Back inside, the party was winding down a little but everyone was in their own little groups. Sora and Kari were chatting away while grooming Gatomon, as Mimi and Izzy were parked on the couch, cuddled up and talking about new ideas for her office. Patamon sat on T.K’s head at the kitchen table where he Joe, Matt and Tai were all playing cards with some loose change.
“Come on T.K, put up or shut up.” Matt joked.
“Alright, I’ll do 50.” T.K agreed.
“No problem here.” Tai chipped in.
“Hmmm.” Joe pondered.
“Here we go again.” Matt snickered.
“Think I’ll go for a 10km walk while Joe decides if he’s in or not.” Tai joked while T.K relaxed back in his chair, looking up at Patamon. The two giggled as T.K went to scratch Patamon behind the ears.
“Stop that tickles!”
“Kind of the point, love seeing that smile.”
“Ok, I’m in. What do you got, T.K?” Joe asked, throwing in his change. T.K cracked a devilish little smile and spoke.
“Well, T.K’s got three K’s.” showcasing three kings, and then turning over the remaining cards. “And two queens.”
“Figures, you never bluff.” Matt dismissed, tossing his cards on the table.
“Oh, only two pair.” T.K noted.
“Beats my straight. Nice one T.K.” Joe complimented. Tai and T.K locked eyes in a stare down, smiling the whole time.
“Well Tai, whatcha got?”
“Well I got your missing king for one.” Tai quipped, showcasing it on the table. “But here’s my ace in the hole.” He said slapping it down, slowing turning over the other three cards he grinned. “And three of his best friends.”
“Four aces!?” Matt cried out.
“Hey, I had to win at some point.”
“Good hand.” T.K conceded.
“Great one to be exact.” Joe threw in.
“Well, now you won’t have to beg Kari for change for a day or two.” Matt quipped as Tai nearly spit out his drink.
“I’m not that broke!” He countered.
“If you want, Tai!” Kari spoke up from across the room as Sora was brushing her hair. “I have some money in my old piggy bank still.”
“You’re hilarious.”
“Hopefully Tai, your fortunes keep changing for the better.” A voice spoke up, catching everyone by surprise. Walking out from T.K’s bedroom came a most familiar figure.
“Master Gennai!” They all shouted.
“It’s great to see you all.” He warmly greeted. Tai got up and all but stomped over to him, barely managing to stay on his feet.
“Hey pal, we got a bone to pick with you.”
“Ah-ah-ah.” Gennai waved off, and then quickly tapping the center of Tai’s forehead. In a near instant he started passing out but Gennai caught him. “Easy now, you have to be up for an important meeting tomorrow.” He said, lowering him onto the couch as everyone scuttled off. Tai was fast asleep, although he seemed unharmed.
“What did you do?” Kari cried out.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Judging by that breath, something tells me he had enough fun tonight anyway.” Gennai playfully calmed everyone down.
“He wasn’t wrong though.” Matt spoke up, rising to his feet. “What are you doing here? Thanks to you, there’s only two out of the eight of us left as digi-destined and even that seems up in the air.”
“I know, and I’m very sorry about that. But that’s a big part of the reason why I came to speak to you.”
“Oh?” Izzy joined in.
“Does that mean, you can explain this?” T.K asked, producing his digivice. Gennai nodded and began to explain.
“Yours and Kari’s digivices discovered latent potential that hadn’t been there before. I was able to catch a glimpse of it, and it would seem that love was the catalyst for your statuses to be re-evaluated.”
“Re-evaluated?” Izzy spoke up.
“That’s right. The timer is still there but it won’t go down. The forces at work within homeostasis are monitoring how much energy this new potential of yours is producing.”
“And what are the probable outcomes?” Izzy inquired.
“If the potential is strong enough to sustain the digivices, the timers will vanish. However, if not. They’ll resume the countdown, but at a much more rapid pace.”
“Wait, how fast are we talking!?” Joe cut in. “Gomamon disappeared after about 48hrs.”
“Same with Palmon.”
“And Biyomon.”
“If the timer resumes, you’ll likely only have about twelve hours left, and digivolving will consume them at twice the rate it did before.” Gennai informed them.
“No!” Kari protested. “Just stop it!” She cried, lunging for Gennai and pounding on his chest. “You have to stop it. I know you can! Please, I can’t lose Gatomon.” Gennai gave her a brief hug and eased her hands away before placing his on her shoulders.
“I truly feel for you, Kari. Believe me, there’s nothing that would make me happier than to reunite all of you with your partners, but that kind of decision.” Gennai spoke, turning to Izzy, and clasping his hand. “Is not in my hands.” He winked, as a small USB drive appeared in his hands. “The news isn’t all bad. Homeostasis requires quite a bit of time to make these kinds of determinations. You likely have another two weeks before any decision is made, perhaps even longer.”
“Is it safe to digivolve?” T.K asked.
