Tamers: Stuck in Paradise - Season 3
Part 3
by Christian "Sid" Lang




Renamon and Veemon are quickly joined by Davis.
Together they reach the others.
"You two did a good job." Kari tells them with a smile.
"Yeah. But you obviously need some training, Renamon." Ruki comments.
"I admit I'm a bit out of shape." Renamon admits.
"What?" a surprised voice interrupts them.
Renamon blinks and looks down at the injured Digimon.
Now she has finally a chance to give the Digimon a closer look.
She looks just like Veemon. Lighter shade of blue. Wait a second. Are those... fins?
The fox cocks her head. The fingers of the Digimon's hand are connected by thin skin.
And her head and her tail have fin-like folds of skin, too.
"Excuse me please, but what is your name?" Veemon asks the question a second before Renamon.

She blushes deeply, ashamed at her lack of manners.
"M-my name is Aquaveemon." she stammers.
The Veemon gives her a friendly smile.
Aquaveemon smiles back, then she looks up at the humans.
Two faces are somehow familiar, but she can't quite think of their names.
Then she sees the Gatomon standing next to her.
Or rather, she sees her tail ring. The Holy Ring.
She jumps away from the cat and hits the ground.
"You! You! You!" she stammers frantically.
"What? Do I smell bad?" Gatomon asks.
"Maybe you smell like a fox." Veemon remarks with a grin.
Renamon simply slaps the back of his head.
"You're Gatomon! The Gatomon!" Aquaveemon stammers.
"Yes, I'm a Gatomon." Gatomon answers with a frown.
Aquaveemon now looks up at the humans again.
The DigiDestined of Japan! Kari Kamiya, Davis Motimiya and... and... some other kid.
"You're the legendary group of DigiDestined from Japan!" Aquaveemon finally gasps.

Gatomon relaxes again.
"Oh that. Yeah. You're right." she mutters.
Aquaveemon looks excited, maybe even intimidated.
"You also have a partner, right?" Kari suddenly asks.
"Ummm... Yeah. I have one." Aquaveemon whispers.
"Hey, you could tell your story while I gather some herbs for your leg." Veemon offers.
Gatomon blinks. Veemon is a nice guy, but he seems to be extra friendly this time.
Nah. I'm possibly imagining things. He's probably still on adrenaline.
Aquaveemon nods and Veemon instantly walks away.
"You can't imagine how happy I am to meet you this early." Aquaveemon says as she sits down.
"What did those Digimon want from you?" Ruki asks.
"Those were the DigiDestined of America. I have been part of them. Sort of."
"You aren't anymore? Did they chase you away?" Renamon asks with a frown.
"No. Isis, that's my partner, moves to Tokyo. That's why she isn't here now."

Aquaveemon carefully waits for their reactions.
She fears that they'd reject poor Isis before even seeing her.
What if she messed up already? Maybe Isis should have made the first step.
"It would be nice having another DigiDestined around." Kari says.
"Hey, she could be the sister I never had!" Davis cheers.
"You already have a sister, moron." the unknown girl snaps.
"Jun doesn't count. I meant a nice sister, Ruki."
"Hey, that means that we could be friends, too!" Gatomon cheers.
"Th-That means you give her a chance?" Aquaveemon stammers.
"If she's as polite as you are, she'll be drowning in friends soon." Renamon tells her.
"Oh, she is. Isis MacKinnon is the nicest person I know."

The group watches in awe as Veemon applies the herbs.
"Joe taught me a few things between our adventures." he explains.
Renamon sees Aquaveemon grit her teeth.
"Hey, how're you doing?" she asks the blue Digimon.
"Water." Aquaveemon whispers.
"Do you want something to drink?" Renamon asks.
The smaller Digimon shakes her head.
"Ohhh... We should bring you to the water?"
Aquaveemon manages to smile.
"We'll get you to the next lake as soon as Veemon is done."

Gatomon watches Veemon bandage Aquaveemon.
Her past-time admirer looks somehow... happy.
Small wonder. He and she have the same roots. Or could it be...
"...love?" she whispers.
"I love you, too." Renamon whispers.
Gatomon mentally kicks herself. She had forgotten the fox's sharp senses.

Then she looks at Veemon again.
It could be or become love. I'm quite sure of it.
A smile appears on Gatomon's face.
Maybe they just need a good start. And somehow Veemon deserves this after all his misery.
She quickly prepares a quick plan, then a strategy.
Her smile widens.

"There. All done." Veemon finally says.
Aquaveemon sighs and tries to stand.
With a yelp, she collapses again, only to be caught by Veemon.
"I could carry you so you wouldn't have to exhaust yourself." Renamon offers.
Veemon looks up at her and nods. Suddenly a loud yelp makes him jump.
Renamon dashes to Gatomon, who is lying on the ground.
"Gatomon! What's up?" the fox queries.
"I... I feel so weak... That's why I couldn't help you in the fight." the cat whispers.
Renamon frowns and looks at Veemon and Aquaveemon again.
"You can't carry both of them." Veemon observes.
The fox bites her lower lip, torn between her offer and her love.
"It's all right. I'll carry Aquaveemon." Veemon finally offers.
Renamon nods and smiles. Then she carefully picks up Gatomon.
With a grunt, Veemon takes Aquaveemon into his arms.
He can feel her soft skin and smiles. She smiles back shyly.
"Don't worry. The next lake is quite near." he tells her.
"Is it very far away from the DigiPort of Tokyo?" Aquaveemon asks him.
"Not too far. Why do you ask?"
"Isis wanted to fetch me once she finds the DigiPort in the real world."
"Oh, I see." Veemon mutters.

