of me, even my blood. We certainly where one, even down to the cells in my body. I watched my hand bleed for a few seconds not feeling the overwhelming pain that I would have if I where just human. The blood came out then abruptly stopped and a scab quickly formed. “Wow.” I yelped in amazement at my rapid healing. The blood on the ground made a little pool where I stood and seemed to smoke from the data coming off it. I walked over to where I left my bag and sheathe and put my sword away. Its not a toy I thought as I put it away. I hadn’t fitted the strap yet but I was sure it would work. My large brown leather belt matched the strap. Down to the gold plated buckles.

I sat down and took off my belt far enough so I could run my belt threw the loops of the strap. The unadjusted strap ran tight over my shoulder and bunched up my shirt when I put it on. So before I put the front loop on my belt I took off my bullet hole riddled shirt and tossed it to the wind. My bare chest caught a cross breeze and it felt so good from all the sweat I had acquired in my shirt. I finished putting on the strap and looked down on it. I felt like some kind of barbarian with it on but I didn’t intend to stay on the streets long enough for anyone to notice it. The sheathe of my sword fit into two tight loops in the back of the strap so I carefully ran it threw them and stood up with the sword in place.

With my sword and strap in place I couldn’t bend very well. But I could bend which was better than nothing. When I moved around the loops I had the sheathe threw would slide down and up so I could move. A nice comfortable fit compared to a normal shoulder sling. The wind, even though it felt nice, was starting to make me feel a bit cold so I went to my bag and sifted threw it for a new shirt. Getting it on was interesting. Hiding my sword was flat impossible. It stuck out at the grip at least a half a foot. But like I said I didn’t plan to stay long enough to have it seen.

With the leather strap in place and my sword secured the next thing I needed was a new bag. My old school bag with two broken straps wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Lugging it around was more annoying than wearing cloths as Ryokumon. I hopped around for a while till I came to an army surplus store I had been to in the past and walked in. I received all sorts of goofy looks as the grip of my sword hung out in plane sight as I passed customers.

I had the cold chill again, but I managed to push it down and not fight it. My shifty looks must have caught some attention because some one from the store walked up to me. “Can I help you sir?” he said drawn to my sword. “Uh yes,” I said trying not to cringe from the multiple stairs, “I need a backpack that can take some punishment. About the same size if you can.” He nodded in a smile, not just fake for the job but fake for my appearance, he then took me to a corner of the store that had anything from sleeping bags to backpacks, and even a few artic body bags. He looked over the mangled bag I had and couldn’t help but to ask “What happened to that one?” I looked away and around trying to eye the people starring at me to relive some of the pressure. “Long story, short version is its broke.” He gave a smug grunt and went straight for the most expensive bag. “This is military issue, one of the strongest things your going to find,” he paused as he looked back to my sword, “short of metal.”

I grabbed the bag from his hand before he could see or saying “Har, har. At least its not concealed. Smart ass.” He looked down at his hands not seeing the bag then back up to me while I walked to the counter. The medium sized store took some navigating but I found it near the front door. A few people where in line, some with children. One of them held up a small deck of Digimon cards. Cards huh I thought as I looked over the starter deck, maybe if I had some cards… my thoughts trailed off as the person in front of me moved closer to the register. I looked threw the glass counter to see an array of flashy and badly recreated military knives and a few pouches, and miscellaneous items. Returning my thoughts to the card deck, I looked at the cashier and weighted for my turn to pay for my items. After the three people in front of me paid for their items I stepped up to the counter and watched as the cahier looked from my face to my sword, keeping it on would be a problem in public, that much was clear by now. Even in short visits. “Do you have anything to declare?” he said.  I looked at him strangely as he swallowed a little hard. “Huh?” I passed. “Do you,” he paused, “have anything you don’t intend to pay for.”

“Shoplift?” I said, thinking now of doing it. “No, are you going to ring me up or not?” He nodded as I placed the green bag on the counter. “And one of those pouches please.” He looked away and reached down the cabinet for the item I wanted. “That’s the one.” I said as he ran his hand over it. He pulled out a pouch in a small box and set it on the counter.

“Will that be all?” he said. “No smart guy, I want your money.” He popped open the drawer and reached for a few bills. “I’m kidding, look like you never seen a sword before jeez!” his paranoid state matched the atmosphere of the place, gas masks, camouflage and all the vintage world war two MRE’s you could ever buy. “$75.98” he said as he pushed the bag and box a crossed the counter. I opened up my envelope and dropped the money down. “Keep the change.” I said handing him: a fifty a twenty a five and a one.

As I walked away, I herd him saying “Oh goody, two cents…” I held up my hand with my broken bag in it and said “I herd that.” Once I was outside, I did a back flip and jumped onto the roof of the store. I looked down on the parking lot to see the kid walking to his fathers car. Seeing that made me miss my father. But I was watching the kid for another train of thought. The cards I thought and I herd Reamon’s voice. “The cards are what give the tamers power.” I turned around and look to see Renamon standing a few feet behind on another buildings roof well out of view. I put my broken bag in my new one and joined her out of sight. “I didn’t think you wanted to talk to me.” I said as she turned and took a few steps away.

“I didn’t, but I’m sure you had the rite intentions in mind while you where hunting.” Her quick forgiveness was a wash to me. I hadn’t even tried to get her trust back yet. Yet, here she was forgiving me, not in so many words but she was. “Why the sudden change of heart?” she turned slightly giving me the same one-eyed look I had started giving people.

“You where rite.” She said as I was left to pack my bag correctly. “About what?” I said as she turned around and faced me looking up to the sky at the same time. “About the champions.” About WHAT? I screamed in my head. “When!” I said looking at her seriously “Yesterday night, Maria picked up a Digimon signal in that direction,” she said as she pointed south, “It was one of the strongest Digimon I’ve ever fought. And it was only a rookie.” a rookie? I thought as I looked down. “So their not just champions are they.” She looked at me seeing me think out loud.

“Maria, wants to see you,” she paused as she curled a smile, “She says its important.” That made me look up with a smile as she jumped away. I smiled for a second then realizing I didn’t know where Maria lived. “Wait! I don’t know where...” before I could finish Renamon turned around mid jump and flagged me to fallow. She reminded me of the Renamon I knew so much, and the more I saw her the more she looked like her. Thinking about one memory of her made me change to Ryokumon. Or so I thought. Though the appearance was almost the same I wasn’t, “Ryokumon Digivolve to” I said with out knowing it. “Neo Ryokumon!”

Renamon looked back and stopped when she saw a light coming from me. She landed on a roof and watched me as I changed. When the light faded I was in the buff. Only thing I had on was my sword and sheathe and belt, pouch and my Digivice. I looked around to see my tail had healed and my fur was shinier, I just Digivolved! My new name was Neo Ryokumon, I looked pretty much the same but I was stronger and faster. I could feel it, with one jump I flew faster than a bullet beside Renamon.

I looked over at her, as she looked at me, “Ryoku?” she said seeing my speed.  I looked back to see a light trail of energy behind me soluted to the path I took and it faded. I looked down at me self and saw I was naked for all but my sword strap and belt. It didn’t feel like I was warring it though. “That was new.” I said as I looked myself over again.

“Lets go.” I said, talking to the tamers was more important than a Digivolve. Renamon looked at me in shock and then turned and jumped away. I let her get two jumps ahead and then I took one and meet up with her. “I thought that you would look more like my Kyuubimon form!” Renamon said as I caught up with her. I smiled at it glad to still look human “I think this form is special to me.” I didn’t think it was true but it could have. I even in the digital world never saw another Ryokumon. As we jumped a crossed the roves we started to head in different direction of the trailer park I seen Renamon at. “Where you watching some one?” she skipped beside me for a stride. “What?” she said then jumped off. The next odd jump and I asked “When I saw you on that church tower.” She stopped for a second and she weighted for me to jump to her. “That was the other tamers house, David. He lives in a rough place. His partner can’t stay with him in his small house. Watching his house I saw one reason why you hunted those humans.”

“Because they brake the law.” She nodded and looked out over the remaining roves to her tamers home. “I saw how he was pushed around in the day and realized why you did it.” I turned to her and put my hand on her shoulder, she looked up at me while I gave a sad look “but I shouldn’t have done it in the first place no matter how much good it could have caused. Humans are just as precious as Digimon, looking at you I know it.” she looked back at me with a tender gaze and lifted my hand up. “The tamers are waiting for us.” she said as she took a leap in the direction we where heading. For the rest of the trip we where completely quiet, only the sounds where of the city.

In ten minuets we mad our way a crossed half of the city. Renamon stopped in a small housing development park. The three tamers where there, and a third one I had never seen before. I gathered that the new one was David. Renamon was ahead of me by a few jumps which gave me a dramatic entry. I made a high jump doing a few flips then landing gracefully in a standing position. No applause please I thought as I settled in place.

“Ryoku?” Maria asked slightly interested in my newer form. “Is that you?” I looked down at myself to see not much difference, and not seeing what was so hard to comprehend about my Digivalution. “Its me.” I said looking back. The energy trail I had didn’t exist any more, must have just been a temporary thing.

“So what’s all the hub-bub.” I said as I placed my paws on my hips with a cocky smile. “You told us so how about you fill us in.” Maria said holding her self as angrily as she did before. “About the champions, oh rite,” I turned to the side and thought of every angle I covered, showing the new tamer my Digivice, “Well, I have a few things I want to ask. One, who battled what in the past few days and where. Two, was it news worthy. And three, did any of you hear a strange voice after your battle.” Two of the tamers thought about it while the third turned away. He looked to the sky for something I saw a little pink bird flying around above that looked out of place. “Is that…” I whispered to myself as the boy called over his Digimon. “Biyomon! Come here I need to ask you something.” I looked on as the small bird floated down a landed near me.

“You rang.” The male voice of the childish little bird said. It was slightly surprising, my Digimon memory knew there where male and female Biyomon. But my human side, which relied on my cards for the information, found it to be a gas. While the tamer repeated the question Renamon stepped up to me. “A strange voice, I did hear something besides the rookie.” The other two tamers besides Maria came to a conclusion.

“Devastation, Corruption.” Where the both of the answers they gave. “Two names?” I asked as I looked around. I thought I felt a shift of movement. “Yeah, Gizzy had to Digivolve to fight the rookie we saw.” Richy said as he looked to David and nodded at each other. “Biyo said he herd the same voice when he fought our rookie.” I looked over the tamers very strangely “What’s with the unknown killer here, didn’t they have names?” they all looked at each other and then back at me.

Richy scratched his head again, “Well, ah.” He started as Maria gave him a hard look. “Maria told us not to tell you, she still doesn’t trust you.” I gave a small low look to Renamons tamer and gave out. “What’s your problem?”

“Why should we trust you, I didn’t even pick up a champion. How do we know your not a part of all of these weird Digimon.” I continued my look. “And why would I be part of it, I’m a tamer too.” The tamer named David looked at me as I showed her my Digivice.

I turned away crossed look matched Maria’s as we faced away from each other. She had my personality; hopefully she wouldn’t turn out like I did. My human personality came out the most when I argued. David looked utterly stunned. “He’s a tamer?” he said as he looked to Richy. I turned away from Maria for a second seeing Renamon in the corner of my eye, casting a light giggle. I was acting a bit out of character. The familiar smile made me change there. My human form also brought on another bewildered look from David.

“How’d he do that?” David stuttered out. Richy lifted the burden of me repeating myself. “He merged with his Digimon when it came threw. Instead of having a tamer he is the tamer.” David looked back. The little kid was younger than the rest of the tamers so he put his finger to his lip and thought about it. “Did you know that he could do that Biyo?” he said in amazement. “I don’t think it would be to much fun, who would you play with then?” the little bird smiled back. I started to smile when another question came up.

“Then what was the name of your Digimon?” Maria said while I thought about it a little more I figured out she meant the Digimon I fought. “Dark Gargomon, and it was a weird one.” Maria turned around hearing the words. “Did it have a cross burned on it anywhere?” I nodded and turned to her. “Yeah it did. That was the weirdest thing next to how it looked.”

“I fought a Dark Agumon.” Renamon said while Biyomon said “And I had a Dark Tentomon.” I couldn’t place it but it sounded so familiar. “The TV show.” Richy said looking around for some one to listen to him. “It dose sound familiar, but I don’t think that’s it.” I said as I looked over all of the Digimon, “But stranger things have happened.”

Richy looked at me like I sounded like his dad. “I have a question Ryoku?” listening then asked after a short pause. “How old are you?” slightly scattered from the question. “About nineteen, why.” He sighed a little. “Nothing.” David asked the one innocent question, “What’s wrong with being old?” I’m not that old, am I? I thought as I felt a little red come on. “David, he’s almost twice your age!” Richy said in a wispier.

“I’m not that old!” I busted as Renamon started to chuckle again. “Actually you’re about 35 in Digimon years.” I stood there for a minuet and remembered how much Digimon aged in the digital world. I turned to her with a smile. “I’m about 21 in Digimon years, at least Ryokumon is anyway.” I didn’t risk asking Renamons age. After all you never ask a woman’s age, its not healthy. Maria started to smile from the little humor that was floating around.

Feeling a little stupid, I felt I should return a small bit of seriousness to the conversation. “So what kind of cards do you guys have.” Maria looked at me like I was a kid while the other two pulled their decks out and showed me their cards. They had a lot of cards and a lot of good ones in both of their decks.

“I left my card deck at home before I left.” I said as I put one hand behind my back in a slightly embarrassed smile. “Well where do you live?” David asked innocently. Remembering about what I left behind, made me think a bit, I watched the kid earlier that day and remembered my dad walking me to his car like that when I was young, but the new life I had didn’t have a place for that. “To far away.” I said as I turned to the sinking sun smiling at the memory of my life.

“Its getting late guys maybe we should call it a day. If we need to talk, I’ll come back here. I’m sure Renamon won’t have a problem finding me if its important, but as it is rite now we’re not getting any ware.” The tamers seemed to agree as set of nods went around and Richy started to walked David home. “I still don’t trust you.” Maria said as she turned to look at the others leave. “Renamon lets go.” She said as she walked off.

Renamon was still smiling a bit when she obeyed her tamers call. I watched he jump up to a rooftop and look back as she fallowed her tamer away. I waited there for the sunset and watched it as it faded away. The blanket of stars reminded me of Renamon, but I didn’t change. Recent memories didn’t seem to cause a change. I looked down at my self seeing I wasn’t in the buff anymore. My cloths where back. I looked down to where my Digivice and pouch where and saw they weren’t there. Thinking I might have dropped them, I looked around. Bending down with my sword proved to be an annoying task.

After looking for a few minuets I didn’t really find them, my Digivice some how slipped from my pocket where I had it before I changed. I herd it hit the ground while I was leaned over looking in another direction. When I felt it slip out of my pocket I started searching my new bag for my pouch. Finding it exactly where it was. “Interesting.” I said as I put it all back where it was.

I wonder how I did that? I thought thinking of where my cloths and things went. Being Neo Ryokumon all of my cloths and stuff just vanished but came back when I changed back to being human. All but my sword, pouch and Digivice where left. Stumped on the hole thing I tried to call it a night. I hung around the park for a while, hopping that Renamon would come back. I gave a little shot at her on the roof of the building near the surplus store; I almost got a word out of her, but as I waited I knew she wasn’t coming back. I felt a tune of romantics in me somewhere. It wasn’t from my human side I know that. Maybe Ryokumon was a bit of a shiner. If she wasn’t coming back then I should find a better place for the night.

I wandered around for a bit not going any ware till I found my self in my own neighborhood. I was thinking of my dad as I wandered along, and the thought of my home drew me back to my house. I looked around and thought about memories of my childhood in my house. I had lived there since I was born, after my mother died, I didn’t leave it for a full year past my dad dragging me to judo or school.

But living there had its good points; I made friends not to far away. I had a childhood I could look back on and smile. I looked up the street thinking how familiar it was. Comparing a house to its self of ware friends used to live before the moved away. Then I looked at the mailbox of the house I was on and realized I was sitting on my own roof.

My neighbor hood had been fixed up and it looked like Impmon hadn’t even been around. I sat down on the roof looking over the street with a smile. Knowing I was on my street I could see my memories like they where happening. Coming to grips with Ryokumon’s memories made me feel happy about them. But I couldn’t think of any thing better to do besides see my room. I looked down between my legs and saw my window. I made sure that my bag was shut rite and then grabbed on to the edge of my roof.

I flipped down and looked behind me at my window, a foot or so behind me. I carefully turned my self around one hand at a time. Sneaking into my house was fine and dandy but it was still braking and entering. In the back of my head I felt like I should go threw the door. But this was one instance where Ryokumon’s nature would let me go back to my old ways. A lot like braking into homes when I was with Eddy. I swung a little so I could reach the window. The screen was in place and I couldn’t get to the window. Getting a smug look as I thought I let go with my right hand and pulled my sword from my back and pried the screen from the window ceil. Plastic ribbons attached it so it wouldn’t fall to the ground when you pulled it out so it just swung to the side.

I smiled at how easy this was now. I swung a little again and lightly touched the window. With a little struggle I managed to hold the angled hand long enough to slide the window open. After that was done I removed the strain from my wrists and went back to a vertical hang. I did that with one hand, the other was still occupied with my sword, I neatly and quietly put it over my shoulder and felt the sheath till I found the hole and slid it in and pushed down till it clicked in place.

I put my hand back on to the edge of the roof and started to swing. In two swings I had enough speed to let go and fly threw the window. The curtains wafted as the breeze I made filled the room. It was dark but I could see.

To my surprise it was clean. All neat and tidy, not the way I left it if you can remember to the beginning. My desk was straightened and my bed was made. All of my little electronic toys and gadgets where laid out nice and neat on my night stand my alarm clock was sitting where it was in reach of my bed where I had it on a shelf. I didn’t always get up with the sun I slept in a lot. If I moved to turn of the alarm I usually got up. But it all was out of place. Shoes I had, my nice shoes. Not the ones I was warring obviously where arranged at the foot of my bed. I looked at my desk and saw a picture I had of my mom and dad. It was sitting in the hall before I left. But now it was sitting in front of my keyboard.

I stood up from my silent crouch landing and walked to it and picked it up. It was from a trip to the beach we took when I was five. One of the last pictures I had of my mother. My father loved her. We all where so close then, but since she died it all fell apart. It wasn’t her fault but after she was gone, my father and I just slipped apart. The sad thought brought a tear to my eye and it fell on the picture. I was thinking of the happier memories. But when that sad realization came to me a single tear slipped away. I saw it fall to the picture like a crystal drop.

I sat the picture down and sat on my bed and looked over my room. My dad must have cleaned it. I first thought he was tired of all the filth, but I knew he wasn’t that narrow. He missed me, and I missed him. He was all I really had, and I was all he had. Memories told me how much he cared. All I did was shove it in his face when he tried to love me.

I was a bad kid, but now I knew how much of a brat I was. I looked up for a way to tell him but couldn’t think of anything. I couldn’t go back to this life. I was a new person, but still I couldn’t leave it behind. I looked around my room seeing my printer and a cup of pencils. He found all of my lose pencils I thought as I went for one. I looked down on a few of my doodles I was looking for before I left. They sat under the cup with a letter.

I pushed the cup to the side and picked up the sheet. The small folded paper read out:

I’m impressed with the portfolio of work you sent over. You said these where throw away sketches? I have never seen recreations of characters this well in throw away.

My studio is interested in your work, call or write to:

Media vision ltd.

901 N Hampton blvd.

Mesa, Az, 85208

(480) 995-4502

If you say these are doodles I hope I can see some serious work.

Sincerely,

Richard More

Public Feed Back/Client Contact staff head.

All of the things I had in my notebook basically where here. Over the years some of my worse sketches where collected by my dad. Like I said, I use to imagine out little sketches in my head; some of them where so funny I had to draw them, and here they where. He sent them in. I didn’t picture myself as a serious artist. Some one else did though. I put the letter down and covered it back up with the pencil cup. I pulled a piece of paper from my printer and set it down on the desk.

I just wrote what I was thinking.

Dear dad;

Its me, been a while hasn’t it? Sorry I disappeared like that in the front room. I can’t imagine what went threw your head when I didn’t come home, but I’m writing this to tell you I’m still alive. Maybe I’ll come back soon, but rite now I’m a little busy with other things. I found the letter on my desk; I didn’t think you liked my drawings. But you kept them for me when I left them around the house.

Here I was thinking you where some kind of dick when all you where really doing was looking out for me. I can’ tell you how sorry I am, if I saw you I might not be able to leave again. That’s why I’m writing this. I understand now how much you care for me. Even though I didn’t give it back, I still love you. I won’t be home for a wile but don’t miss me like you do mom. I’ll come home soon, and I’ll make you proud of me somehow. Despite all I’ve done, I’ll make you proud.

Your son,

Ryoku

I didn’t put my name down it wasn’t mine anymore. I drew a little Ryoku head beside the signature in one of my typical smiley face poses with a peace sign in its visible hand. So he was sure I wrote it. I set the letter and the pencil down for a moment, and leaned over my desk. Writing it almost made me cry, because it was how I truly felt. Even in the spot of the moment it was all true.

I looked behind the arranged disks and things I had sitting on my desk and found the box of Digimon card I had been collecting for a while. It was a small tower by now and I was sure that I had more than enough here to help me in some way even though I wasn’t sure how to use them. I looked back down at the letter and to the cards. I’ll make him proud I thought as I started to shove the cards in my bag.

I herd a gentle thump coming down the hall towards my room. Thinking nothing of it till the door opened. I looked eye to eye with my father for an instant, neither of us saying a word. When he started to cry I held up the letter and he took it from my hands with a quivering touch. I felt a few tears come up as he lowered it. I jumped to the window ceil and looked back. My sword was hanging from my back as I did. And I felt a bold urge to stop, and another to go. I obeyed the one to leave but not before I gave him a thumbs up and a smile.

I jumped from the window with a streak and landed on the roof of the house a crossed the street as he looked at me. I stood proudly looking at him. I had one hand on my hip as I looked at him rushing to the window. Tears where running down my face but I held up my hand for him to read the letter. He looked it over quickly and shouted.

“I am proud!” in a horse sad but joyful voice. I herd the words and turned away I closed my eyes, for the thought of leaving and not coming back. “Trust is earned, and I promise I’ll come back. Trust me.” I shouted as I changed to Neo Ryokumon leaving behind a glimmering trail of energy.

For now he was my strength, my shining word, and the true power of my blade. I’d return again someday. It was a promise not only to a friend, but to my father and for all the trust he had in me I was coming back. To my strength, my shining sword…

A Warriors Promise

I jumped a crossed the roves for a few hours till the sun came up. I was crying even though I was happy, I was going to go home someday. It was a promise. I found a supermarket roof at sunrise and watched the sun peek out from over the mountains in an array of light.

