Disclaimer: Digimon does not belong to me. All characters and items within are all based around both the television show and the card game. None of these belong to me. (though I wish they did, like probably everyone else...)
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This is my second fanfic. My other is "College, The Hell It Can Be..." I hope you like this.
A/N: Oookay, some of you are probably wondering what's going on, huh? Well, in the next two chapters, you'll get the idea. This is actually going at a faster pace than my other fic. Oy. So busy, busy, busy. Graduating this year. But I still find time to write.
Enjoy ^_^
Geuna~
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A Meeting Of Tamers
By Lady Geuna
Rated: PG
Summary: There is the Dark World, Dream World, Digital World, Real World, and the Tamer World. But what if Takato of the Tamer World discovers a key that could force all the worlds into one? The balance of the very worlds will shift like no one would've ever expected.
Another Universe, but mostly canon. Takes place some time before they meet Ryou and the Devas, and before their digimon are able to digivolve to Ultimate.
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"..." speech
'....' thoughts
/.../ around a SENTENCE will mean a flashback or memory.
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Names to know:
Rika: Ruki Makino
Henry: Jenrya (Jen) Lee
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Chapter One: Processing... /ERROR/
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It was about 10:24 p.m. at the Matsuda residence. Matsuda Takato camped out under his blankets. It was pretty late, and his parents had gone to bed early. But he couldn't sleep, his thoughts kept him awake that night. So he instead lay there, studying his assortment of digimon playing cards in the dark with the help of a flashlight. He wished he didn't have to go to school tomorrow. Then maybe he could visit Guilmon and play with him all day long.
But nooo, school came first. Sigh. It was an injustice.
Looking at his Greymon booster card, he smiled.
There was nothing like being a real Tamer. It was so intense! And he'd met a tone of new friends because of it. Guilmon was his best friend now. There was Culumon, who was always... pleasant(???). Lee and Terriermon were really cool. Ruki and Renamon were...
... interesting....
Intimidating.
........
Scary.
His mouth twisted into a small frown at the thought. There was nothing Takato could do to break Ruki's ice. She was so closed up. Ruki had opened up recently, not really enough so that Takato could make friends with her. She said she wants it that way, but somehow he got the feeling that she was just really lonely. Ruki had to let people in instead of pushing them away before they had a chance to even try be friendly. At least she has Renamon as a friend... Seemingly her only friend...
He aimed the flashlight's beam over, illuminating his red D-Ark.
A Tamer.
The light began to flicker. "Aw, come ooon." Letting out a grunt of annoyance, he tried to position himself so he could easily slap the thing against his palm. That usually fixed it. That's how his dad fixed things, anyway. He'd said, "Smacking something is the best way to jump start a car or a computer!" And this applied to almost every electrical appliance ever made.
Unfortunately, Takato had never seen his father succeed using that method. Well, with anything other than a flashlight, anyway.
But as he moved into position to whack the contraption, the flashlight slipped from his hands and rolled toward the side of the bed that was against the wall. He bit his lip as it clunked, loudly falling into the floor, noisily banging on the wall in the process. After a moment of holding his breath, he was realized that his parents hadn't woken up.
"Whew," he exclaimed in relief, then reached into the darkness after it.
Feeling around, his hand came in contact with what he thought was his flashlight. But when he picked it up be discovered it was something else.
"Huh?"
Takato felt the surface of the object, which definitely wasn't his flashlight. This thing was flat, had buttons, and maybe plastic. It wasn't his D-Ark. That device was still next to him. Then what...?
He reached back down and groped around for his flashlight again. He was successful in finding it this time, he snatched it up and started slapping it against his palm. He kept on doing this until the light flickered and came back on. The object was illuminated.
"My... Zero Two(02)Tag Tamers game," he muttered. "WonderSwan." He had misplaced it a while ago. It was one of the first electronic digimon games ever made. The main characters were Ichijouji Ken and Akiyama Ryou, with their digimon Wormmon and Veemon. The story was about their first adventures in the Digital World. Ken is really young in this game, unlike he is in the TV series.
