Digimon Tamers Zero Two

by MasterCaedus

Tasuke, or Taj, was raised by his 'Uncle' Henry Wong, ever since his parents left when he was very young. In that time, Taj has come to hate his parents and anything related to them. Especially Digimon, the fictional creatures his parents had loved when they were around. But when he gets a real Digimon, Taj must fight Digi-agents of other countries for a chance to find his parents.

21. Advent 1 of 2:It's a Digi-Secret Dan!

AN: Hey everyone. Happy to see you again. I hope you're all okay; being stuck in one place for a while can be pretty trying. I hope you all have found people to talk to and things to do during this whole thing quarantine thing. I know I'm getting exhausted from being alone in my apartment basically 24/7. But, hey, I have managed to find a new DnD group and video call with my family a bunch, so that's helping the cabin fever.

So, responses.

To reddevil47: Thanks! Yeah, Taj and BlackGuilmon's relationship is advancing at a good, steady pace. And Davis and Huckmon have some stuff coming up pretty soon! Not this chapter, but soon.

To Guest: Yeah, Henry's new 'Pet' is annoying in his own way. I'm excited for Henry to have some interactions with the Digimon moving forward. As for Tasuke, well... When you have a friend, it's only natural your personalities affect each other, and Tasuke was the one to take the plunge into that realm first. Who knows how much that might continue?

Well, I hope you all like this chapter. See you soon!

Episode 21:Advent 1 of 2: It's a Digi-Secret Dan!

"Black Exhaust Flame!" BlackGrowlmon roared as he charged forward, an explosive blast of Viral flames exploding from his throat and flying towards his opponent. The purple, furry dragon snarled and flapped her wings, shooting into the air to avoid the massive explosion the flames had let loose.

"Wow, that might have hit the broad side of a barn!" Dorugamon mocked from the air, flapping her wings to take up the one dimension her opponent couldn't. She grinned wide and tossed her head from side to side. "Nah nah nah nah! You can't get me!"

I glanced over at her snickering Digidestined. "Is this necessary?" I asked May.

"How is it not?" she shouted back jokingly.

I groaned and picked up a card. "Digi-modify! Hyper Wing, activate!" I snapped while BlackGrowlmon began to dodge and weave between attacks sent from above. Six bolts of light exploded from his back and he leaped over the next attack, using the momentum to fly after Dorugamon.

"Aw, come on! That's no fun!" Dorugamon whined before spinning away to start their dog fight. She dodged a quick fire blast from BlackGrowlmon and aimed the claws on her hind legs at his back, using a body built for flying to outmaneuver him and rake the blades across his back.

BlackGrowlmon snarled in pain and shot past her, spinning midair and flaring his wings to float above her. He really 'popped' against the hazy white background of a Digital Field. Oh, and because he was a Godzilla flying above us. But he wasn't angry. It was easy to tell, given his grin and the lack of a violent cloud of smoke forming around his head. "I'd call running away 'No fun!'" he retorted before launching himself at her, the blades on his arms beginning to glow and extend. "Plasma Blade!"

"Digi-Modify! Puppetmon's Strings, Activate!" May snapped, double tapping the card on her screen. The Digivice beeped and violet lines shot out of Dorugamon's open mouth towards BlackGrowlmon.

"Digi-Modify!" I snapped, swiping my own card through my Digivice. "HyperSonic, activate!" BlackGrowlmon grinned and turned into a black blur, rocketing past the strings and passing close to Dorugamon. The glowing blade slammed into her side, leaving a jagged mark.

She screamed in pain and whirled, flaring her wings and aiming at the place the blur was heading. "Cannonball!" A metal sphere shot from her mouth and slammed into BlackGrowlmon. Given how fast he was going, Dorugamon's aim must have been insane. BlackGrowlmon hit the ground, wings vanishing, and rolled through the ground. A wave of dirt and dust exploded in his wake, coating me and May completely. I rubbed my goggles on my sleeve to see Dorugamon, slightly injured, land softly, the wound near her wing keeping her from flying much more.

BlackGrowlmon grumbled and pushed himself up to his feet. Dust cascaded from his body, but enough remained to give him a distinctly tiger-like pattern of stripes. "That... hurt."

"Yeah, because carving me up like this didn't," Dorugamon scoffed. She rolled her eyes. "I thought this was a training fight, BlackJerkmon!"

