Tamers: Stuck in Paradise - Season 2
Part 16
by Christian "Sid" Lang
"I hate him! I hate him! I HATE HIM!"
Gatomon angrily claws the couch, leaving long gashes.
She stares at her reflection in a nearby mirror again.
Her head has been shaven. Not completely. Just the part where humans have their hair.
"Veemon, you sicko!" she hisses, adding another gash.
She falls down and realizes that she is still pretty drunk.
The only thing that had kept her going till now had been adrenaline.
Knowing that her situation is hopeless, Gatomon does the only thing she can do in her condition.
She cries.
Phase One is finished. Gatomon sees what a jerk Veemon can be.
Patamon sails towards the still-open window.
Now for Phase Two. Show Gatomon that she can count on good old Patamon.
The little Digimon knows that she wouldn't fall in love with him.
He may be in love, but he is not completely oblivious of Gatomon's feelings.
But he doesn't want her to remember him as one of the dudes who violated her privacy.
When he lands on the carpet, he sees the unconscious Renamon.
The sight of the drooling drunken fox is amusing, but Patamon moves on.
He can hear Gatomon crying like a little girl and sighs.
Of course he had intervened before Veemon managed to shave her too much.
But he had waited until Veemon had shaved off enough for Gatomon to notice.
"Gatomon?" a young voice calls her.
Afraid that somebody might see her like this, Gatomon tries to crawl away.
She realizes too late that she has moved towards the new intruder.
"P-Patamon?" she whimpers.
Patamon frowns, but doesn't say anything.
"Please. Don't look at me." she finally begs him and tries to crawl away.
"Hey. Don't worry. I don't mind who you look."
Wiping away some tears, she looks at him.
"Really?" she asks and tries to smile.
"Really."
Kari looks at T.K. like a cat would look at a mouse.
Until now they have just been sitting at a table.
The music somehow wasn't right, but it gave them a chance just to talk.
Then, finally, Kari hears the perfect tango music.
With a feline grin, she snuggles up to T.K., who looks surprised.
"Wanna dance?" she purrs, and T.K. nods instantly.
As the approach the free area where some pairs are dancing, T.K.'s brain comes back online.
"T-T-Tango?" he whispers.
"I know you can dance tango. We've been in the same dance class."
T.K. gulps nervously.
Obviously he has just remembered that Tango is a quite intimate dance.
"I-I-I just can't-" Gatomon's ranting is interrupted only by her sobs.
"-can't believe it!"
Patamon nods sadly.
While he had used his chance, he had not planned Veemon's actions.
The two Digimon are sitting on the couch in the dark living room. "You're right. Maybe you should just-"
"I'm gonna claw his eyes out!" Gatomon interrupts him.
Her flexed claws are still covered with Veemon's blood.
"I think you made him pay already." Patamon hints and points at her claws.
"Pah. He's still breathing. So he hasn't paid enough." she mutters.
Patamon gulps.
Could he have prevented this? Would he have wanted to prevent it?
No. Veemon has been too determined. I could not have prevented this.
Then he frowns.
Hawkmon has been right. Veemon has gone too far. But now it's too late.
"I could do this all night." Ruki sighs.
"Watch Ranma reruns?" Davis asks innocently.
"Yeah. Exactly." Ruki states matter-of-factly.
Davis gasps and frowns in the darkness.
"Silly. Of course I meant hanging out with you." Ruki whispers and snickers.
The boy sighs, relieved to hear that Ruki has just been kidding.
"You know what, Pata?" Gatomon sighs.
"What?"
Gatomon crawls closer to the small Digimon and hugs him.
"You're the only friend I've ever had." she whispers.
Patamon almost passes out when he smells her breath.
How many bottles of Sake did she have? he asks himself.
It is obvious that her body has used up its last adrenaline.
Now Gatomon is hopelessly drunk again, just like she had been before.
"I know what they're talking behind my back." Gatomon mumbles on.