"Just like when they fought Millenniumon," he whispered, awed. He'd always loved the whole concept of digimon, from the story to the monsters. They were just so cool!
Then something dawned on Takato.
Ken and Ryou where both Tag TAMERS. Maybe not exactly the same, but pretty close... Just like him. Hmm, there seems to be a big difference between being a Tamer in real life and in the game...
His fingers closed tightly around his D-Ark.
Ken and Ryou where both Tamers, but they could go to the Digital World. Takato had never really tried, so maybe he could go, too!
Excited with his new found "revelation", Takato threw his blankets away and tiptoed over to his computer. He clicked on the power switch, placing his Tamer game on the keyboard. Turning on his desk lamp, Takato eyed the red and white device he held.
Wow. What if he really could do it? What if he really could go to the Digital World? Would he save it from certain destruction? Could he jump in, bold and daring like Daisuke and save the day?
There! Computer loaded!
He held up his D-Ark and whispered as to not wake his parents. "Digital World here I come. Digiport open!"
Silence.
"Digiport open," he repeated, this time with a hint of pleading. But still, nothing. He tried again, but still there was nothing he could do. The screen remained silent, and the screensaver flashed on.
Takato was crestfallen.
"Shoot..."
Figures. He should've known he wouldn't have been able to open a gate with his D-Ark.
He sighed sadly, starring it the device longingly.
He should've known...
The only things he could do with it was make Guilmon digivolve to Growlmon and so forth, and power up Guilmon with playing cards and.... Wait. Playing cards? That's it!!
The boy rushed over to his bed and grabbed his card box. He turned the whole thing upside-down, dumping out every card he had, and began to rummage through the pile. He was looking for a particular card. It was an item card... ha! There it was! He grabbed it out, smiling brilliantly.
"Bingo!"
He walked back over to the computer, slower this time, but his gut was still tight with anticipation. He nudged the mouse a bit so the screen saver flashed out, then held the card up so that the glow of the screen illuminated it.
Takato starred at the card again, the light of the computer screen causing the relatively shiny item to flash dully.
"The digiport card."
The item card was just like the others he and his friends used. In the center of the picture box was a colorful digiport, just like the one in season 02 of the TV series.
He held the D-Ark and item card next to each other. This time a wave of nervousness hit him like a tone of bricks.
What if this did work? What if this card could open a gate? Would he really have to fight evil digimon, just like in the TV show? Would he be like Daisuke? Did he even have the courage to do it...? He wasn't so sure... Yeah, he'd faced a few extremely scary things before.... But a whole Digital World full of possible enemies and evil digimon who could be out to get him...?
All these insecurities came to him, and for the first time he had no way of dealing with them.
He glanced at the clock, using it as a distraction from his own thoughts.
It was 10:36 p.m.. If he wanted to do something, anything, he might as well do it now. Great! What a time to get butterflies in his stomach! Hmpf! Shows you how brave Takato really is... No...
No! He WAS brave!
Swallowing his doubts, he fitted the tip of the card in the D-Ark's card slot.
He was going to do it.
He wasn't afraid.
No matter what, he was. not. going. to. be. afraid!
He squeezed his eyes closed, heart pounding in his ears. With a grunt of effort, that of which was more metal then physical, he slashed the card through with one quick motion.
"Digiport open!!"
.........
..... nothing....
Takato began to breath again, having just realized that he'd been holding it the whole time. He had mixed feelings of both relief and disappointment. The digiport card drifted soundlessly to the floor at his feet.
A knocking at his bedroom door made him nearly jump out of his skin.
"Takato, are you up?"
It was his dad....
Takato held his breath again, starring at the door. He'd been way too loud after all...
He was just standing there for a moment, afraid to move, until he could hear footsteps leaving in the opposite direction. He dad was going back to his room.
