Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. If I did, Tamers would have a sequel.
I would like to thank my amazing betareader Shizuku Tsukishima749 for editing and betareading this chapter. Thank you! To the readers, please read and review!
Chapter One: A Call for Help
Henry Wong sat in his room, just staring at things around him. Even though it had been two years since the separation from the Digimon, the indigo-haired boy still missed his partner. He wondered what Terriermon was doing right about now.
He sighed and made to head out to see if Takato and Rika were at the park to hang out with him, but then his Digivice began flashing madly. Henry turned reflexively, grabbing it and running outside.
His father, who had seen the whole thing, called up Rika's house, informing her of the situation and requesting that she go after his son.
Henry, meanwhile, was following the Digivice's signal and came to a stop in front of the tiny, abandoned building where he, Takato and Rika had followed Guilmon through the tunnel.
"Terriermon, are you okay?" the indigo-haired boy whispered, eyes locked on this sacred place. Henry could feel it: something was wrong. His partner needed him right now, but what could he do? Before he could ponder on it much, he heard Rika call his name. He looked up as she and Takato ran up.
"Henry, what do you think you're doing? I just got a call from your Dad asking me to follow you! Why did you just run off like that?" Rika asked, a frown settling upon her beautiful features. Henry looked at her before his eyes went to Takato, who was looking at him with concern as well.
"My Dad doesn't need to worry about me," Henry said, slightly harsher than he intended, causing both of his fellow Tamers to look at him in shock. Quickly, he added, "But thanks for coming after me." Showing them his Digivice, he urged, "Hold out your Digivices, you two. I can't explain it, but it feels like Terriermon is calling for my help."
Now, Rika and Takato appeared even more shocked, but they did as they were told.
The three devices flashed blindingly, and ten Digimon appeared!
Standing before them were Guilmon, Renamon, Lopmon, Cyberdramon, Guardramon, MarineAngemon, Leomon, Impmon, and Calumon, who was riding on Guilmon's head.
And last but not least, an unconscious and slightly bruised Terriermon.
The Tamers gasped in disbelief. Then, Henry rushed forward to pull Terriermon into his arms.
"Terriermon! What happened to him?" Henry asked, his eyes wide and the expression on his face filled with concern.
Takato ran forward to greet Guilmon, and Rika did the same with Renamon. Soon enough, Takato looked up at Leomon.
"Leomon, you're really back…" the boy murmured softly, and Leomon nodded slowly.
"Yes. We will all be needed in battle once more if we are to defeat this new enemy. But right now, Takato, the main concern is Terriermon, for he is the enemy's prime target," Leomon told him quietly, and Takato looked over at the small Digimon being cradled in Henry's arms. Takato moved over to his friend, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"Henry, don't worry. We'll all be here to protect Terriermon. Don't forget, buddy, we're in this together," Takato reminded, hoping he'd said the right thing.
But Henry didn't even seem to be listening. He just kept staring at Terriermon.
"Terriermon...wake up, please," Henry begged quietly, burying his head in the small Digimon's pudgy stomach, the tears that had gathered in his eyes sliding onto the little critter's body. This was just like the time when he and Terriermon had first met…
"Momentai, Henry…" a familiar voice whispered, causing the indigo-haired boy to snap up.
Terriermon, though still exhausted and looking worse for wear, was peering up at Henry with barely-opened eyes.
"Terriermon! How did you get like this?" Henry inquired immediately, wiping away his tears.
"Yeah, and how did all of you even manage to get to the real world anyway?" Rika piped up, stepping up beside Henry.
Terriermon tried to speak, but only ended up coughing. He began fading in and out. Calumon frowned.
"We gotta help Terriermon! Hurry, hurry! He's hurt real bad! Uh huh!" the little Digimon exclaimed worriedly.
Renamon sighed, glancing at her partner.
"I think it would be wise to call the other Tamers. Once we're all together, we'll be able to better help Terriermon, and what's more, Guilmon and I can explain to everyone what happened."
Rika frowned, but nodded while keeping her eyes on Henry. She'd never wanted to see anyone else lose their partner, not after what it did to Jeri…
Takato, too, watched his best friend closely before taking a deep breath. "I'll call them." His voice softened when it came to the next part. "Henry, I know you won't like it, but we're gonna need Suzie here."
