Digimon Tamers Beyond

Chapter 01: The Unattainable Gate

Takato walked past Guilmon's old hideout, as he had done countless times since the Digimon went back. Every visit was the same...a dark, empty shack with a hole that went nowhere. He always wondered if he should stop trying, if he should just not worry about visiting anymore. After all, everything was normal again.

Suddenly, a shrill giggle caught Takato's attention. No wind was blowing, no one was around. He didn't see it, but he thought he caught a glimpse of a glowing white being. His heart started beating fast as he raced up the stairs to his partner's old home. He pushed open the squeaky gate, and slowly walked through the dirt to the hole. He knelt down, expecting nothing but emptiness again. His eyes widened when he saw a familiar glow of data reaching out from the hole. He smiled as he reached for it, his fingers almost touching it…

Beep Beep Beep...Beep Beep Beep...Beep Beep Beep

Takato's eyes shot open from the noise. His breathing was fast as he lay in his bed, his sheets tossed about. He looked at the alarm clock making the noise and shut it off with a push of a button.

7:10 am.

He groaned, putting his hands over his eyes. 'A dream...again…'

"Takato! I heard that alarm go off. You better be getting up!" his mom yelled from the base of the stairs.

Grudgingly, he got out of bed and got dressed in his blue school uniform. His hair was still messy and the same length as it was when he met Guilmon 7 years ago.

'7 years...' Takato grimly thought as he looked in the mirror in the bathroom. 'And yet, he's still not here…'

He shook off the thoughts of his despair, and continued on with his morning routine. He rushed down, grabbed a quick breakfast, and headed off to his school. As he went, he thought about his dream and the portal to the Digital World in Guilmon's old home, what was said after it was newly discovered.

7 years ago…

"What do you mean we can't go through?!" Takato asked desperately. "We all saw the portal! It's there…"

The other tamers, Mr. Wong, and Yamaki were all gathered where Takato discovered the gate. Takato had made sure to let everyone know about it, but when they tried to go through, it was like a force wouldn't let them. They wanted the adults to help them, however this wasn't going to be the case.

Mr. Wong shook his head and Yamaki looked grim. "I'm sorry kids," Mr. Wong sadly said. "When we used the Juggernaut program, we also created a firewall so the D-Reaper wouldn't be able to reach the Real World again. But it also meant that no other Digimon could come across either."

Yamaki then spoke up. "I know this is hard for all of you. But we have to keep our world safe."

Takato stared at the ground, knowing the others had just as much sadness in their faces. They were so close, yet another obstacle was in the way.

"Then...why's a portal there?" Henry quietly asked.

"We aren't sure," said Yamaki. "But as of now, it isn't accessible. We are going to keep an eye on it for any activity, but it's the only one that I know of."

Takato suddenly felt guilty. Maybe he should've gone to Yamaki first, instead of bringing up this pain to everyone. 'There has to be a way, though,' he thought.

Present Day:

"Takato!"

Takato snapped out of his daydream and looked around. He was already at his school, and his best friend was calling to him.

"Hey! You want to be late or something?" Kazu asked.

"Only if you go down with me when Mr. Suki says something," Takato said jokingly.

Kazu had the same school uniform, but his hair was now just a straight haircut. Kenta stood next to him, with the same glasses but slightly longer hair than before. They were all still good friends even after all these years. Takato was glad though. Not everyone was at the same school anymore, so he really was happy when he found out they were all going to be in the same high school. Henry was the top of his class, so he was accepted into a more prestigious school. Jeri was transferred to a private school in middle school, the same one Rika was at. They all kept in touch over messaging, but it had been a while since they could all get together. Ryo was older so he had already started college, but he was distant as always.

They walked into school as the bell rang. It was just another day.

He could feel himself floating. But...how? It seemed like just a second ago he was falling. He opened his eyes, but all he saw was a dense fog. Yes, he indeed was floating. The last thing he remembered was his name being called out and then a darkness enveloped him. He closed his brown eyes again as a shadow came out from behind and wrapped him in darkness once again.

Alarms went off with red lights flashing. Yamaki ran into the room with his female coworkers in thier seats.

"What's going on?" Yamaki demanded.

"Sir, there's been a breach in the Digital World firewall!" Riley said.

"What? How?"

"We're not sure."

Suddenly, everything calmed down. The alarms stopped, the tracker ceased.

"It's...gone…" Talley said.

"Is the firewall still down?" Yamaki questioned.

"We're checking it now. We should have some more information soon," Riley responded.

Yamaki sighed heavily. "Give me an update when you get it. I have a feeling this wasn't a fluke."

A shadowy digimon sat in a dark room, with hardly any light emitting through it except a small window. A metal dinosaur looking digimon with a tattered red cape entered the room, and stood where the light emitted from the single window.

"You have done well, Hackmon," a grisly, dark voice from the shadows said.

Hackmon bowed. "Thank you sir. It was easy to manipulate the weak barriers the humans put up."

"Yes, and now we have what we want. Everything is going as I expected. However…"

Hackmon waited and when his leader did not continue, he said, "However...what sir?"

A golden claw emitted from the shadows and motioned as he talked with his hand. "The digimon and the humans that have been here before...that may become a problem. We wouldn't want any disruptions."

Hackmon wasn't sure what his leader intended. He knew the barrier was once again put up so neither human nor digimon could cross it. Then again, he knew the cause for concern. "Should I dispose of them?"

The leader hmmed to himself, thinking of what the best tactic would be. After a few moments of silence, he spoke. "No. I am aware that the humans can travel here, but I seem to think they can't leave quite so easily."

"I can always open the barrier again, but lock it once they're in, sir."

"Yes, Hackmon. That seems the best to bring them here. Besides...I like to have a little fun and games with my foes before they are destroyed. It would be too easy to just destroy them all."

"Of course," said Hackmon. "No one can defeat you. I will enjoy watching them suffer as well."

He chuckled as he spoke. "We also have an upper hand. I have a great weapon at my disposal, one that even they may not be aware of. I will let you handle the rest, Hackmon. Bring the humans to the Digital World to end them once and for all."

Hackmon bowed and left the room. His mission was clear, even though sometimes he felt confused by the commands. However, he was never led astray. So far, his leader has brought everyone what they desire. 'A new world,' he thought to himself. 'Soon it will only have one true ruler.'

Takato sighed as flopped on his bed. He had been helping his parents work the bakey downstairs after school and now the sun had set. His room was dark, as he laid there, the only light emitting from under his door in the hall. His head was starting to pound from the lack of noise he was just in. On his desk sat his books and papers from his school work. But a yellow and white D-Arc was also at the corner of his desk, dark and empty like it was when the digimon had to go back. Suddenly, a flicker and a light came on the screen. The compass showed and a familiar sound came out of it. Takato slowly looked over in disbelief, watching the compass go crazy and then point in one direction.

"Guilmon?"

To Be continued...