Disclaimer: Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v1.2: Another Digimon Adventure is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

Pre-Author's Notes: Hey folks! I haven't done one of these in a while but felt something had to be addressed. This chapter makes me nervous. I literally don't know how this chapter will be received and that is scary. You guys will either love it or hate it. All the same, this is the final chapter of The Tamer v1.2 - Another Digimon Adventure. And this story has been building up to this final chapter. It will set up the rest of the story I have planned, but I also expect to lose some readers after the fact. Now for a quick anonymous review response:

Krusa1: I appreciate the enthusiasm and don't disagree, but this story doesn't focus on the Royal Knights. They will appear, but in the way Magnamon, Omnimon, and Imperialdramon have appeared. They're there, they're recognized as Royal Knights, and it's left at that.

I won't delay the chapter any more. Let's dive in.

The Tamer v1.2: Another Digimon Adventure

Chapter 51: The Prophecy Fulfilled, The Promise Kept

It should have ended then and there. It could have. All MaloMyotismon had to do was bring his massive claw straight down onto any one of the digidestined. But that's not how it played out. A split second before he would've killed the goggle wearing hero, ExVeemon grabbed hold of him and zipped out from under him. At that exact moment, the other digidestined heroes scattered in different directions. MaloMyotismon grit his teeth, "How!? You were trapped in an illusion within an illusion! How did you escape!?"

"You shouldn't have made Kari my girlfriend is how!" Davis spat back.

"Wait, is that what happened? How could you turn that down?" Yolei asked with wide eyed disbelief.

"Can we talk about this later?" Davis grumbled, switching his attention to Ken, "Ready partner?"

"Ready!" Ken raised his digivice. The others followed their lead, relieved to be free from MaloMyotismon's illusory control, and watched as their partners leapt ahead.

"ExVeemon! Stingmon! DNA Digivolve to! Paildramon!"

"Aquilamon! Gatomon! DNA Digivolve to! Silphymon!"

"Paildramon! Digivolve to! Imperialdramon!"

"Ankylomon! Angemon! DNA Digivolve to! Shakkoumon!"

"Imperialdramon! Mode Shift to! Imperialdramon Fighter Mode!"

MaloMyotismon braced himself just as Imperialdramon charged at him. They locked arms as the two tried to push each other back, leaving Silphymon free to run in from the side and roundhouse kick him from the back. MaloMyotismon was unsteadied, and that made it easier for Imperialdramon to lift him over head and throw him. That gave Shakkoumon an opening to catch him mid air and spin him around quickly.

At the peak of his spin, Shakkoumon released MaloMyotismon and sent him flying backwards through the air. Once he was a good distance away, Davis raised his digivice over head, "Alright y'guys! Now let's get out of here! DIGIPORT OPEN!"

A tear appeared ahead of them that led straight out into a barren plain. That was their destination - the Digital World. Davis looked back at the others and shouted, "Alright, let's get out of here!"

Oikawa and the kids he abducted were still. They made no attempt to run for the exit, like they wanted to stay. Kari asked, "Why aren't you guys moving? We have to get out of here!"

"Why? What's the point," one of the kids replied. Davis groaned, "What do you mean what's the point? We're trying to get away from the baddest digimon there ever was! That's the point! Now come on!"

Another began, "We don't deserve t-"

They were interrupted by TK suddenly picking two of the smallest one up. He started running for the tear, "We really don't have time to talk about this! Everyone run!"

Silphymon appeared beside some of the kids, gathering as many as she could in her arms before running towards the gate. This prompted the rest of them to follow suit, grabbing one of the kids and heading for the gate. Ken shouted, "Imperialdramon! Shakkoumon! Hold Myotismon back until we're through the gate!"

Imperialdramon and MaloMyotismon were locked again, pushing as hard as they could while refusing to surrender an inch. Through the fighting, Imperialdramon shouted, "We're working on it! This guy is a lot stronger than he looks!"

Shakkoumon took that moment to jump in and blast MaloMyotismon from behind, "Then let us help! Justice Beam!"

The blast knocked MaloMyotismon to the ground, inches away from Oikawa who was still frozen in shock, "I did this. I helped this thing. This wasn't what I wanted! I couldn't have done this!"

MaloMyotismon growled as he pushed himself back up, "Are you still here, Oikawa? Hmph. You're nothing but a puppet that's outlived it's usefulness. Now die!"

Oikawa gasped as MaloMyotismon brought his claw down on him, certain he was going to die until Shakkoumon rammed him at full force, "Leave him alone!"

MaloMyotismon grit his teeth, "Why do you care about him? Don't you understand! HE BROUGHT ME BACK!"

He was answered by Imperialdramon sweeping his legs so that he landed face first on the ground, "So what if he did? He only did it because you were using him! So who's the real bad guy? It sounds like it's you!"

Oikawa stared up in disbelief to see the digimon partners of the children he'd been harassing coming to his rescue. Then he felt a tug on his shoulder, turning to see Cody trying to pull him on, "Come on Oikawa! We have to get out of here!"

"I…I can't," Oikawa answered meekly, still too frozen in terror by what he'd seen and what he'd personally had a hand in, "I don't deserve to be rescued. I caused this. Leave me Cody. Be better than I was. "

"Punish yourself later by trying to make up for it," Cody answered, wrapping both his arms around Oikawa to try and pull him towards the gate, "We have to get out of here while there's still time! Come on!"

Oikawa was taken aback by Cody's determination. After all he'd done, Cody seemed intent on helping him get to safety. It just didn't make sense, "Why?"

"Let's just say Myotismon's illusion gave me some perspective," Cody stated, "Now come on!"

Hearing Cody say those words brought him back to the old days - when he was just a child playing with his best friend Hiroki. In many ways, it seemed Cody had taken after his father. What would Hiroki, the real Hiroki, say if he were here to witness how pathetic and miserable he was? He'd probably slap him on the back and tell him to get up - that this wasn't the time to be lying around or be shown up. He felt a small smile draw itself on his face and Oikawa finally managed to push himself up, "You're right. Let's go."

