Digimon Tamers: Unity
By: Linkmaste
Author's Note: Hello! This is a stand alone story (Season) that will feature the cast in their older years. For reference, Henry Wong is 24 while Suzie Wong is 17 years old. I hope you enjoy this series and don't worry if you have questions. This is designed to get your brain juices flowing-I want you to have questions-theories and remarks. It's got a little of everything, action, romance, mystery, thrill, comedy and feels. I have everything written the way it is for a reason and I enjoyed this challenge of writing this series. I won't say anything more.
To my old readers: Thank you for reading this. Some things will be confusing, but please be patient.
To my new readers: None of my previous work is required for this story. Don't worry.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Digimon franchise. Don't sue.
Enjoy.
Episode One: The New Kids on the Block
The night was young and it was time to prowl. The hunter's eyes were searching, moving, scanning, and calculating. Still-but wound up, ready to strike its body was lithe and poised. It was unaffected by the breeze in the late summer night air. The city was alive and thriving, taking in the people of the night; releasing tension and weekend euphoria. Bars and clubs were accepting fresh meat and the city was moving to its own beat.
To the hunter, none of this mattered. What mattered was its need. It had the task to collect its prey. Finally, it found them. They were ignorant of their surroundings as they were intoxicated. The hunter's heart quickened and a rush of adrenaline shot through its veins. Patience. Soon, the hunter would enjoy the fruit of its labours.
The hunter leapt off from the roof and landed softly along a wall before sliding to the ground. It was in a back alley with plenty of shadows to conceal in and less wandering eyes to see. It crouched, ducking between a tight alcove, avoiding detection from the Tamer and its partner. Its features resembled that of a canine, a Doggymon. The digimon sniffed the air and his ears drooped. Worry appeared on his face.
"Soma, I think we should head home..." whined the Doggymon but the Tamer ignored him.
A sharp intake of vodka and energy drinks that the Tamer had consumed hit the hunter's nostrils. He had the glassy-eyed look, a true sign that pleased the hunter, but also frustrated it. Where was the harm in asking for a little challenge? A growl of agitation was caught in its throat.
When the unsuspecting duo stumbled past the hidden hunter, a car passed by outside the alleyway, letting out a reve of its engine. A sharp crack and with a roar, it screamed off into the night. That was the precise moment the hunter struck. It knocked out the Doggymon in seconds with two controlled but powerful strikes.
The drunk Tamer gasped and turned around to try to pull out his D-Arc, but fumbled.
"What are you-"
Crack.
The Tamer slumped to the ground. Pleased, the hunter retracted its hands and went to the unconscious Doggymon.
Victorious, it picked up the Doggymon and left. In a flash of green light, the only one left in the alleyway was the Tamer who laid on the ground-his neck turned at an odd angle, and a slack-jawed expression frozen on his face.
Suzie Wong whipped around the bend, barely hanging on to her backpack and followed down the same street that she always took to school. Her legs picked up the pace and she jumped over a fallen garbage can, proving that nothing could reduce her speed.
"Crap, crap, crap!" she cried, panting.
She was running late and she couldn't afford another tardy. The seventeen year old had gotten lost in her soliloquy she was practicing for. A bad habit she had for her morning routine.
"You know, I'm not complaining that I'm coming to school Suzie," a voice cried in her bag. "But can we please stop running? I'm getting dizzy."
"We're almost there Lopmon, hang on." Suzie replied and finished running though the middle school crowd. She almost stepped on a Yokomon and the Tamer glared at her.
The duo kept running another four blocks, with Suzie pumping her legs as fast as she could. The teenager was smaller than her classmates, standing barely at five foot two. Like any other teen, she was self conscious of her height but had plenty of beauty to her. Her long tassels of dyed, curly, pink hair flew behind her, looking entrancing to anyone watching. With a clear complexion, and a fit body, Suzie had no trouble stealing glances from infatuated high school boys. She pursued to be a model and actress in her younger years but for now, she was sticking to her acting.
When they turned the final corner, Tomone was waiting at the edge of the school gate faithfully. She didn't look mad or annoyed, but a faint amused expression was evident on her face. It wasn't the first time that Suzie and Lopmon were running late. And it wasn't going to be the last.
"I know, I know-I'm late. I'm so sorry, I was getting ready and I was practicing my script and I got a little sidetracked and Lopmon had to throw the alarm clock at me and it hurt a lot and my mom was trying to tell me something about my cousin from China who was-" Suzie's ramblings were cut short by her friend holding a hand up gently.
"It's okay Suzie. Just try to breathe and speak in normal sentences. You're so red, did you run all the way here?" Tomone asked, cocking her head to the side. While Suzie spoke rapidly, and in a excited tone, Tomone was more soft spoken and calmer. She certainty kept Suzie grounded at times when Lopmon couldn't. That was one of the reasons why she was her best friend.
"She sprinted all the way here." Lopmon explained.
"Hello Lopmon, it's nice to see you." Tomone greeted. "I always like seeing you around the school. Had the teachers lifted the ban on digimon yet?"
While Tamer and digimon rights were protected highly, there was limitations. One of them was at school where (to avoid conflict, bullying, and potentially nasty fights) digimon were restricted from attending school. This was made very aware by a Kazu Shiota who brought his digimon-a Guardromon-into school and tried to demonstrate a 'Guardian Barrage'. It took three weeks to repair the gymnasium. Kazu had a year's worth of detentions.
"Not really, but I'll just stay in the bag and read. I'm on a really good chapter." the brown bunny digimon pulled out a book and showed it proudly to Tomone. It looked like another murder mystery novel that she was obsessed with.
"You're such a book worm." teased Suzie nudging her digimon. Lopmon blushed.
"I'm glad Renamon lends me books whenever I'm looking for something new. I might have to visit her tomorrow to return this to her."
