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 29: Remember Me?

Gatomon cheered, "Hit him one more time for me!"

Before Ryo could wind up another punch, Takato sat up and began massaging his sore cheek, "Will you stop hitting me!? Whatever it is I did, I am sorry. I'm sorry I forgot what it was too. Just stop hitting me!"

Ryo contemplated the plea for a moment before taking another swing anyway, "No."

Rika couldn't deny it was cathartic to watch Takato get his butt handed to him so many times in a row. Actually, watching made her want to join in and get her chance to deck him for all the frustration he'd caused: the death of her grandmother, withholding who he was, living another person's life, trapping Ryo in the Digital World for what he said was twenty years, being a general nuisance during this whole ordeal, among other things. But that same thought was countered by all the times he'd helped her: saving Renamon from the Dokugumon's web, encouraging her to continue being partners with Renamon, working together to stop the Devas. Some part of her considered that for all the annoyance, frustration, and misdirection he'd caused - he was just trying to be helpful.

But she still let Ryo get in one more hit before trying to pull him off, "Stop it Ryo!"

"He's the reason I was stuck in the Digital World for twenty years! Twenty years, Rika! Do you have any idea what that's like?" Ryo growled, pushing her back in an uncharacteristic show of anger towards her. She stepped back just as Guilmon leapt in front of him, "Leave him alone! He didn't do anything to you!"

"Oh yeah? Then where's my first partner!? WHERE'S VEEMON!?" Ryo growled, angrily. Rika paused, looking from him to Takato in confusion. His partner was Cyberdramon, right? Who was Veemon? The fact that Takato was hesitating wasn't helping things. Then she recalled one of the original digidestined had a Veemon partner and glanced his way. The Veemon himself noticed the others staring at him and he raised up his hands, "Don't look at me, I don't know anything. I've never sheen thish guy before."

Ryo agreed, "You could be any Veemon. Where's my partner?"

Takato pushed himself up, dusting himself off and throwing up his hands in preparation for another punch, "Look, I don't know anything about Veemon. I'm sorry. Believe me, this is as frustrating for me as it is for you. My memories are still a little fuzzy about the past but whatever he...I did in the past, I'm really sorry."

"Don't give me that! You're a liar, Tamer! The biggest liar there is!" Ryo snapped. It was then that Kazu, Kenta, and Guardromon decided to join them, "What's going on?"

"It's about time you idiots did literally anything," Rika frowned, "Thanks for the hand with the Devas."

"Kazu wanted to make an entrance when Guardromon jumped in," Kenta explained, to Kazu's frustration. He stammered out his defense, "I did not! I was assessing the situation and looking for the right time to help out. Y'know, catch them by surprise."

"Whatever you say," Rika started to ignore him as he added to whatever passed in his mind for a defense, returning again to Ryo, "My first partner? Veemon? The guy who traveled with us when we went off to 'save the Digital World'? Until you threw me in that black hole!"

"You did what?" Juri gasped.

Once again, Takato threw up his hands, "Look, I said I was sorry. I was a jerk. I'm trying to be better. What can I do to make it up to you?"

Ryo's expression became even angrier, "Make it up to me? I've spent the last twenty years of my life here! THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO MAKE THIS UP TO ME! CYBERDRAMON!"

Right on cue, Cyberdramon dove down and slammed into the ground between the two boys. It snarled, turning to Takato angrily just as Guilmon ran in front of him, both digimon spreading their wings and snarling. There was something odd about the juxtaposition there - Guilmon with his white angel wings from Takato's digimodify and Cyberdramon with his natural red dragon wings. Both digimon bore their teeth, daring the other to attack first while Takato tried to reason for peace. Rika pulled on Ryo's sleeve, hoping to at least snap some sense into him, "Ryo! Are you completely insane!? What do you think you're doing?"

"I'VE HAD TWENTY YEARS TO THINK ABOUT WHAT I'M DOING," Ryo raised his voice again in anger, "CYBERDRAMON! KILL!"

