Digital Shuffle
By famirad

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. This is for fun.
Author's Note: The merge starts between Takato and the supercomputer known as the Juggernaut. Ryo encounters Jenrya again.

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Digital Shuffle
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(Omnipresence)

The merge started.

Takato struggled to stay calm as he warily eyed the two images popping up before the darkness covering his eyes. The moving pictures were innocent enough. The one to his far right was just a little girl in a swing. The other was feed from a department store's security camera: shoppers milled about in the rotating image as the lens swiveled. Another feed blipped on. Was this really from the outside? Takato blinked, focusing his gaze on the three images. Must be.

Is this what the Juggernaut sees? The Juggernaut couldn't see. But Jenrya could.

So was this what Jenrya saw with his eyes that were everywhere?

Another image popped in, two others fuzzing in right after it. There was more colors, more everything, and he couldn't watch all of this at once. Now he thought he could hear something; if Takato concentrated, the incoming sound became a bit clearer. More coherent. From his impression, it sounded like a heated fight between a man and a woman. The two voices got louder as Takato listened. He jumped as there was a resounding slap and then an outraged cry. What happened? Who slapped who? Is this what people outside do? It was scary: two grown adults resorting to violence when words didn't work. A horrifying thought. Did parents do that?

Did his parents do that? Did they hit each other too when they got mad?

The sobs didn't fade away. Instead they were joined by more sounds, crowding in about Takato as he struggled to take in everything coming through the matrix, filtering in faster and faster. People, machines, animals, plants. Everything he could see and hear, but it was so confusing.A glimpse of a young girl skipping rope. The sounds of a siren, followed by the blood curdling sound of an air raid alarm from decades ago. Japan had once been in a great war for its honor, fought against the Americans and their allies. This war ended a long long long time ago. Jenrya knew of it and now Takato knew about it, right to the stuff that was still classified.

Documents on encoded files laid bare before him, hundreds upon hundreds. Thousands. Millions. Behind the matrix, Takato's unfocused eyes flicked back and forth as images continued to assault him.

Do my parents hit each other?

Was Jenrya alive to see these wars?

Do people really do things like that when they're alone?

These were the memories of the city.

Tokyo was alive with information. His nerves were on fire, electric. It would take several lifetimes for a human to sort through even a quarter of what was here: Tokyo's past memories, the present and the coming future could be felt. Takato could feel a dull buzz thundering in his skull. A man in his mid-twenties sank to the ground, his blood seeping into his jacket from a gaping wound in his side. Takato saw the one who did it too, seeing both the victim and the assailant as if from two different sets of eyes. People died even as he sat here. Now there was the surprised cry of a baby opening her eyes for the first time in a hospital. So many people being born too. But their lives were so short…

People are born only to die.

Takato wanted to squeeze his eyes shut. There was too much color! Too much to see! He couldn't focus on anything – everything was moving, sliding over the still pictures and sitting on one another as more joined in. Videos. A boy participating in a debate to practice for some competition. Hissing static weaving in and out as one TV channel had to report technical difficulties to its unfortunate viewers, the announcer apologizing. The sounds were from everywhere! Was this what Jenrya saw? Was he such a powerful, omnipotent being he could control what Takato was now seeing?

This, this, this – how can people be like this? How can Jenrya see all of this at once? How could his friend make any sense of this? It was going to swallow Takato, suck him into the confusion and force him to apply meaning to each and every thing he heard and saw. This was too much for him to handle alone.

People are born only to die.

Humans have such short life spans.

"…High winds can be expected tonight..."

For some reason, Homo sapiens are one of the few, if only, species to commit suicide.

Suicide…?

Suicide (adjective) – the act of intentionally killing oneself; one who commits suicide.

How could Takato find Jenrya in nothing? He was surrounded by everything! There were more and more pictures now. Takato had only to look in on one or listen to a particular whispering voice through the crowd to feel the information filter into his mind. A dry, withered cackle. This particular old woman found the perfect gift for her husband and intended to surprise him as soon as he got back from work. A photo of a girl in somber black flickered into view. She died recently, having drowned in an accident because she was drunk behind the wheel when she missed the turn and plunged off the road. Suddenly knowing why made Takato wonder what it would be like to die like that, to drown. Would it hurt as much as getting eaten by Jenrya? Would it hurt? Would it hurt a lot?