"Don't pretend you aren't enjoying this!" BlackGrowlmon retorted, then he took a heavy step forward and charged.

Her eyes widened and the grin grew across her face. "I'd never do that!" she snapped back, charging him as well.

"Black Exhaust Flame!"

"Power Metal!"

The flames and steel exploded against one another and the two burst through the cloud, claws slamming into one another. Each began to bite violently and try to get a grip. BlackGrowlmon pushed the smaller Digimon back and brought his head down in a violent bite, only for her to move quickly out of the way, sliding and delivering a bite to his side. He snarled in pain and threw himself forward, landing on top of her on his chest. Dorugamon yelped in pain until he rolled off of her to get the leverage needed to attack again. She flapped her wings the moment he was up, the blow sending dirt slamming into his face and eyes. BlackGrowlmon floundered back and spun wildly, slamming his tail into her when she tried to stand.

"Black Exhaust -"

"Power Met -"

"Enough!"

We all turned to Davis and Huckmon, who had calmly been watching the proceedings with interest. "You're both getting better at this," Davis noted. He uncrossed his arms and motioned at us. "Help them DeDigivolve."

May and I glanced at one another, then held our Digivices up at our partners. Dorugamon and BlackGrowlmon both groaned and complained about the decision, but eventually they both shrank down twice over, changing into their In-Training forms.

"I want it painfully obvious that I hate this," BlackGigimon snapped at us with bared teeth.

"And I want candy!" Dorimon shouted.

BlackGigimon looked over, then back at us. "... Me too!" He slammed one of his tiny feet on the ground angrily.

"I still can't believe you got him to agree to DeDigivolve like that," Huckmon muttered. He walked over and began to poke and prod my partner. "He's so tiny now!"

"Have you never DeDigivolved?" I asked The idea kind of surprised me.

"He's been able to do the whole disappearing act thing his entire life," Davis explained. He moved and pushed Huckmon away from BlackGigimon, who had been loudly complaining the entire time. "Come on, don't be mean."

"I just think it's cool. Come on, don't be so grouchy, Davis!" Huckmon protested. He looked back down at my snarling Digimon. "Oh, come on, if I could teach you how to hide, I'd do it. But you're a little too... blunt." He turned to Dorimon. "And you're too loud."

"I'm not loud!" she shouted. Incredibly loudly.

"Yeah, tell that to your snoring," May remarked under her breath.

Dorimon gasped in horror. "W-what? Me! Snore?!"

"Loud," May reiterated.

"I DON'T SNORE LOUD!"

X X X

In a dark room, lit only by rows and rows of computer screens, information was taken in and analyzed by some of the best and most loyal intelligence analysts their nation had produced. The only noise, the clacking of the keyboards and the occasional muffled cough, failed to distract even one of them from their duties. They were dedicated, intelligent and single minded in their pursuit. In fact, after the powerful Tamers that their nation had produced as a result of being the first place Digimon had appeared, these people were the reason that HYPNOS was so powerful. They could find information that almost no one could, hidden gems of data hidden between single mentions in a dozen separate pieces. For instance, one of the men had created code to pull up various mission reports that mentioned the dangerous Davis Estevez, one of the only real threats to HYPNOS out there. The data regarding the young man – boy really – had changed in the past months, and the higher ups wanted to know why.

The analyst frowned as he examined the mission reports, grunting to himself. What was happening here? Could it be..? This mention, tracing it back to the name of a new Digidestined – no, two new Digidestined. Hazard!And – A name. A name that sent bells ringing through the analyst's mind, for it had been on the watch list for years, a man hidden from their watch by the full power of the US government. Henry Wong.

The analyst quickly printed out the reports and picked the papers up, locking his station a moment later and hurrying from the room. His feet tapped quickly and quietly across the tile, taking him towards a room he had rarely been to before. He gave a few quiet nods to the higher ups he passed, then finally came to a stop at the door to the office of the Director of HYPNOS. The analyst knocked on the door, then waited for verbal assurance he could enter before opening the door.

The analyst bowed and placed the papers on the table, at which point the chair behind it swiveled around. The Japanese woman behind the desk glared at him severely, then looked down at the reports. "Well?"

"M-ma'am," the analyst said with another bow. "These reports contain references to two very important pieces of intelligence, combined to give a very high likelihood of a connection between the two pieces of intelligence in question. The first is that the Americans have managed to obtain three Digidestined, now at the Champion level or above."

