Hello everyone! This story is brought to you by The Monthly Restrict Challenge on Digimon Fanfiction Challenges, Prompt 50 (Numbered Days) of The Random Generator on the RANDOM forums, and of course by my Digimon mood XP. Also, because the Monster Makers need more love :).

This is set right after the pig Deva fight.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. There's no way I can fit nearly a thousand species of Digimon in my hard-drive...

Caught by a Dream

"You never know when someone

May catch a dream from you

You never know when a little word

Or something you may do

May open the windows

Of a mind that seeks the light…

The way you live might not matter at all

But you never know, it might."

-Anonymous

"Are you willing to sacrifice the world and your son for artificial life?"

Yamaki's enraged words still reverberated inside Janyu's head as he prepared for bed. Of course he didn't want others hurt by his creations, and certainly not his family. But they were his creations, and the creations of his college friends, and to see them not only alive but thriving…well, thriving a little too much, considering that boar Digimon had wrecked almost half the town…But to simply wipe them out like Yamaki wanted was far too drastic. He didn't understand the endless toil he and the rest of the Monster Makers poured into their birth, the many big and small joys in seeing the pixilated creatures grow daily, sometimes hourly…Never realizing their days as Monster Makers were numbered.

He scrubbed his teeth furiously with his toothbrush, and noticed himself in the mirror. Lord, he was old now. So far away from that energized college student mostly living off of pizza and instant ramen. Those days had been numbered as well, though it seemed like they would go on forever. Now he was just another programmer with a wife, four kids, and never enough time.

He never thought he would have any kids, much less four. It was a good life, and he loved his family. Second-youngest Henry looked and acted more like him every day. But sometimes he wished he was back in college again, single and without the pressures and stress of having a family. Despite what his old friend Shibumi claimed, children were far more nerve-racking to raise than Digimon on a computer screen.

But Digimon weren't just on computer screens anymore. They were materializing here, in the real world. How delighted Shibumi would be if he knew: that had been one of his biggest dreams. One of the biggest dreams of all of them actually. Granted, they weren't thinking of it happening this way, but that was what made Digimon so amazing. They always shattered expectations.

And that made them dangerous too, Janyu reminded himself, as he changed into his nightclothes. Digimon loved to battle, and now they were hurling energy blasts and fireballs instead of little pixels deadly only to each other. And Henry…

Henry, easily the calmest of his children, had become increasingly distracted and edgy. Janyu had chalked up the strangeness to Henry approaching his teenage years. But then Janyu witnessed Henry's Terriermon toy walking and talking and connected the dots: Henry was a Tamer, as he and his friends called themselves. They had even fought the pig Digimon that was rampaging earlier, ultimately destroying it. Seeing Henry out in that chaos, where he could have easily been injured by debris or a stray attack…it was horrifying. But their Digimon partners protected them well, and no one was hurt.

They can make their partners evolve at will, Janyu thought, as he got into bed and pulled the covers over him, His wife was already fast asleep beside him. I wonder how they can do that. I wonder how the Digimon are able to evolve to this level at all. I wonder…

He wondered himself to slumber.

IIIIII

Janyu was in his house's hallway, listening to children's shrieking laughter. He saw his little kids scamper down the hall together, with toddler Henry bringing up the rear. Suzie would be playing too, if she had been born yet. Janyu smiled.

Then Janyu heard more adult chuckles from nearby, and turned. In the room next door was him and his fellow Monster Makers, all college-aged, surrounded by monitors and other electronic equipment. The Digimon Project.

"Hey, I think I saw that one move!" a blonde man exclaimed.

"That's a speck of dust, Shibumi," said Janyu's younger self.

"Oh," Shibumi answered, deflating. "Perhaps it used its electricity to attract the dust to the screen? These monitors are awfully dusty, even for monitors. What do you think, Tao?"

Tao. Now there was a moniker Janyu hadn't heard in a while. They all gave themselves codenames for the project. Because they could.

While the new Monster Makers began to recheck their calculations, a five-year-old Henry dashed by with a plush Terriermon.

Janyu smiled. "And where are you off to in such a hurry, Henry?"

