A/N: Tajeri Lynn, Extremo Luchadore welcomes you back to the gates of "Takato Wong", the multi-part series of Takato's life in the far future. And do mark anything on your reviews if something's needed, or not so. Tajeri wants to listen to the fans and he will reply to them all.

Yep, I know Susie still sounds like a 7-year old. But some things won't change, or will they?

Muchos gracias to Henry Fan for pointing out that error about the "Zenrya" being "Zenrya".

Feedback on such little errors is always welcome as well.

Onward now to the new chapter.

"Takato Wong"

Phase C: New Blood Rising

(What do you say?)

Fear I see with a look in your eyes

Makes you believe I'm one of a kind

(What do you say?)

Fear I leave in the back of your mind

Makes you believe I'm...

(One of a Kind!)

-Breaking Point, "One of a Kind"

"Hey, wait up, you kids!"

"What now? Takato queried as he looked up from behind Shuichon and Terriermon. The man approaching him from the exit hallway was none other than Mr. Saner, the owner of CCW.

"Hey, you lookin' for a job?" asked Saner, holding up a notepad and pen. "Cause if you are, I've got here the perfect proposition. You've got 'talent' smeared over you, so why not put it where it counts? In your favorite arena!"

"Gee, that's great and everything, but I already have a job. Believe me, I don't get skewered in barb wire when it comes to making money."

"The hell with barb wire and crap! Who said I was gonna put you in spot fests? Why don't you just leave your number in case the suckers kick you out? My roster always gets handy-pandy schedules!"

"Hey, my dad's no sucker!" exclaimed Susie in consternation. "He's a great man. Daddy would never ever kick out old Takato! Never!"

Far off on the hallway, Katch Kindred and Jarvis Thatch, both carrying bandages around their noodles, were taking in the expected entertainment of the conversation. The ex-tag team champions watched on curiously, but not contemptuously, at the victors of the rough-and-tumble bout just minutes ago.

"Takato...(Better yet, I'll call you Taka). Taka, you should know that we all have roads to pursue, but the pursuit must be done on your own. No family, no friends, nobody to tell you what you should do. So don't take into credit whatever your little sister says and listen to youself."

"Hey, I'm not that little, you asinine ignoramus!" shouted Susie, her voice sounding like a tomboy who got bullied by all the big boys. "If you want to fight with me, you're going to regret the day you left your mommy.. That's right, you big stuck-up. I'm not so little when people start poking on my side or Takato's side. In fact, I think my hands are yearning for a workout! So you don't offer anything, command anything or SLUR anything unless we tell you to. Got it?!" She grabbed Saner's striped tie, forcing the CCW owner to bow down before Susie's mad face.

"Okay, I got it. I got it!" Saner grumbled, somewhat choking from the constriction with the tie.

"Whoo-hoo! Taught him like a real girl, Susie!" congratulated Terriermon, who, against Takato's intentions, was dragging the tag-team title belts behind him.

Susie let go of the tie, pushing Saner a good three feet afar, and patted Takato's shoulder. Takato chuckled nervously. "Real girl, Susie. Real girl." Susie smiled and walked off. "I'll be at the parking lot, Takato!" she half-spoke, half-sung, a disturbingly jubilant kid again. "Don't be out long!"

"You can count on met, Shuichon!" Takato called back. He looked up at Saner, who was gagging with hoarse, broken gasps. "Sorry, Mr. Saner, but they're all cool, my friends and family. It's not like they keep me stuck in a box.."

"Huff....Puff....Err....I guess I read your sister wrong, huh?" Saner conceded.

"Don't be too bashful", Takato smiled. "You were reading all of us wrong. See ya, wouldn't like to be ya," Takato waved farewell. He placed over the shoulder the limping Terriermon and their tag titles before departing the arena entirely. Saner was left wondering to himself where he had gone wrong.

"Whoa," spoke Jarvis to Katch. "Those guys ARE talented. It's not everyday you get to see Saner kneeling down to anyone."

"You kidding?" replied Katch Kindred, who was nursing a bruise on his nose. "I don't think Saner knelt down when he was a baby!"