The woman behind the desk clenched her fist, the papers in her hand crinkling the same as her rage furrowed brow. "Three?" she inquired, her voice not betraying the rage the rest of her was.

"Yes," the analyst said meekly.

She glared through him, her mind running through possibilities. Finally: "And the next piece of information? The connected piece?"

The man nodded. "There was mention of another name, in connection to the new Digidestined. I cross referenced it with a list of individuals we are looking for and found –" He could tell she was getting annoyed with his rambling. The analyst took a deep breath, and restarted. "Ma'am, Henry Wong is in America with the Digidestined."

The hand clutching the paper loosened and a soft smile came to her face. "You're certain?"

"Based on the projected name of one of the Digidestined's parents – Jaarin Anderson nee Wong – the likelihood is very good. The algorithm calculated this from how close these were in filing date, location, and reason. At the very least, Henry Wong is in America, and the Digidestined are close by if they are not related directly."

"... File this as top secret," the woman said. She stood up. "Dismissed." The man bowed and rushed from the room, excited by the dvelopment. The Director watched him go for a few moments , then ran a hand through her graying hair and placed the other on a button on her desk phone. There was a brief dial tone, then it went silent. "Inform the prisoner I'd like to speak with him."

"... Yes, Ma'am." Then the line shut.

The Director smoothed her pant suit for a moment, then marched out of her door and through the winding hallways of HYPNOS, her mind swirling from the information handed over to her a moment earlier. Henry Wong, renowned expert on Artificial Intelligence and former Tamer who had vanished from the public eye a decade and a half earlier, as if he had died. His family became difficult to track or were useless to HYPNOS. The actress did not know anything of Digimon, and less of computer systems. Furthermore, taking her would cause... problems they did not want to deal with compared to the limited benefits they could gain. But now with a Digidestined and Henry Wong himself revealed again? The opportunity was too important to ignore.

HYPNOS' Director stopped outside of the agency's personal holding cells and scanned in, opening up and moving to one of the wings. In it was an ordinary sized, Japanese apartment with the few amenities the man within had requested as the former head of HYPNOS, a concession they had agreed upon to obtain his aid and assistance in dealing with Digimon over the years. The old man within was sitting in one corner, flicking an empty lighter open and shut. He was very pale from the many years he had been within his cells without seeing the sun, and his hair was a dull gray, though none was seen on his sharp, clean shaven features. He was still thin and fit, and had a presence about him that made it obvious he was used to being in charge. "Director Saito, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he inquired. He kept his eyes on his lighter, flicking it open and shut still.

"Yamaki, look at me." He sighed and did as she told him. Saito glared at him and crossed her arms. "Tell me everything you know about Henry Wong."

Yamaki raised a tired eyebrow. "Wong? I thought he disappeared years ago."

"Tell me now, Yamaki. I could make your stay less comfortable."

Yamaki laughed. "I'm getting there," he told her simply. He shut the lighter and placed it on the small table beside his chair. "Your question is a bit... general."

"Who would be of the most use in capturing him?" she clarified immediately.

Yamaki surged from his seat. "Capturing – You found him!?" he snapped. Saito remained quiet, waiting for his answer. Yamaki shook his head. "You drove him away by trying to make use of the Digimon as weapons. Not as living beings with minds but as weapons to be used. Property. You drove his friends away to the Digital World. He won't help you if you drag him back here!"

"The Digimon are our property, as defined by the law. Any -"

"Bio-Emerging Digimon is the property of the government whose land it invades, yes I remember," Yamaki growled. He turned from the glass separating them. "I disapproved twenty years ago, and I disapprove now."

"Your opinion was not asked. You were given a job and you refused to do it. You became a traitor."

"Don't do this. The Digimon, as I learned the hard way, are more than you think, and trying to control them will only cause problems," Yamaki explained in exasperation. He clenched his fists and turned to glare over his shoulder. "... Don't do it. The Tamers are all retired, all normal now. They don't have Digimon. They have children, and friends. Cook outs. Just people. Some of them have gone through too much already."

"Hmph... Thank you for your answer." She turned and began to walk away.

"What do you – What are you talking about!?" Yamaki snarled. He charged the door and slammed his fist into the reinforced glass. "Saito? Saito! What the hell are you thinking!?"

