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 52: On Track For Tomorrow
Kari Kamiya sat at her desk going over the lesson plan for when school resumed. It had been days Mephistomon's attack and she hadn't really had a chance to speak with the Digimon Tamer again in that time. Not that she could if she wanted to. He ran off as soon as they were back in the Real World and had made himself scarce in that time. And any attempt to make contact with him was answered with a vague, "Sorry, I have things to do!"
She wanted to be mad about it. She probably should've been. But after everything that happened in her life…she couldn't bring herself to be. Deep down, she'd probably accepted this a long time ago. After all, their lives were on completely different tracks - and she didn't want to bring herself to be angry during the rare times when they would meet each other. Not when she had her partner back with her. Not when she wanted to be with Takeru. As she flipped through the last page of the lesson plan, she noticed an envelope resting between the pages.
It caught her by surprise, mostly because she was unsure had the Digimon Tamer snuck that into her papers. She ripped the envelope open and unfolded the paper.
Kari,
I wish I didn't have to leave this note for you to find. You deserved to hear this in person, but time keeps running away from me. There's just so much to do and I know my time is running out. My time is coming again…and I want to make sure the people I leave behind won't be sad when I'm gone. To be honest, I almost prefer when we're not too close so that they're at least not upset about it.
I don't know when we'll see each other again, and I'll understand if you hate me for it. After all, this isn't the way your life should be. But it is.
And I know more than anything that you will get through whatever is ahead of you. You've gotten this far on your own. You graduated college, achieved your dream of being a teacher, all while protecting the Digital World while I wasn't around. You did great. You will do great. You are great.
I know I've asked a lot of you, so I hope it's okay if I ask for one more thing: Have a good life. Will you do that for me? Have a good life.
The Digimon Tamer
She set the paper down on her desk and looked out the window, wondering how much longer it would be until they saw each other again? Maybe she'd have kids the same age when that time rolled around. It made sense since he tended to turn into young kids.
The days that followed stopping Mephistomon were…weird. All of Tokyo was still rebuilding from the damage of the D-Reaper attack. And yes, Hypnos had more or less fallen apart since the government was force to declassify everything and move it into public view. Truth be told, there was a lot about it that the Tamers didn't understand and it was probably because they were just too young to do that.
But all of that was nothing compared to the happy air the Digimon Tamer had been putting on ever since his 'return'. Tamerkato seemed to be going out of his way to make others happy. From sending everyone little gifts to planning parties for them. And while it was nice, everyone suspected something was wrong with this new optimistic energy he had.
Today, of all days, he was planning Rika's birthday party. The problem with that wasn't so much that it was Rika's birthday, as much as it was that she had no idea how he'd figured that out. She hadn't told him, and she knew for a fact that her mother didn't like him enough to tell him and her father certainly wouldn't do anything to upset her mother. So how did the idiot find out when such an important date was?
"I could tell you but I want to spare them the punches later," Tamerkato said to her, as they made their way off the train.
Admittedly, she didn't want to come here with him. But it was the only way she could talk to him since he refused to stop moving long enough to actually have this discussion. And she warned, "If you don't tell me who told you, I'm going to start punching you instead! Who told you when my birthday is?"
"Your mom did," he answered.
"No, she didn't! She would never tell you this stuff," she growled.
"Well, her calendar did," Tamerkato shrugged cheekily, "I noticed it the last time we were at your house and I made a mental note of it. It looked like your mother's handwriting so I figured it was her fault."
He had her there and she cursed the fact that her mom still wrote everything down on the calendar. She pointed at Tamerkato, "That still doesn't mean you have the permission to throw me a birthday party if I don't want one! And even if I did want one, what makes you think you'd be on the guest list?"
"I'm the one planning the party," Tamerkato countered matter of factly.
Now she'd had it. She ran in front of him to block his path and looked him dead in the eye, "What's your deal, anyway? Ever since that thing with Mephistomon, you've been all cheery and it's creeping everyone out. What's your deal?"
"Nothing. Just trying to make sure everyone's happy," Tamerkato remarked, "Speaking of which, the only thing that'll make Guilmon happy is a full stomach so I'd better go make sure he hasn't finished his food yet. Otherwise, I'm going to have to go get some more."
