DIGIMON TAMERS: AFTERMATH
BOOK 3
by Vashkoda
(Disclaimer: This work of fiction uses characters belonging to Toei and Saban without their permission. I am getting no profit from it. I only do it because I think Digimon is a great show, and I want to keep the story alive!
Thanks for the comments!
Lavos - The story is already finished, so I can't make changes now (assuming I'd want to). I didn't forget Alice, I just didn't have room to stick her in (the cast size is hard to handle as it is). Plus it's still up in the air whether she's a ghost or alive.
OmnicromXR - Monodramon chose to load Ryo's data because it would leave him in full control, instead of sharing that control with Ryo.
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"So Ryo's still out there...with that thing?" asked Ruki, suppressing a shiver as she looked out towards the cliff.
"More than that--Ryo is that thing. Or at least a part of him is," said Jenrya grimly. "Unfortunately, that's not the part that's in control."
"Like what happened to my brother and that other digimon," grimaced Ai. "Baihumon didn't seem to know who we were."
Kenta's fingers rose nervously to his glasses, which kept slipping down his sweaty face. "I take it you didn't have much luck getting him to join our side," he remarked. "Though at least he's not out there with those other two Sovereign."
"Yeah, where is he?" asked Ai, her gaze sweeping over the battlefield. She had lost sight of him after their fight with Raijinmon.
"And where's Takato?" demanded Ruki, hands on hips. "And Juri? I've been with Leomon ever since we got separated from you guys by that data stream. Though I guess she doesn't give a damn about her partner."
"Give her a break, she's been through a rough time," Kenta admonished her. Ruki arched an eyebrow in surprise at Kenta's boldness, then huffed and turned away from him.
"Takato has been away a long time," observed Jen. "And I don't see Rapidmon anywhere. He knew we were here watching the battle. I'm worried he may have gone to tell the Sovereign."
"Or maybe he went after Takato," said Ai worriedly. "We should go find him!"
Not wasting another moment, Jen took off down the hill, calling to the others to stay behind in case they were needed. Ruki seemed ready to go after him anyway, until MarineAnegmon suddenly appeared at Kenta's shoulder, tugging at his sleeve and chirping frantically.
"It's Juri," relayed Kenta quickly, running to the opposite edge of the hill. The others were right behind him.
"Where is she? All I see is one of your partner's bubbles," said Ruki, frowning.
"That's just it. She and Culumon were supposed to be down there guarding the strange digimon we found."
Ruki and Ai exchanged fearful glances. Kenta could tell they knew something he didn't.
"That's no ordinary digimon," explained Ai quickly. "We think it's the D-Reaper. Shiuch-...Qinglongmon, told us that the Sovereign had turned it into a digimon and set it loose."
"They're nuts!" cried Kenta in disbelief. "Don't they know how dangerous that thing is?"
"And things may have just gotten a whole lot worse," said Ruki in sudden realization. "If the D-Reaper's a digimon now and it's gotten its hands on Juri and Culumon, there's no telling what it might evolve into with human data and the power of the Catalyst! We've been worrying all this time about the damage the Sovereign and the rebels might cause, but they're nothing compared to this!"
"Ruki, we can't fight something like that on our own," stated Renamon, materializing beside her Tamer carrying an unconscious Elecmon. Impmon ran forward and joined them.
"Even with the Sovereign's help, we wouldn't stand a chance, assuming we could even get them and the rebels to stop fighting," observed Ai sadly.
"But we still gotta try, right?" asked Impmon, looking eager to fight again. "We need to knock some sense into their thick skulls!"
"You guys go ahead," said Kenta, throwing them a smile of confidence that he didn't feel. "I can watch over Elecmon. You go with them too, MarineAngemon. You're strong enough now--you don't need me."
The small pink digimon chirped him a question, but Kenta shook his head. "Go on, now. We have to hurry before the D-Reaper evolves."
The Tamers and digimon nodded at each other, then disappeared into evolution spheres. Kenta felt a pang of regret as he watched the partners merge, then forced himself to look away until Sakuyamon and Beelzebumon appeared.