"They're not-" Patamon starts to protest, but Gatomon doesn't listen to him.
"The don't like me. Nobody loves the dumb cat. Except for you."
Patamon frowns when he hears that.
"What about Renamon?" he asks her.
"Pah. She just stays out of pity."
Patamon now tries to break out of the cat's embrace.
When he realizes that he has no chance, he sighs.
"You're the bestest friend in all of my nine lives!" Gatomon says loudly.
Then her head sinks on Patamon's shoulder and stays there.
This is going to be a loooong night.
Ignoring the TV for once, Davis bends down to give Ruki the kiss of the century.
The girl is lying in front of the couch while he is on the couch.
Every light in the apartment has been switched off.
They're completely alone.
Ruki smiles as she looks up at him.
She closes her eyes.
Her lips come closer to his lips.
Closer.
Closer.
Crashing through the open window.
"Hm?" Davis grunts, looking up.
He had let the window open to let some night air in.
In the darkness he can make out two small figures.
"Watch it, bird!" Veemon groans.
"Sue me. The curtains messed up my landing!" Hawkmon hisses.
"Yeah. Whatever. No go get some bandages before anybody sees us."
"Right. I'll just witch on the lights."
Veemon blinks against the sudden brightness and curses softly.
Then he notices Ruki and Davis.
"Ooops." Veemon and Hawkmon mutter in unison.
"Why do you need bandages?" Ruki asks and starts to stand.
She gasps when she sees the claw marks on Veemon's back.
"Okay Veemon, what did you do this time?" Davis asks and shakes his head.
Veemon looks at Hawkmon, but Hawkmon shakes his head.
Finally Veemon sighs.
"I've had... a little confrontation with Gatomon." he finally sighs.
It's still little more than a cheap lie, but he won't tell everything while Ruki is still there.
"I'm going." Ruki suddenly states, startling Davis.
"Wa-Wait! What about-" Davis stammers.
"I'm going to check on Gatomon. Don't want to ruin Kari's perfect evening."
Veemon gulps when he realizes that she'll be already too late.
Still he doesn't hold her back when she leaves.
Renamon wakes up briefly and groans.
The room is still spinning, but not as fast as it did before.
Finally her view focuses on the couch.
She blinks when she sees Gatomon. And Patamon. Together.
And something seems to be wrong with her head.
Deciding that this must be a really bizarre nightmare, she passes out again.
While Hawkmon is taking care of Veemon's wounds, Veemon tells Davis the whole story.
Davis just stares at his shaver.
"I can't believe it." he mutters.
"I know! I know! But she deserved it! Really!" Veemon wails.
"It'll take me forever to get that fur out of my shaver."
Veemon blinks at him.
"Davis, I just told you that I ruined Gatomon's life. And you worry about your shaver?"
"Don't bother. I know this state of mind from Yolei." Hawkmon mutters.
"But I just told-" Veemon protests.
"Yeah. But he's in his own little world at the moment. Try again later."
"You sound like a call center operator."
Hawkmon just shrugs.
Ruki reminds herself again that she should do some training, too.
The run home had been light, compared to what she demanded from Renamon.
Even scaled down to human scales, the fox would have been here faster.
This way, she barely makes it to the lift without collapsing.
Man, I hope Kari isn't here yet. she thinks as she pushes the button.
There is still some hope that she could fix things in time.
Take care of potential wounds, rearrange the furniture...
She hastily opens the front door and steps into the living room.
Her eyes wander around.
The couch looks scratched. Oh well. But the rest of the apartment looks quite normal.
Then she smells it. The smell of Cheap Sake almost makes her cough.
Suddenly she realizes that somebody has obviously drank all that Sake.
"Renamon?" she asks loudly.
There is no reply.
Cursing, Ruki reaches for her D-Arc. Then she sees the vulpine head behind a leather chair.
Hawkmon has departed some minutes ago.
Veemon had thanked him for his help and his first aid skills.
