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 v3.0 - Bold New Frontier is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.


The Tamer v3.0 - Bold New Frontier

Chapter 9: A Shattered World

"Where are we even running to?" Agunimon shouted ahead to Kazemon as they kept going as far as they could.

"I thought we were running back to the factory!" Kazemon said.

"The factory? The ones where the Kokuwamon make weapons? Why would we go there?" the Floramon asked from under Agunimon's arm, her arms folded disapprovingly as she waited to finally be let down.

"We were helping them save their factory and the refugees outside when this whole mess happened," Kazemon explained.

Once again, the Floramon gave her a perplexed look that made Kazemon uneasy and grunted her disapproval. The flower digimon asked, "I don't understand. Why did you help them and then us?"

"Because it was the right thing to do. We said all of this already," Agunimon answered.

The Floramon responded by jabbing Agunimon hard in the side and snapping, "Will you put me down!? I can walk!"

Agunimon winced in pain and dropped Floramon onto the ground, "Ow! What was that for?"

"For carrying me when I could walk just fine! And stop running for a second because I still have no idea what you're going on about!" the Floramon snapped, dusting herself off. She eyed every single one of them wearily, and Kazemon could see plainly on her face that the little flower wanted to turn around and run away. But the digimon was reluctant to do so, since she couldn't exactly return home. And the despair was written plainly all over the Floramon's face as that fact began to sink in. They could never return home.

"I'm sorry," Kazemon said to the little digimon, trying to sympathize with her plight. But they weren't exactly in the same boat. The Floramon had no home to return to, while they were actively trying to return home.

The Floramon shook her head and waved it off, "It's fine. Before you take me anywhere, can you three at least stop walking around with the Guardian Spirits on? It's weird."

"I…uh…we don't know how?" Kazemon answered, realizing that she really didn't know how to turn this off. She'd always figured that Takuya and Tomoki transformed back after they wore out the Spirit's energy, and hadn't really given much thought to turning back herself. And now that she had time to dwell on it, she didn't want to walk around like this for the rest of her life. Not wearing this disgusting, perverted excuse for armor. How was this supposed to protect anyone? And why was she the only one showing off so much skin?

"Oh, did I not mention? You just have to relax. Sort of like relaxing a muscle. You can also do it just by tiring yourself out but I don't think you guys want to do that," Agunimon answered. Kazemon and Beetlemon stared daggers at him as he casually turned back into his human form. Or rather, humanoid form. At this point, Kazemon was starting to believe his claims that he was actually some ancient entity in the form of a child.

"Sure, just relax. It's not like we ran for our lives after fighting for our lives," Beetlemon answered sarcastically, trying to catch his breath.

"That makes it easier! You guys should already be exhausted from all the excitement. Unless you're lying about feeling worn out," Tamer pointed out, although Zoe wasn't sure if he was being genuine in his excitement or sarcastic.

"Y'know what? I hate you," Beetlemon grumbled as he caught his breath. Now that Kazemon had time to think about it, she was exhausted. So why hadn't she transformed back?


They quietly made their way back to camp after spending some more time bickering, to find the remaining Goblimon subdued and tied up. Meanwhile, Kumamon hurried to extinguish the remaining smoldering embers before any of them had the chance to spark and catch fire again. A fire line of Floramon and Mushroomon was busy passing buckets of water from a nearby stream to dampen the remaining embers that Kumamon couldn't get to. And amidst all of that was a sight they didn't expect to see after so much fighting.

Several Kokuwamon from the factory speaking cordially with the Floramon and Mushroomon from the refugee camp. The exchange was peaceful, even warm as the digimon spoke like friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time.

"It's so weird to see digimon not at each other's throats. Or at our throats," Beetlemon remarked quietly.

"To be fair, absolutely nothing you guys have seen in the Digital World since you arrived is normal. Well, except for the part about fighting. Or digimon killing each other for food. Okay, I swear it's not usually like this," Tamer said, his statement coming with increasingly bizarre clarifications.

"Really? Because it sounds like everything we've seen is pretty normal around here," Beetlemon exclaimed.