"Good bye, Yamaki. If you remember anything else that could help me, let the guards know." She reached the edge of his hearing and turned around for a moment. "Your country thanks you." Then she left him to shout after her, closing the door to the holding cells behind her and letting his noise vanish.

X X X

"Get moving, the plane's waiting on you."

Ah, focusing the fault on her when, in reality, she shouldn't be there at all. Classic move to establish authority. Especially when the one saying it was shorter than the one they were intimidating. Still, the support of the government and a Digimon partner were more than enough to make her realize there was enough force to back it up, so she did as she was told and dragged her carry on towards her first class seat. She picked it up and shoved it into the overhead before sliding in. Her four guards slid into their spots all around her, two in front, one to her left, and one behind, and Jeri Katou was finally, completely stuck.

She stared down at her hands in her lap, wishing she had some way to get out of this. On the other hand, she didn't know of any way a Psychiatrist could fight a quartet of government killers with Digimon. Jeri sighed and leaned over to stare out the window, focusing on the towers of the city outside. "Be nicer to her, Kura. She doesn't want to be here," one of the two in front of her said, standing up behind them to glare at the one next to Jeri. He shook his head, loose hair shaking. "Jeez, I don't know if you or your Digimon are the worse one."

Kura glared back at him and rolled her eyes. "Stop pretending you're one of those silly anime characters just because you're a Digidestined, Hiku. Your Agumon doesn't make you the main character of the world."

"Should you be saying all this?" Jeri wondered, casting glances around.

Kura scoffed. "As if HYPNOS would put us and our Digimon on a plane that wasn't entirely populated by our own men," she remarked. She smirked at Jeri. "I thought you were supposed to be smart, Doctor."

"Kura." Everyone turned to the man behind them. He glared over the edge of the seats, his black-brown eyes commanding them to be quiet. His voice rumbled, "She is our guest. Treat her like one."

"... Sir," Kura growled, huffing back into her seat.

"But she is correct, Dr. Katou. On this plane, everyone you see is an employee of HYPNOS with various reasons for visiting America. We can speak our minds, here."

Well, there went her plan of asking for help from the crew after landing.

The man continued. "Now, I am sure you are wondering exactly what we will be doing. To answer... How long has it been since you were in contact with one Henry Wong?"

Jeri's head snapped around. "H-Henry?" she asked, heart sinking. She thought he'd gotten away with Takato and Rika's son. But if they found him, then this was all one plan to go and retrieve him. How could she fix this..? "I haven't, not since he built the Firewall. And that over ten years ago."

"You haven't even kept in touch?" Kura asked. She scoffed and mocked, "I thought you guys were all about friendship and fun?"

The woman beside Hiku sighed and played anxiously with her ponytail. "Can't we all just get along? We're going to be together on this flight for a while, and longer after."

"Namaiki, Hiku, Kura. Enough," the leader growled again, and they all grew quiet. He looked over at Jeri and crossed his arms. "What would you say is the measure of Dr. Wong?"

"He's a strong, good man. A friend" she said, earning a quiet scoff from the woman beside her. "I won't just betray him to -"

"Dr. Katou, need we remind you what is at stake here," he muttered as a threat.

Jeri turned away and grew silent. "No," she finally said.

"Good." He grabbed a book from his bag and pulled it out, intent on reading for at least the start of their very, very long journey across the Pacific. "Play nice, eat your food, and go to sleep at ten, Kids. I won't ask twice."

Jeri froze in her seat. Was... was that a joke?

X X X

Hanging out in May's room was starting to get cramped. With BlackGigimon, Huckmon, and Davis joining our regular trio, it was getting impossible to sit everyone. And on top of that her floor was a mess of items sent falling by Digimon, Huckmon was nearly tearing the blankets just by sitting on them, Davis and May were trying to keep from getting stabbed by that body where they sat, and I was leaning away to avoid BG and Dorimon snapping at each other over the last cookie. In short, it was a madhouse. "So, you guys are all packed for your trip?" Davis wondered after he finished losing to May in the Digimon: Digidestined game.

"What, you don't want to lose again?"

"We could take this outside with our real Digimon, if you want," he retorted. She laughed and shoved his shoulder.

"Come on, don't be a sore loser!" she mocked, making him roll his eyes and smirk back at her.

