Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
Summary: Abandoned by the others, after he made Greymon digivolve into SkullGreymon, Tai seeks a meaning to his new life. Not as a Digi destined, but as a Digimon.
=====================================
Twist of fate
Part I
Feline Digimon, Chimon
=====================================
Tai or Chimon to most digimon's followed the old man in front of him as they walked out off the room. Taking a good look around as they stepped outside into a fair sized corridor sone in a tasteless brown color. As he followed Gennai, he spotted a few chairs scattered throughout the corridor, obliviosly to be used by the few digomon's who had a form that could use a chair. As they walked further down the corridor, he had to step aside as mucyh larger digimon decided to use the same space as he did. Several different types of Digimon's were moving up and down the corridor and there even seemed to be a fight starting between two Gazimon's.
Tai looked up and cursed as he found he had gotten a little behind Gennai and were in danger of getting lost in the crowd. As he pushed his way through the crowd, he stopped as he felt someone staring at him. Turning around in a half circle, he spotted Gatomon staring at him. Her glowed paws planted firmly on the floor in front of her.
Behind her, Wizardmon looked on silently. Then he slowly walked over to him. Staring down at him, he looked up at the crowd. "So, I take it that you're leaving." Keeping his voice neutral, Wizardmon gave a small bow. "Well Chimon. I hope you find what you're looking for." Turning around, the torn cape fluttered in the still air as Wizardmon walked back into the room he and Gatomon had rented.
Sitting on the floor. Gatomon gave him a mixed look. Then she stood up on her hind legs. "Look, don't think I'm soft or anything. But if you need help or a place to stay, look up Myotismon's castle. I'll drop a word for you." Still staring at him, she turned around and began to walk away. Then she stopped and looked back at him. "Good luck." Walking away, she followed after Wizardmon into the room.
Tai stared as the door closed and gave a small smile. It was nice to know that even in this place, there was still a few nice digimon's around. Stepping back, he turned around and stared though the legs and sometimes over the head of the other digimon's as he began the tough task of moving through the crowd. Trying to find Gennai's in this mess before he got to far away would be hard, but he needed to do it.
"Chimon!" Looking towards the right as he heard Gennai's voice, Tai pushed his way over to what turned out to be a staircase leading down to a bar below. Ducking between the legs of a very large Agumon on the stairs, he shot a sorrow filled look over his shoulder at the orange dinosaur and quickly wiped away a tear from his eyes. Jumping the last few steps, he landed and rushed over to the door leading outside.
Gennai opened the door of the room and stepped out into the sunlight. As the door closed behind him, he sensed Tai freeze up and stare in awe at the town before them. "Welcome to Santa Gringo, Chimon. It's a small town located somewhere near the western part of the desert area." As he stepped down the small porch they were standing on, he grinned. "I know it is hard to believe that there's trouble in this place. But most of the Digimon's here are of the viral type. But we can talk about that later." Pausing in his talking, he looked as Tai ran up to him. It was a little comical to see the small legs of Tai's new form, pumping to carry him across the hot sand of the street. "My home is quite far from here, but I have something, that should get us there.
As they stepped around the inn and into a shadowy alleyway, Gennai grinned and pointed at a shadow in front of him. "With this Makanorimon, we'll be at my house in no time."
Tai looked up and stared at the metallic Digimon standing in front of them. "Wha, what kind of Digimon is that?"
Gennai slowly crawled up on the top of it and opened a hatch. "Relax, it's a machine Digimon, it needs someone to control it." Pulling a few levers inside the digimon, the two arms on its sides moved up and then lowered down onto the ground. "Hop on and buckle up. I don't know how bumpy this ride will be."
****************
The desert moved past them at a fast rate. Holding on tightly to the left arm, Tai stared back at Gennai, or more precisely the unblinking eye of the Makanorimon. Slowly, he gave a shudder at the sight of it. It was even more ugly then those nightmares he had gotten from watching that monster movie marathon last year. "Gennai?"
Slowly the top of the mechanical Digimon popped open and Gennai's head emerged from it. "Yes?" Staring down at the small form of Tai's body, he gave a small chuckled and returned to the inside. After a second, the robot slowed down and Gennai popped back up again. "Sorry about that Tai, almost forgot you were there."
