"I didn't realize that the Lava Plains were so far away" Zander said as he and his partners stepped off of the Trailmon. IT had been a longer journey than Zander had expected, and he was annoyed.

"At least we got here safely" Koro said, floating overe towards a nearby pool of lava and looking down at it, "We could have ended up somewhere else and had to walk here."

"or walk back to the city" Bael chimed in, keeping as far away from the lava as he could. He may use fire attacks, but that dosen't keep him from getitng burned.

Zander sighed and nodded silently, "I suppose we all have our fears" he said as he beckoned them to follow him, walking down a path that criss-crossed between pools of lava and fire spouts that shot out of the ground. They kept a conversation going as they walked so Bael wouldn't freak out too much

"I just don't like the idea of bein' burned you guys.." Bael said as he walked close to Zander, sweating slightly from the intense heat of the place

"A Digimon that can use fire is afraid of being burned.." Zander smirked, a bit of his darker side speaking its mind now, but he quickly silenced it. He wasn't the kind of person to point out his partner's flaws then laugh at him.

They had reached a nice open area surrounded by a wall of rock, giving the place a roundish arena-type look. Zander walked ot the middle of the area and looked around. He removed the bag from his shoulder and set it down, then unsheathed his sword. When he had taken a few paces away from the center he faced his partners and said, "We can rest here for a while, and i'm gonna practice my swordplay a little."

Both Koro and Bael nodded and sat down near the bag of provisions to eat while Zander walked away and climbed up to a higher position on the wall surrounding the area. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment before beginning his routine. He swung his katana down then pivoted it around and back throug hthe air, kicking out and repositioning himself.

Koro and Bael watched on even after Zan had to remove his coat from the heat. Zander and Bael were both feeling the heat of the plains, but Koro seemed just fine. Bael was sure though that you couldn't touch his frame at the moment without hurting your hand.

"Couldn't we have gone to the beach?" Gabumon asked, "My fur is starting to itch."

Gabumon had been complaining since they got off the Trailmon. They trekked across the dry, smoldering, molten paradise as their first destination.

"You saw the line at the station." Riko said, "Besides, it was a three hour delay and I didn't feel like waiting in that line."

Gabumon tried to step as lightly on the hot ground as possible.

"Well, after walking around like this for a few minutes, I'd gladly wait three hours for the beach." Gabumon's sarcasm stung Riko for some reason, "At least at the beach, I could jump into the ocean if I got hot. Should I jump into your cantine of water now?"

Riko ignored his partner's last comments as he scanned the area. All he wanted to do was explore the Digiworld, but all they'd done since he arrived was train in the Training Fields. A well deserved break was in order, but the beach was obviously out of the question. This wouldn't take long, but Riko felt something strange was at work here.

Lately, he'd been having the same nightmare he had before he was sucked into the Digiworld. Those four monsters reached four, but a knight came to defend him. It was a scary dream, yet it rose questions in his mind that needed answering. Why was he here? Had this all happened for a reason? And if so, how does the dream play into all of it?

They walked forwhat seemed like a thousand miles when they came to a rock wall with an opening in it. From a distance, the two couldn't tell what it was, but as they got closer they saw movement. They entered what seemed to be an arena with one entrance and plenty of room to manuver in the middle. The duo spotted a boy in the middle swinging a sword around.

"Is that--?" Gabumon started to ask

"I think that's--" Riko stopped himself as he realized who it was, "Zander, hey!"

Zander was too involved i nhis training to noptice anything else, but when he heard someone calling his name he snapped back into focus and looked around.

"Well i'll be.." Zander said with a smirk, grabbing his coat and the cheath of his sword from the ground and jumping off of his elevated position. He slid the katana back into the sheath and walked towards the familiar tamer. Although he wasn't overly glad to see another soul in the plains, he had no reason to be rude to this boy.

"Guess this Digi-World is smaller then it looks.." Zander spoke again when he came nearer to Riko and his partner, extending his hand in a formal greeting, "What brings you out to the Lava Plains?

Koro and Bael had taken interest in the guests and were looking more at Gabumon then Riko. Koro beckoned for the Gabumon to join them while Bael held up a bag of potato chips and smirked. They knew their tamer wouldn't care is they shared provisions with someone else.

They shook hands as Gabumon joined Koro and Bael for a snack. Riko couldn't believe the positive coincidence of finding a familiar tamer in such an unlikely place.

"Well, we needed a break from training, but waiting in that ridiculously long line for the beach was out of the question. Honestly, this was the only destination that didn't have a line." Riko replied, "What are you guys doing out here? A little hot to be training, huh? Nice sword, by the way."

Gabumon munched on the chips with the other digimon and smiled. He was happy to get something in his stomach after having such a small breakfast.

"How are you two?" He asked, "I guess it's been a little while, huh?"

"Would you guys like some water? I know those chips must by dry." Riko handed his cantine over to Gabumon who took a sip, then passed it along.

Riko looked at Zander and then around at the arena they stood in. It seemed as if they were meant to meet here. He quickly discredited that idea and got back to the conversation.

"Would you look at that?" a shout boomed over the arena-like rock formation. "Five little fishies have found their way into our training spot. I think they're looking for trouble."

A look around would reveal that three forms now stood on the stone wall. The first, who happened to be the one who had spoken, was a tall humanoid who seemed to be made of blue flames, a Blue Meramon. The second and third were both more beast-like in shape, but also made of flames. One was red, the other black, this pair were clearly a Flare Lizamon and a Dark Lizamon.

