Tamers: Stuck in Paradise - Season 2
Part 10
by Christian "Sid" Lang
Raidramon has charged through the outskirts of the city for some minutes now.
Ruki holds on to Davis waist as the armored dragon Digimon arrives at a bridge.
"What's wrong?" Davis asks when the Digimon stops abruptly.
"Look! At the river bank!" Raidramon tells them.
Ruki leans to a side, but can't see Renamon anywhere.
Raidramon slowly approaches the bank and kneels.
Now Ruki can see what the Digimon has seen.
"That's blood." Davis observes.
Frowning, Ruki checks her D-Arc. The arrow indicates that Renamon is near, but not in the river.
"Maybe she cleaned her wound here." Ruki mutters and slides oof Raidramon's back.
The arrow now points at one of the warehouses.
"You wait here." she orders Davis as she starts to walk.
After a minute of walking, Ruki has reached the abandoned warehouse and enters it.
She doesn't need her D-Arc to spot the large golden furball in a corner of the house.
Ruki can see that Renamon is shivering in her curled-up position.
"Renamon?" she whispers and bites her lower lip.
Two blue eyes stare at her from the dark corner.
"Leave me alone." the Digimon mutters.
Ruki gulps when she hears the frustrated voice of her Digimon.
"I won't go." she finally states.
The Tamer is startled when she hears a low snarling sound.
"You don't intimidate me. I'm still your Tamer." she sneers.
Renamon slowly stands up and walks to her.
Ruki can see the anger in Renamon's eyes. Then she notices the wound.
A long red scar begins just between Renamon's eyes and ends above her nose.
"Oh my God." Ruki mutters.
Renamon had suffered a lot during Digimon battles.
But she always used the Data of her destroyed enemy to heal herself.
"Why did you come here?" Renamon asks softly.
"I've been worrying about you." Ruki answers stroking the fox's fur.
Renamon bows her head in acknowledgement.
"OK, they're gone." Ruki shouts.
She had finally convinced Davis to leave her here.
"Now what?" she asks Renamon as she enters the warehouse again.
"Well, my plan has been staying here, but your presence complicates things."
Renamon smiles when she notices her Tamers expression.
"So you really don't want to return?" Ruki asks with a frown.
"Not yet. I want to give Gatomon some space." Renamon says.
"Then we should look for a hotel." Ruki suggests.
"You lead the way."
Two days later, things have cooled down. Sort of.
"How does it look, Tai?" Agumon whispers.
Tai carefully opens his door a bit and looks out.
"Can't see her." he tells his Digimon partner.
"Should we sneak or dash?" Agumon then asks.
"Dash." Tai decides and opens the door completely.
Agumon gulps when he sees that Kari is standing in the doorway.
Tai's young sister looks like the Grim Reaper on vacation and stares at Tai.
"Heya sis!" Tai tries to greet his sister happily.
"He has not even called me yet." Kari hisses.
Agumon gulps when he realizes who Kari reminds him of right now.
She looks just like Gatomon. A very very angry Gatomon.
"Give him some time. He has a lot to-" Tai tries to calm his sister down.
Apparently, Kari is not in the mood to calm down.
"AND WHAT ABOUT ME? MY FEELINGS?" she yells, making Tai jump.
She makes a step forward, leaving the doorway free.
"I'm outta here." Agumon whispers and runs for it.
"Traitor!" Tai shouts, but Agumon ignores him.
The orange dino Digimon exits Tai's room and runs for the front door.
Two meters in front of it, he feels somebody crash into his back like a missile.
He doesn't turn around, but simply tries to get to his feet again.
Too late! he realizes when he feels the thin tail wrap itself around his ankle.
"Going somewhere?" Gatomon sneers behind him.
"Kari. Please sit down." Tai commands with all the courage he can muster.
His sister stares at him as if he just ordered her to kill herself.
Finally she sits on a free chair and frowns. Tai sighs and closes his door.
