A/N: Ahem... This story is sort of like another season of Tamers... without the annoying commercials and animation. There aren't any shippings involved because I plan to focus on the characters and the plot, not the romance (you guys have enough of that, don't you?). Don't worry, there's plenty of action coming up later.
EDITED: Thanks to some helpful comments on this chapter, it was edited and proof-read over some more and made necessary changes.
Italics: A character's thoughts or emphasis on a certain word. You'll know the difference.
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon and they belong to Toei, Bandai, etc., etc. I only own the ideas for this story.
"Oh, Guilmon... " he said softly.
He had just saw the same exact digital portal they had used to enter the Digital World... Since it was opened... He could see his partner again.
Takato dialed Kenta's cell phone. It rang. And rang. And rang.
"C'mon, guys, where are you?" he muttered to himself.
There was a huge splash that soaked Kenta's face.
"Hey! I'll get you for that!" he shouted.
"In your dreams, pal," Kazu shouted back. He swam as fast as he could while yelling out how even his grandmother could beat Kenta.
They laughed and shouted some more, deaf to the ringing from the phone that was inside a black bag by where their towels were.
Jeri... she would definitely want to see Calumon again. He dialed her number and waited anxiously, but after five rings, he decided to inform her later. However, he had no idea where Ryo would be or how to contact him. Then again, he always managed to show up at the most unexpected moments.
"Hello?" said a man's voice.
"Oh! Um, hi, Mr. Wong. This is Takato Matsuki. Is Henry there?" asked Takato hurriedly. Who knew how long the portal had been opened?
"No, I'm sorry, he's at his martial arts lessons," replied Henry's father. "Should I leave a message?"
"Yes, can you tell Henry to meet me at the park at four? Tell him it's urgent."
"Oka-"
Takato had already hung up and began dialing Rika's number.
"She's not home," he said to himself. He hung up. Where was everyone? Takato became impatient.
He changed his mind and began running to his house. The excitement in him was churning his stomach as he skidded to a halt in the entranceway and rushed past a customer.
"Takato!" scolded his mother.
"Sorry, mom!" he shouted from upstairs. Takato searched around in his room. Nothing. "Oh darn, where is it? I had it somewhere around here..."
"Takato!"
"What?" He was annoyed now. Where was it?
"Get downstairs and take out the trash!" his mother ordered.
Takato made his way downstairs and found the trash can by the doorway. His eyes widened when a familiar glint blinked in the light.
"There you are," said Takato. He picked up his yellow goggles. Admittedly, it was dirty as it had been in the trash, but a good wash would fix it. However, his mother picked the worst time to come to the back of the store, where he was clutching his goggles.
"Takato, those are filthy. Put them back into the trash right now. We can buy you new ones," his mother said.
"No! Mom, these are really special... You can't throw them out," said Takato defensively.
She went to set the cardboard box she had been holding by another set of trash cans outside and ignored him.
"Takato, those have been in the trash. Be a good boy and put them back in the can and go wash your hands."
"No!" Takato shouted. His mother looked at him warily as he dashed away. He didn't hear her sigh and retreat back into the kitchen.
Unfortunately, the goggles were filthy, and he decided to wash them in the fountain. Takato sat down on the edge, looking up at the sky. He wished he could see the Digital World as well here... It occurred to him he never really saw it as a whole.
I guess I was too busy fighting.
Henry had managed to improve on his martial arts skills but as his sensei had told him, he was still unfocused at times. Leaning against the cool wooden wall made him slightly calmer. However, he had let his emotions run with him today and he was hardly on his guard. But he couldn't help it... The absence of a certain dog eared rabbit was noticeable. Everyone had moved on but remembered the times they shared... He packed and bowed respectfully to his sensei before departing. Hopefully, he could get the rest of his homework finished tonight. Although there was still two weeks left in school, it felt like Digimon had never existed. Everything was back to what it was before Terriermon had arrived.
"You're back," said his father. "I've been eating pig's feet. Want a bite?" Henry shook his head. "Oh, by the way, Takato left me a message for you. He told you to meet you at the park at four. But since you still have a hour, why don't you finish your homework first?"
Henry felt a bit puzzled. Ever since the Digimon had left, he and Takato had stopped hanging out. Henry had used his homework excuse to stop from seeing him. Although... Takato didn't make any attempts to talk to Henry either until now.
What did he want?
He supposed he could go. There was no damage in that, right?
