Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon Tamers: The Next Level ❯ Episode 3: Hope Returns ( Chapter 3 )

"So that's what you've been doing all this time, hunting down rogue Digimon for Takato?" Rika said, summarizing the story.

"Not a day passed when I didn't think of you," Renamon said, taking Rika's hands in hers and looking deep into her eyes.

"I want to show you something," Rika said, rubbing the side of Renamon's face. Renamon put her own hand over Rika's.

"I thought you already showed me plenty last night," she said, grinning slyly.

"This is something extra special," Rika replied, tapping Renamon's nose with a finger. She stood up, crossed over to the closet and pulled out the carved box. Opening it, Rika took out the figurine of the fox, still wrapped in the handkerchief, and handed it to Renamon. She gently unwrapped it, and her eyes sparkled at the sight.

"Oh Rika," she breathed, "It's beautiful."

"Just like you," Rika told her, smiling fondly. "I want you to have it."

"I feel like I should give you something in return."

"Having you back in my life is present enough," Rika said, kissing Renamon deeply. Rika began to trail her hand down Renamon's belly, but Renamon lightly brushed Rika's face with her tail.

"Rika, please," she said, "I really should finish the story."

"Oh, all right," Rika pouted playfully. "I'll try to keep my hands off of you. For a little while at least. Do you still have this D-Band?"

It was Renamon's turn to get up. She walked over to the table in Rika's room, and picked something up. Lying next to Rika again, she handed the device over.

"It's a poor replacement for the original," Renamon said. "But it served its purpose well."

Rika turned the thing over in her hands.

"Pretty cool," she said, "but how did Takato come up with it?"

"That what I was wondering. I knew he was a bright kid, but I highly doubted he could come up with something so technical on his own. I found out what was up about a year ago."

******

The past couple of years had passed rather well. I faced some tough challenges in Takato's service, but I managed to overcome each time. At first, a few of the bounties gave me trouble and I was forced to get rid of them. But soon, word about me started to spread, and before long they were surrendering as soon as I showed up. It kinda took the fun out of it.

Every once in a while Takato would produce a new card he 'found', a typical assortment of speed cards, power cards, etc. The biggest gem was a Digivolution card a few months back. It felt so good to be able to go to Champion once again. Dashing across the open plains of the digital world as Kyubimon gave me an incredible rush of freedom.

One thing still bothered me though. I couldn't figure out how he had managed to keep so many of his cards.

One day, it was about a year ago, I guess, when I was walking through the halls after completing my latest mission. Takato came up to me, Guilmon by his side as usual.

"How's my best bounty hunter today?" Takato grinned. "Here, I've got a little present for you." He placed something in my hand, and I looked at it. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a Blue Card.

"Where did you get this???" I asked, stunned.

Takato smiled secretively. "All in due time, I assure you. For now, take the day off. You deserve it."

With that, he walked off towards the garden. I had a feeling something major was up, so I decided to follow him. He stopped in front of the double doors in the courtyard, inputting the code. The doors swung open, and I needed to know what was in there. So, pressing a couple of buttons on the D-Band, I turned on Hyper Speed. Running faster than ever with the power of the card, I managed to make it inside just as the doors were closing. I hugged the wall, blending in with the shadows, and I was able to overhear Takato and Guilmon talking.

"Don't you think we should tell her?" the little lizard said. "About the experiments?"

Takato shook his head. "No, it's too early. No sense getting her hopes up if the tests end up failing."

"I guess you're right," Guilmon said, ears drooping. "But still…"

"Don't worry, Guilmon. As soon as we have some definite answers, I'll tell her. I promise. Now, let's go see if our friend has come up with anything new."

They continued walking down the hallway, so I kept on following them. Soon we came to a large metal door with another keypad. Takato pressed several buttons and put his thumb against a plate. The door clicked open and I tried to follow them inside. As soon as I crossed the threshold, an alarm started to sound. The lights in the hallway blazed to life, removing the shadows. Shutters in the wall opened up and several Tankmon came out, all pointing their weapons at me.

"Damn, Renamon," Takato said, emerging from the room through the door. "Don't scare me like that. You're lucky these guys have orders not to shoot on sight."

"What experiments?" I asked, trying to maintain a cool face. "What are you keeping from me? I think I deserve to know."

Takato put his head in his hands and sighed. "If you heard what I think you did, then you already know why I haven't told you anything. Troops, you may stand down. I got this from here."

The Tankmon returned to their holes in the wall, shutters sliding back shut, lights returning to normal brightness. I opened my mouth to speak, but Takato continued talking to me.

"I didn't want to bring your hopes up, only to have them come crashing back down if nothing works. Neither one of us could handle that."

"If you know something, I want to know it too. You mention hope, but its something I'm running out of."

Takato sighed deeply again and looked down at Guilmon. The little red digimon smiled and Takato slowly nodded.

"Against all my better judgement, I guess I have no choice."

Takato sighed again and looked skyward, pleading, "Please don't let me regret this."

Back to me, he simply said, "This way."

He led me down several hallways, each with a locked door at the end. He paused before one final massive door.

"Please remember," he said. "Nothing you see or hear in here gets out, not a thing, not to anybody, understand?"

I nodded and he opened the door leading to a large laboratory. He stepped through immediately, but I held back

"Takato," a familiar voice said, "what happened out there? Someone else try to break in?"

