Disclaimer: Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

The Tamer v2.0: In His Name

Chapter 13: Mistaken Identity

Yamaki examined the roof of the tower carefully now that the monsters were gone. Just the sheer destruction of that fight was terrifying. The helipad was cracked and broken, some of the air ducts were dented, and there was a gaping hole that wasn't there before. He scratched his head as he tried to figure out a way to explain this to his superiors without causing any trouble. Without a doubt, the minister was going to try some kind of power play and Yamaki's threat of ruining his career wouldn't go very far.

Still, the Juggernaut did what it was supposed to for the few seconds that it had worked. Now the question was how? Izumi mumbled something about tears in reality. It was only supposed to destroy the wild ones, these monsters that kept coming into their world. So how did that big one use it to come through...unless it worked both ways.

Like a bilge pump used to pump water out, only it had been poorly designed and let more water in instead. That had to be it! They would need to revise it...but Izumi was out of the picture and would be for a while until he was recovered. And there was no guarantee that the hole created by the juggernaut was closed. As far as he knew, he'd made things worse by making it easier for these things to get into their world.

He took a deep breath to calm his thoughts as he contemplated what the correct course of actions for his organization would be. But the calm quickly turned to distress as he realized there was little he could do to make this right - even damage control was out of the question. He'd have to revamp his staff - that meant finding the original programmers. The Monster Makers as they liked to call themselves. The ones responsible for this mess.

And while he was at it, he may as well go find the rest of Izumi's group. The ones protected by Burnt Leaf for so long. Four were too public figures to approach: the musician, the fashion designer, the model, and the lawyer. But the rest could be tracked down if he looked in the right places: one was a school teacher and likely unwilling to cooperate, another was overseas helping with a humanitarian crisis, the detective and his wife were untouchable, the ramen shop owner moved too often and was around too many people to at any given time to acquire. That left the author - the one who'd gone underground and vanished after that damn book of his. That damn, stupid book. Maybe it was time he picked it up and gave it a read? He'd need all the help he could get to track them all down.

Juri looked up at the burning building in silence, trying her best to stay calm. Takato and the others were probably battling for their lives up there and she hated feeling powerless to do anything about it. Especially when the whole building shook without warning and every glass windows shattered from the top - sending debris falling onto the crowd below. Police and fire crews tried to evacuate the onlookers further back but Juri, Kazu, and Kenta refused to budge. They were all eager to know what was going on up there.

Then a flash of light and a loud roar echoed from the top. Some of the crowd speculated that the building was about to collapse, inciting a small panic that sent people scrambling for safety. She hoped they were all okay - that everyone was safe and everything would be alright. Although she had to admit that the long pauses between all the thunderous booms and loud shouts were making her nervous. The next period of silence was the longest and Kazu broke out in complaint, "Ah! I can't take this anymore! I want to know what's going on!"

His outburst caught the attention of a police officer pointed them out, "Hey there kids! Shouldn't you be at home? Get outta here before you get hurt!"

All three of them turned and ran before the office could get another word in, "Hey! Get back here! I mean don't. I mean-ARGH, damn kids!"

Kazu stuck his tongue out at the officer as they made their way to safety at the end of the block and just outside a corner. Kenta groaned, "Man, now we'll never know what's going on over there."

"You think they're going to be okay?" Juri asked nervously, dreading the answer that either boy could give. It didn't help that Kazu cheekily added, "Those other guys are probably okay but I'd be worried about Takato. That kid couldn't play the card game to save his life. And they-"

Every word made Juri's heart sink and it only stopped when Kenta elbowed him hard in the gut. Kazu was about to protest until Kenta pointed at her. He took the hint and offered an apologetic, "Sorry. I mean, he's probably fine. I taught him every move in the game he knows!"

"You just said he couldn't play to save his life," Juri replied sheepishly. That remark made Kazu and Kenta look down quietly, and now Juri was certain of the worse. He was dead. They were all dead.

"That's where you guys went," Rika's voice said behind her. Juri jumped in surprise but felt more at ease to hear her voice. Then she noticed she was alone and looked annoyed. Granted, she was always annoyed but there was something different about this look of annoyance. Kazu cheered, "You're okay! What happened? Wait, where are the others?"

"I'll tell you on the way," Rika gestured for them to follow her through the busy streets. Juri hesitated for a moment, wondering when they'd finally come down from the fight - and still dwelling on the fact that Rika was alone until she called out again, "Hurry up!"

Snapped back to her sense, Juri followed after her and asked, "Rika, where are Henry and Takato and the others?"

