Riverwalk Battle

A cool breeze passed over a schoolyard basketball court on what would normally be an unseasonably warm day. The sound of the ball pounding against the paved gravel court echoed throughout the area, with kids cheering on two players. One of them was an African-American kid that was trying anything he could to get past his opponent as he dribbled the ball. He wore a gold Lakers t-shirt with some red shorts. He was trying everything from fakes to 360 spins to crossovers to try and get the defender off of him.

The defender was a brown-headed white boy that wore a black Spurs t-shirt and blue jeans. It was hard to believe that the jeans weren’t hampering the white boys footwork as he kept pace with the ball-handler. No matter what happened he would stay in front of his opponent. When his opponent attempted a fake, his arm would go in that direction, but the rest of his body wouldn’t move, or take a step in the other direction as he read the ball-handler’s movements. He was definitely taller than the ball-handler, but you could tell that the only part of his size he would take advantage of was his reach. He preferred to play in motion rather than use his height to block shots.

The dark kid tried another crossover, facing his defender. He crossed once, attempting to fake his opponent out. However, when he sent the ball in the other direction, following through on the crossover, the white kid’s right hand came through and knocked the ball away. The dark kid attempted to recover the ball, but the white kid just followed through, getting in between the ball and his opponent. The white kid recovered the ball and just held onto it.

“You’ve gotten better, Rich. You were just a scrub the last time I faced you,” the dark kid said.

“Yeah, I know I sucked then, Dwayne, but I had to improve one of these days,” Richard shrugged.

Dwayne just shook his head with a smirk. “Man, am I glad to see you back,” he remarked.

“Well, I’m glad to get out of ‘Misery’ as my dad calls it,” Richard replied, referring about having to live in Missouri for a few years. It wasn’t the best of times for his family there, and Richard had the worst of it, being bullied for about a year.

Dwayne may have been glad that Richard was back, but he knew something was different about Richard, and more than just his game. He had a more serious attitude, to a point of being scary. Most people that weren’t total jerks stayed away from Richard ever since he returned, at least those that didn’t know Richard enough. If they knew Richard more, they would know what he really is like. Whatever happened to him in Missouri changed him more than Dwayne thought.

“You dressing up as Ryu like normal for Halloween?” Dwayne asked, he remembered how Richard always liked to dress as the Street Fighter for Halloween, but who knows how much he changed.

“I’m not dressing up for Halloween. It just seems stupid,” Richard replied.

“Don’t be such a spoiled sport,” a female voice said from the crowd. Dwayne and Richard turned to see a blonde white female. The girl was wearing jeans herself with a navy shirt. “It’s fun to dress up.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to go with two little sisters that make fools of themselves every year,” Richard said. “I still have to go down to the Riverwalk with them this year.”

“I’ll come along with you guys,” Dwayne said. “My parents are going down there, anyway.”

“We’ll see. I’ll see y’all later,” Richard said with a sigh. He dropped the ball and went through the crowd.

“Bye, Rich,” Dwayne said, as he watched Richard disappear through the crowd. “I’m worried about him, Rita. He’s not the same he was three years ago.”

“Well, if you hadn’t told me what he really was like, I’d be like the other creeps here,” Rita said with a sigh.

A couple of Mexican-American children were ducking behind fences and other obstructions. They were carefully trying to get through a gang territory to their home. Unfortunately, their house was in a gang territory, which they found out a few years ago the hard way. The older child was a boy about 10 years old. He wore a black shirt and jeans. He was carefully stepping, not trying to make a sound, as was the younger girl that was with him. She was wearing a pink striped shirt with the same colored shorts. The two watched several older teenagers and young adults as they passed through, making sure they didn’t notice him.

The boy sighed as they came to an open spot where the gang members would definitely notice them if they walked through. However, he saw their home several feet away. They had two options stay hidden until the gang members went away, which may take hours, or make a break for it and hope for the best. He reached into his pocket and took out his house key. Hopefully, he could be fast enough to unlock the door and get inside.

