Well, aren't I nice? Two uploads in one day. Watch the world blow up now. I'm rather proud of this part.

As usual, I don't own anything except this fanfiction.

And I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen: Meeting the Tamers

The group finally reached the sardonic red and blue Digimon, and Noah briefly pleaded their case.

"Please, Lec, we can't exactly navigate this city alone," the digital human told the Rookie.

"All right…I'll resume my post as tour guide…" Lec said.

The others breathed a sigh of relief.

"If Sunshine over there admits I was right and he was wrong," he finished with a Cheshire grin.

"You –" the Demon Lord started forward, ready to punch out the younger Digimon. He was only stopped by Kuzuhamon leaping forward to hold him back.

"Beelzemon, don't," Kuzuha pleaded.

"That smug little brat…" Beelzemon growled at the Rookie.

"Sorry, but those're my conditions, Beelze," Lec grinned.

Now, Beelzemon was quite tolerant of the Rookie until now (he hadn't shot Elecmon yet, right?), but having his named shortened like it was only served to remind him Daemon's tendencies toward the same. The Demon Lord hated having his name shortened as a result (he shortened Kuzuhamon's name because he liked how it sounded, and it was something that only he did when addressing her). However, now that the younger Digimon had (although unintentionally) reminded the Demon Lord of his rather unfortunate nickname, Beelzemon decided to just punch Elecmon square in the face.

"Hey!" Lec shouted. "What the frick was that about?"

"Don't you dare call me that! Not ever again!" Beelzemon shouted, straining to attack him again, but couldn't as Kuzuha once again had begun trying to restrain him. "You got that, you little brat?"

"Ow…" Lec said, standing back up. "Okay, was that really necessary?"

"Yes," Beelzemon spat.

"Y'know what, shut up."

"I'll make you shut up!" Beelzemon snarled, drawing his guns. "Double –"

"Beelzemon!" twin voices shouted, running up to hug the Digimon in human form, oblivious to the fact that he had a gun.

"We missed you!" Ai said, hugging the Digimon partner she shared with her brother.

"Have you beaten the bad Digimon yet?" Makoto asked, also hugging the Digimon he shared with his sister. The boy looked over at Lec. "Is he a bad Digimon?"

"He's just annoying," Beelzemon said, storing the weapon so he could hug the two kids. "So, how've you guys been?"

"We started school," Ai said. "And we drew you in class as our best friend, but everyone thought you were imaginary…"

"They're mean…" Makoto added.

"So what? If they knew, they'd be jealous and you two know it."

"You're right!" Mako said happily.

"Yeah!" Ai cheered.

"So are there any other Digimon around?" Makoto asked hopefully. "What kind's the red man? Is he a Demon Lord?"

"He's –"

"A partnered Digimon, same as you," Elecmon sneered at the Demon Lord. "Name's Elecmon."

"Who's your partner?" Ai asked. "Is he mean?"

"My partner…heh…"

"Hi. I'm Labramon," Labramon said cheerfully, padding over to the twins.

Ai and Makoto laughed and hugged the dog, fawning over him.

Ai looked up at Noah. "Are you his Tamer?"

"Companion, actually. I'm also made of data."

"You don't look like it," Mako said.

"Trust me, I am," Noah assured them.

"Hey, Ai and Mako," Beelzemon said to his twin Tamers. The children looked up from petting Labramon and gazed at their Mega-level partner.

"What is it, Beelzemon?" Ai asked.

Beelzemon looked at Kuzuha and smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Then he looked back at the twins. "This is Kuzuhamon. She's my girlfriend."

Ai and Makoto immediately left Labramon, causing the canine to whimper in sadness, to go over to the female Mega.

"You're a Digimon? You're too pretty and human-like…" Ai said in wonder, playing with a few strands of Kuzuha's hair, the whole of it tied behind her back with Beelzemon's bandana.

"Ai, let me see that D-Power," Beelzemon said, holding out his hand so she could give him the device. Smiling, the girl removed it from around her neck and handed it to him. The Demon Lord pressed the small computer back into Ai's hand so that the display screen was facing up.

To the young girl's surprise, the display screen flashed to life and showed a picture of Kuzuhamon in her true form.

"Kuzuhamon…a fox priestess Digimon who's lived a long time. She controls ancient Shintoism divination magic, and is the chaos form of Sakuyamon," Ai read. "Have you really lived that long?" the young girl asked, looking up into the face of what looked like a biker woman in her late teens.

Kuzuha laughed. "No, I haven't. I'm…a special case."

"Cool!" Makoto said happily. "Beelzemon's super nice, huh?"

"Yes, he is," Kuzuhamon said to the young boy. "I can't even begin to tell you how many times he's saved my life."

"Beelzemon's just awesome like that," Mako agreed.

"Hey, isn't that Beelzemon's scarf in your hair?" Ai asked.

"I gave that to her," Beelzemon told the twins.

Ai smiled. "You like her lots, huh?"

