Card Slash and...

Jayr POV - Real World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo - 2001

In the early afternoon, the last bell of the day chimes, and all the classes finally end which also indicates the end of the school day, and soon the process of students leaving the school starts under the watchful eyes of some of the teachers on duty who waits for the parents or designed guardian of some of the younger kids who live a little too far from the school to come and retrieve their children, while other leaves on their own or with their own groups.

Once all the students are gone, all the teachers finish their work and also start to leave the school, and of course, I'm among them, so, I leave the Teachers' Lounge while saying, "Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu. (Please excuse me for leaving before you.)" and head toward my bike parked at the parking space reserved for the school staff.

I quickly reach my destination, get on my ride, put on the helmet, and then, drive the bike out of the school area as I head back toward my current home, but on the way there, I catch a glimpse of a Hobby Shop and suddenly remembering an important detail I have forgotten until now, I decide to make a temporary stop to try my luck and buy a few booster packs for the Digital Monster Card Game.

Coming to that decision, I don't hesitate and park my bike nearby, I don't worry about someone trying to steal it because the engine won't start unless someone inputs Spiral Cosmo into it, and more importantly, even if it currently looks like a normal black Yamaha FJR1300, it is still the Artifact Bike I created in the Arifureta Universe that weights over 2 tons because of the special materials it is made of, a weight that no human can move and even heavier that what a car trailer can withstand. 

After parking my bike, I walk inside the store and directly head toward the counter where I buy a dozen "random" booster packs.

I may or may not have used a little bit of my godly abilities to pick up the packs that contain those that I regard as the most interesting or useful cards and as little "duds" as possible.

The reason why I'm buying these booster packs from the Digital Monster Card Game isn't because I suddenly want to play the game, or even to collect them, but to make use of them for one of the most overpowered abilities of the D-Arks, the Card Slash.

The Card Slash is a technique unique to the Digimon Tamers Universe, in which Tamers swipe, which all of them call "Slash", trading cards from the Digital Monster Card Game, or certain other special cards, into their D-Ark Digivice to generate temporary power-ups, equipment and other modifications for their partner Digimon. 

The Digital Monster Card Game cards of this universe have a metallic stripe along their side, containing code pertaining to that card's gameplay effects. 

This code is meant to be read by Card Fighter Ex devices that are used to play the game, by Slashing cards through a long slot in the device, but the D-Ark Digivice is able to use the code from the cards to generate augmentations for partner Digimon. 

The effect that a card has when Slashed is based on its own properties, and what type of card it is.

For example, the Digimon Cards, which are basic cards depicting individual Digimon, the ones that are used in the card game to fight against other Digimon cards, when they are Slashed in a D-Ark, they instead allow the partner Digimon to use one of the featured Digimon's attack techniques even if it is of the opposite natural element that the Digimon can make use of, for example with it a regular Agumon can unleash a freezing breath instead of the regular fireball.

Then there are the Option Cards, which are support cards that invoke additional effects. 

In the Digital Monster Card Game, these come in three main types that are denoted by an icon in the top left of the card, two of these types are more commonly used by Tamers for Card Slashing.

One is the Item Cards, which are Cards which add to some aspect of the Digimon's strength and abilities, they serve this function both in the card game and when Slashed. 

For the purposes of Slashing, Item Cards can be divided into three further categories.

The Equipment Cards, are Cards which equip the partner Digimon with a physical item that has abilities that the Digimon did not previously have.

The Plug-In Cards, which are Cards that boost the attributes of Digimon, those cards can be used to increase a Digimon's offensive, defensive, or speed stats, recover a Digimon's energy and stamina, or induce evolution to the Adult level.

And the Device Cards, a type of item card that is very rarely used in the anime, so I don't actually know what their effects truly are.

Then there are the Program Cards, which are Cards that execute a more complex procedure involving the partner Digimon.

Furthermore, D-Arks are also able to read and execute effects from certain other cards that are not from the Digital Monster Card game but do carry particular algorithms that are in some way intended for use with Digimon, such as Blue Cards.

