Tamers: Stuck in Paradise - Season 2
Part 7
by Christian "Sid" Lang
"Oh geez! I should work out more..." T.K. gasps.
He has jogged the short way to Kari's home. It felt like running the tri-state-marathon.
Now he is standing in front of the tall building and leans against a wall.
"YOU?"
T.K. turns his head and sees Gatomon standing next to him.
"No wonder Gatomon wants to kill you."
T.K. gulps. How could he forget that part of his conversation with Davis?
"Ga-Ga-Ga-"
"What do you want here? Hm? Came looking for your special friend?" the cat snarls.
"Yeah." T.K. replies.
Then he realizes who Gatomon had in mind.
"Nonono! I meant Kari! Kari!" he instantly yells.
Gatomon had already flexed her claws. Now she blinks.
"And Renamon?" she carefully asks.
"I love Kari! Only Kari! Oh please please please..."
T.K. sighs when Gatomon seems to relax.
"I'll forgive you if Kari forgives you." Gatomon finally says.
T.K. gulps when he imagines the new worst-case scenario.
"You... killed her?"
Ruki is sitting on the couch, staring at Kari.
The youngest member of the Kamiya family is pacing through the living room.
"She has been so arrogant. Told me to stay away from T.K. Threatened me!"
Ruki wipes away a single tear and looks at the baseball.
The doorbell rings, but Ruki ignores it. Kari opens the door instead.
"Oh, T.K." Ruki hears Kari stammer.
"Kari, I came to-"
"Come in, I have to to tell you something." Kari just mutters.
Ruki can see Gatomon come closer to her.
"Ruki? Could you do me a favor?" the cat purrs.
"Name it." Ruki whispers, still staring at the baseball.
"Help me find Renamon."
Ruki can hear Kari gasp and sighs.
"Renamon... is dead." Ruki finally whispers.
"You mean T.K. and Renamon?" Yolei gasps.
Hawkmon nods and blushs.
"T.K. slept with Renamon?" she repeats.
"And now Gatomon's on a killing spree."
"Then what're we waiting for? We've got to find them!"
T.K. stares at the baseball. Then at Kari. Then again at the baseball.
He had always seen his girlfriend as a nice, peaceful person.
Until she kicked me this morning. he adds with a frown.
"You killed her? You killed Renamon?" Gatomon stammers.
The little cat still can't believe it.
Must be hard. Your love getting killed by your partner.
Kari's head is leaning against his shoulder.
"I... I have been jealous. I couldn't stand the thought that you.. with her..."
"Shhhh... It's-" T.K. starts to say, then stops himself.
It's what? All right? Fine? God, she MURDERED Renamon!
"Oh God..." she whispers and groans.
"It's awake!" somebody shouts.
"Thank God." another voice adds.
She opens her eyes and sees people standing around her.
Her head hurts. Something must have hit her there.
She can feel arms supporting her, helping her to sit.
Now she can see that she is somewhere in a mall.
Somebody gives her a glass of water.
She accepts it and easily holds it between her three fingers.
"You're one of the Digimon that saved the children, right?"
"Yes. My name is-"
"Call me Rena. Please."
Rena...
Rena...?
"-Rena...mon. Renamon. Yeah."
Oh Renamon. Ruki thinks.
Wiping away more tears, she takes out her D-Arc.
It's worthless without you.
Her fingers gently touch the outlines of the device.
The display. The card slot. The small blue buttons.
She gently touches the buttons. Just like in the old times.
*BEEP*
Ruki blinks.
*BEEP*
"That can't be." she whispers.
*BEEP*
Ruki wipes away her remaining tears and stares at the display.
"Renamon..." she whispers, looking at the tracer arrow on the display.
Renamon slowly remembers what has happened.
Her walk with Ruki, Kari, and of course Gatomon.
The burning building. The cover she provided for Guilmon.
Her dash for the single kid. The sudden pain-
She involuntarily touches her head.
She remembers waking up. But somehow everything has gone wrong since then.
I couldn't remember. Everything seemed so... wrong.
Then she remembers all the ugly details. All of them.
She had thrown Ruki against a wall.
Then she had taken Kari hostage, threatened to kill her.
She had been angry. And she had used her attack.
Against Ruki. Her Tamer, partner, friend.
"God. No." she mutters.
Then she sees herself running. Begging Veemon to comfort her.
A feeling of pain when Veemon told her that he didn't love her.
T.K. had been there to comfort her. T.K. had comforted her. T.K....
"OH GOD!"