“Yes, just as you did as though the timer were never there.” Gennai smiled.
“Can we talk directly with Homeostasis?” Kari pleaded.
“Perhaps. But for now it won’t appear to you unless it feels the need to. Also, it likely won’t appear to you, but to your brother instead.”
“Tai!?” everyone questioned.
“Tai has an important job interview tomorrow and his being positioned there wasn’t just because of Izzy’s recommendations.”
“What is he talking about?” Matt questioned.
“I vouched for Tai for a government position as an emissary of the real world to the digital world. His interview for the position is tomorrow morning.” Izzy explained.
“Seriously?” Matt gasped.
“Actually, I think that makes a lot of sense.” Joe cut in. “Tai was our leader for the longest time for a reason, and he’s very familiar with the digital world and quite a creative thinker to resolving conflict.”
“Especially now that he isn’t punching his way outta things.” Gatomon chipped in.
“Izzy.” Gennai turned to him. “See that he gets there. Homeostasis and even Hackmon are uneasy about any kind of collaboration, but I think through Tai, we have a good chance of establishing a well balanced partnership.”
“Ok, got it!” Izzy agreed.
“Well, that’s my time. I wish you all the very best.” Gennai fare-welled as he vanished before them.
“Well, maybe we should call it a night there.” T.K suggested.
“Yeah, I had a blast, but it’s getting late.” Sora agreed. “Matt, walk me home?”
“Uh, sure.” Matt smiled. “T.K, you good?”
“Yeah, I’m alright.”
“Kari, are you spending the night here?” Mimi asked.
“Mmhmm.”
“I’ll come by to pick up Tai in the morning. Try to have him ready to go for about 7.” Izzy requested.
“Alright, got it.”
“Joe, do you need a ride?” Izzy offered.
“I’d love one, thanks.”
After dropping off Joe, Izzy started driving towards Mimi’s place. She stared out the window, watching the street lights go by before being snared by Izzy’s hand.
“You ok?” He asked, still focused on the road.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She smiled. “Tonight was wonderful.”
“I’m glad. I hope you’re not still upset with me at all.”
“Course not.” She cooed, leaning onto his shoulder. “You know, you don’t have to drop me off.”
“It might be best if I do.” Izzy was quick to answer.
“Huh, but why?” She asked. Though in the same moment, she recalled how Gennai seemed to have stopped and given him something. In a swift move, she scoured Izzy’s pocket and snatched the flash drive. “Because of this?”
“Ah! Mimi!” Izzy exclaimed, pulling over. He turned the car off and grabbed his phone, turning it off. “Give me your phone.”
“Uh, ok.” She complied. Izzy turned it off too, but rather than take the drive back, he clasped it in her hands.
“Mimi, Gennai gave this to me at T.K’s party.”
“I saw.”
“When he did, I heard him say something, but only I could hear it.”
“What did he say?”
“Their last hope, is in your hands.” He answered.
“Ok, but what did he mean?” Izzy seemed to tense up for a moment, even sweating. “Izzy, you’re scaring me.”
“I think, there’s a chance anyway. Well. You might be holding our digimon.” Mimi gasped and surrendered the drive right away.
“You can’t be serious!”
“I don’t know for sure. But Gennai handed it to me in secret, so he may be being watched. He also knows I was working on ways to stop the timers, along with getting our digimon back from what happens afterward. It could be literally anything, but. He was oddly specific about them being in my hands. I could, almost feel it.”
“So is that why you turned off your phone and the car.” Mimi wondered.
“Right. If Gennai had eyes on him, they’re on me now too. I don’t want anything to happen to you too, Mimi.” Izzy said in a rather somber tone. Mimi huffed and snatched him by the nose.
“Listen mister Izumi, if there’s even a piece of Palmon’s pretty little head in there, I’m in. Besides, you’re not leaving me out of the loop anymore, remember? Or am I moving into your office building for no reason?” She was quick to retort before releasing his nose.
“Ok-ok! Point taken.” Izzy reluctantly agreed. “Come on, we should look into this right away.”
“Good.”
Back at T.K’s, Kari draped a blanket over Tai as he snored away on the couch. Reaching down she adjusted his head so he’d be more comfortable. T.K was clearing up some of the mess in the kitchen and pushed Tai’s winnings to the side of the table he was sitting on. Gatomon and Patamon were already fast asleep in T.K’s bedroom, and after finishing up all the cleaning to his satisfaction, he walked over to Kari and put an arm around her shoulder.
“So, how do you wanna do the sleeping arrangements tonight? Looks like your brother stole my couch.” T.K shrugged, looking back to his bedroom. Kari giggled and poked his belly.
“Well how does the floor sound?”
“I guess that’ll work.” T.K surrendered, leading into the bedroom.
“Relax T.K. The bed’s big enough for both of us. Just no funny business, alright?” She stated.