She was drowned out by Kazu and Kenta excitedly firing one question after another, "So what happened?"

"What was that thing?"

"How'd you guys beat it?"

"If you guys took it out, it can't have been that tough!"

It was hard to tell if the questions were annoying her or not since her expression didn't change, and it didn't help that she sounded almost proud of her answers, "Renamon and I took it out. She digivolved to champion and wiped the floor with that guy."

Kenta cheered ecstatically, "So who was it?"

"It's name was Mihiramon," Rika answered, "Goggle head knew its name. Don't ask me why or how."

"Where is the guy anyway? He didn't bail, did he?" Kazu followed up, before promptly putting his foot in his mouth, "Don't tell me he let himself get shown up by a girl."

He realized his mistake when Rika turned on her heel and kicked him as hard as she could in the shin. Kazu jumped up on one leg while nursing it and complaining, "What gives?"

"What do you think?" Rika snapped angrily, getting ready to kick him again until Kazu panicked, "I get it! I get it! Sorry. Geez. What's got you all worked up?"

"Rika," Juri said, trying to get her attention. Rika straightened herself out, still shooting the stink eye at Kazu who kept his mouth shut. Once again, Juri asked, "Where are the others?"

The fact that Rika's expression was still unreadable didn't help but she did finally answer, "I was getting to that. Henry, Guilmon, and Terriermon are with Takato. While we were fighting Mihiramon, something happened. Every time Guilmon got hurt, Takato...sort of felt it. He passed out just before the fight ended - we didn't know what to do so we took him to the park."

Any relief Juri had washed away and she worriedly demanded, "Is he okay? Should we take him to a hospital?"

"He said no," Rika replied sheepishly, motioning for them to follow again. Juri raised an eyebrow at that, unsure of how to answer. Thankfully, Kenta asked the question she was thinking, "I thought you said he was passed out."

"He is," Rika admitted, scratching her head and changing her answer, "He was? Look, it's weird. One second, he's out cold and just lying there. The next second he jumps up and spazzes out, then he just passes out again."

"So is he out cold or isn't he?" Kazu asked. Rika turned, looking ready to kick him again until he threw up his arms to defend himself. That was enough to calm her down and she went back to leading the way to the park - where they found Miss Asaji quietly patrolling the park with Mister Mori, another teacher who seemed to be annoying her. Mister Mori was saying something about how they had to think about the children and their innocent minds until Miss Asaji groaned, "Mister Mori, I think I left my clothes in the oven or something like that. I have to go back to my house. Why don't you finish off the patrol without me?"

Without you?" Mister Mori repeated, seemingly hurt by her desire to get as far away from him as possible. As she turned towards them, they all frantically dove into the bushes to avoid being seen. Rika had no idea why they'd done that, and was even angrier when they all pulled her in with them. Once Miss Asaji passed, Rika hissed, "What the hell gives, creeps?"

Kenta wearily explained, "They're teachers from our school - they started patrolling the park at night because they think a student has been running around late at night. They probably meant Takato or Guilmon but it's no fair that it messes with us too!"

"You're telling me," Rika agreed grumpily, watching as Mister Mori continued on ahead. Juri couldn't help but feel sad for Mister Mori whose expression turned glum once Miss Asaji was out of sight. That is, until he grunted something about getting her one day no matter how long it would take. Then he continued into the darkness humming about how beautiful he thought she was. Once they were certain it was safe, they stepped out of the bushes and were called out right away, "It may be dark out but I'm holding a flashlight. It wasn't that hard to see you kids."

All four of them jumped at the same time, turning to see Miss Asaji with folded arms, "What are you kids doing here this late? It's a school night. Go home."

"Well, y'see," Kazu was about to begin until Miss Asaji held up her hand, "Look Kazu. You're already causing me enough trouble in class. Save your excuses and go home. I don't want to hear that it was my student causing all this trouble at the park. Get."

She gestured at the entrance to the park seriously, glaring at them the only way a teacher could. However, that wasn't enough to actually scare them away. In fact, Rika folded her arms grumpily, "And who are you?"

"Your teacher," Miss Asaji started with a hand on her hip. Rika countered with, "You're not my teacher."

"Well, I'm theirs," Miss Asaji gestured at Juri, Kazu, and Kenta. Juri felt her heart sink as Miss Asaji turned her gaze upon them, "And if you don't go home now, I'll personally be walking each of you home so that we can have a nice long chat with your parents. Is that what you-"

WOOSH!