He followed Cody and they rushed to retreat through the gate into the Digital World. The others were already on the other side waiting for them to catch up when Shakkoumon came flying from behind them, crashing through the gate and landing in the Digital World. Both Cody and Oikawa looked back to see Imperialdramon starting to lose ground to MaloMyotismon, but still fighting back with everything that he had. As Imperialdramon began to buckle, he shouted, "Guys! Run! I can't hold him much longer! He's just too strong!"

"You heard him! Run!" Yolei shouted at them. It was now or never as Cody and Oikawa picked up the pace. They ran as fast as they could away from the two fighting digimon before Oikawa picked up Cody, "Sorry, but my legs are longer and I run faster!"

Cody didn't complain as Oikawa made his way through the gate, coming out onto a barren, empty flat desert land scape. In the distance, Cody could make out the vague outline of a control spire - one that they'd missed when they were tearing them down. And by the looks of it, it was around long enough to absorb all the life from this part of the Digital World. It was dark now. Or so it seemed until Cody looked up to see the Real World just over head. The sight of it brought back memories from years ago, "Why is the Real World in the sky again?"

"It must've been because of me," Oikawa shook as he saw it, "I forced open a gate to the Digital World. It was a brute force method, weakening the barrier between the worlds. It was like getting into a house by crashing a car through a wall."

Before Cody could take the time to scrutinize Oikawa's guilt, Imperialdramon came flying from behind them and crashed beside the rest of the digidestined. MaloMyotismon came running towards the gate, hoping to get through before it closed on him forever and left him stranded. Silphymon ran ahead, concentrating a ball of electricity in her hand while shouting, "Why isn't this gate closing? We can't let him get back through! STATIC FORCE!"

The attack hit its mark but did little to actually slow MaloMyotismon down as he continued his rampage towards the gate. Silphymon readied more balls of electricity, firing them as quickly as she could produce them while shouting, "STATIC FORCE! STATIC FORCE!"

Each strike hit MaloMyotismon in the chest but did little to actually slow him down as he continued charging forward towards them. In desperation, Silphymon positioned herself so that she was ready to hit back with her strongest kick just as MaloMyotismon managed to take his first step through the gate. With that first step, Silphymon spun in place and delivered a kick as strong as she could summon.

Then promptly bounced back towards the rest of the digidestined as MaloMyotismon continued unabated straight into the Digital World. He smiled triumphantly, "I'm so very disappointed in you Gatomon. Did you honestly think you could stop me? I fought the Ancients themselves and rendered worlds asunder! What could you possibly do against me that those before you couldn't?"

"Well, for starters," Silphymon chocked out, before running back at the mega, "We've actually beaten you before."

MaloMyotismon growled, "I'm going to enjoy killing you, my little traitor. But first, there are other matters to attend to."

He threw Silphymon aside and stepped past the digidestined so that he was the center of the barren field that they'd landed in. He gestured around them, "Do you know what this is digidestined? This is the work of the control spires - absorbing the life energy of the Digital World to use as power. Power that only I may now wield!"

He threw up his hands, drawing in a dark miasma between that crawled from every direction possible. It wasn't hard to follow one of the trails back towards the control spire. TK called out to his partner, "Shakkoumon!"

"I'm on it!" the large digimon answered, tackling MaloMyotismon as hard as he could. Then he started slamming his arms into the mega before firing a blast of energy, "Justice Beam!'"

The blasts of red light bounced off MaloMyotismon - failing to hurt him any more than it had before. MaloMyotismon answered the attack by kicking Shakkoumon as hard as he could, throwing the digimon off and continuing to summon energy over his head. Watching Shakkoumon fail to hurt the mega at all didn't lend any confidence to the spore children, "It's hopeless."

"He's too strong now. Because of us."

"This is our fault."

TK heard their words and countered, "Guys, don't talk like that! This is what Myotismon feeds off of! You can't give in like this."

"What else can we do?" one of the kids asked, "It's not like we have digimon of our own that we can help out with."

"Digimon," Cody repeated quietly, looking from the children to Davis and then to MaloMyotismon, "Is that what it meant?"

"Cody, what are you thinking?" Yolei asked as he continued muttering. Cody produced his digivice and examined it carefully, turning it over in his hand. Without realizing, he spoke his thoughts aloud, "The prophecy thing said a million points of light, right? A million points of light in the dark. Our digivices hurt Dragomon back when he showed up at Christmas. What if…what if the digivices are the million points of light and we need to bring them all here?"

Davis rolled his eyes in disbelief, "Oh come on, Cody. Where are we going to get…a million…digivices…"

Davis paused as he seemed to finally catch onto what Cody was thinking. It was a stretch to say there were a million digidestined out there like themselves. But there was no denying that there was a lot of them. Maybe that was all it would take. Davis flipped his digivice in the air as he understood what had to be done and didn't hesitate to hold his digivice out, "It's never been a problem before. Digiport Open!"

A tear appeared in front of them - and through it they could make out the living room of an upper New York apartment. Mimi's apartment. Mimi and Palmon were sitting on their couch with Michael and Betamon; all four on the edge of their seats as the news played about the Digital World in the sky. Davis's jaw fell open as he pointed at them, "Mimi? What are you guys doing?"

She jumped up upon seeing them, "What are we doing? Why are you blocking the news? Wait, no! Never mind that! Are you guys in the Digital World, right now? Why is it in the sky? And how is...is that MYOTISMON!?"

"Uh...yeah," Davis nodded sheepishly upon seeing the fire in Mimi's eyes. She stood up from the couch and made her way through the portal, "Michael! Get the fireworks from my bedroom! All of them! Palmon, we have an ass to kick."

"I'm right behind you Mimi!" Palmon announced as she followed her partner through the gate. Davis stammered as he followed them back out, "What are you planning? Why do you need fireworks?"

Mimi scanned around the Digital World, her face contorted into anger, "You'll see. Can someone please take out that control spire?"

"Uh, yeah," TK answered, whistling to get Shakkoumon's attention, "Shakkoumon! Take out the control spire!"

"On it. JUSTICE BEAM!" the large mechanical doll fired at the control spire, cracking its surface until it shattered. Without a second's hesitation, Mimi raised up her digivice and Palmon began, "Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

Then a green light overtook her, "Togemon! Digivolve to! Lillymon!"