"GOGGLE HEAD!" she snapped, trying to get him to focus, "What's going on? What's up with all the extra happy attitude you've been having lately?"
Tamerkato stopped in his tracks to stare at her. Then he cracked a soft smile, "I'm just…trying to enjoy the time I have left while I have it. And I just want to make sure everyone's happy before that runs out."
Rika paused. Time he had left? What? She tried to think back to the book she'd read…and the other stories she'd gathered. Then it clicked, "Goggle head…are you…"
"Come on! We've got a party to get ready for!" he said as he hurried past her. Never had that goofy smile of his looked so punchable. And she was about to go off on the idiot for just ignoring her question, when her digivice sprang to life with beeps. Before she could even look at it, she heard a loud scream followed by the screech of a train whistle. She and Tamerkato both looked in the direction of the noise and saw what appeared to be a bullet train with a face on it speeding through the station.
Rika just stared blankly, still trying to process what she'd just seen. Was…was that a train? A train digimon. A quick glance at her digivice told her exactly that much. It's name was Locomon - not exactly the most original name but who was she to complain? She looked back at the goggle head and grumbled, "Don't think this means we're done, goggle head."
"Pretty sure it does, yeah. You go after the train with Renamon. I'm going to go get Guilmon!" Tamerkato said, producing his digivice and shouting, "DIGIPORT OPEN!"
He vanished in a flash of light, in front of a crowd of people who began talking about aliens and magic as some kind of explanation for what he just did. She just wished he hadn't decided to leave her in the middle of all this mess. Rather than answer the mounting question they were definitely about to bombard her with, she leapt onto the tracks and started running after the runaway digimon.
"You ready Renamon?" she called out to her partner as she gave chase after the train.
"Always. I was wondering how long you were going to stand there," the fox answered as she appeared beside her. With one quick swipe of a choice card through her digivice, Rika called out, "Digimodify! Digivolution Activate!"
"Renamon! Digivolve to! Kyubimon!"
Kyubimon dove under Rika and scooped her on to her back, "Hang on!"
Rika didn't need telling twice and tightened her legs around Kyubimon. She would've held on with her hands too but she needed her hands to call for help. Using her parent's old D-Terminal, she began typing in a message to let her parents know what was going on. She just hoped the message would get through to them.
Guilmon had just finished another bite of his bread stash when he noticed a bright flash of light from somewhere behind him and the smell of his human partner filled the air. Guilmon sat up excitedly, "Takatomon! Did you bring more food?"
"No food, Guilmon. Sorry. Just…one more adventure…you and me. Are you ready?" he asked with something resembling a smile beginning to appear on his face. But this smile was off somehow. It wasn't genuine. Guilmon may not know a lot of things, but he knew Takatomon's real smile. And this wasn't it. He nuzzled up to his partner and asked, "Takatomon? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine buddy," he answered.
"Then why don't you sound fine?" Guilmon asked, turning his head as he sniffed the partner. Yes, he was definitely upset. But what about?
After a long pause, his partner finally choked out, "It's almost time again. You probably don't remember but I wish you could. We've been through this before, you and I. And I don't…I don't want to think about what it'll be like for us going forward. But I know no matter what happens, that I don't want to lose you again buddy. We're in this together, you and I."
Guilmon still had no clue what his partner was going on about but nuzzled him anyway. It seemed like he just really needed a hug…or some other sign of affection. He heard his partner whimper as he stood up and turned back towards the entry of their little hideaway, "Okay, Guilmon. Let's get going to the train station!"
Juri stood in the bakery, waiting patiently as she rubbed one arm nervously. Tamerkato's, or rather the real Takato's, parents were busy putting the finishing touches on a cake for Rika's birthday. She felt awkward asking them to make it…and even more awkward coming to pick it up. But Tamerkato couldn't exactly come back. And neither Kazu nor Kenta felt comfortable coming back to talk to his parents for…obvious reasons. They were his friends, after all. The real Takato's friends, anyway. It would be awkward to meet with his parents after they knew what happened to him.
Thankfully, Henry had chosen to accompany her but he could only stand awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. Occasionally, he would look over to smile at her and she would return it. But there was nothing else besides that. They couldn't even attempt small talk. After all, what could any of them say to each other?
