Disclaimer: Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v1.2: Another Digimon Adventure is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.
The Tamer v1.2: Another Digimon Adventure
Chapter 49: To Dream, Perchance to Scream
Cody was floored by the sight of his father leaning down over Oikawa. Oikawa reached up to his dad, clinging to his uniform like a child as he cried out, "Hiroki! Hiroki, what is this? How do we fix this!?"
"You don't need this," Cody's dad smiled, took the gun from Oikawa and threw it aside so that it was out of reach. Then he turned away from Oikawa and made his way towards the digidestined and the children. He eyed each of them carefully, then stopped when he saw Cody. His smiled widened into a terrifying grin Cody had never known his dad to wear, "Hey there, little man. I bet you're happy to see me, aren't you?"
"I don't understand what's happening," Cody said quietly as he reached out to his father, "Are you...is it really you?"
"Yes, Cody. It's me. Your dad," his father began, bending down on one knee to see his son and letting Cody touch him. He was real. As Cody pulled away from his father, he noted, "Look at how you've grown. You've gotten tall, haven't you?"
"You're not my dad," Cody protested, refusing to accept the evidence of his own eyes. His dad responded by slapping him across the cheek, his voice switching from comfort to anger, "Cody, this isn't at all how I raised you. Don't you dare talk to your father that way!"
His dad stood himself up and looked at all of them, "And what is this? You're making friends with these things? With these kids? After what they did?"
"Now hold your horses there-" Ankylomon began in protest, only for Cody's dad to scream, "I am not talking to you!"
"Dad, Ankylomon's my friend," Cody tried to explain, only to be met with another harsh slap across his face. His father scolded, "YOU WILL NOT TALK BACK TO ME CODY! DIDN'T I RAISE YOU BETTER!?"
Cody fell silent after that, unable to bring himself to argue with his father, "Is this what you've been doing since I passed on? Making friends with the monsters that killed me? And him!?"
He pointed an accusing finger at Ken, "After what he did, you decided to oppose him!? These things, these monsters. They're the ones who took me away from you Cody. They're the ones responsible for all of this! HE WAS TRYING TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN, AND YOU SIDED AGAINST HIM!?"
"But dad, I-"
"YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN ON HIS SIDE, CODY!"
"Okay, I've had enough of this. Who do you think you are, talking to Cody like that?" Davis demanded, pushing himself between the boy and his father. Before Cody could open his mouth to explain, his father spat at him, "Don't tell me how to raise my SON!"
He shoved Davis aside and made his way past Cody. Cody was too dejected to say anything, feeling his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. He thought he had been doing the right thing, that he would be making his father proud. Instead, all his father had done was scold him. Had he been wrong? Should he have helped Ken as the Emperor instead of trying to stop him and save the Digital World? That didn't seem right. No, it couldn't be right. His feelings of doubt were strengthened when Yolei added, "Hey, wait a minute. I thought Cody's dad died."
That's right. His father was dead. So who was this?
"Death is just a door, and time is a window," Cody's dad retorted, "Did you think death was the end of it?"
"I mean...yeah. What else is there?" TK shrugged, his aloof tone breaking as if he'd seen a ghost. This man - this facsimile of Cody's father - gave off a cold, dreadful air that was familiar to him. Cody couldn't quite place why, but it made him uneasy. Cody's dad continued past to the other kids, who took a step away from him as he drew closer but seemed stopped by some invisible barrier. Just before Cody's dad could reach them, ExVeemon and Stingmon moved in his way, "Hey, back off."
"That's right! Leave these kids alone!"
"I don't take orders from you," Cody's dad grunted, looking back at Cody, "Cody, tell your friends to get out of my way."
Cody hesitated for a moment, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to defy his father. He was right there in front of him. This should've been easy. But it was too difficult to do so, even if it was a fake. He nodded, "Let him through."
"Cody, are you serious?" Davis splurted out in disbelief, "This guy's running around with your dad's face!"
"Yes, because I'm his dad," he answered, "You're not very smart are you? Then again, how could you be? You've been chasing that girl for years even though you knew she only saw you as a replacement for her dead brother! And for what? Because, maybe one day, she might see you as something other than that? Who are you fooling? Wake up and smell the bullshit! She's never going to see you as anything but her substitute brother. Moron."
Davis's went red in the face, half from embarrassment and half from anger. In fact, he fell nearly quiet from it as Cody's dad finally pushed his way past the two digimon, "You disappoint me Cody. I raised you better than this, and this is how you behave. Like a spoiled brat! I mean, you had another opportunity to make things right and you still made the wrong choice! These kids, they were going to help bring order to the Digital World! And you...you chose to stand against them. Can't you make the right call, once?"
"I'm...I'm sorry, dad," Cody stammered, while Ankylomon questioned, "Hang on a second, I thought you said Cody's dad was dead. If that's true, what's happening here?"
