Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Tamers: Endgame ❯ Midnight Sun Rising ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer's in the prologue. I'm not repeating it.

Endgame; Part One - Midnight Sun Rising; Chapter One

As I lay on the freshly laundered sheets of my bed, in my parents bakery/house, in West Shinjuku, in Japan, in Asia, in the real world, only one word crossed my mind. Juri. Juri Katou to be more specific. The apple of my eye. The cream in my coffee. The only girl I'll ever want. She may be my girlfriend, but she has so-called principles. Here I was, 17, virgin, pretty much that makes a regular teenager. Ok. So maybe not every teenager is a virgin. Take my friend, Hirokazu, for instance, he's basically the school pimp. He's done more girls than homework assignments. It's basically his daily workout. Then there's my best friend, Lee, he's virginal, too. But then again, he never had a girlfriend. He wants to focus on his studies and stay single. His sister, Shiuchon, is a different story. She may be only 14, but that hasn't stopped her from dating her best friend, Ai's, twin brother Makoto for 3 years. Then there's Rika. She's been dating on and off with this American kid, Matt, for 2 years. Every time she's near him she gets real anxious for something. It's pretty easy to tell what she wants. She's normal around him, but she doesn't really appreciate guys besides him, especially Ryo. Ryo is, in a nutshell, the greatest. He's 21, and has a lot to show for it. One way only, though. His credentials. The guy's a genius, and there is no way that Lee will catch up with him. Kenta, another good friend of mine might, however. Kenta's pretty much a brain. He's good at it none-the-less. The only reason he's not considered a geek is because he's the best friend of Hirokazu. Can't deny him of that. Then there's me. I may be the leader, but I'm always stuck in the middle. But you know what? I like it that way.

Now you are probably wondering how I know all these people so well. Well, if you've heard of the story of the Digimon Tamers, you'd know for sure. All of us are Digimon Tamers. It all happened 7 years ago. First, we got our partners. Then we met Culumon, who had these powers to let our partner digimon evolve. After that, we met Impmon, who was pretty much the wild card in the whole ordeal at the time. Rika went through this big self- discovery thing after that. We all learned to card slash to help our digimon become stronger. Then, with the help of a government conspiracy program called Hypnos, the Devas arrived and tried to kill us. We ended up killing them after Culumon released the crystal matrix and let us evolve further. One Deva ended up destroying half the city and another kidnapped Culumon. My friend, Juri, became the tamer of a digimon called Leomon after that. We decided to go to the digital world and save Culumon from a very powerful digimon known only to us at the time as "the Sovereign", who created the Devas. My friends, Hirokazu and Kenta, big Digimon fanatics, came with us to try to find their partners. They weren't much help until the actually found their partners, Guardromon and MarineAngemon. Meanwhile, Impmon got the stuffing knocked out of him by a Deva, so he made a deal with the Sovereign to evolve into a psycho biker named Beelzebumon and become stronger. The only catch was after he evolved, he'd have to kill us and the fallen Deva, Lopmon, who became partners with Shiuchon, while we were meeting with Shibumi, who explained who all this happened.

We all ended up becoming separated by these pain-in-the-neck data streams and Rika, Hirokazu, and Kenta met the legendary card player, Ryo. Beelzebumon killed Leomon, causing Juri to fall into a really deep depression. I got pissed and activated a false evolution in my partner, Guilmon, breaking my partnership with him. He tried to kill Beelzebumon and lost. I tried to reunite our friendship and succeeded. It sparked another matrix evolution causing us to combine into an ultimate Digimon called Dukemon. Together, Guilmon and I got Beelzebumon to snap out of it. After he was taken care of, we went to see the Sovereign, who was really a gigantic phoenix named Zhuqiaomon who really hated humans. He tried to kill us, but thanks to Lee's matrix evolution to MegaGargomon and some wise words from another Sovereign named Azulongmon, we got them to give us a break. We went to the center of the land of the Sovereign and tried to save Culumon from this stuff called Chaos. Rika got him out of there and matrix evolved into Sakuyamon to delay the Chaos while we made our escape. Turns out Culumon was something called the digi-entechely, which gave all Digimon the power to evolve. He released the Shining Evolution which gave the digital world the reinforcements it needed to fight Chaos. Then the final part of our quest began.

An ark came to take us home and in order to go, (this is very important) Cyberdramon, Ryo's partner, devolved into Monodramon, so Ryo could go home as well. Chaos possessed Juri and entered our world, attempting to destroy all of humanity. Oh boy. Impmon came home with us. Good thing too. He helped us when he reunited with his tamers, Ai and Makoto. With that in mind he digivolved to Beelzebumon Blast Mode. Boy, were we happy. Things got better when Alice showed up with Dobermon and gave us the ability to matrix evolve with our partners in the real world. Then we found out Juri was being held in the Kernel Sphere of D-Reaper, and the Juri we thought was Juri was actually J-Reaper. Ryo gained the ability to matrix evolve with Cyberdramon to become Justimon. Hypnos retrieved the ark and reformatted it to Grani, Dukemon's steed. Beelzebumon tried to save Juri but failed, and was almost deleted, had it not been for his self- reconciliation. Culumon went after Juri and got her to snap out of it. Chaos had destroyed all of West Shinjuku by then and was starting to appear all over the world, interfering with all worldwide communications. Lee got the Red Card from Shibumi so we could fight inside D-Reaper. He also installed a reversal program inside Terriermon, Lee's partner.

I saved Juri from Shingami Reaper while Justimon held it off in time for the reversal program to destroy Shingami Reaper. The only backfire was our partners had to return to the digital world forever or so we thought…

--*--

Takato's POV

"Takato! Wake up! We've got to get to the airport!" Why oh why had I wanted to host an American transfer student. Oh yeah, because all the other tamers are hosting one. We thought it would be fun. Oh boy this sure was fun getting up at the crack of dawn. I through on my usual apparel; faded blue jeans a red t-shirt with a blue plaid button down layer and my black and white sneakers. I wonder what he'll be like?

