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 18: His Dad's Secret

"What is all this? Why are…you and Xiaochun here?" his asked him, gazing at them and then at the digimon. Normally, Henry would've expected his father to be angry or even scared. But he seemed more confused, picking Xiaochun up and holding her tight. Whatever he was about to say next was cut off when a black attack helicopter appeared overhead, and he instead gestured away, "We'll talk about this later. We're getting out of here."

"Where are we going?" Henry asked anxiously and his dad replied, "Anywhere that isn't here. It's not safe. Let's go."

Henry looked back at the others, worried about what would happen to them and began, "But what about-"

"Henry, who's this guy?" Kenta asked aloud, appearing beside him silently and making him jump worse than the helicopter. Before Henry could even think to respond, Takato called out, "Guys! Let's talk later! We should run! No, wait! Split up. We'll meet up at the park."

Juri looked at him quizzically, "Why split up?"

"Because three large digimon moving separately are harder to track than a three large digimon moving together. Even harder when there's five! Use the smoke bombs to throw them off!" Takato explained quickly. He gestured to Growlmon to pick him and he took Kazu and Kenta with him as well, "Now let's go."

He dropped a smoke bomb and they watched the silhouette of the dinosaur run off down the street. Rika was quick to agree, "Makes sense. Juri, come with me and Kyubimon!"

The girl climbed up onto the fox and it took off for a sprint down the street, smoke bombs going off all around it to throw off the helicopters.

Rapidmon followed their lead, scooping up Henry and his family, "Let's get out of here!"

Before Henry could think to get another word in, Rapidmon ascended into the air and flew off down the street. Xiaochun let out cheers of delight, as did Calumon when the wind roared past their faces. Their dad on the other hand was less thrilled, visibly shaken and trying not to panic at suddenly being carried away. Rapidmon darted through the streets so fast that Henry was sure he'd swallowed a few bugs on the way. At least he didn't have to worry about suing smoke bombs at this speed.

Yamaki looked around the street in silent anger and frustration. More of those things had just made their way into the Real World. And once again, Hypnos was powerless to do anything about it. The QRF has been dispatched more easily than ever before, and none of them would even be alive if it hadn't been for the intervention of those kids. They used smoke to help the injured escape, while their own monsters distracted the attention of the larger ones.

He'd been trying to quit smoking for some time, but he couldn't stop himself from fiddling with his lighter - flicking the lid open and shut repeatedly. Something about the noise helped him think. What was going on here? Was this just a game to them? Did these kids not realize how serious the situation was? He needed to report back to HQ and prepare a cover story. That is, if he could even think of one.

This was on too big a scale to report as a freak accident and too small a scale to call a natural disaster. That was when he noticed a nearby security camera at the nearby building. They were screwed if any of the footage survived and leaked out. He suspected another long night ahead and Hypnos had its work cut out for them.

Kyubimon turned into the park just in time to regress back to her small frame of Renamon, letting Rika and Juri climb off before they fell to the ground. She took a knee immediately, needing a moment to catch her breath as she felt all of Rika's power-ups leave her. Then she noticed a bottle of water enter her field of vision - a gift from Juri. She looked to Rika for some sign of what to do, and took it when she nodded her approval. She was glad too - she was parched and drank it all in one go, "Thank you."

"Any time," she answered. Rika took the lead, "Come on. We'd better get away from the entrance while we wait for goggle head and the others to get here."

"Y-yeah, right," Juri nodded, following just a few paces behind her. Renamon had already done her vanishing act, disappearing to wherever she went to when she wasn't needed. They stopped at the stairs leading up to the shed where goggle head kept his partner, and Rika rested herself against a tree with her arms folded. She noticed Juri fidgeting nervously like she wanted to say something, and she eventually grew impatient with it, "Whatever you're going to say, just spit it out already."

"I was just...um, thinking of something to talk about," she answered meekly, "We don't really talk, y'know."

Rika frowned, recalling that she wasn't the most sociable person anyway and didn't know how to talk to girls her own age, "Let's just sit in the quiet for a little bit."