Lillymon took off to join Imperialdramon as he grappled with MaloMyotismon, shouting, "HEY! REMEMBER ME!?"

MaloMyotismon turned in time to see Lillymon sucker punch him in the face, spinning the mega in place and leaving him open for Silphymon and Shakkoumon to pin him down. At that moment, Michael and Betamon ran through the portal holding several large boxes, "Okay. What are you thinking Mimi?"

"Here's a better question: Why do you have that many fireworks!?" Davis gaped aloud as Michael dropped the box down and took out a large rocket. Mimi grabbed it from him and set it on the ground, aiming in straight at MaloMyotismon, "We live in America and it's New Year's. Where wasn't I going to find fireworks? HEY MYOTISMON!"

The large digimon turned in her direction, still in a stupor from Lillymon's sucker punch. Mimi lit the fuse on the rocket and smiled, "Let's see how YOU like a HOLE in your chest!"

MaloMyotismon looked down at the rocket planted firmly by her feet, but didn't seem to register what it was until after it took off his way. It struck him hard in the chest and exploded into a rainbow of light, before exploding again with a second set of lights. MaloMyotismon screamed in pain while Mimi cheered, "THAT WAS FOR MY MOM!"

"I guess that's one way to interpret a million points of lights," Silphymon commented, turning to the others, "What are you guys waiting for? Let's get the others out here! Heck, let's shoot more fireworks at him while we're at it!"

The digidestined quickly exchanged nods and held their digivices out, "DIGIPORT OPEN!"

Six more gates opened around them leading to Australia, France, Japan, Colorado, Mexico, and China. And through each, they saw someone's bedroom or living room - either digidestined or one of their family members. The first familiar face they saw was Willis running off his couch with Terriermon and Lopmon in tow, "What the hell? What are you guys doing in my living room?"

"Moumantai…but trouble didn't usually follow when you guys show up," Terriermon commented, "So what is this time?"

Davis answered nonchalantly, "World ending evil, trying to destroy the Digital World and the Real World. Wanna lend us a hand?"

"After you guys helped us out and saved my sister? Of course," Terriermon replied, "Right guys?"

"Let's go!" Willis said, following his two partners as they ran ahead. His digivice sang to life and his partners called out.

"Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

"Lopmon! Digivolve to! Wendigomon!"

The two digimon led the charge ahead just as the first the digidestined came through - Sora and Biyomon, Matt and Gabumon, Catherine and Floramon, Tina and Centarumon, Bella and Mikemon, the Poi brothers and their Syakomon."

"Is anyone going to tell us what's going on?" Tina asked. Her partner Centarumon answered, "It seems we are a part of another prophecy involving the digidestined and the fate of the Digital World. Which one is this? The dark one from before the beginning? The million points of light? No, wait. Is this the one about the traitor? I made a bet with Tamer a long time ago that it turns out it'll be one of the Royal Knights!"

Ken interrupted, "The million points of light one. We should ask you about the rest of those prophecies later on. It'd be useful to know what we're up against."

Just as the none Japanese speaking digidestined began to talk, Cody activated the translator on his digivice that let them all communicate in time for Catherine to ask, "Can anyone repeat what they're saying in French?"

"Why French? It sounds like we're all speaking pretty good Spanish to me," Bella replied, before pointing at Catherine, "You do have that weird accent? Wait, are you French? Your Spanish is amazing!"

"What are you all talking about? That's Cantonese!" the eldest Poi pointed out for them until Tina replied, "All I hear is Japanese. It's kinda weird but it works."

"What are you talking about?" Bella replied, until Cody whistled to get their attention. Then he explained, "Hey! It was me. I used my digivice to translate what you guys are saying. Now you all should understand each other."

"Our digivices let us all speak Japanese?" Tina looked down at hers, flipping it over curiously. This in turn led the others to look down at their digivices with the same confusion. Mikemon frowned, "That's a new twist. Although as long Bella doesn't start calling herself The Cat again."

"Wait, is that what The Cat meant?" Michael asked, only to pause, "Wait. I was trying to say The Cat. The Cat. Why can't I say The Cat?"

"The digivice is auto translating everything you say," Cody explained, "I guess forcing yourself to say something in another language still autotranslates. Can we focus? MaloMyotismon is trying to destroy the Digital World and Real World. We opened the gates because we needed help."

Matt ran a hand through his hair, "Guess that prophecy was true. Okay, let's go kick some butt Gabumon!"

"We'll go too, right Sora?" Biyomon cheered. Sora nodded and held out her digivice, "Let's go, Biyomon!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Gabumon! Warp Digivolve to! MetalGarurumon!"

"Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garudamon!"

"Mikemon! Digivolve to! Beastmon!"

"Floramon! Digivolve to! Kiwimon!"

"Syakomon! Digivolve to! Octomon!"

Together, they all ran ahead and TK shouted, "Come on! Let's get everyone else!"

More gates were opened into the Real World, allowing the digidestined to get help from the remaining digidestined. After a quick explanation to everyone they recruited, they soon had everyone they'd met during their international excursion present to help fight back the dangerous MaloMyotismon. From where they were standing, they could tell that the mega was being overwhelmed with the number of digimon slamming into him. This coupled with everyone grabbing a firework from Mimi's box helped to light up the darkened Digital World in brilliant light. And as they all helped, their digivices began to shine.

"Gargo Pellets!"

"Koko Crusher!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Flower Cannon"

"Static Force!"

"Justice Beam!"

"Solar Ray!"

"Witch Harp!"

"Spurting Ink!"

"Aerial Attack!"

"Positron Laser!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

The twinkle of light from their digivices. The shine from their digimon partner's attacks. The glow of a the fireworks as they exploded. Together, they illuminated the field against the dark miasma MaloMyotismon was trying to summon in his hands above his head. And as it grew, an overwhelming dread began to overtake them. It made them attack more, trying their hardest to stop him from doing whatever he was doing. Once the cloud of dark energy in his hands was large enough, Myotismon opened his mouth to inhale the entire miasma.