But from what I have observed from the anime the only reason Card Slashing has any effect at all is that the Tamers believe that it will and that the D-Arks transfer the power of that faith into their Digimon if they did not believe the cards would do anything, the cards would just be cards with no effect at all, but that doesn't change the fact that it is an incredible feature, in fact, it makes it even more amazing, especially if it is combined with a Tamer with a very strong and firm faith and belief, it basically becomes a feature capable of warping reality.

Another interesting feature is that multiple cards can be Slashed one after another to create combos, where a Digimon can use the powers of all of those cards together at once. 

However, the cards that a Tamer uses for a combo must be chosen carefully to avoid the cards' effects undermining each other, like when Takato in the anime tried to combo with the "White Wings" and "High Speed Plug-In B" cards, the increase to Guilmon's speed made it harder for Guilmon to control his flight and made him crash and harm itself.

After buying and opening the booster packs, I walk out of the Hobby Shop and get on my bike to once again resume my ride back home, but before I can inject my Spiral Power into the bike and start its engine, I sense the opening of a Digital Field nearby, meaning that a Digimon is about to Realize, meaning it is about to enter the Real World from the Digital World.

Sensing that, I once again get down my bike and head toward the area where the Digital Field is opening while muttering, "These "invasions" are becoming more and more frequent... it is clear that the time for the start of the events depicted in the anime is getting closer and closer..." 

Quickly I reach a tall under-construction building surrounded by a thick fog, and from within the fog can hear some roars and fighting sounds.

Since this Digital Field was just created and it is impossible that someone arrived here before me, it is very likely that multiple Digimon Realized at the same moment, maybe they were even already fighting before they actually realized.

I'm about to step inside the fog to enter the Digital Field and deal with those Digimon before they cause too much damage when I remember about the cards I just brought, more specifically, three among them who I find very, very interesting, and mutter, "This is a good time to test the Card Slash function and those cards I just found..."

Coming to that conclusion, I don't hesitate and open a portal to my Soulbound Territory and use a little bit of Telephaty to call for my Digimon Partner who soon after quickly jump out of it and land in front of me.

V-mon is the first one to speak as it asks while he sniffs the air, "Hey, Jayr! I smell some Digimon nearby! Those that mean that you called us to fight some Digimon that just arrived in the Real World?" 

Wormmon then follows up with another question, "Do you think we are ready for that, Jayr? It isn't too dangerous, isn't it? From the sound they seem to be quite strong..." but then Patamon quickly reassures Wormmon, "Don't worry so much! If it was truly that dangerous then our Tamer wouldn't have called us... He must think that we are ready for this."

At this point, I finally crouch down and look at all three in the eyes as I say, "Patamon is right, Wormmon. I already told you before, that you are much stronger than you think, and should have more confidence in yourself. Now regarding the Digimon within the Digital Field in front of us... V-mon is right, I do wish for you guys to fight them, but I also want to test an interesting function of the D-Ark called Card Slash which if it works as I think it does, will make you guys a lot more powerful than the average Digimon... but the most important thing is what you guys want to do..."

Hearing that, V-mon excitedly bounces on its feet as it yells, "Let's do this! Let's do this!!" followed by Patamon who flaps its ears/wings to fly on top of my head as it says, "I'm also quite interested..."

At the same time, Wormmon crawls up my shoulder and says, "I trust you Jayr, and believe that as long as we are together there is nothing we can't do."

With a smile on my face I get up, pull out from my pocket my D-Ark, and walk into the thick fog that surrounds the Digital Field where the Digimon Realized, and as soon as we are on the other side, what greets us is the sight of a fierce fight between a big vicious Digimon and a pack of smaller ones but equally vicious Digimon.

The bigger Digimon that is facing the pack looks very similar to the Tyranomon we encountered almost a month ago, it is also a bipedal Tyrannosaurus rex-like Digimon with blue eyes, two fingers on each hand, three toes on each foot, and a pair of teeth so large they pop out of the mouth. 