“Right, let’s ease into this. But I have to say, it is exciting.” He said, unfurling the sheets.
“It is. I’m glad we waited too. If we were gonna get together, I wanted it to click naturally, not feel forced just cause our brothers are best friends.” Kari said, easing herself into bed.
“Yeah, what would they do without us too?” T.K smiled, getting in on the opposite side.
“It goes both ways. Tai might be a handful, but he’s a great big brother. You also have a knack for bringing the best out of Matt, and he’s good at putting you at ease when you get stressed.”
“We’re lucky in a lot of ways.” T.K spoke, taking the digivice out of his pocket. The brilliant white light was there, same as ever and the countdown ring frozen just as Gennai said.
“Let’s get some rest. I should really get back home tomorrow though, I’ve been wearing these clothes way too long.” Kari chuckled.
“Not the first time we’ve had to do that. I mean we wore the same clothes forever in the digital world.”
“Yeah, but we weren’t adults back then.” She smiled. “Night T.K”
“Night Kari.”
Izzy lead the way inside to his rather spacious and lavishly decorated penthouse. The living room was wide open, with a large and welcoming black leather couch, love seat and glass coffee table. Off to the right was the kitchen with a reasonably well stocked assortment of pots and pans visible from even the entryway. Backing the penthouse was large panoramic windows with a small balcony. Tapping the panel near the door, Izzy turned on quite a few of the lights and activated the fireplace too.
“I have to say, I love coming here.” Mimi noted.
“I’ve decorated a little more as you can see.”
“I can tell, but in general it’s still a little bare.”
“I’m working on it. I try not to buy anything I don’t need.” Izzy said, leading Mimi down the hall to his in home office. Inside was an array of six monitors, a massive desktop computer and large crescent shaped desk with two chairs in front of it, and one behind. Along the wall was a large array of both books and software suites, some of it from way back when, but others more modern. Mimi spotted a copy of the picture they all took in primary village with older Gennai, Ogremon and all of their friends.
“I had to put this one away.” Mimi softly spoke, admiring Palmon in the picture.
“It’s ok. I can put it in a drawer if you-“
“Don’t you dare.” She smiled, carefully placing it back. “I wouldn’t dream of it. We have such wonderful memories together.” Izzy set the flash drive down and took Mimi into his arms, embracing her with a good long kiss.
“We really do.” He said softly, rubbing his head against hers. “Speaking of, I think we should play it safe and use this.” Izzy went for one of the drawers on the lower part of his desk, clearing a bit of clutter off he pulled out the very first laptop he used going in to the digital world.
“Is that!?” Mimi exclaimed.
“Yeah, the same one. I couldn’t bring myself to part with it, even though it’s completely outdated.” Izzy said, grabbing the power adapter and plugging it in. “Come on, you can still do it.” He said tensing up. Sure enough a power light went on. “Prodigious!”
“Why not use that big one you have right there.” Mimi wondered, pulling up a chair beside him.
“If Gennai is so concerned he had to conceal this drive, I think putting it on a computer with active internet access is a bad idea. This one might be old and can’t connect to modern internet, but digicode isn’t exactly power consuming. I think it’ll handle it just fine.” He explained, typing in his old login. “Excellent, alright. Moment of truth time.” Izzy said, about to plug in the flash drive.
“Do it.” She agreed. Izzy plugged it in and after a few seconds, a vast array of documents showed up.
“Whoa, good thing I picked this computer. These file types are over a decade old.”
“It’s not a problem is it?”
“Not at all, let’s see here. Here’s one about the potential protocol.” Mimi waited for a while as Izzy started going through some of the documents that were there. Izzy was sweating more and more profusely as he read.
“Do you, want me to crack a window?”
“No. Oh no, this is not good.” Izzy stammered.
“What, what is it!?”
“I think Sora was right when she told me it sounded like Biyomon was in pain. According to this; when a digimon is recalled through the protocol, they’re passed through to the digital world and returned to homeostasis. They’re separated into consciousness and physical data before being broken down and wiped, sort of like when you wipe a hard drive. After that, the consciousness data is pooled into a collective stream, while the physical data is repurposed.”
“No! You mean, Palmon was really destroyed!?” Mimi almost cried.
“No, that’s just it. If our digimon are somehow still trying to make contact with us, it means the transfer wasn’t complete. They’re torn somewhere between our world and the digital world.” Izzy surmised.
“Oh no, that’s just awful. Poor Palmon, and Tentomon!”
“Hang on, there’s something here. It’s listed under my name for this folder. For Izzy’s eyes. It’s another document.” Opening it up it came up in digicode. “Oh, this could be another prophecy. Running my translator.”
“How long will it take?”