"So...it seems 'Taka' has got a job elsewhere, just like we do. Double duty." Jarvis watched the numbers on his watch. "Oh, gosh...It's 9:04pm! We've got our OWN work to do, else we get double trouble!"

"Yamaki's going to kill us!" outburst Katch Kindred. "Unless, of course, Reika has to fill in for him again."

"Can't be too sure, but you know Yamaki. Likes to attend as much nights as possible. Reika has working supervision, you know."

"I already know that. What, you just found out today?"

"No," Jarvis spoke. "I was just checking to see if Taka bust your brain cells. Apparently, he didn't."

"That's fortunately, you lummox! Use your English wisely!"

******************************************************************************

Takato was at the helm of his electric-generated vehicle, a few feet too compact for a family's satisfaction, but just enough to suit him and Janyuu, who was carefully reading a newspaper while sipping fruit juice off a steely, black-lidded canteen. Takato eyed his father and took a free hand to adjust his yellow goggles, now wound about his neck like a collar. No more "gogglehead" phrases from Ruki appeared ever again; now, "goggleneck" phrases were all the craze.

"Hmm…" muttered Janyuu, who removed his eyes off the paper before heaving a sigh of anxiety. The silence was perfect anti-insomnia, so he was willing to break it. "Takato, you didn't run into any of the Crazers during your trip, did you?"

"No, dad," Takato replied, eyes kept on the road. "How are the police handling them?"

"Good effort, as you would expect, but there's just too many of the gang. It's just sad, isn't it? Digimon were meant to be trustful and understanding companions, and yet some youths see them as the metaphors for their anger, their aggressions and hatred. They just don't understand that a digimon's purpose isn't destruction, it's love and courage."

"Hey, Janyuu, remember that old Chinese philosophy? There's good and bad lurking in everything. It's just that some are more good than bad, and as is with the Crazers, vice versa."

"Yang and Ying…Hmmm….I wish only the Ying remained."

"But how can there be love and courage if only the Ying remained?" added Takato. "Don't you realize it's always the bad that helps us identify the good things in life? It's like the phoenix of old. The phoenix is a beautiful radiant bird, and yet is born out of dark, ugly ashes and raging fire. I guess there's a reason why the Crazers are around. At least they remind us that we're still very human, and very vulnerable, and very alive."

Janyuu grinned as he took another gulp of fruit juice. "Very observant, Takato. Now I wish you could never meet those Crazers, else you might fight them."

"Don't be ridiculous, Janyuu. How much trouble could I get from people dressing up like it's Halloween? They've so far done some shoplifitng and riots in local stores."

"It's not that ridiculous as you think." Janyuu raised the newspaper, which bore a photo of a person on a stretcher. "The 'Daily Sun' says here a group of Crazers barged into a marketplace and set off fireworks from the corners, injuring several. The Crazers claimed they were descendants of the Dramon clans, and they couldn't help their love of explosions. Ridiculous, the actions may be, but harmless it is certainly not."

"Gee, that's just sick," said Takato. "I'll be careful, dad. You know me. Running away is the best decision to make. Hey wait, that didn't come out right. Oh, yeah. I actually fought off Jarvis and Katch. Hope that's the last time I have to fight. Geez, now I feel like a hippy-crite. But, um, ohp, there's no time to go further on the subject." The car zipped into the parking lot of the Hypnos Complex. "We've got work to do now. I just hope the Crazers don't trash my car."

"Takato, that is my car, just to remind you. You know what happens if you break it."

"Yeah, you're gonna buy that 300-grand car, or something like that."

"I'm warning you, Takato. Don't tempt me to wile away the Wong income."

******************************************************************************

Hypnos' central corridor remained as it had been for a full decade. The purple steel walls enclosed a monstrous tangle of wires. Like the roots of a tree, the wires lead up to a dome bearing a digital map of the Shinjuku district and all related vicinity. Yamaki, standing tall as he always intended, flicked his thumb and index finger like he was playing with his favorite lighter. Reika, Riley to the Hynos correspondents, had denied Yamaki use of the lighter because of his soured mentality. She stood next to him, however, nestling her arms around his neck with assured affection. Yamaki, sunglasses and all, would take an occasional glance at his wife, but the intention to bring the Digital World back to full form remained the key objective coursing through his mind.