Lee's POV

"Jen! Shiuchon! You've got to go!" I was throwing my green and black sneakers on while my little sister threw on her light blue platform shoes. "We are, Mom! Shiuchon, do you always have to look like a primadonna?"

"Do you always have to look like a weirdo? Your style totally clashes with your looks." I took a look at my clothes; brown jersey with a white neck, and jungle green drawstrings. "I thought you said I didn't have any looks."

"I lied." She smirked. She was really starting to grow into her looks. She looked a lot different than when she was 7. She wore her hair in a long ponytail down her back. She always wore a pink miniskirt and a blue and white striped tank top with a pink tailisman necklace. A lot better than before. "Get your butt in gear, Jen." She sneered. "We're out of here. We've got to pick up Ai and Makoto still." When did I ever agree to that?! Just one? We better make it on time.

Rika's POV

"Grandma! Where are my tan sandals with the pink flower emblems?" I was late to the airport. I was sure everyone else was there by now, and I was not one to be last in anything. I had to hurry, but that didn't mean I didn't have time to dress properly. "In the living room by the ottoman, dear." I slipped on my purple sleeveless shirt my mom made me and a pair of khaki shorts. I combed my short strawberry-blond hair and ran for the hallway. "Rika, dear, it's not like it's a race. Slow down." Oh boy. Would she ever understand I was not one to be in second place? I grabbed an energy bar from the pantry, jogged out of the house and into my new cherry red Ferrari. They wouldn't beat me this time. I just hope he's there. Oh, yeah…

Juri's POV

"Bye, daddy. Gotta go." I combed down my long brunette, blond-highlighted head in my white summer blouse and my yellow skirt and headed for the door. The bar wouldn't open for at least five more hours. That's the joy of it. Mornings off. "Daddy, where are the keys?" Masahiko, my 12 year old half- brother, was munching down my stepmom's omelet. What a pig! "On the counter next to the tap." I grabbed the car keys and hopped into the family sedan. I just hoped the plane hadn't landed yet. No, I hoped Takato wouldn't be upset if it had. I hate making Takato upset. What was I saying? This is my life. The life of Juri Katou. Oh, why do I get all tingly every time I think that?

Hirokazu's POV

"Dad, keys." It had taken me an hour to find my lucky black visor, throw on my brown pentagram shirt, black jean shorts, and brown cross-trainer shoes. I put my hand out impatiently. Kenta was standing by the door in his white buttondown, brown slacks, and brown loafers. So what if the plane landed already? I couldn't rely on that as an excuse. "Who was the girl?" Oh god. "Wh-what girl?" Dad leaned into me, face to face, huge frown. "The girl you fucked last night. Was she your 10th or your 10,000th." Oh good god. I didn't have time for this. "I know how long this has gone on. I'll give you the keys," Finally. "under one condition." Shit on a shish-kabob. "What do you want?" Dad smirked. "No fucking as long as the transfer kid is here." Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. "Fine. Now, the keys?" He tossed me the keys. "Now get out of my sight." I smirked. "I'll be back in about an hour-and-a- half."

--*--

My/Matt's POV

"Excuse me, sir, but we're about to land. May you please buckle your seatbelt?" I grabbed the buckle and snapped it on without a word. "Thank you." Once again, no words. I only talk to a select few. Pretty much anyone who has seen and/or believes in real Digimon. That's not a lot back home. I leaned back to talk with my best friend, Steven. "Hey, man. Did you get the lowdown on our hosts?" Steven bent over the seat. 17, black hair, brown eyes, red bandana, white t-shirt with a Chinese dragon symbol, black windbreaker, navy blue jeans, and white sneakers. "You think I wouldn't. It's your dream come true, dude." A huge smile lit my face. "The Tamers?!" Steven smacked me upside the head. "Yeah, the Tamers. Just keep your mouth shut, you dumbass. Brad and Chris are still sleeping."

Brad and Chris have been my friends since I was born, with the exception of Brad, who was a year younger than me. They had the usual look. Brad in his Texas outfit with his slicked back red hair and his dark green eyes, white Stetson, white shirt, leather vest, black jeans, and brown cowboy boots. He should have gotten Revolvemon as a partner, if you ask me. The catch is he's not even Texan. He was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois like the rest of us. Then there was Chris; basically your white shirt/tight blue jeans kind of guy. Interestingly enough, that's what he always wore. He had very light brown hair and brown eyes. I looked around the rows and found the others. Jessica, the other main tamer, with me and Steven. She had deep purple eyes and dark brown hair in a French braid and always wore a red halter top and cut jean shorts. She's also Steven's girlfriend. Tim, the mood-maker of the group; 17, blonde hair, blue eyes, and his yellow sweater and tan pants. Meg, my little sister and the cheerleader of the group and in real life; 14, shoulder length dark blond hair, warm green eyes, purple spaghetti-strapped shirt and tight pink shorts. And then there was Breck, the tough guy. He's small, but he's a great wrestler. He's Meg's boyfriend. At least she has someone to fight besides me now. He's her age, has light blue hair and big purple eyes. He wears a muscle tee, a black vest and blue gym shorts. Rumour has it he also wears a jockstrap. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention myself. 17, sloppy blond hair, hazel eyes, white tee with blue sleeves and neck, dark brown jeans and brown hiking boots. By the way, I'm also Rika's long-distance boyfriend.

"How'd you find this out?" I asked. "Got hold of the transfer files."

"You really should stop hacking into databases." He just leaned back into his seat. "Why? It's so much fun."

"Yeah, and so very illegal."

"Is it your problem? No. So what? It's not like I'm damaging anything."

"Maybe, but still…"

"Matt, you worry too much. Besides…" He didn't have time to finish his thought. The cabin shook as we landed on the asphault runway. The plane docked quickly as we grabbed our on-board luggage and headed for the exit ramp into the terminal. We had arrived.

--*--

Takato's POV

I ran into the terminal, hoping I wasn't too late. Ends up I was. "Aw, crap. I'm the last one?" I put the pedal to the metal to get here on time, and even Hirokazu beat me. Everyone was here, at least. "Has the plane docked?" Lee stared at the arrival board. "It should have by now. Let's get a move on." We headed down to Gate E-13. With luck they were loading everyone off. Rika looked worried. "They did get their passports, right?" I didn't know but reassured her. "I'm sure everything went fine." Kenta sat down and stared at the ceiling. "Kind of odd that they all live in Chicago." Rika's eyes snapped open. "Chicago?!"