"Don't you dare show your face to me!"

Someone shoplifting from the department store. Takato saw it, just as his "eyes" in the security camera saw it. The man's name was Junichi Iwaaki, two children, age thirty-five, five foot seven, one hundred eighty pounds. The view turned slowly as the lens rotated. Security coming to pick the man up. He would get in trouble.

"Mom, I have to write this proof, and…"

The next Olympics would be held in Dallas, Texas.

…International news: the President of the United States will be impeached for…

Classified info peeling back.

People were dying even now. And more were being born to replace those gone.

Does Jenrya see like this? Does he see everything? Is this why he knows everything?

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"Wow, will you look at that?" Someone breathed.

Jenrya turned. A young man was staring as a small crowd clustered around him, staring at something. On an overhead sign, the lights flickered on and off. The electronics in the store's display blinked on and off in time with the sign's neon lettering. Was something wrong with the power? Turning around, wide-eyed, it looked like everything in the area was acting up. Down the street, a restaurant's windows glared black and orange as the lights inside turned on again, only to shut off. Jenrya cast a glance at his watch. The numbers cycled in rapid spurts.

His watch was reading in binary?

Jenrya frowned as he looked up again at the flashing store. What in the world was going on?

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Takato wanted to shut out everything. Shut off his eyes, shut off his ears, and turn off his brain.

What made it worse was the fact he knew why people did what they did. The knowledge flooded into his mind as new sounds and images crowded each other out. The pictures always brought some sort of understanding. Could he close his eyes, blind himself from all of this? No, they wouldn't respond to his command. Why wasn't Jenrya here? Photos were being scanned and put on web sites. Photos of people doing funny things in them. A sound of a scream from somewhere and then several gunshots. A hand-held video camera filming a family outing to the Sunshine 60.

Everything came in so fast. Thousands – no, millions– of faces. Millions of sounds.

There was just too much. He understood too much.

Jenrya!

Jenrya wasn't here. Jenrya was waiting for him in nothing. Takato was surrounded by everything. Nothing was so very far away. Would it even be possible, to bypass all of this attacking his senses of sight and hearing? A human couldn't take in this much. Takato was human. Jenrya wasn't. But Jenrya needed him precisely because he was human. But how could he break free? Bits of the past getting mixed with the present. Bits and pieces, like broken china. Like so much broken china.

Something was already broken in Takato. It ruptured further.

Takato couldn't be here. Shouldn't be.

The matrix swarmed him with the overwhelming noises, the pictures too clear and vivid. There were so many faces. So many dead, cold faces. So many people dying. And so many didn't care that there was a sea of dead. In the morgue, there were thousands of dead, cataloged on shelves – some where going to be cut open. They slept in their shelves. Deaths from old age, heart attacks, accidents, jealous husbands and wives…the people in white lab coats taking pictures of the dead for their files. Snap went the camera and then the angle changed for another photo. Takato saw what the camera saw as its flash went off. Another dead face. This one died from loss of blood, but it had been on purpose.

Humans were always dying. Humans committed suicide.

The only strength humans had was their technology and numbers.

And even that could be taken away from them.

You just had to surprise them, to corner them. It'd been done before, in another World.

The sea of dead faces, hidden behind the metal doors of their shelves, smeared away only to be replaced with even more to see and hear. These were from the outside. There was no place to squirm away from this overload of knowledge. The subways: off schedule. Buses: not in operation suddenly. Lights turning on and off, faster and faster. Everything moving. Horns, curses, sirens, shouts. Thousands passed each other, never stopping as the crowds went along the sidewalks. They were so ignorant, so very lucky. Takato envied them. They weren't breaking into pieces. They weren't sitting here.