But different from Tyranomon, it has black skin on its body, white skin on its belly, and red stripes on its head, tail, arms, and legs, the tip of its tail appears to be sewed to the rest of it, and it has green torn spikes on its back, white claws on its fingers and dark grey toenails on its toes, it also wears metal ornaments on its upper claws, and multiple brown belts on its wrists, it is a Dark Tyranomon.

(Image Here - Dark Tyranomon)

As I look at it, I also raise my D-Ark to use its function to display a Digimon Analyzer profile of any Digimon whom the Partner Digimon is currently seeing, and as the image of DarkTyranomon and its relevant information is projected from the D-Ark, I start to read them out loud for my Digimon to hear, "Dark Tyranomon. Adult Level. A Dinosaur Digimon whose body was corroded by a vicious computer virus. Although it was originally a Tyranomon-species Digimon, it was infected by a vicious computer virus, causing a bug in its flesh's configuration data and transforming it into a frenzied Digimon. Its body turned black, its arms grew sturdier than Tyranomon's, and its offensive power grew. It identifies anything reflected in its eyes as an enemy and starts attacking, becoming completely frenzied. With its Special Move "Fire Blast", a super-powerful jet of flames, it transforms all of its surroundings into a sea of flames."

After that, I focus on the pack of Digimon fighting against Dark Tyranomon, they are all of the same species and there are almost 10 of them, they are all wolf-like Digimon with red-and-white fur, purple fangs, a lean, curvy body, and an elongated snout, those are Fangmon, the Digimon version of the fairy tale wolf, who does not let any prey get away, even managing to transform into someone the prey might trust to approach it.

(Image Here - Fangmon)

I once again use the D-Ark's function which displays a Digimon Analyzer profile of the Digimon and again the image of the Digimon and its relevant information is projected by the D-Ark as I read them out loud, "Fangmon. Adult Level. A Demon Beast Digimon that lives deep in the heart of the forest, and preys upon those who lose their way. It is said that it is definitely the data of the Big Bad Wolf that appears within many fairy tales, becomes a Digimon, and once it sets its sights on prey, it will never escape, as it sometimes goes so far as to disguise itself as someone dear to its prey in order to get closer. It has a heretical existence among Dog and Wolf-species Digimon, and if Garurumon is a being of the light, then Fangmon is a being of darkness. Its Signature Move is stealing things like weapons and items from the opponent, using its sharpened agility with the move Snipe Steal. Its Special Move is "Blast Coffin"." 

The two sides are clearly still testing each other as the Fangmon are circling around Dark Tyranomon sending at most some quick probing attack while Dark Tyranomon is waiting for one of the Fangmon to overextend itself and kill it with a swift, deadly attack. 

Meanwhile, hearing those analyses instantly makes Wormmon second-guess himself, "Maybe it is a little too much for us..." followed by Patamon who adds, "Indeed, not only they are all at the Adult stage, but they even have the number advantage... maybe if there were only three of them we could have done something, but at the moment the only way I see we could win is if we evolved to the Adult Stage, then it could be possible... but I feel that it is too soon for that for us, even if Jayr can easily give us enough energy to evolve I know that we won't be able to successfully evolve yet, our current Digicore isn't strong enough to sustain the burden of an Adult level evolution yet."

At this point, V-mon disagrees and says, "Come on, guys! We won't know until we try! Maybe we just have to push ourselves a little bit..." which makes Wormmon shake its head, but before this discussion could further continue, I step in and say, "Don't worry... If everything goes as I have planned, then you guys would easily be able to face them on equal grounds...Let's start with you V-mon! Get ready!"

I hold on to my D-Ark while grabbing the card I intend to use on V-mon, then copying what the Tamers in the anime did, I yell "Card Slash!" swiping the card in the slot on its right-hand side of the D-Ark, and once I completed this action, I call out the name of the card I just swiped, "Digimental of Courage! Digimental Up!"

In response, V-mon exclaims, "Whoa! What a rush!" before his whole body is enveloped in flames as he yells, "V-mon, Armor Evolve...!" 