The bell gave a warning ring and the two girls (plus Lopmon hiding in Suzie's school bag) started to make their way to their high school. Shinjuku High wasn't anything prestigious: it was a common high school that lower and middle class attended to. It was mostly known for its basketball teams. They won regional's the past four years in a row and it didn't look like they were slowing down. Going up the steps, Suzie's eyes caught two other students coming up the stairs as well. A pit fell in her stomach. She had hoped she missed running into them.
"Oh, we can go through the other door if you like..." Tomone said gently, tugging on Suzie's arm but the Tamer put on a little smile.
"They can't keep making me feel uncomfortable forever. Let's just get this over with."
The two students were known as the Haruki twins. Athletic, smart and both fairly good looking, they were perceived as the untouchable in school. To top it all off, they were Tamers and good ones at that. Both had chestnut brown hair that seemed too vibrant to be natural, wiry bodies that made people think they burned off more than they ate, and energetic brown eyes that had a hint of mischievousness behind them. It was no kept secret. The fifteen year old Haruki twins were often times trouble makers.
Suzie held her head high and with a uneasy stride, walked past them. She could feel their eyes on her and sneers appear on their faces. One spoke,
"Look who's late, as usual."
Suzie turned her head to the girl twin, Ai.
"Last time I checked, the bell hadn't rang yet."
"Knowing how much of an air head you are, you'll probably get lost going to class." the venom in Ai's voice might as well been acid. Stung, Suzie tried her best to ignore the comment and not even look at Mako. He stayed silent, but she then noticed bags under his eyes. She started to speak before she could think-worry filling her mind.
"Mako," Suzie ignored Tomone's attempt to pull her into the school. "Did you get any sleep? You look exhausted."
He made a disgusted sound and rolled his eyes.
"Why do you care? Shouldn't you be busy in front of a makeup mirror? Your face looks hideous as usual-not like all the makeup in the world can fix you."
The hash comment made Suzie turn her head away and walk with Tomone. The friend put a hand on Suzie's shoulder,
"They're still bitter with you, huh?"
The pink haired Tamer nodded, adjusting her bag and her hand drifted to her D-Arc subconsciously. Tracing the screen with her fingers Suzie tried to dispel the memories of that awful day with the twins...
"It's been months since 'The Mishap'-" Tomone's voice changed when she said the words, like they were cursed to say.
"Whatever, I don't care." Suzie lied, opening her locker and grabbing some books. Literature, drama, calculus-her least favourite class. "I'm totally over it."
"Well, they don't deserve to be Tamers. They're just bullies. I heard they abuse their status just to get more popular." Tomone whispered. "If I was a Tamer, I would totally kick their ass and show them who's boss."
Suzie laughed lightly and shut her locker. "Tomone, being a Tamer isn't all cracked up to be. I love Lopmon, but some of the situations we got ourselves in weren't really that great."
"But, you two totally rock! Remember when you two had to go to the digital world a few years ago as Cherubi-" Tomone put a hand over her mouth and froze at the glare that Suzie gave her. "Oh, right. No mentioning the name-sorry."
"It's fine. Let's get to class before Mr.-ugh!" Suzie made a noise as she turned her body and bumped into someone. Books and binders splashed everywhere on the ground and made a mess. It didn't help that everyone was hurrying to class and kicked a few of Suzie's books down the hall. Quickly, she scooped them up and managed to savage her belongings. She turned to the boy she bumped into,
"Watch where you're going!" It was some freshman with dorky glasses and slicked back hair. He didn't even look up as he picked up his possessions in a flustered manner, mumbling to himself and keeping his eyes glued to the ground. Rolling her eyes, Suzie continued to class with Tomone. She didn't even bother to lower her voice and the boy heard her comment to Suzie,
"Seriously, freshmen are the worst."
International Tokyo Airport, Japan
The sounds of the air planes landing, the constant busy crowds that pushed their way though the terminal, and the smell of the expensive food sold could make people either love or hate Tokyo International Airport. It was one of the largest airports in Japan and was notoriously busy at this time of the day. Business workers were running to make their connection flight, tourists were a high peak, and local workers were scrambling to get to their shifts. It was mid afternoon and in one terminal marked 'Arrival-Brisbane, Australia', had floods of people leaving it and adventuring into the airport.
Included in that group was a sixteen year old girl. She was tall with thick legs and a rich creamy dark complexion. Her piercing blue eyes looked like she had inherited something unique and it made her appearance stand out even with her dark blue hair cropped just above her ears. Wearing her sand boots, jeans, and her tasselled, knit cardigan, she had looked like she was from another world-brightly contrasting the sea of suited Japanese folk flooding in.
Her lips were full and well defined as she spoke to the nearby security guard standing post in a thick Australian accent,
"Is my mate already here?"
"He's waiting for you in the examination room. We apologize for the inconvenience of our procedure, but it was orders from the department itself to just scan him over." the guard replied, giving a dip of his head out of respect.
She huffed,
"It's not like he's a bloody terrorist. I seen dingoes that can do harm more than him. Where is he?"
"This way, Miss." the guard lead her to the side where in the small room, a few well-dressed men and her friend had been sitting down, talking.
He was a digimon approximately four foot five with navy blue reptilian skin. Purple and orange freckles decorated his snout, shoulders and head, looking like stars twinkling on the dark blue skin. His snout was long giving the appearance of a crocodile where several jagged teeth poked out. Wearing a traditional pareu and a tooth necklace around his neck, he reminded the teen of the reserve home she had just left from. It made her heart ache a little to think about, but she had to shake the thoughts away for now. When she opened the door, the digimon's amber eyes perked and looked at her in relief. His tail thumped and although trying his best to remain composed, the digimon was practically squirming in his seat to see her.