"You have no idea."

"Will you play with us, Beelzemon?" Mako asked.

"Yeah!" Ai said. "Turn back into Impmon and play with us!"

"Not today, guys," Beelzemon told them. "I'm on a date with Kuzuhamon now, and I'd rather stay in Mega form."

"Awwwwwwwwww!" the twins complained.

"Noah and Labramon will play with you," Beelzemon said, looking over at the digitized human and his canine companion. "Right?" the look he had in his eyes promised grisly death if they declined.

"Sure," Noah said, completely unfazed by the Demon Lord's unspoken threat.

"Okay!" Labramon cheered, bounding over to Ai and licking her face. The young girl giggled at the dog, and the boy looked up at Noah.

"All right," the digital human said, going over to play with the kids.

"And what about me?" Lec muttered to the Mega.

"You'd only corrupt them. Buzz off," Beelzemon growled at Lec.

"More than a Demon Lord?"

"They're my Tamers. That's different."

"Speaking of Tamers, Elecmon, where is yours?" Kuzuha asked.

"Unless, of course, your Tamer is just a pathetic loser, and you're ashamed to admit it," Beelzemon said mockingly.

"All right, mocking me is one thing, but when you go after my Tamer is when I get ticked off," Elecmon growled.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve with the Baby?" Beelzemon mocked.

"If you didn't with him, you sure as heck did with me," a new voice said from behind them.

"What the –" Beelzemon jumped at the sudden female voice. Beelzemon and Kuzuhamon turned around to see a girl of about fourteen dressed in dark brown and black, with her earthy hair tied back behind her head and her steely gray eyes looking thoroughly annoyed. She stood there, arms crossed, and tapping her foot on the pavement. The girl also had a strange glove with an inset where one could place a jewel, and her belt had a D-Power, some Digimon cards, a strange pouch, and attached to her belt…

IS THAT A SWORD? Beelzemon thought incredulously.

"Are you by any chance…" Kuzuha trailed off.

"Elecmon's Tamer? Yep," she said.

"I meant to say the 'ex-assassin', but that'll do," the fox woman said.

"Who are you two, and why are you torturing my Digimon?" she asked.

"I'm Beelzemon, and she's my girlfriend, Kuzuhamon. Now who the heck are you?"

"Laura Roberts, you idiot Demon Lord," Laura snapped. "Now, you never answered my second question."

"He was basically being an annoying little creep who also flirted with my girlfriend. Perverted little brat," Beelzemon said, directing the last towards the Rookie Digimon.

"Hey! Don't insult my Digimon!" Laura snarled.

"Would you rather I insult you then, kid?" Beelzemon taunted.

"Um, Beelzemon…I don't think you shoulda done that…" Kuzuha said.

"Why?" Beelzemon asked. "What do you think, crayon head?" he asked the younger Digimon, only to see that Elecmon had wisely moved away. "What the heck?"

Laura began growling. And not the irritated kind of growl Rika made, but a serious, animalistic growl that was reminiscent of a wolf's and would have made Leviamon extremely jealous about it (never mind that making Leviamon, the Demon Lord of Envy, jealous was rather simple). A steely, rasping sound was heard next, as two claws in both of Laura's hands slowly slid out of hiding. The blades glinted in the light – strangely, the claws didn't have a trace of blood on them.

Before Beelzemon could react, Laura had dashed up to him and held the lethal blades up to his neck. It was obvious from the young woman's stance that she'd fought innumerable times, and wasn't afraid to kill.

"Listen jerk, I don't take well to those who threaten my friends – even if they're annoying at times. Do it again, and so help me, I'll remove your head from your shoulders," she whispered.

The Demon Lord just stood there, stunned at what the human girl had told him.

"Got it?" Laura asked him, head tilted to one side.

Kuzuhamon was standing close enough to have heard what the human girl said, and immediately brought out her staff, swinging it around to strike the human.

"Don't you dare threaten him," Kuzuha growled, a little satisfied to know that her strike had drawn blood on the wild ex-assassin. "Do it again, and I'll make certain you regret it."

When did Kuzuha get like this? Beelzemon thought, mind drifting away from the danger to regard his now infuriated girlfriend. Whatever it is, I like it, he thought with a small smirk. And hey, she was able to injure the – WHAT THE HECK? The Demon Lord thought in surprise as he saw Laura's forehead.

Kuzuha also was stunned, lowering the staff in shock and awe. That…can't be possible…she thought. The gash she'd made on the teen's forehead had healed over, leaving only a slowly drying patch of blood.

"Beauty of immortality – I don't have to worry about the little things like injury," Laura said. "Now, this is how it's gonna go – you two leave Elecmon alone in the threatening his life sense an' I'll keep him in line. Okay?"

"Okay," Kuzuhamon said, still rattled from what she'd seen.

"Fine…" Beelzemon sighed, giving in. "I'm sorry…Elecmon…" he grated.