While he was distracted, Silphymon ran up to kick him in the face and bounced away harmlessly. Imperialdramon and MetalGarurumon combined their attacks - firing a blast of energy mixed with an array of missiles that erupted into a cloud of fire. Everyone was sure he was beaten until the mega charged out of the smoke to punch Imperialdramon in the face, then grabbed MetalGarurumon to throw him at Shakkoumon.

MaloMyotismon's voice boomed as he growled, "You fools, digidestined. Did you think you could actually do anything to harm me? I have the power of the control spires and the dark spores at my command!"

He roared again, opening his mouth to spew back out the black miasma, "SCREAMING DARKNESS!"

All the digimon retreated away from the fog as it spread - unwilling to get too close and find out what exactly would happen if they even let it touch them. This didn't deter Mimi and Michael from continuing to launch their fireworks into the miasma.

The two disappeared into the dark mist, illuminating MaloMyotismon's outline when it exploded. The mega level digimon roared and came charging out, "Why do you flee, digidestined? Weren't you going to stop me? Do your worst! FACE ME!"

"FLOWER CANNON!" Lillymon fired her cannon at MaloMyotismon - striking him in the chest ineffectually. MaloMyotismon cackled and made his way towards her, unharmed by her attack and dead set on his next target. Lillymon yelped and retreated away, covered by the combined attacks of Centarumon, Octomon, and Shakkoumon. MaloMyotismon charged past them, continuing after the small pixie while mocking, "Stop running from your fate and accept your death! You couldn't save your partner's mother. You cant even save yourself!"

He was stopped by another firework exploding at his feet. He followed its trajectory back to Mimi who snapped, "Don't you dare touch her!"

MaloMyotismon laughed, "And the human comes to the partner's rescue. Is she really so ineffective?"

"SHUT UP!" Mimi roared, firing another firework at MaloMyotismon's wounded chest. He screamed in pain, giving Lillymon and Mimi the chance they needed to run to safety. As she ran, Noriko moaned, "Why are you still trying to fight him? Don't you get it? You can't beat him. He absorbed BlackWarGreymon, Arukenimon, Mummymon…and he has the power from the control spires and our dark spores."

Annoyed, Davis argued back, "Stop talking like that! All those bad feelings of yours are what's feeding him!"

"What are we supposed to do?" Noriko moaned, "Believe that you guys can beat him? Yeah right."

"Why not? We got out of his nightmare," TK pointed out as he jumped into the conversation, "If we can beat him in a world where he wrote the rules, how could we lose in a world where he doesn't? We can beat him!"

"Then why haven't you?" Noriko asked simply. Both TK and Davis were at a loss about how to answer that question, looking back and beginning to contemplate how correct Noriko was. Before they could think of an answer to their statement, Ken joined them to say, "I understand how you guys feel. All of you. But the important thing is…not to give in to that overwhelming dread eating away at the back of your mind."

A boy in the background frowned, "Yeah right. Why should we listen to you?"

Ken frowned, "Because the dark spore that's infected all of you came from me, remember? Oikawa placed it there. Those negative feelings that you've been having…they're fueling MaloMyotismon. I can't…get it out of you. But I think you can use it to help us beat Myotismon."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Noriko asked skeptically, "We don't even have digimon!"

"You don't need digimon," Ken answered.

"That's easy for you to say. You have a digimon partner," another one of the affected children groaned. Ken nodded his understanding but went on, "But that's the beauty of it! You don't need a digimon to hurt Myotismon. You just need to…"

He paused, realizing what he was doing. That wasn't what he wanted to do, "Look, I don't want to use you guys. Not the way I was used. That would make me worse than the things I was trying to stand against. But…the way to beating this is to not let that fear control you."

He paused when he saw the quizzical looks he was being give. He should've known it would t make sense at first. He went on, "What I did…made me a real piece of shit. Even if I was doing it with the best of intentions, that didn't justify any of it. But I didn't let that failing define me. Believe me, I wanted to give up and just let whatever happened happen. But I didn't."

"Then what did you do?" Noriko asked. Ken gestured to the rest of the digidestined, "I tried to be better. You guys can be too."

"And how do we do that?"

"Don't give up!" Davis answered for Ken, "Don't give up on everything you've ever wanted just because it seems like it's far away. Hell, I know it'll be an uphill battle to try and get a date with Kari but I'm not giving up!"

That bold faced declaration took only the children and the non Japanese digidestined off guard. For him to admit that was equal parts brave and embarassing. Not just for him but definitely for Kari as well. His declaration was undermined only by the fact that he added, "Then, we're gonna get married and open up a ramen shop!"

"Wait, ramen?" Ken repeated stupidly, "You want to open a ramen shop?"

"Or a bakery," he shrugged, "Both are good. I like good food, what can I say?"

"I wouldn't call ramen good food," TK frowned, leading Davis to turn on him, "Oh, and what's your big goal in life?"

TK put a hand to his chin and mulled it over, "Well, I was thinking about becoming a writer like my mom. You know, journalism or something like that. How about you Ken?"

Ken scratched his head, "I think I wanted to be a detective a long time ago. It's been so long since I thought about something other than trying to change destiny that I don't really remember."

"With how smart you are, you'd make a great one!" Davis nodded approvingly, before turning his attention to the spore children, "How about you guys? There has to have been something you wanted to be!"

"Well, I'd always wanted to be a preschool teacher," Noriko admitted sheepishly. Kari appeared at her side, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Me too. Either that or teach in elementary."

"I wanted to do comics," one boy said in the background.

"And I wanted to be a doctor," another added.

"I always wanted to be a baseball player."

"I thought it'd be cool to own a bakery. I love the smell of fresh bread."

Unbeknownst to the children, Myotismon began to cringe in pain as they each listed off what their dream in life was. And with each dream listed, Myotismon began to falter - making it easier for the partner digimon to fight him on more even footing. Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon took advantage of this to lift him into the air just to throw back into the ground. The mega digimon caught himself, trying to move to safety but feeling his body weaken with each moment. Then Zudomon jumped in to strike him with his hammer.

He screamed in agony while the other digimon fired away at him. Between the attacks, he saw the spore children regaining their hope and roared, "No. I will not be defeated by this pathetic fate. I WILL NOT DIE HERE!"