The gang members looked in the distance along the road. Then, they ran off. “Let’s go, Victoria,” the boy said to the young girl, knowing full well what was going on. The gang members saw a police vehicle and ran off, knowing they were wanted. The two kids used the opportunity to run to the front porch. The boy unlocked the door and let Victoria in. Then, he quickly closed the door and locked it. The boy let out a sigh, his eyes showing his frustration. The house was old and a mess. Their mother had to work ever since their father had been killed, so there wasn’t much time to keep the house cleaned.

Victoria looked at her brother with a look of concern. “Jorge, are you okay?” Victoria asked.

Jorge saw the look in her eyes and shook his head. “I just can’t believe we’ve had to live like this. I mean we look like thieves trying to sneak into our own home. I wish Dad was still here, but I know he can’t come back.”

Victoria just shook her head. She couldn’t even remember her father, so she couldn’t relate to Jorge’s feelings. She didn’t even know that his presence would make an impact on their life.

“Get on your homework. I’ll check my e-mail to make sure Mom hadn’t tried to contact us,” Jorge told her.

A gunshot echoed throughout the area in rural Texas. A wolf made a mad dash out of some farm property after coming so close to catching his meal…a chicken. “Damned wolf. It’s a good thing you were out here, Clint,” a middle-aged man said. He was standing with a rifle in hand, scaring off the beast. A boy wearing a red plaid shirt and jeans was sitting in the saddle of a horse. Clint had a sense of relief that the wolf was gone, but he also knew that tonight, he wouldn’t be going out trick-or-treating tonight. They had to stay and make sure that the wolves don’t make an attempt for their livestock.

“You may want to rest up. Tonight will be a long evening,” Clint’s father told him.

“Yes, Dad,” Clint said. He rode the horse back into the barn and put it back in its stall, taking off all the reins and the saddle. After putting all the equipment away, he walked back to the house, knowing full well that when his father said it would be a long evening, it would probably be an all-nighter.

Clint sighed as he got on to the family computer and checked his e-mail. He just wanted to relax until nighttime.

Hank was typing away at his computer, replying to another message board post. Tonight was Halloween, and his parents were going to help with some activities on the base. Hank himself would probably be with Jessica that night.

Hank, then noticed he had a new e-mail message from Koushiro. He clicked open the message and read the note. After finishing his note, his eyes went wide. He quickly picked up the phone and dialed Jessica’s phone number. He became anxious as he listened to a couple of rings before Jessica picked up.

“Jessica, this is Hank. Koushiro just sent me a message. Something is happening in San Antonio. Since we’re the closest group to the area, we need to get our partners from the Digital World and port over there quickly.”

“I wished I knew. A portal is opening in downtown San Antonio and we need to get down there and take out whatever is coming through. That’s all I know. Benjamin is supposed to be opening the Digital Gate for us. I’ll contact Bobby about this. Please, get hold of Rick and Lisa before you leave.”

“Hank!” Kokuwamon called out as he saw the five members of the Oklahoma group come through the Digital Gate. The remaining digimon partners appeared to be coming up to their human partners.

“As good as it is to see you guys again, we’re here on business. We’re going back to the real world, but not home,” Hank explained.

“Tequila Knuckle!!” Everyone turned to see a ghost-like figure punch a Hagurumon, sending it flying back. The ghost looked like cacti and wore a poncho and a sombrero. There were several of them surrounding a strange variety of child digimon.

“Think of them as a Mexican version of Bakemon. There’s several in the area south of here, but rumor has it that several of them are part of a gang there,” Piyomon explained.

“South of here? We’re heading in that direction. Think they have a connection to what’s going on in San Antonio?” Jessica asked Hank.

Hank wasn’t listening. His eyes were narrowed at the Ponchomon. To them they were nothing more than bullies. “Kokuwamon…”

“I know, and I’m ready when you are,” Kokuwamon said before a pillar of light engulfed him.

“Kokuwamon evolve!!” When the light dissipated, it revealed a humanoid robot that looked a little bulky. “GUARDROMON!!”