Tai grinned and sat down in a more comfortable position, well it took a few moments to sit down, his tail kept getting in the way. Then he faced Gennai with downcast eyes. "Why did the others hurt me? Was it something I did?" Moving his head away to hide the few tears forming, he felt himself overcome by despair. "I nearly killed the others, and I made Agumon digivolve into something evil." As he spoke, Tai felt his heart clench at the mass of doubt he was having.
Looking at him with sadness, Gennai looked downcast as well. "I don't know. But right now, we should concentrate on getting back safely to my house, I'm not exactly very popular with the local digimon's in charge around here. Why don't you try and get some sleep. You look like you can use it." Gennai remarked as he noticed the tired look in Tai's eyes.
Looking around the desert. Tai shrugged and curled up in a small ball. Yawning he gave a content sound. "Okay, wake we when get there okay Gennai?" Curling up, Tai watched as the sand dunes passed them in an endless flow. Then he slowly fell asleep. Behind him, Gennai crawled back down into the Digimon and closed the hatch.
The Makanorimon slowly came to a stop on the lakeshore. Feeling the world slowing down, Tai blinked his eyes and looked around him. The vast desert had been replace with lush green hills and a faraway forest. When the Makanorimon stopped moving and landed on the side of the lake, Tai dropped down from the arm, and stared around expecting to see a house or hut, maybe even a small castle. But nothing could be seen except for the calm waters of the lake and the tree's in the distance. "Um, Gennai, I don't see your house. Did someone steal it?"
Gennai chuckled as he popped up from the hatch and looked down at Tai. "No, My house is just down these stairs." Holding up a remote, he pressed a button on it and low rumbling sound started. "Welcome to my home Tai." Slowly at first, then faster, the water parted and a long thin staircase leading down appeared.
Staring down the stairs that had appeared as the water had spilt made him gulp. "You live at the bottom?" As the Makanorimon floated down, he began to run after it. On the bottom he found a house looking like the one's he had seen on postcards and out in the outer areas of Tokyo. Running over the wet wooden bridge and up to the door of the house, he stopped on the porch to catch his breath. The sound of a door opening made him look up and smile as Gennai made a welcome motion at him from the large door.
As he stepped in, the door closed behind them and the sound of rushing water followed. Looking back over his shoulder, he blinked as he saw a few fish swim by outside a nearby window. "Wow, this place beats anything I know."
Gennai grinned and grabbed the shoulder of Tai. "Thank you, now if you kindly follow me." Both of them moved towards a small door in the far end of the house. "I would like to study your new form, if I may that is."
****************
Tai stared around the room they had entered. Several wires ran across the floor and connected to a rather large computer screen. As he stepped further into the room, he nearly tripped over one of them but managed to regain his balance. Looking up at Gennai who at a large control panel, pushing buttons, he rubbed his arms and hid his concern. "So what is this test?"
Gennai looked up and grinned. "No test. I'll do a digital scan on you. It will tell me what type of Digimon you are. Please step up on the platform over there." Looking back down on the panel, he pushed a few more buttons. "Okay, if you would take your place."
Stepping up onto the platform, Tai felt a little tingle and then a flash of power ran over him for a second, stinging him a bit. As it vanished he finally learned why cats hated static electricity as all of his fur stood up and made him look fat. "Was that it?" Pushing down his fur, Tai grumbled as it sprang back up again as soon as his paws moved away. "Stupid fur, next time I become a Digimon. It better be something without fur!"
Gennai laughed a little then he pulled out a small cd from the panel. "Tai, this way. We can look at it while we eat. I do take it that you're hungry?" At the speed, the little Digimon Tai had become, suddenly used to get out of the lab told him everything he needed know about that. "Hope you like rice and fish?"
Gennai and Tai stared at the rice and fried fish on the table, one with patience, and the other with the desire of a starving man. Grabbing as much as he could, Tai stuffed himself as fast as he could. "Great food. Hey you gonna eat that rice." Grabbing more of the rice, Tai still chewed on the last bit of fish from his plate. "Man this is good Gennai, way better then just plain fruit every day."