"We're glad to see you're safe and feeling better, Juri," Mrs. Matsuda said in an attempt to break the silence.
"Thanks…" she added with a soft smile.
"Just a few more minutes. The cake is almost ready," Mister Matsuda added.
"Sorry to bother you with this," Henry apologized.
"It keeps us busy," Misses Matsuda added quietly.
"I…uh…don't know if we've said it already…but…we're sorry about Takato," Henry offered. Both the Matsudas stopped what they were doing, freezing immediately. It was definitely still a sore spot for them - finding out they'd been living with an impostor for a year while their real son was dead. They couldn't even pretend to have a funeral for him because there was no body to bury. Then it occurred to Juri what she meant by keeping busy.
They were trying to distract themselves from the horrible truth about their son. And here, Henry had just reminded them. Henry seemed to realize this and was quick to begin stammering out apologies but neither parent was paying any attention to him. And if they were, they were doing their hardest to ignore him. But she could see the anger crossing Mister Matsuda's face…and the grief on Misses Matsuda's. They were upset.
Juri tugged on Henry's shirt to get him to stop but he just kept talking, kept opening his mouth and making it worse. Eventually, Mister Matsuda slammed his fist on the counter to silence Henry and looked at him, "The cake is done…please leave."
It wasn't done. They'd finished writing Happy Birthday but didn't put Rika's name on it. But they weren't about to push the subject. Mister Matsuda placed the cake in a box and pushed it across the counter at Henry. Henry reached into his pocket for some money, "How much do we owe for-"
"JUST…just take it and go," he snapped angrily. Henry grabbed it and bowed, hurrying towards the door.
"Thank you, again," Juri said bowing, only to hear his dad bark, "LEAVE!"
They hurried outside to where Calumon, Terriermon, Lopmon, and Xiaochun were waiting. Calumon and Xiaochun began hoping around them excitedly as they sang together, "Yay! You got the cake! You got the cake!"
"That could've gone better. You must've put your foot in your mouth pretty bad in there for them to explode like that," Terriermon teased, climbing up Henry's leg and making his way to sit on his shoulder, "So…let's see the cake already! I can already smell all the sweet sugar."
Xiaochun nodded, "Me too! Me too!"
"Xiaochun, it's a birthday cake. I think it should stay in the box until Rika can see it," Lopmon said to her. Xiaochun started to throw a tantrum while Lopmon tried to placate the poor girl.
Henry shot Juri an apologetic look, "I'm really sorry about that, Juri."
"No…it's fine…I wanted to say sorry, too," Juri answered. If Henry had waited just one more second, she was sure she was the reason they would've been kicked out, "Thanks again for coming with me. I wasn't sure I would've been fine on my own."
"It's fine! We should hurry up and get this over to Rika's house pronto," Henry said as he cradled the cake protectively, taking the lead as they began walking. The only sound between them now came from Calumon excitedly cheering about how he couldn't wait to eat the cake.
This earned the occasional odd look from the people who were passing by. It was no secret that digimon were real, now. But maybe they shouldn't be advertising the fact that they had three of them right here. Then their digivices rang to life and the noise made Henry fumble the cake in surprise. He shuffled the cake to one side to see the cause for alarm, annoyed that another digimon would appear and on Rika's birthday of all days.
And a quick glance told him it was a digimon called Locomon - a train digimon.
"It's another scary digimon, isn't it?" Calumon asked as his ears shrank into his head. Henry nodded, a frown drawn across his face because of the timing. He passed the box to Lopmon and said, "Lopmon. Get this cake to Rika's house."
"What! Why does she get the cake?" Xiaochun cried.
"Because you'll eat it if you get the chance," Henry answered his little sister.
He looked between Juri and Calumon, "We should get to the train station and see if we can find out where this digimon is going."
"Okay…will you be alright, Calumon?" Juri asked. The little digimon whimpered, neither nodding nor shaking his head.
The D-Reaper watched from within Tamerkato's mind as he and Guilmon ran off towards the train. All the while, a single question kept coming across the D-Reaper's mind. A question about the Digimon Tamer's behavior. Why was he running towards his own death? It did not compute. And the vague answer he gave to Rika was barely assuring, implying that he was going to die soon.