“It’s old, but this computer can still do it.” Izzy assured her. “Whoa! Here it is! They follow along in worlds unseen, no light or dark can touch but the shades of grey can weave. As the harmony fades, the walls break down but so does all within, the cats tail is the key to salvation. Fear not the dark for the light can blind. For within harmony lies chaos and within chaos lies harmony.”
“Kind of scary. Can you make any sense of it?” Mimi asked.
“Hmmm. I can kind of make sense of that first part. Follow along in worlds unseen.”
“Like how Sora can hear Biyomon calling to her?” Mimi proposed.
“Yeah! Exactly. But no light or dark can touch, but the shades of grey can weave. That has me at a loss.”
“So what do we do?” Izzy thought for a moment before shutting down the computer and turning his phone back on. “Izzy?”
“We have two weeks before Gatomon and Patamon are taken by this protocol. If I’m gonna crack something as complex as this prophecy, I want all the brain power I can muster. It’s time to pull in some favors and make some calls.”
The next morning, Kari and T.K were attempting to wake up Tai from the couch. Given that it was still really early in the morning, he seemed highly reluctant to get up.
“Come on, Tai, you have a job interview today!” Kari persisted.
“I’ll catch the next bus.” Tai moaned, still quite asleep.
“Next bus?” T.K questioned, with the toothbrush still in his mouth. Kari sighed and nodded to Gatomon.
“Alright, do your thing.”
“K.” Gatomon agreed, reaching over she pinched Tai’s backside with her claws and abruptly he flew off the couch and landed on the floor. “You know if you got up like a normal human, I wouldn’t have to do that.”
“Least you’re not gnawing on my arm like Agumon.” He quipped back. “Hey, I’m still here?”
“Yeah, Gennai conked you out last night.”
“Oh yeah, he was here, wasn’t he?” Tai was quick to remember. “Let me guess, didn’t tell us anything useful?”
“Some good news. T.K and I are off the hook for two weeks. We can digivolve and everything.”
“That’s great news!” He eagerly bound to his knees. “How bout the light itself?”
“We’ll talk over breakfast big brother, for now, you should wash your face and clean up a little. We have some aspirin in the bathroom too if you need it.” Kari mentioned.
“Good call.” Tai noted, heading off to the bathroom. After a quick wash up and taking a couple aspirin, Tai joined T.K, Kari, Patamon and Gatomon at the table.
“Here Tai.” T.K shoved the change on the table toward him.
“Huh?”
“Your winnings from last night.”
“Oh right, thanks!” Tai smiled as Kari served him some scrambled eggs. “These look great Kari, thanks.”
“You’re welcome. After all, you made us a great dinner last night.” She smiled.
“Glad to do it again.” Tai replied, while watching T.K and Kari eating beside each other, exchanging quick smiles. He waited till they both took a sip of their water. “So what did you two do last night?” Both of them gagged and coughed up a little water. “Uh huh, so long as you’re being careful.”
“Tai!” Kari blushed helplessly.
“It wasn’t anything like that. We just slept in the same bed.” T.K nervously brushed off.
“They both had their clothes on, if that helps Tai.” Gatomon spoke up.
“It’s fine, I’m just teasing. It’s nice seeing the two of you together. So what did Gennai have to say?” He asked.
“Not much, besides the fact the protocol might resume in two weeks or let us go completely.” Kari explained.
“I think he also gave something to Izzy.” Gatomon spoke up. “Can’t say for sure though.”
“Well two weeks is still better than nothing, that gives us some time to figure out a solution.” Tai smiled, taking a bite of his breakfast. “Sides, if Gennai gave anything to Izzy, hopefully it’s something to jump off from.”
“We can only hope.” T.K Smiled, rubbing Patamon’s head. Tai smiled warmly while a knock came at T.K’s door and Tai woofed down the rest of his eggs and took the glass of water with him.
“Morning, just finished eating I suppose?” Izzy asked, looking a little weighed down in his eyes.
“Izzy, didn’t you sleep last night?” He asked, taking a sip of water.
“I had to drop Mimi off before coming here, along with a bunch of other errands, I slept a little.”
“Jeez, everyone was hooking up last night.” To which Tai suddenly recoiled after feeling his backside get swatted. “Ow! Jeez!” Tai turned around to see Gatomon with a rather content look on her face. “Watch it with that thing Gatomon, I felt the ring that time.”
“Serves ya right, no picking on my Kari Mr.” Gatomon waved off with a claw.
“Alright, lesson learned. You win.” He nervously laughed.
“Tai, don’t tell me you’re going to the interview dressed like that.”
“I can change at home.” Tai was quick to answer.
“Do you have any suits at all, clean ones?” Izzy reiterated.
“Well no, not at the moment, money’s a little tight.”
“Let’s head out then. If you think you can shower quick enough, we can see about getting you to your interview on time.” Izzy said, heading back towards the car. Tai followed and was surprised to see that Izzy was being chauffeured around today. The limo he owned wasn’t overly large, but seemed more than comfortable.