"Mr. Yamaki, how are you doing?" Janyuu greeted as he and Takato came walking in white uniforms.

"You ask too many questions about me, Janyuu. You treat me like I'm the center of the world, and I'm not," Yamaki replied in his infamously stoic tone. "I think it's time I start asking you things. How is your situation looking up?"

"Fine enough. Hypnos has recovered roughly 80% of the Digital World's structure. Mapping the place is still a lot of work. Our current surveillance can't catch up to the ever-changing behavior of the Digital World."

"Continue with the recovery, then. The sooner these Digimon get to show up around our world, perhaps the better."

"So you've heard about the Crazers, then?" asked Takato, who was carefully flipping through the required programming disks on a spherical drawer.

"I resent the presence of these Crazers. They think they're digimon and try their hardest to deny their rightful identity. Can they not realize there can be no one in-between digimon and human? I guess it's my fault that these people misunderstand themselves. If not for my reckless abandon, you wouldn't have gone into the Digital World and bring that blasted D-Reaper with you. Now that the Digimon are entrapped in their world, some of the people in Shinjuku find life too simple. That's why they became these freaks. We must rectify this old problem or else, anarchy will continue to festoon this city, and certainly in a terrible way."

"Um, right, Yamaki, as you always are, I mean, for the past 10 years," began Janyuu with a comforting smile to the cool face of his superior. "Yamaki, you said you hired a new assistant into the company. I think Takato should be introduced to her. She is going to help him rebuild the Digital World and reduce the presence of the Crazers."

"No can do, but I'm not afraid. The assistant's work schedule is effective starting at midnight, so she's taking some more breathers. I suppose Takato would like to know the employee beforehand?"

"Nah, firsthand is better," Takato replied while tapping the keyboard and watching a flickering mega-monitor. "I'd rather get the suspense going over this new assistant. It'll make me want to get to know her more."

Yamaki smiled, for once in his life. "Sounds just like me, Takato. That's why I got stuck to Reika in the first place."

"Don't dramatize," replied Reika. "You got stuck to me cause you went to the wrong locker room. Hm hm!" she silenced her own giggles.

"Ahm, ur, Reika will have to attend you in the programming for now, and…you're not supposed to be here!" Yamaki cocked an eye and glowered a deep one.

"Huh? What did I do?" Takato pointed to himself.

"Not you. Us," appeared the red-head and the blue-head tag team duo, not having to bother change their ruffled denims and long silvery jackets.

"Katch? Jarvis?" Takato bulged his eyes out. He turned to Yamaki. "You didn't tell me you hired them too!"

"They're not hired, Takato," sighed Yamaki, holding his dour head in extreme disbelief, as if plans were going to get changed. "These beings, they… came here to this world, on their own…"

"You mean they're digimon? Highly advanced, I might say. And highly brutal, too."

"Now YOU'RE reading us wrong," pointed out Katch. "We're not exactly digimon, more like projections out of the digimons' thoughts and feelings."

"What are you saying?" a baffled Takato scratched his brown hair.

"Easy on the questions, for now. I know how much you want the answers, so I might as well tell the story," said a rather calm, non-aggressive Jarvis, who was straightening his tiny square specs. "Unless, Yamaki here doesn't give us the old get go."

"Just do it, you two," grumbled Yamaki. "It's not like you blew any major cover."

"Okay, where do I start…Where do I start?…Oh yeah, something about the digimon thinking about us? You know, Takato, ever heard about a philosopher named Berkeley? Berkeley once said that if it can be thought, it must exist, the basis for his works on idealism. Well, that's kind of what happened with the digimon, in a sort of loose translation."

"That's exactly affirmative, Jarvis," Katch replied, this time stepping up to the verbal helm. "After the D-Reaper was destroyed, the hierarchy of the Digital World needed a face-lift. With the Devas destroyed, those digimon that remained were yearning for surrogate masters, the perfect beings to look up to while the gap between digital and human widened in place. Thus, we were born, creations of the digimon we protect. Don't mind us too much of the wrestling. It's how we get the money to bring earthly stuff into our native plane."