"Uh-huh." She started jumping up and down like a giddy schoolgirl. "I hope he's here. Oh, I hope, I hope, I hope." Lee sighed. "Matt on her mind?"

"He's the only reason she'd act like that." I have to admit it's always odd to see Rika act like that. Even after 2 years. "I still say we should pick who we stay with." I looked at the gate. Was it our guests who were talking? "We made that decision back home. Remember?" Oh did Rika jump at that voice. "MATT-CHAN!" She barreled into the gate and grabbed a blonde- haired boy, giving him a big kiss. "Rika, take it easy. I'm as excited as you are, but I don't think I have to prove it. Or do I?" Rika smiled. "Just kiss me. It's been so long."

A black-haired boy poked Matt on the shoulder. "Is that…" Matt grinned. "Yep. Rika Makino. And you better keep your hands off here." The other boy laughed. "Easy, man. I'm only messing with you." They stepped into the terminal. They all had D-Arcs one place or another. It was clear they were Tamers.

Steven, I guessed he was the leader, had a silver D-Arc with inscriptions, similar to mine. Matt had a blue D-Arc like Rika's. The green D-Arc belonged to the Jessica girl. And the Tim kid had a yellow D-Arc like Juri's old one. Matt's sister, Meg had a pink D-Arc like Shiuchon's and the Breck guy had a copper brown one like Hirokazu's. The Chris kid had a white one like Kenta's and the Brad guy had a purple one like Ai and Makoto's. Brad sat down on one of the blue plastic waiting chairs. "So who's with who?" Rika started sulking. "I wanted Matt-chan." Lee started to chuckle. "And what's so funny?"

"I-I got your Matt-Matt-chan."

"Son of a bitch!"

Lee's POV

Oh it was worth it to see that look on her face when I told her who my guest was. Matt and I had been pretty close since his first visit. I was pretty excited that he came back and he brought his sister for Shiuchon. This was going to be great. But something wasn't right. Pretty little flowers for the pretty little lady. This was supposed to be fun, so why did I feel so tense? This was not a good sign. Then I saw it. A hideous demon digimon standing on the baggage claim, and for some reason, no one else seemed to notice it. He brandished his razor-sharp pitchfork aimed directly at my sister. "Shiuchon, DUCK!" I threw her on the ground waiting for the impact. Instead, I got slapped. "What the hell were you thinking, you moron!" I turned to the baggage claim again. Nothing. What the hell was that? Digimon don't bio-emerge anymore, right? And why was I the only one who could see it? I got back on my feet. "Lee, are you okay?" It was Takato. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"You gave us a good scare, Lee. Are you sure everything's fine?"

"Yeah." What a lie that was. I headed for the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face. `You care too much.' Huh? `Do you think that was just a mirage? Oh no. It was quite real.' "Who's there?!" `That's not important. Consider that little escapade a warning.' "Of what?!" `Things to come if you do not send the American humans back to where they belong! I warn you, tamer. If you do not, we will do more horrific things than you have ever imagined.' What the fuck?! I must not be getting enough sleep. `Oh you are getting plenty of sleep. This is no hallucination.' Oh god. "Why are you doing this to me?!" `Because you are the deleter! Now will you send the others back or not?' Deleter? What the hell did he mean by that? "I-I'm not sure." `I will give you to the time the Midnight Sun rises on the Kyoto temple. By then we will be ready. Oh, and if you are thinking of rejection, then start preparing for the day of Endgame. Mmwhaahaahaahaha!' This was going to be one hell of a month.

I strided out of the bathroom a little weary but I didn't show it. I was still in shock over the whole thing. "Lee, you okay?" Takato questioned. "For the last time, Takato, I'm fine!" I yelled. This was all too much for me. "Let's just get going." The tamer, Tim, looked puzzled. "Are we going somewhere?" Was this guy braindead? Rika was still sulking. "I'm not going anywhere without him." She mumbled. Takato approached her. "What was that, Rika?"

"None of your business, Takato!" she snapped. Boy did she love that boy.

Steven's POV

This was getting really weird. Why was Lee acting so funny. I mean, sure, I just met the guy, but something inside me told me this was not how he normally acted. I had to know. "Matt?"

"Yeah, man."

"What's the deal with Lee? Is he always like this?"

"No. He's actually a lot calmer and less stressed than this, normally. I'll ask him tonight at his place." Matt walked off over to Rika and the two started talking just like old friends. "I'm gonna go talk to Rika," Meg said nonchalantly. I grabbed her shoulder. "Not when he's talking with her, you're not. Matt will be beyond embarrassed." Meg smiled. "That's what I want to do, though." How did Matt deal with her? "Why don't you go talk with Breck?" Breck came up. "Yeah, Meg, you haven't talked to me since…" Meg gave him a death glare. "Oh, yeah, can we talk about that incident on the plane later?"

"Possibly," she hissed. I took the transfer files from my laptop bag and read them. "Is it time to leave, yet?" Hirokazu smirked, "Yeah, I think we've spent enough time here already. Let's blow this soda joint." Takato grabbed the neck of Hirokazu's shirt as he began to walk off. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Hirokazu smacked his head. "Shit! Okay, which one of you is coming with me?" Chris backed away. "I just hope it's not me." Takato laughed. "It's on the transfer paper the company sent you. You did bring it, right?" Hirokazu sweatdropped. "Um…" Rika smacked him upside the head. "What kind of braindead idiot are you!" Oh was I glad I hacked the database last night. "Rika, chill. I got the transfer pages for all of us right here. I go with Takato, Matt goes with Lee," Rika sulked again. "Don't remind me." I couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Jessica goes with you, Rika, Tim goes with Juri," Takato punched him on the shoulder. "And don't get any bright ideas, Tim, ya hear? She's my girlfriend."

