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 28: Home And Back Again
Zoe's head hit the ground and she could see stars dancing around her vision. She sat up, massaging her head and wincing to ease the pain. "OW! WHY!?"
When she was finally able to crack her eyes open, she could see only darkness. It was dark, and cramped wherever they were. And she certainly didn't appreciate that someone was pushing her hard against a wall.
"Hey! Get off me!" Zoe shouted at the offender.
"You get off me!" JP said back. "And get your shoe off! It smells bad!"
"I can't help it! I'm upside down!" Tomoki answered from somewhere beneath Zoe.
"Will you guys stop! I'm trying to find a light switch!" Koji replied.
"How do you even know there is one?" JP replied.
"I don't! But it's not like I'm just going to sit here and whine!" Koji retorted quickly. Zoe felt something pass between her and the wall she was pressed against and gasped in shock.
"HEY! WATCH IT!" she scolded, slapping at his arm.
"Ow! Stop hitting me!" Koji said, just as Zoe heard a rattling noise. "I think I've got something! I think it's a door handl-AAAAH!"
Before he could finished his sentence, a door cracked open and they all fell out into a blindingly bright room. Followed by a broom, a mop, and other cleaning supplies. Once again, they found themselves sprawled along the floor but at least they could hear the roar of people. When Zoe's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw Koji was already on his feet and straightening his clothes out. He grumbled under his breath about all the trouble they'd been through and how he was glad it was over. Tomoki reached out a hand to him for some help up only to be swatted away with a scowl. Thankfully, JP gave the boy a small push up instead, "There you go."
"Thanks, JP," Tomoki said while making a scowl at Koji, who didn't seem to care that he was being mocked.
"Anyone have any idea where we are?" JP asked, turning his head in every direction to make sense of their surroundings. Now that Zoe looked, she could see many people around them. Some were staring in confusion, while others hurried past while avoid eye contact with them. People. Other humans. This was real, right? They appeared to be inside a building of some kind - a white tiled building with posters and advertisements plastered all along the walls. It couldn't be…it was the train station where she'd gone the day she left for the Digital World.
"Guys…we're in Jiyuugaoka Station," Zoe said in disbelief.
JP's mouth fell open, "You mean…we're back in our world?"
"That is what Lucemon said," Koji stated dryly.
It couldn't be. It seemed too good to be true. Zoe sat up on to her feet and rushed towards the first person she saw - an elderly woman sitting on a bench holding a bag of groceries. The woman leaned away as Zoe approached, alarmed by being approached so suddenly, "Excuse me, are you real?"
"What?" the old woman asked, leaning so far back that she was about to fall backwards over the edge of the bench. Zoe realized she was freaking the lady out and took a step back, smiling nervously as she tried to think of a way to explain what was happening.
"Sorry, I meant to ask, where are we at?" Zoe stammered.
"Jiyuugaoka Station," the old woman replied quietly, putting a hand over her nose. Zoe suddenly became very self aware of how badly she must've smelled after being in another world for so long and stepped back. But her words confirmed it. They were back in the Human World. Then the old woman's attention went back to Zoe and her tone shifted to one of concern. "What were you and your friends even doing in that supply closet?"
"Oh you know…we were…uh," Zoe trailed off as she tried to think of an answer that didn't make her sound crazier than she already appeared to this woman. Then again, what answer could she give? They were in another world until a minute ago but it's okay because they're back safe? That practically sounded made up! Thankfully, she was saved by an announcement over the PA.
"Now arriving! The train to Shibuya!"
"Excuse me, that's my train," the old woman said as she hurried up towards the platform as a train pulled into the station. Zoe was relieved at first, until she noticed the woman didn't even get on the train. She just moved further down the platform to get away from her. And the clock the old woman walked by caught Zoe's attention. According to the clock, the time was 5:15 PM. But that wasn't what stood out to Zoe, it was the date on the clock's face: August 1st.