The little blue-haired boy skidded to a stop and grinned. "I'm not Henry! I'm Willis, Digidestined of Destiny! Me and Terriermon are gonna go explore the world and be heroes! Without any brothers or sisters to bug us! Right, Terriermon?"

"Right!" "said" the "Terriermon", as Henry made the toy nod its head.

"Even Willis has a mom though," Janyu heard his wife's voice echo down the hallway. "And Willis's Mom says you need to come back and finish your veggies!"

"Oh no, it's Kokomon! Run Terriermon!" Henry said, before he rushed away fake-screaming down the other end of the hallway. He dragged his Terriermon toy behind him by one of its long ears.

Janyu chortled quietly and shook his head, before he heard some awed cries from the other room. He turned and saw himself and all the fellow Monster Makers packed tightly around one of the monitors. Tiny pixilated creatures were scurrying across the screen after each other. Digimon, or what would become them.

"Wow, look at them go!" said Tao, as his younger self leaned closer to the computer. "They hunt each other like real animals do!"

"And they get evolve too!" pointed out one of the other Monster Makers, as one of the creatures was deleted while the victor's pixels changed slightly. "It's amazing!"

"It would be more amazing if they didn't just have programming from us," said Shibumi, who was the furthest in the back. "We gave them the instinct to survive and fight, and they're just following that code. I want them to develop their own behavior. That would be real intelligence."

"Hey, life didn't evolve in a day," said Tao. "I'd say we're making excellent progress, all things considering."

Shibumi still looked unsatisfied.

"Hey Dad. Dad!"

Janyu turned to see Henry, now much closer to his current age, holding a magazine up. In it was an advertisement for the newest Digimon game system.

"I know it's not Christmas yet, but…" Henry went on, looking almost embarrassed. "Can I have this when it comes out? It has card-reading abilities and everything. I've even been seeing it in my sleep."

Janyu smiled. "Well, if you want it that badly, and since you've been getting good grades…"

Henry's eyes lit up. "Really? Thanks Dad! You're the best!"

Janyu watched him leave. He never spent enough time with Henry, or the rest of his family. He seemed like he was always at work. He felt bad about that, so he tried to get everyone presents whenever he could. Though this was going to be a costly gift…

"Wouldn't it be cool if Digimon were real?"

Janyu turned back to the Monster Maker room, where everyone was eating pizza. Safely away from all the precious equipment, of course.

"Well, we could transfer their consciences into robots," suggested Tao. "Once both Digimon and robotics get advanced enough, that is. Then Digimon could be real-life companions, and used to handle the more dangerous jobs instead of humans."

"Would that be fair to the Digimon though? Being forced into subservient roles?" asked Shibumi. "They're…like our children almost. Personally, I want to visit the Digimon on their own plane of existence."

"You mean go to the computer world?" asked one of the Monster Makers incredulously.

"Why not?" said Shibumi. "Imagine it: seeing our creations in their true forms, and a whole new world. A whole new way of being. Seeing not only the evolution of Digimon, but the evolution of ourselves. Perhaps this is humanity's true future."

The others stared at him like he had grown a tail.

"…You're nuts," said Tao.

Shubumi smiled. "And this is news to you? It's certainly not news to me."

Tao smirked. "No, it's not. But if I didn't know you, I'd swear you were high."

"I'm high off of intellect."

"You keep telling yourself that."

Something bumped into Janyu. He turned to see Henry picking up the mass of Digimon cards he had dropped. Sticking out of his backpack was a much more realistic (real) version of Terriermon.

"Sorry Dad," said Henry, his gray eyes locked on the cards even as he stood up. "Now this card wasn't any good by itself, but if I used it with this card instead…" He continued to mutter on about combos as he went down the hall.

Does that boy think of anything besides Digimon these days? thought Janyu.

"Do you think of anything besides Digimon these days?" an angry voice snapped.

Janyu turned to see the college-age version of his wife confronting the college-age version of himself in the Monster Maker room. His colleagues stayed safely back, not wanting to get directly involved in a lover's spat.

"Mayumi, this is important, government-sponsored work on artificial intelligence," Janyu explained. "I love you, but this is going to take a lot of my time. I'm sorry."