"Let's get 'em!" cried the dark angel digimon, batting his raven-like wings. Sakuyamon and MarineAngemon followed him down towards the cliffs, where the Sovereign still watched and waited for Raijinmon's return.
"Good luck, guys," whispered Kenta.
"There, that's got to be him!" shouted Takato, still hanging from Rapidmon's arm as the Chosen flew over the rebel army. The Tamer pointed at a MegaloGrowmon standing near the front lines, which matched the spot his D-Arc indicated. Though Takato had expected it to be easy to identify his partner, it seemed Guilmon was no longer the only one of its kind. Adding its data to the information the Wild Bunch had gathered from Primary Village seemed to have caused many other Jarimons to hatch after the reformatting. In a way, Takato was miffed that the digimon he had invented was no longer unique. But by the same token, having his partner's data replicated all over the Digital World made him seem more like an authentic digimon, and not just an artifact created by his digivice.
"What now?" asked Rapidmon, hovering over MegaloGrowmon uncertainly. The large cyborg digimon looked up at the Chosen and brandished its metallic blades in warning.
"Um...I never really planned it beyond this point," admitted Takato a trifle guiltily.
MegaloGrowmon charged up the laser cannons on its shoulder plates. Rapidmon reacted in time and zipped aside as the energy beams struck the air where he had been standing seconds before.
"Too fast! Oh man, I think I'm gonna lose my lunch!" moaned Takato, who was still rocking back and forth from the motion of Rapidmon's dodge.
"You rather be dead?" growled the Chosen. "I should kill filthy rebel for attacking me."
"No, don't!" pleaded Takato, quickly recovering. "He doesn't know what he's doing!"
"I'd say he knows exactly what he's doing," said a new voice. Takato and Rapidmon turned in surprise to see Jenrya come up behind them. The rebel digimon eyed Jenrya hungrily, but didn't dare attack him with Rapidmon hovering close by.
"Jen?!" What on earth are you doing here, Takato's look asked him. But the teen ignored Takato for the moment and focused his attention on the Chosen.
"What would you do in his place, if someone killed all your friends and wouldn't stop hunting you? How would you like to be bullied into staying weak and small, even though you know you were born to be strong?"
The rebel digimon reacted to Jen's words with surprise and growing respect. They nodded to each other, and one could begin sensing the pent up hatred and frustration building over them.
"Only Sovereign strong!" replied Rapidmon angrily. "Only they have right!"
"But you aren't a Sovereign, are you?" Jen pointed out. "So why don't we give you a taste of your own medicine." He lifted up his green D-Arc and aimed it at the Chosen. Rapidmon stared at it in confusion, until a pearly glow suffused the digivice and then appeared around the digimon himself.
"Takato, brace yourself!" shouted Jen. Takato looked around wildly, not understanding what his friend was up to until he noticed that Rapidmon was slowly de-digivolving and losing altitude. As Rapidmon's hands changed into Galgomon's gun barrels, Takato managed to free himself before the Champion crashed against the ground. Galgomon's body broke Takato's fall, yet the green digimon continued to glow and lose power, finally morphing back into its small Rookie form.
Takato ran to stand by Jen, just as the rebel digimon converged on Terriermon.
"I destroy you all!" cried the little digimon. "I still the strongest! I still-" His words broke off as another digimon knocked the wind out of him. The two Tamers could see little over the hunched forms of the larger rebels, who continued to amuse themselves by beating on the small digimon.
"Jen, enough is enough! They'll kill him!"
Jenrya didn't answer. Takato looked at his friend in surprise, only to see tears rolling down the other boy's checks.
"MOVE!" thundered MegaloGrowmon, who stomped towards the assembled digimon. They hastily parted to make room for the Ultimate, who leaned over to glare at the battered Chosen.
"I not weak. I not small," whimpered Terriermon, still trying to defend himself. MegaloGrowmon snorted in amusement, releasing a jet of steam from his nostrils.