My tear soaked eyes and my fur blurred it to new tones and shimmering beauty. I wiped my eyes with my glove and watched as a few cars passed around below me. My father was proud of me. I knew it now. I had him to thank for my life. I looked down at a few people on the ground a few of them looked back up seeing me in my fur didn’t seem strange to them. I was pretty high up so they might have thought I was in some kind of jump suit or something.

I wasn’t ready to leave for a while. I watched the sun climb into the sky for an hour blinking every now and then so I didn’t go blind. I managed to stop crying after I watched it for so long. And noticed that a few people on the ground where staring at me. I didn’t get a cold chill from them, almost getting over that by now, I did feel stupid standing over a ledge of a building watching the sun like in the ending of some bad romance movie. I took a step away from the ledge and almost came face to face with a few employees of the store.

I stopped before I took a step and let my tail sway from side to side over the edge of the building. “Hey guy what’s with the costume?” on of the stronger looking men said as they all moved around me. I reached down and grabbed a paw full of fur and gave it a small tug. “Real thing.” And smile as I whipped my tail around and jumped off the roof. I came down in the center of the people and couldn’t jump away instantly. I had to look around to make sure I didn’t decapitate some one when I jumped away.

It wasn’t that hard, they all parted for me when I jumped off the roof. A few gasps and some children laughing, probably thinking it was fun, And I jumped away. I cursed my self for letting my Digimon form be seen and sat in a tree a few miles away for a few hours. Since it was done I let it drop and went back to more pressing thoughts.

When I changed to my Digimon form I went back to being Neo Ryokumon. I wasn’t sure why, or how, but my cloths where gone again. When I changed back to my human form I was dressed and all my things where back to where I had them. Digivice, bags, every thing. The pouch, which at the time held no purpose, was still sitting on my belt. It looked empty then. But now it had something in it. I unsnapped the button on it and found my cards where in it. I pulled one from the front of the pouch and pulled it to my face.

“Status Zero” I read the defending Digimon will lose all status changes when this card is put into play. I pulled the next card out and read it “Reverse Status” it said the attacking Digimon will suffer the status changes all ready applied to the defending Digimon removing them from the defending Digimon. These where some of my best cards, I had a lot of Digimon cards but as I went threw my deck I didn’t find any of them. All of the cards I had where status, defense and attack cards. They where all shuffled up, and there where far more than the sixty cards for a normal deck in the pouch; it was better for me even though I wasn’t sure how to use them.

If the tamers do use the cards then how could I? I thought as I looked at the card between my two fingers. I saw a little black strip running up one side. Kind of like a bankcard or something. I put the card back into my deck and pulled my Digivice from my belt with the same in depth investigation. On the opposite side of the buttons was a small slit, it was a card reader, I pulled another card out of my pouch and looked at it. “Super Speed” is what it read and the name was self-explanatory. Not that I needed anymore speed but I gave it a shot. Holding my Digivice in front of my face I put the black strip into the slit. It seemed to fit well enough. I pulled it down and looked around seemingly noting had happened.

I looked around at the world already moving in slow motion from my perspective and just put the card away. It seemed to flap from a hard breeze when I did it. When I stopped the card moved slower till it came to a complete stop. Wow, I though while I looked around. The world was moving slower than normal. A bird in the distance was just floating, almost at a stopped speed; like a raindrop migrating down a slightly slanted surface. I clipped my Digivice to my belt and jumped up to the tip of the tree. I was a little to heavy for it but it only sank a little bit while I looked around.

“Something defiantly happened.” I said out loud hearing a slowed speech. I jumped to the ground and looked around at the street I was on. There where no people out side but I could see them in their windows doing their own things and just basically unaware to my presence. I jumped up to a rooftop a few streets over. My acquired speed seemed to magnify my strength as well. But it felt more like low gravity than speed. I looked around the roves and saw a little black dot bouncing up in mid jump over a field of roves.

I jumped and jumped till I finally caught up with it. Impmon was jumping as hard as he could with a panicked look on his face. I looked down to the street to see a few people on the ground taking aim with a few high-powered rifles. Impmon, what the hell did you get your self into? I thought as I jumped up and picked his slow moving body from the air. I fell down with him in my arm while he was still almost unaffected by me moving him.

I jumped a few blocks away, a devilish grin on my face. Now getting the hang of the cards potential, and set Impmon down, all of a sudden the cards affects wore off. The world took a big jump in speed and Impmon started to unleash a fearful wale. I set him down and he started kicking around. “DON SHOOT!” he said as he looked back on concrete then swung back around to me. He huffed for a few seconds then realized he was out of harms way.

“You? What are you doen here?” he said as he looked around to see the alley I brought him to. I smiled at him and asked a question in reply. “What where you doing, and why where those people going to shoot you?” he looked at me wondering how he got there and then decided to answer. “You herd rite?” he said as he rubbed hi burnt hand on his hip. I looked at him for a second. “About what?” I said in an accusing look. I gave him a playful tone and he started to blush. “Well, uh… some one kinda saw me puten one over on der street.” He said as he closed his eyes and gave a black face a red blush. “Yeah I’ve herd, but why where they going to shoot you?” he looked up and smiled from the corner of his mouth with a little fake laugh. “I kinda blew up someone’s car on dat street.” I couldn’t help but bend over and laugh.

“HEY! Dis is my life we’re talking about!” he said getting angry at my hysterical laugh. “Let me guess the kind of car you blew up, it had a big trailer on the back, possibly a ladder and some tools in the back.” He looked the other way. “Maybe.” I snickered and tried to keep a straight face. “You just pissed off a cowboy. He’ll probably have the entire south west looking for you in a few weeks.” I bluffed sending a shiver up his back.

“Maybe you should just leave the city for a while till he calms down, that is unless you feel like getting shot.” He tapped his chin for a minuet and thought about it. He then popped up one of his three fingers in his glove. “Tanks for da tip Fox-o.” he said as he gave me a kind of salute then jumped up the building. Cackling all the way up, I could hear him even after he vanished over the edge of the roof. I took one jump straight up and soared above the roofline and watched as Impmon made a b-line to the city boarder.

Oh was he going to be mad when he got back. The people couldn’t do anything. He wasn’t human, they couldn’t even put him in jail! It was true that at least one person would be looking for him. And those rifles they had might just catch up with the little bugger.

I let him run away, and as he did I jumped a crossed the rooftops with a demented smile. I was saving a bunch of people a headache by getting rid of him, and maybe even some money. I looked over the roves and saw the street that the Dark Gargomon, tore up. The thought was still fresh in my mind but I was able to deal better now. I looked out over it and thought of what I would have done If my dad was here. I don’t see why he would have though. He never went to stores like that. But the thought of losing him still scared me.

I looked over the street from the roves, it wasn’t roped off now but most of the stores where closed. I didn’t expect anything else, but there where some life around. A few people put flowers at the store doors. Others where hanging around looking drunk and lost. I looked down on it a little saddened, the holes in the walls where repaired. I could tell by an uneven chain of wall putty that ran a crossed the face of the buildings.

As I looked down on it feeling angry and tossed then My Digivice beeped. I couldn’t breath for a second. The long fur on my chest straightened out and stood on end. While the rest of my body cringed, what a power I thought as a wave of the emerging Digimons energy hit me. I gritted my teeth from the power. I was stronger than it in the range of energy. But I felt a bitter surge of evil strength.

I pulled up my Digivice up from my belt and I looked into it, the hologram popped up and displayed static again. “Here we go…” I said as I jumped away. I fallowed the signal around thinking about weather the tamers would get the signal or not. Maria said she didn’t even know about my last battle. With this Digimon it might be a toss up weather I could defeat it. I felt the power like it was twisted around. But it felt familiar.

I fallowed the sense of the Digimon around town, I fallowed it more than I fallowed my Digivice. The power was so dangerous I didn’t have long to get to it. It took me three minuets as fast as I could to clear the city. The signal appeared a few miles out into the dessert, at last a battle away from people! I thought as I sprinted a crossed the rough tattered asphalt. I looked out over the dessert sands to see threw the plants and dry grasses to see the large over intensified fog.

I had to stop at the edge of the fog and look back at the road. There where a few cars driving in both directions, but if anything happened it they where far enough away I was sure that if anything came out of the fog besides me, then they would have enough time to dodge it. I gritted my teeth and my fur started to stiffen again. I took one step into the Digital Fog and closed my eyes as I entered.

As I walked to the center I herd the familiar voice call out in a sinister laugh, sinister because there is no other way to explain it. “CORUPTION!!” it shouted. This time the sound rang next to my ears from all around. A blast of wind came up and a bubble of air in the center formed. I wasn’t to it yet but I could feel the strong force emerging, its clouded evil becoming more clear with each step. I opened my eyes and saw the Dark blood red glow of its eyes emerge first, and then a muzzle twisted up to an evil fang ridden smile. As the form came from the static I saw a braded main. It had a white cross on one of its long ears on an earring. The charm was smaller than the Dark Gargomon’s

The beast, now fully emerged, looked like a Leomon, but this one wore cloths. “Hello, Digimon.” It said, not as brainless as the last. It gave a mocking bow as it said those words in a smirkish tone. It wore a black repaired leather jacket. Stitches where running up all over it, like it had been completely torn apart.  It had on black pants that where torn out at the knees, the fabric wafted in a non-existent breeze and on his back, he held a sword much longer than a normal Leomon’s.

“Who are you?” I said once again feeling a wave of energy spray from him. “I am a servant of Corruption.” He said keeping his tone in tacked as his eyes stopped glowing but remained totally red. “Who or what is Corruption?” I said trying to stand still. His power grew little by little, overpowering my ability to stand still. “It is my lord. And it has told me much about you Ryokumon.” I smiled at the misconception. The only thing I could smile at that time. “Neo Ryokumon.” I said as I put my right paw on the grip of my sword.

A low chuckle came from nowhere in the fog and the Digimon smiled at it and looked directly at me while the voice gained in volume. “So, Ryokumon. You managed to Digivolve all by your self, did you. Quite lucky for you. What you see before you is one of my more powerful minions. His Corruption is his power. I know you can feel it. They all can. Now taste my power threw him. Attack my child.” The voice said as it started to cackle madly. I still had my hand on my sword, but I was looking elsewhere for the voice. As I moved my head it seemed to fallow my movements. The Leomon’s eyes gleamed again as he reached around and pulled his blade out. I herd the sound of its metal sliding out and I quickly pulled mine out as well. It opened its mouth and from that moment on had a dead stair on like the Gargomon.

“Dark Leomon!” it said in a voiceless scream. No change in his style as he started to circle. He held his blade behind his back and had one paw forward. I saw that on the forward hand on the leather straps where spikes. curved and bent, used recently. The solid spicks shined even from their defects and he waved them back and forth as he came around shrinking his circle with one step at a time as he walked around.

I tried to get a look at his blade, but he had it hidden behind his back. All I could see was the tip of the black metal. The shine it cast was like a worn instrument, like chipped paint or dented plastic. It didn’t look like metal. I put my sword out in front of me in an attacking position and watched his posture for a weak point to move in. the movements where so polished and fluid I only saw one weak point in the shoulders. He liked to bob his head back and forth as he stepped, but his raised hand also guarded it.

He didn’t give me any indications of strength then. I knew he was a very strong Digimon from both experience and reading about him on my cards. But with how the Gargomon moved. It was going to be a hair line battle. I needed to see how he defended so I brought my sword up, faked a defensive posture, and charged at him like I was making room. on my way past him he drew back a punch and screamed “FIST OF THE BEAST KING!” and a flaming lions head soared past me. I rolled away from it and swung my sword trying to get a pieces of him. His arm that he attacked with was the ones with the knuckle spikes on it. He didn’t have time to draw them back completely and the down slash of my blade caught most of the spikes and dropped the thick metal to the ground.

He still didn’t show me his sword. It barely moved from the position he had it. Some thing told me he was saving it. He turned his paw to his face, glanced down to the missing knuckles, and then to the ground as the small bits of metal faded away. I looked at his posture as it changed from the bounce of the head to a low crouch like walk around. I knew this was an upward attack stance. But the movements it let him make, no matter how powerful where, limited to effective upward attacks. This left his legs open. Instinct knew my attacks, and somewhere out side of conscious thought, I called one out.

“Shining Slash!” I screamed as I ducked down to get a shot at his feet. Here was the example of speed I needed. The large Digimon agilely jumped overhead and came down with his de-spiked fist pounding them into the soft dirt kicking up dust near my face. His punch would have been dead on if I hadn’t lured him into the position so I could roll away.

I was almost done sizing him up.  I knew his swordsmen ship was perfect. And Leomon where very prone to use them over any of their other attacks. But for some reason he still kept the sword behind him. I had seen his defense, by moving him. He was fast but not as fast as I was. I could get behind him if I wanted to but I need to see what kind of range he had with his sword. I put my sword away with a smile and the Digimon rushed at me when I gave that movement. I stepped to the side while he called out another Fist of the Beast king. I looked to his sword to see what he was hiding. In that small instant I saw his sword.

It wasn’t fully blacked out. To the hilt of the blade it was shiny white steel. Much like mine, until it meet the black. It looked like paint in a few spots but also it looked like its dark color ran threw the blade, I saw this from the shine it made as it crossed the black. He turned around quickly with a dash, knowing I saw his blade, and flipped it over in his hand and held it in front of him while he laughed. “The power of Corruption!” he growled in a laugh. While he said it the black part started to throb and go further down the sword. I put up my arms and held them out like I had just pushed him. My palms where down and I looked at him while I concentrated on gathering energy. The Lion was far away but he saw the light come from my paws and held his sword with both hands.

I growled hard as my mind focused the energy and I shouted “DIAMOND SHARDS!”  and raised my palms up while bright pieces of energy like diamonds flew from my hands like a shot gun. The Digimon quickly made flashes of movement, deflected the lot of it, and let them harmlessly vanish like a wisp of smoke. I saw the motion but couldn’t believe it. it was so fast that he could have cut them all in half with out effort. This was a battle I needed some support on. I reached for my sword ripping it from its sheath with a trail of sparks as it grinded the dents from its surface a crossed the metal sheath.

This was a battle for our blades. “You can’t. I will destroy you!” he snarled out in a twisted smile. I took my sword and a position of attack behind me in both hands and charged at him. He was less than five feet away, he couldn’t side step. He could defend with his sword but risk getting hit when I completed my swing. Before official striking distance I raised my blade and jumped to him. he dropped his almost to the ground and it screamed up in a dark band of energy came from it in the shape of a crescent.

My blade took most of it but the wave kept coming and started to push me to the edge of the fog. “Lord Slash.” He spat after his attack. I had my sword flat to me in a cutting motion, the flat side of it caught the force of his attack forcing it to my chest. My sword also seemed to absorb most of the blast as well.

After I hit the ground I rolled to the edge of the fog. I would have rolled out but some kind of field kept me from leaving. I rolled to it and hit it hard. I was looking forward at my opponent and put my paw back to lift my self up and felt something like a wall, there was a slight charge running threw it. When I pressed my paw to it there was a tingle and it made me pull it away.

It was a good hit on the Leomon’s part but I wasn’t out of it just yet. Its skill was almost to much for me. I could see what kind of attacks it had. Its “lord Slash” I hadn’t even herd of. I pushed myself up with my sword and made it to my feet with a little struggle. It felt like I had a welt below my fur and it made it hard to breath. “Stronger than you look.” It grinned with a mindless voice. “Thanks, I try.” I grinned back.

Me knees almost didn’t want to hold under me so I stayed in a crouch while, wile I caught my breath. It sounded familiar saying that, a friend I knew in the Digital World had said that same thing to me. I took a deep breath and tried to stand, I wanted to end this. He wasn’t playing seriously, if I had a chance to make a clean shot at him I needed to make it now. I was going to make a charge, but my mind thought to the cards.

I couldn’t beat him alone, and it didn’t look like I was going to get any help from the tamers. They probably didn’t even get the signal. If they did they wouldn’t get here in time. I popped the button on my cards and pulled up a card. “Specters Hand” was all I had a chance to read before the Leomon made a charge at me. I looked up over the card to see the Leomon charging at me sword over his head ready to chop down on me.

I ducked to the side and the edge of his blade came down on an arrow shaped tuft of fur I had on my shoulder. It took a snip off and the data that was removed vanished like smoke in the wind. I didn’t have time to read it. I just flipped it to the reader on my Digivice and swiped the card threw. Looking down to do it Leomon made another cross slash at me. And just as the card went threw I felt it pass threw me. There was no pain or even a change. What I did notice after that was I was floating. AHH! I’m dead! I thought as I looked at me hand and could see threw it.

I looked over to my sword in my hand and could see threw it as well. I wasn’t dead I was transparent. The Leomon took another swing at me and it went rite threw me. I wasn’t even disturbed! I looked at the card in my hand and read it over quickly. When this cad is activated, the defending Digimon can not be affected by physical attacks. When attacking ½ damage will be dealt for each attack and added status changes. Draw backs yes, but I don’t think it would be that much of a problem. I took a slash at Leomon and my sword almost went solid. He held up his sword to block and with a little effort I went threw it.

“Pay back.” I smiled as I started swinging at him. Each powerful swipe went threw his sword but sent a stream of sparks out. Some of them where close enough on the inside to cut his jacket. He took a jump back wards and I tried to get over to him, but floating took a serious dip in my speed. I gritted my teeth and looked on as he drew back his arm. “Fist of the Beast King” he called and a flaming lion head hit me. I was to cocky to understand the card. “Only physical” attacks didn’t work. The attack hit me in the center of the chest then past threw me. It hurt like hell. I was still floating but in a arched over position trying to breath.

Oh crap I thought as I looked on, he was getting the hang of my little on the spot strategy. I could float around but I was so slow that if he gave me another special attack it wouldn’t matter, and I didn’t know how long this card would last. But I had to try to make the best of it. I floated as close as I could and started to deal some damage. He defended as best he could but a few ghost slashes where getting threw and making contact with flesh.

I could feel some of my speed coming back, this card wasn’t to long off before it would give out and I had to fight the old fashion way. But with the damage I was giving it may not be enough. I felt the cards powers start to fade as I came up for a good cut. I was a few feet over his head and I felt my speed come back. I didn’t look at me self but I knew I was solid.

I fell down like a brick from a two-story building. I came down with a scream and gripped my sword as I came down to his one handed grip on his. He faltered for a second and his grip deteriorated far enough for me to push around and catch his earring.

He gave out a shout of pain as I cut into the soft metal and pushed me away. The push had so much power behind it that it slammed me into the Digital Fog. The wall of energy screamed up my back and shot me off while my back smoked from the contact. I saw how he was affected by the hit to his earring. I may not have under stood it but it was an opportunity. One of the only things I could see that he left open. Getting to it would be a challenge though.

He slumped down a little from it now about the same as I was, I was weak but still in game. “Your move.” I said as I huffed from the ground standing defensive. I held my sword in front of me. He still had a lot of power but his strength took a hit from the nick in his earring.

“Enough!” the voice called from over head, “Finish this now!”  The Leomon stood straight up and a charge of energy ran threw him, I could see his earring repair its self and the rips in his jacket heal. He stood in stance like it was the beginning of the battle. He may be fully charged but I had the advantage. I may have been a little drained but I knew his weakness.

I charged at him while he was still sparking and started to swing at his earring the little dangling cross was hard to aim for while Leomon leaned and dodged. We slammed and sparked our sword while the darkness of his blade throbbed and grew. No sparks came from the impacted in the darkness. When it met his light metal a spree of desperate sparks like the metal was trying hard to resist the dark growing section.

As I beat down with all my strength he blocked every attack, but doing so was forcing him to the ground. “GHAAAAAAA! SABER SLASH!” I screamed out as I swung a crossed a spider web band of energy came out and wrapped around him. I pulled away and a spark ignited the band like a fuse. The sparks sent a vain scream while the thin wire wrapped around him. He tried and tried but couldn’t brake it I had to pull away so I could send the spark a crossed it. So I made the last charge. As I aimed for the earring he looked up and saw me coming.

He may have been a little busy pulling and tugging on the band of energy, but he still had enough strength and energy to block my rush at his ear. The cross slash I made struck the dark portion for the first time making sparks, forcing the black metal to recede. It also gave it a good push to the side catching the small earring at the link connecting it to his ear. He was pushing me back with one hand but it was to late the power was gone.

His grip sank and his ear was removed. He fell over but he didn’t dissolve. He gasped as the dark forces left him. Falling to his knees I saw as the ear disappeared as it flew threw the air. On his head the rest of the ear lightly disintegrated till it came to a scab like stop.

“You have cards and talent.” The sinister voice laughed as I found my way to my feet. I looked around again seeing the fog move like jell-o as the voice continued to speak. “ very good. I might still have a use for you after all.” I put my sword to the ground and looked around seeing a smile develop on the Digimon’s face rite before it changed back to a normal Leomon, “Who are you, what use did I have for you?” I said as I raised my fisted paw, calling him out.

“You will find out in time, if you can remember.” It faded in a laugh just like it had before, letting the Digital fog vanish as it turned to white and vanished. I looked down at the tied and wounded Leomon on the ground and then back at the road. A small fire was burning in a dry plant next to the road. But no one was hurt. Cars past and one was stopped trying to beat the growing flame down before they grew to a brush fire.

The Digimon on the ground was bigger than I was but I could still pick him up. I needed answers and since he was still alive he was going to give them to me. I put my sword back in place and picked him up. I put him over my shoulder and looked for some out of the way place for questioning. I found a small hole in the ground a few hundread feet away it went down pretty far but came to a floor. I set the Digimon down on the ground and pulled the cord destroying it. I felt somewhere that he was back to normal.

Even though he was a Digimon, prey, Ryokumon didn’t want him. I sat confused as I thought about it. my tail was twitching and my back hurt. But my mind was on his voice. He was so scarily familiar. I sat on my heels for a few minuets while he recovered then looked down at my pouch to see that the card had returned to the back of my deck. It was slightly sticking out to show like it had already been used.

I pushed the thought away and remembered the voice again. The Leomon behind me was a friend I left behind I could feel it, the reason I felt the energy was twisted was because it was so familiar. I wanted to be Ryokumon when he woke up but I didn’t know how. Every change I had made from human to Digimon brought me back to Neo Ryokumon. That aside from losing my cloths for a while was really screwing with me.

I pulled my sword from my back and looked at it. it was changed too. It wasn’t the designer blade I had before it was like a thick saber, but was the same size and thickness of the other sword. I wondered what my Sheathe looked like so I pulled it from the loops on my back. As I did I felt a weakening sense come over me. My cloths came back and I was Ryokumon. The sword I held in my hand was back to the Titanium Katana. Well that was one problem down. I tapped my pockets and fond my Digivice where I left it. and I knew I didn’t have to look for the rest of my things they where going to be right where I left them. I turned around seeing Leomon rubbing his head hissing in pain as he came a crossed his missing ear.