That didn't stop Juri from continuing to fidget, and Rika sighed, "What?"

"I...um...well," Juri paused, reaching into her backpack to produce a sock puppet. She slid it into her hand and held it out to face Rika, looking away and speaking while moving its mouth, "Juri thinks you and Renamon were really cool back there. You were awesome."

Right. She forgot that this girl would do this sometimes, as weird as it was. She unfolded her arms and asked, "What's with the puppet?"

"The superintendent says what Juri can't," the sock puppet answered. Rika couldn't believe it. Was she really supposed to have a conversation with a freaking sock puppet of all things? She clicked her tongue, "Well, superintendent. I'm not in the mood to talk to you right now. If Juri has anything to say to me, she can say it."

"Woof."

And that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Okay, I'm not doing this," Rika snatched the sock puppet out of Juri's hand, "What's your deal? You're not a coward, otherwise you would be running from all the fighting digimon like everyone else is. Are you just crazy? You gotta be. Because you don't seem to have a problem talking to anyone else."

Juri looked away sheepishly, "I...only really talk to Takato. I don't say much to the others."

"Huh?" Rika had to seriously think about that. Did she really only talk to the goggle head? Birds of a feather, she supposed. He wore those dumb things on his face and she loved to talk with the freaking puppet. She tried to think of times when Juri openly spoke with the others and was surprised to realize that she couldn't think of any. Then she remembered the book she'd read. There was no way Juri knew what she was up for against Takato if he was who he said he was, "Why the goggle head?"

"I don't know...but it's not like that or anything," Juri answered quickly. Rika rolled her eyes at the idea of anyone actually liking goggle head. The last thing she wanted was to talk about the goggle head in that sense. If anything, she'd warn him. But when all the others were here so that she wouldn't have to explain herself again. So she brought it back to Juri for now, "Okay, then what's the deal with this puppet?"

"I...um...well..." Juri paused for a moment, until Rapidmon slammed into the ground beside them. He released Henry, Xiaochun and their dad before regressing to Terriermon. That didn't stop the little girl from squealing, "Yay! Again! Again!"

"Yeah! Again! Do it again!" Calumon added. Terriermon flopped back onto sidewalk and groaned, "No thanks. I think I'm going to nap now."

"Aw," Xiaochun and Calumon whined. Henry waved at the two girls calmly, "Glad to see you made it alright."

"Likewise," Rika nodded, noticing his dad had begun pacing anxiously around Terriermon. It looked like he was just as lost for words as Juri was when it came to anything. With every step, Henry grew visibly more worried until finally his dad asked, "Has Terriermon always been alive?"

"Y-yeah," Henry answered sheepishly, scooping up his partner to protect him from his dad's increasing predatory inquisitiveness. His dad's tone was more curious than dangerous. Like he'd been given a puzzle that he was trying to solve, "So if he wasn't a doll you stole from a girl-"

Rika noticed Juri fidget at that statement.

"-then where did he come from?"

"Would you believe from out of my computer when I first played that game you got me?" Henry answered rather sheepishly. His dad shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, "So he's only been around a few weeks. How?"

"From my perspective, I was in the Digital World one second and here the next," Terriermon answered, cracking open just one eye so he could get a look at Henry's dad. Henry's dad continued to stare at Terriermon in disbelief, "I don't understand though. How did all of this happen?"

Henry needed a second to take a deep breath before answering, "We've been trying to figure that out. We already know why they're coming here - they want Calumon because he's some kind of power source in their world and they need that power because there's some kind of danger in their world that needs defeating."

He gestured at the little guy in Xiaochun's arms, and Calumon waved excitedly, "Hello."

His dad grunted, "That's not what I meant. I mean...this was all a kid's toy franchise! From a book! Based on a computer program some friends and I made up in college."

Rika turned over to look at them now, finally curious about what they were saying. Henry asked, "Dad, what are you talking about? You've seen the digimon for yourself! This is all real."

Henry's father sighed and went on to say, "No, no. See, Henry back when..."