“Warning Laser!!” Guardromon fired laser after laser, taking out the Ponchomon one by one. Each Ponchomon let out a yelp as they were hit and dispersed into data.

“Damn, Hank. Ever heard of the word overkill?” Bobby asked. He cringed as the Ponchomon were eliminated.

The Hagurumon and a Gotsumon walked up to Hank and the others, followed by the remaining four, a Tapirmon, a Terriermon, a Patamon, and a Floramon. “You are digi-destined children, aren’t you?” the Gotsumon asked.

“Thanks for helping us, but we have a favor to ask of you. Please, take us with you to the real world,” Floramon said.

“Our partners are waiting in the real world. The reason we were attacked by those Ponchomon was because we were partnered with humans,” the Tapirmon added.

“Normally, I would say no, but it seems that your partners were a little late in getting to you,” Hank said. I thought the attack on San Antonio was because it was easy picking, since San Antonio has no defense against the digimon. It’s really a pre-emptive strike, Hank thought.

The TV the Oklahoma group came out of flashed bright white light. Their digivices also reacted to the screen. “Well, that answers the question on how we get to San Antonio,” Jessica remarked. Their digivices flashed as the Oklahoma group was dragged into the portal with the new digimon.

The Riverwalk was a man-made divergence of the San Antonio River. It had walkways running on both sides of the river with several bridges to go across. There were ferries that floated up and down the river. Stores, restaurants and clubs were along the river with the Rivercenter Mall being a main entrance to the area.

Richard sighed as he walked behind his father and sisters through the Riverwalk. The two girls were giggling with each other. Richard thought of it as the two making fools out of themselves. “Lighten up,” his father told him. Richard just brushed it off, used to hearing that now more than ever. His father was a plump man wearing glasses. He was, still, wearing his work clothes, having left for the Riverwalk right after he got home from work.

“That’s what I keep telling him,” Dwayne said, as he came up from behind the group. “Hey, Rich. You okay?” Dwayne decided against dressing up this year for once, not wanting to let Richard feel out of place with all the costumes around.

“I’m fine, Dwayne,” Richard said, not letting a smile appear on his face even though he was glad to see him. Dwayne became used to the change in Richard’s attitude after the past couple of months.

“They went into the Planet Hollywood. They know I’m with you,” Dwayne replied.

“I hope so. I don’t want them worrying over you,” the middle-aged man said. “I’ll take you home if they say it’s okay.”

“They shouldn’t mind, but Dad does have his cell phone with him if you want to call him,” Dwayne told him.

“At least, things are starting to look up,” Richard said. “It’s been years since I’ve been here. Ever since that river parade for the Spurs back in 1999.”

“Watch it, bud,” Richard replied, glaring at Dwayne. He like many Spurs fans took serious offense when the Lakers coach called the season an asterisk season due to it being a shortened season. That was the first time the Spurs won the NBA Title.

“Hey, at least they earned it last season,” Dwayne said, trying to back-up his comment before he found himself in the water. Normally, Richard wouldn’t reply violently. He knew Richard had changed, but he hadn’t known how much.

Dwayne realized what Richard was talking about. Even though it was four years ago, he remembered it clearly. During the parade, the water started to splash around violently. Most of the ferries nearly capsized due to the sudden change in the water. It was strange, there wasn’t supposed to be such choppy water here, but Dwayne and Richard noticed something then that the others couldn’t see. Strange beings were either in the water or on the surrounding buildings. They seemed to be the cause of it, but no one else seemed to notice. In fact, a vast majority didn’t see anything that could have caused it.

“You guys weren’t the only ones that saw weird monsters,” Rita said, as she walked up to the two with her family. She was wearing a costume of what looked like a Harpy. Richard just shook his head after seeing her in the costume. The adults began talking with each other. “Hey, girls,” Rita turned to Richard’s sisters, talking in a very cheerful tone. “You don’t know how lucky you are to have little sisters, Richard.