"Uh, guys…are you reading that clock the same way I am?" Zoe pointed it out to them. Junpei was the first to look and his mouth fell open as soon as he saw it. Koji was next but he merely stared with an expressionless face.
Tomoki however tilted his head to the side as he looked at it, "I don't get it. Did they turn back the clocks?"
"Hang on," Zoe said, reaching for her digivice. But once her hand reached, they didn't wrap around a digivice. Confused, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and stared at it in surprise. "My digivice! It turned back into my phone?"
"No way," JP blurted out, producing his phone from his pocket. "My phone turned back, too!"
"Looks like all of ours did," Koji added, lifting up his phone at the same time as Tomoki. All four looked at each other silently, processing the fact that they no longer had their digivices. They were back home in their world. In fact, now that Zoe thought about it, she didn't hear either of her Guardian Spirits in her head.
"Tomoki, do you hear anything? In your head I mean?" Zoe asked.
"No, why?" Tomoki asked, before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh…I don't hear anything."
"You don't think…I mean, I'd like it if he was but…is Lucemon out of our heads?" JP asked aloud. But it certainly seemed like that was the case. Zoe should've felt relieved, finally able to relax now that she was safe at home. Instead she felt anxious, sick to her stomach.
This was what she wanted, right. To go back home and be with her family. And instead she felt a sickening pit in her stomach and could feel it growing in size.
"How do we go back?" Tomoki asked.
"Seriously? We finally got back home and you want to go back!?" JP asked the little boy. Zoe was just as surprised as he was, and looked at the little boy curiously. His face was distraught and his lips were trembling - it seemed like the only reason he wasn't crying was because of sheer force of will. But that didn't mean Tomoki's voice wasn't shaking as he spoke.
"Tamer's still there. In the Digital World. In that castle! By himself with all those digimon!" Tomoki spat out slowly, stopping occasionally to take a deep breath. He shuddered as he took a moment to collect himself to add. "I mean…I'm not happy that he jerked us around. But I feel worse just leaving him there."
"It's not really our problem though, is it?" Koji pointed out. "The fact is we're back home and safe from all of…that."
"You're not worried about him? Or the other kids?" Tomoki asked him sheepishly. Koji just scoffed at the question and crossed his arms disbelievingly.
"Are you saying you are? Weren't some of them your bullies? Not to mention the fact that Tamer practically admitted he was just using us," Koji asked curiously. Tomoki rubbed his arm nervously as he tried to think of an answer to Koji but the older boy just kept going on. "In fact, didn't Tamer guide us around the Digital World on a wild goose chase for a long time? Promising to take us back home when all he really wanted was for us to solve some other world's problems?"
Tomoki opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to come up with an answer.
"I'm not gonna lie, I do feel kind of…scummy? It's like when you promise to do something and back out of it," JP answered for Tomoki. "And he's not wrong, we did leave all of them back there."
"We didn't leave anyone! It looked like everyone was either already dead or about to be. Besides, we technically got kicked out," Koji pointed out, raising his voice slightly. He seemed to realize he'd gotten angry and took a moment to cool down before responding. "By the digimon everyone was calling the bad guy! It sounds like he did us a favor!"
"Did he though?" Zoe asked, quietly recalling the words of Ophanimon and Tamer himself. Once Lucemon was done with their world, it was only a matter of time until Lucemon came after their world too. She could see the looks on JP and Tomoki's faces as they came to the same realization - the only thing Lucemon did was get them out of his way. And who knew what was going on back there.
"I don't know why this is even up for discussion," Koji said quietly. "Do you guys really want to go back?"
As he said that, they were bumped from behind by another kid hurrying towards the train station. Koji cursed at the kid but he didn't even bother looking back at them.
"Sorry," the apology The kid hurried off without another word, quietly mumbling to himself, "Let's see…Take the 5:45 train to Shibuya from Jiyuugaoka. Guess I'm early."
"Should we warn him?" JP asked quietly. "Or any of the other kids?"
"I don't know why we should," Koji answered.
"You don't think it's a good idea to keep as many of them from dying as we can?" JP suggested.
