A Favor for a Friend {Dante/Open}

The subway train continues down the tracks. It reaches the next stop. More people get on. Dante wonders if the other tamers are going to be riding the subway, or if they are already with Cornette. Dante isn't exactly sure what Cornette wants, but he hopes there's nothing shady or illegal going on. He already learned the hard way that sometimes friendly people can be harboring dark secrets. The train reaches Dante's stop. He stands up, and his bag starts dripping. Dante is disgusted that Minomon has been drooling in his bag.

Dante exits the train and walks out of the station. The bright lights and large crowds of people proves to be very distracting. Dante walks along the sidewalk, and enters a club where Cornette is at. Dante walks in and asks the hostess where Cornette is. She leads Dante to a private booth in the VIP section. Inside Cornette is sitting at a large round table. "Yo, Dante! Great to see ya again buddy." "Always a pleasure, Cornette." Minomon pops out of the bag. "Heyo Cornette!" Cornette's face lights up when he sees Minomon.

"There's my little dude! I have a surprise for you. It's my famous Cornette burgers!" A waitress walks in with a platter of cheeseburgers. The three of them start chowing down. "Mmm, mmm, oh this is the best burger ever!" "The secret is triple the cheese." Cornette sets his burger down and pulls out a file of papers. "Ok, let's get down to business. Wait, I'll wait until the other tamer gets here. I don't wanna repeat myself." "So let's party until they get here!" Minomon takes a gigantic bite out of a cheeseburger. Dante chuckles and takes a sip of his saki. "I wonder what Digimon their partner is going to be."

Cornette hands Raziya some papers from the file. "Raziya, you'll be in charge of this mission. You've earned your reputation as an experienced operative. Go to the club, locate that saxophone. Then, once everything's taken care of, we are going to rock!" Wormmon jumps up and cheers. "Don't worry, Cornette, we won't let you down!" Raziya stands up and puts the papers in her bag. "I will complete this assignment. So long as the crimson boy and little muncher can keep up." Dante tries to keep a straight face, but on the inside he is snarling. (Thinking) "Keep up? Ya, I'll keep up. She's not the only one who's been around the world. We will get that saxophone." The two tamers hide their Digimon and leave the club.

Raziya walks over and grabs her bike. "Meetcha there, Dante." Raziya rides off towards the club where the stolen saxophone might be located. "Great, she's got the friggin papers! I better hail a cab and follow her." Dante hails down a cab and tells the driver to follow the girl. The student stalking Dante sees him get in the cab. He pulls out a compact speaker and holds it up to his mouth. "Mission Control this is Agent Syn. Two tamers are in pursuit. Set a decoy, and let them walk right into a trap. Look out for an African woman and a skinny man with red hair."

Cornette puts the files away. A waitress walks into the VIP section. "Will that be all for you today, Cornette? We will put everything on your tab." "Yes, thanks baby." The waitress cleans up the dishes. Cornette walks out of the club through a back door and quickly gets in his tour bus. (Thinking) "You better be up for this one, Dante. I just hope I did the right thing."

Some men are unloading stage equipment. One of them opens a case. Raziya sees a saxophone in the case. One of the men sets the case aside. They finish unloading equipment and leave. Raziya checks to see if the coast is clear. She sneaks over and grabs the case. Suddenly she hears a voice coming from behind her. "Find what you were looking for?" Raziya turns around and sees the student. He walks up to her slowly. "Such a shame. I would have thought you would be more of a challenge after reading your file, Raziya." "You know about me?" The student nods his head. "Indeed. It's a fake, by the way. A decoy." Raziya looks shocked. "But how could you have known about this mission?" "I know all about Cornette and his quest to take the saxophone back. Maybe I'm better at surveillance than I think."

Raziya backs up into a dead end. The student takes a black card out of his pocket and raises his hand high. He brings his hand next to his ear and throws the card forward. A black ball of smoke appears around the card. The smoke fades, and a BlackToyAgumon appears. Budmon pops out of the bag. "It's time to battle. Digivolve!" Budmon digivolves to Lalamon. The student scoffs at Lalamon. "Really? That's what you battle with? And here I thought Dante was the weak one."

Dante is still sitting with the two women. "Ladies, I really have to get up." "Well let's dance first!" Dante and the girls get up and start dancing on the dance floor. Dante tries to get a closer look at the saxophone. He sees strange markings on the saxophone. (Thinking) "That doesn't look like a normal saxophone. It must be the real deal." One of the girls pulls Dante away. "Come on, don't you wanna dance with me?" Dante thinks of a way to get away. "My girlfriend is here, and she's crazy!" "What really? Well she'll have to fight me to get you back." (Thinking) "Damn it! These girls are too drunk for their own good. Maybe I can use that." Dante finishes dancing with the two ladies. "Hey, let's have another round!" The three of them walk over to the bar. Minomon is still sitting on the table inside Dante's bag.

Dante is trying to hide from the party girls. He sees the student looking right at him and walking towards him. "Well, that's not creepy or anything." Syn approaches Dante. "I can help you, follow me." Dante follows Syn through the employee's only door. Dante sees Raziya handcuffed. Before Dante can speak, Syn knocks down Dante with a surprise blow to the neck. "You are coming with me, Dante." Dante gets up and runs over to Raziya. Syn slowly walks over to Dante. "You have two choices, a Digimon battle, or a fight." "Well when you put it that way." Dante punches Syn in the face. Syn steps back and takes up a defensive stance. Dante bounces around on his feet, using his background in taekwondo.