“Leomon?” I said in Ryokumon’s Voice. “Ryokumon? Is that you?” he said as he blinked. “What are you warring?” he said as he looked me over. I gave a little smile “Its been a long time my friend.” He stuck out his paw and I stuck out mine. “Yes it has.” He said as we shook each others hands at the wrist. He fell back in pain and I felt I should explain a bit.

“I’m sorry for cutting off your ear. It seemed to be the only way.” He looked at me like it was ok. “I’m sure you did what you had to.” He said as he cringed. “What happened to you anyway?” I said as I sat back on a rock and looked up at the sky threw a small hole in the cave like hole. “It was Corruption.” I dropped one ear from the answer, I still didn’t know who he was. “Who is corruption?” I said as he tried to sit up. “HE, or I should say, they. Are two evil entities in the digital world. For a wile now they have been infecting any Digimon they find. I was in a Salamon village protecting them from a few of their corrupted Digimon when I was captured. They do horrible things to you, playing with you until they feel like getting around to infecting you with their evilness. I spent two years in their strong hold in the dessert plains. And then all I can remember is serving them.” He said as he put on a smile then let it fade while he talked.

“Are they Digimon?” I asked. “No, I don’t know what they are. I don’t know of any Digimon that can do the things they did. They are just evil devils that have invaded the digital world.” He clinched his stomach in pain and I leaned over him. “Whats wrong?” I said not touching him but letting my hands hover over him. “An old wound.” He smiled up at me. “They still have me. Please finish our battle here. For the sake of my sole finish it, I’m not supposed to serve evil.”

I opened my mouth in a shrill pant and cried “What why!? You can fight it Leo!” he reached his arm up and showed me his leather straps on his hands. The small spicks where groing back. there was no cross but I could feel his energy twisting. “You cant fight it. not alone. I can resist it, but it will take me again and there will be nothing you can do. TAKE ME BEFORE…” he said as his eyes started to turn red. “DO IT!” he screamed as he pulled his hand from his stomach and lunged weakly at me. I picked up my sword and unsheathed it. I thought for a minuet then stabbed down into the center of his back where another cross was forming. He gasped and felt almost limp.

“One last battle, eh Ryokumon?” he smiled up. I crouched down and put my face near his. “One last battle.” I said as I started to cry. He smiled and looked at me. “You never cried then, but your crying for me. You are a true friend R-Ryo…..” his head fell and he started to vanish my sword started to glow as his energy came to it. all that was left after he vanished was a small whit silver looking cross cut in half on the ground on either side of my sword. It vanished in a red puff and then he was gone.

I slumped back and cried. He was a friend and a comrade, we fought off many Digimon together, but his last words before I left where “one last battle.” And that’s what we had. He was so much stronger than I was in that battle but he resisted enough for me to defeat him. He was in control for most of it. What dark forces where doing this. Two different names and he identified two different powers. I was going to find them. But getting back to the digital world was going to be a challenge.

But it stands I have many promises to keep. I fulfilled one at the cost of a friend. I have many more to honor. But the one that I’ll keep closest to my hart is I’m coming home someday and in a sense I was going home to the digital world to avenge Leomon.

It is a promise…

Lost loves

I sat there for a while just crying till I didn’t make a sound. I lost him, another friend. He was one of the best friend Ryokumon, and I had ever known. It was a long time before I even moved. I looked up to see the night sky hearing voices talking as the walked past. I didn’t say any thing but one of them said my name. “Ryoku! Ryoku! Where are you?” it was the voice of Renamon. I looked up and saw here standing over the hole in the ground. She looked around for a while, sniffing the air fallowing my scent then down. To the depths seeing the light glow of my sword dug into the dirt like a memorial.

“Ryoku? Are you down there?” she called down. I didn’t say anything I just starred up with a tear running down my muzzle. She knew I was down there so she jumped down the rocks and landed behind me sword. I was still looking up when she landed, she saw the look I had on and just sat there and watched me cry for a while.

“I left a lot behind in the Digital world.” I said as I looked from the sky to her. I had to talk. So I could recover some thought. “I left a lot.” She stood there and looked at me as a hopeless smile came to my lips. I looked over her in the gentle glow of my sword. It added a angelic shimmer to the air. Seeing her threw it reminded me of the Renamon I left again. “Friends, maybe even some family,” I paused while I whipped my muzzle with the back of my paw. “But when you have to fight a friend to release him. Its different.”

I thought about the glow and how it still lit up the hole. “Leomon, he wanted to die.” I said and I put my head down trying to hide a new tear. “He was possessed, and I released him. Death, what a release.” I chuckled. She leaned out and touched the sword not believing what I was saying. “Leomon…” she said quietly as she touched the grip, sending a small white spark from it like a tear.

“Its Leomon.” She said quietly. I looked up at her she had a saddened look like she under stood. “I knew him,” she paused, “But how do you?” I remembered the band of memories of our battles, Leomon and I defended so many innocent little Digimon together. Stopped so many from hurting each other, “one more battle” I repeated while a tear crested my nose. “That’s, what he said. What he said when he left.” She said as she looked at me tender again.

“That’s what, he said to me before he left.” I said still looking at me feet. “Ryokumon? In the dessert plain. Did you.” She paused. “Did you leave a mate behind?” I looked up hearing the words. “Renamon. My starlight. I left her there, with my friend to watch them when I left.” I said as I held back a tear. She looked down for a moment at the sword and it started to sing. A familiar melody, mysteriously changing tones, something I used to sing. Renamon waited for a moment and started to sing with the melody. “my one, my only. My shining star. A crossed, the sky, you fly. I see the night, no sound no fight, I look and see, my shining star.”

I looked up and listened, she sang it alone till I joined in, that was the only line we knew and we repeated it over and over again. The sword stopped glowing slowly and let us sing alone. Its song stopped and it fell silent like its sole went to sleep.

Renamon gazed at me while she sang then her voice started to crack. She fell to her knees and started to cry. She didn’t cry much, but I could tell they where tears of joy. “I thought I lost you.” She said as she leaned back. She brought her head back and showed me a big smile and a joyful tear ran down her face. I smiled at her tear. I knew I found her. “My Starlight?” I cried in a horse voice.

She nodded and started to stand and walk over to me. Then a voice called out from overhead. “Renamon? Did you find him?” I stopped short of a tender moment from the shock of the voice. Maria was walking around on the surface. Renamon wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up. Her tamer was standing over the hole but she was looking around on the ground. Renamon already standing up and picked my sword from ground. Another spark came from the grip and fell away like a tear. She looked at it for a second and tried not to cry again. She walked it over to me in her paws and handed it down to me. “He is always with you. He told me that friends never leave. They stay by you threw all time.” The sword gave a shine in the lightless corner of the hole, agreeing with her. I took it by the grip and could feel him, like I was holding his hand. He wasn’t gone, he was part of my sword.

“I’ll come back to you.” She said as she put her paw on my shoulder. I looked up at her and yearned for her lips pressed to mine. But she turned around and walked to the spot of light that flooded the floor of the hole. She looked back at me then jumped to the surface. I sat there in a mix of joy and sadness From losing a friend in body and finding a love.

It wasn’t over for that night and I knew it. She was coming back to me again. I had so much to ask, to know, to tell. I couldn’t tell much, since I came threw to the real world. My memories have been a jumbled mess. But since I knew she was my love it didn’t matter. She was here and it was all I needed. But having her was crossed between my human nature. I though she was a sight, a defiant beauty, but there where other things bothering me. I held my sword, now it had a name.

“Leo,” I said out loud. Watching a shine cross the blade. “so you meet those bullies in person. Did you?” another shine crossed the blade. “Are you still strong enough to talk?” I said watching the blade. A gloss crossed the edge of it. “That a no?” I said as I smile at it wit a tear. A second passed and another shine crossed the center of the blade.

“Your still with me friend, so ill let you sleep.” I said as I pulled the sheathe from the ground near me. I put Leo away and looked to the ground where I had taken his body. “Its been a long time.” I herd the blade sing in the sheath as I said it, and I smiled from the happy tone it made.

It was fate, all of this was fate. Fate gave me a Digimon partner and a form. Fate gave me a friend, and forced me to take him away. Luck kept him with me, but fate did the rest.  Fate gave me my love back. What happened was all fate. It’s gone this far so I would let my adventure play out a little further.

I sat for hours in the hole, with Leo a crossed my lap. I thought about what Leomon went threw in the digital world after I left. If there where many more on those things wandering around. They where so strong, barely capable of thought on there own; watching Leomon fight, all he could do was that, fight. Before he was given a command by that sinister voice he almost seemed to have a mind. He was a slave, little more than a drone.

I had a slight interrupted thought when morning came around. There where cars passing, but my interruption of thought came from Renamon. “Its like our burrow.” She said as she looked at the hole. “Its not a very safe place in this world.” I said as I looked away from Leo’s sheath. “When the rains come it would probably flood my Starlight.” She smiled at the pet name and walked over to me. “I always knew you’d come back to me.” She said as she sat next to me. She looked over to me with a caring gaze. “I always planed on returning.” I said as I turned to her. “You lie badly, Ryoku.” She said as she leaned over and put her head on my shoulder. “That’s my name here. Until I can find one that fits me better.” She looked up at me and watched ad I let a tear roll down my muzzle.

“What’s the matter?” she said as she placed her arm over my chest and held my other shoulder. I didn’t want to say it but having her here was so new to me, first love all over again, but I didn’t know who I was. “I haven’t got a name. Who I was is lost now.” She ran her paw over the tufts on my shoulder and smiled at me. “You’ve changed, but you are still my love. I know you’re confused, but I know that soon ill see what you’ve become.” Her voice made my waver vanish. “I know your rite, but the pain of losing you is still there. Here I remember you but I never felt you. Now you’re here and it’s like a dream.” She just sat there for a while. “It’s a dream that won’t end.” She said after a while. I just looked down feeling contented and pleased.

“I won’t leave you again.” I said as I looked down. “Doing it was the hardest thing I ever did.” I just starred into her fur, she looked back up at me, in a longing gaze. “It was hard for me too.” She said while we just looked at each other. I finally looked down and felt Leo vibrating in my lap. The gentle movement was more like a pager going off. “What is it Leo.” I said, now that I remember it felt like I was calling a dog. My sword hummed and buzzed and crated worried tone. Hard to understand, I know it is now that I understand him. but then It was just all movement and sound.

The sword moved around in my lap till it found its way pointing off my lap to the hole. I leaned over getting the drift and looked up to a shadow being cast on the wall of the hole. I looked back at Renamon and waved my paw while I stood up. I made a crawl to the light, the morning light was shining down not directly but enough to cast a defiant shadow. I looked up to see Richy blushing as he listened. “Where you listening to that?” I called up.

“Oh, uh, hi Ryoku.” He said as he laughed in embarrassment, “Sorry but Maria was wondering where Renamon was. Well now I know.” He said as he stood up brining down a few rocks while he pushed up. One hit me in the head, it hurt but it was an accident. “Sorry, sorry.” He said while he leaned back over with one hand in front of his face. “Ah don’t worry about it, but do me a favor.” I said as I rubbed the lump I had. “Yeah, sure I guess. What’s that.” He said. Still rubbing my head. “Tell her you found her, but don’t tell here what ever you just herd. OK?” he looked down at me like it was the least he could do for dropping those rocks on me. I was about to crawl away when I popped up and asked. “What DID you hear any way?” he looked back down in a neon red and forced out in a laugh. “Stuff I think I’m to young to under stand.”

“One more thing. How did you get out here?” he looked back down. And simply said. “I have a bike.” I crawled back to the back of the hole and sat there. I would have NEVER ridden my bike this far. He had to of live on the other side of the city, and he rode his bike. Renamon was waiting for me with a smile against the wall. “You haven’t changed that much.” She smiled as she wrapped her arms around me. “I think that I have.” I said as I remembered what kind of Digimon I was. Completely the opposite of what I was when I was just human.

“Maria’s looking for you.” I said as I ran my paw a crossed the back of her lovely head. “Just a while longer” she said as she rubbed her hand threw the fur on my chest. It felt so exotic. “Maybe just a little longer. Then maybe I could walk you home.” I smiled as I sat there. She was all I could think of. “You are my Starlight.” I said as we just sat there for hours enjoying each other’s company.

It happened that fast, from sadness to joy. I had my friend and I had my love, all in the same day. After a long time we finally decided to leave. I left Leo in the hole, it was home for now. I think that Renamon was a little spooked by my cloths. Even when she was close to me it felt like she was looking at me strange. I took her back to the area that her tamer lived in, I honored her privacy and let Renamon go to her house on her own.

Leo must have gotten lonely, by the time I returned to the hole my sword was moving all over the place. “I didn’t forget about you old friend.” I said as I walked over to him. The sword stopped moving and sang a happy tone. “I didn’t think I could do that with a sword.” I said as I sat down near him. “Keep you I mean.” The happy tone came back like a laugh. “I’m sure its something that’s going to take a little getting used to.” I picked him up and looked at the sheath into my own reflection. The tone came back in a sadder note. “I don’t think it’ll be that bad.” I said with a smile.

It probably would, he was my sword now. I would use him in battles from now on. He was how I Digivolved, even before he was my sword. His new form was what I needed. “At least your not gone, old friend.” I said as I held my sword closed to my chest. The happy tone came back. “I know you took care of my Starlight, didn’t you.” I said as my mind returned to Renamon. He was silent for a while I looked down at my sheathe and lost my smile. “I know you did. Before what ever happened; I’m sure you tried your best, old friend.” A long tone came out like a sigh.

“Well at least you tried. We’re together now, that’s all that matters. Trust is earned, Leo, and I have always trusted you.” He gave a happy high note and I set him down. I hadn’t slept in a almost two days. “Trust is earned.” I said as I leaned back and went to sleep. Leo sang the song he did earlier which made me drift off faster. I wanted Renamon beside me but I didn’t think her tamer would let her come to me just yet. No matter how good my intentions where; or what kind of past I had, in either life. She didn’t trust me.

Trust is earned, and I hadn’t earned hers yet…

A Start of New Beginnings

It wasn’t a hole anymore. Like I said it was home. When I was at my home before all of this I was almost always sitting in my knickers. Now that I was Ryokumon, the closest I could get to my knickers was my bare fur. So in the coarse of the night I stripped down to my new natural self and set all of my cloths beside me. For the first time in a long time, I actually folded my cloths. I was the kind of person/Digimon to keep things tidy now.

I set my bag down and left my folded cloths alone while I slept. This little burrow was perfect for me. There was a lot of sound besides Leos song that night but hearing them also made me sleep easier. Like home I remember thinking. The Digital World is so far away now I thought as I slept. But I have a few pieces of home with me. I thought. I could think while I was asleep. A new concept for all of you I’m sure, it’s not like raiding the fridge in the middle of the night while you sleepwalk. It’s more like sitting awake, knowing what’s happening but not really concentrating on it. In the beginning I herd my dad’s foot steps coming down my hall and it shot me from a sound sleep.

Unless sounds get close they don’t bother me, and that’s how I slept, aware and thinking. When morning came around I woke up to the sound of dessert birds singing. Also to the thought of Leomon wanting to die. I looked around and found my sword. I picked it up and a soft tone of a yawn escaped from it. “I didn’t wake you up did I?” I said as I clenched the sheathe in my paws. “You died Leo.” I said as I pulled him from the sheathe. I could feel his presence threw my paw and as I looked in the reflection I could see him. He nodded with a smile while an indiscriminant tone sounded, serious in nature, but also calm. “Noble as always, eh Leo?” the reflection laughed and so did a tone from him.

“I’m sure its going to take some getting use to,” I said as I put the bare blade in my lap, “ it wasn’t easy getting used to being like this” I said as I tried to fade from one form to the other. I felt the thought of waking up in a tree come on and I pushed down the urge to change to human. “I am part tamer now. Human if you can believe.” A soft tone like a “huh?” leaped from him and I lifted my sword back to my face. Leomon’s face was gone and I looked at my own now. I had a smile on I hadn’t noticed. “When I came here, even though I don’t remember even trying, I merged with my tamer. Now I’m what you see here.” The huh came back and in a rolling shine his face came back where mine was in the blade. “Really,” I said as I thought about him and brought on a change to a naked human, “This is the other me.” In my hand the sword gave a sudden twinge of insecurity.

“I’ve seen most of my lives, you, Renamon and almost every one else. There is still a lot I don’t know about myself. But I’m getting there slowly.” The shutter stopped and a happy tone came back even though there was a look in the reflection that said other than happy. “You’re a little worse than I am. I can only think of the headaches your going to get.” I smiled as a small frown crossed his face in the reflection. I laughed aloud and he laughed with me. He always knew when to have a sense of humor.

“I’m going to go out.” I said as I put him back in my sheathe, “When I’m human, I need to eat.” It was the first time in a few days I was actually hungry. I stood up and was about ready to leave when I remembered a certain policy that would affect me in my present position. No shirt, no shoes, no service. I turned around and grabbed the shorts I took off and put them on. Even though it was basically useless, I put on my sword strap over my shirt. The feeling of being a barbarian returned but I was proud to ware it. I reached in my bag and pulled out the envelope. I didn’t bother to count my money but I had a lot left. I stuck it in my pocket and looked at my pile of neatly arranged cloths.

I turned back to Leo, “Ill be back in a little while, OK.” a low hum sounded and I turned away. I walked to the hole and looked to the surface and jumped up and shot out like a bullet. I was happy; I had a few good reasons. I won’t repeat them again, I’m sure you’ve gotten the drift by now. I went for a few minuets till I found a nice little home cooking restaurant. It was out in the scarcer parts of the city and was pretty vacant, but it still looked appealing. I jumped from a roof a few buildings away and walked to the nice little restaurant.  When I opened the door. A few eyes trailed around me looking at my strap, but I ignored them. I think the most obscure looks came from the people behind me looking at the rip I had in the seem of my shorts.  I stopped warring knickers because it was to much of a bother to get my tail threw any hole I made, so anyone on my backside saw bare ass.

I didn’t think about it but I sat down in a booth towards the back of the place. I’m sure every one was happy I did that, It was a big rip. It didn’t look like a come to counter to order place so I just waited for some one to come over with a menu. In a few minuets a waitress came over and did just that. Young by human standards, and attractive by the same. She laid a menu down on the table and gave me a good eye full of her cleavage. I looked away, which was not the response she was looking for.

“Just give me a call when you make up your mind.” She smiled as she stood up. I nodded with a smile and looked around. The place was full of people who looked like they drove trucks for a living, not surprising if they did. I made up my mind on about a third of the menu. A few things I would have never ordered where in my list. I called back over the waitress who gave me another peep, with the same response. She took my menu and wrote down my order. “Are you sure you can eat all of that?” she said as she looked at me strangely writing down my order, flipping the page in the little notebook a few times to get it all. Then she went off to give the cook a hernia. After a while my food came out one plate at a time. I always had it finished by the time the next one came out.

About two, three hours past and I finished eating. The young girl now almost disgusted handed me my tab and I paid it. I bet she was hoping I didn’t have the money so she didn’t have to do the dishes. But having it meant I had to leave a nice tip. Which I did, about a two hundred dollar tip. I left almost full and a little closer to broke. But at the rate I was eating every few days, maybe a week after or so. My wad would last me a while. I walked back to my hole for a while and found it a little while after I expected to be back.

It was still a little strange to have a sword that talked to you, Now especially. When I walked a crossed the dessert I herd a hum of a song I herd a long time ago. I couldn’t place it, but some lyrics came to my lips and I sang with them till the song stopped. I hopped down then remembering Leo. “Hi, Leo.” I said as I walked over to his sheath. It was easy to think of him, so I changed back to Ryokumon when I spoke.

He gave a chime like sound, and I smiled as I pealed off my cloths. I folded them again, not even really knowing I was doing it while I talked. “You board?” I said as I looked over to him. A little vibration came to his sheathe and I smiled. “You just got here, you haven’t seen anything. Wait till you see every thing its amazing here!” another fit of vibration and I smiled as I put my things down all except for my belt and strap. I went threw my bag and came up with my card deck and pouch. Even though I had used it before it was still in its box. I pulled it out and took off the plastic. I started sifting threw my cards pulling out all of my Digimon cards till I came a crossed my Leomon card. I pulled it from the rest and set it near the sheathe. A sad tone came out. “You can see it can’t you.” I said as I looked over. “I’ll move it then.” Another tone came out in protest so I left it there.

After a while I weeded out all of my Digimon cards and was left with a deck stacked with: defense, attack and status cards. I put them in my pouch and put it on my belt where I had them when I was Neo Ryokumon. I pulled my Digivice out and put it on a hole in my belt and stood up. I almost looked like Neo Ryokumon except for my sword. “All rite lets have a look around.” I said as I put the sheathe to my back and ran it threw the loops. “Ryokumon Digivolve to,” I said now expecting it, “Neo Ryokumon!” as soon as I changed I felt the welt below my fur and I took a stumble forward.

I herd a new hum from my back like an apology, “Its ok Leo, its not your fault.” I said as I made it back to my feet. I looked back at my cloths and smiled. At least now I knew where they where. I walked to the hole and looked up to the overhead sun, it was about noon. I jumped up a little slower from my injury and dashed to the city as fast as I could.

I had an idea of a tour to give him and for the rest of the day I gave Leo a high-rise tour of the city. He gave me tones of amazement and of pure aw. It gave me a smile, and every new site he saw gave me another chance to see it as well. I could have continued but I herd my Digivice go off on my belt. I pulled it up expecting another Dark Digimon. But I found it to be an ultimate Digimon instead, a Phantomon. A nasty thing by sheer nature. It looked like the Grim Reaper of Digimon

“Looks like were on call, old friend.” I said as I looked down a little concerned. This was the strongest Digimon that had come threw to date. At least it wasn’t a Dark Digimon, ranging their strength was almost impossible until I fought them. Even though it had one Digvalution on me I’m sure I’d have some back-up, if I got this Digimon then I was sure the tamers did too. A tone and some vibration came from my strap as I looked at my Digivice. “Well here we go.” I said as I jumped from the building and fell three stories to another roof, then on to the signal. The small fog was a real throw from what his strength actually was. It was in a place that fit his look very well, a graveyard. It took longer for me to find it than I thought. By the time I got there five minuets later at least one tamer was already inside.

The Digimon had already come threw, and I could hear them battling inside. “FOX TAIL INFERNO!” I herd scream over another of the other Digimon’s attacks. There where a lot of grunting and huffs and a beam of energy came shooting out. It wasn’t anything Kyuubimon could do. This thing was strong. I was standing on the building a crossed the street looking in the fog. When the energy left the fog I had to dodge while it cut into and almost threw the building I was on. “Come on Leo! Lets do it!” I said as I jumped up and came down rite over the center of the fog.