"Sis, I know what you think of T.K. right now."
"He's a dumb bas-" Kari starts to shout.
Tai's angry stare silents her.
"Kari. You may be angry and disappointed. But this is enough!" he hisses.
The DigiDestined of Light looks down and sighs.
"How long has T.K. been your best friend?" Tai asks when bith have calmed down.
"A while." Kari meekly replies.
"Has he ever looked at another girl?"
"No."
"Do you think he ever would?" Tai asks and smiles softly.
Kari shakes her head and lokks at him.
Tai sighs when he sees that Kari is smiling, too.
Agumon gasps when his body hits the wall.
Gatomon pins him there, her claws at his throat.
"Admit it!" she hisses angrily.
"Admit what?" Agumon asks, trying to breathe slowly.
"You're meeting them. Talk to them."
Agumon frowns.
"I just wanted to get out of this place." he answers.
Gatomon's grip instantly tightens.
"Liar. I know you are meeting the others. And you're going to laugh about me."
"G-G-Gatomon! Can't breathe!" Agumon gasps.
"You're laughing about me! What a tomcat I am! How rude I am!" Gatomon cries.
The sound of the doorbell fuels Agumon's hope of survival.
Still holding Agumon, Gatomon's tail wraps itself around the door handle.
Davis is right. I really should look after Gatomon. Veemon tells himself.
Ruki and Renamon have been gone for two days now.
T.K. has not shown himself anywhere.
And Kari and Gatomon? Tai had told Davis that he is under siege. Not good.
He looks up when the door to the Kamiya's apartment opens slowly.
Veemon carefully steps into the apartment and gasps.
Gatomon is obviously trying to strangle Agumon. And Tai is nowhere in sight.
The tiny dragon suddenly remembers what Patamon had told him.
He had almost lost his wing-like ears after an unsuccessful approach.
"Gatomon?" he politely asks.
"CAME TO GLOAT, LIZARD?" the cat yells.
Veemon decides to ignore the pun to his nature and tries to smile.
"I thought you could use somebody who'd listen to you." he offers.
Gatomon's eyes become narrow slits as the cat stares at him.
She releases the gasping Agumon and slowly approaches him.
"Patamon already tried that routine." she hisses.
"If you don't need any help, fine. Bye then." Veemon says and turns around.
He has just stepped through the door when he hears Gatomon's voice.
"No. Please stay." she whispers.
Veemon smiles and sighs. He had hoped she'd react this way.
When he enters the apartment again, Agumon hurries past him.
"Thanks, buddy." the dino Digimon mutters.
Ruki lazily strokes Renamon's fur.
She is lying on the large bed in the hotel room while Renamon is lying on the carpet.
The fox's wound has healed without complications, though a thin scar has remained.
"You are bored, aren't you?" Renamon suddenly asks.
Ruki frowns and looks at her partner.
"Well, it has occured to me that this is no adventure trip." she replies.
Renamon chuckles, and Ruki ruffles the fox's fur playfully.
The fox Digimon suddenly stands up and nods.
Ruki looks up at her partner, wondering what's on her mind.
"Could I borrow your credit card?" Renamon asks her.
Ruki shrugs and pulls out the card.
"Thanks." Renamon mutters as she vanishes with the card.
"So you still love her?" Veemon asks after Gatomon has spoken.
Gatomon is sitting on the couch and sighs.
Veemon had chosen to sit on a chair so Gatomon wouldn't feel provoked.
"I guess so. But somehow... it feels so wrong now..." the cat wails.
"You know she hasn't been herself back then." Veemon reminds her.
"I know. But that doesn't help."
The cat looks defeated and Veemon feels the urge to hold her.
But he knows that this would be the fastest way to commit suicide.
So he just looks at the poor wailing Digimon and sighs.
"Uh, Renamon?" Ruki asks in alarm when her partner returns.
Renamon looks at her innocently.
"I know you're depressed and so on-" Ruki says, laughing nervously.