"No one's talking to you you overgrown dinosaur reject," Cody's dad spat out, before he turned to Yolei, "And you...my son's so called friend. Tell me, at what point in this friendship were you going to say: 'Gee, this might not be a good idea. A kid his age probably shouldn't be doing this. After all, it's not like his mother would be happy to see him die after what happened to his father!' But of course you won't say that. Crest of love my foot. The only thing you've ever loved was Ichijouji and, to be fair, he can do a helluva lot better than you. After all, you're not the prettiest in the family. Or the smartest. Or the most popular. Why would someone as good as him ever want to be with someone as worthless as you?"
Aquilamon growled, "Don't you dare talk about Yolei like that!"
"Or you'll what? Kill me again? In front of Cody?" He jeered bitterly, then turning to face the captured kids. His scowl turned into a small, wicked grin as he added, "Hello children - such well behaved kids who did as they were told."
"Who the hell are you!?" one of them managed to stammer out, turning the smile on his face into a frown, "Never mind. I assumed you children were far more well behaved than you are it seems. Ill behaved children need to be punished."
He snapped his fingers and each child screamed like they'd just been stabbed, clutching at the nape of their necks as he walked past each and every single one of them. As he walked past each one, he would tap the back of their neck and watch them fall to the ground in writhing agony. He continued from child to child until Cody eventually shouted at him to stop, "DAD! THAT'S ENOUGH!"
"What are you doing to them?" Aquilamon growled, only to be answered with a bemused chuckle. When Cody's father finally stopped laughing, he went on to explain, "You really have no idea, do you? The thing that Oikawa placed in each of their neck is a copy of something we took from Ken Ichijouji - a dark spore placed there years ago. That spore is a small fragment of darkness that feeds of negative emotions and feelings. In turn, it grants its host increased physical ability and mental acuity. That helps to feed the negative emotion, stoking further benefits to the host. And, when that dark energy is full enough, it can be used as a battery of sorts. Couple that with all the Ancient technology Oikawa has appropriated and miracles can be worked.
"Worked to do what?" Cody asked quietly. By that point, Cody's dad had finished what he was doing with the last child and they were all on the ground screaming in what could only be unimaginable pain. He looked back at Cody with a murderous glint in his eye, "Cody, what did I tell you about talking back to me?"
Those seconds it took him to walk over to Cody were the most dreadful in his life, worse than when he'd been trapped in the oil rig or when he'd witnessed him die. This was the worst. When he finally had the nerve to look his father in the eye, it was to hear the words he'd never wanted to hear, "Cody, you disappoint me."
Cody felt like he'd been hit in the gut, and he sank to his knees in disbelief. His dad was disappointed in him. He was a failure as a son. Ken tried to pull him back up on to his feet, "Don't listen to him Cody."
"Yes, don't listen to me Cody," his dad assured him, "Listen to the failure who got his brother killed not once but twice, then managed to be a walking disaster as everything he touched turned to crap around him. What will it be this time? Creating another unholy abomination? I know! It'll be killing your partner. Hey! Boy genius! If you're so smart, how come you couldn't figure out how to make my son actually like you!?"
Ken clicked his tongue, "I'm not perfect. I know I'm not. But at least I'm trying to make things right!"
"And what exactly has that gotten you?" Cody's dad countered, "You had every opportunity to get it right and everything you did made it worse! You couldn't save that digimon and get it back to the Digital World. You couldn't stop the plane from crashing, and you sure as hell couldn't stop Yukio over there!"
"Hiroki, what are you talking about?" Oikawa asked meekly, pushing himself back onto his feet and whimpering, "Of course, they weren't going to stop me. You were helping me, remember? You've told me all about this. You have to help me get out of this! How do I get out of this!?"
"Out of this? Oh, you poor man, Yukio," Cody's dad answered, stepping away from both Cody and Ken to face the old man, "We've been friends for such a long time and it says so much that you couldn't notice what was right in front of you. Remember?"
He put an arm around Oikawa to embrace him, holding him just a bit too long until Oikawa pushed away to see Cody's dad in a way that brought back traumatic memories that he'd tried to forget - his entire lower half gone while upper half had been mangled and rotted away. Cody's dad tried to pull him back in, "What's the matter, Yukio? Don't you want to give your old friend a hug? Or would you rather shoot me like your other old friend!?"
A loud bang rang out from nowhere, and the rotten corpse of Cody's dad changed - twitching and writhing as its appearance came to match an injured Nancy Takaishi, kneeling on the ground with a bleeding leg wound, "Ah! Dammit!"
"Nancy?" Oikawa managed to blurt out as he pushed her away and fell backwards.
"Mom?" TK blurted out in disbelief as he watched his mother falling to her side, clutching at her knee. Cody could tell that he wanted to run to her side, but held himself back due to Angemon. Especially, when TK's mom looked up, "What's the matter, Yukio? Upset about finally shooting something into a woman? That'd be a first for you wouldn't it. Shame it only took about five seconds. Story of your life, isn't it?"
