After a 4-day weekend away from home, I'm back and ready to write. So yeah. Er, that's all I have to say.
-Kouji Tamino
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Meanwhile, at the park, the 'Corrupt' Tamers and their Digimon were all gathered in a circle and staring at a small crystal ball as they sat on the grassy ground. Being displayed in the ball was a tall humanoid Digimon, obscured by darkness. "The time has come to strike…" he said in a deep, raspy voice. "We will attack in a week. Make the necessary preparations."
"Yes, Master…" the kids and Digimon responded with a nod, speaking in unison.
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Digimon Tamers: Outbreak
Episode 10: Prologue to Terror
And so, a week came and went. Kazu and Kenta returned home, their mission complete. Takeshi was just beginning to become reacquainted with normal life. He visited his sister daily, still quite ticked that his mother was showing little to no interest in visiting Sakuya. As he walked the streets, he punched a wall in anger, quickly yelping out and waving his hand in pain soon after. "Damn, that was dumb of me…"
"Yeah, you're not a super hero, Takeshi…" Kasaimon joked, stifling a laugh.
Sticking his tongue out, he laughed as well. "Shut up, Kasaimon." He replied jokingly. Since the incident at the mall, which had been broadcast on television, Digimon's reputations go up, especially with Digimon accompanying a Tamer. Grabbing the human sized monster in a headlock, he chuckled. "So, what do you want to do today, buddy?"
"Hmm…" the dragon scratches his head for a moment, as if he was in deep thought. "Can we go to the park for a picnic? Let's invite the others, too! Like Ai and Mako, and Suzie and Lopmon, and Henry and Terriermon, and Rika and--"
"Okay, I get the point!" Takeshi screamed, laughing. "Okay, so you want to go on a picnic and invite all of our friends and everyone we know, right?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"Yeah!" Kasaimon said happily, waving his arms. "It'll be fun!"
"You know what?" Takeshi began, pulling out his red and black striped cell phone. "That does sound like fun. I'll call everyone whose number I have right away and tell them to call and invite anyone we know." He began to dial numbers as he and Kasaimon started to walk in the direction of the park. As he got into contact with a certain girl, he held the phone away from his ear as she squealed in joy.
"Takeshi-kun!" Suzie screamed happily on the other side of the phone. "I can't believe you're inviting me on a date to the park!"
"Actually, it's not a date…" Takeshi replied in an annoyed tone. "It's just a little get together with friends. Tell Henry and Terriermon that they're invited, too."
"Oh…" Suzie said softly, somewhat disappointed. She quickly cheered up, however. "Well that sounds fun, too! I'll ask them if they can come and Lopmon and I will be over soon regardless!"
"Good!" Takeshi replied with a smile. "Seeya there!" He quickly hung up, sighing. "Now for Rika, and see if she can contact Jeri…" And so, he began calling the others…
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As Takeshi and Kasaimon arrived at the park, he was surprised to see that Ai and Mako had already arrived. He waved. "Hey, guys! How did you get here so fast?"
"We were in the area." Ai replied, waving back. "Impmon's still hospitalized, remember?" She sighed staring at the ground. "I feel kind of bad, going out to have fun while Impmon is in his condition…"
"There's not much we can do, sis…" Mako said sadly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We just have to go with life until he gets better."
"Hey!" Henry shouted as he, Terriermon, Suzie, and Lopmon arrived. "Looks like we came just in time!"
"Henry!" Takeshi shouted, waving at his role model. "Yeah, you guys made it just it time!" He screamed as Suzie ran towards him and grabbed him in a tackle hug. "Hey, Suzie…"
"Hi, Takeshi!" Suzie asked with a grin on her face. "Did you miss me?"
"Not really." the black haired boy replied, staring at her. "We just saw each other yesterday, remember? At school?"
Suzie sniffled a bit. "You're so mean sometimes, Takeshi…"
"Hey, what'd you do to Suzie?" Henry asked dangerously, going into 'overprotective brother mode'.
"Wah!" Suzie screamed, jumping off of Takeshi and spreading her arms to defend him. "Don't kill him, Henry! I was just joking around with him!"