If that were the case, what did that mean for the D-Reaper? Was it to die as well? Turning to nothing in some forgotten corner of the boy's mind. Or was it to become like the other? The remains of the previous Digimon Tamer's mind rattling around inside his head. Whichever came to pass, the D-Reaper was sure it would not like the answer.
"I can hear you," Tamerkato thought.
"I'm well aware. But you've withheld things from me before. Which shouldn't be possible because I can hear all your thoughts," D-Reaper answered.
Tamerkato just chuckled at that, "You're right."
"So are you going to start answering questions or is it better to extrapolate from your actions and thoughts to calculate your reasons?" the D-Reaper asked.
The silent answers were growing annoying. How hard was it to answer a question? Very, apparently. There were just so many questions when it came to this boy. To this being. Every answer would just raise more questions. And it made any attempt to understand seem almost futile. But finally, Tamerkato answered, "What do you want to know?"
"Your behavior," was the first question.
Tamerkato gave something like a sigh and nodded, "I shouldn't be saying this…any of this…but the truth is I'm going to die today. Not the way humans or digimon die. My body reformats like a digimon. But I don't come back an exact copy of me with the same memories. The person who walks away isn't the person I am. They'll be a new face, a new personality. I've known this was coming for a long time…I dreaded…I hated it…but I'm not going to run from it."
That was not the answer the D-Reaper was expecting but it made sense - after all, it had met a previous incarnation of the Digimon Tamer somewhere in the deep recesses of the mind. It looked back through the Digimon Tamer's memories and wondered how long he knew this moment was coming. More importantly, if someone else would just walk away, the question it had now was how many more of these deaths did the Digimon Tamer know was coming?
How many more could the Digimon Tamer endure before he simply died?
And why not alter destiny? Change the outcome of fate to extend his life a little longer.
"Because we had a war over that," he answered, "And after everything we fought for…everything we lost…everything I lost…I won't become the people I fought against."
More questions. None that it would expect an answer too. But it recalled Mephistomon and its cryptic and terrifying warning. The D-Reaper was uncertain what to make of this. But if it had anything resembling feelings or emotions, it was sure it was feeling small. Like a pawn in a game far greater than it could have ever conceived.
"You get used to that feeling," the Digimon Tamer answered. That was not very comforting. But it brought to mind his words for the girl not too long ago. His reminder to not worry about destiny or the future, and instead to live in the moment. Is that what this was?
It could already hear the Digimon Tamer's chuckles as he playfully mocked, "Nah…this is just trying to be a good person and helping someone in need."
"I don't believe a word of that."
Rika and Kyubimon caught up to the speeding train just as it rounded a bend and came to face another train coming towards it on the same track. Just ahead of it was a large mechanical switch and a cross section of tracks. Thinking quickly, Rika pointed it out and Kyubimon ran just a little bit faster and struck the switch to move the tracks from one line to another. The oncoming train moved onto another set of tracks while the rogue Locomon continued barreling ahead.
"That was close. Good work, Kyubimon! This digimon's not stopping for anything! We'd better catch it and stop it before it crashes into another train," Rika said as her partner started after the train again. Once she was close enough, Kyubimon ran along side the rear train car and maneuvered so that Rika could leap onto the rear car, "I made it! Are you going to be okay, Kyubimon?"
"Yes! See if you can find a brake or something to stop him! With any luck, we can send him back to the Digital World before things get out of hand!" Kyubimon shouted. Rika didn't need telling twice and hurried into the caboose of the train to find an old fashioned train car that look like it had rolled out of a history book.
It wasn't exactly what she expected from a digimon that looked like a bullet train. It was practically antiquated, looking like something out of the last century rather than something that just crawled out from another world. She tried not to dwell on it and continued in to the next car where she heard a voice rattling, "Must go faster! Must go home! Must go faster! Must go home!"
The voice made her jump in surprise, as if someone's final death rasps were echoing loudly inside the train car. But it had to be coming from the Locomon. And the last thing she wanted to hear was the digimon's crazed thoughts as it was racing around the city of Tokyo. But it told her enough. It just wanted to go home. Thankfully, she had a solution to that.
"Locomon!" she called out into the train, "Can you hear me? My name is Rika. I hear you want to go home! Stop speeding around Tokyo for five minutes and I can send you there!"
