Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon Tamers: The Next Level ❯ Episode 4: Realization ( Chapter 4 )

The tests had been going steadily better. They were getting to the point where the mouse's corpse was fully in one piece. Eventually, about three weeks ago, Takato asked me to come to the lab, and showed me their latest breakthrough. He held up a box, grinning widely. I took it and opened it up; it held several white mice, alive and kicking.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" I asked expectantly.

"Well, right now it means that we can have all the mice in the digital world that we want. Henry's working on the amount of mass that can be transferred. The next step is sending flesh and blood the other way. Don't worry," Takato said, placing his hand on my shoulder. "If everything goes according to plan, we should be able to send digimon through the gate shortly. I promise, you'll be the first one we send once it's working."

Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, Takato told me he had good news. I sprinted towards the lab as fast as I could. I was about a quarter of the way there when the alarms started going off. Loud noises could be heard coming from the garden, along with gunfire. Rushing in, I saw a team of Ninjamon battling the Tankmon guards. Several guards were already down, Ninjamon on top of them, slashing with their swords. I rushed to join the battle.

I fired off a Diamond Storm into the battle, pelting most of the Ninjamon. Many others managed to block the attacks with their swords, but the ones who hadn't burst into data. The squad of Ninjamon rushed in to attack, swords flying in blurs. It took all of my speed and skill to avoid the strikes. I leapt free of the melee, arm held in front of me. I pulled a card out from my glove, slashing it through the D-Band, once again feeling the now familiar rush of energy spreading throughout my body. My speed increased by the card, I joined the fight again. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as I tore through the enemy ranks. Some fell to my claws; others fell to their own swords as I took them from their grips. Within seconds, the courtyard was clear, save the few surviving guards. I rushed to the lab, finding it in shambles. As I entered, a Ninjamon threw down a smoke bomb, disappearing. Looking around, I saw Takato lying on the floor, unmoving. I crouched over him, thankfully finding a pulse, though it was weak. He was bleeding from a gash on his right side, no doubt a Ninjamon's blade. The sound of a door opening caught my attention and I looked over to see Terriermon coming out of a hidden room.

"Is he all right?" he asked, worried about Takato.

"He's lost a lot of blood," I said, "but he should survive." I ripped a chunk of cloth from his shirt and used it to staunch the flow of blood. Takato opened his eyes and started to talk.

"They took it," he said weakly. "The prototype Realizer. If they figure out how to use it…" Takato groaned and fell unconscious.

"What's a realizer?" I asked.

"It's a device to allow Digimon to transport to the Real World," Terriermon explained. "We had just finished the preliminary tests when we sent for you. It was then that they attacked. They must have had a spy on the inside."

"If they figure out how to use it…?"

"Then they'll be able to cause serious damage in the real world. But! The plans are still safely at Henry's house. We can get him to build another in no time."

"He'd better hurry, there's no telling how much damage even one Digimon could do. I'd better take Takato to the infirmary."

Takato recovered and was soon back on his feet. For me, things didn't go as well. The next three weeks were pure torture. Knowing just how close I was coming to be able to go back to the Real World was unbearable. When the day came that I was asked back to the lab, I raced over there as fast as Hyper Speed could take me.

"This," Takato said, handing me a card, "is the Realizer V2."

"V2?" I asked.

"V2. V1 was an actual device. We've been using the past couple of weeks to improve the design," Takato said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm going to refrain from tearing you to bits simply because you have something I want." I sneered, angry that I might have been able to leave sooner.

"Umm, right, thanks," he said, snickering nervously. "Well, all you have to do is slash the card and then concentrate on a site in the Real World that you now really well. If you try to go somewhere you don't know, you're in danger of ending up inside a tree or underground."

An alarm sounded in the lab, and I perked to attention.

"Takato!" Terriermon called, "We've got a signal!"

"What does that mean?" I asked them.

"Someone's activated V1. There's no time to lose!"

"Right!" I said, readying the Realizer card. "How do I get back?"

"Deactivate the effect on your D-Band."

I nodded, putting the card at the start of the slot. Slashing it through the D-Band, I concentrated on the place in the Real World that meant the most to me.

******

"It was then that I saw you again for the first time. I saw that you noticed me, and I fled, in case you had moved on. If you had, I didn't want to dredge up old memories," Renamon finished.

"That was… in the courtyard?" Rika asked, voice hushed.

"Yes, by the pond," Renamon nodded.

Rika's grandmother looked confused. "What am I missing here? What about the courtyard?"

Holding Rika's hands and gazing deep into her eyes, Renamon breathed, "That was where we spent what we thought was our last night together."

Their mouths met in another passionate kiss, and Rika's grandmother smiled.

"Ahh, young love," she said fondly. "Almost makes me wish I was eighteen once again."

Rika and Renamon separated and returned to eating, blushing bright red. Rika's grandma chuckled.