He knew too much now. More information spilling into him, torrents of images and noises. Takato instinctively tried to fight against it. The dead faces intermingling with the living. After all, the dead had just as much to say as the living. But they were locked away because they couldn't help but be cold and lifeless. Like a bunch of rocks. Like Jenrya. Jenrya was warm to the touch but Jenrya had holes. Jenrya wasn't alive in the outside world. Jenrya loved to eat things up because it made him powerful. Jenrya had to eat to become Jenrya. And Jenrya, too, saw what he saw.

Am I a companion system? Is that all?

Just a tool? Has being human ever meant anything?

The faces blended into one another. Everyone was gone. But their memories remained and became ghosts. The computers didn't care and the Juggernaut cared least of all. The Juggernaut had been tampered with, long ago. A woman named Kincaid saw to it. But she wasn't a human at all. She was a lot stronger than that.

There were others. There was Jenrya, who wasn't really Jenrya. There was also a boy named Ryo Akiyama, who had been MIA and was back. The records said he should've been dead. Obviously they were wrong and those records needed to be updated. And then there were the Digimon. Everything fell together. It made so much sense.

People were dying even now. And more would die in the future. Everything was based on death and rebirth.

So much made sense now as the images came in even greater numbers. They would invade this world. They would rule the future. And Takato would be one of the key points in opening the weakening rift in Tokyo; it was all that stood between entry from the Digital World and the Real World. There really was a Digital World. It wasn't just a game at all, but he already knew because Jenrya told him that it wasn't and his friend knew everything because he saw all. Jenrya knew of the sister who had broken her brother's toy dog. Jenrya had already heard of the murder that had just happened a few minutes ago in the outskirts of Shinjuku. Jenrya saw the passing of decades through Tokyo's eyes.

There was an organization called "Hypnos". It was founded on contrasting ideas: good intentions and hate.

The founder was a man named Yamaki Mitsuo. He made Hypnos, was its heart and soul. The secret organization cast a watchful eye toward the Digital World, but even Yamaki's foresight would fail him because of those working behind his back. Yamaki Mitsuo had been labeled a potential danger in computer banks and the knife was already in his back, it only needed a turn. Yamaki once had a niece. Takato felt his real body like it was far way.

Where was nothing? Jenrya could make the world nothing if he was ordered to. His influence could grow, expanding far beyond Tokyo. Several countries possessed nuclear weapons. Jenrya could destroy the world several times over if it was commanded – but they didn't want a dead world. A dead one was useless. Takato would be useless without Jenrya. The Juggernaut told him that they were bonded and it was so. Jenrya had been made to be perfect and Takato was born with flaws. They meshed well. A perfect match.

The merge went as scheduled.

It was a struggle to keep up with what was being thrown at Takato. There was so much he now knew, more that was he beginning to understand. He knew the pressure within, the pressure in the back of his mind, would keep on growing until it would break. Already the cracks were there. If it broke, everything would pass over him, like a wave. Would it be over? If he stopped fighting, would it all be over?

There was more. Ryo Akiyama was also a potential danger to the programmed goal. He had been to the Digital World before, and, unlike the others, he'd made it back home. The only human to do it. That alone made him dangerous. Ryo knew what happened several years ago, he knew of the other kids who went in but never returned. They were dead, cold like those bodies in the morgue. They hadn't been strong enough. Everything had been covered up. It had been an experiment and the test subjects had never been told they were participating in one. They died without knowing why.

But Ryo wouldn't be hunted because his partner was no longer with him. Ryo was safe. Just a human without his muscle.

There was a hunt…?

Yes, a hunt. A hunt that ended four years ago when a little girl and her uncle were attacked by a Musyamon. But it would begin again soon. The cycle would begin again and this time it wouldn't be the cleanup of an experiment. This was the real thing.

This was what the Juggernaut was programmed for. Takato was everywhere – everything he saw and heard was from all around the huge sprawl of Tokyo. Kaminmon lurking about the shadows, searching for another Digimon. Kincaid looking at her malfunctioning watch with delight. And a third was resting in a large room behind locked doors, Kincaid's precious ring sitting on a table as he sat on his fore and hind legs, purple tail swishing lazily. Relieved to be in his real body for a change. The old war hero, once again bending tradition, playing at being a filthy human for the greater good.

