Having seen barely any Digimon since their arrival in the Digital World, the Tamers weren't exactly prepared for one to show up, especially for one as intimidating as what they were standing in front of.

However, when they got a chance to actually take a good look at said Digimon, they found out what they were up against.

"Wait, hang on. Aren't those Dobermon?" asked Takato, lowering his guard as he peeked around Renamon to get a better look.

"Yeah, they are. What's your point?" asked Rika, having noticed their presence as well.

"Well, don't you remember what happened last time these guys showed up?"

"I do, but I think we should still be careful, Takato." said Henry. "They don't look too friendly."

Unfriendly was an understatement, as when Takato looked back at them, he could see just how angry they looked, with their teeth bared and a low growl coming from within the both of them.

However, as much as the warning signs were blaring right in front of him, Takato seemed convinced that there was some kind of special message that these Dobermon were supposed to pass along, considering that was what happened when they met the last one back in the real world.

Once he stepped forward, and one of the Dobermon leapt off of their hind legs, heading straight for him, he realized just how stupid he was being. The Dobermon who delivered the message that they could Bio-Merge in the real world had disappeared after giving the three of them that ability, and they haven't seen Alice McCoy since that day.

In an attempt to dodge getting a face full of angry dog Digimon, Takato fell backwards, thanking his lucky stars that they weren't in the desert area, where the landing would have been much more painful compared to where they were now.

Unfortunately, in a poor stroke of luck, Takato just happened to be standing in front of a small pothole in the ground, and while the Dobermon did fly harmlessly over his head, his right foot ended up landing in the hole, and when a sharp pain went through his foot upon landing on the ground, he knew that there was a problem.

Takato was barely paying any attention to the battle raging around him as the others attempted to chase the Dobermon off. Sitting on the ground, he gingerly touched at his ankle, only to recoil as another wave of pain shot through it.

"Well, this is going to make things more difficult." he thought to himself as he placed his hands on the ground as a bridge to hold his body up, desperately trying to ignore the throbbing going through his leg.

Takato was barely managing to keep his composure through the pain, but thankfully it didn't take much longer until a series of yips disappearing into the distance told him that the others must have successfully chased off the Dobermon.

"Takato, you idiot! Why did you try to get near those mutts?" shouted Rika as she rushed forwards to where Takato was sitting.

"Hey, I thought that they were going to pass on a message from the Sovereigns like last time! Can you blame me for thinking that?"

Rika was about ready to say that she definitely would have blamed him considering the Dobermon clearly did not look like they were in the mood to chat, but before she could actually do so, Henry was forced to step in to prevent a fight from breaking out.

"Come on, you two, stop arguing. We need to get moving."

Henry's blunt dismissal of the subject caught both of the other Tamers off guard as, at least in Takato's case, he was almost expecting some type of short speech to get them both on the same page.

However, it didn't take long before he was able to pull himself out of his thoughts when he realized the predicament they were now in.

"I can't."

Takato's words almost came out as a whisper due to how embarrassed he was that he let this kind of thing happen, but luckily it was loud enough that Henry was able to hear him.

"Why not?" he asked, puzzled.

"I…I think I hurt my ankle." he said, wincing when he involuntarily readjusted his leg to another position.

This silenced both of the other Tamers, and while Rika looked about ready to throttle Takato for what his stupid decision put them up against, neither her nor Henry said anything.

In fact, the first thing that happened after he revealed what had happened was that Henry stepped forwards, noting the oddly placed divot in the ground before looking down at Takato's leg.

Now, Henry had never pretended to know anything medical-related, so he was pretty sure that he would be the last person one would go to when dealing with things like these.

Without someone who actually was experienced, though, he was the next best thing, so after silently apologizing to Takato for what he was about to do, Henry gingerly touched the affected area.

Predictably, he could hear a hiss coming from the one next to him as another wave of pain shot through his leg, but Henry forced himself to continue, testing the ankle in almost every direction he could manage from where he was standing.

Thankfully, Takato was somehow able to hold himself together and remain silent, so after finally deciding that he'd done enough, he stood up only to be met with Guilmon standing just a few feet in front of him.