The two Lizamon variants jumped down into the ring while their leader remained above. The pair radiated heat freely as they snickered down at the humans and their various partners. "I'm sure we can whip up enough trouble for them," the Flare Lizamon cackled.

"No thanks," Zander smiled and pointed to a canteen of his own hidden in the reaches of the trenchcoat in his hands. He walked over to crouch by his partners as they both pulled sources of water out of the bag and drank, " I am not insane enough yet to go out into a dangerously hot place such as this without water."

Zander looked out to a volcano nearby, "I liek the heat, for it clears my mind and challenges me at the same time, giving me a good source for my sword training.." he looked down at his katana and sighed, "I am still weak in the ways of swordplay but I am learning.."

Koro was munching on ice to cool his inner gears down while Bael was eating beef jerky, "We are doin alright. you gave me a few scratches from the last battle so it took a while to get rid of those." Bael said

Koro kept quiet because he didn't know this Digimon too well, but if he was directly asked a question then he would answer accordingly. They all stopped what they were doing when they heard the call. Bael packed up the remaining provisions and set them aside before standing with Koro to face the newcomers.

Zander quickly reslung his sword and coat on and stepped up to face the lizard-like foes, "I don't like your tone..." Zander said as he drew his deck from his coat and began shuffling it, "Riko... feel up to a battle?" he asked the other tamer, but it didn't matter if he was or not.

Koro and Bael atepped forward, ready to defend their tamer.

Riko looked to were Zander's eyes were; on three figures atop the arena wall. Riko knew this could be trouble as he checked his D-Ban.

DarkLizamon, Champion
FlareLizamon, Champion
BlueMeramon, Ultimate

Gabumon jumped in front of his tamer as the two fire dragons came to their level. BlueMeramon stayed where he was, which was a relief to Riko for the moment.

"Three hour delay?" Gabumon said, "I definitely would have waited if I knew about this!"

"Can we not do this now?" Riko got his cards ready, "You can blame me, okay?"

"I DO blame you! I wanted to go to the beach!"

Riko watched as Zander brought out his heavy arsenal of cards and asked if he was ready.

Am I ready? Are you kidding? We were supposed to be resting from all the training! Riko nodded. his first time in the DigiWorld and he's already in trouble. At least they could help each other out.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Riko said, eyes on the two Lizamon, shifting every now and then to BlueMeramon. Apparently, he was spectating for now, "How do we beat them? Two Champions and an Ultimate against three Rookies? The odds don't look good here, Zan."

"Hey!" Riko addressed BlueMeramon as he seemed to be the big cheese of the trio, "Look, we don't want any trouble. We had no idea this was your training spot, so lets just end it before it begins and walk away."

Gabumon's fur itched even more as he stared down the Champions.

I still can't digivolve. How do I protect Riko? He growled, showing his teeth as he tightened his paws.

Blue Meramon listened to the human's plea with a thoughtful look on his face. "Well," he said, "I could do that, but that would be pretty boring. I've got to keep my boys well trained, and this way they can train and have fun at the same time. It's win-win for us."

Flare Lizamon laughed brashly, "you heard him, we're going to train on you today! Oh, I can't wait to test my claws on you."

The red dragon rolled up into a ball-like pose, and started rolling toward the small crowd of child level digimon. "Thrust Rush!"

The darker flame-beast got behind his companion and pushed him along like a child pushing a giant snowball. The act managed to somewhat increase the speed of Flare Lizamon's attack.

"Fine." Riko swiped his first card

Name: Offensive X
Number: C26
Type: Single Target
Duration: Remainder of the battle
Effect: The next attack used by the affected Digimon doubles in power.

"Get to safety!" Gabumon yelled to Riko as he stepped up to the plate, "Blue Blaster!" One would think he aimed for FlareLizamon, but it was going above him towards DarkLizamon. He hoped it would slow down one while Zander worked on the other.

Adrenaline pumped through Riko's vain as the battle began. He moved away from Gabumon and further away from BlueMeramon. The training must have paid off, because he wasn't afraid. It took the battle to begin for him to realize that he'd never been more ready.

Gabumon proceeded to move out of the path of the rolling FlareLizamon.

Zander msiled at the tamer, obviously impressed with his lack of fear. This, however, was no time for dwelling on thoughts.

"Bael, you attack from the air. Koro, you go after the second Champion."

Both partners nodded and charged forward as Zander's D-ban flashed with a purple symbol which flew at Bael, colliding with him as he was engulfed with light, "Impmon armor evolve to...." Bael yelled as his form changed, and the light faded to reveal a bird in stunning blue and gold armor. White hair on his head and electricity crackling around him. He took off higher and circled around the FlareLizamon with a cry of, "Thunderbirdmon!"

Koro floated forwards then called out, "Darkness Gear!" and sent the two small gear-hands on his frame spinning forward at the DarkLizamon.

Zander walked closer to Riko and held out a card to him, "Use this if things get too hectic." Zan said as he turned the card over to reveal his Ultra Evolution Pill.

"I expect it back though... it's my only one." Zander added with a smirk.

Bael had reached a good height and started to hover as he cried, "Thunder Storm!" and sent bolts of lightning raining down at the FlareLizamon.

"One more thing.." Zander said before turning his attention back to the fight, "Rookies they may seem, but Bael has grown since out battle and Koro has scars of his own, so don't underestimate them... and who said only three were fighting them?" Zander said and moved his D-ban a little, though he didn't try to explain the last part.