"You die now," stated the cyborg flatly, holding Terriermon up with one hand, while the blade along his other arm began to glow.
"Show me how you de-digivolved Rapidmon!" shouted Takato urgently, raising his digivice. He frantically pressed all the buttons, muttering prayers under his breath. Jen slowly turned his head to look at Takato, his face void of any emotion. Takato watched the scene unfold in horror, knowing that he was helpless to stop what was about to happen. MegaloGrowmon lifted his arm high and let it snap downwards, swinging the blade straight towards Terriermon.
Then Takato felt another hand pressed against his digivice, and saw that Jen had come up beside him. The red digivice began to glow, and the cyborg digimon suddenly stopped his attack, sensing that something was happening.
A pearly light engulfed the Ultimate, drawing away its power. MegaloGrowmon cried out in fury as its form shrank, until only Guilmon remained, still holding the semi-conscious Terriermon.
Takato grabbed Jen's arm and raced towards their partners. The rebel digimon seemed disappointed, and began muttering amongst themselves, shooting occasional glances at the two humans.
"You do this," said Guilmon accusingly, indicating his weakened state. "Why interfere?"
"Guilmon, you aren't yourself," said Takato, resisting the urge to reach out and hug his friend. "I want to help you."
"You make me strong again?" asked the dinosaur eagerly, throwing a dark look at Terriermon. He let the small digimon drop to the ground in disgust. Terriermon didn't make any attempt to get up, and Jen made no move to help him.
"It isn't always about strength, Guilmon," explained Takato, searching deep inside himself for words that would make his partner understand. "There's an even greater power that comes from being with someone you care about. You realize that you would do anything for that person, and that gives you the courage to push yourself farther than you ever thought you could. You can do... miracles," he finished, remembering how Grani's sacrifice had allowed him and Guilmon to reach a level they had never thought possible.
"I want to share that with you, Guilmon. I want you to remember me."
The red dinosaur hesitated, then reached out to his Tamer. Takato embraced him tightly, and the light that had once enveloped MegaloGrowmon now surrounded them both, encasing them in an evolution sphere.
Terriermon's gaze moved from the glowing sphere to the human standing a few feet away. He remembered their first meeting at the digimon prison camp, where the boy had claimed to be his partner. The thought of merging with a human had disgusted him, not only because evolution through any power but the Sovereign's was wrong, but because actually resorting to using such an unnatural power source was a sure sign of weakness. Digimon did not need humans to evolve. They did not need to evolve, period. A Rookie was born with all the strength and abilities a digimon should ever need in life.
Yet appearances were deceiving. When he had been a mere Terriermon, other digimon would tease him because of his small size, never believing he could match their power. Sometimes Terriermon was able to prove them wrong, but other times, he could not. He realized then that digimon were not all equal, and worried that in a world where only the strongest survived, he would disappear.
That was when the Sovereign had come to him and offered their bargain. They would bring order to the Digital World, stopping evolution in its tracks. In exchange for his help, Terriermon would share in the Sovereign's strength, allowing him to evolve into a golden armored Rapidmon.
Yet to his surprise, the power of the humans proved stronger. MarineAngemon was able to defeat him easily, drawing away Rapidmon's power just as the human had done to him moments ago. Could it be true what that other human had said--that it was not always strength that mattered?
"Did we have that power too?" he asked his partner timidly. He wondered if the human would even answer him. He sensed the other's anger, and knew that it was justified.
"Yeah. I guess we did. Once."
Terriermon nodded to himself. So the human didn't even want to try to regain what had been lost. He supposed he really couldn't blame him. How could the boy still care for him after all the damage Terriermon had caused? He hadn't even realized until now that his actions in the name of the Sovereign could actually be seen as the worst sort of crime.
"Well...good-bye," the digimon said awkwardly, shuffling his feet. "Know not forgive, but am sorry."
The human answered him with a glare. Terriermon shrugged, then turned to make his way back to the Sovereign. They would probably delete him for his disobedience.
