Jeri Katou was cruising down the street, a smile on her face as she checked in
"Sierra 121 to Sierra Oscar, receiving?" she asked down her police radio
"Receiving Jeri" Kazu said
"There's nothing here, Kazu. I'll give it a few more minutes then I'm going to come back," she said
"Okay Jeri. See you in a few" her friend said
Jeri continued to prowl for anything suspicious; Guilmon was on the back seat and was doing to same on the other side of the street. It was a dreary day with a spot of rain on the way, and tomorrow was the anniversary of the day the D-Reaper was defeated, but Jeri wasn't looking forward to it: all it did was give her bad memories and make her heart ache because she missed Takato a great deal; she only ever told Guilmon that she never bought Henry's story of Takato running off and Guilmon had sworn to Takato that he wouldn't tell her what happened that fateful day.
Seeing nothing odd, Jeri spun the car around 180 degrees and began to go back to the station, but as she turned she spied a group of people going into a back alley
"Guilmon, stay here" she paused as she grabbed her radio
"Kazu, I just saw a bunch of people heading into an alleyway. I'm going to investigate" she said and got out
Jeri quietly ran to the wall near the entrance to the alley and drew her gun, clicking off the safety in a fluid motion and hugged the wall. She peered around the corner: there were at least 6 large men, and a young woman in the middle
"How long till she passes out?" one asked
"At most, five minutes" another answered
Jeri was going to jump in when a bright flash blinded her, it lasted a few seconds and when she looked around the alley: the 6 men were all on the ground unconscious and the woman was asleep from what ever drug was used on her before
"Scum like this should really die, but then that would give me a bad name" a deep voice said.
Jeri saw someone perched on a dumpster: he had brown hair that was kind of spiked, he was wearing what looked like a martial arts uniform with a character she didn't recognize on the chest
[He's handsome] she thought, and then she shook her head
"Guilmon!" she called the Digimon
The stranger looked up at the word Guilmon and stared right at Jeri with a piercing look
[Guilmon? But I thought…] he wondered and it hit him
[Jeri!] Takato thought and leapt into the air, flying at incredible speed
Jeri was stunned to say anything as the strange man flew away; she just gaped at him and strained her memory
[I know that face, or one like it] she said to herself
***********
On top of a building in the slum area of town, its grey and black atmosphere along with the rain was an almost fitting backlight to individual who sat upon its tiled top. Rain streaked his face with tears of a deeply rooted pain and sense of loss that was a decade old.
[Why? Why did she have to be here?], he wondered as his eyes continued to drip
Takato had become, as his grandfather said, the most powerful living being in the known galaxies and as for earth, anything that tried to pick him was either dead in a second or learnt never to fight with him again. But Takato was beginning to hate this power he had. He always wondered what would have happened if he'd just been left at the HQ and it was Gallantmon who saved Jeri rather the Super Saiyen Takato. He had dreams of what his life would be like if he'd just stayed with the others; and in every one he was married to Jeri, living a happy life with all his friends
"Friends, I spit on them" he snarled, his friends betrayed him, all except Guilmon who was loyal to the end
"And Jeri, god I never knew how much pain seeing her again would cause. Curse my human heart" he sniffed without conviction
Takato Matsuda loved Jeri Katou; in fact he never stopped loving her. His uncle explained that the odd pain he used to feel in his neck when they were separated was because Saiyen's bonded with those they loved in this fashion by biting them on the neck in the course of making love, but somehow he had begun and nearly completed the process without any physical contact and that is what made them sure that their love was true.
"But all the truth in the world won't undo Henry's slander and betrayal" he snorted and looked at a billboard with Henry and Terriermon's grinning faces
Those turncoats had made a fortune on their image and 'feats' as they liked to call it and it sickened him that they just traded on what they did 10 years ago. Rika worked in the States as a security expert and consultant, if there was a security system in the world that made it hard to even touch the fence, and then she designed it. And Jeri as Takato had discovered was a police officer, and by the standard of her dress, a very good one.
"I better go home" he said to himself and flew towards a building that no one used.
*********************
Jeri sat in her apartment with a cup of hot coffee and a muffin; Guilmon snoozed in the guest bedroom while she thought to herself; that man she saw today definitely reminded her of someone and she was even sure that who ever it was, was that man she saw.