"…Would he really kill him?" Kasaimon asked, getting a little worried.
"Let me out it this way…" Rika began, as she, Renamon, and Jeri arrived on the scene. "Kung Fu by a person with actual Chinese in them."
"Ouch…" Takeshi winced, chuckling nervously. "Remind me to never piss you off, Henry."
"Don't worry, it takes a lot to get me upset…" Henry said in reassurance. "Unless you mess with my friends or relatives, that is…" He backed away and yelped a bit as Takeshi stared at him with glossy eyes, clamped together.
"You're so cool, Henry!" Takeshi said in an unusually chipper tone. "You're like, an inspiration to me! Focused, serious, and yet, friendly!"
"Uh oh, obsessive hero worship…" Rika laughed a bit. "Better be careful, Henry."
"I think it's adorable." Jeri giggled, staring at the incident with amusement.
Everyone was carrying bags of food, and Kasaimon was holding a large blanket. Takeshi switched items with his Digimon, and set down the blanket, laying it out on the ground evenly. Everyone began to set their bags and baskets of food down on the blanket. "So, what's there to do at this little get together?" Rika asked, putting her hands at her hips.
"Well, I don't know…" Takeshi began, chuckling again. "I thought you guy would have some ideas!" He sighed as the others face faulted. "I know, I'm a screw-up…"
"Yes. Yes you are." Rika replied in a deadpan voice, crossing her arms in annoyance.
"Rika, don't you think that that's a little bit…" Renamon began, staring at her Tamer. "…harsh?"
"Oh, I have an idea!" Henry suddenly shouted, scaring Terriermon off of his head. "Whoops, sorry buddy…"
"S'all right." the rabbit/dog replied plainly.
"Anyway, how about we all gather around and tell of our experiences as Tamers?" Henry said, finishing his statement. "It would make for a great learning experience for our juniors, if you think about it."
"That's a pretty good idea, when you think about it!" Jeri exclaimed with a smile. "Besides", she began with a giggle, "we wouldn't want them to make the same mistakes we did, now would we?"
"That's for sure…" Rika muttered, her face becoming red.
"Rika, are you blushing?" Jeri asked, squealing. "That's so damn cute!"
"Jeri, please refrain from doing things like that in reference to me…" Ruki said, shuddering. "Otherwise, I will be forced to hurt you."
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"And so, as Takato and Gallantmon went into a mad rush to save Jeri, MegaGargomon and I executed the plan that the Monster Makers came up with." Henry explained, everyone listening in intently. For Takeshi, it was a new experience. And for everyone else, it was interesting to recall his or her old adventures. "It all went to plan, but in reverting the D-Reaper back to an earlier state, we had reverted our Digimon back as well, and they could no longer handle being in the real world. It hurt, but we eventually came to terms with the fact that we would have to let our friends go. A few months later, Takato discovered a new Digital Gate and we were reunited with our Digimon partners for a short while. We dealt with Locomon, and then--" Henry's line of vision quickly went over to Mako, who was attempting to steal one of his shrimp. "HEY! Get your own!"
"Wow, Takato sounded like he was awesome! Risking everything for his loved ones!" Takeshi shouted. "I want to become that strong!"
"Maybe you will." Rika replied, smiling. "You just have to wait for that one moment when everything seems hopeless, but you still have at least one thing worth protecting."
"I know you can do it, Takeshi!" Suzie shouted, crawling up behind him and hugging him around the neck. "My big, strong hero!" She looked to the others with a grin. "Did you know that he and Kasaimon saved my life about a month ago? They were so brave, facing that Monzaemon all by themselves!"
"When was this?…" Ai asked with a raised eyebrow, intrigued.
"It was nothing." Takeshi said, a little too quickly. "Simply the emergence of a Wild One Hypnos missed. It kidnapped Suzie, Kasaimon and I took care of it. That was all." He gasped as he heard some sniffling behind him. He turned around to see Suzie, who was holding back her tears. "Ah… Suzie, I--"
She stared at him sadly with blurry eyes. "Didn't that day mean anything to you at all?" She clenched her fists, glaring at him. "It was the day we met and became friends!"