She paused when something flew past overhead. It was so dark that none of them were able to see it properly, but they could make out its frightening visage. Something small and fast, illuminated only by the small flicker of fire. Miss Asaji pointed her flashlight in the direction it had gone, muttering something under her breath before instructing, "You kids go home now. I'm going to check that out."

"Is that such a good idea Miss Asaji?" Juri asked nervously, "Whatever that was looked dangerous. Maybe we should call the police?"

"Don't worry about me. You kids head on home," she assured them, gesturing for them to leave before hurrying on by herself to inspect whatever it was. Juri looked back at the rest of them, but they all seemed unfazed by what they'd seen. Then Rika declared, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Go? Go where?" Juri asked anxiously, racing to catch up to the girl as she went on ahead. Rika never answered and they followed along in total silence until they came across the familiar shed where Takato had been hiding his partner for the longest time. Inside was dark, lit up only by the soft moonlight trickling in through the door. Henry stood just at the door, nervously remarking, "What took so long?"

"We ran into their teachers outside," Rika answered, gesturing at the rest of them. Then she pointed into a corner, where Guilmon and Terriermon were busy hovering over Takato lying there with his eyes closed. He was alarmingly still for someone who was supposed to be unconscious and Juri had to restrain herself from breaking down at the sight of him. He was dead. He had to be. What other explanation was there for why he wasn't moving. She was so nervous, she barely registered Rika asking, "How's he doing?"

"I'm awake!" Takato shouted as he jolted up for a brief second before falling back into unconsciousness. Henry answered sheepishly, "Still doing that, so you tell me."

"He's not dead is he?" Kazu walked up to the boy and poked the side of his face. Terriermon remarked, "He doesn't smell dead. He smells...weird."

"Wait, did he pee himself?" Kenta asked while trying to stifle a snicker. Guilmon answered with a raised hand, "Sorry, that was me. I couldn't hold it so I went in the hole."

He gestured towards the hole in the center of the floor that he'd dug out for himself to use as a bed. Everyone tried to hold back the need to be sick while Henry added, "Hey, you guys didn't have to hear it. It was like a fire hose."

"Well, now I'm imagining it. Thanks," Rika crossed her arms, and went over to the boy's side. She gestured at him carefully, "See what I mean though? He's out cold one second, and the next he jumps up before passing out again."

Kazu crossed his arms and frowned, "So he's not okay. Maybe we should've told Miss Asaji?"

"NO!" Takato jolted up again, this time leaping to his feet and pointing a finger at Kazu, "She can't know. She's not…supposed to…wait…where are we?"

"Oh, so he is awake," Terriermon chuckled. As soon as Guilmon tackled the boy with a great big huh, Terriermon changed his response, "Well, maybe not any more."

"TAKATOMON'S OKAY!" Guilmon said excitedly, practically smothering Takato on the ground. The boy tried to push him off but the dinosaur was too heavy for him, "Whoa! Okay. It's good to see you too, boy. Now…get…get off!"

He was finally able to push Guilmon back, dust himself off and collect himself. He took a quick look around himself and remarked, "We're back in the shed. What did I miss?"

"We beat Mihiramon, you passed out, then we came here," Henry answered quickly, "So I think it's time we talked because it's obvious you're keeping something from us. For starters: how did you know that digimon's name? All three of our digivices scanned it and none of them knew what it was. But you did. How?"

"I…" Takato paused, massaging the back of his neck nervously and casting a sideways glance at Juri. She recalled the things he said when they were in private together not that long ago - when he said there were things he couldn't tell her, because the last thing he wanted was to put her in danger. After a long silence he looked up at them, "If…look guys…there's…"

"Spit it out already goggle head," Rika snapped out angrily. Takato mumbled something about promising the truth a long time ago before answering, "I guess it was going to come out sooner or later. If I tell you, you have to swear that you won't tell anyone else."

Henry noted, "It's not like we're telling anyone about our digimon. If anything, you're the one telling people things. Juri, Kazu, and Kenta here are the only ones who shouldn't know about them and you're the one who told them."

"It was a slip of the tongue," Takato answered sheepishly, avoiding making eye contact with Henry before going on, "But besides that, I need to know you guys won't tell anyone. But it's not just that. Things are probably going to get more dangerous from here. There are people out there shooting at digimon - you three know what I'm talking about. And that guy who pulled the gun on us before won't hesitate again. He will shoot the next time he shows up. And with Mihiramon? He was trying to kill us! If we're not careful, we will die. So if you guys still want to know, to be a part of this, I need you to know that there's no backing down from here."