He found he no longer cared.
"No leave just yet!" called out one of the rebels. A large WaruMonzaemon strode into view, having been summoned by the weaker digimon to deal with the possible threat. He pinned Terriermon to the spot with his magical gaze, preventing him from escaping.
"Heartbreak Attack!" the bear puppet called out, striking him with a wave of dark hearts. They fell around Terriermon with no obvious effect. His will to fight had already left him.
"Stay back!" he heard his partner cry out. Terriermon looked around to see the rebels converging on the boy, fighting between themselves over who would take his data. The Guilmon and other human had not finished evolving, and would probably be too late to save their friend. Terriermon wondered if he should try to intervene, but then reasoned that the human would probably be happier merging with one of the rebels than a criminal like himself.
But then again-
As heard the boy cry out in pain, Terriermon dug into his last reserves of strength and freed himself from WaruMonzaemon's gaze. He squeezed into the huddled mass of rebel digimon, finding that his small size gave him an advantage here. He found the human lying on the ground, holding a bleeding arm to his chest.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed, clearly in pain.
"If we die, die together!" answered the Rookie, hoping to at least sound brave in his last moments.
The human growled in frustration, then reached back to grab his digivice. Terriermon stared at it eagerly, while the rebels recognized it at once and hastily moved to stop him.
"I'm sorry, Terriermon. But you asked for it."
He felt himself surrounded by a protective field of energy. The human was there too, being scanned by the D-Arc so that his data could become compatible with Terriermon's. The Rookie felt the boy's data suddenly being transferred into him, and was surprised by how much was actually there. And then with the flow of data came Terriermon's memories, and suddenly, he remembered everything.
The horror of his actions overwhelmed him. How could he...why did he...aughhh! No, it couldn't be true! He was a monster!
Tell me it's not real, Jen! he cried mentally, hoping his partner would hear him.
I'm sorry, Terriermon, came the reply. There was no comfort in Jen's voice; only bitter acceptance.
I'll make it up to you--all of you--I swear! he promised fervently. As they evolved, he could still recognize the strands of data that had been given to him by the Sovereign to become the golden Rapidmon. Terriermon shred that data into bits, vowing never again to be their tool.
That wasn't me, Jen. I never would have done those things!
It was you, Terriermon. And maybe it's who you should have been, if we hadn't met that day in the game.
Yeah? Well that guy stinks! I'm a hundred times better than he'll ever be...and better looking!"
He could feel Jenrya warming up to him again. Connected to his partner this way, Terriermon was able to read some of Jen's memories, and was surprised at just how close Jen had come to letting him die. Yet....
When you didn't want to evolve with me back there, it wasn't because you were mad at me, observed Terriermon in surprise. It was because you wanted to spare me the pain I'm going through now, remembering what I once did. That rejection had hurt Terriermon deeply, but now he understood that it was one more sign of how much Jen cared for him.
Just as Juri is protecting Leomon from his memories, agreed Jenrya. Yet Terriermon could sense that Jen was still not convinced that he had made the right decision.
I'm glad you did, Terriermon told his partner. I'm glad that we can be friends again. Even if I don't deserve it, your friendship means everything to me, Jen.
Yours too, Terriermon.
All right! So let's get out of this evolution sphere and kick some rebel butt!
Terriermon... said Jen warningly.
Haha, just kidding. Well okay, maybe just the WaruMonzaemon. Oh come on Jen, you know he was asking for it!
The light around them vanished at last as they completed their transformation to SaintGalgomon.
"Woohoo! Now for some...."
SaintGalgomon's words trailed off as they saw that the area was completely deserted, except for themselves and Dukemon.
"You couldn't have left me just one?" grumbled the giant robot in disappointment.
"I only scared them off," answered the Mega knight. "I'm glad to see you two resolved your differences," he added.
"We still need to have a long chat, but right now we have more important things to deal with."
Dukemon nodded. Together, they made their way to where the Sovereign waited.