His dad paused like he was giving consideration to something before stating, "No. We'll talk about this when the rest of your friends get here. I want to be sure they're all safe before I get any of you involved in this."

"Gee, doesn't that sound familiar," Rika rolled her eyes and made sure they all knew that she disapproved. He was talking exactly like goggle head and the last thing they needed was another goggle head running around. However, she was no different for keeping something to herself. She wanted to wait for the others to get here but decided against waiting any longer, "Since we're here, there's something I need to tell you guys."

She had their attention now as they waited for her, "I found a copy of the original book of the Digimon novels. It's a lot different from the one that became a show. A lot different…it's almost a different kind of story. But that's not the important part. The important part is this: if Takato really is who he says he is, we can't trust him."

"Why not?" Henry asked, his dad even curious now. Rika frowned, "It'd take some time to explain and I'll tell you guys about it later. What's important is we can't trust him or anything he says. I don't think he's going to betray us or turn on us, but I don't think we can count on him to help us either if things go south. But don't tell him I said that. Got it?"

She made sure to look at Juri when she said it, worried the girl might let something slip. They all nodded but Juri took a second longer than the others. It seemed everyone but Henry's dad was going to be cool about this. Before anyone could ask her any questions about what she'd just said, Growlmon came running in with Takato, Kazu, and Kenta on his back. All three boys leapt off as the digimon finally returned to his smaller form, "I'm tired. I'm hungry! Takatomon, can we eat?"

Kenta looked back down at the entrance to the park, "Was this a good idea? What if someone calls the police? There's no way nobody saw Growlmon."

Takato seemed unconcerned and remarked, "What cop is going to go after a giant red dinosaur when there must be hundreds of people calling in monster sightings right now? They'll follow a ton of false leads and miss us. As long as we weren't followed, I think we're safe."

Kazu nearly shouted in frustration, "Okay, well what about those crazy government guys!? The ones with the guns who were shooting at those Devas?"

"That's a good point. All the more reason to go hide in the shed now before anyone notices us!" Takato pointed ahead and hurriedly tried ushering Guilmon on. He stopped to ask Henry, "I'm guessing you don't want Terriermon to hide out here now that your dad knows?"

Henry vaguely nodded and Takato hurried on without him, "Right. Be back soon."

An awkward moment followed as Henry's dad commented, "Your friend is an odd one."

"He's just like that. It's better not to think about it," Kazu explained.

Impmon made his way through the park, leaping from one tree to the next to get as far away from the angry digimon as possible. He enjoyed watching the humans fleeing for their lives, mostly because it was funny to watch these strange creatures become aware of their own mortality. He was a little envious of their carefree life, and wished he could've been born into such a life. But he also didn't forget what that carefree life brought - laziness, child like bickering, and a refusal to cooperate. In a way, it was as bad as living in the Digital World.

He sighed as he scampered along until he felt something staring from behind him. He ignored it at first, hoping it would go away on its own as he continued moving. When it didn't, he decided to let it chase him into a trap. He would show it what happens to anyone stupid enough to follow him. As he came upon an open area with only a single light post, he turned and fired a single fireball into the trees, "Bada Boom!"

The fire ball hit the tree branch he was just on and set it aflame, forcing whoever was following him to leap out to safety. A strange monkey digimon wearing a fez, "That wasn't very polite, now was it?"

"You's the one who's bin followin' me," Impmon retorted angrily, "Who are ya!?"

"My dear little rookie, I am a Deva," the monkey announced with all the bombast of a clown. Impmon turned his head and asked, "Okay, what is that and why should I care? Some kinda musician with an ego? Also, what's with the stupid hat?"

"Oh poor, naive, stupid Impmon, that is a diva. A Deva is a servant to the lords of the Digital World," the monkey replied, "My name is Makuramon."

Impmon turned his head, unsure if he was supposed to know that name or be impressed by it. This monkey must've had a screw loose. That was fine by him, he didn't want anything to do with this digimon anyway. He turned to leave when the monkey shrieked, "Are you ignoring me?"

