Guilmon was the thing he had made. And while Takato didn't like to refer to Guilmon as a thing, the situation now made that impossible.
It had destroyed things at a pace that construction workers would be envious of. And it was doing it for revenge.
Sure, Guilmon stopped, but there was no telling what would happen if he stayed like that. And Takato was afraid. Afraid that Guilmon might come close to killing another creature again, that he'll just respond to the mixture of emotions that were his and Takato's, not caring if it was morally right, or what their precious friend wanted. Or that Guilmon would take over its creator and do anything for justice...anything no matter what.
He was tainted, Takato knew, and the one who tainted him was the creator.
Which meant that Takato was evil in a way. And he knew that. He knew that the moment Megidramon came into existence, and the moment he was floating in this dark space.
Takato knew that he was going to push himself away, but that was good. Because Jeri was out there, hurting from the death of her partner, hurting from the near death of Beelzemon, despite it doing everything wrong.
And if he got rid of it, the hurting would stop. Henry wouldn't have to see that much fighting going on, Rika wouldn't have to attempt to protect others while dealing with her own problems, and everyone else...they wouldn't need protection from revenge-blinded allies. Revenge-blinded fools.
So he said yes.
But a part of him didn't want to. Because Guilmon was his partner, his friend, a sibling he never had. Yet he knew. A part of him, the part that listened to logic and reasoning, knew. Guilmon had taken the form of all the bad stuff that was inside of Takato, and showed it off when it was needed.
Perhaps pushing away Guilmon wouldn't get rid of the bad inside of him, but it was too late to change his mind now. The black was fading to the bleak brown the outside scenery was, and all his friends were there.
Except for Guilmon.
In the short time-span it was since entering the dark space and coming back out, Takato had managed to forget that he traded Guilmon. But he did trade him. And that bothered Takato.
A sorry wouldn't cut it in this situation, but Takato was half expecting to hear Guilmon apologize the way it always did: "Sorry Takatomon, I just couldn't control myself." And then the childish smile it would've given to see if Takato was really going to forgive him. And of course Takato would. They were partners, friends, practically siblings. They were.
But now, the face didn't add up. It didn't, and it wouldn't. Not now, not ever.
"Something wrong, Gogglehead?" Rika asked.
And there was something wrong...but Rika asked it as if she couldn't see something, as if she couldn't see the Guilmon next to him.
Maybe that was the case. Maybe if he just wiped his eyes, Guilmon would look just as he was designed: red and friendly.
Takato rubbed his eyes for a decent minute before staring back at what was supposed to be Guilmon. But no, it wasn't Guilmon. It wasn't the Guilmon he designed.
Guilmon was supposed to look like Agumon, but red because it was a cooler color and with spikes on its head for the same reason. It looked a bit goofy, but he didn't care, because he drew something that looked passable, and something that was good.
But this Guilmon would've been something he threw out after an unproductive day. It was still red, but more of a crimson color this time. The spikes were still there, but not at all the cutest thing ever. They were long, pointy, sharp. Probably very easy to kill something with those, despite it being a Rookie.
And that face, that face. It wasn't the childish look it always had, or that cute look it had on other times. Or even its puppydog face, the one that would fit in this situation.
It was a grin that could easily tear Takato's heart in two.
And he wanted to forget that face for all of eternity.
"I think I messed up...I really did."