Cyberdramon roared and charged straight at Takato, until Guilmon leapt in his way to stop him. The two digimon collided, but Guilmon was pushed back with ease. Acting quickly, Takato slid several cards through his digivice in rapid succession, "Digimodify! Speed Boost Activate! Strength Boost Activate! WarGreymon's Shield Activate!"

A bright orange shield appeared in Guilmon's left arm and he swung it so that it struck Cyberdramon on the head. The digimon flew aside, holding the side of its head and hissing at the surprise attack. Ryo acted quickly and started swiping cards of his own, "Digimodify! Strength Boost Activate! Speed Boost Activate! MetalGarurumon's Cannon Activate!"

A cannon appeared over Cyberdramon's shoulder which he trained on Guilmon. Guilmon raised his shield just as Cyberdramon fired, and they were all blinded by a brilliant bright light. When they could see again, Guilmon sat at the bottom of a crater in the sand under WarGreymon's shield. By some miracle, he'd survived under the shield of the mega level digimon. Both Kazu and Kenta cheered excitedly, until Henry slapped them across the back of the head, "Guys! They're trying to kill each other!"

"I'm not trying to kill anyone!" Takato protested and ducking as Ryo took a swing at him. Before Ryo could take another swing, Takato scrambled away and started running, "I said I'm sorry!"

"You're not sorry yet! But you will be!" Ryo shouted, stopping only when Guilmon threw the shield in front of him to stop the boy in his tracks, "Leave Takatomon alone!"

"Ryo! Calm down!" Rika pleaded to no avail, forced to watch in stunned awe as Ryo let himself become swallowed in his own anger. It was just like in the book, just like with Tamer and SkullGreymon. Unfortunately, Cyberdramon was too overrun with bloodlust to even think of calming his partner down. Ironically, it was because of Ryo's anger that Cyberdramon was so uncontrollable. Then it occurred to her that all of Cyberdramon's uncontrollable behavior until this point was because of Ryo's anger. His lent up aggression. Twenty years of hate nursed for this exact moment.

Cyberdramon charged Guilmon who raised up the shield to protect himself, giving Ryo the opening he needed to chase after Takato again. As the fight played out, Juri called out, "Shouldn't we do something, Leomon?"

"Normally, I wouldn't hesitated to jump into aid other. But I'm not getting in that," Leomon crossed his arms, gesturing at the two digimon, "Those are mega level weapons. One hit from those and-"

Leomon made a cutting gesture across his neck and Juri shook. Leomon nodded, "It would take a If those two aren't careful, they'll blow the whole Digital World apart."

"That's all the more reason to actually get in there and do something!" Henry panicked.

"At least then, we won't have to worry about whatever had the Devas so freaked out," Gargomon added comically, almost amused by the fighting. Henry was too busy going through his cards to think things through properly, "I'd have you shoot, but that might just make Cyberdramon drag you into the fight. Besides, you might hit Guilmon."

"So what? I just sit here and do nothing?" Gargomon asked.

She looked over at Takeru and asked, "Can't you do something?"

"Me? Don't be silly. A man my age can't fight a kid. There's no scenario where that looks good. Think about it. I win? I just beat up a kid. I lose? I got beat up by a kid," he answered nonchalantly.

"I meant separate them before they hurt each other!" Rika groaned, unable to believe that such a man could be so difficult and annoying. If she didn't know any better, she would've assumed this was the Digimon Tamer from the way he was acting. Takeru shrugged at the idea, gesturing at his partner, "Yeah, I guess. MagnaAngemon!"

"On it," the angel answered, slowly gliding towards the two boys until he was between them. He lifted them both up by the collars of their shirts - and for the first time, both boys looked small. But that didn't stop Ryo from still trying to get his hands on Takato. MagnaAngemon sighed, "Calm down, kid. If I wanted to, I could end this already. So calm down."