"That's not entirely true! You haven't seen the phones that tell you the speed of time! Or the vending machines that some digimon use as homes out in the forests! Ooh, or that desert where the wind is hostile!" Tamer reasoned, seemingly unaware that what he was saying was more outlandish than the last.

Kazemon chose to just outright ignore him now, because she was sure there wasn't much else he could say that would surprise her about this world. It was then she noticed Bokomon and Neemon helping tend to the injured digimon around the camp. Or at least, tending to them in their own way. Bokomon was trying to bandage up injured digimon and cleaning up their wounds, while Neemon continued to produce an endless supply of juice boxes from within his pants and offering them kind words. Or as kind as he could put together.

The pair stopped when Neemon pointed out their return, and the duo rushed over to meet them. Bokomon was the first to greet them, smiling widely, "I'm glad to see that you're all safe. We were worried after Kumamon said he lost sight of you in the midst of the fighting. Also, who are you?"

"It's me! Zoe!" she said to them, leading to Bokomon's mouth falling open.

Neemon cheered excitedly, "Wow! It's like we've got a complete set of Guardian Spirits now!"

"Not a complete set, Neemon. The boy with Lobomon's spirit is off on his own doing who knows what, and there's still five other spirits unaccounted for," Bokomon reminded the little digimon, "Besides which, it is odd that all these spirits are returning now of all times. And it can't be a coincidence that they started making their presence known when you four showed up."

"Alternatively, that's exactly what a coincidence is," Beetlemon pointed out.

Tamer wagged a finger at him, "No such thing. Never ignore a coincidence. Unless something more important is happening. Speaking of which, I see you guys had quite the adventure without me."

"Yeah, and I think we did pretty good no thanks to you!" Beetlemon boasted.

"Or was it all thanks to me since I asked you guys to come out here?" Tamer responded.

Kazemon could see Beetlemon getting angry at Tamer's cockiness. She was sure he was going to punch Tamer as his face seemed to turn red only to watch him change back to JP in a flash of light.

Tamer was the first one to congratulate him, "Hey! You figure it out! How splendid for you. Did you finally tire out or learn to relax?"

"Do I look relaxed to you!?" JP snapped at Tamer. Tamer tilted his head to the side, pressing a finger to his chin as he examined the taller boy.

"Kinda?" Tamer finally asked. Then it struck Kazemon. JP was tired of Tamer, and that idea alone was enough to make her chuckle. She laughed so hard that she had to start wiping the tears from her eyes. When she was finally able to open them again, she was greeted by the sight of JP and Kumamon staring at her while Tamer beamed proudly.

"See? I told you both that all you had to do was relax," Tamer replied. She had no idea what he was talking about, until she looked down and saw she was no longer dressed in what barely passed for armor. She was Zoe again and was relieved to know that she was back to her normal height, "Finally! Back to normal clothes. What was up with that armor, anyway? What was it supposed to protect!?"

"Ask the Guardian Spirit. They're the ones who chose the outfit," Tamer replied quietly.

"I most certainly did not! That armor was given to me by the Digital Agents and I bet you that The Digimon Tamer was the one who helped design it!" the Guardian Spirit's voice replied in her head. Zoe's eyes narrowed at Tamer who was happily walking away while humming to himself. So he was the one who designed it to look like that.

"Although to be fair, it does make my butt look great!" the Guardian Spirit added happily. Zoe covered his ears and fought back a disgusted groan, not happy with the thought of showing off her butt that way. It was gross and she had no idea why people liked doing that. Or looking at it.

"Okay, we're back to normal and you're free! Can we go home now!?" JP asked of Tamer.

Tamer paused, a look on his face like he'd just remembered something important, "Oh, right! I promised to take you guys back to your world! Yes, yes, that's right. Take you home!"

"Did you forget!?" Kumamon asked as Tamer walked off towards Neemon. He snatched an unopened juice box from the digimon's hand and started sipping on it while pacing. He raised up a finger to stop Kumamon from asking again until he finished the juice.

