Girls' Day Out

"Riiitaaa...he's not playing niiiice..." a young girl complained as she ran up to Rita. She couldn't be anymore than 5 years old. Tears were forming in her eyes. Rita was sitting at a sofa in the girl's house. Their parents went out for the night and was offered to baby-sit their kids.

"That's not true! She was being annoying!" an older boy responded, apparently the girl's brother. He seemed to be a couple of years older than his sister. Both of them started arguing with each other, what they were saying being couldn't be heard clearly.

Rita sighed and shook her head. "Okay, you two. Calm down," she said, nearly yelling. The two children stopped and looked at the older girl. "Now, tell me what exactly happened. One at a time, please. You first," Rita said, pointing to the young girl.

"I was just playing around with him in his room and he shoves me out," the young girl said.

If Rita was a normal baby-sitter, she would've glared at the older boy and punished him. However, she felt like she needed to see both sides of the story before she made any brash decisions. "And what about you?" she asked the young boy.

"I was just sitting around playing with my toys. She comes in and starts poking me and stuff. I told her several times to leave me alone, but since she wouldn't listen, I shoved her off of me," the boy said.

Rita was a bit relieved that nothing serious really happened. "Well, the way I see things, the both of you need to leave each other alone. Your brother wasn't wanting to play with you, okay?" Then, Rita turned to the brother. "However, you shouldn't shove your sister like that, okay? You don't really want to hurt her, do you?"

"No," the boy said, shaking his head.

"Good," Rita said. "Hmmm...now what to do about you two," Rita said, looking at the clock. It was 8 o'clock, which means it wasn't quite time for the two to go to bed. "I'm going to check my e-mail on the computer. If you two be nice, I would like you to meet someone."

"Okay," the two kids said in unison. Rita stood up and went to find the computer room, where Floramon was hiding, and listening with through the door that was cracked open.

"I know what you're thinking. Are you sure it's a good idea?" Floramon asked as her partner came through the door. "You know how your parents reacted to me."

"Floramon, they're little kids. They won't freak out like my parents did. They'll probably think you're cool," Rita said as she sat down at the computer desk and accessed her e-mail account.

"I, still, don't think this is a good idea," Floramon said.

"You think I'm gonna let them see you as a toy?" Rita asked.

Floramon cringed, knowing full well what they would do. "Good point."

Rita opened a message that showed it was from Jessica of the Oklahoma group. "Well, Jessica wants us to meet her in the Digital World at noon tomorrow. I guess she wants to make a day of it, since it's Saturday."

"About time. I've been waiting on this," Floramon said.

"I can understand, but I'm quite worried myself," Rita said.

"There's nothing to worry about, Rita," Floramon said. "Remember, I'm here to protect you."

Rita nodded, then said, "You gotta meet the kids."

"Oh, man..." Floramon complained.

"Rita, what's going on? Are you going somewhere today?" Rita's mother asked as she watched her daughter getting ready. Rita seemed to be dressed up for outdoor activities, which she usually doesn't do much on the weekend.

Rita's mother was only a few inches taller than her daughter. Her Japanese traits were more noticeable than her daughter's, considering that she was half-Japanese. Her daughter was only a quarter Japanese and the only trait that showed her descent was her eyes.

"I'm finally going into the Digital World. Another digi-destined from Oklahoma will be there with me," Rita said.

"Are you sure you're needed for this? I mean, why you?" Mrs. Collins asked.

"Remember what happened Halloween? It's better that I'm one rather than us having to wait for someone from Oklahoma to come and take care of things," Rita said. "As for why me particularly, I have no clue. That's something I'll have to find out."

Mrs. Collins sighed. She understood that her daughter had a strong sense of responsibility, but also had a caring part to her. The responsible side came from her father, and the caring side from herself. She was very relieved of that, but couldn't help but worry for her daughter.

"Trust me," Floramon said, with a cringe, still sore from dealing with the kids from last night. "I'm not about to let anything happen to Rita. At the same time, I can't do what she won't allow me to."