"I'll calm down when he's paid!" Ryo shouted at the top of his lungs, flailing wildly as he swung his arms to no avail. Annoyed that the boy seemed determined to ignore him, Takeru waltzed over and flicked the boy's forehead with his finger, "Oy, calm down. How about, instead of trying to hurt Tamer, you take a couple of minutes to call off your partner?"

He pointed out Cyberdramon chasing after Guilmon, the two digimon running around the lake as Cyberdramon continued to shoot while Guilmon used the shield to block the attack. Ryo clicked his tongue angrily and growled back. Takeru sighed, "Well, this is going nowhere."

Realizing that no one was going to do anything, Kazu nudged Guardromon forward, "Alright! Now's our time to shine! Let's get in there and separate them!"

"Query: Are you sure? Observation: At our current power levels, there is a one percent chance of success and ninety-five percent chance of defeat," Guardromon protested. Kazu raised up his fists and punched the air, "Don't sweat it! Takato'll never admit it but I'm twice the card player he ever was! I'll give you all the power ups you need to take Cyberdramon on! Just you watch! Digimodify! Angemon's Wings Activate! Power Boost Activate! Machinedramon's Cannon Activate!"

Two large cannons and six cannons sprouted on Guardromon's back, and the machine's attitude changed from surprise to joy, "I see! This is some good power! I can feel it! Okay, I'll follow your direction, Kazu!"

"Then take one more upgrade! Get in there and separate the two! Once you've got clean shot, hit Cyberdramon in the face!" Kazu commanded, swiping another card, "DigiModify! Speed Boost Activate!"

"GUARDROMON GO! GO! GO!" The mechanical digimon roared, taking off like he had a jet engine on his back. He flew straight at Cyberdramon, who was too busy chasing Guilmon to notice him until it was too late. Cyberdramon turned in time to get clothes lined by Guardromon's arm and dragged straight into the air. Cyberdramon took Machinedramon's cannon and pressed it against Guardromon's head just as Guardromon raised him to be right in front of the cannons. Just as the two fired, Rika heard Kazu shout, "DigiModify! Defense Boost Activate!"

The two digimon fired and two beams of light fired off in different directions. Then the lights faded as the digimon fell from the sky until they hit the ground on the opposite side of the lake. Rika turned to Kazu, unable to believe he'd sent his partner against a tougher opponent like that. However, she noticed him quietly clenching his fist and smiling.

But it made sense. He had his partner max out his defense stat to take the hit. The plan was to get Cyberdramon to stand still long enough for Guardromon to take his shot. Both attacks would've been devastating. But Guardromon would survive it better than Cyberdramon could. She turned to Kyubimon and said, "Come on! Let's go see if they're alright!"

"Hop on," she lowered her head for Rika, and galloped off as the others tried to keep up.

Beelzemon rode his motorcycle through the desert, desperate for something - anything - to test his new strength on. He'd run down everything he'd come across so far with little effort - Infermon, Chrysalimon, SkullMeramon, Kuwagamon. Digimon he'd known to be strong but were nothing compared to his new level of strength. And it was all so…dissatisfying. He wanted a challenge. He needed a challenge.

It was infuriating! All this power and no place to use it. What was the point? At least, that was what he thought until he saw a beam of light fly past over head into the distance. He gripped the brake and adjusted the motorcycle as it slid to a stop. He traced the beam of light to its origin just as it dissipated. At the very least, he had a direction. Whatever fired the beam of light into the distance was strong. Definitely strong enough for him to have a proper challenge. And he couldn't wait. He pulled the throttle and went after it.

Kyubimon slid to a stop beside Guardromon to see the digimon pushing himself back up, struggling to collect himself. By some miracle, the digimon had survived a point blank shot to the face despite being a champion. And then there was the other digimon...a little purple dinosaur with a yellow diamond on his head. If she had to guess, this digimon was Cyberdramon in a weaker form. But she'd never seen this digimon before. And the digimon was out cold.

Guilmon descended from above, landing beside the little dinosaur and sniffing him. Rika rolled her eyes and turned to Guardromon, "Are you okay?"