"Boss, please tell me those double entendres are just that," Mummymon reasoned, while Oikawa continued to crawl away in a panic, "What is this?"
"Oh, what's the matter, Yukio?" Nancy asked, now crawling forward on all fours to pin him down, "Can't stand to see the monster you made?"
"Monster?" Oikawa repeated dumbly. Seeing TK's mom stagger her way forward towards Oikawa was enough to finally snap Cody out of his stupor. TK was already rushing at his mom's doppelgänger in a blind rage, "Don't you dare run around with my mom's face!"
Just as he was about to kick the monster, his mom grabbed a hold of his leg and smirked, "What's the matter TK? Don't you want to give your mother a hand? After all, he shot me! Remember? All the blood! All the pain? How I screamed!"
TK's mom turned her head to reveal a pale white face, crimson lips dripping with blood, and dead eyes that stared back into his soul, "Oh, that's right. You're not my little boy anymore, are you? What was it you said? You don't regret anything that happened. Did that include letting your mother get shot?"
TK wriggled his leg free and leapt away from his disfigured mother as she rose up to meet him, "What's the matter TK? Too busy to help your own mother? Or do you just enjoy watching me worry and letting me get hurt? It's not like you said you were going to protect me, were you?"
As the woman slowly stood back up, she grew in size until she dwarfed TK and had him falling back, "Oh, what's wrong with my little baby boy? Did I scare YOU!?"
She cackled manically as the deep black void around them came to life with brilliant light that twisted through every color imaginable and bent back in on itself. Just looking at it was enough to give any of them a headache. And it was then that Arukenimon finally clicked her tongue, "Okay, I've had enough of this. Spider Thread!"
"Snake Bandage!"
Following Arukenimon's lead, Mummymon shot out a lengthy wrap from his body and used it to restrain Nancy Takaishi with help from Arukenimon's web. It was here, for the first time, that Arukenimon ripped away the dress and sunhat to reveal a hideous monster. Her upper body was mostly the same, with a head of silvery hair and a red torso connected to an abdomen with six legs. Her spider form crept to one side of Nancy while Mummymon made his way to the other, "Okay, so what do we do now?"
"Keep this thing restrained," Arukenimon explained, looking to the digidestined, "Well, what are you waiting for? KILL IT!"
"Yes, kill me," Nancy cackled, "Kill me, Takeru! KILL YOUR MOTHER!"
She turned to face Cody, her appearance shifting to match Cody's dad, "CAN YOU DO IT CODY? YOU CAN BURY YOUR FATHER AGAIN!?"
Then into Sam as he faced Ken, "HOW ABOUT YOU KENNY!?"
Then into a younger Tamer, "HOW ABOUT IT, KARI? YOU WENT TO MY FUNERAL ONCE! WHAT'S ANOTHER ONE!?"
Finally, it changed shape into Musyamon and faced Yolei, "WHAT ABOUT YOU, MAIDEN? CAN YOU PUT ME OUT OF THIS MISERY!"
Only Davis wasn't face with something he feared and he stepped forward for all the digidestined, "Shut up dude! Guys, don't listen to whatever this is and all the fake speeches it gives."
Musyamon turned its head to the side, then changed again - into something that could make Davis falter, "Why do you have to be so dense, Davis? Do you want to make things worse for me? I already lost my boyfriend! What else are you going to ruin!?"
Now it was Davis' turn to stumble, stammering as he tried to come up with some kind of rebuke to his sister's argument.
The digidestined were paralyzed by fear into inaction. This thing, whatever it was, had terrified the digidestined so much that they couldn't react. Even their partners were dumbfounded, knowing how much each form meant to their respective partner and not wanting to engage in something traumatic.
"Oh, shut it. If you children can't be bothered to act then I will," Mummymon fired his machine gun impatiently at the thing. It didn't even react to the bullets as they ripped through its body. The wounds closed quickly leaving no marks, but the attack did pull its attention to Mummymon. Its form shifted to match a smug Arukenimon staring back at him, "What's the matter, Mummymon? Have you finally had enough rejection from me?"
"You're not my lady!" Mummymon spat out, firing another barrage of shots at the fake Arukenimon, "My love will never be for someone other than her! And no half wit with a cheap imitation will ever be able to convince me otherwise."
"Oh, you poor, deluded fool," the false Arukenimon mocked, breaking apart the bandage and the spider web that were used to hold her in place. She advanced on Mummymon, still smiling wide to show razor sharp canines that made her look more monstrous than the real Arukenimon. Mummymon stopped firing once she was inches from him, and he seemed taken aback as she began tracing her fingers along his chest. They danced up his coat, undoing the first few buttons before she leaned in close to tease, "Why do you waste so much time and energy trying to win me over? I'd almost think you're a masochist with how much punishment you take. But that's not it, is it? The truth is, despite all the evidence to the contrary - you actually think that you have a chance with me. But you don't realize it yet, do you. You never had a chance with me. We're both born from the same person - the same man. We're just copies, fragments of his psyche. That makes us siblings. Oh...now I see why you're into me. You must have inherited his narcissism."