"That's one word for it," Impmon answered, making sure to present his middle finger for the monkey to see. The monkey clocked his tongue angrily, "You insolent little...I'll make an example out of you so that all will know what happens when you insult the Devas! Primal Orb!"

It threw a ball of light at him and Impmon dodged to the side to get out of its way, "If'n it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you's got! Bada Boom!"

He whipped another small ball of fire at the monkey, hitting his mark and watching the branch go up in flames. Bulls-eye! Impmon smiled with satisfaction until he heard a mocking giggle behind him, "Mayhaps you underestimated me."

"What!?" Impmon sounds around to see Makuramon standing there with a wide smile on his face, "Allow me to give you a lesson in combat! My hands move faster than your eyes!"

He started throwing punches which Impmon was just barely able to dodge until the monkey took a cheap shot and swept his legs with his tail, "But you should have been watching my tail!"

Impmon landed flat on his back, and the monkey crushed his chest by stepping on it. The wind rushed out his mouth and pain burned through his torso. This was it. He was going to be absorbed. That was the way of the Digital World. He looked up and saw Makuramon's smile. But for some reason, he wasn't deleting him. Why?

"Just end it already," Impmon spat out at the monkey, prompting him to ease off, "Now why would I do that? I am a Deva after all. Absorbing you would barely adjust my strength in any way. I'd get stronger by doing my morning stretches. My simple, pathetic Impmon, you're so pathetic that the effort I'd spend to end you outweighs both the benefit and the joy I'd get out of it."

"You said pathetic twice. Running out of words?" Impmon stuck his tongue out at the monkey for mocking him, preferring death to whatever this was. Then the monkey smiled, "But worry not my precocious Impmon for I may still find some use for you."

Impmon rolled his eyes, "Sure, whateva you say."

The monkey stepped off Impmon's chest, but he was in too much pain to think about getting up. For such a small monkey to cause that much hurt, he was either heavier than he looked or stronger. The monkey bowed and went on to add, "So what would you say to helping me help you?"

"What?" Impmon raised an eyebrow, turning his head slightly to get a better look. The monkey smiled, "What do you know about a group of human children and rookie level digimon working together?"

Henry couldn't help but feel ashamed at the state of the shed when they were all gathered. His dad had been there for less than a minute and was already disgusted at the smell, the hole in the center of the floor full of bread, and the piles of what he hoped was exclusively Guilmon's business in the corner. Henry's dad adjusted his glasses, "Please tell me you guys don't make your home here. It's unsanitary!"

"It wasn't my first choice for hiding places," Takato answered, while Henry could only sheepishly add, "And I was pretty sure you wouldn't believe me if I said Terriermon was real."

"I knew something was wrong from the moment he showed up but I never expected this," his dad replied, "And all you kids are involved in this?"

"You bet! And we've been doing a pretty good job if I say so myself," Kazu jumped on the chance to finally tell someone all about the digimon, until Kenta added, "You mean they've doing a good job. We don't have digimon like they do."

Kazu grunted disapproval, folding his arms and shooting a nasty look at Kenta, which he didn't even notice. Henry scratched the back of his head anxiously, noting the look of expression of exasperation and bewilderment on his father's face. He wanted to ask what was wrong but was unsure how to phrase the question without getting himself into trouble until Xiaochun asked, "Daddy, why do you know about digimon?"

"Know them? Sweetie, I created them!" his dad blurted out. Henry felt his jaw drop open, and everyone else in the room did the same, looking at him with faces that shouted 'why didn't you tell us?'. He didn't know. He never knew. There were so many questions running through his head right now, "Why didn't you tell us dad?"

His dad could only offer a half shrug, "I didn't think it mattered. It's not like I've been involved with it since college. Digimon aren't what they used to be when I was in college."

Takato interrupted skeptically, "You didn't make digimon. You couldn't have. The Digital World...digimon...they've been around for millions of years. I know time dilation sis happen, but no time dilation could explain that."