The images switched elsewhere. Everything began a long time ago. Everything was planned. Jenrya would need to eat more and more to have enough energy to breach the barriers between the Worlds. The Juggernaut told him all of this, that day when the greyhound bowed its head in submission to let him pet it. But only now did he understand.

The pressure was almost at a breaking point.

If I stop struggling against this…

What would happen?

…would I find Jenrya?

Or would he only be carried away, thrown about and battered by so much knowledge, by everything that he saw and heard?

If everything sweeps over me, if I submit…

He was close to breaking. There wasn't much time to make a decision.

There was no turning back. Waves of information crashed, meaningless as they buffeted him. Sounds were attacking Takato from all directions.

Is there a choice?

No. There was never a choice, especially here. "Choice" wasn't subject to argument.

Jenrya will be with me, I won't be alone.

Takato was needed. Jenrya couldn't do this without him. Jenrya waited.

But if I am eaten, if I chose wrong, will Jenrya reject me? Will he ever stop needing me?

That wasn't possible. Takato was too important to this whole plan – his Will had been the strongest out of the three Tamers. He was targeted first.

The others? Are they worried?

It didn't matter. It was too late.

I won't be able to cry or smile. I'll be alone if Jenrya isn't there. And if he isn't…

Everything shattered, spots of blue dancing in his vision.

I'll break.

This was a one-way street Takato walked. He depended on Jenrya now: if he submitted, Jenrya would have to be there, for all time and then some. Whatever it took to make sure he wasn't lonely.

He couldn't see. Couldn't hear. The pressure blinded him, making Takato blissfully deaf.

So then this is it. This is how it will turn out. Takato could feel his mind start to go lax. The information still coming through was a dull pounding sensation and Takato couldn't be hurt if he couldn't feel anything. There was only the numbness and Jenrya. Everything else faded away. Any remaining mental barriers were smashed in as everything at once – Tokyo's network of people, of machines – forced its way in. Remaining memories fought against the flow of information and were swept away by the force of the tide.

And then it was over.

There was nothing. He found it.

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Outside, the city went wild. Lights blinked on and off for the past three hours, faster and faster, like thousands of demented strobe lights. Cars spun as their internal computers suddenly went out, careening to a stop. People were stranded in the subways. Buses crashed into whatever was in front of them. The TV screens glowing, blinding anyone nearby as the light intensified. Computer monitors went haywire, overrun with green binary. But in this room, it was dark. Nothing was happening.

Ryo Akiyama went with the easiest route. Rather than panic or stand there gaping, he'd simply unplugged everything in his room. Peace and quiet. Still, he could hear the earth-shattering noise outside the bedroom. Every now and then there was a crash, followed by the tinkling of broken glass. Far off to the east he could see a thick, greasy cloud of black smoke rising up against the night sky. Something was burning. Ryo gazed out the open window.

To some people, it might seem like the end of the world. A snort. This is nothing. Ryo didn't know why everything was acting up, but he had his own suspicions. It probably had something to do with what he'd heard in the Digital World, when he had returned for the last time. Could this be the beginning of this "grand move", which would be remembered in history? If that was the case, then this really was nothing. It would be over soon.

And then the rest of the population would get on with their lives.

Ryo closed the window after awhile. Since earlier today, he'd been thinking back to his conversation with the kid, Jenrya. Jenrya confused him more than he wanted to admit. For one thing, Jenrya didn't seem to be bluffing; he really did believe his Digimon, Terriermon, wouldn't go wild, that he was somehow different. But what if he was? Ryo frowned as he got to his feet, padding over to a dresser and opening the drawers. What if these kids were different than Ryo?

What if they had actually succeeded where he'd failed?

What if they did better than the kids before them?

Yeah right. Ryo tugged on a turtleneck. What a joke.