She pointed towards Oikawa on the ground, still dragging himself away fearfully and towards his gun. The copy continued, "Such a weak pathetic man. But we're not even whole - we're fragments. Pieces. If we were born from someone so weak and pathetic, what does that make us? Are we less than weak? Less than pathetic? It would explain why he treats us the way we do. The way he treats me - the electric shocks, the pain, the torture, the thrill from knowing my life can be ended at a moment. I almost enjoy it. Maybe I'm the masochist - which is why I'll never fall for you. You're not man enough for me."
"I'll show you man enough!" Oikawa said triumphantly, finally reaching his gun and turning to point it at the copy, "DIE!"
A single shot rang out. Then another. And another - repeated gun shots until the gun was empty. But that didn't stop Oikawa from pulling the trigger repeatedly so that the gun continued to click. Each bullet made its way into the copy - hitting her in the back until she collapsed into Mummymon's arms. Mummymon felt his dead heart skip a beat in shock, his mouth hanging open while the copy clung to him, "Mummymon...why...why didn't you help me? Why weren't you strong enough. Save me. Before he really does kill me."
The copy Arukenimon went limp, falling onto the floor that wasn't there at Mummymon's feet before vanishing. The original Arukenimon clapped her hands, "Good shot boss. Although you could've ended it a little sooner. That performance deserves an award."
"Don't you call me out on this," Oikawa fumed, pushing himself back up on to his feet, "Help me find a way out of he-"
Another gunshot rang out and Oikawa's shoulder seemed to explode. He was thrown backwards, landing on his back and looking up to see Mummymon training his machine gun on him. Arukenimon panicked, "Mummymon! What are you doing!?"
"Saving you," Mummymon answered, advancing on Oikawa with the gun still trained on him, "Before he goes too far and finally ends you."
"You...idiot...I'd never-"
"How many times did you threaten her?" Mummymon asked calmly, standing so close that his gun was now pressed against Oikawa's head, "How many times did you torture her with those electrical impulses? How many times did you belittle her? Us? How many more times will you do it until you decide to end her life."
He pressed the barrel of his gun against Oikawa's head, "I won't let you take her from me."
Arukenimon tackled Mummymon, pinning him to the ground with her many legs and screaming, "What the hell is wrong with you, Mummymon? Were you actually going to try and kill him!?"
Mummymon answered her with a kiss, pressing his rotten lips against her spidery ones. Of all the things everyone expected to happen today, this wasn't one of them. With affection in his voice, he explained, "Yes, so I could protect you. You saw what I saw didn't you? He shot you without a second thought!"
"He shot a cheap copy," Arukenimon pointed out angrily, "Dammit, Mummymon. Think with your head for once."
"I am," Mummymon answered, "And I'll be damned if I-"
He was cut silent. A single arm extended through Arukenimon's chest and into his. She grunted, gurgling venomous green blood from her mouth before collapsing onto Mummymon with the full weight of her body. During that brief moment, he could see behind her at their attacker. It was the other Arukenimon with a wicked smile on her face. Then he felt her hand grab at his heart in his chest. Then she squeezed and pain ran through his entire body. Arukenimon's body began to dissipate into data, and the copy opened her mouth to inhale it. Seeing his love be consumed in this way was all the motivation Mummymon needed to raise his gun despite the paralyzing pain he was going through. He squeezed the trigger and fired every bullet into the copy's chest. Her smile widened as every bullet ripper through her chest, leaving a gaping exit wound that closed seconds later. Then he felt a splatter when she crushed his heart in her hands. The pain was brief was excruciating before he saw only darkness.
In the Digital World, Tamer and WarGreymon quietly watched the battle unfolding outside reality. WarGreymon shifted nervously, "We are going to help them, right?"
"Not yet," Tamer replied quietly, "I need to know for sure."
WarGreymon turned his partner wearily, "He broke the illusion! Isn't that enough?"
Tamer was silent for a long time, "Don't get me wrong WarGreymon. This isn't about destiny. I have faith things will work out fine whether or not I act. But I need to know for sure before…before…well, 'y'know."
"But isn't it a foregone conclusion?"
Tamer shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, "Yes. But if they think that I'll always come in and save the day at the last second, they won't develop…that sense that they can win on their own. It's…difficult to explain but you already know what I'm trying to say anyway. I need them to confident without them getting cocky. Then we'll step in."
That answer made WarGreymon nervous and he quietly watched the fight unfold, not sharing his partner's opinion on the fight they were watching. His concern grew when Tamer muttered under his breath, "Come on guys, you can do this."