"But who?" she wondered and bit the muffin
Then she pictured him with a pair of goggles and she dropped the muffin
"Oh my god: Takato. It can't be," she mumbled, rubbing her neck absently as she bent down and picked up her food.
She was going to wake Guilmon when she felt a presence at her window, like a tugging at the back of her mind and she turned around: on her balcony was the guy from earlier on
"Hey, wait" she called out before he could fly away again, but alas he did.
She ground her teeth and stamped her foot "Damn" she muttered
Before she could go inside, she spied a glint of silver on the ground out of the corner of her eye. Jeri bent down and picked it up: it looked familiar: she saw it was a small picture frame. She opened it and nearly dropped it
[I gave this to Culumon to give to…] her thought trailed off as she realised who this strange man with powers was
"Takato?" she asked the sky.
***********************
Meanwhile, said young man was nearly beating himself up over his actions
"You fool. Nearly blew your cover then, very smooth" he growled and landed back on the desolate rooftop
He grumbled while he changed into some sleeping garb and lay on a ratty old mattress that served as his bed, but thanks to his training he was used to worse. Takato then patted his clothes on the ground for the picture, he gasped: it was gone
"SHIT!" he cursed and threw a plank at the wall
[Oh well, I'll find it tomorrow] Takato decided and lay down, a single tear sliding down his face, lamenting the loss of the one good memory he had of Jeri.
***************************
Guilmon and Jeri sat staring at the picture that she'd found on the balcony
"This is definitely the one I asked Culumon to give him," she said after giving the frame its 100th looking over
"The question is: was it Takato that had it?" Guilmon said, hoping Jeri was right and that the strange man on the balcony was Takato.
"Oh I'm sure it was him Guilmon, I'll never forget his eyes. No one has eyes like Takato" she assured her friend.
***************************
At the station the next day, the Super Intendant of her relief made an announcement:
"There had been reports of a vigilante around the city: the witnesses describe him as about 5 foot 10 inches tall, tanned but Caucasian, brown hair, black eyes and very strong. Be on the lookout for him, he is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous" the old man said and handed over to the Sargent of the uniform
"Jeri, the Super wants to see you in his office" Jeri's friend Mari said
"Thanks" she called and went up to the Superintendent's office: the Super was a stern and wise old copper who'd been in the job nearly 30 years
Jeri walked down the hall to the office that her boss resided in and knocked
"Ah Jeri, come in" he said in his hearty voice
Jeri entered and looked up. He was also a very tall and very broad man with powerful muscles and a great skill in Karate but he was very nice, earning him the nickname of 'Gentle Giant'
"Sir" Jeri replied and sat down
The Super
"I'll get to the point: the public have been getting a little nervous: they say there is a vigilante on the streets, no one has got a name, but some of them say he can fly and change his hair at will. I know it sounds odd, but I'd like you do keep a look out for anything odd" he said
[That statement might not be as odd as you think sir] Jeri thought and nodded in agreement, she would do that.
"Thank you, Jeri" he said and dismissed her
Jeri walked out of the office and down to her car: Guilmon was snoozing in the back seat as usual. Jeri smiled and got in the car and drove off.
***********************
High above the bustling metropolis that was New Tokyo, a lone figure watched and thought as he did so. Takato had left his grandfather's house almost eight years ago, his parents worried about him but Turles had assured them that Takato was capable of looking after himself quite well, the field dressed rabbits and other small creatures he had caught and eaten were proof to that
"My god I would kill for a good loaf of bread", Takato groaned as he saw Jeri's car driving underneath him
He tracked it with his eyes and ran along the rooftops to make sure nothing went wrong while Jeri was on her rounds.