"You're a millennia old being from another world. Now isn't the time to be skeptical. Especially not you," Henry pointed out. Henry was sure his dad was about to give Takato the scolding of his life and was amazed to see Takato was calm about this. Never mind that his tone was rude, his dad was going to let him have it. Only he didn't. His dad just scratched his head, "The Digital World's not thousands of years old...I mean, computer programs run cycles that are faster than anything we could ever experience. I suppose that means time moves faster there. But that's besides the point. Digimon are only a couple of decades old."

"No, we aren't," Renamon appeared from nowhere to offer an opinion, to the surprise of his dad, "I know of digimon who exceed your age by millennia."

Henry could feel the tension rising as Renamon advanced on his dad. And why wouldn't she? She probably just heard the equivalent of being told the earth was flat! His dad might be intimidating to him, but he was sure no digimon was ever going to be intimidated by the man. Henry quickly tried to change the subject, "When exactly did you make the digimon, dad?"

His dad sighed, massaging his neck as he thought of where to start, "It's a bit of a long story so I'll try to be as brief as I can. I was in college in the 80's, some friends and I began work on an artificial intelligence project for our masters program. We created artificial intelligence capable of learning from its environment and adapting, then we attached the artificial intelligence into a program that simulated a predator-prey nature cycle. A real time, simulated food chain. Artificial selection. It was a marvel at the time: the individual programs were assigned to be either predatory or prey and were given the ability to reproduce. They also were given the ability to adapt - modify their own source code to give them better chances of survival and pass those modifications on to offspring. It was like watching evolution on fast forward. The simulation began to heavily favor some life over others. So we introduced a new program into the mix, one that would give minor boosts to disadvantaged life forms that encountered it to facilitate their survival. Think of it as a catalyst for evolution."

The mere sound of that word made Henry look at Calumon. He noticed everyone else was looking at the little digimon; poor Calumon looked bored out of his mind like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

His dad went on, "It was beautiful! The different groups began to diversify at rate we'd never seen before, specializing in one trait or adapting new ones to give themselves an edge in survival. The breakthrough in artificial intelligence gave us quite a bit of prestige and attracted the attention of some high level government officials interested in using the program for defense purposes. That went nowhere, but the idea ended up inspiring the digimon franchise - books, toys, card games, a tv show, computer games."

"So what happened to the project?" Takato asked. His dad's expression soured after that, "We had to shut it down in the end because the government classified our project. We were all sworn to secrecy, although I guess that doesn't matter anymore. Before we did, we noticed a problem in the environment. The diversity began to plateau, sort of like it hit a glass ceiling, because some species were so well adapted that nothing could stand up to them. So we introduced a balance modifier, a program whose function was to maintain balance by culling programs if they were too powerful and too many - it helped maintain the artificial biodiversity. We called it Data Reaper or D-Reaper for short."

"Now it's all starting to make sense," he heard Takato mumble, taking a step towards the back and scratching his chin. Henry's dad sighed and went on to say, "But that was a long time ago. All the computers were confiscated by the government when the program was shut down. What I'm having trouble understanding is how this led to actual digimon coming to our world."

"What's there to understand?" Terriermon asked with a great big smile, "We exist. You made us. Is that weird?"

"It's just that! You're data! Lines of codes. A bunch of ones and zeroes on a computer. You shouldn't be able to exist in our world and yet here you are," Henry's dad gestured to Terriermon, "I'm sorry to ask this and I'm sorry if this comes across as too forward but I would like to have the chance to examine you in my lab at home. With your consent of course."

"Hah! Phrasing!" Terriermon said all too gleefully, his dad adjusting his collar uncomfortably at some joke he didn't understand. Henry patted his partner's head, "Moumantai, right? Why do you want to examine him, dad?"

His dad adjusted his glasses and looked at Terriermon more closely, "I'm curious. I have a question and I want to-"

"Takatomon, where are you going?" Guilmon asked aloud. Henry looked over at Takato fiddling with his digivice over the shed door, "I'm trying to turn on the scanner on the digivice. We need to find the Devas who ran."