I chuckled and shook my head. "You're the world's strongest Digi-agent and you can't win in a card game," I poked, making May stifle another laugh.

"I'm not the strongest," he replied quietly, and we all went quiet.

May and I looked at one another, really wanting to ask the question. Then we looked at Huckmon, who was glaring at the both of us. We decided not to continue down this road. "We're all ready to leave. Hopefully a Christmas Ski trip this week will get us all wound down from everything else that's happened," May said instead.

I nodded and leaned back to take a load off. "It has been an insane three months."

"Oh, God, it has only been three months," May muttered under her breath. "How has this only been our life for three months?"

"It does feel longer," Dorimon remarked through the last cookie in her mouth. She turned to BlackGigimon, who was turtling at the moment. "You're three months old!"

His response, colored slightly by losing the cookie and being unable to stand up: "I'll kill you!"

"Try living it for four years," Davis grumbled. Light returned to his eyes and he leaned back to carefully hug his knife set of a partner. "I bet my hair will start turning gray any day now."

"Hey, now, Davis, that's not fair!" Huckmon protested. He looked away from Davis tried to pout. "I'm the only reason you have any kind of fun!"

He didn't reply, and we weren't going to call him out on it. It was too obviously true. "I'll kill you!" BlackGigimon shouted at Dorimon again, trying to get up still.

"May, can I see your Digimon cards?"

We all whirled on the open door, where Dan was walking in and closing the door. Huckmon went stock still, hoping he'd be thought of as a toy or a model on the bed. Dorimon began growling at BlackGigimon. The rest of us shut up and stared at him, waiting for this six year old to say something again.

And then BlackGigimon shouted again. "I will kill and load your data if you do not put me on my feet!"

Our tiny visitor's eyes lit up faster than any of us could respond. "WHOA!" Dan charged forward, and BG's eyes flickered to him before narrowing in annoyance. Dan basically ran into the prone Digimon and lifted him into the air with a wide grin. "A talking dog!"

"I'm not a dog, I'm a Digimon!" BlackGigimon snapped angrily and the rest of us felt our brains spasm. He's an idiot. A huge idiot.

Dan's eyes got even bigger and he held BlackGigimon up and right next to his face, ignoring the annoyed growls my partner was giving off. "Whoa, you're a talking dog Digimon!" he cried. He started to rush for the door. "I gotta show Mom and -"

"NO!" All of us lunged for the door. Huckmon made it first, crouching low. "Hey, kiddo, come on. You can't do that, he's not your Digimon!"

Dan promptly dropped BlackGigimon and ran up to Huckmon. "Another Digimon!" Dan said, voice quiet. He reached out and grabbed hold of Huckmon's face, yanking it closer. "Wow..."

"Hey, I'm not your Digimon either!"

BlackGigimon crawled up Huckmon's back. "And I"m much better!"

"You're really missing the point," I muttered. I walked over and picked up BlackGigimon. May grabbed her brother and pulled him back. "We don't want him to know about Digimon, BlackGigimon!"

"Well, then you should have picked me up when I was stuck on my back," He retorted through an angry pout. "And I'm the best Digimon."

"Yeah, yeah, the best," I dismissed before pulling him in so I could pet him. He grumbled but leaned in and grew quiet.

"Dan... I..." She looked over at Davis, who was staring at the entire thing with wide, surprised eyes. "Do you have a mind wipe device or something?"

"... That's science fiction!" Davis hissed in reply. "Usually they just disappear people that learn!"

"We are not disappearing my brother!" May snapped back.

Huckmon sighed. "We aren't suggesting that, May," he explained. He stared at the little kid. "Can he keep a secret?"

"I can keep a secret!" Dan shouted excitedly. He wildly waved the arm that May wasn't holding. "Me, I can! I can keep a Digimon's secret!"

"... Can he?" Huckmon asked May again.

"He's five. You tell me," she remarked dryly.

"I can keep a secret!" Dan snapped at May.

I shrugged in defeat. "Not like we have a choice."

May glanced between me and Davis, then sighed. "You ask him. He likes you more," she told me. She pushed Dan towards me and plopped down on the bed again.

"Does this mean I can talk around him now?" Dorimon asked, hopping up to stand beside May.

I crouched and held out BlackGigimon to Dan. "Want to hold my Digimon again?"