Then V-mom's body which is enveloped in flames starts to grow and change shape, and soon after, the flames are blown away showing his new form as he calls out the name of his new form, "...Fladramon!"

Fladramon is a bipedal creature with blue skin that looks like a grown version of V-mon, he wears armor on its face, chest, thighs, hands, and feet, and he has a blade-like spike protruding from his mask and claws from its hands, the armor is covered with flame-like designs and he wears belts on his upper arms. 

The forehead spike and the armor's flame design are references to the Digimental of Courage, with which it is intimately associated with V-mon.

(Image Here - Fladramon) 

Seeing V-mon Armor Evolve into Fladramon makes Patamon jump down from my head as he exclaims, "Ah! Armor Evolution! That's perfect! I always wanted to try that since we watched Digimon Adventure 02, and even more so when I learned about Crateris and the Saints in your home universe... Hit me with it too, Jayr!"

At the same time, Dark Tyranomon and the Fangmon pack also took notice of V-mon's Armor Evolution into Fladramon and stopped their fight to focus on his and our presence in the area, seemingly coming to an agreement and joining forces against the third party. 

Meanwhile, hearing Patamon, I don't hesitate to grab the card I intend to use on Patamon, and then yell "Card Slash!" swiping the card in the slot on its right-hand side of the D-Ark.

Once I complete this action, I call out the name of the card I just swiped, "Digimental of Hope! Digimental Up!"

Instantly, Patamon comments, "Here it comes!" before his whole body is enveloped in a bright yellow light as he yells, "Patamon, Armor Evolve...!"

Then his body enveloped in the yellow light starts to grow and change shape, and soon after, the light fades away showing its new form as it declares, "...Pegasmon!"

Befitting its name, Pegasmon takes the form of the Greek mythical flying horse, he looks like an orange, winged horse with Patamon-like ears, blue eyes, a blond flowing mane, a thin long tail, and long feathered wings, he wears ornamental gold armor on his face, hooves and torso, the armor bears the Crest of Hope. 

(Image Here - Pegasmon)

At this moment, both Dark Tyranomon and the pack of Fangmon don't waste any more time and start to rush toward us, and two of the Fangmon standing at the front of the formation start to gather their energy within their mouth that starts to shine in bright white light, and then they both yell in a menacing voice, ""Blast Coffin!"" unleashing two white beams in our direction.

But Fladramon quickly steps forward and yells, "Flame Shield" encasing himself in a dense ball of fire big enough to cover us standing behind it.

Soon after, the beams powerlessly crash against the ball of fire completely unable to harm Fladramon and us behind him, something that causes the charging Digimon to stop in their track as they cautiously observe the situation.

While Fladramon's act of protecting us brings a temporary stop to the fight, I take advantage of the situation to look at Wormmon standing on my shoulder and ask, "Are you ready to join your brothers?" 

In response, Wormmon nods and jumps down from my shoulder ready to do its part, and at the same time, I bring out the last card I intend to use, but I stop and take a look at it while thinking, 'Among the three Digimental Cards I found in the booster packs this is the one that I'm the most reluctant to use, but not because it is dangerous or too powerful, but because I truly dislike the "canon" Armor Evolutions of this particular Digimental as I felt no connection at all between the Digimental and its derivated evolution forms... but since the evolution of a Digimon Partner is also connected to its Tamer's mental state, will, and belief, I will fully believe that I will be able to bring out its true evolution!'

After thinking that, I steel my will and grab the card I intend to use on Wormmon, and then yell "Card Slash!" swiping the card in the slot on its right-hand side of the D-Ark, and once I completed this action, I call out the name of the card I just swiped, "Digimental of Kindness! Digimental Up!"

Instantly, Wormmon exclaims, "I feel it, Jayr! I feel the power exploding from within me!" before his whole body is enveloped in a soft pink glow as he yells, "Wormmon, Armor Evolve...!"

Then his body which is enveloped in the pink glow starts to grow and change shape, and soon after, the glow disperses into many smaller pink lights showing its new form as it declares, "Carabimon...!"

To my immense relief, Carabimon is nothing like what the expected evolution.