“When did you get this!?” Tai exclaimed as Izzy opened the door.
“I’m company president, it has its perks at times.” Izzy bashfully smiled. Getting inside, Tai was surprised to see a familiar face in the car sitting across from him.
“Hi Tai, hope you’re doing well.” Ken greeted with Wormmon in his lap.
“Hey Ken! Wasn’t expecting ya but it’s a nice surprise. How are ya?”
“Doing ok, though I have to admit, I’m a little excited.”
“About?” Tai wondered before Izzy cut in.
“I’m assembling a team of some of the best digimon minded people. We’re going to try to figure out everything we can about getting our partners back.”
“Whoa! You serious!?” Tai nearly leapt from his seat.
“Positive. I’ve been privy to some new information, but I’m gonna need loads of help deciphering it.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“How good is your digi-code?” Izzy smiled.
“I think it’s the same as my locker combination from high school?” Tai nervously laughed.
“Nevermind.” Izzy chuckled. “Don’t worry Tai. Cracking the details and getting all our facts straight, that’s gonna be our job. But you certainly can help.”
“Name it.”
“Nail this interview. Try to get yourself established as a solid digital world emissary and we’ll go from there. The more formal ties we have, the better our foundation of trust with the digital world, and perhaps the more we can find out about how to get all of our digimon back.”
“Tai, do you need a suit?” Ken offered.
“Everyone’s so eager to dress me all of a sudden. You got a spare lying around?”
“There’s a tailor here in Odaiba who owes me a favor for helping him with an investigation. I’m sure he’d help us.”
“Wow, you’re a real super sleuth lately huh?” Tai praised.
“It was nothing; I just helped him uncover who was embezzling money from his business.” Ken nervously laughed.
“I’m the one who strung him up, quite literally.” Wormmon spoke up.
“What would I do without your instant handcuffs?” Ken praised, rubbing Wormmon’s head. Driving Tai home, he snuck in a quick shower, got changed into the only clean clothes he had left and drove with Izzy and Ken to the tailor. He managed to get him sized up rather swiftly and Tai found himself dressed in a rather nice dark blue suit with a dim orange tie.
“You clean up rather nicely.” Ken complimented.
“Thanks, I owe ya one.” Tai chuckled. Izzy dropped Tai off at the government office building in Shinjuku. “Thanks guys, wish me luck!” Tai waved as Izzy made haste to his own office. Tai checked his watch, he had a good twenty minutes before his interview. Walking through the threshold he was awestruck by the building. He took a good look over on the board to see what office he might have to head to when a female attendant approached him.
“Welcome to the Shinjuku Government building. Do you require assistance?”
“Hi, I’m here for an interview.” Tai replied, showing her the paperwork.
“Hmm?” She peered at it for a moment, adjusting her glasses. “I see, 45th floor, third door on the right. Mr. Yamada’s office.”
“Thank you.” Tai bowed, heading for the elevator. Hitting the button for the 45th floor, he began to feel more nervous. He didn’t really know what to expect, or why he was even chosen. He never applied for the position, so it was all nerve racking. As the elevator dinged at its destination, Tai stepped out following the attendants advice. He checked his watch and realized he was still about eight minutes early. Still, he stepped inside and greeted the receptionist.
“Oh, hello there.”
“Hello ma’am. I’m Tai Kamiya, I’m here for an interview with Mr. Yamada?” Tai politely bowed.
“Of course, welcome. He’s expecting you shortly, give me a moment.” She smiled. “Mr. Kamiya is here sir.”
“Good, send him in.” A rather gruff sounding voice replied. She got up and led Tai down a brief hallway and opened the office door for him. Inside the room was rather spacious with a crescent shaped couch and a single seat in the middle, along with a very large desk behind it near the window. Two men and a slightly younger woman were set on the larger couch and all three met Tai’s gaze as he walked in. “Please, have a seat Mr. Kamiya.” The eldest one invited, pointing to the chair.
“Thank you sir.” Tai bowed before setting himself down in the chair, doing his best to keep himself upright and formal. The oldest one seemed to be in his late 50’s and wore a white dress shirt and blue tie, along with off grey-black dress pants. He had graying hair on the sides of his head and black for the rest, and was a fair bit more hefty than his counterpart. The young man had short brown hair, along with brown eyes and seemed much more formal and rigid than the elder. He wore a grey jacket, with a blue dress shirt, black tie and pants that matched the jacket. The young woman however seemed a fair bit more relaxed, her light brown hair tied off at the back with a few strands dangling near her face. She wore slim black framed glasses in front of her blue eyes and her business dress was sheer black though quite form fitting for her.
“Welcome Mr. Kamiya. I’m Hanza Yamada.” The eldest one greeted. “To my left is Lee Kimura.”
“Hello.” He nodded.
“And Miss Jun Matsumoto.”