Shrugging into an overcoat, Ryo headed out. His guardian wasn't here, which worked for him They kept assigning adults to watch over him for some reason. This new one wasn't so bad though. Tamayo kept out of the way, a quiet, shy presence who hovered in the background.

Stepping into his boots, Ryo left the small apartment, locking the door behind him. As soon as he left the building, he was hit by screeches and a high-pitched whine that wouldn't go away. Wincing, Ryo moved quickly down the sidewalk. The street lights had stopped doing their strobe-thing, but he wasn't sure if that was something to write home about just yet. The glow was high-intensity, humming louder as power to the bulbs increased, bright as the sun. Ryo shaded his eyes.

He better be quick, then. Pushing his way through panicked crowds surging past, Ryo forced a path through the sea of humanity trying to go the other way. He continued to push his way past. Whatever he thought about the Tamers, he had to make sure they were in one piece. Like it or not, they might be the only people who could stand a chance against what was coming.

So yeah, Ryo made it his business to know what he could about them, where to find them. Jenrya had been the easiest to find, especially when he lived this close. Might as well make sure he's in one piece.

Ryo jogged to the corner of the street. The intersection was a jumble of crumpled cars, fire flickering at the bottom of the pile-up. A bus was rammed right into a lamppost, the front caved in from the force of impact. As he watched, people crawled out, some turning around and dragging others who were trapped out from the wreckage. The ruptured tank leaked all over the sidewalks into the street. Ryo couldn't see the driver anywhere.

What a wreck. Wonder how they're going to explain this one? It would be a lame excuse – a power failure or something. Of course everyone would eat it up, no matter how pathetic it was. And then go about with their daily lives as if nothing happened.

Ryo turned away from the hellish scene before him, turning a cool gaze about the area. A woman staggered past him, missing a shoe as she cast a lost look around her. In the distance, a man in a business suit tossed his cell phone away with a look of horror: it rang higher and higher, the sound rising up to a shrill, screaming pitch. The cell phone shattered as it hit the ground and fell silent.

Further away from the crash it was easier to get by. Jenrya had to be somewhere close by: the kid always seemed to be in the thick of things. Carefully stepping around the remnants of a motorcycle, Ryo kept on walking, sniffing around for anything that might tip him off about what started all this. He was examining a buzzing TV screen through a store window and watching the rapidly scrolling binary, trying to read it, when someone called out to him:

"Ryo!"

Ryo glanced up. Jenrya was here, like he expected, and now the other boy was approaching him warily, his gray eyes suspicious. Ryo smiled, straightening. "Thought I'd find you here." He faced Jenrya, leaning against the railing. "What can I do for you?"

Jenrya pointed at the pile-up in the intersection. "What's all of this?"

Ryo shrugged. "I don't know," he said truthfully.

"I'm sure you don't." It was obvious Jenrya didn't believe a word he was saying, which was ironic because so far everything that Ryo said was the stone cold truth. "How is it everything's going screwball and you're so calm? People might've died!"

"People eat it every day. Take my word for it – this isn't what you should be worrying about."

Jenrya bristled. "Then what should I be worrying about?"

"For one thing, you shouldn't be hanging around here. Obviously it's dangerous," Ryo replied, gesturing at the crashed bus and the overturned truck. "I don't know if any cars are still functioning, but you could get hit. And besides I – " Ryo cut his own words off, tilting his head as he suddenly noticed something different. The buzzing from the lights was gone now, but the bulbs were glaring even brighter. Uh oh.

Jenrya had no time to speak as he was bowled over.

He hit the ground with a muffled "hey!" as Ryo tackled him. Everything exploded. There was a deafening, simultaneous pop, almost drowned out by the roar of the same thing happening throughout the whole city. Glass and sparks fell in a dense shower around them as the street lights blew out. The TV Ryo and Jenrya had been standing in front of was abruptly missing its screen along with a portion of the window, the melted insides reduced to slag. As Jenrya caught his breath, wide-eyed, Ryo rolled off him and popped to his feet. Ryo couldn't help but whistle in amazement.