Mrs. Collins just nodded. However, she still found it hard to believe that she was talking to a sentient creature that wasn't human. Of course, Floramon being there will give her some since of relief. "Just be careful, Rita," Mrs. Collins said.

"I'll try," Rita said. Then, the girl walked out of the restroom. "Besides, hopefully, all we do is talk. It's not like I want to fight, but if they come for me, I have no choice." I hope I don't have to fight at all, Rita thought to herself. Maybe I won't be needed, besides, what can I do?

Rita walked towards the computer terminal with Floramon in tow. She took out her D3 and took a deep breath, still a bit nervous about going in.

"I'm right here with you," Floramon said.

Rita nodded as she held her D3 to the monitor. "Digi-port, open!" she yelled, before the monitor flashed. They were drawn into the monitor and through the Digital Gate.

Rita came out of a terminal, but fell forward and onto the ground. Floramon ran up to her in concern. "Are you okay?" Floramon asked.

"I will be when I get used to traveling through the Digital Gate," Rita replied as she got off and brushed herself off. She looked around, seeing they were sitting outside of a forested area. The remainder of the area seemed to be plains. Some of the trees around the area were cut down, leaving clean stumps. She turned around and aimed her D3 at the Terminal. "Digi-port, open!" Rita's D3 flashed, opening the Digital Gate for Jessica. Jessica came out and landed gracefully on the ground.

"Hey, Rita. Are you ready?" Jessica asked, walking up to the girl. 

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Rita replied.

"You seem a bit nervous," Elecmon noted, as she walked up to her partner. "There's nothing to worry about."

"That's what Floramon keeps saying," Rita said. "I'm just not sure of anything about all of this. I don't know what the Digi-Destined thing is all about or what the big deal is about these digimon."

Jessica nodded in understanding. "Don't worry too much about it. It's not like we haven't been thrown into a war uninformed before either. You have an advantage that I didn't have when we started."

Rita looked at her. At first she seemed confused and was about to ask her, but that alone gave her the idea of what she meant. Rita had Jessica around to help in the first place.

"As for what this is all about. Recently, we've been acting as defense on both sides of the Digital Gate. Of course, the presence of those Digimon that attacked San Antonio, I'm sure what your purpose is involves them. Each group of Chosen or Digi-Destined gets activated when a need arises. It's usually that you should be able to do something that the older ones can't, and there's usually good reason. I'm yet to find that out. You must remember something. Even though they are made of data, Digimon are living, breathing creatures. Most of them are sentient as well. You must realize that if you destroy a Digimon, you killed it."

"And what about at the River walk?" Rita asked.

"That was necessary. If we hadn't killed, people would have died. I have a feeling your enemy is quite ruthless. From what I heard from Hank, Dwayne and Richard have had their first kills already," Jessica explained.

Rita just looked at Jessica like she had been slapped. "They already did?"

"Well, when you have a swarm of Flymon trying to kill you, you don't think much about what you're doing. You just go in and defend yourself the best you can, even if it means killing," Jessica replied.

Rita didn't know what to think. Dwayne and Richard had been together for a long while, being best friends and all. They even started Junior High together against all odds. It seemed like it was only fitting that they experienced their first kills together.

"Hey, let's get off that topic, eh? You're looking depressed now," Jessica said. She walked over to a tree stump and sat down. "Let's see. What about Dwayne and Richard? Are you attracted to either of them?"

"They're good friends and everything, if that's what your asking," Rita replied.

"No, that's not what I meant. Don't you have at least a crush on either of them? You seem old enough to," Jessica restated.

Rita seemed shocked at the question. "Not really. Then, again, I've never thought of things like that before. Dwayne has a sound heart. Can't say he's the brightest of the bunch, though. Richard seems cold, but that's all I know. Everything I know about him I've heard from Dwayne. Dwayne told me Richard's a nice guy and everything, but I haven't seen any of it. Can't say I've seen him being a jerk either, considering most of the kids at school avoid him."

"He did seem the type to scare a few people away," Jessica remarked.

"There are a few other guys that seem okay, but Dwayne's the only one that really seems to interest me. Richard comes a close second," Rita, then turned and said, "What about you? If you think I'm old enough to have a crush, you must be old enough to have a boyfriend by now."