"Whew!" He smiled at the door.
Good old dad, always letting him off easy. Good thing that wasn't his mom. She was way harder on him!
The last thing he was expecting was to hear was his D-Ark beep. He glanced down in surprise, eyes widening. The device had let out a single beep, and now that the moment had past he wasn't sure if it have happened at all.
"N-Nani...?"
Just in case, he looked carefully at his device. There were words on the screen... When he moved the arrow button, another word moved onto the screen as well, then another, all making a very short sentence. He squinted, making sure he was reading correctly.
"Processing.... Data...? Error? What?"
What was this?
His head shot up as his lamp light began to flicker erratically. Takato noticed that the flashlight he'd left on his bed was acting up as well, also flickering. The computer seemed to follow in their example, buzzing with noisy static. Random patterns of 0's and 1's began to fill up the screen. Sparks flew from the edges of the glass, causing him to leap back in fright, bringing his arms over his face as reflex.
He let of a cry of panic as the electricity seemed to crawl forward across the keyboard. When the static hit his Tag Tamers game, all at once the dangerous looking sparks converged into one strong beam that didn't really look like electricity at all. The light began to feed itself into the games tiny playing screen. It began to rattle and shack wildly.
Takato's D-Ark let out another beep, dragging his attention away from his computer. He looked closely, realizing that it read something different now.
'Transfer Processing'... What was this!?
It beeped again, and this time it was followed by another. The noise progressed, until it sounded almost like a heartbeat. Then the beat went faster, and faster... and faster....
A bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. Placing a hand over his heart, Takato could feel it beating away madly, almost in tune with his device. It all made him remember something Lee had told him. Lee himself had read it out of a book somewhere. "After all, the only thing you have to fear is the unknown. The unknown is the root of all fear."
And for Takato, this certainly went into that category. How are you supposed to react when everything around you looks like it's going to explode in your face?
All he could do was stare at his computer screen, bite his lip, and voice exactly what he was thinking and feeling at that moment.
"Uh-oh...."
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Lee Jenrya was slowly dragged out of his deep slumber by the incessant sound of his D-Ark beeping. The device was lying right next to his head, so it became very annoying. His eyes widened when he saw that the screen was glowing. He clumsily reached on his hand and grabbed at it, holding it up to his face.
""Transfer"...," he mumbled sleepily. "What...?
Terriermon also mumbled something before rolling over next to him, opening his eyes a bit. "What is it, Lee? I was having a good nights sleep... A nice dream, too..."
Lee sighed, sitting up and putting his partner on his lap. "Not now, Terriermon. There's something going on. Do you know what "Transfer Processing" means?"
His rabbit digimon blinked at him, looking so baffled you'd think Lee had spoken in French. "No... I can't say I do. Is that what it's saying...?
"Yeah." His eyebrows creased as the beeping noise got faster and faster. "Something very wrong..." He stood and headed for the phone. He could barely make out the sound of J-pop coming from his radio, which he must've left on before he fell asleep.
Terriermon leaped from his lap as he did so, landing on the floor next to the bed. The digimon watched him intently. "Who are ya called, Lee?"
"Takato." He picked up the phone, listening to the dial tone for a moment then began dialing in the number. "Maybe he'll-," he stopped suddenly and winced as the phone exploded with a loud, screeching electric noise. He gasped and slammed the phone back in it cradle, his ears ringing. He tried turning on his lamp, but once he did, he found it flicking on and off erratically. His radio giving of static noises, too.
"That's going on!?" Was it some sort of electrical meltdown of something? How can this all happen at once!? Lee noticed that his alarm clock (which wasn't plugged directly into the wall) as it began to go haywire as well. "That's odd. How can that be effected when it's not even plugged into anything...?
"Lee!!"
It was Terriermon. The little digimon had gone out onto his balcony, seated on the railing. Lee hated it when Terriermon did that, because he was always afraid he would fall. Sure, he could fly, but they were pretty high up.
