Disclaimer: I don't own digimon or the characters associated with them, except for the made-up ones that are featured in this story (to my knowledge).

DIGITAL MANIFEST

KEEPERS

Chapter 2: Tamers

They stood there. On one side, a lion-warrior with two humans and two digimon; and on the other a boy and a large red dinosaur that most definitely was a digimon; to top it off it looked as though the two knew each other, and from the look on the face of the kid Leomon had called 'Takato' (had to be him since there was no 'mon' attached to the end of the name), you could tell that he was, well, shocked. As though Leomon was the last person, or mon, that he ever expected to see showing up in his neighborhood. The as yet unnamed, crimson colored digimon wore a look that matched the human's almost exactly to the point where, had there not been a difference in species, you could almost say that they were the same person. Time almost seemed to slow to a crawl as a crowd of humans and digimon began to join the goggle-wearing kid; one of them, a dark-haired boy wearing an orange vest was saying something, but his words, and his voice were quickly lost once his eyes lay on the giant feline standing before them. It was a moment where everything was in motion, but at the same time at rest as everyone took in the impact of this event. For the strange group of kids, it was from memories; for Ryan and Chris, it not only was the effect that their friend had on the newcomers, but also that they were the first humans that they had laid eyes on in months.

As things go, this moment didn't last long.

"Leomon…" The boy wearing the goggles said quietly, as though he was unable to find the strength or the words to express how he was feeling at the moment. Not that it mattered though, as the red lizard had no trouble expressing his feelings with an unexpected childish glee.

"YAAAAY! LEOMON'S BACK! LEOMON'S BACK!" And with that he dashed towards the lion, Ryan and Chris tensing reflexively but waited to see what would happen.

"Guilmon…" The boy (now clearly identified as Takato) made as if to stop his red friend, but then sighed and shrugged before following suit. Leomon dropped down on one knee and greeted the two with a smile and placed two very large hands on their shoulders. The crowd of children and digimon began to gather around him with looks of happiness and relief on their faces. Ryan relaxed a little; okay, he relaxed a lot once it became clear that there wasn't going to be a fight and, as an added bonus, they knew their friend and guide. Good deal. Ryan let go of a breath that he didn't know that he was holding and took a look at his friend Chris, who simply smirked and shrugged.

"At least they're not trying to kill us, right?"

Ryan gave a small grin and looked back to the heart-warming scene. It would be a matter of time before this little reunion was broken up, but neither he nor Chris were willing to be the ones to ones to that, and the same went for their digimon. So for now, they just stood there, watching while Leomon was being pelted with questions and comments about him (very little of which they caught as the voices tended to overlap). This didn't mean that their presence went unnoticed. The boy in the orange vest looked over in their direction with curiosity, but said nothing yet while a ways off, a large yellow fox had been watching them with a cool look before motioning to a girl with red hair tied in a pony tail. This last one looked at the two with her eyes narrowed in suspicion before looking back at the fox.

Probably understandable given that Ryan, Chris, and their two digimon were strangers and looked like they had been dragged through a field. Ryan supposed that if he saw a couple dirty people that he didn't know with some weirdo reptiles at their side, in the company of someone that he knew, he'd probably be wondering just what the heck they were doing there too.

"Ryan?" Asked Richoemon tugging at his sleeve.

"Hmmm?"

"The girlmon keeps looking at us as though we were Flymon. I don't like it."

Girlmon? Ryan thought as he looked over the kid's digimon. Who? The fox? I can't really tell digimon gender; heck, for that matter I don't know if digimon even have genders. I guess that I've always just assumed that…Ryan's train of thought was derailed as the redhead spoke up.

"So, Leomon. Who're your friends?"

Leomon looked back. "They are friends of mine, Rika. They had been trapped in the digital world and I had been acting as their guide. Introductions will have to wait until we're in a more private place however. Perhaps Guilmon's den…?"