"I didn't forget. I just had other things on my mind," Tamer replied, making a point of turning towards Zoe, "Someone killed the Village Elder and wanted to make sure Zoe got framed for it. Which begs the question: who and why?"

"Who cares? It won't be our problem when we leave," Zoe answered, not sure why he was looking at her. Did he expect a different answer from her? Sure, she was willing to help someone in need but she wasn't particularly invested in getting involved in this war. What she wanted was to go home and be done with all of this.

"You're not the least bit curious why someone was so determined to framed you for murder? And more importantly, did so after you'd gotten the power of the Guardian Spirit?" he asked.

Okay, maybe she was a little curious. But not so curious that she wanted to get any more involved than she already was.

"He has a point, y'know. I didn't just lend you my power so you could run off with it," the Guardian Spirit whispered into her ear.

"So what? Are you going to make me fight in this war? I'm not a soldier! I'm ten! I'm a kid, if that's not clear to you," Zoe put a hand to her hips, realizing that she probably looked crazy shouting at nothing in particular. She smiled nervously when she noticed the other staring, especially the other digimon.

"Oh, so you hear the voices too?" Kumamon asked quietly, "They suck, right? It's like they can never stop talking."

"Nah, Kumamon was always just a huge talker," the Guardian Spirit answered.

"Right, because you haven't shut up since you got in my head," Zoe replied out loud without thinking again. Now she understood why Tomoki was having so many head aches. Because it got annoying to have to listen to the spirit talking inside her head all the time.

"I am not annoying."

Yep, this was definitely going to be a problem if she had to keep listening to that voice in her head over and over again. The least it could've done was not talk so much.

"I'm not talking. I'm thinking, same as you. And have you ever tried not thinking? It's impossible!"

"That's funny. I haven't really heard anything," JP stated scratching his head in confusion.

"That's because Beetlemon was always the quiet one. We weren't sure if it was because he was stoic or because he didn't really have anything going on upstairs. It was kinda hard to tell."

Okay, that was pretty funny and it did make Zoe chuckle. But it also made her wonder, "Geez, and you have three of these in your head?"

Tamer who just smiled cheerily, "It's not so bad when you get used to them. Besides, I like having someone else to talk to since you guys usually don't want to talk to me."

"I'd like to talk to you but you never seem interested in telling me about the Ancients or the Hollow Bastion," Bokomon replied.

"I swear, he makes up words sometimes," Neemon shook his head disapprovingly, earning him a playful smack from Bokomon's book. Neemon countered by throwing a juice box at him, which resulted in the two getting into a slap fight until a Kokuwamon pulled them apart.

"Knock it off you two. There's been enough fighting for one day!" the bug warned the pair.

"He started it!" the two digimon said at the same time, pointing at each other.

"I'm serious! Enough digimon have died today. Even as a joke, this isn't very funny," the Kokuwamon warned disapprovingly. The pair glanced around at the many digimon present, all of whom were looking at them disapprovingly and hung their heads quietly.

"And you guys! Our boss wants to talk to you," the Kokuwamon said as he turned towards Zoe and the rest of them. Tamer dropped his juice box and pointed at himself nervously. Kokuwamon gestured at all of them, motioning for them to follow and taking the lead. They marched their way through the remains of the camp towards the center where they were met by both a Mushroomon and a Kokuwamon.

Zoe wasn't sure what to expect on seeing them. She just hoped this didn't turn into a repeat of last time - with their untimely deaths and a horde of angry digimon chasing after them. And they were untransformed in the center of the camp. She had no idea how long it would take to use the guardian spirit's form again if things went badly.

"What's wrong?" Kumamon asked.

"Just antsy," she replied, not willing to admit to what happened earlier that day. Although Kumamon must've at least noticed her eyes were darting skywards nervously in search for the pink armored digimon from before. She was ready this time if they showed up again. At least, she was more prepared than she was before because now she could go after the flying pink digimon. She glanced down briefly at the other digimon to see them kneeling before them.

"We had no idea who you were until you arrived, and we have to thank you just for helping us!" the Kokuwamon said to them.