Smiling, the elder man ate in a more civil manner. "I'm glad you like the food. Now should we get down to the matter at hand?" Standing up, Gennai moved over to a strange mosaic on the wall and pressed a button. "The computer analyzed all of your information and put all of the information we want to know on this disk. As the cd slid into a small wall computer the screen and a picture of Chimon smirking plopped up. Tai stood up and looked as writing scrolled down the side of the screen.
Name: Chimon.
Level: Champion.
Kind: Beast.
Type: Data.
Attacks: Fire Claw/Burning Aura
Tai pushed as he looked at the type description. "Gennai, what does data mean?"
Gennai sat down and pushed some button and a picture of Leomon, Divimon and Monochromon popped up. "Digimon can be classified as three different types. Vaccine, Viral and Data, Devimon and Etemon are both viral type Digimon, both of them worked to control and overpower as much of the digital world, Vaccine digimon's works towards preventing the viral digimon's from gaining to much power. Data digimon's are the wild cards in the system. They can be both good and evil, although most of them just go through life not caring about anything." Stopping, he looked down at Tai. "But it get more complicated. There have been times where a vaccine digimon has been evil for some reason or a other, so there is not a fine line between the two."
Tai blinked as Gennai finished speaking. "Okay, I'm a data type digimon, but why am I digimon in the first place?" A pure look of curiosity crossed the young digimon's face as he looked at the old man, waiting for an answer to his question.
Humming a little Gennai called up a small moving picture of Taichi when he had been a human. "It rather simple. Everything in this world consists of computer data. From the tree to the digital monsters, when a digimon dies, it doesn't really die. Instead all of its information get reconfigured and a either a digimon of the same type or a completely new one is formed." Reaching out a hand, he grabbed Tai's shoulder and smiled. "So Agumon isn't really dead. He's in a digi-egg right now, waiting to hatch back at primary village. But I'm afraid he gave too much of his power trying to protect you from Etemon. He doesn't know that he was ever bonded to a human."
Tai wiped a tear from his eyes and looked up at. "Is there a chance that he will one day?" His voice quivered with a hopeful emotion, as he silently prayed for a chance to one day to be with his best friend again.
Gennai looked out as his fished swam around the house. "Maybe, if your bond was strong enough, he may one day remember you." A long silence followed the last words, and then Gennai looked down at Tai. "By the way. I have something for you." Gennai slowly held out his hand and opened it to allow Tai see what was in it. Glinting in the sun, the crest of courage reacted to Tai's presence by glowing orange. "Now then, are you ready to begin you're training. Better try and get control of your Digimon powers."
*****************
Tai sat on the floor in the training room. In front of him stood a large flat stone. Gennai had told him to try and focus on getting used to his new body for starters. So for the last week he had done nothing but train. Learning how to run again, even the act of sitting became a new experience when you had a long tail. After a week he was mostly used to move around and then Gennai had moved up the training. Now he had to learn how to pull on the power inside of him and use his standard attacks.
Gennai looked at the panting Digimon on the floor. "Tai, try to flow with you strength instead of forcing it. You have to walk before you can run and you also have to learn to harness you powers before you can use them" Stepping back, he slipped on a pair of sun glasses. "Now call on the power inside of you."
Standing up, Tai closed his eyes and willed himself to summon up some kind of power. After a good five minute, he grumbled loudly as nothing happened. Opening his eyes, he punched the rock in frustration. "Dammit, why won't it work, what am I doing wrong?"
Gennai looked down at Tai then he sat down and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tai, tell me the truth. Do you want to use your powers, or are you still scared of making the wrong choice." Standing up, he looked down at Tai with half closed eyes. "Everything is powered by you will. If you doubt yourself, then it won't work.
Tai closed his eyes and then turned around. "I don't know Gennai. I want to learn to handle myself. But, what if I screw up." Letting a small amount of silence pass. Tai stepped back. "I can't handle it. I'm so useless now, I can barely walk in this form. How can I be able to fight in it. Yu saw it yesterday, I can barely make the crest of courage glow now"
Genaii looked down at Tai. "There are things that I can't help you with." Placing both hands on the shoulders of the smaller digimon, he gave a small smile. "You need to brake through the cloud of despair and fear yourself. If you doubt everything you want to do, you'll never get it done."