In the millisecond, I corrected me landing from the energy coming from the cloud. It was extremely close quarters. Both Kyuubimon and Phantomon where as close as a foot from each other going head to head; I aimed for the dark energy and pulled Leo from my back during my decent. The fog cleared in the center and I saw Kyuubimon being tackled by the Phantomon. I slashed down “SHINING SLASH!” I screamed as came from the heavens. The Digimon had time to duck away and block the path of Leo with his scythe. There was a boom of sparks as I made contact. More than would have usually would have happened when I came in contact with metal.

When It hovered away its dark red eyes, different from a normal Phantomon by that characteristic, sneered down in an angry leer. “So another Digimon.” It said like in a moan. I pulled Leo back and held him in a good neutral stance ready to take offensive or defensive when needed. “This one was getting a little boring.” It smiled as it flipped a little mace around while it spun. I looked back at Kyuubimon and saw she was in bad shape. “Just rest for now. I have him.” I said as I turned back getting angry from seeing her in pain like that. Maria was already by her side looking over her wounds.

“What’s you business here?” I said trying to get answers before I punished him for hurting Kyuubimon. “Devastation gave me a chance to destroy you. In return for it I can cause all the destruction I can.” I flinched, he wasn’t a Dark Digimon but he worked for those things? “Who is Devastation?” I spat as Leo gave an angry growling toned hum in my hand. “I think you’ve already meet my lord.” It smiled as it whipped the mace above its head. “SHADOW MACE!” It called as it threw the heavy mace at me, its chain looking to short extended and screamed past me as I dodged to the side. The hard metal ball had an eye on it and it blinked at me even though it was solid metal. With out thinking I rolled over and raised my sword and cut down on the thick chain. I didn’t cut the link I struck completely but it broke one side and separated it far enough for the chain to come apart when he called it back. The other end of the mace was still moving and popped my blade from the separation in the link and it flew crashing into a tomb. The Digimon gave a tug on the chain and the ball came back. After it was pulled from the rock he floated at me fast and called out “SHADOW SCYTHE!” and swung the heavy gold colored blade at me. The band of energy I saw earlier came from him and it flew over my head and threw another wall of tombs. The ball was flying closer and closer in the split second he started his attack. I caught a glimpse of it rushing at me and I leaned back and watched it fly in front of my muzzle. When the ball cleared me I did a back flip low to the ground and stood ready for his next attack. The ball swung around and came to a stop as he swayed it in his hand.

“You are every thing Master said you’d be.” It laughed in a dark moan. “But you still aren’t strong enough for me.” It said as it started to swing its mace again. I watched the chain attached to the heavy ball start to bend further and further apart while he swung it around. I looked down at my sword and saw Leo reflecting at me while he looked I could see a growl on his face while the sword shuttered. This thing was just as fast as I was, smart too, Leo wanted to help but all he could do rite now was protect me from that mace till the chain snapped on its own this was going to be hard. “Is she all rite Maria?” I said with out looking away from the Phantomon in front of me. “She won’t be when I’m done with you.” It laughed as it floated around me. “She’ll be ok in a few minuets, just get that thing for me.” Maria said as she picked Kyuubimon’s head up and set it in her lap. The Phantomon was completely ignoring her on the ground, she was safe for the time being. He was fighting seriously, he wasn’t taking any chances. I could see it in his grip on his scythe. His fabric faded and torn wiped in the wind as he floated around. His red eyes glared and he gave a low snicker.

“BITTER HAND!” it shouted as it let go of the mace sending it hurtling towards me, I couldn’t doge it, I felt a prickly numbness flood over me and I couldn’t move. The heavy ball slammed into my chest sending me flying backwards out of the fog. I hit the ground, rolled, and barely kept my grip on Leo. I hit the ground and found the pain distant but still very much present. I looked up and struggled against the numb sense to look at the fog. I couldn’t move over the stiffness of my body. I fell back down to my back and screamed in thought COME ON! Think of something! I thought as my eyes where getting heavy. “Now its your turn!” the Digimon said as I herd Maria scream. “STARLIGHT I’M COMING!” I shouted as I whipped my paw to my side and popped open my pouch and pulled a card from my side in one swift movement. “Status Zero” it read, just the card I needed. I swung it down to my Digivice and whipped it threw. “Status Zero Activate!” I shouted as the gruesome pain lifted. I hit my fists on the ground, shot up from the ground, and dashed back into the fog. The Phantomon had his scythe raised over Kyuubimon ready to strike when I shoulder tackled him, sending him flying into a tombstone.

The thick rock shattered and toppled over him. He recovered quickly by swinging the mace around and hitting me in the opposite shoulder I hit him with spinning me to the ground gripping my pained shoulder with the hand I had Leo in. As he pulled back on the chain the link I hit snapped and the mace just dropped to the ground. I smiled threw my pain as the Phantomon gasped at his damaged weapon. The shattered link fell to the ground and disappeared in a puff of digital smoke, while the rest of the mace just lay limp on the ground without a commanding force, useless. “You, Damaged my scythe!” it moaned angrily. “I’ll make you pay for that.” I pushed up to the ground in a huff and watched as he floated a few feet in the air. He flew his arms apart and shouted “SPECTERS HAND!” and from his arms to his head and anything else he went almost completely transparent. “You want to play it that way do you.” I said as I whipped another card from my deck. I looked at it for a second reading the title out loud. “Disruptive Force” one of my more rare cards. I swiped it threw my Digivice and gritted my teeth as a wave of energy hit me. “Activate!” my favorite attack card, it not only made me stronger it also healed me. In the card game if I had an evolution card I could Digivolve my Digimon in play but since I wasn’t playing kid games I just felt a surge of energy. I jumped up and called out my attack. “CRUSHING BLOW!” I reared my sword back for my deathblow and swung down on him. Even at half damage it was still a good move. Leo lit up and glowed a bright white. I swung down expecting a little resistance but just passed threw him while he started to turn and swipe down on my with his scythe. I felt the cold blade hit me like it was cutting my sole. It passed threw me and let me fall to the ground. “Fool! You can’t hurt me!” it shouted as he floated down. It was such a drain, like he just turned off the card! All the strength I had and the energy I recovered was gone. As I gasped for breath, I remembered where my Specter Hand card was from. No physical damage was taken while that kind of defense was active. Over looking that just cost me the advantage. “Get,” I said as I gasped to my knees, “Get her out of here!” I screamed back at Maria who was holding Her Renamon. “Go!” I shouted as the Phantom floated towards me. “Lets go.” I growled begging for more. “As you wish.” It smiled.

I had a little energy left and I used it to roll to the side making him dig his transparent scythe into an older tombstone. I lifted up my paw and called in the depths of my body for the energy for my attack. “DIAMOND SHARD!” I screamed out as a single tear shaped diamond flew from my paw. That was a special attack and it made contact with the Digimon’s Scythe shattering the pole the blade was on. The lower section he had in his grip, while he was pulling it away, shattered into smoke and he flew back.

“I won’t stand for this, YOU DIE NOW!” he said as he floated to me. I smiled as I slumped back. Rite now he didn’t have any attacks he could use. He just past rite threw me on the first then second pass. I rested a little till he came to a little sense and grunted away his transparent state and came at me with both of his covered hands stretched out like he was going to strangle me. I shot to my feet with some recovered energy and placed Leo next to his head causing a sudden halt in his flight path. He gasped as he looked at the shining blade. I looked from the edge of my sword to his glowing eyes. “How could a rookie like you defeat me!?” It frowned up at me as I leered at him sending a shift threw him. “I’m champion now.” Leo hummed and vibrated. I looked at the shine on the blade and saw another sneer on his face. “DO IT!” he shouted as he dropped his arms. I left the blade there for a second to long and he backed away.

His sudden move made me flinch drawing the sword back and making a hard cut a crossed his chest. The Digimon grunted and wheezed and slowly vanished. “Devastation will have you again. YOU WILL PAY!” where the last words before the evil data vanished lifting the fog. I sank down to my butt from the battle, it was over. He caused his own death. I might have let him live, but he had to startle me. I looked around as I caught my breath and saw Maria cradling Renamon who was out cold. “Renamon! Renamon! Wake up, please!” she cried hoarsely. I dropped Leo in a panic and dashed over to her on all fours. I went for my deck and pulled up a few cards till I came a crossed a card that could help. “Recovery, it should help.” I said as I handed the card to her tamer. She patted around her waist till she found her Digivice and slid the card threw. A low pink glow came from her and she moaned in pain. “Starlight, are you ok?” I said as I put my face near hers.” She looked up and blinked a few times. “Ryoku, its you.” She said weakly.

“I knew you’d come.” She said as she passed back out. Maria was about to shake her when I put my paw on her shoulder. “She’ll be fine. Let her rest.” I walked over and picked up Leo. He gave a moaned tone and I watched as his reflection rubbed his head. “Sorry I was so rough, old friend.” I said as I smiled. “The tour will have to be another time.” I looked back as I put Leo away. “In the mean time nets get out of here. I think some police would like to see us behind bars.” I said to every one. I walked over and picked Renamon up. “Climb on my back, and I’ll get you out of here.” She looked at me paranoid but did it. The small girl was light and an easy passenger. I took a small leap to the Crypts and from there over a few trailer sales lots to a patch of dessert a few miles away going slower so I didn’t lose my passengers. When I found the little patch of dessert between two main roads but still hidden by housing developments on either side. There was a dead car that some one ditched sitting in the middle of the small field. I let Maria down and she opened the back seat door so I could set her down.

“Thank you.” Maria pushed out not wanting to say the words. “You saved her.” I smiled as I looked at Renamon; the car door hid me so I gave Renamon a kiss before I stood up on the out side of the car. “I’m sure you would have done the same thing.” I said trying not to let the truth slip out. “She trusts you.” She said bluntly. “And I guess if she douse I do to.” I looked back into the car at Renamon. “I’ll take that as a compliment from you.” She turned around with her straight look and hid a smile, but I could hear it in her voice. “She told me she knew you in the digital world,” She paused, “but she wouldn’t say how.” I smiled at the hidden truth. Not telling her tamer was a hard decision for her since they where so close. “I’m sure she’ll tell you when she’s ready.” I said as I looked around making sure the dessert brush hid me as a car drove down the street. “It isn’t my place to tell you, but maybe you’ll understand when she feels its time to let you know.” She turned around with her straight face on with a hint of a smile still in her face.

“OK,” she said with a long pause sounding like she had more to say, “What did that Phantomon mean when he said ‘devastation will have you again’?” I looked up at the sky and saw a buzzard circling above me while I tried to think of what he could have meant. “I can’t say, I don’t know.” It was the second time a Digimon had said something like that, and then there where the voices saying the same thing. “I’ll take your word for it.” she said not believing me, but working on building some trust. She still had my card with her from the graveyard and pulled it out of her pocket. “I think this is yours.” She said after a while of looking at it. “Keep it. You may need it.” I said as I looked back into the car. I was about to walk away when Maria asked a question. “Why did you call her Starlight?” I smiled and continued walking. “She’ll tell you someday.”

I jumped away on to the roofs and gave her a thumbs-up when she looked for me. I did a front flip and danced out of sight. After I left her presence I felt a few burses and bumps in a few snapping popping out of joint instantaneous pains. I could have kept going but Leo hummed in a worried tone so I stopped. I sat down on a roof overlooking the city from a high knoll and sat down to hold myself from the pain. “I’m ok Leo, How are you holding up?” another serious tone came out slightly uplifted. I turned my head to the side and looked at the grip of my sword and smiled. “Well that wasn’t as clean as the last few battles I’ve had, but at least we’re ok.” I put my paw on my sore shoulder and rotated it around while I rubbed around the sore spot. Chasing away some of the pain. I rolled my head around and grunted at some of the discomfort. “About a day and ill be at 100%.” I said as I stood up. The sun was still high in the sky but I was tired.

“Lets go home Leo.” I said as I jumped away. I felt like I had accomplished something that day. Trust is earned ran in my ears and her trust is coming… I was going to getting along with the tamers a little better now that I had their leader leaning towards me. She wasn’t going to just fall on me though, it was going to be a while before she even though about putting that much faith in me. But Renamon had given me a little bit of trust to work with.

And for now it was all I needed to finish my day on a high note. But a few things still bugged me, What did that Phantomon mean when he said Devastation will have me again? And what do those voices have to do with all of the Digimon that where coming. It didn’t make sense but I would further down the road. None of them where good answers but I would find out, so would every one else…

Local Business

I made it to my burrow and set my things down. I took off my sheath and set Leo down beside me. The sunlight up almost all of my hole and made bright reflective rocks shine in my eyes. I closed my eyes and rolled over as Ryokumon and looked away. That battle hadn’t taken as much out of me as fighting the Dark Gargomon but I was still tired as hell. I curled up in a fetal position and slept. I could hear Leo drifting as well. I’m sure that he was either tired or just wanted his head to stop throbbing. He gave a low yawn sound and drifted off to sleep with me. It felt good to sleep around some one. I remembered doing almost the same thing in the digital world when we where watching over a village full of fresh Digimon. He had first watch and I just went to sleep. I didn’t want to sleep but he knew I was tired from all the searching we had done that day for the Digimon bandits that where attacking the area.

I remember what I thought too, Leomon is a true comrade I thought, I never thought I’d find another like him. I was thinking of another friend as I slept but I can’t remember who. I didn’t even realize I was sleeping till I woke up for my turn at watch. I wondered if he was thinking the same thing as I looked out over the valley below. One of those happy memories I’ll remember for the rest of time. I slept threw the rest of the day and woke up almost at dawn the next day. I stretched out on all fours twiddling my fingers and toes as I did in a long yelp like yawn.

The day was greeted by a few minuets of groggy disconnection. I sat against the wall of my burrow for a while thinking of a few things I let behind in my old life. For instance how much a good few round of my favorite first person shooter would be. But my perception and the dreaded 56k lag made any and all attempts to enjoy something like that painful. So instead I just sat and enjoyed the sounds of the world passing over me. I stood up and patted some dust from my fur and gave another stretch. I herd a hum from behind me and looked over to see Leo shaking a little bit. “Good morning.” I smiled back at him. “You wana have a look at the sun rise? It’s a show.” A happy tone chimed up and I picked up the sheath and looked up the hole to see the blue blanket of starts still in the sky. “I think we still have a few hours.” I said as I sat down under the hole to the surface.

I almost drifted back to sleep but Leo gave me a shake now and then which woke me up. In two hours I saw the light of the sun start to light the sky so I went to sit on the ridge of the hole. My tail sawed as I held my sheathe and the sun rose above the mountains. A soft gentle sound rattled the sheath and I just looked on. “Its beautiful isn’t it.” I said as I smiled. After the sun rose it was back down in to my burrow. I had waken up fully and I sat thinking about the usual things from recent events. Dark Digimon and me. There didn’t seem to be a connection. If there was then it was something I had forgotten.

I relaxed while I let a few conclusions run threw my head for the morning till I herd a soft sound that made my ears twitch. I didn’t make a sound but I listened as what ever it was got closed to my hole. A few rocks where kicked into the hole from the surface and a shadow appeared on the wall standing on the sun lit side of my hole. I saw a tail and ears as the form leaned down. “Is that you?” I said out loud. “Ryoku, may I come in?” Renamons voice seemed to sing. “Of coarse Starlight. Come in, come in.” I said as I walked over to the hole. She hopped down and looked over my little home. “Just like our burrow in the digital world.” she smiled. I walked over and wrapped my arms around her. “I knew that you where going to be ok.” I said as I put my face over her shoulder. “Not even an ultimate can take you from me.” I said as I let go and walked over to my bag and cloths. I tapped the ground beside me and she came and sat beside me for another long embrace.

“Maria knows.” She said as she looked up at me lovingly. “She guessed.” I was a bit surprised for a girl her age to know something like that. “I guess it shows.” I said as I kissed her head. “She still doesn’t like the idea though.” She said as I tried not to laugh. Little girls weren’t supposed to even think about things like that. I felt like a bad role model or something for a second. “I think you calling me your Starlight in front of her gave her a clue.” I felt myself blush from those word, but I was sure it didn’t show past my eyes. “I cant help it, I love you.” I said while she put her paw in my chest fur again. “You are my Starlight.”

“She showed me the card you gave her. Are you trying to win her over with treats, eh Ryoku?” completely not the gesture. “Oh come on. You don’t think…” she tapped me on my leg and said. “I’m kidding, I know you love me.” I’m happy she cleared that up. Maria was at max fourteen. I was WAY to old for her. She just rubbed my leg for a while. “We haven’t been together in a while.” She looked up in a tease. “Maybe we could…” she trailed off as she came a little closer to my manhood. I could have lit up the burrow with how much I was blushing under my fur. “I-uh… I’m not real sure how to work that part yet.” I choked out. She gave me a quick grab and I jumped a little. “I’ll show you.” She said as she came into my lap.

I felt a little uncomfortable but if she insisted, she could do what ever she wanted. I sat wide-eyed while she positioned her self between my legs. “Your not in the mood I see.” She said as she put her head back over my shoulder and looked into my eyes. She leaned closer to me and pressed her lips to mine in a long romantic kiss. I put my arms around her and held her shoulders while she held my paws with hers. “It’s not you Starlight, I just have a lot to think about.” She smiled back up at me “You never where the one to jump rite into things.” I chuckled back to her noses, “Neither where you.”

“All in time my love.” She said as she took my hands of her shoulders and stood up. “Would you like to have a look around for the day?” she said as she stretched out in front of me. “And do what Starlight?” I said trying not sound to aroused by her flicking her tail up in my face. “Just to look around, You knowing all about the reaches of the human world. Maybe you could show me a few things.” She smiled as she walked over and leaned on the opposite wall from me. “You wouldn’t mind staying here would you Leomon?” she said then a high tone came out and Renamon paused as she looked at me for the rite answer to his response. “He says no, we can go.” I smiled while I tapped my sheath. “We’ll be back in a few hours Leo,” I smiled as I joked, “Don’t go any ware.” He made a moan at my bad joke and shook around a bit. “Just a second, Starlight.” I said as I took off my belt and strap and left my cards and Digivice on the ground. I felt a little awkward with out anything on around her, I really did feel naked.

“See you in a while Leo.” We said as we jumped to the surface. Another tour, that was the plan for the day. I showed here the city as best I could from the roves, explaining things she was a little lost on. While she laughed at a few things. Like the concept of cars and getting around. Maria had explained them but she was still in the dark about them. She probably was after I explained it the way I did. Cloths where strange to her, but she caught on quickly about a lot of things.

“I would have never pictured you warring cloths.” She smiled as we sat on the edge of a bank building looking at the tiny people on the ground. “I’m part human. They don’t have fur so they hide their body’s from the weather under their cloths.” She leaned over and touched my leg again. “I mean, Ryokumon silly.” I knew what she meant but trying to explain waking up naked in a tree was a little hard. “Well, lets see. Uh. I’m part human and warring cloths for most of that life makes not warring them a little embarrassing.” I said as a smile crossed my lips. “You looked so funny in cloths.” She said as she smiled humorsly. “That’s what Richy said.” I returned feeling strange.  She chuckled with one paw over her muzzle from that line; I couldn’t help but to laugh with her. It was funny, I felt that strange warring cloths in the beginning. “I wonder what I would look like with cloths on?” she said playfully.

I just kept hearing a joke I herd from a comic, “Do you ever feel like your taken a test you never studied for?” was the blunt of it. “Really what do you think I would look like?” she said as she smiled, she was really enjoying it too. “Well, there are so many styles its hard to say.” I said as I pictured her covered from head to toe in my cloths, dresses, teenage girly cloths, even the hotty shirts looked out of place. I gave an embarrassed smile and tried to look at her while I still had those images in my head. “You look better now than you ever would in cloths.” I said putting what I thought was a convincing sentence.

She just laughed at me while I rubbed my head, ears pressed back and tail swinging in a very uncontrolled nervous posture. “I’m sorry.” She put out in a chuckle trying to stop laughing. “Oh its ok.” I smiled coyly. “Anything else?” she said as she looked around. I looked around and thought about what I could show her from here. I saw a plane flying high above and I pointed to it. “Air planes.” I said as she looked up with a paw over her eyes, mouth open looking for it. “Its rite there.” I said trailing it with my finger. She pointed up at it and said a little confused. “That bird over there?” I smiled at the childish thought. “Its not a bird, Starlight. It’s an air plane. It’s really high up. Its how human go really far with out really going a crossed the ground.” she looked at it for another few seconds and then back at me. I thought about it for a second and snickered to myself. “They where originally called ‘Iron Birds’ or something like that. I’ve never went on one but I hear its one of the safest ways to travel.” She nodded and fallowed it while it started to circle an airport a few cities over. Our good eyes and our height from the ground let us see that far like it was a mile or two off.

We sat there while she watched planes come in and out of the airport for a while. I’ve been to the airport before but I had a feeling it was ware she wanted to go. “Can we see them?” I shook my head. “Sorry, there is to much security, and people for one thing. Two the entire place is watched all day and night. Three, I’m sure you don’t want to be seen by anyone other than tamers.” She looked back and smiled. “A little lectureitive now aren’t we?” she was kidding again but I couldn’t tell. “Do they all come from the same place?” I stuttered around a bit and could only work around to a nod.

I was a little uneasy but I thought it was because she was picking at me. I looked around nervously but couldn’t see anything. I searched the windows but I was feeling a little antsy so I didn’t give them a good look over. “Lets go.” I said still a little nervous from her tease. “Where to Ryoku?” I looked around again and saw an open window a few smaller buildings away. “I don’t know you pick.” I smiled as I leaned forward and pressed on my knees. Aside from the feeling of being watched I had to ask a question. “What was my name?” I said trying to keep a straight look. She looked back at me from the planes in the distance. “What do you mean?” she said as she leaned onto my shoulder. “When we where in the digital world?” she looked up at me simply, “You never had a name you where just my love, and I was your Starlight” I had a name now, but I didn’t expect to be an unknown back then. “You are still my Starlight.” I said as I put my arm around her. In that embrace I felt the eyes return to me but I just ignored it. Feeling the bliss of the moment was better than running from paranoid fear. An hour past and we finally decided to move as a chopper started to coast our way.

When she lifted from my shoulder I felt the watching eyes greet me with a shiver running up my back. My fur stood on end but now we had a good reason to leave. “What’s the matter Ryoku?” I looked at her then back around still not seeing anything and pushed off. Floating down the side of the building I pushed off to a smaller shopping center a crossed the street. She did the same but she pushed off a little earlier and landed a few feet away from me. “Its nothing, I’m sure.” I said as she lead me around the city asking questions. I answered them the best I could and the day drifted to night. Almost at dusk we made it back to the burrow. Leo was board, I could tell by how he moved around when we came in.

