"Hey Pete, I'm gonna need to take today off."
"..."
"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't important."
"..."
"Well... I gotta go to the cop shop."
"..."
"No, I'm not turning into a criminal."
"..."
"Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow."
*Click*
The tamer hung up and put his phone back on the bedside table, before returning to sit next to Ren at the end of the bed.
Once again, Ren was staring at him, having listened in on the phone call. His ears were perked and his expression was much brighter, clearly pleased that his tamer had taken a day off.
And he was back to asking questions as usual.
"What is a cop shop, Tamer?"
"Oh... it's just a police station."
"I see. And why do you need to visit one?"
The tamer looked away nervously.
"Well..."
Ren noticed the tamer's hesitation.
"Is something wrong, Tamer?"
"I didn't tell you, but... the cops have my digivice. I gotta go get it."
Ren gave him a suspicious look, not dissimilar to how Yuki had done when given the same news.
"Why do the police have your digivice?"
"Uh... well, after the fight, they put Yuki on the watchlist. They said they needed to use the digivice to make a record of his identity."
Ren's expression changed to one of disapproval.
"You should not give up your digivice, Tamer. It is the link between us."
"Come on, I didn't have a choice Ren."
"Hmm... I suppose... but I am not comfortable with it."
"I know. Yuki was pretty upset when he found out, too."
The tamer paused for a moment, thinking something over.
"...if they scanned the digivice while you were digivolved... would the record be of Yuki... or you?"
Ren pondered the question.
"I am not sure. What are they making a record of?"
"Honestly, I have no idea. What could they get that requires scanning the digivice overnight?"
"Hmm... the only thing I can think of that might take that long would be a digicore."
After a moment, Ren realised the tamer was staring dumbly, awaiting an explanation.
"...it is essentially a digimon's heart."
"Ohhh... right."
"Each digimon has a unique core that contains the... well... core of our identity. If the police could somehow scan that, they would have a unique record of a digimon's identity. Given the complexity, it would be very difficult to forge a fake."
"So, would Yuki have the same core as you?"
"In normal circumstances, I would suspect so. But in this case, Youkomon is slightly different."
"In what way?"
"Have you heard of dark digivolutions?"
"Yeah, Gulus and Yuki both talked about it. Something to do with... like... not following the intended digivolution path... and being filled with negative energy."
"That is part of it. In my case, Youkomon exists as a part of me, but... not wholly. It is like I am... broken inside."
The tamer gave him a playful nudge on the shoulder.
"Hey, you're not broken. You've just had a tough time. Nobody would expect you to go through that and just have everything go back to normal."
Ren had a forlorn expression on his face.
"I know. I just... I do not like this feeling... that I have something bad inside me, trying to get out."
"Sorry Ren. I don't know what the solution is... but we can try work it out together."
Ren gave a small nod.
"...alright. So, step one... get the digivice back. You coming?"
The digimon perked up a bit and gave a condescending look to the tamer, as if the answer should've been obvious.
"Of course."
"Yep, silly question."
—
The drive to the police station was uneventful, with the pair making simple small talk.
Entering the station, a uniformed officer was sitting on the other side of the main counter, typing away on a computer. He looked up as the pair approached.
"Morning. How can I help you?"
"Um, hi. I'm here to collect my digivice. I had to surrender it yesterday."
"Sure, do you have a reference number?"
"Uh... well, I have this."
He handed over the warning notice. The officer looked over it briefly, before entering something on the computer.
"Mhmm. So you're the tamer... Miles is it?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"Do you have some ID?"
"Uh, yeah..."
He flicked through his wallet and pulled out his driver's licence.
"...here."
The officer took the card, comparing it to what was shown on the screen.
"Hmm... alright, that all seems in order. Give me a minute and I'll go get it for you."
The officer went out to the back of the station, presumably to some storage area.
He came back a minute later and put what looked like a smartphone down on the counter. He ticked a few boxes on a form before pushing it and the device across to the tamer.
The tamer stared at the device, a perplexed look on his face.
"Um... I think you might've misunderstood. I'm here to collect my digivice, not a phone."
The officer stared at him for a moment. He glanced at the device and then back to the tamer, giving a confused look.
"That... that is your digivice?"
"Uh, no it's not. Mine's a chunky thing with a small screen and d-pad."
He gestured with his hands to try to explain the size and shape of his digivice.
The officer was unconvinced.
"Sorry, but that's the digivice listed against your case number."
Before the tamer could argue further, Ren stepped forward, looking over to the officer and gesturing to the device.
"May I?"
The officer gave a shrug.
"Go for it."
Ren picked up the device and stared at it intently, before offering it to the tamer.
"This is your digivice, Tamer. I am sure of it."
The tamer gave the digimon a dubious look as he hesitantly took it.
"Seriously Ren? It looks nothing like it."
"I know. I believe Youkomon is responsible for this."
"How? He never even touched it."
"He would not need to."
Ren pointed to the single button on the front of the device.
"...press your thumb there."
The tamer gave another skeptical look, before shaking his head and doing as told.
"Alright."
He touched his thumb to the button. Immediately, the screen lit up and the device unlocked, showing a page of icons.
"...uh... ok."
"It recognises you, Tamer. It is yours."
The officer took the opportunity to push the form towards the tamer.
"Right. Now we've got that sorted, please sign this to confirm you've collected the digivice."
"Alright."
He took one of the pens that was chained to the counter and scrawled a signature on the bottom of the form, before sliding it back to the officer.
The officer took the form and added it to a nearby pile, before turning back to the pair.
"Thank you. That's all we need. You're free to take the device."
"Right, thanks."