Guardromon nodded, "Yes. Just shaken. I felt something when I pulled the trigger; a burst of energy that protected me."

She had to hand it to Kazu, now that she thought about it. He may have been a loud mouthed idiot but he knew what he was doing when it counted. Boosting Guardromon's defense at the last second was a good way to make sure he could tank the attack without being defeated. Guardromon turned over to the little digimon, "How is Cyberdramon? No, wait...Monodramon. He's a rookie now, I see."

"Monodramon?" Rika looked down at the unconscious rookie. Guilmon continued to sniff the little digimon, "Is he dead? He doesn't smell dead. Maybe he's hungry?"

"He was just trying to kill you a few seconds ago," she pointed out to the red idiot, who just sniffed him, "He's not any more."

There was no way this digimon could be so simple minded. Just as she sat up, she saw a flash of light behind her and turned to see the others standing there. She blinked in disbelief, "When did you guys get here?"

Takato raised his busted old digivice, "Opened a gate. Took about a minute. Was about to say something but you ran off before I could. Not to mention the fact that Ryo was still trying to sock me."

She looked past him to see Takeru holding Ryo still. The boy had calmed down now, but he still occasionally resisted by trying to break out of his grip. Takato hurried over to Guardromon with Kazu, helping the champion digimon up, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Guardromon nodded, "It's good to see you're safe as well, Tamer."

"You did awesome! You're the mon, man," Kazu added with a cheer. As they helped the digimon up, Takato asked, "So Kazu, when did you get a partner? And where did he come from?"

"Tamer...it's me," Guardromon began, somewhat dejected, "Andromon."

A beat of silence followed as Takato stared at the digimon quietly until he pointed in disbelief. Even Takeru was taken aback, "What!?"

"Yeah dude! We got separated after that beam of light thing," Kazu began, "He got carried down stream by a river. I was trying to fix him when we found him again, so I pulled that digivice out of him! That was when it changed into this digivice I got! Now he's my partner! How cool is that?"

"Okay, that's a lot to process right there. Let me start with this question: WHAT!?" Takato repeated still staring in disbelief at the digimon in front of him. Guardromon nodded to confirm what Kazu had said, "He's correct. I am his partner now. I am just as surprised as you."

"What?" Takato stared in disbelief, shaking his head, "That can't be right. They don't...do that. That's not how...this has got to be a mistake."

Kazu puffed up his chest and proudly pointed his thumb at himself, "No mistake, dude! I'm a digidestined just like you guys! Better get used to it."

"Congratulations, Kazu," Juri said excitedly, clapping her hands together while Gargomon nodded, "It's a good thing someone with a big brain is partnered with someone without one. They balance each other out."

"Be nice," Henry sighed, patting his partner, "Still, congrats, Kazu."

"The circle of partners is getting bigger," Leomon added, crossing his arms. Gatomon turned on the Takato, "Speaking of partners, when do we get to go back to the human world?"

Takato gestured at Takeru, "Don't ask me. I didn't have anything to do with this. Ask him."

Takato walked off to speak with Ryo, leaving Rika wondering just what she'd missed. She leaned in to Juri, "Hey, what did we miss exactly?"

"We've got a lot to fill you in on," Juri sighed, nodding at Ryo, "And it looks like you guys have a lot to fill us in on. Who's he? I mean, I get his name is Ryo, but who is Ryo? And why does he hate Taka…Tamer so much?"

"That's a very long story" Rika answered shyly, realizing the last few days had probably been very eventful for both of them. However, she hung on the way Juri hesitated to call him Takato. That both bothered and annoyed her - if Takato said or did something, Rika was going to make sure he got comeuppance for it.

Ryo scowled as Takato stepped in front of him, desperately wanting to deck him but still unable to get out of Takeru's hold. Takato extended his hand out for a hand shake, "I will make this right, Ryo. I am sorry. Friends?"

