Enter: Hawkeye (Dante) (Introduction)

Dante wasn't exactly expecting to get caught up in an adventure, but now he found himself helping a village recover the lifeblood of their economy from one of his most loathed rivals. Hawkeye once again responds to Wormmon with a threat, exclaiming that he doesn't want to shoot the Worm King with an arrow in the presence of a child. Wormmon raises an antenna and puffs out his lips, or rather, sideways mouth.

"Hmph! How do you expect anyone to help you when you are threatening them all the time? That's not how you make friends, pal."
"Why don't you suck it up for now Wormmon? This village needs our help. Be a benevolent Worm King."
"That word sounds cool. Benavolent, benhebalent, okay. I'll be bellyvalent. What does it mean?"
"It means you are charitable and stuff, choosing to offer a comforting hand as opposed to a closed fist."
"Oh, that is so stupid! I was thinking of malevolent. Fine, I'll graciously accept your desperate plea to save your poor village. Although you should really work on your begging."

Things picked up for the Worm King when Kaya offered him and Hawkeye each a bag of chips. Wormmon eagerly accepts and starts munching the salty treat.

"Ooh, they smell so good! *NOM NOM!* Aah, delicious."
"Don't forget to say thank you."
"Oh ya. Thank you, Kaya. *BURP!*"

With some food in Wormy's belly, the group heads to the lake Hawkeye mentioned. To Dante's surprise, Cassius and Betamon are standing there. Cassius has his back facing the water and is standing with one hand in his pocket and the other hanging down. He relaxes his shoulders and tilts his head back. He is wearing a black and green vest with dark brown leather pants. His arms are clad with several leather bands held in place by buckles made of silver. The thief raises his hand to his lips and takes a drag off of a cigarette before flicking it in the grass and placing his hand in his pocket.

"Well, it took you long enough."

Hawkeye is quick to draw his bow and tells Cassius to stop. A smug grin stretches across the slashed up cheeks of this cool customer. Wormmon picks up a nearby rock and hurls it at Cassius. The thief just leans to the side and lets the rock land in the lake.

"Damn it! My attack missed."
"I'm not here to play games with you, Cassius. I just wanna kick your ass!"
"Ooooooh!"

Dante tightens his fists and charges at Cassius. Without taking his hands out of his pockets, Cassius launches off of his feet and leaps back, doing a backflip and landing in a shallow part of the water. He extends his hands down to his sides and tilts his head forward.

"Looks like it's time for round 2, Dante. It's too bad you don't have an angel watching out over your shoulder."
"Things are about to heat up, snowflake."

With Dante and Cassius ready to brawl, Betamon sneers and directs his gaze towards Hawkeye.

"Your pathetic village was such an easy target. It figures that you got three little girls to come to your rescue."
"There's only one girl here, you idiot."
"Wormmon, he was implying that we are girls."
"Ah haa ha ha ha haaa! You are so stupid. Lets see if your feathery friend here can fight better than you, maggot."
"Hey! You can't call me that. This is a family thread."
"He said maggot, Wormmon. Stop breaking the fourth wall."

Here at the lake, Cassius and Betamon have the advantage. With Wormmon still recovering, it looks like Haweye will fight Betamon while Dante and Cassius play water polo or something. It is time to make them pay for stealing the Wingfruit. That, and the other half dozen reasons Dante wants to decimate the self proclaimed smooth criminal. Things were about to get very wet.

Even with Wormmon agreeing to help recover the stolen goods, Hawkeye continues to make rude comments to Wormmon. The Worm King does have a way at tapdancing on both people's and Digimon's nerves.

"Stop flattering me, amateur. If I didn't hate Cassius and Betamon so much, I'd be siding with them right about meow."

This battle is on. Dante's heart starts beating faster as he is looking forward to another close combat encounter with Cassius. Kaya runs off towards the trees as if she is looking for something to use as a weapon. Maybe she can get a cheap shot in while the boys are splashing around.

"I'm going to enjoy bashing your face in."

Dante takes off his jacket and tosses it in the grass. He charges towards Cassius and jumps into the water, dive tackling the thief. Dante takes Cassius down, but the taller Tamer quickly gets the upper hand. Dante gets on top of Cassius, but the thief delivers a stiff palm strike right to the edge of Dante's ribs. Cassius grabs Dante's shoulders and twists him over, throwing him off. The two lock arms and try to overpower each other. Dante lands a strike with his heel to Cassius' inner thigh. The two break up and raise their arms in defensive stances.