That was a complete reversal from the hostility they'd experienced since coming to the Digital World. It was nice, but part of her wondered if this was a trick - or if something was about to happen to end the good will. The Mushroomon was the first one to stand, "We're still not entirely convinced we can trust you. Trouble does seem to just follow you four around."

"We helped you guys!" Kumamon protested.

"Yes, you did. But that doesn't change the fact that things tend to get worse when you get involved," the mushroom pointed out. Kumamon was ready to start arguing with the digimon but was held back from doing so by Tamer of all people. But the frustration seemed to be enough to revert Kumamon back to Tomoki. The little boy clutched at his head and fell over backwards into Takuya's hands right.

This was pointed out by the Kokuwamon, "When you first arrived, we saw one of you wielded the Guardian Spirit. And, from what we've seen, it seems you hold three of them. Kumamon the Spirit of Ice, Beetlemon the Spirit of Lightning, and Kazemon the Spirit of Wind."

"And Agunimon!" Neemon said excitedly, "Tamer's got that one!"

"Tamer?" the Mushroomon repeated disbelievingly.

"As in The Digimon Tamer?" Kokuwamon asked.

Tamer waved at them nervously, "Hello."

The Kokuwamon and the Mushroomon exchanged nervous glances, and Zoe didn't like the way their tones shifted. She dreaded the idea of a repeat of Breezy Village, where they would once again have to rescue Tamer from being kidnapped. To her surprise, the Kokuwamon shook his head, "I don't know what kind of game you kids are pulling but it's probably best if you don't go around telling people that. Digimon around here don't take kindly to that name."

"Geez, Tamer. What did you do?" Zoe asked, now imagining just what exactly he had done.

Tamer just shrugged, "Well how would I know? I've been asleep for a while and the last time I was here, none of this was happening!"

"It's just a warning we've heeded from Lady Ophanimon," Kokuwamon explained matter of factly, gesturing towards Tamer, "She warned someone named 'The Digimon Tamer' would try to meddle in our affairs and to drive them away if they tried to get involved. Their involvement would only bring disaster."

"What did you do?" Zoe asked more seriously, now convinced that there was a lot more that he wasn't telling them.

"I wouldn't call it meddling!" Tamer said defensively.

"She also warned that he would try to manipulate us against our will and to be weary of anything they say," Kokuwamon added.

The Mushroomon just scoffed at Kokuwamon's warning, "To hell with that. He's supposed to be a great warrior! If we need anyone's help, it's the Digimon Tamer's! And if you are who they say you are, we're willing to let bygones be bygones if you start fighting for us!"

"I'm just going to go ahead and stop you right there. I don't know what this Ophanimon has been saying about me but I'm not trying to meddle in anyone's affairs. I'm just someone trying to help out. And I don't know where this great warrior stuff comes from because I'm anything but! My track record for winning fights isn't particularly great. I think I'm on a bit of a losing streak at the moment," Tamer explained.

Zoe wasn't sure about that claim herself because she'd seen the kind of things Tamer could pull. She'd seen how easily he could jump into battle as Agunimon. It was on a completely different level of control compared to herself and the others. His movement was so fluid and deliberate that there was no way he wasn't trained in at least some kind of fighting style. The only thing stopping her from saying anything was her fear of getting into more trouble than she wanted to be in.

Tamer's words seemed to have an effect on Kokuwamon but Mushroomon was unconvinced. The mushroom pointed at him, "So you admit that you are The Digimon Tamer!"

"I never stopped saying it," he replied.

"Then let's test how good you are!" the Mushroomon declared.

"What?" Tamer stammered out just as Mushroomon picked up a stone and chucked it at his face. Zoe was sure he would side step the attack or catch it in his hands. Instead, it just nailed him between the eyes and he stumbled backwards onto the ground holding his nose.

"Huh. Maybe you're right about not being a great warrior. Or! You're faking not being one! Only one way to find out and that's to throw another rock at you!" Mushroomon said excitedly, picking up another rock.

"Wait!" Tamer said, holding up his hand as Mushroomon threw it.