"I'm not depressed." Renamon protests.
"Oh. Well, however. I know you're hurt, but you shouldn't do that."
Renamon cocks her head and frowns.
"Is something wrong with you, Ruki?"
Ruki gulps and stares at the object in Renamon's paw.
"Come on. Death is not the answer" she pleads.
Renamon blinks and holds up her paw.
The long blade of the knife reflects the lighting in the hotel room.
Then, suddenly, Renamon laughs.
"You thought I'd cut my wrists or stab somebody?" she asks Ruki.
Ruki suddenly feels very stupid.
Renamon places the knife on a table and puts her paws on Ruki's shoulders.
"I didn't mean to scare you." the Digimon whispers.
"Then what's the knife about?" Ruki asks.
"Just wait, I have to get something else."
Renamon vanishes again, leaving a very confused Ruki behind.
"I said no!" Yolei insists.
"Come on, please!" Agumon begs.
"You can't just stay here!" Hawkmon argues.
"Yeah, what about Tai?" Yolei asks.
Agumon thinks about that one.
Then he looks up from his kneeling position.
"Tai will have to beg for himself." he decides.
Yolei groans, while Hawkmon falls off the bedpost he has rested upon.
"You have to!" Patamon insists.
T.K. shakes his head furiously.
"I'd make matters worse!" he tells the Digimon.
"Too late!" Patamon shouts.
"I can't just show up at her door and kiss her!" T.K. snaps.
"Then be subtle!"
"And what should I do, Dr. Subtle?"
"Send her flowers! Or candy! Or..."
"Or an axe?" T.K. helps out.
Patamon smirks and lands next to T.K.
"Really. You should try to win her back." the Digimon tells him.
"But she hates me!"
"Pah. I bet she still likes you. You should try to comfort her."
"Like you tried with Gatomon?" T.K. asks sarcastically.
"I've learned my lesson. That's why I said: Be subtle."
T.K. just sighs and wonders if he should risk it.
Well, what do I have to lose?
Part 10
by Christian "Sid" Lang
Raidramon has charged through the outskirts of the city for some minutes now.
Ruki holds on to Davis waist as the armored dragon Digimon arrives at a bridge.
"What's wrong?" Davis asks when the Digimon stops abruptly.
"Look! At the river bank!" Raidramon tells them.
Ruki leans to a side, but can't see Renamon anywhere.
Raidramon slowly approaches the bank and kneels.
Now Ruki can see what the Digimon has seen.
"That's blood." Davis observes.
Frowning, Ruki checks her D-Arc. The arrow indicates that Renamon is near, but not in the river.
"Maybe she cleaned her wound here." Ruki mutters and slides oof Raidramon's back.
The arrow now points at one of the warehouses.
"You wait here." she orders Davis as she starts to walk.
After a minute of walking, Ruki has reached the abandoned warehouse and enters it.
She doesn't need her D-Arc to spot the large golden furball in a corner of the house.
Ruki can see that Renamon is shivering in her curled-up position.
"Renamon?" she whispers and bites her lower lip.
Two blue eyes stare at her from the dark corner.
"Leave me alone." the Digimon mutters.
Ruki gulps when she hears the frustrated voice of her Digimon.
"I won't go." she finally states.
The Tamer is startled when she hears a low snarling sound.
"You don't intimidate me. I'm still your Tamer." she sneers.
Renamon slowly stands up and walks to her.
Ruki can see the anger in Renamon's eyes. Then she notices the wound.
A long red scar begins just between Renamon's eyes and ends above her nose.
"Oh my God." Ruki mutters.
Renamon had suffered a lot during Digimon battles.
But she always used the Data of her destroyed enemy to heal herself.
"Why did you come here?" Renamon asks softly.
"I've been worrying about you." Ruki answers stroking the fox's fur.
Renamon bows her head in acknowledgement.
"OK, they're gone." Ruki shouts.
She had finally convinced Davis to leave her here.