Dark Lizamon was caught off guard by Gabumon's attack, the small stream of flame did little to deter the much larger flaming beast though. Koro's hands also hit the black dragon, succesfully passing through his flames to the charred and ever-burning flesh deep within. This attack managed a bit more damage, but Koro would likely find the heat his hands returned to him at... unpleasant.

Flare Lizamon, in his rolled up state, could do little to dodge the incoming lightning. The shock rolled through him, actually causing some consequential pain. The red beast was rather enraged by this, and made Bael's destruction his personal priority. He unrolled and aimed himself toward the Thunderbirmon. Countless flaming bullets shot out from amongst his fire toward Bael. "Flame Hit!"

Dark Lizamon looked back and forth between Kor and Gabumon a few times, trying to pick a target. He eventually nodded his head and spat a large, black fireball toward the Hagurumon. "Dread Fire!"

Blue Meramon smiled down at the battle from his perch. "Interesting," he mumbled.

Riko was shocked to read the ability of the card Zander loaned him, but he wasn't sure what the boy meant when he mentioned not only three of them fighting...

Gabumon's attack hit, but it didn't slow DarkLizamon down. The dark digimon aimed his firey attack at Koro, but Gabumon would let him get hurt so soon. He rushed to Koro's aid, leaping at the digimon and tackling him out of the way.

Riko, on the other hand, was watching the FlareLizamon attack Thunderbirdmon in the air.

He has armor? Wow! They really were holding back in that battle! Riko turned his attention back to Gabumon, who just rescued Koro from what looked like a close call. He looked at the loaned card and decided to wait. There was a way better use for it.

This is intense! Gabumon's thoughts ran wild as he stood between Koro and DarkLizamon, A few hours out of the training room and we end up in a battle!

"What do you say we make this two on one?" Gabumon said to Koro. He let another Blue Blaster attack erupt from his mouth at the dark digimon as Bael dealt with the other.

Zander narrowed his eyes at Gabumon, hoping that Koro wouldn't be too irritated that he was just unwillingly saved.

Koro felt an intense heat and pain when his gears returned and winced accordingly, "Ah! Thanks I guess, but I can handle myself." he amlost smiled, but quickly floated higher and away from Gabumon, "Yes, lets take him together." he said opening his mouth as he yelled, "Command Imput!" and shot several streams of data at the DarkLizamon.

Bael had to backwing out of the attack, but still took some of the bullets to the face. The armor protected him from most of the damage, but it still left it's mark. Bael dived towards the FlareLizamon with a cry of, "Spark Wing!" then forced himself quickly back into hover position, forcing several electrified feathers to shoot forwards at FlareLizamon.

"Let's see.....this card will prove useful.." Zander said as he slashed a card without saying its name.

Koro was surprised when he felt something appear in his mouth, but he already knew which card was slashed. He closed his mouth and kept what was in it a secret.
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Name: Positron Laser
Number: R52
Type: Weapon
Duration: Single Use
Effect: Allows use of Imperialdramon’s laser, which causes fifty points of damage if successful, but is only good for one shot.

((Well now, every description of Spark Wing I've ever seen says it shoots electrified feathers. If you don't mind, I'd like to go with that description.))

The sharp feathers rained down around Flare Lizamon, discharging their electricity. His desperate attempt to get out of it payed mixed results. He didn't take the brunt of the assault, but did stil get struck by several of the feathers, which took just long enough to burn up to deliver their electricity.

The angered red dragon growled at Bael, his desire to crush the bird growing ever greater. Since his other attacks weren't so great against a flying target, Flare Lizamon generated more flaming bullets and shot them at Bael. "Flame Hit!"

Dark Lizamon rolled out of the way of the Blue Blaster and cackled maniacally. Unfortunately for him, this bout of low attention left him open to be lashed by Koro's streams of data. The black beast shook his head harshly to regain his focus and turned his head toward Gabumon. He spat a piece of hot shrapnel at the fur coat-wearing reptile. "Snipe Fang!"

"Whoa!" Gabumon made a quick dodge to avoid the flaming digimon's attack. He couldn't believe he was fighting a champion digimon. What was more amazing to him was that he had friends to help him, but the battle wasn't over yet as he heard Riko yell to him.

"Take it to him, Gabumon!" It gave him more incentive to be creative. He studied the DarkRizamon intently, looking for any potential weaknesses. It's entire body was engulfed in dark flames that would make it virtually impossible to touch him unless they put the flames out altogether.

Wait, that's it! The flames! Gabumon made sure not to show his excitment as he unleashed another Blue Blaster attack. The distraction was set as he dashed away at full speed towards Riko, waving Zander over.

"Guys, I got something! Why do these guys live here?" He said

"That's what you came up with?!" Riko stared in disbelief, "We're in the middle of a fight for our LIVES and you want to talk about their living preferences?"

"Listen!" Gabumon yelled, "Each one of their bodies is covered in fire. These digimon live here because there is no water, which means that if we had some, we could put them out and they'd be easier to beat!"

"You're right!" Riko smiled at the genius of his partner, "But there's one problem--the only water I have is in this cantine and it's definitly not enough. Where are we gonna get water in this place?"

Gabumon was certain the idea would work, but then he had another idea.

"Wait." He said turning to Zander, "You've got a lot of cards. Any of them make water? Let's face it, my Blue Blaster is basically concentraed fire. And Bael is shooting lighting, which creates fires at some point. If you have something, we can put these guys to bed and get the heck out of here alive."