"Must go faster! Must go home! Must go faster! Must go home!" Locomon chanted on with no regard for anything she'd just said. Of course not. She pressed on towards the locomotive where she found a coal car and a steam furnace burning at a high temperature to keep the train moving. A digimon modeled after a bullet train with a steam engine. Things really needed to stop surprising her after everything they went through.
Now all she needed was to find the brakes to stop this train engine before things got out of control. But where would they be? All she could see were various tools scattered around the train car, a pile of coal off to the side, and a shovel to throw it into the furnace. But no lever or tool that resembled a brake switch. Well, if that was the case, there was really only one thing she could do. She grabbed one of the wrenches and raised it over her head, "Let's see if this stops you!"
"Don't interfere."
"What?" Rika turned around in time to see a large spider claw bearing down on her.
Izumi was at his computer, using what little up to date knowledge he had to hack into the train network. After getting his daughter's message, he went to work tracking its route and trying to control the train system to make sure the Digimon stayed on a circular route that only led it in circles around the city. The problem with that was that it seemed some technicians at the other end of the system were correcting his tracks and also trying to lock him out. Thankfully, he'd thought ahead and had patched in several back doors to get back in if any of them ever successfully locked him out.
But time was of the essence. He had to do everything he could to keep that train on track until Rika messaged him back.
Rapidmon soared over the city of Tokyo with Juri and Henry on his back when they spotted Kyubimon running along the tracks after a single train that seemed to be speeding wildly out of control.
"That's got to be our run away train," Henry pointed at it.
Rapidmon veered down to get close to Kyubimon, flying along side the digimon as she asked, "What's going on?"
"Rika's inside the train looking for the brakes!" the fox answered, "We're trying to stop this train before-"
She was interrupted as a wrench just narrowly missed her head, and all their attention went back to the caboose of the train where Rika appeared. And behind her were a bunch of tools she'd apparently dragged out here, "Don't interfere."
"What? Rika! We're trying to help!" Henry shouted at her.
"DO NOT INTERFERE!" she shouted again, reaching her to grab a length of metal pipe that she threw at them. They all screamed and ducked out of the way just as the wrench flew over their heads.
"Rika! What's gotten into you!?" Rapidmon asked.
"That's not, Rika! Something smells off about her," Kyubimon answered knowledgeably.
"What? Like mind control? If this is the D-Reaper, we're in serious trouble!" Juri pointed out.
"No…not the D-Reaper. Something else," Kyubimon answered, "I couldn't sense the D-Reaper, but I can sense this. Whatever it is, it's not a human."
"AAAH!"
Another interruption came in the form of Tamerkato and Guilmon appearing over head. The red dinosaur had his wings out and was trying to maintain balance in the air before he dove towards the train from above, crashing through the roof and into the interior of the caboose. Rika turned her attention away from the rest of them and went back into the train car holding what looked to be a sledge hammer in her hand.
"Rika! Stop!" Kyubimon called after her partner, only able to watch as he partner disappeared into the train car. That was not good. Whatever was going on with Rika, nothing good could come of her being in the same room as the Digimon Tamer with a sledge hammer.
"We got to get in there!" Henry shouted.
"Good luck because Kyubimon and I won't fit!" Rapidmon said, flying a little closer for Henry and Juri to leap off. They didn't like it but he was right. If they went in there, they would be on their own. But neither of them wanted to just sit by while Rika did whatever she was going to do with that heavy weapon.
The rushed inside to see Rika approaching a dazed Guilmon behind Tamerkato with his hands up in defense. Rika was practically dragging the hammer behind her, letting it clank against every seat as Tamerkato pleaded, "Hang on Rika. Let's talk about this. I know what you're thinking: should I or should I not hit him with the hammer? Well, the answer might surpri-"
CRACK!
Rika swung the hammer at his head with enough force to spin him around before he landed backwards on the floor. Juri just gasped while Henry's mouth fell open. Tamerkato reached out a hand towards Rika, opening his mouth as if to say something but then she brought the hammer down again on his chest again. His hand went limp and he stopped moving. That snapped Guilmon out of his daze just long enough for him to look at Rika. And just as quickly, she brought the hammer down on him in the back swing. Guilmon crashed into a window, breaking the glass and sending shards flying through the air.