"Now what?" she asks Renamon as she enters the warehouse again.
"Well, my plan has been staying here, but your presence complicates things."
Renamon smiles when she notices her Tamers expression.
"So you really don't want to return?" Ruki asks with a frown.
"Not yet. I want to give Gatomon some space." Renamon says.
"Then we should look for a hotel." Ruki suggests.
"You lead the way."
Two days later, things have cooled down. Sort of.
"How does it look, Tai?" Agumon whispers.
Tai carefully opens his door a bit and looks out.
"Can't see her." he tells his Digimon partner.
"Should we sneak or dash?" Agumon then asks.
"Dash." Tai decides and opens the door completely.
Agumon gulps when he sees that Kari is standing in the doorway.
Tai's young sister looks like the Grim Reaper on vacation and stares at Tai.
"Heya sis!" Tai tries to greet his sister happily.
"He has not even called me yet." Kari hisses.
Agumon gulps when he realizes who Kari reminds him of right now.
She looks just like Gatomon. A very very angry Gatomon.
"Give him some time. He has a lot to-" Tai tries to calm his sister down.
Apparently, Kari is not in the mood to calm down.
"AND WHAT ABOUT ME? MY FEELINGS?" she yells, making Tai jump.
She makes a step forward, leaving the doorway free.
"I'm outta here." Agumon whispers and runs for it.
"Traitor!" Tai shouts, but Agumon ignores him.
The orange dino Digimon exits Tai's room and runs for the front door.
Two meters in front of it, he feels somebody crash into his back like a missile.
He doesn't turn around, but simply tries to get to his feet again.
Too late! he realizes when he feels the thin tail wrap itself around his ankle.
"Going somewhere?" Gatomon sneers behind him.
"Kari. Please sit down." Tai commands with all the courage he can muster.
His sister stares at him as if he just ordered her to kill herself.
Finally she sits on a free chair and frowns. Tai sighs and closes his door.
"Sis, I know what you think of T.K. right now."
"He's a dumb bas-" Kari starts to shout.
Tai's angry stare silents her.
"Kari. You may be angry and disappointed. But this is enough!" he hisses.
The DigiDestined of Light looks down and sighs.
"How long has T.K. been your best friend?" Tai asks when bith have calmed down.
"A while." Kari meekly replies.
"Has he ever looked at another girl?"
"No."
"Do you think he ever would?" Tai asks and smiles softly.
Kari shakes her head and lokks at him.
Tai sighs when he sees that Kari is smiling, too.
Agumon gasps when his body hits the wall.
Gatomon pins him there, her claws at his throat.
"Admit it!" she hisses angrily.
"Admit what?" Agumon asks, trying to breathe slowly.
"You're meeting them. Talk to them."
Agumon frowns.
"I just wanted to get out of this place." he answers.
Gatomon's grip instantly tightens.
"Liar. I know you are meeting the others. And you're going to laugh about me."
"G-G-Gatomon! Can't breathe!" Agumon gasps.
"You're laughing about me! What a tomcat I am! How rude I am!" Gatomon cries.
The sound of the doorbell fuels Agumon's hope of survival.
Still holding Agumon, Gatomon's tail wraps itself around the door handle.
Davis is right. I really should look after Gatomon. Veemon tells himself.
Ruki and Renamon have been gone for two days now.
T.K. has not shown himself anywhere.
And Kari and Gatomon? Tai had told Davis that he is under siege. Not good.
He looks up when the door to the Kamiya's apartment opens slowly.
Veemon carefully steps into the apartment and gasps.
Gatomon is obviously trying to strangle Agumon. And Tai is nowhere in sight.
The tiny dragon suddenly remembers what Patamon had told him.
He had almost lost his wing-like ears after an unsuccessful approach.
"Gatomon?" he politely asks.
"CAME TO GLOAT, LIZARD?" the cat yells.
Veemon decides to ignore the pun to his nature and tries to smile.