"What? Are you looking to fight them now?" Rika asked incredulously. Henry couldn't believe it either. Takato had said everything was starting to make sense but he still didn't get it. Takato shook his head, smacking his digivice in frustration as it refused to cooperate with him, "This tech is so...frustrating. I'm not going to fight them, Rika. I'm going to talk to them."

"You keep trying to talk to them and it never works! So for once, will you come up with a plan where we don't talk first!" Rika pointed a finger at him. For the briefest moment, Takato looked up with a glare that made even Rika flinch, "No. I'm not going to fight first. If I can talk to them, explain, we can settle all our problems without taking any more lives! If you want to go around killing digimon, then that blood is on your hands. Because I do not want any on mine! Not any more. If the D-Reaper is coming back, if the Digital World is in real danger from it, then we need every digimon we can get to fight back against them!"

Kazu was the first one to answer, "Wait, you think the D-Reaper is the danger in the Digital World?"

Takato nodded, "It makes sense, doesn't it?"

Renamon frowned, "Enlighten us. How exactly does any of this even begin to make sense?"

Takato shook his head, "Come on, Renamon. I thought you were the clever one. At the very least, I thought you or Rika would be keeping up. Then again, Juri was the first one to hear Kari's name."

Renamon managed to retain her calm demeanor as she answered, "Are you suggesting that this man is right? That he created the Digital World - My Digital World - and that everything I know is a lie? That my world is only twenty years old?"

"Why not? Anything is possible right now. Time is convoluted - twenty years in the Real World could be an eternity in the Digital World," Takato answered quickly, "Nothing is a lie at this point. Besides, if the Devas are willing to take us to the Digital World - we can see for ourselves first hand what this danger is."

"What?" Calumon answered first, followed by a chorus of confusion and surprise from the others. Henry had to admit, Takato had walked into this head first when he suggested all that. Especially since he was the one saying not to give Calumon to the Devas. Terriermon was the only one not surprised, because he was too busy admonishing Takato, "I thought you were crazy when we first saw you, and it's good to have some confirmation on the fact that you're insane."

"No, you're right. Guilmon and I should go by ourselves. That way, we won't all walk head first into a trap," Takato corrected himself, somehow missing the point of Terriermon's statement. Kazu wasn't one to pass up an opportunity to see the Digital World in person, "Are you kidding? Takato, if you're going to the Digital World, then I'm coming too! There's no way I'm passing up the chance to see it!"

"You've got to be kidding," Rika began massaging the bridge of her nose, "Goggle head, he's saying it'd be stupid to walk right up to them after we just fought them. They were trying to kill us a few moments ago! And Terriermon over there killed one of them! They'll attack us as soon as they see us!"

Takato nodded as if he understood what Rika and Terriermon were pointing out but Henry wasn't so sure about it. Before any of them could get another word in, his dad spun Takato around to face him, "None of you are going anywhere! You're just kids!"

"Hasn't stopped us before and I think we've been doing a good job, all things considered," Takato answered with a shrug, "Also, kid? I'm pretty sure I'm older than you."

Henry wasn't sure how his dad was going to answer that and, thankfully, it didn't look like he was going to try. He just powered past it instead, "You need to leave this to the proper authorities!"

"The proper authorities were the guys with the guns shooting at the Devas earlier," Takato countered, "And most of them would be dead if we weren't there. I think it's safe to say the only option for the world is us."

Henry saw the pained expression on his dad's face, the kind of look he had when he had to make difficult choices. He was definitely trying to come up with another reason why they shouldn't be involved in this. It didn't take him long to have something, "What about your families? Your parents and siblings? They'd be devastated if anything happened to you!"

That seemed to unnerve Kazu and Takato, but Rika seemed annoyed at that, "You're barking up the wrong tree there. My dad walked out and my mom is too busy with her fashion career to actually care about me. And I'm an only child."

His dad frowned, "They're still your family. You shouldn't throw yourself into danger like that."

"He's right," Takato frowned, finally agreeing with him. Kazu was quick to call him out, "Come on, are you serious? Now you have an issue?"