"We're still here aren't we?" Terriermon asked rhetorically, pointing at Takato, "And after everything that's happened, I think it's safe to say that we're not going anywhere. So just tell us already."

Juri wasn't so sure about that. She should leave. If she didn't stay, she was definitely going to cause everyone to die. That was her lot. People she got too close to ended up dead. And she didn't want that for any of them. It would be better if she left. She turned to leave but was stopped by Kazu grabbing her arm, "Where do you think you're going? You were here before Kenta and I were! You're not chickening out now, right?"

"I just-" Juri tried to counter but paused, trying to choose her words carefully before she answered. Thankfully, Takato answered for her, "Juri is one of the bravest people I know. If she wants to walk away from this, it's not because she's scared. It's because she's being smart and doesn't to take part in the risk. That's not chickening out. Chickening out would be leaving after I tell you guys. So I'm going to ask one last time, are you sure you want to be a part of this?"

Juri noticed the hesitation on everyone's face, all except Rika who stated, "We just took on a giant flying tiger with wings. At this point, I don't think we're scared of anything else."

"Yeah, well, you might just want to be," Takato answered, looking around the room to make sure no one else was leaving. When everyone stayed, he started pacing around uncomfortably, "Where's Renamon?"

Rika's expression soured and she called out, "Renamon?"

"Here," her partner appeared at the entrance without a sound, "I've been listening in. So what is it you're not telling everyone?"

Takato nodded, wearing a surprisingly guilty look as he began to answer, "I promised a long time ago to someone, I can't remember who, that I'd stop hiding things. That I would be more…open, so…let's start with this: I'm from the Digital World."

An uncomfortably long pause followed. Juri wasn't sure how to take that news, or even if she should believe it. The others looked just as incredulous, and Kazu was quick to point an accusing finger, "Get outta here with that. So what? You're from the Digital World? I think those goggles are on too tight because you're-"

He stopped when he noticed Takato pull something out of his pocket and held it out for them to see. It was some kind of weird device, with a small screen, a tiny antenna, and only two buttons. It was also banged up and dented in a few spots, worn and torn beyond belief. Even the screen had been cracked somehow. Takato explained, "This was my original digivice. It shorted out after I…changed? No, that's not the right way to put it."

He scratched his head carefully, "I've been trying to fix it since I remembered it existed…but…I gotta be honest, my memories aren't all there yet. Everything's fuzzy after the change. And a little mixed up - I remember things but I don't think I'm remembering them in the right order or correctly for that matter, which is part of the problem."

Henry sighed, "That doesn't exactly prove anything. You could've gotten that from anywhere."

Takato frowned at that point, "We just fought a giant monster tiger from another world and this is what you're skeptical about?"

That seemed to knock Henry down a peg and he nodded, "You got me there. So you're from the Digital World? How'd you end up here?"

Takato scratched his head, "I…had to leave the Digital World. Something was happening. To be honest, my head is still a little…fuzzy on a lot of the details. I remember landing in a coat rack and there was this really angry guy. I ran into some people. Then a cat talked? Everything gets fuzzy after that. By the time I got my head straight enough to think coherently, I'd been living with my parents…well, the Matsudas for a couple of months."

"So your memory's screwed up is what you're saying," Kenta summarized quickly, "So then how can we be sure that you're remembering anything correctly? You could be getting it all wrong and we would never know!"

It was a good point, one that was hard to argue. It didn't help that Takato added, "I guess you'll just have to trust me."

"Trust you?" Rika asked skeptically. Takato nodded, "Yeah, that's what friends do. Right?"

"Did he just call Rika a friend?" Terriermon asked aloud. Rika appeared so stunned by the question that it took her the longest time to actually respond, "How do we fix your memory?"

Takato scratched his head as he tried to answer, "There was someone supposed to help me. Someone close to me that was supposed to find me. Or I was supposed to find them. But without my digivice working properly, I couldn't do anything about it. And then the new one showed up and I couldn't get it to work right. That was around the time Guilmon showed up. It's like someone tried to make a digivice, didn't know how to do it properly, and just started putting features in. It's...like someone dropped a cellphone in the Ashikaga era and then they tried to make one of their own but they didn't understand what electricity was so we got a crude one that runs on steam and fire."

"Okay, what?" Kazu repeated dumbfounded. Takato held up his red digivice one more time and explained, "Whatever this is, it isn't a true digivice. It's a cheap copy - one with a lot of the same features, I think. Problem is, it's so low tech and basic that I can't figure it out. And they added a card reader for some reason. Which is cool, especially since it helps our digimon. I want to meet whoever came up with it just to shake their hand."