"Taj, this isn't -" I glared at BlackGigimon and he sighed. "Yes. Tiny human. Please hold me."

Dan's eyes lit up and he grabbed BlackGigimon before beginning to pet the Digimon behind the ears. He snarled for a moment before deciding it wasn't that bad. "Dan, you like Digimon, right? Meeting a real one is the coolest thing ever, huh?"

"Yeah, why?" Dan wondered excitedly.

I pointed at my partner. "Well, we have to keep the Digimon a secret," I explained. "If we don't, then they'll be taken away and we'll lose our Digimon. We'll be Digidestined without Digimon!"

"Whoa... Okay, I won't tell any of my friends!" Dan promised brightly. "And I bet Mommy and Daddy won't either -"

"No, Dan," I cut in. I sighed. "... In the shows, it's not safe to be Digidestined, right? You have to fight big monsters and villains!" Dan frowned but stayed quiet. I decided to put some... 'Tai' into my voice to convince the kid. "You don't think your parents or Uncle Henry would let us, right? Even though we're Digidestined! We have to keep people safe!"

He glanced down at BlackGigimon and hugged him tighter. "So if we tell them... they'll take the Digimon?"

"Forever," I responded honestly. "And... he may be a loudmouth, and a bit of a jerk, but he's my friend. Just like Dorimon is May's friend, or Huckmon is Davis'. And now... they can be your friends, too."

Dan frowned and snuggled BlackGigimon more. "... I don't want to lie..."

May piped up, "Then just don't bring it up. Do that, and you can play with me and Dorimon in my room whenever these two aren't over."

"Yes!" Dan shouted. He shoved BlackGigimon into my arms and rushed over to Dorimon. "You're not just a doggy!"

"I'm not just anything, Danny. I'm awesome," Dorimon responded, grinning. "And way better than that pipsqueak over there!"

"You're as small as me!" BlackGigimon snapped. He began to fight to escape my grasp so he could attack Dorimon. "I won't let you get away with that!"

Dan laughed at BlackGigimon's behavior. "He's funny."

Davis walked over to me and sighed. "Dodged that bullet..."

"Eh..." I muttered before letting BlackGigimon loose to chase Dorimon and make Dan laugh. I twisted my open hand back and forth. "Postponed, maybe."

"He's five, remember?" May asked dryly.

Davis sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "... Ugh..."

X X X

"There's the reason I come to these!" Suze exclaimed when May, all her siblings, and I made our way into the Corner Office, a nice restaurant downtown where we were meeting everyone before we head up to the mountains tonight. Our Digimon were currently in May's family's car, probably tearing their way through the food we'd left for them after we'd parked. Suze rushed up to May's mom, and hugged her tight. "And my big sister herself! It's only been a couple months and that's already too long!"

"I missed you, too, Suzie," Jaarin said, tightening her grip on her younger sister.

Suze grinned and let go, hugging her brother in law before making her way through every one of her nieces and nephews before coming up to me and May. "And last but not least!" she pulled us into a hug. "I'm so happy to be here!"

"It's good to see you, too, Suze," I replied. I couldn't help myself Whatever May's Christmas gifts were, they'd be insane!

"Yeah, Aunt Suzie. We barely got to have any fun last time you were here!" May added.

Suze pushed us away and frowned at May. "What about all our shopping?"

May grimaced. "Uh... Yeah! It was great! I forgot to include that..." Other than it taking forever, she meant.

Suze bought it, though. Or wanted to buy it, like everything she saw when they went shopping together. "Well, don't forget next time, May."

May grinned and scooted around her, making a break for her grandparents. "Jiji, Baba!" she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around them. "It's so nice to see you!"

"We missed you, too," Janyu replied, hugging her back.

Her grandma waited for her to let go and looked her up and down. "You're looking so beautiful, May." She stood up and smoothed May's jacket with a wide smile. "Oh, my beautiful granddaughter is growing up to be a beautiful young woman!"

"Baba!" May protested. I snickered while she struggled to escape.

"And Tasuke!" She walked up, giving me an awkward smile. She patted me on the shoulder before pulling me into a hug. I liked May's grandma and grandpa, but... it was so awkward. Now that I knew Henry knew my parents were alive, it made me wonder a few things. Like where were my grandparents? I hugged May's grandma back and tried to imagine who they were or where they had gone. Did they know where I was?