But it did. It brought up memories of Terriermon and Guilmon too. He hated being so selfish but he did not want to be by Takato. They had a lot of good times but they were almost always with their Digimon... He couldn't face Takato just yet. Nor Rika or any of the other Tamers. Rika lost contact from both of them as well, but he knew if she did not want to talk, it was useless to try.
I guess I should make it up to him.
Henry did not notice the strange flicker of green light on two twin buildings.
"Rika, I got you a present," said her grandmother. It was wrapped neatly in colorful paper and had a bow stuck on it. Her grandmother and mother had went to Paris, France for a photo shoot. Apparently they had enough time to buy gifts as well. "But it's not my birthday," said Rika, puzzled. Suddenly, she became stern. "Are these more dresses? You know I hate those."
"No, it isn't a dress," said her grandmother. She chuckled. "It's a laptop. I thought you might like it."
Indeed it was. It looked very expensive from the sleek design and its "many features" according to the instruction manual.
"A laptop?" Rika was completely puzzled now. What would she do with a worthless piece of metal all day? Write e-mails all day like her grandmother? However, it was the thought that counted... Unless the thought consisted of hideously pink outfits. "Um... thanks, Grandma."
"No problem," said her grandmother. She was pleased. "I'm going to start unpacking. You can go on and give it a try if you want. It might take a while to get used to it."
"I think I'll head to the park," decided Rika. She put the laptop on the table. "I'll be back later."
"Okay. Don't stay out too late," warned her grandmother.
"I won't," she said in annoyance. She shut the doors and made her way out of the garden.
On her way, a flash of light caught her attention. Pausing, she saw Takato Matsuki sitting on the edge of a fountain with his goggles in one hand. They were smudged and oddly dirty.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" demanded Rika.
"Waah! Rika!" Takato jumped and landed himself inside the fountain. He was soaked to the bone.
Rika scoffed and prepared to leave when Takato cried out, "Wait! I wanted to tell you something!"
"What?"
"Um... Meet me and Henry at four in the park," said Takato.
Rika smirked.
"It is four."
Takato flushed in embarrassment and laughed while rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh. Guess time flies, huh?" He was grinning. How could anyone look like that when they had just made a complete fool of themselves in public?
Rika decided to take pity on the idiot and reached out to help him up.
"Hold on, let me clean my goggles -- "
She rolled her eyes.
When he finished, they left for the park. The few people who remembered seeing them on television looked at them strangely.
"C'mere," he waved toward a very familiar place.
A sudden pang hit her chest as she found herself breathing a little heavier. It was the goofball, Guilmon's old hideout. They used to have meetings there and Renamon would...
Her eyes narrowed. No. She had forced herself not to think about Renamon anymore.
"Hey, are you coming?"
Rika nodded reluctantly and walked up the steps. From the look on his face, he was obviously happy about something.
"Henry! Over here!"
This caught Rika by surprise. Takato had brought Henry with him as well? What was this about?
Obviously, Henry caught on to Takato's strange behavior, for he asked, "Takato? Are you feeling well?"
"Of course!" he said. His grin seemed to get impossibly bigger. "Come down here. I want to show you something."
Henry and Rika exchanged looks before entering the hideout.
"So, what do you think?" asked Takato.
Rika's breath hitched inside her throat. Her eyes widened and she felt herself go numb.
"No..." whispered Henry. "How was this possible? Takato, when did you find this?"
Henry wanted to pinch himself to make sure it wasn't just a dream. But it was there and so real... "We can go back and get our Digimon!" said Takato excitedly. "We might need to hurry though, I don't know long the portal was opened... I thought we could go tomorrow at noon."
"But... Takato..." said Henry faintly.
Takato's grin changed into a frown when he noticed the two other Tamers weren't jumping with joy.
"What's wrong? C'mon, you guys should be ecstatic! We're going to see our partners again!"
Henry avoided looking at Takato and looked at a wall instead.
"We can't just barge in there. Our Digimon could be anywhere in the Digital World. Even if we make it in there, how will we survive? We only managed because our Digimon were there..."
He could feel Takato's gaze.
"We can't just sit here and do nothing. We could get Guilmon and the others back." Takato sounded confident but Henry knew there was a slight waver now.
Rika was leaning against the opposite wall and had her arms folded across her chest.
"Gogglehead's right. This might be our only chance of seeing... them... again..." she finished. She blinked and choose not to look at either of them but the portal instead.
"See? Rika's with me. Henry, c'mon. Don't you want to see Terriermon again?"
Henry looked at Takato helplessly.
