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Jonny walked up the lane of carnival booths, flipping a coin in his right hand. A small golden-blond lion cub followed at his heel, holding his head high as though he were born to nobility. A large tuft of red hair stuck up from between the rounded ears of the cat, and a large golden necklace adorned the collar of the animal. "So much destruction... I feel bad for the little guys here.."
A voice deep within Jon's head whispered cruelly: "Yes, let us give them our ...warmth..." The voice then gave way to a throaty chuckle. The kind of chuckle that doesn't bode well for whoever the laugh is directed at.
Whispering under his breath, Jonny directed a comment back. "Shut up. No body asked you." The lion cub looked up at the back of the tamer's head, concern etched into its features. It had heard the voice, too.
The call of stall vendors drew Jon's attention from the voice, which was still chuckling to himself coldly. Looking in the direction, he saw a pair of digimon, a Terriermon and a Lopmon, sitting atop a pair of chairs, and gesturing to a large wooden board with a hole cut in the center. "Come one, come all! Take a chance and see if YOU have the skill it takes to place the ball within the hole! Only one gold per shot! Compared to what the prizes are, how can you pass up a chance like that!?"
Jonny approached, looking at every corner of the small stand. "How did this get missed by the storm...?" The Terriermon's face broke out into a wide grin, and the digimon jumped a few times to get the tamer's attention. "Don't worry about that! Let's talk about much happier things! Like, just what a great deal we're offering in these terrible times!"
In accordance with what direction the conversation was going, the small rabbit/dog creature began to ring his right ear, almost nervously. "We know how hard it is for everyone in these trying times. But, seeing as how lucky we were to miraculously have our stall missed by the storm, we would like to pass our good fortune on to YOU! All it takes is one coin, and you could walk away with one of these great prizes!" The large-eared digimon gestured to all the prizes on display, hanging from the wooden railings.
"Well, we have some money saved up just to spend here... what do you think, Lionel?" Jon looked from the prizes to his digimon partner, who's eyes were already narrowing. "I think that these little snacks might have bitten off more than they can chew. Leormon digivolve to..."
A surge of energy permeated the air about the small rookie digimon, who suddenly exploded into bits of digital fragments. The pieces of data hung suspended for a moment, before combining on a spot, about chest high on Jonny. A bright flash of light signaled the end of the transformation.
A large humanoid digimon stood where the lion cub had just a moment ago. His body was covered in a fine layer of gold-colored fur, and the red tuft of hair had become a bright mane. His legs were clad in black leather pants, and his bare upper body was covered in criss-crossing scars. The golden necklace had become a string of rubies. "Leomon!"
The Beast King digimon let a feral roar rip forth from his chest, making the very air vibrate. The Lopmon cowered behind her ear, while the Terriermon tried with all his energy not to fall off his stand. Jon sighed a bit at the drama of the event, and flipped the coin so that it landed on the counter in front of the long-ears. Without a word, the Terriermon handed the lion one of the balls, and stepped back just as silently.
The Leomon pulled his arm back as far as it would go, winding up like a baseball pitcher. He whipped the ball with all his strength toward the hole in the sheet of wood. With a popping sound, the ball struck dead center, and bounced away harmlessly.
Lionel was stunned. His mouth hung open, eyes bugging out. How could he miss? Once more fetching a sigh, Jonny flipped another coin from his pocket onto the counter, deciding to give his partner another shot. Lionel snatched the ball away from the rookie diigmon, a snarl distorting his regal appearance. Once more, the digimon wound up, and let the ball fly, once more stricking his mark dead center, and once more the ball bounced away without going through the hole.
Jon shrugged, and jammed his hands into his pockets. "Oh well, can't win 'em all, eh? Let's get out of here before we lose all our money." Lionel, however, didn't budge. "Wait, Jonny. I would like one more try. And this time, I'm going to need your help." Instantly catching onto what the digimon meant, Jonny moved one hand to take out the coin to play, and slid the other into his messenger bag, reaching into his secret compartment that held all his modify cards.
Flipping the coin with his right hand, he extracted a card with a bright blue face with his left. He held the card up to his D-Conn, sliding the reader strip into the small slit in the side of the wrist-mounted digivice. The screen glowed a bright white, and then sent a jet of pure energy to the Leomon at the stand.
"Leomon digivolve to..." A pair of white rings surrounded the digimon's fists, making their way up to his shoulders. As they passed over his flesh, the clad it in a battle suit designed to increase the digimon's power. Around his forearms appeared a pair of turbines, obviously designed to increase his strength. Similar rings passed from the bottom of his feet up to his thighs, covering them in similar fashion. At the convergence of his legs, the rings melded together, and slid over his torso, cladding them in similar power-boosting armor. A flash of light from his brow signaled the appearance of the white circlet, and his fangs extended until they hung from his lips, even when his mouth was closed. "GrappLeomon!"
Lionel snatched the ball from the Terriermon, and wound up for the throw again. This time, the turbines wrapped around his forearms began to spin. Faster and faster, small bolts of lightning began to dance across the surface of the spinning devices, friction building at the ends. "GO!" The GrappLeomon shouted, throwing the ball as hard as he could. The orb shot forth like a bullet, smashing through the thick piece of ply wood. The very bulls-eye of the new hole was the original opening.
"Hey, no fair! You cheated!" the Terriermon huffed, forgetting that he was arguing with an Ultimate level digimon. Lionel leaned forward, his grin obvious behind his fangs. "I think not. You said that the ball has to go through the hole in the sign. I see only one hole, and I put the ball through. Therefore, I win this challenge. So what shall my prize be?"
Feeling helpless, the rabbit/canine digimon conceded, knowing that he had cheated, and the last thing he wanted was an investigation.
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