Meanwhile, the avian archer armed with arrows engages with Betamon. Hawkeye is none too happy about Betamon's comments about the village. Betamon responds with only a smug grin and obnoxious chuckle. Hawkeye fires a Zap Arrow at the aquatic anarchist. Betamon tries to dodge, but the arrow is too fast and manages to hit Betamon's side. Betamon slides across the ground from the momentum of his dodge, bending his legs and digging in to regain stability.

"So you like lightning attacks, eh? Let me show you how it's done."

Energy builds up along the edge of Betamon's mohawk-like fin. The bandit Digimon thrusts his head forward and launches a zig-zagging blast of electricity towards Hawkeye. It would be hard to dodge from side to side. Blades of grass stick straight up directly under the blast, illuminated with a bright yellow aura by the Electric Shock attack.

Dante and Cassius stare each other down. Cassius goes for a quick kick, but Dante instinctively goes for a low block. Dante steps in and lands a jab to the torso before turning and stepping back to create more distance. Cassius charges in and unloads a series of frantic punches. Dante guards with his forearms and tries to dodge, but several blows are landing. Dante manages to grab a hold of Cassius' wrist. Dante pulls his arm forward and lands a chop right to Cassius' neck. Cassius flinches and kneels down. The thief regains control by grabbing onto Dante's arms and leaning back, using his legs to lift Dante up. Cassius tosses Dante up and over, and Dante lands in the water on his back.

Cassius is quick to Capitalize. He rises to his feet and turns around, staring down at Dante. Cassius stomps his foot down on Dante's gut. Cassius kneels down and tries to land an elbow strike to the face, but Dante grabs onto his arm and wraps his legs around Cassius, locking him in a triangle hold. Cassius tosses and turns trying to free himself. Dante does his best to maintain his balance, but in the water it is more difficult. Cassius manages to lift Dante up and twists to the side, dropping Dante down. Cassius breaks free and takes a few steps back, his feet dragging in the water. Dante rises up and catches his breath.

"I have to admit, you're a lot tougher than you look. But I expect more from someone with a martial arts background. I can only imagine how disappointed your washed up father feels."
"I'm just getting started, you scar-faced eel. Even the water can't wash off your slime, you sleazebag."

While the Digimon are battling and the Tamers are playing Marco Polo very wrong, Wormmon is just chilling on the shore. He opens up an infini-store device and takes out a lawn chair, a pair of sunglasses, and a bottle of margarita mixer.

"You're doing great, you guys! Just a while longer, and I'll be ready to fight. Let's see, where did I put the mustard?"

Even with Wormmon two steps away from working on his tan, the group has the numbers advantage. Though Dante isn't taking any chances. He knows just how sinister and dirty the duo can be. If Kaya does get involved, she could get hurt. Dante isn't going to let Cassius get away with this. He is going to beat the shit out of Cassius until his body gives out. They had been at odds several times before. Kidnapping Shirou, joining a band of criminals, stalking Cas, the love triangle with Angel, trying to murder Annie, Dante keeps finding himself squaring off against a man who often seems to beat Dante at his own strengths. Cassius may be a prick, but he has many skills that come in handy in his line of work, and he is very smug about it. If this battle escalates much further, if Cassius resorts to using knives like before, there's a good chance that someone isn't making it out of this alive.

It did not take long for the dual melees to get serious. Dante faces off against the slithery Cassius while Hawkeye challenges the Terrible Tadpole. The Tamers are pretty evenly matched. The tides turned when Kaya sneaks up behind Cassius with a stick and drills the thief in the back of the skull. Cassius shrieks in pain and jerks forward as he reaches towards his head. Dante senses the opening he needs.

"Eat fist, cupcake!"

Dante charges forward and raises his arm back. He pounces towards Cassius and rocks him with a right hook connecting with his temple. Cassius unceremoniously drops to the water line, his vision hazy from those shots.

"Eggh, you amateurs."

The thief motions towards his waist. Dante sees a flash of light as the sunlight gleaming off the water reflects off the blade of a knife.

"You leave me no choice, little girl. I'll slash you to bits."
"Damn you!"