"No, we're not," he swatted the hand away, "You have no idea what it was like for me after we got separated! I was lost! I thought Ken or you would come looking for me! But you never did! Neither of you did! I've spent the last twenty years with a crazy digimon partner whose idea of a good time is to attack everything he sees and maul it to death! And that's on a good day! Do you have any idea what that's like?'

"Yeah, I really do," Takato answered sheepishly. Ryo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure you do. Here's an idea: how about instead of hiding behind your partner, you let me finish hitting you with my fist!"

He felt Takeru's grip on his shoulder tighten, but the man's face remained reassuring. Then Ryo added, "I heard a lot of stories while I was trapped here. A lot of digimon thought I was you for some reason. I thought it was obvious I wasn't. But a lot of them kept insisting for some damn reason."

"Yeah, that's my fault," Takato answered apologetically, "As you can tell: new face, new personality, new everything. How did you know, though?"

"Rika told me," he thumbed at her, "Before...all this...she was a friend of mine. And you better believe it was a relief to see her."

Takato stared at him in disbelief, his gaze shifting between Ryo and Rika. After a moment, he chuckled, "Well, that explains a lot. Only someone as grumpy as her could be friends with her."

That angered Ryo further and he snapped, "I've never known her to be grumpy. Just quiet. If she's grumpy at anyone, it's probably you. I bet you got her involved in all this."

"Would you believe I didn't? I literally have nothing to do with whatever's going on. It's all been reactionary at this point," Takato answered. Now Ryo knew that was a lie, "And why should I believe a word you say? You threw me in the black hole!"

"I did?" Takato repeated. Takeru tightened his grip so much that he could feel the man's hands digging into his shoulder, "Calm down. Don't let your anger get the better of you."

Ryo wasn't in a talking mood and snapped back, "And why shouldn't I? I've been stuck here! For twenty years! And the guy who did it is right in front of me! Give me one reason why I shouldn't."

Takeru stared at him quietly before flicking his forehead, "Look kiddo, throwing a tantrum isn't going to impress me. So calm down and listen because in case you haven't figured it out yet in your twenty years: your digivice connects you to your partner. It turns your emotions, your feelings into energy. That anger, that rage you're feeling, it's fueling your partner. If your partner turned into a mindless monster, it's only because of how strong your own hate was."

"And how would you know that?" Ryo hissed angrily at the adult man, refusing to believe a word he was saying. Damn his smile was so infuriating. Especially when he answered, "Because I've seen what that kind of anger does to a digimon before. If you think your anger was tough, you should've seen what happened to Agumon because of The Tamer."

"What? What are you?" Takato paused for a moment before hanging his head. He kicked the dirt, "Oh right. How did I forget that? Wow…can we not talk about that? It was a very bad day. For all of us!"

Takeru smiled, "Tamer had so much anger, that his partner turned into a monster that ripped apart a Mega level digimon and turned an army of Champions to data in one it hit. It took every one of us back in the day just to restrain it. And even then, it took Tamer finally calming down for it to go away. Besides, what has being mad at Tamer done for you? Nothing I bet. So take it from me: let it go."

Ryo looked from the unconscious purple dinosaur who was presumably Cyberdramon not long ago, then back to Tamer. It was hard for his blood to not start boiling at the sight of him. Then again, maybe the man had a point. Being mad hadn't done him much good up until this point. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before agreeing, "Fine."

It took another moment for Takeru to release him. Ryo quickly adjusted his clothes and Takato extended his hand again, "Friends?"

"Don't," Ryo answered quickly, slapping it away. Takato frowned, "But I thought-"

He cut the boy off before he could get a word in edge wise, "I've calmed down. That doesn't mean I've forgiven you. For anything you did. So don't push it."

Takato raised up his hands in surrender, stepping aside so that he could go join Rika. As he walked away, he heard Takato ask, "Was I like that? I vaguely remember the last me being very angry all the time."