"Crocomon?" the teen girl asked. "You alright, mate?"
Crocomon looked at the guards standing by him for the clear and they nodded their heads. He could leave. Without saying a word, he jumped off the chair and sauntered over to the girl. When they departed from the room and started to make their way towards the luggage check, he opened his snout. While rookie digimon usually had a high pitched voice, he sounded like a older man in his fifties with a strong Aussie accent.
"Buggars thought I'm some terrorist. They were askin' me things like if I ever made a bomb before or if I have thoughts of destroying cities."
"You should have told them you're quite good at doing that to a fridgie." she teased, hip bumping her partner. Crocomon glared,
"It's not my fault I get hungry!"
"Well from now on, it's just us and all the sushi we can eat." the girl gave a side ways glance at her partner and lifted up her passport to a approaching security guard. Taking one look, he backed away, acting like the two were poisonous. It did have perks carrying a bright orange passport, signifying she was a Tamer. Not sure how it all worked, but whenever the girl lifted it, people either ran for the hills or offered their services in a heartbeat.
The duo drifted through the crowds of people packed in the airport, dodging busy connection flight rushers, families, and neglected suitcases lying around. Twice, the teen Australian had almost tripped on the left over luggage, scowling darkly at the oblivious owners.
"Wouldn't hurt for these blokes to look after their stuff." she grumbled and stood at the conveyer belt to see if her luggage had arrived. To her luck, it had.
A simple beaten up brown runesack that had looked like it had seen better days sat in a smooshed space between two large pink suitcases. Plucking it out of the mess, she lugged it on her back and turned to Crocomon.
"I don't think I'll ever understand folks who travel with pink suitcases. Looks iffy. Let's find our contact so he can take us to this 'Hypnos' building."
"Lead the way, boss." Crocomon gestured out with his claws and let his partner take the lead. With confidant strides, the blue haired girl walked past the other luggage claim desks and found what she had been looking for in the front foyer. There standing patiently and quietly, was a man in a suit holding a simple sign in Kanji. Reading and speaking Japanese was no trouble for the Australians. She strolled up to the man and showed her passport. Unlike the others, he remained stoic and at attention.
"Arvo, I'm Ellin Ondoima and this is Crocomon. We're sorry for the hold up-security were being a bunch of buggers."
"It's not a problem, Miss. Ondoima," the suited man replied in a monotone voice. It seemed that he wasn't interested in the Australian girl's excuse. "But, we need to take you to Hypnos to meet Mr. Wong. He's been expecting you."
"And by Hypnos you mean..."
"The International Tamers and Relations Department. Mr. Henry Wong is the director. We can't keep him waiting."
"Right, let's get on with it then." Ellin said.
The two took little time to admire the limo that parked in the front because of the fact that the agent had ushered them in quickly. With a slam of the door, Ellin bunkered down beside the opposite window and looked out to the city of Tokyo, Japan.
"You ready?" Crocomon asked, sitting down next to her. She shrugged,
"Ready as I'll ever be." Ellin smiled and gave a gentle nudge to the reptilian digimon. "At least we're together on this one."
"Aye." he agreed and stared out the window, wondering just how strange the new country was going to be for them.
Suzie managed to survive through her school day with minimal incidents after her run in with Ai and Mako. She took her calculus test feeling she at least passed, literature was a breeze, and in drama she nailed her solo act. All in all, a better day. Lopmon stayed in her book bag content with her book until drama, where the teacher was completely fine having Lopmon out and about. She was fond of the small digimon always asking her to play as a additional role to help out the students. Good naturedly, Lopmon always lent a hand. Like Suzie, the digimon had a interest in plays and acting.
"I think she's considering putting me in the lead for the next play." Suzie said as she stretched her limber legs. She changed from her school uniform into her dance practice outfit which was black tights and a loose tank top with 'rips' along the sides. Her long hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail.
"Isn't the next play a Western one?" Lopmon asked, stretching her ears long and smoothly on the wooden floor. Suzie did the splits and folded her upper body down to it touched the ground.
"Yeah, it's going to be Twelfth Night by Shakespeare. I haven't read the play fully, but the main character is totally me." she gave a cocky grin. "She and I have everything in common-we're courageous, dramatic-"
"Dress like a boy?" If Lopmon had eyebrow's, one would have been lifted. The Tamer rolled her eyes.
"Okay, not everything. The important parts."
"Suzie, the fact of the play was that Viola had to dress as Cesario in order to become part of Duke Orsino's court. It was most of the plot!" Lopmon tumbled trying to touch her toes but her arms were too short. Suzie put a finger to her lips,
"Well, if you want to get technical-"
"Alright class, let's begin!" clapped the instructor. She briskly walked into the room and the group went silent-Suzie included. With thin lips, sharp eyes, and a pointed nose, it was easy to tell that Sensei Chikara was a strict dance teacher. But a talented one that Suzie had to practically beg to receive lessons from. Even after all this time, the teacher gave Suzie shivers up her spine and a sense of dread when she had to perform in front of her. There was always something wrong and receiving praise was practically unheard of.
"Yes, Sensei Chikara." chorused the other students. Lopmon stood by idly in case she was needed, it didn't seem the instructor minded that the digimon participated sometimes and talked to her on a respectable level.
"Wong!" Sensei Chikara barked. "You're up first to show me how much you have practiced. I trust you have been working diligently."
Suzie on the other hand, got the short end of the stick.
Nervously, she bore a grin that could almost spell out how uncomfortable she was going first and stood on her toes. Suzie got into first position and twisted her body into second position which consisted of her left leg rising into the air calmly. Her body staying relaxed and still.
"Now, third."