He charged at Davis, planning on snuffing out this small glimmer of hope and courage that he was helping foster. This boy…he broke them all out of his illusions and was now empowering the spore children. That had to end. This was not where he wanted to die. Just as he was about to stab the boy in the chest, Davis spun around. MaloMyotismon relished that look of fear on his face, and would have relished it more if he hadn't been pushed out of harm's way by Ken.

Silence fell, broken only by the crack and slick squelch of MaloMyotismon's claw passing through Ken. When MaloMyotismon's hand retreated from the boy's gut, Ken sank to his knees and collapsed. He gasped for breath, trying to keep himself upright but drowning in his own blood as it poured its way up his throat.

"NO!" Yolei shrieked in terror, finally breaking the silence as she ran to his side to make sure he was okay. The boy was just barely able to recognize her. The light in his eyes grew dimmer as his eyes went out of focus.

"KEN!" Imperialdramon shouted. MaloMyotismon laughed, feeling the energy come running back as despair refilled the hearts of the spore children, "Do you see now? None can oppose me! Surrender digidestined!"

Digidestined and digimon alike kept their distance from MaloMyotismon - weary of making the next move as MaloMyotismon howled victoriously. That surge of power he felt was incomparable. Nothing could stop him now - none of these digidestined could! He would have enjoyed it more, if another flash of light didn't appear beside him. He turned his attention towards it and saw a tear in reality with two figures making their way out. The two he wanted to see more than anything now that he was unbeatable, "Digimon Tamer. WarGreymon. I was wondering when you two would grace us with your presence. But you're too late! Nothing can stop m-"

"SHUT UP! I'LL DEAL WITH YOU IN A MINUTE!" Tamer shouted at the top of his lungs so loud that MaloMyotismon was taken aback. He pointed a warning finger too, as if he were threatening the giant digimon before turning away with a big smile on his face towards the spore children. And his arrival returned that glimmer of hope MaloMyotismon had been trying to kill. Already, he could feel his powers waning.

Kari wasn't sure how to react upon seeing her brother again, casually walking towards her with a big goofy grin on his face and his hands in his pockets. He stopped just short of her and smiled, "Kari! You're a lot taller than I expected you to be. It really did take you...never mind that. You're looking good. A lot better than last time and not as sick. Better than that, you guys have been doing great!"

Kari was pleased to hear this praise, but somehow indifferent to it. She'd wanted nothing more than to have her brother back. And here he was. And she honestly couldn't care less. Maybe it was the bad timing, but she couldn't bring herself to give him the hug she'd always wanted to give him.

"Any way, we can talk more in a minute," He turned his attention to Davis, "Hey Davis. Good work. I was worried for a second but you really pulled through, y'know? You really were amazing!"

"Where the hell have you been?" Davis asked him, "No, forget that. You have to help Ken! He's-"

"That's why I'm here," Tamer interrupted, making his way to Ken's side, "Hey there Wotkin. You've seen better days, huh? Hang in there just a little longer, will ya? You're so much better than you were, and I'm probably the last person you want to see but I'll help you all the same."

Ken made some kind of gasping gesture, trying to shake his fist at Tamer angrily. Then MaloMyotismon growled, "If I might interrupt?"

Tamer turned his head, his grin replaced by a confused grimace, "Sorry? Oh, right. You guys were in the middle of something. Should WarGreymon and I do the part where we make fun of you for a couple of minutes or should we fast forward to the part where these guys go ahead and beat you?"

"It's too late for that Tamer," MaloMyotismon hissed angrily, "It's too late for all of you. I've the power of-"

WarGreymon interrupted, "The control spires and the dark spores on your side. But wasn't the whole point of what just happened to negate their influence?"

"Yeah, it was," Tamer nodded assuringly, "Which reminds me!"

He flipped his digivice in his hand and pointed it at the spore children. They flinched at first, until small specks of light appeared over their heads that gently floated into their hands. Once there, the lights separated into two forms - a digivice and a digiegg. As soon as the eggs appeared, they hatched - revealing small baby digimon that cooed excitedly at their new partners, "A gift for your help you guys. And a reminder to not give up."

To say they were excited to have partners was an understatement. Many of them smiled ecstatically as they cuddled their new friends. However, Noriko raised a skeptical eye, "You're really okay with giving these to us after what we did?"

Tamer nodded with his signature smile, "Of course. Besides, you didn't know what would happen if you did what you did. You guys were just MaloMyotismon's pawns. Actually, you were Oikawa's pawns but he was a pawn so..."

He trailed off and turned on the mega, "How much longer are we going to do this? Because it's been over a thousand years and I'm bored. And tired."

"And old," MaloMyotismon answered, "You've gotten slower with your age. More careless. Yet you still manipulate-"

Tamer interrupted again, "Are we really talking about manipulation right now? Because I'm not the one who infected a bunch of kids, went around wearing a dead man's face for years, and played on people's fears. That was you."

"You did nothing to stop it!" MaloMyotismon roared.

"Oh, so it's our fault that you did those things?" WarGreymon pointed out, "Because that's called dodging responsibility."

Tamer sighed, "I'm not getting any younger so let's end this the way it was always going to. Hey, Matt!"

"WHAT!?" Matt asked, almost snapping at Tamer as he casually strode his way. Tamer threw his hands defensively, "I just need to borrow your digivice for a second if that's alright with you."

"To do what exactly?" Matt asked bitterly, becoming more annoyed as Tamer smiled. He leaned in and whispered something into Matt's ear that the others couldn't hear, leaving them to wonder as Matt's face contorted from anger to displeasure. He handed Tamer his digivice and answered, "Fine. But make it quick. And don't hurt MetalGarurumon!"

"Wait, what exactly is he doing Matt?" MetalGarurumon asked, only to be answered with a tap on the nose by Tamer, "Don't worry. This won't hurt you. Only MaloMyotismon."

With Matt's digivice in hand, Tamer pointed it at MetalGarurumon - absorbing a golden energy from him straight into the digivice. MetalGarurumon regressed back to Gabumon, scratching his head in confusion, "That was weird. I feel…tired."