"Damn…"

Jenrya got to his feet gingerly, holding his side. He hadn't expected Ryo to shove him to the ground like that. Not doubt he'd be feeling that in the morning. He stood next to Ryo. Just a few seconds ago, it had looked like it was in the middle of the day, but now the area was bathed in complete darkness. And, from the looks of it, so was the rest of Tokyo. The stars were visible over the silent city, and, except for the fires, there wasn't any light casting the sky that usual orange-purple tint.

"Power surge of some kind." Ryo said. "Looks like the show's over. Finally." Ryo surveyed the fire slowly consuming the pile-up, not making any moves to help the injured that were limping away from the warm glow. "It's gonna be interesting seeing how they explain this."

"What do you mean, 'they'?"

"Whoever wanted to sweep stuff like this under the rug before," Ryo ground a shard of glass to powder under the toe of his boot with a crunch. "But I can tell you whatever was responsible for this wasn't just some normal power surge. One alone wouldn't cause so much damage." Ryo looked up, glancing calmly at the wreck of the truck in the distance. "And that wouldn't explain the cars."

Ryo turned and began to head down the street, going back the way he came. Jenrya shouted after him.

"Where're you going?"

"Home. Nothing to see now." Ryo was disappearing into the shadows, about to round a corner. "Oh, and this is nothing, Jenrya. I'd keep that in mind if I were you, so don't get yourself bent up all over this."

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It was peaceful here. Nothing to see or know, nothing to hear. It was nice, this pure nothing Takato found himself in now. Everything was gone. As long as he didn't think back to it, he wouldn't start remembering all the new "memories" from the merge's beginning. Takato closed his eyes with an exhausted sigh. It was over. That had been the hard part.

Takato…

He opened his eyes. It was so hard to do even that. They felt like so very, very heavy. But he knew that voice: Jenrya. Forcing himself to blink, Takato raised his head, staring up as he found himself looking up at Jenrya. Before he could even formulate a thought, Jenrya was already answering:

You've done it, Takato. A smile. That was it. That was all you had to do. You're done.

Takato nodded. He was so tired, so drained. Was it really over?

Yes.

Takato let out a breath. It was good Jenrya was here. Jenrya made everything better. Jenrya could see everything better then he could ever hope to. Takato was so glad to see his friend again, his chest rising and falling as if he was having trouble breathing. It was finally over. Jenrya hadn't abandoned Takato, despite his initial fears. His friend kept his promise, kept it just for him.

Are you hurt? Why don't you rest awhile?

Takato waved it away. No, no, he wasn't hurt. But he could use a few minutes of down time. Actually, he had no idea why was he was laughing, but it felt good.

Jenrya knelt down next to the companion system, static fuzzing the avatar's chest in and out as he moved. A scan: the merge further damaged Takato Matsuda. This would make the next step less difficult. Jenrya plopped down next to Takato, who was now shaking his head at some joke only he understood.

"You know, I keep getting you and the Juggernaut mixed up. It's funny."

Jenrya opened his mouth and uttered a soundless laugh, laughing right along with Takato.

Takato continued shaking his head, a grin on his face. Jenrya was such a great guy, he was willing to hang out with him even though he probably had better things to do. Of course, Jenrya was only laughing along with Takato because he needed him, but it didn't matter. Jenrya was amazing! Takato experienced what Jenrya did so easily, how Jenrya had no difficulty being in multiple places at once.

After awhile, Takato stopped laughing, although he was forced to bite his lip to prevent another uncontrollable giggle. He bit down so hard that he was soon bleeding from the self-inflicted wound. He didn't notice at first, didn't even notice the pinch of pain from his mouth. He was suddenly self-conscious as Jenrya turned those gray eyes on him, his gaze falling on the droplets of blood.

You bit yourself.

A mumbled apology. He hadn't meant to. Was Jenrya angry at him?

Of course not. But you shouldn't hurt yourself, Jenrya said. Takato hung his head. He hadn't meant to, he was sorry. Now Jenrya was mad at him because he did something he wasn't supposed to. It's okay. There's no need to apologize. I'm not mad at you. Look, I'm even going to make it go away for you.