Dante goes for a kick but Syn jumps back. Syn throws a punch then a kick, Dante dodges the punch but the kick lands. Dante closes in, but switches his stance and kicks with his other foot, hitting Syn in the ribs. Syn goes for another kick, but Dante blocks with his leg and lands a devastating roundhouse on Syn. Syn backs up and wipes the blood from his mouth with his wrist. "Fine, if I can't best you in hand to hand combat, I'll take it up a notch." Syn pulls out a short metal chain with a spike on the end from his sleeve. He charges towards Dante and swings the chain, catching Dante on the arm and tearing a hole in his leather jacket. "Oh, come on man! Not my jacket." Syn grabs Dante and wrestles him to the ground. Dante struggles trying to get free, but Syn chokes Dante with the chain. Raziya and Minomon can't stand to watch any more. "Alright, let him go! We will go with you." Syn lets go of Dante and puts the chain away. Syn takes the handcuffs off the crate and puts them both on Raziya's wrists. "Go on, both of you get in the van."

Minomon digivolves to Wormmon. "I don't think so, you big meanie! Sticky Net!" Wormmon shoots a sticky net, trapping Syn. Dante picks up Wormmon. "Better luck next time." "Dante, we have to get out of here!" "What about the saxophone?" "It's too dangerous, come on let's go!" Dante and Raziya run outside and steal one of the vans. They drive off and look for a place to regroup. Syn breaks free of the sticky net. "Blast, so close. Damn that little pest! You may be safe for now, but I never abandon a mission."

I'm happy you joined

Dante, Wormmon, and Raziya are sitting in the van, a few blocks from the club they were just at. "Okay, we need to come up with a new plan." Raziya tries to wrestle out of the handcuffs, but has no success. "Ya think we can get these cuffs off me?" Dante doesn't know anything about getting out of handcuffs. Despite his bad boy persona, he usually doesn't take risks with the law. "Ugh, gee, I don't know. I guess we find a, blacksmith, or something?" Raziya sighs and looks down. She already misses her partner, Lalamon. "I can't believe that creep Syn stopped us from completing our mission." Dante nods in agreement. "Well, we found out one thing, that is definitely the saxophone. I saw it on stage, and it had very unusual markings."

"Well then we just have to find out where they are playing next, and that's when we make our next move." Wormmon is making funny faces pressed up against the window. Dante looks down at the hole in his jacket, and then rubs his neck. It is still red from Syn choking him with a chain. "It doesn't matter if we know where it is, Syn will be there waiting for us." "Then we will just have to call for some backup. I think there's a tamer nearby. Cornette won't mind us seeking help on this mission." Dante pulls out his phone and looks up the band that was playing. "Okay, it says here Blackjack Steve and the Broke Boys are playing another show tonight. Downtown right next to that sushi place with all the cats." "Alright, let's get down there. Then maybe we can get these cuffs off me."

Dante starts driving to the next club. Hopefully they can recover the saxophone before Syn catches on. While driving there, Dante notices Micah walking down the street. Dante notices a device in their hand. It doesn't look like his digivice, but it looks nothing like a cell phone. "Hmm, I wonder if they might be a tamer." "Couldn't hurt to ask, Dante." Dante stops the van and looks down at Wormmon. "Be quiet, you. We can't just go around asking people if they know about Digimon." Raziya looks at Micah. "Something tells me he's been around Digimon before. let's ask. And don't worry about Dante being mean, Wormmon. Men just don't like to stop and talk to strangers while driving." "Oh that is so sexist. True, but sexist." Dante pulls up next to Micah and rolls down the window. "Good evening, you wouldn't happen to be a tamer? Or a Spirit Wielder or something of the sort?"

Dante takes a moment to ponder the situation. "Yes, I admit it is creepy to drive around in a van talking to strangers. But you see, we are Digimon tamers on a mission to recover a rare saxophone." Dante points to Raziya. "This is my, ugh, business associate, Raziya." "It's nice to meet you." Raziya waves at Micah, her hands still bound together by the handcuffs. "Look, we were trying to complete our mission, but we were attacked by this bizarre student. If you don't mind, we could use the help." Raziya nods. "Our client won't mind paying another tamer, and my my, do they pay handsomely."

Wormmon jumps up on Dante's shoulder. "Who's there? Is it another Digimon?" Dante sighs. "Jeez, Wormmon. You sure are hyper today. You get a few cheeseburgers in you, and you're too hot to handle." Wormmon bites Dante lightly on the nose. "I don't think we need the help. I'll take on Syn by myself!" Raziya groans in disappointment. "Look, we could really use the help. Honest. I'll keep these two clowns in check."

Dante is happy the girl has decided to help them out. He sees that she is kind of shy, and doesn't want to make the situation any more awkward than it already is. "Raziya, can you get in the back and let her sit up front?" Raziya gives Dante the stink eye. "Oh sure, make the tamer in handcuffs sit in the back." Raziya climbs over between the two front seats and sits in the back. Micah gets in the van and Dante starts driving towards the next club. This gives them time to explain some of the details of the mission.

"Alright, we have located the saxophone, and we know where it is going to be next." "What do you mean "we"? I found the saxophone. All you did was leave me stranded, send two drunk girls to distract me, and get captured by Syn." Raziya stays quiet, and thinks to herself. She is very rapidly getting tired of Dante's bad attitude, but she knows it will take all the help they can get to defeat Syn and recover the saxophone. "I'm not trying to be mean, but you kind of started this, Raz." Wormmon looks at Micah. "I don't get it. Where's your Digimon?" Wormmon takes a closer look at Micah. They get right up into her face. "Uh, Wormmon, didn't we talk about people's personal space?" Wormmon goes back over to Dante and crawls up his arm. "Oh, that's right. Humans are so weird! All these rules."