"RIKA!" both Henry and Juri screamed as they finally found their voices. Their friend turned back on them with the hammer still in her hand. Up close, they could see the blank look on her eyes and realized what Kyubimon had meant. She wasn't herself. Something was in control of her.
"Don't interfere," she warned before charging at them with the hammer raised over her head. Both Juri and Henry dashed back outside of the train, sliding the door shut behind them as Rika brought the hammer down on them. Calumon leapt out of Juri's arms and cried, "She must really not like her birthday!"
"What's going on!?" Kyubimon asked them. Both kids struggled to come up with the words to explain what they were thinking which was especially hard when Rika was coming after them with a hammer. Then the hammer crashed through the door, sending splinters flying.
"Up here!" Calumon called out to them as he floated towards a ladder on the side of the rear car. A ladder that would take them to the roof of the train. There was no way this could be safe. But what other options did they have? They climbed up to the top of the train, just as the door broke apart and Rika clamored out, "Do not interfere!"
"Don't interfere? You're the ones chasing us!" Juri shouted after her. Rika turned her head up towards her and she squeaked in surprise. It was only a matter of time before the girl got up there. They had no choice but to continue running away from Rika along the roof of the train as they felt the wind rush past them. At this speed, they were barely able to balance themselves as they put one foot in front of the other. But Rika was hot on their trail with the sledge hammer still in her hand. And just as she got close to them, they saw several spindly spider legs appear from her back.
"Okay, that's definitely not Rika!" Rapidmon said, crashing onto the roof beside them and grabbing something on her back, "GET OFF!"
Despite pulling as hard as he could, Rika just spun in place and struck at the ultimate level digimon with the hammer, "Don't interfere!"
"GAH!" she hit him with enough force to make him bounce away, rolling onto the train roof and onto the tracks below. Henry wanted to call after his partner but he could already see the ultimate getting back up on his feet. At least he was alright, which was more than could be said about them. After all, Rika was now coming towards them with a hammer in her hand, "Do not interfere!"
Just as she raised the hammer over her head, a bright flash of light struck her from the back and Rika let out a scream, "AAH!"
The spindly spider legs disappeared into her back. For a moment, it looked like a spider fell off her back but it was hard to tell because of the light. But once it was gone, the girl began to stumble forward.
"Rika!" Henry and Juri called out together as Rika stumbled forwards. Henry leapt forward to catch her before she fell off the train car and grabbing her by the arm before she rolled away. She was dazed…out of it. But at least she was alright. Then she pushed him off, "Get off me! What happened!?"
Yep. She was fine. Henry turned his attention towards the source of the light and saw Tamerkato standing behind where she'd been. He was holding a hand over his chest where she'd struck him, and it looked caved in slightly. He was also bleeding on his head.
"Tamer!" Juri asked, running to his side as his strength gave out and he sank to one knee. He looked up at her, "Nothing…just dying…painfully…are you two alright!?"
"Dying? What do you mean you're dying!?" Juri asked him.
"Well…Rika did hit…me in the chest with a sledge hammer. Pretty sure a lung…is filling with blood…and one of my hearts stopped. That's usually a death…sentence. More so in my case," he gasped out. Henry noticed Rika looking down at her hands in shock at that.
Tamerkato gasped out, "Don't take me to a hospital…they'll cut me open…for science experiments…"
"If you're trying to be funny, please stop…because it's not!" Juri scolded him but he just smiled at her.
"I'm not…I was just…trying to make sure you guys…wouldn't be too upset…when it came," he answered.
"When it came?" Juri repeated, the words beginning to sink in for her, "Don't…don't tell me this is-"
"Good bye…yes," Tamerkato nodded as he gestured ahead, "I'll take Locomon back to the Digital World. Someone has to."
"What about you!? We need to get you looked at!" Juri cried out. He rested a hand on her shoulder, "Juri…it's fine…I knew this was going to happen today."
"And you didn't tell us?" Henry asked in surprise.
"I didn't want you guys to worry," he offered sheepishly, "That's all I ever seem to do, huh? Make you guys worry. I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing, you idiot," Rika said as she sat herself up, "We're here because of you! All of us...now what was this about...dying...wait! Is that why you were hanging around me!?"