Dante bolts towards Cassius to stop him from attacking Kaya with a knife. Cassius sees this coming, and quickly drops his knife back in its sheath. Cassius grabs onto Dante and channels his momentum towards Kaya, attempting to throw Dante into her. Dante is lifted off his feet and sent sideways towards Kaya. There wasn't much Dante could do to shift direction. Kaya would have to try and dodge the leather-clad projectile or Dante would collide with the much younger Human. Cassius smirks as he gets the upper hand temporarily in this 2 on 1 fight.

"Heh. Basic bitches. It's been fun playing with you, but there's something I wanna take care of first."

While Kaya and Dante are distracted, Cassius turns and bolts across the lake, lifting his feet high in the air to reduce the drag from the shallow water. He jumps up onto the shore and dashes towards the sunbathing Wormmon. The Worm King panics and drops his glass of margarita mixer.

"Uh oh. Hey, what's going on here?"

Cassius kicks over the chair and sends Wormmon tumbling into the sand. Cassius yanks Wormmon up by his antenna and smacks him in the face a couple times.

"Bwah! What did I do, jerk?!"

Cassius turns to the lake and kicks Wormmon, sending him flying into the water. The thief reaches down and picks up Wormmon's glass. He takes a sip from what didn't spill out, then spits it out.

"This doesn't even have any alcohol in it. It's just the mixer, you stupid bug!"

While still holding the glass, Cassius strolls back over to the water and glares down at Dante and Kaya.

"Whenever you're ready, ladies."

While this fight is going on, Hawkeye and Betamon square off. The archer manages to dodge Betamon's attack by jumping over the crisscrossing blast. Hawkeye may not get along with Wormmon, but for now they found themselves on the same side. Hawkeye comments about not being a one-trick bird, and backs up his claim with a different kind of arrow. Hawkeye charges up a Bomb Arrow and shoots it at the amphibian. Betamon takes the blast head on, and is sent flying back.

Betamon is not down yet, but that last attack really rocked him. The relatively calm Betamon starts behaving more aggressively.

"Yawr, you're not so tough without those arrows, ya pencil necked geek!"

Betamon charges towards Hawkeye and attempts to slice into him with his Fin Cutter attack. After going for his signature attack, Betamon quickly heads to the water and dives in. Now Betamon would have a speed advantage.

Wormmon frantically waves his legs around to keep his head out of the water. The relaxation denied bug lets out a few sorrow cries caused by Cassius' strikes.

"You are so mean! Picking on an injured worm like that. How cruel!"

Dante couldn't help but feel bad seeing Cassius hurt Wormmon. As obnoxious as the Worm King is, Dante cares about his partner, and seeing him suffer fills him with grief. Grief, and rage. He wants to make Cassius suffer. Though if they were going to defeat Cassius with his dirty tricks, they would have to use strength and intellect. Dante turns to Kaya, his breaths getting deeper as the fight goes on.

"That was a good strategy with the stick. Do you have any other ideas that could work?"

If Cassius does feel threatened, he will just take out one of his knives and put Kaya in serious danger. This creep was bringing a knife to a stick fight. Dante takes a moment to take in his surroundings.

(Thinking) "There must be something we can use to our advantage. The stick is there. Wormmon's things are on the shore. Cassius is holding onto that glass. Could I wrestle it away and bash it on his head? Wait a minute, there's a decent sized rock over there. We could bash him on the head with a rock.

I've got to think fast. Cassius has made it clear before that he is willing to hurt a child to get his way. If this dirtbag hurts Kaya, I'll make sure he regrets it. Come on, Dante. You need to bring down this goon. I can do this, I will. Can I? Cassius has a lot more experience in fights, and a clear size advantage. Don't let yourself get knocked out. Just get it done."

Dante grinds his teeth and tightens his arms and legs, ready to react if Cassius strikes. Betamon paddles around in the water nearby, poking his head up and sneering at Kaya and Dante.

"You're going to need a hell of a doctor. Cassius will fill this lake with your blood!"
"Don't count on it. I'm ready when you are, Kaya. Let's finish them."

Cassius was up to his old tricks again. It wasn't enough that he stole the wingfruit from Hawkeye's village. Like before when he was chasing Annie, he threatened a young girl with his knife. Kaya fears for her life. A regular girl, appearing in a strange land inhabited by monsters, and threatened by a Human no less. Dante's hastily planned attack backfired when Cassius tosses him towards Kaya. Fortunately, she is short enough to duck under him. Dante lands face down in the water before being helped up by Kaya the best she could muster. She asks if Cassius could really be so vile.