Finally, Henry tore his haunted gaze away from Terriermon to catch the younger boy's eyes. A moment later, he sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.
"Do we have to? I don't want her getting involved in this…" he expressed softly.
Lopmon stepped forward. "Henry, they're right. We're going to need every Tamer, big or small. Besides," the tiny Digimon smiled reassuringly, playfully tugging on her partner's brother's pant-leg, "you and I both know I'll protect her."
Henry hummed thoughtfully, the smallest of smiles coming to his face, though it fell as he peered down at Terriermon once more. The fading was getting worse and worse with each second that passed. At last, he nodded.
"Okay, I'll get her," he breathed, while stroking his partner's head gently. Swallowing thickly, he pleaded, "Please hang on, Terriermon..."
Blinking back tears, he swallowed again. He was doing his best to keep himself composed, but it was hard. He didn't think he could stand it if he lost his best friend. He may have been hard on him at times, but the truth was he would be lost without Terriermon by his side.
Rika seemed to sense Henry's pain and moved forward.
"Hey, Henry, cheer up. It'll be okay. We've been through worse than this, and we're still here." She tilted his chin up with two slender, slightly-calloused fingers and, gazing down at the Digimon in question, caressed his small, white head once before placing her hand atop Henry's. "Terriermon knows you're worried about him. So why are we still sitting around when we could be helping him?"
Henry looked up at her, a little surprised that she was comforting him. He had seen her try to comfort Suzie when she had wanted Lopmon to Digivolve, but he thought that was just because she was a little girl. Rika felt her cheeks turn pink at the attention and quickly removed her hand, causing Henry to chuckle a bit and smile warmly.
"Thanks, Rika."
It didn't take long for the rest of the Tamers to arrive once they understood what was going on. There was a big reunion between the children and their Digimon, especially between Jeri and Leomon. The girl had begun crying upon seeing Leomon, when she realised her beloved partner had found a way back to her.
Henry, meanwhile, tended to Terriermon, using his Digivice to try to heal him. But with only one device going, it wasn't doing much good. A hand came to rest on his own, and Henry looked up to see Rika standing at his side.
Before he could ask what she was doing, he felt Takato's hand join Rika's and saw he was using his Digivice likewise. He smiled at them gratefully, going wide-eyed a second later when Kazu, Kenta, Jeri and Suzie joined in as well.
The combined light-force enveloped Terriermon and seemed to heal him enough to stop him from flickering. Henry breathed a sigh of relief and moved forward, giving Terriermon a gentle, loving hug.
The Tamers smiled at the scene, but after a few more touching moments, Rika cleared her throat. Like it or not, it was time to get down to business.
"So, Renamon, Guilmon?" she said, turning to the two Digimon expectantly. "How'd all of this start?"
The fox Digimon sighed, looking over at Guilmon to see him along with the other Tamers staring at her resolutely. Ai and Mako, little ones that they were, appeared a little confused, but Mako was wearing a determined expression nonetheless.
"At first, everything in the Digital World was fine. Terriermon and Lopmon were playing, and the rest of us were relaxing when these five creatures attacked us out of nowhere. Their leader was definitely a Digimon, but he was a sort of…darker version of Rapidmon."
She suppressed a shudder, though her fur still stood on end, and her eyes drifted to her smaller injured friend, who gave her a kind smile. She returned it, feeling a bit better, before going back to her story.
"When it became clear that Terriermon was their target, we all did our best to protect him. But he defeated all of us, even Leomon, faster than we could blink… That was when Terriermon stepped in, saying he couldn't sit back while we risked our lives to save him. He got himself hurt pretty badly, but no matter what we did we couldn't help him…"
Her fists clenched, and by this time though she hadn't noticed it herself, she was growling. Rika laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, and Renamon quieted instantly. Thanking her partner, she continued from where she'd left off.
"When we finally found an opening, Guilmon grabbed Terriermon, and we tried to run for it. Terriermon never stopped calling out to Henry…he was almost crying…" her voice and eyes softened with anxious heartache in remembrance, "…and somehow, his emotions transported us to the real world."