Normally, Henry wouldn't have batted an eye when it came to Guilmon's experience with personal space. With the way the Digimon had been acting since they'd first met all those months ago, he knew that Guilmon didn't exactly have the best grasp on manners.

However, when Henry actually got a look at Guilmon's expression, his own faltered when he saw just how frightened the normally rambunctious Digimon was.

"Is Takato going to be okay? Please tell me he's going to be alright!" he said, his tone frantic.

Henry quickly held up his hands in an attempt to placate the worried Digimon, taking a step back to create some much needed space before finally explaining what was going on.

"He's going to be fine, Guilmon. He just twisted his ankle."

Henry was relatively sure that what he said would have been enough to get Guilmon to understand, but when he saw the look of confusion on his muzzle, he realized that this may have also been a subject that Guilmon wasn't exactly very well-versed in. This forced him to hastily elaborate, but instead of simply explaining it to Guilmon alone, he addressed all of the others as well.

"Takato's twisted his ankle, so unfortunately we have a problem. Does anyone have any ideas about how we're going to help him move?" he asked.

Admittedly, both Takato and Rika were leaning towards having either her or Henry help carry Takato along, but the fact that they still had quite a long ways to go before they even reached the gates where Zhuqiamon's lair was located meant that it wasn't a realistic option. The fact that Henry had even asked the question in the first place was a pretty clear sign as well, so they both had to go in a different direction.

Thankfully, it didn't take long before an idea came up, but who it came from was a bit unexpected considering just how they were acting not long ago.

"Ooh, I know! I'll carry Takato!" said Guilmon, frantically waving his arm so that he could catch Henry's attention.

Of course, there were no other suggestions being thrown out, even from Takato himself, so after a few more seconds of silence, Henry finally acknowledged the Digimon's input.

"You sure you're going to be able to carry him, Guilmon? Takato isn't exactly the lightest person in the world."

"I'm sure." he said, nodding.

Henry still wasn't exactly very convinced, but considering they didn't exactly have many other options, he was forced to go with what was brought in front of him.

Sighing, Henry reached out with his hand, gesturing for Takato to grab it with his own.

Even though Takato was also a little wary as to how things would go with following Guilmon's plan, he willingly grabbed Henry's hand and allowed himself to be pulled off of the ground.

Instead of simply standing up, though, Takato kept all of his weight on his uninjured foot, which while it did make him look a little ridiculous having to balance on one foot, it did mitigate some of the discomfort that he was going through while sitting on the ground.

While still balancing on his foot, Takato let Henry lead him towards Guilmon. Once the two of them reached the Digimon, Guilmon quickly readjusted his position so that he was standing to the right of Takato. This enabled him to use his already raised foot to more easily get over Guilmon's haunches as he chose to go around Guilmon instead of attempt to pull it over and risk twisting it the wrong way.

Thankfully, the mounting process went smoothly, and while Takato was a little bit worried after finally placing his weight on Guilmon's back, the Digimon didn't looked strained at all, which alleviated his concerns a little bit.

Still, he did feel the need to ask just to play it safe.

"You doing alright there, boy? I'll get off if I'm too heavy for you."

"No, I'm fine, Takato." said Guilmon, looking back as he attempted to smile at Takato to show he was in fact doing alright.

Unfortunately for Guilmon, Takato could see a hint of strain on the Digimon's muzzle, which worried him quite a bit. Just as he was about to share his opinion that they should maybe try and find another way to help him move, he reconsidered when he remembered the fact that they would most likely not be walking straight up to Zhuqiamon, as it would be suicidal to do otherwise.

So, remaining silent, Takato nodded, silently placing his trust in Guilmon that he would be up to the task of carrying him.

Satisfied, Guilmon turned towards the others as Takato held on to the Digimon's shoulders so that he wouldn't get bucked off if they happened to go any faster than normal walking speed.

As for the others, while they were okay with the fact that they had found a way around Takato's injury, the fact that this had ended up happening in the first place was something that they knew could cause issues later down the line.

Unfortunately, they didn't have any other way around it, so after checking to make sure that Takato wasn't going to fall off, the group once again went on their way, hopefully prepared for what was up next for them.