The digidestined were dumbstruck as they watched the copy of Arukenimon consume both Arukenimon and Mummyon's data. She licked her lips sensually, a look of pure satisfaction on her face before she turned her eyes on the digidestined, "Delicious. Now for desert. Digidestined, it's your turn."
The digidestined visibly jumped back in terror, making Arukenimon laugh, "What's the matter? Scared of your own mortality? Has it now sunk in how pathetically pointless all of your efforts have been? Oh, don't worry. Let me put all your worries at ease."
"Shut up!" Gatomon spat out, "We're not afraid of you!"
"Oh, sweet little Gatomon," the false Arukenimon giggled, digging her fingers into her face and clawing at it until she drew blood. With each shred of skin, Arukenimon revealed the pale horror underneath until all that was left was to pull away her hat and reveal a ruby lips, a pale face wearing a red masks and long golden locks, "Not even of me?"
Gatomon fell silent as she wavered for a second, looking ready to flee but unable to bring herself to do so. Kari gasped, "Myotismon!"
"It's so good to see all of again after all this time," Myotismon smiled widely, baring his fangs at the digidestined and making a show of licking his lips playfully, "And now, you're end is at hand. This time, there's no Agumon or Digimon Tamer to save you. We are outside reality, outside his purview. There are no laws of destiny or reality here. Everything is free from those bonds. All you will find is my will and my desire, digidestined."
"We don't need the Digimon Tamer," Davis said as he punched the air enthusiastically, "We've beaten worse before: Kimeramon, spire digimon, even Dragomon! We'll beat you too!"
"Yeah...yeah, that's right!" Kari stammered finally regaining her resolve, the others joining along with him. Myotismon covered his face with his hand as he started laughing, cackling with his voice so deep that it sounded like something out of this world, "What? Is that it? A small declaration of resolve? No quips about my return? No sly comments? I'm so...terribly disappointed. Underwhelmed even. Then again, none of you were the opponent they were. I almost feel like I put too much time into planning this."
"Planning what?" TK asked angrily, still embittered about how Myotismon had so casually taken his mom's face. Myotismon's smile grew all the brighter when he finally looked at the digidestined, "This! Myotismon! Digivolve to!"
A black cloud emanated from Myotismon's mouth and wrapped itself around his body, twisting and growing until it began to condense into a solid body. And when the smoke vanished, his final form appeared - a twisted nightmare of his usually handsome face that became mouse like. His body itself became blue and skeletal, with two protrusions from his shoulders like wings but in the shape of an aircraft. Most disgusting was where his arms met his torso to become a set of large mouths that with eyes and fangs of their own. They licked their teeth and smacked their tongues, clearly sentient it in the smallest way. His main mouth opened wide to reveal so many razor sharp teeth that was terrifying to look at, "MaloMyotismon."
"Okay, this guy sounded like a creep from everything you told us about him. How did he manage to get more disgusting?" Yolei spoke, shaking at the sight of the new monster. MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"
A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. Davis held out his hand to block the light and shouted, "Okay, nuts to this. GET HIM EXVEEMON!"
"YOU GOT IT! VEE-LASER!" ExVeemon shouted at the top of his lungs. There was a loud roar and a scream as the light faded away. Once Davis could see again, he could make out the smoking pile of ash that had been MaloMyotismon as his data dissipated all around. Davis folded his arms triumphantly, "Huh, I guess he wasn't so tough after all."
"Davis! You did it!" Kari jumped excitedly, throwing herself onto Davis and wrapping her arms around him. Davis immediately felt his cheeks flush as Kari jumped up and down excitedly, barely able to contain his excitement from the open display of affection, "You beat Myotismon! You were amazing."
"Yeah! Good job Davis!" Yolei added, pumping the air.
"We couldn't have done it without you," Ken added. Gatomon looked over to Veemon, "I think you mean we couldn't have done it without Veemon."
"Veemon?" Davis repeated, looking over at his partner scratching the back of his head, "Aw, schucksh guysh."
Veemon had been ExVeemon a second ago. That wasn't right. How had his partner regressed to being a rookie? He was pulled from those thoughts as Kari planted a kiss on his cheek, making him all the happier. Before he knew it, his lips were mixed with Kari's.
MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"
A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. When the light faded, Kari and Gatomon found themselves standing out on a field in what felt like the Digital World. The air was right for the Digital World at least, and Kari couldn't think of any part of Tokyo that had such green forests, clean air, and such strange wildlife. The others were there and seemed just as confused - digidestined, digimon, and the children Oikawa kidnapped. The only ones absent were Oikawa himself and MaloMyotismon. Davis scratched his head, "Okay, I'll bite. Where the hell are we?"