"S-Suzie!" Takeshi shouted in a panic, waving his hands nervously. "You know I didn't mean it like that!" He smiled, putting a hand behind his head and winking at her. "Suzie, you're a very great friend. You're always cheering me up and shedding some light on what could otherwise be a dark day."
"Takeshi…" Suzie said softly, her cheeks turning a light pink. She squealed, grabbing the boy in a hug and nuzzling against him. "You may be a bit of a jerk, but you can be so sweet sometimes!"
"Ooh, nice save." Mako replied, chuckling. "That Suzie… She seems to have everyone she knows wrapped around her finger." He screamed as Henry smacked him in the back of the head. "What the--?"
"How the hell would you know that, HUH?" Henry asked, screaming.
Smirking in an evil fashion, Mako explained. "I saw you two the other day! You were obeying her every command like her personal servant!"
"H-hey!" Henry screamed, getting a tad uncomfortable. "T-that's none of your business!" He lowered his head. "Besides, I have to do what she says, otherwise my dad will kill me."
"That's right!" Suzie said with a grin, hopping on his back. "Henwy is my personal slave!"
"Well you don't have to put it that way…" he muttered, his dignity slowly being crushed.
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Meanwhile, Kiriko and Mizumon were sitting in her room, the Digimon masquerading as a stuffed animal. The girl sighed as she put her shoes on, tying them a little too tightly in nervousness. As she stared at the floor, she bit her lips, tears plopping onto the carpet. "I… I just can't…"
"What's wrong, Tamer?" the scaly seal girl asked, tilting her head. She really hated to see her partner torn up like this. Despite the fact that she had asked, she had a pretty good feeling as to what was bothering her.
"It's just…" Kiriko slowly turned to her Digimon, wiping away her tears. "I really don't want to do this… I mean, I know it's not right…" She slammed her hands on her legs. "But I just don't want to disappoint Kenji!" She gasped, covering her mouth as she realized her slip-up.
"Oh, I see…" Mizumon said in a teasing manner, a sly look on her face. "You have a crush on Kenji, don't you?"
"N-no, it's not like that!" she shouted, blushing. "Well, to tell the truth, I've been worried about him lately…" Once again, she sighed, picking up her hat and staring at it for a moment. "He hasn't been himself. Lately he's been very different. It all started when he got Kuraimon. He slowly began to change, I found you, he introduced me to Kazuya, and the rest is history." She frowned, clenching her fist. "I don't like that Kazuya… He's odd."
"Kiriko…" Mizumon began in a gentle voice, staring up at her Tamer. "I just want you to know… No matter what you decide to do, I'll be by your side. Always."
Kiriko smiled at her Digimon partner as tears rolled freely down her face. "Mizumon!" She shouted, grabbing the sea creature in a tight hug. "You're the best friend a girl could ask for!"
"You're choking me!" Mizumon squealed out, flailing her fins around wildly.
"Kiriko!" The girl's mother shouted from downstairs. "Kenji and Kazuya are here!"
"Coming!" Putting down Mizumon and putting on her hat, she picked up Mizumon again and carried her downstairs the stairs like a doll. She ran past her mom and ran outside. "Seeya later, mom!"
"Stay safe!" The woman exclaimed. She had long, sandy brown hair that went all the way down her back, and dark brown eyes. She was wearing a yellow blouse, matching socks, jeans, and a green apron. She stared out after her daughter with some concern. "I wonder why she wouldn't tell me how long this class trip is going to be…"
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"So, is everyone ready?" Kenji asked, a smirk on his face. The trio and their Digimon were heading toward the park. The exact same park as the others were at, in fact.
"You know it." Kazuya replied, smiling a little too widely. "Time to blow some more stuff up."
"Is that all you ever think about?" Kenji asked jokingly, laughing.
Kiriko closed her eyes, squeezing Mizumon against herself tightly. All she needed to do was get this over with. But… she didn't want to leave home for that long.
To Be Continued…