“Sorry Leo,” I said as I looked at Renamon. “Next time you can come.” Renamon walked over to my sheathe and picked him up. He gave a forgiving tone and she handed him to me. I sat down with him in my lap, cross-legged while Renamon came over beside me and laid her head down in my lap. Leo seemed to be happy he didn’t make a sound from it. I sighed and ran the back of my paw over her fur. “You are beautiful.” I smiled. She looked up at me and replied. “And you are too my love.” I stayed there for half the night while she slept on me. I thought about her tamer, but if my Digivice didn’t go off so hers probably didn’t either. She could be apart from her Digimon for one day. I drifted to sleep after Renamon did halfway threw the night. My head just fell back and I slept.

While I was sleeping I wondered who was watching us on the roof of the tall building. I recalled the windows and how I saw a few open ones, but I never came a crossed any that where occupied. If we where being watched then who ever was watching didn’t want to bee seen. I didn’t see any movement but I know at least one pair of eyes was wandering over us the entire time. The slow thought process of the night ended in the morning, I remember running over what I saw when I was on the building, looking at the open windows when Renamon accidentally woke me up. I opened my eyes to see her in my cloths, she was that interested in them so she put mine on. Just waking up I couldn’t help but to laugh. See looked back at me to see me snickering and started to peal them off. “I’m sorry Starlight. You don’t have to, I didn’t mean it.” I was getting a little aroused seeing her pull off my shirt and shorts, a little to aroused for comfort. She stopped at my shorts and stood there for a second then femininely said. “How do I look lover?”

I kept a smile but I didn’t laugh. “Beautiful.” I said as I kept my paw to my muzzle trying to hide my smile. “I really don’t see how you could ware these things.” She said as she came over pulling the seat of the shorts out and wafted her tail around. “It takes some getting used to.” I smiled, she sat down next to me and turned to me. “That’s for sure.” I couldn’t stop the laugh from coming out and she tapped me on my shoulder. “Your horrible.” She teased fiddling with the button in the front trying to get them off. “It’s like this Starlight.” I said reaching around popping it from its hole. A soft “Oh…” came from her in an erotic tone, and she pulled them off. Leo gave a sighing tone and I looked down at him. I think he saw how tense I was and hearing it made me a little less tense and she relaxed in my lap again.

I smiled now a little more at ease and watched her as she rolled over and faced towards me. “Would you like to give it another go?” I said she looked up and gave a little smile. “Not now my love,” she closed her eyes and stretched out then curled up into a ball with her head resting in my lap. “I just want to stay here with you.” I wasn’t ready at that time anyway so we just sat there. For a while all I did was look at her recalling the life I had with her. I still couldn’t get around the thought of being watched. I kept coming back to it. Mixed with my warm thoughts of Renamon, personal paranoia was scratching at me.

“Starlight,” I said pausing for her attention, “did you feel like we where being watched?” she looked up at me concerned. “I think so. On that building rite?” she said as I laid my head back and looked down. “I didn’t want to say any thing but I think we were being fallowed.” I said returning the same concerned look hinted with anger for disturbing us. “It could have just been some one going about their business, rite?” she looked up at me trying to remove the anger. “I don’t think it’s that simple Starlight. You can’t really make it that far in this world with out looking over your shoulder a few times.” She nodded conceding to my human experience and sat up. “So what do you want to do?” I smiled and let my human voice speak the next sentence. “You can’t look over your shoulder all the time, I say we find them and see what they are doing watching us.” startled by the sudden voice change she nodded in agreement. “All rite my love, you lead.” She said as Leo made a desperate chime. “I’m sure you need to come too, old friend.” I smiled down as I picked up my sheathe. Renamon was sitting on my strap and belt and she moved over so I could pick it up. I brought my cards and Digivice with me just in case and when I was prepared enough I put Leo to my back and Digivolved to Neo Ryokumon.

“Ready Starlight.” I said as I walked to the hole. She looked at me as the energy faded from my Digivolve and joined me. “Carry me.” She said to a small shock. “You are faster than me, I’ll slow you down if I have to try to keep up.” Understanding I picked her up and jumped to the surface. After a little pain from my battle with the Phantomon I was back to speed and we searched the city eventually coming back to the bank building staying out of sight. All we where going on rite now was sense, and so far nothing had caught our attention till we came back to the bank building. Renamon stood straight up from the ledge and looked around. “What are you doing?” I said in a whisper. “I can’t feel them unless their watching. If they look at me I’ll tell you.” The logic was a little off center but she was rite. We had been looking for them while they didn’t know where we where. When they saw her it would be an opportunity to get a batter look at them.

A few minuets passed and I watched Renamon from the tar rooftop. She sat looking out at the horizon while the wind whipped around her. Her scattered scent came back to me when the wind felt like briefly changing direction. It was hard to see but after a while a line of fur on her back stood on end. “Anything Starlight?” she nodded and turned her head in the direction of her watchers and I crawled behind a large air conditioner and stood up. “I’m going to check it out.” I called around. I herd her smile back “Don’t take to long.” I jumped up pretty fast but at a shallow angle, if I went as high as I could I’d probably hurt my self in a landing. I landed on the roof of a building hard and forced to my knees by the gravity and speed I came down, a light thump sounded my arrival. Renamon didn’t look away from her watchers so I could sneak up on them. I was two buildings over from where I needed to be so I lightly jumped over to them making sure I wasn’t seen from the street. Renamon looked up from the window and held up two fingers and then gestured down. I saw this from the roof, watching the movements subtle indication. Two floors down I thought with a smile I looked out over the small building and found a man on the roof with a Rifle smoking a cigarette. He was sitting on the hidden side of a staircase going into the building.

I looked back around my small cover to see Renamon had jumped to the shopping plaza we had landed on the day before. If anything the night would hide her movements as she came around. I herd the man with the Rifle stand up while a small quiet band of radio chatter came to his ear. “Roger, one quick search and I’ll be in, in a minuet.” He said as his weapon rattled brining him to his feet. I made a muted sigh and rubbed my paws together for a second. One of my favorite scenarios in my video games, Covert entry. I herd his steps coming from one direction so I scooted to the next hiding spot. He wandered around the roof for a few minuets looking over with a set of goggles that where mounted to a headpiece. When he was satisfied and not seeing anything, he gave an “All clear up here.”  Over his radio and started walking to the door. He passed near me and I looked at the sound as he passed near the small box of things I was behind. When he opened the door I looked around and down the stairs to see two more armed men standing looking up the stairs. When he went inside, I herd Leo chime. “Seems a little to military for me Leo.” I said as I looked over nearby roves for Renamon. When I stood up she did to from the next building over. I waved her over and she jumped from the building. “Who was that?” she said. “Don’t know, but he’s just as dangerous as any Digimon.” She dropped one ear and looked at me while I scanned the roof knowing what was in the boxes that where on the roof. “See these,” I said as I looked down on the box I was behind, “They’re weapons.” The box had a seal on it from the government, which spelled problems for us. I looked at the box a little closer from a crouched position and Renamon read off the line I was reading, “Magnetic ammunition 7.58” I put my paw on the crate and felt a strange tingle and pulled it away. “Don’t want to have any of that come near us.” I said as I looked at my paw watching it distort like TV static while the tingle faded.

“How douse that box make him dangerous?” Renamon said as she watched my paw come back to normal. “It’s the weapons they use and not the people. What ever is in these boxes can really play musical chairs with your data.” She looked down to the box and then to the door. Another set of steps was coming up the stairs so we both vanished to another roof to watch as a group of people came out from the stairs. “Its not just one person Starlight. We have our own fan club.” I said as I watched a man in a suit walk out and look around the roof, he looked over to us but he let his head wander on the building we where on then said loudly. “Net time you spot one, Shoot it. I want it alive so make it clean.” His two escorts said “Yes sir.” And they went back inside. He knew we where watching, intuition I guess, but that was for us to hear.

Some one set up shop here and I wanted to know why and who. This little local business was only going to be a headache in the future and getting prolonged problems out of the way before they happen is always better than dealing with them when they are at full strength.

“Renamon, I need to talk to the tamers. Get them and I’ll meet them back at the park. She nodded and jumped away. I jumped back to my burrow, walking around as a human was better than being watched as Ryokumon, but walking around as a human NAKED would only attract more attention. So off I went to dress myself and likely appealed to a covert public eye…

Bait and Switch

I figured that Renamon would tell her tamer and then from there call the others, but it would be morning before they would come around. After I got dressed and changed to my human form after recalling leaving Renamon and Leomon behind in the digital world I left to wait for the tamers. It was still early in the morning and I didn’t expect to see them till later on in the morning so I went slow a crossed the rooftops I found them waiting for me instead.

Maria was the only one who looked ready for the day, Like she slept in her cloths, while the other two where ratty looking and barley warring cloths correctly. “I thought you guys would come in the morning…” I said a little stupidly feeling sorry for dragging them all from their beds. “Ryoku.” Richy said as he gave a long yawn, “What’s so important that you had to wake us all up?” knowing that it was serious but not applied too much thought to it I just started to think out loud. “Well we have a problem. Someone was watching us,” I said leaving it open for a question when it came. “Who?” Richy said as I started to pace while I had my hand to my chin. “Not sure probably mil…” he interrupted and went at another angle. “Who, us. Who where you with?” Maria turned around at the question, she was going to be no help. “Renamon and I.” I said plainly

It made sense to him and he quieted so I could continue. David was almost asleep on his feet, he wouldn’t understand what I was saying anyway. He was almost to young for this conversation anyway. “I think it could be the military or some body who has seen some of the bad Digimon around.” Richy almost snapped awake from it. “The military? What do they want?” I turned around and thought to my self for a minuet. The people with the weapons looked military but that man in the suit made it seem like more of a personal group, like a militia or something. “It might not be the military but the government or some one who just doesn’t like Digimon.” David still not fully awake gave his first question. “How do you know they where looken at you?” being to hard to explain I just said. “It’s something I could feel.” He went silent for a while, he was such a gentle kid my straight answer probably hurt his feelings. “Sorry David I’ll explain it better some other time.” He looked up at me and then around the skies for his partner.

“What do you think they want?” Maria asked, I thought about what the man in the suit said and gave my grave opinion. “Nothing good I think.” I looked around the group for a second only seeing Renamon and my self as participating Digimon. “Where are your Gizamon and Biyomon?” I said as I looked around the sky for the neon bird. David looked up to Richy and back again. “I haven’t seen Gizzy in a few days.” Richy said. David yawned and gave almost an identical response. I put my hand to my chin in thought and grinded past a few things. “You guys go home. I need to think a while, and Maria I need Renamon to stay here.” She almost gagged when she thought about what I meant. “Seriously Maria, I think something’s up and I need someone as fast as I am.” She started to turn a little green and walked with the others back to their houses. “Don’t do anything till you tell us ok Renamon.” She said as she walked away with a shiver.

“She’s a little to wise for how old she is.” I said as I turned to Renamon. She gave a weak smile and returned to a neutral serious look. “I think you handled that nicely” she said as she walked over to me. “Maybe Starlight, but there are still a few things to check out. Come on.” And I jumped up to a roof not far away. The small walled in park was almost the perfect place to hide in the daytime. Not very many people came to it, but it wasn’t a good place to think. I changed back to Neo Ryokumon and jumped a little ahead of Renamon till I realized I was going faster than her. when I stopped and looked back she was tapping her foot a little impatient. I rubbed my arm feeling a little stupid and let her catch up with me. “Well my love, what do you plan on doing?” well I hadn’t thought that far away yet but the first idea I had was to go into the building and find out what they where doing exactly. “I think I should go in.” she halted suddenly and looked deep into my eyes. “You can’t, what if they catch you?” her worried expression was as true as ever, even if it was just for my safety. “That’s just plan Number one Starlight. If I can think of anything else then I’m sure I’ll go with it, but as it stands rite now that’s all I have.”

Leo chimed on my back also in protest, it was a bad idea and I knew it. but until I knew more it was the plan. “I have t tell Maria.” Renamon said as she started to turn. “Your not going in, I am. So you wont disobey any orders.” She turned back to me and was going to say something but halted it before it came out and just looked at the roof we where on. Leo gave another worried tone. “It’s ok Leo, I know what I’m doing.” We paused there for a few minuets while the sun started to rise. “Then why do you need me my love?” Renamon said straightly and saddened by not coming with my decision. “I need you to hold my things. I stick out when I have Leo and my Digivice.” Both Leo and Renamon gave a gasp. “You’ll be unprotected!” she shouted.

I looked down for a moment feeling how grave the decision was. “I’ll manage Starlight.” I said, this plan was coming together with out full sense of it. Hearing all of these complaints was beating out the details I hadn’t thought about. I almost told them the more they where just re enforcing my plan but I didn’t as bad as it sounded it was getting clearer about what I could and could not do. “It’s all we can Think of Starlight, and if we wait any longer some one might get hurt.” It was like telling them straight out that I wasn’t changing my mind. “We don’t even know if some one hasn’t already.”

Renamon knew what I meant from the tamers conversation. “I’ll come back I swear it, I lost you once. It won’t happen again. I lost you both.” Leo shook on my back without a sound, he knew I wasn’t moving from my decision. “Lets go, I still need to think. I’m not going to rush rite into this.” Renamon walked over to me and pressed against me like it was going to be our last embrace. After a minuet I picked her up and left to our burrow. She leaned against the wall not saying anything while I took off my things. After I took off Leo I was Ryokumon again. I thought about a few other options for a while, as Renamon gave a few of the same. Leo was quiet threw the hole thing, only when I stood up did he make a sound. “Well it’s settled then,” I said gravely, “If I don’t come back I want you to tell the tamers to watch out for them. Who ever they are.” I lifted my head in a smile and said. “Take care of Leo for me.”

I thought about how much this was like leaving them in the Digital world and went back to my human form. “I’m coming back.” I said as I walked to the hole. Renamon came over to me and gave me a long hug and I put my hand on her paw. It was a strange moment for me, I was used to holding her in my paws. My thin human fingers didn’t even cover half of her paw. “Don’t be afraid my love.” She said as she felt a small shiver pass over me. I looked back at her as she let me go, I smiled with all of my face telling the truth with my expression. “No fear Starlight, No fear.” It was a lie but she had to hear it. “I’ll see you and Leo later, take care Starlight.” And with those words I jumped to the surface.

My slow human body made the long journey to the area of the bank building. In my human form I fit in well as I walked down the street. I looked up at the building which those people where in and saw from the ground the equipment they had hidden in glare and behind window shades. There where a few people who came to the window occasionally and looked around, I was off and walking by the time they even noticed I was watching. After circling the block a few times I found that it was an apartment building stuffed in an area of houses. They probably bought out the entire building to watch around, but the more important thing was to find out exactly what they where doing. On one of my last walks around the building I saw a few people in street cloths with crew cuts sitting on the front doorstep. I finished my little lap and walked a crossed the street to another apartment building and sat on a metal stair case going to the next floor up. A few people passed by me and one stopped by me and asked if I was lost. I just looked up with a coy expression and said I was waiting for a friend.

The men at the building a crossed the small street looked over at me every now and then but eventually went inside. I walked over to the building wary not to look up thinking they may have had cameras set up. I stood behind the door and waited for some one to come out. It didn’t take long, almost the second I leaned against the building the door opened. I didn’t give who ever came out a chance to ask questions I just jumped to the other side of the door and into the building as fast as I could. Like braking into that warehouse I thought as I sprinted around the short hall to an open door and an empty room. People where going to come in a few second, it was more than likely the room of the person I just avoided outside. a quick search of the room and I found a camouflage uniform and weapon. I jumped a crossed the room and looked around making sure no one herd my and picked up the uniform. Covert I thought as I looked over the dress. It was military issue from the floor up, Even with boots. I saw a radio on a charger not to far a way and I picked it up to complete my disguise. I looked around and couldn’t find a place to change. So I just hurried the uniform on over my cloths. It had ammo for both a pistol and a rifle in pouches much like the one I bought at the surplus store.

I looked around again after the dressing fit and made sure that no one was coming. I picked u the cap that was under the uniform and held it while I hard a set of footsteps coming after a door opening and closing. I jumped into a small kitten and ducked behind a counter while the footsteps came in the room. The person was a little less interested in where he was but more on sleeping. He walked over to a couch and flopped down on it making the springs creak and moan. I looked over the counter and saw the man face down almost dead to the world. I almost fell over from seeing him, it was pathetic! What had he possibly could have done over the day to make him that tired. If he was military then it was very possible his superiors put him threw his paces. I sat there for a while just making sure he was a sleep while the tight uniform gave me a quezy feeling. I waited till I herd him snore and then I stood up. Now that I was free to do so I looked at my disguise and found that there was a pistol holster on his side, occupied by a firearm. I didn’t bother to look at it. but I walked quietly to the door and looked out in the hall. I was really unsure about the hole thing now that I was inside. It felt wrong somehow, but I couldn’t place it. seeing no one in the hall I walked out and tried to keep a disciplined walk going while I dodged the eyes of anyone who would come around.

The entire building was full of people armed and ready for any thing every time I passed someone with a weapon I felt sick. I continued on any way and walked up a stair case to the next floor. Each one had more people, it was like walking into an office building. The next floor was filled with people in suits passing papers from one floor to the other. Up the next stair case I found people in uniforms like mine pacing around with their weapons on guard duty.

I walked passed them feeling the sick nausea come every time one passed me. It was starting to make it hard to stand but I just kept walking till I found the next set of stairs. I went up to the next floor and almost no one was moving around. It was the floor Renamon had pointed to but where was every one? The sick feeling left for a moment and a new kind of sick feeling came up. I thought I should turn on my radio now to look a little more like the part so I turned the small knob and herd, “Switch to rubbers people.” It didn’t sound rite but I just ignored it. I didn’t remember what room I had seen all of the equipment in but it was around here some where. I opened a few doors finding empty rooms. It was getting a little scary till I opened a door in the center of the hall and found a room full of computers and cameras pointed from every window to the street and the buildings. For all of the computers I expected to see some one here. Since they weren’t I walked over and looked at one of the computers. There was a screen shot of some video frozen on of my embarrassed look as Ryokumon. Oh yeah where they watching us. I reached down and clicked the mouse to another image behind the window and found a picture of Renamon leaning on me, the next was me looking at the windows around the buildings. I had seen enough for comfort I looked around the room till I found a printer, I wasn’t looking for it but I saw a symbol on it that looked familiar.

I walked over to see a few pages in the tray letterhead reading: Hypnos. OK now this is getting a little weird I thought as I sifted threw the tray looking at reports printed off in Japanese and in English:

Targets spotted: 1534

Lost target:          1719

End report

Or,

Targets speed is far grater than anticipated. The two targets repelled to the top of the bank building a crossed the street by repelling, almost running, up a vertical face… Demonstrating attachments to each other, the male shows signs of intelligence, female shows signs of logic, and both have extreme senses. One of the two targets was spotted today and looked directly at the compound. We do not know at present time if we where spotted but target left visual range shortly after watching the compound…

Shows signs of intelligence? I thought as I looked it over. Freaken peeping toms… I thought as I put the papers down in a hurry, I herd a lot of feet thumping around. “Oh crap.” I said out loud as the door swung open and soldiers flooded in spraying the room. I was a little fast for them but a few still made their marks. I flew back painfully and landed on some of their equipment. When I was fully on the ground, they came closer and had their weapons hovering rite over me. I had been shot about forty times but I still had the energy to move, barley before I lost consciousness I herd the same voice of the suited man. “Pack him up.” Then all was black.

I was out for a long time and I woke up in a room somewhere. I wasn’t sure if I was still in the same place but I was sitting in my own cloths, chained to a thick bared cage. There where two armed men standing at the door looking after me. I would have gave a good tug on the chain but it thought it would go over better if I just play it weak for the time being. When one of the soldiers looked over at me he tapped the other on the shoulder and he went off out of the room. I groaned a little and looked down at myself. No holes not even a bandage. Could that uniform had been made out of some kind of bulletproof material? It was a stupid thought and I didn’t have long to think about it.

In about half a minuet I saw the suited man walk in with the soldier who left. He patted the man on the shoulder and walked straight to me. “An intruder I see.” He smiled out in an accent of oriental decent. “What where you doing in there boy.” He said as he crouched down just outside of hitting distance. I sat silent with a smirk on my face, I felt welts all over my body but I still had a card to play. “Not going to talk? Well keep it in mind that braking into a government building is considered treason.” There was an answer rite there and I didn’t even have to open my mouth. “What’s your name, oh wait your that kid who smashed up all those neighborhoods. I think your names…” I stopped him in mid sentence. “Ryoku. That’s my name.” He stood up and walked away from me a few steps then looked back. “So you can talk. Then I guess you wont have a problem answering some questions.” I looked away and squinted at my pain. That gave him another happy look and he walked back to one of the men guarding the door. “Your secondary.” He said as the soldier handed him a clip from one of the pouches on his waist with a blue band around it, then shot back to attention. The man pulled one of the bullets from the clip and showed the orange round to me. “Rubber bullets, not very lethal but effective. You took about forty maybe fifty shots by what our doctor said.” He stood up and tossed the clip back to the man who put it back into his pouch. “You’re a very fast young man. I don’t know anyone that can move that fast, and you don’t look like some one to use drugs to enhance your self. How did you get that fast?” he said as he leaned against an identical counter to the one in the apartment of the sleeping soldier I had stolen the uniform from.

“Judo.” I said smiling at him. “Your in a lot of trouble, wise up and lose the attitude, kid.” Just to make him made I put on a fake stage frightened face then returned to my smug smile. I started to scoot up the bar I was chained to so I could sit up in a cross-legged position. “OK lets try this again,” he said as he turned away staying in a professional tone. “What where you doing in that room?” I looked around at the men, who where not paying attention then back to the man in front of me. “Oh, you mean that room with all the spy gear?” the man chuckled at my childish response and turned around. “Yes, that one. What where you doing in there.” I turned my head to the side, smiled, and looked at him from the side of my face with one eye and said. “Looking for Digimon. Seems you have some fan art sitting on those computers. Tisk, Tisk douse the government pay you to do that.” I said playfully which annoyed them. “Digi-who?” he said sounding stupid on purpose pumping me for info. “Digi-MON stupid. You have pictures of them on the roof of the bank.” He turned around and smiled down at me. “Its also illegal to go threw government files with out autorotation.” I made another worried face and gave a mocking “Oh my, I’m so scared.”

He was losing patients with me quickly so he got rite up in my face for the next question. “WHAT where you doing in that room?” I turned to him and made a face like he had some serious breath issues. “One, back up. Two, I told you.” He stood up with a little courtesy after he made a long breath in my face and smiled “Uh-huh. So then, Why where you?” I was getting a little scared at this guy, he was getting angry at me fast. Looking at him not warring anything that said government probably meant he was just going to kill me. “Well, you know us kids are always drawn to those new fangled computers.” He gave a grunt and pointed his finger at me. A soldier walked over to me and bashed the butt of his Rifle a crossed my face. “Hmm, that almost hurt. Anything better?” I said as I shifted my jaw to either side, un phased by the hit. “Now, Why?”