This was trickier. Twirling once, Suzie used her momentum to lift her arms up and gathering her airborne leg, pulling it back so it was parallel to her body. To outsider's it appeared she was incredibly flexible. To the class, it was simply a reminder of how many times Sensei Chikara broke their bodies and pruned them into her little dancing soldiers. For a split second Suzie lost her balance, but recovered.
"Not bad...fourth position." said the strict dance teacher. Suzie let her leg drop slowly and bent her knees while lifting her arms up in the air. Simple and easy. Suzie let out a breath.
Now, she had to go into fifth. It was basically doing a flip without really jumping in the air. She twisted her body but realized her mistake as she let her foot raise off the ground too soon-and toppled over.
The other girls snickered and made a snort of laughter. Sensei Chikara tongue clicked, her dark, coal like eyes looking down upon Suzie with a disapproved look,
"I thought we were practicing."
"I was but-" Suzie was cut off.
"No excuses! Mio, show us how it's done." the sharp order brought forth another dancer and she proceeded to complete the moves flawlessly-and by flawlessly only two harsh shouts from Chikara. Suzie puffed her face in anger but sat down near the back of the class. She hid her frustration well, but sometimes her teacher knew how to get under her skin.
Her phone vibrated and she reached back towards Lopmon without taking her eyes off Chikara. Suzie wasn't supposed to have her phone but she's been wondering if her and her brother were still on for dinner tonight. It was a makeup for him skipping out on last week. Lopmon handed Suzie her cell phone.
Henry: Sorry. Have to cancel again, busy with a meeting. Love you. Rain check?
Suzie wanted to throw her pink cell across the studio. Why the hell was he cancelling again?! Her thumbs flew across the screen not caring about her grammar or spelling.
Suzie: Y? cnt u move mting?
She tucked her phone under her sports bra and got up, preparing for another round of routine positioning. She lifted her leg and kept it there under Chikara's orders. The class followed suit and in synchronization, moved from first to second position and back to first. Everyone was doing it perfectly.
Buzz. Buzz.
Suzie made sure the teacher was looking the other way before checking her phone.
Henry: Press Conference. Sorry.
The Tamer drew a breath and snapped out her thumbs.
Suzie: Watt?! abot serial killer thig?
"Nana! What did I say about that leg? Keep. It. Up." snapped Sensei Chikara. Suzie jumped and put her phone away just in time.
"You're going to get caught." whispered Lopmon. She ignored her.
Suzie controlled her breathing, feeling the strain push into her legs and the burn course through her body. Feeling the rhythm, she pushed through her exercises but at the back of her mind she was thinking. While her brother Henry was well known for helping other Tamers out around the world, it was odd that he had been meeting with important people about the whole 'serial killer' fiasco. She wasn't supposed to know about it, but had been eavesdropping on his phone calls and meetings sometimes. So far, it has only been two freak incidents but something in Henry's texts made Suzie think a third was not too far behind.
Buzz. Buzz.
Again, Suzie had to make sure the coast was clear and swiped her phone. Henry's response almost made her drop it.
Henry: Third victim was found this morning. I'm about to go up. Talk to you later.
"What!" gasped Suzie and shoved her phone into her bra again just as her instructor turned sharply to her.
"Excuse me?"
"Wh-what beautiful hair you have today, Sensei. New colour?" Suzie smiled pathetically at her attempt to woo Chikara.
Too bad her hair was the exact same. Black, tight and in a bun.
"Five minutes of plank. Now."
As Suzie got down to her knees, she positioned herself so Chikara couldn't see her lay out her phone in front. Propping into plank, she received a new text from Tomone:
Tomone: heyyy check it outttt your brother looks so cute 3 ;)
Ugh, gross Tomone Suzie thought, but opened the link that was attached to Tomone's text. In it was a YouTube live stream of a press conference on the Tamers Watch channel. Her friend was obsessed with it. Turning the volume low, Suzie stared at the screen.
It was set up like an official press conference with the many microphones flowered at the podium. Standing in front of the podium was her brother Henry Wong: the head of the International Tamers and Relations Department. Despite being only twenty-four years old, he looked much older with his dark short hair, bags under his grey eyes, and the immaculate suit he was wearing that was probably thrown on last minute. Grey wasn't his colour as he looked so washed out. On his shoulder faithfully was Terriermon. The green bunny digimon was at first Suzie's first play doll that she fell in love with when she was a little girl. Then, she discovered he was real and could talk. It became Henry's job to make sure Suzie didn't torture Terriermon too badly with makeup, dress up and lots of tea parties.
It was a good thing Lopmon enjoyed the dressing up and tea parties.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, and digimon as well." Henry began and cleared his voice. He wasn't good at public speaking at first, but after some coaching, he vastly improved and could look at people straight in the eye. "I come bearing unfortunate news that police discovered another Tamer's body in the early hours outside the Tisuku Bar in Hongo. His partner is still missing and his family is valiantly searching for him. While at this time, we can't reveal the identity of the Tamer-"
"Mr. Wong!" one reporter shouted off screen, "This is the third Tamer that has been murdered with the same cause of death. Are we looking at potential link to the ?"
"So far, my resources have confirmed that the Anti-Digimon Association is not behind this." Henry answered.
"Mr. Wong! Are we looking a serial killer focusing on only Tamers and digimon?"
"We do not want to jump to any conclusions here." Henry looked hard at the reporters. "We are still looking for the digimon to the other two Tamers as they have not been seen since. I am initiating an action development team-"
"-Why isn't the police becoming more involved in this case? Isn't this a police problem?"
"Are Tamers safe?" another voice asked.