"That's normal. I think you guys have seen this trick before - Agumon says he did it for you guys when you were fighting BlackWarGreymon. It's a good thing too because you'll need this for later," Tamer answered. Then with a turn, Tamer redistributed that golden energy to Imperialdramon - welling up inside the digimon so that it stood renewed of any injury, "What…just happened?"

"You already had WarGreymon's energy. Now you have MetalGarurumon's energy. Two megas and the power of an Ethereal," Tamer answered turning to MaloMyotismon, "I'm just leveling the playing field since you decided to cheat. Go ahead guys, try out the new power."

A pause followed as Imperialdramon turned on MaloMyotismon. The evil digimon tried to attack, opening the mouths on his shoulder to spew out more mist but was stopped when Imperialdramon punched the digimon so hard that he flew across the open field. When the mega was able to push himself back up, he scowled, "No! I planned too far ahead for this! You should've broken under the illusion! You should've been unable to break the effect of the dark spores! But not even the Tamer's help will overwhelm the power of the control spires! I am a GOD!"

As he taunted them all, MaloMyotismon missed the one person in his plan he didn't count on.

Oikawa clicked his tongue angrily - to think that his best friend's likeness was worn by this thing. That he had been told everything he wanted to hear by someone claiming to be his best friend. It made him angry. But seeing the boy, the Ancient MaloMyotismon warned him so much about, standing up to MaloMyotismon reminded Oikawa of something. Something he still had in his jacket pocket. He reached in there and pulled out the one thing he needed.

The laptop with Ancient technology inside of it - something MaloMyotismon had taught how to integrate. All it would take would be the press of a button and a few key presses. As long as he was distracted by The Tamer boasting endlessly and Imperialdramon's attack, he would go unnoticed. He typed faster than he ever had before, drawing Cody's attention his way. He asked at just above a whisper, "What are you doing?"

"Undoing my mistake," Oikawa whispered back as he had only one key press left. He had what he needed but he wanted MaloMyotismon to know exactly what caused his downfall. He looked up at the mega level digimon and shouted, "MaloMyotismon!"

The mega turned to face him, "What do you want?"

"Payback. This is for Hiroki!" He pressed the final key on his computer and watched the mega writhe in pain. Black wisps of energy escaped his body, and he collapsed, "Gragh! What is this? What did you do?"

"I disabled your access to the control spires," Oikawa answered spitefully, "You thought you could use me by pretending to be Hiroki. You told me everything I wanted to hear to join your side. Even turned me against his only son. And I'll never forgive you for that."

"You," MaloMyotismon pushed himself back up, charging one last time at Yukio. Before he could even take his second step, Imperialdramon closed the gap and punched him in the face one more time so that he flew through the air again, sliding to a stop at Mimi's feet. He was weak now, barely able to stand. Mimi of all people smiled at him, holding a lighter in his hand and using her feet to slide something beside him, "Hey, MaloMyotismon. Happy New Year."

Then she used the lighter to light a fuse. It was only now that Oikawa realized that he'd landed next to an entire box of fireworks. He was weak now - without the power from the control spires, the power from dark spores, and weakened by the attacks from the digidestined's partners. Everyone scattered away while MaloMyotismon laid there, laughing maniacally as he accepted his fate. He'd always thought it meant something else. Just not this, "A million points of light! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

There was a shattering boom as the fireworks lit up the night sky of the Digital World, scattering in every conceivable direction and dressing the barren field with all different colors of light. It was over. They had defeated MaloMyotismon.

Tamer wished he could have relished this victory. The cheers from the others as they celebrated their win was music to his ears. All of the digimon regressed to join their partners as they celebrated. He wished he could have enjoyed it more, turning to both WarGreymon and Kari with the biggest smile on his face. He could see the victory on WarGreymon's face. And the relief on Kari's. It should've been a happy moment.

Then he heard Ken struggling to breath, taking in a gasp for breath. He knew what was coming. And he felt fear. Afraid. This was what lay ahead. He froze for a moment, realizing that all his bravado amounted to nothing now that it was his turn. But what would that make him if he defied his destiny? His destination.

He stepped away from them, leaning down beside Ken. They dying boy lay there in Yolei's arms while struggling to stay conscious. He was bleeding out and would likely die if something wasn't done soon. He struggled to breath, gasping for air a second time. Tamer began with a frown, "You hung in there. I know…I'm literally the last person you want to see right now. Believe me, I feel the same way. But…I can't run from this. This is my reward. What I deserve."

"What are you talking about?" Yolei snapped, holding the boy close, "Ken needs help! We need to get him to the Real World! To a hospital."

"I'll fix him," Tamer snapped his fingers and let out a little golden light from his hands, "I…really don't want to but…"

He stopped when Ken gasped for breath again. His third breath. It was now or never. He placed his hands on Ken's chest and felt the energy run out of him - closing the wound in Ken's side and jolting him awake as he gasped again. His fourth breath. Tamer sank to the ground, trying to give Yolei and Ken space as she hugged him. To them, it was nothing short of a miracle. But only Ken seemed to realize the gravity of what happened, "What did you do?"

"Gave you the rest of my life. Sixty to seventy years worth. Just like Wormmon did for Magnamon," Tamer answered, pushing himself back up and trying to force the biggest smile he could. Ken shook his head, "I know you did that. You're the one who taught me and Wormmon that trick. I meant…why?"

Tamer closed his eyes for a second, trying to steady himself before he started walking away, "You said so yourself, Ken. You would be the one to kill me. You would end my life. You just…didn't know how you would do it yet. But don't get too upset. I'm not blaming you. No one should. This was my choice. Besides…I still have ten minutes left. That's more than enough time."

"Enough time for what?" Ken asked him. Tamer didn't answer, trying to conserve what little strength he had left as he made his way back to Kari.

Kari watched Ken's injuries miraculously heal - as he sprang to life good as new. Her brother seemed sicker now. More tired. But that didn't stop him from coming her way with the biggest, goofiest smile shed ever seen. He even managed a jolly tone as he spoke, "You guys were fantastic. All of you. I'm proud of you guys."

"What's with you?" Gatomon asked before she could say anything. Her brother didn't answer, keeping his eyes fixed on her. Then he shed his coat, "You look cold."