I stepped out from the shadow of the doorway into the light, eyes opened in shock.

"So, I guess the 'Nobody but us' rule is gone? We letting any old digimon in now?" the voice asked.

"Hey, Moumantai," I said shakily.

"It can't be, can it?" Terriermon, the owner of the voice, said. "Renamon, is it really you?"

"In the data," I said, smiling fondly. The smile disappeared when he spoke.

"Huh, I thought you'd be dead by now," Terriermon said simply.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Still as tactless as ever, I see."

Terriermon giggled "Still no sense of humor, I see. What have you been up to lately?"

Takato answered for me, "Meet the best bounty hunter in both worlds."

"Well, I don't know about all that," I said modestly. "Uhh, ahem, as fun as reminiscing about old times is, I believe you were going to tell me what the heck is going on here??"

"Why tell when it is so much easier to show? Is he standing by on the other end?"

Terriermon nodded. "Ready, able, and more than willing," he reported.

"Do it."

Terriermon picked up a neatly folded piece of paper. Walking over to a strange glass tube, he dropped it on the center of the platform on the bottom. Next, Terriermon closed the tube and pressed a button. In a flash of light, the paper abruptly disappeared.

"The heck?" I asked, puzzled.

"Just wait," Takato said with a hopeful smile on his face. Another flash of light appeared in the tube. "Go ahead, see what's there."

I shrugged, and walked over to the tube. Looking inside, I spotted a box that hadn't been there before. Picking it up, I walked back to Takato.

"Open it up," he said, beckoning towards the box. I opened it and looked inside.

"Sushi?" I said. "Do I want to know what this is made out of?"

Takato picked up a pair of chopsticks from inside the box. Selecting a chunk, he popped it into his mouth and chewed eagerly. He smacked his lips, thinking.

"If I'm not mistaken, tuna," he said, pulling out a piece of paper. He opened it up and scanned it quickly. "Yup, it's tuna all right."

"Where did you get tuna in the digital world?"

"Well, in a couple of words, I didn't. Hey, Terriermon? Henry sends his regards," Takato said, grinning.

Catching the shocked look on my face, he said, "What, you think I came up with all this on my own?"

"How… is it possible? Are you saying this came from the real world? And that Henry sent it here? I thought the seal prevented anything from getting through?" Did this mean that there was a chance I could go back to the real world?

"So everyone thinks, so it was intended," Takato explained. "What nobody but the four of us, five now, knew, is that Henry, while the gates were being sealed, worked to keep a hole open. It wasn't large enough to let any people or Digimon through, but Henry found that small bits of matter could be sent through, paper mostly. He sent the plans for all the technology you see here, including your D-Band. He also cracked Shibumi's code, and was able to create and send Blue Cards."

I digested this new information for a couple of seconds. "So what's up with the sushi?" I asked, popping a couple of the pieces into my mouth. It was the first real food I'd had since leaving the real world. It just made me miss it more.

"Over the past couple of years, the hole has been getting wider, allowing more and more things to be sent. This was our first successful attempt at sending flesh and blood through the hole. The next test is living flesh and blood. Terriermon, give the go ahead."

Terriermon sent another piece of paper through the machine and stood back. A minute passed, and a flash lit up the room. I held my nose closed as a hideous stench emanated from the tube.

"Oh, man, what is that?" I asked, gagging from the stench.

"Was. It's not anymore, but it was a mouse," Terriermon got out.

"Guess we need to improve the process, huh?" Takato grinned weakly.

******

"All this talk of sushi is reminding me that I'm starving," Rika said, stomach rumbling. Renamon chuckled.

"Really? I would have thought hearing about the mangled ex-mouse would put a stop to that," she said.

"You should know better by now. I don't let anything get in the way of my hunger," Rika laughed. She got up from under the blanket and went over to the closet. "You know, if we're going to get some food, I really ought to put on some clothes."

"What's your rush?" Renamon grinned, coming up behind Rika. Renamon placed her hands on Rika's hips and kissed her neck. She then trailed the tip of her tail up the inside of Rika's leg, tracing a path up to her neck.

"Hey, hey, hey," Rika scolded after the sensation had passed. "That's enough of that. I need to eat something or I won't have enough energy for anything."

"We don't want that," Renamon agreed, breathing in the scent of Rika's hair.

"Precisely. Now, would you mind giving me a little room? I need to get dressed."

"I don't see why," Renamon said, obliging Rika by moving away. "Why would you want to cover up such beauty?"

"Because, I don't want just anybody seeing it," Rika replied, pulling a pair of pants over her panties. A shirt followed. "Now, let's see about getting some food."

They left Rika's room and made their way to the kitchen, arm in arm, hands intertwined. Rika's grandmother was already there, reading the paper.

"Look who's finally up," she smirked. "Good morning, or should I say good afternoon? I trust you slept well? What sleep you got, I mean."

Rika and Renamon smiled at each other. "I'm sure you remember Renamon, grandma," Rika said.

Renamon bowed respectfully. "It has been a long time. I am honored to be welcome in your house once more."

"Ahh, as respectful as ever. Come, there's no need to stand on ceremony. For the first time in several years, my granddaughter is happy, and I have you to thank. I imagine you two are hungry."

At their nods, Rumiko stood up and brought three plates heaped with eggs. They bowed their heads, and Renamon said the blessing. As they ate, they discussed everything that had been going on the past year.