"Fine." Tim seemed upset. That kid did not like being a virgin. I just hoped Juri knew how to steer clear of that. "Meg goes with Shiuchon, Breck goes with Hirokazu, Chris goes with Kenta, and Brad goes with Ai and Makoto. Hope you know how to deal with little kids, cowboy." Brad sneered. "Aw, shove it, Steve."

My/Matt's POV

Great, stuck with my Antichrist sister again. She better stay away from me. "You got a car, Lee?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. It's in the parking garage. Ai, Makoto, Brad, Meg, Shiuchon! We're leaving!" When we got to the car, I found it only had 5 seats. "Oh boy, 2 people are going to have to sit on someone's lap." Makoto smiled wide at that. "Shiuchon can sit on my lap!" Shiuchon smiled too. "Please, Jen." Lee sighed. "Fine. Just keep your fly zipped, Makoto. Or you're walking. Now who else is going to sacrifice their dignity so we can go." Brad blushed big time. "Um, Ai can sit on my lap if she's okay with it." Boy did she turn red. "O-okay." Was Brad trying to hit on Ai? I had to do something fast. "Hey Brad?"

"Yeah."

"Do you remember what Lee said to Makoto?"

"Uh-huh." I smirked. "It goes double for you." That would settle things out for a while, at least.

--*--

On the way to Ai and Makoto's house, I decided to stir up some conversation. "So, Lee, how have you been lately?" He was silent. "Lee?" he cocked his head to the side. "Fine." Something was wrong. "Lee, this isn't you. I know something happened back at the airport. You wouldn't just tackle Shiuchon like that." Lee just shifted gears and sped down the highway. "It's none of your business, Matt." What was the matter with him? I looked into the back seat. The rest of them were asleep. "Lee, there's no one awake except you and me. What happened?" A tear fell from his eye. "I-I saw a..a..a di..digimon b-back at the ai-airport." What the hell! "Lee, that's impossible. No one else saw a digimon. You must be hallucinating. Terriermon shut the gap, remember?"

"Yeah, I thought I was hallucinating, too. But it's voice said I wasn't. It was scary. I know it's impossible for digimon to come to the real world now, but there was something..odd about this one. Something..disturbing." I shifted my seat up. "Disturbing?" He closed his eyes for a moment. "Yeah, disturbing. He called me the deleter and said something about the Day of Endgame when the Midnight Sun rises over Kyoto Temple."

"Midnight Sun? What the hell is a midnight sun?" I looked at the clock. 7:00 p.m. The moon was just staring to rise over the ocean. That's when it hit me. "Lee, what does a sun look like?" Lee laughed. "Matt, you know what the sun is. It's a brilliant ball that rises in the east and sets in the west and provides light during the day." My eyes flung open. "But what brilliant ball provides light at night?" Lee smirked. "The moon…oh god. The moon!"

"Lee, head for Kyoto." I whipped out my d-arc. "I'll contact the others. We don't have much time." Lee just went past the Kyoto exit. "Lee! We have to go to Kyoto!" Lee started trembling. "Not without our partners." I laid back. "You mean…" Lee nodded. "Yeah, we're breaking the seal and bringing our digimon back." I frantically started punching the controls on the d-arc. We were short on time. "Hey, Matt. Wake up the sleepyheads and brief them after you're done with the d-mail. We're gonna need everyone for this."

--*--

Steven's POV

It was a nice car, decent speed. I could live with this. It was a blue convertible. The wind felt good flowing through my hair. "So, Takato. You're the leader of the Tamers?" Takato laughed, through the strands of his hair out of his face. "That was a long time ago, Steven." I laughed, too. "You just like to remember it by wearing those goggles around your neck, right?" Takato blushed. "Yeah, I guess. You were the leader of your team, too, right?" Steven nodded. "Uh-huh. I just didn't look good in goggles." We laughed together. I could already tell this was going to be a lot of fun. `Beep! Beep! Beep!' What was that? A car? No, this sound was all too familiar." I turned to Takato. "That coming from you?" He looked puzzled. "I thought it was coming from you!" He pulled over to the side. He reached in back trying to find his cell phone, but had no luck. "Any messages?"

"Not a one. Not even from my parents." He leaned back up and I saw a small red glow from his back pocket. "Hey, Takato? There's a small red flash coming from your butt. He grabbed his pants and his magenta eyes flung open. "Grab your D-Arc, Steven." I was confused. "Why?" He grabbed my shirt neck. "Just do it!" I fumbled with the belt clip and took it off. Takato pulled his out. It was the same glow I saw before. Takato looked worried. It's from Matt. They're on their way to Shinjuku Park to the old shed. It says we've got to meet them there ASAP." Takato flung the car into high gear. "What's at the shed?" Takato looked worried. "A portal to the digital world." He snapped his goggles on his head and slammed down the accelerator. Something was definitely wrong.

Rika's POV

She was okay, but I wish Matt was with me more. I downshifted the gears as we cruised down the ocean coast. "So you were the only girl tamer for a while, like me, huh?" Jessica smiled. She was like me only, well, a little more easy-going. I was still learning to act like that with other people besides Matt. Maybe she could help me with that. "Yeah, for a while, the only other American girl tamer is Meg. We're best friends now. By the way, about how many digimon did your partner load before you realized it wasn't about getting stronger?" How did she know? I blushed furiously. I was trying to forget how cold-hearted I was before I met Takato and the others. She laughed. "I'm sorry. It's just…"

"Just what?" She blushed, too. "That's kind of how I acted before I met Steven and Matt." I couldn't help but laugh. I was glad I wasn't the only one. `Beep! Beep! Beep!' "Do you hear that, Jess?"

"Hear what?"

"That beeping sound." She closed her eyes as I shifted gears again. "It couldn't be. It's only for emergencies." What was she talking about? "Rika, pull over." What the hell was going on? "Back up, sweetheart. What's this about?" She grabbed her d-arc which was flashing madly this is what it's about. I pulled over and grabbed my d-arc, too. Both of them were beeping. We checked it out. "It's from your Matt-chan. He said to meet in Shinjuku Park. What's this about?" Shinjuku Park? Oh, man. The portal! "Just buckle up and hang on!" I clutched the steering wheel with both hands and sped up. This was very bad, indeed.