Tai looked up and shook his head. "What you're saying is, that if I get overcome my fear and doubt. I'll never improve."
Gennai shook his head. "Tai take a bath, and then we'll try again later." Stepping out of the room, he walked into his lab and closed the door behind him. As he made sure that Tai couldn't come in, he turned on several screens. On each of them, pictures of the other six chosen children could be seen. They were still somewhere in the desert fighting against Etemon. But from the looks of it, Matt had managed to get his Digimon up to the Ultimate level, when he had dived in to protect Sora from danger. "Hmm, WereGarurumon." Looking down at a table, he moved his hand obver a small diagram and put in a picture of the wolf man Digimon in the slot next to the picture of Garururmon. Picking up a brush, he quickly wrote the name WereGarurumon over it. Then he stepped back and looked on the screens again. "But, will he be enough to defeat Etemon?"
Inside the bath, Tai stared down at his hands as they dangled softly over the edge of the bathtub. Closing his eyes, he remembered the good times. Going on adventure with the other digi destined, fighting together as a team. Then that day the desert, and the following battle with Etemon, the one that cost him his friendship with Agumon. Questions began to form in his mind as he pulled his body from the water and shook the excess water from his fur, how was he ever going to show himself to anyone back on earth as a Digimon. Could he return to earth at all, and if he did was there a place for him. Now that he didn't have a Digimon, was he even a digidestined now? And why did he take a bath? It made his fur heavy and limited his movement, not to mention the smell of it, yuck.
Another problem he was getting far to used to happening, started when he turned on the blow dryer, was the fact that every single piece of fur on his body stood up as it dried in the hot air, and made him look like a small Frigimon with cat ears. Cursing at having to spend another hour beating down the fur, he walked out of the room and plopped down in front the computer screen in the main room. On it, Info about Digimon's was running across the screen. Most of it showed how Digimons accessed their powers.
Standing up, Tai grumbled and turned off the computer screen. Filled with depression, Tai wandered throughout Gennai's house completely lost in his thoughts. Slowly sitting down near a wall. Tai looked up at the ceiling. "If I can't overcome my own fear, I can't help the others. But what is my own fear?"
Sitting down lost in his thoughts. Tai never noticed the small light forming next to him. "Tai?"
Turning around, Tai stared at someone he had never thought he would see again. "Koromon?" It was indeed Koromon, well, a transparent Koromon, but still his Koromon.
The small digimon looked up at Tai with a sad look in his eyes. "Tai, the others need you." Speaking in a hushed voice, the small digimon jumped up to stare right into the dull brown eyes that looked down at him. "Please Tai."
Looking down on the floor again. Tai felt his tail drop down as well. "I can't, I screw up. My powers don't work. Yu're dead and gone, and without a partner, I'm useless" Giving a small sob, Tai looked at the transparent Koromon. "I… I can't help them."
Koromon lowered his eyes. "Tai, are you telling me that I waited for so many years, fought side by side with you. Only to have you quit when you face some little trouble." Staring up wth a determinded look in his eyees, Koromon pointed at Tai with his ear. "You can't give up. The other need you. Just because you make a mistake is no reason to give up."
Tai looked down at his former partner and shook his head. "How?" Giving a look filled with despair at the small digimon, he lifted a hand. "I don't know how to use my new form."
Koromon grinned. "Tai, we all have trouble with something new. If I became a human, I would be just lost as you are now. After all, all I know is how to be a digimon." Closing one eye, he looked up at Tai with a serious look. "Did you give up when you wanted to play soccer? You can get through this. You just have to trust in yourself." Koromon voice began to grew weaker as the small digimon became more transparent. "Tai, you can't give up, I believe in you."
Tai looked down as the small digimon vanished completely. "Koromon?" Falling back against the wall. Tai closed his eyes and began to cry. "I… I'll make it Koromon, for you." Slowly, the crest of courage began to glow as Tai gathered hi resolved. "I won't let the world get me. I'll get through this. I promise."
Tbc in: The power of courage. The cat boy shows his claws.
AN: Rewrite complete. Added some stuff here and there. Nothing much.
The chapter looks finished to me. But if you think there is missing something from it, tell me. I would also like to know if someone would like to help me by beta reading for me.
Dak.