"Say no more, Leomon," the boy named Takato said. "C'mon troops! It's back to the hideout!" The others looked at the boy for a moment as he and his red digimon started to jog off before quickly following suit. Leomon stood up and motioned for Chris, Richoemon, Caramon, and Ryan to follow along. The two boys had to admit some confusion; they had no idea as to where they were, and the fact that Leomon actually knew other humans besides them brought even more questions to mind. Leomon never did say that he knew other people, Chris thought. But then, we never did ask. Too much time spent being on the run to play twenty questions. He sighed. Oh well, may as well enjoy this while we still can. It's not often that we get to have a breather, even if it doesn't last long. As the group departed the fog Ryan and Chris froze, their eyes going wide. Electric lights, cars, a park bench! They were back in the real world!

We're home, thought Chris feeling dazed. We're really, finally, home.

Richoemon and Caramon kept on going for a few seconds before realizing that their partners were no longer moving. "Uh, Chris?" Asked Caramon. Ryan and Chris snapped themselves out of their stupor.

"Sorry Car, it's just that it's been a while, a VERY long while since we've been home. It's kind of a lot to take in all at once."

Caramon grinned and climbed up onto Chris's shoulder, wrapping his reptilian tail around his friends arm. "C'mon Chris, let's keep moving. Tomorrow we can sightsee all you want, but right now we're falling behind. I suggest that we move our freights, so mush!"

Chris grimaced while Ryan and Richoemon grinned. "Fine. Next time though I get to sit on your shoulder…"

"HEY! Are you guys coming or do you need to be carried?"

"Terriermon…" warned the boy in the orange vest.

"What? Henry… they're moving slower than a Tortuousmon…"

"We're coming!" Called out Ryan and they got moving again. "You know, we've only been here for about ten minutes or so and already that rabbit reminds me of someone we knew at school…"

"Who? Ashley? I don't know, Ryan. Ashley was a twit but somehow I've got the feeling that she's not in the same league as that weird little rabbit…"

"I said 'reminded me', Chris. I never said that they were twins."

Hmmm… now that would be one weird family relationship if that were the case, thought Chris. Suddenly the hair on the back of his neck began to stand up and both he and Ryan looked over their shoulder and found themselves staring into the face of the fox digimon that just seemed to materialize out of thin air. Ryan jumped a bit but was able to hide it successfully, or so he thought.

How'd it do that?

"Better move along boys," it said in a decidedly feminine voice that was cool, but firm as she glided past them. She gave them both a look that would brook no argument from either of them, and they simply nodded. Once the walk had resumed, Chris spoke.

"I wanna learn how to do that."

"Do what?" Asked Ryan.

"Make you jump like that."

"Shut up. I did not jump."

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night Ryan," chided Caramon.

"Oh, you're a noisy one too."

Chris's thoughts drifted away from that little side note and began to wonder just how much time had passed since their little jaunt in the digital world. Had it been over a month? Definitely. After a certain point though, he began to get fuzzy on the subject. Time just seemed to lose meaning once their trouble had started. As the group began to enter a wooded area Chris took a look back towards the fog that they had emerged from, seeing that it had now dissipated enough to reveal some signs. Upon seeing the characters on them, Chris really began to wonder just where it was that they had landed. We're really not in Kansas anymore Toto, he thought. In fact, I'd say we're west of it. Very west. That's just our luck; getting deposited on the other side of the world like this. Oh well, at least our odds of getting home have increased exponentially.

When the children and digimon made it to what Leomon had identified as "Guilmon's Den" (a sorry looking thing in Ryan's and Chris's eyes, but they weren't going to judge) some introductions went around. Takato's and Guilmon's identities were already known, likewise for Rika and the goofy looking rabbit that sat on the dark-haired boy's head (this one needed to be reintroduced since the newcomers had forgotten it during the journey) so the introduction went as follows: the dark-haired boy who seemed to tolerate the Terriermon's desire to sit on his head was named Henry and were apparently partners (an unlikely and bizarre one Ryan thought but said nothing on the matter). The fox-like digimon that had spooked Ryan earlier was known as Renamon, and she was apparently partnered with the cool-eyed red-haired girl. The partner to the immediately recognizable Guardromon was a tall visor-wearing boy sporting a black t-shirt with a crucifix emblazoned on it went by the name of Kazu, and next to him was Kenta, another dark-haired boy, noticeably smaller and paler than Henry, and wearing glasses. A little pink fairy-like creature fluttered around him. Ryan pulled out his digivice and called up the analyzer program.