Still the bird Digimon seemed uneasy. Edgy. Mabybe even a bit hostile.
But that could just be Veemon's imagination.
He shakes his head and addresses Davis again.
"So you see? Renamon spied on me! and then they humiliated me!"
Davis frowns, but doesn't say anything.
"This has just been payback. But she freaked out! She tried to kill me!"
For long seconds, Davis just stares at the Digimon.
Then he finally nods.
"You're right. They have gone too far." he agrees with the Rookie.
Veemon nods in appreciation. At least somebody understands his point.
Ruki kneels next to her Digimon and bows down.
She instantly coughes when she smells the fox's breath.
"My God! Renamon is drunk!" she mutters and turns away.
This way she sees Gatomon and Patamon on the couch.
Gatomon cuddles Patamon like a plush animal.
Then Ruki notices Gatomon's had and gasps.
Her hands quickly cover her mouth to muffle her surprised shriek.
Whatever happened to her head? Where did the fur-
She suddenly recalls the scene when Veemon and Hawkmon arrived.
Veemon had dropped a furry object. Just like...
"I just can't find my shaver anymore."
Ruki gulps when she realizes what must have happened.
"That sneaky lizard!" she hisses.
Boy. Kari would freak out. Really freak out.
And there is nothing I could do to prevent it.
Shaking her head, Ruki curses Veemon. She curses everybody.
She even curses Renamon, since the fox has obviously been too drunk to help.
Then she shakes her head and opens a window.
While the Sake stink leaves the room, Ruki throws away the empty bottles.
She knows she wouldn't be able to move Renamon's dead weight.
So she let's the Digimon sleep at their chosen places.
"Hey Kari, imagine that: Our Digimon got drunk and Veemon shaved Gatomon's head." she mutters to herself.
Then she does something odd:
She laughs.
For the first time since months, Ruki Makino laughs as if having heard a great joke.
The whole situation seems so unreal.
Like a bad dream.
A nightmare.
Ruki stops laughing.
This is no dream.
It may be war.
Part 16
by Christian "Sid" Lang
"I hate him! I hate him! I HATE HIM!"
Gatomon angrily claws the couch, leaving long gashes.
She stares at her reflection in a nearby mirror again.
Her head has been shaven. Not completely. Just the part where humans have their hair.
"Veemon, you sicko!" she hisses, adding another gash.
She falls down and realizes that she is still pretty drunk.
The only thing that had kept her going till now had been adrenaline.
Knowing that her situation is hopeless, Gatomon does the only thing she can do in her condition.
She cries.
Phase One is finished. Gatomon sees what a jerk Veemon can be.
Patamon sails towards the still-open window.
Now for Phase Two. Show Gatomon that she can count on good old Patamon.
The little Digimon knows that she wouldn't fall in love with him.
He may be in love, but he is not completely oblivious of Gatomon's feelings.
But he doesn't want her to remember him as one of the dudes who violated her privacy.
When he lands on the carpet, he sees the unconscious Renamon.
The sight of the drooling drunken fox is amusing, but Patamon moves on.
He can hear Gatomon crying like a little girl and sighs.
Of course he had intervened before Veemon managed to shave her too much.
But he had waited until Veemon had shaved off enough for Gatomon to notice.
"Gatomon?" a young voice calls her.
Afraid that somebody might see her like this, Gatomon tries to crawl away.
She realizes too late that she has moved towards the new intruder.
"P-Patamon?" she whimpers.
Patamon frowns, but doesn't say anything.
"Please. Don't look at me." she finally begs him and tries to crawl away.
"Hey. Don't worry. I don't mind who you look."
Wiping away some tears, she looks at him.
"Really?" she asks and tries to smile.
"Really."
Kari looks at T.K. like a cat would look at a mouse.
Until now they have just been sitting at a table.
The music somehow wasn't right, but it gave them a chance just to talk.
Then, finally, Kari hears the perfect tango music.
With a feline grin, she snuggles up to T.K., who looks surprised.