Suddenly, he heard thunder crack as Bael's Spark Wing partially impacted FlareRizamon.

"They need my help. Figured something out!" Gabumon ran back to help Koro.

Riko looked though his cards, then at Zander.

"I don't really have anything. How about you?"

((Sorry, I could never find a good definition of it, so I went with the word "spark'))

Zander watched the fighters closely until he heard someone call him, then quickly made his way over. After hearign the plan, he scolded himself for not thinking of it sooner, "Of course.." he said, shuffling through his deck for specific cards, " I also have an idea that might end this battle quicker..."

HE picked out three cards and put his deck in his pocket, " firstr a change is in order.. Koro! Digivolve!" he yelled as he held up his D-ban, light shining from it's screen.

Koro called out, "Hagurumon evovle to...." as he was surrounded in light and began to grow, taking the form of a bulky armored cyborg as the light faded again, "Guardromon!"

As Koro changed, Zander slashed a card, "Stun Blast!" and directed it at Bael, "Bael! help us out for a second!"

Bael was flapping his armored wings quickly in an attempt to deflect most of the fire bullets. It proved useful, but he still took hits to his chest with a loud cry of pain. He fell in altitude a little before regaining his balance. He felt an electrc current not like his own flowing over his body, and focused it into his mouth to blast it towards the FlareLizamon.

With a sigh of pain fro mthe last attack he gained altitude again and flew closer to the DarkLizamon as Zander slashed his other two cards, "Fiend Sword! Aquatic Attack!"

Koro first felt the presence of a Phantomon appear next to him, then it disappeared soo nafter and was replaced by a dark sword with a slightly curved blade that looked liek it could have belonged to a scythe. He grabbed the sword with his right hand and then felt a strange new sensaton, for which he held his left hand up to the DarkLizamon and was surprised when a huge jet of water blasted from his palm. He quickly steadied himself and aimed the blast at DarkLizamon.

Bael figured out Zander's plan about the time he saw the water, hovering near DarkLizamon he yelled, "Thunder Storm!" and shot bolts of lightning down at it in hopes to enhance the water attack. His only fears at this point was the BlueMeramon joining the fight and FlaraLizamon not being affected by the paralysis.
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Name: Stun Blast
Number: C35
Type: Single Target
Duration: 1 Turn
Effect: The user’s Digimon fires an electro-magnetic blast that stuns one opposing Digimon, preventing it from moving or attacking.

Name: Fiend Sword (X2)
Number: U52
Type: Weapon
Duration: 5 Turns
Effect: The user’s Digimon acquires a dark blade haunted by the spirit of a Phantomon, allowing use of the attack Soul Chopper (Shadow Scythe), which is worth damage thirty points plus the decimal number of the user’s DEP (if a user has 1.8 DEP, the attack will cause thirty-eight points of damage; if a user has 2.3 it will cause thirty-three points of damage).

Name: Aquatic Attack (X2)
Number: C02
Type: Single Target
Duration: Remainder of the battle
Effect: One Digimon gains the ability to shoot water from their mouth or palms. The water is treated as a normal attack of the user’s level (i.e. it would count as an Adult-level attack if the user is an Adult, a Perfect-level attack if the user is a Perfect, etc.).

Another meaningless stream of blue flames impacted Dark Lizamon's body, prompting him to feel quite confident. The opponents didn't stand a chance if they kept fighting the way they had been. The dark beast's confidence would ultimately be his undoing though.

Flare Lizamon meanwhile found himself unable to move after the Stun Blast collided with him. The red beast growled impatiently, waiting for his next chance to attack.

It was then that the group of humans and their partners executed their grand plan. Out of nowhere, electrified water was pummeling Dark Lizamon. His protective coat of black flames were parted and he was racked with severe pain and damage. Once the burst finally subsided, he collapsed breathing heavily.

Slow applause could be heard from above, followed by gentle chuckling. "Not a bad plan fishies," Blue Meramon bellowed, "but if you think it's truly enough to destroy me and my boys, you've got a lot to learn."

The flaming humanoid jumped down into the arena and beckoned to Koro. "Come boy, you're clearly the strongest here. Well, rather, second strongest after myself." He laughed obnoxiously at his own joke. "How about you and me test our skills to decide this day? Your friends can still play with mine if they wish, but this should truly fall to those most capable of experiencing the glory of it."

Their plan was working perfectly. DarkRizamon taking the brunt of the electrified water assault, fell back letting out a yelp of pain. FlareRizamon was stunned by Zander's card effect, and Koro digivolved to help in the process. Looking back and forth between the disabled digimon, he found it easy to chose which one he should press his attack on. DarkRizamon was wide open for attack with a part of his charred skin exposed. It boded better with him to help finish them off one at a time instead of dividing up his energy in different directions.

"Riko! I need a blast upgrade!" Gabumon requested

Riko shuffled through his cards, not believing that the plan actually worked.

No time to celebrate now. Gotta find something that'll get rid of the dark one.

Name: Knight Device
Number: C20
Type: Single Target
Duration: 1 Turn
Effect: Both the user and the affected Digimon gain the ability to leap twice the height they are normally able to.

Name: Dark Light
Number: U04
Type: Single Target
Duration: Remainder of the battle
Effect: The user’s Digimon shoots a black beam of energy at one opponent, dealing 15 points of damage, or 30 if the user is a Virus-type. The attack can only be used by Data- or Virus-type Digimon, but while Data-types can only use it once, Virus-types can use it as many times as they wish during the battle.