"Come to think of it," added Takato, eyeing both men like an artist observing another's work, "you do look kind of familiar, but exactly who?"

"You got it," said Jarvis, who clicked his tongue and pointed a finger as congratulatory gestures. "The digimon came to the agreement that we be molded out of beings symbolic of intelligence and thoughtfulness. Turns out their inspiration came from a long-running show called 'Digimon Adventure'."

"So," said Takato in uneasy surprise, "then you must be based on Jyou Kido, and Katch is based on Koushiro Izumi!"

"Prodigious boy, isn't he?" Katch asked Jarvis, who nodded for a few moments.

"Hey!" said Takato. "Why didn't they choose the rest of the gang as part of the surrogates?"

Jarvis chuckled. "The majority of the digimon weren't too happy of the other models; too determined and too uninhibited, they said. The digimon were rather happy with daddy figures than true blue leader figures. Guess they think we should be gullible around them. As much as they like seeing us as upper figures, they'd occasionally be playing tricks on us, and have fun with that as well."

"By the by…" Takato said. "Uninhibited…and you're not? What's up with that?"

"Something about us being portrayed in fewer lemons…" explained Jarvis. "They're always chuckling because I can't figure out the problem with sour fruits…"

"Believe me, you still can't."

"Story time is over," spoke up Yamaki. "Takato, now that you know who these fellow persons are, I suggest you proceed with the recovery setup. Reika's at the surveillance crane, awaiting your responses with the programming."

"Right, you got it. Catch up to you, Katch and Jarvis." Takato buttoned up his coat and departed to the primal mainframe.

"As for YOU two," Yamaki pointed an irksome finger at the digital beings, "you don't arrive to the base up front, expecting everyone in here to be allowed to know you. We still run a very secret operation, and if this blows, everyone's going to think a government is 100% conspiracy!"

"Sure, Yamaki. We know how to keep everything in wraps. We CAN travel from the real world to the digital one, so escape's no problem."

"Fine enough, Katch. I suppose you're informing me of your departure?" Yamaki pulled off his sunglasses, revealing his sky-bluish optics.

"Better be going. Our kids await us," Jarvis spoke, as he and Katch began dissolving into fuzzy figures, their form ever shifting into minute pixels. The pixels slowly faded randomly, their slight flashes disappearing into thin air. Within seconds, both beings had returned back to the lushness of the Digital World.

"I guess that handles that," Yamaki murmured, still impulsively flicking his thumb over nothing. "Reika, when can I get my heater back?"

"Soon as a mental operation is done," said Reika, donning her VR helmet atop the crane. "The doctors will try to uncover your situation through brain surgery, honey, and-"

"NO!"

"Yamaki, you know this is the only way! None of the medicines ever work."

"I don't want ANYONE to risk messing up with my mind! That is the last thing I'll ever allow!"

"I'm sorry, Yamaki. I already paid in advance for the operation. The doctors expect you to arrive, and if that still doesn't convince you, I may want to push you into it."

"Reika, please," Yamaki grumbled feebly, trying hard not to sound pleading. "I may not be the same ever again. What if a Crazer comes out and attacks me? What if the doctor turns the knife the wrong way? What if-"

"Yamaki, you're going too hard on yourself again," Janyuu spoke, placing a thick, 50-something's hand over the superior's shoulder. "I'm not one to describe people in negative terms, but I'm sure you're paranoid. I do respect your own decision, but the line crosses when it comes to your staying alive." He exhibited a concerned frown.

"Urr…Perhaps you're right," Yamaki gently, but not so gently, removed Janyuu's arm with his own. "Perhaps I do need that surgery. I'm not stable enough to decide for my own anymore…but Reika, you're going to have to shove me into it, cause I'll be kicking and screeching like the neighbor's cat."

"Hey," commented Reika, "you can't go wrong with me. You're talking to the yellow-belt mistress of Kempo!"

"You're not black-belt, yet?" Takato asked from afar.

"I just started it. Yamaki's not one for martial arts, though."

"Please just continue, everyone," Yamaki spoke. "If you want to respect me, stop referring so much to me."

To Be Continued…