"Heh, heh. Got it in one. I've been going out with Hank for quite some time now. Just something that grew from our first adventures," Jessica said.

"What is Hank like?" Rita asked.

"Hank can be a pain sometimes, but he's got a strong sense of duty, mainly because his father is a general in the military. Probably the most honest guy I know, but sometimes a bit too honest. Speaks his mind way too much," Jessica explained.

"I saw that from some of the board posts. Can't believe he got temp banned yesterday. How many times is that now?" Rita asked, chuckling a bit.

"I lost count around 10," Jessica replied. "That's Hank for you, though. There's only one thing he hasn't been fully honest about towards anyone, and that's only because I asked him to. Besides, he isn't lying when he isn't telling them anything." Jessica sighed and said," You know how parents are. Well, my parents are rather traditional. I'm not like them, and I don't like the traditional way. If my parents find out about going out with Hank, it's not gonna be a pretty picture."

"My dad is usually working. I don't get to see him much. My mom is currently going to school to get into a career, but she is home by the time I am anyway. The only time I'm home alone is if we have a school holiday and she doesn't," Rita said. Then, she sighed and said, "I'm an only child, so it does tend to get boring."

"If you see how Rick and Lisa act toward each other, you'd be glad you were an only child," Jessica said. "Rick is over-protective of his sister. Problem is, she's got the biggest crush on Bobby, and Rick has been glaring daggers at Bobby for it."

Rita giggled for a bit. "Well, I know not all kids are like that, and I've gotten pretty good at taking care of kids. I baby-sit for some of the neighborhood children regularly. Helps me learn quite a bit about caring for them. Plus, it fills in my gap of not having a little brother or sister."

"Look out! Rita! Jessica! Get out of there!" Elecmon yelled.

Rita and Jessica turned to see two of the trees starting to fall on top of them. They made a mad dash out of the way of the falling trees. They fell onto the stumps the girls were sitting on. The girls looked at the trees and saw they were cut down. The part that broke off revealed a clean cut.

The girls turned to see Cockatrimon standing in the open, with two feathers ready to be thrown. "Heh, heh, heh...the boss will pay me big time to kill you two," Cockatrimon said.

"Oh...you've just done it, now," Jessica said, glaring at the chicken digimon. "Digimental up!"

"Elecmon, Armor Evolve!!" A pillar of light covered Elecmon, when it subsided, Elecmon became an some sort of  red griffin-like digimon, with a silver helmet on its head. The helmet had a couple of protrusions out to the side that acted as its wings. "HOLSMON!!"

"Feather Cutter!!" Cockatrimon threw the feathers at Holsmon. Holsmon merely jumped over the attack, evading the feathers completely.

"Red Sun!!" Holsmon fired two red beams out of its eyes. Cockatrimon barely stumbled out of the way of the attack. Cockatrimon finally got his balance back, but Holsmon was airborne by that time, and preparing to attack again. "Tempest Wing!!" Holsmon started spinning, creating a whirlwind that went straight at Cockatrimon, throwing the bird back a few feet.

"Looks like I won't be needed," Rita said. "Just as I thought. So, why am I here?"

"Trust me, Rita. Stranger things have happened. Keep your guard up," Jessica said.

Cockatrimon got up and stared at the Holsmon in front of him. "Gonna give up?" Holsmon asked.

"Nope, Petrifier!!" Cockatrimon's eyes flashed green and turned Holsmon into solid stone.

Rita looked on in shock. "No way!!" she gasped.

"See what I mean?" Jessica asked.

"Cockatrimon...just...turned Holsmon...to stone," Rita was saying, nervously. She couldn't move one bit.

Cockatrimon turned towards the girls. His eyes were particularly set on Rita. Rita was scared as Hell. Cockatrimon's eyes turned green once again. "Rita! Move it!!" Jessica yelled. She ran and shoved Rita out of Cockatrimon's line of sight, just as Cockatrimon's eyes flashed. Rita hit the ground and looked up to see Jessica had been turned to stone as well. She couldn't believe her eyes.