Gabumon felt the dark energy roaring through him as he charged DarkRizamon. He lept high into the air using the first cards' ability.The summoning the dark energy within him along with some of his own, he released it on the open part part of the dark digimon's flesh.

Caught up in the action, Riko hadn't noticed that BlueMeramon wasn't atop the wall anymore. He looked at the battlefield to find that the stronger enemy was among them. What Riko found strange was that he was only challenging Koro. Readying the rest of his cards, he watched as FlareRizamon's paralysis wore off and BlueMeramon stared Koro down.

I hope we can finish the chamions before BlueMeramon does serious damage because we could really use everyone working together for him.

Zander smirked at the multi-battle that was upon them, but his smirk disappeared when the BlueMeramon came to join the fight, "Koro, be careful." Zander said to his partner.

Koro nodded to his tamer and brought the Fiend Sword up in a ready stance, "Alright, I shall take you on!" he said in his deep robotic voice that sounded like it could have belonged to nobility, "En Guarde!"

Koro charged forward at the Blue Meramon, but he was running rather slow due to his bulky body. Zander decided to give him just a little more help before letting him take care of this on his on. drawing two more cards he slashed the first, "Fox Power.." he said, directing the card to Koro, who instantly felt his body become faster.

He sped up and swung his sword downwards before calling out, "Soul Chopper!" and slashing diagonally upwards at the Blue Meramon.

Zander slashed his second with a cry of, "Coral Rip!" and directed the effect at Bael, who was already circling around to face off against FlareLizamon again. HE had decided to leave the injured one to Gabumon.

Bael felt strange, as if he had been dunked in water, and called out "Thunder Storm!" while flying towards his opponent, the lightning bolts he fired this time seemed to carry droplets of water as well. Although attacking while moving proved less accurate, he was just making sure he wouldn't be caught by unexpected attacks.
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Name: Fox Power (X2)
Number: C15
Type: Single Target
Duration: 5 Turns
Effect: The affected Digimon gains the speed and agility of a Renamon for 5 posts, making it easier to dodge attacks.

Name: Coral Rip
Number: C03
Type: Single Target
Duration: 5 turns
Effect: All of one Digimon's attacks gain water attributes in addition to their other attributes (for example, a Renamon’s Fox Leaf Arrowhead attack would have drops of water mixed in with it).

Gabumon's beam of dark energy did indeed hit Dark Lizamon, but a feeble roll onto his belly had luckily shielded his exposed chest. With a vigorous shake of his head, the black dragon pushed himself up and sealed the gap in his flames. He looked quite tired, but still managed to muster up another Dread Fire attack which he spat at Gabumon.

The combination of rain and lightning tortured Flare Lizamon pretty thoroughly. The ever angrier red beast decided to pull out the stop when punishing the Thunderbirmon for this hit. With a moment of concentration, he caused a large pillar of flame to come up from the ground and rise quickly toward Bael. "Fire Tower!"

Blue Meramon bore a smug expression as he stepped back, avoiding all but the very tip of the blade. "Not bad," he said, "cards have gifted you with both power and speed. Add that to your natural defensive prowess and you almost fight like a perfect level. There's one thing missing though, the skill and battle sense that are inherent to a more evolved digimon."

The flaming humanoid generated a ball of his flame in his hand. He threw this at the still-close Koro. If it hit, the Guardromon would likely be surprised to find that it was as cold as ice. Blue Meramon smirked as he spoke the name of this attack, "Cold Flame."

Gabumon landed just in time to see the fireball coming at him. He hopped back, but the wave from the explosion knocked him down. He quickly got back up and studied the dark digimon. The opening was covered with fire once again.

So much for the plan.....Wait a sec. Gabumon thought of something, speaking to DarkRizamon.

"So, do you always shoot like a fairy digimon or has your aim always stunk?" Gabumon attempted to egg his opponent on, looking over his shoulder to keep a tab on BlueMeramon's location. He then began to run towards BlueMeramon, hoping the big oaf of a digimon would follow.

"Come on, I shoot better than that on a bad day, and it's not like your a small thing. Why don't you show me how it's done, you big walking target!"

Riko looked at Zander and back at the loaned card. He wanted to use it so badly, but something was telling him that it wasn't time.

Zander was getting impatient for soem reason ,but he just couldn't pinpoint it until he looked down at his D-ban, which was pulsing with energy. he smirked and surveyed the fight again.

Koro, even with enhanced speed, had too much bulk to safely dodge the attack. He took the fireball in the side, and cringed in pain from the super-cold temperature of the attack. It took a lot to shake the pain, but he could tel lthat too many of those would spell disaster. The force of the attack made him stagger, but he steadied himself as he saw Gabumon running his way. He hoped beyond anythign that he wouldn't get in the way, so all he could do for now was distract BlueMeramon, firing twin laser beams at him from his eyes, "Warning Laser!"

Bael flapped his wings as hard as he could, but he didn't get out of the way of the flame attack, screeching in pain as it enveloped him and he started to go into an uncontrollable dive. He extended his wings before hitting the ground and straightening up as he landed, feeling the burning pain sear him despite his armor. he used his wings to turn and hover as he fired more electric-covered feathers, now laced with water, at FlareLizamon.

Zander had made his choice, turnign to Riko and saying, "You take care of that card till I get back.. I can't stay out of this battle any longer." then running in the direction of Bael and FlareLizamon, holding up his D-ban as it covered him in light, "Execute... Spirit Evolution!"