MARINE ANGEMON

Stage: Mega

Type: Vaccine

Attack: Kahuna waves

"Heh, a mega for a partner, huh? That's pretty cool."

"Yeah," said Kenta rubbing the back of his head coyly. "It certainly has its perks."

"How come those perks never seem to make a difference on the battlefield?" Said Kazu teasingly.

"Hey!"

"Kazu, you shouldn't make fun of Marine Angemon," scolded Takato. "He handles things just fine on his end of things. I mean, he did drive away D-Reaper once by blowing a heart at it…"

"Who wouldn't run from a heart? I mean, look at Rika. She's got one on her shirt and she's the scariest thing between two worlds…"

"I'd stop talking if I were you," said Rika, glaring icily at the visor-wearing boy.

While this conversation went back and forth (with Chris and Ryan already feeling lost at the start of it) the boy named Henry looked curiously at Ryan's digivice. "Hey, can I see your digivice?"

Ryan looked at Henry for a second. "Sure," he said as he handed it to him. Henry looked it over. It was a different model from the ones that Henry and the others carried, but there were some similarities in the shape, though it resembled more of a "T", and was devoid of any buttons and lacked the slot in the side for card reading. The screen, which had been lit when Ryan held it, was now dark and lifeless. Terriermon, still perched on Henry's head, leaned in to get a better look.

"Hey, the color scheme is just like Ken's dark-digivice from the TV show." This caused everyone to look up and crowd around. Ryan felt a little nervous. He did know about the TV show (the first season had premiered in America before he and Chris 'disappeared' into the digital world), but he hadn't gotten into it enough to have a clue as to what they were talking about. And as for this 'dark digivice' talk… Ryan almost gasped when he took a look. He could've kicked himself for not noticing earlier. The digivice had changed color again, this time from white to a sooty color with black trim. Ryan didn't like the significance that this little development emplied.

"How come your digivice is all black and gray?" Asked Takato.

Ryan's face fell. "Well, there's a story behind that…"

"Great. I kinda figured on that," said the girl named Rika. "As fascinating as it might be, I'm not going to stay out all night to hear it. I'm sure that my grandmother's pitching a fit right now, and besides, it'd be best if we all heard it tomorrow so that Jeri can get reacquainted with Leomon."

"Yeah!" Exclaimed Kazu. "It can be like a surprise! Oh, man; Jeri's going to be so happy when she sees Leomon again!"

"Yeah!" Said Kenta, not wanting to be left out.

The goggle-wearing boy named Takato smiled at the antics of his two friends. "Right. Hey Henry, why don't we take Chris and Ryan down to your place? I'll bet your dad would want to check out their digivices."

"I don't know, it's awfully late, Takato."

"Okay, yeah, you do have a point there. Ummm… I take it you guys don't have a place to stay?"

Ryan and Chris looked up, surprise clearly written on their faces. Having been living in the rough for so long now the thought had slipped both their minds. Ryan didn't want to impose on anyone but still…

It would be nice not to have to sleep out in the open and on uncomfortable rocks and twigs for once, he thought.

"Well, we can't just leave you guys to sleep outdoors…"

"No, really, you don't have to…" Ryan began.

"Hey Rika! Can I borrow your cell phone for a minute?"

"Why?"

"Well," Takato began. "I was thinking that since these guys need a place to stay for the night we could call around and ask permission from our parents…"

"Oh for goodness sake!" The girl all but raged. "I don't have time for…" Rika closed her eyes and took a breath in an attempt to reign in her temper. After almost a minute she spoke again. "Look, my place is larger and isn't as crowded, and I'm sure that my grandmother won't mind them staying. They can spend the night there until we can figure out something more permanent."

"Rika, are you sure?" Asked Takato worriedly.

"No, but I'm not willing to stand here and debate the issue," the girl snapped.

There followed a brief, tense silence among the children and digimon. Ryan made an attempt to ease the situation.

"Um…we can camp out here for the night," Ignoring the look from Chris that asked, have you lost your mind? "Really, we don't have… a…problem…with…it…" Ryan's words died off as the violet-eyed girl gave him a glare that would have given a Monochromon pause. I think that I'll shut up now, Ryan thought, suddenly overcome with the feeling that discretion was the better part of valor.