Richard rolled his eyes. He only thought of his sisters as an annoyance. They held him down on everything. At least, he found ways to get some time alone in the evening.

“I just want to know why I have a strange feeling of Déjà vu,” Richard said.

Dwayne and Rita looked at each other after Richard had said that. Then, they turned to look at David and nodded, confirming they had the same strange feeling. The three began to look around cautiously for any signs of anything like that happening.

“Tequila Knuckle!” A voice yelled out. Several screams were heard as a table was thrown from one of the patios. Several people began to run as several Ponchomon chased everyone outside on the Riverwalk. Some of the Ponchomon were armed with what looked like bats made out of cacti.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t happen,” Richard said. He took a look around to see where their families had gone. They were nowhere to be seen. “Figures.” The two were on the outside edge of the walkway, which prevented them from being trampled by the stampede of humans.

“We try to get into one of the stores. The best we can do is run along the wall,” Richard said.

The trio started to run away from the Ponchomon and came to the door of a small store. They filed in and tried to take cover in the empty store. One of the Ponchomon followed the three kids in. It chuckled, tapping its bat on what passed for its shoulder. The clerks got a surprised look in their eyes, and then ran to the back rooms. The three got in behind the counter, putting something between them and the ghost digimon. Rita was shaking, scared out of her wits. Dwayne looked nervous, as he kept looking around, nervously looking around for any others that may be around. If Richard was scared, he wasn’t showing it. No matter the reason, fear wasn’t one of the things he liked to show to anyone.

Three streaks of light caught the kids’ attention. The streaks landed in their opened hands. The each of the streaks produced a device of some kind. Dwayne’s device was a dull gray with a white trim that appeared to be some sort of grip. Richard’s device was silver with a black trim. Rita’s device had a pink body with a white trim. Bright light flashed from the devices. The three kids turned the devices away from them and towards an open door to what looked like an office.

When the light faded, they looked down at the devices. “Was that supposed to do anything?” Dwayne asked. The trio was confused about what was going on. He turned his attention back towards the Ponchomon that was on the other side of the counter. The Ponchomon started hitting the counter with its bat. One swing destroyed a chunk of the counter. Rita, Richard, and Dwayne moved away from the counter and towards the back wall as the Ponchomon kept hitting the counter.

The Ponchomon saw the three kids and floated over what was left of the counter. He raised his bat up, ready to strike down on the trio.

A gear and a rock came from the door and struck the Ponchomon, dispersing it into data.

“Scratch one Ponchomon,” a voice said from where the attacks came from. A Gotsumon and a Hagurumon were at the door with a Floramon right behind them. The three child digimon ran up to the trio of humans. “Are you okay?” The Hagurumon asked Richard.

“They’re your partners,” Hank said. “We’ll get the introductions done later. It seems things have become chaotic outside.”

“Long story short. Those digimon want you dead,” Hank said. “Where are the others? There were 6 Digimon with us earlier, there should be 3 more of you.”

“Hank,” Jessica called out. “Patamon, Terriermon, and Tapirmon aren’t here. I swear they through the gate with us.”

“They went through the gate. Their partners aren’t here, so they went to their partners,” Hank concluded. “Now, to get you three out of this mess.”

“You three seem to know everything that’s going on, lead the way,” Richard said.

“Point taken,” Richard said. Then, he looked down at the Hagurumon. “Why do I trust these guys? I don’t even know them or anything, but I know they’re telling the truth.”

“We’ll deal with that later. Let’s get out of here,” Dwayne said. The three younger kids followed the older Destined kids out of the store. They stopped, seeing the mass of Ponchomon and humans, most likely a brutal massacre.

“Elecmon, evolve!!” A pillar of light flashed around Elecmon as he began to evolve. When the light subsided, it revealed a human-sized chicken. “Cockatrimon!!”

“Piyomon, armor evolve!!” A pillar of light surrounded Piyomon as the Digimental of Purity combined with the bird. It later revealed a scarecrow with a bow and a quiver of arrows, along with a crow on its head. “Nohemon!!”