"Look, I understand that," said Mayumi. "But that's not the point. I understand you being busy. I even understand you enjoying this project, because you get to hang out with your friends and create artificial life. But that's all you talk about, all you even think about, even when you're with me! You might as well not even be there when we go on dates, or go to movies, or do anything together!"

"Mayumi-"

"What's the point of us being a couple if you don't even care?" she ranted on. "Clearly artificial life matters more than real life to you! I've had it!" She stormed out, stomping down the hall, while Tao sat there in a dumbfounded haze.

"Dude, talk about harsh," said of the other Monster Makers.

"Don't worry Tao, she wasn't worth it," said another Monster Maker. "You'll get any girl you want once we're famous for making artificial life."

"Yeah, you'll get laid someday."

Janyu watched his future wife stomp down the hall. They would eventually get back together, once the Digimon Project was over. Once he stopped being so obsessive and self-centered.

Just as his wife disappeared into the distant darkness of the hallway, Henry emerged from it. His walking was slow and his sagging eyes gazed at the floor. Terriermon was in his arms.

Janyu frowned. "Henry, where have been? You had us worried to death!"

"Out…" Henry replied, still not looking up. "…In the park. Hanging out with friends. Stuff like that…Sorry."

Janyu folded his arms. "Saying sorry isn't going to improve your grades. They've been really slipping this year. You need to spend less time in the park and more time studying."

"Sorry…" said Henry. "I'll try harder…This year's just been…nuts…"

As Henry dragged himself past Janyu, the father's face softened. "Henry, is everything alright?"

Henry paused, before turning to smile blandly. He looked so tired. "Yeah, everything's fine. Why do you ask?"

"…Oh, no reason."

"Oh…okay," Henry answered, as he went on sluggishly walking. One of Terriermon's ears twitched.

Janyu watched his son worriedly. How could he have not noticed it before? That his son was…

"I've got it!"

Janyu turned back to the Monster Maker room, where Shibumi's sudden outcry had startled everyone.

"Got what?" asked Tao.

"I know how to make Digimon truly intelligent creatures!" Shibumi answered, eyes almost too bright. "How to make them truly evolve!"

"How?" asked both Tao and Janyu.

"Dad!"

Janyu turned back to his Henry, who was holding a strange blue card. He couldn't help but notice the dark circles under his son's eyes.

"Dad, can you check this out?" asked Henry, handing him the card. "A friend of mine got it."

Janyu took the blue card, carefully studying its holographic surface. He looked up to ask Henry more about it, but he was no longer there.

"Henry..?"

"We were so close."

Janyu turned back to the Monster Maker room, where all the lights were off except for monitor screens. The Monster Makers were asleep in their chairs or on the floor. Only Tao and Shibumi were awake, as they gazed at the computer screens.

"I can't believe they pulled the funding," muttered Tao. "We were so close to true intelligence. If were had one more day even…"

"I can't believe that you outlasted everyone else," said Shibumi, referring to their slumbering comrades.

"I'll outlast you too," said Tao with a smirk.

Shibumi smirked back. "No you won't."

There was an uneasy silence, as the electronics hummed serenely in the background.

"I'd give anything to keep the Digimon Project going," said Shibumi.

"Me too," said Tao, watching the Digimon scuttle on the screen toward them.

"I'd give an arm," said Shibumi.

"I'd give both legs."

"I'd give my whole body."

'How would that help?" asked Tao. "I'd give up love."

"Ouch," said Shibumi, smiling. "I'd give up my first-born child."

"I dunno about that," said Tao. "Third-born maybe. Two kids is enough."

"I thought you said you weren't going to have any kids."

"Maybe I'm reconsidering."

Both of them laughed at the ridiculousness of their conversation, though it was tinged with remorse.

I really was obsessed back then, Janyu thought. And I suppose I still am. But even joking about offering my third-born…my third-born…my third-born!

"Dad…"

The hallway was suddenly dark, and Henry stood several feet away. His son's eyes drooped as his terribly pale body dropped to the floor.