“Hello Mr. Kamiya.” She greeted with a smile.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Tai bowed from the chair.
“I have to say, Tai. Your resume is quite impressive.” Hanza praised, browsing his phone.
“Uh. With all due respect Mr. Yamada, I don’t recall applying here, but I’m grateful you’re willing to see me all the same.”
“Yes, I’m quite aware.” Hanza cleared his throat. “Sometimes our candidates come to us, other times like in your rare case, we seek them out. You have some impressive references. Mr. Mochizuki, a well established member of our government who helped oversee the digimon crisis seven years ago. Izzy Izumi, the president of Izumi industries. And a commendation from one of our honorable former members, god rest his soul, Daigo Nishijima.”
“Mr. Nishijima!” Tai exclaimed.
“You knew him well?” Lee questioned right away.
“I did. He was a great teacher, and a good mentor.” Tai hung his head for a moment.
“Well, that’s enough with the pleasantries. Miss Matsumoto?” Hanza gestured.
“Yes Mr. Yamada. Tai, according to our research on you, you’re a member of a team of digimon collaborators known as the digi-destined, are you not?”
“Yeah, I was.” Tai confessed.
“This is, past tense?” Lee spoke up, placing a pen on his lip.
“In a way. We can still travel to the digital world, and we know it like the back of our hand. But, well. For some of us, our digimon partners have vanished. Faded away because we grew out of our childhood.” Tai explained.
“And who was your partner?” Jun questioned.
“Agumon.”
“Hmm.” She pondered for a moment, but Lee decided to speak up.
“Our sources also tell us that you’re something of a key figure amongst the team, is that correct?”
“With all due respect sir, may I ask why you’d want to know?”
“Is there a trust concern?” Hanza spoke up.
“It’s not so much mistrust, just a form of caution. We’ve been the target of government agencies before, and it’s never gone well for all parties concerned.”
“I agree.” Lee spoke up. “In fact on one of our last collaborations it resulted in the loss of two perfectly good agents.”
“One of whom, was collaborating with an enemy to both worlds.” Tai was quick to answer.
“Lee, thank you.” Hanza spoke up. “You must forgive him. Daigo and Lee were good friends, though they worked in different departments.”
“Tai, allow us to be more forthright.” Jun said, placing her tablet down. “We’ve found that direct human intervention into the workings of digital world have not been fruitful, and often times have suffered with setbacks both costly and dangerous. Our weapons have been less than effective in deterring further incursions and worst of all, we have seen casualties of our armed forces.”
“However.” Hanza spoke up. “Whenever you and the other digi-destined show up, you seem capable of stopping even significantly grave threats to this world, and I can only imagine these dangers are abundant in the digital world as well.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“We’ve decided to step back.” Lee said, turning away for a moment. “Clearly a human approach is failing, and someone with intimate knowledge of the digital world is needed.”
“With that in mind, we’ve decided to reach out to you.” Jun agreed.
“And whom better than the leader of the digi-destined.” Hanza smiled. Tai looked shocked for a moment before recoiling to the chair.
“I see.” Tai sighed. Hanza grumbled a moment, taking out a cigar and lighting it.
“Do I take it you’re not interested.” He asked.
“It’s not that sir. But if you’re sincere about this, about extending an olive branch here. I have some ground rules.” Tai started to find some courage in his voice.
“Ground rules?” Lee spoke up. “You think you can come in here and-“
“Silence, Lee. Let the young man speak.” Hanza cut him off.
“The digital world and ours exist together, but they aren’t meant to be some playground or vacation destination. They’re a sovereign entity and the forces at work within it don’t want human occupation in any way shape or form.”
“Occupation was never on the table.” Hanza agreed.
“Another thing. Digimon are not toys, pets, or weapons to be used in disguise. While their powers are vast, they are very human in their ambitions, dreams and desires. They can be as selfless as our greatest heroes, or as cruel as our worst tyrants, it all depends on the individual digimon themselves. Still the level of compassion they show is akin to ours, along with their capabilities.”
“Such as destruction?” Lee cut in.
“Are we much better?” Tai turned to him. “We have killers, wars and monsters of our own. So do they.”
“Well spoken.” Jun complimented.
“If we’re going to do this in earnest, we should start by opening more formal lines of communication with the very beings that help govern their world.”
“And you know whom these beings are?” Hanza questioned eagerly.
“Yeah. I know them really well. We had a chance to speak with one of them the other night. To say our own lines of communication are open to them is an understatement.” Hanza sat back in the chair and took a good long drag from his cigar. After a few moments, he laughed and tapped the ashes off into the trey on the table.
“I knew I liked you. The moment you walked in, you looked like a little spark, and now I see the flames. You’ve got passion, motivation, and most of all you’re loyal, as indicated by your friends.”
“Thank you sir.” Tai politely bowed.