This one was caught by Floramon, who cast it aside and scolded the Mushroomon angrily, "Stop it, you damned fake!"

"What's your deal?" Mushroomon growled.

"My deal is you fakes were kicked out of Breezy Village for a reason! You're all violent and quick to jump to conclusions!" Floramon pointed at the mushroom angrily.

The mushroom Digimon became angry at the accusation and pointed back, "Oh, I'm the fake? You're the ones who started kicking people out of their homes! And here you are acting all high and mighty! The only reason any one has to act like that is they're hiding how fake they are! Y'know what? Maybe you're the fake!"

"Okay! Stop!" Tamer interrupted, "Does anyone here actually know for certain who's fake and who's real?"

"Yeah! These digimon are all fakes! They're the ones who just showed up on Breezy Village one day!" Floramon accused every digimon present in the camp.

"They all seem real to me," Neemon stated quietly.

"I don't see any need to differentiate. We are all digimon at the end of the day," Bokomon added happily.

The Floramon snapped, "Then you're idiots!"

"Or you are. After all, you're the one getting angry and yelling right now. And why wouldn't you be? You just kicked out of your home! And do you really want to be like the other digimon back in Breezy Village?" Tamer posited, sounding more like he was thinking aloud than he was doing some kind of in depth of analysis. In either case, the Floramon was at least humbled by Tamer's words.

She hung her head and quietly answered, "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Sorry won't let us back into our homes," the Mushroomon pointed out. Zoe noted the Floramon click her tongue and turn away bitterly.

"No, but it can give you a chance to build something better. You all need a fresh start and here seems as good a place as any. And right now, that's definitely in short supply here in the Digital World," Tamer chimed in.

"The factory does need to be repaired. There will be plenty of renovations that need doing between the damage from the battle and the mess the Goblimon made. We could rebuild. Expand it. Make room for all digimon. A safe place away from all the fighting and violence," the Kokuwamon leader added quietly. The Mushroomon turned back to its fellow digimon from the refugee camp, quietly conversing among themselves.

Zoe glanced sideways at the Floramon who was hanging her head in shame. She could only imagine what was going through the flower's mind because of all the bad blood between everyone. She wanted to say something to make her feel better but what could she say? She was an outsider to this world and anything she could say would seem condescending. Even assuring her that everything would be all right ran hollow to her because every moment of calm and peace seemed fleeting until the next exciting thing happened.

"What's wrong?" she finally asked the little flower digimon.

The Floramon's expression was practically on the verge of tears. Zoe could see she was ready to cry but looked to be trying her hardest to hold it all back, "So much changed so quickly. The Elder is gone. I can't go back to my home…it's just all beginning to sink in how horrible this whole situation is."

"I'm sorry," was all she could manage.

"You are welcome to stay with us," the Kokuwamon offered to the Floramon.

"She's what?" the Mushroomon tensed up.

"If this is to be a safe place, we need to be willing to welcome anyone here, no matter who they are or how they may have wronged us in the past," the Kokuwamon said, standing beside the Floramon and extending a welcoming hand.

The flower digimon hesitated, again eyeing the Kokuwamon as if she was looking for some sign that this was all just a trick. However, she eventually took the bug digimon's hand and nervously shook it, "Thank you."

"You're just going to welcome her into the camp just like that!?" the Mushroomon snapped angrily.

"I understand you two have some history with each other, but you'll have to learn to leave that behind if you want to live here," the Kokuwamon warned.

"Pfft, yeah right. If you're so willing to be forgiving, how come the Goblimon are still tied up!?" the Mushroomon demanded.

"Do you want to untie them?" the Kokuwamon scoffed, gesturing towards a group of nearby Goblimon who were still struggling against their bindings and snapping at any digimon trying to get close enough to drag them into the nearby pen. Literally, as if they were trying to bite hands off.

"Point taken," the Mushroomon said quietly, staring at the Floramon. Once again, the flower digimon hung her head quietly without saying a word. It seemed Mushroomon wanted to start throwing some punches and start biting on his own. Instead, he just extended a hand towards the Floramon who seemed stunned.