"Tai, what's wrong?" she asked, wanting to know the answer to Gatomon's question. He wrapped his long blue coat around her. It was several sizes too big but there was a welcoming warmth to it that made it more than comfortable. He answered, "I wish…I could've been around a little longer. But I guess fate just doesn't want to work out that way."

He paused, looking skyward to the Real World, "Your world is very beautiful. It's not a bad sight to see. I'm sure you...and your brother would've been happy with each other if he were still around."

Realization dawned on Kari as he turned to look at her. He still kept that smile on his face but it was tired now. And it made her uneasy. The boy took her hand in his and removed his goggles, making sure it was firmly in her hand and closing it shut, "Those have been with me from before I can remember, Kari. I've always had them…but…I don't know. It seems right to give them to you."

Then he embraced her. And she hugged him back. When she finally found the will to speak, it was at just above a whisper, "I waited for you to come back for so long. Ever since the first time you showed back up in our apartment. Ever since we got called back to the Digital World. Why didn't you come back sooner?"

"I'm an Ancient," was his answer, "I...know how much you miss your brother. How badly you want him back. I...only have a few moments left and...I can't be the brother you always wished you had in your life. But I can give you this."

He tapped his finger to her forehead, and images began to race into her mind. Images of her brother and herself together throughout her life. When she fell ill and was unable to go to summer camp, he would've magically appeared at the door with a Koromon to make her eggs. During the rest of their summer break, she would've interrupted him as he tried to send an apology email to Sora. In retaliation, he would've tried to steal a birthday present for her friend. Images of them at Christmas opening presents, going to his soccer games, him coming to her school plays. Events in her life that could've been. That would've been if her brother never disappeared. It brought a tear to her eye but she knew that was just a dream now - something that could never be.

Then he hugged her one last time, "Stop waiting for that older brother you miss to come back, Kari. He isn't going to. But don't think that means I won't look out for you. This isn't the end. We'll meet each other again. Someday, not too long from now. It may take weeks, months, maybe years. But we'll meet again. You may not recognize me, but I will recognize you. Until then, live your life and become the teacher you always to be. And prove that I'm not wrong when I say you're ready for it. You've done so much on your own. You'll be great at the rest. Good bye, Kari."

Tamer let Kari go and stepped away. Before Kari could even think to chase after him, WarGreymon placed a hand on her. He held her in place, keeping her from running after her brother as he walked a good distance away. He stopped, barely turning his head as he said, "Thank you too, WarGreymon. For everything."

There was a pause, before WarGreymon could answer, "Don't keep me waiting, partner."

Tamer looked ahead again, up towards the sky where the Real World was just over head. It looked like he wanted to reach for it, but instead he pocketed his hands and stared up. When he finally looked away, he whimpered, "I'm not ready."

He removed his hands from his pockets in time to see them dissipate into bits of data - working its way under his clothes but revealing a green wire mesh underneath bathed in golden light. Kari looked back at WarGreymon in a panic, "What's happening? WarGreymon! WHAT'S HAPPENING!?"

WarGreymon's answer was not what she wanted to hear, "They're beings of data, same as me and all the other digimon. But death is a little different for them. They reformat but...not the way digimon do. There's a price they have to pay. And I'm sorry. None of us can be anywhere near him when it happens."

Before Kari could ask what he meant, WarGreymon pressed a button on her digivice, bringing all the digivices around them to life. They whistled and screeched - pulling everyone and their partners backwards through tears in the Digital World around them. Before Kari could even register what was happening, she was back in the Real World - at Highton View Terrace with all the other Japanese digidestined and their partners.

"We're back!" Sora gasped, "In Highton View Terrace."

"I don't get it. What happened?" Yolei asked, crossing her arms.

"I activated your digivices to take you all back to your world," WarGreymon answered for them. Gatomon was the first to speak, "I don't believe it…he reformatted."

Kari looked at her partner nervously, "Reformatted? So that means he'll come back, right? Like all the other digimon who die?"

WarGreymon looked down at Gatomon, "Do you want to answer?"

Gatomon looked away nervously, "Ancients…don't reformat the way digimon do. They don't always come back right. New face, new body, new mind, new everything, but their memories are still there. The person they were vanishes, and someone new walks away. Sort of like how some digimon can retain their memories. Back when Wizardmon was still…the Wizardmon I knew, he said that was when an Ancient was most vulnerable and most dangerous. Anything digital that stands too close could get absorbed and influence whoever comes out. I always thought it was crazy - seeing the Tamer die. Hell, I didn't think anything could kill him. And…Tamer's right, it could be a long time before you see him again."

Kari looked at WarGreymon, who nodded to confirm the answer. She didn't know how to feel now. She'd finally gotten her brother back but her response wasn't what she thought it would've been. And now he was gone again. But it didn't leave her feeling sad. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. Davis, was trying to offer some kind of comfort, "I'm sorry, Kari."

"Don't be. We'll meet again. He said so," Kari managed a smile. Fireworks lit up the night sky of Tokyo and Kari said to the others, "Happy New Year everyone."

20 Years Later...

WarGreymon went back to the Digital World after that day to find Tamer. We only saw him one more time after that, in the middle of spring. Since that time, I don't think any of us ever met the Digimon Tamer again. Thankfully, the gates to the Digital World remained open so we could visit our friends in the Digital World any time. And any time either world was in danger, every one of the digidestined would always answer the call. For a while, it was like living a dream.

But it became harder to answer the needs of the Digital World as we got older. We all became busy with our education, our careers, or our own personal lives. Cody followed in his father's foot steps, becoming a man of the law. But not in the way you'd think - he became a lawyer. About a week after the New Year started, Ken and Yolei started dating - through junior high, high school, and college. Yolei's calling ended up being as a computer developer of all things while Ken became a private detective - both in the Digital World and the Real World.

To no one's surprise, Joe became a doctor like his dad and. He joined Doctors Without Borders and even began practicing in the Digital World. Izzy was a part of that practice, using his knowledge of computers and working with Yolei on the side to study more about the Digital World. This actually helped to make both of them better at programming.