"So then if you're from the Digital World, what are you?" Henry asked seriously, tapping the boy on the forehead, "You're not a digimon, or at the least you're not any kind of digimon I've ever heard of. You look too human to be that. Unless you're one of the Angemon line. But the wings would kind of give that away. So what are you?"

"He is a Digital Ancient," Renamon answered, turning each of their heads, "A being so old they were said to be among the first life in the Digital World. Wise and powerful beyond all measure. You're supposed to be dead. None of you are left. Well, except one of them. And you're kind of young to be that Ancient."

"Personally, I always preferred the Guardians of Destiny but Digital Ancients works too," Takato admitted quietly, turning to Renamon with a curious glint in his eyes, "Now how do you know about the Guardians?"

"It's a story among the digimon. Most think it as a fairy tale, few think of them as historical fact, and even fewer believe the story of The Digimon Tamer," Renamon stated with folded arms, "An Ancient who went renegade and turned against his own people - but a hero to the Digital World as a whole. The Digimon Tamer would always appear in times of darkness but nothing is known of what became of them. Some believe that they went to the human world. Others believe they wander the most desolate corners of the Digital World, protecting it from an even older evil by keeping it at bay. But I can be certain of this: you may be an Ancient but you are no Digimon Tamer."

"And what makes you so sure?" Takato asked. Renamon looked at the others in the room, "The Tamer was a great warrior - someone who could make an army turn and run at the sound of their name. The Tamer never lost a battle. All I see when I look at you is a scared little boy trying to make peace with every monster coming his way. I don't know your story, but I can say you are not a warrior and you can't make people run at the sound of your name. As for the event you mentioned...I believe you ran from the Great War. The conflict that marked the end of your people and hid here in the human world. Some stories say a few Ancients survived by hiding, and it would make sense that you would be one of them."

"Takatomon's not a coward," Guilmon snapped angrily, "He wants to help people."

"Okay, how about we don't start fighting each other and instead talk about Mihiramon," Terriermon jumped between the two digimon to stop them from turning on each other. The two digimon didn't step away but their moods did calm a little. Terriermon then asked, "So what's his deal?"

Takato could only shrug, "Mihiramon's a Deva. Guardian digimon working for...something...kings? Lords? What was it...I want to say a flying snake with chains. And I think a turtle?"

"Well that's helpful," Terriermon commented as his head sunk down. Takato hastily added, "I do remember Mihiramon was the tiger if that helps...and there was a pig? Maybe it was a snake? No that's not...or maybe it was...it would help if I didn't have this headache!"

"Yeah, you sure get a lot of head aches," Henry remarked at the boy massaging his head, "So we've got an all powerful ancient being who doesn't remember anything before a few months ago and we're fighting the first of what sounds like a bunch of really strong digimon coming into our world because...why?"

Takato threw up his hands in frustration, "I don't know. He said they were after The Catalyst but that couldn't be here. That's secured in the Digital World. Sorry if I'm not being too clear, the headache makes it impossible to concentrate. It's like I'm...looking at two different worlds collapsing on each other. Two things that are both true but also can't be true. But there's also a third?"

"What?" Kenta asked, "In Japanese please?"

Renamon clarified for them, "Ancients were supposed to be sensitive to the natural order of the world around them and could detect anything that posed a threat to that change. It's likely his headaches are a result of that."

When that answer didn't help anything, Takato added, "Think like a book. Actually think like two books, only someone ripped all the pages out and threw them into the air. And when the pages were all gathered together, instead of separating the two books, they mashed them together to make a single book. And somehow, against all odds, the new book was put together to make just enough sense that you could make a story out of it. But all the little inconsistencies nag at the back of your head. It's like that, but bigger. And with the Digital World and the digimon showing up, it's like someone's trying to force a third book in the middle It's a miracle that only my head is pounding and nothing else."

"Wait, three?" Kazu asked, "There's our world and the DigiWorld. What else is there?"

Takato raised an eyebrow and shot him a confused look, as if he were asking Kazu if he'd just asked that question, "Isn't it obvious?"

"No," Kazu started tapping his foot. Takato sighed, "Okay, what year is it?"

"What kinda dumb question is that? It's 2001!" Rika shouted in exasperation, "So, congrats. You've told us the truth and it all ended up being either stuff we already knew or stuff we can't even use. Is there anything else pointless you want to tell us?"