“Warning Laser!!” Guardromon started firing it’s laser, picking off several Ponchomon as they floated by.

Cockatrimon ran over to where he could see several Ponchomon heading her way. “Petrifier!!” Cockatrimon’s eyes flashed as all of the Ponchomon turned to stone and fell to the ground, breaking or landing in the water. “That takes care of everything on this end.” Then, Cockatrimon turned around to look how Nohemon was doing. He seemed to be struggling with the Ponchomon, none of his arrows hitting their mark. “Quit fooling around, Nohemon!! Feather Cutter!!” Cockatrimon threw a couple of her feathers, slicing a couple of the Ponchomon around him.

“William Arrow!!” Nohemon yelled out. He fired off an arrow straight through another Ponchomon.

“Tequila Knuckle!!” a Ponchomon punched through Nohemon, it just dispersed into data as the crow got away. That same Ponchomon came into attack Cockatrimon, however it dispersed into data. Nohemon stood right behind him, having fired an arrow.

“That just seemed a little too easy,” Hank said. “There’s something else other than a swarm of Bakemon wannabes.”

“Maybe they thought we’d die easily,” Richard said. “They didn’t quite expect you guys to interfere, let alone our partners reaching us.”

“Meteor Squall!!” Several meteors fell from the sky, striking down on the area.

“Take cover!!” Hank yelled to the others. The meteors struck down on the 2 adults and the armored digimon. Cockatrimon and Guardromon devolved after taking hits. Nohemon dispersed into data as the crow flew away. However, the crow was grazed by a second meteor and de-evolved to Piyomon. The Digimental of Purity returned to Bobby.

“Well, so much for that theory,” Richard remarked as Hank, Jessica, and Bobby ran out to tend to their respective partners. The others followed them out and looked around for their new enemy. Richard finally looked up on top of one of the buildings, where what looked like a star with arms and legs was standing. “Look up there!” Richard said.

The Starmon jumped off of one of the buildings and landed on the walkway near the destined kids. “It’s hard to find good help these days,” Starmon said. “Looks like I’ll have to take you out myself.”

“Allergy Shower!!” Floramon let out a spray of pollen. However, the pollen had no affect on Starmon. Starmon retaliated by punching the plant digimon, sending it flying back a few feet.

“Darkness Gear!!” Hagurumon yelled out as he shot out a gear at Starmon. The Starmon only swatted the gear away. Then, he grabbed Hagurumon.

“Sure,” Starmon said. He spun around a couple of times and threw Hagurumon like a discus at Richard. Richard felt the sharp pain as Hagurumon slammed into his gut and was thrown back from the impact. Richard clutched his gut in pain after he hit the ground.

“You’ve got a problem? Do something about it. I’d like to see you try,” Starmon said.

Dwayne glared at Starmon as the Star-shaped digimon walked up to Dwayne. “You’re not getting anywhere near him,” Gotsumon said, getting in between the two. Dwayne looked down at the little rock digimon. It was strange to Dwayne. Gotsumon knew he didn’t stand a chance, but he was willing to protect him. “Back off!! Angry Rock!!” Gotsumon dropped his head a bit and fired off a rock at Starmon. Starmon took the hit and rubbed his head.

“Feel this!!” Gotsumon yelled as he charged in. “Madcap!!” He slammed into Starmon headfirst. Starmon punched Gotsumon and knocked him to the ground, but Gotsumon slowly stood back up. “I’m not out yet.”

“Look at his partner’s D3,” Hank said, pointing at Dwayne. The D3 was shining from its screen. “Gotsumon is about to evolve.”

Gotsumon started to charge at Starmon once more, but this time he was engulfed in a pillar of light. Dwayne looked down at the device on his belt. “What’s going on?” Dwayne asked.

“Gotsumon, evolve!!” When the light subsided, Gotsumon hadn’t changed in size or shape. He remained the same except for one aspect. He was ice blue. “ICEMON!!”