"Don't you remember the last time we went there? We almost got ourselves killed. And I told you, even if we do find our partners, what makes you think they could come back? They were forced back there because of the stupid program!"
His eyes burned and he could feel droplets falling down his cheeks.
"We don't know if they're alive or not! You remember those Jagamon and what happened to Meramon? Ever since the Shining Evolution, Digimon have become stronger. Without us, they can't digivolve. They might as well be deleted!"
Takato's eyes widened in fear and Rika's body froze.
Henry took deep breaths to calm himself down. All of this had been on his mind for so long that it was a relief to let it out. He knew he should let go but he couldn't. Terriermon was a part of him!
"I... don't think our Digimon are gone," said Takato after a long silence. "Our digivices would turn all fuzzy and we would know. They're still out there."
Rika seemed to relax slightly and looked at both boys critically.
"Even though Brainiac is being a Drama Queen, he has good points," she said. "We don't know where Renamon, Terriermon, and Guilmon are. The Digital World is huge and there's good chances we can get separated. How would we protect ourselves?"
Takato looked down at the ground, his face hard.
"Even if you think the risk isn't worth it, I do. I'm leaving tomorrow to find Guilmon and the others."
"And get yourself killed?" said Rika coldly, but her eyes said otherwise. Henry didn't like the idea of Takato going by himself and knew Rika didn't either. "Typical. You don't think do you? We can't bring back the Digimon because of the program that's stuck in Terriermon. You don't know what could happen."
"But I have to try! I'm not staying here doing nothing when there's a chance, even if it's a slim one, to get back Guilmon."
"You're crazy," said Rika, sounding much more like her old self. However, she was staring at the portal with a mixture of longing and worry. It wasn't like her to show her emotions but, like Henry, she couldn't help it.
Neither could Takato.
"I don't care if I'm crazy! I'm going and that's that. You can't stop me."
Takato stared at the portal with the same fierce determination he had when they were fighting the Deva pig, Vikaralamon. Henry knew it was hopeless to talk him out of it now.
They did not linger long. The three of them parted their ways, each one with a heavy heart. They may have had mixed reactions about the portal... but they knew deep down inside, the desire to see their partners burned bright.
Takato wasn't aware that his clothes were still damp as he made it back home. He felt depressed that Henry and Rika did not share his enthusiasm but if they weren't going, he guessed he was going on his own. However, there was one small problem.
How am I going to tell my parents?
The sky grew dark and Takato ended up writing twelve different drafts of a letter, each crossed out with a big X. Finally, he decided to just write everything out. He wrote about Guilmon, why he was going, and reassurance that he'd be just fine. The last part wasn't exactly the truth as the Digital World could be dangerous and cruel... But he didn't want to make his parents worry more.
By the time he cleaned up, the night was black. He went to bed, falling asleep before his head hit his pillow. Tomorrow was a weekend... He could pack bread and the materials he needed then.
The two towers were still glowing, standing out against the night sky like a light show.
Rika lay wide awake in her sleeping bag. She wondered what she should do... Henry and Takato were both right... But Henry raised logical points. Takato still planned on going though. If he can face the prospect of going to the Digital World, I can too. She turned to her side.
If they found one of their Digimon early on, maybe they wouldn't be in as much danger...
But how could they go back home?
Sighing, she prepared herself for a long night.
"Ack! Hurry up!" shouted Terriermon. "It's getting closer!"
The dog eared rabbit and a red dinosaur were running away from a large, purple data stream. They panted and struggled to continue to try and outrun the stream. They were both cold, hungry, and exhausted.
"I can't," whined Guilmon. He slowed down to catch his breath.
"Uh oh," said Terriermon. The bunny ran up and tugged Guilmon's tail to get him going but the attempts were futile. "Great. Just great. Where's Renamon when you need her?"
The data stream grabbed them and they proceeded yelling.
"Takatooooo!"
Their voices faded away as the data stream continued on, blissfully aware that it had just transported two digital monsters to the worst place they could end up in.
A/N: I hope I stayed close to the Digimon show because that's what I was aiming for. Here's a preview for Episode Two: Stormy Day:
"Takato? Henry? What's wrong with you two?"
They couldn't answer as they fell to the ground, faces twisting in pain. Takato clutched his leg, feeling the waves of pain washing over him in vertigo. Henry was no better off; his stomach was burning in sharp instances, like knives slicing through.
"Guys? Answer me!" Rika was beginning to panic. What was wrong with her friends?
Please review if you want to find out what's wrong with Takato and Henry!