Renamon remembers Kari's face and realizes that she probably messed up Kari's relationship with T.K.
The last thing she remembers is her meeting with Kari.
She had provoked the girl. Threatened her.
Then she had felt vanishing, fading out of this place.
It had been a reflex. An instinct. Just like her attack had been triggered.
"What have I done?" she whispers and buries her head in her paws.
"Ruki? Are you all right?" Kari carefully asks.
The Tamer is clutching her chest and leans forward.
Kari can suddenly hear the Tamer snicker.
Maybe she has lost her mind now. The stress has been too much for her.
"Ruki, let me help you." Kari whispers and puts a hand on her shoulder.
Ruki turns her head and stares right into Kari's eyes.
"You fool." Ruki snickers.
Before Kari can answer anything, Ruki presents Kari her D-Arc.
Kari frowns until she takes a closer look at the device.
"Isn't that the tracer?" Kari finally asks.
"And it's as strong as ever." Ruki whispers triumphantly.
They're probably after me already. Renamon guesses.
She has angered almost all of her friends.
The vulpine Digimon walks on shaky legs, looking for a way out.
She knows that she has no real chance as long as Ruki has the D-Arc.
Have to think of a plan. Have to-
Renamon yelps when her legs fail her.
She hits the floor and starts to sob.
Maybe I should just wait here so that they can finish me off.
The thought somehow even makes sense.
I have given them enough trouble already. Why should I trouble them by running away?
She sighs.
Everything would have been better without me.
"Oh, what a pretty fox." she can hear a familiar voice next to her.
Renamon looks up at the girl standing next to her.
"R-Ruki?"
"Shouldn't we follow her?" Kari asks.
But Ruki shakes her head.
"No. The last time we did that, everthing went bad."
T.K. nods quickly.
Renamon stands up and blinks in confusion.
Standing in front of her is Ruki. Sort of.
She has Ruki's voice. And Ruki's face.
But Ruki has never had a pink summer dress.
And she had worn her hair at shoulder-length only once.
Looks more like Mikino's wish of Ruki. Renamon summarizes.
"Ruki? What happened?" Renamon asks the girl.
The girl giggles in a very girlish way and gently strokes Renamon's fur.
"Silly fox. I'm not Ruki." the girl finally answers "Then who-" Renamon starts to ask.
Then she sees Mikino. Ruki's mother. Here. In this world.
"Mrs. Makino?" she asks in surprise.
The young woman looks at her.
"Pardon me?" the woman asks.
"I'm sorry. But isn't this girl your daughter?" Renamon asks, pointing at not-Ruki.
The woman nods.
"This is my daughter. Rika Nonaka."
Renamon frowns and looks at Ruk- Rika.
What's going on here?
"Yolei? What're you doing here?" Kari asks in surprise.
"I thought... that you might want... to talk?" Yolei offers.
The she sees T.K. And Gatomon.
"I believe I'm not really up to speed, right?" she guesses.
"Mrs. Nonaka, could I please talk to your daughter for a minute?" Renamon asks.
Mrs. Nonaka frowns, but nods. Then she walks into another shop.
Renamon kneels in front of Rika and looks her into her eyes.
"Rika. Please tell me one thing. Do you really like earing this?" she asks.
Rika starts to laugh, then frowns. The girl carefully looks over her shoulder.
"Your mother isn't here." Renamon assures her.
Rika suddenly sighs and looks sad.
"Not really. An year ago, I have been quite a tomboy, actually." she admits.
"What changed your mind?"
"I realized that I had no friends at all. Nobody to talk to."
Renamon gulps.
This is the Ruki of this world. A world where I haven't been there for her.
"Mom told me that I would make friends if I behave like a nice girl."
"So you surrendered to your mother." Renamon concludes.
Rika nods sadly.
Before Renamon can say anything, Mikino comes out of the shop again.
"Come on, Rika." she calls the girl.
Rika giggles, pretending to be a nice happy little girl again.
After petting Renamon's head a last time, she follows her mother.
"So you really-" Yolei gasps, watching T.K.
"Yeah. It has been an accident, Renamon ha-"
"How was it?" Yolei suddenly asks.
"YOLEI!" Kari, Ruki, Gatomon and Hawkmon yell at once.
T.K. just sighs and blushes.
So. This would have happened if I never met Ruki.
Renamon is sitting on a bench now, lost in thoughts.
Ruki needed me. I have been there for here. Her friend.
She stretches her arms and yawns.
I haven't been myself the last day. Maybe at least Ruki will forgive me.