"Towards the beginning, yeah," Takeru answered, "If it makes you feel better at all, you really did mellow out towards the end. The new you is kind of timid though. I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"Is it? I'm trying to be kind," Takato countered. He didn't hear the rest as he rejoined Rika just as she finished explaining what they did up to this point, "-and that's when those two showed up."

"That's probably around the time Calumon landed in the house," the other girl with the green dress answered. He stopped just short of the group, "What did I miss?"

He noted Rika minding her distance before she answered, "We're just catching up. Ryo, this is the rest of our group: That's Juri, her partner Leomon, that's Gargomon and his partner Henry."

"Hello," Juri said with a casual wave. Henry's reaction was more excited, "Ryo? As in the Digimon King? It's a pleasure to meet you."

He didn't geek out as much as Kazu or Kenta, but he did smile happily. Ryo was grateful for that and nodded in his direction, "Same."

Gargomon pointed at him with his gun arm and asked, "So, what's your deal? Some kind of hero? I keep hearing you be called the Digimon King."

"Which is odd since the Digital World doesn't need two kings," Leomon remarked quietly.

"I'll tell you later," Henry patted his partner's head, "So should we go get Shibumi? He and Calumon are still under the lake."

Ryo recalled Rika saying they were looking for a digimon named Calumon when he first found them again. But he didn't know anything about a Shibumi. Who the hell was that? Were there more people he needed to know about? Before he could ask who they were, he heard Monodramon make a noise and sit up. His partner, the little ball of anger who'd been nothing but a pain to him since he first met him. The digimon stirred, opening one eye and then the other. He seemed so peaceful. For a moment, he was sure Takeru was telling the truth. Maybe all of Cyberdramon's behavior was because of all the pent up anger and hatred he had in himself.

And he still hasn't let any of it go.

Monodramon hissed and took a swipe at him. He narrowly avoided getting his face scratched and ducked out of the attack Monodramon scrambled to his feet and presented every flaw he had on his body, "Come and get me!"

Unfortunately for the rookie, he was tackled by every other rookie digimon there and held down.

"Calm down there, partner! We don't wanna hurt ya!"

"Yeah, sho shtop trying to hurt ush!"

"Seriously! You can stop trying to scratch our eyes!"

"Don't kill us!"

"As my partner would say, CHILL OUT!"

Monodramon paused, staring at Gabumon angrily before remarking, "How am I supposed to chill out? Are you going to put me on ice? Is that your plan?"

"What? No! We just want you to stop trying to attack us!" Gabumon said defensively. After a moment, Monodramon stopped struggling and relaxed. The other digimon cautiously let Monodramon go, making sure he wasn't going to attack before letting him stand on his own. He seemed calm for now but the others still minded their distance. Monodramon cautiously asked, "So why were you telling me to chill out?"

Gargomon nonchalantly answered, "It's a figure of speech. It means Moumantai."

"What's Moumantai?" Monodramon raised an eyebrow, "I'm confused. And annoyed. And it's making me angry."

"Don't make us tackle you again," Palmon warned. Ryo was perplexed by his partner's calm, trying to recall a time he'd ever...acted like this but nothing came to mind. It was like looking at a whole new digimon. And he had no idea how to react to it. And it didn't help that his partner stopped to look at him. This was a whole new experience for both of them. He approached his partner with an extended hand, "Hi...Monodramon."

"The hell are you doing Ryo?" the digimon growled, swatting his hand away. It looked like he was still a little angry. Maybe that was from all his pent up aggression leaking through to his partner. He wanted to say more but couldn't find the words he needed to say. And then Tamer walked past them with his digivice out, "If we're all done, it's about time we went to go see Calumon. If you guys don't mind-"

"I hate this part," Armadillomon sighed.

"-Digiport OPEN!"

There was another flash of light and Ryo felt himself falling.

Calumon sat on the table munching on the left over toast and bacon that the others so haphazardly abandoned when Takato started shouting about intruders. He said not to worry and promised to take care of it, before running off with everyone except for the funny lights and the guy named Shibumi. He was a funny guy, spending most of his time sleeping instead of doing anything fun. The funny lights were a lot more interesting, flying around playfully and giggling the whole time. He was envious of that and wished he was ably to fly. It would've made getting away from all the crazy digimon trying to attack him a lot easier.