"What about the younger ones? Should this constitute a temporary separation from Tamer and digimon-"
"CAN YOU IDOITS SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!? MY PARTNER IS TRYING TO ANSWER YOUR STUPID QUESTIONS!" Terriermon yelled into the microphone. Suzie stifled a laugh. Henry whispered into Terriermon's ear looking cross. He turned back to the reporters,
"To answer to your questions: the police feel that my branch's division can provide valuable resources and man power to help capture this...wanted individual. As of now, I am initializing a specific group of Tamers who will be on call to help handle this. I will answer more questions later, but I will give the floor to Chief Itzumi who will have case specifics-that's all."
The reporters roared with more questions and cameras flashed angrily. Calmly, Henry shook Chief Itzumi's hand and left the stage. While reporters were hungry for more information, Suzie had a different reaction. Her eyes widened.
"Suzie, it's been seven minutes. You can stop now." Chikara strode over to the Tamer, but she was up on her feet already clenching her phone in her hand. Without saying a word, she grabbed her shoes, her purse, Lopmon, and ran out of the studio like a gust of wind.
It was common for Suzie to do something spastic and out of the blue, but leaving in the middle of a dance practice was a whole new level. No one left in the middle of Chikara's classes for any reason.
"When is that girl going to take anything seriously?" one of the dancers complained.
"I was wondering the same thing." replied Chikara, looking at the door where Suzie rushed out of.
"Suzie, can we please stop running?!" Lopmon screamed, barely getting grip on the Tamer's shoulder. Suzie was still running on the sidewalk without her shoes on and pumping her arms so she could sprint faster.
"You heard Henry! He's starting a team! This can be our big chance!" Suzie panted, feeling like she's been running a lot lately. As she made her way into the Hypnos building, she almost tackled down a girl her age with short, blue hair. Luckily, she had good enough reflexes to step out of the way as Suzie whizzed by,
"Watch where you're going!" Suzie shouted angrily and ran into the building without waiting for a response.
Henry's department was the thirty third floor of the Hypnos building. What was once a government department meant for surveillance for the early 90's turned into a digimon monitoring department ran by Mitsuo Yamaki, which turned into a Tamer and digimon protection program in the late 00's. After his death, agent Yu took over and ran Hypnos single handily until the split in 2012 where he assigned all Tamer relations to Henry Wong. It was a giant task for the two men. Not only were they involved in controlling digimon and making sure both worlds were protected, they were also in charge of controlling a vastly growing population of Tamers and their partners.
That alone would make any program director want to rush for his Advil and a stiff drink, but Henry took the challenge in stride. He hired his personal staff of five and from there, it grew. His friends helped out and it was a God send he was a Tamer himself. That alone earned various alliances with various countries from China, Russia, U.S.A, Canada and the newest was Australia. Many Tamers, and many problems happened often and Henry was becoming almost frighteningly skilful at diplomacy and building foreign alliances. It also helped he had an high IQ, spoke five different languages fluently (Japanese, English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Russian), and had a vast amount of underground resources at his fingertips.
Terriermon and Henry strolled into the office 'lobby': a few chairs and a desk for his personal assistant who was busy typing away on her laptop. They went into their office.
"You really didn't have to cancel your appointment with Suzie, you could still make it." Terriermon looked at Henry as the two went into their 'office'. It was a combination of a library filled with various books and his impressive setup of a computer.
"I still need to figure out how to actually solve this case. I wish the Chief didn't completely spring this on us." Henry grumbled. "I'm still expecting that one girl-"
"Henry! You have a visitor!" A strained voice came though the intercom. It was his assistant. "It's your sister but you told me you-"
The voice was cut off with various retorts from Suzie along the lines of 'he's my brother, and I can see him whenever I want!'. The doors burst open and there, panting, covered in sweat and having Lopmon barely hanging on to her, was his little sister.
"Henry! I want to run the team!"
"Oh, boy." Terriermon sat down on the comfy sofa next to the door. "This should be good."
Henry ran a hand though his hair looking like he aged twenty years.
"Suzie-"
"I'm so sorry-she just kinda ran through." the blonde assistant rushed behind, looking out of breath herself. Dressed immaculately in her business attire, it was obvious that she was pregnant with her swollen belly.
"It's okay, Lindy. No worries. Go sit down." Henry assured her and gave a once over on her look. "Are you wearing heels still? I thought I told you to stop that..."
The assistant blushed at Henry's comment in English. "Right...sorry." She left the room to return to her desk.
"Henry-I can do this." Suzie said, her pink eyes staring hard at her brother. Henry let out a sigh, something that must have held in since the press conference.
"It's not that I don't think you can do this Suzie, but I think there are other would fit better-"
"-actually, we don't have anyone in mind." Terriermon piped up. Henry whipped his head.
"Terriermon-"
"We're not going to lie to her. Suzie has been fine since...The Mishap." at this point Terriermon avoided Suzie's face but continued. "Just giver her a chance, Hen. This isn't just about her. Since Lopmon lost her rings, she's been trying to prove herself as well. We don't have any good leads anyway about this freak show that kills Tamers. So, I say let Suzie and Lopmon take their team and see what they can bring to the table."
"Team?" Lopmon asked. Terriermon gave a strange smile. A kind of evil one. In the back of her mind, she sometimes wondered if he was more virus than data type.
"Well, obviously you two have a team. I mean you two didn't just run in here yourselves thinking that you will magically have one, right?"
Suzie and Lopmon looked at each other. Lopmon was giving Suzie a 'what are we doing?!' kind of look but Suzie had a different vibe. A confidant energy was emitting off of her. She looked at Henry with a fresh face,
"I'll get the Ai and Mako and we'll tackle this...problem." Suzie smiled. Henry gave a stare.
"The Haruki twins?"
"Yep!"
"They'll work with you and Lopmon?"
"Absolutely." Suzie smiled wider.
"Everything is all water under the bridge now?"
Suzie blew out some air and waved a hand.
"Oh, honestly Henry-it's all in the past. I bet you that they'll be so happy to hear I'm regrouping the team. They will drop everything and say yes."