Getting smart with him was fun and a little exhilarating. “I have a question for you first.” I said making him whip around putting on a furious face. “You’re being interrogated! You answer MY questions.” He said as he tapped me on the shoulder hoping to hit a welt then tapped him self. “Yeah grate and all, but I just have one question. This doesn’t look like any government building. What’s with that?” he let me give the question just so he could reinforce his authority. He pointed to me again and the soldier bashed the but down on my neck, causing a little discomfort, on the scale of a needle prick. “That tickled.” I smiled as I rotated around chasing away more of the welts than the butt shot.

“OK then explain Hypnos.” I said still spinning my head. The man flew around and pointed at me again. This time the soldier put all his muscle into the blow and hit me in the center of my face. “Hey getting a little old bud.” I said as I looked at the soldier annoyed and not hurt. He backed away, if I where human I would have been screaming from a hit like that but it was just annoying. The man turned around hearing my response but not believing it. “Secondary rounds, load um.” The soldier who struck me did so spooked by me not even flinching from the strong metal hitting me. “Why?” he said again letting the accent come out in full force, “Told you, looking for Digimon.” I said looking back at the soldier daring him to shoot one of those rounds at me.

“You answer my question now.” I said looking at the lowered weapon. The man in the suit pointed and the soldier wavered. “Shoot him!” he shouted and the soldier raised his weapon and fired at close range. “FUCK!” I shouted as the round bounced off my chest leaving another welt. The loud bark of the weapon sent a man threw the door ready to shoot me if I was standing. “Back to your post.” The man in the suit said as he showed the direction to walk. He took a second looking down at me while I cringed from the bullet. When the door closed he looked back at the soldier and  the suited man pointed again. He fired again and I hissed in pain. “OK now, whom do you work for?” he said as he turned around with an arrogant smile on his face. I sat there ready to brake the chains but pushed down the boiling urge to punch him threw the wall. “Strong kid.” He said simply as he pointed again getting another shot from the soldier. “Freelance, dickhead.” I said spitting it at him.

“I don’t think so, I don’t know any spies that can sneak past over fifty guards in correct combat dress.” I laughed for a second till he pointed again getting hit by another bullet. I growled like Ryokumon and it gave a startling jump to the soldiers. The man in the suit turned to my sound and looked at me. “Lets hear it then, who do you work for spy.” I fought past the anger for a small-demented laugh. “Don’t you play video games? There so realistic now-a-days if you have it you can look like It.” he leaned against the counter again for a pause and nodded for a few seconds. “I don’t believe you. Who do you work for?” he had regained his semi-English accent for a few seconds.

“Who are you anyway.” I said bluntly serious. He looked at me seriously and said “Heto.” He said as he smiled down at me. “Put him in the cage, if he resists in any way, kill him.” Mr. Heto turned around and walked to the door. He tossed the keys to the cuffs to the guard and left as the man who was shooting me changed from his rifle to his pistol. He unlocked the cage, pushed me around and closed the door. He unlatched the cuffs and let me up. I just leaned against the bars for a few minuets then stood up and paced for a while.

I turned my back to the soldiers for a second and ran my hands over the bars. I had felt the sick feeling since I woke up. It was like the tingling sensation when I touched the box on he roof, but it was all over me now. I assumed it was the men’s ammunition but they where a room away. I pressed my hand to the bars feeling the same sensation and knew it was a giant refrigerator magnet. “You ever seen a person take four rubber bullets like that?” one of the soldier said to the other. “No man, and I hit him as hard as I could, jeez, he didn’t even flinch!” I smiled and faked a rubbed on my neck for his pride. I didn’t want to bend the bars I was sure that it would make the sound of weak metal if I did so I’d wait. Those weapons they had where loaded with real bullets. Getting away from those with out injury was almost impossible in the position I was in.

I didn’t want to risk getting shot, not now at least. I waited till the night came and the guards where about ready to fall a sleep. I looked around the room for the day, saw the lack of furniture and decided to ask something. “Question, what’s with the luxury room here?” I said brining one of the guards back from near sleep. The soldier looked around and then back to the other and replied. “You know.” He said as I sat in the center of the cage. “No, I don’t. What’s with the cage?” the man looked back at his friend and laughed a little bit. “Digimon.” He said with a laugh, “We’re here looken for Digimon.” The two men prodded each other and yawned a little. “Heto says there is some of um here. What a bunch of crap.” The other soldier elbowed the one specking in the side and he stopped talking. I rubbed my head and leaned back. I raised my hand and gave a mid air salute to them. “Thanks for clearing that up guys.” A rattle came like they where saluting back and I dropped my hand to my chest.

If I was going any ware it wasn’t going to be that night. So I slept in the cage. Renamon was probably worried about me by now, but I made it clear on the way to our burrow for her not to come. I’d leave when they tried to take me else ware. I slept till six the next morning on the cage floor. I think I would have slept longer but the sick feeling was what I woke up to. When I opened my eyes I rolled to the side and looked around to see a new shift of guards drinking coffee. “Hey guys can I get a cup?” I said as they looked at me from the door. “Mr. Heto says nothing for you.” I leaned back down and stretched out on the floor. “Tell Mr. Heto to get a life.” I said looking at the ceiling of the cage. I wished they would hurry up and take me out of there. Instead they just let me sit till noon when Mr. Heto came for a visit.

“Good morning sun shine.” I smile d at him threw the bars. “I’m going to give you one more chance to tell me what I want to know.” He said as he leaned against the counter that was close to the cage. “Nah, I haven’t had my morning coffee yet.” One of the soldiers walked over beside him and I could see he had loaded one of the blue banded clips in to his rifle. “Those don’t bother me. Shoot me all you want, all I’m going to do is sit here in this nice cell.” I said as I looked at my fingernails like I had just cleaned them. Heto knew I wasn’t going to tell him anything but he tried anyway. From noon till six o-clock I went threw four of the soldiers clips with little more than a bad sore spot.

Heto finally gave up when a call came threw that they where under attack. I didn’t think any one else besides me and the tamers knew about this place. Then it made sense who was here. “SHINING SLASH!” was screamed as the hall out side erupted in gun fire. I just leaned forward and looked at the soldiers while they thought about going out and helping. I herd a thousand pings of bullets hitting metal and another “SHINING SLASH!” and only a few guns still fired. After the hall was clear I watched as soldiers take positions on either side of the door ready to fire at what or whom ever came in. The door didn’t open it was kicked in by Renamon who was warring my sword strap and belt. As the solders fired at her she deflected them with Leo, which looked different in her paws. When the two men stopped to reload she dashed like lightning and gave them each a chop to the neck putting them unconscious. She was breathing hard but still was able to scare the piss, literally, out of Mr. Heto who was cowering in the corner of the room.

“That’s my ride, sorry time for me to go home.” I said with a fake innocent look as I stood up and walked to the bars and let Renamon bend out the bars; Her hands distorted a bit but she could handle it. Mr. Heto looked on in amazement as I stepped threw the metal and over to Renamon. “Lets go Ryoku.” Renamon said as she walked over to a window a few feet from the cage. She opened it and hopped to the sill. I gave Heto a wave and I fallowed her as she jumped from the window, we where on the top floor of the building and five floors from the ground. Mr. Heto watched as I vanished from the window.

We jumped and dashed back to the burrow for about ten minuets. I was slowed down by my welts and needed to stop once or twice. It was a quiet trip, I wasn’t sure why but I could feel a change in Renamons strength, her energy was different. I couldn’t think about it I was to tired and out of breath, but when we reached the burrow I would find out what was different…

In My Hands

When we got back to the burrow we sat down and didn’t say anything for a few hours. I felt a little stepped over, and it showed from my painful posture. I cringed at my many welts, and then from the ones Mr. Heto gave me. It was not a fun day I can say. After I went to sleep for a while I found Renamon sitting on a wall near me on a wall to my right. Even after my little nap we didn’t talk. I concentrated on the thought of Renamons energy after she came in. I couldn’t think of a memory so the other alternative was to concentrate on something. When I changed one of the only good things of the moment was that the pain from my welts faded. They where still there in phantom pain but I knew that they weren’t there in Ryokumon’s form.

Renamon sat looking at the ground with her paws closed together over one knee. After a while I had to brake the silence. “I could have handled it.” she looked up at me for a few seconds then back down to the floor. “You just showed them you have a connection to me.” Leo hummed in her defense but I temporarily ignored it. “They can’t hurt me as a human. The most they could have tried to do was arrest me.” Renamon wasn’t familiar with laws but still kept quiet. I let the atmosphere loom for another few moments. “I know you where worried, but you just put your self in more danger by doing that.” Leo gave another hum and I acknowledged it, “It’s not OK Leo. I saw how she was affected by what they where using. Now that they know what she can do, they’ll use something stronger.” It was a hard bluff but it was probably true. I didn’t know what kind of strength they had. It was dangerous for her to rescue me, and it wasn’t worth the risk.

“I’m sorry my love.” Renamon said finally. “It’s ok Starlight.” I said as I looked to the same spot on the floor. I rubbed my fur in the spot where Heto gave me the most lumps trying to relive some of the phantom pain. “You where kept in a cage. I should have been worried.” I nodded and looked up. “You should have just been worried, Rescuing me was to rash. I was gathering information not attacking them. Next time they wont go easy on anyone.” I sank my head back down and whipped a tear from a yawn from my face. It sat like that for a few hours till after sunset then we changed the topic. “Did you tell the tamers?” she shook her head at the question. “Maria doesn’t know.” By that she meant by not telling her none of the other tamers knew about my little mission. “Why didn’t you tell her?” I said as I thought about it. She thought for a few seconds then said looking to the ground. “She wouldn’t have let me come to you.” I thought about telling her by not telling her, her tamer would get a sense of disobedience, and also being left in the dark for almost two days wouldn’t help.

“I found out a few things.” I said causing her to look up at me. “It is the government, which one I don’t know. It looks like some kind of task force.” She looked at me while I stood up and picked up Leo and my sword strap. “They WHERE watching us. I’m not sure what they plan on doing if and when they catch us though.” I looked at her as I fastened my strap to my belt. “They call them selves Hypnos. They seemed to be capable of taking on weak Digimon, but that’s just man power. I’m sure they have a lot more tricks than just guns.” I put Leo to my back and Digivolved to Neo Ryokumon and looked down to Renamon, feeling my power like the one she had when she came to me. I looked at my paws as the energy faded and wondered if she had Digivolved when she rescued me. “When you used Leo,” I opened slowly, “Did you Digivolve?” she looked up at me in apology and nodded. “To what? You looked the same?” she opened her muzzle and said words I had expected. “Neo Renamon.” I smiled and crouched down in front of her and looked into her eyes. “It’s ok Starlight. What’s done is done. It can’t be changed, don’t sit on the thought. Doing that rite now won’t help us now.” She gave me a smile and what was left of my anger left me. “Come on we need to talk to the tamers. I have a few questions I need to ask.” She took my paw and I helped her up, Leo hummed in relief from the tension we just released. I walked to the hole and looked up, we still had a few hours before the day broke but we could use it around the city.

I picked her up, now that I was faster than she was, and carried her around for a while till she wanted down. We sat on a large flat roof for a while just watching the sun rise after a while. It was quiet, there still was some tension but we knew that we could get over it. Until then the silence between us was what was rite. I remember something similar happening in the digital world, it was before I met Leomon. When I was protecting a village from bandits in the middle of the battle Renamon jumped in and helped out. It was moral that told her not to fight that day, even though I need the help a little. We had a little tiff for a few days. We weren’t involved then, just a platonic relationship. We got over it soon because the bandits came back while we where arguing in my burrow cave at the time and started ransacking the village. What we where doing was protecting, at that moment we weren’t doing a god job at it. It was a lot like the conversation we had in our burrow that day.

We sat there in the sunlight till about nine, I think she was downed a little by the argument but I sat remembering our first few before we where lovers. She looked back at me to see a smile on my face and cheered up. “What are you smiling about?” she asked as I started to shake my head and looked at her as she edged closer to my finally stopping at my side. “Just memories, Starlight.” I put my paw on her neck and she leaned on me. ”I hope there the good ones.” She laughed I opened my mouth thinking I should say something but didn’t, I just nodded. Now that we where close again it took me an hour to decide to go to the park. “We need to talk to the tamers.” I said as my face straightened. She understood what needed to be done and stood up. This time she gave me her paw and pulled me to my feet. I really needed a vacation, all of my forms had some kind of injury. I still had the strong welt from the Phantomon on my chest, even though it was less swollen it still hurt when I flexed around. I grunted to my feet and stood looking at Renamon. She walked over to me and gave me a hug and I returned it. “You go get the tamers, we’ll meet in the park.” She nodded her head in my chest fur and then let go to leave. I stood there for a few seconds while she bounced off a crossed the roves.

When she left I fallowed her around to the park. In a few minuets after I arrived, Maria came out and weighted for the others. “Ryoku. Where have you been! I’ve been worried about Renamon!” she did love her Digimon, she may not really show it around others but she was close to her. “I needed her for a mission.” She looked at me evilly and I responded. “She didn’t go with me. She was my life line though.” She dropped the look a little, her idea of “not doing any thing” meant not doing it with out her permission. She really was the leader of the group. “So what did you go do?” she said as I leaned against the pinkish brick wall behind some shrubs and plants. “Lets wait for the others, save me from repeating myself.” She nodded at me but not appreciating my attitude. In a few minuets Richy came with David in hand, and not long after that Renamon joined us. I wondered if Renamon had gotten them together, or if Maria had just called them.

“Hey Ryoku.” Richy said as he watched Renamon walk over to the spot I was leaning against and lean beside me. “What’s up?” I took a deep breath and looked at them. Their Digimon still weren’t with them. “Let me guess you haven’t seen your partners yet?” the two late comers looked at each other from the question and shook their heads. “Would you mind telling me where they hide during the day?” I said as I stood up from the wall. “Gizzy always stays in the concrete ditches while my parents are home.” Richy said as he looked down to David. David had a curious look on his face. “I think Biyomon just fly’s around all day. He doesn’t come down unless I call him.” he looked at Richy and pulled away from his hand. “He hasn’t been around though.” He said as Richy and Maria where starting to get the point of my questions.

“What do they have to do with anything?” Richy said hoping against what I was going to say. “Have any of you received any letters or E-mails from some place called Hypnos?” they all looked at each other except for David. Maria and Richy nodded. “My mom told me about the letter she got and told me to ‘look out’ for the monsters.” Maria said as she emphasized the words. “I found an email on my computer that was from the Hypnos people, thing from another world I think,” Richy said, “ I think I deleted it. I thought it was junk mail.” It was in a sense but I just continued. “That is who was watching Renamon and I on the bank building. I snuck into the building they where in and found out a little too much. One, they are looking for Digimon. Two, They want them for some purpose I’m not sure why though. They have pictures of Renamon and I sitting on the roof, they’re taking us very seriously. I don’t know if they know about tamers yet. But if they catch you, it’s going to be some trouble.” Richy and David looked a little scared from all of this.

“If I’m rite,” I said as I looked to Maria, “They might have your Digimon.” Maria didn’t want to hear that. “What?” Richy shouted angered at the prospect. “Why would they!? Where would they have them!?” I didn’t know the answer but I planned to find out. “I don’t know. I think its safe to say they are in danger if we don’t at least investigate this.” David looked at me almost ready to cry. “Why us?” he said as he sniffed in his runny nose. “Because we might be the only ones who can handle all this. We can’t call the cops. We’d look like nuts!” David once again fell silent from my explanations. “If there are other tamers who don’t know about these people we need to protect them from them.” The tamers where helpless in this matter so I said the next line. “You don’t have a place in this fight. I need Renamon and maybe Maria. If you can’t find your Digimon you’ll be in the way.”

Maria gasped at me volunteering her and shouted “Need me for what?” I looked at her seriously and put on the floor. “Rescue mission.” And it was made clear what responsibility she would have. “Oh, No! If you want to go off and get killed, that’s your business. Leave Renamon and me out of it!” she said as she came close to me almost furious for over stepping my bounds. “Maria. He knows what he’s talking about.” Richy said as he looked to the ground. “If they are in trouble then I’m sure he can help. Give him a chance, he hasn’t given us a reason not to.” It was a complement I’ll give, but it was more like a recommendation to her that she could turn down for the slightest reason. She turned to Renamon then to me as I stood calmly behind a plant. She whipped around to the other tamers, who where on my side for this argument. “Kicking around humans isn’t enough of a reason not to trust him!?” she shouted as they all just looked at her.

“You can hold that against me if you want, but don’t put their partners in danger because of it.” I said as she boiled around for a bit till she gave in to the majority. “Fine. Only if you do what I say.” She said like her commands would be a word of god. I smiled and nodded. “As long as it doesn’t get me killed, I’ll do it.” I said as put my paw out to shake. She put on a very grumpy face and blew a few strands of hairs from her face and reached her hand out. I gave her a wrist shake with a smile. “Nothing funny, got it?” she said seriously. I nodded and shook her hand for a few seconds then she pulled away because she thought I did it for to long.

“What’s with the sword?” Richy said as Leo started to hum. I pulled him from my sheath and looked into the reflection and smiled. “This is Leomon.” I said as they all looked on. I looked in the reflection and saw Leo smile. “Say hi Leo.” In the reflection I could see him bow his head and he gave a cheerful note. Maria looked at me like it was a word trick, not impressed. “Maria here hold him for a minuet.” I said as I passed him to her in the pads of my paws. She took the gesture as a respective homage and picked him up by the grip, almost falling over from the swords weight. I had to catch her so she didn’t fall over. “Do you feel him?” I said as she looked in the shine of the blade seeing his face. “There is.” She stopped and watched as Leo made some face at her. I couldn’t see it, maybe it was because I wasn’t holding him.

She handed the sword back almost white faced and I put him back in my sheathe. “How?” she mouthed. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. “He was the last Dark Digimon I fought, besides the Phantomon. I found out what makes them evil.” I paused for a breath. “The crosses they have, they are the source of their power. He told me a little about them before he started to re-infect himself, but as the story goes he wanted me to free him from them, so I did. I didn’t absorb him but his essence went to my sword.” It was the simplest way I could explain it, and a dumbfounded wave hit the tamers and David looked up to Richy. “He can do that?” Richy just looked at the grip of Leo and said nothing while his jaw sank.

“Richy, David. I know you’re going to want to have a part in this, but we need some time to talk about what we’re going to do. Go on home, leave it to us.” Maria still a little shocked from feeling Leo’s presence turned and gave them a nod and they slowly turned and walked home. “What do you think Ryoku?” Maria said finally after looking at her hand for a few seconds. “Well they have to be taking them some where, chances are they’re still in the state, city if we’re lucky.” I started but she interrupted, “But what do we do?” I was a little annoyed from her; she was really pushing it. “I don’t know yet. I don’t even know where they are centered at.” She was going to say the obvious but I stopped her. “That building I went to is where they look for us, not where they keep us. They where government, they’ll have some kind of research facility some where.” She stopped her train of thought for a moment. “What we need is an ear on the inside. I can’t go back in there, I was busted when I saw their equipment. If they’re any legal operation I’m going to say they want me in for questioning.” She looked at me like I had implied for her to go in. “None of us can get inside, not even with mine or Renamons speed. The whole building is wired and guarded. If you put a foot on the grass they would know you where there.” The more I said the worse it sounded. “What we can do is fallow them.” She lost her grim look and made an expression to me like I was insane. “I’m going to take that duty, after we find where they are centered at we can plan some kind of attack.” The insane look got a little clearer when I said the word “Attack” she was stunned for a few seconds on how I could think like that. “An attack!? They have guns, what are we bullet proof!?” I let it hang for a minuet, “Got a better idea?” I said out of frustration.

She leaned to one side and put her hand on her neck while she thought. I kept time while I let my tail swing below me, the frustration made a few hairs stand on end and sway. “Yeah I do.” She said after a while. “Let’s hear it.” I smiled. “We don’t attack them, that’s just stupid. At least not directly. When you find where they took them you distract them while Renamon and I look for the Digimon.” She said looking confident in her idea. “Lets say I can do that. How long do you think it would take you to find them. Ten twenty minuets? The soldiers would have me covered with enough bullets that they would go off and make sure you weren’t doing anything. Response time is really good with the military. Don’t test them.” She gave a huge smile and looked up to me with her hands on her hips. “But if they don’t see us then they cant find us.” she smiled. “What?” I said for the sake of pity. “Well if we get in before you distract them. When all the action starts they’ll clear out. We can look for them with out any trouble.” Bright kid I thought as I smiled at the plan. “How do you plan on doing that?” I said a little more serious and with out the smile. She looked at me returning the serious look and replied. “We’ll find that out once you know where they go.”

“Lets get started.” Maria said, I held up my paw in a yawn. “I’ve had a long day with our friends at Hypnos. Its going to have to wait till I get some rest.” She looked at me ready to get what we needed and a little depressed from my flat yawn. “Fine, tomorrow.” She said, she was thinking about calling Renamon along but just said, “Don’t be to rough you two.” Renamon looked at me from the change of heart she just showed. She was a little more cooperative with me now for some reason. Maybe she knew something I didn’t, and with her it was possible, I knew better than to under estimate that tamer.

“Lets go Starlight.” I smiled as I jumped to the top of the wall I was on. She gave a sigh and fallowed. “Your quiet today.” I teased then she gave me a little push on the wall and made me lose my balance. I fell into the yard behind the wall and jumped back over to see her snickering. “Very funny.” I said smiling at her playfulness. She jumped to the roof of the house behind the wall and then we went back to our burrow. I almost collapsed on the wall but I waited to take off Leo before I did. Slamming my back into the hard rock hurt but it went away in a few seconds. I was close to sleep when Renamon came up to me. I had just left her about a mile back just wanting to get back to ware I could sleep. I think she walked for how long it took her. She jumped in the hole and startled me.

It wasn’t quite half baked, but at least it was a plan. The sketchier the better. At this phase the only thing we where really cretin about was that they meant harm to us. Getting this little problem out of the way now is the plan, no matter what it would cost us. We needed to clear the way for the rest of the adventure…

What Comes Next

!!!!CAUTION!!!!! This chapter contains material of sexual nature. If you are not of at least 18 years of age please skip over this chapter, almost none of this applies to the story line, if referred to will have little effect on any outcomes. I will take no responsibility for under aged readers. Read at own discursion !!!!CAUTION!!!!