"Terriermon, get down from there," he insisted, walking outside after his friend. "Wha-"
"Look," Terriermon interrupted, pointing as the other high rise buildings.
Lee blinked a few times, then rubbed both his eyes with his palms for good measure. Nope, he wasn't seeing things.
In every build he could see the insanity of lights turning on and off. The sight of it made him dizzy. Soon electric advertisements began to do the same. Lee heard the sound of car tiers screeching and horns honking, metal crunching as cars slammed into each other. He looked down to see traffic at a stand still. He couldn't really tell from this high up, but the thought he saw the electrical walking signs and street lights flashing on and off rapidly.
The beeping of his green D-Ark was almost nonexistent over the sound of chaos below. Lee's head was swimming with questions, but most of all confusion. Terriermon also seemed to be just as dumbfounded.
Then all at once, the lights went out...
The city was dead...
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Makino Ruki paid no attention to her D-Ark, she just letting the blue piece of plastic beep itself away. It was only until it stopped beeping that she glanced up from the book she'd been reading. But she figured, after all the lights just suddenly went nuts, that maybe it was worth of peek. Heck, even the light function on her watch couldn't work because it broke down. Not that she minded sitting there in the light of a burning candle...
Shrugging, she reached over the table and picked up the object. The rhythmic beeping had slowed to a normal pace. She glanced at the screen, expecting to see the usual digimon data of whatever. But instead she found words..
""Transfer Completed"..." Her eyes narrowed before she looked up. "Renamon."
An cue, Renamon melted from the shadows. "Hai, Ruki...?"
Ruki didn't bother to glance back at her partner. It didn't really matter. "Have you noticed something odd? Do you feel anything?"
Renamon nodded.
"What have you found."
"There is something wrong with the city. I don't know what it is, but I don't think it's natural." She closed her shinning electric blue eyes and shrugged. "I am not yet familiar with this sort of occurrence."
Ruki couldn't help but smile. "It's called a "black out", I think, Renamon..."
Renamon shook her head. "Whatever this is, it doesn't feel right." She opened her eyes again, two glowing slits floating in the darkness. "I can sense it."
She nodded. "Is it something you think we should check out?"
"....."
"Well then." She stood and grabbed her brown jacket from the floor, slipping into the sleeves in one fluid motion. "I think we should be going then." It was odd, having a friend like Renamon. To have a friendship were no words were needed...
Before she left, Ruki blew out her candle, plunging the room in the same darkness that had consumed the rest of the city.
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Takato was shivering, in the dark, and paralyzed with fear.
He'd done this, hadn't he? It was bad enough that his computer got fried, maybe, but the whole house!?
It was totally pitch black now except for the bright glow emitted by his D-Ark's screen. He used that light so that he could see the damage that was caused to his computer.
He winced.
Well, it wasn't too bad... It was smoking, but that didn't mean it was a bad thing, right?
Right...?
Little did he know that the whole city had suffered such effects.
He let out a groan of horror when he saw that his Tamers game was totally fried. It looked like a lump of burning black plastic. Even his room smelt of something burning, and it was horribly strong. The only thing he could think of to do was grab his pillow case to wrap the thing in before chucking it out the window.
Step #1 to fix the problem, solved. Step #2, find some air freshener. But that could wait.
Takato shut his window tightly, shielding against the chilly November air that wafted in the burnt smell from the alley. After locking the window, he looked at his D-Ark again.
'Transfer Completed,' it read.
"Ooookay....," he said lowly, sweatdropping.
This was not good at all.
Maybe he should call Lee...? Yeah! Jen would know what to do!
Takato quickly snatched up his phone, only to find that it was totally dead. He didn't even hear a dial tone.
He lifted his face toward the ceiling and let out an exasperated moan.
"A can't believe-," he was interrupted by the sound of more beeping. Oh, great... He slowly looked back at the screen, expecting the worst. More random words, most likely. But he got something different this time.