Again, Koji scoffed at the suggestion, "It's not our problem anymore. Remember?"
"Man, you are just grumpy today," JP pointed out, getting a scoff from Koji.
Zoe couldn't help but examine the boy curiously - noting how oddly similar he looked to Koji. He could practically pass for Koji's twin if he didn't seem more noticeably bright eyed and happier. As the train at the platform was about to depart, Zoe noticed another boy hurry out of the train to meet Koji's lookalike. And Zoe did a double take as she recognized the boy right away. It was Tamer. It had to be. She'd recognize that horrible mismatched outfit anywhere. Yet, he looked somewhat fresh - as if he hadn't been traveling the Digital World for weeks.
"Guys…is that Tamer?" Zoe pointed him out.
All three boys followed her finger and stared in disbelief at the sight of Tamer casually talking to Koji's look alike. And going by the look on his face, whatever Tamer was saying was confusing the poor boy. But this didn't make sense - they'd left Tamer at the entrance to the castle. He was still in the Digital World, so what was he doing here?
"Hey! Tam-" Tomoki was about to call out, only to have his mouth covered by Zoe. Tomoki looked up at her, trying to pry her hand off through muffled protests.
"Hang on. Something about this doesn't make sense," Zoe said quietly. "How can he be here? He's still in the Digital World."
"Unless the clock is right," JP said, gesturing towards the timepiece and hesitating through his next words. "Because then that would be Tamer…but it's Tamer before we met him. And we've gone back in time."
JP's sentence was met with a long pause, followed promptly by a slap to the back of the head by Koji. JP winced and rubbed the back of his head, "Ow! What was that for?"
"For bringing up such a stupid idea," Koji explained, raising his hand up to slap JP again. "Here, let me finish airing out your head to get all those stupid ideas out."
"Stop it! Both of you!" Zoe said to both boys as they started to slap at each other. They stopped after Koji realized he wasn't going to get another hand on JP and the two boys stepped away from each other. Koji then started staring at her and she could feel herself crumbling under the intensity of his gaze.
Koji's eyes widened, "You're not actually buying into this, are you. There's no way we went back in time."
"Oh, then how do you explain the fact that Tamer is right there when we know he's still in the Digital World?" Zoe asked Koji, then gesturing towards the clock. "Or the fact that the clocks are now all turned back? Or the fact that kid over there who looks like you is following the same message we all got!?"
"I don't know? A trick? An illusion? Any of that makes more sense than time travel!" Koji offered as an alternative. It was admittedly a possible alternative but then how would that trick even be working. Besides, this all felt real to her. She pinched herself just to check and found that it did in fact hurt. Then again, that was only supposed to break the illusion of dreams and she was pretty sure she wasn't asleep.
"An illusion? Come on! I like a good magic trick and sleight of hand as much as the next guy but how can this be an illusion?" JP asked, throwing his hands up in frustration.
"Hey! It makes more sense than time travel!" Koji responded bitterly, his words betraying the fact that even he didn't buy his own proposal.
"No, it doesn't," JP answered.
"Why does that guy look like you, anyway?" Tomoki asked as he finally managed to pry Zoe's hand off his mouth. Koji glanced quietly towards his look alike, who seemed awfully chatty with Tamer. He seemed more relaxed now, perhaps accustomed to Tamer's bizarre behavior or maybe even welcoming of it. Whatever it was, no one could deny the very real fact that the two of them were getting along quite well.
"He could be my brother," Koji said quietly.
JP and Zoe did a double take on the other boy. There was no denying the resemblance, but it was hard to believe they could be brothers given Koji's moodiness and the other boy's otherwise cheery demeanor. Although neither was brave enough to question Koji about it. Then again, maybe they should've just to stop Tomoki from asking, "No way. You have a brother?"
"Yeah," Koji nodded solemnly. "But I've never met him, so don't ask me if that's actually him or not. And, no, I don't want to talk about it."
"What do you mean you never met your brother? What, did you guys just live on opposite sides of the same house?" JP asked, ignoring Koji's refusal to talk about it.