Zander was soon covered fully in light, jumping into the air as he was transformed. He burst out of the light and landed on his feet, now taller and dressed in samurai armor. He was clearly not himself anymore, and the sword he was carrying could be seen to have the same symbol as the same one on the crest of Bael's armored head, the symbol of Corruption, "Musyamon!" Zander called out before pulling his blade into a safe position and dashing at FlareLizamon.

Knowing that fire would do no good againt them, Zan opted for a normal attack. When he had gotten closer he pulled back his blade and thrust it directly at the FlareLizamon's chest, hoping he might be too distracted by Bael to notice.

WHOA!!!! Riko's mouth dropped when he saw Zander digivolve, for a lack of a better word, That's what he meant!

His mind now raced as this battle just got a little more interesting.

Dark Lizamon watched Gabumon run around like a crazy chicken, but didn't seem particularly frustrated by it. "Nice joke kid," he said, "but I'm too smart and too tired to fall for an obvious trick like that." He lazily summoned a dark cloud which floated toward Gabumon, if it touched him, he would feel all the pain that Dark Lizamon had felt in the course of the battle. "Dark Pain."

Flare Lizamon's eyes opened widely at the incoming spark wing. The sharp, wet and electrified feathers would probably hurt quite a bit. He desperately countered with a Flame Hit attack, scorching most of the feathers out of the air with flaming bullets. Unfortunately, this left him quite distracted, and Zander's sword pierced him through. With a pained sigh, the red dragon glowed brightly and shrunk down to a small bipedal dinosaur. The now-Agumon screamed in fear and ran away quickly.

Blue Meramon held out his hands and took the lasers to the palms of his hands. "Decent," he said with a wince, "but I'm sure you can do better than that. Show me you very best boy, and I will do the same for you. Ice Phantom!" With these last words, a second, wispier Blue Meramon seemed to emerge from the first. This new one quickly attempted to tackle Koro, his freezing cold body set to disipate upon contact with the cyborg.

Riko took notice at Zander's quick movements and ninja abilities. His strike deafeated FlareLizamon sending him cowering away as an Agumon. He turned his attention back to Gabumon who was having trouble all by himself.

"So what if that plan didn't work? You still going down!" He said, but inside he feared for his life as the dark Digimon shot a black cloud towards him. It seemed harmless enough, but Riko knew better.

Name: Fly Away
Number: C14
Type: Single Target
Duration: 1 Turn
Effect: Grants one Digimon a pair of white wings, which allow them to fly at their normal running speed.

With a flash of white light, Gabumon gained fantastic angel wings. The intent was to have him fly away, avoiding the cloud, but Gabumon had a different plan. He began flapping the wings towards the cloud; the air pushed it back where it came from.

Let's see how you deal with that! Riko searched his deck, This should help him out.

Name: Silent Sabre
Number: C57
Type: Weapon
Duration: Remainder of the battle
Effect: Either the user or the affected Digimon acquires a lightweight sword that allows for an attack at twice the wielder’s regular speed, and at their regular power level.

A sword materialized in Gabumon's paw, giving him a little more than just his blast as a weapon.

Zander pulled his sword back slowly then turned it downwards and planted it into the ground. He looked over at Bael to see him glowing.

Bael devolved back to Impmon to save energy, the Digimental of Corruption zooming forward and colliding with the symbol on Zan's sword.

"Are you okay, Bael?" Zander asked, and recieved a nod in reply, "Save your energy just incase while I tend to the others.." he said, pulling his blade back up and turning. He charged off towards the DarkLizamon next, wary of the dark cloud.

Bael watched the fight now that his fight was over for now. He hadbeen hurt pretty good so he figured that now was as good a time as ever to rest.

Zander stopped short of attacking DarkLizamon, deciding to see how this cloud affected the fight before making a move of his own. HE wasn't going to help Koro until absolutely nessesary.

Koro, meanwhile, threw his arms up in fron of himself to sheild his face and part of his chest from the incoming attack, too slow to dodge at close range even with the extra speed. The freezing attack left it's mark on him nevertheless, and pain shot through him as he felt the armor on his arms crack and break under the power fo the attack.

When it was over he was panting, but still standing. He drew his blade close and engaged his thrusters, then pivoted them so he was sent spinning towards BlueMeramon at a fast pace, "I will not give up!"

He stretched out the arm that held the sword and yelled, "Soul Chopper!" as he spun, turning his tornado attack into a spinning slah attack that might just throw the BlueMeramon for a loop.

The dark cloud floated back toward its creator, who made no visible efforts to escape it. Dark Lizamon bellowed in pain when it hit, and stood shaking for several moments after it disipated. When he finally lifted his head though, his face bore a crazed smile. "Yes," he said, "that hurt quite a bit all at once, but all you've really done is make my next attack twice as powerful, you fool."

With a huff, the black dragon created another cloud, an even more ominous looking one. This floated off toward Gabumon as the previous one had. "Dark Pain!"

The spinning attack effectively sliced through Blue Meramon's flank, causing the humanoid to double over. "Ha!" He laughed, "you grow better with every hit boy, but I know that you have not yet met your limits. We both have to reach our limits if either of us wants to grow, so show me what you have boy!"

Blue Meramon formed a ball of fire in each hand, a fierce expresion overtaking him as he gathered his strength. The two freezing fireballs were thrown at Koro at last, their creator breathing heavily from the effort. "Cold Flame."