Cockatrimon chuckled as he started to move closer to the young girl. "Hmmm...do I really want to just finish you off right now, or do I want to have a little fun with you," Cockatrimon said, seeing that the main threat was gone. 

Rita slowly backed up, but found herself with a back against a tree. She was scared now more than ever, unsure about what the chicken wanted to do. Just before Cockatrimon could get too close, Floramon got in between Rita and Cockatrimon. "Don't get anywhere near her," Floramon said.

"Move it, house plant," Cockatrimon said. It was about to kick Floramon, but Floramon began to glow. Then, she was suddenly engulfed in a pillar of light. "Floramon, evolve!!" Floramon gained a humanoid form. However, her legs were and torso were bird-like, and wings replaced her arms. Her She wore a helmet and some form-fitting upper-body armor. Her bird-like parts were covered in white feathers. "HARPYMON!!"

Cockatrimon stepped back as Harpymon emerged from the pillar of light. "As I said, don't get anywhere near her," Harpymon said.

Cockatrimon was still over-confident. "Who's gonna stop me? You? Feather..."

"Wind Seeker!!" Harpymon swung her wing around, creating a vacuum blade and sending it straight at Cockatrimon. It slammed into Cockatrimon, leaving a gash in its chest that didn't bleed. However, Cockatrimon was airborne. When Cockatrimon got his bearings straight, he found out Harpymon was right behind him. "Silent Symphony!!" Harpymon opened her mouth and let out a powerful blast of wind, knocking Cockatrimon into a tree and out cold.

When that happened, Holsmon and Jessica returned to normal. The two of them looked around to see what happened, and were both surprised to see Harpymon. "Floramon, is that you?" Holsmon asked.

"It's Harpymon, now, Holsmon," Harpymon told her.

"My apologies, Harpymon," Holsmon replied. "Shall I finish that dickhead off?"

"No, let me handle it," Harpymon said, preparing her wing for another attack. "Wind..."

"Blast Laser!!" Harpymon heard this and got out of the way before some laser rings whipped by and slammed into Cockatrimon, obliterating it into data.

"Where'd that attack come from?" Jessica asked. Harpymon and Holsmon turned around and saw a giant red eagle that had two horns on its head. "Aquilamon?"

"So, you defeated one of my minions. Big deal, but you won't be cheering for long," Aquilamon said.

"He's one of the 4 that were on the wanted poster Hank was talking about. An eagle with horns on its head. Aquilamon," Jessica stated as the showdown was about to begin.

"Wind Seeker!" Harpymon yelled as she sent another vacuum blade at Aquilamon. Aquilamon flew out of the way and dived at Harpymon.

"Know your place!! Glide Horn!!" Aquilamon slammed into Harpymon, forcing Harpymon to devolve into her child form.

"Floramon!!" Rita yelled as she ran to Floramon's aid.

"I don't know what was worse, Starmon's punching me, Aquilamon's attack, or those kids playing around with me," Floramon said, with a weak smile. Rita was smiling, seeing Floramon would be all right.

"Tempest Wing!!" Holsmon attacked, sending a whirlwind at Aquilamon. However, when the attack stopped, nothing was where Aquilamon should have been. "Damn, he escaped," Holsmon cursed before devolving.

Rita ran up to Jessica with Floramon in her arms. She used a free arm to wrap an arm around Jessica. "Thank, God, you're alive after that," she said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey, I was only petrified, not dead. It's not like I was gonna die before you defeated Cockatrimon," Jessica said.

Rita looked up and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "C'mon," Jessica said. "Let's get you home."

Koushiro's Files:

Name: Rita Collins
Age/DOB: 12 (May 19, 1991)
Family: Father (Allen), Mother (Susan)
Gender: Female
Race: White
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Bio: Despite the looks, she does not fall under the “dumb blonde” category. Rita had to learn Japanese so she could communicate with some of the elder members of her family. She’s an only child and wishes she wasn’t at times, which is why she baby-sits younger children regularly. She tends to act more like a big sister to them than anything.
Skills:
Japanese
Digimon: Floramon, Harpymon