“Are you sure you want to sleep my love?” she said as she came over in front of me and leaned down and put her paws on her knees. “Not really.” I smiled as I pulled her down to me. She gave a small surprised shout by my frisky paws. “I’m sorry my love.” she said as I hushed her by putting one finger to her mouth and said. “Its ok Starlight, I can’t be angry with you for loving me.” She smiled back at me tenderly and turned around and sat on my lap, with her legs to one side “I do love you.” She said as she pressed her paw to my chest and rubbed my chest fur. It felt good at that time and I just sighed. I put my paw on her shoulder and she leaned against me still rubbing. I felt a little aroused, but the moment was so cool I didn’t go against it. She ran her paw down to my stomach and circled where my naval would have been if I where human. I gave her a kiss and she leaned her head on me. I put my other paw on the inside of her leg and she dropped her paw to my leg. I felt more aroused now.

It felt rite to be though. I was halted for a moment by my human side but it wasn’t enough of a halt to stop me from rubbing closer to her sex. She gave a little moan and stretched out her legs to my side. “I love you so much Starlight.” I said as she reached down and started to rub me. I felt a lump start to form in me but I left the thought to hear her moan while she rubbed me. The fur around her sex was moist after a few strokes and I continued to stroke her leg till she stood up and straddled me. She looked in my eyes and I knew what she was going to do. She rubbed my manhood with a little pressure and I felt the lump grow. I looked down to see my pink prick sticking out of my sheath a bit. It was a hard on but I expected more. The skin over the lump was tighter and I felt her force the lump forward she squeezed behind the lump and my full penis popped out . All of what I expected. There was a lump in it near the base. I was a fox so it was natural but my human side looked at it like a tumor.

She leaned her head down to it and gave it a lick around the sides and I yelped in pleasure. I felt like I lost bladder control for a second as a squirt came from me. She looked up at me, “Sensitive now are we.” She smiled as a little of the fur under her left eye was wet. She crawled around to my side and pointed me to the other side. She looked at me with one eye and licked me again with the same result. I saw the spray of fluid go to the wall and ooze down. Seemed a little anti-climatic to me, but I knew it was my own nut. She licked me over for a few minuets then stuck my cock in her mouth and bit down on it a little, her sharp teeth scraped down to my lump, now as hard as a rock. I felt myself giving her a mouth full and when It was too much, she opened her lips and let the fluid fall out. Too much to swallow I guess.

She came further around to me, exposing her backside by her lifted tail and I could see her slit almost throbbing. I gave her a long stroked rub from her ass hole to her stomach and then back and she moaned while she bobbed my cock. I was huffing and letting a lot of nut go completely uncontrollably. She seemed to be doing the same thing as I rubbed her. Her slit was so wet that my large fingers went in and around smoothly. She stopped for a moment from sucking my cock as I stuck one finger in her vagina. It was almost as big as my dick and seemed to capture the feeling well for her. She moaned and groaned in pleasure as I slowly pushed in and out of her hole with my finger and her wet fur dripped from her arousal. She went in time with my finger back and forth pumping with it, she let her tail fall on my paw and just swayed in bliss as I fingered her sex.

For a while she went in motion with me, reaching back every few pumps with one paw to grab my dick. I felt the rock part of my dick soften and she pulled away from my finger letting it drip from her pungent juices. She crawled back around between my legs on all fours and sat back with her legs spread while she lifted her long chest fur up. “Did you forget about these lover?” she said exotically exposing small athletic breasts. I knew they where there but I didn’t feel them because I had forgotten about them in the corner of my mind. She reached over to the hand I had in her sex and licked my finger. Then slowly pressing it to her exposed breast with a moan, I could feel under the fur that she had an erect nipple. I gave them a rub with both hands tussling them in both my paws while she reached down and stroked my cock. She looked back up at me and smiled “Are you ready now lover?” she didn’t even have to ask, I was already leaning forward to her. My dick was so hard I couldn’t take it. It found its way to her slit and easily slipped in.

She flipped her legs out from under her and wrapped them around me as I started to thrust to the ball of my cock. I gritted my teeth as I came with every thrust letting it ooze from her, lubricating and increasing her pleasure. She moaned and I huffed, the intense pleasure was more than I had ever had. For five minuets I pumped faster and faster while a stream of our juices almost sprayed from her vagina. She reached down while she moved in sink with my hips and put two fingers around my ball and pulled on it, forcing my thrusts to be shallow but deeper, she let out a scream of bliss and I could feel my self being forced into her. I felt a pop and she yelped in pain. I stopped for a moment. “Don’t stop.” She panted and I continued slower. I was all the way in now and all my movements where thrusting, no withdraw. She moaned and moaned and I still gritted and panted from my cock inside her. I pulled one paw from the ground only keeping balance with my other and reached under her chest fur and rubbed her breasts. She wrapped her legs around me and squeezed desperately forcing me deeper. I leaned down and laid on her my hips still pounding at her hole and gave her a love bit on the neck. She screamed out in pleasure and fell back a second before I did. I tried to roll over but my cock was still stuck in her. She gave a small yelp and pushed up from the ground and hung from my shoulder. “We have at least and hour before we can separate lover.” She said like I forgot. With how hard my dick was it felt like it would bee a day. I leaned back and she laid on top of me she pulled her legs from behind me and closed them around my dick pressing against her clit. We where both huffing and puffing and I was now completely exhausted. I rolled to my side with her and closed my eyes.

When a moment passed I was a falling asleep kissing her with all my heart till I passed out. It was the most exhilarating experience of my life. That kind of love can’t really be explained. Its more than human sense can comprehend. It could have been considered what female humans feel in an orgasm but with each blissful thrust. If she was more sensitive than I was I could only imagine what kind of experience she had. I have had sex before, but it felt like the first time, it was probably the love in it. A beautiful moment to say the least.

I rolled  open my eyes some time later looking into her eyes as she slept. I could still feel my dick out and about but there was no lump in it and it was half way back into my sheathe. I pulled back slowly from Renamon and then pushed my soft cock back in the rest of the way. I looked at the ground where the festivities took place and saw a large sexual stain in the dirt. And by large I mean about the size of a three hundred pound man’s butt. I looked down at my self and to Renamon, not seeing how either of s could even produce half of that. The smell of the sex was in the air and I sat in my spot to recall it all, getting a little of the lump back. I don’t know what time of the night it was but the moon was clouded in the sky, the stars took the task of lighting the sky and seeing them made me remember Renamon, my Starlight. I quietly jumped back down the hole and rejoined her in sleep. When morning came around we both woke up muzzle to muzzle, with that special twinkle in our eyes. I was still a little new to sex have like that and after a while of silent communication I had to ask. “Are you going to be pregnant?” she smiled back at me from the ground and gave a little laugh, “No, lover. I only get pregnant when I’m in heat. You know that.” I put my paws in my lap and pushed out jokingly “Your not, are you?” she smiled back and teased me. “You said you wanted pups back then.” She ran her paw under my chin and I smiled harder as I hid my potential erection.

She gave a sniff to the air and smiled. “You are active now. Aren’t you.” I looked down at myself not seeing it but I knew she could smell me. “Would you like to have another go my love.” She smiled in the sunlight. “I would but we have things to do today.” I said as I stood up no longer hiding my self from her. She walked over to me and pressed her finger to the tip of me and pushed it back in. “It’s a little late anyway love.” She said as she gave a light squeeze to the rock that was in my sheathe. There was no way I was going to get that lump out now, but since I had plans for the day it didn’t matter past my own lust for her.

“Maybe we should wait a while so you can calm down a bit my love.” She said as she looked at my lump. I smiled back as I went for my shorts and put them on. “One of the best things about cloths, if you ware them rite they can hide almost anything.” I smiled as my bulge all but vanished, but what to do next was almost a mystery. It was like it was the last time we’d see each other but neither of us wanted to say it.

So what comes next is all according to plan, but after that, then what? Fate as a wise man said, fate…

All According to Plan

We spent the morning together and then went to see Maria. Who I’m sure doesn’t want to know what we do in our free time. Trying to stay on track after a night like that was more than challenging. I can safely say that was the first time in years, but enough about that. I fully dressed my self for the day and put Leo on under my shirt. I was Neo Ryokumon for the trip and it went pretty fast. I was happy from the night but I couldn’t get around what we where going to do. It wasn’t on my mind last night; in fact not much was except Renamon. I carried her a crossed the roves of the city as stealthy as possible finally coming back to the park.

I let Renamon down and she looked at me sadly. I knew why she was sad but I was going to do this rite. I had seen what they had with them in manpower and weapons, and their, strange but fitting choice of accommodations meant they where deafly serious about keeping Digimon for some purpose. I wasn’t going to make the mistake of getting caught a second time, one face seen by them was bad enough. It was a morning filled with thought and second thoughts. Thinking things like that where expected. If Digimon where captives then this little rescue party was going to save not only the tamers Digimon but possibly others.

There was no fault in it that I could see. Only fault I knew of was the plan its self. Me as a distraction. I’m sure Leo was having his moment as I waited. I had the same thoughts about ditching this little get together but I didn’t for the sake of Renamon. In an hour Renamon and Maria came back, and even in the situation I had to laugh at them, first snicker and then a full-blown laugh. Renamon and Maria where dressed from head to toe in black. Maria had a bit of shoe polish on like war paint and Renamon had a Ski mask on her head. “What are you doing?” I laughed as both tamer and Digimon gave me a light sneer. “What do you think?” Maria said convincingly.

I had to stop laughing before I could answer, Maria had probably went threw her mothers closet to find the cloths Renamon had on, And they had almost been tailored to her. It looked attractive sure, but it also looked more like a Halloween costume. “What’s so funny?” Renamon said as I tried to get a hold of myself. “You two aren’t going in that are you?” I said as I pointed to Maria while pushing down the cackling. “We’re coming with you.” Maria said as she took a sep closer to me. “To there base sure. I’m going on the hunt with Renamon.” I felt another laugh come on and I turned around while Renamon gave a pushy look to me. “You said you didn’t like cloths Starlight.” I said as I turned back around giggling. Renamon looked at Maria a little embarrassed and then back to me. “Well.” She started but stopped as Maria gave me a very angry frown.

I looked back at Maria and smiled. “You watch to much TV kid.” She gave me another sneer and turned around while I let out another laugh. “Well you guys have a while. I was just checking in.” I put my paw o my mouth trying to stop chuckling; I could see Renamon looking down almost straight red faced from under her fur. “Lose the cloths. We have work to do.” I smiled as I started to get back to the seriousness of the situation. Renamon started to peel off the suit Maria had given her and I could tell she felt very relived to get them off; I had to turn around from slight arousal. The sudden shock of her pulling off the shirt lifted her chest fur and I caught a glimpse of her chest. I made sure not to let a stair form with turning around, but I stood there for a few seconds and then turned around.

Maria whipped the shoe polish from her face and took the cloths as Renamon handed them to her. “Don’t take all day.” She said before she looked at Renamon who was straightening her fur from the static of the cloths. “Tell me the minuet you hear something.” I nodded and gave her a thumbs up. She turned at me as unhappy with me as she always was and walked away. “Did she really make you ware those?” I said to Renamon as I watched her walk away. She looked down again like I was teasing her. “She said we had to look like spies, or something like that.” She laughed out slightly. I just smiled as I thought of ware to start.

“Well since we only know they’re in that one building. That’s where we should start.” I said losing my laugh and rubbed my paw a crossed the underside of my chin. “We need to stay out of sight though. And from what I saw the only way we can do that is up the street its on.” Renamon still looked a little winged by my opinion of her in cloths but she nodded in agreement. “So Starlight. Lets go.” I smiled to her in a tease.

We jumped around zagging around for the day from position to position trying not to be seen. Not one car or van stopped at the building, and for the longest time not even a person was out side. Hours past and we still moved around to different positions trying to watch the building. I could see in some windows that there where people going about their business inside. They weren’t looking in our direction though. When night came Renamon and I agreed to take shifts watching the building. Renamon went first beside my complaint and I tried to sleep. I might have drifted off but I’m not sure. I closed my eyes and thought about how angry Maria was going to be for us not checking in with her. I was listening to the sounds of traffic as cars and people made their way up the main street. There was a stoplight not to far from the corner that the building was on; it scrambled my senses when I listened for the sound of brakes, but about half way threw Renamons watch I herd a car stop out of sink with the rest of the cars. I had to listen closely for it but I herd it. Renamon was about to tap me but I came up from my back rubbing one eye and looking out over the street with the other.

The van was stopped a few houses in front of us, and a few people got out and walked to the building. Looking at them carrying bags and boxes made me sure that they where going to change a shift or re supply the equipment I broke when they caught me in there. They left the van running and on the radio I could hear a news broadcast. “Ryoku strikes an apartment building. Just to the outside of downtown Mesa, Ryoku our local super hero was caught braking into an apartment building. Residents say that he was sifting threw their belongings possibly looking for money. The attendant of the building saw him going threw an open door and went to investigate to find him taking a computer from the residents desk. Police say that he is wanted for other charges under his real name, they advise that if you see him not to take it on your self to bring him in, but to call the police. A reward is being offered by the superintendent of the building for his capture. If you have any information call…” well they work fast I thought as I listened to the rest of the story ducking down as a few people in street cloths walked from the building. They already have a fake story running, AND have set me up for other things. I looked over to Renamon to see her looking threw a small runoff spot on the edge of the roof. I rolled a threw times to get over to her and I looked threw the same hole.

“Hunt is on Starlight.” I said as the vanload of people started to move. It stopped at the corner and made a right turn. I knew the area pretty well and that told me that they where heading to the high way. Once the van got onto the main road we jumped from the roof we where on to the corner building hidden by a tree. I watched the van sit at the stoplight with a load of tired people in the back. I ducked down as the passenger in the front seat looked up to the roof we where on. Mr. Heto was riding shotgun, and he was very on looking for the trip. When the van started moving again he looked forward. I held Renamon back for a second as I watched him in the mirror. He couldn’t see me but I could see him scanning the roves. “That man in the van.” I said as I watched him, “Mr. Heto he’s nothing but trouble.” I watched the van go over a small ridge and I stood up to see it pull up to another stoplight. We where further than human site could recognize but I could watch him. “If I say we go back, we go back. He’s watching for us.”

I think he was watching for us as much as I was watching him. He looked back and all around over the trip to the air force base north from the city. It took about fourtfive minuets for the van to get there but it took Renamon and I a little longer since we where a distance away. We fallowed Heto’s van along the highway, in this part of the world most of the highways have some kind of runoff system. Concrete ditches as I mentioned earlier. There’s also a giant man made hill between the ditch and the road. We made our way at least a mile behind him on the other side of the large hump. Jumping over every off ramp and occasionally to make sure we where going in the rite direction. I was the one who did most of the tracking on the highway, the van was going the speed limit but it was swerving all over the place. I almost lost it a few times as it slipped behind semi-trucks on the road but we still found it when it turned off in the middle of nowhere to head out to the base.

“What kind of place is that?” Renamon asked as we watched the van pull up to a gate. I was getting worried about the entire plan, never in my life ad I ever done anything as stupid as braking on to an air force base. “That’s a big snare Starlight. Its an air force base.” We where laying on the ground as we watched the van pull threw and go the long distance to the many buildings behind the gate. I looked over the area logically and saw how insane it was. Too much open ground and not enough cover. From playing video games I knew how much cover can save your ass, and all this base was for a few hundred yards at a time was open ground. “You saw how much fight they put up in that building. Out here they would have the advantage. They can hit us from a long way behind us or from one side and for all of the stuff they have here, hell even above!” Renamon was almost unaffected by my little warning and stood up and ran around the booths visual range to the high fence. I didn’t want to tell any one we where here by screaming so I just fallowed. “What are you doing!?”  I hissed in a whisper as I found her on the other side of the fence. “Seeing where they’re going. Ryokumon we need to find them you said they might have the tamers Digimon!” she said quietly in the field we where in and she was rite no matter how bad it looked. We where tired from our long run here but we where still to fast for the guards while we fallowed the van further into the base. I was too busy watching for patrols to make sure Heto wasn’t watching for us. he probably thought we wouldn’t be stupid enough to fallow him this far into his territory. What was rite over powered the stupidity so we fallowed his van till it stopped near a long building. It was the barracks from what I could tell. There where about thirty buildings almost identical to the one the men in the back got out and went to. I was standing on the roof of a near by building watching them get out and head straight to their rooms.

Mr. Heto and the driver didn’t get out though. They stayed in the van and drove off after they let out heir passengers and went to the other side of the base. Renamon was very active in watching and sensing the area. I was using what senses I had when I was human. Since they where better they gave me a major heads up, but Renamon using all of hers had more of a lead to anything than I had. Its habit to do something like that. Plus, the fact that I was scared sense less over the fact of where we where and what we where doing.

It wasn’t a hunt anymore; it was a war game, Fallow but not seen. Any war game is deadly, for either side. Mr. Heto drove slow for the size of the base, but I didn’t know what the grounds speed limit was so either he was being over cautious or he was taunting us. Since we had wandered over the base we had to get in closer only a hundred yards separated us from him. Being that close to a person who was that violent was too dangerous for me. I didn’t doubt that if we where caught he’d give the order to kill us.

On the other side of the base was an array of buildings from the airfield to the foreign ambassadors quarters. I didn’t know what was what at the time. It sure wasn’t the airfield though. His van pulled up to a tall three or four story building near others of various sizes. When the van stopped so did my heart, Heto took his time stepping out while he looked over the area as much as I was. Every guard made him cringe. He was clearly feeling stairs but I don’t think he was felling ours. Leo hummed and I had to reach back and hold the grip for a few seconds to stop him. I just looked forward and hushed him. Heto walked into the building his van was in front. He went inside and Renamon was about ready to leave. I grabbed her by the arm before she could stand and held her down.

“Not so fast Starlight. Something feels out of place.” She looked back at me with the same uneasy look and relaxed back into position. She was completely still, but I was nervous and couldn’t control my tail from swinging. We waited for about an hour before we where rewarded by Mr. Heto. He did come out of the building and get back into the van. I smiled at the sixth sense and we fallowed him. I was still jittery as hell but I was calmer from how long we had gone unseen in this place.

“Where is he going?” Renamon asked as we stopped for a second while the van turned between a few buildings. “Could be to go check his Digimon, or he could just be checking out the base.” I was leaning towards the checking the base with how he was around. He went from between the buildings to the airfield hangers, not the move I had expected. but since all of the ground here was open we stayed on the roof of that building. For the first time over most of the night I herd a plane land. I lost Renamon to the sound and was left to watch Heto alone for a few seconds. My tail swayed behind me, but I was almost calm now. I took a deep breath threw my nose and smelled the area. From what I could pick up there where four different scents of people in the area and then there was the smell of Digimon. It wasn’t very fresh but it was there. There was the scent of cars and equipment. I had either clamed down enough to think about using it or I was so freaked out instinct took over.

I didn’t really think but I fallowed the scent of the Digimon over the open field. Renamon fallowed as she picked up the same scent. We fallowed it extremely sloppily trying not to be seen. but found our way to the aircraft hangers. One large on in particular seemed out of place almost temporary, the large tin shed stood as high as the warehouse. I jumped to the top of it where there where air vents and looked down threw the barred hole. Renamon jumped up after me and we both looked down on what we had expected.

I looked down and watched as Mr. Heto entered the hanger. “What do we have today?” he said as he walked to the center of the hanger. there was a second floor and possibly a third floor in the hanger all to the back on very small ledge like floors that had a single stair case going to them. “Very well Heto. The Digimon you found us recently seems very ready to cooperate.” Another man said, his voice echoed threw the bowls of the large building. I looked around the hanger but couldn’t see a cage or even a cell, but I heard a few muffled calls coming from around the walls. “Lets see our little friend then.” Mr. Heto said and I cold hear his arrogant smile in his voice. I herd the second man play with a few musical controls and Heto stepped away from where he was.

I let out a muted gasp as a crack opened up in the floor and a staircase appeared where Heto was standing. “Mr. Yamaki  was wondering what your progress was.” Heto said as he walked to the staircase. “I herd, I just haven’t gotten around to giving my report yet. I still have a few bits of data to check up on.” They both gave a laugh and walked from their positions down the stairs. I looked at Renamon and then back down to the stairs. I could smell the Digimon as a burst of wind came from the hall way lading down the stairs.

“This just got a little more interesting Starlight.” I said as I gathered a few guards coming in our direction from up wind. She looked down at the vent and nodded as the thick door in front of the stairs closed. The next part was to get as far away fro the base, we did so under a much more watchful eyes. There where three more guards per hundred yards on our way our. Sneaking past them was difficult but it was possible. Slowly but surly we creped to the felids back around to the gate. There where some dry shrubs in the field that hid us when a few soldiers passed us by so we could jump out over the fence to safety.

I stopped on a rooftop to think for a while. “He knew we where there.” I said out loud as I looked to the ground. Renamon looked up at me and seemed a little shocked about it. “He knew we where fallowing him.” I said as I looked up to she her face. “We weren’t spotted.” She said trying to sway my paranoia. “Oh yes we where Starlight. Maybe not by the soldiers but my Mr. Heto.” I saw a flash of his face when he left the apartment building . He may not have caught a direct look at us but I was sure he knew we where there. I sat down as the sun came up. We had put a lot of time into our observation and it needed a little more thought before anything could come together. “We should get back to Maria.” Renamon said as she watched me sitting on the ground.

“You go tell her if you think it’ll help I have a few things to think about.” She gave me a loving smile and sat with me. Her tamer could wait, if it where up to her she would take the direct approach and just have me attack rite off the bat. What a situation like this called for was a little strategy. It may have been necessary but the idea of going against soldiers, it could be more than I could handle, and if I couldn’t handle it the best strategy would be to run away. Circle the base confuse them for a while. Stop and attack make it look like I was retreating, but if I was on the base an I didn’t do any thing then they would catch on quick to the true nature of the plan. “That’s it!” I said as I shot up from my meditating position. Renamon was a little surprised I think se fell asleep while I was thinking. “What’s it?” she said as she fell back onto her paws in surprise. “How we can get you an Maria in.” I smiled, I looked to the building while I stood up and saw that I was in view of the street below. My shout of intelligent glee had caught the ear of some one on the street. When I looked to the street a person was looking curiously over at me. I ducked down quickly and cursed my self almost losing the thought.

I paused for a moment while I listened for the person to move on. After a few seconds of blinking I herd the light distanced footsteps walking against the sounds of the traffic. I bit my lip and caused a little pain from my sharp Neo Ryokumon teeth. When I let my lip from my teeth I could taste blood. I ignored it while I tried to remember my train of thought. “We need a dud.” I said as I tapped my paw in the palm of the other. Renamon was completely lost from that line. “We need something they’ll think will do damage, a fake bomb or something.” She understood that a little better, but not entirely. “I don’t intend to hurt people, I’m sure that a real bomb would work better but we’re just going to infiltrate, so a fake will work fine.” Renamon was sure I meant something else but she fallowed with a slightly puzzled look. “A bomb, you know. Something that blows up and causes damage.”