"My parents are divorced! Now can we drop it?" Koji said more seriously, his gaze turning back towards them angrily. There was no doubt that this was a subject he wanted to avoid at all costs but Zoe wasn't sure that was entirely an option for him. After all, Tamer was right there talking to the boy. Then someone else appeared that gave Zoe pause - it was Koji. Another Koji walking into the station right beside Tamer and the other boy, before quietly going to take a seat over by one of the benches.
"I think we just got confirmation that we went back in time," JP said quietly, gesturing towards the other Koji sitting quietly on the bench. Tamer and the other boy were glancing at the other Koji, before exchanging a few words to each other. Just by going off the expressions, it was clear that the other boy wanted to go talk to the other Koji. But the other Koji didn't even seem to notice they were there, pulling out his phone and fiddling with it.
"Okay, I guess we went back in time," Koji said in surprise, at his other self.
"Did you know Tamer and that other kid were looking at you?" JP asked him.
"Obviously not!" Koji answered, still dumbstruck at the sight before him. His fists clenched as he stared at Tamer and the boy staring at his other self. The other boy hesitated for a moment, before pulling a hat out of his pocket and using it to cover his face. He then quietly began to walk over to the other Koji who barely noticed him sitting down next to him on the bench. Immediately, the other Koji slid away from him.
"Wow. Good to see you were as sociable then as you are now," JP half snorted as the other boy just kinda sat there awkwardly.
"Huh…so that's why that guy sat next to me all of a sudden. Tamer put him up to it," Koji said very angrily. Without another word, he started walking towards Tamer who appeared to be gesturing at Koji's look alike.
Thankfully, Zoe had the sense to grab a hold of Koji before he got too far away, "Are you crazy!? What exactly are you planning on doing!?"
"I'm about to ask Tamer to explain himself about what's going on!" Koji replied.
"And we're you planning on doing it with your hands balled up like fists? You look like you're ready to punch him!" Zoe pointed out.
Koji raised his fist up in front of her, "That's because he probably wasn't going to tell us anything so I was going to punch him. Hard."
"What would you even ask. Why did he make the kid who looks like you sit next to you?" Tomoki said aloud. As he said those exact words, his mouth fell open and he stared in silent shock. Zoe turned her to see another Zoe appear from the stairs with a bag slung over her shoulders.
"That's me!" Zoe gasped at just above a whisper. Finally realizing that they all stood out like this, the four of them hurried behind one of the support pillars to get out of view of the other Zoe who stood there nervously. Zoe stared at her other self, and briefly considered convincing her past self to not get on the train. To not go to the Digital World. But then how would she react to seeing someone who looked exactly like her showing up unexpectedly to talk her out of listening to the phone call? She would've thought she was in the weirdest prank of her life. Or worse, she'd slap herself and call them a creep. And then there was Tamer who was standing so close to the other Zoe. He was so close that Zoe could've reached out to him if he knew he was standing so close to her back then. But Tamer didn't even seem to notice he presence, fiddling with a digivice in his hand.
Why didn't he warn her?
Why didn't he say anything? What must've been going through his mind in that moment? Just thinking about it was making her angry - and she was beginning to agree with Koji's plan to walk over and punch him.
"Now arriving! The 5:45 to Shibuya!" a voice said over the intercom just as another train pulled into the station and slowed to a stop. The doors flew open as everyone made their way inside - the other Koji and his look alike into one car, Tamer stepped onto a second, and the other Zoe into a third.
"Uh, guys! If we're going to talk to Tamer, we'd better do it now because he's getting on the train," JP said to them. Zoe was about to follow Tamer onto his car but stopped when she noticed Koji moving towards the car with his past self.
"Where are you going?" Zoe hissed at him, gesturing at the middle car where Tamer was standing in the aisle holding onto one of the hand rails. "Tamer got into that car!?"
"I want to know who that guy is," Koji answered quietly, gesturing at his look alike who'd seated himself across from the past Koji.