Icemon continued his assault, getting within range of Starmon. “Ice Strike!!” Icemon punched Starmon in what would pass as its face, forcing it a few feet back. “Iceball Bomb!!” Icemon threw a ball of ice straight at Starmon. The ball hit Starmon, exploding and freezing Starmon on the spot.

“Way to go, Icemon!!” Dwayne said, as the other younger Destined got a sense of relief.

The ice began to crack. Eventually, Starmon broke free of his frozen confines and shook off the ice. “Nice try, but I think it’s my turn now. Meteor Squall!!”

“Oh, great, here we go again,” Richard remarked. He watched the meteors come down again. Hagurumon floated by his side. This squall seemed to cover a wider range this time. The first one struck Icemon, causing him to devolve back to his rookie form. The remaining meteors fell onto the buildings around the area, destroying most of the area. Many of the stores that were still standing after the Ponchomon raid were completely demolished, and many bystanders tried to take cover, but the meteors usually struck close to them.

“No…” Rita said, holding Floramon in her arms, not believing the chaos around them.

Dwayne turned around to look for Starmon, but he had vanished. “Where the hell did he go?” Dwayne asked.

“He went back to the Digital World. He may have failed at killing you, but he got one hell of a consolation prize,” Bobby said. They looked around and saw just about everyone in the area was alive. Some were struggling just to get up, though.

Rita saw a huge hole in Bobby’s shirt, revealing his chest and stomach. “Umm…what happened to your shirt?” Rita asked.

Rita was confused and concerned, but Bobby was just joking about it. Then, Rita looked down behind where Bobby was and saw a small crater. What are these people? Rita asked herself.

“I’m sorry you guys had to experience this. This is not the way any Digi-destined has begun their career,” Hank said. “After this incident, it may be best that you guys keep your partners hidden somehow. It’s not a good idea to introduce them to your friends or families right now.”

“The name’s Hank,” Hank introduced himself, then pointed to the other two Oklahoma destined. “He’s Bobby and she’s Jessica.”

“I’m Dwayne,” Dwayne replied, following up on what Hank started. “He’s Richard, and she’s Rita. I guess we will need a lot of rest, but how will we ever get used to this?”

“I suggest taking a while to get to know your partners. We’ll call you to the Digital World in a couple of days to help you adjust to things here,” Hank explained. “You’ll get an e-mail from someone named Koushiro eventually about a message board for us. You may want to check it out, just be careful with him. Koushiro can be brutal when punishing users.”

The San Antonio group could only shake their heads, not knowing how these two could be talking like this after what just happened.

“We may need your help on getting home though before you leave,” Bobby said. “You guys can open the gate for us.”

“That explains what happened when these things flashed without any reason,” Rita said.

“You can use your D3 at any computer terminal to get to the Digital World. Just hold it to the screen and say, ‘Digi-port, open’, and the gate will open,” Bobby explained.

From: Hank@Prodigious.net.jp
To: Koushiro@Prodigious.net.jp
Subject: New Digi-Destined Team
Time: 2:38 AM GMT, November 1, 2003

Well, we were able to take care of the problem to some extent in San Antonio, but we failed. A large number of Ponchomon were attacking just about anything and everything on San Antonio’s Riverwalk. We took care of the Ponchomon pretty easily, but we had our asses handed to us by their leader, a Starmon.

We did, however, discover a new team of Digi-Destined in San Antonio. We found six digimon being picked on by some Ponchomon on the way there. They said they were partnered with humans, so we took them to the real world. When we came out of the gate, we found three of the members: Dwayne Wright, Richard Thompson, and Rita Collins, who were partnered with a Gotsumon, a Hagurumon, and a Floramon respectively. Three other members of the team were confirmed, but their identities are unknown. We have confirmed that their partnered digimon are a Patamon, a Terriermon, and a Tapirmon. I will inform you on anything more on their identities later.

Koushiro, I don’t know what is going on in that part of the Digital World, but the new team is going to need all the help they can get. We’ve agreed to help the San Antonio team as much as possible until they can at least stand on their own and complete what their task may be.