Takato looked up at Kazu seriously, "Sorry, I always forget about the family side of things. That's my fault. But remember how I said this was going to be dangerous? I wasn't lying. And you've seen it for yourselves. We probably shouldn't be keeping this secret from our parents, at least. All of us."

Henry marveled at the irony of this statement coming from him. He was probably the last person who should be saying any of that, especially since he had the most secrets of any of them. Then he remembered what Rika said. Don't trust him or anything he said. She hadn't explained why either and that bothered him.

Juri walked back home with Kazu and Kenta, going their separate ways from the others while Takato stayed behind a little longer to make sure no one followed them back to the park. As they made their way through the chaos on the streets, she finally took in the shock of what had happened. Aside from some property damage, it seemed next to no one was seriously injured. It was nothing short of a miracle. But that just reminded her of what she would have to do - tell her parents. She wasn't even sure she had a right to tell them about it since she didn't have a digimon partner. She probably should have been the last person involved in any of this. If anything, she wasn't sure her family would be concerned for her if she went off to the Digital World or continued helping the others. She wasn't exactly close with her step mother and her father didn't approve of the fact that she hadn't tried to like her.

"I guess it's about time we told our folks," Kenta frowned, massaging his arm like he was trying to hide his guilt over something. Kazu groaned, "Come on dude, not you too."

"I'm just saying," Kenta threw up his hands defensively, "We both saw the same thing with those last couple of Deva! This is dangerous and serious! People almost died! Next time, it could be one of us. Henry's dad is right. And so is Takato, apparently."

That's right. Kazu and Kenta didn't know what Rika had told her. But she wasn't sure she believed it herself. Takato had said he was trying to be more open and honest, although he was keeping some things to himself. And that anger he'd shown briefly was…different from how he normally acted. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Kazu nudged her, "Come on! Juri, back me up here!"

Juri shook her head, "Sorry, I was thinking about something Rika said."

"I wouldn't let anything she says get to you. I don't," Kazu countered until Kenta pointed out, "That's because you basically annoy her any time you talk. If I were you, I'd just keep my mouth shut."

"Whatever," Kazu folded his arms behind his back. Juri's gaze shifted downward, "It's just…Rika said she found a book by the author of those books. The original book. She said that the story it was told was different from the original story. And that one thing was clear: we can't trust The Digimon Tamer. I mean, Takato."

Both boys were quiet after what she said and didn't even seem alarmed by it. That worried her even more. Until Kazu misunderstood her meaning, "See! Even she agrees! We shouldn't tell our folks! If she doesn't trust Takato, she's not going to listen. Which means she won't! And I'm not either! How about you Juri?"

She hesitated long enough for Kenta to point out, "I still say we should. It's only the right thing to do."

The right thing. Why did the right thing have to be so hard?

Author's Notes: The kids are off to tell their families! Probably. Poorly kept secrets appear to be a theme here! How will their parents react? How will the Matsudas take the news about Takato? And what of the Digidestined? Find out all this and more on the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in two weeks on July 5th at 5 PM CDT! If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. And don't forget to follow the story to keep up with the latest updates and favorite to show support! I've also recently set up a tumblr where we can meet and talk at the-digimon-tamer. That's all for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter!

Juri sat quietly at the dinner table, fiddling with her rice and contemplating if she should actually tell her parents. Her stepmom was too busy feeding her baby step-brother to notice she wasn't eating. Her dad on the other hand did notice and asked, "Eat up Juri. You need to eat."

"I'm not feeling very hungry," she replied, "May I be excused?"

"Well at least eat your rice," her stepmom pointed at the half eaten bowl of rice, "It's not healthy for a girl your age to eat so little. Are the other girls making fun of your weight?"

Juri wasn't sure what to say to that, but she did know she hadn't felt ever felt self conscious about her appearance until now, "Do I look fat?"

"No, of course not," she replied quickly, assuring her that her step mom thought she was fat. That didn't help her at all. Juri wanted out of this conversation now and pushed her plate away, "I think I'm done eating now."