Tim's POV

Oh boy was she cute. No, she was Takato's. I couldn't make a move on an already taken chick. Oh what the heck! "So, what does your family do?" She kept focused on the road. "We own a bar." A bar, huh? You drink a lot? "You work there?" Say yes. "Yeah." Booyah! I knew it! I tried to put my arm around her shoulder. "Touch me and you die." Yeah, how many times have I heard THAT before. "Sorry, and don't threaten me. That's happened once before." She smirked. "By another girl who knew you were out for sex?" I'm gonna tell her. "No. By a digimon called Devitamamon who I powered with my feelings of worthlessness and of being a threat to my friends." She laughed. "That's not as bad as being powered by D-Reaper because you felt guilty for the death of your partner." What was she saying? "Wait, you're not a tamer anymore!" she blushed. "Yes, I'm a tamer. A tamer without a partner. A confused digimon called Beelzemon deleted my partner, Leomon." Wow. She must have been through a fuck lot more than I have. "I'm sorry to hear that." She smiled. "Don't be. I've come to accept it. Let's just get back to my place." `Beep! Beep! Beep!' "You hear that?"

"Sounds like an alarm." Juri shot up. "Sounds like a d-arc signal." I couldn't help but laugh. "Juri, the d-arc is only used in emergencies back home." I grabbed my d-arc. "Does this look like it's flashing?" She took hers out, too and showed it to me. "Yes, it's flashing, and so is mine. Who is it?"

"It's Matt, and he wants us to meet at Shinjuku Park. What's there?" Juri went stone on me. "Everything a Digimon Tamer needs for an emergency. Hold on." I just hoped this was a prank. I'm not going into any more devil egg digimon or fighting one for that matter. Ever.

Breck's POV

Boy, did this Hirokazu guy have some anger management issues. The entire ride it's been don't fucking touch this or don't fucking touch that. He was really sensitive over his stuff, and he really liked to say fuck. "Hey, asshole. Hands off the radio!" What the heck was his deal, anyway! I had had it up to here with him. First, he forgets about me. Then he starts yelling at me and Chris about the `rules', with Kenta just snoring like a dump truck. Did he realize I could kick his ass? I had it. "Listen, Hiro. You've been a pain since I got off the plane! So just shut your trap, jackass!!" Whoa. That felt good. Hirokazu looked sad. "Sorry, dude. I just, well, wanted to lay down the law. You know I am a tamer…"

"So am I. It doesn't make you any better than me. We're all equals."

"I know. I know. It's just…"

"Just what?"

"Nothing. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"I have an identity problem."

"Whoa! You're not, like, bi, are you?"

"No! I don't know what I am!"

"Who's the guy?"

"Someone I've liked for a while. Someone I've really admired."

"What? You can't tell him?"

"I'm afraid."

"Dude, my girl got into a hissy fit when I forgot what today was."

"What was it?"

"Our 1 year anniversary."

"Ooh, tough break."

"Tell me about it. If a girl was hurting, what would you do?"

"Ummm..I'd fuck her."

"You a pimp or something?!"

"Actually, I am."

This conversation was throwing us both off the deep end. At least we had made peace. `Beep! Beep! Beep!' "That your cell, Hiro?"

"I don't have a cell. I only brought..my..SHIT!"

"Your shit?" He flung the wheel into a spinout into a grocery store parking lot before slamming on the brake. "Kenta, you dipweed, get the hell up!" he started screaming. "Five more minutes, mommy…"

"I'm not your fucking mommy, now get up! Chris backed out of the way. "What's the deal?"

"Just grab your d-arc and see what it says. Confused, I grabbed mine, too. Sure enough someone was trying to contact us. It was Matt. What did he want? To yell at me for pissing off his sister?" Hirokazu grabbed his. "Says to meet in Shinjuku Park by the old meeting place. Oh boy, this can't be good. Hang tight, guys. Change of plans." Hirokazu moved out of the lot towards the city. What was going on?

Ryo's POV

College life was great. No rules. Parties until dawn. And blasting rock music as loud as I want. Screaming the lyrics at the top of my lungs in my shredded blue jeans, my new Vans, and my AiM band shirt. "IT JUST TAKES SOME TIME. LITTLE GIRL, YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RIDE. EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING WILL BE JUST FINE. EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING WILL BE ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT! Whew!" I was so happy. Nothing could possibly go wrong. I grabbed the remote to the stereo and turned it off. Now for a little shut eye before Chikayu's big midnight bash. `Beep! Beep! Beep!' "Oh, shit." I picked up the phone. "Hello, hello? Talk, you bastard!" Dial tone. I slammed the phone. I hate crank phone calls. It sure wasn't the doorbell. Everyone else was at the Braindead Tour concert. Just my luck, tickets were sold out when I got through. What else could there be? My TV didn't beep. My fridge didn't beep. My d-arc didn't…No, it couldn't be. I grabbed the chain on my neck that held the d-arc. Sure enough it was beeping.

"It says, `Guys. It's Matt.' Matt?! Who the hell is Matt?! `Meet at Shinjuku Park by the shed ASAP.' Shinjuku Park. Isn't that where the arc came out when we went home? What the hell's going on?" I grabbed my leather jacket and raced out of the dorm onto my motorcycle. I've got to know what's happening.

It was around 8:00 when I reached the park. There were about 5 or so cars parked near the entrance. I raced into the playground and saw a whole bunch of teenagers around some shed that looked strangely familiar. I ducked behind a bush and listened in.

"Digiport Open!"

"Takato! This isn't an anime! That won't work!"

"Well, at least he's trying, Rika."

Rika? Takato? Digiport? I don't think this is a joke. I walked toward the shed. "Someone want to tell me what's going on?" I got jumped by Hirokazu after that. "RYO! It's you! It's you! It's really you!!!"