Then, without warning, a bright flash of light caused everyone to reappear on the dining room floor in pain. The loud crash and everyone's cries of pain jolted Shibumi awake, looking up in a daze as he asked, "What is all this?"

Rika was the first one up, "Why do we always fall when that happens?"

"I don't know, it never did that before," Takato explained, helping everyone get up and apologizing as loudly as he could. The one called Takeru added, "What are you talking about? We always end up falling on the ground!"

"Then you've been doing it wrong!" Takato shot back, only to be met with Gomamon's remark, "Like you just did?"

Calumon jumped up excitedly, "That was a really cool trick! Can you do that again! It was a lot of fun! I want to do it!"

"No, you really don't," Kenta whined, massaging his back and adjusting his glasses. He groaned when he saw the frame bent and did his best to push them back into shape, "Can we get a little warning before we do that again?"

"I said sorry. This usually isn't how it happens," Takato apologized again, heading over to the table and taking a big bite out of a slice of bread. Shibumi smiled at the sight of them, "I'm glad to see that you all made it back okay. I guess this means that the trespassers left?"

"More like we kicked their asses!" Kazu cheered excitedly until Rika scowled, "You didn't do anything! You just sat there while the rest of us did the work!"

"Hey! I helped with Cyberdramon!" Kazu protested, to which Rika remarked, "Only after we got rid of the Devas. So thanks for jumping in after we didn't need you. Kazu groaned and Shibumi smiled at them, "I see you guys had fun. Hello to you newcomers. My name is Gorou Mizuno but you can call me Shibumi."

"Hi, Shibumi! You can call me Kazu! This is my partner Guardromon! That over there is Kenta. The ball of sunshine over there is Rika and the fox is Renamon. And that cool dude is Ryo, and his awesome partner Monodramon!"

Shibumi stared at the newcomers with a smile, chuckling as Rika slapped Kazu for his sunshine comment and remarked, "It's a real pleasure to-"

Calumon lost interest in whatever they were saying, instead opting to sit down and eat some more of the delicious breakfast before it went bad. His eating inspired some of the other digimon to join him, and he happily went about offering food to the others, passing out different yummy treats and excitedly wondering what they were going to do next.

But for now, this was bliss. Seeing everyone sitting together like this, happily spending time with each other. No fighting. No one trying to kill each other. He knew it wouldn't last. He just wished it would last as long as possible. But it seemed as long as possible would only be a couple of minutes since he was pulled from his blissful thoughts when he heard his name.

"-Calumon to the sovereigns and hopefully talk this whole mess out before any more people try to kill each other," Takato said. He could feel all eyes on him again which he'd learned to associate with bad things about to happen. He looked up at them with big eyes, wondering if there'd ever be an end to the fighting.

There was a new kid with them, one he hadn't noticed before. The new kid leaned in and asked, "So where are we supposed to find these Sovereigns? Digital World's a big place and in all the years I've been stuck here, I've never run into any sovereigns."

"Well there's a big glowing ball of light that wasn't there last time we were here. I was thinking that would be a good place to start," Takato said cheerily, "At least before we all got separated."

Then Kenta jumped in, "Hang on. If you can do that Digiport thing to teleport us anywhere, why didn't you just teleport us straight to the light?"

"I don't like going somewhere without knowing where we'll end up! For all we know there's a million broken glass syringes over there. Or maybe a bunch of hungry digimon. Or teachers ready to give us homework," Takato warned to a skeptical group. Rika snarkily asked, "In the Digital World?"

"Anything's possible at this point," Takato sighed, "So you better believe we're walking there. It'll take longer, but we'll at least be far away if there's any danger. We'll see it coming and be able to do something about it."

Palmon jumped up, "Then you'd better believe we're coming too!"