"I thought you didn't care?" JP remarked. Koji didn't answer, focusing instead on the boy back there.
"And how were you going to do that without showing up in front of yourself?" Zoe asked Koji. Koji frowned in response and glanced back at the train car his past self and his look alike were sitting in.
"Fine. Let's go talk to Tamer," Koji grumbled quietly, making his way towards the middle car but never taking his gaze off the first car.
"Let me guess, you think he might actually be your brother. Is that why you keep looking at him?" JP asked as they filed inside the train car and approached Tamer, who was busy fiddling with his digivice. But that digivice was different from the other they'd seen before. It was shaped like a rounded T with a red strap hanging from the top and a red ring around the screen; nothing like their own digivices. They stopped short of actually approaching Tamer and stared at him.
How would they even go about approaching this? None of them had really given it much thought beyond this point. In fact, what were they even going to say to him? What would he say when he saw them?
"Well, go talk to him?" JP said to Zoe.
"Me?" Zoe looked back at JP in surprise.
"He likes you best!" JP shrugged. "He'll probably answer any question you ask no problem."
Zoe had no idea where he got that from and looked back at Tamer to see he was now massaging his forehead. Was he feeling the fact that they were there? Did he already know? Just thinking about it made her nervous and she was about to protest when Tomoki stepped forward. "Never mind! I'll go ask him!"
The little boy marched towards Tamer without a second's hesitation, approaching the boy and tugging on his sleeve. Tamer glanced down at him and offered a half smile, "Hello there. Can I help you?"
"Hi…uh…I'm Tomoki," Tomoki began nervously, before thumbing back at the others. "And I think you can."
Tamer looked up over at Zoe, Koji, and then JP. Then he spun around and looked into the other train car where the past Koji and his lookalike were sitting in silence. The lookalike really appeared like he wanted to speak to past Koji, but past Koji hardly seemed to notice the other boy was there. Then Tamer spun back around towards them and his half smile disappeared. "You don't happen to part of a set of triplets, do you?"
"No," Koji answered quietly.
"I see," Tamer frowned, sliding between them. "We should probably talk in the other car before the you over there sees the you here."
"Yeah, about that," Zoe stopped him, gesturing through the window towards her past self sitting quietly in the car behind them. Her past self stared down at her phone, replaying the message on her voicemail. Tamer stared at the past Zoe then looked back at them with a frown.
"Oh, well we are in trouble aren't we?" Tamer remarked quietly, as he spun around in place to face them. "Well, catch me up."
"What?" Koji asked.
"There's two of you walking around so something must've happened," Tamer said quietly, gesturing at them and then towards their past selves. "So I figure you have some kind of explanation because I sure as heck don't have one. Although that makes me wonder why me."
"Because you're Tamer," JP answered quietly.
"Correct. But there's the thing! That means you already knew my name, so that means you know me. But you can't have recognized me because I just got this face. Which has all sorts of implications which give me a headache to think about. And I mean that literally, looking at you guys is making my head hurt."
Zoe stared at him disbelievingly then looked to JP and Koji. Koji groaned, "Look can we skip all of this and get to the part where you tell us what's going on."
"I'd love to, but first you have to tell me why there's two of you," Tamer replied, still gesturing at the other them. Zoe couldn't tell if he was messing with them or if he was doing that thing where he was intentionally being vague to keep what he knew secret. But they didn't have time for this…the train was going to arrive at Shibuya station soon. So Zoe explained everything to Tamer - about their meeting in the Digital World, finding the Guardian Spirits, their encounter with the past version of Tamer, meeting Ophanimon and Cherubimon, the battle with Cherubimon, then Lucemon, getting trapped inside the Hollow Bastion, Lucemon revealing that he was the voice of the Guardian Spirits, and then getting lost in the Hollow Bastion before being thrown through a door and ending up here.
Tamer listened intently, nodding along quietly as he absorbed all of it. And once Zoe was done, Tamer put a hand to his chin, "Well…I guess you've found yourselves at a cross roads, then. To stay here and live your lives or to go back to the Digital World."