"Easy, Hiro. I just got my hair done. I see all the others are here, but…who are the other eight?" Takato stepped forward. "American Tamers, Ryo." That made a little more sense. "Well, who's this Matt who sent me the message?" A blonde-haired boy stepped forward. "That would be me. Seems you remember this, place, dude." I smirked. "The name's Ryo. Now what's the deal." Matt turned to Lee. "Do you want to tell them or should I?" Lee sighed. "You do it. They think I'm seeing things already." Matt shrugged. "Okay. Listen up, guys. Shiuchon, you remember when Lee tackled you in the terminal."

"Don't remind me."

"Well, he tackled you because he saw a demon digimon." Then a shadow appeared by the shed. "So the prophecy has come true." We all flung around. I stepped up. "Who are you? Yamaki? Dolphin? Alice?" The shadow stayed still. "Consider me an ally. That digimon you saw was no hallucination. I'll finish that little speech you were started. The demon digimon told Lee that he had until the Midnight Sun rises over Kyoto Temple to send the American Tamers to leave, or he'd wreak more havoc than Lee could imagine. If he rejected he was told to prepare for the day of Endgame."

I was confused. "What's Endgame?" The shadow snickered. "Endgame is the day all your worst nightmares come true. You will have to fight together if you wish to save both worlds. It's a good thing you are all getting along. But beware, the enemy will definitely attempt to turn you all against each other. That is how you will lose, and yes, you were right to come here and break the seal between the worlds. Not only will you need your partners, but you will need to fight in both worlds at the same time. I will tell you how to break the seal and connect the worlds. This will give you a slight step ahead of the evil at hand. Agreed?"

Takato stepped forward. "Agreed." The rest of us nodded our heads, then I stepped forward. "Wait, how did this all happen and who are you." The shadow shifted position. "I'm not important just yet. But, Ryo might be able to tell you what happened." I became stone cold. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Tell them about your past, Ryo. Tell them about the fusion." I grinded my teeth. "Stop it! Stop it right now!" Takato looked concerned. "Ryo, what's he talking about?" There was no more hiding. I had to tell them sooner or later. It seemed I had to tell them now. "Takato, everybody, I have the ability to travel between dimensions." They all jumped back. "In the beginning of my digimon quest, I started with an Agumon. Together, we fought a digimon named Milleniumon a.k.a. the Y2K bug. We destroyed it and saved the future of the world. I took a break for about a year before my digivice transformed into a D-3. Yes, I was in a dimension where the anime was real. When I was transported to the digital world, I met Veemon, Ken, and Wormmon. We traveled together and defeated MoonMilleniumon, basically Milleniumon had reformed and was out for revenge. In his last power, MoonMilleniumon released the Dark Spores. Ken took the one aimed at me, which turned him into the Digimon Kaiser. After that ordeal, I left Veemon and traveled through a computer in the digital world to this dimension, where I met Monodramon and reconfronted Milleniumon. Milleniumon explained he was my original partner and with that he fused with Monodramon to become Cyberdramon whom I had to live with as long as I was in that world." The Chris tamer started scratching his head. "Ok, but what does that have to do with the problem at hand?" The shadow laughed. "Ryo? What happened when Cyberdramon boarded the arc to the real world?" Ryo fell on his knees. "He turned into Monodramon." The shadow snickered. "So what do you think happened."

"I-I left Milleniumon's spirit in the digital world."

"During the war of D-Reaper, too."

"What happened after that?!"

"Well, nothing until you all vanquished D-Reaper. In it's last hour, it made a bargain with Milleniumon's spirit. To make it stronger than ever and have you killed for abandoning it, Ryo, or so D-Reaper convinced him to think, by saving it. Milleniumon's spirit agreed and fused with D-Reaper into three black digitamas. They hatched and became Milleniumon, MoonMilleniumon, and ZeedMilleniumon. Then using D-Reaper's power, the terrible trio formed three minions; Gokumon, Trisixmon, and Anomalymon. They hooked up with a demon lord digimon named Dantemon, who wished to help the six evil beasts for his own reasons. That's the digimon you saw at the airport, Lee, and now, the three millennium demons used their powers to implant a one-way release device of the 7 evil demons into this world. You are the only chance we have at taking them out. Place your d-arcs in front of the portal and make a wish your partner comes back. Then your digimon partners will return. Let's go."

--*--

Takato's POV

This was insane, in my most humble opinion. This would be our hardest battle ever. Back in action, naturally, I guess. We walked into the tunnel with the portal and placed our d-arcs down. "On the count of three, we make the wish. One, two, three!" The d-arcs started glowing as the seal between worlds shattered. A brilliant light filled the cavern as our partners came out one by one. This was all really happening. The Tamers were back in action.

"Takato, is that really you?" A human-sized red dragon jumped out of the portal. "Gui-lmon? Guilmon!!!" I ran up to the my partner, giving him a giant hug. "You're here! You're here! You're really truly here!" Tears of joy streamed down my face. "You have no idea how good it is to see you, Guilmon!" Guilmon started turning blue. "I'm happy to see you too, but your suffocating me." I instantly let go. "Sorry, boy. It's just been so long." A big toothy grin appeared on his face as he scratched his head. "I know it's been too long. I'm so happy to see you…Um…Did you bring any bread?" Same old Guilmon.

Lee's POV

"Moumentai, Guilmon! You almost knocked the rest of us back across the plane!" I'd recognize that voice anywhere. "Terriermon!" The white and green dog bunny flew out the other end. "Lee! I'm back!" I smiled. "Course you are." Terriermon swung his ear around my neck. "Now let's see. The only reason we ever come back here is to fight. Let me guess. Unfinished business?"

"I'm afraid so." Terriermon smirked. "Your dad isn't going to put the Juggernaut in me again, is he? Because if he does…" I sighed. "I have no idea what we're going to have to do this time." Terriermon started panicking. "You mean we're going into this whole ordeal blind?! Are you nuts?!"

I stroked my spiky blue hair. "I guess." Terriermon started smacking his head. "I can't believe this." "Believe it, this is going to be huge." "So we have to be one the big whooping machine again." I laughed. "Yep. Just like old times." "Cool, as long as a don't have to become a fucking tornado again." That was an eye-opener. "Where the heck did you learn words like that?" "Impmon." No surprise there.