Takato nodded, obediently keeping perfectly still as the avatar slowly lifted a finger and touched the wound. As Jenrya passed his fingertip over the injury, it faded away, the blood turning into data particles and floating away. Jenrya leaned back as Takato clapped his hands to his mouth with a gasp, his eyes glassy. Takato's thoughts ran into each other: Wow! I didn't know Jenrya could do that! He's so great. He did that just for me, he's not going to leave me, look, there's no blood – where did it all go? Oh, wait, I know, Jenrya ate that too…jeez, Jenrya's awfully hungry.How did Jenrya stay so thin when all he did was eat?

Jenrya folded his hands around his knees. It wasn't long before Takato copied him, drawing up his own knees and clasping his fingers around them before looking to his friend for guidance. Jenrya rewarded him with another winning smile.

You're awfully quiet, Jenrya remarked.

"Sorry, just have a lot of things on my mind," Takato said. Actually, it wasn't true, but he didn't know what to say. He just had to saw something, anything at all.

Jenrya saw right through him, as he always did. But he said nothing for a long while. There was nothing Takato could hide from him. No one could hide from Jenrya's many eyes and ears. Jenrya was everywhere. But, Takato realized with a swell of pride, Jenrya focused his attention solely on him. Maybe he was being greedy, but he liked it. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

There was a long pause. Takato pointed at his head, smiling sheepishly. "I think there's something wrong with me, Jenrya. I don't suppose you have some Band-Aids to tape me back together?"

Jenrya shook his head, never batting an eye at the remark. Nope. I'll have to get some later.

Takato fiddled with his fingers, still looking hopeful. "Oh, okay. I can wait." He looked up at Jenrya, fixing a suspicious eye on Jenrya. "You really aren't the Juggernaut, are you?"

I am.

Takato didn't seem to hear his friend's silent voice. "That's good. I hate it when people lie to me. When are you going to get my Band-Aids?"

Soon. Jenrya said reassuringly. I have to go find them for you first. How does it feel?

Takato shrugged. Why was Jenrya asking about him? Did it even matter how he felt? Did it matter that everything was all jumbled and weird? But Jenrya asked him a question and he didn't dare keep his mouth shut. After all, Jenrya was dangerous if he wanted to be, if he was ordered to be. Even though Jenrya was usually a nice guy, he carried a big stick, Takato realized, after comparing Jenrya to something a man called "Roosevelt" said once. Why was it all the dead people made more sense then the living?

"Uh, I feel kinda funny." Takato started to bite his lip and remembered that he wasn't supposed to. Pursing his mouth carefully, he continued, looking sideways at Jenrya. "Like I'm broken in places. Disconnected. I mean, the pieces are still there, I have to tape them back together. That's why I asked for some Band-Aids. Those things can stick on anything. Well, that or duct tape…" Takato added, falling silent at this new realization. Duct tape. Now there was an idea...

I promise to get you some Band-Aids soon as I can. Jenrya chuckled silently. Or duct tape. Whatever you want.

Takato beamed. "Thanks."

What else do you feel?

"Feel sorta numb. Like I've been sitting in a tub of ice for a few hours. Disjointed. Like one of those really frustrating puzzles that always seem to be missing a bunch of pieces even if you just bought it." Takato fell quiet, losing his train of thought. Jenrya waited. "Sometimes I have a hard time putting two and two together. I'm sorry I'm like this, Jenrya – it just kinda happened. Is something wrong?"

Jenrya reached out and ruffled his hair, smiling warmly. No, everything's fine. I was curious.

Takato pretended to pout. Jenrya wasn't being fair now! Takato wasn't a kid after all. He had a right to know what was going on!

Of course not. Jenrya changed the subject discreetly. How exactly do you plan to tape yourself back together?