Renamon nods and vanishes with a smile.
Part 7
by Christian "Sid" Lang
"Oh geez! I should work out more..." T.K. gasps.
He has jogged the short way to Kari's home. It felt like running the tri-state-marathon.
Now he is standing in front of the tall building and leans against a wall.
"YOU?"
T.K. turns his head and sees Gatomon standing next to him.
"No wonder Gatomon wants to kill you."
T.K. gulps. How could he forget that part of his conversation with Davis?
"Ga-Ga-Ga-"
"What do you want here? Hm? Came looking for your special friend?" the cat snarls.
"Yeah." T.K. replies.
Then he realizes who Gatomon had in mind.
"Nonono! I meant Kari! Kari!" he instantly yells.
Gatomon had already flexed her claws. Now she blinks.
"And Renamon?" she carefully asks.
"I love Kari! Only Kari! Oh please please please..."
T.K. sighs when Gatomon seems to relax.
"I'll forgive you if Kari forgives you." Gatomon finally says.
T.K. gulps when he imagines the new worst-case scenario.
"You... killed her?"
Ruki is sitting on the couch, staring at Kari.
The youngest member of the Kamiya family is pacing through the living room.
"She has been so arrogant. Told me to stay away from T.K. Threatened me!"
Ruki wipes away a single tear and looks at the baseball.
The doorbell rings, but Ruki ignores it. Kari opens the door instead.
"Oh, T.K." Ruki hears Kari stammer.
"Kari, I came to-"
"Come in, I have to to tell you something." Kari just mutters.
Ruki can see Gatomon come closer to her.
"Ruki? Could you do me a favor?" the cat purrs.
"Name it." Ruki whispers, still staring at the baseball.
"Help me find Renamon."
Ruki can hear Kari gasp and sighs.
"Renamon... is dead." Ruki finally whispers.
"You mean T.K. and Renamon?" Yolei gasps.
Hawkmon nods and blushs.
"T.K. slept with Renamon?" she repeats.
"And now Gatomon's on a killing spree."
"Then what're we waiting for? We've got to find them!"
T.K. stares at the baseball. Then at Kari. Then again at the baseball.
He had always seen his girlfriend as a nice, peaceful person.
Until she kicked me this morning. he adds with a frown.
"You killed her? You killed Renamon?" Gatomon stammers.
The little cat still can't believe it.
Must be hard. Your love getting killed by your partner.
Kari's head is leaning against his shoulder.
"I... I have been jealous. I couldn't stand the thought that you.. with her..."
"Shhhh... It's-" T.K. starts to say, then stops himself.
It's what? All right? Fine? God, she MURDERED Renamon!
"Oh God..." she whispers and groans.
"It's awake!" somebody shouts.
"Thank God." another voice adds.
She opens her eyes and sees people standing around her.
Her head hurts. Something must have hit her there.
She can feel arms supporting her, helping her to sit.
Now she can see that she is somewhere in a mall.
Somebody gives her a glass of water.
She accepts it and easily holds it between her three fingers.
"You're one of the Digimon that saved the children, right?"
"Yes. My name is-"
"Call me Rena. Please."
Rena...
Rena...?
"-Rena...mon. Renamon. Yeah."
Oh Renamon. Ruki thinks.
Wiping away more tears, she takes out her D-Arc.
It's worthless without you.
Her fingers gently touch the outlines of the device.
The display. The card slot. The small blue buttons.
She gently touches the buttons. Just like in the old times.
*BEEP*
Ruki blinks.
*BEEP*
"That can't be." she whispers.
*BEEP*
Ruki wipes away her remaining tears and stares at the display.
"Renamon..." she whispers, looking at the tracer arrow on the display.
Renamon slowly remembers what has happened.
Her walk with Ruki, Kari, and of course Gatomon.
The burning building. The cover she provided for Guilmon.
Her dash for the single kid. The sudden pain-
She involuntarily touches her head.
She remembers waking up. But somehow everything has gone wrong since then.
I couldn't remember. Everything seemed so... wrong.
Then she remembers all the ugly details. All of them.
She had thrown Ruki against a wall.
Then she had taken Kari hostage, threatened to kill her.
She had been angry. And she had used her attack.
Against Ruki. Her Tamer, partner, friend.
"God. No." she mutters.
Then she sees herself running. Begging Veemon to comfort her.
A feeling of pain when Veemon told her that he didn't love her.
T.K. had been there to comfort her. T.K. had comforted her. T.K....
"OH GOD!"
Renamon remembers Kari's face and realizes that she probably messed up Kari's relationship with T.K.