Rika's POV

"This isn't a race, you two. And Guilmon? Bread is no reason to barrel us all over." Ah, the only sane one of the group. "Rika? Is that you?" "Renamon?" We ran to each other and hugged. "I have missed you for so long, Rika." I buried my face in her fur. "Me too." "What's the problem?" "Well, that's just the thing. We know what we need to do. We don't know how to do it." Renamon broke a smile. "It sounds like D-Reaper all over again." I laughed, flinging a strand of hair away from my light violet eyes. "It does, doesn't it?" I was so glad to be reunited. I hope all the other digimon came out too.

Juri's POV

"Guilmon! Where are you, culu?! Where did everybody go! Oh, just get me out of here and give me some cream puffs, culu." Only one digimon would think of cream puffs like Guilmon thinks of bread. "Culumon!" "Juri? Is that you?" "It's me!" Culumon was flung out of the portal and into my arms. "For once, Impmon's kick in the butt came in handy." I laughed. "Culumon, I'm so glad you're back." Culumon hugged me. "Oh, Juri, culu. I'm glad you're back, too." Sweet little Culumon. What a great friend.

Hirokazu's POV

"Hirokazu, I'm coming!" The giant copper android stomped out of the portal. I instantly jumped on top. "Guardromon, dude! Do you have any fucking idea how much I missed you?" "Longer than every time you swore?" He got me there. "Whatever." "Ditto." I jumped off. "So how goes digital life." "Same old, same old. How's human life?" "Same old, same old." He was still nuttier than trail mix after all these years. Just like me.

Kenta's POV

"Kenta?" A small beige fairy flew out. "Hi, Kenta!" I instantly grabbed him. "MarineAngemon! I'm so happy!" "Me too." "How are you, buddy. You doing okay?" "I'm fine." I smiled. "Can you say more than two words in a sentence?" MarineAngemon giggled, flapping his wings. "Of course I can. What's going on?" That was a mouthful coming from him. "Not sure yet, but we're going to need to fight again." "Shit." "You've learned some new words, I see." "Terriermon taught me them."

Shiuchon's POV

"You do realize that none of you thanked the sovereign for getting us up here except me, right?" Was it really her? "Lopmon, is that you?" "Shiuchon?! Is that you? Wow do you sound different!" I blushed. I guess my voice has changed a lot from the last time we were together. She hopped out at me. "Shiuchon!" she gasped. "You got a lot bigger! If you squeeze me again, I don't think I'll make it out of your arms alive!" I chuckled. "Silly bunny. I'm not going to squeeze you. I love you." I gave her a gentle hug. "That feels a lot better than how you hugged me before." I guess I didn't realize how much I squeezed her back in the day. "Lopmon? Did Zhuqiaomon give you any info on what's going on?" "Only that the digimon we have to fight can take what is know as Reaper form." "What's Reaper form?" "It means the enemy digimon have an ADR form they can become at anytime. It makes them more dangerous than any other digimon know to any of us." I gasped. Lopmon may be back, but this was serious. No matter what happened, I'd fight alongside her the entire time this time.

Ryo's POV

"It had to be a small portal, huh? Erase Claw!" The room exploded, sending us all flying to the ground, dust and debris flying through the air. "Cyberdramon!" "Sorry, my bad. Damn portals." "It was the only one we had. How are the others going to get out." "I didn't break the portal. I made it bigger. I did, however, break the shed." He was right. The shed was gone, and the room was a smoking crater. The shadow laughed from above. "I see your digimon has an "explosive" temper." "Only when he doesn't get his way." "Yeah, only then." I smirked. He never really did get his way, ever.

Ai and Makoto's POV

"Oh, boy." We said. "That blast better not have hurt Impmon, Ryo!" We got up and approached the portal and put our heads to it. "Impmon!" we screamed. "Can you hear us?!" Impmon stumbled out, hands over his ears. "I can hear you fine, guys. He slowly craned his neck. "Wow…you guys got big!" We laughed. "Yeah, we grew up." "I'll say. How are you two?" "Still at each other's necks. Except when it comes to you." Impmon smiled. "You guys sure do love me, don't ya." "What do you think?" We gave him a double hug. "Whoa! You guys can put me down any time, ya know." We put him down and squatted on the floor. "You haven't changed a bit, Impmon." "Wish I could say the same about you two." The shadow sat on the edge of the crater. "Well, well. I see all the Japanese digimon are here. Guess it's time to let out the rest."

Steven's POV

"Do you guys really think this portal will take us to our partners." I smiled. "Karakimon? Does my voice answer your question?" A Guilmon-sized red-cloaked ninja jumped out and grabbed me. "Steven! How ya doing, buddy?!" I grabbed him back. "Fine. Welcome to Japan." "I knew this wasn't look like the alleyway on Wabash. Why are we in, Japan, pal?" "Student transfer." "Cool. Why are we here, though?" I smirked. "Take a wild guess." "Not another war to wage." "Sadly, yes." "Evil never rests. Well, let's get to work, then. He jumped out of my arms, eyeing the other digimon. "I'm guessing these are our allies. Impmon sneered. "Allies, comrades, whatever. We're working together, nonetheless." Karakimon shrugged. "Whatever gets the job done."

Matt's POV

"Next time we take this trip, let's bring some snacks, huh?" A blue and white dog bunny with wings burst out. "Man do I have the munchies." I picked him up. "Flurrymon, you haven't changed a bit." "Matt! Dude, what's up!" I laughed. "You sound like a digimon version of Hirokazu." Hirokazu chortled. "Can't deny that." Flurrymon giggled. "So what's the dilly-o this time." "Same as usual." "Save the world bit again? It gets old after a while." Takato laughed. "Tell me about it."

Jessica's POV

"Does this plane ever end? My flippers are getting worn out." She always did complain. "Muchomon? Come on out?" A tropical sea bird waddled out into the crater. "Jess? Oh boy are you a sight for sore eyes." She put her wings around my legs. I squatted down to eye level. "Ditto that." "I'm so tired." "Well, buck up. We got a lot to do." "What?!" "Uh-huh. You think I called you for a family reunion? Hardly." Muchomon frowned. "Shit. That's what I was hoping it would be." I couldn't help but snicker. "You always were the pacifist." "Make love, not war." That's what I was hoping I could do with Steven, if he would only let me. "I know what you mean."