Rika's outburst sounded like she'd been holding that back for a while. Juri was worried that Takato had been seriously hurt and now she was certain something was wrong with him. And she wasn't sure there was anything any of them could do about it. His head must've taken quite the hit to be talking about all of this like it was perfectly normal. Takato sighed, "Okay, let me try explaining it like this: you remember the Digimon Movie?"

"Movies," Kenta corrected, "There were three of them. Adventure! Our War Game! And The Golden Digivolution!"

Juri had been unaware that digimon had three movies to its name. She knew about the show because the boys always talked about and the card game because they played it. But movies? She had no idea how big the franchise was. Takato nodded and went on, "Not in America. They mixed three of the movies together, making it one movie. Strung together by the thinnest of plot threads."

Kazu burst out laughing, "Are you kidding? Those movies had nothing to do with each other! Why would they do that?"

"Exactly!" Takato snapped his fingers, "It's sort of like that. By themselves, the movies make sense. All together, not so much. Especially when you think about it. Then it starts to make your head hurt. Only in this case, the movie is three worlds strung together that shouldn't have been. Maybe four."

Rika groaned and started massaging her head, a sentiment Juri shared as she tried to follow along. Only she felt more lost and confused than before. Takato must've noticed their confusion and offered, "Still not convinced? Then maybe this will help. It's our teacher...well, not Rika's. Unless I never noticed. Rika might hear it before the rest of you guys but once you hear it, the distortions will begin to become more obvious. You just need to concentrate."

"Wait, why her?" Kazu complained, "Why does she get to figure it out first?"

"Try to keep up, Kazu. It's like she said. The year is 2001," Takato explained with a pointed finger, "Now think about how that's weird. Remember the books? The autobiographical book about digimon by the twenty something year old author that kickstarted the franchise? The first one takes place in 1999, and its sequel is set in 2002. So he's in his twenties now, but was eight three years ago. And she was the first one of you guys to notice that. So she'll probably notice this too. Understand?"

"No," Kazu grunted, making Rika scoff. Takato sighed, "Never mind. Just…concentrate on my voice. Block everything else out. Our teacher's name. It's Nami Asaji."

"Yeah, we know," Kazu groaned, "We see her every day."

Takato put a finger to Kazu's lips to silence him, "You're just going to be all kinds of difficult today. You're not listening hard enough. Try again: Nami Asaji."

"I still just hear our teacher's name," Kenta repeated. Takato sighed again, "Let me try this one more time and really concentrate. Clear your mind. Listen only to what I'm saying."

Juri closed her eyes, trying her best to concentrate on what Takato was saying, "KaNarimi KAasiayaji."

Wait, why did it sound weird? It was like there were two voices talking at the same time. And it made her head hurt, "I heard something that time."

"I still just hear Nami Asaji," Terriermon replied. He looked her way and his expression became worried, "Hey are you okay? You look like you're about to have an aneurysm."

"Yeah, just a headache," she massaged her head. Was this what it was like for Takato? All the time? How was he staying upright? Then she noticed him staring, wide eyed and amused. Takato's smile widened as he excitedly added, "Okay. Didn't expect that. That's surprising. What did you hear Juri?"

"I don't know. Just a jumble of words," she answered with a frown. Takato approached her, placing both of his hands on her temples. Her headache went away and she a felt something she hadn't before. A calm serenity that put her at ease with everything. He looked her square in the eye, "Close your eyes Juri."

She had to admit it was embarrassing to have him this close to her, but she closed her eyes and listened, "Concentrate, Juri. You can do this. Listen: Kari Kamiya."

She heard it clearly that time. But before she could say anything, Rika blurted out, "Kari Kamiya? From the book? And the show? You expect me to believe your teacher is really Kari Kamiya? The lady we just passed outside?"

"What? Are you telling me you heard something different. Of course she's our teacher!" Kazu cried out, "Are we done saying Nami Asaji already?"

"Wait, you didn't hear that?" Kenta asked in disbelief, looking at Kazu like he was crazy, "He clearly said Kari Kamiya. There is a resemblance now that I think about it..."

"Wait, did you say Kari Kamiya?" Henry asked. Takato patted him on the back, "Alright, Henry. I figured you'd be next after Rika, but this works. I guess."

"That's what I said: Nami Asaji," Kazu frowned. How could he not hear it? Juri looked at Takato, "What's happening?"

Takato waved his hands around excitedly as she spoke, "I think Kazu still can't hear it. Maybe his brain can't process the information properly - side effect of multiple worlds sitting on each other. That's okay. The rest of you heard me, though. Maybe he's just slow?"

"I am not slow!" Kazu protested.