He led Ren out the front door.
Now out of the station, he took a moment to examine the device more throughly. It was fairly plain on the front, mostly taken up by the screen. Flipping it around, the base of the back was white, with an intricate, raised X laid on top. The X was a bright yellow, similar to the highlights on his old device.
He held the device out, looking between it and Ren.
In the very centre of the X was the same symbol Ren had on his thighs, even matching the colour.
Given the matching details, he reluctantly accepted that it really was his digivice.
"Alright, I guess it is mine then.
He looked over to Ren with a curious expression,
"...how could you tell just by holding it?"
Ren gave a small smirk at the tamer's question.
"I am linked to it. Trust me, I can tell."
"So it's just magic then?"
Ren gave a noncommittal shrug.
"...fine, keep your secrets. Let's go home."
—
They arrived home, with the tamer pulling the car into the garage.
He checked the time on his phone as they entered.
"It's maybe a little early, but do you want some lunch Ren?"
"Actually, I was going to sit and meditate for now. I have some things to think about."
"Oh, uh... sure. Just let me know when you want something and I'll make us some food."
"Thank you, Tamer. I will let you know."
With that, Ren walked down the hall to his room.
Left alone, the tamer decided to make himself comfortable and watch some TV.
—
"Man, I forgot how terrible daytime TV is."
He'd been flipping through the channels for about 20 minutes when he finally gave up, leaving it on some TV shopping show.
Ignoring the cliche sales spiel, he pulled out his new digivice and started fiddling.
It seemed to work basically like a smartphone, with a variety of apps giving access to the different functions.
He could view Ren's stats like before, and both the summon and locate functions were still available. He had tried the locate function, and was surprised to find it now overlaid Ren's location onto a map of the local area.
"Wonder if it gets that from Google Maps."
The device somehow also had internet access, letting him browse the web despite not having put in a SIM card or connecting to the wifi.
As he was fiddling, the device suddenly gave a noise and a popup appeared.
*Ding*
New Message
"...what?"
Hesitantly, he tapped the notification. A chat opened, with a single message.
Y: You're welcome
He stared dumbly, before noticing the name at the top of the page.
Chatting with Youkomon
As he stared, another message popped up.
Y: Also tell Ren he's doing it wrong
"...what... the... hell?"
He got up and rushed through to Ren's room, bursting through the door.
Ren was sitting cross-legged on his bed with his eyes closed.
"...Ren! Look at this!"
He knelt down and shoved the device in the digimon's face.
Ren leaned away with an annoyed look.
"I can see it, Tamer."
However, as he read the message, his expression turned to confusion.
"...wait, how..."
"I know. It says Youkomon sent the messages. How is that possible?"
"I do not know. That is... troubling."
The tamer was taken aback by the comment.
"Uh... it's a bit strange, but it's not bad, right? It's just Yuki.
His expression turned to one of concern as he dwelled on that thought.
"...it is Yuki, right?"
"Yes, only Youkomon and I would be able to link to your digivice. But he is dormant inside me. I do not understand how he could send a message to you."
"Well, as long as it's not someone playing a prank, it's not bad. I guess it doesn't really matter. Could you send a message? Uh… however that works."
"Hmm..."
Ren closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly concentrating, before the device gave another ding.
The tamer noticed another notification.
Tapping on it like last time, a new chat opened.
Chatting with Renamon
R: Hello Tamer
The tamer stared wide-eyed at the device, before looking at Ren in amazement.
"Holy shit, you can do it too!"
"I can, since I am linked to the digivice."
"I wonder..."
The tamer typed out a message of his own, not showing it to Ren.
Suddenly, the digimon's ear twitched and he gave a confused look.
"What does 'purple burglar alarm' mean, Tamer?"
The tamer gave an amused chuckle.
"Heh, it's nothing. I just picked something you couldn't guess. But that's so cool. We can chat through the digivice."
"It seems we can. But I am still concerned about Youkomon being able to send a message."
"Well, uh... what were you doing before?"
"I was meditating, trying to recall what happened at the battle."
"So, could that... uh... somehow let Yuki... I dunno. Could it have let him out enough to send a message?"
"I do not know, Tamer."
"Why don't you give it another try? If you meditate, maybe I can chat with him."
Ren was clearly uncomfortable with the idea, with a grumpy look on his face.
"I do not like you associating with Youkomon, Tamer."
"Come on, Ren. He's my digimon too. I can't just ignore him."
"I am your digimon. He is just... a passenger along for the ride."
"I know you are, Ren... but if he's part of you, doesn't that make him my partner too?"
Ren gave a dissatisfied grumble, but didn't comment further.
"...look, you don't have to do it now. But I also don't think you have to be worried about him. Even if you do digivolve again, he's not gonna go nuts like the first time you let him out."
"How can you be certain?"
"Well... I... I dunno. It's just... a feeling."
The tamer gave a sigh.
"...you're sure you can't remember anything that happened after you digivolved?"
"Unfortunately not. My memory is blank. Why do you ask?"
"I just reckon if you could see how we ended up, you'd be able to feel a bit more comfortable about Yuki."
"I am not sure about that, Tamer."
"Well, I can't force you to like him. But, if you do meditate again, can I ask a favour?"
"I do not think I am going to like this..."
"I know. Just... try and see if you can see Yuki's memories. Even just the last thing that happened before we fell asleep."
Ren gave a sigh and his shoulders slumped.
"I will... think about it."
"Thanks. You don't have to commit, just... um, yeah... think about it."
He sat awkwardly for a moment, before getting up to leave.
"...I'll.. uh... leave you to it."
He headed out the door, leaving Ren to his thoughts.