"Why would we go back to the Digital World?" Koji asked.
"Why would you come talk to me if you didn't want to?" Tamer fired back just as quickly.
"So this is real? All of it, I mean?" Zoe said, gesturing to the train car they were in and the people in the car with them. Tamer nodded and massaged his forehead yet again. When he finally stopped, he gestured to the world around them.
"It's all as real as you or I. The best I can figure from what you've told me is that Lucemon's followers sent you through the gate back to this world. It's a tear in the fabric of reality that's sealed by doors made by Ancient tech. Anyone who knows how to use it can travel to any world they want. In this case, the human world. As for why it sent you back in time…well, it shouldn't have. Time has never really flowed at the same rate between the worlds but it's never flowed backwards. Which means-" Tamer trailed off, quietly massaging his forehead again. "Well, I presume reality is falling apart if sending you to another world also sent you backwards in time. Which really telegraphs how bad things are if I'm being honest."
"What? But we met a past you. Another you!" Zoe reminded him.
"Yes, and if that was the me I think you're referring to, then he was two faces ago and was fighting in a war with all of reality on the line. Literal worlds were blown out of existence back then. Not destroyed, not turned to dust, they were removed from reality. They didn't just cease to exist, they also never existed. They were wiped from the history books. Reset. And that's the state of affairs the Digital World is in now. It looks like it hasn't bled over to this world yet," Tamer answered calmly. He really had a way of just laying it on heavy, and Zoe felt her heart sink as she imagined it. She remembered the big blank nothingness when a whole section of the Digital World just disappeared. And she also remembered falling through infinite darkness when it happened.
Tamer then gestured over to the other Zoe and the other Koji. "Although the fact that there are two instances of you here says that might not be the case much longer. In fact, it might have already started now that you're both here. And it will only get worse before it gets better."
Zoe realized her mouth was hanging open as she stared directly at Tamer. He didn't even flinch as he explained everything he said. In fact, it was the calmness with which he said everything that was so unsettling.
"We can't get away from this, can we?" JP asked.
Tamer shrugged again as he gave an answer, "It doesn't seem to me like you're trying very hard. I mean, if you wanted to leave, you would've just walked away the moment you saw me."
"You could've just said 'no'," Zoe said, annoyed at his round about answer.
"But where's the fun in such a boring answer?"Tamer chuckled at her and grabbed a hold of the lapels of his open jacket. Zoe looked at Koji, Tomoki, and JP. Part of her really didn't want to go back at all - she wanted to stay here. But another part of her didn't like the feeling of doing nothing while the world slowly fell apart around her.
"So…hang on…does this mean that you've had this conversation with us already. I mean, the one who's back in the Digital World. Did that you know all of this stuff happened already?" Tomoki asked.
Again, Tamer shrugged, "Probably? I'm not that Tamer. Not yet anyway. Give it some time. And maybe some missed showers. I'm sure we'll sync back up and then you can ask me then."
"We did ask you. You gave a bunch of vague non-answers about how Lucemon was supposed to destroy the Digital World and we were gonna end up on the moon," JP said bitterly. Tamer just whistled in amazement and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to find a response but nothing came out. And Zoe was getting annoyed by it.
"So things were that bad, huh? Would explain my headaches," Tamer finally found the words to speak. He nodded quietly and stared back at the past Koji and his doppelgänger.
"Why do you keep looking at me? And who's that kid who keeps staring at me?" Koji asked quietly. Tamer thumbed at the look alike's direction, who was still sitting opposite Koji and trying to find the words to talk.
"The one with the baseball cap? He says he's your brother," Tamer replied quietly. "And I'm guessing from your question that he never was able to talk to you."
"No. I had no idea until now," Koji answered sheepishly, glancing towards the other boy. It seemed he had his own words he wanted to say to the brother he didn't know but wouldn't bring himself to actually do it. But after a moment, he rounded on Tamer, "Wait…does that mean that he's in the Digital World, too?"