"That's right! If there's anything we can do to help, you better believe we want in," Gabumon added.

"Alright! We're teaming up with the digidestined's partners!" Kazu said excitedly. Kenta jumped up and down with him, "This is so cool! Right, Rika?"

"Whatever," she seemed as cold as always. Then Takato cried out, "No!"

"What gives?" Tentomon asked

"Yeah! We want to help too! When can we shee the othersh!?" Veemon asked quietly. Takato frowned, "I meant you can't come with us. Without your partners, you'd only slow us down. And it'll be easier for our partners to protect us if it's just us."

"Oh come on! We've fought worse before," Biyomon protested, "And we can all go to Mega!"

"With your partners," Takato added, pausing for a moment, "Wait, since when could you digivolve to Mega? No, never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that whatever we're up against has the Sovereigns scared. And all of you at your strongest could barely handle a digimon that a single Sovereign took out in one hit. Whatever has them scared...could be the cause of all the weird stuff going on. And if you want to see your partners again, you'll stay here. You'll see the others again. I promise that."

The digidestined stared at him quietly before Terriermon added, "You've been making a lot of promises lately. Better be careful that you don't break any on accident."

"Or on purpose," Gatomon hissed. The poor cat only calmed down when Takeru petted her head, "It's okay, Gatomon. Calm down."

"It's not okay, TK!" Gatomon hissed, "We've been here for so long! I miss Kari! I'm worried about her! The Digital World's going to hell and there's nothing we can do about it! Meanwhile, here's Tamer playing the idiot again and acting like-"

She paused to catch her breath, clearly to upset to be thinking properly. She calmed when Takeru rested a hand on her head - he didn't quite pet her but he did scratch just behind her ear. He added, "Don't worry. We'll return to the human world when we know things are safe. Until then, please just try and be patient."

Gatomon was less than thrilled to hear this news but she at least backed off yelling at Takato. However, Calumon could see that wasn't going to be the end of this bad day for him. Especially since Juri wouldn't stop looking at him expectantly. After a moment, she said, "There is another thing you all should know. Since you're here now."

"Juri," Takato said sternly, earning interested looks from the others. Gargomon laughed, "You should tell them now. It's only fair. Otherwise, I bet Juri or Henry will tell them."

"Tamer, please," Juri said in an almost teary voice. Something about hearing her almost cry made Calumon's heart sink, and he moved across the table to put a paw on Juri's hand. Of course, Rika reacted as she normally would, "Alright goggle head, what did you do!?"

After another moment of silence, Takato produced a picture from his pocket and slid it across the table, "It's about the other reason we're here: finding the real Takato. I...well, there's no easy way to say this. But he's not coming back. He's gone."

There was a long pause of silence as that fact sank in for the rest of them. Calumon didn't get it himself but he knew by the sad looks on their faces that it was hitting them all hard. Except for the new guy who proceeded to kick Takato's shin under the table. Takato yelped and fell over backwards onto the floor, "Ow! What!?"

"You know what!" the boy growled.

Author's Notes: The team is ready to head off! What will they find waiting for them? Will the digidestined and their partners be reunited? What new dangers await them? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next week on Friday November 1st at 8 PM CDT! If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section! And hey, don't forget to leave a favorite to show support and to follow to keep up with the latest updates! That's all for now, so let's look at previews for the next chapter!

"Hey! Henry!" Rika called out to him. He looked over his shoulder to see Rika and Ryo making their way towards him in hurry. Terriermon took the chance to joke, "I wonder if they're coming to kick your butt."

"Don't put that idea in my head," Henry frowned, worried his partner was right. It didn't help that all he had to say in response was, "Moumantai!"

"If they kick my butt, I'm kicking you," he warned his partner. The little digimon laughed at the empty threat and hurried off to join Calumon, who was busy being flown around by the Digignomes. Henry mentally prepared himself for whatever tai chi training he would need to defend himself when Rika stopped, "Ryo's got a question for ya."