"So wait, if she's our teacher," Kenta began massaging his head like he was trying to make sense of things through the strongest headache imaginable, "How come we never noticed until now?"

"You couldn't," Takato snapped his fingers, spinning in place as went on to excitedly explain, "The thing about these multiple worlds sitting on top of each other is that reality is trying its hardest to make them mesh to avoid a total collapse. You guys would never be able to notice until the damage was too much. But for me, it's dizzying trying to keep track of two worlds occupying the same space, at the same time, with contradictory information, going two different ways. Don't worry though, no one else has noticed. And I figured starting with Kari would be the easiest way to help."

"All I hear is Nami Asaji, Nami Asaji, Nami Asaji," Kazu rolled his eyes, "Takato, if you've got a crush on the teacher, now's the time to say it."

Everyone laughed, surprised that Kazu was still struggling to keep up with them. However, another question began to plague Juri. It was about Takato. They'd been in the same school, in the same grade for a long time. So how could any of this be true? Was he also one of those things that was wrong. No, he said he was an Ancient or a Guardian. Then she remembered. How could she have forgotten? Takato disappeared a year ago. He vanished into thin air. How did she forget? Juri asked, "So...Takato...if that is you...I mean, you are Takato, right?"

"Wow, one more win for Juri," he smiled at her, "You are just full of surprises, today."

Then he paused, his mood appearing to sour, "No, I'm not. My name, my real name is The Digimon Tamer. I know you're going to be skeptical of that Renamon, which is fine. I don't know who Takato is or what happened to him. I guess I'm just...keeping his life warm for him while he's not around."

That hit Juri like a ton of bricks. She heard Renamon and Rika scoff, Kazu seeming confused, and noted the look of concern on the others' faces. Then Kenta added, "Wait...that's right. You went missing."

"What are you talking about? Takato's not missing, he's right here!" Kazu exasperatedly tried to explain to the rest of them. Kenta reminded them, "No, don't you remember? Last year! He went missing for like a month. Disappeared one day after school and nobody knew where he was. How did we forget that?"

"Side effect of the different worlds sitting on top of each other," Takato answered with a half smile, "It's easy to forget all the little things when they're not happening to you, especially when they're happening across several layers of reality. It's all pretty normal, actually. Well, not normal. It's wrong. And it's why my head is always fuzzy."

None of this was normal. None of it. And whatever was going on was going to kill them all. Maybe that was why Takato disappeared? So what were they supposed to do?

Rika couldn't believe what she was hearing and crossed her arms in disbelief. It seemed the others were just as uneasy with that information. And how couldn't they be? The goggle head, if he was telling the truth, was living someone else's life! She was about to call him out on it when Terriermon interrupted, "So do we just fight these Devas as they cross through? Because Mihiramon was tough and I'd hate to see who they send next."

"As long as it's not the monkey, we'll be fine," Takato tried to reassure them, but that somehow seemed to be the most nonsensical response he could give. He did add one other thing, something that seemed to lighten the mood, "There are others who can help us out. That's what they were supposed to do, anyway: Kari and the rest. Just gotta find them."

"You mean the digidestined, right?" Henry asked incredulously, looking at Terriermon, "Did you know about this?"

"Moumantai!" Terriermon replied. Renamon's ears perked up with excitement, "You mean the chosen children?"

"Of course. If digimon were real, what else wouldn't be?" Rika asked. Takato raised an eye to her, "Are you starting to believe me?"

Rika turned her head to avoid looking at him, "So where are they? How soon can we find them?"

"I have no idea. Aside from Kari and Mimi, I have no idea where the rest of them are," Takato answered and of course, Rika groaned, "Because of course you don't. Wait, Mimi?"

"Your mom," Takato answered. Rika blinked at that, "My mom? Goggle head, are you crazy? My mom's a total drama queen. There's no way she's a digidestined. Especially…Mimi."

Despite her protests, Rika slowly began to realize that it made too much sense - her mom's love of fashion, the fact that she remembered her dad being a computer nerd, and all the times she heard her mom called a different name. Takato put a hand on her shoulder and explained, "I know you don't like it Rika but it is the truth. That's why you were the first to notice all the weird things going on. I thought you would've noticed that too."

Rika slapped his hand away, recalling one reason that made no sense, "Lets assume I believe you. Why isn't my last name Izumi?"