"A digimon!"
Hurriedly, Takato grabbed his jacket and his goggles, dashing out of his room. As he ran down the hall to get his shoes, his mother came rushing out through her bedroom door and neither crashed into him.
"Takato," she gasped, startled and clasping her hand over her heart. "What are you doing? Do you know what happened!? There's just..."
"Sorry Mom, gotta go!" Takato then rushed past her, screeching to a halt by the front door and sitting down to yank on and tie his shoes.
"Just what do you think you're doing at this time of night, young man!?"
Takato flinched at his mother's tone. "I, um, LEE said he needed me to come over! Yeah! He said it was a real emergency and that I should get over to his place as soon as possible!"
Mrs. Matsuda's mouth dropped open. "Lee lives half way across town! And you're still in your pajamas!" She gestured to Takato's present state of dress. A two piece blue pajama set with red lightning bolts all over it. It made him blush, but he kept on lacing his shoes. "And do you have a beeper!? What is that noise? You're to young to have things like that!"
Takato made sure she didn't see his D-Ark, which was still beeping. It would probably continue to do so until he and Guilmon found the detected digimon in question, whatever it was. In his excitement, he almost forgot all that happened in the past few minutes. "No! It's just a toy, Mom! A virtual pet, you know!? I think I forgot to feed it again." He giggled nervously, avoiding eye contact at all costs. "I really need to hurry, so..." He was beginning to think that sneaking out was the best thing to have done, but it was too late now...
"Don't be crazy, Takato! It far to late! How can you-," the sound of a loud THUMP was heard, followed my an equally loud yelp of pain. "Honey, I told you to stay put! It isn't safe walking around in the dark!"
"I think I broke my toooe," Mr. Matsuda whined. There was the sound of something breaking, most likely a lamp. "DANG IT!!!"
Mrs. Matsuda sweatdropped and tried to ignored her husband, determined to scold Takato for his actions and to get him to stay. "Wait! How do you know you have to go over to Lee's?"
Takato had already finished adjusting his goggles and opened the front door. "He called! I'll be back as soon as I can! Don't lock me out! Love you!"
"Really...? Bu-WAIT!! How could he call, the phones aren't working!? The phone didn't ring!"
He didn't hear her, or better yet, wasn't listening. "BYE MOM!"
SLAM!
Mrs. Matsuda's jaw dropped as she heard her son's footsteps echo outside the door, the sound becoming fainter by the second.
"T-Takato...?"
"Hooneeeeey, I need some help in here...."
Mrs. Matsuda shook her head, annoyed, before carefully making her way back into the bedroom to help her incompetent husband.
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"Yamaki.... sir."
"What....," came the grunt like reply from the darkness.
"I'm sorry, sir, but the six signals.... they all bioemerged before the system shutdown.... There was nothing we could do."
"I see."
All of them stood in total darkness. There was no natural light, or any light for that matter, to help them see. Not that the room had any windows, and even if it did, it was nighttime outside. They all had no choice but to stand where they were, for risk of bumping into something and hurting themselves.
It was rather humiliating, actually.
Then all at once the system was back on. All light came back, and the electric hum the master computer returned to his ears. Even the screen on Yamaki's cell phone had gone back to normal. The time read 10:45 p.m..
"Systems checked, sir. There's nothing wrong as far a I can see."
"A previous data is still stored in their proper files. There is no evidence of a virus of any kind."
Yamaki sneered. "Or course it wasn't a virus. Nothing can penetrate into this system?"
"But there must be something wrong. The energy reserves didn't kick in while they're still there. I'm going to try and..."
Yamaki stopped listening at that point. He watched the screen, fighting back the urge to curse madly. He knew what the indicators meant. Scanners had totally lost the signals, so they now had no idea of there they were.
This... Was not going well at all...
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And so it begins...
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To be continued in Chapter Two: Transferring... /Data Downloading/
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!! I'M BEGGING!!! ^_^'''