Gabumon just knew that that would be the end of it. He watched the giant fire-lizard grimace with pain after being hit with his own attack, but he recovered and threw an even bigger stronger looking one. He had no idea what to do except what he did before. He flapped his wings at it, letting the air carry it back to its creator, but there was a problem. This cloud didn't respond that well to the counterattack. In fact, it kept coming and melded with Gabumon, seeping into his fur and skin. At first he didn't feel anything, but that would soon change when the cloud was completely inside him. His entire body felt as if it was on fire. This was a pain he couldn't suck up, dropping to his knees immediately as his wings disappeared. He clenched his jaw and his fists, trying to ride it out, but the pain seemed to get more intense. The more he moved, the more it hurt, and when he tried to stay still he would tremble from the pain. Ultimately, he couldn't escape it.

Riko saw his partner on the ground, rolling and screaming from the cloud. He didn't know what to do, rushing over and completely ignoring DarkRizamon.

"Oh God!" Riko said, "What did he do to you?"

"I dunno! Aaagh!" Gabumon pushed out, "It's got something to do with that cloud!"

"I can heal you. Hang on!" Riko said searching through his deck. Gabumon grabbed his arm.

"No! ARGH!" Gabumon tried to whisper, "You can heal me, but he's probably gonna-UGH-hit me with it again. And look at them over there. ARGH! Koro wasn't too greatful when I helped him out earlier-AAAH-, but he's gonna die if we don't do some thing now!"

"Well, what do you want me to do, heal him? Gabumon, we're running out of options here!" Riko said. He couldn't believe they were having this conversation, "Why won't you just let me heal you?!"

Gabumon clenched even more now, letting out a toe-curling scream. He couldn't think properly now. The pain wasn't stopping and he was drifting away by the second.

This guy must feel this all the time because this really hurts! He's not even breaking a sweat with me. I wish I could Digivolve...

"Wait--use the card." Gabumon realized

"What?" Riko already knew what he was referring to, but he didn't want to use it.

"The card Zander gave you. Use it!" Gabumon pushed him

"No!" Riko said, "There's gotta be another way. Besides, you didn't want to do it this way!"

"What choice to we-AAAGGHH-have???!!! This is getting worse by the second and I can't hold out much longer!" Gabumon said gripping his partner's arm, "Zander gave you that card for a reason! Please, use it! UGH-USE IT!"

Riko hated when Gabumon was right. He needed to protect his partner at all costs, but he also had a responsibility to Zander. By giving him this card, Zander trusted Riko to use it with care, but to help them out just in case things went sour. Now it was time to show what kind of tamer he was. It was time to survive; it was time to win.

Riko stood, facing the dark digimon, feeling the heat he emitted from his body. He stepped back, giving Gabumon space to grow as he pulled the card and looked at it for a moment.

Here it goes. Good luck, buddy.

Gabumon's screams snapped him out of thought as he swiped the card. Riko's D-Ban lit up and vibrated uncontrollably. He felt the force an power that was building up as he pointed it down at Gabumon. The light shot out at him, lifting him up and ecasing him in it.

Gabumon felt the pain being relieved as it ailed him of all impurities. He felt his data breaking apart and being refigured as he was set back on his feet, still in the light shell. It grew to an enormous size.

Riko shielded his eyes, but tried to look on as the light grew bigger and bigger. The light finally stopped growing, but for a moment nothing happened. Then, a roar, bigger than that of Godzilla's, came from inside the light encasement. Riko was scarred, but excited to see what came out. A second, even loader, roar rattled the ground he stood on as the light seemed to crack like glass. Breaking away and dissipating into thin air, the light was gone, and so was Gabumon. Instead, there stood a blue and white dragon; a shinning silver blade grew from his snout while twin blades protruded from his elbows. The dragon was muscular all over, with white and blue scales in the shape of a V on his chest. Wings as long as a laid out DarkRizamon spred and folding while a huge, heavy tail lying on the ground.

Riko's D-Ban chimmed with the female voice following:Evolution complete

AeroVeedramon
Vaccine
Evolutionary Level: Perfect

"No way." Riko whispered to himself, tears forming in his eyes as he stared at this masterpiece that was his friend. AeroVeedramon turned his head to his partner. He even had a new, deeper, commanding voice.

"You should get to safety. This might get ugly." He prepared himself, "You and me, bub! Dragon Impulse!"

He spread his enourmous wings, and shot an aura of himself at his opponent. It looked harmless to the naked eye, but upon surrounding it's target, the aura would explode.

Name: Ultra Evolution Pill
Number: U36
Type: Single Target
Duration: 3 Turns
Effect: Causes the affected Digimon to evolve to its Perfect (Ultimate) level, regardless of DEP, with or without a Crest/Blue Card/Digisoul. They will revert to their Baby II (In-Training) level after three turns.

As Zander pulled back his sword to prepare a charge much like he did to FlareLizamon, he stopped and nearly dropped his sword.

As he watched the intense light grow he had to bring his arm up to shield his eyes, but that did not stop him from staring in awe at the new form of Gabumon. So he used my card after all... not bad..

The Musyamon that was Zander kept watching even as the AeroVeedramon launched his first attack. Even Bael was watching from a distance. It was when he heard a loud yell of pain and the explosion of cracked and broken metal that he returned to the battle at hand and turned to see what had happened to Koro.