"Henry!" Janyu yelled, rushing toward his fallen child. He rolled the boy over and lifted his head up. His outfit was in tatters, and his body was riddled with bruises and gashes from battle. "Henry, can you hear me? Henry!"

Henry's eyes flickered open, but he remained limp in Janyu's arms. "Hurts…Tired…"

Two white-and-green ears appeared behind Henry and wrapped around his torso and arms.

"He's my Tamer," said Terriermon, face hidden, tone pitiful.

"Terriermon…" both Janyu and Henry said at once, though Henry's voice was much fainter.

"No…I know that Digimon will live on, Tao," Shibumi rambled in the Monster Maker room, though Janyu didn't even glance in its direction. "We have taught them how to survive. We have taught them the will to survive. And they know what they need to evolve…"

"He's my Tamer!" Terriermon growled, as his ears gripped Henry much tighter. Henry let out a surprised cry of pain.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" shouted Janyu, trying to pry the arm-like ears off Henry.

"Dad…" Henry said, more awake now, and with definite fear in his voice.

Terror and rage ripped through Janyu at once. He reached behind and seized Terriermon by the scruff of the neck, flinging him hard against the wall.

"Are you alright Henry?" Janyu anxiously asked, but Henry was unconscious again. Janyu struggled to hold down the panic shooting up like a geyser. "Henry!"

At the same time Terriermon was getting up. The dog-rabbit seemed little fazed from being thrown, except for some blood flowing from his horn…Blood flowing from his horn?

"My Tamer," Terriermon snarled, steadily approaching them.

With dread Janyu inspected Henry's back. There was a puncture wound from the horn, but it wasn't bleeding. Instead the area around it seemed full of static, like a TV on the wrong channel.

"What is this?" Janyu hissed.

Henry stirred in Janyu's arms, gray eyes full of guilt. "I'm sorry Dad…I…"

"This world and our world aren't so different," Shibumi's voice echoed. "Humanity and Digimon aren't so different. Both run on desire and belief. That's what keeps progress going. We will become what we want to be."

The strange infection spread rapidly, until Henry's whole body had an overtone of static.

"Digimon aren't just code and data anymore," Shibumi went on. "They've become more than that, because of humans. Through our passion and belief we give them the soul they need to exist, to grow, to evolve. Digimon will never forget that, as long as they depend on humanity for that soul. We won't be there to give them that anymore, but they'll find others, others with pure belief and open hearts...Tao? Tao, are you listening to me? Are you even awake?"

"Henry," said Terriermon. "Henry, digivolve me. So I can be stronger. So all Digimon can be stronger. So the Digital World can be stronger!"

The ceiling and the sky above it ripped open, revealing a world full of binary code, digital lines and little shadowy monsters…Other Digimon. Janyu wondered if any of them were ones he used to know as pixel creatures.

Terriermon expanded his ears and floated up into the rift of reality. "Henry, digivolve us! Digivolve us now!" He gave off a soft white light.

"Terriermon…" Henry answered. His breath hitched as he glowed too, until he broke into an all-out scream. Particles of himself shed off like fleeing fireflies, shining orange-red like embers. The lambent fragments were sucked up by the rift in reality, where they were absorbed by Terriermon and the other Digimon.

"Henry!" Janyu cried out, as his son thrashed deliriously in his arms. It's like when a Digimon absorbs a destroyed Digimon's data, only he's still alive. Janyu held on tigher, bending over Henry protectively. "No! Stop! Don't take my son! Please!"

"But we need him, and you need us," said Terriermon, as his little body grew especially radiant. "And you promised us. You promised…" he added, another too-familiar voice echoing alongside his own as he digivolved. A flash of light later, and he was Gargomon, guns, jeans and all. So human-like and so animal at once.

"I didn't mean that!" Janyu shouted. "Me and Shibumi were only joking about the children! Nothing was promised to you at all!"

The other Digimon began to evolve too, and hollers of joy and ecstasy rained down from the rift. Some were still small, but others were much larger. A few even slipped into the real world, circling around Janyu and Henry like worshippers or vultures.