"Look! Over there!" Armadillomon gestured ahead of them towards three figures - Wizardmon, Agumon, and…
"Tamer!? WIZARDMON!?" Gatomon gasped, "What are you doing here?"
Kari looked down at her partner, happy for her as she ran straight into a hug with the wizard. Wizardmon tipped his hat and offered a bow to them, "I…needed to know that it would work. That you'd be safe."
"We pulled you out," Tamer pocketed his hands in his long blue jacket, "Once you had MaloMyotismon in the space outside reality, we knew. We both knew it was time to take you out of there. So we did. You're safe now."
"But…what about MaloMyotismon!? Or Oikawa!?" Cody asked in a panic. Tamer shrugged dismissively, "They both tried to alter the fabric of reality to their whims and change the course of destiny. Well, if they hated it so much, then they can live outside of it. Destiny. Reality. There's nothing there but what they choose to make for themselves. Just as they always wanted."
"But Oikawa-" Cody tried to protest only to be cut off, by Agumon, "Oikawa knew what he was doing. Even if Myotismon was manipulating him, he still chose to do it. And that can't be forgiven."
Tai nodded in agreement and quickly changed the subjects, "Forget about him. Besides…there are more important things to attend to."
He offered Kari a smile and place a hand on her head, "So…sis…no, that's just too weird to say."
He paused as he realized the mistake he'd made and seemed to apologize, "Sorry. Look. It's over now. It's time for things to go back to how they used to be. Gatomon gets her friend back…and I…well…maybe I am your brother and maybe I'm not. But…I promised to look out for you didn't I? And if that means…well, I guess I can get used to calling you…my sister…"
Kari wasn't sure how to feel about that - was Tai…saying he was going to be her brother again. He added, "You can call me Tai…or Tamer…or Taichi. I don't care what. But…I probably won't be able to call your parents mom or dad."
Kari giggled, noting that Gatomon still hadn't let Wizardmon go.
MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"
A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. TK had enough of this. He acted on the first plan to come to mind and called out to the others, "He's a dark type, right? A Nightmare Soldier or whatever it is Izzy's calls them. Davis! Kari! Cody! You know what means, right?"
Something clicked inside of their heads as the idea got to all of them. Then it all came together when Ken and Yolei cheered them all, "Go for it guys!"
Stingmon and Aquilamon slammed into MaloMyotismon, going for his eyes to blind him while everyone else's digivices rang to life, "Angemon! Ankylomon! DNA Digivolve to! Shakkoumon!"
"Veemon! Golden Armor Digivolve to! Magnamon, the Guardian of Miracles!"
"Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"
Angewomon, Magnamon, and Shakkoumon circled around MaloMyotismon and wasted no time firing into him, "Celestial Arrow!"
"Magna Impact!"
"Justice Beam!"
The attacks collided with MaloMyotismon and had the digimon screaming in utter agony. TK had remembered right. MaloMyotismon was weak to their Holy digimon - which made him a sitting duck to their attacks. They could win. Just one more blast would be all that it took. He punched the air, "That's right! You got him guys!"
As he said those words, a fear struck him in the back of his mind. This was all too easy. He didn't know why it seemed too easy, but it was. But he couldn't concentrate on that. Not when they were so close to defeating MaloMyotismon. Just one more attack. That's all it would take.
"Magna Impact!"
"Justice Beam!"
The strikes hit their mark and MaloMyotismon was on his knees, "Wait! Wait…"
"No," TK said angrily, looking back at the others and recalling all the terrible things they did, "This is for Cody's dad. Mimi's mom. Kari's brother. Ken's brother. Wizardmon. All of them. Finish it Shakkoumon!"
"Justice Beam!"
Another blast of light was all it took to turn MaloMyotismon to dust. As he dissipated, the world around them started to crack and a brilliant dazzling display of light shone forth. Then it shattered like a glass window, revealing the Real World around them. They were back in Highton View Terrace, and it was now the middle of the night. Fire works could be heard ringing in the distance to greet the digidestined into the New Year. Then he heard his parents and brother call out to him, "TK!"
The others' parents were there as well, each going to meet their respective child. A flurry of reporters were there also, trying to ask questions only to be drowned out by the hugs from his family and his brother. For a brief moment, he wondered if this was what it would be like if his parents never divorced.
MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"
A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. As the light faded, a single cry came out from Myotismon. A voice Cody had heard just a little while ago but more scared, "Cody! Cody! Stop him!"
Cody opened his eyes to see the ghostly shape of his father reaching his way out of MaloMyotismon's body. He extended one hand towards Cody as if begging for help and cried out, "Cody! Cody! Please save us!"
"Dad?" Cody looked at his father in disbelief, unable to believe he was looking at his own father reaching out to him. MaloMyotismon looked down at this ghostly figure in disbelief, "You...your soul is mine. What is this!?"