"No, he's right there," Tamer replied.
"You know what I meant!" Koji snapped back. Tamer tilted his head to the side, an eyebrow raised as if to feign confusion.
"Don't toy with me!" Koji said, suddenly grabbing a hold of Tamer by the collar of his shirt and thrusting him against the train car door. The slam was so loud that the entire car turned to stare at the two boys, one passenger making a comment about rough housing while another got up and muttered something about getting a conductor.
"Guys! Stop it!" Zoe hurried quickly to Koji and tried to pull him off Tamer, but could barely get the two boys to budge. And both of them stared intensely at each other - it looks could kill, these two were in a death battle. Or at least the world's most intense staring contest.
Then Koji asked again, "Is my brother going to the Digital World?"
Tamer smiled, unintimidated by Koji and calmly answered, "He's supposed to go to the Digital World. And you two are supposed to meet there, for better or worse. I'm guessing that didn't happen yet."
Koji finally let Tamer go and stared one more time back at his brother in the other car. There was something surreal about watching Koji watch his brother watch himself. But she could see a sad longing plain as day on Koji's face. Then after a moment, he looked back at Tamer, "How do I go back?"
"I thought you didn't want to go back?" JP asked.
"I'm not exactly planning on saving the Digital World. I'm going back for my brother, and then I'm out," Koji said matter of fact. Tamer nodded approvingly and looked towards the others curiously, asking the question without saying a word. Were they going back as well?
"I am too," Tomoki said. "I…I won't accept that the others are dead. I'm going back to try and save them."
"I'd feel kinda crummy sitting this out if you guys all go back so I'm in too," JP added with a smile.
Zoe looked back at her past self, thinking that it still wasn't too late to stop herself. To keep herself from going to the Digital World in the first place. But all that would mean was that the world would fall apart - she'd seen what happened herself and things didn't go how they were supposed to. She hated feeling like she didn't have a real choice in the matter. But part of her also knew there was only one choice to make - to go back and save the Digital World. She nodded quietly, "I'm in. Can you get us back?"
"I can," Tamer answered.
"Now arriving in Shibuya Station!" an announcement came over the PA. The train slid to a halt at the station and Zoe watched her past self hurry out the other side of the platform, heading towards an elevator that the past Koji stepped inside of. Meanwhile, they followed Tamer out onto the other side of the platform. Tamer fiddler with the odd looking digivice in his hand and asked, "Okay…you guys said you were in the Hollow Bastion. I can send you back there directly. But I can't guarantee you'll end up when you left. You could show up before. You could show up after. But you will end up in the Digital World."
"And will we be falling? Because I'm tired of landing on my back," Koji said.
"In theory, no. In practice, that depends on how bad things are in the Digital World. So probably yes," Tamer answered happily, lifting up his digivice for them to see. "Is everyone ready."
They all agreed quietly, but Koji made one last remark, "You better still be alive when we get there."
"You're going to be a lot of fun to talk to later," Tamer said with a smile. He pointed his odd digivice at them and pushed a button. "Good luck. Digiport Open!"
A bright light flashed from the screen and all four of them felt a familiar pull. But this one didn't take them downwards into a fall. Rather it felt like they were sliding backwards. And as they did, they all felt their phones humming in their pockets - all four phones changed back into digivices in their hands as the world around them slowly shifted back into one of dusty stone floors and decrepit walls that looked ready to crumble.
And once the world came into focus, they found themselves back in the entryway to the castle. And Tamer was still there, slumped up against the castle wall. He glanced up at them with one eye open, still massaging his forehead, "Welcome back."
Author's Notes: The digidestined are back in the Digital World! But how will they escape the Hollow Bastion with Lucemon right outside? And what about fighting the digimon inside the castle with them? Find all out this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v3.0 - Bold New Frontier due out in three weeks on Friday March 3rd at 8 PM CST! Let me know your thoughts in the reviews section! And don't forget to follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates and to favorite to show support! That's all for now, until then is leonardo1123581321 signing out!