"How are you? Keeping Henry on his toes, I hope," Janyu remarked from his seat.

Henry glared dryly. "Dad..."

Janyu grinned and patted Henry's shoulder. "I'm just kidding, Henry." He returned his gaze to me when Mayumi ended the hug and went back to sit down. "So, May, Tasuke, how is your year going?"

The two of us sat down across from them at the table and fought the urge to glance at each other. I mean, if Henry and Suzie both knew about Digimon... did their parents? Hell, did May's parents? Her uncle Rinchei? "Work and school," May answered. She jabbed her thumb at me. "A friend at school got us a job doing intern work for a lab."

As covers went, it was actually pretty true. Except for the intern work thing; I don't know if recording research numbers was quite in the same league as fighting to the death against government assassins. We were only surviving by luck and a training regime I was glad to leave behind for a while. "I get to so some engineering, May gets to do some coding. It's pretty much everything we could want," I added. Again, not technically a lie. I designed and built the automatic crossbow, and May was figuring out as much of the 3Ds' code as anyone else.

Henry nodded and ruffled my hair. "They've been working pretty hard," he said as I struggled to get his hand off my head. "But now they have some time off. It'll be nice to finally have a conversation with you again, Tasuke."

"Jeez, fine, Uncle Henry. Just don't do that again," I complained, then tried to smooth my hair back into shape.

"It's nice to see you've gone back to the natural color," Mayumi offered.

May snickered. "You should have seen it before he cut it last week – his hair looked like bad modern art."

"Yeah, well... you look like a... jerk," I tried to retort. I huffed and leaned into my seat. "Jerk."

"Impressive comeback, Taj," she joked. She shoved my shoulder, laughing when I just rolled my eyes. She turned to her grandma and grandpa. "So, how are things back in Florida? Missing the heat?"

Glad to not be the center of attention anymore, I lifted my menu and pretended to find some food while I managed to hide from anyone else.

X X X

"I'm home, Mom!" Davis shut the door behind him and began to pull his shoes off. He placed them carefully on a towel near the front door so the snow on them wouldn't stain the wood. He stood up and moved through to the living room where she was resting on the couch. He moved over and sat beside her, resting his head on her shoulder.

She rested her head on top of his. "How was your day, Mijo?"

"Good. We just hung out before they left for the mountains," he explained simply. He sighed and shut his eyes, finally letting all of his own exhaustion hit him. How long had it been since he'd had a day off? Since he'd been free to just... be? "Thanks for everything you've done, Mom. I know it hasn't been easy, by yourself and immigrating but..."

She wrapped her arm around him. "Where's this coming from, Mijo?" she asked quietly. She pulled him tighter into a hug.

"I just love you, Mom," he said before letting himself drift to sleep on the couch.

Davis' mother smiled at her sleeping son and just rested her head on top of his again. "And I love you, Mi hijito." She sighed and hugged him tight.

Huckmon continued to hide in the corners, just beyond their line of sight, and stared sadly. This is what Davis could be doing if they'd never met? Well, maybe not exactly this. A lot of the lifestyle might not have come without Gethen's help. But was all that worth Davis' heavy conscience? His sadness?

Huckmon curled into himself. Was their friendship worth it?

X X X

Well, what's all this self-pityin' crap goin' on here?Some Digimon when he'd rather be mopin' around about somethin'. Hey, what do you mean that's a little hypocritical, Renamon? Shut up, youse guys, don't laugh! Gah, can't I get a little respect around here!

Now, wheres was I? Ah, right! Mopin'. Huckmon needs to just deal with the fact that stuff gets crazy around Digimon. And, like I had to learn, they'd never choose a life without us Digimon. Even when you – yeah, Renamon you – and your partner was actin' all angry, youse guys still never stopped likin' each other. And, even when I was all grumpy I still never wanted anythin' other than a life with my partners. And Jeri, who dealt with stuff way worse than the other Tamers never would've asked to never meet us. She ain't gonna hurt our friendship by even thinkin' that.

Speakin' of, what does this new HYPNOS think they're doin', kidnappin' Jeri like that? Why I oughta find 'em and give 'em the old Bada Boom, ya know! She's been through too much crap for a buncha people that even Yamaki ain't a fan of to drag her out like she's bait!

Hopefully, the new Digi-Chumps can figure out how to save her on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!