"I forgive you," the Rookie said smugly.

"You're not off the hook, Lec," Laura growled.

"Fine…I'm sorry, too, Beelzemon."

"Thank you. I forgive you, too," the Demon Lord said.

"My apologies also for attacking," Kuzuha said to the younger girl.

"Eh. I've been attacked before, so I'm used to it," Laura shrugged.

"What's going on?" Ai asked, running up to them with Mako. Noah and Labramon were behind them, walking casually. Noah looked a little worn out from playing with the kids, but Labramon was bounding along happily.

"Ai, Mako, this is Laura, Elecmon's Tamer," Beelzemon told them, indicating the dark haired teen.

"It's nice to meet you," Laura said with a bow. "Congrats on Taming such a…prickly Digimon."

"Thank you…?" Mako asked the older girl.

"Yeah, thanks," Beelzemon said, rolling his eyes.

"Did you know that your Digimon isn't all that nice?" Ai asked her peer.

"Elecmon's…offbeat, I'll grant you, but he's also like a brother to me," Laura told the younger girl. "He's a loyal partner."

"Beelzemon is, too…once he came back and me and Mako stopped fighting," Ai smiled.

"Cool," Laura replied with a small grin.

"So why are you here, Laura?" Noah asked.

"Takin' a shortcut. I'm on my way to meet up with Koji…"

"Who's Koji?" Beelzemon asked.

"He's the Legendary Warrior of Light, Lobomon," Kuzuhamon said. "Mistress Nefertimon and Lady Ophanimon told me about the Warriors."

So the legends are true…Beelzemon thought. Huh.

"Man, Laura…this is what – your third date this week?" Lec teased.

"Shut up," Laura snarled, blushing. It was really the fourth.

"What's a date?" Ai and Mako asked.

"Something the two of you don't need to worry about for a long time. Especially you, Ai," Beelzemon said quickly.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"I'll explain it when you're older," he told her.

Most girls, when they reached their teenage years, would be angry at their fathers for disapproving of any and all boys they dated. Those girls should count themselves lucky though, as they would never have a protective Demon Lord to discourage boys.

"Okay," Ai said, shrugging it off.

"So, where are all of you headed?" Laura asked the Digimon group.

"I really don't know," Beelzemon said. "Elecmon…was leading us."

"Ah. So you'll probably wind up at the movies…" Laura mused.

"We can't," Elecmon told his Tamer. "After all, Labramon's in our group…and he's a dog."

"Oh yeah…" Kuzuha said. "How are we gonna be able to hang out? I mean…no offence, Labramon…but…"

"I know. Humans don't like animals in their businesses, thinking they all carry germs and stuff," Labramon said. "I heard all the stories."

"It's okay. You three go on ahead," Noah said. "Kuzuha's never been to the movies, and there's nothing I need to see anyway."

"You sure?" Beelzemon asked the digital human.

"Yeah. It's really not that big a deal, plus Ai and Mako are nice kids," Noah told him.

"They sure are!" Labramon said happily. "Plus, since I can't go into a movie theater, I might as well hang out with some people I don't hafta be quiet around."

"All right…" the Demon Lord of Gluttony told his two friends. "Ai, Mako, be good for the two of them."

"Okay, Beelzemon," his twin Tamers said cheerfully as they, Noah, and Labramon all went back over to the playground and began hanging out.

"I should be goin', too…" Laura said, starting to leave. "I've gotta meet up with Koji."

"I thought his parents hated you because you're 'American'?" Lec asked his Tamer.

"So? Like I care what they think. If they knew how many times Koji and I saved each other's hides…"

"I thought you weren't telling them."

"That's not the point," Laura grated.

"I thought it was."

"Lec!"

"Hey, I thought you had to go…" Elecmon teased.

Laura just glared at her often annoying partner before leaving, muttering to herself in a mix of German, Japanese, English, and…another language that two-thirds of the teenage/young adult Digimon didn't even realized existed. The remaining third just winced at the choice of language.

"Man…she spends too much time around her knight friends…" Lec muttered.

"What?" Beelzemon asked.

"And what was that fourth language?" Kuzuha asked the red and blue Digimon.

"Styric," Lec explained.

"That isn't a language," Beelzemon scoffed.

"Yeah it is. It's on a different planet. I would know, having been to said planet."

"Whatever," the Demon Lord said. "Let's just go to the movies."

"I agree," Kuzuha added.

Lec just shrugged and walked off, leading them to the movie theater.

I really need to start getting paid for this, the electric Digimon thought bitterly as he continued to lead them.

And Elecmon's Tamer has been revealed. Laura Roberts, aka X-23 - though more based off of her two episodes in X-Men: Evolution than the comic books. I know her eyes are green really, but I had forgotten that, so I picked gray. Just...pretend she has those cosmetic contacts.

You know, you'd think given Tamer's personality, Lec would know not to antagonize people.

And a cookie to anyone who knows where the Styric language comes from.