To everyone's surprise, my brother Matt enlisted in the Japanese Self Defense Force after High School and somehow got selected to be a part of the space program. After a few brief stints in space, he retired and continued his music career. He and Sora also started dating officially after New Year's and got married straight after high school. A lot of girls were jealous of her, especially when she discovered her passion for floral arrangement. She was so good at it that she ended up taking over her mother's flower shop and expanded it into fashion.

Which was exactly the gateway Mimi needed to get in that business. Between modeling Sora's clothes, designing some of her own, and promotional work - it wasn't long before Mimi became a small celebrity. She eventually left it all behind to do TV - doing cooking shows, home decor shows, and a few soap operas. Apparently, Izzy is her biggest fan. None of us are sure if they're together or not, though.

Davis opened up his ramen cart like he'd always hoped and it wasn't half bad. He and Kari did end up dating for a little bit in high school. It didn't work out, but they're still on speaking terms and its obvious there's no hard feelings. Kari went on to pursue her teaching career and ended up working at a local elementary school.

As for myself, I became an investigative journalist like my mom. I worked for a small news organization, until eventually going freelance to investigate some stuff that came up on the radar. But, like most of you figured out, I became a writer in my spare time. We digidestined still meet up with each other every once in a while in the Digital World. Those of us who have kids bring them along sometimes to show them the Digital World. We were happy to see them all becoming such good friends. None of us knows what lies ahead - it's been a long time since we've heard anything about destiny or what has to be. It feels like our future is in our hands now.

Takeru paused, taking a quick break from writing on his computer. His manuscript was almost done; just a few more pages and it would be complete. Then he thought about what he would have to write next. Just thinking about it made him nervous. His nerves gave way to paranoia as an uneasy feeling washed over him. There was something else in his study with him and he looked up from his computer to see a darkened room lit only by the glow of his computer. All of his senses were telling him he was alone, but he couldn't shake his unease. As crazy as it seemed, he called out into the darkness, "I know you're there. Come out."

"You're getting good at this," came the reply. From out of a darkened corner of his study came the same blonde stranger he'd met years ago in Odaiba - the one who only identified himself as Hokage. The same Hokage who hadn't aged a day. Hokage smiled cheerfully, "How've you been, TK?"

"It's Takeru to you. Why are you here?" Takeru asked back. Hokage answered by tossing a book at him. It took a second for TK to make it out in the darkened room but he recognized it as his last book. The book about their adventures in the Digital World. It was far from a best seller, since it technically counted as an autobiography but it had more than a few dedicated fans. Hokage made his way to the computer, "It's not a bad read. Very insightful honestly. I just wished you hadn't published it. Either way, word is you were working on the manuscript for the next story. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't discuss anything you weren't supposed to."

"I only brought up what happened," Takeru replied anxiously. Hokage's smile became teasing, "You are so sexy when you're being like this. That book of yours put a target on your back. And you better believe people are interested in what you have to say now Takeru."

"What for?" Takeru asked almost daringly. Hokage laughed, "What do you think? I'm just here to remind you that if you keep talking about it, you'll be in serious danger."

"Are you threatening me?" Takeru asked. Hokage waved him off dismissively, "Not at all. I'm just reminding you of the state of the world. We can protect you and keep these people off your back. But if you keep talking about things you're not supposed to, there won't be much my people can do. I'm sure you'll make the right call."

With that, Hokage vanished the same way he had when he mysteriously entered. Takeru felt an uncertainty he hadn't felt in a long time. A fear for his own safety. He turned back to his manuscript. It would take a long time to edit out anything that wasn't supposed to be in there.

Author's Notes: And so the story of the digidestined comes to a close. The Tamer has passed on, leaving the safety of the Digital World in the hands of the digidestined. WarGreymon awaits his partner's return, and all seems to be at peace. What will happen when the Digimon Tamer returns? What lies next for the digidestined? Find out all this in part 3 of The Tamer storyline due out January 4th, 2019 at 8 PM CDT. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. We can talk, chat, and even discuss more about the story. Don't forget to follow me to get updates on the latest stories and favorite The Tamer v1.2 to show support, as well as check out the side stories Burnt Leaf Declassified and The Life of Kari Kamiya. That's all I have for now. I'll see you guys in the New Year with the newest story. For now, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out!

Tamer blinked, screaming in pain and agony as his body finished reformatting. He examined himself carefully, to make sure everything was still there. This was a different experience and he didn't feel quite right in his new form. While he grew accustomed to it, he also needed to be sure everything was there, "Hands. With fingers! One, two…ten fingers! Good. Like grabbing things. And legs! Yes, need legs! Shoes don't fit right anymore. That's different. Let's see."

He pressed his hands against his face to make sure everything was still there, "Eyes? Two. Ears? Two. Nose, mouth? Chin? Good. Hair? Short. That'll take some getting used to. Wait…my voice! MY VOICE!"

It registered how much higher the pitch was and how wrong it was, "I'M A GIRL!"

He quickly pressed one hand against his throat to make sure that wasn't the case. He felt an Adam's apple which was good. Then he pulled his pants open to make sure. Yes, he was a boy. Definitely a boy. But it was not as big as it should've been. Then he noticed something else. His clothes were loose and poorly fitted. As if meant for someone taller. He took one step and tripped as his own shoe was now too large. Then it clicked, "Oh, I'm not a girl. WAIT! I'M A KID! I DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH PUBERTY AGAIN!"

Then he pulled his hair down to check its color, "At least it's still brown. There was something else I had to do…what was it? Something important."

The ground shook beneath him and he remembered. The Digital World was repairing itself. Oikawa had shut off the control spires which meant all the energy they'd absorbed would've been freed. He couldn't be here. He had to get off world quickly. He looked around. WarGreymon was gone and so were the others. Hopefully they were somewhere safe. He fiddled with his digivice, "Come on. Come on. How do I use this thing? GOT IT!"

With one button press, a tear opened beneath him and he fell through it. He could feel himself falling past different worlds and realities. He'd just barely managed to get away alive. The sudden rush was so exciting that he yelled out, "WOO! HERE WE GO!"

In a dark one bedroom apartment somewhere in the world, a lone adult sits at a couch and types away at a laptop. They sigh after a while and close the lid, "Okay. We're only slightly behind schedule. Let's get cracking on phase three."

They stretch once before continuing their work.