He is a bipedal creature with green skin that closely resembles Wormmon's Adult Stage Stingmon for its wings and humanoid shape but looks more like a grown version of Wormmom, his antennae are even longer and have now pink stripes, his hands now look more roundish and thick and it also has 4 fingers, while its feet maintain the claw-like form of its previous stage, it wears a pink carapace-like armor on its arms and waist, and the armor on the head reminds me of a boxer headgear which bears the Crest of Kindness.

(Image Here - Carabimon[Design of Marc_McAuley])

(AN: The name is something I came up with, I took inspiration from the Bombardier beetles which are ground beetles (Carabidae) a type of insect that have a larvae state, which is kinda of what Wormmon is, they are most notable for the defense mechanism that gives them their name: when disturbed, they eject a hot noxious chemical spray from the tip of the abdomen with a popping sound. So this insect basically inspires both the name and the abilities of this evolution... it took a while to find something that matched the awesome design I found and the overall basic concept of Wormmon as Digimon so I had to explain this.)

Wormmon evolution into Carabimon snaps the pack of Fangmon and the lone Dark Tyranomon out of their shocked state which makes them quickly resume their charge, but at the same time, I do not waste any more time and start to quickly assign to my Partner Digimon their targets, "Pegasmon, Carabimon! You guys take care of the Fangmon pack... Carabimon charge into the pack of Fangmon and make sure to gather them together to make them an easy target. Pegasmon take advantage of your ability to fly to take control of the situation from above, and once you are sure take them all out in one blow! Fladramon, Dark Tyranomon is yours! Strike fast! Strike hard!"

As soon as my three Digimon Partner hears my direction, they quickly reply, """Yes, Jayr!""" before they all make their move at the same time.

Carabimon spreads the wings behind his back and starts to quickly flap them as he flies toward the pack of Fangmon at blinding speed, and once he is close enough, he raises his right arm and yells, "First Shell Bullet!"

Soon an explosion is generated from the first of the three shells of the armor on his right arm that propel Carabimon forward with even faster speed, before thrusting his fist at the target while yelling, "Fissure Uplift!" 

Carabimon's fist hits the ground just in front of the Fangmon pack unleashing a powerful wave of force, that he then channels into the ground that generates a small fissure of energy that stretches for about a dozen or so meters, which in turn unleashes a powerful force sufficient to easily launch the ten Fangmon into the air.

At the same time, Pegasmon, who had already flown up at the same time as Carabimon started his charge and took its position high above everyone, doesn't waste this opportunity created by Carabimon, and spread his wings wide and then yelled, "Shooting Star!" 

Pegasmon creates a void of space inside of both its wings, and with a single flap it sends down a cluster of shooting stars aiming at the powerless Fangmon in mid-air, who unable to defend themselves, get obliterated into small scattered motes of Data by Pegasmon attack.

Meanwhile, Dark Tyranomon breathes super-powerful flames at the charging Fladramon, turning everything into a sea of fire, but this level of fire is basically useless against Fladramon, who doesn't stop and continues to charge through the sea of fire

At the same time, Fladramon takes advantage of the flames created by Dark Tyranomon to surround himself in an aura of fire and then shoots himself towards his opponent like a rocket while yelling, "Fire Rocket!"

Fladramon hits Dark Tyranomon straight into its belly sending Dark Tyranomon flying until it crashes into a nearby wall, and then, without giving it any time to recover, Fladramon lits up his hands on fire and yells "Knuckle Fire!" shooting a couple of fireball at the still stunned Dark Tyranomon turning its body into a bunch of scattered motes of Data essentially killing it.

Soon after the defeat of the last wild Digimon Dark Tyranomon, I quickly feel that the Digital Field starts to retire while the thick fog surrounding it also starts to disperse, and at the same time, Pegasmon lands next to me and comments, "Woohoo! I always wanted to do this!! Hey! Hey! Jayr! I'm pretty sure that now we can be considered Saint Digimon, isn't that right? After all, we too have our own special armor now, don't we!"