About halfway through the day, Jeri's car stopped at a bank where there was a lot of commotion: a large scale hostage situation had taken place inside
"This should be fun to watch" he thought and zipped over to the roof of the bank where he was able to watch through a skylight
Jeri went in under pretence of being a negotiator but she was really there to relay the situation as she saw it to the police outside. Once she got in however, it was clear these people were professionals: silenced automatic weapons, ski masks, combat uniforms and a few were armed with other weapons, namely, an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) launcher
"Well, you guys certainly don't do anything by halves" she said, as a bit of a joke
"Sit down. We know you aren't a real negotiator, Detective Katou. And please hand your weapons to the gentleman with the RPG" the main man said
Jeri realising she was rumbled, gave the weapons over and sat down. Then everything went odd. Each hostage was then knelt down aside from her, and had a gun placed behind their heads
"You see Detective: we are not robbers or even terrorists, we are contract killers" the main man began to explain
"What?" she was confused
"Last year you shot a young man named Robert Wei, the son of a-" he was cut off
"The son of a Chinese Crime Syndicate boss, who I might add not only tried to kill me, but several small children in a park when I saw him dealing in drugs" Jeri spat
The man simply made a snorting noise and shook his head
"Be that as it may, I hate drug dealers, loath 'em totally. But I am a business man and right now, this drug man is my employer" he said and put a gun to her head
"But as I also said, we are professionals; when you are dead they will all go free" he pointed to the other hostages
Takato watched as this rather arrogant man threatened his mate's life. A hanging offence if ever there was one. Takato's Saiyen blood began to rush and boil at this situation and with a growl and a lunge, went into the breach
As the hit-man was about to complete his hit, he suddenly registered that most of his men had been knocked out, then he flew back as something impacted his chest: a fist. Takato now stood in front of Jeri in a very protective manner
"Shoot them, RPG's front and centre" the man called
The small missile totting group of men converged and fired at them. Takato spun around grabbed Jeri and used his back to absorb the rockets. Jeri was petrified
[Is he going to die?], she wondered
The smoke cleared and Takato turned around, a smug expression on his face
"You call that firepower. Allow me to demonstrate real power" he said and used a Ki wave to knock the men unconscious, leaving the one that tried to kill Jeri for last
Takato was about to lunge when a large Digimon jumped through the door: Megagargomon. Jeri hung her head and groaned aloud as the glory hogs know as Henry and Terriermon in their ultimate form entered, cheering from the crowd outside was very loud
"Oh god" Takato groaned and looked at the beast
"Fear not, I am here" Megagargomon said in a loud voice
"What the hell is going on here?" the hapless hit-man asked as Jeri tackled him and cuffed him
Takato looked at the Digimon with an unrestrained hatred; an almost burning Saiyen rage took a hold of him and he flew up and belted Megagargomon with every bit of strength he had, sending him out into the street again. The public looked on; almost horrified that someone would attack Megagargomon and actually knock him down. Takato strode out and decided that he'd waited long enough: Henry would get his now.
*****************
Over the ocean to the United States, a rather wealthy woman and her companion were watching television when a special report from Japan came in
"What, it can't be" Rika said as she saw the figure on the TV
Megagargomon was facing a person that looked familiar. When Rika saw the goggles around the mystery man's head; she knew instantly who it was
"Renamon; we're going home for a visit" she called, making Culumon blink
"Why?" the fox Digimon asked
"Because Takato is back, and by the looks of it, Henry will be carried off in a wooden box if we don't help him" she explained
"I see" Renamon said and transported herself, Rika and Culumon to Japan
*****************
"Well Henry, you seem to be doing alright for yourself" Takato said as Megagargomon got up and steadied himself
"You" Henry's voice hissed out and fixed Takato with a look of contempt: one the Saiyen warrior returned 10 fold
"Yeah, me" Takato said and threw a large sphere of energy towards his foe
The sphere hit Megagargomon and knocked him back a few more feet
"I'm going to fight you and I intend to win; like I should of 10 years ago" Henry said
"Suit yourself, but first there is a few things I should let you in on concerning who I am" Takato said
"Like what?" his adversary replied
"Well, this is a normal Saiyen, my race" he said
Then without effort Takato powered up to Super Saiyen
"This form, which you have seen before is Super Saiyen" he explained
Jeri watched from the sidelines as her long time crush performed a most incredible feat
[How did he do that?] she wondered
Takato grinned and flexed his body a bit: his hair became spikier and a lot darker, his aura now became heavily pronounced making the ground shake and crack
"This is the ascension beyond Super Saiyen, or for short, Super Saiyen 2" he explained as Megagargomon backed away a little from the powerful warrior
Takato took up a stance that Henry had seen him do once before: the results of that event were felt for years
"And this, is to go, even further, beyond" he said, his voice breaking as his concentration increased
"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Takato could scream louder as an adult.