"Cody, please...listen to me," his father pleaded, "This...this isn't living. This torment. Please, end it, son. I can't...I don't want to be..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Cody witnessed his father disappear back into MaloMyotismon. Oikawa witnessed the same sight and reached out for his friend, crying out in panic, "Hiroki! Hiroki, NO!"
MaloMyotismon took this chance to smile gleefully, "I'm glad you saw that actually. Do you understand now? Your father exists inside me - his soul is trapped within me. All the souls of the dead are trapped inside me! If I die, then so does he. You wouldn't want your father to die a second time, would you Cody?"
Cody's fists shook with such unbridled anger that he couldn't contain himself, "My father...my father died a long time ago because of you. And he can't even find rest in death, because you're keeping him hostage. If killing you is what it'll take to free him, then I will free my father! Ankylomon!"
"Angemon!" TK called out to his partner. Both Cody and TK swapped glances, knowing what the other was thinking and ready to execute on that idea. The two digimon raced ahead and cried out in one voice, "Ankylomon! Angemon! DNA Digivolve to! Shakkoumon!"
The light of digivolution stunned MaloMyotismon, and left him wide open to an attack from Shakkoumon who rammed the digimon at full force, "JUSTICE BEAM!"
The blast of energy from his eyes was enough to throw MaloMyotismon sliding back towards Oikawa. Oikawa scrambled up to his feet and moved out of the way just as MaloMyotismon crashed into an invisible wall behind him. Then the mega level digimon laughed, "Is that it, digidestined?"
"No, it's not," Ken added triumphantly, "Cody isn't alone in this. We all want to make you pay! To stop you."
"Yeah! We're not about to let you get away with what you've done!" ExVeemon raised his fist and pumped the air.
"I'll never forgive you for any of it," Gatomon added, "It's time for you to pay!"
"And you better believe that there won't be a happy ending for you this time!" Yolei cheered. A dazzling display of bright light followed as their digimon partners digivolved.
"Gatomon! Aquilamon! DNA Digivolve to! Silphymon!"
"ExVeemon! Stingmon! DNA Digivolve to! Paildramon!"
"Paildramon! Digivolve to! Imperialdramon!"
All three digimon attacked MaloMyotismon at the same time, combining their efforts to bury MaloMyotismon. The angry digimon shook with rage as he crumbled to data under their attacks, "No! I can't lose! I was so close!"
As he pushed himself back up, he could feel Cody's father reaching back out from his chest, "That's it! You're beating him, Cody! Save us! Save all of us here from this hell!"
A direct request from his father to save him. Cody nodded and knew what he had to do, "Don't worry dad! We'll save you!"
MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"
A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. Yolei covered her face to protect herself when she heard Ken's voice call out to her, "Yolei! Watch out!"
She opened her eyes just as she felt someone push her onto whatever invisible surface they were standing on. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ken lying over her and using himself as a shield. It took just a second too long for her eyes to adjust and see that MaloMyotismon had tried to stab her while she was blinded. And Ken had saved her. The idea that Ken had rushed in to save her a third time left her flustered and she could feel her heart rushing all the blood to her face. He pushed himself up first, offering her a hand, "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah," she stuttered, happy to be taking his hand. MaloMyotismon was unimpressed, "Oh, look at the happy couple. Til' death do you part!"
He made another move to attack them but was stopped when Aquilamon and Gatomon both struck him from behind. MaloMyotismon rolled backwards and took a second to correct himself, "WHAT!?"
"You're not laying a hand on her!" Aquilamon announced. Gatomon added, "That's right! You keep away from her! I'm not letting you hurt anyone else!"
"Defiant until the end aren't you my servant? You always were a nuisance," MaloMyotismon growled, readying to fight the digidestined. Acting on instinct, Yolei looked over at Kari and nodded. The two digidestined raised their digivices together and the combined lights flashed into MaloMyotismon's eyes, then illuminated their partners at the same time, "Aquilamon! Gatomon! DNA Digivolve to! Silphymon!"
Silphymon leapt into the air and spun in place, kicking MaloMyotismon in the face, "Take this you overgrown thing that Kari's mom keeps in her bedroom. What were you doing in their bedroom? I'm a cat! Wandering around is what I do! Why does she have that in her bedroom!? I don't know! Humans are weird!"
"Wait, what thing?" Kari raised an eyebrow. Yolei had a hunch she knew what Gatomon was talking about but didn't feel the need to answer. Ken joined Yolei at her side, "It's about time we got in there too, right Davis!"
"Yeah, that's right!" Davis punched the air, "We can't let Yolei get ahead of us guys!"
Together, their digivices sang to life with light and the digidestined's partners came together in a victorious chorus.
"ExVeemon! Stingmon! DNA Digivolve to! Paildramon!"
"Ankylomon! Angemon! DNA Digivolve to! Shakkoumon!"
MaloMyotismon cackled, "This won't change anything! You've already lost!"