“Tai, our goal here is simple.” Jun began to explain. “We wish to reduce, or remove the hostile incursions of digimon into our world. Emphasis on the hostile.”
“There’s an air of fear and panic among the population regarding digimon and we want to instill a sense of confidence in the people that their government is doing all it can to protect them from violent attacks.” Hanza explained. “Our desire is to calm public concerns and keep their focus on their daily lives.” Jun took her turn to speak after.
“Your department would be in charge of establishing, and maintaining good relations with the digital world though whatever means or entities you seek. When you go there next, you’d be representing the interests of Japan.”
“Kind of like a diplomat, huh?” Tai smiled.
“Precisely.” Hanza agreed. Dusting off his pants, he rose to his feet and walked over to Tai’s chair. “Mr. Kamiya, your government calls for your aide, will you answer?” He asked, extending his hand. Tai smiled and shook his hand.
“Is it too late to ask for an office with a view?” He nervously smiled.
“Hahaha! Spirit! I like it. Miss Matsumoto, if you would please.” He invited.
“Certainly. Tai, follow me.” Jun lead the way out the door. Lee watched as the two left with a scowl on his face, turning away as Mr. Yamada looked back to him.
“This is no time for petty jealousies, Mr.Kimura. Japan has enough issues as it is, if we can quell this digimon problem, all the better.” He reminded him. Jun lead him down through the hallway back to the elevator.
“I’m glad you’re on board with us. We often find we know less than we’d like when dealing with digimon. Someone of your experience will likely be a key asset.”
“Thanks. I just hope I’m up for the job.” Tai said, following her into the elevator. She hit the button for the 40th floor and waited.
“I think you’ll do fine. You won’t be working alone after all.”
“Oh, are you working with me?” Tai questioned.
“No, I’m Mr. Yamada’s liaison. I’m basically a glorified assistant. We’ve been searching for suitable candidates and thankfully, it turns out we had one right under our noses. She’s well educated, a digi-destined and her family is already quite well involved with the government, so she has a sense of how things work here. In areas you might struggle, she’ll be a good support for you to lean on. And if you’re the leader of the digi-destined, well. I think she’ll lean on you for issues in the digital world.” Jun explained.
“Who is she?” Tai asked, as the elevator door opened. Jun walked ahead, passed two small desks. Both were currently empty, but hints of staff were there in the form of paperwork and a name plate on one of the desks. Pushing open the double doors, Tai found himself in a rather spacious office of his own. Two desks were placed on either side near the back end with a window behind it. In the middle of the room was a large square couch that surrounded a glass coffee table, and on either side of the black marbled walls was a small bar with water, drinks and some basic sandwiches and snacks stored in a mini-fridge. “Whoa, check it out.”
“Tai!?” A familiar voice called out from behind the desk on the right. Leaping up from her chair, Tai couldn’t believe his eyes. It was Meiko Mochizuki, dressed in a red-lined black top with a bow tied in the middle and black skirt. She even wore her hair the same as it was back in high school.
“Meiko!” He cheered. Jumping up on the desk another familiar face joined in.
“Tai! It’s you!” Meicoomon laughed, waving with both paws.
“Meicoomon! Meiko! Wow it’s so good to see you again!” Tai rushed over and scooped her up for a hug. Meicoomon jumped in and joined in the hug as well.
“Tai, not at work!” She shyly winced.
“But Tai’s a good friend we haven’t seen in a while!” Meicoomon spoke up.
“Meicoomon, how are you?” Tai asked, clasping her paws.
“I’ve been doing great! Hahaha!”
“Meicoomon’s digi-egg reappeared not long after our Christmas phone call that year.” Meiko explained.
“Wha! For real?”
“Mmhmm. Mei and I have been doing a lot of different training now. We’ve been learning meditation, yoga, we even been overcoming Meicoomon’s separation anxiety.”
“Yeah, I’ve been getting super healthy and calm. I don’t even remember the last time I got mad or scared of something.” Meicoomon chuckled. Jun walked over and fit herself in to the conversation.
“I’m sensing a little history here.” She smiled.
“Yeah, Meiko and I met years ago. We’ve been trying our best to keep in touch but.”
“Yeah.” Meiko shied away.
“Life can get in the way like that sometimes.”
“Oh! Meiko, do you remember that incident with Eosmon?”
“Hm?” She thought for a moment. “Oh yeah, I remember that. Those terrifying butterfly digimon that attacked us. It felt like a strange dream. I even felt like I could see you there.”
“Wasn’t a dream, but we can talk more about that later.” Tai assured her.
“Tai!” Meicoomon tugged at his pants.
“Hey, what’s up little lady.”
“Where’s Agumon? I wanna say hi. I really miss him. Is he back in Izzy’s server?”
“Well. I.” Tai stammered.
“Why don’t you two catch up for a while?” Jun cut in. “Tai, feel free to tour your office, I’ll have some brunch sent up along with your orientation guide.”