"I thought you could use somebody who'd listen to you." he offers.
Gatomon's eyes become narrow slits as the cat stares at him.
She releases the gasping Agumon and slowly approaches him.
"Patamon already tried that routine." she hisses.
"If you don't need any help, fine. Bye then." Veemon says and turns around.
He has just stepped through the door when he hears Gatomon's voice.
"No. Please stay." she whispers.
Veemon smiles and sighs. He had hoped she'd react this way.
When he enters the apartment again, Agumon hurries past him.
"Thanks, buddy." the dino Digimon mutters.
Ruki lazily strokes Renamon's fur.
She is lying on the large bed in the hotel room while Renamon is lying on the carpet.
The fox's wound has healed without complications, though a thin scar has remained.
"You are bored, aren't you?" Renamon suddenly asks.
Ruki frowns and looks at her partner.
"Well, it has occured to me that this is no adventure trip." she replies.
Renamon chuckles, and Ruki ruffles the fox's fur playfully.
The fox Digimon suddenly stands up and nods.
Ruki looks up at her partner, wondering what's on her mind.
"Could I borrow your credit card?" Renamon asks her.
Ruki shrugs and pulls out the card.
"Thanks." Renamon mutters as she vanishes with the card.
"So you still love her?" Veemon asks after Gatomon has spoken.
Gatomon is sitting on the couch and sighs.
Veemon had chosen to sit on a chair so Gatomon wouldn't feel provoked.
"I guess so. But somehow... it feels so wrong now..." the cat wails.
"You know she hasn't been herself back then." Veemon reminds her.
"I know. But that doesn't help."
The cat looks defeated and Veemon feels the urge to hold her.
But he knows that this would be the fastest way to commit suicide.
So he just looks at the poor wailing Digimon and sighs.
"Uh, Renamon?" Ruki asks in alarm when her partner returns.
Renamon looks at her innocently.
"I know you're depressed and so on-" Ruki says, laughing nervously.
"I'm not depressed." Renamon protests.
"Oh. Well, however. I know you're hurt, but you shouldn't do that."
Renamon cocks her head and frowns.
"Is something wrong with you, Ruki?"
Ruki gulps and stares at the object in Renamon's paw.
"Come on. Death is not the answer" she pleads.
Renamon blinks and holds up her paw.
The long blade of the knife reflects the lighting in the hotel room.
Then, suddenly, Renamon laughs.
"You thought I'd cut my wrists or stab somebody?" she asks Ruki.
Ruki suddenly feels very stupid.
Renamon places the knife on a table and puts her paws on Ruki's shoulders.
"I didn't mean to scare you." the Digimon whispers.
"Then what's the knife about?" Ruki asks.
"Just wait, I have to get something else."
Renamon vanishes again, leaving a very confused Ruki behind.
"I said no!" Yolei insists.
"Come on, please!" Agumon begs.
"You can't just stay here!" Hawkmon argues.
"Yeah, what about Tai?" Yolei asks.
Agumon thinks about that one.
Then he looks up from his kneeling position.
"Tai will have to beg for himself." he decides.
Yolei groans, while Hawkmon falls off the bedpost he has rested upon.
"You have to!" Patamon insists.
T.K. shakes his head furiously.
"I'd make matters worse!" he tells the Digimon.
"Too late!" Patamon shouts.
"I can't just show up at her door and kiss her!" T.K. snaps.
"Then be subtle!"
"And what should I do, Dr. Subtle?"
"Send her flowers! Or candy! Or..."
"Or an axe?" T.K. helps out.
Patamon smirks and lands next to T.K.
"Really. You should try to win her back." the Digimon tells him.
"But she hates me!"
"Pah. I bet she still likes you. You should try to comfort her."
"Like you tried with Gatomon?" T.K. asks sarcastically.
"I've learned my lesson. That's why I said: Be subtle."
T.K. just sighs and wonders if he should risk it.
Well, what do I have to lose?