Chris looked at his friend, and then at the girl, awed beyond belief. Sheesh. He gets stuck in a strange world, attacked by excessively large and powerful monsters, and what is it that finally makes him blink in the face of danger? One girl with an attitude problem. If she were with us when we were in the digital world we wouldn't have needed partners. Looking at his reptilian friend Chris quickly amended, Not that I'm complaining of course.

"Now," Rika began. "If that's settled I would like to get home. Renamon?" The Kitsune vanished from sight as the girl approached the exit of Guilmon's den. She paused and looked over her shoulder. "Well? Are you Goggleheads coming?"

The two boys and their digimon scrambled to their feet and followed her out, earning some sympathetic looks as they left.

"Anyway, we'll see you guys back here tomorrow," Henry called out to them. "Is 10 or 11:00 alright?"

"Whatever," Rika called back as she set off.

"Man, that was weird," said Takato, looking perplexed.

"I'll say," said Kazu. "Dude, if looks could kill, those two would have been charred and broiled."

"Did she seem angrier than usual to you?" Henry asked Takato.

"Yeah, I wonder what's up?"

"Ah, it's Rika!" Said Kazu as though he were stating one of life's greatest truths. "She's crazier then…" The boy paused, actually looking flustered. "Crazier then…Oh man! Guardromon! Help me out here! For once I can't think of anything that she's crazier then!"

"That's a first!" Kenta laughed.

"Never mind. She's definitely crazier than Mr. I'm-a-tamer-to-a-pink-powder-puff, here."

"Takato?" Asked Guilmon innocently. "What's a powder puff? And can I eat it?"

Takato, Henry, and Terriermon could do little else but look strangely at their friends.


Leomon had left Guilmon's den once the rest of the Tamers had bid each other their farewells. Breathing in the night's fresh air (as fresh as it can be in a city) and set off in the direction of a home that he had known for a short time before his "death". He hurtled through the air, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, taking care (as much as he can considering his size) to not disturb anyone. Finally he stopped on the sidewalk directly across from the home of his former Tamer.

"Jeri," he whispered once before leaping back into the night. Tomorrow, he would see her. Tomorrow.

Jeri Katou's rested comfortably in her bed, oblivious to the presence that mere moments ago, had been outside her home. Over on her bedrooms desk, where a picture of her dearly departed mother stood, lay a yellow trimmed D-Arc. The digivice, which had been dormant since the incident with D-Reaper now sprang back to life, the screen winking on and making a few beeping noises before shutting itself back off. The young girl shifted in her bed, but did not wake. With the light of the moon now shining through her window, one could perceive a small smile on her face.


Rika's grandmother was waiting for them at the door, and although she was surprised that her granddaughter had brought home some guests, she accepted Rika's explanation without complaint and agreed to allow them to stay the night (with both Ryan and Chris looking surprised that she took to their having digimon so calmly). As Seiko went to get some blankets for the two boys and their digimon Rika followed her out of the room, and asked her when her mother would be getting home.

"I don't expect her to be back until late tonight. If you're worried about her reaction to our guests you needn't worry. I will be up to explain things when she gets here."

"Mmmm…"

Seiko looked at the girl with sad eyes. "You don't like him do you?"

Rika crossed her arms and turned away. "I don't approve of him. I don't like how he thinks he can just walk in here and sweep us all off our feet."

"Rika, your mother is only doing what she thinks is best. Since the two of you had grown closer she feels that you could use a father figure in your life again. And besides, she has taken a shine to the man."

"I know…" Rika said. "It's just that the whole thing feels awkward, and I don't know how to act around him. I'm just not used to the idea of mom having a steady boyfriend, I guess."

"I don't expect you to get used to the idea right away, Rika. Just try to be understanding and keep an open mind."

Rika nodded with a look of resignation on her face. "I'll try Grandma."

"Good, now why don't we bring these blankets out to our guests? I imagine that they must be tired from their journey."