Staggering from the force of the blow, the left arm of the cyborg Digimon was now in pieces. Koro felt his balance slowly returning as his thrusters disengaged, but he was pretty damaged now. He had no time to worry about the strange light he had caught out of the corner of his eyes, but was more focused on the battle at hand, "I must commend you on your skill... you are a great warrior. It is true that wqe must push ourselves to the limit if we are to advance in wisdom and skill." Koro said in between gasps of pain, but he saw Zander running up to him about that time.

Zander devolved as he ran towards his partner, then shook his head slightly as the transformative light went away. He pulled a card from his coat and slashed it, "Miracle Ruby... you're not done yet and I am here to support you all the way!" Zander said as he gave Koro a thumbs up.

Koro watched as the daage to his body repaired itself, and his arm slowly pieced itself back together. if he had a mouth, it would be smiling. "Let us continue this.... to the end." Koro said to BlueMeramon, then pulled his sword back into position, "Guardian Barrage!" He yelled as he held up his arms, two small compartments opening to reveal odd looking missiles. He fired the missiles towards BlueMeramon then ran at him with his sword in a thrusting position.

Zander slashed a second card and pointed his D-ban at Bael, "Underworld Fruit.." he said and he sent the card's effect to his second partner.

Bael found a piece of red fruit appar in his hand an stuffed it into his mouth. After swallowing it soon after he felt himself starting to heal slowly, but surely.

Zander did not go back to Musyamon form. He wanted to let Koro test his limits. He knew that Koro and BAel were gettign tired fro mthe cards and battle, but one thing should have been clear to BlueMeramon and his remaining lackey now at least: that this fight was far from over!
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Name: Miracle Ruby
Number: U20
Type: Single Target
Duration: N/A
Effect: Instantly restores 100% of the health of one Digimon of the user’s choice

Name: Underworld Fruit (X2)
Number: C40
Type: Single Target
Duration: Three Turns
Effect: Gradually restores 100% of the health of a Virus-type Digimon over the course of three turns, or instantly restores 50% of the health of a Data-type Digimon partnered with a Dark Tamer.

Dark Lizamon's eyes opened widely with fear at the great blue dragon that stood before him. His crazed smile faded into a toothy frown. There was nothing he could do though, the aura-based attack was too fast. As it washed over the black dragon, visibility went away for several moments. When one could finally see again, the Dark Lizamon was gone, and in his place was, of all things, a Gabumon. This one was a little different though, his coat was painted in dramatically contrasted black and white. He was a viral Gabumon.

"I stand defeated," he said grumpily, "but don't grow over-confident, if you had come to these plains alone, you would not have beaten me." With that, he marched away, his nose held high in the air.

((.1 DEP for Gabumon))

Blue Meramon was preparing to celebrate his victory over Koro, when the cyborg's cracked armor re-formed. With no time to dodge or defend himself, the flaming man was caught up in the blast of the missiles, and then skewered through the belly with the blade. Laughing pathetically, Blue meramon glowed dimly, and reverted to a slightly shorter humanoid who's flames were red.

"Good show," Meramon said tiredly, "you fishies are decent after all. You know, I would normally charge for my services in training a digimon, but you folks probably ended up traing me and my boys. It's only fair that I give you a little payment." With a laugh, Meramon jumped up onto the wall, and then off of it, to whatever lay beyond. A few shiny coins laying on the ground he had last occupied.

((.13 DEP for Koro, .05 for Bael, 500 bits for Zander's distressed wallet. Excuse the weirdness of this post, I'm a little off I guess.))

OOC: Thanks a lot!

IC: AeroVeedramon stood proud as his previous attack broke the DarkLizamon down to a viral Gabumon. He growled at his defeated opponents' snide remarks before which the Gabumon walked away.

He and Riko made eye contact for a moment, then Riko rushed to him and hugged his huge leg.

"I did it." AeroVeedramon said almost in disbelief.

"Yeah, you did, buddy!" Riko said, silently crying as he pulled away and looked up at his friend, "How do you feel?"

"Not so different. Although, I am a bit hungry." They both laughed as Riko read the card he just used.

"This says that it won't last much longer. We should take to the skies and get back to the Trailmon." Riko said

"It beats trying to go by foot!" AeroVeedramon said, "You so owe me a trip to the beach!"

Riko looked to Zander, Koro, and Bael.

"Hang on. I have to give this back." Riko ran over to his acquaitance, "Hey! Listen, I just wanted to check on you guys and give you this before we left."

Riko handed Zander his Ultra Evoltion Pill and extended his hand.

"You did really well today. You're going to have to explain to me how you digivolved sometime, say at the beach? We're gonna fly to the Trailmon and go straight there from the station if you guys wanna come."

Zander retrieved his card as Koro walked over, joined by Bael. Zander shook Riko's hand and smirked, " Will do, and an adventure at the beach would be nice.." he said

Koro and Bael nodded, and BAel jumped onto the cyborgs back, "We can fly too, so ready when you are!

Zander climbed onto Guardromon's back as well as he engaged his thrusters and hovered for a moment before boosting towards the Trailmon.

((This ends it here for me, but I think we are continuing this at the beach.))

"Alright then! It's settled!" Riko ran to AeroVeedramon as Zander and his Digimon took off. AeroVeedramon let him climb into his hand, raising it so he could climb onto his shoulder.

"I just want to let you know that I've never actually done this before." Riko said

"Niether have I, now let's go!" the dragon said, flapping his enourmous wings, he took off into the skies. Riko let out a scream as his partner took him for the ride of his life. Towards the Trailmon they flew, and to the beach they went.

NEXT ADVENTURE: THE BEACH AWAITS