Henry was listening to all of this with one fist clenched, using his other hand to pet Terriermon soothingly. His partner gazed up at him warily.
"Momentai, Henry. I'll be okay. I'm with you now," Terriermon managed weakly, grinning up at his best friend tiredly. Henry cracked a weak smile, but then tossed Takato a grave look.
"We need to find out more about this guy. First of all, why does it look like Rapidmon? Secondly, why are they all of a sudden so interested in Terriermon? And most importantly, what could he possibly have that they might want?"
Takato nodded, frowning slightly in thought.
"Maybe this 'Rapidmon' is a Virus-type?" Kazu suggested, but Leomon shook his head.
"It was many things, but that was not one of them. It was an exact replica of Rapidmon, but it was far more sinister. A pure and powerful evil pulsed through its data-streams, I can tell you that."
At this, Jeri clenched her fists and let her head fall, fixing her eyes on her feet.
"If he's so powerful…what happens if we lose? What if—" the young girl's bright, orange-brown eyes lifted to her partner almost involuntarily, "—if something gets hurt like last time…?"
Impmon averted his eyes immediately, ears drooping and expression broken. Ai bent down, hugging the Digimon comfortingly.
"Jeri..." Takato murmured softly, wishing he could say something to ease her pain. He could tell she was afraid of losing Leomon again, not that he could blame her.
Leomon knelt down, picking his partner up in his arms.
"You have more right to be apprehensive than anyone else here, Jeri," he purred tenderly, "but know that I, too, am afraid of what we face." Jeri lifted her head instantly at this admission, eyes wide. "Yet, you must remember that we are a strong team, and with myself as a living testament, we will do all in our power to ensure that no one ends up dying this time." His lion-smile, full of heart and fire, brought a tiny, hopeful grin to the young girl's face. This last part was meant to calm her, convince her, if the rest hadn't already. "Besides, Jeri, Terriermon is our friend, and I know your pure heart would never let you abandon him in his time of trouble."
The girl beamed, a few touched tears escaping before she threw her arms around her Digimon's neck.
On the other end of the spectrum, Suzie walked over to Terriermon.
"Henry, will Terriermon be all right?" Suzie asked worriedly, and Henry exhaled heavily through his nose, pulling his little sister into a hug and holding her close for a long moment. He wasn't sure how to answer; for the first time in a good while, he was scared. He didn't know why, but he had a really bad feeling about all of this.
"Takato, Rika...we should really have a set plan for this… I have a feeling this battle will be just like the one against the D-Reaper…" he admitted, his tone slightly shaky.
Takato's eyes widened slightly, and although he flushed when Jeri grabbed his hand, he quickly regained his composure and turned to regard Henry with concern. He wished he could do something, anything, to help his best friend.
But right now, they didn't even know what they were up against.
Rika seemed to be having similar thoughts because she drew up to Henry and put both of her hands on his shoulders. The boy raised his head.
"Would you calm down? If we can beat the big, bad D-Reaper, we can beat this psycho, too! I don't blame you for being scared, we all are, but since when has that ever stopped us? Besides, maybe the others will be able to Biomerge this time!" She rapped her knuckles against his head for good measure. "You have to start letting a little light in, 'Gloom-Boy!'"
Henry stared for a stretched second. She had a point. They had been through tough situations before—Gennai knows the D-Reaper situation hadn't exactly been a piece of Guilmon-Bread.
"Listen to them, Henry! Just remember: momentai!" Terriermon piped up, by now feeling slightly rested and on his way back to his normal self, much to Henry's relief.
But all was not so happy from where Takato was standing beside Ryo. The oldest of the group was watching Henry and Rika with an odd gleam in his eyes. The goggle-head didn't know how to describe the look, but it certainly wasn't a pleasant one. Whatever it meant, Takato didn't think he liked it.
"Hey, Ryo, you okay?" Takato hesitantly inquired, whispering so no one else would hear.
The question appeared to snap Ryo out of whatever trance he'd been in. Nodding reassuringly, he gave the younger male a tiny smile before turning away, the faux expression melting into a truly perturbed frown.