"So, what's the next step?" she asked.

"The next step," Renamon said, "is to find out where the V1 went and get it back. My instincts are telling me two things. First, the raid on the lab is telling me that we're dealing with a highly organized and likely powerful group. Second, it's telling me that the Tyrannomon last night was a test to see if it really works. With any luck, they'll assume the test was a failure and continue tinkering with it. We've bought some time, and we need to use that to build our strength."

"So, we need to look up some old friends?" Rika asked. Renamon nodded in agreement. They finished their breakfast and helped clear the table.

"Yes, we need to split up for now. I'll round up the old partner digimon, while you try to contact all our Tamer friends, starting with Henry. He's the only one who we know for sure still has their partner."

Rika nodded slowly. "Just, be careful, okay?" she said, as she grabbed Renamon's hand as she started to leave. "I couldn't take losing you again."

Renamon brought Rika's hands to her cheek, nuzzling them softly.

"I will, because now I know I have something to return to. I love you, Rika," she said, pressing a button on the D-Band. She began to fade out.

"I love you too," Rika said, watching Renamon's outline fade. She felt her grandmother's hand on her shoulder and patted it fondly.

"Don't worry honey, I have no doubt she will be back. Now, go round up your friends."

Rika smiled and went off to her room to get her address book. There were a ton of numbers in it; most of them had thick black lines through them. They were all mementos of failed dates. She ripped out page after page of nothing but blacked-out numbers, and soon there were only 3 pages left. One of them had Henry's apartment address on it. Borrowing the car, she drove over to his building and knocked on the door.

A young girl, not much older than Rika had been when everything had started seven years ago, answered the door.

"Yes?"

"Hello Susie," Rika smiled, greeting Henry's younger sister. "Is Henry here?"

"Henry!" Susie called. "Your girlfriend's here!"

"Can it, Susie," Henry said, stepping out of his room. "Is that you, Rika?"

"It's been a while," Rika smiled.

"Yeah, I haven't seen you since, well…"

"Since I dropped out of school, right. Listen, is there somewhere we can talk? Alone?"

Susie snickered behind Henry. "Told you she was your girlfriend."

Henry rolled his eyes. She was as bad as Terriermon had been. "Umm, okay, my room?"

Rika nodded and Henry led the way to his room.

"Now," he said, shutting the door. "You wanted to talk?"

Rika answered by pulling Henry in close in a large hug, crying into his shoulder.

"Oh, Henry, thank you so much," she sobbed, "it worked, I can't believe it but it worked. I thought I'd never see her again, but then she... and you... you... I can't thank you enough, Henry…"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Henry protested, holding Rika at arm's length. "Back the truck up! What worked? See who again? What did I do?"

"It worked, oh god, it worked. The Realizer, it worked! After all this time, she's back, Renamon's really back! I've never been so happy, and I owe it all to you!"

"The Realizer worked? That explains the reports of the exploding dinosaur. You said Renamon's back?"

Rika nodded, rubbing the traces of tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath, and all of a sudden her face had returned to its usual calm mask. Her eyes still sparkled though.

"It worked. It really worked. I knew it would work. I just have to make some more. Get everybody back, all the partners. Hope it works on Takato too. Only one way to find out," Henry said, hunching over his workbench.

"It's going to be great to get the whole gang back together again," Rika said, one eyebrow raised at Henry's eccentricity.

Henry nodded in agreement. "It's been far too long. I only wish there were better circumstances surrounding it."

"We've defended the world against things a thousand times tougher than a Tyrannomon," Rika told him. "This… shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"That's what we thought about all those Wild Ones those many years ago," Henry countered.

"And then the Devas showed up," Rika conceded. She went on, countering Henry's point. "We dealt with them easily enough after some practice."

"And then Beelzemon showed up," Henry continued relentlessly. "And after him, Zhuqiaomon. After him, D-Reaper and all its extensions and forms."

"I get it, I get it," Rika huffed. "'Hope for the best, prepare for the worst,' and all that. The question is, what if we can't find the old partner Digimon?"

"Partners or no," Henry said, "we pretty much know for sure that Takato's coming back. That's reason enough to let everyone know."

"Well," Rika said softly, "What are we going to do about 'her'?"

"Hmm?" Henry asked, raising his head. "Ohhhh, 'her'." Jeri, the only one they knew for sure didn't have a partner in the Digital World. "Well, she has a right to see Takato again more than any of us."

"And when she sees the other Tamers reunite with their partners?"

"She's moved on, came to terms with everything that happened with Leomon. She and Takato…"

Rika sighed resignedly. "You're right, but let's let Takato have the final say."

"Agreed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some work to do," Henry said, idly waving a hand towards the door. Rika scowled, but she didn't argue.

"Can you imagine the looks on everybody's faces when they see Takato again?" Rika asked as she turned to leave.

"Should be quite… interesting," Henry said.