"How have we lost?" Yolei asked furiously, "We have each other. If we work together, we can beat you. What do you have?"
MaloMyotismon cackled defiantly, "It's because you rely on others for strength that you will lose. When will you foolish children accept that fact?"
Yolei, angry and annoyed with MaloMyotismon, called out to their partner digimon, "Let's get him guys!"
"Static Force!"
"Justice Beam!"
"Desperado Blaster!"
The attacks struck MaloMyotismon and the massive digimon vanished in a flash of light - like Arukenimon, BlackWarGreymon, and Mummymon before him. They had beat him. They had won.
MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"
A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. Ken looked to the side at Davis, who was blinded into inaction. When he saw the goggles on Davis's head, Ken remembered something - the pair of goggles he still kept on him as a reminder of his time as the Emperor and wrongs he'd committed before refashioning it over his head. He'd brought them with and kept them in his pocket.
It felt wrong to place it back over his head again but he knew he would need these to see through the light. He could see Stingmon and ExVeemon were still blinded, leaving them open to an attack by MaloMyotismon. He shouted out to them just in time for them to get out of the way, happy to see MaloMyotismon foiled and determined to end this here, "You used us. You used all of us! Even my brother!"
"Means to an end," MaloMyotismon countered, "An end you were all too happy to help me acquire, boy."
Ken shook with anger but did his best to control himself, "Not anymore. After everything you did, I'll pay you back for all the suffering you caused!"
"Then end it, digidestined child," MaloMyotismon laughed, "Do you honestly think you have the right?"
"He might not," Davis added with his digivice raised over his head, "But we do! Come on Ken!"
Ken followed his lead and watched their partners fuse together in a dazzling display of light, "ExVeemon! Stingmon! DNA Digivolve to! Paildramon!"
"Paildramon! Digivolve to! Imperialdramon!"
"Imperialdramon! Mode Shift to! Imperialdramon Fighter Mode!"
"Wait, what!?" MaloMyotismon managed out in time just to be punched in the face so hard that he flew backwards through an invisible wall that cracked open to reveal the Real World on the other side - where the other digidestined were all waiting. In the lead was Sora with Garudamon, "There he is!"
"Good work, Ken!" Yolei hugged him ecstatically. As the digimon rushed in to tackle MaloMyotismon, Ken felt a sense of belonging he hadn't felt before - here in Yolei's arms.
MaloMyotismon looked down at the digidestined and their partners standing in place with blank expressions on their faces. They stood there silently, almost unconscious with how still they were. Myotismon laughed at the victory he'd just been handed. This was it. This was exactly what he needed, now it was simply a matter of killing them all. The chains of destiny would become undone and he would be free of his fate. Still, he had to be sure - they could escape if even one of them had the will to break through the illusion. But could they break through a second, "MENTAL ILLUSION!"
Another blast of light followed and the digidestined fell over with their partners, staring blankly and unmoving. The children whom Oikawa abducted had stopped screaming in agony by then, and were huddled away from both the digidestined and MaloMyotismon. They all shook with fear. They should. If any of them were brave enough to ask why the digidestined were like this, the answer would only make him stronger. As long as they were afraid, full of doubt and paranoia of their environment, he would be made stronger.
And one of them was foolish enough to ask, "What's wrong with them? What did you do? Why aren't they moving?"
MaloMyotismon saw an opportunity to gloat and knew this would be the only chance for anyone to appreciate his plan, "They're trapped in an illusion - their greatest nightmare made manifest. Beneath that they're trapped in another reality. Their idealized reality made manifest. Why worry about the problems of the world when your ideal world can be written for you? And if they should escape, only an endless nightmare awaits them beyond it. There is no escape for them - no freedom except in death!"
He began to laugh, howling with joy at the mastery of his own scheme. He had won. He was finally undefeatable. All he had to do to cement his victory was to kill them. And this time, there would be no one to stop them.
Author's Notes: Will the digidestined awaken from the illusions? Will the Digimon Tamer act to save them? Can they fulfill the prophecy given by Wizardmon? Find out all this and more on the next chapter of The Tamer v1.2 - Another Digimon Adventure due out next Friday August 24th at 8 PM CDT. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section! I welcome constructive criticism and generally enjoy responding to you guys whenever I am able to. Don't forget to favorite the story to show support and follow the story to get all the latest updates! That's all I have for now! Let's look at previews on the next chapter!
"Yeah, good job on taking out Myotismon," Izzy added cheerfully, "You had a lot easier time of it than we did."
Gatomon sprang up right away, "Wait, are you actually asking if Kari's your family? Because I am not going to sit for having to share a living space with you."
"TK!" Davis began, "It's a trick! All of this! It's-"
TK gestured at Kari, "Do you know how long she'd been trying to find her brother!? He was right there! And then you decked him! And now…"
"I can't let you go, dad," Cody explained, "I...don't want you to die again. I can't stand it."