The energy surrounded him again, but this time his hair grew until it went down to about Takato's waist. The output created an enormous crater almost eight feet across and two feet deep. At that moment, Renamon and Rika and Culumon arrived, but alas they were too late: he had used his special power
"His strength, I feel it. It is greater than it was the first time he used it" Renamon said
"Oh god" Rika sighed and ran over to Jeri
"I want an explanation Rika, now" Jeri hissed
"Okay. But first I think we should stop Takato from killing Megagargomon don't you?" Rika asked
"Takato can't kill Megagargomon, he's a Mega Level Digimon" Jeri said
Rika pointed to the battle: Takato had Megagargomon by one of his legs and was swinging him around in preparation to throw him
"Oh no, TAKATO!" she screamed and ran over to where the small man was swinging around the large Digimon
"Jeri" he stopped; letting Megagargomon go and sending him high into the air
Jeri now had her first good look at Takato since she saw him last, which was when they were kids: now he was a man. His body was dark tanned and very muscular, a few scars adorned his upper arms and chest and he was far taller than the average Japanese man, almost 6'6 he was. Jeri felt small seeing as she was only 5'8 and while being lithe and well toned from her police training; she had no where near the muscle of the man in front of her
"You look good as a blonde" she said, admiring the long gold hair he had
"Thanks" he said
Before another word was spoken, a familiar red and black lizard came bounding up
"TAKATO-MON" Guilmon cried and jumped into his Tamer's arms
Only to get promptly shocked from all the power the Tamer's body was giving out
"Ow, what was that for?" he pouted and rubbed his scales
Takato toned the aura down so he could be touched
"Sorry Guilmon, that happens when the aura is up" he said and petted his old friend
Guilmon forgot what he was angry about and relished having his old Tamer back
"You did a good job keeping Jeri safe, I'm proud of you" he said to the small dinosaur
"Thanks" he responded
Jeri placed a hand on Takato's shoulder
"Takato, Rika and I are going back to my place now. I want you to come, Kazu and Kenta will want to see you again. And I want to know what happened when I was rescued" she said
"Okay. Can you keep her safe for a few more hours?" he asked Guilmon
"Yep" the Digimon replied
Takato looked over at Renamon and Rika; he noticed Culumon was sitting on Rika's shoulder
"I'll see you there" he said
With those last words, Takato left, moving so fast that he left and after image that faded after a few seconds. A dazed Terriermon and Henry showed up after a while
"Where did that coward go?" Henry growled
His only reply was a growl from Guilmon and a dirty look from Jeri
"What?" he asked
"Henry, our friendship is over. You are never to come near me again" Jeri said as she and Guilmon went to her car and got in
"What about that question I asked you the day before yesterday?" he said
Jeri turned around and looked at Henry, for almost a full minute. Then she took off a gold ring with a ruby on it and threw it at him, flipped him off and got in
"I wasn't planning on saying yes anyway. So go fuck yourself" she said and drove off
********************
At Jeri's apartment, a powered down Takato sat on the steps to the building with Rika
"I'm sorry, Takato. I really am. But please understand; what you did then frightened me" she said
"And now?" he asked
"I'm even more frightened now; you're obviously stronger than 10 years ago" she said
"Renamon, what do you think?" Takato asked the fox Digimon
"I'm wary of you Takato, but it is not us that should concern you" she said
"Oh?" Takato retorted
"Answer me this Takato: do you consider yourself a hero?" Renamon asked
"Yes, a little" he answered
"Well you aren't" Renamon deadpanned
"How's that?" he shot back
Renamon leaned in and looked Takato right in the eye, with no fear at all
"Heroes do not scare the people they protect. If you looked around you at that bank, you would have seen children and adults alike, crying because they feared you" she explained
"Good people, law abiding citizens have nothing to fear from me" he growled darkly
"Then why did yo attack Henry?" Renamon countered
"He deceived the public, lied to Jeri and all of my other friends about me" he replied
"Although that is slanderous and certainly wrong Takato, it is a small crime and hardly worthy of such a response" the Digimon spoke sagely
"What?" Takato said flatly
"And if what you said is true; why didn't you stay and confront what was said about you rather than run away?" she asked
"Are you calling me a coward?" Takato flared
Renamon shook her head
"No, merely stupid" she said and sat down
Takato took the words spoken by the Digimon and went over them time and time again in his head but every time he came to the same conclusion…
Renamon was right
He ran away
[What have I done?] he asked himself