"Wanna dance?" she purrs, and T.K. nods instantly.
As the approach the free area where some pairs are dancing, T.K.'s brain comes back online.
"T-T-Tango?" he whispers.
"I know you can dance tango. We've been in the same dance class."
T.K. gulps nervously.
Obviously he has just remembered that Tango is a quite intimate dance.
"I-I-I just can't-" Gatomon's ranting is interrupted only by her sobs.
"-can't believe it!"
Patamon nods sadly.
While he had used his chance, he had not planned Veemon's actions.
The two Digimon are sitting on the couch in the dark living room. "You're right. Maybe you should just-"
"I'm gonna claw his eyes out!" Gatomon interrupts him.
Her flexed claws are still covered with Veemon's blood.
"I think you made him pay already." Patamon hints and points at her claws.
"Pah. He's still breathing. So he hasn't paid enough." she mutters.
Patamon gulps.
Could he have prevented this? Would he have wanted to prevent it?
No. Veemon has been too determined. I could not have prevented this.
Then he frowns.
Hawkmon has been right. Veemon has gone too far. But now it's too late.
"I could do this all night." Ruki sighs.
"Watch Ranma reruns?" Davis asks innocently.
"Yeah. Exactly." Ruki states matter-of-factly.
Davis gasps and frowns in the darkness.
"Silly. Of course I meant hanging out with you." Ruki whispers and snickers.
The boy sighs, relieved to hear that Ruki has just been kidding.
"You know what, Pata?" Gatomon sighs.
"What?"
Gatomon crawls closer to the small Digimon and hugs him.
"You're the only friend I've ever had." she whispers.
Patamon almost passes out when he smells her breath.
How many bottles of Sake did she have? he asks himself.
It is obvious that her body has used up its last adrenaline.
Now Gatomon is hopelessly drunk again, just like she had been before.
"I know what they're talking behind my back." Gatomon mumbles on.
"They're not-" Patamon starts to protest, but Gatomon doesn't listen to him.
"The don't like me. Nobody loves the dumb cat. Except for you."
Patamon frowns when he hears that.
"What about Renamon?" he asks her.
"Pah. She just stays out of pity."
Patamon now tries to break out of the cat's embrace.
When he realizes that he has no chance, he sighs.
"You're the bestest friend in all of my nine lives!" Gatomon says loudly.
Then her head sinks on Patamon's shoulder and stays there.
This is going to be a loooong night.
Ignoring the TV for once, Davis bends down to give Ruki the kiss of the century.
The girl is lying in front of the couch while he is on the couch.
Every light in the apartment has been switched off.
They're completely alone.
Ruki smiles as she looks up at him.
She closes her eyes.
Her lips come closer to his lips.
Closer.
Closer.
Crashing through the open window.
"Hm?" Davis grunts, looking up.
He had let the window open to let some night air in.
In the darkness he can make out two small figures.
"Watch it, bird!" Veemon groans.
"Sue me. The curtains messed up my landing!" Hawkmon hisses.
"Yeah. Whatever. No go get some bandages before anybody sees us."
"Right. I'll just witch on the lights."
Veemon blinks against the sudden brightness and curses softly.
Then he notices Ruki and Davis.
"Ooops." Veemon and Hawkmon mutter in unison.
"Why do you need bandages?" Ruki asks and starts to stand.
She gasps when she sees the claw marks on Veemon's back.
"Okay Veemon, what did you do this time?" Davis asks and shakes his head.
Veemon looks at Hawkmon, but Hawkmon shakes his head.
Finally Veemon sighs.
"I've had... a little confrontation with Gatomon." he finally sighs.
It's still little more than a cheap lie, but he won't tell everything while Ruki is still there.
"I'm going." Ruki suddenly states, startling Davis.
"Wa-Wait! What about-" Davis stammers.
"I'm going to check on Gatomon. Don't want to ruin Kari's perfect evening."