The last thing she remembers is her meeting with Kari.
She had provoked the girl. Threatened her.
Then she had felt vanishing, fading out of this place.
It had been a reflex. An instinct. Just like her attack had been triggered.
"What have I done?" she whispers and buries her head in her paws.
"Ruki? Are you all right?" Kari carefully asks.
The Tamer is clutching her chest and leans forward.
Kari can suddenly hear the Tamer snicker.
Maybe she has lost her mind now. The stress has been too much for her.
"Ruki, let me help you." Kari whispers and puts a hand on her shoulder.
Ruki turns her head and stares right into Kari's eyes.
"You fool." Ruki snickers.
Before Kari can answer anything, Ruki presents Kari her D-Arc.
Kari frowns until she takes a closer look at the device.
"Isn't that the tracer?" Kari finally asks.
"And it's as strong as ever." Ruki whispers triumphantly.
They're probably after me already. Renamon guesses.
She has angered almost all of her friends.
The vulpine Digimon walks on shaky legs, looking for a way out.
She knows that she has no real chance as long as Ruki has the D-Arc.
Have to think of a plan. Have to-
Renamon yelps when her legs fail her.
She hits the floor and starts to sob.
Maybe I should just wait here so that they can finish me off.
The thought somehow even makes sense.
I have given them enough trouble already. Why should I trouble them by running away?
She sighs.
Everything would have been better without me.
"Oh, what a pretty fox." she can hear a familiar voice next to her.
Renamon looks up at the girl standing next to her.
"R-Ruki?"
"Shouldn't we follow her?" Kari asks.
But Ruki shakes her head.
"No. The last time we did that, everthing went bad."
T.K. nods quickly.
Renamon stands up and blinks in confusion.
Standing in front of her is Ruki. Sort of.
She has Ruki's voice. And Ruki's face.
But Ruki has never had a pink summer dress.
And she had worn her hair at shoulder-length only once.
Looks more like Mikino's wish of Ruki. Renamon summarizes.
"Ruki? What happened?" Renamon asks the girl.
The girl giggles in a very girlish way and gently strokes Renamon's fur.
"Silly fox. I'm not Ruki." the girl finally answers "Then who-" Renamon starts to ask.
Then she sees Mikino. Ruki's mother. Here. In this world.
"Mrs. Makino?" she asks in surprise.
The young woman looks at her.
"Pardon me?" the woman asks.
"I'm sorry. But isn't this girl your daughter?" Renamon asks, pointing at not-Ruki.
The woman nods.
"This is my daughter. Rika Nonaka."
Renamon frowns and looks at Ruk- Rika.
What's going on here?
"Yolei? What're you doing here?" Kari asks in surprise.
"I thought... that you might want... to talk?" Yolei offers.
The she sees T.K. And Gatomon.
"I believe I'm not really up to speed, right?" she guesses.
"Mrs. Nonaka, could I please talk to your daughter for a minute?" Renamon asks.
Mrs. Nonaka frowns, but nods. Then she walks into another shop.
Renamon kneels in front of Rika and looks her into her eyes.
"Rika. Please tell me one thing. Do you really like earing this?" she asks.
Rika starts to laugh, then frowns. The girl carefully looks over her shoulder.
"Your mother isn't here." Renamon assures her.
Rika suddenly sighs and looks sad.
"Not really. An year ago, I have been quite a tomboy, actually." she admits.
"What changed your mind?"
"I realized that I had no friends at all. Nobody to talk to."
Renamon gulps.
This is the Ruki of this world. A world where I haven't been there for her.
"Mom told me that I would make friends if I behave like a nice girl."
"So you surrendered to your mother." Renamon concludes.
Rika nods sadly.
Before Renamon can say anything, Mikino comes out of the shop again.
"Come on, Rika." she calls the girl.
Rika giggles, pretending to be a nice happy little girl again.
After petting Renamon's head a last time, she follows her mother.
"So you really-" Yolei gasps, watching T.K.
"Yeah. It has been an accident, Renamon ha-"
"How was it?" Yolei suddenly asks.
"YOLEI!" Kari, Ruki, Gatomon and Hawkmon yell at once.
T.K. just sighs and blushes.
So. This would have happened if I never met Ruki.
Renamon is sitting on a bench now, lost in thoughts.
Ruki needed me. I have been there for here. Her friend.
She stretches her arms and yawns.
I haven't been myself the last day. Maybe at least Ruki will forgive me.
Renamon nods and vanishes with a smile.