"Hell, no."
The flat expression on Ai and Mako's faces made Suzie falter a little, gripping the stair railing for support.
It was the next day at school and Suzie pulled the twins aside to pitch them the idea of getting the group back together.
"Guys, think about the greater good here." Suzie pleaded. "We're going to be working towards helping innocent Tamers be protected from this...Tamer hunter. I know it doesn't sound the most rewarding but, yesterday a third Tamer died. Do you guys really not care?"
The twins looked at each other. Suzie waited feeling nervous. Then, they looked at Suzie and Ai opened her mouth,
"We care. But we don't care that much."
The twins turned and started to walk away. Suzie followed,
"I don't know how many times I can say I'm sorry for what happened! What do you two want from me?"
Mako spun around,
"We want you to never speak to us again. And you can do us an extra favour by dropping out of school, moving back to China where you belong, and be lonely and miserable for the rest of your life."
Suzie visibly flinched.
"Is that what you really want?"
Mako's eyes stared right at hers.
"Yes."
"Also, even if you were the last Tamer alive, we wouldn't want to work with you." Ai said. "So get lost!"
The Haruki twins vanished in the sea of high school students, leaving Suzie to stand in the middle of hall, disappointed and defeated by the lack of their cooperation. It was a long shot they would agree, but she really wanted to make her brother proud. Turning on her heel, she quickly turned around and bumped into someone making textbooks and binders fly everywhere.
"Oh, not again!" the boy moaned. Suzie gave a strange look to the freshman she bumped into. It was him, that nerd she ran into yesterday. She was about to yell at him but reconsidered. Right now, she felt deflated. She knelt down and picked up some of his books,
"Look, I get you're a freshman and all, but if you keep bumping into people-" Suzie cut off her rant just as her hand brushed across a plastic device with a black screen and a golden ring around it. A strip of golden material was hooked on it with a latch where someone can hang it off their belt. Suzie felt a whoop of excitement and her words caught in her throat.
It was a D-Arc.
As soon as it was there, it was gone. The boy quickly took it away and stuffed it into his bag. Stuttering, he nervously kept picking up his books, including the ones she collected.
"I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean it, I was rushing to class and I wasn't watching w-where I was going. It-it won't happen again."
Suzie had stopped to take a good look at him. He was younger, a first year at the school for sure with a uniform that almost looked too small for him to wear. His trousers were cut off too high and showed his black socks, and his dress shirt didn't even fit him properly. He had slicked back golden brown hair that reached the lobes of his ears and skitterish amber eyes that were hidden behind thick framed glasses. The teen was alas another victim of vicious acne and lanky limbs, looking like puberty had hit him late and was taking its time now to thrive. His voice hadn't even dropped yet or was about to. He sounded slightly squeaky.
Before Suzie could put in a word, he gathered his things and made himself part of the crowd, hurrying to class. She tried reaching out a hand and calling out, but he was already gone.
"Was he...a Tamer?" Suzie asked herself.
The rest of school went by in a haze. All Suzie could think about was that boy...and his D-Arc. To be fairly honest, the thought of other Tamers at school hadn't crossed her mind. Ai and Mako kept bragging they were Tamers and Suzie always had Lopmon with her (except for today who wanted to talk to Renamon about borrowing a new book). The idea dinged in her head. This guy could be the ticket to starting a new team!
Starting with finding out who he was she went to her inside scoop friend, Tomone. She knew everyone in the school.
"Oh, that's...Oh! I know that kid's name. He's the dork...Maasa-Moso-Masahiko! Masahiko Katou."
"Katou?" Suzie's eyes widened. Was he related to Jeri Katou?
"Yep, that's the one." Tomone nodded and went back to her homework. "But, he's kinda a loser. Apparently, he likes rocks."
"Wow...sounds...interesting." Suzie made a face. But, if this was the only way to impressing Henry, she could deal with a kid who liked rocks.
After the bell rang, Suzie had a new mission. She waited in the hall by her locker and sure enough, Masahiko strolled by. He seemed cautious on where to step, like everything was pre-planned in the geek's mind. He made his way through the crowd, avoiding the seniors, and the kids that liked to pick on others.
Journeying out of the school, she felt her phone ring but turned it on silent. Whoever it was, they could wait. Following down a street, she almost yelped when Lopmon appeared from some bushes.
"Jesus, Lopmon you almost scared me."
"Sorry, I just got back from meeting with Renamon." Lopmon explained, looking very content. Then she looked at Masahiko. "Why are you following him?"
Leave it to Lopmon to connect the dots faster than anyone else. As her partner, the data type had a nack for reading Suzie's mind.
"I think he's a Tamer." Suzie muttered, letting Lopmon climb on her shoulder. Lopmon looked confused.
"Really? I didn't smell a digimon around him."
"Maybe he's hiding it. Let's keep following him." Suzie felt her phone vibrate again. Picking it up, she saw a text from her brother:
Henry: Call me ASAP!
Putting her phone away, she focused her energy on following the young teen. It wasn't too hard as he was easy to spot but she kept having to distance herself because he kept looking over his shoulder every few seconds.
"Talk about paranoid." Suzie muttered.
"Well, we are following him." Lopmon countered.
The duo made their way to a familiar area. Shinjuku Park-more specifically, Guilmon's Hideout. It was a place where Takato kept Guilmon a secret for almost a full year. These days, it was hardly ever used.
"I wonder who else knows." Suzie said, filling in Lopmon on the bump in she experienced and describing the yellow D-arc.
"If he's checking his back this much, it can't be too many people. Maybe we shouldn't follow him. This Masahiko boy just wants to protect his digimon. Considering everything's that happened, I don't blame him." Lopmon said. Suzie stared at her partner in disbelief.