Did I exhaust her too much last night? Renamon asks herself.
She hopes that Gatomon's sudden weakness is not her fault.
But the cat looks quite healthy, so Renamon doesn't worry too much.
"Kari? Could you come here please?" Gatomon asks.
The DigiDestined bows down and whispers something into her ear.
Renamon can hear her effortlessly and smiles.
"Great idea." Kari whispers and pulls out her small terminal.
Gatomon looks up at Renamon and smiles, too.

Frowning, Izzy reads the mail Kari has sent.
"Aha... new Digidestined... Isis McKinnon... airport... Hm."
Oh, why not? he asks himself.
It takes him less than three minutes to connect to the airport database.
Network security isn't really a problem for somebody who easily analyses the DigiWorld.
"Now let's see... Ah! MacKinnon. Three persons. Arrival at 5 am."
He quickly writes Kari back.

"Five in the morning?" Kari mutters.
"Hm? What's up?" Ruki asks.
"Hey! The lake!" Veemon cheers, thankfully ditracting Ruki.
Veemon runs the last few meters to get Aquaveemon to her element.
Unfortunately he trips some meters away from the edge and falls onto his back.
Kari laughs when she sees that Veemon's momentum carries both Digimon into the lake.
Veemon is the first one visible again.
"Where's Aquaveemon?" Ruki asks.
Veemon frowns and looks around.
He screams in surprise when Aquaveemon flies out of the water next to him.
The Digimon gracefully flies over his head and enters the lake again on his other side.
"Talk about fast recovery." Renamon mutters.

"Hey, what's up?"
Ruki turns her head lazily. She and Kari are lying near the lake.
Davis is there, too. The love-carzy boy is lying close to Ruki.
She blinks and sees Yolei and Hawkmon.
"Hi there." she greets them.
"Am I seeing double? Or are there two Veemons in the lake?" Hawkmon asks.
"Oh, her name is Aquaveemon. And she's the partner of a DigiDestined who moves to Tokyo."
Yolei gasps and looks at Kari, who has given the explanation.
"Really? Another DigiDestined? Is she here yet?" she asks.
"No, but she'll arrive soon." Ruki says.
Kari quickly tells Yolei her plan.
"Great idea." Yolei agrees.
Then she and Hawkmon wander to the lake to greet Aquaveemon.

Hawkmon sees Renamon and Gatomon lying near the lake and greets them.
Then he faces the lake and sees... her.
Time seems to slow down just for him as he witnesses Aquaveemon jump out of the lake.
He gasps when he sees the water perl off her magnificent body.
For him, Aquaveemon has become the pure symbol for grace and beauty.
Then she dives into the lake again, making Hawkmon sigh.
Just then he hears Veemon's goofy laughter, causing him to frown.
But his bad temper is instantly calmed when Aquaveemon appears on the surface again.
Now she sees him... and smiles.
Hawkmon feels light as one of his feathers.
She greets him politely, and he hears himself greet her.
But his mind is elsewhere. He sees himself walking with her through the park at night.
Hawkmon knows that he has just found his one true love.

Kari checks her watch and nods.
"Okay everybody! We're going home!" she shouts.
The humans walk to the lake where their Digimon are waiting for them.
Aquaveemon looks a bit sad, and Kari almost smiles.
"Are you leaving already?" the small Digimon asks.
"Yes. We have much to do at home." Ruki answers.
"Oh. I understand that." Aquaveemon whispers.
Kari nods firmly and turns to leave. The rest of the group joins her.
Only Aquaveemon keeps standing and sighs softly.

So I'm all alone again. Aquaveemon thinks and sighs.
Nothing has changed. Of course not.
Had she actually expected that they'd stay with her all the time?
Like a group of bodyguards?
No. I'm unimportant. Just another weakling.
She has seen Renamon and Veemon in combat.
And she knows that they're much stronger than she is.
They'll probably start to bully Isis in a few days, too.
"Hey, what are you waiting for?" she hears Kari shout.
She looks up in surprise and sees that the group is waiting a few meters away.
"Me?" she asks.
"Of course, come on! We'll meet Isis at the airport!" Davis shouts.
Aquaveemon cheers and starts to run. The other Digimon are smiling, too.
"Did you actually think we'd leave you alone?" Renamon asks her.
Aquaveemon blushes.
"Tsk. You're one of us now, and we take care of each other." Gatomon tells her.

"The plane arrives at 5 am." Kari tells Aquaveemon.
"That means we could get some rest before we travel to the airport." Ruki adds.
"You can use our couch if you like." Kari offers.
Aquaveemon nods shyly. She isn't used to be treated so friendly.
Her only real friend has been Isis so far.
"Hey, where am I supposed to sleep then?" Ruki suddenly asks.
"What about your bed?" Kari asks flatly.
"But it's full of fox and cat fur!" Ruki protests.
Aquaveemon gasps when she sees Gatomon and Renamon blush.
"Y-you two... are... together?" she asks.
"Don't tell me you didn't notice that before." Veemon mutters.
"Pah. Don't worry, Ruki. You can spend the night at my place!" Davis offers.
Ruki, Kari and Yolei blush instantly.
"Way to go, Don Juan..." Veemon whispers.
"Not that way! I just meant watching TV and talk!" Davis quickly corrects himself.
"Hey, that means we can have the bed again!" Gatomon cheers.
"Get a room, will you?" Ruki hisses.
"Why should we? Yours is comfortable enough." Renamon answers and grins.
"Let me guess: Long story?" Aquaveemon whispers at Veemon and Hawkmon.
"Oh yeah. But you'll get used to it." Veemon answers and shrugs.
"Or you'll become a part of it." Hawkmon adds.



Author's notes:
Aquaveemon is based on the images drawn by Marika.
I found them at the Digiartists Domain.
Congratulations to D3fan, who has guessed her identity so quickly!