She fallowed but still didn’t understand. it didn’t matter anyway, after I tried to explain a little more we went off to talk to Maria. We found our selves in the park but I stopped Renamon from going to her tamer. She was tired so I told her to rest for a while. I sat near her worried about the hole thing thinking about her safety. I can recall now that I didn’t have one thought for the time about my own. she was one of the most capable Digimon I had even known and one of the most reliable persons I have ever meet. She slept in my arms for a few hours into the morning while we where hidden by the park walls and its plants. While I was thinking my human side came to worry about her tamer as a person, as a child. She may not be innocent but she was close to it, more over arrogant and pompous. She might not be able to handle a mission like this, But I knew better than to under estimate her. Her attitude made her the strongest one of all.

The hours past and Renamon fidgeted in her sleep. She was probably thinking about how insane the whole thing was too. I didn’t have the heart to wake her up Maria did though. She was just walking around at about noon and found us in the park. She saw me against the wall and gave an angry shout. “What took you so long!! Where’s Renamon!?” Renamon lifted her head from my chest and Maria saw it. I stood up a little unhappy for her waking her up and leered at her as she walked over. “So?” she said anxious for the ordeal we where about to take. “It’s the military.” I said as I gave her a low tone. “We fallowed Mr. Heto to the air force base…” I was going to continue but I saw Maria put on a look like I hadn’t told her something. “Who?” she said flatly. “Mr. Heto, He seems to be in charge of the hole thing. When I was captured he was the one asking all the questions.” Again she looked at me like I hadn’t told her something. “I was caught sneaking into their little building by the bank. He gave me a good six seven hour interrogation I have the welts to prove it.” she looked over to Renamon and had an idea of what happened that day. “And what happened to not doing anything without me?” she said in a clam angry tone to Renamon. She dropped her head for a second and I stepped between the two. “Can we get back to the main problem here?” I said as I held my paw out in front of her and waved it to get her attention. She looked back up to me with the cool angry look and gave a slight nod with her arms crossed. “We fallowed Mr. Heto to the Air Force base up north. I caught a lit of Digimon in scent but I couldn’t tell any of them.” I said as I lowered my paw to my hip and stood talking  “It looks like to me that they have some kind of under ground facility under one of the aircraft hangers. I don’t know how big it is or what they’re doing but with how many scents I got when they opened the door it could be pretty big.” I took a breath and weighted for a response.

Maria perked up ready to suggest a good plan when I started talking again. “It’s a military base so we need a little strategy, I think they know we’re coming but I don’t know for sure. If they do then it will be that much harder to hide you two till I can distract them.” I stopped while Maria settled into thought. “What we need is a dummy.” She said after a few minuets. I smiled at the suggestion, I thought it up first but I wasn’t going to burst her bubble. “Something they think will do some damage, like a toy or something.” I held up my paw like I was in school and she stopped, “A dummy bomb maybe?” I said it in a playful tone but she didn’t pick up on it. “Yeah.” She said as she turned to one side and thought some more. “put it somewhere where they can see it, then lead them around while we go for the Digimon.” She turned back at me and looked me dead in the face. “How long do you think you can hold them off for?” it was good question I answered it with one of my own. “I guess we’ll have to find that out our selves.” I smiled as I looked over to a slightly rested Renamon.

“It’s settled then, after I get the props made we go and check this place out.” I looked at her with one ear down and voiced my protest. “I’ll make the props, you get ready.” I smiled as I looked at her for the next half. “And no spy get-ups ok.” she turned around in a huff like I spoiled the best part. She ruined my fun though. “Renamon lets go.” She said as she started to walk away. “Be back here at the park when you get done. I want this over with before dinner.” She ordered, grate that gives me a while to make it look real. I thought as I jumped to a roof. Renamon looked back at me serious and depressed then fallowed her tamer from the rooftops. I stayed on the roof for a while, while I watched her go. I think putting Maria in her place for that conversation just took me down a few notches. I didn’t have time to think about it though I needed to get some shopping done.

It was going to work, it had to. If we where going to find out what was going on in that place it needed to be perfect. Anything less could land us more problems, and that is something we didn’t need. The other tamers Digimon where in that place I was sure, but getting them out with out losing some one was going to be hard. What if they didn’t find them, what if one of us was captured. What if I never saw Starlight again. It was a risk that we had to take, a risk I had to take…

Decoy Maneuver

I changed back to my human form and almost fell over from my welts. Being in my Digimon form for so long I almost forgot about them. The time I spent as Ryokumon didn’t give my injuries a chance to heal. I lost a lot of energy when I changed and for a few minuets I had problems standing but when I made it to my feet I found the energy to get around.

For a while I spent my time in stores buying containers and things to add to my mystery substance. Then off to a few electronic stores to get some wire and a few led displays. Some touch pads and a lot of other stuff that would make it look truly combustible. When I had all of the things I thought I needed I found my self about eighty dollars down and one dummy bomb up. I took the supplies back to my burrow and sat down. I have to saw that with Leo on my back I had some problems with some stores but I got every thing I thought I would need.

Leo made some sounds threw the shopping experience, I told him a few times to keep quiet in public but he wasn’t listening. He hummed at things that amazed him and I couldn’t keep him from them. As it goes I made it back with it all and started to put every thing together. After a while it looked more like a bomb from my favorite video game. I laughed at it and then started to fill it with anything from dish washer fluid to spices and Landry detergent. It came out to look like a brown moist powder. Gritty, and very unpleasant to touch. I did anyway and I regretted it. it took five minuets to get the stuff off of my hands.

After I filled the containers with the mystery substance I tested my craftsmanship it had batteries, a display and it counted down. It was the perfect dud. When I was human I did some thing like this to a friend who got me a little angry. I put a dud pipe bomb in his car. It was a work of art how real it looked. This one was no different. I bought some phony stickers and labels at some model shops and put them all over it. Government this, explosive that. I sighed after I finished it. for slapping it together that fast it looked really good. I avoid saying authentic because I’ve never actually seen a bomb before.

I fell back on the wall and on Leo causing him to let out a shrill tone and then an angry one for my negligent act. “Sorry old friend. Looks like I’m a little worse off than I though.” He fell silent for a few seconds while I pulled him off. I would have left but I fell asleep, it wasn’t the pain but the energy I used getting around it to complete my dud. my human form was almost useless until I let the welts swell down. I didn’t have time for it though. Maria was expecting me so after I woke up from my small nap around four I changed back to Ryokumon with a found memory of Renamon. I thought about just carrying the dud but I stuck it in my bag just in case. After I cleared out all of my cloths and stuff, I wasn’t sure what the stuff I put in the thing could do to my cloths so all of it was left in my old bag.

“Well Leo lets see if this works.” I huffed as I picked up him up in my sheathe. I put my bag on and then put Leo on under my shirt. With my Digivolve went my cloths and my bag just like the first time. I walked to the hole and looked up at the sun still high in the and thinking how much better it would be it we went about this at night. I don’t think Maria would have a problem getting out of the house at night. She probably just wanted a good nights sleep after something like this. I know I would.

Well I had my finished bomb with me somewhere. I’d have to take off Leo to show them my work. But getting this done was a lot better than a little inconvenience. I made it back to the park around seven and waited for Maria to come around. She didn’t show up till around eight. So much for making it around supper, eh? I looked up at the sky when she came thinking it was better to be late and do it at night. The sun was setting and I got my way. She wasn’t to happy about it but I had a smile on, she was warring the black get-up I had told her not to but at least she didn’t make Renamon put on the same thing this time.

“You sure took your time.” She said as she looked me over, “so where is it?” she said in her commanding posture. I smiled and grinned out “Where’s what?” she gave a level eyed look to me not amused by my little joke. “OK, OK, just a second.” I said as she took a step towards me about ready to hit me. I pulled my sheath from my back and reverted to Ryokumon and when my cloths appeared I pulled my bag off. She was a little stunned from seeing me go back to being a fully dressed Digimon and was even more at my prop. “Looks good.” She said slightly impressed. I grinned at it and told her the price. “Eighty bucks to make a fake bomb. I just love being a smart ass.” I think the price was a little much for her, she took her step back and looked at the throw away dud I just made like it was a serious investment. “That’s one expensive toy.” She said as she fiddled with a few of the buttons. I pulled it back and cradled my art. “Hey! I don’t know how good the batteries are we might need um.” She gave a slight laugh at it like I was a three year old protecting his favorite G.I. JOE action figure.

“Well it’ll do the job but you guys need to really put a move on it I don’t know how long I can distract them.” I said putting the fake back in my bag. I put Leo to my back and Digivolved again “Ryokumon Digivolve to,” and the flash of energy almost blinded Maria who was looking at me seriously, “Neo Ryokumon.” I picked up my bag while the energy faded and put it to my back, “Are you ready?” Maria smiled, and Renamon nodded gravely. “Then lets get this over with.” With that Renamon picked Maria up and carried her to our destination. In ten minuets time I had led them to the rite side of the base so they could get into the hanger.

Dusk hadn’t quite settled on the base so I forced Maria to wait till the lights of the air field where bright enough to hide a solute, it came while the sun was still sinking, I helped Renamon avoid a few cameras and then left them on the ‘roof’ of the hanger. They where expecting us by him much security was in force. There were at least one hundred men between the airfield and the hangers, none of which where tar mat personnel. I should include them because they even had side arms that night.

I stayed in the shadows while I thought of a good place to leave the dud, I was neon yellow in an army green environment. While I looked it would only be a matter of time before some one would think ‘hey what it that’ and come to investigate. I figured the best place would be where some one could hear the beep of the control panel. A place like that would be around command or the barracks. So off I went to the two. The command center of the base was a little to active for me so I went to the barracks. It was a little more quiet so I went for the dud bomb. I made sure to buy the loud kind of beep speaker and it worked like a charm. I set the bomb for a ten-minuet delay. Not that it mattered but it would give for some show. Almost the instant I finished punching it a person came out from the building I was in front of. The dud gave the armed beep I programmed it with and I set it down as I ran away slowly. “HEY YOU COME BACK HERE!” the man shouted.

His shouts sent more men from their rooms, I may have been running slow but none of them could catch up with me. My bag flopped around and the mob behind me grew to fifty men. “Jesses Crist! IT’S A BOMB!” I herd a man shout from behind the pack. I lured the men out in to the fields of the base and came a crossed some armed guards. I they started shooting at me with out even a “Stop or I’ll shoot!” the soldiers where incredibly good shots. I barely had the time to unsheathe Leo and deflect them. The rate of fire coming from one man was easily handled but when two more came it became a little more difficult. They where only a couple hundred yards apart to either side of me and they started to pin me down.

I snarled and growled as I swung from either side, signing rapidly to avoid a rifle bullet. When one of them stopped to reload I made a dash at him and gave him a shot with the hilt of Leo and put him to the ground out cold. I was breathing a little hard but I needed to give Renamon and Maria more time. It was only about five minuets now. By the time I had disabled the first man the other two where wise to my position and started firing high to push me away from their comrade. I played along moving back into the base and running a little faster than they could trace. I looked out to where my little fan club had been to see they where gone and now where replaced by a Hummer with a mounted machine gun. A person popped from the top of it and cocked the heavy weapon and started strafing the ground I was standing at.

I wasn’t using the full force of my speed till he started firing; I dodged from either side of his blasts almost materializing to him. He corrected and corrected till I came up under the gun and sliced over my head chopping off the barrel and most of the gun with Leo. The heavy gun parts fell to the ground. About a quarter inch of the cut was red hot as it hit the ground. In a flash I slammed my sword against the side of the jeep cutting threw its armor and letting a little of my sword to the inside. The jeep tried to peal out but I pulled my sword out and sliced the rear wheel in half with a loud pop as the lower half was sent flying by the engine spinning the tires.

I turned back around to the remaining two guards and started to block their fire while I advanced to them. Loud pings sounded and where deflected off of Leo like they where rain drops. Leo gave a loud shrill note and the soldiers clasped their ears. I almost did too but he stopped before I stopped my approach. When I came up to the soldiers I gave them both a swift chop and put them unconscious. There was another minuet and a half. My next thought was to get the hell out of there but they still needed more time. More mischief was needed. I sprinted around the base gathering up guards as I went dodging their fire from side to side deflecting shots that came brutally close and came back to the airfield. The hundred men where all rushing at me blazing and ready. When they opened fire all I could do was run. The rain of bullets was more than I could handle. I sprinted threw the men in a straight line so the shooters could see me but the guards I had fallowing couldn’t.

A two minuet fit of dodging and I was huffing, now was the time to hide. I drew them all back into the base; I could hear over their radios the order to take me down quickly, and for all other personnel to evacuate. They where going to feel real stupid when it didn’t explode. I ran around almost an arms reach out of their weapons effective range and stopped to play with them. They all still fired at me as I dodged them by feet at a time. They eventually stopped while a chopped floated overhead. “Oh crap.” I said out loud as it turned a light on me, the wind its self was almost enough to knock me over wt its low altitude.  “Drop your weapon, or we will open fire!” a voice boomed from the large object. I didn’t respond to it I just started to run. Slowly at first then full tilt as its larger guns ripped the ground up behind me as I ran. I ran so fast I couldn’t see ware I was going but the computers on their chopper could. It fallowed me as I bolted threw the buildings on the base. I was faster than the chopper but not faster than its bullets.

This was more like the Dark Gargomon’s assault. I made the same progress as it too. About a foot at a time I moved a head of the blast of bullets. Till I turned around, now I was being driven by instinct. All was anger, I was almost blind to any thing else as I turned on a dime and pushed back to the chopper. The large metal object tried to fallow me but I was haling faster than they could correct or trace. I ran around the bullets at first then made a few feet’s difference and leaped the grate heights to the chopper looming in the air. I raised Leo with both hands and called out “SHINING SLASH!” a bright white band of energy blazed from the sword like a ghost trail and sliced the nose portion of the chopper off  sending it to the ground. I caught one of the struts and swung my self back up to the side of the shopper. I looked down to see there where a few men in total gawk and aw while I plunged Leo into the side. A scream of parts snapping from the blow sent a shot of smoke from the rear of the aircraft and it started to descend. I fell back holding the strut and almost like a bat I jumped from the strut upside down bending the strut with the force I applied. I hit the ground and sent a crack a crossed the concrete.

I was breathing dry hard breaths now and almost had nothing left. I herd a small boom from behind me. It wasn’t the chopper, it was still falling, the pilots still had a little control and where setting it down hard on the ground. I turned around and saw a fire burning in the direction of the barracks. Out of desperation I gave a long hall dead sprint to the flames, completely losing the trail of soldiers. I cane up to the flames and saw parts of my dud on the ground. I looked to the place I had set the dud up to see a small fire burning in a bush,  was that crap flammable! I thought as I looked to the small fire to see the small Tupperware container I had boiling away in the heat of the fire. It wasn’t a big explosion but there was a smell coming from it that almost made me pass out. I jumped to the roof of the burning building remembering my mission here and was drawn back to Renamon and Maria. I hoped ten minuets was enough. I had nothing left, I went back to the air field and looked over the buildings to see that the hangers where all open. No one  was around. It seemed to work so far, I walked into the hanger and caught a whiff of Digimon again. I looked around to see that there where thin floors to the hanger none of them where occupied and every thing was slightly stone around. I had slowed my breathing a bit and as I walked I felt my heart slow from its throbbing pace. I looked at the ground where I saw an exposed staircase in the center of the floor. There where chare marks all around it. “Kyuubimon.” I smiled is I ran a finger a crossed the black concrete. I looked to either side of the stairs to see shattered pieces of a thick steal door. There where drag marks on the ground threw the scorch marks. The door was blasted in. “Fox Tail Inferno.” I smiled again as I took a few steps down the stairs. There was a flickering red light at the bottom and I could see a few marks on the wall like scratches or zings.

It could have been from the door so I ignored them and kept going. The soldiers where looking for me on the other side of the base so it gave me some time. When I reached the bottom of the long stairs I saw the red light on the wall. It was a warning light. There was another door thick as well with matching scorch marks on it. There was a window to one side of it that was beaten in. the strong glass seemed to bend in with snake like cracks running all threw it. I could see a form lying on the ground but I ignored it as well. I stepped threw the door way and a red beam scanned me from above. It was like the light of a barcode scanner and just as fast as it came on it turned off.

I was startled by it enough for me to pull Leo from my sheath, he hummed nervously but I kept quiet. I looked over the hall way seeing doors and doors going for a while in three directions. I looked at the walls to see a few scorch marks mixed with bullet holes. Looks like not every one was out of here I thought as I stuck one of my claws in the small hole . Leo hummed again in a sore like moan. I looked at his blade and saw him in the reflection rubbing his head. “Its not over yet old friend.” I said as I walked with the scorch marks up the hall. There where a few doors in this direction left open. There was no smell of Digimon here only Renamons scent was present. After I stopped looking at the walls I started to fallow her scent coming a crossed more open doors and more scorch marks and bullet holes. I was getting pretty deep in now and there was no sign of either of them. I took a deep breath threw my nose and could faintly smell Digimon somewhere.

I looked up and saw an air conditioner vent above me. This place was making it hard to track Renamon and I needed to hurry. I ran around fallowing Renamons scent till I came to a staircase. I looked down in ready for anything but came up with nothing. Renamons scent was still fresh and I fallowed it around the corridors for another couple of minuets. The smell of Digimon was getting stronger the further in I went. As I came in more to the winding halls Renamons scent was mixed in with a few more scents and a jumble of confusing scents is what I fallowed. I was running now scared at the soldiers finding me here and for Renamon. I started to shout “Renamon, Maria! Can you hear me?” over and over as I fallowed the scents I was almost hysterical when I came to a large room behind a set of double doors. There where lines of cells up and down the large room most of them left open, some where still closed. I herd a voice that sounded familiar echoing around the corners . “Hello? Who are you?” I shouted only to hear an annoying voice. “GET ME OUT’A HERE!” I put my paw to my face and drug it down off the tip of my muzzle. I fallowed the sound till I found an occupied cell with some one in it. “Ryoku! Man am I glad ta see you.” Impmon pleaded. “Where Renamon and Maria here?” I said as I put my hand to the cage door. My hand distorted and I pulled it away from the tingle. “Open the door! They might come back.” he said as he look from side to side with out touching the bars. “Answer me!” I screamed pointing Leo at him. “Yeah! Yeah! And they left me in hear!” he shouted as he backed away. I was about to walk away when he begged. “Please! Com’on Le’me Out! LE’ME OUT!” I gave a short growl and swung Leo down on the electronic lock and the cage swung open with a set of sparks. “Come on lets go.” I said regretting letting him out for the trouble he caused. He came out in a stumbling run and passed me up. “Hey! Where do you think your going!” I shouted at him as he ran. “Anywhere but here Fox-o.” I put my head back in a sigh. He would have been more help in the cage.

At least I know they where threw here I thought as I put Leo back in my sheathe. I jogged in the path Impmon took and came to a large door angled on the wall. It was partially force open and I could tell that it went to the surface by how the angle was. I looked up it to see a bit of the night sky. I gave a smile to it as I turned to the side to squeeze threw. I was starting to hear a lot of footsteps coming when I pushed my self threw. I fell down to my knees when I got threw and lodged my foot in a track of some kind of elevator. I tugged and tugged twisted but my foot wouldn’t come up. I herd the footsteps come closer and closer  so I stopped tugging and took off Leo. “I’m hiding you friend, don’t make a sound.” I put him in the track and started to tug on my foot again. I was in my shoes as Ryokumon and my foot just slipped rite out of them. I leaned back down to grab my shoe when a soldier cam to the door and pointed a large rifle at me. I raised my paws to the sky and looked at him coyly and said “Well hello.” With a very scared laugh.

“Hands on the ground!” he said as he leveled a little red dot from a laser scope on the yen yang symbol on my forehead. “Sure, no problem.” I said as I leaned forward slowly and laid on the ground face down. “Oh crap.” I squeezed out as I felt my ears go flat and my tail twitch. “Got one sir!” the man shouted. “Good,” another voice said. “Tranq him and bring him over here.” The voce called. Tranquilizer! I thought rite before I herd a crack from the rifle. I could feel the needle of the dart hit me and then I was groggy and I passed out…

Captives

I woke up in a tank like thing big enough for me. I looked down on myself to see I was naked in the form of Ryokumon. My eyes hurt and my body was sore. My arms where straight out and chained to the wall. My feet where chained to the wall as well. About the only thing I could move freely, were my tail and my head. I was so sore that I had to let my head fall forward. I tried to focus but I was drugged, it made me so tired that I drifted in and out of consciousness. When I was a wake next time I could open my eyes and look up. I had a little more energy than the last time and I looked around. There was a thick piece of glass in front of me tinted green there where wires all over the place coming in and attaching to me. I could feel them in every muscle in my arms and legs every time I tensed up I bent a needle sending a wave of screaming pain threw my limbs. “AHHHHHHHH!” I shouted and I loosened my self back down as I dropped my head.

“Sir I think he’s awake.” I herd a muffled voice say from out side the glass. “Lets meet our Digimon the.” He said in Japanese. I recognized the voice instantly. I raised my head slightly to see in a low sneer Mr. Heto looking up at me from my suspended prison. “Hello what would you like to be called” he smirked to me. “Lets just say I have no name for the sake of argument. You probably have a number for me or something don’t you?” he giggled for a few seconds and put his hands in the pocket of his coat. “Well yes.” He smiled. “My name is.” he started only to be interrupted. “Mr. Heto.” I said coldly as I let my head drop back down. He looked at me confused. “We have a psychic Digimon doctor.” I shook my head trying to chase away some of the pain I caused. “Make a note of that.” He said as the doctor jotted down with interest. “No, I’ve just meet you before.” I laughed weakly. He looked up to my and then leaned on my tomb with his arm rocking it a little. “Really, the only Digimon I know where captured and brought here. We haven’t had a single escape till your friends came.” I gave a stupid look and grinned. “I came alone.” He gave a happy demented smile. “I’m sure.” he laughed.

He turned around and was about ready to talk to the ‘doctor’ when I smiled out my next set of words. “Looks like you have some pictures of me some where, fan art I think I called it. Douse the government pay you to do that?” I started to chuckle. He turned around and walked over to the glass. “Bring him down doctor.” The doctor did as Heto said and lowered my cell to the ground. there was a click and then my cage came eye level with Mr. Heto. “What are you?” he said as he sneered at me. “You can call me,” I paused as I lifted my head up with all my strength so he could see my lips, “Ryokumon.” That shift in movement forced me down and I passed out. All went black again and I’m not sure what exactly happened. I guess you’ll need to find out some other time….

Words of wisdom from your writer:

No the story isn’t finished, in fact its not even half way done. Ryokumon isn’t done for. I’m sure that you can know that by reading about him. but what will happen next? Wait and see…

SILENCE

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pokemon_alone@hotmail.com