Tamerkato didn't answer. Instead he pushed himself up and slowly made his way back for the ladder, stumbling briefly until Juri raced to catch him. Once they were back inside the train fair, Tamerkato stumbled over to where his partner was. He'd been moved from the floor and on one of the benches by the open window, eyes still closed in a daze.
"I still don't understand. What exactly happened?" Juri asked.
"Parasimon," Tamerkato answered, "A mind controlling parasite Digimon. Takes over the brain and makes you do what it wants. It took control of Locomon. If I had to...guess, it's why Locomon was trying to get back to the Digital World. Someone sent Parasimon."
More vague answers that only left them with more questions. Juri said, "Whatever's going on, we can help!"
"You've helped enough...I'm sorry, I wish I could say more," Tamerkato murmured, "I'm going to...have to get back to the Digital World soon so I can reformat...Please...leave..."
"So that's it?" Rika asked, looking down at her hands…the same hands that had caused this before asking, "Is this all I was ever supposed to do? Did you just hang around me so I could kill you?"
"Don't act like you didn't think about it…" Tamerkato chuckled before coughing.
"I never wanted to kill you!" Rika protested, "And…now that it's done…you're just tossing us aside? Like the others? Like Kari and Davis and Ken!?"
"No…never…but…what comes next..." Tamerkato paused, "What Mephistomon did threw destiny off track. If we're going to preserve the future...to make sure stuff like this doesn't get worse than it already has...I need to go...and so does Guilmon...I'm sorry it has to be this way..."
Rika scoffed and turned to leave, "...idiot..."
"Tamer...does it really have to end this way?" Henry asked, "I know you talk about destiny everyone so often...but why not let us help you?"
"You will be helping me," he answered, stopping to hock up a spattering of blood. Tamerkato stared at it, "Okay, that's not good."
Henry stared at him. He wanted to trust Tamer. But after everything that happened, he wasn't sure he could. At the same time, he also knew he should. He nodded and got up, "Okay...we'll be here…waiting to help…"
Once Henry left, it was just Tamerkato and Juri, "This is really it? You just got back. What about all that stuff about destiny?"
"I said not to worry about destiny," Tamerkato smiled.
"Then why do you care if we go or not? Let us come with! Let us help you," Juri insisted, not wanting to watch him die. Tamerkato just smiled at her, that same stupid but knowing smile that always worked so well on her. Then he patted her on the shoulder, "Because your destiny isn't with me, Juri. It never was. You know this. Your destiny was to be with a person who doesn't exist any more. The real Takato. And he's gone…so really, you're free to live your own life however you want."
"Then I want to live it helping you," she answered. He shook his head, "I'm sorry Juri…that's not how this story ends…but thank you…for everything…go with the others…once you're safely off, we're going back to the Digital World."
She stared at him, trying to process what he said and taking into account what he told her at the house under the lake. The Takato he wasn't. The real Takato was supposed to be her friend. They were supposed to go through this adventure together. They were supposed to fall in love and get married. That's the life she'd lost…she knew what Tamerkato was trying to tell her. But she didn't want to accept it. What good was freedom from destiny if she couldn't be free to do what she wanted with it? As she mulled this over, she watched as Tamerkato winced and realized every second she wasted was a second he got closer to death.
She hated this…but she knew what she had to do and she turned to leave - joining the others outside. Both Rika and Henry, along with Calumon floating along atop Kyubimon with Rapidmon just getting caught back up. After a bit of finagling, they got back on their partners and started to fall behind the train. Once it was a good distance ahead, they saw the flash of light that signified a digiport opening and the train vanished.
Rika's birthday ended up being a somber affair. The others had to join but no one was in a particularly cheerful mood after what happened to Tamerkato or Guilmon. It was ironic that the only one who actually seemed to want to celebrate the occasion wasn't even here. It was Leomon all over again. But this time…it had been the two of their own.
Rika appeared the most distraught, even if she wasn't showing it. After all, she'd been the one who was possessed by a crazed digimon. She was the one who'd beaten both Tamerkato and Guilmon with a metal pipe. Ryo was at least making some attempt to comfort her by talking her through what she was feeling - the same with her parents.