Ryan sat with his back against the wall, drowsiness already stealing over his senses. Beside him lay Richoemon, practically dead to the world. No surprise there seeing as how he had a hard day of digivolving and getting womped on by a pair of ultimates at the same time. Chris and Caramon had gone out like a light the instant they made contact with the ground. It was kind of funny how things worked out. Before their trip to the digital world, they took things like having a bed for granted; now here they were, passing out on rugs and anything that was remotely soft, or if failing that at least smooth. And the room temperature…I gotta admit. I never knew just how much I missed technology.

"Wow Grandma, I didn't know that you were psychic."

Ryan opened his eyes and began to stand up, only to be stopped by the gentle hands of the elderly woman in front of him. "It's alright. I had intended for you and your friends to sleep in the guest room but I suppose that here is as just as good a place as any. You look tired."

Ryan settled back down and smiled softly, muttering some thanks.

"You're welcome, dear," Seiko got up and after stopping to cover the others with blankets, she left the room. Ryan looked up and saw Rika standing in the doorway, her face expressionless.

"Um… Rika?" Her face turned to him. "Thanks." Ryan said. Rika's face almost seemed to soften, and then she turned and wordlessly left the room. Ryan leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Feeling the tension leave his body, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in months, he felt safe.


In the digital world...

The temple lay in ruins. Where once there stood mighty pillars and figures of ancient digimon carved into the living rock now lay barely recognizable rubble. The shattered stone and scorched earth was a testament to the events that had transpired here, or as Ryan or Chris would have put it, things got biblical. The dark armored knight digimon known as Black Knghtmon stood before the temple remains, scowling beneath his helmet. Though he wouldn't have understood the reference, he certainly would have understood the meaning. He and his party had pursued their quarry to this place, believing their foes to be weakened from their earlier battles and subsequent flight to even bother resisting. He had expected the humans and their partners at the very least to try pleading with them to be allowed to live. The Leomon fought, but that was to be expected. His kind always fought and never bent knee to anyone. The humans surprised him though; instead of begging for mercy or accepting their fate they had fought back with the mad desperation of cornered animals. And he most certainly hadn't expected the one with the dark-colored device to do what he had done. Black Knightmon still shuddered at the memory. He had been informed that particular human had been taken care of and wouldn't offer any resistance. But then, as Black Knightmon could tell you from experience, desperation makes humans, and digimon, do things that they otherwise wouldn't have done.

But that wasn't what bothered him. What did was that the humans had escaped! He was sure of it. His master had taught him many things during the time of his service, and the sense that he had gotten right before the temple collapsed was more than enough evidence to that they hadn't been simply crushed underneath the weight of all that stone, no matter how much he wished it were so.

His master would not be pleased.

If only life were so much easier, Black Knightmon thought darkly.


Back in the real world...

Rika sighed as she undid her hair from its usual spiky ponytail, and after changing walked over to where her futon lay. This just hadn't been her day. She had been looking forward to spending some time with her mother this week, but Rumiko's planned date with her 'boyfriend' had ruined that. Between yesterday's argument with her mother (and subsequent apology later on) and now today with the arrival of those new tamers (are they tamers? She wondered thinking on how different their digivices were) she wasn't feeling up to specks right now. She didn't think that she wanted to get caught up in another danger-filled adventure right now but she had an idea that she and the others would anyway, like it or not.

Rika paused, as she was about to climb under the blankets. "What is it Renamon?" The yellow-furred kitsune phased into existence behind her.

"I wanted to see if you were alright. You didn't seem to be particularly happy earlier."

Rika sighed again. "Of course I'm alright. I'm just- how does Jeri say it? - Peachy!"

Renamon frowned. "I know you well enough to know when you're lying Rika. It doesn't help you if you bottle up your emotions like this."

"Rrrrgh! Fine! Things feel like they're going over a waterfall! Are you happy?" Rika felt a twinge of guilt at the way she was talking to Renamon, her best friend and partner, but if Renamon was hurt by her words she gave no sign. Instead she placed a paw on her tamer's shoulder.

"Rika…"

"I know what you're going to say Renamon," Grandma gave me the same speech not too long ago. "But right now I don't want to talk about it."

"As you wish, Rika. Now, what about those new Tamers?"