"That is exactly why he should join us! We could protect him! Staying anonymous is just what that Tamer hunter wants!"
Lopmon was about to retort something when Masahiko came to the top of the stairs and said something aloud. Then, a blur of red and blue tackled Masahiko knocking him almost down the rock staircase. Luckily, he landed on the grass.
The digimon was on all fours, and looked not much bigger than a medium sized dog. It had red and blue fur with pointy ears and a spaced out tail that spanned like a fan. Large blue eyes focused in on Masahiko, talking in an excited voice.
"Thank God you're here! I've been so lonely! Please tell me you brought something to eat-I'm starving!"
"Is that...an Elecmon?" Suzie pulled out her own D-Arc which was a simple white and pink one. A hologram popped up revealing the digimon's identity.
Elecmon. Data type, rookie level. Special attack: Super Thunder Strike.
Suzie stared curiously at the digimon and the Masahiko boy. He seemed to really enjoy his digimon's company and look slightly less worried. The brown haired teen was talking to her in a clam manner, holding out some food and letting the digimon go to town devouring it.
"Yummy! More!" Elecmon cheered but Masahiko told her he was out.
"For a tiny thing, you sure eat a lot."
Snap!
All of a sudden, Elecmon's behaviour changed. Blue eyes dilated and turned into slits. A unnatural growl erupted from its throat and static sparkled everywhere around, including almost hitting Masahiko.
"Elecmon? Elecmon! What's wrong? You-You're scaring me Elecmon..."
"Shoot." Suzie looked at the branch she snapped while trying to move. Lopmon jumped off her shoulder and revealed herself to the agitated digimon.
"It's alright, we're not enemies. Suzie's my Tamer."
Lopmon held out her ears in a peaceful manner and slowly, Elecmon's sparks died down. She made a sigh of relief. Masahiko did the same.
"You scared me there, Elecmon. I thought you were going to go-" he stopped as Suzie appeared out of the bushes and all of a sudden he changed, shielding himself.
"Oh my God. No! P-please don't kill Elecmon-I swear she's not worth the data! Please, let us go!"
Lopmon and Suzie exchanged looks. What was this crazy kid talking about?
"What?" Suzie asked. "I don't want to kill anyone! I just followed you because I saw your D-Arc. I actually wanted to ask if you-"
"I swear she isn't worth it!" Masahiko picked up Elecmon after some difficulty. It appeared the digimon looked heavier than she appeared. "Look, I can make her be a dog! Elecmon, say woof!"
"Woof?" Elecmon cocked her head to the side. It was clear that she wasn't getting the situation any better as the other two were.
"I wanted to ask if you wanted to join my group. We could use someone like you." Suzie explained, stepping forward. "You know, to battle that digimon Tamer killer."
Masahiko, still holding Elecmon tightly stepped back looking pale.
"Are you crazy?" he shrieked and pushed his glasses up. "You want to battle that dangerous criminal? He already took out three Tamers-I don't want a single part in that."
"But, you're a Tamer!" protested Suzie.
"And you're Suzie Wong!" Masahiko retorted. "Just change into your super mega form and take care of it like the others."
Suzie made a noise and started to get aggravated. If this kid stopped acting like a chicken for one second...
Perhaps, if luck was on Suzie's side she could talk Masahiko and Elecmon (who was still complaining she was hungry) around but out of all the things to happen, a digital barrier appeared as a sudden burst of a white fog. It blinded Masahiko and Elecmon but Suzie reflexively had her sunglasses on and Lopmon was on guard.
"Suzie, we should call Henry." Lopmon suggested but Suzie ignored her and was running towards Masahiko. She gripped his hand.
"It's okay. We're in a digital barrier-it happens sometimes."
"I know what a digital barrier is." Masahiko said in a snappy voice. The undertone of panic wasn't evident. His eyes went from side to side, holding Elecmon tight. "Jeri taught me some stuff about digimon-I'm not totally in the dark."
Then Suzie made an understanding face as Masahiko started to freak out more about his slip of Jeri's name.
"Oh God, how could I let that slip!? Please, don-don't tell my sister I have a digimon with me!"
The small Tamer was about to ask why he didn't want Jeri to find out when an attack sounded out,
"Solar Ray!"
The attack missed Masahiko by inches. He screamed and ducked to the ground while Elecmon went back into growling and snarling running towards the digimon that had sent off the laser attack. Electricity crackled.
Suzie stood in front of Masahiko, D-Arc out and eyes scanning.
"Lopmon, do you see it?"
It only took a few seconds for the brown and pink digimon to find what she was looking for.
"There it is! It's...a Centarumon?" Lopmon made a confused face.
Down the stairs from the Guilmon's hideout after the smoke cleared was a digimon that resembled Centarumon but it seemed that the colour has been completely sucked out of it. The one glowing eye the half human and half horse digimon was supposed to have was missing. Underneath that helm, was complete darkness.
"Solar Ray!"
The attack sounded off again missing the Tamers by several feet. Suzie grabbed Masahiko's hand.
"C'mon we got to move-Lopmon, go!"
"Blazing Ice!"
"Change into Cherubimon!" Masahiko cried out. "This guy is trying to kill us! Change into Cherubimon!"
Suzie made an uncomfortable noise as they ducked behind some bushes. Elecmon joined in the attack with a well aimed 'Super Thunder Strike' and biting Centarumon's laser cannon. Unfortunately, it did little damage and she was thrown to a tree. Masahiko and Suzie winced.
"Suzie, I think we need help!" Lopmon jumped in the air to avoid a grab. She pushed herself off of some trees to avoid another attack.
The Tamer clenched her D-Arc looking almost embarrassed. It was then that Masahiko made a realization.
"You...can't can you?"