Meanwhile, the only ones who seemed to be having any fun were Xiaochun who was too busy playing with Lopmon to notice anything wrong and Monodramon who was busy helping himself to some of Rika's mom's cooking. Kazu and Kenta were busy playing a card game but it wasn't as enthusiastic as it normally was. Meanwhile, they'd each brought their presents for Rika which they'd set off to the side for her.
As Juri looked at all the neatly wrapped presents, she noticed an envelope addressed to everyone on top of the pile in what looked like Tamerkato's handwriting. It was odd to see something for them mixed in there with what should've been presents mostly for Rika but there it was. She reached for it and ripped it open.
"Hey! You shouldn't be opening someone else's presents!" Terriermon said in an attempt to crack a joke.
"It's for us. All of us. It looks like Tamerkato's handwriting," Juri explained, gathering everyone's attention. She produced a sheet of paper with a hand written note on it and unfurled it to see it was indeed from Tamerkato. And she read it aloud:
Everyone,
I'm sorry for how things ended. It was never my intention to let things end this way. But like with so many things in my life, I knew it was coming. Or at least, I had a vague idea of what was supposed to happen.
But I wasn't going to run from what lay ahead of me. I know some of you will or would try to convince me not to do it….but after what happened with Mephistomon, this needed to happen. It may seem like it went against everything I've said about not worrying about destiny. But in reality, it affirms it.
I never worried about destiny or my fate and I embraced it. Not out of some heroic sense of duty but because I enjoyed my life. All things end. Everything has a time and everything dies. What's important is what we leave behind when we're gone. Friends who will miss us…family who will remember us…I like to think we're friends after everything we've been through and I understand if some of you don't feel the same way. Especially you, Ryo.
But in the end, I like to think this me had a good life and made the best of it. And I know you all will do your best living your lives going forward.
And who knows, maybe we'll meet each other again some day?
Until then, live good lives and cherish every moment
The Digimon Tamer
Juri stopped and looked up at everyone who just stared back at her. Ryo just groaned, "Ugh, he would say something like that."
"Just like that damn book," Rika grumbled. The others were all looking at her now and Rika groaned, "Geez! I'll get my copy! You guys should really have read this by now!"
Juri reread the letter over and over again, trying to make sense of what affirming meant. How had running to his death affirmed that one didn't need to worry about destiny? Then she heard a laugh and looked up to see Xiaochun had already taken a bite of Rika's cake while everyone else was distracted. Kazu and Kenta began laughing at her while Henry scolded the girl. As she was about to cry, Rika's mom came out to wipe the frosting off her mouth. Monodramon grumbled about not getting to be the first to taste the cake.
This is what Tamerkato had left behind.
Author's Notes: It's only a little late but so concludes the story of the tamers and the second face of the Digimon Tamer. But what lies ahead for the Digimon Tamer? And what about the enemy who stirs? Who sent the Parasimon to control a Locomon? And will they ever meet each other again? Find out all this in part 4 of the Tamer story line which is due out next year on February 5th, 2021 at 8 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. We can talk, chat, and even discuss more about the story. Don't forget to follow me to get updates on the latest stories and favorite The Tamer v2.0 to show support, as well as check out the side stories Burnt Leaf Declassified and The Life of Kari Kamiya. That's all I have for now. I'll see you guys in the New Year with the newest story. For now, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out!
As the Digimon Tamer opened his eyes, they took a moment to take in their surroundings. They tried to make sense of where they were and what they were doing. The last thing they remembered after activating a DigiPort was being beside…someone…a partner? No, that wasn't it…a friend…yes, a friend…where were they? Were they…a dinosaur? An angel…fire was definitely involved somehow…
They looked around and down at their body. They felt…taller…lankier…
They tried adjusting their vision to look out a window, and were vaguely able to make out a reflection in the glass. Was the hair longer? It was hard to tell with how blurry their vision was. All they knew was they felt tired, so they reclined back onto the bench and closed their eyes. A nap sounded really good about now. A nice long nap. Yes…rest…
And as they laid on the bench, the gentle rocking of the train moving along the tracks carried them off to sleep.
In a dark one bedroom apartment somewhere in the world, a lone adult sits at a couch and types away at a laptop. They sigh after a while and close the lid, "Okay. Didn't see the pandemic coming but we're still on track...mostly...On to phase 4."
They stretch once before continuing their work.