Rika looked at her partner. "What about them? It's pointless to be coming up with any theories about them, like Gogglehead and Braniac are probably doing right now, since we'll be talking to them right tomorrow."

"I know, but I would like to hear your thoughts on them anyway."

"Renamon, I don't know why we're even talking about this. Like I said, we'll be talking to them tomorrow, so we'll get an explanation then."

"Rika…"

"Goodnight, Renamon!" Rika said, more harshly than she had intended. Renamon sighed. It was clear that Rika was done talking now. Once her stubborn streak drew a line in the sand it was rare that she crossed it.

"Goodnight, Rika," The Vulpine said, and she exited the room. Perhaps she should have a talk with Seiko.

I'm sorry Renamon, Rika thought sadly.


Seiko checked up on the children to see how they were doing, and found that they were settling in just fine (the one boy, Ryan she thinks his name was, had finally dropped off to sleep, apparently content using the wall as his mattress). Turning off the light she left the room and closed the door softly. Turning she saw the tall Kitsune standing next to her.

"How is she?" Seiko asked.

"Hard to say," the vulpine answered. "And they?"

"Sleeping. Care for some tea?"

"Thank you." The two walked out to the kitchen and Seiko poured some tea into a kettle, setting it on the stove to boil.

"Some interesting new friends you've made tonight," Seiko said.

"Yes. They don't seem to have come from around here though, and judging from their appearance and scents, they may have been in a fight before they arrived."

"I wonder what could be happening there that would drag those boys to that place."

"As the saying goes, 'all things come to those who wait.' We need only be patient. One way or another, I feel that we will get answers."

"Do you believe that there will be danger involved?"

"The possibility is there…"

Seiko sighed. She had hoped that after the Parasimon invasion that things would calm down. Apparently she had been living on false hopes. "I don't think that I need to ask you to watch over my granddaughter should anything 'unexpected', or perhaps in your case, 'expected', develop from this…"

"Always Ms. Hata."

"Thank you. And please, call me Seiko."

The teakettle began to whistle.


A couple of hours later...

Richoemon abruptly awoke from his slumber when he heard the slam of a car door. Having no experience with that sound he immediately assumed that it had to be a digimon and stood up in a battle position, debating whether he should wake Ryan and the others, and waiting for the intruder to crash through the door and roar and start spitting fire, or for the fox to jump it and show it the door (if either of these happened Richoemon wouldn't need to worry about waking up his partner. The noise alone would serve much better than any alarm clock would). However, none of these things happened. There was instead, the sound of a door opening and closing, and the soft padding of feet as Seiko entered the room. Seeing that the little dinosaur was awake she gave him a reassuring smile and waited as the lady of the house known as Rumiko entered.

"Oh, Mom! You're still up! Is Rika in bed?"

"Yes dear. How was your date?"

"Oh, it was fantastic! Tom and I went to see that new movie that came out last week. You remember, the one about…" She paused as she suddenly noticed that there was a tiger-like dinosaur in her home. Then her eyes settled on the three figures that lay nearby the creature. "Mom…? What's going on here?"

"I'll explain in the kitchen, Rumiko. Now we must really let them sleep." With a worried look from the younger of the two, the women left the room and resumed their discussion in soft voices; Seiko's penetrating the dark every now and then. Richoemon didn't pay any attention (little of it he would have understood, truth be told. Humans could be so confusing). His thoughts were instead focused on the glowing orb that he saw in the sky when the woman entered. He had never seen anything like it before. Soon he fell asleep with a silver ball glowing in his minds eye, comforting him with its soft light.


Far above the city, a fog gathered and the still silence of the night was once again shattered with the emergence of a new arrival from that strange and mysterious digital world. But as the fog dissipated nothing could be seen except the light cast by the city below, and the moon above. For the government agency known as Hypnos, charged with the duty of detecting and preventing the emergence of data from the digital world, this event registered as barely more than a minor energy spike in the net. And with the children known as Tamers, their digivices didn't react act all. Even Guilmon slept soundly. The worlds earlier arrivals though, their digivices glowed briefly, but neither their owners nor their digimon noticed, such was their exhaustion.

The rest of the evening passed without incident.


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