"It's...a long story." Suzie managed to say. "I don't suppose you can digivolve Elecmon, can you?"
Masahiko made an exasperated cry,
"I just met her only a couple of days ago!"
"Solar Ra-"
"Gargo Laser!"
It seemed that Gargomon took the right moment to make an appearance, swooping in with his machine gun hands whirling and firing straight at Centarumon. It didn't wince at the attack but it pelted its body ruthlessly, cutting straight into its data. The digimon didn't make a sound, but stood there, flickering between being real and clumps of dispelled data.
"Gargomon, finish it!" ordered Henry, walking into the barrier and throwing his shades on.
Seconds later, Centarumon was no more. It crackled and dissipated into tiny specks of data which fell to the ground in heap. There was no cry or agony, no smart remark but just dead silence which seemed to creep Suzie out of her skin more than anything else. She looked at her brother,
"You two just came in time-"
"I phoned you several times and you didn't pick up." Henry spoke sharply making Suzie flinch. "What if Gargomon didn't get here in time? What if you and Lopmon or this boy got hurt?"
Suzie frowned,
"Hen, I'm not weak Lopmon and I-"
"Can't Biomerge or digivolve anymore." finished the elder brother. "Period. This means you can't just go gallivanting into every battle!"
"I was just foll-" Suzie stopped herself from admitting she followed Masahiko from school. "-er, asking Masahiko if he wanted to be part of my new team."
"And I said I-" the brown haired boy was cut off.
"Masahiko?" Henry looked hard and recognized the boy, "As in Masahiko Katou? I know your sister..."
"Wow, you sure are popular!" chimed in Elecmon. "Hi, I'm Eelecmon! Thanks for saving our hide-that was a close one. My Tamer isn't the brightest when it comes to digimon battles."
"...and you're a Tamer?" Henry looked bewildered at the small teenager. It was like something out of a movie with Masahiko grovelling down on his knees, begging the head department of Tamers to avoid telling his sister and family about him and Elecmon.
"He sure looks desperate. I bet we can blackmail him pretty good." Gargomon commented, cackling. Masahiko paled.
"Gargomon, no." snapped Henry. "Look, I'm not sure I understand your reasons behind not telling Jeri but if you help us out, we can help protect you and Elecmon." Henry offered a hand. "Plus, I have another team member for the group. Ai and Mako declined didn't they?"
"Something along those lines," Suzie laughed uneasily and avoiding her brother's knowing gaze. He motioned them to follow him and Gargomon back to the Hypnos building to get acquainted with the 'new member'.
"She's a transfer from Australia-Queensland I think. Both of their Japanese is very well and I think it would be better if there were some," Henry looked wearily at his bubbly sister who was excited and the nervous Masahiko who was holding Elecmon tightly. "grounded teammates."
When they got to the main foyer, Henry turned around to look at the group, but more directly Suzie,
"Here's the deal. You guys, under supervision and some training, will help out with some of the calls we've been getting in the digital world. If you guys can do that without really messing up, then maybe I can let you all help out in capturing this killer. That's a big 'maybe'." Henry couldn't explain any more because Suzie jumped up into a tackle hug. She looked ecstatic and bubbled over with various 'thank you' and 'you won't be disappointed, brother!'.
After calming Suzie down, Henry asked the receptionist for the final members of the team to meet them in the foyer. It didn't take long as a teenage girl around Suzie's age with dark skin and piercing blue eyes walked towards them. A reptilian digimon was in tow that looked at Suzie and Masahiko through half lidded eyes in almost an amused manner. On the girl's face seemed like a permanent scowl directed right a Suzie. Instantly, Suzie remembered that girl she almost knocked over when she ran over to see Henry yesterday and felt like while things got better, they juts got a lot more complicated as well.
"I would like to introduce you guys to Ellin Ondoima and her partner Crocomon. They will be your new team mates."
Darkness consumed everything in the warehouse for several seconds while the mysterious figure came inside. Flicking on a switch, it took another moment to whirl the generator to life and slowly turn on some lights. It was still dark and dim. Cages lined up everywhere mostly unused and abandoned. Some had broken doors, while others were in dire need of repair after being assaulted by attacks from the inside. In one of the cells, a shrill voice sounded out,
"H-Hello! Wh-where am I?"
The dark figure from before, the hunter, unlocked the cage and without a word spoken, started to grip the scruff of Doggymon's neck and dragged him out of the cage and towards a glowing pit. The pit let out a low growl, making Doggymon's code crawl. He couldn't move. He was petrified.
"Let me go! Please, let me go! Where is my Tamer!? Help! HELP! SOMA!"
Doggymon's cries went unheard as the figure effortlessly threw the digimon into the pit.
A painful cry was head, then nothing. The rumbling from the pit quelled and finally went silent.
The mysterious killer proceeded to work on its next plans, laying out some books on the table. A few of them were in an indescribable language but most of them had common words and title. With that, the hunter went to work.
End Episode
Author's Note: And there you have it! You might be wondering what The Mishap is. That's for me to know and you to find out. We have Suzie and Lopmon starting to be leaders for a new group of Tamers-if you could really call them that. And Ai and Mako are being quite jerks aren't they? And this digimon Tamer hunter...that will be our main antagonist for this season-welcome! We will learn more about it as we go further into the episodes.
Now, I promised this would be mostly written as I posted but it's not looking like that will happen. These chapters will be LONG. Like 3K plus long. So, updates will be sparingly-sorry that's just how it will be. Plus, I have a life. That happens too.
Please leave a review and let me know what you think of it? Do you like my new characters? Do you like some cameo of others? Do you think that Ai and Mako are jerks? Masahiko having Elecmon as his partner is certainly awkward isn't it?
Turn in next time on Digimon Tamers: Unity
Episode 02: Masahiko, Meet Elecmon!
~Link