Takato's face lit up and chattered away at Jenrya listened. The companion system began miming how he would fix himself up, going through the motions of applying dozens of Band-Aids on himself. It should be easy enough. Look, there was a piece of Takato and there was another one to the left. Ah, this one just dropped off! Oops, this part had a fracture in it. He'd better tape it right up before it could break off. As Takato continued to put imaginary Band-Aids on himself, pantomiming, he continued to talk: wow, it he was going to need a whole lot of them, because it looked like he could break into pieces if a wind came through. That wouldn't do. Oh no, not at all. And if Takato was having trouble – for there was a lot to fix – would Jenrya help him out?

I'd be happy to.

"I'm happy…" Takato trailed off, his hands lowering as something clicked. His face turned serious, something flickering behind his eyes. Something of his old self. "Am I happy?"

You tell me.

"I…I…" Takato stammered, horrified. Jenrya was here, and Takato wasn't alone. So why shouldn't he be happy?

This…this isn't real. This isn't right.

I shouldn't be here. I've hurt myself with this lie.

Takato looked up as Jenrya got to his feet. The black jacket started another cycle, changing into the neon orange vest as the sleeves shortened. Where was Jenrya going? Is he leaving? Takato wondered with a start of sheer panic. The panic faded as Jenrya reached down, and, as one would treat a fragile baby, took his hands and pulled him to his feet. Takato wavered but managed to keep his balance as Jenrya paced a few yards away in the nothingness.

You're right. This isn't real, Takato. None of this is. I'm not here and you know it.

No, that wasn't true. Jenrya had eaten all the lines, therefore he was here.

Jenrya made a dismissive gesture at this as he strode around Takato, glancing him over as the Tamer did his best to keep still under the inspection. You want to believe I am. You've damaged yourself on purpose. You hurt yourself to get to me.

"I-that's not…" But it was. Takato could only feel shame as Jenrya circled about him, hands clasped behind his back. Takato hung his head for the second time that day, miserable. He had only himself to blame for needing tape to fix himself. Jenrya was disappointed.

Will Band-Aids really fix what you've done to yourself? Jenrya asked. Round and round he went – Takato couldn't tear his eyes away from his friend, always circling. Jenrya saw everything. Jenrya heard everything. Jenrya knew everything. Do I mean that much to you? Or is it "hope" that matters to you?

"I-I don't know," tears of embarrassment were starting to form. Takato was horrified to realize he was going to cry soon. He didn't want to cry, but he was going to do it anyway. If only he could crawl into a cave somewhere and hide. Jenrya was so very disappointed in him. It made Takato feel disgusted standing here.

Listen to me.

He was listening.

It doesn't matter if I'm not real. Jenrya stopped in his tracks, behind Takato and just out of his range of vision. The Tamer closed his eyes, trying to will away the tears glimmering between his eyelashes. Jenrya was so forgiving it was humiliating. You're here. And so am I. Jenrya drew Takato closer – as the avatar moved, his whole body began to run with static, the blotches of unfocused material expanding to cover his whole height. Why worry? You don't have a choice, I told you that once.

Takato allowed himself to be pulled. Yeah. Why worry? He was beyond that now…

It's time. Those hands dragged him into a bottomless pit; fingers dancing with strings of static pulling him insistently backward. There was no other choice but to relax and let himself be pulled. Companion system TAKATO MATSUDA. This is the finally stage of the merge between us. We're two different sentient beings but together we'll know only power. We become one.

Takato kept his eyes shut. Jenrya was going to eat him now. But it wouldn't be like those digital lines. There was no return. Behind him, Jenrya took another step outward, his features indistinguishable in the static. Jenrya won't leave me.This was for his own good, after all – Jenrya truly cared and this was exactly why he wasn't going to delay any longer. This had to be done. Takato wouldn't complain. There was a wave of warmth as Takato was pulled into Jenrya. As he slid backward into his friend, he began to fade away – whatever came into contact with the Jenrya's touch was dissolving, getting absorbed...

This is how everything's turned out. This is it...

The avatar continued to pull the companion system into himself.

Soon, there was only one standing in Jenrya's nothingness.

It was done. The merge was complete.

To be continued...

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