Veemon gulps when he realizes that she'll be already too late.
Still he doesn't hold her back when she leaves.
Renamon wakes up briefly and groans.
The room is still spinning, but not as fast as it did before.
Finally her view focuses on the couch.
She blinks when she sees Gatomon. And Patamon. Together.
And something seems to be wrong with her head.
Deciding that this must be a really bizarre nightmare, she passes out again.
While Hawkmon is taking care of Veemon's wounds, Veemon tells Davis the whole story.
Davis just stares at his shaver.
"I can't believe it." he mutters.
"I know! I know! But she deserved it! Really!" Veemon wails.
"It'll take me forever to get that fur out of my shaver."
Veemon blinks at him.
"Davis, I just told you that I ruined Gatomon's life. And you worry about your shaver?"
"Don't bother. I know this state of mind from Yolei." Hawkmon mutters.
"But I just told-" Veemon protests.
"Yeah. But he's in his own little world at the moment. Try again later."
"You sound like a call center operator."
Hawkmon just shrugs.
Ruki reminds herself again that she should do some training, too.
The run home had been light, compared to what she demanded from Renamon.
Even scaled down to human scales, the fox would have been here faster.
This way, she barely makes it to the lift without collapsing.
Man, I hope Kari isn't here yet. she thinks as she pushes the button.
There is still some hope that she could fix things in time.
Take care of potential wounds, rearrange the furniture...
She hastily opens the front door and steps into the living room.
Her eyes wander around.
The couch looks scratched. Oh well. But the rest of the apartment looks quite normal.
Then she smells it. The smell of Cheap Sake almost makes her cough.
Suddenly she realizes that somebody has obviously drank all that Sake.
"Renamon?" she asks loudly.
There is no reply.
Cursing, Ruki reaches for her D-Arc. Then she sees the vulpine head behind a leather chair.
Hawkmon has departed some minutes ago.
Veemon had thanked him for his help and his first aid skills.
Still the bird Digimon seemed uneasy. Edgy. Mabybe even a bit hostile.
But that could just be Veemon's imagination.
He shakes his head and addresses Davis again.
"So you see? Renamon spied on me! and then they humiliated me!"
Davis frowns, but doesn't say anything.
"This has just been payback. But she freaked out! She tried to kill me!"
For long seconds, Davis just stares at the Digimon.
Then he finally nods.
"You're right. They have gone too far." he agrees with the Rookie.
Veemon nods in appreciation. At least somebody understands his point.
Ruki kneels next to her Digimon and bows down.
She instantly coughes when she smells the fox's breath.
"My God! Renamon is drunk!" she mutters and turns away.
This way she sees Gatomon and Patamon on the couch.
Gatomon cuddles Patamon like a plush animal.
Then Ruki notices Gatomon's had and gasps.
Her hands quickly cover her mouth to muffle her surprised shriek.
Whatever happened to her head? Where did the fur-
She suddenly recalls the scene when Veemon and Hawkmon arrived.
Veemon had dropped a furry object. Just like...
"I just can't find my shaver anymore."
Ruki gulps when she realizes what must have happened.
"That sneaky lizard!" she hisses.
Boy. Kari would freak out. Really freak out.
And there is nothing I could do to prevent it.
Shaking her head, Ruki curses Veemon. She curses everybody.
She even curses Renamon, since the fox has obviously been too drunk to help.
Then she shakes her head and opens a window.
While the Sake stink leaves the room, Ruki throws away the empty bottles.
She knows she wouldn't be able to move Renamon's dead weight.
So she let's the Digimon sleep at their chosen places.
"Hey Kari, imagine that: Our Digimon got drunk and Veemon shaved Gatomon's head." she mutters to herself.
Then she does something odd:
She laughs.
For the first time since months, Ruki Makino laughs as if having heard a great joke.
The whole situation seems so unreal.
Like a bad dream.
A nightmare.
Ruki stops laughing.
This is no dream.
It may be war.