Tim's POV

"Thisss isss taking sssoo long. If I only had sssome feet." I grinned. "Pythomon? I'm right here." A brown and white serpent slithered out and wrapped himself around me. "Tim! It'sss ssso good to sssee you again." "Nice to see you too, you old snake in the grass." Juri frowned, closing her eyes for a second. "I hate snakes." Pythomon slithered over to Juri. Oh no. "What? I don't bite." "But you become Orochimon, don't you?" "No." Juri sighed. "Oh thank God. I hate Orochimon." "I digivolve to Cobramon." "Whatever. As long as you're not Orochimon." Pythomon sweatdropped. "SSShe your girlfriend, Tim?" Juri sweatdropped, too. "NO! Takato's my boyfriend! Not him! I barely know him! He's NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" She ran up to Takato and liplocked him, taking Takato by surprise. "See?" Oh, Juri…This was going to be a problem.

Meg's POV

This was taking too long. And it was getting boring. I wanted to see MY partner. "Same endless plane. Meg better be at the end of it." "Elecmon?" It was my turn to run to the portal. I slipped on some pebbles and slid into the portal. "Meg!" I was tackled onto the ground. I opened my eyes and saw her. "Elecmon?" "Yeah, it's me. You gotta watch your step, girl. You almost got yourself a one way ticket to the digital world." I chuckled, throwing my shiny hair back. "Thanks for stopping me." Elecmon smiled. "Any time. What's the news?" "Another enemy." "Oh boy. More fighting." "Uh-huh. Why can't we ever get a moment of peace?" "Because we're doomed to be like this." I laughed. "Nah, we'll always be friends. Besides, It strengthens our friendship." "Uh-huh. Just don't make any moves like falling into portals again." I laughed. It was good to be back in action, even if my brother was there.

Breck's POV

"Ruff! Breck!" A puppy jumped out of the portal and bounded toward Breck, knocking him down and licking his face. "Beaglemon! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that!" I laughed. He jumped off me with a shy grin. "Sorry. Instinctive behavior. I am man's best friend, after all." Hirokazu stood over me. "Doggone it. It's a dog." I laughed. "Well, it is a dog-eat-dog world." I'd have to hurt him if he said dog again. "Dude, It's getting old." Takato replied. Hirokazu shrugged. "Whatever." Beaglemon nipped him as Hirokazu jumped back. "What is wrong with that mutt?" I laughed. "He doesn't like the expression." Beaglemon growled. "Damn straight."

Brad's POV

I looked at my wristwatch. 9:30. We were running out of time. There were still two digimon on the plane. "Man, it's dark on the plane. Thunder Volt!" A bright light shot through the ditch. "Thundermon?" A bright purple ball with arms and legs floated out. "Shock you, Brad?" I laughed, tipping my hat. "Only mentally." "Good. Can't fight without you. The Milleniumon trio are making their way up to the release device on the plane below ours." How did he know about the Milleniumon? "Thundermon, what are they up to?" "They're going to try to finish what D-Reaper tried to do 7 years ago. Destroy man and digimonkind." Good god. "So we have to stop them?" "Yes, and fast. They're going to do this faster than before, and without a quantum bubble." This was bad. "We're going to get this done, Thundermon. Together."

Chris' POV

Thundermon! You nearly fried my circuits, you freak!" Only one digimon had that temper besides Cyberdramon. "Kokuwamon?" "I'm coming, Chris. The Milleniumon group are nearly to the release device. We only have about two hours!" He flew out. "Thundermon, watch where you fling you Thunder Volt attack next time, okay." I hugged the electric beetle. "Kokuwamon, it's really you." "Uh-huh, but we're running out of time. Don't think I'm not excited to see you, Chris, I am, but…" "I know, we've got a job to do." "Bingo." The shadow jumped down into the crater. It was a man.

He had a black windbreaker, leather pants, and really cool sunglasses with slick black hair and black suede shoes. Culumon smiled as his ears perked up. "What are you doing here?" The man smiled. "Just helping out, Culumon." Flurrymon and Terriermon smiled, too. "So you weakened the barrier, huh?" Takato frowned. "He weakened it?" The man smiled. "Yes, Takato. I weakened it so you could break it. You were the only ones who could. Takato smiled a little bit. "Okay. This is confusing. Who are you?" Guilmon smiled. "He helped us in the digital world, Takato. He protected us until we became our regular forms again." Lee gasped. "You mean, you-you're a digimon?!"

The man smiled. "But of course. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Neomon. I pointed my d-arc at this newfound digimon. Sure enough his information appeared. "He's right about that. Neomon. A mega digimon. Human data digimon. His attacks are Matrix Judo and Bullet Timer." Neomon smiled. "It's all true." Takato gaped at the digimon with wide-eyed belief. "Are you going to help us fight the Milleniumon group?" Neomon leaned against the crater walls. "Somewhat. I won't fight. That's for you to do. But I will give you time to train." "Train?" "I will slow down time to the point where 1 hour seems like 1 month. It will give you ample time to prepare for the battle." Matt had a huge grin. "So we'll have 2 months to train?" "Yes. But be warned you will only have two months, no more, so don't waste a second. Only stop to eat and rest." All of us nodded. "Got it." "I will leave after the effect has taken place. So I will give you some advice."

"These digimon are no ordinary digimon. They have fused with D-Reaper and are extremely dangerous. But that is not the worst of what they can do. They have mental powers, too. They will turn you against one another until you destroy each other." "That's awful." "It gets worse, Juri. After the 18 of you fought D-Reaper, it learned one very special secret hidden within each of you. It will use that as its trump card. So beware. I leave you with that. Good luck, tamers." Neomon flung his hands in the air as he spiraled into the portal. "Bullet Timer!" Time slowed to a standstill as Neomon left the real world. Training was about to begin.