"We're willing to let the past be in the past," the Mushroomon said. The Floramon hesitated to take the Mushroomon's hand and for a moment, Zoe was sure they were about to start fighting again but something happened. The digimon took the Mushroomon's hand and nodded in agreement.

"Excellent! We'll leave you guys to sort this stuff out while we get going then. I've still got to get these guys home," Tamer said cheerily.

He turned to leave but was stopped by JP standing in his way, "Not yet. You still need to tell us what the hell all that was about? Why is it that anywhere we go, digimon start acting funny whenever they find out your name is 'Digimon Tamer'? What is that about? Who are you?"

"I told who I am. I keep telling you who I am. And now you start believing me? I'm the Digimon Tamer! How many times do I need to say that?" he replied, his expression still jolly despite a clearly growing frustration in his voice.

"You keep saying that, but who exactly are you? And who is this Ophanimon? They sound pretty important if digimon are listening to them say, 'Hey, there's this guy named Digimon Tamer. Don't trust him.' What's up with that? And should we be trusting you?" JP asked, firing off one question after another.

Tamer could only offer a shrug in return, "To answer those in order: Do I have to repeat myself? How would I know? I don't know what Ophanimon's going on about? And I'm taking you guys home, aren't I?"

"Okay, stop. How about we all take a minute to just…relax and catch our breath?" Zoe suggested to the group, sensing that they were all at their boiling point now. And after how long today had been, it was no real surprise that everyone was on edge.

Kumamon was the first to agree, "Yeah, I could definitely go for some ice cold drinks right about now. And some food. I'm starving."

Now that he said it, Zoe realized they hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, and she was only now beginning to realize how hungry she was. Although she definitely didn't want any of the infinitely appearing juice boxes from Neemon's pants.


Despite saying they were leaving, they instead settled in for the night within the factory and slept on some sleeping bags in a central office that overlooked the factory floor. That way, they could spirit evolve if the need arose, which they really hoped it wouldn't. The sleeping quarters where the Kokuwamon had been kept prisoner was converted into a sick room for all the digimon who'd been injured in the fighting while the remaining digimon moved everything that could be salvaged from the camp back into the factory.

She should've been exhausted after such a long day but Zoe had a hard time falling asleep. She looked enviously at Tommy, Tamer, Bokomon, and Neemon who fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. JP was the only one wide awake with her and he sat at the office window watching the digimon below.

Zoe joined him there, marveling at the speed which the digimon were able to organize themselves despite the sudden and drastic change. But more surprising was how quickly the tension disappeared between the two groups as they worked along side each other.

"It's crazy to think they were fighting each other just a few days ago," JP said as he watched from the window.

"I know, right? Now you'd think they'd always been the best of friends," Zoe nodded in agreement.

"It's a false peace," the spirit's voice warned her, "They haven't stopped their hatred and distrust of each other. They've simply displaced it upon the Goblimon. Once the Goblimon are gone, all that anger and distrust will come back."

"Wow, way to drop the mood," JP said aloud.

"Did your guardian spirit just get really depressing on you too?" she asked JP.

He nodded and gestured out at the large group, "Oh yeah. It went on a whole thing about how this won't last and just got…really depressing."

"We really need to work on their people skills," Zoe said quietly.

"Yeah, then maybe we'll listen to them the way these digimon listen to Ophanimon," JP thought aloud.

"OF COURSE!" Tamer shot out of his bag excitedly.

"What?" JP and Zoe jumped in surprise at Tamer's exclamation. His shouting even stirred Tomoki, Bokomon, and Neemon from their sleep.

Neemon jolted up with his arms out, ready to fight at any would be attacker while he cried out, "Who's there? I'm ready to kick butt and take names!"

"If you're going to party, do us all a favor and do it literally anywhere else," Bokomon pleaded, rubbing his tired eyes.

Tomoki was the most groggy of the bunch, "Please, keep it down. You're all so loud."