“Thanks.” Tai bowed.
“Tai? Did. Did something happen to Agumon?” Meiko asked as Jun left.
“Yeah.” Tai said softly. “He’s gone. Vanished right beside me, and left me with only this.” He explained, taking out the stone digivice. Meiko gasped and covered her mouth.
“Oh Tai, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have said anything! I should have figured something was wrong when you came in all alone.” Meiko bowed.
“Don’t start that again.” He smiled. “You didn’t know, it’s ok.”
“Oh Agumon.” Meicoomon moaned.
“He missed you a lot Meicoomon. I’m sure if he were here... Well.” Tai thought for a moment.
“Hmm?”
“Well if Agumon were here, he’d probably be eating every ounce of food over in that fridge first, and then say hi to you.” He laughed, trying to lighten the mood. It worked enough for Meicoomon to laugh alongside him.
“So, Tai, are we going to be working together?” Meiko asked.
“Yeah. Digi-world emissaries. Now that I know you’re here, we got this covered no sweat.” Tai smiled with a thumbs up. “Hey! We should take a picture.” Meiko gasped but Meicoomon jumped for joy on the desk.
“Yeah! A picture! I love pictures!”
“Here! Scrunch in!” Tai insisted, pulling Meiko close to him with Meicoomon in the middle. “Smile!” Meicoomon threw up two peace signs with the biggest smile she could make while Meiko bashfully half smiled blushing cheek to cheek and Tai showcased his usual toothy grin. In a snap he took the photo with his phone and opened it up. “Check us out guys, the new digi-emissaries.” Tai captioned it and immediately started sharing it off to everyone in the group. Tai strolled over to his new desk and started checking everything out. He had his own desktop and dual monitor work station. A company phone on the table charging from a power block nearby. An assortment of stationary and a notebook. Inside was a list of default passwords he could use to sign in to the various programs he’d likely have to use and closed it up with a smile.
“The first day’s always kind of rough.” Meiko smiled, cautiously approaching his desk. “If you need any help getting settled, just ask.”
“You’ve done this job for a while?”
“Not this particular one, no. But father brought me in on government work not too long after my eighteenth birthday.” Meiko explained.
“That’s awesome, yeah it’ll be a big help. How has Meicoomon been doing, for real. Everything ok?” Tai asked more sympathetically.
“Well yeah, after she was reborn it took her a few months to reach her champion state again. But this time rather than allowing my father to run experiments on her, we opted instead to do some more focus training. She’s even learned how to digivolve into Meicrackmon without succumbing to darkness.”
“She shouldn’t be plagued by that anymore. We found out not long after, that she had been infected by some kind of shard of Apocalymon.” Tai explained.
“Yeah, we found that out too. Apparently, Hackmon told my father about that, and never bothered to share that with me. He feels really embarrassed about it.” Meiko sighed, reflecting on that conversation.
“What’s with her eyes? They used to look like X’s before.” Tai noted, seeing Meicoomon with more rounded pupils this time.
“Oh, that was because of the shard. She still does that, flexes her pupils like a real cat and they’ll take that shape, but only when she’s angry. To be honest, I rarely ever see her do that anymore.” Meiko giggled, covering her mouth.
“Hey Tai!” Meicoomon spoke up, bounding onto his desk.
“Heya, how you feeling little lady?” Tai smiled, patting her head.
“So relieved. I get to work with Meiko, and now that you’re here too. I feel really really happy.” She smiled.
“Meicoomon, I’m.” Tai stammered, lowering his head. “I’m so sorry.”
“Huh?” Meicoomon tipped her head.
“We really tried to save you all those years ago. But what we did, what we had to do.” Tai tried to say, but was struggling to find the words. Meiko found herself silent as well. “Can you ever forgive me?”
“Oh.” Meicoomon moaned, leaping into his lap, she rested her paws on his shoulders. “I was really lost, Tai. I couldn’t hear you or Meiko or anyone. It was really scary. I hurt a lot of people too.”
“So, you don’t hate me?” Tai whispered. Meiko gasped, and was about to speak but Meicoomon threw up her paw and shook her head.
“I don’t hate you Tai. I came back didn’t I? It hurt to go away, but now that I’m back home, and I’m feeling better, and I’m learning to control all this power I have. I feel like I’m ok. You stopped me from hurting more people.” She smiled. Clasping her paws together she tipped her head and bowed. “Dandan.” Meiko shuddered and started to cry.
“Meicoomon.” Tai even let a tear escape and pulled Meicoomon in for a hug. “Thank you.” He whispered.
“It’s ok, Tai. And Meiko, don’t cry. Besides, we got a new job to do.”
“That’s right. We’re emissaries now.” Meiko agreed, wiping her eyes.
“Mm-mmm.” Meicoomon shook her head, leaping off of Tai’s lap. “We gotta save Agumon.”