Dante knew how sick and twisted Cassius is, all the way from his greasy skin down to his rotten core. Though looking at Kaya's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to further frighten the tween. He knows Cassius will stop at nothing. Was there any line he wouldn't cross?

"He's not going to cut you. Cassius is all talk and flash. I won't let him hurt you."

Hawkeye and Betamon continue to fight. Betamon strikes Hawkeye with his Fin Cutter attack before retreating into the water and taunting Dante. Hawkeye admits that Betamon is correct that the archer relies heavily on his arrows, before reaffirming his integrity. Hawkeye then proceeds to fire an arrow at the thief.

The Energy Arrow flies towards Cassius, hitting its mark and piercing the thief through the back of his skull. Cassius flinches and lets out a short yelp as the glass in his hand drops to the sand. His body goes limp and his knees buckle. He falls face down into the shallow water, unconscious and bleeding out.

Dante is shocked at what just occurred. He frantically makes his way over to Wormmon and picks him up before waving for Kaya to head towards the shore. Dante wades over to Cassius and stares down at his rival.

"Nice shot, Hawkeye. That was incredible."

Dante kicks Cassius in the shoulder, both to see if he is still alive, and to get in a free hit.

"That arrow knocked him out, but he is still alive, for now. If he stays like that, he will drown."
"Leave him there, Dante! Let him die, and we will finally be rid of him. He's a freak anyways."

Was it right to let Cassius die? Dante had saved his life before after a gruesome battle that left both sides in critical condition. There was no saving Cassius' dark heart.

"His heart is filled with nothing but greed and hate. I would say we take him prisoner, but this one would find a way to escape. I refuse to save him."

Upon seeing his Tamer shot, Betamon's tone quickly changes. The Rookie paddles over to tend to his injured Tamer. Betamon tries to roll him over, but he is too small.

"What are you doing?! Lift him up! Come on! Cassius. Cassius!"

Dante actually felt bad for Betamon for once, but in his mind, their fate had been sealed. Cassius had to be stopped. Wormmon has a change of heart. His antennas droop and he tilts his head down.

"You know, I don't like the guy, but this feels wrong, Dante. You're really going to let him die?"
"Why should we save him? What do you guys think? Are you alright, Kaya?"

Should they save their enemy, or is he too dangerous to be left alive?

The battle had been brutal, but Hawkeye and company defeated the dastardly thieves. They now hold Cassius' fate in their hands. Dante is insistent that they leave Cassius for dead because of his crimes. Kaya is adamant that the right thing to do is spare Cassius and give him a trial. Dante looks down at the girl pleading her case. He can see that she strongly believes that it would be wrong to kill the thief.

Hawkeye tries to reason with Kaya before turning his attention to Betamon. The archer points an arrow at the amphibian and demands to know where the wingfruit is. Betamon struggles through his grief and caves in, knowing that the jig is up with Cassius' life hanging in the balance.

"The wingfruit, it's in a bag behind a stump right over there. Now please save Cassius! You can send him to trial, just save his life."

Dante is at a crossroads. Is it the right thing to spare Cassius? Would Dante regret it later if he doesn't kill Cassius right here and now? Finally, Dante lets out a sigh and hangs his head.

"Alright. Kaya is right. Though I will responsible for his captivity."

Dante faces Cassius and leans down, grabbing him by the shoulders and lifting him up. Dante drags Cassius to the shore and drops him unceremoniously on the sand. Wormmon crawls over and tickles Cassius in the ribs.

"He's not moving."
"His lungs must have taken on some water. Maybe someone should give him mouth to mouth."
"Go right ahead, Dante."
"I'm not going to do it."

Betamon shoves Wormmon out of the way.

"Move it! I'll save you, boss."

Betamon gives Cassius mouth to mouth and pushes on his chest. At last, Cassius coughs up some water. He takes a few heavy breaths, his eyes dilated.

"Ah, ha, ha. What are you fools doing?"
"Cassius! You're alive."

Betamon nuzzles up to Cassius. Dante stomps on Cassius' groin. The thief yelps in agony.

"Now, Wormmon! Bag 'em and tag 'em."

Wormmon shoots out a Sitcky Net, trapping Cassius and Betamon.