"It is…well, it sort of is," Takato scratched his head, "But I noticed it the first time we went to your house. The sign in front said Makino. It also said Nonaka. And sometimes it said Izumi. Your life…your lives…are sitting on top of each other in a way that is forcing reality to compensate - it's mixing and matching as it needs to keep it consistent. Normally you wouldn't notice it. But you're living in that intersection - that's why you could notice all the little inconsistencies in the books and show. And I'm sure you've heard your mom be called Mimi sometimes, whether or not you want to admit it."

Rika didn't like what she was hearing. Her mom, the annoying fashion model and actress who was the complete opposite of her…was the digidestined Mimi! It felt like her entire world was crumbling around her. It couldn't be true. There was no way she and her mom had digimon in common! It just wasn't possible.

"There's one other thing," Takato interrupted, snapping her away from those troubling thoughts, "That card. The one you used to make Kyubimon digivolve. Where did you get that?"

"I don't know. It wasn't in my deck before," Rika explained, picking up her deck so that she could show it to them. She flipped through the deck several times in search of it, "That's weird. It's not here anymore."

"The card disappeared?" Takato asked, coming over to have a look. Rika handed the deck over for him to examine, "Yeah, none of these cards would make a digimon digivolve. Maybe it was a one time use?"

Rika tried racking her brain for an explanation to the strange card and could only think of one, "There was thus one guy. He bumped into me on the way here and scattered my deck. Maybe he planted it?"

"What kinda guy just carries a card around like that?" Henry asked. Rika didn't have an answer to that either.

Kari Kamiya continued into the darkness, moving her light in search of the source of that mysterious figure that dashed past. There was no doubt in her mind that it was a digimon and her mind raced at the possibility that it could be one of their long lost partners: Veemon? Gatomon? Who else was small, agile, and could use fire? After going in the direction it had gone for some time, she called out into the darkness, "Hello? Is anyone there? It's okay, I'm not going to hurt anyone. Hello?"

"What's with you humans and butting into my business when all I want is to be left alone?" a small imp wearing a red scarf asked, appearing beside her with his arms crossed. He raised his hand up to block the light and complained, "Watch it jerk. Didn't your momma mon ever teach you not to flash those things in people's eyes?"

"You're a digimon," she said, her heart skipping a beat in excitement. The little imp clapped his hands, "Wow, you're the first human to not run away screaming. And yous figured it out. Good job. Whad'ya want and how do I make yous go away?"

"I'm Kari. I'm a digidestined and I can help," she began explaining only to watch the digimon light a fire with his fingers and throw it at her feet, "BADABOOM! Listen toots. I dunno nothin' about no digidestin' or whatever. All I want is to be left alone. So beat it. Scram! Before I actually light something on fire."

Not to be deterred, she insisted, "I'm sure if we talk this out, we could help each other and-"

"BADABOOM!" He flung another ball of fire at her feet, "I said beat it! And don't lemme catch you snoopin' after me again, ya hear?"

Before she could get another word in edge wise, he leapt up into the trees and disappeared. There was no doubt in her mind now. Digimon were appearing in the their world. And their partners were still nowhere to be found. There was something going on in the Digital World. Something bad. And she dreaded not knowing what. She just hoped her partner and friends were okay.

Author's Notes: Secrets have been answered but more questions are raised. Where did Rika get that card? What is the catalyst? And what does Yamaki have in plan for Kari) Find out all this and more in the next chapter of the Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in two weeks on Friday May 3rd at 8 PM CDT. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews section. I try to reply as soon as I'm able. If you loved it, be sure to favorite and follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates. Now let's look at some previews for the next chapter:

As Rika made her way back home, she stopped just outside her home and called out to her partner, "Hey, Renamon!"

"Yes, Rika?" she appeared beside the gate into her home. She'd had plenty of time to think about this question after the useless talk with Takato, "Back when we first met, you called me Tamer. Was that because you thought I was this...Digimon Tamer person Takato is talking about?"

She noted Renamon's delayed response, "That is what I believed at the time. I thought you were The Digimon Tamer because you were the one who so many digimon appealed to. But I see now that I was mistaken. You are just an ordinary human like your peers - but that doesn't mean we aren't partners nor does it mean that I don't care about you."

Her answer hardly made Rika feel better. She didn't want to be a part of someone else's problem - whether it meant saving the Digital World or their world or whatever. There was one other thing bothering her, "How did you show up in my room that one night? You all just sort of appeared."

"That is difficult to answer. I felt a calling in the Digital World - an unseen force pulling me towards you. Before I knew it, I found myself in that place with those other digimon. I don't know how I got there. I simply was," Renamon answered, "Is something the matter?"

"Just a bad feeling," she replied quietly, "I should head in. Good night Renamon."