"Don't you get it! Ophanimon! That's the answer!" Tamer said excitedly, no longer able to contain his excitement. He hurried out of his sleeping bag and out the office door. Zoe and JP just swapped confused glances with each other before looking back down to see Tamer hurriedly running from digimon to digimon.

"What do you suppose that was about?" Bokomon asked wearily.

"Who knows? He's crazy! I'm going back to bed," Neemon mumbled, flopping back down onto his sleeping bag.

"Me too," Tomoki cracked a tired yawn as he rolled over in his sleeping bag and started snoring again. Zoe was envious of how quickly he could do that, wishing she could join him in his slumber. But she still felt restless and uneasy, and she couldn't quite place a finger on why.

Once Bokomon and Neemon were fast asleep, Zoe turned to JP and asked, "Still wide awake?"

"I can't sleep," JP frowned.

He gestured to the whole factory outside the window and said in a low whisper, "Something feels…off to me. I gotta be honest, I feel like this whole thing has been out of my control for a while."

"Well, we did get sucked into another world. It's hard to feel like your in any kind of control when life literally throws you into another existence," Zoe reasoned, recalling how her life had turned upside down after going from Japan to Italy and back to Japan.

JP wagged a finger at her, "Not that. Doesn't this whole thing feel…I don't know how to put it. It feels like we're just getting dragged from one thing to another with no real say in how it affects us, if that makes sense."

"What do you mean?" Zoe asked.

"I've just been thinking about what that voice said to us when all this started. Or at least, it said it to me. 'Your fate is in your hands now'," JP recited quietly. She remembered those words quite well, but wasn't really sure what it meant at the time. In fact, she hadn't given it much thought since they got trapped in this world, since getting back home to their own worlds was a greater concern to her.

"I don't know about you, but I don't feel like anything has been in my hands since we first got here. Between Tamer showing up, getting dragged from one place to another when we're told we're being led back home, plus all the spirit guardians reaching out to us. I think what bugs me most about the Guardian Spirits was the stuff back at Candlemon Village. I mean, maybe I'm just being paranoid, but isn't weird that these things that were supposedly hard to find are all suddenly showing up now? And to us of all people? It all just feels…convenient, if you ask me."

The more Zoe listened to JP, the more it made sense. And the more she feared he may have been right. Then JP gestured out the window, "And then there's Tamer. We went through all this trouble to rescue him, and it turns out he'd already escaped anyway. Call me crazy, but I'm wondering just how far we can trust him to actually take us home. If that ever was his plan."

She looked back out the window at Tamer, excitedly running from one digimon to the next to ask a question. Eventually, he found one who gestured vaguely in a random direction and he started jumping up excitedly. She wanted to believe Tamer was trying to get them home. He had promised that much. But the more she had time to think about it, the more she couldn't help but wonder if that had been a misdirect on his part to trick them into thinking he was on their side when he really wasn't. What if he was just using them? And if he was, to what end?

All this thinking was starting to make her head hurt. And the fact that Guardian Spirit hadn't said a thing since she first began wondering these thoughts out loud started to make her worry. And tired. She cracked a tired yawn of her own, "All this is starting to make me sleepy. I'm going to go lie down."

"Me too," JP said quietly. "We can worry about this more in the morning after we've had a good night's rest."

Despite that, it would take a little bit longer before Zoe could finally fall asleep again.


Author's Notes: The seeds of doubt have been planted. Can they really trust the Digimon Tamer? Is he manipulating them as a means to an end? And how long can the peace last between the different groups of digimon? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v3.0 - Bold New Frontier due out in three weeks on Friday, August 13th at 8 PM CDT. Let me know what you guys thought in the reviews section! And don't forget to follow the story to keep up with all the updates and to favorite to show support! That's all I have for now so let's look at previews for the next chapter!

"I was saying a quick trip to Ophanimon won't kill anyone!" Tamer reasoned.

"Nuh-uh."

"I thought we were going to the Hallowed Bastion."

"You do know how to land, right?" Bokomon screamed at the same time.

"Uh…yeah. That just means stop flying right?" Kazemon answered nervously. Both Neemon and Bokomon started screaming after she said that, alerting everyone below to their arrival.