LIFE AND DEATH

By milesprower06

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

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A/N- Alright, before we get started, I have to mention that while I was writing Loss and Gain, I had not re-watched Season 3 as of the time that I posted it, and was simply working off my memory, a rather stupid mistake. Now that I have watched it again, I remember how a lot of the characters were, and that, if I correctly recalled what had happened in the series, the Tamers could have very well Biomerged during the battle in the tomb. But if they did, Loss and Gain would have no plot, and this sequel wouldn't have been written either. That's the beauty of fan fics – sometimes you can steer away a bit from the source material and take it in your own direction – I was lucky enough to get away with it this time. Now, I really must mention some people that pushed me to start, continue, and ultimately finish this sequel.

First off, I have to thank users gfifus, Flaming Gogglehead, and E.S. Simeon. The first three reviews of Loss and Gain by these users were what really drove me to start working on a sequel. Thanks, guys.

Secondly, my biggest thanks go out to crazyeight, whose beta read of the first two-thirds of this fic and advice afterwards helped me, beyond words, to turn this into SO much more than it was. Crazyeight, I've become a better author thanks to you, and yes, you still make me look bad.

Enjoy!

P.S. – In case the first paragraph didn't give ya enough hints, this is a sequel to my first story, Loss and Gain. If you haven't read it, please go do so before you read this one, as I certainly don't want you to get lost and confused.

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Prologue

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

SHINJUKU, TOKYO

7 DAYS AFTER MEMORIAL

Renamon opened her eyes once again, finding herself right where she was just minutes ago; kneeling in the front corner of Takato's room. She glanced at the digital clock on the desk – 2:34 AM. It had been a long night for her so far. Although sleep was not something she needed a lot of, she had found it rather difficult to rest her mind tonight. She glanced up at the bed in the back of the room. Takato, her Tamer for the last three months, slept, and he appeared peaceful. Renamon knew this was not entirely the case.

Three months had passed since both their lives had changed; his in Egypt, hers days later. A wild signal had come to them, or rather, to Rika. The three remaining Tamers in Shinjuku hired a pilot to fly them out there. The battle had been fierce and brief. The bio-emerged Digimon, BlackWarGreymon; attacked before he was knocked back through the portal, and sadly, destroyed Guilmon before this happened. Takato had not been the same since.

Rika had been the most committed to helping him through his loss. She spent several days with him; even discovering she had feelings for him. Things were starting to look up again, and then…

Renamon had difficulty reflecting on the events that directly affected her. Rika and Takato had entered a small food mart, just a block away from his family's bakery. A robber came into the store, and before Renamon could intervene, Rika was shot in the heart, Takato in the shoulder, and the cashier fatally in the chest as well.

She had been there in her former Tamer's final moments. Rika begged Takato to find a way through the despair that would inevitably follow. He managed to get to his feet and exit the mart, before collapsing just outside. Police questioned Renamon, the only partial witness they had at the time, and concluded that she had acted in the defense of those in the store.

In the days that Takato was in a coma, Renamon had thought long and hard about where to go from there. At first, her thoughts were solely on herself, and Rika; the way their relationship as Tamer and partner had blossomed over the last several months only to have it end like this made her heart ache with grief; but soon, her mind drifted to Takato as well. She was not the only one affected by Rika's death. Without a partner, and without Rika's help, she knew Takato would not fare well against his feelings. She recalled what Jeri had done after the D-Reaper crisis. She felt some sort of…duty…responsibility…to Takato now.

When he arrived home from the hospital, Renamon was hesitant; waiting until the morning he had an appointment with a psychiatrist, when she offered to become his Digimon partner. He just stared, and then left without a word. She knew he was disturbed by what she had said, thinking it was an insult to Rika, and perhaps to Guilmon. Her reasoning was apt; he was still a Digimon Tamer, and she was a Digimon without one. But she knew it ran deeper than that. Deep down, she knew it's what Rika would've truly wanted in this unfortunate case, but she didn't fully understand why she had waited so long before making the offer to Takato, just as she didn't fully understand why he had accepted it later that evening. Perhaps, like her own reasoning, it just seemed right to him.

She was there with him as he grieved for Rika, and continued to do so for Guilmon over the next few months. Eventually, he returned to school, and slowly, began to improve. For the most part, his nightmares got under control, as well. Just one week ago, he took her, Henry, and Terriermon back down to the Egyptian tomb to make a memorial for the two loved ones they had lost. At first, Renamon had thought that was the end, but quickly reconsidered. The road to recovery was a long one.

Yes, Takato had recovered enough to be able to function on a daily basis. But, there was no denying that a part of him had died when he lost Guilmon, and Rika shortly after. Renamon knew he would never be the same. It just wasn't about having another Digimon partner. Along with Rika, Renamon knew no Tamer-Digimon pair closer than Takato and Guilmon. Takato had created Guilmon; he was one-of-a-kind, and she knew she could never replace the goofy red dino. But…that part of Takato that died…Renamon regretted never seeing that part of him again. He used to bring such life to a room with his smile, his personality. 'Gogglehead.' Renamon repressed a smile, recalling Rika's nickname for him. He no longer wore his goggles, not since Guilmon died. Where he had put them, she didn't know. The short-term recovery was done, yes – but the long term…that would probably take years.

Since the bio-emergence in Egypt, all of the other Wild Ones were so weak, Hypnos was taking care of them no problem. And if this was not the case, Renamon had her doubts that Takato had any fight left in him. She knew one couldn't normally resume the Taming 'duties' after going through what Takato had. She had not had the chance to test the theory as of yet, due to the complete lack of bio-emergences.

This led to another question that had the kitsune Digimon puzzled: why had there been no considerable bio-emergences since Egypt? She couldn't help but feel that there was something about that encounter in the tomb. Perhaps they were not done yet…

And if the battle was not over…would Takato be willing to fight…?