"Use the thread to tie them up, little buddy."
"Gotcha. Sheriff Wormmon and Deputy Dante roundin' up some thieves."

Cassius and Betamon have been captured. If they check behind the stump, they will find the wingfruit. It is time to head back to the village.

With the wingfruit recovered, the gang is free to take the thieves back to Hawkeye's village. Dante is relieved that they were able to recover the fruit, and delighted that they had defeated and captured two of their biggest rivals. Dante smiles and bows to Hawkeye.

"Congratulations on saving your village."

Hawkeye isn't the only one getting really hungry. Even though he's been snacking, Wormmon is ready for a big feast. Dante is also very hungry at this point. Dante and Wormmon tie up Cassius and Betamon with the thread. Cassius' hands are tied behind his back. Dante fastens the thread tight, tugging so hard that Cassius lets out a painful groan.

"Now, are you going to be a good boy, and come along peacefully?"
"Or would you rather we strip you down and leave you for the wolves?"
"Alright, I know when I've been beaten. There's no sense in fighting it now."

Dante makes a rope out of thread and ties it around Cassius' waist to keep him from running. The thief hangs his head in shame as he feels so utterly humiliated. The group starts heading back to the village. Kaya is compelled by the slimy duo. Even though they do bad things, they care deeply for each other. Kaya asked them why they would do such horrible things.

"Don't bother trying to find some humanity buried inside this sleazebag."
"Stuff it, Dante. The girl asked me a question. Why does anyone do anything? Why is the world full of wicked people? I didn't start out wanting to be criminal."
"Oh, here we go. Sympathy for the devil."
"I said I would come peacefully, but I didn't know that you were going to be a pain in the ass the whole way."

Dante jerks the rope forward and Cassius stumbles. Betamon keeps bumping into Wormmon, and the two Rookie Digimon start shoving each other. Finally, Dante sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Okay, I get your point. Wormmon, knock it off. Continue with your life story."
"Ahem. It all started when me and my friends received the Digi eggs and became Digimon Tamers. We worked for an evil Digimon before we defected. Dante didn't get his egg until years later."
"Good thing, too. Annoying worm."
"Hey! Watch it, squidbilly."

"I didn't have a lot growing up. Just a crazy kid from a broken home in and out of juvie with a bunch of loser friends with powerful monsters. I started stealing because I was good at it, and I continued to get better. So me and my nerdy friends are trying to steal back this powerful device from these jackoffs who stole it from us, and things get weird. I'm out on a solo mission, and when I get back, there's this new guy Dante. Shirou goes psycho and turns on us. Long story short, this evil clown shows up and turns us into dolls. I reappeared later in the desert and returned to my stealing ways, all the while tapping any decent ass I wanted, spare one."

"Cassius! You're talking to a child, for crying out loud."
"Oh ya, guess I'm not supposed to talk about that. I'm not good with kids!"
"I'll say. You tried to kill Annie, and you threatened to cut up Kaya."
"I meant that I would cut her skin deep, leave her with cuts, not literally cut her up."
"Still, that is a dick move there, boss."
"You're right, Betamon. Kaya, I apologize for threatening you. It seemed like the right choice to make at the time."
"It's obvious how desperate you were if you had to resort to that."
"Yes, yes. You already won. Cassius, bad, I get it."

The gang continues walking along. Dante turns his head to the side and smiles, stopping himself from laughing. He didn't want to admit it, but he was actually having a good time with Cassius for once. Maybe there was some sliver of good in Cassius. Maybe it was just his silver tongue.

"You want to know why I do bad things? Life happened. If you want to know more, I will tell you about this very nice doctor lady. A blonde woman with scars all over that I am definitely not in love with and stalking."
"*COUGH COUGH* Anymore. *COUGH COUGH*"

"Yeah, we would need a psychiatrist for that conversation."
"Dante, your words are overly sarcastic and they hurt people's feelings. You push people away by being an egotistical, smug prat."
"You think I'M egotistical? Wormmon is right there!"
"Not cool, dude. I wanna hang out with Kaya for a few days. Dante, you can go smoke a cigarette and cry in the shower."
"Wormmon still thinks his insults carry any weight at all. When all you do is run your little sideways mouth, it numbs the impact."

It wouldn't be long now until the gang returns and can celebrate with a big feast. That is, if they can make it back without another fight breaking out.