"We were promised everything!" said Gargomon with both his own voice and Shibumi's, as the particle flow from Herny accelerated. "We are the evolution of everything! We are the new life, the children, the ones who will lead! Tao, you know this better than anyone!"

"My name's not Tao! It's Janyu!" the father snapped back. He glanced back to his son, who lay wilted and panting in his arms. "And I refuse to believe that this is the natural evolution of things!"

"It's not for you to decide, or even us," said Gargomon-Shibumi, as he and the other Digimon shone brilliantly. A moment later he was now the sleek, mechanized Rapidmon. His huge form loomed over them and made the dark room even blacker. More bigger, bolder Digimon crossed over, swirling ever closer to Henry, the only source of light. They formed a tornado of bodies around them, their eager eyes like malevolent stars in the false night.

"Digidestined!" bellowed Rapidmon-Shibumi, raising his cannon-arms high. "We beseech you! You are our future! Everyone's future!"

Henry opened his eyes, gazing up at Rapidmon-Shibumi in a daze. Slowly he rose one of his arms past Janyu. "If…If it's for the Digital World…For the Digimon…" He smiled feebly, even as parts of him flickered and grew transparent.

"No Henry!" Janyu screamed, pulling his son back and hugging him tight. "You're my son! A human! You belong here!"

Henry continued to smile, even as his body grew more unstable, even as tears gathered in his exhausted eyes. Exhausted eyes that never left the torn sky. "No. I was born for this."

Janyu's heart felt so tight he barely noticed his own tears. "Oh god, Henry…" he choked out, burying his face in Henry's shoulder.

Henry remained unresponsive, even as the particle drain on him increased exponentially. Even as Rapidmon-Shibumi changed once more, morphing into a creature that dwarfed all the other Digimon. He was so tall, his face couldn't be seen.

"Henry, what did I do wrong?" sobbed Janyu. "Was I gone too much? Did I not pay enough attention to you? Did…Did I not love you enough?"

"Enough…" said Henry, his voice barely a breath.

Janyu felt Henry phase out of his desperate hold, and frantically clawed to regain a grip on his son. There wasn't anything solid enough to catch, though, and he began to rise to the tear in the sky. The tear was widening every instant, threatening to swallow everything.

Henry, barely visible, watched Janyu's frenzied motions with a detached inquisitiveness. "But…sir…why do you care so much?"

Janyu's breath caught in his throat, but by then Henry was already disappearing into the gigantic Digimon's form, and the other Digimon were cheering, while Shibumi was commanding praises, while everywhere the scrambled shouts of another man called: your son your son are you willing artificial life artificial and artificial sacrifice willing are you the world are you are you your son your son your-

IIIIII

Janyu woke, barely strangling back a scream, with his body soaked with sweat and shaking. He laid there for several minutes, trying not to wake his wife as he regained his breath and sanity.

It was just a dream, he reassured himself, and he stared mindlessly into darkness. Henry's safe at home, and so is everyone else. Henry became a Tamer by luck, not because of your past remarks or beliefs. It's alright now. It's going to be alright…

But he knew it wasn't that simple. Digimon were coming to the real world, and as long as they were doing that Henry would be out there fighting them. Digimon would consume his life, one way or another, unless Janyu worked with Hypnos to stop it. He and Yamaki still didn't get along well, but if he had to choose between artificial life and real life…

I'll stop them, he thought firmly. My son matters over any Digimon. I want them to both exist, but this invasion into the real world is wrong. Shibumi, some worlds just aren't supposed to mix. It brings chaos, not evolution. Henry…I need to spend more time with him…With everyone…

It was while quietly thinking up new family trips and activities that he finally drifted into a peaceful, dreamless slumber.

IIIIII

But that morning, Henry was gone. Janyu would find out later that Henry had left, of his own will, to go to the Digital World.

Janyu's dream had come sickeningly true.

IIIIII

So, just to make this clear: the dream/nightmare is not supposed to be an prophetic dream. It's born of Janyu's own fears and guilt, so many things such as Shibumi and Terriermon are twisted around. Think of it like the nightmare Kazu and Kenta have about Jijimon and Babamon later.

Well, hoped you enjoyed it, and were able to understand it XD.